Building Technical Knowledge and Engagement in Robotics

Author(s):  
Kimberley Gomez ◽  
Debra Bernstein ◽  
Jolene Zywica ◽  
Emily Hamner

In this chapter the authors focus on the opportunities for youth to engage in technical design through participation in two different afterschool robotics programs - the Digital Youth Network (DYN) and Robot Diaries (RD). The programs each take a different approach to motivating and engaging participants with robotic technology and design. Through an analytic comparison of these two programs, the authors offer insight on the relationship between programmatic goals and participant experiences. Specifically, they describe how programmatic goals influenced the opportunities available for participants to engage with technology, increase their comfort level with technology, and build skills in adapting technology to facilitate individual and group–centered design goals. The chapter concludes by offering recommendations regarding programmatic structure (e.g., the role of audience, the importance of materials selection, instructor’s roles, and instructor knowledge-based resources) based on the desired participant outcomes.

Author(s):  
Kimberley Gomez ◽  
Debra Bernstein ◽  
Jolene Zywica ◽  
Emily Hamner ◽  
Ung-Sang Lee ◽  
...  

In this chapter, the authors focus on the motivational and engagement aspects of robotics technical design experiences for youth participating in two different afterschool robotics programs: the Digital Youth Network (DYN) and Robot Diaries (RD). The programs each take a different approach to motivating and engaging participants with robotic technology and design. The authors analytically describe and compare the relationship between programmatic goals of each program and participant experiences. Programmatic goals influenced the participants' opportunities to engage with technology, increased their comfort level with technology, and helped them develop skills in adapting technology to facilitate individual and group-centered design goals. The authors offer recommendations for the design of robotics programs for youth and point to the importance of the role of audience and materials selection that engage and motivate youth, instructor roles, and instructor knowledge.


2015 ◽  
pp. 120-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley Gomez ◽  
Debra Bernstein ◽  
Jolene Zywica ◽  
Emily Hamner ◽  
Ung-Sang Lee ◽  
...  

In this chapter, the authors focus on the motivational and engagement aspects of robotics technical design experiences for youth participating in two different afterschool robotics programs: the Digital Youth Network (DYN) and Robot Diaries (RD). The programs each take a different approach to motivating and engaging participants with robotic technology and design. The authors analytically describe and compare the relationship between programmatic goals of each program and participant experiences. Programmatic goals influenced the participants' opportunities to engage with technology, increased their comfort level with technology, and helped them develop skills in adapting technology to facilitate individual and group-centered design goals. The authors offer recommendations for the design of robotics programs for youth and point to the importance of the role of audience and materials selection that engage and motivate youth, instructor roles, and instructor knowledge.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Azhar Khalil ◽  
Muhammad Khuram Khalil ◽  
Rashid Khalil

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role of organizational innovative capabilities (OIC) on the relationship between knowledge sharing (KS), corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and firm performance (FP). Specifically, this study uses the knowledge-based view to develop a model that examines the mentioned relationship. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data from 520 participants across 75 service sector companies in Thailand, measurement and structure models are tested through structural equation modeling to quantify the impact between constructs. Findings This study shows that KS and CE positively affect OIC and FP. A positive relationship is also found between KS and CE. The mediating impact of OIC strengthens the relationship between KS and CE on FP. Research limitations/implications Like all research using survey methods, the research is prone to respondent biases and generalizability. However, this paper has put the best effort to minimize such effects by rigorous methodological testing to avoid such biases. Practical implications The findings of this study suggest that to improve organizational learning and knowledge-based performance, commitment and understanding of the employees in the entire organization is crucial. KS significantly contributes to developing innovative abilities because of its characteristics of providing firm-specific and socially complex advantages. The way a firm transforms and exploits its knowledge may ascertain its level of innovativeness, such as coming up with certain problem-solving procedures and new product development according to the rapid change in the market demand. However, organizations may only instigate to effectively organize knowledge when their employees are ready to share knowledge. Continuous KS boosts entrepreneurial practices and contributes innovativeness across individuals, groups, units or the entire organization. Originality/value The relationship between CE, organization innovative capabilities and FP in the presence of KS is rarely discussed in both theoretical and empirical literature. This study contributes to the literature by arguing that apart from the direct impact of KS on FP, KS can lead the firms toward generating important competitive advantage by forming innovative capabilities that can significantly influence FP.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10061
Author(s):  
Mirna Kordab ◽  
Jurgita Raudeliūnienė ◽  
Ieva Meidutė-Kavaliauskienė

Organizations operating in the intensive knowledge-based sector seek efficient management approaches and sustainable development practices to perform efficiently in the dynamic business environment. Knowledge management practice and organizational learning are significant factors in order to achieve sustainable organizational performance in a rapidly changing business environment. Based on the scientific literature analysis, there is still a lack of evidence related to the mediating role of the whole knowledge management cycle, including the five knowledge management processes (knowledge acquisition, creation, storage, sharing, and application) in the relationship between organizational learning and sustainable organizational performance for organizations operating in intensive knowledge-based sectors. This study aimed to examine the impact of the whole knowledge management cycle on the relationship between organizational learning and sustainable organizational performance in intensive knowledge-based sectors, specifically the audit and consulting companies in the Middle East region. Systematic scientific literature analysis, expert evaluation (structured questionnaire), and structural equation modeling (SEM) technique were used to develop and verify the research model. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire distributed among auditing experts working in a knowledge-based sector—audit and consulting companies in the Middle East region. The research results supported the hypotheses stating that organizational learning positively affects knowledge acquisition, storage, sharing, application processes, and sustainable organizational performance. However, the results verified that organizational learning has an insignificant impact on the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies’ knowledge creation process.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Fahmi Shaaban Fararah ◽  
Abdullah Kaid Al- Swidi ◽  
Wan Sulaiman B. Wan Yusoff

This study seeks to determine the effect of Business Development Services (BDS) on the comfort level of the Islamic Microfinance System and SMEs owners in Yemen. Based on the importance of SMEs in Yemen which consists of 99.6% of all businesses in Yemen and their important role on the overall economic development by reducing poverty and creating new job. The paper made it easy to see what effectiveness the Islamic microfinance system is bringing in SMEs sector in the country.532 questionnaire were distributed amongst the SMEs owners in Yemen to collect data, 346 were returned and further 320 were selected for Data analysis. It was found in the study that there was a remarkable effect of BDS on the satisfaction and the perceived benefits that SMEs owners got through dealing with Islamic microfinance system. The additional findings were to confirmed the role of perceived benefits mediating the relationship between satisfaction and BDS but the moderating effects of perceived benefits on the two were not confirmed.


Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
K.M.M.C.B. Kulathunga ◽  
Jianmu Ye ◽  
Saurabh Sharma ◽  
P.R. Weerathunga

The knowledge-based view (KBV) in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is a debatable topic in the current literature. Although convergence of technological and financial literacy (techno-finance literacy) is an essential knowledge-based tool to address rapid digitalization of business, the influence of techno-finance literacy in the development of SMEs is still not adequately researched. Drawing upon KBV, we developed a single-mediator structural model with an aim to explore the effect of techno-finance literacy and enterprise risk management (ERM) practices (applications) on the performance of SMEs. A self-administered structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from 319 chief financial offers (CFOs) in Sri Lankan SMEs. The outcome of our study highlights that techno-finance literacy is a significant determinant of two endogenous constructs, namely, SME performance and ERM practices. Furthermore, ERM practices of SMEs were also positively affected to the SME performance. Moreover, ERM practices were observed to have a partial mediation on the relationship between financial literacy and SME performance. These findings form the basis for theories in techno-finance literacy and SME performance, as well as present managerial implications to enhance the performance of SMEs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 154 ◽  
pp. 01059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bambang Purwanggono ◽  
Yohana Aeria Damyana

Innovation is a strategy for the electronics industry to create a sustainable competitive advantage, in the midst of a rapidly changing environment with all its complexity. Seven AT program as an effort for PT. Hartono Istana Teknologi (Polytron) into enterprise knowledge, will accelerate the innovation process, combined with good organizational technical knowledge management. Organizational technical knowledge will be instrumental in innovation capabilities properly if there is an internal R & D activities that support and absorptive capacity as a mediator. This study reviewed the organizational technical knowledge influence to innovation capability, the influence of R & D activities to organizational technical knowledge, as well as the role of absorptive capacity as a mediator. The study was conducted by distributing questionnaires to 130 employees of PT. Hartono Istana Teknologi. Data processing was conducted using SEM. The results showed that the absorptive capacity mediate the relationship between R & D activities and organizational technical knowledge by 51%, and organizational technical knowledge affect innovation capabilities by 64%.


2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella R. Hatak ◽  
Dietmar Roessl

This article discusses the challenges of knowledge management within intrafamily succession against the background of the knowledge-based view. As a knowledge transfer is crucial for a successful business continuation, factors that promote the interpersonal knowledge transfer are identified. Since the quality of the relationship between successor and predecessor is considered a key determinant of knowledge transfer, the role of relational competence in the knowledge transfer process is analyzed. A laboratory experiment ( N = 107) was conducted to test the derived hypotheses. In its conclusion, the article presents the empirically confirmed strong relationship between relational competence and knowledge transfer within intrafamily succession.


2021 ◽  
pp. 2071-2080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhamad Robith Alil Fahmi ◽  
Edy Yulianto

Knowledge-Based View as an intangible resource for the company will become the knowledge capability it possesses. Particularly in the context of SMEs in developing countries like Indonesia, SMEs have a big role in contributing to the country's economy. Therefore, knowledge capability is a resource that must be owned by SMEs that should be able to encourage adopting this type of innovation. In accordance with the basis of Knowledge-Based View, this knowledge will have an impact on company performance and its competitive advantage through the types of innovations that have been adopted. The quantitative method was used by distributing questionnaires totaling 120 SMEs in Indonesia and the data were processed using PLS-SEM. This study has a hypothesis that the relationship between knowledge management capability has a positive and significant effect on firm performance, as well as the mediating role of the type of innovation. The results in this study indicate that knowledge management capability does not have a significant effect on firm performance. However, the relationship between knowledge management capability shows that it has a significant effect on marketing, product, process, and service innovation. Discussions related to these results are also explained by implication factors in this study.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Predrag Bejaković

Employability and labour force competitiveness are important parts of an economy’s overall competitiveness. The key role of knowledge as a structural part of the competence in stimulating economic growth has been widely recognised by economists and other scientists. In modern societies, the acceptance and development of knowledge, skills and ideas have a crucial role in the creation of wealth. The key determinant of a knowledge-based economy is human capital, or more precisely its knowledge, competence and ability. In many modern employment strategies there has been great emphasis on worker employability. The general idea of employability is not new, although only in recent times efforts have been made to define it clearly as policy has shifted emphatically towards supply side issues. Employability can be defined as the extent to which employees have skills, which the market and employers regard as attractive and is of increasing importance for the economic sector. The aim of this research is to provide an overview of the relationship between education, employability and labour force competitiveness in Croatia. Key words: competitiveness, Croatia, educational system, employability, knowledge-based society, labour force.


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