Story Of Innovation Research Articles

SDG Innovations & Impact: Relational Approach in Enabling Innovative Solutions and Impact Creation at the Grassroots

SDG localisation is a primary goal of APPGM-SDG, and solution projects are the key component of this effort. Formed in 2019, mirroring the UK Parliament setup, the APPGM-SDG Malaysia has been the forefront organisation in localising SDGs in parliamentary constituencies. Despite Covid-19 and other practical challenges. The grounded research approach undertaken by APPGM-SDG paved the way for innovative grassroots solutions designed and undertaken by local organisations targeting vulnerable communities in their own localities. From 2020 to November 2023, APPGM-SDG has undertaken targeted solution projects at an unprecedented level, with 664 SDGs solution projects in 4 years and 364 solution providers around the country. These innovative solutions are developed through a unique relational approach between multiple stakeholders and engagements in multiple processes in the making. This approach has been the key framework in designing solution projects that have proven to have a much greater impact towards the community as a whole and personally on the livelihoods of the participants involved. This is also evident in our recent publication, SDG Solution Projects: Best Practices Impacting the Grassroots, which carries 35 best practices for solution projects and innovative stories from the ground that can be examples of model solutions for vulnerable communities. This paper will discuss the relational approach that brings out SDG innovations in finding solutions between the partners involved, the empowerment and participatory models in place, and the processes involved in curating suitable solutions. The lessons learnt from 2020 until now in crafting fine-tuned solutions will also be included in this paper, together with real-life case studies of SDG innovative solutions that have a greater relational approach between stakeholders.

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.

Explaining the innovation dichotomy: the contexts, contents, conflicts, and compromises of innovation stories

Abstract This study describes the narratives of innovation produced in a knowledge-based company, constructs them into core stories and develops a narrative framework suitable for researching the topic. The research data consisted of thematic interviews with 23 professionals from the Finnish technology company. Innovation stories were convoluted, identifying innovation-framing contexts that were related to ownership, drivers, continuity, decisions and values. Based on these narratives, the study generated the 4Co (context, content, conflict, and compromise) analytical framework suitable for examining narrative data in innovation research. The study also produced an ideal description of innovation as a simultaneously shared and personally meaningful evolutionary learning process that takes place in small steps and requires a balance of necessity and freedom as well as decision-making based on intuition and facts, producing human efficiency as a value for employees and the organisation. Based on the findings, scientific, methodological, and practical discussions are also presented.

Community-Based Inquiry from within Indigenous Early Learning Communities of Practice: Introduction to the Special Issue

Community-Based Inquiry (CBI) is a research method in which Indigenous communities engage in asking and answering their own questions about their early childhood practices. Community members are the researchers: they formulate the questions based on community needs, create the methodology to pursue answers to those questions, find solutions, and put those solutions into practice to strengthen early childhood education in their communities. In this introductory piece, we share the philosophical and practical foundations of CBI, and introduce readers to the visionary community and university scholars who, throughout this special issue, share their stories of innovation, insight, and advocacy on behalf of early learners, families, and their communities.

Changing land and labour relations on cocoa farms in Sefwi, Ghana: Continuity and change

Ever since the late 1880s when cocoa began to be grown commercially in Ghana, land and labour has been mobilized to expand the area under cocoa trees and cultivate the crop. The first cocoa farmers ingeniously used and adapted existing social norms for land acquisition and recruitment of labour from both the extended family and from migrants. The resulting development of cocoa was a remarkable story of African innovation and enterprise that made the then Gold Coast one of the most prosperous parts of Africa by the mid-twentieth century. We look at how land and labour has been mobilized for cocoa in Sefwi, western Ghana, from the start of cocoa growing in the region in the 1940s through to 2019. We ask what current norms are, how they have evolved, and why changes to them have been made. Changes in land and labour relations in the area have not followed the linear evolutionary theory of land tenure change neither have they remained as unique immutable customary structures. We note a flexible, reversible and highly pragmatic logic in tandem with the ruling exigencies that account for patterns of change over time.

Impact of Nutrition Education through Innovative Story Telling in Pre-School Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Aim: To assess the impact of Nutrition education through innovative story telling in fruits consumption among the pre-school children with autism spectrum disorder.
 Sample: Ninety children with autism spectrum disorder were selected from Preschools and BUDS schools of Thiruvananthapuram district.
 Study Design: To assess fruit consumption of pre-school children (3-6 years) with autism spectrum disorder, ninety children with autism spectrum disorder was selected from urban and rural areas of Trivandrum district, Kerala. Out of ninety, forty-five children with ASD were randomly selected as experiment group and forty-five children as control group. The experimental group received the nutrition education through story telling using story books.
 Place of study: Urban and rural areas of Trivandrum district were randomly selected for study.
 Methodology: Frequency of fruits consumption of 90 children (45 as control and 45 as experimental group) were collected using food frequency questionnaire in pre and post phase. After the nutrition education, pre and post scores of both groups were compared to find the deviation among the population.
 Results: Majority of the children with autism spectrum disorder shows significant changes in post Nutrition education. Frequency of fruits consumption increased after the Nutrition education in the experimental group compared to control group.
 Conclusion: Early childhood is a period of rapid growth and is an important phase for developing eating habits because the dietary behaviours acquired during the early years of life can extend to adulthood. Fruits are rich in fibre, nutrients, and vitamins. It's important to encourage children to consume a range of fruits and veggies. It protects against illness and promotes health both now and in the future.

Indian Space Exploration: Economic Missions and Global Comparisons

India’s journey in space exploration, spearheaded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has been a remarkable story of innovation, resilience, and ambition. From launching its first satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975 to the recent successes of missions like Chandrayaan-3 and the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), ISRO has made significant strides in space technology. This article delves into India’s recent space explorations, focusing on their economic missions, comparing them with other leading space agencies like NASA, ESA, and CNSA, and highlighting the contributions of ISRO’s scientists and engineers.

Media influence and knowledge of traditional stories in the written productions of primary school students. Evaluative research

Writing and literature are linked to the fundamental objectives of primary education. In this study, students’ written narratives are evaluated on the basis of two pretexts under the form of pictures referring to two traditional stories from children’s literature. To this end, the objectives specify the link with the original story and the themes the students write about. The study is approached from the methodology of evaluative research, its typology being specified in a diagnostic evaluation by means of a qualitative analysis of 1,191 productions created in educational establishments in the Autonomous Community of Murcia (Spain) of Primary School. The results show that most of these students have the ability to create innovative stories, but only a small percentage are grouped at the highest levels. The themes extracted from the narratives provide an insight into the interests of the participants, which leads us to connect with the essential principle of meaningful learning.

Pioneering a Theological Curriculum for Our Time and Place—The Case of Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture

“Decolonizing the mind” (Ngugi) is an ongoing task, even after 50 years or more of political independence. This is particularly the case with respect to theological education, where norms and structures still faithfully follow the Western pattern laid down in the colonial era. New initiatives in theological curriculum development that authentically connect with African issues and concerns and enable theological institutions to break from the shackles of these are an ongoing need, with developments on the African continent making such initiatives ever more urgent. This paper describes and analyzes the pioneering approach of the Akrofi-Christaller Institute (ACI), an indigenous Ghanaian institution, the background to its emergence and the process of implementation over the course of the past 25 years that has produced a successful, full-orbed and wide-ranging theological curriculum connecting with religious, cultural, social and inter-faith issues; the facilitating factors and the challenges on the journey and lessons that could be learned by other institutions wishing to indigenize their curricula. It is hoped that Kwame Bediako’s thinking on curriculum design for theological education which has shaped the ACI story of curriculum innovation, as well as the story of its implementation and ongoing development, may provide a model for other institutions desirous of breaking free from the colonial mode, in Africa and beyond in the non-Western world, and facing similar issues. After briefly setting ACI in its historical context, the paper goes on to elucidate the overall vision of the Institute that undergirds the curriculum and provides the rationale for its development. It identifies the fundamental pillars on which the curriculum rests and outlines a model for the basic framework of the curriculum. It then goes on to analyze the ways in which such a vision and framework enable a fresh approach to what has hitherto been seen as normative in the theological disciplines, with a view to creating space in the curriculum to address present-day African (and other non-Western) felt needs in mission and ministry. The paper touches on more recent developments to the original curriculum in response to emerging contextual issues and concludes with possible lessons that may be learned from the ACI story.

Thinking beyond Ecology: Can Reskilling Youth Lead to Sustainable Transitions in Agri-Food Systems?

Green and decent work in the Global South is inextricably linked to sustaining rural livelihoods especially in agriculture that has undergone significant deskilling under the top-down, technocentric assemblages of the Green Revolution. Additionally, agrarian communities are also seeing youth quitting farming occupations in search of better livelihood options. Scholarly attention to green transitions though has been largely limited to the ecological dimensions. Enacting futures with a focus on ecologically responsible livelihoods need to go beyond existing narratives of technocentric and economic change and foreground the diverse micro institutional innovations that offer newer framings of reskilling. The growing evidence of agroecological initiatives across India indicates less discussed stories of transformation and innovations. Recognising the processes and linkages that allow for, and hinder, transformations at multiple scales and organisational levels is crucial for designing transformative initiatives and policies. Using two illustrative case studies, this paper explores opportunities for green work and the newer skills that might be required to enable sustainable agri-food systems. The case of Natural Farming Fellows (NFFs), a unique programme to encourage young agri-graduates to pursue Natural Farming is presented to understand enabling processes at the grassroots level. The second study explores institutional initiatives to engage rural youth through discussing the pedagogy and curricular approach of a Gandhian university along with opportunities to intern with field organisations. Together, these cases illustrate possible pathways and complexities underlying the process of nurturing sustainable livelihoods, the conception of which needs a broader idea of skilling based on personal aspirations and institutional support.

Plato’s Academy and the “Roman Market”: A Case Study in “Humanities Education” During Times of Crisis or Recession

The innovative (and sometimes painful) story of Athens’ self-transformation from a self-defined and self-confident independent city-state to a culture-market and service economy that discovered it could thrive best by selling its heritage to others is one I have written on in the past from a number of angles. To the elite of Athens, both community leaders and leaders in the city’s culture, the most poignant stories may have been those of the city’s schools, in particular the school that defined (for traditionalists who were not themselves philosophers) what “Athenian philosophy” meant: the Academy, the school of Plato. I should like in this short study to follow the leaders, the ‘scholarchs’ of that school – all of them ‘working philosophers’ as well as what we would call administrators – who successfully adapted it to survive through, and draw on the clientele of, the last three generations or so of the Roman Republic. I should like to see if these behaviors and characters – and they, while they do not always fit what we expect from a classical philosopher, make more sense if understood by the school’s ‘driving clientele,’ and finally what sort of story this adds up to.

Introduction: how could rural tourism provide better support for wellbeing and socio-economic development?

PurposeIn this viewpoint, the theme editors provide an overview of the theme issue that aims to address the role of rural tourism in supporting the wellbeing and socio-economic development of local stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachThe paper covers different facets of rural tourism in promoting the socio-economic development of rural communities. Specifically, the articles in this issue capture the nuances of how local stakeholders in rural tourism in different geographical regions use various strategies to promote the well-being and socio-economic development of local communities.FindingsThe papers in this theme issue demonstrate the potential role of rural tourism in promoting the socio-economic development of rural communities. These papers make an important contribution to the theory and practice of rural tourism by providing in-depth insight into the recovery and growth strategies adopted by stakeholders in diverse rural tourism destinations, especially in the wake of turbulent times such as the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. These papers suggest frameworks for further research and provide case studies of innovation and adaptation.Originality/valueThis theme issue analyses stories of innovation, adaptation, and growth of rural tourism in various destinations that presented the industry with unique challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion provides some lessons and charts direction for the industry. The significance is greater when stakeholders of rural tourism and policymakers view rural tourism as an engine for the recovery and growth of the rural and national economy.

Our story of innovation: reforming the traditional approach to ELT in China’s hinterlands

ABSTRACT This paper investigates four teachers’ efforts to innovate during a semester of English language teaching at a university in China. At the end of a mentor-facilitated action research cycle, the teachers wrote their ‘Story of Innovation’ in order to construct deeper understandings of their experiences. These stories were examined for themes and are retold here as a collective story in order to show what ‘innovation’ means to the four teachers and the benefits gained from innovating. Although the teachers’ understandings of innovation converged with government policies and other top-down expectations, the individual emphasis of each suggests that different teachers view innovation from the perspective of their particular context. Moreover, although each of the four saw benefits for self and their students, what emerged from their stories was how they grew from the innovation process which may best be described as gradual restructuring.

Fighting a Plague: Doctors' Stories of Challenge and Innovation Combatting the AIDS Epidemic in 1980s New York City.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has devastated the United States for forty years. Though there are highly effective treatments for HIV and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) today, the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City (NYC) were filled with uncertainty, fear, and death—not unlike the period we are now experiencing in the COVID-19 era. Existing scholarship captures the political discourse of the HIV/AIDS era and the narratives of physicians who specialized in HIV medicine. This essay uses eight in-depth interviews of physicians of various specialties who worked in NYC to understand the uncertainties and fears in daily work during the early AIDS epidemic. Their stories provide unique perspectives into the realities of working as physicians in the epicenter of a highly politicized epidemic with limited support, information, and treatments. They illustrate that HIV/AIDS provided unique biomedical, social, and political challenges to the physicians working in NYC during the 1980s. Over the course of the decade, these physicians adapted to meet challenges using methods that have since become commonplace in their clinical practice.

Comparative book review: “Leading Through a Pandemic” and “Work Smart Now”

This article provides comparative review of two books “Leading Through a Pandemic: The Inside Story of Humanity, Innovation, and Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Crisis” and “WORK SMART NOW How to jump start productivity, empower employees and achieve more” written by professional authors in the field of leadership and successful management practices. These books were chosen for being highly effective in contributing added value knowledge to the literature of leadership practices, whether in the context of crises or normal conditions. The review was commenced with description of the chapters of the books and clarifying its infringements to the readers and highlighting some rooms for more effectiveness. At last, comparison between the two books was made, mainly in terms of the approaches used, issues addressed, problems solved as well as the recommendations and techniques provided.

A Normative Understanding of Innovation

Commentators have bemoaned the absence of a clear conceptual understanding of innovation both generally and within responsible innovation (RI). Much of our thinking about innovation is fragmented into separate categories such as “business,” “social” or “technological” innovation with no clear understanding of the term these adjectives modify. In addition, RI discussions focus overwhelmingly on technological advances delivered through the marketplace, which are only a portion of the innovation story. Clearly, we need to develop a stronger account of the concept of innovation. What criteria must be satisfied for a contribution to the world to qualify as an innovation or, more simply, what is an innovation? This article will contend that innovation is inescapably normative, and that we can construct an understanding of innovation by elaborating on its normative elements and their implications. Innovation, I will propose, is ethical change that delivers substantial applied value to beneficiaries of a domain. After developing this account, I will show how it can reframe our understanding of innovation’s relationship with technology and the marketplace, the innovator’s understanding of technology, who gets to innovate, and why the various categories of innovation may be more diverting than helpful. I will also reflect on how the account of innovation offered here can refine our understanding of RI.

Three discipline collaborative radiation therapy (3DCRT) special debate: FLASH radiotherapy needs ongoing basic and animal research before implementing it to a large clinical scale.

Three discipline collaborative radiation therapy (3DCRT) special debate: FLASH radiotherapy needs ongoing basic and animal research before implementing it to a large clinical scale.

Le houblon ou les prix des céréales ? Expliquer la hausse de la consommation de bière en Brabant et en Flandre (1300-1500)

There is a consensus in international historiography that the arrival of hopped beer in Brabant and Flanders during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was the major technical innovation in the brewing sector at the end of the Middle Ages. This hopped beer is assumed to have been responsible not only for the rapid increase in beer consumption and the simultaneous decline of wine consumption, but also for the growth of a beer export industry. The purpose of this article is to critique this traditional story of product innovation that attributes the success of beer in the late Middle Ages only to technical factors and cultural preferences, and instead to present an alternative hypothesis. Here, it is argued that the success of beer consumption in these regions was due to declining grain prices and to the decreasing production costs of the brewers.

Neotechnological management of education in times of the covid-19 pandemic

La brecha digital durante el confinamiento por la covid-19 ha sido utilizada por las GAFAM para expandir sus plataformas tecnológicas en el mundo educativo. Lo han hecho difundiendo un relato de innovación digital que poco tiene que ver con la realidad. Más bien con el control de las últimas fronteras del capitalismo: nuestros datos, que se venden para predecir comportamientos. El negocio somos nosotros: extraer información con el fin de convertir a los colegios en una fábrica de datos e información comercializable sobre unos clientes presentes y futuros. Nuestra soberanía digital está siendo puesta bajo control de las Big Tech, terratenientes neofeudales del capitalismo digital.

A Detailed History of Retromuscular Repairs for Ventral Hernias: A Story of Surgical Innovation.

We performed a historical review of events concerning retromuscular hernia repairs over the last two centuries. This may shed light on surgical innovators and their novel techniques that have evolved into current practices. Literature reviews of notable surgeons in the subspecialty were reviewed. Historical context was obtained by personal communication with contemporary surgeons who witnessed changes in established techniques firsthand. Even though retromuscular repairs are the central theme of this exercise, it is important to note several adjacent events which steered surgical progress. The status of hernia surgery today is the result of the work of several pioneers separated by time and distance. It may be important to understand the circumstances that have propelled past surgical breakthroughs to stimulate future progress.