Low-Tech Industries and the Knowledge Economy: State of the Art and Research Challenges

This paper addresses a central problem for economic analysis and public policy in Europe. Should Europe focus on socalled high-technology or science-based industries in attempting to solve growth and employment problems? Or should it look to the growth prospects within the industries on which the European economy is actually based: low-technology and medium-technology industries (which we call LMT industries ) in manufacturing and services? These questions are the focus of a European Commission research project called PILOT Policy and Innovation in Low-Tech. This paper is a first output from the project it addresses key issues in understanding LMT industries, mainly in terms of knowledge intensity and use. There are many who argue that high-technology industries are the bearers of the new knowledge economy. They argue that Europe should focus on knowledge intensive activities in such frontier areas as ICT, biotechnology and professional services. A related claim is that mature, traditional or LMT industries are likely to move to less developed countries. We claim that these perspectives are seriously mistaken. Taken together, LMT activities account for somewhere in the region of 97 % of all economic activity in Europe. All European economies are trade-specialized in LMT products. All LMT industries are innovative they generate significant proportions of their sales from new and technological changed products. Many LMT industries and products are surviving and growing on the basis of technological upgrading, high-grade design skills and the intensive application of knowledge to innovation. They have unique forms of industrial organisation and knowledge creation, complex links to science and technology knowledge infrastructures, and important regional dimensions. Here we focuses on the creation and use of knowledge in LMT industries. We claim that in the future the European economy, especially in the context of enlargement, will continue to rest on LMT activities. This implies that growth, competitiveness, cohesion and employment in Europe will depend on the performance of LMT industries. At the present time, the knowledge-creation problems faced by such sectors are neglected in policy arenas but this will become a major challenge for EU innovation, technology and research policy

Low-Tech Industries and the Knowledge Economy

In the mid-1980s, the OECD invented an economic classification that has had a spectacular career - the concept of high-technology, medium-technology and lowtechnology industries. This taxonomy was based primarily on the R&D intensity of industries, meaning the ratio of R&D expenditure to output. Industries with an R&D/Turnover ratio of more than four percent were classified as high-tech. Those between one and four percent were medium-tech, and those less than one percent were low-tech. This schema has become widely used in business, in policy discussions and in economic analysis. It links with other classifications that seek to differentiate 'science-based' or 'knowledge intensive' industries from more prosaic activities. This paper addresses a central problem for economic analysis and public policy in Europe. Should Europe focus on so-called high-technology or science-based industries in attempting to solve growth and employment problems? Or should it look to the growth prospects within the industries on which the European economy is actually based: low-technology and medium-technology industries (which we call 'LMT industries') in manufacturing and services? These questions are the focus of a European Commission research project called PILOT 'Policy and Innovation in Low-Tech' (see www.pilot-project.org). This paper is a first output from the project it addresses key issues in understanding LMT industries, mainly in terms of knowledge intensity and use. There are many who argue that high-technology industries are the bearers of the new knowledge economy. They argue that Europe should focus on knowledge intensive activities in such frontier areas as ICT, biotechnology and professional services. A related claim is that mature, traditional or LMT industries are likely to move to less developed countries. We claim that these perspectives are seriously mistaken. Taken together, LMT activities account for somewhere in the region of 97% of all economic activity in Europe. All European economies are trade-specialized in LMT products. All LMT industries are innovative - they generate significant proportions of their sales from new and technological changed products. Many LMT industries and products are surviving and growing on the basis of technological upgrading, high-grade design skills and the intensive application of knowledge to innovation. They have unique forms of industrial organisation and knowledge creation, complex links to science and technology knowledge infrastructures, and important regional dimensions. Here we focuses on the creation and use of knowledge in LMT industries. We claim that in the future the European economy, especially in the context of enlargement, will continue to rest on LMT activities. This implies that growth, competitiveness, cohesion and employment in Europe will depend on the performance of LMT industries. At the present time, the knowledge-creation problems faced by such sectors are neglected in policy arenas - but this will become a major challenge for EU innovation, technology and research policy

Low-tech industries and the knowledge economy: state of the art and research challenges

Mitte der 1980er Jahre führte die OECD zur ökonomischen Klassifikation das Konzept der technologisch hoch-, mittel- und niedrigintensiven Branchen ein. Diese Taxonomie dient der Einschätzung von Industrien hinsichtlich ihrer Forschungs- und Entwicklungsintensität. Das Schema hat sich in der Geschäftswelt, in politischen Diskussionen und in den Wirtschaftswissenschaften etabliert. In ihrer Untersuchung gehen die Autoren der Frage nach, ob sich Europa bei der Lösung von Wachstums- und Beschäftigungsproblemen auf die so genannten hochtechnologischen bzw. wissenschaftsbasierten Industrien konzentrieren soll. Oder ist eine Betrachtung der Wachstumsaussichten in den mittleren und technologisch unbedeutenderen Industrien im verarbeitenden Gewerbe und den Dienstleistungen sinnvoller, auf denen die europäische Wirtschaft mit einem Anteil von 97 Prozent derzeit basiert? Die Autoren zeigen, dass die Zukunft der europäischen Wirtschaft, insbesondere im Kontext der EU-Erweiterung, weiterhin in den Aktivitäten der technologisch mittel- und niedrigintensiven Branchen liegt. Das impliziert, dass Wachstum, Wettbewerb, Kohäsion und Beschäftigung in Europa von den Leistungen dieser Industriesektoren abhängen wird. Somit geraten Innovation, Technologie und Forschungspolitik vor dem Hintergrund aktueller Probleme bei der Wissensgenerierung für diese Branchen zu den vorrangigsten Herausforderungen in der EU. (ICGÜbers)"In the mid-1980s, the OECD invented an economic classification that has had a spectacular career - the concept of high-technology, medium-technology and low-technology industries. This taxonomy was based primarily on the R&D intensity of industries, meaning the ratio of R&D expenditure to output. Industries with an R&D/ Turnover ratio of more than four percent were classified as high-tech. Those between one and four percent were medium-tech, and those less than one percent were low-tech. This schema has become widely used in business, in policy discussions and in economic analysis. It links with other classifications that seek to differentiate 'science-based' or 'knowledge intensive' industries from more prosaic activities. This paper addresses a central problem for economic analysis and public policy in Europe. Should Europe focus on so-called high-technology or science-based industries in attempting to solve growth and employment problems? Or should it look to the growth prospects within the industries on which the European economy is actually based: low-technology and medium-technology industries (which we call 'LMT industries') in manufacturing and services? These questions are the focus of a European Commission research project called PILOT - 'Policy and Innovation in Low-Tech' ( http://www.pilot-project.org ). This paper is a first output from the project - it addresses key issues in understanding LMT industries, mainly in terms of knowledge intensity and use. There are many who argue that high-technology industries are the bearers of the new knowledge economy. They argue that Europe should focus on knowledge intensive activities in such frontier areas as ICT, biotechnology and professional services. A related claim is that mature, traditional or LMT industries are likely to move to less developed countries. We claim that these perspectives are seriously mistaken. Taken together, LMT activities account for somewhere in the region of 97% of all economic activity in Europe. All European economies are trade-specialized in LMT products. All LMT industries are innovative - they generate significant proportions of their sales from new and technological changed products. Many LMT industries and products are surviving and growing on the basis of technological upgrading, high-grade design skills and the intensive application of knowledge to innovation. They have unique forms of industrial organisation and knowledge creation, complex links to science and technology knowledge infrastructures, and important regional dimensions. Here we focuses on the creation and use of knowledge in LMT industries. We claim that in the future the European economy, especially in the context of enlargement, will continue to rest on LMT activities. This implies that growth, competitiveness, cohesion and employment in Europe will depend on the performance of LMT industries. At the present time, the knowledge-creation problems faced by such sectors are neglected in policy arenas - but this will become a major challenge for EU innovation, technology and research policy." (author's abstract

National cohort of infants born before 24 gestational weeks showed increased survival rates but no improvement in neonatal morbidity

Aim: To describe survival and neonatal morbidities in infants born before 24\ua0weeks of gestation during a 12-year period. Methods: Data were retrieved from national registries and validated in medical files of infants born before 24\ua0weeks of gestation 2007–2018 in Sweden. Temporal changes were evaluated. Results: In 2007–2018, 282\ua0live births were recorded at 22\ua0weeks and 460 at 23\ua0weeks of gestation. Survival to discharge from hospital of infants born alive at 22 and 23\ua0weeks increased from 20% to 38% (p\ua0=\ua00.006) and from 45% to 67% (

Fertilization to increase and sustain tree growth in coniferous stands in Sweden

Intensified forest management practices, together with the deposition of air pollutants, have considerable potential implications for silviculture. These factors influence N availability in soil and also cause soil acidification, involving reductions in the levels of plant-available base cations. The aim of the work described in this thesis was to evaluate the need for compensatory additions of other nutrients apart from N, from a forest yield perspective, after whole-tree harvesting and N fertilization, focusing on Swedish conditions but including also some studies from Finland and Norway. All studies were undertaken in field experiments on mineral soils, representing a wide range of site conditions. Stem growth and nutrient concentrations in needles were assessed in closedcanopy Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands. Whole-tree harvesting in thinnings reduced stem growth (by 5-10% on average) for at least 10 years. These growth reductions were counteracted fully by adding inorganic Nfertilizer and, thus, there was no need for additions of other nutrients. The stem growth responses to additions of wood ash without N were small and variable, and not statistically significant at any of the studied experimental sites. Experiments at a large set of experimental sites previously subjected to repeated N fertilizations showed that the addition of nutrients other than N generally had negligible effects on the short-term (4-15 years) growth response. Furthermore, it was concluded that N fertilization, with the addition of B, generally did not cause any serious long-term (20-30 years) nutrient deficiencies in trees, even after substantial N additions

Addition of stabilized wood ashes to Swedish coniferous stands on mineral soils : effects on stem growth and needle nutrient concentrations

Abstrac

Scuffing resistance testing of piston ring materials for marine two-stroke diesel engines and mapping of the operating mechanisms

The incentive is strong for optimising sliding materials to reduce the risk for scuffing. In this study, scuffing tests were performed aiming towards finding new piston ring materials for greener marine diesel engines and also towards understanding scuffing mechanisms better. The tested ring materials where grey iron, Stellite 6, plasma sprayed cermet and high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) cermet (both cermets with the same compounds: Cr-carbide, Ni, Cr, Mo). The Stellite 6 and HVOF cermet performed somewhat better than the other two materials. Microscopic and spectroscopic studies of failed sample surfaces revealed several characteristic features. It was clear that different mechanisms are active simultaneously, at different parts of the samples. Based on these results, we propose a hypothesis for a scuffing process involving several stages with distinctive mechanisms. Further studies are needed to strengthen this hypothesis and to relate these findings to actual deterioration mechanisms in the engine