Interest in knowledge integration grew considerably in recent years, particularly within the realm of pre-service teacher education. However, studies on the topic conceptualize knowledge integration in diverse ways. For example, it may be conceived as a specific coherence-building learning process which involves not only acquiring but interrelating knowledge of different types (e.g., theoretical and practical) or from different domains, which together constitute a teacher’s or educational specialist’s professional knowledge base (e.g., content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge about using technologies for learning and instruction, etc.). Furthermore, knowledge integration also refers to the meaningful application of knowledge of different types and from various domains in order to act professionally and to teach successfully. In many countries, however, future teachers and educational specialists often struggle with knowledge integration, because the task of integrating knowledge across domains, from various courses, and from practical training is left largely to the individuals. Thus, the efficacy and quality of higher education programs, particularly in pre-service teacher education, could be improved through careful attention to knowledge integration. International Perspectives on Knowledge Integration aims at facilitating the consideration of knowledge integration in teacher training and higher education in both research and practice. Specifically, it explores theoretical conceptions and methods, and reports on original research and good practices for fostering knowledge integration. It is thus of interest to researchers, faculty board members, and lecturers concerned with teacher training and higher education, as well as to student-teachers and students of pedagogy, education, and educational psychology.

Technology-based firms continue to compete primarily on innovation, and one continuously required to present new solutions to an exacting market. As technological complexity and specialization intensifies, firms increasingly need to integrate and co-ordinate knowledge by means of project groups, diversified organizations, inter-organizational partnerships, and strategic alliances. Innovation processes have progressively become interdisciplinary, collaborative, inter-organizational, and international, and a firm's ability to synthesize knowledge across disciplines, organizations, and geographical locations has a major influence on its viability and success. This book demonstrates how knowledge integration is crucial in facilitating innovation within modern firms. This book provides original, detailed empirical studies of prerequisites, mechanisms, and outcomes of knowledge integration processes on several organizational levels, from key individuals, projects, and internal organizations, to collaboration between firms. It stresses the need to understand knowledge integration as a multi-level phenomenon, which requires a broad repertoire of organizational and technical means. It further clarifies the need for strong internal capabilities for exploiting external knowledge, reveals how costs of knowledge integration affect outcomes and strategic decisions, and discusses the managerial implications of fostering knowledge integration, providing practical guidance and support for managers of knowledge integration in high technology enterprises.

Since the 1990s, Japanese firms have sought to expand their capacity for innovation by incorporating Western management practices into their organizational culture. This combination of Japanese and Western management practices has been highly successful — Japanese firms are presently at the forefront of technological and service innovation in areas such as digital consumer electronics, mobile phone services, and the games industry. Much can be learned from the success of Japanese companies in these areas.This book presents an analysis of the business model unique to Japanese firms, emphasising four special features: the vertical value chain model, cross-industry collaboration, dynamic knowledge integration, and strategic innovation capability. Drawing upon in-depth case studies, this book presents a new theory of knowledge integration, and places special emphasis on inter- and intra-organizational collaboration as a source of strategic innovation. It is a good reference source for academics, graduate students and professionals in the field of innovation management.

With advancements in technology continuing to influence all areas of society, students in current classrooms have a different understanding and perspective of learning than the educational system has been designed to teach. Research Perspectives and Best Practices in Educational Technology Integration highlights the emerging digital age, its complex transformation of the current educational system, and the integration of educational technologies into teaching strategies. This book offers best practices in the process of incorporating learning technologies into instruction and is an essential resource for academicians, professionals, educational researchers in education and educational-related fields.

This book is an authoritative handbook of current topics, technologies and methodological approaches that may be used for the study of scholarly impact. The included methods cover a range of fields such as statistical sciences, scientific visualization, network analysis, text mining, and information retrieval. The techniques and tools enable researchers to investigate metric phenomena and to assess scholarly impact in new ways. Each chapter offers an introduction to the selected topic and outlines how the topic, technology or methodological approach may be applied to metrics-related research. Comprehensive and up-to-date, Measuring Scholarly Impact: Methods and Practice is designed for researchers and scholars interested in informetrics, scientometrics, and text mining. The hands-on perspective is also beneficial to advanced-level students in fields from computer science and statistics to information science.

Internet Environments for Science Education synthesizes 25 years of research to identify effective, technology-enhanced ways to convert students into lifelong science learners--one inquiry project at a time. It offers design principles for development of innovations; features tested, customizable inquiry projects that students, teachers, and professional developers can enact and refine; and introduces new methods and assessments to investigate the impact of technology on inquiry learning. The methodology--design-based research studies--enables investigators to capture the impact of innovations in the complex, inertia-laden educational enterprise and to use these findings to improve the innovation. The approach--technology-enhanced inquiry--takes advantage of global, networked information resources, sociocognitive research, and advances in technology combined in responsive learning environments. Internet Environments for Science Education advocates leveraging inquiry and technology to reform the full spectrum of science education activities--including instruction, curriculum, policy, professional development, and assessment. The book offers: *the knowledge integration perspective on learning, featuring the interpretive, cultural, and deliberate natures of the learner; *the scaffolded knowledge integration framework on instruction summarized in meta-principles and pragmatic principles for design of inquiry instruction; *a series of learning environments, including the Computer as Learning Partner (CLP), the Knowledge Integration Environment (KIE), and the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) that designers can use to create new inquiry projects, customize existing projects, or inspire thinking about other learning environments; *curriculum design patterns for inquiry projects describing activity sequences to promote critique, debate, design, and investigation in science; *a partnership model establishing activity structures for teachers, pedagogical researchers, discipline experts, and technologists to jointly design and refine inquiry instruction; *a professional development model involving mentoring by an expert teacher; *projects about contemporary controversy enabling students to explore the nature of science; *a customization process guiding teachers to adapt inquiry projects to their own students, geographical characteristics, curriculum framework, and personal goals; and *a Web site providing additional links, resources, and community tools at www.InternetScienceEducation.org

This book provides a platform for international scholars to share evidence for effective practices in integrated STEM education and contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge gained from the diversity of approaches. Many publications on STEM education focus on one or two of the separate STEM disciplines without considering the potential for delivering STEM curriculum as an integrated approach.This publication analyzes the efficacy of an integrated STEM curriculum and instruction, providing evidence to examine and support various integrations. The volume focuses on the problems seen by academics working in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and provides valuable, high quality research outcomes and a set of valued practices which have demonstrated their use and viability to improve the quality of integrated STEM education.