“Sailing in Calm Waters Doesn't Teach”: constructing expertise through problems in work—the case of Finnish human resource developers

This article examines the construction of occupational expertise through problematic situations encountered during everyday work. The human‐centred and knowledge‐intensive domains of current working life, for instance human resource development (HRD), contain various problem situations which tend to be open and unstructured, lacking a single solution. Those ill‐defined problem situations characterise also HRD as a domain of expertise which requires multidisciplinary formal knowledge and, especially, the ability to make use of it. Accordingly, it is suggested that learning to be an expert in HRD can be seen as a constructive process where varied formal knowledge and previous experiences of the domain are applied, contested and transformed into new forms of practical knowledge. Thus, much of the expertise in HRD will eventually be constructed through experience in practical problem‐solving situations. Those situations and the ways in which a HR developer interprets an event and chooses and tries out resolutions can be seen as an interpretative and narrative process which influences the construction of expertise. The study presented here aimed to understand within the narrative framework the nature of problematic situations in work as an experiential resource for the construction of expertise among HR developers. Twenty experienced HR developers in various workplaces in Finland were interviewed and asked to tell about problematic situations, how they were resolved and what was learnt from the process. The interviewees’ stories exhibited the diversity of HRD as a domain of expertise. However, in sum, communication, interactivity, collaboration and the involvement of management, which are commonly presented as ideals in HRD, are in fact the primary sources of problematic situations, and thus also of new learning in the HR developer's world. On the basis of the interviewees’ stories about problems and resolutions it is concluded, firstly, that much of an HR developer's expertise seem to be constructed through promoting and acting in dialogue, and, secondly, that it can be characterised as a flexible and inclusive state of mind rather than the application of routine procedures, and that going through problematic situations bestows confidence regarding practical knowledge in future situations.     

Objectively measured physical activity,body composition and physical fitness: Cross-sectional associations in 9- to 15-year-old children

The aim of this study was to examine and quantify the cross-sectional associations of body composition (BC), physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) with physical fitness (PF) in children and adolescents. A sample of 594 Finnish students (56% girls), aged 9–15 (12.4?±?1.3 years) were selected for a study performed in 2013. The measurements of the Move! monitoring system for physical functional capacity were used to measure cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal fitness and fundamental movement skills. Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and ST were measured objectively with an accelerometer and BC by a bioelectrical impedance analysis. Fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) were calculated to represent height-adjusted BC. Associations were explored with a linear regression model. In general, FMI had statistically significant negative associations, while FFMI and MVPA had positive associations with PF. No statistically significant associations were observed between ST and PF. In general, FMI had the strongest association with PF, although some variation occurred with sex and PF component. However, associations were practically relevant only in 20-m shuttle run, push-up, curl-up and 5-leaps test. For example, approximately 5?kg increase in fat mass in 155?cm tall children was estimated to correspond to 8 laps in 20-m shuttle run. Similar increase in fat-free mass corresponded to +4 and +6 laps, and 10?min increase in daily MVPA +3 and +2 laps in 20-m shuttle run, in boys and girls, respectively. Understanding these associations is necessary when interpreting children’s PF and designing interventions.     

Children as consumers of historical culture in Finland

The article examines the reception of history by 7–10-year-old children in Finland and the role of historical culture in the formation of children’s conceptions of the past. It scrutinizes how history is used to build individual and collective identities and bring significance to the past in children’s everyday lives. Interviews with 174 pupils in a primary school in Helsinki constitute the basis of the research. The study reveals that children’s perceptions of the past are compounded above all by active reminiscence by their parents and grandparents, who in particular are retelling stories of the wars between Finland and the Soviet Union (1939–1944). Through these stories the older generations are trying to connect their families to the national Great Tradition. The study also claims that women are more active mediators of the past than men.     

Managing knowledge within networked innovation

The purpose of this paper is to research firms’ knowledge management practices within the context of networked innovation between multiple actors. The analysis is based on case research carried out with six companies. Based on earlier literature and the theoretical framework of the paper, two models of networked innovation can be distinguished according to knowledge management needs: networks focusing on the transaction of explicit knowledge and intellectual property, and networks focusing on the co-creation of new knowledge and business opportunities. The paper argues that a strategic approach to knowledge management is a key element of success within networked innovation, both in the theory and in the practices of firms. In that way, firms are able to manage knowledge within networked innovation when they understand their partners’ business models and strategic intents, for example their motivation to collaborate.     

Thinking beyond student resistance: a difficult assemblage in teacher education

This paper draws on feminist new materialist, poststructuralist and post-human theories to rethink discomforting moments when engaging with sensitive topics in teacher education. It is argued that the common approach to such events – as instances of student resistance or pedagogical failures – is both simplistic and problematic, and that a more holistic and in-depth approach is needed. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s ideas of assemblage and affect, our aim here is to re-theorise an instance of such an event in an attempt to make visible how place, space, objects, emotion, affect and history entangle in predictable and unpredictable ways in teacher education. The aims of the paper are to propose new ways of engaging with discomfort in teacher education and, secondly, to introduce post-human approaches in the field of teacher education, where they are underrepresented.     

Insights beyond neo-liberal educational practices: the value of discourse analysis

This article discusses the nature, power and effects of neo-liberal rationale in educational settings. By introducing discourse analysis of two cases, the influence of neo-liberal ideology on contemporary curricula and school programs were examined. The analysis showed that dominant discourses based on neo-liberal rationale presented themselves as “unquestionable truths” that influenced how educators interacted with others and went about their profession. The dominant discourses relied upon assertions by consensus or common conception and understanding to create an “officially” sanctioned way of thinking about education. Proponents of a particular dominant discourse argued that such sanctions were a necessary feature of an initiative or innovation, and provided a focus for energy and activism, winning teachers’ support, and conveying to the wider community a sense of purpose, action and rational planning; a clear path to salvation. On the other hand, these dominant discourses had a necessary effect in obscuring other perspectives and disallowing critique from taking place. This article argues that discourse analysis provides a platform to interrogate the dominant discourses to reveal alternative or previously unseen perspectives.     

Performance measurement in university–industry innovation networks: implementation practices and challenges of industrial organisations

From the perspective of industrial small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), this study explores the implementation of performance measurement practices and challenges in university–industry innovation networks. In this research, two single-case studies were conducted to explore the implementation practices and challenges of performance measurement in university–industry collaborations. Thirty Finnish SMEs in the first innovation network and 10 Finnish SMEs in the second innovation network participated in university–industry collaboration that were established to facilitate their involvement in a long-term innovation process. The results of the study revealed that industrial SMEs are interested in the performance measurement of societal-level outputs by university–industry innovation networks, even though they face challenges in understanding the aims and goals of the funding programmes. Furthermore, the results showed that the industrial SMEs understood the intellectual nature of the university–industry innovation networks, but their performance measurement activities were business related. Also the lack of understanding of the context and the process of the performance measurement in university–industry collaborations seemed to shift industrial organisations’ focus to the content stage of the performance measurement and to the use of traditional performance measures and tools to estimate the advantages gained.