The impact of new technologies on distance learning students

This is a European Commission Leonardo da Vinci Reference Material project on the impact of new technology on distance learning students. It is known that all the Ministries of Education of the 27 European Union countries pay millions of Euros annually in the provision of educational technology for their schools, colleges and universities. A review of the literature of the impact of technology, however, showed that the research in this field was unacceptably fragile. What research there was focused on the impact of technology on children in American schools. The project set out, therefore, to measure the impact of technology on adult education, lifelong learning and distance education, with a particular focus on adult distance learning.

The economic impact of high growth start-ups:understanding the challenge for policy in the UK

Objectives The creation of more high-growth firms continues to be a key component of enterprise policy throughout the countries of the OECD. In the UK the developing enterprise policy framework highlights the importance of supporting businesses with growth potential. The difficulty, of course, is the ability of those delivering business support policies to accurately identify those businesses, especially at start-up, which will benefit from interventions and experiences an enhanced growth performance. This paper has a core objective of presenting new data on the number of high growth firms in the UK and providing an assessment of their economic significance. Approach This paper uses a specially created longitudinal firm-level database based on the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) held by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) for all private sector businesses in the UK for the period 1997-2008 to investigate the share of high-growth firms (including a sub-set of start-up more commonly referred to as gazelles) in successive cohorts of start-ups. We apply OECD definitions of high growth and gazelles to this database and are able to quantify for the first time their number (disaggregated by sector, region, size) and importance (employment and sales). Prior Work However, what is lacking at the core of this policy focus is any comprehensive statistical analysis of the scale and nature of high-growth firms in cohorts of new and established businesses. The evidence base in response to the question “Why do high-growth firms matter?” is surprisingly weak. Important work in this area has been initiated by Bartelsman et al., (2003),Hoffman and Jünge (2006) and Henreksen and Johansson (2009) but to date work in the UK has been limited (BERR, 2008b). Results We report that there are ~11,500 high growth firms in the UK in both 2005 and 2008. The share of high growth start-ups in the UK in 2005 (6.3%) was, contrary to the widely held perception in policy circles, higher than in the United States (5.2%). Of particular interest in the analysis are the growth trajectories (pattern of growth) of these firms as well as the extent to which they are restricted to technology-based or knowledge-based sectors. Implications and Value Using hitherto unused population data for the first time we have answered a fundamental research and policy question on the number and scale of high growth firms in the UK. We draw the conclusion that this ‘rare’ event does not readily lend itself to policy intervention on the grounds that the significant effort needed to identify such businesses ex ante would appear unjustified even if it was possible.

Development of new methodologies in sample treatment for proteomics workflow based on enzymatic probe sonication technology and mass spectrometry

Thesis submitted to the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry

Mid-term evaluation of African Technology Policy Studies Network Phase VI Strategic Plan: for the period January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010

The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a multidisciplinary network of researchers, private sector actors, policymakers and civil society. ATPS has the vision to become the leading international centre of excellence and reference in science, technology and innovation (STI) systems research, training and capacity building, communication and sensitization, knowledge brokerage, policy advocacy and outreach in Africa. It has a Regional Secretariat in Nairobi Kenya, and operates through national chapters in 29 countries (including 27 in Africa and two Chapters in the United Kingdom and USA for Africans in the Diaspora) with an expansion plan to cover the entire continent by 2015. The ATPS Phase VI Strategic Plan aims to improve the understanding and functioning of STI processes and systems to strengthen the learning capacity, social responses, and governance of STI for addressing Africa's development challenges, with a specific focus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A team of external evaluators carried out a midterm review to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the period January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010. The evaluation methodology involved multiple quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the qualitative and quantitative inputs (human resources, financial resources, time, etc.) into ATPS activities (both thematic and facilitative) and their tangible and intangible outputs, outcomes and impacts. Methods included a questionnaire survey of ATPS members and stakeholders, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs) with members in six countries. Effectiveness of Programmes Under all six strategic goals, very good progress has been made towards planned outputs and outcomes. This is evidenced by key performance indicators (KPIs) generated from desk review, ratings from the survey respondents, and the themes that run through the FGDs. Institutional and Programme Cost Effectiveness Institutional Effectiveness: assessment of institutional effectiveness suggests that adequate management frameworks are in place and are being used effectively and transparently. Also technical and financial accounting mechanisms are being followed in accordance with grant agreements and with global good practice. This is evidenced by KPIs generated from desk review. Programme Cost Effectiveness: assessment of cost-effectiveness of execution of programmes shows that organisational structure is efficient, delivering high quality, relevant research at relatively low cost by international standards. The evidence includes KPIs from desk review: administrative costs to programme cost ratio has fallen steadily, to around 10%; average size of research grants is modest, without compromising quality. There is high level of pro bono input by ATPS members. ATPS Programmes Strategic Evaluation ATPS research and STI related activities are indeed unique and well aligned with STI issues and needs facing Africa and globally. The multi-disciplinary and trans-boundary nature of the research activities are creating a unique group of research scientists. The ATPS approach to research and STI issues is paving the way for the so called Third Generation University (3GU). Understanding this unique positioning, an increasing number of international multilateral agencies are seeking partnership with ATPS. ATPS is seeing an increasing level of funding commitments by Donor Partners. Recommendations for ATPS Continued Growth and Effectiveness On-going reform of ATPS administrative structure to continue The on-going reforms that have taken place within the Board, Regional Secretariat, and at the National Chapter coordination levels are welcomed. Such reform should continue until fully functional corporate governance policy and practices are fully established and implemented across the ATPS governance structures. This will further strengthen ATPS to achieve the vision of being the leading STI policy brokerage organization in Africa. Although training in corporate governance has been carried out for all sectors of ATPS leadership structure in recent time, there is some evidence that these systems have not yet been fully implemented effectively within all the governance structures of the organization, especially at the Board and National chapter levels. Future training should emphasize practical application with exercises relevant to ATPS leadership structure from the Board to the National Chapter levels. Training on Transformational Leadership - Leading a Change Though a subject of intense debate amongst economists and social scientists, it is generally agreed that cultural mindsets and attitudes could enhance and/or hinder organizational progress. ATPS’s vision demands transformational leadership skills amongst its leaders from the Board members to the National Chapter Coordinators. To lead such a change, ATPS leaders must understand and avoid personal and cultural mindsets and value systems that hinder change, while embracing those that enhance it. It requires deliberate assessment of cultural, behavioural patterns that could hinder progress and the willingness to be recast into cultural and personal habits that make for progress. Improvement of relationship amongst the Board, Secretariat, and National Chapters A large number of ATPS members and stakeholders feel they do not have effective communications and/or access to Board, National Chapter Coordinators and Regional Secretariat activities. Effort should be made to improve the implementation of ATPS communication strategy to improve on information flows amongst the ATPS management and the members. The results of the survey and the FGDs suggest that progress has been made during the past two years in this direction, but more could be done to ensure effective flow of pertinent information to members following ATPS communications channels. Strategies for Increased Funding for National Chapters There is a big gap between the fundraising skills of the Regional Secretariat and those of the National Coordinators. In some cases, funds successfully raised by the Secretariat and disbursed to national chapters were not followed up with timely progress and financial reports by some national chapters. Adequate training in relevant skills required for effective interactions with STI key policy players should be conducted regularly for National Chapter coordinators and ATPS members. The ongoing training in grant writing should continue and be made continent-wide if funding permits. Funding of National Chapters should be strategic such that capacity in a specific area of research is built which, with time, will not only lead to a strong research capacity in that area, but also strengthen academic programmes. For example, a strong climate change programme is emerging at University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), with strong collaborations with Universities from neighbouring States. Strategies to Increase National Government buy-in and support for STI Translating STI research outcomes into policies requires a great deal of emotional intelligence, skills which are often lacking in the first and second generation universities. In the epoch of the science-based or 2GUs, governments were content with universities carrying out scientific research and providing scientific education. Now they desire to see universities as incubators of new science- or technology-based commercial activities, whether by existing firms or start-ups. Hence, governments demand that universities take an active and leading role in the exploitation of their knowledge and they are willing to make funds available to support such activities. Thus, for universities to gain the attention of national leadership they must become centres of excellence and explicit instruments of economic development in the knowledge-based economy. The universities must do this while working collaboratively with government departments, parastatals, and institutions and dedicated research establishments. ATPS should anticipate these shifting changes and devise programmes to assist both government and universities to relate effectively. New administrative structures in member organizations to sustain and manage the emerging STI multidisciplinary teams Second Generation universities (2GUs) tend to focus on pure science and often do not regard the application of their know-how as their task. In contrast, Third Generation Universities (3GUs) objectively stimulate techno-starters – students or academics – to pursue the exploitation or commercialisation of the knowledge they generate. They view this as being equal in importance to the objectives of scientific research and education. Administratively, research in the 2GU era was mainly monodisciplinary and departments were structured along disciplines. The emerging interdisciplinary scientific teams with focus on specific research areas functionally work against the current mono-disciplinary faculty-based, administrative structure of 2GUs. For interdisciplinary teams, the current faculty system is an obstacle. There is a need for new organisational forms for university management that can create responsibilities for the task of know-how exploitation. ATPS must anticipate this and begin to strategize solutions for their member institutions to transition to 3Gus administrative structure, otherwise ATPS growth will plateau, and progress achieved so far may be stunted.

Dynamics of effectuation and causation in technology-based new ventures (INTERACTIVE PAPER)

The creation of new ventures is a process characterized by the need to decide and take action in the face of uncertainty, and this is particularly so in the case of technology-based ventures. Effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001) has advanced two possible approaches for making decisions while facing uncertainty in the entrepreneurial process. Causation logic is based on prediction and aims at lowering uncertainty, whereas effectuation logic is based on non-predictive action and aims at working with uncertainty. This study aims to generate more fine-grained insight in the dynamics of effectuation and causation over time. We address the following questions: (1) What patterns can be found in effectual and causal behaviour of technology-based new ventures over time? And (2) How may patterns in the dynamics of effectuation and causation be explained?

Integrating technology roadmapping and portfolio management at the front-end of new product development

Many authors point out that the front-end of new product development (NPD) is a critical success factor in the NPD process and that numerous companies face difficulties in carrying it out appropriately. Therefore, it is important to develop new theories and proposals that support the effective implementation of this earliest phase of NPD. This paper presents a new method to support the development of front-end activities based on integrating technology roadmapping (TRM) and project portfolio management (PPM). This new method, called the ITP Method, was implemented at a small Brazilian high-tech company in the nanotechnology industry to explore the integration proposal. The case study demonstrated that the ITP Method provides a systematic procedure for the fuzzy front-end and integrates innovation perspectives into a single roadmap, which allows for a better alignment of business efforts and communication of product innovation goals. Furthermore, the results indicated that the method may also improve quality, functional integration and strategy alignment. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Why is it so Hard to Value Intangibles? Evidence from Investments in High-Technology Start-Ups

The paper uses a range of primary-source empirical evidence to address the question: ‘why is it to hard to value intangible assets?’ The setting is venture capital investment in high technology companies. While the investors are risk specialists and financial experts, the entrepreneurs are more knowledgeable about product innovation. Thus the context lends itself to analysis within a principal-agent framework, in which information asymmetry may give rise to adverse selection, pre-contract, and moral hazard, post-contract. We examine how the investor might attenuate such problems and attach a value to such high-tech investments in what are often merely intangible assets, through expert due diligence, monitoring and control. Qualitative evidence is used to qualify the more clear cut picture provided by a principal-agent approach to a more mixed picture in which the ‘art and science’ of investment appraisal are utilised by both parties alike

Performance of a new gadolinium-based intravascular contrast agent in free-breathing inversion-recovery 3D coronary MRA.

In three-dimensional (3D) coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), the in-flow contrast between the coronary blood and the surrounding myocardium is attenuated as compared to thin-slab two-dimensional (2D) techniques. The application of a gadolinium (Gd)-based intravascular contrast agent may provide an additional source of signal and contrast by reducing T(1blood) and supporting the visualization of more distal or branching segments of the coronary arterial tree. In six healthy adults, the left coronary artery (LCA) system was imaged pre- and postcontrast with a 0.075-mmol/kg bodyweight dose of the intravascular contrast agent B-22956. For imaging, an optimized free-breathing, navigator-gated and -corrected 3D inversion recovery (IR) sequence was used. For comparison, state-of-the-art baseline 3D coronary MRA with T(2) preparation for non-exogenous contrast enhancement was acquired. The combination of IR 3D coronary MRA, sophisticated navigator technology, and B-22956 allowed for an extensive visualization of the LCA system. Postcontrast, a significant increase in both the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR; 46%, P < 0.05) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR; 160%, P < 0.01) was observed, while vessel sharpness of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery and the left coronary circumflex (LCX) were improved by 20% (P < 0.05) and 18% (P < 0.05), respectively.

The effects of potentiallydisruptive technology on business model - a case study of new technologies in ICT industry

This study examines how firms interpret new, potentially disruptive technologies in their own strategic context. The work presents a cross-case analysis of four potentially disruptive technologies or technical operating models: Bluetooth, WLAN, Grid computing and Mobile Peer-to-peer paradigm. The technologies were investigated from the perspective of three mobile operators, a device manufacturer and a software company in the ICT industry. The theoretical background for the study consists of the resource-based view of the firm with dynamic perspective, the theories on the nature of technology and innovations, and the concept of business model. The literature review builds up a propositional framework for estimating the amount of radical change in the companies' business model with two middle variables, the disruptiveness potential of a new technology, and the strategic importance of a new technology to a firm. The data was gathered in group discussion sessions in each company. The results of each case analysis were brought together to evaluate, how firms interpret the potential disruptiveness in terms of changes in product characteristics and added value, technology and market uncertainty, changes in product-market positions, possible competence disruption and changes in value network positions. The results indicate that the perceived disruptiveness in terms ofproduct characteristics does not necessarily translate into strategic importance. In addition, firms did not see the new technologies as a threat in terms of potential competence disruption.

Venture Capital: How to Valuate Infocom Start-ups?

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää kuinka Infocom -alan käynnistysvaiheen yrityksiä voi arvioida pääomasijoitustoiminnassa. Pääomasijoittajien käyttämät arviointikriteerit selvitettiin kirjallisuuskatsauksen ja empiirisen osion avulla. Koska Infocom -alan käynnistysvaiheen omaisuuserät ovat pitkälti aineettomia, arviointikriteerit muodostavat pohjan yrityksen arvioinnille. Tutkimuksessa vertailtiin myös erilaisia arvonmääritysmenetelmiä ja niiden käyttökelpoisuutta Infocom alan käynnistysvaiheen yritysten arvonmäärityksessä. Tutkimuksen mukaan Infocom alan käynnistysvaiheen yritysten arvioiminen ja arvonmääritys perustuu pitkälti aineettomien omaisuuserien arviointiin: inhimillinen pääoma, suhde-, innovaatio- ja kehityspääoma ovat näiden yritysten tärkeimmät aineettomat omaisuuserät. Infocom -alan käynnistysvaiheen yritysten arvonmääritykseen ei ole olemassa yhtä universaalia työkalua, vaikka reaalioptio-teoria tuokin käyttökelpoisen näkökulman myös käynnistysvaiheen yritysten arviointiin. Tämän vuoksi aineettomien omaisuuserien arviointi ja mittaaminen, tulevaisuudessa myös niiden arvonmääritys, on tärkein lähtökohta onnistuneille Infocom alan käynnistysvaiheen yritysten arvonmäärityksille.

Crowdfunding as a new funding alternative for early stage start-ups

Attracting outside capital is a common problem for start-up companies. Capital markets define the funding options for companies and firms which suffer the most from these capital market imperfections are small start-up companies. Therefore it is important to study any new funding model which can offer a new solution to this inefficiency of capital markets. This study explains the traditional funding models for start-ups such as founders, friends & family, banks, business angels and venture capitalist. After giving background to traditional start-up funding this study delves into crowfunding (CF) and introduces it as a new funding method. The objective of the thesis is to answer one broad research question: Why and how should start-up companies use CF as an alternative funding method? To properly delve into this, this question has the following sub-questions: What kind of funding alternatives do start-up companies have? What are the pros and cons of CF compared to other funding options? How can start-ups benefit from CF? This study gives background on the rise of CF and the reasons why this new model is needed. Author will explain the different components of CF such as platforms, crowdfunders and projects. Also benefits and challenges of the crowdfunding model are investigated. As a new funding model CF has had to clear out many obstacles from its way. These are, for example, legal and regulatory issues as well education of crowd investors to understand this new investment option. . Start-up entrepreneurs can gain valuable insight from this study. The author has attempted to form best practices and guidelines of how to operate in the CF environment. This study was conducted by performing expert interviews, collecting data from previous studies and performing a content analysis of successful crowdfunding cases. Main findings from the study were that CF has huge potential in funding entrepreneurial projects. It is still a niche way for funding but growing rapidly. CF is earning its place among traditional funding options and has potential to fund projects which otherwise would struggle to find funding. With CF entrepreneur can tap into geographically diverse audience. It is a powerful validation tool for products and ideas and has the power to bring democratic elements to entrepreneurial funding.

The drivers of corporate climate change strategies and public policy: a new resource-based view perspective

Effective public policy to mitigate climate change footprints should build on data-driven analysis of firm-level strategies. This article’s conceptual approach augments the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and identifies investments in four firm-level resource domains (Governance, Information management, Systems, and Technology [GISTe]) to develop capabilities in climate change impact mitigation. The authors denote the resulting framework as the GISTe model, which frames their analysis and public policy recommendations. This research uses the 2008 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) database, with high-quality information on firm-level climate change strategies for 552 companies from North America and Europe. In contrast to the widely accepted myth that European firms are performing better than North American ones, the authors find a different result. Many firms, whether European or North American, do not just “talk” about climate change impact mitigation, but actually do “walk the talk.” European firms appear to be better than their North American counterparts in “walk I,” denoting attention to governance, information management, and systems. But when it comes down to “walk II,” meaning actual Technology-related investments, North American firms’ performance is equal or superior to that of the European companies. The authors formulate public policy recommendations to accelerate firm-level, sector-level, and cluster-level implementation of climate change strategies.

Mhealth entrepreneurship: an exploratory research for a managerial model for mhealth start ups in low and middle income countries

Since some years, mobile technologies in healthcare (mHealth) stand for the transformational force to improve health issues in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although several studies have identified the prevailing issue of inconsistent evidence and new evaluation frameworks have been proposed, few have explored the role of entrepreneurship to create disruptive change in a traditionally conservative sector. I argue that improving the effectiveness of mHealth entrepreneurs might increase the adoption of mHealth solutions. Thus, this study aims at proposing a managerial model for the analysis of mHealth solutions from the entrepreneurial perspective in the context of LMICs. I identified the Khoja–Durrani–Scott (KDS) framework as theoretical basis for the managerial model, due to its explicit focus on the context of LMICs. In the subsequent exploratory research I, first, used semi-structured interviews with five specialists in mHealth, local healthcare systems and investment to identify necessary adaptations to the model. The findings of the interviews proposed that especially the economic theme had to be clarified and an additional entrepreneurial theme was necessary. Additionally, an evaluation questionnaire was proposed. In the second phase, I applied the questionnaire to five start-ups, operating in Brazil and Tanzania, and conducted semi-structured interviews with the entrepreneurs to gain practical insights for the theoretical development. Three of five entrepreneurs perceived that the results correlated with the entrepreneurs' expectations of the strengths and weaknesses of the start-ups. Main shortcomings of the model related to the ambiguity of some questions. In addition to the findings for the model, the results of the scores were analyzed. The analysis suggested that across the participating mHealth start-ups the ‘behavioral and socio-technical’ outcomes were the strongest and the ‘policy’ outcomes were the weakest themes. The managerial model integrates several perspectives, structured around the entrepreneur. In order to validate the model, future research may link the development of a start-up with the evolution of the scores in longitudinal case studies or large-scale tests.

A new chart based on sample variances for monitoring the covariance matrix of multivariate processes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)