2,648 research outputs found
Developing indicators to measure Technology Institutes` performance
Technology institutes (TIs) are non-profit innovation
and technology organisations aimed to
encourage competitiveness of firms. They are a
key organisation in the Spanish National Innovation
System because of their size and closeness
to the productive sector. Despite this, there is a
lack of studies trying to measure their performance
and its determinants. This work sheds some
light on this. We study the influence of operative,
financial, organisational, relational and general
variables on three measures of results: selffinance, impact and added value. Our conclusions show the relevance of this approach and are confirmed by grouping TIs according to their service supply characteristics.Publicad
Complementarities between universities and technology institutes : new empirical lessons and perspectives.
This paper investigates the different roles played by universities and technology institutes (TIs) as innovation partners of firms. Comparing the characteristics of Spanish firms collaborating with these agents allows us to better define complementarities among the target groups of these organizations. Our findings show that those firms collaborating with universities are bigger, have higher internal capabilities and are less dependent on their external relationships while firms collaborating with TIs are smaller, have weaker internal capabilities but are more open to their environment and thus more reliant on external sources. We point to the implications of these findings for regional development. Universities have a role as partners of more technologically advanced firms. TIs, on the other hand, partner those firms, which though also quite advanced, require more external help in their innovation processes. These results should help policy-makers in the definition of more complex regional strategies and the provision of tools aimed at different goals. Managers of universities, TIs and client firms should find these results of help in developing more positive collaborations with one anotherUniversities; Technology insitutes; Spanish firms; Collaboration;
Developing indicators to measure Technology Institutes` performance.
Technology institutes (TIs) are non-profit innovation and technology organisations aimed to encourage competitiveness of firms. They are a key organisation in the Spanish National Innovation System because of their size and closeness to the productive sector. Despite this, there is a lack of studies trying to measure their performance and its determinants. This work sheds some light on this. We study the influence of operative, financial, organisational, relational and general variables on three measures of results: selffinance, impact and added value. Our conclusions show the relevance of this approach and are confirmed by grouping TIs according to their service supply characteristics.
Public selection and financing of R&D cooperative projects : credit versus subsidy funding.
In this article we develop an analytical model of the selection process for R&D cooperative projects, to study the factors that motivate public project selection and corresponding funding, using two different financial instruments: subsidies and credits. For this purpose, we propose a three stage empirical strategy to analyse the differential individual effects of several factors on the decisions taken by the public agency. This analysis is based on project level data from cooperative R&D project calls under the Spanish PROFIT initiative, for the period 20002003. The main results show that the public agency uses the two financial instruments to address different objectives. First, some projects close to the market are well supported through credits, while basic research projects receive only selective support in the form of subsidies. Second, there is significant diversity in the selection and funding of technological areas. Third, regarding the explicit goal of fostering cooperation, the public agency selectively favours partnerships with universities and technology institutes through the award of subsidies. However, there seems to be less incentive for large consortia. Fourth, there are significant regional differences among financed projects and, also, our data show sharp yearly fluctuationsPublic Funding; R&D Cooperation; Project selection; Credit; Subsidy;
KH15D: a star eclipsed by a large scale dusty vortex?
We propose that the large photometric variations of KH15D are due to an
eclipsing swarm of solid particles trapped in giant gaseous vortex rotating at
\~0.2 AU from the star. The efficiency of the capture-in-vortex mechanism
easily explains the observed large optical depth. The weaker opacity at
mid-eclipse is consistent with a size segregation of the particles toward the
center of the vortex. This dusty structure must extend over ~1/3 of an orbit to
account for the long eclipse duration. The estimated size of the trapped
particles is found to range from 1 to 10cm, consistent with the gray extinction
of the star. The observations of KH15D support the idea that giant vortices can
grow in circumstellar disks and play a central role in planet formation.Comment: Accepted in ApJ Letters - 4 pages - 2 figure
Beyond formal R&D : taking advantage of other sources of innovation in low- and medium-technology industries.
This study deepens our knowledge of critical success factors in the innovation process of low- andmediumtechnology (LMT) industries. To accomplish this, it explores howthe innovation process in LMT firms may depend on non-formal R&D activities and the use of external sources. The empirical analysis is based on a representative panel of Spanish manufacturing firms. The results strongly support the view that non- R&D activities such as design, the use of advanced machinery and training are crucial to understanding the innovation process of any firm. The study finds, however, that the impact of these activities is especially important in LMT industries, particularly for the achievement of product innovations. The empirical evidence also reveals the importance of external sources such as the use of consultants, the hiring of personnel, collaboration agreements and external R&D, with the greatest differences between LMT and high-technology (HT) firms being observed in process innovationsLow- and medium-technology industries; Technological activities; External sources; Innovation outputs; Market characteristics;
Ciencia y Economía
The relationship between science and economy is a trendy issue, both in the scientific field as in the entrepreneurial and political arena. The main purpose of this work is to show in a synthetic way the state of the art of this matter. To this aim, we put forward the analysis of science developed by economists, focusing in the controversies between the neoclassical and the evolutionary perspective. We also review the empirical evidence offered by different works and sum up the main arguments of the present debate about how science should be organized. Main conclusions show that science and economy are closely related and that their links are complex and dynamic, so that flexible approaches are required in the management and evaluation of the relationship.Publicad
The feasibility of using virtual prototyping technologies for product evaluation
With the continuous development in computer and communications technology the use of
computer aided design in design processes is becoming more commonplace. A wide range of
virtual prototyping technologies are currently in development, some of which are commercially
viable for use within a product design process. These virtual prototyping technologies range
from graphics tablets to haptic devices. With the compression of design cycles the feasibility of
using these technologies for product evaluation is becoming an ever more important
consideration.
This thesis begins by presenting the findings of a comprehensive literature review defining
product design with a focus on product evaluation and a discussion of current virtual
prototyping technologies. From the literature review it was clear that user involvement in the
product evaluation process is critical. The literature review was followed by a series of
interconnected studies starting with an investigation into design consultancies' access and
use of prototyping technologies and their evaluation methods. Although design consultancies
are already using photo-realistic renderings, animations and sometimes 3600 view CAD
models for their virtual product evaluations, current virtual prototyping hardware and software
is often unsatisfactory for their needs. Some emergent technologies such as haptic interfaces
are currently not commonly used in industry. This study was followed by an investigation into
users' psychological acceptance and physiological discomfort when using a variety of virtual
prototyping tools for product evaluation compared with using physical prototypes, ranging from
on-screen photo-realistic renderings to 3D 3600 view models developed using a range of
design software. The third study then went on to explore the feasibility of using these virtual
prototyping tools and the effect on product preference when compared to using physical
prototypes. The forth study looked at the designer's requirements for current and future virtual
prototyping tools, design tools and evaluation methods.
In the final chapters of the thesis the relative strengths and weaknesses of these technologies
were re-evaluated and a definitive set of user requirements based on the documentary
evidence of the previous studies was produced. This was followed by the development of a
speculative series of scenarios for the next generation of virtual prototyping technologies
ranging from improvements to existing technologies through to blue sky concepts. These
scenarios were then evaluated by designers and consumers to produce documentary
evidence and recommendations for preferred and suitable combinations of virtual prototyping
technologies. Such hardware and software will require a user interface that is intuitive, simple,
easy to use and suitable for both the designers who create the virtual prototypes and the
consumers who evaluate them
Protoplanetary Disk Turbulence Driven by the Streaming Instability: Non-Linear Saturation and Particle Concentration
We present simulations of the non-linear evolution of streaming instabilities
in protoplanetary disks. The two components of the disk, gas treated with grid
hydrodynamics and solids treated as superparticles, are mutually coupled by
drag forces. We find that the initially laminar equilibrium flow spontaneously
develops into turbulence in our unstratified local model. Marginally coupled
solids (that couple to the gas on a Keplerian time-scale) trigger an upward
cascade to large particle clumps with peak overdensities above 100. The clumps
evolve dynamically by losing material downstream to the radial drift flow while
receiving recycled material from upstream. Smaller, more tightly coupled solids
produce weaker turbulence with more transient overdensities on smaller length
scales. The net inward radial drift is decreased for marginally coupled
particles, whereas the tightly coupled particles migrate faster in the
saturated turbulent state. The turbulent diffusion of solid particles, measured
by their random walk, depends strongly on their stopping time and on the
solids-to-gas ratio of the background state, but diffusion is generally modest,
particularly for tightly coupled solids. Angular momentum transport is too weak
and of the wrong sign to influence stellar accretion. Self-gravity and
collisions will be needed to determine the relevance of particle overdensities
for planetesimal formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (17 pages). Movies of the simulations
can be downloaded at http://www.mpia.de/~johansen/research_en.ph
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