Detecting and Explaining Technological Innovation in Prehistory

Detecting and Explaining Technological Innovation in Prehistory

Author: Michela Spataro

Publisher:

Published: 2019-12-19

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9789088908248

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Technology refers to any set of standardised procedures for transforming raw materials into finished products. Innovation consists of any change in technology which has tangible and lasting effect on human practices, whether or not it provides utilitarian advantages. Prehistoric societies were never static, but the tempo of innovation occasionally increased to the point that we can refer to transformation taking place. Prehistorians must therefore identify factors promoting or hindering innovation.This volume stems from an international workshop, organised by the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 'Scales of Transformation' at Kiel University in November 2017. The meeting challenged its participants to detect and explain technological change in the past and its role in transformation processes, using archaeological and ethnographic case studies. The papers draw mainly on examples from prehistoric Europe, but case-studies from Iran, the Indus Valley, and contemporary central America are also included. The authors adopt several perspectives, including cultural-historical, economic, environmental, demographic, functional, and agent-based approaches.These case studies often rely on interdisciplinary research, whereby field archaeology, archaeometric analysis, experimental archaeology and ethnographic research are used together to observe and explain innovations and changes in the artisan's repertoire. The results demonstrate that interdisciplinary research is becoming essential to understanding transformation phenomena in prehistoric archaeology, superseding typo-chronological description and comparison.This book is a scholarly publication aimed at academic researchers, particularly archaeologists and archaeological scientists working on ceramics, osseous and metal artifacts.


Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1

Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1

Author: Dimitri Uzunidis

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-06-08

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 1119832489

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Innovation, in economic activity, in managerial concepts and in engineering design, results from creative activities, entrepreneurial strategies and the business climate. Innovation leads to technological, organizational and commercial changes, due to the relationships between enterprises, public institutions and civil society organizations. These innovation networks create new knowledge and contribute to the dissemination of new socio-economic and technological models, through new production and marketing methods. Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1 is the first of the two volumes that comprise this book. The main objectives across both volumes are to study the innovation processes in todays information and knowledge society; to analyze how links between research and business have intensified; and to discuss the methods by which innovation emerges and is managed by firms, not only from a local perspective but also a global one. The studies presented in these two volumes contribute toward an understanding of the systemic nature of innovations and enable reflection on their potential applications, in order to think about the meaning of growth and prosperity.


The Idea of Technological Innovation

The Idea of Technological Innovation

Author: Benoît Godin

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781839104015

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This timely book explores technological innovation as a concept, dissecting its emergence, development and use. Benoît Godin offers an exciting new historiography of the subject, arguing that the study of innovation originates not from scholars but from practitioners of innovation. Godin looks to engineers, managers, consultants and policymakers as the instigators of our current understanding of technological innovation. Offering a conceptual history of the subject, Part I considers the many iterations of innovation - as an science applied, outcome, process and system - to track and analyse the changing discourses surrounding technological innovation. In Part II, the author turns to historic and contemporary innovation policy to illustrate the critical role that practitioners have had in formulating and strategizing policy. Effectively rewriting the historiography of the topic, this book is critical reading for scholars of innovation studies, sociology and the history of science and technology. Students will benefit from Godin's pioneering approach to the subject and policymakers will also find value in the book's unique insight into innovation.


Assessing the Value of Research in the Chemical Sciences

Assessing the Value of Research in the Chemical Sciences

Author: Chemical Sciences Roundtable

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1998-11-13

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 0309519764

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This book captures the messages from a workshop that brought together research managers from government, industry, and academia to review and discuss the mechanisms that have been proposed or used to assess the value of chemical research. The workshop focused on the assessment procedures that have been or will be established within the various organizations that carry out or fund research activities, with particular attention to the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). The book presents approaches and ideas from leaders in each area that were intended to identify new and useful ways of assessing the value and potential impact of research activities.


Studies on Science and the Innovation Process

Studies on Science and the Innovation Process

Author: Nathan Rosenberg

Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company Incorporated

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 9789814273589

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Science and technology have become increasingly intertwined in the twentieth century. However, little attention has been paid to the forces that have brought about this phenomena. Indeed, many writers have taken it for granted that causality always runs from science to technology. In this ground-breaking book, Rosenberg's research suggests that history and empirical evidence lead to a reality that is far more complex and interesting. Here, Rosenberg's papers cover a wide range of topics, especially those connected with the innovative process, including electric power, electronics, medicine, chemistry, engineering disciplines, scientific instrumentation, industrial research, and universities considered as economic institutions.


New Medical Devices

New Medical Devices

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1988-01-01

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0309038472

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In the past 50 years the development of a wide range of medical devices has improved the quality of people's lives and revolutionized the prevention and treatment of disease, but it also has contributed to the high cost of health care. Issues that shape the invention of new medical devices and affect their introduction and use are explored in this volume. The authors examine the role of federal support, the decision-making process behind private funding, the need for reforms in regulation and product liability, the effects of the medical payment system, and other critical topics relevant to the development of new devices.


Managing Technological Innovation: Tools And Methods

Managing Technological Innovation: Tools And Methods

Author: Tugrul U Daim

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2017-03-09

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 9813207280

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The management of technological innovation is both an art, as well as a science; the process involves the know-how and technological core skills to deliver the functionality on the one hand, and (with an ear on the ground) the ability to identify changes in technologies to come up with new innovations on the other. This requires, as a result, frameworks, system tools, and methodologies to improve the yield in innovations.Managing Technological Innovation provides a set of tools and case studies for R&D managers to effectively manage technological innovations — from the identifying of technological needs to the launch of the product. The book is divided into five parts. Part 1 addresses the policies and strategies necessary to provide direction to R&D organizations in the management of technological innovation. Part 2 focuses on technological assessment; presenting the methods available to better matching of technologies to strategic directions, supported with case studies to illustrate the evaluation methods. Part 3 covers the development and building of technological portfolios with new products, as well as mitigation strategies. Part 4 focus on the execution phase of built portfolios — the development of new products. And finally, Part 5 rounds up with a study on the factors which impact the diffusion of technological innovations into the market place.This book is a practical guide for R&D professions and designers, as well as a case study reference for graduate students in pursuit of their project work.