Ministry Of Science , Technology And Innovation Research Articles

FACTORS INFLUENCING SECONDARY STUDENTS’ INTENTION TO STUDY STEM

The percentage of Malaysian students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is less than 60%, as highlighted by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI). STEM talent is essential as the catalyst for the development of a country. The vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations to produce new science and technology that are sustainable, affordable, and safe, could be achieved by encouraging students to take courses in science and technology. One of the universities in Sabah has taken the initiative to conduct a STEM outreach programme at SMK Tongod during the Imbak Canyon Scientific Expedition 2022 to promote STEM. The study was conducted to identify the factors that influence the intention of secondary students to pursue STEM education. The theory underpinning the present study was the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The dependent variable was students’ intention to study STEM, and the independent variables were attitude towards STEM, normative social influences, and self-efficacy. The data were collected using questionnaires, which were distributed to 50 secondary students. The data were analysed using the SmartPLS. The findings have important implications. Parents, educators, and society can influence students’ attitudes towards STEM education.

The NANOSATC-BR, CubeSats Development Program - Capacity Building with the NANOSATC-BR2’s Launch, First Operations and Expected Results Through INPE’s Ground Station at Santa Maria

The INPE-UFSM's NANOSATC-BR CubeSats Development Program started in early 2008. Nowadays, the program has two CubeSats in space: the NANOSATC-BR1 (1U), launched in 2014 and currently in standby mode, and the NANOSATC-BR2 (2U), which was recently launched in March 22, 2021 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. In this article, the launch of NANOSATC-BR2 is presented, alongside with its final tests, initial operations and expected scientific results. Regarding the Capacity Building, the main objective of the program, this work focuses in the involvement of the Federal University of Santa Maria - UFSM undergraduate students and professionals in the tracking and control of CubeSats through the INPE’s Ground Station at Santa Maria, which works as an excellent tool for supporting CubeSat scientific missions from all around the world and also to qualify students to work on the Ground Segment of space missions. The program was supported by the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI).

Impact and paybacks of biomedical research findings in Malaysia 2005–2015

Background:Impact in research encompasses health, economic, and cultural benefits beyond adding to the knowledge base. Funders are under immense pressure to be accountable for the paybacks from funded research. Aims and objectives:The aim of this study was to look into the impact of funded biomedical research between the years 2005 and 2015 in Malaysia from the aspects of knowledge production, research targeting and capacity building, as well as health system policy and decision making. Methods:This study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods research design. Biomedical projects related to breast cancer, coronary heart disease, and dengue, funded by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), and Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) between the years 2005 and 2015, were included. Findings:From the questionnaire responses (n=58), on average each funded project managed to produce two outputs and one higher degree student. More than half (61.4%) of the funded projects led to subsequent future research. However, low citations in systematic reviews (10.3%), health policies (6.9%), and clinical practice guidelines (5.2%) were reported. In-depth interviews with the key opinion leaders also saw that most of the local research findings were found to be irrelevant to be adopted into policies by the policymakers. Discussion and conclusions:Paybacks on knowledge production as well as research targeting and capacity building had been achieved, but impact on health system policy and decision making had not been well attained, due to the lack of relevant research findings needed by the policymakers.

Application of Fuzzy Inference System in the Prediction of Air Quality Index

Air pollution is the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings. It is caused by solid and liquid particles and certain gases that are suspended in the air. The air pollution index (API) or also known as air quality index (AQI) is an indicator for the air quality status at any area. It is commonly used to report the level of severity of air pollution to public and to identify the poor air quality zone. The AQI value is calculated based on average concentration of air pollutants such as Particulate Matter 10 (PM10), Ozone (O3), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). Predicting the value of AQI accurately is crucial to minimize the impact of air pollution on environment and human health. The work presented here proposes a model to predict the AQI value using fuzzy inference system (FIS). FIS is the most well-known application of fuzzy logic and has been successfully applied in many fields. This method is proposed as the perfect technique for dealing with environmental well known and tackling the choice made below uncertainty. There are five levels or indicators of AQI, namely good, moderate, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous. This measurement is based on classification made from the Department of Environment (DOE) under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI). The results obtained from the actual data are compared with the results from the proposed model. With the accuracy rate of 93%, it shows that the proposed model is meeting the highest standard of accuracy in forecasting the AQI value.

Inovações organizacionais: planejamento estratégico e os institutos públicos de pesquisa no Brasil

The analysis proposed in this study is based on the principles of a deductive method based on the premise that the organizational context of any company is a key element for its innovative success. Thus, new business practices, that is, new management routines and new management structures, are equally important for research institutes. To examine the proposed premises, a descriptive analysis is carried out based on the assessment of the Internal Regulations of the research institutes linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and through an analysis of its content, through codification and categorization, we identified that the Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia (INT) is the only research institute that has the responsibilities of a strategic planning unit more clearly defined and centralized. Thus, through the examination of archival records, we seek to answer which organizational advancements in relation to strategic management can be identified in their internal Regulations over time. The analysis demonstrates the institutional capacity of INT to generate organizational innovations, but not in a linear way, rather in a “back and forth” movement marked by constant “learning” and “unlearning” processes.

Scientific Collaboration at National Institute of the Atlantic Forest (Brazil) on Scopus Database: Analysis of Institutional Domain.

Domain analysis by means of scientific collaboration enables evidencing aspects that are involved in the establishment of relationships between researchers and institutions, such as the influence of institutional management models for the development of collaborative networks. This article aims to analyze the domain through the scientific collaboration network of the National Institute of the Atlantic Forest (INMA), a research unit currently affiliated to the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), formerly known as the Professor Mello Leitão Museum of Biology (MBML), in order to acknowledge the institutional research identity in its historical journey as a public institution. It is thus analyzed how co-authorship constitutes this network and what research profile it reveals. Co-authorship analysis is adopted as a methodology, as well as the analysis of administrative documents with the survey and categorization of employees, regarding their types of ties to the institution, combined with searches in the Scopus database for the corroboration of institutional affiliations. A corpus of 138 articles published by 41 researchers from 1993 to 2019 is consolidated in this base, which represents 44% of the Institute’s total research collaborators (93 collaborators). Of these 41, 92.5% have temporary links, such as scholarship holders and/or volunteers, with the remaining being public workers. It is recognized that the citation impact of the scientific production of scholarship holders, consigned to the Institute, is less than the citation impact of the volunteers' and public workers' production. It is evidenced that eight of the ten publications with the greatest impact and thematic prominence correspond to the field of zoology, with emphasis on the fields of herpetology and primatology. Macro-level collaborative relations are more intense with the United States, in both areas mentioned, covering 16% of the total corpus of articles in cooperation with that country. Zoology, besides its greater impact, accounts for more than half of the corpus production (65.9%).On the other hand, botany is responsible for 30.4% of the corpus, with its dispersed international cooperation in a broad variety of countries. Individual authorship articles are 57% consigned to botany. In summary, the accomplished analysis will contribute to the development of institutional domain analysis methodologies that present scientific collaboration as a basic procedure.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on research

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on research

Science, technology, innovation, theory and evidence: the new institutionality in Colombia

It is widely recognized that the design and application of suitable and robust science, technology and innovation (STI) policies and appropriate STI institutions promote development, economic growth and competitiveness in the long run. This paper analyses the dynamics of STI in Colombia over the 1995–2019 period to determine its relationship with its most important determinants and its collateral relationship with economic growth as an input affecting different issues; this work takes into account the creation of the new ministry of science, technology and innovation (MSTI) and uses different time series techniques. According to the analysis, a positive relationship exists between investments in research and development, STI activities, and the independence and transparency of STI management by the new MSTI, which could generate higher productivity, technological change, economic growth and development. The results of the models also demonstrate the long-run relationship and short-run dynamics related to STI investment and research results and the importance of transparency and independence. It is important to establish adequate STI governance and allow new ministries to play an important role to achieve a society based on knowledge that produces relevant research, technology and innovation based on the needs and resources of the country.

Cold active β‐1,3‐glucanase from Antarctic Yeast, Glaciozyma antarctica PI12

Glaciozyma antarctica is a psychrophilic yeast that was isolated from the surface of Antarctic sea ice. A key adaptation of psychrophilic microorganisms is to synthesize cold‐active enzymes for survival at low temperatures. In this study, the full‐length cDNA encoding Exo‐β‐glucanase (GaExg55) from G. antarctica PI12 was amplified by reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The cDNA encoded a 480‐residue polypeptide with a putative signal peptide of 20 residues. Subsequently, the novel GaExg55 was expressed in E. coli and purified with nickel affinity chromatography as an approximately 55 kDa protein. The biochemical characterization of purified recombinant GaExg55 (rGaExg55) revealed typical cold‐active enzyme characteristics, such as maximal activity at 20 °C and pH 8.0. The Km and Vmax values of the enzyme using laminarin as the substrate were 10.04 mg mL−1 and 14.12 U mg−1, respectively. An analysis of the three‐dimensional structure of the enzyme was carried out using MODELLER9v16 and compared with homologous mesophilic exo‐β‐1,3‐glucanase. The results of the comparative structural study revealed that the psychrophilic GaExg55 contains longer loops, fewer hydrogen bonds and salt bridges, and a higher total solvent‐accessible surface area which enhanced the protein flexibility for high catalytic efficiency at low temperatures.Support or Funding InformationThis research was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia under the research grants 10‐05‐16‐MB002 and 02‐05‐20‐SF0007.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Malaysian university intellectual property policies in an era of open innovation: time for some uniformity?

Increased commercialization of academic research has been a core objective for universities all over the world for the last 20 years.1 Evidence shows that the commercialization of university research can contribute to regional and national economic growth, creating sustainable economic development.2 The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Development Agenda emphasizes the importance of creativity and innovation for economic development and the need to develop national intellectual property policies to serve this end.3 In this view, policy makers around the world (including in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Taiwan, Korea and Japan) have reformed their IP laws to grant intellectual property rights resulting from publicly funded research to universities.4 A well-known example of such legislation is the US Bayh-Dole Act of 1980.5 Malaysia, an emerging economy, adopted rules similar to the Bayh-Dole Act in the Intellectual Property Commercialization Policy for Research and Development (R&D) funded by the government of Malaysia. However, this is a policy of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), and has no binding legal effect on local universities. At the moment, there are no uniform rules on intellectual property policies for university research and commercialization in Malaysia.

Ethical issues on the "synthetic" phosphoethanolamine clinical trial.

Notwithstanding its approval by the National Committee for Ethics in Research (Conep) on April 19, 2016, a trial of the so-called "synthetic" phosphoethanolamine (syn-phospho) pill in cancer patients raises ethical concerns. An analysis by a laboratory contracted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) revealed that syn-phospho contained a great amount of impurities and did not meet standards of pharmaceutical quality required for an investigational drug. Cytotoxicity against human tumor cell lines and in vivo rodent xenograft tumor assays consistently failed to demonstrate a potential anticancer activity of syn-phospho. Preclinical safety studies of syn-phospho were also insufficient to support a trial of this investigational drug in cancer patients. Moreover, the ethical approval decision apparently overlooked two previous findings that suggested a possible enhancement of mammary carcinoma cell proliferation by phosphoethanolamine, and an apparent increase in lung metastases (rat implanted tumor assay) by syn-phospho. The syn-phospho risk-benefit ratio is clearly unfavorable and, thus, this trial in cancer patients does not fulfill a key requirement to make a clinical research ethical. There are also concerns regarding whether the study design is robust enough (scientific validity), and the social value of the trial of syn-phospho in cancer patients is questionable.

Diversificação e especialização produtiva na geração de inovação tecnológica: uma aplicação para os estados brasileiros

O principal objetivo dessa pesquisa é investigar o quão sensível é a geração de inovação dos estados brasileiros às influências das externalidades de diversificação e de especialização industrial, no período compreendido entre 2001-2011. Além disso, estudar o comportamento da inovação através do território permite a inferência de como políticas públicas de fomento à ciência e tecnologia tem agido no Brasil. Outros fatores determinantes da inovação são também considerados, como a capacidade de investimento em ciência e tecnologia dos estados, o nível de escolaridade e a defasagem temporal da inovação. Como medida de geração de inovação, são utilizados os depósitos de patentes per capita, a fim de mensurar a capacidade tecnológica de cada estado. A base de dados utilizada neste trabalho consiste na conjugação de dados provenientes do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). dos dados de depósitos de patentes do Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI), de dados sobre gastos com ciência e tecnologia do Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (MCTI) e dados sobre capital humano do Ministério da Educação (MEC). A metodologia utilizada aborda a Análise Exploratória de Dados Espaciais (AEDE) e modelos de regressão espacial com dados em painel. Tais procedimentos permitiram acompanhar a trajetória da inovação através do território no período em análise e foram estudados os principais marcos legais da inovação brasileira a fim de se estabelecer se esses esforços contribuíram para o fortalecimento da política regional de inovação.

O Direito do Consumidor e o Tratamento Jurídico Dado à Publicidade de Produtos Nanoestruturados na Internet: Um Panorama do Tema no Brasil e na União Europeia

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo abordar, sob a égide do Direito do Consumidor, o tratamento jurídico da publicidade online de produtos que se utilizam da nanotecnologia no Brasil e na União Europeia. A difusão das vantagens e da eficiência desses produtos encontra nas Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TIC), através da publicidade online, uma grande aliada, pois seu uso abre um importante canal que lhes permite estar em constante contato com seus consumidores, estimulando-os ao uso desses produtos, cujas vantagens são enaltecidas, sem que os potenciais riscos à saúde humana sejam suficientemente informados. Esse tema, apesar de relativamente novo no Brasil, já conta com debate mais amadurecido na União Europeia (UE), com estudos feitos pela NaNoREG, organização europeia responsável pela regulação e comercialização de nanomateriais, com a qual o Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (MCTI) brasileiro tem feito contato no sentido de integrar-se a um esforço de regulamentação mundial. Para tratar do tema, partiu-se de uma abordagem dialética, na qual foi feito o contraste entre vantagens e riscos advindos do dessa tecnologia, evidenciando as situações que os efeitos não são suficientemente esclarecidos ao consumidor. Partindo de exemplos de publicidade online, onde se evidencia o grande incentivo ao uso de nanocosméticos, foi abordada a necessária defesa da saúde e segurança do consumidor, contrastando a regulamentação existente na União Europeia e no Brasil.

Innovative Entrepreneurship and Competitive Performance: The Prime/Brazil Case

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of a Support Program to Innovative Entrepreneurship on the competitive development of the supported companies. We carried out a study about the PRIME Program – First Innovative Company –, realized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) of Brazil and its Studies and Projects Financing agency (FINEP), in partnership with Incubators, from the standpoint of the companies favored by the program, with a focus on competitive development and local development. Therefore, we decided to apply a qualitative study of multiple cases on the companies selected through RAIAR incubator, of Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). The data analysis helped understand the impact of the program on the studied companies, as well as observe the indicators that were mostly influenced by the program. The results may contribute to the National Innovation Systems (SNI) and related public policies.

A New Approach for Selective Surface Functionalization of Carbon Electrodes in Biosensing by Plasma Direct-Writing

We have found that carbon electrodes fabricated by the C-MEMS process to be chemically very inert. Hence, surface modification is necessary for their use as biosensors and electrochemical electrodes. Functionalization of carbon electrodes in an oxygen plasma or by acid treatment has been reported previously. However, there is often a need for selective functionalization only at specific locations on the electrodes, so that they can function as sensor element and also retain pristine surface chemistry in other areas. In this paper, we introduce a novel plasma direct-writing technique for selective functionalization of carbon electrodes with carboxylic groups at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. We demonstrate the plasma direct-writing on two test platforms. On platform one, we draw patterns of carboxylic functional groups on flat glassy carbon electrodes derived from photolithographically patterned photoresist. The second platform is carbon hybrid structure composed of glassy carbon walls and graphitic carbon nanowires suspended in between them by electromechanical spinning. Functionalization was performed only on nanowires by plasma direct-writing technique. The resulting surface chemistry and wettability of the electrodes are investigated by means of water contact angle measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Carboxylic group functionalization is a first step towards immobilization of DNA or immunoglobulin for carbon based biosensors. Selective surface functionalization is important for better accuracy in biosensing by preventing unwanted immobilization and their interference. The plasma direct-writing technique not only enables controlled writing of functional groups but also enables control of the degree of functionalization in a simple one step procedure. Acknowledgement The authors would like to acknowledge Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Science Fund (SF-020-2014), Transdisciplinary Research Grant Scheme (TR002A-2014B), and University of Malaya Flagship Grant (FL001-14AET).

Porous Carbon Interdigitated Electrode Arrays for Electrochemical Biosensors

In this paper, three-dimensional (3D) porous carbon interdigitated electrode arrays (IDEAs) are developed utilizing standard photolithography of electrospun mats of SU-8 photoresist nanofibers. Porous IDEAs have the potential to produce higher aspect ratio than non-porous electrode due to the reduced stress at the interface between the substrate and the carbon structure [1]. In a first step, a layer of polymeric nanofibers is deposited on a silicon substrate by optimizing the conditions for far-field electrospinning of SU-8 photoresist. Subsequently, the SU-8 mat is patterned using conventional photolithography to generate the polymer precursor for the carbon electrode structure. Finally, the polymer precursor is pyrolysed at 900°C in an inert atmosphere to produce a porous carbon IDEA [2]. The porous carbon IDEAs were optimized as a function of the nanofibers diameter, thickness of the electrospun SU-8 mat and width/gap ratio of the IDEAs. To characterize the porous carbon IDEAs, electrochemistry studies (cyclic voltammetry and electrical impedance spectroscopy) were conducted and the results were compared with traditional flat carbon IDEAs (the latter was fabricated by spin coating a non-porous SU-8 film on a silicon substrate). The redox amplification factor of both porous and flat carbon IDEAs was studied to gain an understanding of the effect of electrode porosity on the redox amplification. This factor was optimized for width and gap of the IDEAs and the nanofibers diameter. Acknowledgments This research is supported by Flagship grant project number FL001A-14AET, Transdisiplinary Research Grant Scheme (TRGS TR002A-2014B) from University of Malaya and Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Science Fund (SF-020-2014).

Physico-chemical and biological activity of Malaysian channa striatus water extract on human foetal lung cell (IMR-90)

Event Abstract Back to Event Physico-chemical and biological activity of Malaysian channa striatus water extract on human foetal lung cell (IMR-90) Winnie N. Shy Yi1, Syazwan A. Abdul Mutalib1, Badrul H. Yahaya2 and Saiful Zubairi1* 1 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia , School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology , Malaysia 2 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Regenerative Medicine Cluster, Advanced Medical & Dental Institute (AMDI), Malaysia Local fishes in Malaysia including Channa species, particularly Channa striatus (haruan) have been traditionally used for wound healing and reducing pain. For that reason, this study was carried out to determine the Channa species water extract physico-chemical and its bioactivity on human foetal lung cell (IMR-90). Channa striatus (haruan) was used in this study. The sample was trimmed carefully to obtain the maximum fish fillet and extracted by using normal soaking extraction method (fish weight-to-solvent ratio = 1:4) as to procure the haruan aqueous extract. The extract was characterized for its physico-chemical properties such as pH, moisture content, rheological properties (n = 3), amino acid composition and fatty acid determination (arachidonic acid) (n = 2). The effective concentration (EC50) of the extract was conducted via 2-dimensional (2-D) culturing system on a normal human fibroblast cell (IMR90). The essential fish’s essence physical properties are as followed: 1) pH - 6.34 ± 0.01, 2) 97.3 ± 0.15% of moisture content, 3) total dissolved solid - 2.7 ± 0.01 (%, w/w) and 3) viscosity of 1.50 ± 0.31 mPa.s. The extract contained essential amino acid, glycine and fatty acid (arachidonic acid), which could aid in the process of wound healing despite their low concentration. However, the presence of those compounds have shown insignificant growth as compared to the control (without treatment) (p>0.05). Moreover, the immobile and irresponsive IMR90 growth rate on different extract concentrations was consistent with the absence of mortality throughout the 3-day incubation period (p>0.05). For that reason, the extract EC50 values could not be determined conceivably due to the high fish weight-to-solvent ratio which eventually deliver extremely low concentration of bio-active compounds for the cell-induced proliferation. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Higher Education (MOE) and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia, for providing financial support to this project (FRGS/2/2013/TK04/UKM/03/1 and 06-01-02-SF1271). Keywords: Wound Healing, Aqueous extract, Physico-chemical properties, Channa striatus, 2-D cell culture Conference: 6th Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (6th MTERMS) 2016 and 2nd Malaysian Stem Cell Meeting, Seberang Jaya, Penang, Malaysia, 17 Nov - 18 Nov, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Natural Products in Regenerative Medicine Citation: Shy Yi WN, Abdul Mutalib SA, Yahaya BH and Zubairi S (2016). Physico-chemical and biological activity of Malaysian channa striatus water extract on human foetal lung cell (IMR-90). Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. Conference Abstract: 6th Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (6th MTERMS) 2016 and 2nd Malaysian Stem Cell Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.FBIOE.2016.02.00009 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 08 Dec 2016; Published Online: 19 Dec 2016. * Correspondence: Dr. Saiful Zubairi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bangi, Selangor, 43600, Malaysia, saiful-z@ukm.edu.my Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Winnie N Shy Yi Syazwan A Abdul Mutalib Badrul H Yahaya Saiful Zubairi Google Winnie N Shy Yi Syazwan A Abdul Mutalib Badrul H Yahaya Saiful Zubairi Google Scholar Winnie N Shy Yi Syazwan A Abdul Mutalib Badrul H Yahaya Saiful Zubairi PubMed Winnie N Shy Yi Syazwan A Abdul Mutalib Badrul H Yahaya Saiful Zubairi Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Local Ideas, Global Capital and the State: An Exploratory Research About the Start-Up Brasil Program

This paper discusses the institutional arrangement of a new policy created in 2012 by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MSTI) to foster entrepreneurship and innovation: the “Start-Up Brasil” (SUB) program. The policy tries to bring together private firms focused on business assistance and on venture capital (accelerators) and small firms of the information technology field that lack finance and business expertise (start-ups). Based on the functional and descriptive analyzes of the SUB, I discuss how this policy differs from other state actions described by the literature in Brazil and creates incentives for the private sector through the coordination of different public institutions. I also analyze why the policy has one “Chief Operating Officer” and how this is connected to debates on post-Weberian bureaucracies and governance models of public management. In the final part of the paper I identify new questions for further research regarding the democratic control of the policy, the inequalities between accelerators and start-ups and the long-term impacts of this type of public support.

Políticas públicas para inovação em software: uma abordagem via formação de competências

O artigo apresenta uma abordagem metodológica desenvolvida para avaliar e certificar software resultante de desenvolvimento e inovação tecnológica realizados no país. A análise via formação de competências originou-se a partir de uma demanda do Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia e Inovação (MCTI) e teve como resultado o desenvolvimento da metodologia Certics. Tal abordagem parte da identificação das competências formadas no entorno do desenvolvimento de um software para identificar seu conteúdo tecnológico e inovativo. Em janeiro de 2014, o Decreto n. 8186 estabeleceu que softwares resultantes de desenvolvimento e inovação tecnológica realizados no país, certificados pela Certics, podem obter margem de preferência de até 18% em compras governamentais. O artigo conclui que a aplicação prática da Certics mostra-se viável. Foram avaliados e certificados 18 softwares e outros oito estão em fase de certificação, totalizando 22 empresas participantes do setor de software brasileiro.

Adoção e uso de portais de governo eletrônico no ambiente do sistema nacional de ciência e tecnologia e inovação: um estudo baseado no modelo UTAUT

The relationships between citizens and governments have been complemented by the intensive use of Information Technology and Communication (ICT) for transactional services online. The Brazilian Innovation Portal was developed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MSTI) in partnership with the Center for Strategic Studies and Management (CSSM), Brazilian Association for Industrial Development (BAID) and Instituto Stela to meet demands the National System of Science, Technology and Innovation (NSSTI). Based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and structural equation modeling technique, the main results of this study showed high predictive significance and magnitude of the Behavioral Intention of Use Portal by the following factors: Expected Performance and Social Influence. Therefore, the social factor is highly influential in the intention to use the technology as well as aspects related to user productivity and the consequent sense utility, plus the ease of interaction and domain tool. Such findings supplement new perspectives in studies in the field of e-Gov, as well as in evaluation of government projects.