The concept of development and the development of concepts. Education and development in Vygotsky’s thinking

A major theme of Vygotsky’s research in the latter part of his life was the theme of concept formation or conceptual development in child development. He argued that the acquisition of mature scientific (academic) concepts forms the crowning achievement of adolescsence. Mature conceptual thinking positively influences the cognitive domain but also the aesthetic reactions and emotions. Conversely, the breakdown of conceptual thinking in pathology will lead to severe intellectual impairment but also to emotional dullness etc. In this paper it is claimed that this view is highly interesting but a number of criticisms are raised. Specifically, it is argued that (1) the resulting view is overly rationalistic; (2) the notion of scientific concepts seems to imply a somewhat static view of science; and (3) Vygotsky was perhaps too optimistic about the possibility of transfer of scientific (conceptual) thinking to other domains.     

Green intellectual capital and environmental product innovation: the mediating role of green social capital

Although the importance of intellectual capital has already been highlighted in the management literature, few articles have focused on the importance of its green counterpart, green intellectual capital. Nowadays, when environmental concerns cannot be ignored by firms, it is therefore time to explore the role of green intellectual capital in environmental improvement. For that reason, our research aims to explore the relationships between green intellectual capital components and the environmental performance of the firms. In particular, we try to show the importance of green organizational and social capital in the development of environmental product innovations, which are vital to the development and implementation of environmental strategies since, as scholars have pointed out, they generate some of the greatest environmental impacts. The empirical results show that green organizational capital has an indirect impact on environmental product innovation through green social capital, meaning that the latter is a significant mediator of that relationship, and at the same time emphasizing that informal relationships play a key role in the improvement of the environmental performance of the firm and, more specifically, in the development of environmental product innovations.     

The Adoption of the Compact Disk Player: An Event History Analysis for the Netherlands

The compact disk (CD) player was one of the major audio innovations of the 1980s in the Netherlands. For studies of the temporal and social diffusion pattern of the CD player and the compact disks, both cultural and economic theories about innovations and music consumption are available. In this paper, these theories are combined in six working hypotheses concerning earlier adoption. The empirical analysis includes both time-invariant and time-varying variables and consumer characteristics. Event history analysis, the technique used in this article, enables one to incorporate these kinds of variables simultaneously in a dynamic model. Compared with the diffusion models usually employed by means of longitudinal analysis, event history analysis is a significant improvement in studying the development of the CD market in the Netherlands.     

Academic Functioning and Peer Influences: A Short‐Term Longitudinal Study of Network–Behavior Dynamics in Middle Adolescence

In this study, the associations between peer effects and academic functioning in middle adolescence (N = 342; 14–15 years old; 48% male) were investigated longitudinally. Similarity in achievement (grade point averages) and unexplained absences (truancy) was explained by both peer selection and peer influence, net of acceptance, and connectedness. Friendships were formed and maintained when adolescents had low levels of achievement or high levels of truancy. Friends influenced one another to increase rather than decrease in achievement and truancy. Moreover, friends’ popularity moderated peer influences in truancy in reciprocal friendships but not in unilateral friendships, whereas friends’ acceptance moderated peer influences in achievement in both unilateral and reciprocal friendships. The findings illustrate the dynamic interplay between peer effects and academic functioning.     

Conservation of stained glass windows with protective glazing: Main results from the European VIDRIO research programme

The methodology of protecting the European stained glass windows against environmental risk (e.g. meteorological factors, air pollution, microorganisms) by means of an external glazing is not new. In spite of many scientific studies carried out in the last 20 years, some questions were still up for discussion. The European VIDRIO (2002–2005) project gave an answer to these questions. The research carried out by the different project partners established a new multidisciplinary approach aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the protective glazing systems and their effects on stained glass windows conservation, and finally at assessing the most appropriate strategy to preserve stained glass windows. Scientific results showed that the so-called isothermal glazing (i.e. ventilation by the air coming from the inside of the building) protected efficiently the ancient stained glass window from environmental attack (i.e. rain, pollutants, condensation, thermal shocks) with very limited secondary effects. The scientific research highlighted that its efficiency was strongly related to the technical design of the protective system. In particular, the ventilation and the size of the interspace had to be carefully considered. The research developed within the VIDRIO project was turned into general recommendations to the owners and practitioners on the best practice for the stained glass windows future conservation.     

Transcultural analysis of the effectiveness of a program to promote self-regulated learning in Mozambique,Chile, Portugal,and Spain

The current investigation aims at assessing the effectiveness of an intervention program designed to enhance self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies at the university level, with students from different cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds. The central tool of the program is a set of letters in which a fictional first-year student describes his experiences as an SRL student. The program was implemented in four universities in different countries and continents (Portugal, Spain, Chile, and Mozambique), with an experimental group and a comparison group at each university (263 students from experimental groups and 247 from comparison groups). Findings display the effectiveness of the program in enhancing a set of motivational variables related to the study process and the use of SRL strategies. Data were consistent across the different cultural and academic contexts in which the program was implemented. The implications of these findings for university administrators and faculty are discussed.     

Teaching emotion understanding

The main goal of this research was to assess whether it is possible to help children develop their general understanding of emotions. Thirty-six nine-year-old children divided in two groups were examined using a pre-test/train/post-test design. The emotion understanding of the two groups was measured in the pre- and post-test phases using the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). The experimental group received a teaching program about emotions during the training phase: School Matters In Lifeskills Education (SMILE). The control group received no special teaching about emotion during this phase. Results showed that the level of emotion understanding in the experimental group improved significantly between the pre- and post-test whereas no such change occurred in the control group. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Real options theory,flexibility and the media industry

Abstract

This conceptual paper is based on two propositions: 1.) An efficient flexibility management is a critical success factor for media companies. 2.) The concept of real options theory (ROT) aims at improving a company's flexibility management. As a consequence, it is analysed how ROT can contribute to the flexibility management in media companies. In this context, two research issues are investigated. First, it is shown that real options as substantiations of flexibility are of great importance for media companies: In doing so, it is outlined that options which focus on a company's fixed costs management and options which aim at improving a company's sales situation are of high relevance for all segments in the media industry. Contrarily, options which focus on a company's variable costs are only relevant for media companies engaged in the print segment. Second, it is illustrated how ROT can contribute to the reactive and proactive management of flexibility in media companies.