Journal Article

The increased digitalization of work results in practices that are increasingly networked and knowledge based. As such, we need to continuously inquire how digital technology leads to changes in work and not be content knowing that it leads to change. This paper contributes to advancing such knowledge through an analysis of digitalized condition-based maintenance of machinery in a Swedish iron ore mine. Drawing on the distinction between digital representation and digital meditation figurations of human and material agency, we analyze how the distributed network of workers used a diverse portfolio of digital technologies to make complex knowledge-based decisions on when and how to maintain the mining machinery. We combine these empirical insights with extant literature to advance a new theoretical perspective on how key characteristics of digital technologies are implicated in networked, knowledge-based work practices.

Some work still few, health officers, lead to the finding of a certain malaise of SME managers (Torres, 2015a). Mobilizing the theory of conservation of resources (COR) (Hobfoll, 1989), we propose that the ability of the leader to acquire, retain and activate key resources contributes to its wellness and limit the risks of lack of health. By the example of the Human Resources function, our goal is to explore whether the integration of new resources through the recruitment of an RRH timeshare is perceived, by the leader of SMEs as a factor influencing its health. [googletranslate_en]

The increased pace of technological change and a number of megatrends are reshaping how firms approach innovation and, consequently, the role innovation managers play in the firm. In the context of so much uncertainty and change, this study sought to explore the future of innovation management and how firms can ensure their innovation management practices are ready to meet future challenges. The impetus for this study arose from the desire of the Industrial Research Institute's (IRI) External Technology Network to understand the internal and external influences that may shape the future of innovation management. A literature review, megatrends scan, and expert interviews were used to identify key issues and design a survey that asked innovation managers about their views on the issues and trends identified. The responses were analyzed to understand how practitioners, service providers, and academics perceive the future of innovation management.

Purpose - This paper outlines a doctoral internship programme introduced for students researching Mechanistic Biology in the Department of Biology, University of York, UK. The programme forms part of the White Rose Doctoral Training Programme (DTP), a collaboration between the three “White Rose” Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York in the North of England. It provides an analysis of the UK context in which the new biotechnology doctoral internships initiative sits and describes the pilot phase of the Professional Internship for PhD Students (PIPS) programme and the introduction of the full doctoral PIPS internship programme. The purpose of this paper is to examine best practice in the planning and management of internships with particular interest in doctoral programmes, with a discussion on the challenges presented by cognate and non-cognate internships. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses as a case study, the introduction of PIPS for the DTP in Mechanistic Biology, hosted by the White Rose Consortium of Universities (York, Sheffield and Leeds) and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). It also considers good practice from around the world and relates these to the work-based learning literature. Findings - The paper outlines the processes and resources used to secure PIPS internships and evaluates their success against BBSRC’s objective to help early career researchers to understand the context of their research and expose them to the range of opportunities available after graduation. The authors describe an initial pilot study, challenges and opportunities provided by the internships and feedback from students in the programme. Research limitations/implications - Though the number of students in the pilot study was very limited, all students had a greater awareness particularly of their leadership, project management, organisational and team working capabilities following the three-month internship and were more receptive to the consideration of careers outside of academia. Originality/value - The authors offer recommendations from their own experiences of initiating these doctoral internships which may be useful to others implementing non-cognate internship programmes at their own institutions, whilst being mindful that programmes in other countries may face different challenges.

Previous studies addressing plant closures suggest that the reemployment of workers varies according to the economic cycle at the time of displacement. However, there are few studies on the selectivity of labor demand and reemployment in the long run. This study applied trajectory analyses in exploring the 7-year labor market attachment of workers displaced in plant closures in Finland during the recession in 1992, the boom in 1997, and slow economic growth in 2003. Results of the multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that those displaced during the recession assumed the trajectory of strong employment significantly less commonly than those displaced under better economic conditions. Moreover, a significant interaction between age and year of displacement was found, whereas the gender, education-, and industry related risks turned out to be time independent. The study contributes to the sociological understanding of economic restructuring and how different times frame the individual’s opportunities to gain re-employment.

The aims of this article are to examine the reemployment of displaced workers and individual factors that predict reemployment and education, earnings in new jobs, and paths to reemployment. This article is based on a case study of the closing down of the Perlos Ltd plants in North Karelia in eastern Finland. From the 1990s, the Perlos Corporation grew from a Nokia subcontractor into a globally operating limited company with a global workforce of over 13,000 workers and almost 2,000 workers in North Karelia. In 2007, the corporation closed down all its production activities in Finland. In the case study, various data sources were used but this article is based mainly on the questionnaire conducted in 2008 among 1,217 trade union members. Logistic and multinomial regression analyses are used as analysis methods. Against expectations, the fast reemployment of the displaced workers was a surprise, which can be explained by the good demand and hidden need for labor in other firms in this region. However, the demand was specific and differentiated between the workers’ job opportunities. White-collar workers had better chances of reemployment. Gender, next to the occupational status, was an important predictor for reemployment. On the other hand, education, the willingness to move, and family status were not statistically significant explanatory factors for reemployment. The age of the job seekers was one important factor predicting unemployment.

Purpose- This paper sets out to argue that the strategic implementation of technology is implicated in a range of crises or socio‐economic disruptions, like peak oil, climate change and the rising environmental costs of energy consumption. It aims to argue that institutional technological implementation is contested, complex and should not be treated deterministically, but that technologists might usefully consider the impact of these disruptions on their practices. The paper seeks to amplify how a focus on resilience, rather than marketised outcomes, can enable higher education to use technology to overcome or adapt to disruption and crises. Design/methodology/approach- The paper is a critique. A conceptual analysis of the place of current research into the use of technology‐enhanced learning in higher education is critiqued in light of peak oil and climate change, in order to align strategic developments with disruptions and potential responses. The strategic response of one institution is outlined as a programme‐of‐work and is related to a second university's approach. Findings- The paper highlights five areas that require strategic responses to the use of technology in and for HE. These are: the place of TEL in the idea of the University; complexity in the use of technology, linked to shared values; adapting to disruption; institutional planning; and competing priorities for the use of technology. Originality/value- The paper highlights the educational connections that are made between the politics of technology, shared values and socio‐environmental disruption. It also analyses a programme of work that is designed to engage with and adapt to disruption.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between organizational and task factors and the effectiveness of two types of informal learning: peer interaction and learning by doing via own task. The data examined were secondary data derived from the Human Capital Corporate Panel data in 2007, organized and collected by the Korea Research Institute of Vocational Education and Skill Training (KRIVET). A hierarchical multi-regression analysis was applied to data in this study. Study results supported the belief that top management leadership in human resource development (HRD) as well as open communications positively affected the effectiveness of informal learning. However, innovation culture did not have a statistically significant relationship with the effectiveness of informal learning. Further, this study showed that new task and task satisfaction positively influenced this effectiveness. Effectiveness increased when employees recognized that knowledge and skills obtained from current tasks were also useful to other organizations. Implications for practice and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Despite the policy importance of lifelong learning, there is very little hard evidence from the UK on (a) who undertakes lifelong learning and why, and (b) the economic benefits of lifelong learning. This paper uses a rich longitudinal panel data set to look at key factors that determine whether someone undertakes lifelong learning and then models the effect of the different qualifications acquired via lifelong learning on individuals’ economic outcomes, namely wages and the likelihood of being employed. Those who left school with O-level qualifications or above were much more likely to undertake lifelong learning. Undertaking one episode of lifelong learning also increased the probability of undertaking more lifelong learning. We found little evidence of positive wage effects from lifelong learning. However, males who left school with only low-level qualifications do earn substantially more if they undertake a degree via lifelong learning. We also found important positive employment effects from lifelong learning.