How to Create an Innovation Accelerator

Too many policy failures are fundamentally failures of knowledge. This has become particularly apparent during the recent financial and economic crisis, which is questioning the validity of mainstream scholarly paradigms. We propose to pursue a multi-disciplinary approach and to establish new institutional settings which remove or reduce obstacles impeding efficient knowledge creation. We provided suggestions on (i) how to modernize and improve the academic publication system, and (ii) how to support scientific coordination, communication, and co-creation in large-scale multi-disciplinary projects. Both constitute important elements of what we envision to be a novel ICT infrastructure called "Innovation Accelerator" or "Knowledge Accelerator".Comment: 32 pages, Visioneer White Paper, see http://www.visioneer.ethz.c

The cosmopolitan-parochial divide: changing patterns of party and electoral competition in the Netherlands and beyond

Recent election outcomes in Europe and beyond reflect a growing scepticism of open borders among the public. From the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom to the election of Donald Trump in the United States, rhetoric that is critical of the organizations facilitating policy co-operation and learning across borders as well as international trade and migration is popular among a growing segment of the electorate. Are these recent developments part of a larger trend of party and electoral change? By focusing on changing patterns in party and electoral competition in the Netherlands, this article suggests that they are. Relying on expert and voter data, it argues that party and electoral politics in the Netherlands are increasingly characterized by both an economic left–right as well as a cosmopolitan–parochial divide. While the former relates to issues of state intervention into the economy, the second refers to stances on European integration, migration and national control in international affairs. This cosmopolitan–parochial divide has become largely independent of the economic left–right dimension, and influences people’s voting decisions independently of their left–right views. Interestingly, the cosmopolitan–parochial divide in the Netherlands should not necessarily be understood as a cultural backlash, but rather seems a reflection of increased economic insecurity. Although the evidence stems from the Dutch case, I suggest that the cosmopolitan–parochial divide is a useful lens through which we can understand political change in Europe more generally

A Framework for Organizational Compliance Management Tactics

Abstract. Organizational compliance with laws, industrial standards, procedures and enterprise architectures has become a highly relevant topic for both practitio-ners and academics. However, both the fundamental insights into compliance as a concept and the tactics for bringing an organization into a compliant state have been described in a fragmented manner. Using literature from various disciplines, this paper presents two contributions. First, it describes the fundamental concepts regarding compliance. Second, it presents a framework in which the various tactics for achieving organizational compliance can be positioned

Factors affecting the outcome of in vitro bovine embryo production using ovum pick-up-derived cumulus oocyte complexes

Optimization of bovine ovum pick up (OPU) followed by in vitro embryo production (IVP) has been driven by the desire of both beef and dairy cattle breeders to enhance genetic improvement. The work presented in this thesis focuses on optimizing the efficiency and efficacy of the OPU-IVP program. Attention has been paid to both genetic and non-genetic factors affecting the outcome of OPU-IVP. Moreover, by performing embryo transfer experiments, it was possible to ensure that effects and resulting conclusions were not limited to the embryo production stage, but also encompassed post-transfer embryo survival and calf characteristics. The optimal maturation culture period for OPU-derived cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) in relation to their post-fertilization developmental capacity was determined in a retrospective study covering the analyses of OPU, IVP and calving results from commercial program over a 10 year period. In vitro maturation (IVM) culture periods within 16-28 h range had no detrimental effect on embryo production rate, calving rate, birth-weight, gestation length or proportion of male calves. The presence of cysteamine during IVM of OPU-derived COCs significantly increased the embryo production rate (34.4% with cysteamine vs. 23.4% without cysteamine). The improved embryo production was due to an increased percentage of blastocysts, whereas cryotolerance was not affected. This improvement resulted in a mean of 1.73 transferable embryos per OPU session after IVM in the presence of cysteamine compared to 1.06 in the absence of cysteamine. The presence of cysteamine did not affect post-transfer embryo survival or calf characteristics. The presence of an intra-incubator carbon-activated air filtration system (CODA) during in vitro culture (IVC) did not affect embryo production at Day 7 nor embryo stage or quality. However, the pregnancy rate was improved for both fresh (46.3% vs. 41.0%) and frozen/thawed embryos (40.8% vs. 35.6%). Genetic factors influencing the outcome of bovine OPU-IVP and its relation to female fertility were also investigated. For the first time, genetic parameters were estimated for the number of COCs (Ncoc), quality of COCs (Qcoc) and the number and proportion of embryos at Day 4 (NcleavD4, PcleavD4) and Day 7 of culture (NembD7, PembD7 and NTembD7, PTembD7). Estimates of heritability were 0.25 for Ncoc, 0.09 for Qcoc, 0.19 for NcleavD4, 0.21 for NembD7, 0.16 for NTembD7, 0.07 for PcleavD4, 0.12 for PembD7, and 0.10 for PTembD7. Genetic correlation between Ncoc and Qcoc was close to zero, whereas genetic correlations between Ncoc and the number of embryos were positive ranging from moderate to high. These results suggest that COC quality is independent of the total number of COCs collected via OPU and that in general, a higher number of COCs will lead to a higher number of embryos produced. This study identified OPU-IVP traits that could be of potential value for genetic selection. In conclusion, the results presented in this thesis provide a source of useful information for future attempts to improve both the efficiency and efficacy of OPU-IVP programs in commercial breeding enterprise

Factors affecting the outcome of in vitro bovine embryo production using ovum pick-up-derived cumulus oocyte complexes

Optimization of bovine ovum pick up (OPU) followed by in vitro embryo production (IVP) has been driven by the desire of both beef and dairy cattle breeders to enhance genetic improvement. The work presented in this thesis focuses on optimizing the efficiency and efficacy of the OPU-IVP program. Attention has been paid to both genetic and non-genetic factors affecting the outcome of OPU-IVP. Moreover, by performing embryo transfer experiments, it was possible to ensure that effects and resulting conclusions were not limited to the embryo production stage, but also encompassed post-transfer embryo survival and calf characteristics. The optimal maturation culture period for OPU-derived cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) in relation to their post-fertilization developmental capacity was determined in a retrospective study covering the analyses of OPU, IVP and calving results from commercial program over a 10 year period. In vitro maturation (IVM) culture periods within 16-28 h range had no detrimental effect on embryo production rate, calving rate, birth-weight, gestation length or proportion of male calves. The presence of cysteamine during IVM of OPU-derived COCs significantly increased the embryo production rate (34.4% with cysteamine vs. 23.4% without cysteamine). The improved embryo production was due to an increased percentage of blastocysts, whereas cryotolerance was not affected. This improvement resulted in a mean of 1.73 transferable embryos per OPU session after IVM in the presence of cysteamine compared to 1.06 in the absence of cysteamine. The presence of cysteamine did not affect post-transfer embryo survival or calf characteristics. The presence of an intra-incubator carbon-activated air filtration system (CODA) during in vitro culture (IVC) did not affect embryo production at Day 7 nor embryo stage or quality. However, the pregnancy rate was improved for both fresh (46.3% vs. 41.0%) and frozen/thawed embryos (40.8% vs. 35.6%). Genetic factors influencing the outcome of bovine OPU-IVP and its relation to female fertility were also investigated. For the first time, genetic parameters were estimated for the number of COCs (Ncoc), quality of COCs (Qcoc) and the number and proportion of embryos at Day 4 (NcleavD4, PcleavD4) and Day 7 of culture (NembD7, PembD7 and NTembD7, PTembD7). Estimates of heritability were 0.25 for Ncoc, 0.09 for Qcoc, 0.19 for NcleavD4, 0.21 for NembD7, 0.16 for NTembD7, 0.07 for PcleavD4, 0.12 for PembD7, and 0.10 for PTembD7. Genetic correlation between Ncoc and Qcoc was close to zero, whereas genetic correlations between Ncoc and the number of embryos were positive ranging from moderate to high. These results suggest that COC quality is independent of the total number of COCs collected via OPU and that in general, a higher number of COCs will lead to a higher number of embryos produced. This study identified OPU-IVP traits that could be of potential value for genetic selection. In conclusion, the results presented in this thesis provide a source of useful information for future attempts to improve both the efficiency and efficacy of OPU-IVP programs in commercial breeding enterprise