Monday, March 30, 2009

From the Knowledge-Based Economy To a Wisdom-Based Society


Presentation of

Prof. Bob Jessop

Director, Institute of Advanced Studies, Lancaster University, England

on

From the Knowledge-Based Economy To A Wisdom-Based Society

Delivered on 30 March 2009 at SLS Auditorium, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

This presentation covers Knowledge-based Economy (KBE), Wisdom-based Society, National Innovation Systems, Emerging Knowledge Economies and Indian National Knowledge Commission.

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Monday, March 23, 2009

Workshop for Research Scholars 2009, CSSS Calcutta, 4-10 November

Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
Workshop for Research Scholars 2009
4-10 November 2009
(Beginning Doctoral, Doctoral and Post-doctoral Scholars)
Social Sciences Workshop 3
Theme: Violation and Violence

Description

What constitutes violation? How is it linked to violence? Violations of rights, freedoms, and human dignity are hardly random occurrences in our times. They are perpetrated by both private parties and public authorities. Resistance to such acts may also entail violation of 'unjust' laws, policies or practices in the shape of, say, civil disobedience or armed resistance. Violence — political, economic, cultural or domestic — is at times violation's ally; at others it may take on the form of counter-hegemonic protest or anti-hierarchical anarchic dissent. Arguably, 'violation' and 'violence' are contradictory resources having both hegemonic and radical potentials. To address the conceptual and methodological riddles that surround these ideas we need an 'interdisciplinary' prism, that is to say, a combination of historical, political, economic, cultural and sociological optics. This is particularly true in today's context. Live as we do in times when the experience of 'terror', both in terms of real events and their media-representations, is getting increasingly integrated to our everyday, the 'violation-violence' nexus demands being examined from perspectives that are not bound exclusively by strict disciplinary protocols. The Workshop will deal with these and similar issues. It is part of a project on 'Training in New Social Science Research Methods' being run by the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC).

Eligibility

General Criterion: Candidates with postgraduate degree in any of the social science disciplines (e.g., Economics, History, Sociology, Political Science" Cultural Studies [Literature, Film Studies, Philosophy etc.], Development Studies, Environmental Science, Geography, Social Anthropology, Education)
For Beginning Doctoral Scholars: Candidates who have either just begun or intend to pursue doctoral research.
For Doctoral and Post-doctoral Scholars: (i) Candidates who are either about to complete or have recently completed their doctoral research; (ii) preferably within 35 years of age.

Format

  • The Workshop will have two parts.
  • Part One: 'Plenary Session'. The selected candidates will be divided into groups of 3. Each group will be assigned a set of Reading Material upon which the group will have to make a presentation.
  • Part Two: 'Participants' Presentations'. A Beginning Doctoral Scholar will be required to present a twenty-minute 'Proposal for Research' and Doctoral and Postdoctoral Scholars will be required to present a forty-minute Paper. Resource Persons will interact with participants in both the sessions.
  • Spread over 6 working days the workshop will be held from 4 November to 10 November 2009 at the CSSSC's Baishnabghata-Patuli campus in Kolkata. The Workshop does not have any fees. Local hospitality and travel expenses of outstation participants will be covered by CSSSC with partial funding from Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust (NRTT).

Deadline for receiving applications: 15 May 2009

Application: The Beginning Doctoral applicants are required to send a 500-word description of their proposed research and the Doctoral and postdoctoral applicants are required to send a 1000-word description of their papers along with curriculum vitae. Selected applicants will have to submit their final papers by 31 August 2009.

Please send your applications to the following address:
Ranjana Dasgupta
Research-Officer, CSSSC-NRTT Programme
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
R-1, Baishnabghata-Patuli Township
Kolkata 700 094
e-mail:
programs[at]cssscal.org

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CSSS Kolkata offers Short-Term Residential Post-Doctoral Fellowships 2009

Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
Short-Term Residential Post-Doctoral Fellowships 2009
Theme: Violation and Violence

Description
What constitutes violation? How is it linked to violence? Violations of rights, freedoms, and human dignity are hardly random occurrences in our times. They are perpetrated by both private parties and public authorities. Resistance to such acts may also entail violation of 'unjust' laws, policies or practices in the shape of, say, civil disobedience or armed resistance. Violence — political, economic, cultural or domestic — is at times violation's ally; at others it may take on the form of counter-hegemonic protest or anti-hierarchical anarchic dissent. Arguably, 'violation' and 'violence' are contradictory resources having both hegemonic and radical potentials. To address the conceptual and methodological riddles that surround these ideas we need an 'interdisciplinary' prism, that is to say, a combination of historical, political, economic, cultural and sociological optics. This is particularly true in today's context. Live as we do in times when the experience of 'terror', both in terms of real events and their media-representations, is getting increasingly integrated to our everyday, the 'violation-violence' nexus demands being examined from perspectives that are not bound exclusively by strict disciplinary protocols.

Eligibility
i) Ph.D. in any of the social science disciplines (e.g., Economics, History, Sociology, Political Science, Cultural Studies [Literature, Film Studies, Philosophy, etc.], Development studies, Environmental Science, Geography, Social Anthropology, Education) [Those who have submitted their Ph.D. theses are also eligible to apply.]
ii) Undergraduate college teachers would be given preference
iii) Preferably within 35 years of age

Selection Procedure
i) Each applicant is required to send a research proposal of approximately 2000 words addressing the fellowship's theme.
ii) Each short-listed candidate will be required to give a 30-minute talk on her / his research-proposal in the presence of Examiners and faculty members of csssc.(The expenses for travel will be borne by CSSSC)

Fellowship Profile
The Short-term Residential Post-doctoral Fellowship Programme is apart of the Project 'Training in New Social Science Research Methods' being run by the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC).The Project is partly funded by Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust (NRTT).

Fellowship Conditions
CSSSC is offering three One-year Residential Post-doctoral Fellowships under its 'Training in New Social Science Research Methods' Project for the year 2009-10. The Resident Post-doctoral Fellow will have to
(i) re-locate her/himself to Kolkata within a month of appointment and be present full-time at the Baishnabghata-Patuli campus of CSSSC for research-work;
(ii) participate in all academic activities of CSSSC;
(iii) present a paper in November 2009 on the research done by her/him at the Annual CSSSC-NRTT Workshop on 'Violation and Violence'.

Fellowship Amount
Rs. 27,000 (consolidated)per month for twelve consecutive months

Deadline for receiving applications: 30 April 2009

Please send your application consisting of research-proposal and curriculum vitae to the following address:
Ranjana Dasgupta
Research-Officer, CSSSC-NRTT Programme
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
R-1, Baishnabghata-Patuli Township
Kolkata 700 094
e-mail: programs[at]cssscal.org


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OECD and ADB Working Papers on China's Innovation System

1) Foreign Direct Investment, Innovation, and Exports: Firm-Level Evidence from People's Republic of China, Thailand, and Philippines. by Ganeshan Wignaraja. ADB Economics Working Paper Series No. 134, November 2008.

Abstract
This paper examines the links between ownership, innovation, and exports in electronics firms in three late-industrializing developing countries (People’s Republic of China, Thailand, and Philippines), drawing on recent developments in applied international trade and innovation and learning. Technology-based approaches to trade offer a plausible explanation for firm-level exporting behavior. The econometric results (using probit) confirm the importance of foreign ownership and innovation in increasing the probability of exporting in electronics. Higher levels of skills, managers’ education, and capital also matter in the People’s Republic of China as well as accumulated experience in Thailand. Furthermore, a technology index composed of technical functions performed by firms emerges as a more robust indicator of innovation than the research and development to sales ratio. Accordingly, technological effort in electronics in these countries mostly focuses on assimilating and using imported technologies rather than formal research and development by specialized engineers.

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2) Measuring China’s Innovation System: National Specificities and International Comparisons. by Martin Schaaper. Paris: OECD STI Working Paper 2009/1; Statistical Analysis of Science, Technology and Industry.

Abstract
This working paper discusses actors and resources in China's science and innovation system, science and technology performance, and general purpose technologies. It provided input to the recently published OECD Review of China's Innovation Policy. The annex to this paper assesses international comparability of China's S&T indicators.

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Friday, March 20, 2009

Call for Research Proposals: "Growth, Employment, Poverty Nexus in the Current Financial Crisis"


Call for Research Proposals

Theme:"Growth, Employment, Poverty Nexus in the Current Financial Crisis"

BE A PART OF A DYNAMIC TEAM OF SOUTH ASIAN RESEARCHERS NETWORK

South Asia Network of Economic Research Institutes (SANEI) is a regional initiative to foster networking amongst economic research institutions in South Asia. The aim of the Network is to establish strong research interlinkages among diverse economic research institutes in the South Asian region. SANEI has funded around 115 research projects on diverse themes of economic development in South Asia and total number of researchers involved in SANEI sponsored projects has crossed 236.

Grant:

Single Country Studies US $10,000 each

Double Countries Studies US $20,000 each*

Triple Countries Studies US $30,000 each*

*Carried out with researchers in countries in South Asia

Please review the following documents available at http://www.saneinetwork.net/research/proposals.asp for further detail

1) 11th Call for Proposals

2) Terms of Reference - Growth, Employment, Poverty Nexus in the Current Financial Crisis

Last date of Submission: March 31, 2009

All proposals must be submitted before the end of closing date, both by e-mail and by post at the following address:

Dr Rashid Amjad

Coordinator, SANEI & Vice Chancellor

Pakistan Institute of Development Economics

P O Box 1091, Islamabad

Pakistan

Tel: +92-51-9217879

Fax: +92-51-9206407

Email: pidesaneipk@saneinetwork.net

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Training Workshop on "Trade Modeling Using GTAP and Other Econometric Softwares"

Training Workshop on "Trade Modeling Using GTAP and Other Econometric Softwares"
16 to 30 April, 2009
Venue: University of Allahabad, India

Organizers: UNCTAD-MOIC-DFID Project on "Strategies and Preparedness for Trade and Globalization in India" and Department of Economics, University of Allahabad

For Whom

University and College teachers along with bonafide research scholars specializing and working on International trade issues and econometrics should apply with complete bio-data to Dr. P.N. Mehrotra, Coordinator by April 02, 2009, Email: pnmehrotra[at]rediffmail.com.

The selected participants will be paid TA and DA including lodging facilities in accordance with the rules of University of Allahabad.

More Details here

Thursday, March 12, 2009

OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy: China


OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy: China. Paris: OECD, 2008.

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China has achieved a spectacularly high rate of economic growth over a sustained period for more than two decades. Nevertheless, today China faces the challenge of making the transition from sustained to sustainable growth from social, economical, ecological and envionmental points of view. Innovation has been identified as a main engine for this new growth model, and the Chinese government has launched a national strategy to build an innovation-driven economy and society by 2020. Will China be able to succeed in making this challenging transition? What will it require in terms of policy and institutional changes? How will China's emergence as a future innovation economy affect the OECD countries, as well as the global systems for knowledge production, dissemenation and use?

This publication sheds light on these issues by assessing the current status of China’s national innovation system and policies, and by recommending the most important improvements required in both the policy and institutional environments for China to succeed in promoting innovation through a market-based approach.

This book is part of a series of OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy.

Key findings in this volume include:

  • At USD 73.5 billion in purchasing power parity (PPPs), China’s GERD was the third largest worldwide in 2006, after the United States and Japan.
  • The R&D intensity – the ratio of GERD to gross domestic product (GDP) – of China’s economy has increased spectacularly. It reached 1.43% of GDP in 2006, up from 0.6% in 1995.
  • However, China’s spending on R&D remains heavily focused on experimental development; only 5.2% of all R&D in 2006 was aimed at basic research, compared to 10-20% in OECD countries.
  • Although rising rapidly, only 11% of patents by Chinese firms in 2006 were considered inventive (invention patents), compared with 74% of patents by foreign firms patenting in China.
  • Foreign-owned companies (including joint ventures and wholly owned), including those controlled from Hong Kong and Macao, China, and Chinese Taipei, account for an ever-growing share of total high-technology exports, which have increased from 73% in 1998 to 88% in 2005. These trends continued in 2006.
  • Chinese high-technology industries continue to have much lower R&D intensity than their counterparts in most advanced OECD countries.
  • In 2006, high R&D intensity remained heavily concentrated in some regions, notably Beijing, Shanghai, Shaanxi, and Sichuan.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Executive Summary
  • Part I. Synthesis Report
  • Part II. Thematic Chapters
  • The Chinese Innovation System: Main Features and Performance
  • Chapter 1. Institutional Set-Up, Performance, Objectives and Key Challenges
  • Chapter 2. Innovation and R&D in China's Business Sector
  • Chapter 3. China's Public Research Institutes
  • Chapter 4. Industry and Science Relations
  • Chapter 5. China and the Globalisation of Research and Development
  • Chapter 6. Human Resources for Science, Technology and Innovation in China
  • Chapter 7. Regional Innovation Systems in China: Insights from Shanghai, Sichuan and Liaoning
  • The Role of Policy and Governance in Innovation
  • Chapter 8. The Evolution of China's Science and Technology Policy 1975-2007
  • Chapter 9. Framework Conditions for Innovation
  • Chapter 10. Governance and the Role of Government in the Chinese National Innovation System
  • Chapter 11. Chinese Research and Development Programmes for Science and Technology

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OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2008


OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2008. Paris: OECD, 2008.

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Global patterns of science, technology and innovation are quickly changing. What are the implications for science and innovation policy? What steps are countries taking to boost their capabilities in science, technology and innovation? What is the contribution of science and innovation to growth and social goals?

The OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2008 reviews key trends in science, technology and innovation in OECD countries and a number of major non-member economies including Brazil, Chile, China, Israel, Russia and South Africa.

Using the latest available data and indicators, the book examines topics high on the agenda of science and innovation policy makers, including science and innovation performance; trends in national science, technology and innovation policies; and practices to assess the socio-economic impacts of public research.

New to this edition are individual profiles of the science and innovation performance of each country in relation to its national context and current policy challenges. The graphs enable countries to see some of their relative strengths and weaknesses as compared to other countries' performance.

Table of Contents

  • Executive Summary
  • Chapter 1. Global Dynamics in Science, Technology and Innovation
  • Chapter 2. Main Trends in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy
  • Chapter 3. Science and Innovation: Country Notes
  • Chapter 4. Assessing the Socio-Economic Impacts of Public R&D: Recent Practices and Perspectives
  • Chapter 5. Innovation in Firms: Findings from a Comparative Analysis of Innovation Survey Microdata

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Open Innovation in Global Networks


Open Innovation in Global Networks. Paris: OECD, 2008.

As global competition intensifies and innovation becomes riskier and more costly, the business sector has been internationalising knowledge-intensive corporate functions, including R&D. At the same time, companies are increasingly opening their innovation processes and collaborating on innovation with external partners (suppliers, customers, universities, etc.).

What drives these global innovation networks across different industries? How are they related to companies' overall strategies? Are they accessible for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)?

Such global networks clearly have important implications for policy making, given the important role of innovation in OECD countries’ economic growth.

This publication presents the findings of a recent OECD project on globalisation and open innovation, expanding upon work carried out by the OECD following a March 2005 OECD forum on the internationalisation of R&D. It also builds on information in a chapter of the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2006 on the internationalisation of R&D, as well as a volume entitled The Internationalisation of Business R&D: Evidence, Impacts and Implications, published by the OECD in June 2008. Presentations and discussions at a symposium on open innovation in global networks (Copenhagen, February 2008) were another source of important input to this publication. The report also draws heavily on a large number of company case studies in various countries that were undertaken by national experts.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Open Innovation in Global Networks

The concept of open innovation Applications of open innovation: user innovation, lead markets and open source Open innovation in the innovation literature Drivers of open innovation: demand and supply factors Global networks and innovation ecosystems Open innovation across industries Modes of open innovation The advantages and disadvantages of global innovation networks Global innovation networks and intellectual property

Chapter 2. Empirical Measures of Open Innovation

Case studies and surveys Trends in R&D collaboration Innovation surveys: the role of networks and collaboration Patents: co-inventions and co-applications Trends in licensing Some tentative conclusions

Chapter 3. Insights from the Company Case Studies

General overview Quantitative findings on the globalisation of innovation Qualitative findings: open innovation on a global scale Towards an integrated model of open innovation

Chapter 4. Policy ImplicationsPolicy issues related to globalisation and open innovation Policy responses Towards a different innovation policy?

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Sunday, March 8, 2009

Unleashing India’s Innovation: Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

Unleashing India’s Innovation: Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Growth/ edited by Mark A. Dutz. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2007.

Report Summary

India’s becoming a top global innovator for high-tech products and services. Yet, the country is underperforming relative to its innovation potential. To sustain competitiveness, economic growth, and rising living standards over the long term, India needs to aggressively harness its innovation potential.

India is increasingly becoming a top global innovator for high-tech products and services. Still, the country is underperforming relative to its innovation potential —with direct implications for long-term industrial competitiveness and economic growth. This book focuses on inclusive innovation — knowledge creation and absorption efforts most relevant to the needs of the poor in India. This is in addition to the book’s emphasis on how faster growth can be facilitated by promoting “new to the world” knowledge creation and commercialization—the traditional understanding of the term innovation—as well as through often underappreciated but even higher-impact “new to the market” diffusion and absorption of existing knowledge.

Facts:

  • Domestic R&D spending has never exceeded 1% of GDP.
  • India's stock of scientists and engineers engaged in R&D is among the largest in the world.
  • Only 16% of Indian manufacturing firms provide in-service training; firms that provide in-service training are up to 28% more productive.
  • The sectors most open to competition have increased R&D spending the most.
  • The informal sector accounts for roughly 90% of the workforce.
  • Only 10-25% of general college graduates are suitable for employment.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter 1: The Indian Context and Enabling Environment
  • Chapter 2: Creating and Commercializing Knowledge
  • Chapter 3: Diffusing and Absorbing Knowledge
  • Chapter 4: Promoting Inclusive Innovation
  • Chapter 5: Strengthening Skills and Education for Innovation
  • Chapter 6: Upgrading Information Infrastructure
  • Chapter 7: Enhancing Innovation Finance

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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Measuring the Information Society: The ICT Development Index 2009


Just Published

Measuring the Information Society: The ICT Development Index 2009. Geneva: International Telecommunication Union, 2009.

Abstract

The latest edition of Measuring the Information Society features the new ITU ICT Development Index. The Index captures the level of advancement of ICTs in more than 150 countries worldwide and compares progress made between 2002 and 2007. It also measures the global digital divide and examines how it has developed in recent years. The report also features a new ICT Price Basket, which combines fixed, mobile and broadband tariffs for 2008 into one measure and compares it across countries. The analytical report is complemented by a series of statistical tables providing country-level data for all indicators included in the Index.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Chapter 2 – ICT Market Overview

Chapter 3 – The ITU ICT Development Index (IDI): background and methodology

Chapter 4 – The ITU ICT Development Index (IDI): presentation and discussion of results

Chapter 5 – Measuring the Digital Divide

Chapter 6 – ICT Price Basket

Chapter 7 – Conclusions

Annex 1: ICT Development Index (IDI) methodology

Annex 2: ICT Price Basket methodology

Annex 3: List of economies included in the IDI and the ICT Price Basket by region

Annex 4: Statistical tables of indicators used to compute the IDI

Annex 5: Statistical tables of tariffs used to compute the ICT Price Basket

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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies

The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies. Third Edition. Edited by Edward J. Hackett, Olga Amsterdamska, Michael Lynch and Judy Wajcman. Published in cooperation with the Society for Social Studies of Science. Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2008.
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Monday, March 2, 2009

Just Published:: India's National Innovation System: Key Elements and Corporate Perspectives


India's National Innovation System: Key Elements and Corporate Perspectives

by Cornelius Herstatt, Rajnish Tiwari, Dieter Ernst, and Stephan Buse

East-West Center Working Papers, Economics Series, No. 96

Publisher: Honolulu: East-West Center

Publication Date: August 2008

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Abstract

In January 2007, a joint research project on "India's Innovation System: Exploring the Strengths" was launched by the Institute of Technology and Management at Hamburg University of Technology in cooperation with the East-West Center. The elements and inherent strengths and weaknesses of India's innovation system were examined, particularly in knowledge-intensive sectors. Representatives of private firms as well as Governmental / institutional bodies (85 in total) were interviewed.

India is in the process of emerging as a major R&D hub for both large and medium-sized multinational companies in various industries. This development is mainly owing to the availability of skilled labor produced in world-class elite institutions. Cost advantages, e.g. in the form of low wages are still present but receding due to substantial wage hikes often ranging between 15 and 25% per annum. The striking finding is, however, about market-driven factors. Of late, India's market potential, in the meantime ranked as 3rd largest worldwide by the Global Competitiveness Report 2007-08, has emerged as a crucial driver. Rising income levels of India's billion-plus population are creating unique market opportunities for firms, both domestic and foreign.

In India, the Government has historically played a major and in most cases a singularly positive role in the formation of its innovation system. Despite explosive population growth, the literacy rate in India grew from 18.3% in 1950-51 to 64.8% in 2001 thanks to concerted Government efforts; female literacy rose from a mere 8.9% to 53.7% in the same period. Moreover, the quality of education in India is generally ranked as very good. According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2007-08, the quality of mathematics and science education in India is ranked as 11th best in the world, much ahead of 29th placed Japan, 36th placed Germany, 45th placed United States and 46th placed United Kingdom.

Nevertheless, India is faced with major challenges related to infrastructure and bureaucratic hurdles. The quality of education, notwithstanding such excellent rankings as stated above, in many institutions does not reach the standards required for (cutting-edge) R&D efforts. Moreover, a booming economy is leading to a shortage of qualified and experienced skilled labor--which result in inflationary wage growth and high attrition rates, which generally lay in a double-digit range.With the Government maintaining a pro-active role many of these problems may, however, be expected to get resolved to a manageable extent. In its Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) the Government has announced massive investments in infrastructure and education sectors to enhance both the quantity and the quality.

Industrial firms in India have recognized their chances and are investing heavily in R&D capacities. India is also a beneficiary of global mobility and exchange of talents, technology, and resources as much of the world, especially the developed Western countries, have profited from India's export of brain power.

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