Technical Change Research Articles

Cohort profile: Improved Pregnancy Outcomes via Early Detection (IMPROvED), an International Multicentre Prospective Cohort.

Improved Pregnancy Outcomes via Early Detection (IMPROvED) is a multi-centre, European phase IIa clinical study. The primary aim of IMPROvED is to enable the assessment and refinement of innovative prototype preeclampsia risk assessment tests based on emerging biomarker technologies. Here we describe IMPROvED's profile and invite researchers to collaborate. A total of 4,038 low-risk nulliparous singleton pregnancies were recruited from maternity units in Ireland (N=1,501), United Kingdom (N=1,108), The Netherlands (N=810), and Sweden (N=619) between November 2013 to August 2017. Participants were interviewed by a research midwife at ~11 weeks (optional visit), ~15 weeks, ~20 weeks, ~34 weeks' gestation (optional visit), and postpartum (within 72-hours following delivery). Clinical data included information on maternal sociodemographic, medical history, and lifestyle factors collected at ~15 weeks' gestation, and maternal measurements, collected at each study visit. Biobank samples included blood, urine, and hair collected at each study visit throughout pregnancy in all units plus umbilical cord/blood samples collected at birth in Ireland and Sweden. A total of 74.0% (N=2,922) had an uncomplicated pregnancy, 3.1% (N=122) developed preeclampsia, 3.6% (N=143) had a spontaneous preterm birth, and 10.5% (N=416) had a small for gestational age baby. We evaluated a panel of metabolite biomarkers and a panel of protein biomarkers at 15 weeks and 20 weeks' gestation for preeclampsia risk assessment. Their translation into tests with clinical application, as conducted by commercial entities, was hampered by technical issues and changes in test requirements. Work on the panel of proteins was abandoned, while work on the use of metabolite biomarkers for preeclampsia risk assessment is ongoing. In accordance with the original goals of the IMPROvED study, the data and biobank are now available for international collaboration to conduct high quality research into the cause and prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Autonomy Acquisition and Performance within Higher Education in Vietnam—A Road to a Sustainable Future?

The Vietnamese Government prioritizes education as a developmental investment within its socioeconomic development programs. Subsequently, Vietnam’s higher education system (HE) is experiencing substantial transformation, emphasizing autonomy, because institutions endowed with self-governance capabilities may allocate societal resources more efficiently for developmental purposes. In this paper, we measured Vietnamese universities’ total factor productivity change (TFPCH) in the autonomy context, using it as a proxy for the sustainable performance of HE institutions. We decomposed TFPCH into Technical Efficiency Change (EFFCH) and Technology Change (TECHCH) and regressed these indices with independent variables to derive their determining factors. Notably, we employed the derived intercept as a proxy for the autonomy context of Vietnam. The DEA found significant advancements in productivity and technology, indicating a positive paradigm shift within Vietnam’s higher education system. The intercepts obtained from these regressions are positive and significant, implying that the autonomous environment supports the sustainable advancement of Vietnam’s higher education system in both components of TFPCH: the catch-up ability (EFFCH) and technological improvement (TECHCH). In addition, we found that investment in vital resources (number of laboratories, research funding, or quality accreditation) improves productivity (TFPCH) via technological improvement. We also observed that private universities experienced higher performance progress than public ones. However, we did not find any significant relationships between the university scale or the location of the main campus and their performance. To further the growth of Vietnam’s higher education system, we propose that the autonomy of institutions continues to be granted.

Автоматизированная система оперативной регистрации технических изменений предприятия радиоэлектронной промышленности

The modern production of radio-electronic equipment is a typical example of a make-to-order type of production. With custom-made products, each order is a unique product. The repeatability of orders in the total volume of orders is quite small compared to new orders, which leads to a large increase in the product range. As a rule, manufactured products are complex, high-tech products that can have a large structure, consist of a large number of components, and have a complex manufacturing process. Thus, the implementation of the full cycle of production of products and the preparation of design documentation requires the support of specialized software. Given the complexity of finished products and the large number of participants involved in production activities, there is an exponential growth in the volume of information. Without the availability of up-to-date data and methods for quick decision making, the development and production process will not be effective. The issues of automating the tracking of operational changes in design documentation at all stages of the production of radio-electronic equipment are considered. Automated systems responsible for managing the life cycle of products are called PLM – Product Lifecycle Management – this is a strategy for the production of industrial products that manages the product at all stages of the life cycle. Existing commercial solutions in this area have redundant functionality and are difficult to integrate into the existing information space of the enterprise. Aim. Study of the process of registration of technical changes in design documentation. Methods. The article presents the process of implementing technical changes in the form of a formal model and a functional model for implementing the changelog using the IDEF0 notation. The architecture of the electronic log of operational registration of changes in the form of diagrams of UML graphic notation is presented. Results. Models for the development of an automated system for managing the electronic journal of operational registration of changes are proposed. The software implementation of the system for managing the electronic journal of operational registration of changes at a research and production enterprise is considered. Conclusion. The automated system proposed in the study allows in a short time to bring to the production shops of the enterprise information about the proposed changes in the design of a prototype product, stop production, take the necessary corrective actions and finalize the product with minimization of losses for the production of a new prototype.

The Regional Total Factor Productivity Changes of Healthcare Delivery in China: A Bootstrap Malmquist Data Envelopment Analysis.

Improving the productivity of healthcare delivery and optimizing the allocation of regional healthcare resources are crucial for the health providers. The objective of this study is to evaluate the productivity dynamics of healthcare delivery at the regional (provincial) level in China, to provide evidence-based policy implications. After a review of literature, actual number of open beds, number of occupational or assistant doctors, number of registered nurses, and number of other staff were selected as input variables. The number of diagnostic visits and number of discharged inpatients were adopted as the output indicators. The panel data of 31 provinces in mainland China from 2010 to 2019 were extracted from Health Statistics Yearbook. Bootstrap-Malmquist Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model was used to measure the total factor productivity changes (TFPC) and its components. During the study period, the analysis of total factor productivity (TFP) in China revealed a declining trend with an average annual decline of 0.9% (ranging from 0.860 to 1.204). For each of the 31 provinces, the annual TFP scores varied from 0.971 to 1.029. On average, technical efficiency changes (TEC) had showed a downward trend from 2010-2011 (0.980) to 2013-2014 (0.982), and then an upward trend in 2014-2015 (1.029) and the following three consecutive years since 2016-2017 (1.000, 1.013, 1.009). Similarly, the trend in technological changes (TC) was consistent with the TEC from 2010-2019, which fluctuated between 0.969 and 1.011 on average per year at the provincial level. Notably, the point of inflection appeared at 2013-2014. Regional healthcare inputs and outputs in mainland China saw an upward trend from 2010 to 2019. However, TFPC, TEC, and TC decreased across all 31 provinces. TFP experienced a declining trend from 2010 to 2014, followed by growth until 2019. This may be related to the new healthcare reform being implemented since 2009, as service efficiency and capacity may undergo a reversal at the beginning of the reform.

Investment Scenarios for Low Carbon Electricity in Europe

In a context of carbon emissions reduction, this article aims at widening the scope of the OECD - Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) report entitled « The interaction of Nuclear Energy and Renewable: System Effects in Low Carbon Electricity System » (2012) to the European electric supply by studying the conditions of industrial investments in low carbon technologies over the next 30 years. These conditions can be either favorable or not to, on the one hand, the renewable energies and, on the other hand, the nuclear technologies, according to 3 main dynamically quantified drivers: 1. 2. 3. "Technical change", i.e. relative evolutions of efficiency and costs of available technologies (gas, coal, wind…); "Policy", i.e. incentive framework given by European energy policies (nuclear, climate...); "Economic", i.e. structure of electricity markets (level of centralization...). A total of 24 scenarios are developed using an imaginative approach, i.e. assuming different possibilities for the future change in 3 main drivers. Finally we have found: - 2 scenarios of them prove to be the most favorable to renewable energies; - 2 scenarios favorable to both renewable and nuclear, for the interaction of nuclear and renewable in the electricity system is not necessarily favorable to nuclear investment. These scenarios are then discussed in view of the quantitative drivers mentioned above.

Analysing determinate components of an approximated Luenberger–Hicks–Moorsteen productivity indicator: An application to German dairy‐processing firms

AbstractThe Luenberger–Hicks–Moorsteen (LHM) total factor productivity (TFP) indicator has sound theoretical properties, but its decomposition yields indeterminate components of technical change and scale efficiency change that can become infeasible. The current paper decomposes the approximating Bennet indicator, which results in determinate components of technical change, technical efficiency change, scale efficiency change and mix efficiency change that are always feasible. The application focuses on the German dairy‐processing sector, an important postfarm supply chain actor. We compute 558 growth rates for the period 2011–2020. The results show that the LHM‐approximating Bennet indicator decreases by on average 1.14% p.a., with substantial annual fluctuations. The underlying components of output‐ and input‐oriented technical change also fluctuate substantially, and often conflict. Moreover, output‐ and input‐oriented TFP efficiency change fluctuate moderately on average, which is mainly driven by scale efficiency change and mix efficiency change. The components of technical efficiency change remain relatively stable on average. Indeterminateness is a relevant problem when decomposing the original LHM indicator for the current sample: depending on the specification, the proportion of infeasibilities when decomposing the original LHM indicator ranges between 6.09% and 15.95%. Our proposed determinate decomposition is thus a valuable complement. [EconLit Citations: D24, D25, Q13].

China's carbon emissions trading system and energy directed technical change

Energy directed technical change is an effective means of reconciling economic growth with, not only currently available resources, but also sustainable environmental needs. Whether a carbon emissions trading system (ETS) can internalize carbon dioxide emissions costs, and thus induce energy directed technical change, is a common topic of concern among both political and academic circles. Our study aims to provide evidence for this issue by examining the impact of China's carbon ETS on the energy directed technical change. By adopting a DID estimation approach, we find that the carbon ETS can significantly promote technical change towards clean energy after empirical testing and this conclusion holds up following several robustness tests. This directed effect is realized through a price inhibition effect and a market scale expansion effect; the mechanism test suggest that the market scale expansion effect plays a larger role than the price suppression effect. Lastly, the more significant effect in both non resource-based cities and in large cities suggests that a carbon ETS exerts a heterogeneous effect on energy directed technical change. In addition, the existence of paid auctions of carbon allowances can better induce technical change in favor of clean energy than the free distribution of carbon allowances.

An innovative approach to evaluating sustainable development performance: The case of Turkey

AbstractThe assessment of sustainable development necessitates precise productivity measurement. Existing literature reveals a wide array of methods employed for this purpose. However, these approaches give rise to concerns regarding the accurate assessment of both efficiency (EC) and technical (TC) changes. Additionally, the data used for productivity measurement are often subject to uncertainty. In response to these shortcomings in the existing literature, this study introduces the Environmental Fuzzy Malmquist Total Factor Productivity (EFM) index for productivity measurement. Within this framework, the study aims to assess Turkey's environmental sensitivity and sustainable development performance using the proposed EFM index. To achieve this goal, the study first constructs the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI), considering undesirable environmental pollution variables related to air, water, and soil pollution. Subsequently, the ESI is integrated with the Fuzzy Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Index (FM) to develop the new EFM index. The proposed integrated EFM index exhibits an enhanced ability to evaluate both EC and TC while addressing the challenges stemming from uncertainty. The proposed integrated EFM index indicates that the Marmara and Aegean regions of Turkey demonstrate the highest level of sustainable development performance. Finally, the study offers recommendations and policies to assist developing countries in enhancing their sustainable development performance.

The stroke rate influences performance, technique and core stability during rowing ergometer

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to determine the effect of stroke rate on performance, technique and core stability during rowing ergometer. Twenty-four high-level rowers performed maximal intensity one-minute bouts at 20, 28 and 34 spm on a RowPerfect3 ergometer. Power at the handle, legs, trunk and arms levels were determined, and core kinematics and neuromuscular activations were measured. The power at the handle was enhanced with a higher stroke rate in the first half of the drive phase due to higher segment’s powers. This resulted in technical changes, as for instance greater mean to peak power ratio at each segment level. The higher trunk power preceded a delayed trunk extension but without significant increase in the erector spinae activation. This underlines the role of the core stability to transfer forces at a higher stroke rate. However, no co-activation parameters between trunk flexors and extensors helped further to understand this force transfer. Rowing at low stroke rate can be a training strategy to work on earlier trunk extension, while maintaining erectors spinae levels of activation. Training at higher stroke rate will induce a rowing technique closer to competition with greater neuromuscular activations, and maximise power production.

Vertical integration, technical progress and structural change

Abstract In search of an alternative representation of the economic system, Pasinetti ended up with a notion of vertical integration (VI) that takes interdependencies as its starting point but does not explicitly consider their role in the unfolding structural economic dynamics (SED). In this paper, we show that SED may be more inclusive of such interrelations to appropriately consider VI as a tool for analysing economic systems under the conditions of technical change and structural transformation. Our strategy is to focus on Pasinetti’s shift from his original development building on Sraffa’s sub-systems to his formulation of VI in terms of a pure labour technology in which all goods are produced by labour only. To carry out the analysis, we resume his iterative algorithm of VI, showing that we can extend it to the case of an expanding economy as a bridge between the horizontal and vertical production representations. Following this route, we can effectively address the features of structural transformation associated with changing patterns of interdependence. Besides, we can go from an assessment of productivity growth at an industrial level to determining the pace of technical change in a vertically integrated sector (VIS), which allows focussing on a concept of productivity derived from the VI, labelled as the total labour productivity (TLP). The TLP is robust to outsourcing of production, whose effects are adequately dealt with insofar as it considers not only the direct but also the indirect labour required to produce the final output.

Integrating social dynamics in the participatory modeling of small-scale cattle farmers’ perceptions and responses to climate variability in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Climate variability poses multifaceted challenges for livestock production. Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns impact crop and pasture yields, reduce water availability, and contribute to livestock diseases, particularly affecting small-scale cattle producers dependent on climate-sensitive resources. Sustainable livestock farming promotes integrating best practices to enhance productivity while responsibly managing natural resources, but often overlooks relevant social dynamics. Social factors are excluded when promoting and studying the adoption of practices for sustainable cattle farming. This study aims to understand the factors and interactions between the social, animal and ecological systems within the small-scale cattle socioecosystems in the southern region of the Yucatan Peninsula, exploring cattle farmers’ perspectives on climate change, as well as their strategies and responses to extreme events like drought. Using fuzzy cognitive maps and scenario development as participatory and reflection methodologies, we found a conceptual gap between climate change and drought, indicating a lack of sustainable adaptive thinking toward these challenges. Interestingly, we found that local social organization, cultural dynamics, and spiritual practices are equally significant factors than technical and environment-oriented changes to the management of ranches in shaping an optimal cattle farming scenario. Our findings reveal that the management of cattle farms involves complex interplay among technical, environmental, social, political, and cultural elements, highlighting the inherent need to consider social values and preferences as fundamental components of sustainability. This study establishes the initial groundwork for employing participatory modeling with social actors engaged in the small-scale cattle context in Yucatan. The goal is to emphasize the importance of the social dimension in the general management of the small-scale cattle socioecosystem, thus in promoting sustainable cattle farming.

The Impact of Technological Learning on Generating and Managing Technical Change Through Mediating Role of Technological Capabilities: The Case of EOR in Iran

Technological learning (TL) is necessary for absorbing and assimilating tacit and disembodied knowledge of technologies. After going through learning process, latecomers should have the ability to change and improve technology to respond to the technologically changing environment. Therefore, they need to build and accumulate technological capabilities (TCs) for generating and managing technical changes. The present research, applying a novel approach, studied TL, TC, and technical change in a single model to investigate the relationship among these three concepts in exploration and production companies of developing countries. Using the structural equation modeling method, the impact of TL mechanisms on two main types of TC, and TCs’ effect on incremental and radical technical changes were studied in the case of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), as a knowledge-intensive industry, in Iran, as an oil-rich developing country. In this article, the nature of technologies and the technological level of firms have been considered more seriously. The results showed that in the context of the EOR industry, learning by doing/using has a significant impact on operational capability (OC) and not on innovative capability (IC), learning by training/hiring, and learning by interacting have a considerable impact on both types of TC, and learning by searching has a significant influence only on IC. OC only generates incremental change, but IC develops both incremental and radical changes.

Health resource allocation within the close-knit medical consortium after the Luohu healthcare reform in China: efficiency, productivity, and influencing factors.

This study aims to assess the efficiency and productivity of the Luohu Hospital Group after the reform and to identify factors influencing the efficiency to support the future development of medical consortia. Data on health resources from Shenzhen and the Luohu Hospital Group for the years 2015 to 2021 were analyzed using the super-efficiency slack-based measure data envelopment analysis (SE-SBM-DEA) model, Malmquist productivity index (MPI), and Tobit regression to evaluate changes in efficiency and productivity and to identify determinants of efficiency post-reform. After the reform, the efficiency of health resource allocation within the Luohu Hospital Group improved by 33.87%. Community health centers (CHCs) within the group had an average efficiency score of 1.046. Moreover, the Luohu Hospital Group's average total factor productivity change (TFPCH) increased by 2.5%, primarily due to gains in technical efficiency change (EFFCH), which offset declines in technical progress change (TECHCH). The efficiency scores of CHCs were notably affected by the ratio of general practitioners (GPs) to health technicians and the availability of home hospital beds. The reform in the Luohu healthcare system has shown preliminary success, but continuous monitoring is necessary. Future strategies should focus on strengthening technological innovation, training GPs, and implementing the home hospital bed policy. These efforts will optimize the efficiency of health resource allocation and support the integration and development of resources within the medical consortium.

Technical Change, Moral Hazard, and the Decentralization Penalty

Technical Change, Moral Hazard, and the Decentralization Penalty

Puncture dilatation tracheostomy in children during transoral neurosurgical interventions

To describe a modified technique of video-assisted percutaneous dilation tracheostomy using additional thin guide and dilator in children of primary school age. We considered 11 patients aged 6-12 years who underwent video-assisted percutaneous dilation tracheostomy. There were no perioperative complications (bleeding, false course, perforation of posterior tracheal wall). Infection of tracheostomy, fistulas or tracheal stenosis was absent. Percutaneous dilation tracheostomy may be alternative to classical surgical tracheostomy for pediatric patients. Endoscopic control and certain technical changes of percutaneous tracheostomy are necessary and provide safe manipulation. Surgery time, less trauma and minimal cosmetic defect after tracheostomy are significant advantages of this technique compared to surgical tracheostomy.

Decarbonization with induced technical change: Exploring the niche potential of hydrogen in heavy transportation

Fuel cells and electric batteries are competing technologies for the energy transition in heavy transportation. We explore the conditions for the survival of a unique technology in the long term. Learning by doing suggests focusing on a single technology while differentiation and decreasing return to scale (cost convexity) favor diversification. Exogenous technical change also plays a role. The interaction between these factors is analyzed in a general model. It is proved that in absence of convexity and exogenous technical change, only one technology is used for the whole transition. We then apply this framework to analyze the competition between fuel-cell electric buses (FCEBs) and battery electric buses (BEB) in the European bus sector, considering both learning by doing and exogenous technical change. The model is calibrated and solved. It is shown that the existence of a niche for FCEBs critically depends on the speed at which cost reductions are achieved. The speed depends both on the size of the niche and the rate of learning by doing for FCEBs. Public policies to decentralize the socially optimal trajectory in terms of carbon tax and subsidies to learning by doing are derived.

Industrial Structure, Technical Change, and the Role of Government in Development of the Electronics and Information Industry in Taipei,China

Industrial Structure, Technical Change, and the Role of Government in Development of the Electronics and Information Industry in Taipei,China

Digitalization in construction: transformation of procedural approaches and project optimization in order to increase the profitability of the industry

The article is an in-depth analysis of the impact of digital technologies on the construction industry. In the course of the study, the authors delve into the process of transformation of traditional methods of work, emphasizing the key changes provided by digital approaches. The focus is on design optimization and its role in improving the efficiency of construction processes. The paper also discusses in detail the digitalization strategies aimed at achieving specific goals, in particular, to increase the profitability of the industry. The authors give practical examples of successful implementation of digital innovations in construction, discussing their impact on the final results of projects. The review provides readers with a deep understanding of how digital technologies are shaping the future of the construction industry and how their integration can lead to a significant improvement in the profitability of the industry. The article also examines the main problems faced by the construction industry and how digital technologies can offer innovative solutions to solve them. It identifies not only technical changes related to the introduction of digital processes, but also changes in organizational culture and project management. Special attention is paid to the issues of safety, standardization and sustainability in the context of digitalization of construction. The consequences of digital transformations on existing business models are analyzed and assumptions are made about the future development of the industry in the conditions of universal digitalization. Thus, the article provides a study of the digital revolution in construction, providing readers with an in-depth analysis of not only technological changes, but also the broad impact of digitalization on all aspects of the construction industry.

Economic and Environmental Decomposition of Luenberger-Hicks-Moorsteen Total Factor Productivity Indicator: Empirical Analysis of Chinese Textile Firms With a Focus on Reporting Infeasibilities and Questioning Convexity

We discuss an environmental Luenberger–Hicks–Moorsteen (LHM) total factor productivity (TFP) indicator and its decomposition that incorporates a negative externality into the measurement of economic performance. Special cases of a generalized environmental directional distance function are involved in the definition of this LHM indicator and its proposed decomposition. We also seek to test whether changes in the convexity assumption provoke differences in the TFP measures. We apply two specifications of the by-production nonparametric environmental technology to implement this LHM TFP. This LHM TFP indicator decomposes into three terms representing technical change, technical inefficiency change, and scale inefficiency change. The changes in the environmental TFP for China's textile industry is then estimated for the period from 2001 to 2010. We report infeasibilities and we show the differences of the proposed framework for the decomposition of the LHM indicator depending on the convexity assumption. The results suggest there has been an increase in the TFP of China's textile industry: the amount depends on the convexity or not of the technology. The environmental performance is poorer than the economic one. Moreover, contradictions between convex and nonconvex LHM indicators for individual observations appear for a substantial part of the sample.

From Engineering Change to Enterprise Change Management: An empirical study on CM2 processes in the automotive industry

Companies need to respond to changing market requirements with product and process improvements. In order to better meet the needs of consumers, technical changes must be made within the product lifecycle of products. This can, for example, change the product's shape, ft or function. Engineering Change Management (ECM) processes are an elementary part of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and support handling these changes. ECM ensures that changes are assessed, communicated, coordinated, and implemented in time. The present research is based on a case study in an automotive company analysing the way of working within current ECM implementations against the CM2 framework proposed by Wu et al. [1]. Based on the comparison of qualitative interviews and company documents, the analysis shows deviations in the ECM process, especially regarding the implementation of changes in the plants. We suggest expanding the ECM process framework towards an Enterprise Change Management, including master data change in the IT systems and involving all relevant departments to implement the change successfully in the plant(s). Thus, we propose expanding the existing CM2 framework to inform ECM middle-range theory. In addition, recommendations for a successful ECM implementation are deduced from the comparison.