Low_Tech Innovation in a High-Tech Environment? The Case of the Food Industry in the Vienna Metropolitan Region

This paper explores the opportunities for low-tech innovations in regional high-tech contexts. The literature suggests that traditional sectors tend to be only weakly integrated in such socio-institutional environments, because the specific innovation mode of low-tech industries is not compatible with the institutional framework of high-tech. Focusing on the empirical case of the food industry situated in the Vienna metropolitan region, the paper provides evidence that the link between old industries and their high-tech contexts may be more complex than commonly thought. Drawing on 20 face-to-face interviews with local companies, knowledge providers (universities and other research organisations) and industry experts it is highlighted that strong and weak forms of integration in the regional innovation system (RIS) co-exist, depending on the specific RIS dimension under consideration. Innovative companies in the local food sector, thus, embed themselves in a selective way in their regional institutional context. They make use of the scientific competences available within the RIS whilst at the same time they tend to “bypass” the RIS and tap into knowledge sources located outside the region.

09251 Abstracts Collection -- Scientific Visualization

From 06-14-2009 to 06-19-2009, the Dagstuhl Seminar 09251 ``Scientific Visualization \u27\u27 was held in Schloss Dagstuhl~--~Leibniz Center for Informatics. During the seminar, over 50 international participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general

Social Barriers to Entry: Liquefied Natural Gas Import Terminals in the US from 2000 to 2013

Management scholars recognize the uncertainties and challenges during the market entry process that can impede operational startup. However, very little empirical research exists to fully understand these challenges and explain firm responses. Even less attention has been paid to the threats from non-market actors and the countering strategies employed by firms. Hence, this thesis explores firm reactions to community contestation, as a form of social barrier to entry that can prevent the firm from exploiting market opportunities. Specifically, I consider the strategic implications of firms’ rhetorical responses to community contestation during the market entry process. For this thesis, U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry (2000–2013) is an appropriate context because only 26 out of the 59 proposed LNG import terminals could even get to the regulatory approval stage. Regulatory success, defined as the gain of regulatory approval in a relatively short amount of time compared to other competing proposals, was a necessary precursor for achieving operational startup and implementing the market entry strategy. The regulatory success of many proposals was threatened by extensive negative media attention due to sustained community contestation, forcing the Federal regulatory agencies to carry out an extensive and time-consuming evaluation in order to project an image of fairness. Firms had to employ rhetorical strategies to publicly counter the community contestation but were not equally successful. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), I identify four rhetorical strategies associated with the regulatory success. I find that a demonstrable community need enables an avoidance rhetorical strategy whereby firms try to sail through the regulatory process without catching public attention, especially when the design disadvantages of their proposals risk being exposed. When community need is not demonstrable but contestation levels are high, firms implement counterattack rhetorical strategies to undermine any community contestation, at times directly targeting the firm’s detractors, and not just the issues they raised. By conceiving of community contestation as a social barrier to entry and showing how it can be mitigated using rhetorical strategies, my study contributes to the literatures on rhetoric, firm entry, and non-market strategies at the community level

How work integration social enterprises help to realise capability: a comparison of three Australian settings

Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) are a response to reconfiguring social support for disadvantaged people. Here, theory and methodology from social geography were applied, to consider capability realized in/by three Australian regional city WISEs. Data were gathered using observation and interviews with supervisors and employees. Coding identified capability, then analyzed by physicality, people, narratives and practices to explore how WISEs ‘assemble’ capability. Comparing across cases highlighted elements that contribute to capability realization. Evidence generated reveals features of work and organization design that might be deployed to enhance capability realization. Social geographical approaches provide insights into how social enterprises generate value

Développement d'outils NIR et de méthodes pour monitorer des produits de lyophilisation

Abstract : The demand to achieve improved drug product quality has been accelerated with the advent of quality by design (QbD) guidance launched by regulatory agencies around the world. This extends to freeze-drying processes, where bio-pharmaceutical products are dried under an extremely controlled environment. Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, is a low-temperature dehydration process that involves multistep transformations making use of the principles of heat & mass transfer. This often renders the process complicated and time-consuming, resulting in large operating costs. Multiple process analytical technology (PAT) tools have been introduced to monitor product quality attributes in batch dried vials, as these tools help in keeping an eye on the product/process to achieve acceptable product quality attributes. Despite significant advances, many topics remain to be addressed. One of them being the impact of spatial variations in the product attributes, thus rendering the accuracy of in-process results obtained from a single point on the vial surface questionable. Another being the aesthetic appearance of the product, specifically collapse inside the products, which is usually assessed by visual inspection. However, relying completely on human input can be fallible and unrealistic in the production environment as thousands of product vials roll out from the freeze-dryers. Failure to detect an aesthetic defect in the finished freeze-dried product cake may put a patient’s life at risk as any defect might be a result of product collapse or meltback affecting the drug safety and efficacy. This project consisted of two main areas of work. 1) Using NIR Chemical Imaging (NIR-CI) and NIR spectroscopy (NIRS) to investigate the spatial variability of moisture on the surface of the vials undergoing drying. Furthermore, it demonstrates the necessity of using multiple measurement points on the vial surface to quantify moisture inside the freeze-drying products. 2) Using NIRS to identify the physical properties of the product, such as normal or collapsed product. This is performed by leveraging the ability of NIRS to exhibit unique spectra relative to the physical characteristics of the product. Two intensities of collapse were induced in the freeze-drying products, and the potential of NIRS in identifying the collapse during the process and in the finished freeze-dried products was demonstrated. Results show the promising nature of the NIR-CI and NIRS in combination with the multivariate data analysis (MVDA) methods to monitor product quality attributes and better understand their variability. Overall, this thesis work presents a detailed investigation about the moisture distribution and collapse inside the freeze-dried products.La demande d'amélioration de la qualité des produits pharmaceutiques a été accélérée avec l'avènement des directives de qualité par la conception (QbD) lancées par les agences de réglementation du monde entier. Cela s'étend aux procédés de lyophilisation, où les produits biopharmaceutiques sont séchés dans un environnement extrêmement contrôlé. La lyophilisation est un de déshydratation à basse température qui implique des transformations en plusieurs étapes utilisant les principe de transfert de chaleur et de masse. Cela rend souvent le procédé compliqué et long, ce qui entraîne des coûts d'exploitation importants. Plusieurs outils de technologie d'analyse de processus (PAT) ont été introduits pour surveiller les attributs de qualité du produit dans des flacons séchés par lots, car ces outils aident à garder un œil sur le produit / procédé pour obtenir des attributs de qualité de produit acceptables. Malgré des avancées significatives, de nombreux sujets restent à traiter. L'un d'eux est l'impact des variations spatiales dans les attributs du produit, rendant ainsi la précision des résultats en cours de procédé obtenus à partir d'un seul point sur la surface du flacon discutable. Un autre est l'aspect esthétique du produit, qui est généralement évalué par une inspection visuelle. Cependant, se fier entièrement à l'apport humain peut être problématique et irréaliste dans l'environnement de production, car des milliers de flacons de produit sortent des lyophilisateurs. Le fait de ne pas détecter un défaut esthétique dans le gâteau de produit lyophilisé fini peut mettre la vie d'un patient en danger, car tout défaut peut être le résultat de l'effondrement du produit (meltback) affectant l'innocuité et l'efficacité du médicament. Ce projet comprenait deux thèmes principaux. 1) Utilisation de l'imagerie chimique NIR (NIR-CI) et de la spectroscopie NIR (NIRS) pour étudier la variabilité spatiale de l'humidité à la surface des flacons en cours de séchage. 2) Utilisation de NIRS pour identifier les propriétés physiques du produit, en tirant parti de la capacité du NIRS à présenter des spectres uniques par rapport aux caractéristiques physiques du produit. Deux intensités d'affaissement ont été induites dans les produits de lyophilisation, et le potentiel du NIRS dans l'identification de l'effondrement pendant le procédé et dans les produits lyophilisés finis a été démontré. Les résultats montrent la nature prometteuse du NIR-CI et du NIRS en combinaison avec les méthodes d'analyse de données multivariées (MVDA) pour surveiller les attributs de qualité des produits et mieux comprendre leur variabilité. Dans l'ensemble, ce travail de thèse présente une étude détaillée de la répartition de l'humidité et de l'effondrement à l'intérieur des produits lyophilisés

Growth, the Environment and Keynes: Reflections on Two Heterodox Schools of Thought

This paper explores the approach of Post Keynesian Economics (PKE) in comparison with ecological economics. While PKE, like all macroeconomics, has failed to address environmental problems it does have many aspects which make compatibility with ecological economics seem feasible. Ecological economics has no specific macroeconomic approach although it has strong implications for economic growth and how this should be controlled, directed and in materials terms limited. We highlight growth as the key area of difference and reflect upon how Keynes himself saw capital accumulation as a means to an end not an end in itself, regarded it as a temporary measure and also was well aware of some of its psychological and social drawbacks.environment, Keynes, post keynesian, ecological economics

On the investigation of composite cooling/heating set gel systems based on rice starch and curdlan

In pursuit of advancing the understanding of composite gel systems, this study delves into the intricate realm of rheology, structural elucidation, and mechanical attributes. Specifically, it scrutinizes the symbiotic interplay between rice starch, a cooling-set gel, and curdlan, a thermo-irreversible heating-set gel. A higher curdlan content enhances the inter-chain hydrogen bonding between rice starch and curdlan, resulting in a denser gel structure and thus increased moduli, solid-like behavior, and mechanical properties, and reduced frequency-dependence, especially at high temperatures (>65 \ub0C). For example, with 50 % curdlan incorporation, G′ (90 \ub0C) improved by 252 %. Notably, thermal treatment can compromise the structural integrity of the rice starch gel, reducing strength and softening texture. However, this textural degradation can be effectively mitigated with, for example, 30 % curdlan incorporation, resulting in a 55-fold hardness increase at 85 \ub0C. The knowledge gained from this work offers valuable guidance for tailoring starch-based gel products to specific properties

eCPD Programme - Enhanced Learning.

This collection of papers (edited by Kevin Donovan) has been produced by the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) for LSIS. They are based on the summaries used by presenters during workshops at the 2009 launch of the eCPD Programme

Good workers, good firms? : Rural SMEs legitimising immigrant workforce

The workforce potential offered by immigrants is perceived as one solution for the sustainable operation of many rural companies. Still, diversifying the workforce and recruiting immigrant employees represents not only a significant organizational change for rural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) but can also reflect on their legitimacy in the eyes of the local community. In this study, we examine the legitimation strategies rural SMEs use in order to justify the decision to employ immigrant workers as socially accepted. The theoretical framework builds on the discussion concerning legitimacy and legitimation. By analysing the interviews with the representatives of 35 rural SMEs, we identified three legitimation strategies used to justify the decision to recruit immigrants, based on owner-managerial values, immigrants as good workers and the economic, demographic and social context consequent upon rural location. The aim of the legitimacy strategies is to convince rural community members in perceiving the recruitment of immigrant employees as favourable and preferable. Our study demonstrates that for rural SMEs, recruiting immigrant workers is not just an economic or bureaucratic procedure but entails social aspects as well. These social aspects need to be taken into consideration in order to maintain the business legitimacy.Peer reviewe