Innovative Efforts Research Articles

Smile Beyond the Stars: A Narrative Review Exploring the Challenges for Dentistry in Space.

Space dentistry addresses the unique challenges of providing dental care in space, where zero gravity, limited resources, and the vast distance from Earth complicate the maintenance of oral health. Ensuring astronauts' dental health is crucial, as dental issues can adversely affect their overall health and mission performance. Microgravity exacerbates risks for dental problems such as periodontitis, dental caries, bone loss, and potentially, neoplasms. Traditional dental care methods become less effective in microgravity, leading to increased plaque accumulation and worsening of dental diseases. As space missions venture further and last longer, maintaining oral hygiene presents unique challenges that necessitate innovative solutions. These include specialized tools like ergonomic toothbrushes and 3D-printed dental prostheses designed to function effectively in a zero-gravity environment. Preventive measures, such as comprehensive astronaut training programs focusing on oral health, are vital. These programs educate astronauts on maintaining oral hygiene and managing potential dental issues using available resources. Collaborative efforts among dental professionals, engineers, and space agencies are essential to developing comprehensive strategies for space dentistry. Such interdisciplinary collaboration leads to the advancement of dental care technologies and methodologies that can address the unique needs of astronauts. Despite the formidable challenges, these innovative solutions and collaborative efforts offer promising avenues for ensuring the dental health of astronauts during long-duration missions. This review aims to examine the detrimental effects of microgravity on the oral cavity and explore potential solutions to these issues, ensuring that humanity can continue to push the boundaries of space exploration while safeguarding the well-being of those who venture into the cosmos.

Promoting 21st Century Health and Wellness Skills in Elementary School Children: a Group Randomized Trial

In a group randomized trial of 45 elementary schools, a whole-child health and wellness curriculum introduced as a regular part of the educational programming was compared to education as usual over 2 years with a 2-year follow-up. The curriculum focused on integrating multiple SEL skills—mindfulness, compassion, and physical awareness—with the intent to advantage developmental patterns for these skills, academic engagement, personal well-being, and student behavior. The program design and trial implementation were launched with end-use delivery and long-term sustainability as integral considerations. Effects were shown for several SEL skills and behavioral indicators previously robustly correlated to long-term outcomes. Effects were demonstrated more broadly in schools serving high-poverty communities, suggesting the impact was stronger where the need was greater. Results are interpreted regarding supporting school-based SEL, the potential of applying group randomized trials with end-use conditions of implementation, and the value of fitting innovation efforts to school system operations, mandates, and priorities for promoting sustainability.

Utilizing the Summer Treatment Program Model to Promote School Readiness in Young Children Living in Urban Poverty: An Initial Effectiveness Open Trial

ABSTRACT Access to, and engagement in, quality mental health care for young children with externalizing behavior problems (EBPs) who are living in urban poverty is limited. Innovative efforts to engage families in early intervention are needed to ensure school success. The goals of the current study were to transport the Summer Treatment Program for Prekindergartners (STP-PreK, an adaptation of the Children’s Summer Treatment Program and evaluate the implementation and initial program promise for children living in urban poverty via an open trial. Participants were 115 preschool children (68.7% male; 84.3% Black) with EBPs and their caregivers. Nearly all the participating families were living with low to extremely low incomes. Participants received a 7-week STP-PreK, including a daily school readiness program and weekly behavioral parenting training. Implementation outcomes were measured via attendance records, satisfaction ratings, and fidelity measures. Program promise was measured via caregiver ratings and child assessments, collected pre-, post-, and at 6 months following the intervention. On average, results demonstrate strong feasibility and acceptability with high child attendance (90.56%) and caregiver satisfaction with services. Intervention effects across domains of child functioning reveal medium-to-large effects on academics (d’s = 0.46–1.95), overall impairment (d = 0.79), behavioral functioning (d’s = 0.38 – 0.84), and executive functioning (d = 0.58). Effects were largely maintained at 6-month follow-up (d’s = 0.13–1.86). Overall, the results support the promise of the STP-PreK model in enhancing school readiness outcomes for young children at-risk. Directions for continued adaptation and future research are discussed.

A Differential Game Approach to Investment in Greentech Innovation in a Duopoly with Network Externality

In this paper, we revisit a well-known differential game model to investigate the R&D activity for Greentech innovation in a duopoly market with network externality. In our study, firms carry out independent R&D or Cartel R&D for Greentech innovation which aims to reduce end-of-pipe emission and network externality effects play a role in the R&D activity via the inverse demand functions. Firms are concerned not only with their own profits, but also with the relative profits. At the steady-state equilibrium, the efforts for Greentech innovation under independent R&D are higher than that under Cartel R&D when the degree of altruism is higher than the degree of technological R&D spillover, and the network size under independent R&D is lower than that under Cartel R&D. Moreover, under a given market structure, whether profits under independent R&D are higher than under Cartel R&D depends on the initial network size, which means that at the initial moment firms can decide to undertake independent or Cartel R&D activities based on the initial network size.

DIGITALIZATION A NECESSITY FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

Digitization, with its profound impact on business, manifests itself in increased efficiency, innovation and competitiveness. This transformation process requires comprehensive readiness assessments and improvement plans. Digitization is essential in driving value creation, operational efficiency and driving innovation, thereby shaping sustainable business practices. The adoption of digital technologies is essential for strengthening economic performance, mitigating the impact on the environment and promoting societal sustainability goals. This research proposes to analyse the ramifications of digitization in the field of sustainable business. Its main objective is to analyse how digital technologies have influenced and shaped businesses that adopt economic, social and environmental sustainability. To achieve this objective, a methodological review, based on academic research articles, was undertaken to elucidate how the conceptualization of digitization as a catalyst for changing sustainable business paradigms has evolved. This effort involved delineating digital technologies, discerning prevailing trends, and identifying best practices to drive sustainability goals within business operations. In addition, the review encapsulated the challenges and risks inherent in digitization in relation to sustainable business, encompassing concerns such as cyber security, regulatory compliance and ethical considerations. Finally, the research provided a forecast of the digital trajectory of sustainable business, highlighting emerging trends and potential development trajectories. The research findings underscore the imperative for sustainable businesses to adopt a strategic and meticulously planned approach. This involves investing in robust cyber security measures, upskilling the workforce in digital skills, conscientiously assessing the environmental footprint of technology and formulating robust ethical frameworks. By deftly navigating these challenges, businesses can optimize the dividends of digitization while maintaining their commitment to sustainability. While certain sustainable solutions may demonstrate effectiveness on a smaller scale, their scalability is essential to making a substantial impact on sustainability goals. Addressing the scalability issue requires concerted efforts by government bodies, businesses, communities and individuals, augmented by investments in education, technology and research. These innovative efforts hold promise for addressing global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and socio-economic disparities, while fostering economic prosperity and societal well-being. As businesses delve deeper into the realms of digitization, the concomitant risks associated with data security and privacy escalate proportionately. Therefore, adopting strict cyber security protocols becomes of paramount importance. In conclusion, the digital frontier of sustainable business presents fertile ground for innovation and expansion. Combining digital talent with sustainability imperatives can generate business models that not only thrive economically, but also contribute significantly to social well-being and environmental conservation

Pengaruh Model Pembelajaran Blended Learning Menggunakan Quipper School terhadap Hasil Belajar Matematika Peserta Didik Kelas XI MA Nurul Jadid

One of the causes of low student learning outcomes is the use of learning models that are monotonous and tend to be boring, so innovation in learning is needed. The integration of technology into the education and learning process reflects an innovative effort. One model that can make it easier for students to understand and can support technological developments is the blended learning model. Quipper School is an online learning platform that can be used in the blended learning model. This research aims to determine whether or not there is an influence of the blended learning model using Quipper School on the mathematics learning outcomes of class XI MA Nurul Jadid students. This research is quantitative research with a quasi experimental type. The subjects in this research were class XI MIPA 2, totaling 23 people as the experimental class and class XI MIPA 4, totaling 23 people as the control class. Based on the results of the Mann-Whitney U Test, it was found that Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) of 0.000 is smaller than 0.05, meaning that is rejected and is accepted. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a significant influence from the blended learning model using Quipper School on the mathematics learning outcomes of class XI MA Nurul Jadid students.

A stochastic production frontier model for evaluating the performance efficiency of artificial intelligence investment worldwide

As artificial intelligence (AI) begins to take center stage in technological innovations, it is essential to understand the business value of AI innovation efforts and investments. While some early work at the firm level exists, there is a shortage of literature that takes a larger country-level perspective. This study investigated the effect of AI innovation efforts on production efficiency across countries using stochastic production frontier approaches. In addition, our model also included the traditional economic inputs of capital and labor. We used both the Cobb–Douglas function and Constant Elastic Substitution model specifications. The significant findings of this study are as follows: Innovation efforts in AI measured by the number of AI-related patents and capital investment in AI have a substantial effect on economic output. The significance of AI investments indicates the need for a robust digital infrastructure as a prerequisite for harnessing AI capabilities. The complementary relationship between labor and AI-related patents implies that high-skilled labor is often necessary to incorporate AI inputs into production. However, as AI capabilities develop, they weaken the effect on labor input. The study also distinguishes between AI innovation (research and development activities indicated by AI patents) and the production efficiency of AI investments (return on every dollar invested), highlighting that more AI innovation does not always translate into better production efficiency. The findings indicate that while the United States leads innovation in AI, the UK has the best production efficiency. China ranked fourth in AI innovation and has the lowest production efficiency among the countries included in the study.

Dealing with adversity: innovation among small and medium-sized enterprises in developing economies

PurposeSmall and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries, particularly in the Sub-Saharan African region, find it hard to innovate due to severe resource constraints and high institutional voids. Given this, the paper examines three international strategic responses that small and medium-sized enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa adopt to implement innovations in the face of weak institutional environments.Design/methodology/approachUsing comprehensive data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, the study applies the Instrumental Variable Probit approach to analyse a sample of 8,466 SMEs from eleven countries in the Sub-Saharan African region.FindingsThe empirical results show that foreign ownership negatively affects product and process innovation. Additionally, the results reveal that small and medium-sized enterprises that leverage exporting and international quality certifications are likely to implement innovations.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature by suggesting that small and medium-sized enterprises must exploit strategic alternatives to improve their innovation efforts when operating in a weak institutional environment. Thus, by exploring international strategic responses to institutional difficulties when implementing innovations, this paper goes beyond the prevailing research approach in developing countries that mainly emphasises the barriers to innovations.

Exploring the innovative effort: duration models and heterogeneity

Perseverance in R&D effort is the first fundamental step towards any kind of innovation. We investigate the beginning of the innovation story, rather than its end, through duration models. Among the drivers of our unconventional IO approach, we focus on heterogeneity, path dependence and market power, measured as elasticity of firm-specific demand. The Schumpeterian hypothesis emerges at the firm level. Heterogeneity at the industry level reveals Schumpeterian and Arrovian patterns, as well as U-shaped and inverted U-shaped patterns. We suggest considering the entire supply chain from a holistic perspective when evaluating mergers and innovation policies that support small firms by reducing their financial uncertainty and improving their institutional environment.

The Green Paradox in NEV Manufacturing: Regulatory Impacts on Innovation from a Stakeholder Perspective

This paper explores the paradoxical impact of environmental regulations on green innovation in the manufacturing of new energy vehicles (NEVs) from a stakeholder perspective. We address the dual challenge of accelerating green innovation across various diffusion stages and refining environmental regulations for effective stakeholder engagement, including the central government, upstream suppliers, and internal operations teams. First, we utilize Stackelberg game theory to analyze the strategic interaction and behavioral rationale between local governments and NEV manufacturers at different stages of innovation diffusion, represented by specific parameter sets. Second, we examine the roles of four key stakeholders, exploring their unique impact mechanisms and potential to influence the game’s Nash equilibrium. Finally, the game models’ validity and primary conclusions are corroborated with real-world case studies, prominently including the ongoing shift of Chinese automakers towards NEVs. Results demonstrate that: (1) environmental regulations should be calibrated according to the diffusion stages of green innovation, and (2) misaligned stakeholder interests can lead to environmental regulations that inadvertently hinder, rather than promote, NEV manufacturers’ green innovation efforts.

Transformasi Dan Inovasi Perguruan Tinggi Islam Menjadi Universitas Kelas Dunia

Facing globalization and global competition, Islamic Religious Universities (PTKI) in Indonesia must continue innovating to achieve World Class University (WCU) status. This innovation effort covers several aspects, including improving academic quality, strengthening institutional capacity, and expanding general study programs. Additionally, it is anticipated that PTKI will play a pivotal role in promoting mutual understanding between the public and the Islamic community, serving as a hub for extensive Islamic studies, and actively participating in the Religious Moderation movement. To do this, PTKI must use creative approaches to education and study. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach to library research. Books, scholarly publications, encyclopedias, and other relevant texts were among the many literary sources used to compile the data. To assess PTKI's progress towards WCU, the study offers a strategic review of the organization's role in national development. The history of PTKI's development in Indonesia, from its beginnings as an Islamic College (STI) to the establishment of the Indonesian Syekh Nurjati Cyber Islamic University (UISSI) in 2021, reflects the transformation carried out in response to the double disruption in 2020, namely technological innovation. PTKI must carry out its role as a responsive educational institution capable of producing quality graduates and contributing to community development. PTKI's development vision until 2045 involves strengthening internal capacity, expanding study programs, and contributing to national development.

Traffic Object Detection and Recognition Systems

You are already known about automatic vehicles in which the car can control itself. Cars must clearly understand and recognize all traffic signals. Many organizations named Uber, Google, Tesla, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Audi and others are getting involved on this technology to enhance their experience by adding features like autonomous driving and putting efforts in maximum innovation in this field. As a result, if we want to work with this technology accurately it depends on how the vehicle can distinguish between different signs such as no entry, height limit, turning signs, school signs, hospital signs, and many others. Traffic sign recognition is the process of differentiating the traffic signals into similar classes. Here we created a deep-neural-network system that can differentiate traffic signs. Using this system, we can analyze and process different traffic signals which plays a major role in all automatic vehicles. By using CNN, we propose an automated system for traffic sign detection, firstly conversion of original image to grey scale image takes place with the help of some vector machines used there, after that the convolutional-neural network is applied with limited and learnable layer for analyzing. Here it tries to crop the image boundary as per the original have.

Development and Support of Ukrainian Domestic Entrepreneurship in the Knowledge Economy

This paper explores the elements of support and development of entrepreneurship in Ukraine. It suggests that digitalization is an important organizational component in the development of the business sector in the knowledge economy. The authors present a comprehensive study of the most advanced domestic business ecosystems (Diia, UNIT.CITY, Genesis) and highlight their key characteristics, i.e., type of ownership, structure, mission and vision, services for entrepreneurs, investment fund availability, and areas and types of investment. The paper concludes that support for entrepreneurship in Ukraine is based on the principles of efficiency, accessibility, social security, openness, and transparency. Entrepreneurship support is considered as a set of measures of the state-funded and private institutions and organizations aimed at ensuring the sustainable functioning of small and medium-sized business entities and stimulating their development by creating the following favorable conditions: building a competitive environment and increasing competitiveness; fostering investment and innovation efforts; promoting manufactured goods (works, services) or knowledge-based products in domestic and foreign markets; ensuring employment by supporting the citizens’ entrepreneurial initiatives. Areas of public and private support of domestic entrepreneurship include provision of information, consultancy, and special services. Moreover, the paper pays special attention to the forms and methods of supporting businesses and entrepreneurship under martial law in Ukraine in 2022.

A Process Model for Early-Stage Experimentation to Accelerate Innovation

Overview: Innovation has become increasingly urgent for companies to maintain competitive advantage, yet deep uncertainty persists regarding the end results of their innovation efforts. Early-stage experimentation offers a risk management approach that can dramatically accelerate cost-effective innovation. Experimentation relies on the scientific method to craft and test hypotheses. Insufficient guidance exists regarding how to help managers harness experimentation in early-stage innovation projects. Based on our observations of experienced experimenters engaged in early-stage innovation projects in four distinct settings, we developed a process model that offers practitioners a structured and scalable approach to foster early-stage experimentation. Managers in all parts of the organization can apply the process model and operationalize experimentation. The article’s contribution is twofold: we articulate specific practices associated with choices around what is being tested, how it is being tested, and what is learned, and we offer a model designed to help build managerial literacy in early-stage experimentation.

Do firms’ performance act as a catalyst of innovation: empirical evidence from innovative Indian manufacturing firms

PurposeThis paper aims to explore whether firms’ performance determines innovation using a sample of Indian manufacturing firms. The impact of innovation on firms’ performance across specific countries has been discussed in the literature. However, the effect of firms’ performance on innovation output, especially for a developing country like India, remains an open question. Against this backdrop, this paper investigates whether firms’ performance determines innovation in Indian manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use patent filing information to instrument innovation and total factor productivity to instrument firms’ performance. The patent data are collected from the Patent Search and Analysis Software database and firm-level data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s Prowess database. The study uses a sample of 309 Indian manufacturing firms from 2005 to 2021. Given the count nature of the data set used in this study coupled with over-dispersion issues, the authors have used the negative binomial regression to estimate the empirical specification of the models. There could be a possible problem of endogeneity due to the contemporary nature of innovation and firms’ performance. Therefore, to address the possible issues of endogeneity in the model, the authors have used the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimators for more robustness checks of the empirical results.FindingsThe empirical results exhibit a positive and significant impact of firms’ performance on the innovation output, validating that firms’ performance determines innovation in Indian manufacturing firms. The posterior estimation results using GMM estimation also corroborate that firms’ productivity is a determining factor for the innovation output of Indian manufacturing firms. Furthermore, empirical results exhibit that the ex ante innovativeness of the firms substantially affects the current innovation. This validates that the firms’ prior experience, learning by doing and past innovative efforts are more likely to precipitate more innovation in the current period.Originality/valueThis paper’s main contribution is empirically estimating whether firms’ performance determines innovation, which is hardly discussed in the existing innovation literature, specifically using Indian manufacturing industries. Further, it adds to the existing literature in two other prominent ways. First, this paper investigates whether firms require ex ante expertise to innovate or if a firm starting from scratch can innovate significantly without any hindrances. Second, it enriches the literature by instrumenting innovation in output terms with the patent application against input measures of innovation, such as research and development expenditures, acquisition of machinery and equipment, while discussing the relationship between firms’ performance and innovation, specifically in the context of a developing economy like India.

Continuous hand gesture segmentation and acknowledgement of hand gesture path for innovative effort interfaces

Human-computer interaction (HCI) has revolutionized the way we interact with computers, making it more intuitive and user-friendly. It is a dynamic field that has found it is applications in various industries, including multimedia and gaming, where hand gestures are at the forefront. The advent of ubiquitous computing has further heightened the interest in using hand gestures as input. However, recognizing continuous hand gestures presents a set of challenges, primarily stemming from the variable duration of gestures and the lack of clear starting and ending points. Our main objective is to propose a solution: the framework for “continuous palm motion analysis and retrieval” based on “Spatial-temporal and path knowledge”. Framework harnesses the power of cognitive deep learning networks (DLN), offering a significant advancement in the continuous hand gesture recognition domain. we conducted rigorous experiments using a diverse video dataset capturing hand gestures for boasting an impressive F-score of up to 0.99. The potential of our framework to significantly enhance the accuracy and reliability of hand gesture recognition in real-world applications.

THE IMPACT OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND DIGITAL LITERACY ON INNOVATION CAPABILITY: MEDIATING ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE FOR INNOVATION

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of transformational leadership & digital literacy of leaders on innovation capacity of organization while considering mediating effect of organizational culture for innovation. The data were collected from the sample of manufacturing SME’s leaders and employees using a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The study finds that transformational leadership & digital literacy positively influence the innovation capability. Nevertheless, organizational culture for innovation was determined to mediate this relationship and to enhance diverse effects of transformational leadership & digital literacy on innovation outcomes. These observations focus the need for refining organizational culture that supports creativity and innovation, and enhancing leadership skills and digital literacy of leaders for organizational innovation. This study adds to existing literature on leadership, digital literacy, organizational culture & innovation capability, providing guidance for managers and policymakers about the research issues so as to enhance innovation efforts within their organizations toward desired success.

Consumer Response to Novel Foods: A Review of Behavioral Barriers and Drivers.

There is a pressing need for a transition toward more sustainable diets, which has become a shared priority for both consumers and businesses. Innovation is becoming increasingly widespread across all facets of the food supply chain. This innovation spans various domains related to production, including sustainable cultivation methods as well as new food technologies like gene editing, new product development like functional foods, and revitalizing underutilized and genetically diverse varieties to preserve biodiversity. However, not all innovative efforts are accepted by consumers and survive in markets. The interwoven and long agri-food supply chains often obscure the feedback loop between production and consumption. Consequently, it is important to understand to what extent consumers embrace these food innovations and form new eating habits. This review aims to investigate the consumer response to novel foods, focusing on behavioral factors, which have yet to receive as much attention as sensory factors. Peer-reviewed empirical articles from the last decade are examined inductively to develop a bird's-eye view of the behavioral barriers to and drivers of consumer acceptance of novel foods. In addition, strategies to overcome the identified challenges associated with the behavioral barriers are reviewed and examined. Based on this, the study links cognitive biases with behavioral factors influencing consumer acceptance of novel foods. This study concludes that the inconvenience associated with abandoning established eating habits is typically perceived as a loss, and avoiding this inconvenience is deemed more worth the risk than the potential gains associated with novel food consumption. This study suggests that framing and placing pro-diversity labels could serve as effective behavioral interventions for marketing strategists and food policymakers.

Environmental regulation and enterprise behavior in China: rent-seeking or innovation?

While the Porter hypothesis posits that well-functioning markets and government regulations can promote enterprise innovation, it remains less clear in developing and transition economies. To address this gap, we utilize enterprise data from China’s A-share market between 2005 and 2017 to empirically examine whether implementing more stringent environmental regulation will prompt regulated enterprises to engage in rent-seeking or innovative behavior. Our findings reveal that regulated enterprises increase both their rent-seeking and innovation efforts in response to environmental regulation. Importantly, enterprises exhibiting lower levels of rent-seeking demonstrate more substantial increases in rent-seeking expenditure when confronting environmental regulation. Furthermore, we discover that state-owned enterprises are more inclined to implement innovative behaviors, while foreign enterprises significantly reduce their innovative activities. This study highlights the complex relationship between environmental regulation and enterprise behavior in developing or transition economies.

Angiosarcoma: clinical outcomes and prognostic factors, a single-center analysis

PurposeThis study sought to investigate oncological outcomes and prognostic factors for patients with angiosarcomas (AS).MethodsThis single-center, retrospective cohort study, analyzed histopathologically confirmed AS cases. Primarily diagnosed, locally recurrent and metastatic AS were included. Overall survival (OS), local control (LC) and local progression-free survival (LPFS) were assessed by Kaplan-Meier estimator. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was performed to detect factors associated with OS and LPFS.ResultsIn total, 118 patients with a median follow-up of 6.6 months were included. The majority presented with localized disease (62.7%), followed by metastatic (31.4%) and locally recurrent (5.9%) disease. Seventy-four patients (62.7%) received surgery, of which 29 (39.2%) were treated with surgery only, 38 (51.4%) with surgery and perioperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy, and 7 (9.4%) with surgery, perioperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Multivariable Cox regression of OS showed a significant association with age per year (hazard ratio (HR): 1.03, p = 0.044) and metastatic disease at presentation (hazard ratio: 3.24, p = 0.015). For LPFS, age per year (HR: 1.04, p = 0.008), locally recurrent disease at presentation (HR: 5.32, p = 0.013), and metastatic disease at presentation (HR: 4.06, p = 0.009) had significant associations. Tumor size, epithelioid components, margin status, and perioperative RT and/or CTX were not significantly associated with OS or LPFS.ConclusionOlder age and metastatic disease at initial presentation status were negatively associated with OS and LPFS. Innovative and collaborative effort is warranted to overcome the epidemiologic challenges of AS by collecting multi-institutional datasets, characterizing AS molecularly and identifying new perioperative therapies to improve patient outcomes.