Reforming technology company incentive programs for achieving knowledge-based economic development:a Brazil-Australia comparative study

This doctoral thesis aims to demonstrate the importance of incentives to technology-based firms as a strategy to promote knowledge-based economic development (KBED). To remain competitive, technology-based firms must innovate and seek new markets; therefore, this study aims to propose an incentive model to technology-based firms as a strategy to promote knowledge-based urban development, according to framework described by Yigitcanlar (2011). This is an exploratory and descriptive research with a qualitative approach. Surveys were carried out with national trade associations that represented technology-based firms both in Brazil and Australia. After analysing the surveys, structured interviews were conducted with government representatives, trade associations and businessmen who had used financial support by the federal government. When comparing both countries, the study found the importance of direct incentives through tax incentives, for it is a less bureaucratic, quicker and more direct process for firms. We suggest to include the terms incentives in the framework of knowledge-based urban development, as one of the pillars that contribute to knowledge-based economic development.

Gestão de informação : O caso das empresas participantes do programa de incubação de empresas daUniversidade Federal de Goiás

The main objective of this paper is to point out the information management strategic profile of companies participating in the program of business incubation of Universidade Federal de Goiás (PROINE-UFG). This new alignment of social network aims to promote the competitiveness of micro and small business by approaching them to the knowledge producers that, in the Brazilian case, are the universities. The strategic information aligning model, proposed by Marchand, was used as the theoretical framework. The research took the design of a case study, as it limited to study the UFG incubation program. Nine companies of PROINE-UFG were investigated. The main conclusions are that the PROINE-UFG companies have a tendency of proactivity. Nevertheless the financial and technological resources are scarce to monitor the external environment as demanded by the strategy. They use few information sources and the interaction with the university is still incipient

Gestão de informação : O caso das empresas participantes do programa de incubação de empresas daUniversidade Federal de Goiás

The main objective of this paper is to point out the information management strategic profile of companies participating in the program of business incubation of Universidade Federal de Goiás (PROINE-UFG). This new alignment of social network aims to promote the competitiveness of micro and small business by approaching them to the knowledge producers that, in the Brazilian case, are the universities. The strategic information aligning model, proposed by Marchand, was used as the theoretical framework. The research took the design of a case study, as it limited to study the UFG incubation program. Nine companies of PROINE-UFG were investigated. The main conclusions are that the PROINE-UFG companies have a tendency of proactivity. Nevertheless the financial and technological resources are scarce to monitor the external environment as demanded by the strategy. They use few information sources and the interaction with the university is still incipient

Gestão de informação : O caso das empresas participantes do programa de incubação de empresas daUniversidade Federal de Goiás

The main objective of this paper is to point out the information management strategic profile of companies participating in the program of business incubation of Universidade Federal de Goiás (PROINE-UFG). This new alignment of social network aims to promote the competitiveness of micro and small business by approaching them to the knowledge producers that, in the Brazilian case, are the universities. The strategic information aligning model, proposed by Marchand, was used as the theoretical framework. The research took the design of a case study, as it limited to study the UFG incubation program. Nine companies of PROINE-UFG were investigated. The main conclusions are that the PROINE-UFG companies have a tendency of proactivity. Nevertheless the financial and technological resources are scarce to monitor the external environment as demanded by the strategy. They use few information sources and the interaction with the university is still incipient

Freeform Optical Surfaces: Report from OSA's First Incubator Meeting

Just as business incubator programs are designed to support the development of fledgling companies, OSA?s new incubator meeting series is structured to encourage the growth of exciting new areas within optics. The first one was devoted to the topic of freeform optics-a field that is actively evolving due to recent technological advances.

Nationella minoriteter i historieundervisningen : bilder av romer i Utbildningsradions program under perioden 1975-2013

In 2000 when Sweden signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities the Roma minority became one of the acknowledged national minorities in the country. It meant that the rights of the Roma mi-nority would be safeguarded and the knowledge of its history and culture would be spread. In that context, the Swedish school, with its founded as-signment of democracy, was given an important role. The education was to communicate the multicultural values of the society and to make visible the history and culture of the Roma minority. The school books used in teaching today do not meet these demands. The view of the Roma minority given in school books is often inadequate and simplified. The present study will therefore examine a different type of edu-cational material used in schools and teaching, The Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company‟s programs of history and social studies regarding the Roma minority. Starting in postcolonial theory as well as critical dis-course analysis the study examines how the picture of the Roma cultural and ethnic identity in the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company‟s material has been displayed and possibly changed during the period of 1975 to 2013. The results show a picture of Roma which, both in form and content, con-sists of some clearly demarcated discursive categories. The obvious continui-ty of the categories gives a picture of static and invariable Roma identity. At the same time this unambiguous picture is broken both by giving the existing discourses new meaning and also adding new discourses. The complexity and nuances become more prominent and the Roma identity is integrated in common Swedish history telling. The changes in the view of Roma, given by the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company, can mainly be explained by the change of the Swedish immigration and minority policy and, as a conse-quence of this, the change of the school‟s mission regarding knowledge communication of Sweden as a multicultural country.

Continuous improvement programs as processes for organizational learning: a case study of a company in the food products industry

This article intends to show the relationships between quality practices and the process of organizational learning. When we look at the literature about programs of continuous improvement we see that theoreticians consider that the process of organizational learning is a superior stage in the quality culture adopted by companies. To investigate this possibility, we put together a series of indicators taken from classic authors who have written about organizational learning. Adopting a multiple methodology, we applied these indicators to two plants belonging to the Nestlé food product company which have introduced continuous improvement programs over the last two years.

Formerly utilized MED/AEC sites remedial action programs : radiological survey of the Hooker Chemical Company, Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Issued Jan. 1977.

Small business : information on SBA's small business investment company programs : report to the Chair, Committee on Small Business, House of Representatives /

"B-261138"--P. 1.

The use of building and loan associations in company programs for employee savings and investment,

"2d printing."

Improving productivity; a description of selected company programs (series 1).

"CP76002".

Internships in marketing: Goals, structures and assessment - student, company and academic perspectives

Work-integrated learning in the form of internships is increasingly important for universities as they seek to compete for students, and seek links with industries. Yet, there is surprisingly little empirical research on the details of internships: (1) What they should accomplish? How they should be structure? (3) How students performance should be assess? There is also surprisingly little conceptual analysis of these key issues, either for business internships in general. or for marketing internships in particular. Furthermore, the "answers" on these issues may differ depending upon the perspective if the three stakeholders: students, business managers and university academics. There is not study in the marketing literature which surveys all three groups on these important aspects of internships. To fill these gaps, this paper discusses and analyses internships goals, internship structure, and internship assessment or undergraduate marketing internships, and then reports on a survey of the views of all three stakeholder groups on these issues. There are a considerable variety of approaches for internships, but generally there is consensus among the stake holder groups, with some notable differences. Managerial implication include recognition of the importance of having and academic aspects in internships; mutual understanding concerning needs and constraints; and the requirement that companies, students, and academics take a long-term view of internship programs to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

Incentivizing innovation: A review of the Brazilian federal innovation support programs

Innovation is the transformation of knowledge of any kind into new products or services in the market. Its importance as a production factor is widely acknowledged. In the age of the knowledge-based economy innovation became critical for any company or even country to compete globally. Many countries are encouraging innovation through various mechanisms, and one of the most widely used is the provision of special incentives for innovation. This paper investigates incentive systems for the growth of technology companies as a strategy to promote knowledge-based economic development. As for the case investigations the study focuses on an emerging economy, Brazil. The research is based upon the available literature, best practices, government policy and review of incentive systems. The findings provide insights from the case study in a country context and some lessons learned for other countries using incentive systems to boost the innovation capabilities of their technology companies.

Breeding programs on Atlantic salmon in Norway: lessons learned

An early establishment of selective breeding programs on Atlantic salmon has been crucial for the success of developing efficient and sustainable salmon farming in Norway. A national selective breeding program was initiated by AKVAFORSK at the beginning of the 1970s, by collecting fertilized eggs from more than 40 Norwegian river populations. Several private selective breeding programs were also initiated in the 1970s and 1980s. While these private programs were initiated using individual selection (i.e. massselection) to genetically improve growth, the national program was designed to gradually include all economically important traits in the breeding objective (i.e. growth, age at sexual maturation, disease resistance and quality traits) using a combined family and within-family selection strategy. Independent of which selection strategy and program design used, it is important to secure and maintain a broad genetic variation in the breeding populations to maximize selection response. It has been documented that genetically improved salmon from the national selective breeding program grow twice as fast as wild Atlantic salmon and require 25 per cent less feed, while salmon representing the private breeding programs all show an intermediate growth performance. As a result of efficient dissemination of genetically improved Atlantic salmon, the Norwegian salmon farming industry has reduced its feed costs by more than US$ 230 million per year! The national selective breeding program on Atlantic salmon was commercialized into a breeding company (AquaGen) in 1992. Five years later, several private companies and the AKVAFORSK Genetics Center (AFGC) established a second breeding company (SalmoBreed) using breeding candidates from one of the private breeding programs. These two breeding companies have similar products, but different strategies on how to organize the breeding program and to disseminate the genetically improved seed to the Norwegian salmon industry. Greater competition has increased the necessity to document the genetic gain obtained from the different programs and to market the economic benefits of farming the genetically improved breeds. Both breeding companies have organized their dissemination to get a sufficient share of the economic benefits in order to sustain and improve their breeding programs.