Roman Jurowetzki

Mapping the (R-)Evolution of Technological Fields -- A Semantic Network Approach

The aim of this paper is to provide a framework and novel methodology geared towards mapping technological change in complex interdependent systems by using large amounts of unstructured data from various recent on- and offline sources. Combining techniques from the fields of natural language processing and network analysis, we are able to identify technological fields as overlapping communities of knowledge fragments. Over time persistence of these fragments allows to observe how these fields evolve into trajectories, which may change, split, merge and finally disappear. As empirical example we use the broad area of Technological Singularity, an umbrella term for different technologies ranging from neuroscience to machine learning and bioengineering, which are seen as main contributors to the development of artificial intelligence and human enhancement technologies. Using a socially enhanced search routine, we extract 1,398 documents for the years 2011-2013. Our analysis highlights the importance of generic interface that ease the recombination of technology to increase the pace of technological progress. While we can identify consistent technology fields in static document collections, more advanced ontology reconciliation is needed to be able to track a larger number of communities over time.

Combining Innovation Systems and Global Value Chains for Development: Towards a Research Agenda

This paper contributes to ongoing work which seeks to bring together the national innovation system and global value chain literatures for the study of economic development. We depart from the view that such a new combination will be helpful both in enhancing understanding of socioeconomic processes in developing countries and in building a more useful knowledge base for action. To this aim, we combine bibliometric analysis with a qualitative review of work from both bodies of literature. The purpose is to inform a research agenda suited for policy-relevant studies of economic development in the global economy.Ce document contribue aux travaux en cours qui visent à rassembler la littérature sur les systèmes d’innovation nationaux et sur la chaîne de valeur mondiale afin d’étudier le développement économique. Nous partons de l’hypothèse qu’une combinaison si innovante serait utile à la fois pour améliorer la compréhension des processus socio-économiques dans les pays en développement et pour constituer une base de connaissances plus utile pour l’action. À cette fin, nous combinons l’analyse bibliométrique avec une revue qualitative du travail des deux corps de littérature. L’objectif est d’éclairer un programme de recherche adapté aux études qui sont utiles aux politiques économiques et qui traitent du développement économique dans l’économie mondiale.

Mapping the (R-)Evolution of Technological Fields

In this paper, we propose the Topical Communities and Personal Interest (TCPI) model for simultaneously modeling topics, topical communities, and users’ topical interests in microblogging data. TCPI considers different topical communities while differentiating users’ personal topical interests from those of topical communities, and learning the dependence of each user on the affiliated communities to generate content. This makes TCPI different from existing models that either do not consider the existence of multiple topical communities, or do not differentiate between personal and community’s topical interests. Our experiments on two Twitter datasets show that TCPI can effectively mine the representative topics for each topical community. We also demonstrate that TCPI significantly outperforms other state-of-the-art topic models in the modeling tweet generation task.

Local competence building and international venture capital in low-income countries: Exploring foreign high-tech investments in Kenya’s Silicon Savanna

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the changing pattern and characteristics of international financial flows in the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), provide a novel taxonomy to classify and analyze them, and discuss how such investments contribute to competence building and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach In an exploratory study, the authors analyze the characteristics of international venture capital investors and the start-ups receiving funding in Kenya and map their interaction. The authors proceed by developing a novel taxonomy, classifying investors according to their main rationales (for-profit-for-impact), and start-ups according to the locus of needs and markets addressed by the start-up (local-global) and the locus of the start-ups capacity and knowledge (local-global). Findings The authors observe a new type of mainly western investors who support innovative ideas in SSA by identifying and investing in domestically developed technical innovations with the potential to address global market needs. The authors find such innovations to be mainly developed at the intersect of global and local knowledge. Originality/value The authors shed light on the – up to now – under-researched emerging phenomenon of international high-tech investments in SSA, and develop a novel taxonomy of technology investments in low-income countries, guiding further research on the conditions, impact, practical, and policy implications of this new form of finance flows.

Incremental by Design? On the Role of Incumbents in Technology Niches

In this paper, we study the evolution of governance structures in technological niches. At the case of public funded research projects and the resulting cooperation networks related to smart grid and systems in Denmark, we raise the questions which actors over time inherit a central position—associated with high influence on the development of research trajectories—in the network. We are particularly interested in what role incumbent actors, connected to the old regime of fossil based energy production, play in shaping future technological trajectories. The protected space theoretically created by such public research funding offers firms an environment to experiment in joint learning activities on emerging technologies, shielded from the selection pressure on open markets, thereby facilitating socio-technological transitions. Generally, the engagement of large incumbent actors in the development of emerging technologies, particularly in joint research projects with entrepreneurial ventures, is positively perceived, as their resource endowment enables them to stem large projects and bring them all the way to the market.

Exploring Transition of Large Technological Systems through Relational Data - A Study of The Danish Smart Grid Development

The 2013 edition of the European Commission’s report “Smart Grid projects in Europe” outlines Denmark’s strong leadership position within smart energy research, development and demonstration. The high and constantly growing percentage of wind power in the Danish system, the country’s aspiration to become a European Smart Grid laboratory, and the currently achieved strong position in this technological area make Denmark an interesting case to study. The smart grid relates to the grid not in the same way as the smartphone to the phone. The transformation is characterised by adding components to the existing energy grid(s) rather than replacing them. Consequently this process is characterised by a tension between the old and the new. The new (e.g. smart meters, advanced transmission monitoring etc.) does not necessarily appear to replace the old (the established transmission and distribution infrastructure) but to integrate with it and upgrade its capacity. The most obvious area of friction is the technology itself – new and old technological components have to be able to interact, which leads to challenges in terms of interdependence and interoperationability. But also the tension between established and new actors in the field, old and new business models, and institutions to support them has significant importance for the transformation of the grid. The overall guiding question of the thesis is therefore formulated as follows: How does the interplay between established and new technologies and actors determine the direction and outcomes of innovation in large technological systems (such as the Danish smart grid)?

Dealing with Emotions

Emotions seem to play an important role among those concepts that have an effect on learning processes in the classroom setting. The existing body of research in the field of educational psychology and neuroscience shows that emotions are meaningful not only when we are interested in how to learn “better”, but even when examining how we learn at all.

Emotions in the Classroom: The Powerful Role of Classroom Relationships

Emotions seem to play an important role among those concepts that have an effect on learning processes in the classroom setting. The existing body of research in the field of educational psychology and neuroscience shows that emotions are meaningful not only when we are interested in how to learn “better”, but even when examining how we learn at all.

Emotions in the Classroom

Emotions seem to play an important role among those concepts that have an effect on learning processes in the classroom setting. The existing body of research in the field of educational psychology and neuroscience shows that emotions are meaningful not only when we are interested in how to learn “better”, but even when examining how we learn at all.