1,720,964 research outputs found
Artifact interactions retard technological improvement: An empirical study
No full textEmpirical research has shown performance improvement of many different technological domains occurs exponentially but with widely varying improvement rates. What causes some technologies to improve faster than others do? Previous quantitative modeling research has identified artifact interactions, where a design change in one component influences others, as an important determinant of improvement rates. The models predict that improvement rate for a domain is proportional to the inverse of the domain’s interaction parameter. However, no empirical research has previously studied and tested the dependence of improvement rates on artifact interactions. A challenge to testing the dependence is that any method for measuring interactions has to be applicable to a wide variety of technologies. Here we propose a novel patent-based method that is both technology domain-agnostic and less costly than alternative methods. We use textual content from patent sets in 27 domains to find the influence of interactions on improvement rates. Qualitative analysis identified six specific keywords that signal artifact interactions. Patent sets from each domain were then examined to determine the total count of these 6 keywords in each domain, giving an estimate of artifact interactions in each domain. It is found that improvement rates are positively correlated with the inverse of the total count of keywords with Pearson correlation coefficient of +0.56 with a p-value of 0.002. The results agree with model predictions, and provide, for the first time, empirical evidence that artifact interactions have a retarding effect on improvement rates of technological domains
Institutions and economic growth of landlocked nations – part of dissertation
No full textThe study tries to scratch the relationship between institutions and economic growth under the landlocked constraint through empirically growing correlated random effect model with the base of pooled ordinary least square model and supporting models of fixed and random effect model. It includes a balance panel of 134 nations for 16 periods (2144 observations). It concludes that both landlocked and institutions are important variables to increase the output of the country. Landlocked nation decreases economic growth by 36% than no-landlocked nations, but the estimation of remoteness from the center to nearest sea becomes insignificance. Similarly, one standard deviation increase in nine institutional variables individually, out of the seventeen variables, estimates ranges from 3%-9% increase in a standard deviation of the dependent variable gross domestic product per capita.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Institutions and economic growth of landlocked nations – part of dissertation
No full textThe study tries to scratch the relationship between institutions and economic growth under the landlocked constraint through empirically growing correlated random effect model with the base of pooled ordinary least square model and supporting models of fixed and random effect model. It includes a balance panel of 134 nations for 16 periods (2144 observations). It concludes that both landlocked and institutions are important variables to increase the output of the country. Landlocked nation decreases economic growth by 36% than no-landlocked nations, but the estimation of remoteness from the center to nearest sea becomes insignificance. Similarly, one standard deviation increase in nine institutional variables individually, out of the seventeen variables, estimates ranges from 3%-9% increase in a standard deviation of the dependent variable gross domestic product per capita.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Modeling technical performance change using design fundamentals
No full textThesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-204).Technical performance improvement exhibits exponential trends, but the rates of improvement for the 28 selected technological domains vary from 3 to 65%. Why does performance improve exponentially? Why do the improvement rates vary widely across the domains? This thesis presents a simple theoretical model that provides an explanatory foundation based on two sets of well-known design fundamentals. The first set conceptualizes inventions arising through combinatorial analogical transfer where new operating ideas are created by combining operating ideas from an existing pool of ideas. This inventive process proceeds on a cumulative basis over time and is perpetuated by injection of basic operating ideas through synergistic exchange between science and technology. The combinatorial analogical transfer coupled with exchange between science and technology naturally leads to exponential behavior. These operating ideas are then embedded in domain artifacts to improve technical performance. Interactions in artifacts and scaling of design variables - two domain specific effects from the second set of design fundamentals- modulate this process. Interactions in artifacts influence the ability of the domains to successfully assimilate the operating ideas. Assimilated ideas change design variables in the artifacts to improve their performance. The relative performance improvement depends on the scaling of design variables of the artifacts. Together these two domain parameters can potentially yield a wide variation in performance improvement rates. According to the model, higher domain interaction parameters retard, whereas higher scaling parameters accelerate, performance improvement rates. The model is shown to be consistent with what is known in the technical change literature. An empirical study tests the model's prediction that higher domain interactions retard performance improvement rates of technological domains. A method for extracting domain interactions using a keyword-based text-mining approach on patents is presented. High normalized counts of keywords representing domain interactions are found to be negatively correlated with low performance improvement rates, thus supporting the model positively. The thesis also presents an independent case study on performance improvement of permanent magnetic materials, and tests two regression models, which predict improvement rates using patent data. Performance of magnetic materials follows an exponential, but halting, improvement trend, and predicted rates from the regression models are consistent with prior result for the 28 technological domains.by Subarna Basnet.Ph. D
Institutions, geography and economic prosperity : the case of landlocked countries
No full textDoutoramento em Estudos de DesenvolvimentoThis study engages with, and contributes to, the debate around the determinants of economic growth and prosperity, with special reference to the case of landlocked developing countries. Two main lines of explanation are confronted, summed up by the headings ‘geography’ – landlocked countries are poorer because of the geographical constraints to their participation in international trade – and ‘institutions’ – landlocked countries are poorer because they happen to have worse economic and political institutions, not because of landlockedness per se. The study adopts a cross-country empirical approach combining two main methods, both of which draw on institutional data from the Center for Systemic Peace, Freedom House, The Heritage Foundation and World Governance Indicators. In the first part of the empirical analysis, a comparative descriptive examination is undertaken of the political and economic institutions in various regional groups of landlocked countries. This confirms the hypothesis that European landlocked nations have better economic and political institutions than non- European landlocked countries, but also finds that several institutional variables are non- significantly or even significantly but negatively associated with GDP per capita across the various regional groups of landlocked countries. The second part of the empirical analysis adopts an econometric panel data approach, including a series of alternative models (namely Pooled Least Squares, Fixed Effects, Random Effects and Correlated Random Effects Models) and different specifications, to look at the impact of seventeen institutional variables, in interaction with alternative proxies for landlockedness, upon the (log) level of GDP per capita. We find that several institutional variables are significant predictors of the level of prosperity, but others are non-significant and others still are significantly but negatively associated with GDP per capita. By contrast, landlockedness appears as a powerful predictor of the income level even after controlling for the effect of institutions. We conclude that institutions probably do matter for economic growth and long-term prosperity, but some institutions probably have more complicated and complex relationships with growth than usually assumed, and the question of which institutions to consider and how to properly assess and measure them is not straightforward. Landlockedness, by contrast, seems to be an unequivocal obstacle to economic prosperity.Esta tese situa-se e procura contribuir para o debate em torno dos determinantes do crescimento económico e da prosperidade das economias no longo prazo, com especial referência ao caso dos países em desenvolvimento sem litoral (“landlocked”). São exploradas e confrontadas duas explicações principais para as dificuldades destes países, as quais dão prioridade respetivamente à ‘geografia’ – a ideia de que os países sem litoral são mais pobres devido aos constrangimentos geográficos à sua participação no comércio internacional – e às ‘instituições’ – os países sem litoral são mais pobres porque se dá o caso de terem instituições económicas e políticas piores e não devido ao facto de não terem acesso ao mar. A análise efetuada baseia-se numa abordagem empírica que combina dois conjuntos principais de métodos, ambos os quais assentam em dados institucionais produzidos pelo Center for Systemic Peace, Freedom House, The Heritage Foundation e World Governance Indicators. Na primeira parte da análise empírica, é levada a cabo uma análise comparativa- descritiva das instituições económicas e políticas de diferentes grupos macroregionais de países sem litoral. Esta análise corrobora a hipótese de que os países sem litoral europeus possuem instituições políticas e económicas superiores aos países sem litoral não-europeus, mas conclui também que diversas variáveis institucionais possuem associações não significativas, ou significativas mas negativas, com o PIB per capita em diferentes grupos macroregionais de países sem litoral. A segunda parte da análise empírica é de caráter econométrico, adotando um conjunto de modelos distintos (Pooled Least Squares, Fixed Effects, Random Effects e Correlated Random Effects) e diferentes especificações a fim de estimar o impacto de dezassete variáveis institucionais, em interação com diferentes variáveis proxy representativas da ausência de litoral, sobre o nível (em logaritmo) do PIB per capita. Conclui-se que algumas variáveis institucionais constituem preditores significativos do nível de prosperidade económica, mas algumas outras são não-significativas e outras ainda têm associações significativas mas negativas com a variável dependente. Em contrapartida, a ausência de litoral constitui um preditor significativo e robusto do nível de rendimento per capita mesmo após consideração do efeito das instituições. Conclui-se que, de uma forma geral, as instituições são provavelmente determinantes importantes do crescimento económico e da prosperidade de longo prazo, mas também que algumas instituições mantêm provavelmente relações mais subtis e complexas com o crescimento económico do que é habitualmente considerado, para além de que a escolha de quais as instituições que devem ser consideradas e de qual a forma adequada de medilas coloca os seus próprios desafios. A ausência de litoral, em contrapartida, parece constituir um obstáculo inequívoco à prosperidade económica.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Institutions and Economic Growth of Landlocked Nations – part of dissertation
No full textThe study tries to scratch the relationship between institutions and economic growth under the landlocked constraint through empirically growing correlated random effect model with the base of pooled ordinary least square model and supporting models of fixed and random effect model. It includes a balance panel of 134 nations for 16 periods (2144 observations). It concludes that both landlocked and institutions are important variables to increase the output of the country. Landlocked nation decreases economic growth by 36% than no-landlocked nations, but the estimation of remoteness from the center to nearest sea becomes insignificance. Similarly, one standard deviation increase in nine institutional variables individually, out of the seventeen variables, estimates ranges from 3%-9% increase in a standard deviation of the dependent variable gross domestic product per capita.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Institutions, geography and economic prosperity : the case of landlocked countries
No full textDoutoramento em Estudos de DesenvolvimentoThis study engages with, and contributes to, the debate around the determinants of economic growth and prosperity, with special reference to the case of landlocked developing countries. Two main lines of explanation are confronted, summed up by the headings ‘geography’ – landlocked countries are poorer because of the geographical constraints to their participation in international trade – and ‘institutions’ – landlocked countries are poorer because they happen to have worse economic and political institutions, not because of landlockedness per se. The study adopts a cross-country empirical approach combining two main methods, both of which draw on institutional data from the Center for Systemic Peace, Freedom House, The Heritage Foundation and World Governance Indicators. In the first part of the empirical analysis, a comparative descriptive examination is undertaken of the political and economic institutions in various regional groups of landlocked countries. This confirms the hypothesis that European landlocked nations have better economic and political institutions than non- European landlocked countries, but also finds that several institutional variables are non- significantly or even significantly but negatively associated with GDP per capita across the various regional groups of landlocked countries. The second part of the empirical analysis adopts an econometric panel data approach, including a series of alternative models (namely Pooled Least Squares, Fixed Effects, Random Effects and Correlated Random Effects Models) and different specifications, to look at the impact of seventeen institutional variables, in interaction with alternative proxies for landlockedness, upon the (log) level of GDP per capita. We find that several institutional variables are significant predictors of the level of prosperity, but others are non-significant and others still are significantly but negatively associated with GDP per capita. By contrast, landlockedness appears as a powerful predictor of the income level even after controlling for the effect of institutions. We conclude that institutions probably do matter for economic growth and long-term prosperity, but some institutions probably have more complicated and complex relationships with growth than usually assumed, and the question of which institutions to consider and how to properly assess and measure them is not straightforward. Landlockedness, by contrast, seems to be an unequivocal obstacle to economic prosperity.Esta tese situa-se e procura contribuir para o debate em torno dos determinantes do crescimento económico e da prosperidade das economias no longo prazo, com especial referência ao caso dos países em desenvolvimento sem litoral (“landlocked”). São exploradas e confrontadas duas explicações principais para as dificuldades destes países, as quais dão prioridade respetivamente à ‘geografia’ – a ideia de que os países sem litoral são mais pobres devido aos constrangimentos geográficos à sua participação no comércio internacional – e às ‘instituições’ – os países sem litoral são mais pobres porque se dá o caso de terem instituições económicas e políticas piores e não devido ao facto de não terem acesso ao mar. A análise efetuada baseia-se numa abordagem empírica que combina dois conjuntos principais de métodos, ambos os quais assentam em dados institucionais produzidos pelo Center for Systemic Peace, Freedom House, The Heritage Foundation e World Governance Indicators. Na primeira parte da análise empírica, é levada a cabo uma análise comparativa- descritiva das instituições económicas e políticas de diferentes grupos macroregionais de países sem litoral. Esta análise corrobora a hipótese de que os países sem litoral europeus possuem instituições políticas e económicas superiores aos países sem litoral não-europeus, mas conclui também que diversas variáveis institucionais possuem associações não significativas, ou significativas mas negativas, com o PIB per capita em diferentes grupos macroregionais de países sem litoral. A segunda parte da análise empírica é de caráter econométrico, adotando um conjunto de modelos distintos (Pooled Least Squares, Fixed Effects, Random Effects e Correlated Random Effects) e diferentes especificações a fim de estimar o impacto de dezassete variáveis institucionais, em interação com diferentes variáveis proxy representativas da ausência de litoral, sobre o nível (em logaritmo) do PIB per capita. Conclui-se que algumas variáveis institucionais constituem preditores significativos do nível de prosperidade económica, mas algumas outras são não-significativas e outras ainda têm associações significativas mas negativas com a variável dependente. Em contrapartida, a ausência de litoral constitui um preditor significativo e robusto do nível de rendimento per capita mesmo após consideração do efeito das instituições. Conclui-se que, de uma forma geral, as instituições são provavelmente determinantes importantes do crescimento económico e da prosperidade de longo prazo, mas também que algumas instituições mantêm provavelmente relações mais subtis e complexas com o crescimento económico do que é habitualmente considerado, para além de que a escolha de quais as instituições que devem ser consideradas e de qual a forma adequada de medilas coloca os seus próprios desafios. A ausência de litoral, em contrapartida, parece constituir um obstáculo inequívoco à prosperidade económica.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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