Improve Technology Transfer Research Articles

Technology transfer through performance management: the effects of graphical feedback and positive reinforcement on drug treatment counselors’ behavior

After drug treatment counselors at a community-based methadone treatment clinic were trained in implementing a contingency management (CM) intervention, baseline measures of performance revealed that, on average, counselors were meeting the performance criteria specified by the treatment protocol about 42% of the time. Counselors were exposed to graphical feedback and a drawing for cash prizes in an additive within-subjects design to assess the effectiveness of these interventions in improving protocol adherence. Counselor performance measures increased to 71% during the graphical feedback condition, and to 81% during the drawing. Each counselor's performance improved during the intervention conditions. Additional analyses suggested that counselors did not have skill deficits that hindered implementation. Rather, protocol implementation occurred more frequently when consequences were added, thereby increasing the overall proportion of criteria met. Generalizations, however, may be limited due to a small sample size and possible confounding of time and intervention effects. Nonetheless, present results show promise that feedback and positive reinforcement could be used to improve technology transfer of behavioral interventions into community clinic settings.

Understanding and improving technology transfer in software engineering

Technology transfer in software engineering involves more than a new idea or evidence that it works. This paper illustrates how technology transfer requires a good idea, the generation of evidence, analysis of that evidence, good packaging and support, and careful consideration of the audience for the technology. By learning from other disciplines, we present a model of technology transfer that can be tailored to a particular organisation's needs.

Technology Adoption Decisions in Pacific Northwest Grain Milling Firms

Structural changes throughout the food manufacturing industry have resulted in fewer firms with larger facilities designed to gain economies of scale. Interviews were conducted with twenty-two managers of grain milling firms in the Pacific Northwest with the objective of determining factors impinging on decisions to change production technology. Five major factors were identified including size of firm, facility location, product offering, form of business organization and corporate attitude to risk. Recommendations aimed at improving technology transfer programs offered by university and government agencies are drawn from the interview results. These recommendations include targeting industry problems; working with groups of firms; selection of appropriate delivery modes and interchange; and establishing beneficial institutional arrangements.

Technology transfer: one manufacturer's perspective

For a manufacturer, technology transfer is successful when externally-initiated product ideas match a complex set of criteria. These criteria are usually manufacturer-specific. If an inventor or technology transfer facilitator fully understands the criteria of the target manufacturer, the success r ate of the transfer increases. A description of technology transfer at Maddak, Inc., a manufacturer of assistive technology, is offered, including their product evaluation criteria. A case study of technology transfer is presented, and strategies for improving technology transfer are proposed, including cost estimation, market size projection, and the use of manufacturer profiles.

Exploring university-industry technology transfer of CAD technology

Since its establishment in 1982, the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) has funded extensive silicon-based semiconductor research at universities, including research in the area of computer aided design. While the consortium has had success with transferring this research to its members, the overall incidence of transfer has been limited. This study explored the key issues affecting the transfer of university computer-aided design (CAD) technology from the SRC CAD Center at Carnegie Mellon University to the SRC's industrial membership. Most research on improving technology transfer has focused on finding mechanisms to promote person-to-person interaction between developer and adopter. Interview and survey data collected from the 12 CAD Center faculty and 15 SRC member firm personnel suggest that transfer succeeds only when SRC member firms establish organizational incentives for technical personnel to commit their time to the implementation of university research, and when they provide these personnel the organizational resources needed to perform this implementation. Suggestions for improving the mechanisms of transfer are offered, but without reform in organizational incentives, improving these mechanisms is unlikely to significantly increase the rate at which university research is commercialized for actual industrial use.

Perceptions vs. Recommendations: A Rangeland Decision-Making Dilemma

This paper analyzes subjective perceptions of Texas ranchers concerning management decision-making to obtain insight for improving technology transfer. Correlations among variables from a 1990 mail questionnaire were transformed by principal component analysis into a small number of new variables representing unobservable patterns of behavioral similarities. Two principal components explained variability in rancher's perceptions for each of the areas of interest: stocking rate factors, grazing program benefits, and weed/brush treatment techniques. Stocking rate and grazing program components were each characterized by traditional and nontraditional factors. Ranchers perceived the primary benefit from instituting a grazing program to be improved livestock performance (traditional grazing component 1). Some modification of ranchers' perceptions about the primary benefits of grazing programs is indicated. Weed/brush decision-making was characterized by information-source and economic factors. The information-source component was defined by the importance of advice from neighbors and fear of treatment methods. Because these tend to be negative perceptions, both of these variables have the potential for restricting adoption of weed/brush technology.

Global information infrastructure

The High Performance Computing and Communications Program (HPCC) is a multiagency federal initiative under the leadership of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, established by the High Performance Computing Act of 1991. It has been assigned a critical role in supporting the international collaboration essential to science and to health care. Goals of the HPCC are to extend USA leadership in high performance computing and networking technologies; to improve technology transfer for economic competitiveness, education, and national security; and to provide a key part of the foundation for the National Information Infrastructure. The first component of the National Institutes of Health to participate in the HPCC, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), recently issued a solicitation for proposals to address a range of issues, from privacy to ‘testbed’ networks, ‘virtual reality,’ and more. These efforts will build upon the NLM's extensive outreach program and other initiatives, including the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), MEDLARS, and Grateful Med. New Internet search tools are emerging, such as Gopher and ‘Knowbots’. Medicine will succeed in developing future intelligent agents to assist in utilizing computer networks. Our ability to serve patients is so often restricted by lack of information and knowledge at the time and place of medical decision-making. The new technologies, properly employed, will also greatly enhance our ability to serve the patient.

Technology transfer: A survey of international construction companies

This paper reports on a survey of technology transfer undertaken by international construction companies in developing countries. The views of construction professionals with extensive work experience in developing countries were consulted in a questionnaire survey of top UK and US consultants and contractors. The aim of the survey was to determine the areas of construction technology transfer that provide maximum benefit to local communities, the most effective way of improving technology transfer, the main obstacles experienced and how these obstacles may be overcome. The results show that several companies actively undertake technology transfer exercises in an ad hoc manner and their obligations to the recipients need to be specifically defined.

Forest Research Priorities in Canada: An Overview for the Canadian of Forest Ministers

In 1987, the Forestry Research Advisory Council of Canada (FRACC) proposed to provide an annual cross-Canada survey of research priorities and emerging concerns for the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM). This proposal was accepted by CCFM, to improve dialogue and research coordination. Subsequently, representatives of the forest research advisory bodies in each province and territory met with FRACC to prepare this report.The aim of forest research is to develop environmentally sound, integrated systems of forest land management which will improve the sustainable supply of economic timber and fiber and enhance other benefits, particularly recreation opportunities and habitats for fish and wildlife.Four general areas are identified for attention as research priorities: (1) managing the forest as an integrated ecosystem; (2) renewing the forest; (3) protecting the forest; and (4) producing improved products from the "new forest". These areas are elaborated below. Improving technology transfer is universally recognized as a very high priority.Research advisory structures are now in place in all jurisdictions and all have, or soon will have, the participation of industry. Present research programs are considered to be scientifically and technically sound, but significant additional funding is required and some redirection and further coordination will improve effectiveness.

Quantitative management techniques i in dietetics: Improving practice through technology transfer

A content analysis of articles appearing chronologically in the Journal of The American Dietetic Association since its inception in 1925 reveals the breadth and depth of management practice in the dietetic profession. This historical review highlights the introduction, demonstration, and adoption of management tools and techniques in the profession, with particular emphasis on quantitative management science techniques. Seven classifications of management science techniques were used for the content analysis. Although applications of forecasting, simulation, linear programming, and queuing models have been reported in the Journal, a gap is evident between the demonstration of management science techniques and operational use of these techniques in dietetic practice. Dietetic researchers, practitioners, and educators have vital roles in facilitating the transfer of quantitative management science technology into operational dietetic practice. Assessment of the state-of-the-art of dietetic management practice relative to proven quantitative management science techniques reveals the need for improved technology transfer to enhance professional ability in both tactical and strategic decision making. J Am Diet Assoc 88:1567, 1988.

Evaluating innovation policies: The German experience

Until recently, evaluations of technology policy were rare in the Federal Republic of Germany. Activities of this type on a larger scale were not started until the early eighties. Most of the evaluations performed concerned government incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The main areas of research and development (R & D) and innovation promotion in small and medium-sized firms are the improvement of the capability and propensity to do in-house R & D, intensified cooperation in R & D between industrial firms and research establishments, the provision of more venture capital, and improved technology transfer. The underlying assumption is that these firms have bottlenecks, in particular in financing, in the personnel sector, and in obtaining information. A number of the existing support programs has meanwhile been investigated; the results of these investigations are covered in this paper. Initially, the underlying concept of impact analysis is outlined. Next, examples are presented of evaluations of general R & D funding measures, of grants for specific projects, of the debate about the most suitable instruments of promoting R & D in SME, and of technology transfer. Finally, some implications arising from the results of these analyses for technology policy in the Federal Republic of Germany are discussed.

Industry—university research programs

Cooperative research ventures between industrial sponsors and universities are attracting increasing attention, not only because they offer benefits for both parties, but also because they promise to improve technology transfer for the nation as a whole. Yet there are risks inherent in such arrangements, as much recent press coverage suggests. This press attention reflects a concern that the needs of industrial sponsors for proprietary secrecy and other competitive advantages may undermine academic traditions of open scientific exchange. I shall examine these issues in the light of our experience with joint programs at MIT. I am not presenting MIT as a paradigm for success in this area, but we have had, perhaps, more experience with these arrangements than any other campus (see table, page 27); also, these are the arrangements with which I am most familiar. Our experiences at MIT have led me to conclude that the incentives for both parties must, from the outset, be clarified and assessed, for they are key to the evolution of a strong and healthy partnership. I shall also discuss means we have found useful for resolving areas of innate conflict between the industrial and academic perspectives, and I shall identify the kinds of conditions we have found essential for the long-term success of these arrangements.

Science, industry, and the new Japanese challenge

The Japanese Super-Speed Computer project, recently begun, has generated pressure for a response in the United States and other countries. The background for the Japanese project is the world-wide effort to computerize four hundred years of science, in support of industrial applications of science. In the United States, a number of barriers are slowing progress of the computerization process. The barriers include software problems, lack of U.S. university participation in the computerization effort, poor matching of resources to needs, etc. The computer revolution is also part of the background for the Japanese project, and problems caused by the computer revolution, such as inadequate education, also require attention. Specific recommendations to overcome these barriers are proposed. Computer-assisted instruction meeting the standards set by Professor Arnold Arons combined with teacher retraining would help science education. A national computer communications network for basic and applied research would greatly improve technology transfer within the United States for an absurdly low cost; Britain already is developing such a network. The diverse groups engaged in the computerization of science need a sense of community which a national network would provide. They also need more decision-making power, and more effective sharing of resources. The U.S. Government should establish the network and provide seed money to help private industry, universities, and government laboratories collectively implement the other recommendations.

The corporate library as a source of new technology

In an inflationary economy of declinin R ▪ D expenditures, effective transfer of innovative ideas from the literature to the laboratory can significantly complement an R ▪ D budget. This paper discusses an efective library management organization and practical mechanisms for improving technology transfer from the corporate library. Experience at Sanders Associates Inc. with the techniques presented had been most favourable. Substantial savings in R ▪ D dollars have been realized.