926 resultados para Management Science and Operations Research
Resumo:
In the past decades since Schumpeter’s influential writings economists have pursued research to examine the role of innovation in certain industries on firm as well as on industry level. Researchers describe innovations as the main trigger of industry dynamics, while policy makers argue that research and education are directly linked to economic growth and welfare. Thus, research and education are an important objective of public policy. Firms and public research are regarded as the main actors which are relevant for the creation of new knowledge. This knowledge is finally brought to the market through innovations. What is more, policy makers support innovations. Both actors, i.e. policy makers and researchers, agree that innovation plays a central role but researchers still neglect the role that public policy plays in the field of industrial dynamics. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to learn more about the interdependencies of innovation, policy and public research in industrial dynamics. The overarching research question of this dissertation asks whether it is possible to analyze patterns of industry evolution – from evolution to co-evolution – based on empirical studies of the role of innovation, policy and public research in industrial dynamics. This work starts with a hypothesis-based investigation of traditional approaches of industrial dynamics. Namely, the testing of a basic assumption of the core models of industrial dynamics and the analysis of the evolutionary patterns – though with an industry which is driven by public policy as example. Subsequently it moves to a more explorative approach, investigating co-evolutionary processes. The underlying questions of the research include the following: Do large firms have an advantage because of their size which is attributable to cost spreading? Do firms that plan to grow have more innovations? What role does public policy play for the evolutionary patterns of an industry? Are the same evolutionary patterns observable as those described in the ILC theories? And is it possible to observe regional co-evolutionary processes of science, innovation and industry evolution? Based on two different empirical contexts – namely the laser and the photovoltaic industry – this dissertation tries to answer these questions and combines an evolutionary approach with a co-evolutionary approach. The first chapter starts with an introduction of the topic and the fields this dissertation is based on. The second chapter provides a new test of the Cohen and Klepper (1996) model of cost spreading, which explains the relationship between innovation, firm size and R&D, at the example of the photovoltaic industry in Germany. First, it is analyzed whether the cost spreading mechanism serves as an explanation for size advantages in this industry. This is related to the assumption that the incentives to invest in R&D increase with the ex-ante output. Furthermore, it is investigated whether firms that plan to grow will have more innovative activities. The results indicate that cost spreading serves as an explanation for size advantages in this industry and, furthermore, growth plans lead to higher amount of innovative activities. What is more, the role public policy plays for industry evolution is not finally analyzed in the field of industrial dynamics. In the case of Germany, the introduction of demand inducing policy instruments stimulated market and industry growth. While this policy immediately accelerated market volume, the effect on industry evolution is more ambiguous. Thus, chapter three analyzes this relationship by considering a model of industry evolution, where demand-inducing policies will be discussed as a possible trigger of development. The findings suggest that these instruments can take the same effect as a technical advance to foster the growth of an industry and its shakeout. The fourth chapter explores the regional co-evolution of firm population size, private-sector patenting and public research in the empirical context of German laser research and manufacturing over more than 40 years from the emergence of the industry to the mid-2000s. The qualitative as well as quantitative evidence is suggestive of a co-evolutionary process of mutual interdependence rather than a unidirectional effect of public research on private-sector activities. Chapter five concludes with a summary, the contribution of this work as well as the implications and an outlook of further possible research.
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Search engines - such as Google - have been characterized as "Databases of intentions". This class will focus on different aspects of intentionality on the web, including goal mining, goal modeling and goal-oriented search. Readings: M. Strohmaier, M. Lux, M. Granitzer, P. Scheir, S. Liaskos, E. Yu, How Do Users Express Goals on the Web? - An Exploration of Intentional Structures in Web Search, We Know'07 International Workshop on Collaborative Knowledge Management for Web Information Systems in conjunction with WISE'07, Nancy, France, 2007. [Web link] Readings: Automatic identification of user goals in web search, U. Lee and Z. Liu and J. Cho WWW '05: Proceedings of the 14th International World Wide Web Conference 391--400 (2005) [Web link]
Resumo:
The semantic web represents a current research effort to increase the capability of machines to make sense of content on the web. In this class, Peter Scheir will give a guest lecture on the basic principles underlying the semantic web vision, including RDF, OWL and other standards.
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We will discuss several examples and research efforts related to the small world problem and set the ground for our discussion of network theory and social network analysis. Readings: An Experimental Study of the Small World Problem, J. Travers and S. Milgram Sociometry 32 425-443 (1969) [Protected Access] Optional: The Strength of Weak Ties, M.S. Granovetter The American Journal of Sociology 78 1360--1380 (1973) [Protected Access] Optional: Worldwide Buzz: Planetary-Scale Views on an Instant-Messaging Network, J. Leskovec and E. Horvitz MSR-TR-2006-186. Microsoft Research, June 2007. [Web Link, the most recent and comprehensive study on the subject!] Originally from: http://kmi.tugraz.at/staff/markus/courses/SS2008/707.000_web-science/
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This document provides guidelines for fish stock assessment and fishery management using the software tools and other outputs developed by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development's Fisheries Management Science Programme (FMSP) from 1992 to 2004. It explains some key elements of the precautionary approach to fisheries management and outlines a range of alternative stock assessment approaches that can provide the information needed for such precautionary management. Four FMSP software tools, LFDA (Length Frequency Data Analysis), CEDA (Catch Effort Data Analysis), YIELD and ParFish (Participatory Fisheries Stock Assessment), are described with which intermediary parameters, performance indicators and reference points may be estimated. The document also contains examples of the assessment and management of multispecies fisheries, the use of Bayesian methodologies, the use of empirical modelling approaches for estimating yields and in analysing fishery systems, and the assessment and management of inland fisheries. It also provides a comparison of length- and age-based stock assessment methods. A CD-ROM with the FMSP software packages CEDA, LFDA, YIELD and ParFish is included.
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This is a study of the opportunities currently provided by interactive science and technology centres for visitors' engagement in the field of acoustics. E-mails, requesting a description of exhibits on acoustics (sound and hearing) in use, were sent to members of staff of interactive science and technology centres around the world as well as to companies that design and sell exhibits. Eighty-seven descriptions of distinctive interactive exhibits were received and analysed. Results show that: there are few analogy-based exhibits concerning the more complex aspects of acoustics; narratives involving visitors' everyday lives, that might provide continuity between and beyond the situations presented by exhibits, are not generally provided; science is emphasised at the expense of technology; the risks, benefits and ethical implications of relevant technological artefacts are rarely mentioned; the majority of the exhibits are concerned with the fields of fundamental acoustics, hearing, and psychoacoustics. It is suggested that interactive science and technology centres need to rethink the design of exhibits about acoustics if their mission includes some appreciation of this important branch of science and technology.
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Focuses on recent advances in research on block copolymers, covering chemistry (synthesis), physics (phase behaviors, rheology, modeling), and applications (melts and solutions). Written by a team of internationally respected scientists from industry and academia, this text compiles and reviews the expanse of research that has taken place over the last five years into one accessible resource. Ian Hamley is the world-leading scientist in the field of block copolymer research Presents the recent advances in the area, covering chemistry, physics and applications. Provides a broad coverage from synthesis to fundamental physics through to applications Examines the potential of block copolymers in nanotechnology as self-assembling soft materials
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From its roots in strategic management theory, stakeholder management has been adopted by the construction management academic community and applied as a valid paradigm around which research work has been generated aiming to improve project effi ciencies and effectiveness. However, academics have argued that stakeholder management should move away from purely theoretical discussions and engage more with the realities of construction project work. This paper re-appraises the stakeholder management concept for the construction domain by re-thinking some of the fundamental principles and ideals present within the more general stakeholder theory literature. It engages with issues which researchers have arguably failed to acknowledge and calls for a re-evaluation of construction stakeholder management research by presenting a review around four distinctive themes: the moral obligations of engaging with stakeholders against the business and efficiency driven imperatives of construction organisations; the contrast between theoretical abstractions and empirically grounded research; the tensions between theoretical convergence versus calls for multiple and divergent perspectives on stakeholder management and the practicalities of conducting stakeholder management in the construction domain. Such a critical re-appraisal of stakeholder management thinking both generates new lines of enquiry and promises to help inform and shape current and future industry practice.
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This paper argues that features of Japanese organizations, previously held to be the foundations of innovation, change and flexibility, can equally be significant barriers to change, innovation and adaptation in turbulent economic environments. This paper draws on two in-depth case studies of Japanese organizations. It shows how, in both cases, these firms displayed specific weaknesses in the ways in which they integrate and bundle knowledge, in particular around their research and development (R&D) functions. Despite the adoption of strategies of technological innovation and internationalization, the data suggest that the pursuit of both strategies is beset by barriers of inertia. Embedded internal network connections and knowledge-sharing routines between central R&D and other divisions are inappropriate for the revised strategy. Existing external connections, with preferred suppliers and customers within keiretsu structures, and close relationships with existing R&D partners retard these firms' strategic flexibility. With a limited variety of latent routines, knowledge, capabilities and agency to draw on when needed, these firms have limited organizational responsiveness and high levels of path-dependency.
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The past decade has witnessed a sharp increase in published research on energy and buildings. This paper takes stock of work in this area, with a particular focus on construction research and the analysis of non-technical dimensions. While there is widespread recognition as to the importance of non-technical dimensions, research tends to be limited to individualistic studies of occupants and occupant behavior. In contrast, publications in the mainstream social science literature display a broader range of interests, including policy developments, structural constraints on the diffusion and use of new technologies and the construction process itself. The growing interest of more generalist scholars in energy and buildings provides an opportunity for construction research to engage a wider audience. This would enrich the current research agenda, helping to address unanswered problems concerning the relatively weak impact of policy mechanisms and new technologies and the seeming recalcitrance of occupants. It would also help to promote the academic status of construction research as a field. This, in turn, depends on greater engagement with interpretivist types of analysis and theory building, thereby challenging deeply ingrained views on the nature and role of academic research in construction.
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This is the first ‘Science and Medicine’ chapter in The Year’s Work in Critical and Cultural Theory. It is synchronised with the journal’s other chapters in its reviewing of works published in 2010, while it also reads these works in the broader context of rapidly expanding interdisciplinary areas of research. Scientific and medical vocabularies are (to use a scientific metaphor) cross-pollinating within many areas of scholarship in the humanities, and this current period is bringing many exciting developments. This chapter concentrates on literary studies, while forthcoming chapters will also look more squarely at cultural studies.