Path Creation Research Articles

Entrepreneurial ecosystems, agency and regional development: Emergence and new path creation in the Cardiff city region

This paper addresses the process of entrepreneurial ecosystem emergence in regions and the mechanisms through which new industrial paths are created. It focuses on the context of a relatively weak economic region and develops a mode of analysis that considers the role of human agency within the emergence of entrepreneurial ecosystems. This analysis addresses the case study of the Cardiff city region in the United Kingdom. It indicates that the revitalisation of lagging regions through an entrepreneurial ecosystem approach is likely to be contingent upon a number of important components: (1) access to potential entrepreneurial agency, (2) the engagement of ‘enlightened’ local political agency and (3) the formation of a collective agency across entrepreneurial and political agents as well as other relevant stakeholders. The emergence of collective agency in the city region is found to have led to new policies, networks and entrepreneurial support within the high-tech industry, coupled with the development of new industrial paths and improved economic conditions. The paper argues that adopting an agency-based approach to analysing entrepreneurial emergence highlights the importance of key human actors in such emergence. It is concluded that lagging regions can trigger a process of development through new path creation stemming from the emergence of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Adaptation of the Ant Colony Algorithm to Avoid Congestion in Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless mesh networks have recently presented a promising environment for many researchers to develop large-scale wireless communication. Traffic in WMNs often suffers from congestion due to heavy traffic load’s saturation of certain routes. Therefore, this article proposes an efficient approach for congestion awareness and load balancing in WMNs, based on the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) approach. The proposed approach aims to raise the performance of the WMN by distributing the traffic load between optimal routes and avoiding severe traffic congestion. The proposed approach relies on three basic mechanisms: detection of severe congestion within the ideal paths used for data transmission, creation of ideal secondary paths with updated pheromone values, and distribution of the traffic load (data packet flow) between the primary and secondary ideal paths. According to the results of the NS2 simulator, the suggested approach increased the WMN throughput by 14.8% when compared to the CACO approach and by 37% when employing the WCETT approach. The results also showed that the proposed approach achieved an average end-to-end delay closing of 0.0562, while WCETT and CACO approaches achieved an average end-to-end delay close to 0.1021 and 0.0976, respectively. The results indicated that the proposed approach achieved a lower percentage of dropped packets by 6.97% and 0.99% compared to the WCETT and CACO approaches. Thus, the proposed approach is effective in improving the performance of WMNs.

Bridging the old and the new in sustainability transitions: The role of transition intermediaries in facilitating urban experimentation

As experimentation with niche innovations confronts the old with the new, intermediaries are important to bridge innovative niches and established regimes. While there is a broad literature on experimentation to foster urban sustainability transitions, there is limited understanding of intermediaries acting as facilitators and translators. Previous studies of transition intermediaries in urban experimentation adopt a scaling-centric focus, which rests on the assumption that novelty emerges within niches and impacts regimes through processes of scaling-up. By contrast, this study shifts towards a reconfiguration perspective to move beyond the niche-regime dichotomy and provide a more fine-grained conception of how novelty emerges in-between niches and regimes, as well as through within-regime dynamics. This is to build a dialogue between the literature on urban experimentation and the literature on intermediaries in sustainability transitions. It is to shed light on the ambigious and heterogeneous nature of regime actors: they do not only reproduce path dependencies, but can also facilitate path creation. It implies a shift from a meso- towards a micro-level of analysis, which reveals the variety of intermediaries and their interactions. The study provides an empirical exploration of niche and regime intermediaries in local experimentation by analysing the transdisciplinary research project “Dresden – City of the Future: Empowering Citizens, Transforming Cities!”. The qualitative case study follows an explorative approach, which provides empirical insights on intermediaries’ activities that could not be anticipated during the initial research design. The interaction between niche and regime intermediaries shows the importance of recognising the dialectic nature of change from below and change from above. While niche intermediaries acted more as visionaries, knowledge brokers and advocates of change, regime intermediaries acted more as guides and facilitators, creating a shared institutional infrastructure and coordinating local-level activities. It reveals the (dis)empowering dynamics that underlie niche-regime interaction but also power struggles regime intermediaries are confronted with. These findings provide insights for governance strategies to strengthen the position of transition intermediaries. They suggest that the work of intermediaries should no longer be hidden and informal but recognised as an essential part of transition governance. A variety of both niche and regime intermediaries should be fostered to build interfaces between niches and regimes, and bring about reconfiguration.

Criticality and Neuromorphic Sensing in a Single Memristor.

Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is an important technology for both data storage and neuromorphic computation, where the dynamics of nanoscale conductive filaments lies at the core of the technology. Here, we analyze the current noise of various silicon-based memristors that involves the creation of a percolation path at the intermediate phase of filament growth. Remarkably, we find that these atomic switching events follow scale-free avalanche dynamics with exponents satisfying the criteria for criticality. We further prove that the switching dynamics are universal and show little dependence on device sizes or material features. Utilizing criticality in memristors, we simulate the functionality of hair cells in auditory sensory systems by observing the frequency selectivity of input stimuli with tunable characteristic frequency. We further demonstrate a single-memristor-based sensing primitive for representation of input stimuli that exceeds the theoretical limits dictated by the Nyquist-Shannon theorem.

The state, political trigger events and path creation in tourism destination in Ethiopia

This study addresses the gap opened up by the increasing attention in evolutionary economic geography (EEG) studies on the role of the state in economic path creation. The study links the path creation notion of trigger events with political economy perspectives to investigate the role of the state in destination emergence. We offer insights into understanding how the state utilises trigger events for new path development through the case study of Unity Park in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A qualitative research approach is adopted that involves key informant interviews, analysis of policy documents and observations. The findings reveal that the idea formation for this destination developed along incremental changes in public policies until a state official seized a political transition event as an opportunity to cause a decisive shift in its trajectory. This incident triggered more real-time opportunities for the state to influence the development of this tourism destination through the application of power and agentic processes. Thus conceptually, we found that while public policies shape destination development visions, it often takes trigger events and strong state involvement to broker new destination pathways. The study contributes to broadening the current understanding of the state’s role in path creation and the significance of trigger events as well as offering empirical evidence on the political-economic mechanisms involved in destination development processes.

How did COVID-19 impact the use of Japanese complex words with masuku ‘mask’ in 2020?

Abstract This paper examines how the situation caused by COVID-19 impacted the use of a well-entrenched word in Japanese: masuku ‘mask’. An inspection of data gathered from an online newspaper shows a sharp increase in token and type frequency in the use of complex words with masuku ‘mask’ in 2020 (mid-pandemic) compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic), implying the recurrence and variegation of mask-related topics in the media. Focusing on the varied types of complex words containing masuku ‘mask’, the paper offers a construction morphology account of how they distribute within a network of words. The most dominant means to expand the network was compounding, creating not only hyponyms of masuku ‘mask’ (i.e., using masuku as the head of the compound, as in ago-masuku ‘chin mask’) but also hyponyms of other well-entrenched words (i.e., using masuku as the non-head, as in masuku-gimu ‘mask obligation’). Beyond compounding, a playful use of language in blends led to the creation of a new path, albeit a small one. The paper argues the development of the word network involved both mundane and exceptional creativity.

How value drivers of internet medical business model affect value creation: a configurational approach

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how value drivers of internet medical business model affect value creation through a configurational approach. The internet medical business model (IMBM) is such a business model that integrates online and offline medical services with the driving force of internet technologies covering prediagnosis, in-diagnosis and postdiagnosis. The outbreak of COVID-19 and the support of national policies have boosted the development of internet health care. However, there are still many challenges in practice, such as the unclear innovation path, as well as difficulties in landing and profiting. Academic research has not yet provided sufficient theoretical insights. Therefore, to better explain and guide practice, it is urgent to clarify the innovation path and mechanism of value creation for IMBM.Design/methodology/approachBased on the sample of 58 internet medical firms in China, this paper adopts fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the configurational effects of IMBM’s value drivers on value creation.FindingsBuilding on the business model canvas and the characteristics of internet health care, five value drivers of IMBM are identified, namely, functional value proposition, emotional value proposition, user involvement, resource capabilities and connection properties. And the five value drivers form three configurations, which are, respectively, labeled as resource-driven configuration, user-operated configuration and product-combined configuration. From the perspective of the integration of traditional and emerging theories, such as resource-based view, internet economics and value cocreation, each configuration leads to value creation and improves value results with different mechanisms behind it.Originality/valueFirst, combined with the business model canvas and the characteristics of internet health care, this paper identifies five value drivers of IMBM, thus improving the relevant research on internet health care. Second, based on the configurational effects, this paper discusses the mechanism behind the configurational effects of IMBM’s value drivers on value creation, thus expanding relevant research on the value creation of business models. Third, applying fsQCA and combining the advantages of qualitative research and quantitative research, this paper adds to the configurations of IMBM’s value drivers that achieve high-value results.

‘It was my duty to change this place’: motivations of agents of change in Czech old industrial towns

ABSTRACT Although old industrial regions (OIRs) face many development obstacles and suffer from a rather negative image, there are many examples of human agency contributing to the transformation of these regions and the creation of a new development path. When implementing change agency, individuals and groups use various resources, such as money, knowledge and social networks. However, the motives initiating these changes are diverse. This paper seeks to identify the motivations that lead agents of change to initiate transformative activities in OIRs. After conducting 49 semi-structured interviews in four case study towns in the Ústí nad Labem Region (Czechia), we found that change agency is derived from a combination of social and local embeddedness, knowledge of local characteristics and extra-regional inspiration. On the basis of these findings, the specific characteristics and shortcomings of OIR can be understood as problems that must be solved or as regionally specific opportunities that can be used in the favour of agents and regions. When enacting change agency, individuals frequently draw on their past life experiences, which makes transformative agency at least partially path dependent.

Iranian researchers’ perspective about concept and effect of open science on research publication

BackgroundSharing research outputs with open science methods for different stakeholders causes better access to different studies to solve problems in diverse fields, which leads to equal access conditions to research resources, as well as greater scientific productivity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to perceive the concept of openness in research among Iranian health researchers.MethodsFrom the beginning of August to the middle of November 2021, twenty semi-structured interviews were held with Iranian health researchers from different fields using purposeful, snowball, and convenience sampling. The interviews continued until data saturation. Data analysis was performed with thematic analysis using MAXQDA 20. Finally, seven main issues related to open science were identified.ResultsThrough analysis of the interviews, 235 primary codes and 173 main codes were extracted in 22 subclasses. After careful evaluation and integration of subclasses and classes, they were finally classified into nine categories and three main themes. Analysis showed that openness in research was related to three main themes: researchers’ understanding of open science, the impact of open science on publication and sharing of research, concerns and reluctance to open research.ConclusionThe conditions of access to research output should be specified given the diversity of studies conducted in the field of health; issues like privacy as an important topic of access to data and information in the health system should also be specified. Our analysis indicated that the conditions of publication and sharing of research processes should be stated according to different scopes of health fields. The concept of open science was related to access to findings and other research items regardless of cost, political, social, or racial barriers, which could create collective wisdom in the development of knowledge. The process of publication and sharing of research related to open access applies to all types of outputs, conditions of access, increasing trust in research, creation of diverse publication paths, and broader participation of citizens in research. Open science practices should be promoted to increase the circulation and exploitation rates of knowledge while adjusting and respecting the limits of privacy, intellectual property and national security rights of countries.

Analysis of the Creation Paths of Current Chinese Film and Television in the Context of Chivalrous Swordsman Culture

Chivalrous swordsman culture is an important part of traditional Chinese culture, with the development of the film and television industry, the connotation and extension of chivalrous swordsman culture have been expanding, which has distinct features and times value. However, overall, ancient Chinese chivalrous swordsman culture has distinct historical limitations, which partly has a certain negative impact on modern society. In the current Chinese film and television, elements of chivalrous swordsman are integrated into them in quantity, which has both rich cultural connotation and artistic value, and also affects the improvement of the innovation of the current film and television. Especially in the context of the creation of today's chivalrous swordsman film and television with a single theme and backward character shaping, the thinking of chivalrous swordsman culture needs further strengthening, reasonably applying the chivalrous swordsman cultural context to the creation of film and television, and innovating the cultural connotation of modern Chinese film and television. Therefore, this paper explores the connotation of Chinese chivalrous swordsman culture based on in-depth analysis of chivalrous swordsman culture and the spirit of chivalrous swordsman image, and explores the innovation paths of current Chinese film and television in the context of chivalrous swordsman culture in combination with the development trend of current Chinese film and television, so as to better bring guidance for the improvement of the connotation level of chivalrous swordsman spirit in film and television.

Comparative evaluation of the effect of glide path creation with Nitiflex hand K- file, Proglider and Path file on canal transportation and concentricity in apically curved canals - An In- Vitro study.

Abstract
 Aim:
 To compare and evaluate the effect of glide path creation with Nitiflex hand K- file, Proglider and Path file on canal transportation and concentricity in apically curved canals.
 Objectives:
 To compare the degree of canal transportation and concentricity between:
 1) Glide path preparation with Nitiflex hand-K file vs Proglider file followed by combination of Hyflex EDM and CM file instrumentation
 2) Glide path preparation with Proglider file vs Path file followed by combination of Hyflex EDM and CM file instrumentation
 3) Glide path preparation with Nitiflex hand- K file vs Path file followed by combination of Hyflex EDM and CM file instrumentation
 Materials and methods:
 Forty ISO 20, 0.02 taper, Endo Training Blocks (Dentsply Maillefer) were acquired and divided into following four groups (n = 10): group A, Control group without glide path preparation; group B, Glide path preparation with Nitiflex hand-K file; Group C: Glide path preparation with Proglider file; Group D: Glide path preparation with Path files. In all the groups, combination of Hyflex EDM and CM file instrumentation was done after glide path creation. Pre- and post-instrumentation digital images were processed with Image J Version 1.8.0 software to identify the center of the canal, and then superimposed using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 software. Unpaired/independent t test and One Way ANOVA were used for intergroup comparison of difference of mean scores.
 Results:
 In comparison to other groups, training blocks instrumented with Proglider files and a combination of Hyflex EDM and CM files had reduced deviation in canal axis.
 Conclusion:
 Following the combination of Hyflex EDM and CM file instrumentation with an earlier glide path created with Proglider file, canal concentricity and canal geometry are better preserved.
 Key words: Glide path, canal transportation, proglider, path files, Hyflex EDM

Path dependence in an evolving system: a modeling perspective

AbstractIn recent years, path dependence has gained increasing scientific attention in many disciplines, leading to various new concepts and notations, such as path creation or path plasticity. However, if mathematical arguments are used, they are based on the early works by Brian W. Arthur and Paul A. David, usually referring to the mathematical concept of ergodicity. We extend their mathematical framework and develop a graphical representation of systems that allows for a metaphorical discussion of system behaviors beyond the original cases, especially in evolving systems, and the inclusion of the recently developed concepts within path dependence. Visualizations are used to explain the definition and characteristics of seven types of path dependence: lock-in, path-breaking, path-furrowing, path plasticity, path formation, path creation, and path selection. Although these visualizations are explained verbally and can be understood without a mathematical expertise, a mathematical model is used to generate them. The deduction of the metaphorical concept from a mathematical model guarantees the completeness of the identified processes and the rigor in their categorization as well as the identification of respective characteristics for their distinction. However, the aim of the paper is to provide an illustrative concept that allows researchers to classify and structure the various path-dependent processes they observe in their application. While five of the identified processes are in line with concepts from the literature and are defined accordingly, we also detect a sixth process that is new to the literature so far: path-furrowing. Moreover, slightly deviating from the literature, we define path selection as the possibility to choose a path intentionally, thereby focusing on the mindful choice of options.

The Value Evolution of Labor Education in the Perspective of "Three Guarantees and Five Educations"

"Three Guarantees and Five Educations" means "All staff, All process and All aspects of Education and Simultaneous Development of Five Educations". Based on the research perspective of "Three Guarantees and Five Educations", this paper explores the value evolution of labor education in the past hundred years from the perspective of the generation logic, change process, evolution characteristics, original return, and creation path of labor education value, in order to deeply understand the development impact of labor education, enhance the value identification of labor education, promote the healthy development of students' physical and mental quality, improve students' innovative spirit and practical ability, and promote the development of labor education practice. Theoretical analysis shows that the value implication of labor education in different historical periods is also of great significance for correctly guiding students to understand and form correct labor education concepts, promoting their mastery of labor technology knowledge and skills, and empowering career development.

Green and just regional path development

ABSTRACT Path development and path creation are prevalent concepts in efforts to understand regional economic change and innovation. A recent focus has been on ‘green’ path development: industrial change associated with environmentally beneficial products and services. This provides a moment to take stock of the path development literature to date and ask: What or who is it for? In this article we use the concept of just transition to explore ways that (green) path development concepts could be more attuned to concerns for human and environmental well-being as opposed to economic growth and innovation as goals in themselves. Building from Geographical Political Economy approaches and injecting complementary cultural economic and sociological perspectives, we generate a conception of green and just path development. This conception builds a more variegated understanding of path development as a theory of change, focusing on negotiation, struggle, inclusion and exclusion in path development processes, and leaning to a stronger orientation towards outcomes for people and places, especially implications for work and communities. This matters for understanding what the purpose of investigating path development is, and what counts as ‘success’ in evaluating path development processes.

Basic physical, mechanical, thermal and hygric properties of reactive powder concrete with basalt and polypropylene fibers after high-temperature exposure

Spalling is a well-known phenomenon that seriously limits application possibilities of concrete, the high performance- or reactive powder ones in particular. The dense structure of theirs, that under common circumstances provides excellent mechanical properties, is prone to easily trap molecules of water or water vapor in pores which can subsequently lead to inner pressure increase when exposed to an extensive heat source such as fire. There are several measures that are supposed to reduce or eliminate spalling risks, mostly based on an adjustment of the mixture composition by means of addition of various fibers. This paper aims at investigation of effects of basalt and propylene fibers on spalling of reactive powder concrete. Even if it might be sidelined by more frequently mentioned steel or glass fibers, the proposed combination has a large potential as it exploits excellent mechanical properties of basalt in wide temperature ranges to maintain the concrete integrity and, at the same time, polypropylene fibers can release the inner pressure by creation of water vapor escape paths when burned out. The complex determination of basic physical, mechanical, thermal and hygric properties as presented in this paper enables to assess the impact of polypropylene fibers on the concrete performance. It was shown, the mechanical properties are not negatively affected in a significant way. The highest decrease of compressive strength was found to be smaller than 9%. On the other hand, the moisture transport parameters were improved to allow a faster water vapor transfer through the body by up to 46.8%. This might represent the key factor in the spalling elimination efforts. The complex data presented in this paper are also highly valuable as input parameters for computational modelling whose lack is frequently mentioned in the scientific community.

From tensegrity to human organs-on-chips: implications for mechanobiology and mechanotherapeutics.

The field of mechanobiology, which focuses on the key role that physical forces play in control of biological systems, has grown enormously over the past few decades. Here, I provide a brief personal perspective on the development of the tensegrity theory that contributed to the emergence of the mechanobiology field, the key role that crossing disciplines has played in its development, and how it has matured over time. I also describe how pursuing questions relating to mechanochemical transduction and mechanoregulation can lead to the creation of novel technologies and open paths for development of new therapeutic strategies for a broad range of diseases and disorders.

Value creation paths of organizations undergoing digital transformation

AbstractThis study examined the emergence of value creation during digital transformation. We used case studies to gather empirical evidence of the phenomenon from an organizational perspective. The study tried to closely link theory and practice by identifying the mechanisms that determined the paths of value creation in 11 companies that had taken concrete steps toward digital transformation. It contributed to knowledge management research by building a research framework according to previous literature and outlining three different value creation paths based on the objectives and motivations of the organizations. The conclusions of the study were that (1) the strategic orientation of transformation must exceed a certain level to constitute an actual value creation mechanism; (2) digital transformation paths are driven by changes in the competitive environment; (3) pressure from customers impacts the value creation mechanism in digital transformation, but depends on the value creation path essence; as well as (4) value creation in digital transformation is determined by the extent to which a company manages to balance the existing business with digital transformation. The results also had managerial implications because they assisted managers in considering the key mechanisms of digital transformation.

Mechanism and Path of Value Creation of Prefabricated Buildings Based on Data Elements

Mechanism and Path of Value Creation of Prefabricated Buildings Based on Data Elements

Renewable energy and industrial development in pioneering and lagging regions: the offshore wind industry in southern Denmark and Normandy

Abstract The increasing deployment of renewable energy (RE) hinges on the development and upscaling of manufacturing and logistics capacities, offering industrial development opportunities for regions and countries. In this paper, we analyse how contextual factors pertaining to pre-existing regional assets and multi-scalar institutional environments influence RE-related industrial development at the regional scale. To this avail, we purposefully selected two contrasting regional case studies of offshore wind energy-related industry developments in Southern Denmark (a pioneering region) and Normandy (France, a latecomer region) and discuss developments until 2020. Our qualitative analysis is informed by theoretical and empirical insights from the economic geography and sustainability transitions research fields. The identified contrasting regional path creation processes reflect substantial differences in context conditions, providing insights into how regions can capture value in the ongoing energy transitions.

The Characteristics of the Manuscript 󰡔Yuhaeng-Japga󰡕and the Creation Path of the Printed Japga-book

본고에서는 새로 발굴한 필사본 『流行雜歌』의 특성을 고찰하고 이를 바탕으로 활자본 잡가집의 생성 경로를 파악하였다. 2장에서는 필사본 『유행잡가』의 서지와 편제의 특성을 파악하였다. 필사본 『유행잡가』의 필사 시기는 1910년으로 활자본 잡가집에 선행한다는 사실을 확인하였다. 수록 작품은 총 25편으로 잡가, 단가, 시조, 가사 등으로 당대에 널리 불리던 노래들이다. 이 가운데 잡가가 15편이나 수록되어 이 가집이 잡가 위주로 편집된 사실을 말해준다. 3장에서는 필사본 『유행잡가』와 활자본 『新舊流行雜歌』의 관계에 대해 고찰했다. 논의 결과 필사본 『유행잡가』와 활자본 『신구유행잡가』는 서로 긴밀하게 연관되어 있는 것으로 확인된다. 필사본 『유행잡가』에 수록된 작품들이 모두 활자본 『신구유행잡가』에 수록되었을 뿐만 아니라 작품의 수록 순서가 완전히 일치한다. 이것은 『신구유행잡가』가 필사본 『유행잡가』를 그대로 수용한 바탕 위에 당시에 인기를 끌던 새로운 노래들을 추가해서 편집했다는 것을 말해준다. 4장에서는 1914년 이후 등장한 활자본 잡가집의 생성 경로에 대한 논의를 전개했다. 활자본 잡가집의 저자들은 대부분 출판업자들로 이들은 필사본 잡가집을 저본으로 삼고 여기에다 당대에 인기를 끌던 레퍼토리를 추가하는 방식으로 활자본 잡가집을 간행했다. 본고에서 살펴본 필사본 『유행잡가』와 활자본 『신구유행잡가』가 바로 그러한 경우이다. 이러한 편집 과정을 거쳐 마련된 초기의 활자본 잡가집은 이후에는 이들을 복제하거나 새로 인기를 얻은 레퍼토리를 추가해서 수정·증보하는 방식으로 확대·재생산된 사실을 확인하였다.