Intermediary organisations for knowledge exchange: a comparative study of the agricultural biotechnology sector in the Netherlands and the UK

This dissertation, by comparing the agricultural biotechnology sector in the Netherlands and the UK, aims to understand the advantages and disadvantages posed by intermediary organisations for the promotion of knowledge exchange between universities and industry. An original conceptual framework has been constructed to allow a systematic analysis of intermediaries according to the functions they fulfil. The framework suggests that intermediaries can fulfil one or more of the following functions: access to human resources, access to the knowledge base, opportunities for commercialisation, access to facilities and other infrastructure, and access to networks. In order to move beyond the limitations brought about by differing nomenclature for intermediaries, the framework also proposes four ideal types of intermediaries derived from an analysis of existing intermediaries. The results of the empirical study reported here show that the roles of intermediaries are dependent on the characteristics of the sector as well as the history and configuration of existing national institutions. The policy implications of this study are several-fold. It is shown in this dissertation that application of certain dominant models of intermediaries can result in disadvantages for sectors like agricultural biotechnology that differ in important respects from the more frequently studied sectors, where these intermediaries seem to work better. This study of the agricultural biotechnology sector showed that there is space for new configurations of intermediaries such as sectoral technology transfer companies. The study highlighted that the crucial element for knowledge exchange is the production of knowledge itself. After identifying certain weaknesses in the UK agricultural sector and strengths within the Netherlands, the dissertation finds that large collaborative programs tend to facilitate knowledge exchange, while collaborative research and training can be a path for overcoming weaknesses in the system. By comparing the Netherlands and the UK, this study also showed that the presence of a strong industry is necessary for the uptake of knowledge originating from the research base

The role of information systems in achieving the sustainable development goals : an overview of established and emerging technologies for development

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing IntelligenceThe Sustainable Development Goals initiative is one of the most significant Global Development programs created by the United Nations for the future. It is both the result and the continuation of a successful anti-poverty movement called Millennium Development Goals, implemented in the year 2000. At a time of transition marked by the post-2015 agenda for Development, new questions and problems have arisen and new challenges have been set in order to keep track of Sustainable Development. Information Systems and technology are among the key elements behind these Global Agenda Programmes, since they are rightly seen as enablers of Sustainable Development. The aim of this study was to understand what the role of technology might be in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals according to literature and field experts, providing a framework that can be used for discussion in a 2015 post-agenda context

Mind the gap: characterization of periplasmic cytochromes from Shewanella oneidensis involved in extracellular electron transfer

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in BiochemistryDissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) is an important biogeochemical process with a strong impact not only on the iron cycle but also on the biogeochemical cycles of other elements, changing dramatically the composition of the planet’s sediments and soils.(...

Urban food strategies in Central and Eastern Europe: what's specific and what's at stake?

Integrating a larger set of instruments into Rural Development Programmes implied an increasing focus on monitoring and evaluation. Against the highly diversified experience with regard to implementation of policy instruments the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework has been set up by the EU Commission as a strategic and streamlined method of evaluating programmes’ impacts. Its indicator-based approach mainly reflects the concept of a linear, measure-based intervention logic that falls short of the true nature of RDP operation and impact capacity on rural changes. Besides the different phases of the policy process, i.e. policy design, delivery and evaluation, the regional context with its specific set of challenges and opportunities seems critical to the understanding and improvement of programme performance. In particular the role of local actors can hardly be grasped by quantitative indicators alone, but has to be addressed by assessing processes of social innovation. This shift in the evaluation focus underpins the need to take account of regional implementation specificities and processes of social innovation as decisive elements for programme performance.

Lusophone-African multinational enterprises internationalization mode: a case analysis of Angolan and Mozambican enterprises

Several internationalization theories have been developed over the past few decades that have made significant contributions in explaining the enterprise internationalization and their mode of entry strategy. It has been suggested that the determinants of entry mode choice of enterprises from emerging and frontier markets differ from those of comparable enterprises from advanced economies. A literature review appears to indicate that there is a need to expand the framework for entry mode strategies to accommodate the expansion issues enterprises from emerging and frontier countries face in the global marketplace. Nevertheless, not much information and an acceptable conclusion have been made on how MNEs from frontier markets internationalize and what factors influence their choice of entry into those markets. This study investigated the internationalization strategies of Lusophone Africa MNEs from Angola and Mozambique, more specifically, their entry mode. Information was gathered through a survey of 29 MNE’s upper management respondents and subsequent face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 24 of them in their countries. The results of this study suggest that most MNEs opted for equity-based investment strategies, mainly joint ventures and M&E as their preferred mode of entry when internationalizing. A significant group of them opted for eCommerce/ e-business strategies and direct and indirect exports. A smaller portion of the interviewees chose Greenfield investment as a mode of entry. Many of these MNEs could be classified as born global/INV. Finally, this study presents a conceptual framework for use in studying the entry mode choice of enterprises from Lusophone Africa frontier markets and offers research propositions for better understanding the determinants of entry mode strategies of enterprise from Angola and Mozambique.Accepted manuscrip

Sustainability in design: now! Challenges and opportunities for design research, education and practice in the XXI century

Copyright @ 2010 Greenleaf PublicationsLeNS project funded by the Asia Link Programme, EuropeAid, European Commission

Constructing Meanings by Designing Worlds: Digital Games as Participatory Platforms for Interest-Driven Learning and Creativity

This study emerges from the observation of an increasing divide between generations: a lack of a shared ground that carries profound social, cultural, and educational implications. In particular, the broadening differences between academic and “grassroots” approaches to learning and creativity are transforming formal and informal enterprises into seemingly incommunicable realms. This clash between different (and distant) practices, inside and outside of school, is inhibiting the construction of a common language between teachers and students, and, more broadly, between generations, thus hindering the development of any educational discourse. In this study I inquired into an online participatory space in order to advance our understanding on how its participants, driven by their interest for gaming and game design, discursively constructed learning and creativity. In particular, I looked into a community dedicated to designing, sharing, and critiquing digital game levels (i.e. “mini-games”) created with LittleBigPlanet (a digital game and creative tool for the PlayStation 3 game console) and discussed in the “Forum” section of the LittleBigPlanet Central website (www.lbpcentral.com). In this qualitative study I applied a hybrid intertextual methodology based on discourse analysis, studio critique, and design process analysis to analyze discursive texts (threads/posts in the discussion forum), interactive artifacts (user-generated game levels), and constructive practices (deigning, sharing, and critiquing game levels). The findings of this study show that participants socially construct and negotiate learning and creativity by enacting specific discursive functions that entail the use of humor and specialist language and the negotiation of effort and self-appreciation. By engaging in multimodal and intertextual practices in an attentive and competent community, users create a safe social space that fosters reciprocal trust, togetherness, participation, planning, and reflectivity. By furthering our understanding of a situated interest world, this research advances our knowledge on informal participatory spaces in which learning and creativity emerge as intertwined phenomena that develop through social-constructive endeavors that spur from people’s interests and passions