The new production of legitimacy: STI policy discourses beyond the contract metaphor

Science, technology and innovation (STI) policy is borne by a set of historically contingent concepts, models, and metaphors. From around 1950 to 1980, its language was dominated by the contract metaphor and the linear model of innovation, both of which have catered for beliefs in stability, orderliness, and distinct social roles for scientists and policymakers. While prominent new models of the 1990s (mode 2, post-normal science, triple helix) had challenged the old contract metaphor, they remained experts’ brainchildren. After 2000, in contrast, we observe the emergence and pluralization of several new and powerful concepts. Building on conceptual history and cognitive linguistics, we analyze three of these new concepts: “frontier research,” “grand challenges,” and “responsible research and innovation” (RRI). Whereas the “frontier” and “grand challenges” convey many layered historical meanings, a distinct metaphorical appeal, and have become popularized beyond expert’s communities, the RRI discourse, though the most ambitious one, has not yet shaken off its roots in the bureaucratic structures of the European Commission. Finally, we discuss which conceptual and metaphorical properties enable the career of STI policy discourses in the 21st century.     

The impact of incorrect examples on learning fractions: A field experiment with 6th grade students

Educational research indicates that error reflection, especially reflection on incorrect examples, has a positive effect on knowledge acquisition. The benefit of error reflections might be explained by the extended knowledge of incorrect strategies and concepts (negative knowledge) which fosters the learning of new content. In a field experiment with a pre-post-design we taught fractions to N = 195 6th grade students and compared two conditions that encouraged reflection on either incorrect or correct examples. We found that incorrect examples supported students’ negative knowledge more than correct examples. However, regarding the knowledge of fractions, only advanced students could benefit from incorrect examples; students with low prior knowledge learned more from correct examples. Even though negative knowledge showed a partial mediation effect for knowledge acquisition, it did not mediate the effect of error reflections on the acquisition of knowledge of fractions. The implications for school instruction are discussed.     

Virtual Knowledge‐Sharing Communities of Practice at Caterpillar: Success Factors and Barriers

This article reports the results of a qualitative study of success factors and barriers to the development of virtual knowledge‐sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100 multinational corporation. The study identified several prerequisites for successful knowledge management through virtual communities of practice: knowledge sharing as a key element of the corporate culture; employees regarding knowledge as a public good belonging to the whole organization, and not as their individual asset; communities self‐organizing around specific performance‐related problems or areas of professional interest of their members; and communities supported by volunteer managers and active core groups of experts. At the same time, the study has identified a number of important barriers to virtual community development. Specifically, even when employees give the highest priority to the interests of the organization, they tend to shy away from contributing knowledge for a variety of other reasons not related to information hoarding. In addition, corporate security considerations and concerns about the accuracy of the information and the potential information overload could clash with the need to promote spontaneous generation of information. Suggestions for overcoming the identified barriers, future research directions, and implications for HRD professionals are formulated.