Balanced national development policy in Korea : theory and practice [book]
Author: Korea. Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development
Outlines how South Korea's change in economic policy has resulted in a knowledge-based economy where innovation and economic growth occurs in regional areas, and not just in metropolitan areas.
Increasing public transport use and reducing transport emissions - is urban density the key? (journal article)
by Darren Holloway
from Australian Planner, Vol 45 No 4 December 2008
"Examines current research into the debate on the linkages between urban consolidation and increased public transport use, which is encapsulated in metropolitan growth strategies in Australia. This debate is becoming more prevalent as planners try to better understand the relationship betweeen land use and transport in order to encourage more appropriate growth management decisions so as to achieve more sustainable urban areas.
Please contact the library for a copy of this article.
Changing residential landscapes: climate change, communities and concepts of place in tourist cities, a Gold Coast study (journal article)
by Caryl Bosman
from Australian Planner, December 2008
The areas of the city most affected by climate change, and, in particular, sea level rise, are where some of the key real estate and tourism landscapes are located. In addition, an apparent shortage of land for development, coupled with high population growth and climate change has significant impacts for the Gold Coast City Council and the state and federal governments.Together these factors highlight the urgent need to understand the social, ecological and economical issues attached to housing landscapes on the Gold Coast.
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Rebuilding America (journal article)
by Robert Bestani
from Project Finance International, December 2008
The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave America's infrastructure a grade of D and estimated that the nation needed to spend more than $1.6trn in the next five years. Our roads, ports, dams, water systems, highways, power plants, airports, schools, etc. are all in desperate need of new investment.
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Infrastructure and the Vision Thing
By Matthew Ericson
from Australian Journal of Public Administration Vol 67 Iss 4 2008, pp. 405-418
"Australia faces a transport infrastructure problem requiring complex policy formulation and imaginative problem solving. In opposition, Kevin Rudd committed to improving the nation's infrastructure and addressing the 'infrastructure bottlenecks'. This task is made more urgent by the Reserve Bank's concern that the infrastructure restraints are causing inflationary pressure. In the short term however, increased Commonwealth infrastructure expenditure would add to the pressure on interest rates. Consequently, the Commonwealth must work with industry and the states on improving operational efficiency in the short term, while planning for infrastructure investments in the longer term. With the political limitations of federalism, a shortage of skilled policy advice, and ministerial inexperience, the Rudd government must set a broad agenda to guide all infrastructure stakeholders."
Scope for improvement 2008: a report on scoping practices in Australian construction and infrastructure projects
Source: Blake Dawson
These 2008 findings show how and why inadequate scoping is now an endemic problem in Australia with a growing trail of budget blowouts, delays and disputes.
The findings come at critical time in Australia as the federal government prepares to spend billions on infrastructure to ward off the effects of the global financial market meltdown and as a range of state government projects have struck difficulties.
Improving water management
From OECD Economic Surveys: Australia, Vol 18 October 2008 (26 p.)
Over the past 15 years, water management issues have come to the fore in economic policy discussions. Over-exploitation of water and harmful environmental effects have become major concerns, while water is not used efficiently, especially in rural areas. Water extraction levels that are ecologically sustainable have been breached in a number of regions. Guaranteeing water security and diversifying supply for major urban areas has become a major policy challenge. This chapter reviews the challenges posed by water management, assesses the policies to meet them and suggests ways to make them more effective.
Innovation in research and development: tool of strategic growth
By Yair Holtzman
from Journal of Management Development Vol 27 Iss 10 2008, pp. 1037-1052
"To describe research and development (R&D) as a tool of strategic growth. The world's top performing companies share a common characteristic: their superior ability to develop and introduce new products faster and cheaper than their competitors. As a matter of fact, effective product innovation is the key to growth, even survival, for almost any business. The author discusses how innovation in R&D could serve as a differentiating strategic business tool. The paper is based upon the authors 15 years of experience in the area of R&D and new product development. "
Small technologies, huge prospects
Nano and micro technologies are set to play a critical role in the future of the manufacturing industry (journal article)
by Stephen Moore
from Australian Manufacturing Technology, November 2008
"Countries that engage in nanotechnology will dominate and trade successfully; countries that don't will be pushed into commodities or commoditised businesses based on price only".
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Selecting High-Impact Information-Based Solutions (journal article)
By William King
From Information Systems Management Vol. 25 Iss 4 Fall 2008, pp. 372-373
"The editorial presents the author's thoughts on employing high-impact ideas in information systems (IS) management. The need to differentiate between ideas that are merely good ideas from those that can have a high impact on improving business operations is discussed. An example is given of a conference the author attended, in which he observed the presence of many good ideas but no high-impact ones."
Teaming Up to Crack Innovation & Enterprise Integration (journal article)
By James I, Cash, Jr., Michael J Earl and Robert Morison
From Harvard Business Review Vol 86 Iss 11 Nov 2008, pp. 90-100
"In the continuing quest for business growth, many CEOs are turning to their CIOs and IT organizations because technology is absolutely essential to two compelling sources of growth: innovation and enterprise integration. The speed of innovation often depends on the ability to coordinate across organizational boundaries. Innovations cannot reach a sufficient level of scale and impact unless they are integrated into the larger operations of the corporation. And yet, say recently retired Harvard Business School dean Cash, Oxford dean Earl, and nGenera director of research Morison, the two endeavors remain "unnatural acts": Far too many large businesses are better at stifling innovation than at capitalizing on it, better at optimizing local operations than at integrating them for the good of the enterprise and its customers. To make both pursuits seem more natural, the authors recommend creating two dedicated, IT-powered teams: a distributed innovation group (DIG) and an enterprise integration group (EIG). The DIG serves as the center of expertise for innovation techniques, considers new uses for technology already being developed inside the company, looks for new developments outside the company, and provides experts for internal innovation initiatives. The EIG selects the most promising from among competing integration projects, provides resources to give them a strong start, and then folds them into the operating model of the enterprise. Without such agencies, the authors maintain, innovation and integration won't spread far enough or fast enough throughout a large organization to keep pace with the smaller, younger, more technology-based competitors to which innovation and integration come much more naturally."
Creating a National Innovation Foundation (journal article)
By Robert Atkinson and Howard RobertWial
From Issues in Science & Technology Vol. 25 Iss 1 Fall 2008, pp. 75-84
"The article discusses the issue on the economic growth in the U.S. Economic growth issue is one of the main public agenda in the fast approaching presidential election in November 2008. Policymakers develop alternative solutions that would help lessen the economic downturn and the collapse of the housing industry. Economists foresee that innovation is the primary key to sustain long-term economic growth. The country's federal policy agenda focuses on innovation through the form of the 2007 America COMPETES Act. The said law provides higher federal support for research and developments. The country has been recognized as one of the world leader in technological innovation and high-value-added production."
A National Renewable Portfolio Standard? Not Practical (journal article)
By Jay Apt, Lester B. Lave and Sompop Pattanariyankool
From Issues in Science & Technology Vol. 25 Iss 1 Fall 2008, pp. 53-59
"The article discusses the proposed policies for renewable energy in the U.S. The proposed policy is made in response to New York City Michael R. Bloomberg's proposal of putting wind turbines on the tops of skyscrapers and bridges across the city. The Alliance for Clean Energy New York describes New York as a solar city of the country. The alliance encourages the Congress to review and understand the important facts before voting for a national renewable portfolio standard (RPS). In fact, the city has expressed their dissatisfaction with the condition of their electric system. It views that the renewable energy sources are significant element factors of the nation's future innovation."
The Birth of the Biotechnology Era: Penicillin in Australia, 1943-80 (journal article)
By John A. Mathews
from Prometheus Vol 26 Iss 4 Dec 2008 , pp. 317 - 333
"As Australia and other countries seek to establish biotechnology industries, it is timely to review successes and failures in this field. One of the most notable stories is the development of penicillin, as a wartime project, to which Australians made major contributions. Australians during and immediately after the war contributed much to the scientific identification and purification of penicillin, and to the industrial scaling up in its production at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in Melbourne. This was a classic instance of war accelerating innovations in public administration. Yet the nascent antibiotic industry was never allowed to gain international competitiveness, and was allowed to run down and eventually disappeared by the end of the 1970s. This article is concerned to tease out the puzzle posed by this contrast in aspirations, between the highest levels of scientific and technical achievement in bringing penicillin into widespread use (Australia being the first country in the world to provide penicillin to the civilian population in 1944) and shockingly poor performance in sustaining and developing a national antibiotics industry. As the stirrings of a biotechnology industry may be observed in the first decade of the twenty-first century, it would be unfortunate to ignore the lessons of this earlier experience at the birth of the biotechnology era. "
Opening up the mindset is the key to change (journal article)
by Rick Snell
from The Public Sector Informant, November 2008, pp. 10-11
Australia is attempting to enter the 21st century using a government information delivery system and network which was designed in the days of the horse and buggy. We need an approach designed as part of a complete system that is administered in a way that is focused on getting the best quality information to where it is most needed. The federal public service has a key role to play but it needs to be innovative and dedicated to improving long term access to government information by all citizens and not just the tenacious few prepared to use our current and frustrating Freedom of Information laws.
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Phone health an elusive call (journal article)
by Bianca Nogrady
from Australasian Science, Nov/Dec 2008, pp. 29 - 31
To investigate whether mobile phones and base stations affect people's health, researchers are having to come up with clever tests that pull together several strands of research.
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Vengeance is Mine, Sayeth The Techies (journal article)
by Sue Bushell
from CIO Summer 2009
When Terry Childs locked down San Francisco’s data network, it sent shockwaves through the IT world. Think it can’t happen in Australia? Think again . . .
The 50 Best Inventions of the Year (journal article)
from Time, November 4, 2008
From a genetic testing service to an invisibility cloak to an ingenious public bike system to the world's first moving skyscraper — here are TIME's picks for the top innovations of 2008.
Nuclear options: many countries have faced the same issues (journal article)
by Ziggy Switkowski
from ATSE Focus, October 2008
An increasing number of countries around the world are turning to nuclear power to meet growing demand for electricity, avoid use of fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and diversify their energy mix away from a dominant supplier. Australia is following a different path. Does this make strategic sense?
Solar energy – the punter’s choice, but is it realistic? (journal article)
by John Wright
from ATSE Focus, October 2008
Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
"Notwithstanding the current relatively high cost of solar thermal power generation in Australia compared with conventional power costs, there are grounds for optimism that the technology’s time is rapidly approaching. There have been remarkable shifts in the energy policy framework over a relatively short time, all encouraging the development and implementation of low emission generation to satisfy Australia’s growing energy needs. "
WiFi Is on the Way - WiFi mobile phones soon may get a nod of approval from China's telecom industry regulator (journal article)
By Lan Xinzhen from Beijing Review, 9 October 2008
At present, China's telecom regulator prohibits phone calls made via the Internet or the browsing of Web pages via a mobile phone in wireless network-covered areas. But signs that the government will relax the restrictions have surfaced now that China Telecom Corp. Ltd. will offer a wireless fidelity (WiFi) phone to users on a pre-test basis, starting this month, before a full-scale product launch.
Boosting performance in public sector IT - an interview with a US Defense Department agency director (article)
by James M. Kaplan and Kreg Nichols
from McKinsey Quarterly, July 2008
"Question every assumption. We often assume that we have to do something in a certain way because it’s the policy or the way we’ve done it before. Question that assumption, and if it doesn’t make sense, find out who owns the policy or who owns the way it was done before. Even laws change. Sometimes the answer is no, and that’s it. But if you have a case that helps everyone to agree that the old way doesn’t make sense and that there’s a better way, a transformational way, of doing things, question the old way."
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Meeting the Challenges of Policy-Relevant Science: Bridging Theory and Practice (journal article)
By Elisabeth A. Graffy
from Public Administration Review Vol 68 Iss 6 oct 2008, pp. 1087 - 1100
"Ongoing public debate about the role of science in policy making signifies the importance of advancing theory and practice in the field. Indeed, assumptions about the science–policy nexus hold direct implications for how this interface is managed. A useful lens on contemporary themes is offered by the experience of a federal environmental science program that launched an ambitious effort to enhance capacity for policy relevance while protecting a commitment to sound, impartial scientific inquiry. This was achieved by developing an explicit conceptual model and implementing corresponding strategies that addressed critical gaps in capacity for policy-relevant research, analysis, and communication while supporting existing capacities. This article describes and evaluates the capacity-building effort from the dual perspectives of deepening an understanding of successful practice in the field and advancing a conceptual understanding of the science–policy nexus. It illustrates the challenges facing practitioners and the need for greater interaction between theory and practice. "
Public Provision for Urban Water: Getting Prices and Governance Right (journal article)
by Eduardo Araral
from Governance Vol. 21 No. 4 September 2008 pp. 527 - 549
Public sector monopolies are often associated with inefficiencies and inability to meet rising demand. Scholars attribute this to fundamental problems associated with public provision: (1) a tradition of below-cost pricing due to populist pressures, (2) owner–regulator conflicts of interest, and (3) perverse organizational incentives arising from non-credible threat of bankruptcy, weak competition, rigidities, and agency and performance measurement problems. Many governments worldwide have shifted to private provision, but recent experience in urban water utilities in developing countries has shown their limitations because of weak regulatory regimes compounded by inherent problems of information, incentives, and commitment. This article examines the paradoxical case of the Phnom Penh Water Supply in Cambodia to illustrate how public provision of urban water can be substantially improved by getting prices and governance right. Findings have implications for the search for solutions to provide one billion people worldwide with better access to potable water.
OUTLOOK 2009 - Recent Forecasts from World Future Society for 2009 and Beyond. (cover story)
from Futurist, Nov/Dec 2008, Vol. 42 No. 6, pp 1-9
The article highlights various information on the prospective development in the U.S. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace infers that China's economy will surpass that of the U.S. by 2035 and is believed that workers in Asia are becoming more skilled and educated. On the other hand, it is also believed that tourism is anticipated to nearly double its international tourist arrivals worldwide, from 842 million in 2006 to 1.6 billion in 2020, wherein China will be the greatest source of tourists and the most popular tourist destination. Meanwhile, the internet technology is enabling consumers to disseminate information for product information, rather than simply relying on professional critics.
The Singularity Needs You (journal article)
by Jamais Cascio
from Futurist, Nov/Dec 2008, Vol. 42 No 6, pp. 24-28
The article focuses on technological innovation. It is stated that the advances in technology such as video games, camera phones, and the myriad day-to-day technologies that may attract momentary notice may also offer a new way of grappling with a future world. Caused in part by the ability of machines to improve using artificial intelligence, many scientists, researchers, computer programmers, and futurists believe that the next four decades would enter a phase of sudden and unprecented technological progress. However, it cites that how people shape some of the technologies that make up daily lives can be critical to pass safely through the coming period of radical change.
States shouldn't miss out under the ETS (journal article)
By Richard Denniss
from Australia Institute Newsletter No 56 Sept 2008, pp. 15
"Richard Denniss explains why state governments deserve more compensation for an ETS than the big polluters."
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Emissions Trading 101 (journal article)
By Richard Denniss
from Australia Institute. Newsletter No 56 Sept 2008, pp. 1- 2
"The policy question of the century is 'will emissions trading prevent climate change?' but the policy question of the year is 'how does emissions trading work'. The author provides some answers."
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Combining organisational and physical location to manage knowledge dissemination (journal article)
by Thomas J. Allen, Breffni Tomlin, Oscar Hauptman
from International Journal of Technology Management 2008 - Vol. 44, No.1/2 pp. 234 - 250
"As the physical distance between engineers' workstations increases, the probability that they will communicate regularly decreases rapidly. As with many things in nature, this probability declines as the inverse square of distance. At the same time, it must be remembered that while separation decreases the probability of communication, even very close physical proximity does not guarantee communication. Although engineers are more likely to communicate if closer together, the probability remains low in the absence of other relations. Unless people have a reason to communicate frequently about technical issues they will not do so, even over very short distances. "
The formation of subsequent inter-firm R&D partnerships between large pharmaceutical companies and small, entrepreneurial biotechnology firms – how important is inter-organisational trust? (journal article)
by John Hagedoorn, Nadine Roijakkers and Hans Van Kranenburg
from International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 44 No.1/2 2008, pp. 81 - 92
"This paper analyses the role of inter-organisational trust in pharmaceutical biotechnology, an industry characterised by a strong dual market structure. Our main finding is that repeated ties in pairs of large pharmaceutical companies and small, entrepreneurial biotechnology firms, which indicate inter-organisational trust, have a negative effect on subsequent partnering. An explanation for this result is found in specific conditions for R&D partnering in this high-technology dual market structure. Partnerships between a small number of very large companies and a large group of dependent small companies are not characterised by mutual dependence and inter-organisational trust."
Climate Change is not our Number One Problem (article)
By John-Paul Fenwick
from IPA Review Vol 60 No 4 Sept 2008, pp. 42 - 43
"This articles ranks the worlds problems and it is not all about climate change."
Emissions Trading: Towards the Biggest Economic Change in Australian History (article)
By Chris Berg and Alan Moran
from IPA Review Vol 60 No 4 Sept 2008, pp. 35 - 37
"This article discusses the impact of emissions trading on the economy."
Data Surveys - Australian Innovation Data (journal article)
by Paul H. Jensen and Elizabeth Webster
from The Australian Economic Review, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 323–9
The absence of an ideal innovation metric does not mean that economists and management scholars should avoid conducting innovation related research. Second-best data sources are increasingly being brought to light. These include: R&D data; new product launches; counts of intellectual property (IP), such as patents and trade marks; and surveys of companies’ innovative activities. However, to effectively use these data, researchers should be cognisant of their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Infrastructure: What Is Needed and How Do We Pay for It? (journal article)
by Michael Keeting
from Australian Economic Review Vol. 41 No. 3, pp. 231 - 238
Claims of an infrastructure crisis lack definition, and fail to provide evidence that investment projects that would generate an economic return, including both private and social benefits, are not being funded.
This paper shows how setting economic prices for energy, water, transport and communications will provide a better guide to the optimal amount of future infrastructure investment than the likely responses by proponents of an alleged infrastructure crisis.
Making the Harder Yards: Environmental Policy Integration in Australia (article)
By Andrew Ross and Stephen Dovers
from Australian Journal of Public Administration Vol 67 No 3 Sept 2008, pp. 245 - 260
"Solutions to environmental problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and land and water resource degradation require long term integration of economic, social and environmental policies. This poses challenges to specialised, hierarchical public administration systems. The study reported here examined strategies, structures and processes to enable environmental policy integration in six Australian states and territories, and some federal arrangements. The study found that the most prominent success factors, barriers and gaps that affect environmental policy integration relate to leadership, long term embedding of environmental policy integration and implementation capacity. Factors deserving further research and policy attention include leadership, cultural change and capacity building; embedding sustainability in structures and processes; development of a long term evidence based approach; strengthening decentralised implementation arrangements; and evaluation of policy integration initiatives. "
Small-scale Wind EnergyPolicy insights and practical guidance
Source: Carbon Trust (UK)
Small-scale wind energy (wind turbines <50kW rated capacity) is receiving increasing interest as one of a number of microgeneration technologies with potential to reduce carbon emissions. Recent years have seen new products being made available on the UK market, which a survey by the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) suggests is growing quickly.
However, the overall potential of small-scale wind energy to reduce carbon emissions, and the conditions under which maximum carbon reductions can be made, have not been entirely clear. Recognising this, the Carbon Trust commissioned research from the Met Office and Entec to determine: the overall UK carbon prize associated with small-scale wind energy; and how small wind turbines can best be sited to save most carbon.
Start Thinking About Carbon Assets -- Now
By Alex Rau and Robert Toker
From Harvard Business Review Vol. 86 Issue 9 Sept 2008, pp. 28-30
"The article poses and answers questions about carbon assets and mitigation strategy including questions on the value of a carbon credit or financial contract that has been issued to countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol, the reason why the replacement of incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent light bulbs does not qualify as a carbon asset, and the cost of carbon-related projects."
The transfer and commercialisation of nanotechnology: a comparative analysis of university and company researchers (journal article)
by Christopher Palmberg
from Journal of Technology Transfer Volume 33, Number 6 / December, 2008 pp. 631-652
Nanotechnology has been proposed as the next general purpose technology and engine for growth for the 21th century. Increasing public R&D investments are foremost reflected in the growth of scientific publications, while nanotechnology still is in an uncertain phase of development with various directions of commercialization pending. This paper focuses on the challenges, modes and outcomes of nanotechnology as an emerging science-based field in Finland. The paper contributes by interrogating how challenges and modes of nanotechnology transfer differ across universities and companies and determine outcomes broadly defined. The results of a survey show significant differences in the perceptions of researchers across these organisations, and highlight specific challenges and modes as determinants of outcomes.
Globalization of technology-based growth: the policy imperative (journal article)
by Gregory Tassey
from Journal of Technology Transfer Volume 33, Number 6 / December, 2008 pp. 560-578
The United States became the dominant technology-based economy after World War II and held that position for decades by accumulating a huge base of superior technical, physical, organizational, and marketing assets. However, the world is witnessing the rapid globalization of technology-based competition, which is the result of major commitments by many nations to investment in technology and its effective utilization. The changing dynamics of such competition requires revisions to the centuries’ old law of comparative advantage and the Schumpeterian process of creative destruction. However, U.S. technology-based growth policies have at best stood still for most of this period.
Mapping the frontiers of evaluation of public sector R&D programs (journal article)
by Irwin Feller
from Science and Public Policy Vol 34 No 10 December 2007, pp. 681-690
Evident in recent requests by policy-makers for evidence about the effectiveness and impacts of public-sector R&D programs and associated calls for a science of science policy is a call for new and improved approaches to evaluation. The trend is towards ex ante questions directed at providing analytical frameworks, metrics or methodologies relevant to future decisions, rather than ex post questions related to whether programs are working or had worked. Evaluators thus confront an evolving research agenda consisting both of new questions and old questions asked with increased emphasis. Among these are: how to set priorities among and within fields of scientific and technological inquiry; how to effectively and equitably choose among competing performers and proposals; and how to aggregate and integrate findings relating to specific policies and programs into an overarching national innovation systems framework.
Strategies for today's energy challenge (Journal article)
by Jeff Bingaman
from Issues in Science and Technology Summer2008, Vol. 24 No 4, pp. 33-38
Developing new energy sources provides an economic and technological opportunity for the United States.
Effects of university characteristics on scientists’ interactions with the private sector: an exploratory assessment (Journal article)
by Branco L. Ponomariov
From Journal of Technology Transfer Vol 33 No 5 October 2008, pp. 485-503
This paper estimates the effect of select university characteristics on the propensity of individual scientists to interact with private sector companies. The academic prestige of an institution has a direct negative effect on scientists’ interactions with the private sector, while the level of industrial R&D expenditures has a direct positive effect on such interactions. Institutional characteristics also moderate the effect of some individual-level variables such as tenure status, grant activity, involvement with students and disciplinary effects.
In the future, the best will be better than perfect: the new biology paradigm (journal article)
by Arnold Brown
From The Futurist, Sep/Oct 2008, Vol 42 No 5, pp. 25-28
The article explores the development of biological systems and technology. According to the author, the change focuses on the evolution of functional machines which are more efficient, faster and better. He adds that the things need to adapt to the changes and circumstances, and function according to their environment. These biology-based systems include Wikipedia, Internet, virtual networks and user-generated computer games. New manufacturing model localized modularization which specifies key features, size and weight of products has emerged in China.
Global Trends in Culture, Infrastructure and Values (journal Article)
by Andy Hines
from The Futurist, Sep/Oct2008, Vol 42 No 5, p18-23
The article examines the global consumer trends that affect the changes of culture, public infrastructure and values. The emergence of cultural centers of excellence influence the potential division and specialization of labor. Half and 19 percent of the population has access to Internet and mobile communications, yet, remote areas lack access to these technologies. It predicts that the younger generation will accelerate the flow of information and ideas immersed in different cultures. The increase of access to electricity stimulate the development of rural communities and living standards.
