Different Levels Of Technology Research Articles

Tuning one and other

ABSTRACT Being and bearing witness is foundational to social structures. Different kinds of mediated presence, which have been introduced by information and communication technology in the twentieth century, affect how people are witness to each other. To better understand trade-offs for trust, the so-called YUTPA framework is developed, which allows for identifying different presence configurations. As a techno biography, the memory of four live events is re-visited to explore the force of mediating presence for being and bearing witness in the new presence configurations that have emerged in the use of information and communication technology. These live events happened in different decades with different levels of technology and all represent a threshold in the developing media schemata in the Amsterdam digital cultural scene since the 1980s. This article argues that for being and bearing witness in mediated presence, psychological capacities for processes of imagination, attribution and immediate adaptation are pivotal. Witnessing the self appears to be a key capacity in these processes. While steering towards well-being and survival, ethical positions that reflect trade-offs for trust and truth, are chosen. It is the physical presence of the witness as the beholder of sensations, emotions and feelings, that steers towards well-being and survival.

ИННОВАЦИОННОЕ И ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ РЕГИОНОВ ОБРАБАТЫВАЮЩЕЙ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТИ: ОЦЕНКА КОНВЕРГЕНЦИИ ИНДУСТРИАЛЬНОГО ПРОСТРАНСТВА

When assessing regional industry in the transition to the post-industrial stage of develop-ment, it is necessary to take into account the productive, technological, and innovative potential of the in-dustries themselves, the regions in which they are located, and the ratio of different technological levels of industrial sectors (high-, medium-, or low-tech levels and HT, HMT, or LMT, or LT sectors). This article assesses the technological and innovative homogeneity of the industrial space of Russian regions specializ-ing in manufacturing. The study analyzes innovation parameters and the convergence of regions, taking into account the dominance of industries with different levels of technology. The study investigates HT, HMT, LMT and LT regions of the Russian manufacturing industry. Research methods include comparative, eco-nomic, and statistical analysis (σ- and β-convergence). The hypothesis is that there are uneven shifts in the innovation and technological development of regions, the presence of distinctive advantages, and resistance to external restrictions and violations of system technologies. The assessment of these features will increase the technological sovereignty and independence of innovation development of the regions and the country as a whole. The results revealed that LT and LMT regions have stable growth in the volume of shipped in-novative goods which ensures sustainable innovation efficiency. HT and HMT regions are characterized by the high costs of innovation and high innovation efficiency. In regions with different levels of technology, a reduction in disproportions based on σ-convergence was revealed; β-convergence was revealed in the group of HT, HMT, and LMT regions by the share of innovative products in the structure of shipped products and the share of medium- and high-tech industries in shipped products. The conclusions can be used in the de-velopment of regional industrial policy.

Performance of juvenile vaname shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) hemocyte cells number and differentiation in different cultivation technologies

The Performance from The Number and Differentiation of Haemocyte Cell of udang vaname (Litopenaeus vannamaei) . Juvenile on Reared with Different Aquaculture Technology. This study aims to assess the performance of the number of hemocytes and cell differentiation of juvenile Udang vannamei (Litopenaeus vannamei) on reared with different levels of technology. The research was conducted by sampling directly to the location of intensive pond and traditional pond. The sampling frequency is 2 times at intervals of 15 days during the juvenile Litopenaeus vannamaei ± 2 months old. Hemolimfe parameters measured were the number of hemocytes, whereas the percentage of hemocytes differentiation by type of cell. The results showed that an increase in the number of juvenile litopenaeus vannamaei hemocytes on monitoring at 16:30, respectively rose from 30×106 cells/ml in traditional pond, and 34.8×106 cells/ml in intensive pond. at 12:00 monitoring, became 68.7×106 cells/ml traditional pond and 64.8×106 cells/ml in intensive pond. Furthermore, cell hyalin is higher percentage (54-61%) on traditional pond than globular cells (33-35%) and cell semiglobular (7-14%), but in intensive pond, globular cells is higher between hyaline cells and globular cells at each monitoring for 24 hours. This fact shows that the condition of vitality juvenile litopenaeus vannamaei reared on traditional pond more vibrant than litopenaeus vannamaei juveniles reared in intensive pond allegedly prone to stress, especially at dawn (4:30 a.m).

A Comprehensive Mathematical Model for Sequencing Interrelated Activities in Complex Product Development Projects

Determining the proper sequence of interrelated activities in the design of a complex product is an irrefutable challenge for project management. The presence of components with different levels of technology in a complex product can disrupt project planning and cause cost overruns or schedule delays. This article presents a multiobjective model for organizing interrelated activities by taking into account the impact of technological capability and financial aspect of the project with a periodic perspective. First, a multidomain matrix is devised based on design structure matrix and technology readiness level to demonstrate the impact of components technology maturity level. Second, a mathematical model is developed according to rework caused by information dependence (minimizing total feedback value), project financial aspect (minimizing the difference between the budget and project costs), and technology maturity level of components (minimizing technology risk). Finally, a possibilistic programming approach is applied to cope with the uncertainty of input data; in addition, to deal with multiple objective functions, an interactive fuzzy solution approach is implemented. To validate the model and solution approach, a numerical experiment and a case study are conducted. Testing results illustrate the importance of technology maturity level in sequencing activities and indicate that the model can be introduced as a management tool for the financial feasibility study of the project due to the balanced use of budget.

The dynamics of entrepreneurial networking logics: evidence from United Kingdom high-tech start-ups

PurposeThis study aims to explore how entrepreneurial firms' networking logics may change under different types of perceived uncertainty. The arrival of new knowledge from the entrepreneurial firm's network may alter the perceived technology and market uncertainty that in turn determines how the firm adopts or combines the two opposing logics of causation and effectuation. Focusing on the roles of external advisors recruited by the firms, the study probes the details of the cyclical process and the mechanism through which networking logics are altered.Design/methodology/approachIn this study the authors conducted a 3-year longitudinal multiple case study of 12 United Kingdom (UK) high-tech start-ups from prefounding to A-round funding with 54 semistructured interviews and meeting observations.FindingsThe knowledge of external advisors with distinct experience often reshapes the entrepreneurial firm's perceptions of uncertainty, leading to logics change in network development. The authors identify two types of knowledge brought by external advisors and discover how these can influence three networking logic pathways under different levels of technology and market uncertainty.Originality/valueThe study is one of the first to map the paths of changing logics along with different types of uncertainty in the context of entrepreneurial network development. The study unpacks one of the key mechanisms of networking logic changes: the knowledge and expertise of those advisors recruited by the entrepreneurial firms. The process model of changing logics contributes to the effectuation literature and entrepreneurial network research.

Total Factor Productivity and Intangible Capital in Different Levels of Technology: A Case Study of Iranian Manufacturing Industries

This article tries to examine intangible investment in different levels of Iranian industrial technology by using a comprehensive measure of intangible capital costs in Iran. Previous studies in the study of intangible capital on total factor productivity (TFP), show that intangible investment has a positive and significant effect on this variable in Iran's manufacturing industry with a four-digit ISIC code. Also among the components, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has a more prominent role on the TFP variable. This study examines all the factors (which play a role in measuring intangible investment) on the growth of TFP at different levels of technology (which are divided into four categories).Unlike previous studies, for all industries, apart from technology levels, ICT is very effective and other components are ignored,the results of this study show that other factors affect intangible investment except ICT in high-tech and medium / high industries have higher impact on TFP than ICT and vice versa. It is also suggested to achieve the highest optimal level of TFP, by separating different levels of technology, to focus on components such as research and development, brand, educational services, etc. for high levels and ICT factor for low levels.

Can we obtain high productivity allied to environmental gains? An emergy-economic study of sheep meat production systems

Lamb production in Brazil has the state of São Paulo as its largest consumer market, but due to competition for area with other agricultural activities, sheep farming in São Paulo underwent an intensification of the production system to achieve better economic profitability. This intensification can compromise the sustainability of the system. There is no research concerning about emergy evaluation on lamb production systems applied in Brazil, so this is the first paper to discuss the sustainability of lamb production systems using this method. Therefore, this article proposes to discuss the importance of considering environmental aspects in the economic analysis of production systems, aiming at the sustainable development of the sector. This study assessed the economic and emergy performance of three different sheep farms in Brazil managed under different levels of technology: Intensive, Semi-intensive, and Feedlot. Results show that from an economic perspective, the Feedlot system is more attractive (9,800 US$/yr for net profit) than Intensive and Semi-intensive ones, while emergy synthesis show that Semi-intensive system (30% for renewability) should be prioritized. On the other hand, when emergy is analyzed from an economic perspective based on Emdollars (Em$, with an ‘m’), the economic advantage regarding the production cost of Feedlot on the Semi-intensive system becomes less evident. The Intensive system obtained the worst performance for economic, and emergy indicators. More than contributing to the discussions about the importance in considering a systemic perspective when quantifying the economic performance of production systems, this study also (i) establishes the most sustainable sheep farm system that could be supported in Brazil, and (ii) make available new unit emergy values that would enrich the existing emergy databases.

Analysis of Main Factors on Evaluation and Selection of Wet Waste Disposal Modes: A Case Study of Universities in Shanghai, China

This paper explores greenhouse gas emission intensity and economy of centralized and on-site wet waste disposal mode, while comprehensively evaluating the two modes for decision-making. Based on the fieldwork in Shanghai’s 20 campuses of 15 universities, multiple scenarios that can reflect the different levels of technology and management in reality, were set for the following studies. The greenhouse gas emissions generated from centralized and on-site disposal modes of wet waste were calculated in two emission scenarios using Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Inventory, and the IPCC 2006 method. Additionally, the continuous cost input from the universities for the two disposal modes was analyzed in three cost-input scenarios using the Net Present Value method. Furthermore, a comprehensive evaluation of the two modes was also conducted by using Analytic Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation under the five main factors of greenhouse gas emission—control, economy, stability, education and innovation, and bargaining power for municipal sanitation departments. The results revealed that the centralized disposal mode is superior to the on-site disposal mode in terms of greenhouse gas emission control and economy. The centralized disposal mode is a more rational choice due to the better comprehensive evaluation performance. It was also emphasized that the construction of the wet waste disposal system is so complicated that the academic community and the policymakers may have to pay more attention to the integration of system design, industrial development, and other aspects of wet waste disposal.

Effect of Hearing Aid Technology Level on New Hearing Aid Users.

Hearing aid manufacturers offer several different levels of technology that vary in sophistication and cost. It would stand to reason that higher technology hearing aids would provide greater benefit in the daily life of the user; however, research does not support this assumption for all users. Recent research in experienced hearing aid users indicated noise acceptance and satisfaction for speech in a large group were significantly improved when using the premium devices and suggested noise acceptance may be useful when comparing hearing aid technology levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hearing aid technology level on listener outcome measures for new hearing aid users. A repeated measures, single-blinded research design was utilized. Twenty-four adults with no previous hearing aid experience were recruited using flyers posted at the University of Tennessee Audiology Clinic and on social media (19 males, 5 females). The average age of the participants was 61 years (48-81 years). Participants completed two, 4-week trial periods using Unitron T Moxi Fit FLEX:TRIAL devices programmed with basic or premium technology. Following each trial, laboratory evaluations were conducted using the QuickSIN, Hearing in Noise Test (HINT), and the Acceptable Noise Level (ANL). Subjective data was obtained using the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Short Form, satisfaction ratings, and preference. Data was analyzed using one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance. Speech perception results did not reveal significant differences between technology level on the HINT or QuickSIN; however, ANL was significantly improved for the premium devices. Subjective results revealed significantly improved satisfaction for speech in a large group and overall preference when using premium technology. Group data revealed similar outcomes between technology levels on most measures; however, noise acceptance, satisfaction for speech in a large group, and overall preference were significantly improved when using the premium devices. Individual characteristics such as noise acceptance, age, and degree of hearing loss may be useful when comparing hearing aid technology levels for new hearing aid users.

ANÁLISIS MULTIVARIADO PARA CARACTERIZAR Y TIPIFICAR FINCAS PRODUCTORAS DE PAPA (Solanum tuberosum L.) EN CUTERVO, CAJAMARCA, P

<p><strong>Background:</strong> The potato production system is an important socioeconomic and environmental activity in the high Andean areas of Peru, and it is necessary to characterize and typify said system to identify types of producing farms with homogeneous and representative characteristics, and thus design strategies to improve the production system of potatoes, in the northern highlands of Peru. <strong>Objectives:</strong> The objective of this research is to characterize and classify potato-producing farms using of multivariate methods in the province of Cutervo, Peru. <strong>Methodology:</strong> 165 farms were selected, and data was collected through a survey that describes the social, economic and environmental characteristics. <strong>Results:</strong> The principal component analyzes report seven principal components which explain 73.46% of the total variability of the data, which highlight the most important variables that characterize the potato system; show that most of the producers have basic education, belong to a peasant community, have an area of 1 ha or more and their production exceeds 13 t ha<sup>-1</sup>, but production costs are high, due to the excessive use of pesticides, added to this the low price of potatoes, obtaining low monthly income. The lack of training by state institutions and the application of new technologies. The cluster analysis characterized five typical farms, with different levels of technology and economy, social and environmental characteristics of the potato production system. <strong>Implications:</strong> Multivariate analysis can typify and characterize the production system of different crops in an agoecological zone, by selecting uncorrelated variables that are easier to understand and explain to design agricultural development strategies. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> The multivariate analysis managed to identify the most critical or risk characteristics of the potato production system at the farm level, establishing five standard farms, made up of a group of producers with homogeneous socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, therefore, intervention is necessary and implementation of strategies to improve the most critical characteristics of each group of producers to increase yield, combining chemical pesticides with biological agents to control pests and diseases, manage biodiversity and increase the quality of life of families that produce crops papa in Cutervo.</p>

Technical efficiency and technology gaps of sorghum plots in Uganda: A gendered stochastic metafrontier analysis

Sorghum plot managers in different locations have varying levels of resource endowment that in turn influence technical efficiency (TE). Therefore, plot managers operate at different levels of technology. The present study applied a stochastic metafrontier approach to assess TE and technology gaps of female, male and jointly-managed sorghum plots. A two limit-Tobit model was subsequently applied to assess determinants of TE. Results indicate that male-managed sorghum plots had the highest metafrontier technical efficiencies (MTEs) (61%, 56% and 15%) and technology gap ratios (TGRs) (98%, 92% and 20%) for Lira, Serere and Kumi districts, respectively compared to female and jointly managed plots. However, jointly managed plots had higher TE and TGRs compared to female plot managers but lower than those of the male-managed plots. Age, distance to plot and farmer group membership influenced TE positively while household size, years of farming sorghum and access to credit had negative effects on efficiency.

Characteristics of Novel Geopolymer Composites Synthesized from Red Mud and Diatomaceous Earth in Autoclave Conditions without Using Alkaline Activators

The geopolymer-based materials have been studied and developed since the last decades of the 20th century and applied in many fields of life. The production of geopolymer also has many different levels of technology from low to high technology which depends on quality and the applied fields of products. The geopolymer composites are also considered as friendly environmentally products related to low energy consumption production technology; reuse industrial wastes as raw materials; low or even zero CO 2 emission; many better properties compared to the same traditional materials, and others. This investigation would like to introduce a novel type of geopolymer-based materials synthesized from red mud and diatomaceous earth in autoclave conditions without using alkaline activators. The geopolymer composites were fabricated in three various temperatures of 120 o C, 150 o C, and 200 o C and evaluated characteristics via the different analytical methods. The method of X ray diffraction (XRD) was used to evaluate phase transitions among raw materials (RM and DE) and the geopolymer composite materials. Characteristics of bondings in the materials were detected by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TG) is method used to look for the physico-chemical changes of the geopolymer composite materials exposed at high temperature. In addition, the geopolymer – based materials were observed morphologies and microstructures in its solid phase lattice matrixs using scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Issues Associated With the Management and Governance of Sensor Data and Information to Assist Aging in Place: Focus Group Study With Health Care Professionals.

BackgroundSmart home and telemonitoring technologies have often been suggested to assist health care workers in supporting older people to age in place. However, there is limited research examining diverse information needs of different groups of health care workers and their access to appropriate information technologies.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the issues associated with using technologies that connect older people to their health care providers to support aging in place and enhance older people’s health and well-being.MethodsSeven focus group discussions were conducted comprising 44 health care professionals who provided clinic-based or in-home services to community-dwelling older people. Participants were asked about their information needs and how technology could help them support older people to age in place. The recordings of the sessions were transcribed and thematically analyzed.ResultsThe perspectives varied between the respondents who worked in primary care clinics and those who worked in community-based services. Three overarching themes were identified. The first theme was “access to technology and systems,” which examined the different levels of technology in use and the problems that various groups of health care professionals had in accessing information about their patients. Primary care professionals had access to good internal information systems but they experienced poor integration with other health care providers. The community-based teams had poor access to technology. The second theme was “collecting and sharing of information,” which focused on how technology might be used to provide them with more information about their patients. Primary care teams were interested in telemonitoring for specific clinical indicators but they wanted the information to be preprocessed. Community-based teams were more concerned about gaining information on the patients’ social environment. The third theme was that all respondents identified similar “barriers to uptake”: cost and funding issues, usability of systems by older people, and information security and privacy concerns.ConclusionsThe participants perceived the potential benefits of technologies, but they were concerned that the information they received should be preprocessed and integrated with current information systems and tailored to the older people’s unique and changing situations. Several management and governance issues were identified, which needed to be resolved to enable the widespread integration of these technologies into the health care system. The disconnected nature of the current information architecture means that there is no clear way for sensor data from telemonitoring and smart home devices to be integrated with other patient information. Furthermore, cost, privacy, security, and usability barriers also need to be resolved. This study highlights the importance and the complexity of management and governance of systems to collect and disseminate such information. Further research into the requirements of all stakeholder groups and how the information can be processed and disseminated is required.

Evaluation of water saving technologies at Estidamah research center in Saudi Arabia

Water saving is crucial for the survival of agriculture in Saudi Arabia. Natural ground water resources are depleting by the extensive water use for agriculture. At the Estidamah research center in Riyadh water saving technologies for protected horticulture are evaluated in the harsh climatic conditions. Different levels of technology, viz., low, mid and high-tech were evaluated based on water use, energy consumption and production. The low-tech greenhouse is a plastic tunnel greenhouse cooled using a pad and fan system. This type of greenhouse is normally used for year-round production. The mid-tech greenhouse has a glass covering and is also cooled using the pad and fan system though here the amount of ventilation can be regulated using frequency-controlled fans. Finally, the high-tech greenhouse was considered which is a closed greenhouse. The cooling and dehumidification were done using coolers. The center is now in operation for more than two years so the water use over the year for the various types of greenhouse technologies can be evaluated. The water use for cooling in the mid-tech greenhouse is 30% less than what is used in the low-tech greenhouses. The water saving in the high-tech greenhouse is more than 95%.

СЕГМЕНТАЦІЯ РИНКУ МЕДИЧНИХ ІНСТРУМЕНТІВ У ЄС

The global market of medical instruments comprises a large number of products developed with different levels of technology involved, which as a result may present a high range of complexity for users. According to various estimates, as of the beginning of 2020, more than 500,000 medical devices are utilized in daily use. Some of them are being used by individuals who require medical assistance at home, whereas a significant portion of the equipment is utilized in health care institutions only, as it must be handled by medical professionals. Obviously, from enterprise perspective these two types of products will cause different approaches in marketing and business activities, such as advertising, servicing, further disposal, etc. Also, different medical devices fall under specific regulations not allowing them to be put into commercial turnover without following respective requirements, which is especially applicable for the EU legal framework. For this reason, this sector of the economy is divided into segments, each of which corresponds to a certain type of devices. Segmentation of any sector of economic activity allows to scrutinize its structure, competitive advantages and operational issues at the corporate level, which in turn provides a clearer and more objective picture of the financial condition of enterprises involved in the market. Although the segmentation of the medical instruments sector of the European Union is not unique and, as in other regional markets, is carried out according to a division similar to the world practice, its results allow comparing the positions of European corporations with competitors operating on other continents. The paper analyzes the largest segments of the global medical instruments market in terms of monetary volume and provides a comparative assessment of the European business for each of them, taking into account objective and subjective reasons for its place among the world competitors. As an outcome, segments where the corporate residents of the European Union hold leading positions were identified along with the spheres, where these companies will have to take extra effort to be able to compete with American and Asian transnational corporations.

Building trust in cross-cultural integration: A study of Chinese mergers and acquisitions in Germany

The phenomenon of trust and trust building has been widely researched with regard to different contexts and subjects. Nevertheless, the factors that influence trust building in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and the way in which trust affects the post-M&A process remain unclear. This study explores trust development in the cross-cultural integration process following emerging country firms’ acquisitions in an advanced economy. A grounded theory model was developed to link the contextual characteristics of Chinese M&As in Germany that require the development of trust and the way in which managers understand sources of trust building. The perceived future uncertainty, different levels of technology and management, previous public discourses, and differences in institutional and cultural norms require the development of trust. The data reveal that a range of factors can foster trust development, including economic factors as well as emotional factors, such as mutual understanding, reliability, familiarity, and emotional bonding. A three-stage cross-cultural trust development theory is proposed, asserting that trust can be established based on economic factors, improved through mutual understanding and reliability, and further developed based on familiarity and emotional bonding. Trust development influences the acquiring firm’s behavior with regard to the transparency in information policies, the integration in decision-making, the exercise of control over the acquired firm, and the granting of autonomy in the cross-cultural integration processes.

A hybrid robust possibilistic approach for a sustainable supply chain location-allocation network design

ABSTRACTIn this paper, a multi-objective multi-period sustainable location-allocation supply chain network model will be presented. Different levels of technology for vehicle fleet, which leads to different monetary and environmental costs, and different released CO2 emission for each potential location of facilities to reach a green supply chain network, were considered. In addition, back order of products, which leads to dissatisfaction of customers, was noted and for different customers, different levels of importance are assumed to consider social impacts. To handle the problem of unpredicted parameters, a novel approach of uncertainty, which is named Hybrid Robust Possibilistic Programming-II (HRPP-II), is used. At last, a case study will be solved by the Improved Augmented ϵ-Constraint method (AUGMECON2) to achieve Pareto solutions, and some sensitivity analysis will be done. New social and environmental considerations in location-allocation supply chain models and using a novel robust approach to overcome the uncertainty of parameters are contributions to the previous models.

Innovation and Technology Diffusion in Competitive Supply Chains

Innovations in consumer products frequently rely on technological advances across multiple tiers in a supply chain. Considering the consumer market demand and downstream investment conditions as input, we model a game in a two-tier supply chain where downstream firms choose to adopt different levels of an upstream technology and an upstream technology leader determines its pricing policy. We identify two necessary but distinct elements for the successful development, adoption, and diffusion of upstream technologies that are sold to lower tiers as components within final products. (1) The level of technology demanded by the market: We develop a measure, Technological Potential, which describes the highest level of an upstream technology demanded by consumer markets. (2) A sufficiently rich return to an upstream innovator, as a function of different levels of technology. From these two elements, we show that the relative magnitudes of two competing sets of consumer market factors determine the Technological Potential whereas the overall magnitude of the factors in both sets determines the return to the upstream developer. We discuss how this difference in consumer market factors' influence on these two elements may determine how different technologies fare in the supply chain. Our results have managerial implications for: investors in research and development project selection in identifying profitable technologies that are also demanded at higher capability levels; and for governments in defining more targeted public policies - for example in choosing the right tier of a supply chain to provide subsidies - to encourage market support for certain technologies.

Innovation and technology diffusion in competitive supply chains

Innovations in consumer products frequently rely on technological advances across multiple tiers in a supply chain. Considering the consumer market demand and downstream investment conditions as input, we model a game in a two-tier supply chain where downstream firms choose to adopt different levels of an upstream technology and an upstream technology leader determines its pricing policy. We identify two necessary but distinct elements for the successful development, adoption, and diffusion of upstream technologies that are sold to lower tiers as components within final products. (1) The level of technology demanded by the market: We develop a measure, Technological Potential, which describes the highest level of an upstream technology demanded by consumer markets. (2) A sufficiently rich return to an upstream innovator, as a function of different levels of technology. From these two elements, we show that the relative magnitudes of two competing sets of consumer market factors determine the Technological Potential whereas the overall magnitude of the factors in both sets determines the return to the upstream developer. We discuss how this difference in consumer market factors’ influence on these two elements may determine how different technologies fare in the supply chain. Our results have managerial implications for: investors in research and development project selection in identifying profitable technologies that are also demanded at higher capability levels; and for governments in defining more targeted public policies – for example in choosing the right tier of a supply chain to provide subsidies – to encourage market support for certain technologies.

Barreras de acceso a la cirugía de la epilepsia: revisión de la bibliografía

Drug-resistant epilepsy, a chronic condition with long-term consequences can be treated with surgery. The efficacy and safety of surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy have been established through a large number of retrospective and prospective cohort studies and two randomized controlled clinical trials. Despite the excellent outcomes reported after surgery, the literature suggests that this procedure is an underutilized treatment. While evidence is lacking as to why epilepsy surgery is underused, cited reasons include: failure of primary care physicians and neurologists to provide information and identify patients who could be referred for surgery; different levels of technology at various centers, resulting in different candidate selection strategies; the belief that epilepsy surgery is a risky procedure and that it should be only viewed as the last option; patient preference to avoid surgery; parents wanting to wait until their child is old enough to participate in the decision-making process regarding surgery; unwillingness of insurers to cover the expenses associated with presurgical evaluations or lack of insurance; racial and social disparities, among others. In this paper we review the available epidemiological data about lack of utilization of epilepsy surgery.