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The ubiquitous presence of the elderly in care services raises questions about the evolution and limits of new techniques and technologies in the care relationship. We carried out a cross-sectional study in a geriatric ward, using parallel patient and carer questionnaires to assess how each felt about innovations, analyze their opportunities and evaluate their dangers in care provision., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Aim: Research and innovation (R&I) actors are fundamental in shortening the translational gap of personalized medicine in health systems. In the context of the 'Integrating China in the International Consortium for Personalized Medicine' project, we aimed to map the current landscape of R&I actors in the field of personalized medicine in the EU and China. Methods: A two-phase desk research study was conducted. Results: We identified 78 R&I actors. Research and technology organizations were the most frequent in both the EU and China. The identified R&I actors were active in a wide range of fields. The EU and China have many different R&I actors addressing personalized medicine-related issues, with few characteristics in common. Conclusion: More efforts are needed to ensure these R&I actors are encouraged to work together to bridge each other's gaps.

Innovation, human capital, economic, and environmental nexus is essential in sustainable development. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an emerging market with the potential to transcend the dilemma of attaining economic and environmental sustainability. Data envelopment analysis through the Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index is utilized to estimate MENA country's innovation, human capital, economic, and economic sustainability efficiency and productivity. Results indicate an upward trend in efficiency, with a 26% increase in average efficiency between 2017 and 2019 compared to 2011 and 2016. However, there is variation in efficiency between countries. The decomposition of the productivity index into technical change and technological change indicates that the efficiency growth in 2017-2019 could be attributed to technical improvement than technological increase. However, there is a shift to more technological progress than technical increase. Study shows that developing human capital and capacity is as integral to sustainable development as innovation advancement. Strategies to simultaneously augment human capital and innovation towards sustainable development are presented., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Green credit policy is an essential external driver of green transformation for companies, while the performance gap is a vital decision-making foundation for innovative reform for managers. Both work together and influence corporate green technology innovation. Based on this, this research examines the influence of green credit on corporate green technology innovation under the assumptions of "cost compliance" and "innovation compensation" from the perspective of the performance gap. It shows that green credit policy inhibits green technology innovation among heavy polluting firms. Still, after considering the performance gap, the inhibiting effects are only found in firms with performance deficits. In contrast, green credit policy promotes green technology innovation when firms have a performance surplus. The heterogeneity analysis finds that the boosting effect of performance surplus is more significant in non-state, large-scale, and financially developed regions., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Digital transformation has profoundly impacted social and economic life by enhancing workforce competences, fostering innovation, and creating competitive advantages. Given that the driving force of digital transformation is technology, this study aimed to determine whether education and workforce competences are perceived as essential factors in the digital transformation narrative across diverse fields of socioeconomic development at both macro and micro levels. To achieve this, 528 abstracts from various scientific fields focused on digital transformation were analyzed using both manifest and latent content analyses, the latter ensuring a more objective interpretation of the outcomes derived from manifest content analysis. Frequency, word linkage, and concordance analyses of key concepts were used. The results indicated that education and workforce competences are viewed as vital for the digitalization of various sectors of the economy at both macro- and micro-level development. The findings suggest that technology drives digital transformation by delivering different types of value, including innovation and sustainability, while relying on education and technology-related competences. The results also revealed concerns about barriers to technology implementation, which could be overcome through education and competences. The originality of this research lies in its application of both manifest and latent analyses to identify the roles of education and technology in driving economic digital transformation.

This research project addresses the decline in student engagement, retention, and academic performance in a college Reading 100 course at a local community college in Arizona over a threeyear period. Catering to students with low reading proficiency, including international students learning English, the course faced new challenges brought on by the pandemic, necessitating a shift in instructional strategies. Using a qualitative approach, data on drop-out rates, attendance, assignments, and assessment grades were collected for fall semesters in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The study identified concerning behaviors among students, such as apathy, low communication skills, isolation issues, low confidence, and little engagement, exacerbated by the transition to online and live online instruction during the pandemic. To tackle these challenges, the instructor experimented with innovative strategies to boost student engagement and success. Techniques included small and whole group discussions, modeling reading techniques, and leveraging technology to facilitate learning beyond the classroom. Furthermore, the research emphasized addressing students' social-emotional needs, considering the impact of isolation and mental health challenges. Though some improvements were observed, overall success rates remained unsatisfactory, with students still struggling to comprehend college-level texts. Recognizing the need for comprehensive interventions, the instructor conducted further research to explore effective engagement techniques and technology-based learning approaches, aiming to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment. By combining these innovative methods with student agency and an adaptable approach, this study offers valuable insights for educators seeking to enhance student outcomes in college reading courses.

Millions of children and young people (CYP) in the UK are affected by chronic or rare health conditions. Rapid advances in science and technology have resulted in CYP with chronic and rare conditions now surviving well into adulthood. New technologies have the potential to improve short- and long-term health outcomes for CYP with health conditions, prevent adult onset disease and complications, and reduce the burden on health services. There is thus a need for targeted investment and appropriate governance in child health technology development to address the specific needs of this population; health technology must be versatile to meet the social, anatomical, cognitive, psychological, and physiological changes inherent to childhood development. Despite the growing demand for health technology for a sizeable global population, industry still wrongly perceives the market size is relatively small, and health technology development is often localised and fragmented with limited scope for spread and adoption. These challenges can be overcome by validating and prioritising unmet needs, involving CYP and their families throughout the innovation pathway, facilitating effective partnerships with key stakeholders, and utilising national and international infrastructure and networks. This paper outlines five innovations supported by NIHR Children and Young People MedTech Co-operative that illustrate how common challenges in child health technology development can be overcome. It is essential that we continue to address such challenges and invest in the health and wellbeing of CYP.

Conservation technology holds the potential to vastly increase conservationists' ability to understand and address critical environmental challenges, but systemic constraints appear to hamper its development and adoption. Understanding of these constraints and opportunities for advancement remains limited. We conducted a global online survey of 248 conservation technology users and developers to identify perceptions of existing tools' current performance and potential impact, user and developer constraints, and key opportunities for growth. We also conducted focus groups with 45 leading experts to triangulate findings. The technologies with the highest perceived potential were machine learning and computer vision, eDNA and genomics, and networked sensors. A total of 95%, 94%, and 92% respondents, respectively, rated them as very helpful or game changers. The most pressing challenges affecting the field as a whole were competition for limited funding, duplication of efforts, and inadequate capacity building. A total of 76%, 67%, and 55% respondents, respectively, identified these as primary concerns. The key opportunities for growth identified in focus groups were increasing collaboration and information sharing, improving the interoperability of tools, and enhancing capacity for data analyses at scale. Some constraints appeared to disproportionately affect marginalized groups. Respondents in countries with developing economies were more likely to report being constrained by upfront costs, maintenance costs, and development funding (p = 0.048, odds ratio [OR] = 2.78; p = 0.005, OR = 4.23; p = 0.024, OR = 4.26), and female respondents were more likely to report being constrained by development funding and perceived technical skills (p = 0.027, OR = 3.98; p = 0.048, OR = 2.33). To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to formally capture the perspectives and needs of the global conservation technology community, providing foundational data that can serve as a benchmark to measure progress. We see tremendous potential for this community to further the vision they define, in which collaboration trumps competition; solutions are open, accessible, and interoperable; and user-friendly processing tools empower the rapid translation of data into conservation action. Article impact statement: Addressing financing, coordination, and capacity-building constraints is critical to the development and adoption of conservation technology., (© 2021 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.)

This article challenges an over-reliance on language as the primary means to communicate knowledge by adopting a language"less"ness approach to maker pedagogies and maker literacies. Having conducted makerspace and design-based research for some time, we separately and together noticed a productive relationship between wordless relational makerspace and making moments focused on craft, tools, technologies, and materials, and ways that an absence of verbal and written communication opens possibilities within learning environments. After meetings and discussions, we co-wrote the article to examine ways that language-light, even language-free pedagogical spaces allow for a different quality of design work that motivates and fosters innovation. There are three international research projects that serve as research vignettes to investigate the efficacy of languagelessness. The theory foregrounded to anchor and interpret the three vignettes draws from maker literacies research and sociomaterial orientations to knowledge development.

Smart home technologies present an unprecedented opportunity to improve health and health care by providing greater communication and connectivity with services and care providers and by supporting the daily activities of people managing both mental and physical health problems. Based on our experience from conducting smart technology health studies, including a smart home intervention, we provide guidance on developing and implementing such interventions. First, we describe the need for an overarching principle of security and privacy that must be attended to in all aspects of such a project. We then describe 4 key steps in developing a successful smart home innovation for people with mental and physical health conditions. These include (1) setting up the digital infrastructure, (2) ensuring the components of the system communicate, (3) ensuring that the system is designed for the intended population, and (4) engaging stakeholders. Recommendations on how to approach each of these steps are provided along with suggested literature that addresses additional considerations, guidelines, and equipment selection in more depth., (©Cheryl Forchuk, Jonathan Serrato, Daniel Lizotte, Rupinder Mann, Gavin Taylor, Sara Husni. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (https://mhealth.jmir.org), 29.04.2022.)

In this paper, we introduce the Societal Readiness (SR) Thinking Tool to aid researchers and innovators in developing research projects with greater responsiveness to societal values, needs, and expectations. The need for societally-focused approaches to research and innovation-complementary to Technology Readiness (TR) frameworks-is presented. Insights from responsible research and innovation (RRI) concepts and practice, organized across critical stages of project-life cycles are discussed with reference to the development of the SR Thinking Tool. The tool is designed to complement not only shortfalls in TR approaches, but also improve upon other efforts to integrate RRI, sustainability, and design thinking in research and innovation cycles. Operationalization and early-stage user tests of the Tool are reported, along with discussion of potential future iterations and applications., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The fourth industrial revolution (4iR) technologies offer an opportunity for the construction industry to improve health and safety (H&S) compliance. Therefore, implementing the technologies is of top priority to improve the endless H&S incidents in construction projects, which lead to poor quality of work, late project delivery, and increased labour injury claims. Central to improving the nature of work and other industrial processes, the 4iR technologies have emerged. Concurrent with this trend is the importance of 4iR technologies in enhancing health and safety performance on construction sites. However, the implementation of 4iR technologies in the construction industry is faced with various challenges. Therefore, this paper reports on a study aimed at examining the challenges associated with implementing 4iR technologies in the construction sector in South Africa towards effective management of H&S. The study followed a systematic literature review, data collection using a questionnaire survey and thereafter, descriptive, and inferential analyses were conducted. The findings revealed that the implementation of 4iR technologies is challenged by a lack of adequate relevant skills, the unavailability of training capacities, expensive technologies, and negative perceptions such as fear of job loss by industry professionals. The findings are essential for the advancement of H&S research and implementation. In addition, the findings are important to industry decision-makers in order to elevate their awareness and promote the use of 4iR technologies to manage construction activities. The study implications include the need for the construction industry to collaborate with higher education institutions to conduct research and include 4iR in the curriculum.

Plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Because agriculture's productivity is based on this process, a combination of technologies to reduce emissions and enhance soil carbon storage can allow this sector to achieve net negative emissions while maintaining high productivity. Unfortunately, current row-crop agricultural practice generates about 5% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and European Union. To reduce these emissions, significant effort has been focused on changing farm management practices to maximize soil carbon. In contrast, the potential to reduce emissions has largely been neglected. Through a combination of innovations in digital agriculture, crop and microbial genetics, and electrification, we estimate that a 71% (1,744 kg CO 2 e/ha) reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from row crop agriculture is possible within the next 15 y. Importantly, emission reduction can lower the barrier to broad adoption by proceeding through multiple stages with meaningful improvements that gradually facilitate the transition to net negative practices. Emerging voluntary and regulatory ecosystems services markets will incentivize progress along this transition pathway and guide public and private investments toward technology development. In the difficult quest for net negative emissions, all tools, including emission reduction and soil carbon storage, must be developed to allow agriculture to maintain its critical societal function of provisioning society while, at the same time, generating environmental benefits., Competing Interests: Competing interest statement: D.L.N. is an employee of Benson Hill, a seed company that aims to produce sustainable and nutritious agricultural products. P.N.B. is cofounder and chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of High Fidelity Genetics, a technology company that aims to improve crop root traits. B.B. is a cofounder of CiBO Technologies, a crop modeling and agronomy company with digital agriculture solutions.

Customer-facing train crew members have to follow strict procedures to guarantee that trains are safe and run on time. They are also responsible for revenue protection and customer care. Human factors and ergonomics research are instrumental to understand the safety-critical aspects and improve work. We bring user experience research and personas to describe how train crew perceive their routines and how new technology may impact them. We conducted 7 hours of interviews and 30 hours of shadowing observations with the train crew ( N  = 22) to provide an understanding of who are they and to define their experiences. We present the crew's current routines and created two personas to represent them. One is slightly reluctant to adopt the proposed technology, whereas the other is more accepting. Results indicate how such technology may affect crew work ergonomics and experiences, and suggest which valuable aspects should be maintained, for example the positive interactions with passengers. Practitioner summary: This study investigated the work routines of the customer-facing train crew. Interviews and shadowing were conducted with 22 crew from a large operator in the UK. Personas were created to represent them. Results show their preferred activities and how these would be affected by the introduction of new technology. Abbreviations: CH; customer host (onboard catering staff); DOO: driver-only operation; ETA: estimated time of arrival; PTI: platform-train interface; TM: train manager (onboard customer-facing authority); UCD: user-centred design; UX: user experience.

Background: Brain health diplomacy aims to influence the global policy environment for brain health (i.e. dementia, depression, and other mind/brain disorders) and bridges the disciplines of global brain health, international affairs, management, law, and economics. Determinants of brain health include educational attainment, diet, access to health care, physical activity, social support, and environmental exposures, as well as chronic brain disorders and treatment. Global challenges associated with these determinants include large-scale conflicts and consequent mass migration, chemical contaminants, air quality, socioeconomic status, climate change, and global population aging. Given the rapidly advancing technological innovations impacting brain health, it is paramount to optimize the benefits and mitigate the drawbacks of such technologies., Objective: We propose a working model of Brain health INnovation Diplomacy (BIND)., Methods: We prepared a selective review using literature searches of studies pertaining to brain health technological innovation and diplomacy., Results: BIND aims to improve global brain health outcomes by leveraging technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and innovation diplomacy. It acknowledges the key role that technology, entrepreneurship, and digitization play and will increasingly play in the future of brain health for individuals and societies alike. It strengthens the positive role of novel solutions, recognizes and works to manage both real and potential risks of digital platforms. It is recognition of the political, ethical, cultural, and economic influences that brain health technological innovation and entrepreneurship can have., Conclusions: By creating a framework for BIND, we can use this to ensure a systematic model for the use of technology to optimize brain health.

An array of technology-based interventions has increasingly become available to support family caregivers, primarily focusing on health and well-being, social isolation, financial, and psychological support. More recently the emergence of new technologies such as mobile and cloud, robotics, connected sensors, virtual/augmented/mixed reality, voice, and the evermore ubiquitous tools supported by advanced data analytics, coupled with the integration of multiple technologies through platform solutions, have opened a new era of technology-enabled interventions that can empower and support family caregivers. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for identifying and addressing the challenges that may need to be overcome to effectively apply technology-enabled solutions for family caregivers. The paper identifies a number of challenges that either moderate or mediate the full use of technologies for the benefit of caregivers. The challenges include issues related to equity, inclusion, and access; ethical concerns related to privacy and security; political and regulatory factors affecting interoperability and lack of standards; inclusive/human-centric design and issues; and inherent economic and distribution channel difficulties. The paper concludes with a summary of research questions and issues that form a framework for global research priorities., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.)

Creativity and problem-solving are 21st-century skills that students must have to respond to the complex world dominated by technology. Teaching activities integrating Design Thinking (DT) have the potential to cultivate individual skills. As future in-service teachers, pre-service teachers need to understand DT so as to be able to use it in their future classrooms. In line with this, the present study aimed to explore the effects of the Stanford DT model on pre-service teachers' creativity self-efficacy, inventive problem-solving skills, and technology-related motivation. Quasi-experimental research with a pre- and post-test control group design was applied in the current study. A total of 70 pre-service teachers participated in this study, consisting of 36 experimental group (EG) students who learned with the DT model approach and 34 control group (CG) students who learned with a regular instructional approach. Design Thinking Activities were completed in 12 weeks, with three activities in the Modern Educational Technology (MET) course. The creativity self-efficacy, inventive problem-solving skills, and technology-related motivation scale were used to collect data before and after the experiment. An independent t test, Mann--Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon Test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there were significant differences in technology-related motivation, creative self-efficacy, and inventive problem-solving skills between the CG and EG students. The Stanford DT model integrated with the MET course was conducive to enhancing pre-service teachers' creativity self-efficacy, inventive problem-solving skills, and technology-related motivation in the context of the technological literacy course. Implications for the findings of this study are discussed.

We detect ongoing innovation in empirical data about human technological innovations. Ongoing technological innovation is a form of open-ended evolution, but it occurs in a nonbiological, cultural population that consists of actual technological innovations that exist in the real world. The change over time of this population of innovations seems to be quite open-ended. We take patented inventions as a proxy for technological innovations and mine public patent records for evidence of the ongoing emergence of technological innovations, and we compare two ways to detect it. One way detects the first instances of predefined patent pigeonholes, specifically the technology classes listed in the United States Patent Classification (USPC). The second way embeds patents in a high-dimensional semantic space and detects the emergence of new patent clusters. After analyzing hundreds of years of patent records, both methods detect the emergence of new kinds of technologies, but clusters are much better at detecting innovations that are unanticipated and undetected by USPC pigeonholes. Our clustering methods generalize to detect unanticipated innovations in other evolving populations that generate ongoing streams of digital data.

African ideas, science, technology, scholarship and worldviews have been disproportionately displaced and marginalized in relevant global dialogues. In academic circles, African methods of knowing have been questioned, undervalued, mocked, misconstrued, and disregarded, causing apprehension. These negative attitudes are internalized via the educational system, stifling agency and conditioning African learners to rely on technology from outside sources, resulting in the exteriorization of innovation and creativity. African inventiveness becomes "African magic" with no real desire to interrogate, explain, or grasp its basic mechanics. This article contends that technology and creative imaginations exist in African societies. The task, however, remains the exploration and integration of African knowledge systems into higher education. The study aims to demonstrate how the interaction of two components of traditional African education--a sense of community and informal learning--could assist in the embrace, facilitation, and mainstreaming of marginalized African technologies. Although the paper may appear eclectic, it is intended to conscientiously push the paradigm that technology has been integral to African education. Regardless of Africa's technical challenges, salvation does not lie in excessive external reliance but rather in investing and building on Indigenous African knowledges/practices in order to establish an African technological identity.

The purpose of this research were 1) to synthesize the structure of product design management of small and medium industries in Thailand to the international market education, and 2) to verify the consistency of the relationship between marketing demand and corporate strategy, research and development, innovation and technology and design goals. This research is quantitative and qualitative research. The sample group for quantitative research was 500 small and medium business entrepreneurs, 9 key informants divided into 4 groups: business people, government organization group, academic group, and designer data analysis uses a structured analysis. The analysis of the developed structural models was found that the evaluation criteria were consistent with the empirical data. The relative chi-squared probability was 0.306, the relative chi-squared probability was 1.042, the consistency index was 0.957, and the mean square of the estimation of the error was 0.009.

Many undergraduate educational experiences in biomedical design lack clinical immersion-based needs finding training for students. Convinced of the merits of this type of training for undergraduates, but unable to offer a quarter-long course due to faculty and administrative constraints, we developed an accelerated block-plan course, during which students were dedicated solely to our class for 3 weeks. The course focused on the earliest stages of the health technology innovation process--conducting effective clinical observations and performing comprehensive need research and screening. We grounded the course in experiential learning theory (with hands-on, collaborative, and immersive experiences) and constructivist learning theory (where students integrated prior knowledge with new material on need-driven innovation). This paper describes the design of this intensive block-plan course and the teaching methods intended to support the achievement of five learning objectives. We used pre- and post-course surveys to gather self-reported data about the effect of the course on student learning. Despite the accelerated format, we saw statistically significant gains for all but one sub-measure across the learning objectives. Our experience supports key benefits of the block-plan model, and the results indicate that specific course design choices were effective in achieving positive learning outcomes. These design decisions include (1) opportunities for students to practice observations before entering the clinical setting; (2) a framework for the curriculum that reinforced important concepts iteratively throughout the program; (3) balanced coverage of preparation, clinical immersion, and need research; (4) extensive faculty and peer coaching; and (5) providing hands-on prototyping opportunities while staying focused on need characterization rather than solution development. Based on our experience, we expect that this model is replicable across institutions with limited bandwidth to support clinical immersion opportunities.

In this contribution, we address a major puzzle in the evolution of human material culture: If maturing individuals just learn their parental generation's material culture, then what is the origin of key innovations as documented in the archeological record? We approach this question by coupling a life-history model of the costs and benefits of experimentation with a niche-construction perspective. Niche-construction theory suggests that the behavior of organisms and their modification of the world around them have important evolutionary ramifications by altering developmental settings and selection pressures. Part of Homo sapiens' niche is the active provisioning of children with play objects - sometimes functional miniatures of adult tools - and the encouragement of object play, such as playful knapping with stones. Our model suggests that salient material culture innovation may occur or be primed in a late childhood or adolescence sweet spot when cognitive and physical abilities are sufficiently mature but before the full onset of the concerns and costs associated with reproduction. We evaluate the model against a series of archeological cases and make suggestions for future research., (© 2018 The Authors Evolutionary Anthropology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Purpose: Studies of human capital and economic growth were initially focused on labour and physical capital, but it was later recognised that factors such as education, health, and technology also affected this relationship. The present study aims to examine the effects of education, health, and innovation/technology, as the components of human capital, on economic growth. Method: This study brings together different indicators of education, health, and innovation/technology to calculate index values for the 1999-2015 period, using data on 31 developed and developing economies. It prefers to adopt a holistic approach, making use of an index that brings together multiple variables used in the literature rather than the 'best/most appropriate' proxy variable, in order to avoid a 'narrowing' of the human capital goals. These values were used to examine the relationship between human capital and economic growth. Findings: It was found that education, health, and innovation/technology, in that order, made the biggest contribution to economic growth in developed and developing economies; education and health made a bigger contribution to growth in developing economies; and innovation/technology made a bigger contribution in developed economies. Implications for Research and Practice: These findings have implications for countries trying to achieve stable economic growth, their efforts should be directed to improve the quality of education, and to implement projects with high short-term returns.

The essence of higher education is to cultivate innovative talents for the society. Hence, higher education institutions (HEIs), on the one hand, need to respond to social needs and government policies. On the other hand, they need to keep pace with the times and improve the details of teaching to improve the effectiveness of education. In this paper, several combination education examples in HEIs about safety education and innovation education are shown to encourage students to realize innovations in technique during their laboratory experiments on electrospinning. To obtain professional knowledge and traditional professional skills, students are taught to implement electrospinning, an advanced technique for treating polymers, in the research laboratory. Safety education is also taught, during which the students are encouraged to play their subjective roles and ponder on how to apply innovations for safe, effective, and innovative implementation. The students apply a series of small technological innovations for the spinneret, which is the most innovative part of an electrospinning system. They can modify the spinneret for safer, more energy-saving, and more convenient operations of the single-fluid blending, coaxial, triaxial, and side-by-side electrospinning processes. Moreover, the innovations can deepen their professional knowledge of electrospinning and stimulate their enjoyment of innovations. Safety education on electrospinning can be a powerful tool for promoting technological innovations in students and increasing their awareness of related safety issues. The reported protocols in this paper show a new way for conducting combined education in HEIs on advanced techniques.

Background: Developing upper secondary school students' understanding of the nature of science and technology are important priorities in educational systems worldwide. More research is needed to better understand the conditions under which teaching and learning of epistemological insights become possible, as well as the tools that are necessary for this purpose. Purpose: This study investigates the potential impact of Explicit Epistemological Discourse (EED) in improving student understanding of the interrelationship between Science and Technology (S&T) through a combined inquiry-oriented and design-oriented teaching and learning activity sequence on Electromagnetic Properties of Materials. Sample: The participants were 16 year-old students from two intact classes (N = 37 and N = 26, respectively) in their last year of state schooling, in a European country, one year before selection of high school elective courses. Design and methods: We implemented two conditions of the activity sequence; one included EED activities on the interrelationship between S&T, the other condition included identical inquiry and design activities, with additional practice exercises substituting the reflection activities on EED. Pre-post tests and interviews evaluated students' understanding about the goals of S&T. Results: Students in the EED condition surpassed students in the non-EED condition. The results support the claim that students' awareness about the interrelationship between S&T is improved when integrating EED into classroom activities that are credibly authentic and relevant from the students' perspective. Conclusion: Discursive reflection activities have an important role to play in helping students appreciate aspects of the nature of science and the nature of technology as part of their science classes. The integration of epistemological insights in the objectives of science education and the findings of this study are particularly relevant for contemporary efforts to promote education for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the theoretical complexity that underlies purchase managers' perceptions of their ability to take part in the implementation of a new back-office service strategy. Design/methodology/approach: A survey of purchasing department managers in the Antalya (Turkey) region was conducted. The purchasing managers of Antalya's five-star accommodation businesses comprise the research sample. Findings: Within the scope of the study, 205 questionnaires were gathered. Factor analysis, correlation and regression analysis were applied to the obtained data. The learning organization (LO) consists of three factors (organization, group/team and individual), service innovation (SI) consists of two factors (employee innovation behavior and new service development) and technology acceptance (TA) consists of four factors (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, facilitating situations and social factors), according to the findings of the factor analysis. According to correlation analysis, LO, SI and TA all have positive and significant relationships. The LO has been observed to play an intermediary function in the relationship between TA and SI as a consequence of the analysis that determines the mediation effect. Originality/value: This study which dealt with the dimensions of SI, TA and LO showed a proposed model which gives a better understanding of how the development of back-office system strategies is affected by LOs.

Purpose: This paper aims to create a conceptual model that connects learning organizations, service innovation and technology acceptance. Design/methodology/approach: The importance of the interaction of variables benefiting both individuals and organizations has been comprehensively explained by combining two well-known theories -- learning organizational theory and service innovation theory -- with the technology acceptance model. In the first part of the study, conceptual model has been constructed and then applied to the hospitality industry of which results have been presented in the second part of this paper. Findings: It is hypothesized that learning organization, service innovation and technology acceptance have significant relationships. It is also suggested that the learning organization plays an intermediary role in the relationship between technology acceptance and service innovation. Empirical results in this regard have been presented in the second part of the paper. Research limitations/implications: The relations have been established and tested in the hospitality industry in Antalya. However, the model can be applied and established relations tested in other industries. Originality/value: This research contributes to our knowledge of the intricate linkages that exist between learning organizations, technology acceptance and service innovation. Originality of the paper is related to the novel multilayered model illustrating three-way interactions between the three dimensions of learning organization, technology acceptance and service innovation.

Purpose: This study conducts a systematic review of policy reforms for the evaluation of scientific and technological research (E-STR) in China's colleges. In doing so, it identifies changes to past policies, as well as the objectives and realizability of the most recent policy reform. Design/Approach/Methods: This study systematically reviews the contexts of E-STR policy reforms in China's colleges post 2000 using three important related policy documents from 2003, 2013, and 2020 as samples. Research findings were obtained via content analysis. Findings: Unlike previous attempts, the most recent policy reform has incorporated the lessons learned while introducing highly targeted measures and a monitoring mechanism. Such reform should accelerate the promotion of major original scientific research in China's colleges, enhance the contribution of scientific research to socioeconomic development, and strengthen support for the cultivation of undergraduate talents. Originality/Value: Initiated in the early part of 2000, China's latest E-STR policy reform constitutes an important turning point in the initiative to burst the research bubble and return to the essence of innovation. It will drive China's colleges to embark on a research path that places value on original innovation and contribution to socioeconomic development.

The lack of racial diversity in the technology industry has been widely acknowledged, especially since 2014 when many Silicon Valley companies, like Google, Facebook, and Intel, released racial diversity data. Howard University faculty involved in tech entrepreneurship noticed the racial disparity first-hand as entrepreneurs themselves and as participants in entrepreneurship events and conferences. They set out to build an innovation ecosystem at Howard, a historically Black University, in order to address this gap and prepare more traditionally underrepresented engineering professionals for careers in the current and future technology innovation sector. This paper explores the building of an innovation ecosystem at Howard University and addresses how it started, what it entails, outcomes that have been observed thus far, and next steps.

From the intricate ensemble of evidence related to the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition and the presumed first spread of anatomically modern humans in Europe, the Uluzzian has attracted major attention in the past few years. Although the Uluzzian has been viewed as a supposed product of modern humans settling in Mediterranean Europe, the techno-cultural complex has been the subject of few investigations aiming to clarify its chronology, bone industry, and settlement dynamics. Further, little is known of its technological structure. This article presents the results of an extensive study of the lithic and bone technologies from assemblages recovered at Fumane Cave in the north of Italy. Results confirm that the Uluzzian is a flake-dominated industry that brings together a set of technological innovations. The Levallois is the most used method in the initial phase, which is replaced by more varied flaking procedures and an increase in bladelets and flake-blades. Sidescrapers and points also represent a Mousterian feature in the initial phase, while splintered pieces, backed knives and other Upper Palaeolithic tools increase in the later phase. Our results suggest that the Uluzzian is rooted in the Mousterian lithic technological context and cannot be viewed as a proxy for anatomically modern humans, the carriers of the abrupt cultural changes related to the Aurignacian., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Digital technology is changing nature conservation in increasingly profound ways. We describe this impact and its significance through the concept of 'digital conservation', which we found to comprise five pivotal dimensions: data on nature, data on people, data integration and analysis, communication and experience, and participatory governance. Examining digital innovation in nature conservation and addressing how its development, implementation and diffusion may be steered, we warn against hypes, techno-fix thinking, good news narratives and unverified assumptions. We identify a need for rigorous evaluation, more comprehensive consideration of social exclusion, frameworks for regulation and increased multi-sector as well as multi-discipline awareness and cooperation. Along the way, digital technology may best be reconceptualised by conservationists from something that is either good or bad, to a dual-faced force in need of guidance.

Technology innovation and human capital are without doubt contributory factors to economic growth. However, not many of such studies have been conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed the triangular association between human capital, technology innovation and economic growth in South Africa over the period 1985-2015. The study used Johansen cointegration analysis and the vector error correction model (VECM) to test the relationships between these variables. Results revealed there is a long-term relationship and bi-directional relationships between them. Moreover, the results of short-term causality revealed two things: a unidirectional causality from economic growth to technology innovation and human capital; and causality from technology innovation to human capital. This implies that a boom in the economy and improvement in technology innovation in the short run would cause long run human capital development and accumulation which afterwards would lead to economic growth in South Africa.

In Tanzania, agriculture sector is known for employing more than 70% of the total population. Agriculture sector faces many challenges including climate change. Climate change causes low productivity in agriculture; low productivity is caused due to poor implementation of agricultural policies and strategies. This poor implementation of policies has also caused many farmers to be not competent in climate change adaptation. Over the years, provisions of agricultural advice and extension were provided by various approaches, including training and visit extension, participatory approaches, and farmers' field schools. However, provision of agricultural advisory and extension service is inefficient. Also, in most cases the usage of most agricultural innovations and technologies developed is limited. A literature review indicates that the main reasons given by Tanzanian farmers for not using improved technology are not lack of knowledge or skill, but rather that the technologies do not contribute towards improvements (e.g., the technologies are not profitable or they imply to high risk). Thus, agricultural extension service needs to be geared towards teaching farmers how to develop innovative and cost effective technologies that are contextualized. Limited numbers of agricultural extension staff and less interactivity of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as radio and television, have been mentioned to be among the factors limiting the provision of agricultural advisory and extension services to the majority of farmers in Tanzania. The advancements in ICTs have brought new opportunities for enhancing access to agricultural advisory and extension service for climate change adaptation. In Tanzania, farmers and other actors access agricultural information from various sources such as agricultural extension workers and use of various databases from Internet Services Providers. Also there are different web- and mobile-based farmers' advisory information systems to support conventional agricultural extension service. These systems are producing bulk amounts of data which makes it difficult for different stakeholders to make an informed decision after data analysis. This calls for the need to develop a tool for data visualization in order to understand hidden patterns from massive data. In this study, a semi-automated text classification was developed to determine the frequently asked keywords from a web and mobile based farmers' advisory system called "UshauriKilimo" after being in use for more than 2 years by more than 700 farmers.

John McNamara shares his wisdom and humbly credits Camillo Grazzini, Jenny Höglund, and David Kahn for his growth in Montessori. Recognizing more than what he has learned from his mentors, he shares the lessons he has learned from his students themselves. Math, science, history, and language are so integrated in the curriculum that students comment they don't even think whether they are doing science or math. A schedule that allows time for students to follow a query to a conclusion is vital to the kinds of discoveries John's students make, such as a shortcut for multiplying binomials or reconfiguring cubing materials that made even John marvel at student independence and innovation. A bibliography is included. [This paper was presented at the NAMTA conference titled "A Montessori Integrated Approach to Science, Mathematics, Technology, and the Environment" in Portland, OR, Mar 31-Apr 3, 2016.]

The carpet production in Ganja took one of the leading handicraft activities since ancient times and still impresses with its high skill and the variety of colors, but there have been no widely studied the question of the creation technology of such representatives of cultural heritage. Scientific paper deals with the research of the basic features of some main traditional handicraft kinds of Ganja, among them is making carpets, on the basis of innovative methods and materials. For the investigations were used ethnographic field samples. Based on the research identified the main types of carpet, the technique and the materials, especially dyes. Also for the first time these local craftsmanship patterns have been investigated as an important source in research of historical past and ethnology of Azerbaijan.

The purpose of this study is to determine specific features of investment regulation mechanism aimed at providing effective implementation of projects in the context of industrial-innovative development of Kazakhstan. There the used the system of general scientific and special research methods providing the possibility to disclose processes and phenomena in their interconnection and development. In particular, these methods included assessment, theoretical modeling, classification, grouping and logical generalization graphical method, formalization, structural and logical analysis. The study concludes that Kazakhstan needs to focus on further development of innovative infrastructure and venture capital, that is, to build a complete chain on innovation support. The article identifies ways of venture capital development (domestic venture capital investments, investing abroad, investing in the country and abroad through public and/or private corporations, as well as the creation of technology companies). The authors proposed to consider financing the technology outside the country (by the example of Singapore), which will give the possibility to obtain venture funding experience to implement the transfer of relevant technologies to Kazakhstan and to attract more foreign investment to the country.

The relevance of the research problem is conditioned by the lack of developments in the field of management of transformational processes in modern economic systems in conditions of globalization and development in the framework of the trends of the world economy. The purpose of this paper is to substantiate directions of innovative development of the Russian economy in the context of sector technological structures' concept. The main research method of this problem is the comparative analysis of indicators of economic and innovative development, allowing estimating of the parameters of the innovation process at the macro and mezzo levels. The paper presents the systematization of industries' sectors in accordance with existing technological structures; reveals the characteristic tendencies of sectors' development on the Russian economy in the sphere of innovation activity taking into account the characteristics and dynamics of changes in the proportions of reproduction of its technological diversity. The findings can be used in the formation of priority directions of innovative development at the Federal and regional levels in the context of regulation of proportions of technological structures, as well as in the process of development of programs for perspective innovative development of industries of the Russian economy.

The University of Oregon (UO) Libraries recently launched the campus's first ideation room, the Innovation, Design, Education, and Aspire (IDEA) Space. The IDEA Space differentiates from other creative spaces such as makerspaces, digital humanities labs, and media centres by its focus on the intellectual aspects of the design thinking process -- generation, development, and testing of ideas -- rather than the practicalities of prototyping and production. This case study discusses the co-participatory design process used to create this new space, including focus groups, user voting, policy discussions around access and technology, and plans for iterative design changes and assessment moving forward. Key takeaways from the student-initiated project included the need for developing a shared understanding of the spaces' purpose and scope across a variety of stakeholder groups, managing expectations regarding aspirational versus attainable goals, and the difficulty of maintaining the continuity of a student-initiated project in the face of student turnover.

Humans have become the most dominant animal on the planet. They have adaptations providing advantages over other animals. They have even out competed other species in their own genus. Humans have opposable forefingers and thumbs for superior dexterity, very large brains for intelligence, walk upright with bipedal locomotion to cover distances more efficiently, care for each other in social groups, use language and symbolism (abstract thought), can control fire, construct shelter, and manufacture and use tools (including clothing and hunting tools). As of 2015, the worldwide human population was estimated at 7.38 billion (United Nations, 2017). But, with so many humans competing with other animals and plants, and each other, for the same resources, is such a large population sustainable? What will happen to other animals? What will happen to plants? What will happen to humans themselves? This article presents a straight forward activity that can help students understand the constructs of technological fix and trade-offs. Teachers are invited to have students conduct research on the climate accord and work in groups to come up with solutions to the problem of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to zero by 2050. A list of questions is provided to guide students as they address each question.

We focus on human capital measured by skills and analyse its relationship with R&D investments and productivity across 12 OECD economies and 17 industries. We compute a measure of sectoral human capital defined as the average cognitive skills of the workforce in each country-sector combination. The variation in labour productivity that can be explained by human capital is remarkably large when measured by the sectoral skills, whereas it appears statistically insignificant when measured by the sectoral school attainment. This suggests that using measures of sectoral cognitive skills can represent a major step forward in any future sectoral growth accounting exercise.

Purpose: Management education trainers are increasingly called upon to train students to devise interventions for sustainable development in business settings. Due to the dominant reductionist paradigm, these interventions may lead to unwanted side effects. Teaching students about unacknowledged feedback loops in complex systems should prevent them from choosing "the most obvious" intervention without considering unwanted side effects. The current study aims to report the effects of teaching a systems perspective, applied to transport systems, on students' opinions and expressed paradigms. The following questions are addressed: Do students adhere to the techno-centric paradigm, believing technology, innovation and growth can solve all types of threats for sustainable development, while neglecting low probability, high impact events? Are paradigms held by students coherent? Can teaching lead to a change in opinions and paradigms held by students? Design/methodology/approach: Measures for several systems concepts (i.e. functional stupidity, paradigms and fragility) are taken across a wide sample of university students. Posttests of some key items are taken for a subsample that followed a sustainability and systems perspective in a course on transport economics. Findings: A large share of students think that technology can solve different types of problems in sustainable development (a kind of weak sustainability), but their paradigms tend to be a mix of conflicting opinions. Though student opinions on topics that were explicitly treated in the course have changed, neither a wider paradigm shift nor significantly more coherent paradigms can be confirmed. Originality/value: The results show that even though students can be taught about the unwanted side effects and limitations on specific techno-fix interventions, this does not automatically translate into a critical mind-set toward techno-fixing in general.

The purpose of this study is to address undertheorized notions of equity within technology leadership research and to offer alternative possibilities for equitable technology leadership practice. Drawing on advocacy and equity-oriented leadership studies, I investigate the leadership practices of one technology-based and people of color-led organization in Oakland, California ('InnovateEquity'). Data includes 9 months of participant-observation and 12 interviews with staff and leadership. I found that bridging an 'engagement gap', historic disparities in who is included in vision-setting and decision-making processes, represented a key dimension of InnovateEquity's efforts to foster equitable educational and community changes. Participatory vision-setting processes allowed for a more contested view of 'technology' to emerge -- one where digital tools offered novel possibilities for youth civic engagement, but also represented looming threats of displacement and gentrification. I discuss these findings and encourage scholars of technology leadership to bridge historic divides in decision-making processes and better situate the possibilities (and contradictions) of digital technologies within the everyday cultural and material realities of urban communities.