Transectorial innovations and the transformation of firms

Abstract

Innovation which is generated in a specific sector or prepared for it but finds application in others is called transsectorial innovation. This is a subject which, up to now, has attracted very little attention; yet it deserves a thorough examination. Indeed, the incidence of transsectorial migrations is very much on the increase and its impact on industry strongly felt: It generates a multiplicity of new products, causes changes in the location of production units and affects their organization.

In this report, the concept of innovation is addressed and studied in depth, then looked at in the context of long‐term economic perspectives (I). Next the emergence of transsectorial innovations and their pervasive influence are described (II). Lastly, the effects on industry (size, location, organization, products) are examined (III).

The industrial revolution which is beginning represents much more than what is generally expected. It will cause a complete upheaval, not only in the productive system, but also, probably, in the whole range of human activities. The transsectorial phenomenon has a large role to play in the dawning of this new era.     

Hydration,sweat and thermoregulatory responses to professional football training in the heat

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between intensity of training and changes in hydration status, core temperature, sweat rate and composition and fluid balance in professional football players training in the heat. Thirteen professional football players completed three training sessions; “higher-intensity” (140 min; HI₁₄₀), “lower-intensity” (120 min; LI₁₂₀) and “game-simulation” (100 min; GS₁₀₀). Movement demands were measured by Global Positioning System, sweat rate and concentration were determined from dermal patches and body mass change. Despite similar environmental conditions (26.9 ± 0.1°C and 65.0 ± 7.0% relative humidity [Rh]), higher relative speeds (m · min^?1) and increased perceptions of effort and thermal strain were observed in HI₁₄₀ and GS₁₀₀ compared with LI₁₂₀ (P < 0.05). Significantly (P < 0.05) greater sweat rate (L · h^?1) and electrolyte losses (g) were observed in HI₁₄₀ and GS₁₀₀ compared with LI₁₂₀. Rate of rise in core temperature was correlated with mean speed (r = 0.85), session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) (r = 0.61), loss of potassium (K⁺) (r = 0.51) sweat rate (r = 0.49), and total sweat loss (r = 0.53), with mean speed the strongest predictor. Sodium (Na⁺) (r = 0.39) and K⁺ (r = 0.50) losses were associated with total distance covered. In hot conditions, individualised rehydration practices should be adopted following football training to account for differences in sweat rate and electrolyte losses in response to intensity and overall activity within a session.     

Energy system contribution to 400-metre and 800-metre track running

As a wide range of values has been reported for the relative energetics of 400-m and 800-m track running events, this study aimed to quantify the respective aerobic and anaerobic energy contributions to these events during track running. Sixteen trained 400-m (11 males, 5 females) and 11 trained 800-m (9 males, 2 females) athletes participated in this study. The participants performed (on separate days) a laboratory graded exercsie test and multiple race time-trials. The relative energy system contribution was calculated by multiple methods based upon measures of race [Vdot]O₂, accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD), blood lactate and estimated phosphocreatine degradation (lactate/PCr). The aerobic/anaerobic energy system contribution (AOD method) to the 400-m event was calculated as 41/59% (male) and 45/55% (female). For the 800-m event, an increased aerobic involvement was noted with a 60/40% (male) and 70/30% (female) respective contribution. Significant (P <?0.05) negative correlations were noted between race performance and anaerobic energy system involvement (lactate/PCr) for the male 800-m and female 400-m events (r = ? 0.77 and ??0.87 respectively). These track running data compare well with previous estimates of the relative energy system contributions to the 400-m and 800-m events. Additionally, the relative importance and speed of interaction of the respective metabolic pathways has implications to training for these events.     

Energy system contribution to 1500- and 3000-metre track running

The aim of the present study was to quantify the contributions of the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems to 1500- and 3000-m track running events during all-out time-trials performed individually on a synthetic athletic track. Ten 3000-m (8 males, 2 females) and fourteen 1500-m (10 males, 4 females) trained track athletes volunteered to participate in the study. The athletes performed a graded exercise test in the laboratory and two time-trials over 1500 or 3000?m. The contributions of the energy systems were calculated by measures of race oxygen uptake, accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD), race blood lactate concentration, estimated phosphocreatine degradation and some individual muscle metabolite data. The relative aerobic energy system contribution (based on AOD measures) for the 3000?m was 86% (male) and 94% (female), while for the 1500?m it was 77% (male) and 86% (female). Estimates of anaerobic energy expenditure based on blood lactate concentrations, while not significantly different (P?>?0.05), were generally lower compared with the AOD measures. In conclusion, the results of the present study conform with some recent laboratory-based measures of energy system contributions to these events.     

Prediction of habitual physical activity level and weight status from fundamental movement skill level

Abstract

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) have been assessed in children in order to investigate the issues of the low proportion of children who meet physical activity (PA) guidelines and rising levels of obesity. The aim of this research was to identify whether previous or current FMS level is a better predictor of PA levels and weight status in children. In January 2012 (year 1), 281 children were recruited from one primary school in the West Midlands, UK. Children performed eight FMS three times, which were videoed and assessed using a subjective checklist. Sprint speed and jump height were measured objectively. Height and mass were measured to calculate the body mass index to determine the weight status. Skinfold calliper readings were used to calculate body fat percentage. One year later, in January 2013, all these tests were repeated on the same children, with the additional collection of PA data via the use of pedometers. Following multiple linear regression, it was identified that prior mastery in FMS was a better predictor of current PA, whereas current FMS was a better predictor of current weight status. Overall, FMS mastery is needed in childhood to be able to participate in PA and maintain a healthy weight status.     

Student attitudes towards and use of ICT in course study,work and social activity: A technology acceptance model approach

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education has been explored largely in relation to student experience of coursework and university life. Students' lives and experience beyond the university have been largely unexplored. Research into student experience of ICT used a validated model—the technology acceptance model—to explore the influence of work and social/leisure contexts as well as course study, on attitudes towards and take up of technology. The results suggest that usefulness and ease of use are key dimensions of students' attitudes towards technology in all three contexts but that ICT is perceived most positively in the context of work and technology use at work is an important driver for technology use in other areas.     

Contextual factors and effective school improvement

This research provides policy-makers, researchers, and educators at all levels with a glimpse of the contextual influence on effective school improvement (ESI) in 8 European countries. What are the factors at the contextual level, particularly at the national level, which influence ESI? Are there any similarities or differences between the influences they exert on ESI in different countries? Can common traits be identified? These are the core questions this paper tries to explore. It has drawn on insights from 5 areas of research: school effectiveness; school improvement; curriculum; public choice (marketization); organization, organizational learning, and learning organization. This yields a “goal – pressure – support” conceptual framework accompanied by 10 contextual factors and 48 indicators. Given the original conceptual framework and the empirical support of 31 case studies contributed by 8 European countries, the findings of this study may have significant implications for policy, practice, school effectiveness, and school improvement.     

Mediating gendered performances: young people negotiating embodiment in research discussions

Gender inequalities in schools have implications for life chances, emotional well-being and educational policies and practices, but are apparently resistant to change. This paper employs Judith Butler’s conceptualisation of performativity in a study of young people and consumption to provide insights into gendered inequities. It argues that how the young people ‘do’ gender in focus groups frequently involves the discussion of young women’s bodies and clothes in ways that are ‘culturally intelligible’. The focus on young women’s bodies produced joking relationships and a taken-for-granted understanding of gender in some same-sex interactions, but sometimes created tension and divisions in mixed-gender groups. Discussions of sexualisation in single-sex and mixed-sex groups were similarly emotionally loaded. The paper argues that attention to gender inequalities requires detailed attention to the differential power relations in which boys express desires to control feminine bodies and girls police their own and other girls’ bodies. Methodologically, the paper suggests that focus group discussions constitute an ethnographic site for analysis and that researchers co-construct young people’s narratives of embodied gender practices in ways that mediate young people’s gendered performances.     

Surveying Adolescent Worries: Development of the ‘Things I Worry About’ Scale

Steve Decker, Anglia Polytechnic University, Death and Loss: Compassionate Approaches in the Classroom, Oliver Leaman. London: Cassell, 1995. 160pp. hb ISBN 0 304 33087 6, pb ISBN 0 304 33089 2, price not available

Alan Dodds, The Ferrers School, Rushden, Northamptonshire, Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do, Dan Olweus. Oxford: Blackwell, 1993. 140pp. pb ISBN 0 631 19241 7

Richard Smith, Elliott School, London, Combating Truancy in Schools, Edith Le Riche. London: David Fulton/ The Roehampton Institute, 1995. 112pp. ISBN 1 85346 337, £11.95

Ron Best, Roehampton Institute, London, Psychology in the Classroom: Reconstructing Teachers and Learners, Phillida Salmon. London: Cassell, 1995. 98pp. hb ISBN 0 304 33254 2, £40.00, pb ISBN 0 204 33256 9, £12.99

David Lambourn, NAPCE Base, Warwick, Primary Teachers at Work, R. J. Campbell and S. R. St.J. Neill. London: Routledge, 1994. 252pp. pb ISBN 0 415 08863 1, £14.99     

Learning to manage and managing to learn

In this paper Fiona Reeve, Jim Gallacher and Terry Mayes of Glasgow Caledonian University, bring together two current themes in higher education, work‐based learning and the use of new technology in teaching and learning. The paper begins to explore their interaction by examining the ways in which new technology can help to overcome some of the barriers which exist to work‐based learning. To begin this analysis a general model of a WWW‐based learning resource is described which has relevance for a range of open learning contexts. A central aspect of this model is the use of communication technologies to promote the creation of learning dialogues. The way in which this general model might be applied to work‐based learning is then examined. Having suggested that such a model has much to offer work‐based learning, some of the constraints which might be encountered on implementation are then identified. Finally, the authors conclude that it is in promoting more and better forms of communication that new technology can contribute towards work‐based learning practice.