119 research outputs found
Collective intelligence: creating a prosperous world at peace
XXXII, 612 p. ; 24 cmLibro ElectrónicoEn este documento se plantea un tema de interes general mas como lo es especificamente el tema de la evolucion de la sociedad en materia de industria y crecimiento de las actividades humanas en el aspecto de desarrollo de la creatividad enfocada a los mercadosedited by Mark Tovey ; foreword by Yochai Benkler (re-mixed by Hassan Masum) ; prefaces by Thomas Malone, Tom Atlee & Pierre Levy ; afterword by Paul Martin & Thomas Homer-Dixon.The era of collective intelligence has begun in earnest. While others have written about the wisdom of crowds, an army of Davids, and smart mobs, this collection of essays for the first time brings together fifty-five pioneers in the emerging discipline of collective intelligence. They provide a base of tools for connecting people, producing high-functioning teams, collaborating at multiple scales, and encouraging effective peer-production. Emerging models are explored for digital deliberative democracy, self-governance, legislative transparency, true-cost accounting, and the ethical use of open sources and methods. Collective Intelligence is the first of a series of six books, which will also include volumes on Peace Intelligence, Commercial Intelligence, Gift Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, and Global Intelligence.Table of Contents
Dedication i
Publisher’s Preface iii
Foreword by Yochai Benkler Remix Hassan Masum xi
The Wealth of Networks: Highlights remixed
Editor’s Preface xxi
Table of Contents xxv
A What is collective intelligence and what will we do 1
about it? (Thomas W. Malone, MIT Center for
Collective Intelligence)
B Co-Intelligence, collective intelligence, and conscious 5
evolution (Tom Atlee, Co-Intelligence Institute)
C A metalanguage for computer augmented collective 15
intelligence (Prof. Pierre Lévy, Canada Research
Chair in Collective Intelligence, FRSC)
I INDIVIDUALS & GROUPS I-01 Foresight I-01-01 Safety Glass (Karl Schroeder, science fiction author 23
and foresight consultant)
I-01-02 2007 State of the Future (Jerome C. Glenn & 29
Theodore J. Gordon, United Nations Millennium
Project)
I-02 Dialogue & Deliberation I-02-01 Thinking together without ego: Collective intelligence 39
as an evolutionary catalyst (Craig Hamilton and Claire
Zammit, Collective-Intelligence.US)
I-02-02 The World Café: Awakening collective intelligence 47
and committed action (Juanita Brown, David Isaacs
and the World Café Community)
I-02-03 Collective intelligence and the emergence of 55
wholeness (Peggy Holman, Nexus for Change, The
Change Handbook)
I-02-04 Knowledge creation in collective intelligence (Bruce 65
LaDuke, Fortune 500, HyperAdvance.com)
I-02-05 The Circle Organization: Structuring for collective 75
wisdom (Jim Rough, Dynamic Facilitation & The
Center for Wise Democracy)
I-03 Civic Intelligence I-03-01 Civic intelligence and the public sphere (Douglas 83
Schuler, Evergreen State College, Public Sphere
Project)
I-03-02 Civic intelligence and the security of the homeland 95
(John Kesler with Carole and David Schwinn,
IngeniusOnline)
I-03-03 Creating a Smart Nation (Robert Steele, OSS.Net) 107
I-03-04 University 2.0: Informing our collective intelligence 131
(Nancy Glock-Grueneich, HIGHEREdge.org)
I-03-05 Producing communities of communications and 145
foreknowledge (Jason “JZ” Liszkiewicz,
Reconfigure.org)
I-03-06 Global Vitality Report 2025: Learning to transform I-04 Electronic Communities & Distributed Cognition I-04-01 Attentional capital and the ecology of online social 163
conflict and think together effectively (Peter+Trudy networks (Derek Lomas, Social Movement Lab,
Johnson-Lenz, Johnson-Lenz.com ) UCSD)
I-04-02 A slice of life in my virtual community (Howard 173
Rheingold, Whole Earth Review, Author & Educator)
I-04-03 Shared imagination (Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart, 197
Bootstrap)
I-05 Privacy & Openness I-05-01 We’re all swimming in media: End-users must be able 201
to keep secrets (Mitch Ratcliffe, BuzzLogic &
Tetriad)
I-05-02 Working openly (Lion Kimbro, Programmer and 205
Activist)
I-06 Integral Approaches & Global Contexts I-06-01 Meta-intelligence for analyses, decisions, policy, and 213
action: The Integral Process for working on complex
issues (Sara Nora Ross, Ph.D. ARINA & Integral
Review)
I-06-02 Collective intelligence: From pyramidal to global 225
(Jean-Francois Noubel, The Transitioner)
I-06-03 Cultivating collective intelligence: A core leadership 235
competence in a complex world (George Pór, Fellow
at Universiteit van Amsterdam)
II LARGE-SCALE COLLABORATION II-01 Altruism, Group IQ, and Adaptation II-01-01 Empowering individuals towards collective online 245
production (Keith Hopper, KeithHopper.com)
II-01-02 Who’s smarter: chimps, baboons or bacteria? The 251
power of Group IQ (Howard Bloom, author)
II-01-03 A collectively generated model of the world (Marko 261
A. Rodriguez, Los Alamos National Laboratory)
II-02 Crowd Wisdom and Cognitive Bias II-02-01 Science of CI: Resources for change (Norman L 265
Johnson, Chief Scientist at Referentia Systems, former
LANL)
II-02-02 Collectively intelligent systems (Jennifer H. Watkins, 275
Los Alamos National Laboratory)
II-02-03 A contrarian view (Jaron Lanier, scholar-in-residence, 279
CET, UC Berkeley & Discover Magazine)
II-03 Semantic Structures & The Semantic Web II-03-01 Information Economy Meta Language (Interview with 283
Professor Pierre Lévy, by George Pór)
II-03-02 Harnessing the collective intelligence of the World- 293
Wide Web (Nova Spivack, RadarNetworks, Web 3.0)
II-03-03 The emergence of a global brain (Francis Heylighen, 305
Free University of Brussels)
II-04 Information Networks II-04-01 Networking and mobilizing collective intelligence (G.
Parker Rossman, Future of Learning Pioneer)
II-04-02 Toward high-performance organizations: A strategic 333
role for Groupware (Douglas C. Engelbart, Bootstrap)
II-04-03 Search panacea or ploy: Can collective intelligence 375
improve findability? (Stephen E. Arnold, Arnold IT,
Inc.)
II-05 Global Games, Local Economies, & WISER II-05-01 World Brain as EarthGame (Robert Steele and many 389
others, Earth Intelligence Network)
II-05-02 The Interra Project (Jon Ramer and many others) 399
II-05-03 From corporate responsibility to Backstory 409
Management (Alex Steffen, Executive Editor,
Worldchanging.com)
II-05-04 World Index of Environmental & Social 413
Responsibility (WISER)
By the Natural Capital Institute
II-06 Peer-Production & Open Source Hardware II-06-01 The Makers’ Bill of Rights (Jalopy, Torrone, and Hill) 421
II-06-02 3D Printing and open source design (James Duncan, 423
VP of Technology at Marketingisland)
II-06-03 REBEARTHTM: 425
II-07 Free Wireless, Open Spectrum, and Peer-to-Peer II-07-01 Montréal Community Wi-Fi (Île Sans Fil) (Interview 433
with Michael Lenczner by Mark Tovey)
II-07-02 The power of the peer-to-peer future (Jock Gill, 441
Founder, Penfield Gill Inc.)
Growing a world 6.6 billion people
would want to live in (Marc Stamos, B-Comm, LL.B)
II-07-03 Open spectrum (David Weinberger)
II-08 Mass Collaboration & Large-Scale Argumentation II-08-01 Mass collaboration, open source, and social 455
entrepreneurship (Mark Tovey, Advanced Cognitive
Engineering Lab, Institute of Cognitive Science,
Carleton University)
II-08-02 Interview with Thomas Homer-Dixon (Hassan 467
Masum, McLaughlin-Rotman Center for Global
Health)
II-08-03 Achieving collective intelligence via large-scale
argumentation (Mark Klein, MIT Center for
Collective Intelligence)
II-08-04 Scaling up open problem solving (Hassan Masum & 485
Mark Tovey)
D Afterword: The Internet and the revitalization of 495
democracy (The Rt. Honourable Paul Martin &
Thomas Homer-Dixon)
E Epilogue by Tom Atlee 513
F Three Lists 515
1. Strategic Reading Categories
2. Synopsis of the New Progressives
3. Fifty-Two Questions that Matter
G Glossary 519
H Index 52
Turning science into health solutions: KEMRI’s challenges as Kenya’s health product pathfinder
BACKGROUND: A traditional pathway for developing new health products begins with public research institutes generating new knowledge, and ends with the private sector translating this knowledge into new ventures. But while public research institutes are key drivers of basic research in sub-Saharan Africa, the private sector is inadequately prepared to commercialize ideas that emerge from these institutes, resulting in these institutes taking on the role of product development themselves to alleviate the local disease burden. In this article, the case study method is used to analyze the experience of one such public research institute: the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). DISCUSSION: Our analysis indicates that KEMRI's product development efforts began modestly, and a manufacturing facility was constructed with a strategy for the facility's product output which was not very successful. The intended products, HIV and Hepatitis B diagnostic kits, had a short product life cycle, and an abrupt change in regulatory requirements left KEMRI with an inactive facility. These problems were the result of poor innovation management capacity, variability in domestic markets, lack of capital to scale up technologies, and an institutional culture that lacked innovation as a priority.However, KEMRI appears to have adapted by diversifying its product line to mitigate risk and ensure continued use of its manufacturing facility. It adopted an open innovation business model which linked it with investors, research partnerships, licensing opportunities, and revenue from contract manufacturing. Other activities that KEMRI has put in place over several years to enhance product development include the establishment of a marketing division, development of an institutional IP policy, and training of its scientists on innovation management. SUMMARY: KEMRI faced many challenges in its attempt at health product development, including shifting markets, lack of infrastructure, inadequate financing, and weak human capital with respect to innovation. However, it overcame them through diversification, partnerships and changes in culture. The findings could have implications for other research institutes in Sub-Saharan Africa seeking to develop health products. Such institutes must analyze potential demand and uptake, yet be prepared to face the unexpected and develop appropriate risk-mitigating strategies
Harnessing biodiversity: the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research (IMRA)
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Biopiracy – the use of a people’s long-established medical knowledge without acknowledgement or compensation – has been a disturbing historical reality and exacerbates the global rich-poor divide. Bioprospecting, however, describes the commercialization of indigenous medicines in a manner acceptable to the local populace. Challenges facing bioprospectors seeking to develop traditional medicines in a quality-controlled manner include a lack of skilled labor and high-tech infrastructure, adapting Northern R&D protocols to Southern settings, keeping products affordable for the local population, and managing the threat of biopiracy. The Malagasy Institute of Applied Research (IMRA) has employed bioprospecting to develop new health treatments for conditions such as diabetes and burns. Because of its integration of Western science and Malagasy cultural traditions, IMRA may provide a useful example for African and other organizations interested in bioprospecting.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>IMRA’s approach to drug development and commercialization was adapted from the outset to Malagasy culture and Southern economic landscapes. It achieved a balance between employing Northern R&D practices and following local cultural norms through four guiding principles. First, IMRA’s researchers understood and respected local practices, and sought to use rather than resist them. Second, IMRA engaged the local community early in the drug development process, and ensured that local people had a stake in its success. Third, IMRA actively collaborated with local and international partners to increase its credibility and research capacity. Fourth, IMRA obtained foreign research funds targeting the “diseases of civilization” to cross-fund the development of drugs for conditions that affect the Malagasy population. These principles are illustrated in the development of IMRA products like Madeglucyl, a treatment for diabetes management that was developed from a traditional remedy.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>By combining local and international research interests, IMRA has been able to keep its treatments affordable for the Malagasy population. Our analysis of IMRA’s history, strategy, and challenges suggests that other developing world institutions seeking to use bioprospecting to address issues of local access to medicines would be well-advised to treat traditional medical knowledge with respect and humility, share its benefits with the local community, and pursue strategic partnerships.</p
Corporate social responsibility and its effect on community development: an overview
Traditionally, businesses primarily exist to make profit. The profit motive has often been perceived as representing a lack of concern for all other objectives of an organisation. But, today businesses are realising that in order to stay profitable in a rapidly changing environment, they would have to become socially responsible. Hence, there is a growing demand and expectation from various stakeholders who expect business to go beyond their profit agenda and be socially responsible. The belief that beyond making profit for the shareholders, business enterprises should also serve the interest of all other stakeholders has culminated into the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This concept has engendered considerable interest in recent years. CSR refers to strategies corporations or firms conduct their business in a way that it’s ethical, society friendly and beneficial to the community development. The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of CSR on community development. The paper adopts a library based research methodology focusing mainly on primary and secondary sources. The result of this paper shows that the traditional view of business being essentially to maximise profit has changed in recent years. The traditional view is no longer accepted in today’s business environment. Corporations have now adopted the concept of CSR, which is concerned with economic, environment, and social performance. The paper concludes that the effect of CSR on community development can be seen from different angles like protecting the environment. Some of the world’s largest companies have made a highly visible commitment to CSR, for example, with initiatives aimed at reducing their environmental footprint
Indian vaccine innovation: the case of Shantha Biotechnics
BACKGROUND: Although the World Health Organization had recommended that every child be vaccinated for Hepatitis B by the early 1980s, large multinational pharmaceutical companies held monopolies on the recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine. At a price as high as USD1/dose. Further expansion enabled low-cost mass vaccination globally through organizations such as UNICEF. In 2009, Shantha sold over 120 million doses of vaccines. The company was recently acquired by Sanofi-Aventis at a valuation of USD$784 million. METHODS: The case study and grounded research method was used to illustrate how the globalization of healthcare R&D is enabling private sector companies such as Shantha to address access to essential medicines. Sources including interviews, literature analysis, and on-site observations were combined to conduct a robust examination of Shantha's evolution as a major provider of vaccines for global health indications. RESULTS: Shantha's ability to become a significant global vaccine manufacturer and achieve international valuation and market success appears to have been made possible by focusing first on the local health needs of India. How Shantha achieved this balance can be understood in terms of a framework of four guiding principles. First, Shantha identified a therapeutic area (Hepatitis B) in which cost efficiencies could be achieved for reaching the poor. Second, Shantha persistently sought investments and partnerships from non-traditional and international sources including the Foreign Ministry of Oman and Pfizer. Third, Shantha focused on innovation and quality - investing in innovation from the outset yielded the crucial process innovation that allowed Shantha to make an affordable vaccine. Fourth, Shantha constructed its own cGMP facility, which established credibility for vaccine prequalification by the World Health Organization and generated interest from large pharmaceutical companies in its contract research services. These two sources of revenue allowed Shantha to continue to invest in health innovation relevant to the developing world. CONCLUSIONS: The Shantha case study underscores the important role the private sector can play in global health and access to medicines. Home-grown companies in the developing world are becoming a source of low-cost, locally relevant healthcare R&D for therapeutics such as vaccines. Such companies may be compelled by market forces to focus on products relevant to diseases endemic in their country. Sanofi-Aventis' acquisition of Shantha reveals that even large pharmaceutical companies based in the developed world have recognized the importance of meeting the health needs of the developing world. Collectively, these processes suggest an ability to tap into private sector investments for global health innovation, and illustrate the globalization of healthcare R&D to the developing world
Venture capital on a shoestring: Bioventures’ pioneering life sciences fund in South Africa
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since 2000, R&D financing for global health has increased significantly, with innovative proposals for further increases. However, although venture capital (VC) funding has fostered life sciences businesses across the developed world, its application in the developing world and particularly in Africa is relatively new. Is VC feasible in the African context, to foster the development and application of local health innovation?</p> <p>As the most industrially advanced African nation, South Africa serves as a test case for life sciences venture funding. This paper analyzes Bioventures, the first VC company focused on life sciences investment in sub-Saharan Africa. The case study method was used to analyze the formation, operation, and investment support of Bioventures, and to suggest lessons for future health venture funds in Africa that aim to develop health-oriented innovations.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The modest financial success of Bioventures in challenging circumstances has demonstrated a proof of concept that life sciences VC can work in the region. Beyond providing funds, support given to investees included board participation, contacts, and strategic services. Bioventures had to be proactive in finding and supporting good health R&D.</p> <p>Due to the fund’s small size, overhead and management expenses were tightly constrained. Bioventures was at times unable to make follow-on investments, being forced instead to give up equity to raise additional capital, and to sell health investments earlier than might have been optimal. With the benefit of hindsight, the CFO of Bioventures felt that partnering with a larger fund might benefit similar future funds. Being better linked to market intelligence and other entrepreneurial investors was also seen as an unmet need.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>BioVentures has learned lessons about how the traditional VC model might evolve to tackle health challenges facing Africa, including how to raise funds and educate investors; how to select, value, and support investments; and how to understand the balance between financial and social returns. The experience of the fund suggests that future health funds targeting ailments of the poor might require investors that accept health benefits as part of their overall “return.” Learning from Bioventures may help develop health innovation funding for sub-Saharan African that has combined health, financial, and economic development impacts.</p
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