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Skills for Innovation and Research
Abstract
Innovation holds the key to ongoing improvements in living standards, as well as to solving pressing social challenges. Skilled people play a crucial role in innovation through the new knowledge they generate, how they adopt and develop existing ideas, and through their ability to learn new competencies and adapt to a changing environment. This book seeks to increase understanding of the links between skills and innovation. It explores the wide range of skills required, ranging from technical to "soft", and the ability to learn; it presents data and evidence on countries' stocks and flows of skills and the links between skill inputs and innovation outputs. Given the importance of meeting the demands of knowledge-based economic activity, the book investigates the issues of skill supply, education, workplace training and work organisation. It highlights the importance of enabling individuals to acquire appropriate skills and of optimising these at work.
... We also want to investigate what research competencies participants can gain from the I&E Program because research skills are fundamental for future clinician-researchers [12]. Some core competencies for clinical and translational scientists were also recognized [13]. ...
... It isn't easy to establish explicit connections between specific skills and innovation. The extensive skills identified in the literature as fostering innovation include fundamental abilities such as reading, academic skills, and technical expertise, as well as "soft" skills like problem-solving, teamwork ability, and leadership [12]. Competency is a cluster of related knowledge, attitudes, and skills that affect a significant part of one's job [15]. ...
Objective
A growing number of clinical undergraduates are chosen to enter institutions for higher education biotechnology and industry workforce, though most need more laboratory experience training and business practice. Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (I&E Program) can benefit from biological experiment and commercialization training largely absent from standard clinical medical educational curricula. Our study investigates the impact and status of the I&E Program in enhancing medical students’ research and entrepreneurial abilities and provides recommendations for improving this program.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was applied by delivering a questionnaire to survey medical students from Central South University who participated in the I&E Program. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: basic information, the impact of the I&E Program on medical students’ research and entrepreneurial abilities, and attitudes and recommendations regarding the I&E Program.
Results
Many students participating in the I&E Program have received competition awards and improved their academic experience, article writing, and application patents. Their research-related abilities have been enhanced, including in-lab techniques, theoretical research skills, data analysis knowledge, clinical research skills, experimental research skills, entrepreneurship, data analysis ability, teamwork, and communication. While 73.93% of students express satisfaction with the I&E Program, there are still several areas of improvement, including more robust practical components, increased support, and enhanced teamwork.
Conclusion
The scale of the I&E Program is rapidly expanding to address scientific research or business skills needed by college students in the new era. However, more programs still need to be discontinued during their further study. The I&E Program significantly enhances research abilities and fosters confidence in their study. This analysis emphasizes the importance of research-oriented and interdisciplinary education for students’ holistic development in medical schools compared with formal medical education.
... Source: Based on Paniagua and Istance (2018 [12]), Teachers as Designers of Learning Environments: The Importance of Innovative Pedagogies, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris; OECD, (2016 [13]), Supporting Teacher Professionalism: Insights from TALIS 2013, OECD Publishing, Paris; OECD, (2011 [14]), Skills for Innovation and Research, OECD Publishing, Paris; Carlgren (1999 [15]), "Professionalism and teachers as designers", Journal of Curriculum Studies, Vol. 31/1, pp. ...
... Source: OECD (2013 [14]), Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) complete database, OECD Publishing, Paris. ...
New teachers entering the profession are said to bring with them enthusiasm, idealism and recent training – a promising combination for innovative teaching. However, these early career teachers are also commonly portrayed as professionals facing exceptional challenges, with fragile identities who leave the career in high proportions. Can these new teachers help schools to innovate while trying to perform as effective teachers during their initial years? This paper argues that the difficulties most early career teachers encounter, which have largely remained unchanged over the last 50 years, are embedded characteristics of the teaching profession. Further, it discusses the importance of the first five years of the teacher career in acquiring critical professional skills, and highlights the importance of context over experience per se. The paper concludes by making the case that these first five years could work as a residency for early career teachers – similar to that of medical training – where they could receive support to experiment in sheltered environments. This professional residency might represent a policy milestone in the building of a continuum of teachers’ professional growth and development.
... The sustainability of innovation is highly dependent on the technical capabilities of officials in the public sector (OECD, 2011). Not only technical issues of technology or application development, but technical capabilities in specific knowledge become the leverage of an innovation. ...
This research aims to identify the inhibiting factors affecting the sustainability of the innovation in the Electronic Financial Monitoring Information System (SiMOLEK) application at the Ministry of Home Affairs, particularly in the management of local finances and the evaluation process of accountability for the implementation of the Regional Budget. The study employs a qualitative descriptive approach, gathering data through observations and interviews with key informants who have authority, tasks, and functions related to the operation of SiMOLEK. The inhibiting factors analyzed are based on the results of studies conducted by Deloitte and KPMG, adjusted for relevance to the research object, including politics, lack of finance, leadership, technology, culture, and insufficient technical skills. The research findings indicate that the inhibiting factors causing the unsustainability of the SiMOLEK application innovation are politics, lack of finance, leadership, and technology.
... Denn der Aufund Ausbau von Kompetenzen von Mitarbeitenden wird in engem Zusammenhang mit der Innovationsfähigkeit von Unternehmen gesehen (z. B.Hanselka et al., 2020;OECD, 2011). Insbesondere KMU haben bei der betrieblichen Weiterbildung jedoch häufig Nachholbedarf (z. ...
Zusammenfassung
Kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) stehen im Management von Innovationen z. B. aufgrund fehlender personeller und finanzieller Ressourcen gegenüber Großunternehmen vor besonderen Herausforderungen. Innovationsaktivitäten werden von Mitarbeitenden meist zusätzlich zum Tagesgeschäft ausgeführt und fachlich-methodische Kompetenzen liegen oft nur bei einzelnen Personen. Der vorliegende Beitrag berichtet Ergebnisse und Erfahrungen aus dem Projekt InnoDiZ (Selbstorganisiertes Innovationsmanagement im Digitalen Zeitalter), in dem die Blended-Learning-Weiterbildung „Innovationsmanagement in KMU“ entwickelt und erprobt wurde. Im Verlauf der Weiterbildung wurden Methodensets entlang des Innovationsprozesses vorgestellt und mit den Teilnehmenden der Status Quo in ihren Unternehmen, der Einsatz der jeweiligen Methoden und der von den Teilnehmenden gesehene Handlungsbedarf diskutiert. Insgesamt zeigt sich, dass das arbeitsnahe Konzept der Blended-Learning-Weiterbildung gut unterstützen und Veränderungsprozesse für das Management von Innovationen in KMU anstoßen kann. Abschließend diskutiert der Beitrag förderliche und hinderliche Rahmenbedingungen für den Auf- und Ausbau von fachlich-methodischen Kompetenzen im Innovationsmanagement über eine digital unterstützte Weiterbildung und skizziert Implikationen für die Praxis in KMU.
... Given its scientific and socio-economic relevance in Mexico (Zayago et al. 2013), it is an appropriate sector for examining the effects of the SP at both individual and aggregate levels. The demand for researchers with advanced research training in nanoscale-related matters is a policy concern for Mexico and numerous governments in both developed and developing countries (Bozeman, Laredo and Mangematin 2007;Stephan, Black and Chang 2007;OECD 2011). In developing nations like Mexico, this concern is exacerbated by the need for substantial investments in sophisticated research facilities and the risk of losing research talent to emigration. ...
This paper addresses policy effects of international mobility in developing countries. It proposes a multilevel approach to study research training policies, specifically focusing on international mobility schemes as capacity-building instruments, where effects need to be identified at both individual and organizational levels. The paper asserts that current categorizations of country efforts to build a solid scientific base should consider transference of effects in domestic research contexts. Using a survey and interview-based study of a mobility policy in Mexico, and nanotechnology-related disciplines and sectors, this paper’s findings suggest that mobility policies are crucial in creating high-quality individual research skills, but that their impact on building domestic research capacity may be modest. This paper contributes to the evaluation literature on national research training programs and their influence on research capacity in two ways. First, it mobilizes a multilevel analytical approach to examine the effects of policies on individuals and organizations, offering a broader conceptualization of impact. Second, by introducing these individual and organizational effects, the paper provides insights into how effects are enacted and transferred.
... Yılmaz BAYAR, Laura DIACONU (MAXIM) Two other important aspects for companies' innovative process are the quality and organization of vocational training and continuous skills development at the workplace (Brockmann, Clarke and Winch, 2011). The idea according to which there is a strong link between vocational training and innovation is widely accepted (Makkonen and Lin 2012;OECD, 2011). The findings of several researches underline that the vocational training is influenced not only by the relations between employee and employer, but also by the connections between the business and political environment (Harhoff and Kane, 1997;Culpepper and Thelen, 2008). ...
... The role of institutions has also been acknowledged. 2 Yet, early institutional contributions moving from a national system of innovation perspective, mainly focused on the country-level determinants of innovation (Freeman, 1987;Lundvall, 1992;Nelson, 1993;Patel and Pavitt, 1994;Metcalfe, 1995;OECD, 1997), while more micro-level analyses have been developing thenceforth. Among the latter, a growing strand of empirical research has devoted attention to the relationship between labor flexibility and the firms' innovative performance (Guarascio et al., 2019;Wachsen and Blind, 2016;Franceschini and Mariani, 2015;Kleinknecth et al., 2014;Malgarini et al., 2013;Dekker et al., 2011;Altuzarra and Serrano, 2010;Lucidi and Kleinknecht, 2009;Michie and Sheenan, 2003). ...
An established tenet of the literature is that the use of flexible labor tends to lead to less innovation. Yet, less attention has been paid to the possibility that it is the decision to innovate that conversely generates the incentive to hire on a permanent basis. The main goal of this paper is to show the existence of interlocking complementarities between the firm's technological and employment strategies. To do so, we develop a simple model where the workers' decision to invest in human capital is affected by the type of employment contract (temporary vs permanent) and by the type of technological investments (routine vs innovative). When the firm is unable to coordinate its actions across these different domains, two equilibria simultaneously exist: in the "high-road" equilibrium, firms invest more in innovative projects and hire on a permanent basis; in the "low-road" equilibrium, they invest more in routine projects and hire on a temporary basis.
... Innovation has been seen as fundamental for the efficiency and growth of the business organizations by many authors (Miller, 2001;Cohen and Soto 2007;Ahlstrom, 2010) as well as being the leading component of the international competition (Teece, 1992). According to OECD definition, HC means using different and new skills and competencies in order to maintain a competitive advantage as HC has been considered as an essential dimension of innovation (OECD, 2011). Using HC with innovative competencies is a modern way of gaining competitive advantage (Becker, 1993). ...
... lack of implementation and uptake of biorefineries in South Africa, this technoscientific-economic focus on knowledge should be critiqued, even though most literature on innovation recommends technical and entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition as the main reason for individuals to collaborate(OECD, 2011;Sammarra & Biggiero, 2008). This includes the SA government's Bioeconomy strategy. ...
The aim of this study is to deploy and develop technological systems of innovation (TIS) (the dominant approach to explaining the functions of an eco-innovation system) to account for the current status of the forestry-products biorefinery innovation system in South Africa, and the role that the knowledge network and individuals within it play in expediating the uptake of biorefinery technologies in South Africa. TIS tends to not explicitly consider the role of the individual, as it predominantly refers to the actor or organisational level, a shortcoming this thesis addresses. To this end, the thesis interrogates three sets of research questions: (a) how collaborative is South Africa’s forestry-products biorefinery innovation system? (b) what are the dynamics of the knowledge network associated with South Africa’s forestry-products biorefinery innovation system? and (c) who are the key leverage professionals in the forestry-products biorefinery innovation system?
... The recent dramatic increase in the number of doctoral graduates in OECD countries (Auriol, 2010;OECD, 2015) has stimulated notable international attention on the relation between Ph.D. studies and the labour market (European Higher Education Policy, 2020 Ó 2020 International Association of Universities 0952-8733/20 www.palgrave.com/journals Despite this, with the exception of some recent studies (Gaeta, 2013 andErmini et al., 2017 andGaeta et al., 2018;Passaretta et al. 2018, Cattaneo et al., 2019, the occupational outcomes of Ph.D. holders in this country remain an underexplored field of research. ...
A growing international literature has recently focused on the employment outcomes of Ph.D. holders, nowadays considered a strategic resource able to improve innovation and growth in contemporary knowledge economies. This article adds to previous studies by analyzing job satisfaction determinants among Ph.D. graduates in Italy. Drawing on data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics, we investigate the role exerted by the sector of employment, the typology of work and the area of the country where the Ph.D. holders studied and work. The empirical test, based on an ordered logit model and supported by analysis of marginal effects, highlights that university remains the favourite choice and that both the public and the private sectors do not adequately enhance the public effort devoted to Ph.D. education. Moreover, it indicates the existence of a significant North–South divide, mainly due to a scarce demand for R&D jobs in southern regions, suggesting that policy makers implement a capillary strategy aimed at filling this gap. Despite the peculiarity of the Italian case, this research suggests that regional divides within countries could affect the education systems of other EU countries, which are facing the transformation of the doctorate into a variety of school of highly educated workers.
... However, innovation has often been related to new ideas, processes and products at a larger scale as compared to invention and may involve optimisation or a new use of an existing process or product. The distinction between innovation and invention may be also found in the applicative character of innovation and the demand to adapt an existing product to specific needs and requirements (Nickles, 2003;OECD, 2011). ...
... Two other important aspects for companies' innovative process are the quality and organization of vocational training and continuous skills development at the workplace (Brockmann, Clarke and Winch, 2011). The idea according to which there is a strong link between vocational training and innovation is widely accepted (Makkonen and Lin 2012;OECD, 2011). The findings of several researches underline that the vocational training is influenced not only by the relations between employee and employer, but also by the connections between the business and political environment (Harhoff and Kane, 1997;Culpepper and Thelen, 2008). ...
As suggested by the literature on endogenous growth, technological innovation plays a significant role in
economic growth. The goal of this study is to explore the empirical link between technological innovation capacity
and economic growth over the period between 2000 and 2016. By utilizing panel-type econometric models, we
specifically ask whether a number of indicators such as research and development expenditures, patent applications
and high-technology exports as the proxy of innovation play a role in the GDP formation of 20 developed and
developing countries. The evidence suggests that total patent applications growth, total labor force growth and gross
capital formation growth are statistically significant and positively correlated with economic growth. Our results
suggest interesting policy implications for the long-term growth and competitiveness benefits of investing in
technological innovation capacities and also some important insights into how investment in human capital may
contribute to an increase in economic growth.
Keywords: Innovation, competitiveness, economic growth, endogenous growth theory.
JEL Classifications: G32, L10, O31, P20.
... 2017;Dror, Gershon, 2012;Erol et al. 2012;Full- er, Clarke, 1994;Hallam, Ireson, 1999;Hebert, Link. 2006;Heilmann, Korte, 2010;Her- big, Day, 1993;Kabukcu, 2015;Markides, 2013;OECD, 2011, OECD, 2015McCrory, 2010;Muijs, Reynolds, 2011;OECD, 2014, Scott et al. 2010Scott, Bruce, 1994;Sternberg, Williams, 1996;Ulijn, Brown, 2004;Williams, 1999;Trehan, 2017, Ray, 2019. ...
... Comenzando por la sostenibilidad, ésta, en sus aspectos fundamentales -económico, social y medioambiental-debe basarse en las personas, pues no se podría conseguir si los grupos de interés que sostienen el proyecto empresarial, más empoderados, no adquieren consciencia de la repercusión social y medioambiental de la actividad empresarial(Schwab, 2016;Leon, 2018a;Roblek et al., 2018;Zhalilo, 2018).En cuanto a la innovación, diversos estudios(OECD, 2011;Qiu et al., 2015;Delgado-Verde et al., 2016;Wallace et al., 2016;Buenechea-Elberdin et al., 2017;Shujahat et al., 2017; Akay y Kunday, 2018;Basilio, 2018;Shujahat et al., 2018) muestran la clara relevancia de las personas tanto en la generación como en la adopción de innovaciones, generalmente mediante la intervención de otros factores, como los procesos de conocimiento, la capacidad de aprendizaje organizacional o la cultura organizacional. Por otra parte, debe advertirse que "innovar por innovar" carece de sentido: la adopción precipitada de innovaciones puede conducir al desastre.En cuanto a las capacidades, comenzando por la flexibilidad organizacional, ésta no se puede conseguir si las personas en la empresa no son también flexibles: los directivos deben procurar que las persona empleadas reduzcan su nivel de resistencia al cambio (Sopelana-Gato, 2016).Considerando la ambidestreza, aunque algunas experiencias empresariales la han desarrollado desde un planteamiento organizacional, la tendencia más general es impulsarla en todas las personas de la empresa (Basilio, 2018).Pasando a la capacidad de aprendizaje organizacional, las personas crean esta capacidad(López-Cabrales et al., 2011), y ambas conjuntamente son los principales determinantes de la innovación(Hsu y Fang, 2009;Qiu et al., 2015;Buenechea-Elberdin et al., 2017). ...
The current and expected future complexity of the economic and social environment appears to be far superior to previous stages, due to the third wave of globalization, with multipolarization of technological advancement and relocation of certain sectors, and the "fourth industrial revolution", with enormous scientific and technological advances that are capable of disruptive innovations. But complexity is associated with uncertainty and volatility; thus, the new environment presents unique characteristics of turbulence. This paper analyzes the potential impacts of the new situation on people and its relationship with the organizations. We consider the possibilities and implications of the application of new technologies, and collaboration with artificial intelligent systems, to get "improved" humans; also the greater empowerment of the people in the organizations, the possible impact on employment, and increased valuation of the organizations' purpose. Then we discuss the future relevance of people in companies, estimating that by the characteristics of the new environment this relevance will be critical; the company must be more human ("new business humanism"). Also, we analyse the qualities (values and capabilities) that persons must meet to bring value to their organizations in the future.
... Scientists represent a relatively small proportion of the total population, but their significance is quite high (OECD, 2010). Given that they have specialized education and their contribution to science, one should expect that scientists will play an important role in knowledge economy and improve competitiveness of a country. ...
TThe aim of the paper is to examine the interdependence of the selected indicators from the Global Competitiveness Report and the Innovation pillar, which is used as a proxy indicator of the science competitiveness. This relationship is analyzed within the sample of 9 countries. The analysis uses available information sources in WEFs annual reports. The key contribution of this paper consists in providing clearer into factors competitiveness in the analyzed countries and pointing out the priority actions for the authorities to improve and increase the competitiveness level of science, and its contribution to the national economy competitiveness level. The research results can serve policy makers in shaping strategies and policies for the competitiveness improvement and the future of economic development in the analyzed countries.
... Skills mapping for research and innovation is even more complicated, as analyzed by the OECD 48 . First of all the definitions of both skills and innovation are rather broad. ...
The global competition and related international academic mobility in science and research is rising. Within this context, Europe faces quantitative skills shortages, including an estimate of between 800,000 and one million researchers. Within Europe skills imbalances and mismatches increase, with a growing divergence between countries and regions, in particular between the North and South, in terms of their ability to invest and attract human and financial capital for R&D. As a result intra-European mobility is not only on the rise, but may easily turn from an intended brain circulation into a brain drain – brain gain situation. From a qualitative perspective solutions to the skills shortages and imbalances relevant to science and innovation require the training of a broad mix of skills, which is currently provided to only in a minority of students in European higher education institutions and programmes. Will the intra-European flows of human and financial capital for R&D result in a further concentration of the minds in a limited number of regions or hubs in Europe? Is this (un)avoidable or (un)desirable? The further concentration of talent appears to be Europe’s fate. These forces play out quite differently across the various disciplinary fields. In general the “STEM fields” (including engineering, natural, life and medical sciences) are already most internationalized and especially their experimental branches require the highest concentration of financial and human resources for large-scale and high-tech research infrastructure. The current combination of mobility and funding flows and trends seems to cause an increasing concentration of especially high-tech research capacity (in the natural and life sciences) in a limited number of regional hubs, which is likely to the detriment of the broad comprehensive profile of universities in certain weaker regions and countries in Europe. Those institutions may have to choose more specialized profiles, focusing more on less (human and financial) capital- intensive fields in the social sciences and the humanities.
Keywords: Academic Mobility, International Research Careers, Skills Shortages, R&D Concentration, University Profiles
Research and Occasional Papers Series CSHE 3.15, University of California Berkeley: Centre for Studies in Higher Education. http://www.cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/international-academic-mobility-towards-concentration-minds-europe
... Skills are described, on the one hand, as human characteristics which can develop through education, training and experience although personal traits play an impor- tant role in developing some skills (OECD, 2011). On the other hand, skills can be described as "generalizable attributes of individuals that confer advantage in the labour market" (Esposto, 2008). ...
This handbook was created as a part of the SOCCES project. SOCCES stands for SOCial Competences, Entrepreneurship and Sense of Initiative – Development and Assessment Fra- mework. SOCCES was a two-year project running from 1/2/2015 to 31/1/2017 and funded by European Commission Erasmus+ Programme. It involved seven partners from six European countries. The aim was to develop an assessment framework for transversal competences. SOCCES focused two competences, Sense of Initiative and Entrepreneurship, and Social Competences.
This handbook provides teachers with the means to:
• Define and describe these entrepreneurial and social competences for their students
• Support students with the development of these competences in an inclusive, virtually enabled setting
• Assess and provide feedback to their students on how they are progressing in the deve- lopment of entrepreneurial and social competences
And it provides learners with:
• The means to describe, self-assess and benchmark their entrepreneurial and social competences
• The language to articulate these competences to others such as teachers and employers
• A means to develop with them in an accessible, virtually enabled environment
This project received funding from the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme under grant agree ment N° 20141UK01KA203001660
... In recent year, meta-cognitive, soft, transversal or entrepreneurial skills, have been in the centre of discussion among researchers, education institutes, authorities and decision makers. Transferable competences are defined as competences that can be transferred from one job to another [5]. They are sometimes also called transversal, generic, soft or employment competences. ...
Considerable technological changes have modified our world during the last centuries. Jobs and their content evolve with such a space that anticipation of future skills requirements is extremely challenging. Huge expectation are set on education in bringing the appropriate solutions. Especially higher education (HE) should assure that graduates are agile, have a solid understanding of how the workplaces work. Graduates should be prepared see how their skills fit into to the changing environments of working life and for moving across jobs and sectors. The challenges of higher education are not limited to the changing requirements of working life. Also the learners and their expectations and practices have changed. Most adult learners benefit from internet to find and make use of information on their own. People tend to avoid long, drawn out courses that take time to work through, and prefer to use short pieces of content-both instructional and informational-and share ideas and information with others. Learning happens much outside the class room by being immersed in work or in social networks, gradually assimilating new ideas and experiences, in many instances unintentionally and without even realising it. Formal learning should adapt to the wave and adjust the offering to the real-life context of the learners. Digitalisation including eLearning needs to be developed as an essential part of higher education. The goal of this study was to increase knowledge on the competences needed in different working environments of nurses and to improve nursing students' employability skills. Nineteen private, public and third sector nurses' employers were interviewed in Southern Finland. The EntreComp Framework was used in the interviews which were audio-video recorded. The most essential competences of nurses turned out to be: 1) mobilizing recourses (e.g. evidence-based nursing and clinical nursing skills), 2) mobilizing others (e.g. interaction skills), 3) taking the initiative (e.g. initiative, independency, and professionality), 4) coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk (e.g. decision making, acting under pressure and stress) and 5) working with others (e.g. team-working, cooperation). In the future the special attention needs e.g. language skills, technological skills, knowledge searching skills, multicultural skills, ability to comply with changes, interaction and guiding skills and knowledge to care for different patient groups. To succeed in answering to the changing requirements of working-life, business and universities should share the responsibility and create awareness on both sides of the complexities of the other. This collaboration should also enable development of internships which really enable students to develop their skills in various aspects and learn to take over responsibilities. Students should recognise their own role and responsibility and take an active role in learning and develop their ability to assess their performance and match it to those of the field where they wish to work. Higher education should act as a facilitator of learning in the collaboration where all partners, education, business and learners, assure their active role and responsibilities. This is this only way how the challenges of future working-life skills can be assured efficiently.
This report aims to support the government of Croatia in developing its skills agenda, with specific attention to skills needed to support smart specialization policy - “smart skills.” Croatia adopted its Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) in 2016 with the objective of transforming into a knowledge-based economy through targeted support for research and innovation. However, the S3 and other national development strategies have so far underprioritized skills. The skills agenda will receive more attention in the new (second phase) S3 and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). This report provides analytical input and guidance to these processes, with a focus on smart specialization. Based on data analysis, document review, and interviews with Croatian stakeholders, the report summarizes global and local trends in skills demand and describes the supply of skills and existing skill gaps in Croatia. It also reviews Croatia’s skills development system and policy agenda, identifies the major systemic challenges, and proposes possible actions for reform to close skill gaps.
Creativity is a valuable skill for instructional designers. However, few studies have researched creativity in instructional design (ID) graduate courses. Future professionals' creative thinking is necessary to address societal, technological, and economic challenges. Developing creative thinking in novice instructional designers could allow them to generate creative solutions to ill-structured problems in real-world contexts. This multiple case study investigated the extent to which the nine core courses in an online instructional design master’s program encouraged creativity. We conducted a document analysis of course materials for each course, to analyze whether creativity indicators derived from creativity literature were present. Subsequently, a cross-case synthesis was used to identify patterns across the cases. Semi-structured interviews of the lead course instructors were conducted to evaluate the extent to which they deliberately included creativity concepts into the course design process. Results indicated core courses include learning activities and instructional strategies with the potential to foster creativity. However, explicit references mentioning creativity or being creative were only found in three courses. Lead instructors considered creativity an important aspect of teaching and learning and a concept that needs to be further developed and discussed in ID education. Implications for instructional design education are discussed.
This paper investigates the relationship between temporary workers and innovation. We model a firm’s choice concerning: (i) the mix of temporary and permanent workers; (ii) the optimal level of training intensity that firms choose by best-responding to the worker’s human capital investments. Results suggest that the innovation-enhancing combination of temporary and permanent workers exists and is unique. Using micro-data on Italian firms, we then find that the relationship between the firm-level share of temporary workers and innovation has indeed an inverted U form, in line with our theoretical expectations. This suggests that studies assuming a linear association may oversimplify the complex relationship between non-standard labor and innovation.
This paper seeks to illustrate what types of soft skills are needed in the different phases of the innovation process. Attention here is directed mostly to the soft skills important for getting started with innovation and it is subsequently explained how the lack of certain soft skills, such as self-efficacy, can prevent people from engaging in innovative and entrepreneurial activities even if they clearly see an appealing problem to solve. While it would become too comprehensive to provide a full list of soft skills needed for that, it will become clear that various skills are needed and that indeed innovation is a team act. Not one person alone holds all the people skills needed.
This article argues that the development of innovation competences should take a more formalised role within the national education curriculum. The authors have developed a list of eighteen competences based on literature review and consultations with experts, with empirical results from a national study commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Development. The main purpose of the study was to propose a set of measures and recommendations in regard to the national reform of the education system in Poland. Based on extensive empirical data from that study the authors propose a set of hypotheses necessary to further investigate the possible relationships between variables analysed during the study commissioned by the Ministry, which include some of the demographic characteristics of Polish teachers in regard to their attitudes towards those competences. Although this is not the first endeavour in research on education to develop such a set of competences, the added value of this particular study is the acceptance and implementation of the research findings as a national benchmark in the Polish national education system. The results are of value to both teachers and teacher educators, and we position our research as Translational Research, attempting to bridge the gap between basic research and the world of practice, which involves teachers, as well as school and system-level leaders.
The role of the media as an instrument of influence and manipulation continues to grow nowadays. However, against the background of the rapid development of information and communication technologies, their importance and accessibility are increasing. Thus, in our time, public opinion depends directly on the political situation in the country, so the media are actively involved in the political process.
Bu çalışmanın amacı, TR Dizin kapsamında eğitim fakültesi bünyesinde yayımlanan eğitim dergilerindeki matematik eğitimi içerikli makalelerin yöntemsel eğilimlerini belirlemektir. Bu amaç ile birlikte TR Dizin kapsamında yer alan 32 eğitim dergisinin 2015-2020 yılları arasındaki cilt ve sayılarında yayınlanmış matematik eğitimi alanındaki makaleler incelenmiştir. Bu dergilerde belirlenen zaman aralıklarında 8144 adet makaleye ulaşılmıştır. Bu makalelerin başlıkları, özetleri, anahtar kelimeleri ve içerikleri irdelendiğinde, 904 adet makalenin matematik eğitimi alanında yapılmış olduğu belirlenmiştir. Çalışmada, betimsel içerik analizi kullanılmıştır. İçerik analizi yapılırken makalenin yöntemi, yöntembilimi, örneklemi, veri toplama aracı ve analiz açıklaması dikkate alınmıştır. Elde edilen veriler, tablo ve grafikler yardımıyla sunularak yüzde ve frekansa dayalı olarak yorumlanmıştır. Çalışmanın bulgularına göre, makalelerin yarısından fazlasının nitel araştırma yöntemi ile yapıldığı ve durum çalışmasının en fazla tercih edilen desen olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Makalelerdeki örneklemlerin çoğunlukla öğrenci olduğu ve daha çok lisans ile ortaokul öğrencilerine yer verildiği belirlenmiştir. Veri toplama aracı olarak ölçeklerin, analizlerde ise nicel kestirimsel analizlerin sıklıkla kullanıldığı görülmüştür. Çalışma sonunda, matematik eğitimi alanında yapılan araştırmaların yöntemsel eğilimlerinin çeşitlendirilmesi gerektiğine vurgu yapılarak, bu alanda benzer çalışmalar yapmayı planlayan araştırmacılara yardımcı olabilecek önerilerde bulunulmuştur.
La diffusione del Covid-19 nel corso del 2020 ha comportato cambiamenti
epocali nei comportamenti dei cittadini di tutto il mondo. Per cercare di comprendere
e anticipare le reazioni indotte in particolare dal lockdown sull’agire
umano, il gruppo di ricerca Mutamenti Sociali, Valutazione e Metodi
(MUSA) del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Ricerche sulla
Popolazione e le Politiche Sociali (CNR-IRPPS) ha istituito a marzo 2020
l’Osservatorio sui Mutamenti Sociali in Atto – Covid-19 (MSA-Covid-19)
con due primari obiettivi: indagare gli effetti dell’improvvisa interruzione
dell’interazione fisica nelle reti sociali, parentali e amicali, e studiare le conseguenze
del confinamento domestico, che ha prodotto una inedita intensificazione
della prossimità tra soggetti coabitanti. Attraverso un approccio
psicosociale, sono state condotte due ricerche su scala nazionale riguardanti
una molteplicità di dimensioni di analisi e di variabili afferenti al pensiero
e all’azione individuale. Il capitolo illustra i principali temi oggetto di indagine
e le informazioni fino ad oggi prodotte dall’Osservatorio, che riguardano
l’uso del tempo libero e del web, l’iperconnessione, gli stereotipi di
genere e la violenza di genere, la fiducia sistemica, le emozioni primarie e
le strategie di coping. Nella trattazione di queste tematiche vengono prese
in considerazione comparazioni significative tra i dati della prima e della
seconda ricerca.
Формулювання проблеми. Підготовка до інноваційної діяльності майбутніх фахівців, що на теперішній час є одним з головних завдань освіти, вимагає насамперед обов’язкового опанування понятійним апаратом інноватики, в якій і досі не існує чітко сформованої терміносистеми. На сьогодні існує величезна кількість визначень поняття «інновації» в залежності від сфери застосування результатів інноваційної діяльності. Найчастіше разом з поняттям «інновація» використовують такі споріднені поняття як «відкриття», «винахід», «новація», «нововведення», якими нерідко заміняють «інновацію», вважаючи їх синонімами. «Новація», «нововведення», «інновація» є широко вживаними в україномовних та російськомовних джерелах, при цьому в англомовних джерелах найчастіше поняття «інновація» є загальним та включає в себе всі ці три поняття. Метою статті є семантичний аналіз базових термінів інноватики, аналіз відмінностей в схожих за змістом поняттях, і, як наслідок, формулювання загальних для різних галузей означень понять «новація», «нововведення», «інновація».
Матеріали і методи. У дослідженні використовувалися такі методи: аналіз і синтез змісту філософських, культурологічних, лінгвістичних, економічних, технічних, психолого-педагогічних, історичних наукових та методичних досліджень проблеми формування понятійного апарату інноватики; порівняльно-історичний, ретроспективний методи; структурно-логічний аналіз.
Результати. Проведений в роботі етимологічний аналіз слів «відкриття», «винахід», «новація», «нововведення», «інновація» (в українській, російській, англійській мовах) надав можливість зрозуміти закладену сутність цих слів на початку їх появи. Окреме дослідження походження пари слів «новація – інновація» на основі аналізу подібних пар латинських слів надало роз’яснення смислового навантаження залучення латинської приставки «in-» до первинного слова. При аналізі україномовних, російськомовних та англомовних наукових праць з інноватики виявилась суттєва розбіжність у використанні основних термінів. Семантичний аналіз понять «новація», «нововведення», «інновація», визначення особливостей використання цих понять у філософії, культурології та економіці надали можливості виокремити співпадіння у смисловому навантаженні та спільні частини формулювань у їх означеннях. На основі проведеного дослідження запропоновано використання термінів «новація», «нововведення», «інновація» в інноватиці, як окремих категорій, та сформульовано загальні означення цих понять для будь-якої галузі застосування.
Висновки. Проведене дослідження виявило існування великої кількості розбіжностей, неточностей і протиріч у означеннях понять, невідповідностей термінології в різних мовах. Запропоновані в роботі формулювання загальних означень понять, які відповідають стадіям інноваційного процесу, надають можливість у подальшому розробити онтологічну модель в інноватиці, визначити її структуру та взаємозв’язки між об’єктами, що також має важливе значення для представлення даних в алгоритмічному машино-інтерпретованому вигляді. Формування понятійного апарату, чіткої термінології, формулювання загальних для різних галузей означень базових понять є необхідним етапом становлення та подальшого розвитку інноватики.
Technological advancements initially made it possible for individuals with different cultures from different parts of the world to consider working together, and eventually collaboration turned into a necessity. Based on this necessity, OECD measured collaborative problem-solving (CPS) competencies of 15-year-old students from the countries participating in PISA assessment in 2015. The objective of this study is to examine the data on Turkey from PISA 2015 CPS survey through Deterministic-Input, Noisy-Or-Gate (DINO) cognitive diagnostic model and to determine the students’ levels of CPS competencies as well as difficulty levels of these competencies. In this context, primarily, attributes of CPS competency domain were examined and the model with the most appropriate number of attributes, classification accuracy and consistency was determined for the analysis of PISA 2015 CPS data. The sample of this descriptive study consists of 435 students. As a result of the analysis, the Q-matrix of the model data fit was observed to have the best goodness-of-fit when it had three attributes whereas model fit and classification consistency decreased as the number of attributes increased. Furthermore, the easiest competency for Turkish students was determined to be ‘taking appropriate action to solve the problem’ while the most difficult was ‘establishing and maintaining shared understanding’. Finally, latent class distribution exposed that 56% of the students did not have any of the competencies, and 35% had all. Results of this examination indicate that all CPS competencies of Turkish students need improvement.
This paper uses Transactional Management Theory to examine the extent to which an organisational culture is apt to encourage organisational innovation by using reward mechanisms. We gathered responses from 208 middle managers in the United States and Mexico where firms acquire varying blends of organisational orientations and leadership styles. We found performance orientation, modesty, humane orientation and power distance to be significantly related to reward mechanisms, but not all positively. We also found that the practice of rewarding innovation creates value in such a practice.
The study investigates the role of foreign technology licensing and the moderating effects of employee training and research and development (R&D) on the foreign technology licensing–innovation relationship in Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). This research focus is important because prior works on this research stream tend to concentrate on large economies such as China, while little has been done to examine this issue at the firm level in the ASEAN context. Moreover, no empirical studies to date have investigated the moderating effect of employee training, as a proxy for absorptive capacity, on the foreign technology licensing–firm innovation relationship. The study utilizes several novel ordinal regression models to address some popular limitations of the standard ordinal regression model. In addition, the propensity score matching (PSM) method is utilized to account for the endogeneity problem. The study is based on data from the Enterprise Surveys conducted by the World Bank in 2015–2016. The empirical results reveal that foreign technology licensing is positively associated with innovation at a higher degree of radicalness. Furthermore, both employee training and R&D positively moderate the foreign technology licensing–innovation relationship.
In recent years, companies have faced significant changes in the way in which they manage the generation and development of innovation. The diffusion of the open innovation model, the phenomenon of converging technologies and the widespread applications of digitalization require companies not only to redesign their organizational structures and processes but also to redefine the skillset of the employees in charge of the innovation activities. Adopting a micro level of analysis, the chapter draws attention to the way in which the different tangible and intangible dimensions of human capital have been analyzed in the literature in relation to innovation. Then, the aim and the structure of the book are described. Offering emerging insights into the human side of innovation through the lenses of emotional and social intelligence competencies, this book aims to advance the understanding of the relevance of behavioral competencies in fostering the innovation process.
To develop and assess the emotional and social intelligence competencies that entrepreneurs and innovation professionals should mobilize in their innovation endeavor, the competency-based framework can be adopted in companies and higher education institutions to guide the design of effective educational programs and human resource management practices. The chapter offers methodological recommendations to design courses for competency development based on the intentional change theory and provides indications to recruiters and employers to assess the competency profile that candidates should manifest in the workplace to boost innovation.
The focus on the professional success of recent graduates and the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for this purpose has been gaining prominence due to the transformations occurred in the last decades.
In view of the above, it is imperative that HEIs strive to improve the employability of their graduates, in an effort to match the characteristics of the new generations and business needs.
In this way, and in order to follow up on a first study aimed at companies in the area of tourism, it is intended to identify the practices of recruitment and selection and transversal skills requested from candidates, by companies in the areas of engineering and services. It was possible to notice that companies essentially use the internet and social networks to look for candidates, essentially use the Europass CV model, are concerned with the competencies and professional experience acquired by applicants, and consider transversal skills as being highly relevant, with emphasis on learning, work teamwork and ethical behavior, to the detriment of persuasion, general culture and leadership.
With these data it is possible to help graduates to improve their employability by leading them to develop appropriate tools and strategies, encouraging an active stance of looking for opportunities and constant improvement of their academic and professional career.
Purpose
Studies on personal characteristics that influence managers' performance in their jobs and their ability to innovate focus mainly on for-profit organizations. We argue that non-profit organizations (NPOs) differ substantially from for-profit organizations in their organizational set-up and processes, so the skills they demand from their managers and employees also differ. We undertake this research to explore the personal factors that could be particularly relevant to managers' performance and innovativeness in the non-profit sector.
Design/methodology/approach
We conduct a qualitative, model-building study to derive the personal factors that influence managers' intention to perform and to innovate and their behavior in that regard. The base of our analysis is 15 interviews with knowledgeable informants who either work in NPOs, provide services to them or perform research about them.
Findings
We derive 14 personal factors that can be aggregated into four categories—experience, virtues and vices, interpersonal skills and management skills—each of which affect NPO managers' individual performance and/or individual innovativeness.
Originality/value
This study adds to existing research on Ajzen's (1985) Theory of Planned Behavior by extending it to the nonprofit context, so it contributes to the literature on individuals' behavioral intentions.
The main question guiding this paper is ‘how are innovation laboratories a potential source of assistance for businesses in undertaking innovation projects?' Because of the focused and case-based nature, the extant literature on innovation laboratories falls insufficient in explaining the functional contributions of innovation laboratories towards a systematic, efficient, effective, and ultimately successful innovation management of products, processes and services of business organizations. In this esteem, the present study examines the current practices and functioning of innovation laboratories in field settings by employing a multistep research methodology. As a result, eight key functionalities and thirty associated offerings of innovation laboratories that add substantial value in maximizing the chances of success are herein determined and discussed. Moreover, the findings reveal that a particular innovation laboratory focuses on only a subset of identified functionalities and thereby influences the innovation process at a different stage and in a different manner. Accordingly, the paper debates the impacts of different functionalities towards the innovation process.
Research and development activities are one of the main drivers for progress, economic growth and wellbeing in many societies. This article proposes a text mining approach applied to a large amount of data extracted from job vacancies advertisements, aiming to shed light on the main skills and demands that characterize first stage research positions in Europe. Results show that data handling and processing skills are essential for early career researchers, irrespective of their research field. Also, as many analyzed first stage research positions are connected to universities, they include teaching activities to a great extent. Management of time, risks, projects, and resources plays an important part in the job requirements included in the analyzed advertisements. Such information is relevant not only for early career researchers who perform job selection taking into account the match of possessed skills with the required ones, but also for educational institutions that are responsible for skills development of the future R&D professionals.
As higher education has expanded and opened up to a more diverse body of students, it has become increasingly accountable to a wider range of stakeholders, including students and families, graduates entering the labour market, employers, and other members of society. Although these groups may have different objectives and motives (OECD, 2008b), they all expect higher education to be of high quality and relevant. This chapter aims to identify some of the ways in which relevance in higher education can be enhanced. This chapter is organised as follows. First, it reflects on the factors that may influence how relevance is defined and accounted for in the higher education policy agenda. Second, it presents four categories of policy levers, commonly used by state authorities to steer their institutions to promote relevance within their higher education systems. Third, it provides a mapping of policy areas whereby the relevance of higher education can be enhanced at the system level and across the main functions of higher education – education, research and engagement with the wider world. The chapter concludes with a reflection on how institutions, by understanding the policy mechanisms applied in their national contexts, can design better institutional strategies to ensure that higher education delivers good outcomes and remains relevant to its stakeholders.
Firms operate in particular social contexts, characterized by the national, social and economic institutions, which influence the social conditions of innovative activity. Governance institutions have an effect on strategic control, employment institutions influence organizational integration and investment institutions shape financial commitment. This chapter examines whether these social and economic factors matter for the emergence of innovative firms in a less-developed economy context. This is an important aspect since the social conditions are variables that can be influenced by government policies and managers.
The chapter explains that the single typical user of open government data does not exist. Therefore, data suppliers should take a five-step approach in the design of the user oriented policy: (1) define its objective(s) of open data, (2) recognise and identify the user types needed to arrive at the objectives, (3) assess the appropriateness of the identified users, (5) satisfy the needs. Although it will always be a challenging endeavour to satisfy all users to the fullest extent of their needs and/or demands, it is recommended to involve users in the decision-making processes related to open data: a shift from supply-to user-driven open data provision is a key step in open data management.
The meaning, reach, and impact of internationalization in higher education varies strongly between types of institutions, academic disciplines, and professional fields. This is dependent on the extent to which these are subject to - or key agents of - globalization. STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) is a particular case in point, as its research is organised in a global science system and engineering is among the most globalized of the regulated professions. At strategic level, performance in STEM strongly defines the standing of the university in global rankings and is central to global competition between West and East (new players such as China and Singapore) in key areas for innovation, economic growth and geo-strategic positioning. Star STEM institutions are seeking new cross and interdisciplinary combinations to prepare their students for successful careers to stand out in the top tech of the 21st century. What does this imply for internationalization of the curriculum? Are the usual concepts and categories still relevant?
The article investigates the effects of technology-intensive work on participation in lifelong learning, job-skills, skills needs and problem-solving skills in technology-rich environments. Technology development and its consequences are the driving force behind most of the changes in jobs and at workplaces and, thus, behind continuous learning and skills development throughout people’s careers. The following four hypotheses were tested: Those in technology-intensive work (H1) have higher technology-related problem-solving skills, in all age groups; (H2) participate more in job-related learning and training, in all age groups; (H3) have (therefore) fewer general, job-related skills needs, in all age groups; and (H4) have fewer ICT-specific learning needs, in all age groups, than those in non-technology-intensive work. The hypotheses testing was adjusted for gender and educational background. The study draws from data from the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). PIAAC is ground-breaking in the sense that it assessed problem-solving skills in technology-rich environments for the first time ever on a large scale and as a single dimension. The study is limited to those aged 40–65 years, currently working, in the four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The findings confirmed the first and the second hypothesis but not the third and fourth. The implications of the findings are discussed in regard to theory and practice in job-related lifelong learning.
In today’s world, for wealth creation, capital should be invested in a manner of leading to innovation and human development. This kind of wealth creation, is generally discussed in the concept of intellectual capital (IC). There is a widespread belief in the literature that IC is a phenomenon based on interactions and interdependencies among its components. In this paper, it was investigated the impact of innovation capital (INVC) on firm market value and moderating effect of human capital (HC) on this relation. Experimental models were based on Ohlson (1995) model. INVC and HC were measured by using proxy variables derived from accounting data. This paper concludes that INVC can be considered to be value-relevant to market participants, and HC augments the role of INVC in reinforcing firm's market value. As a managerial implication, managers should consider the interaction between HC and INVC when developing a strategy of utilizing intangible assets for sustainable performance.
This chapter examines the role of higher education institutions among the various programmes, community and private sector initiatives within a regional milieu and specifically an entrepreneurial ecosystem. We use data collected from a set of sixteen interviews with service providers to the entrepreneurship community in Adelaide, Australia, to construct a framework of the perceived roles and contributions of the university sector to an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The contribution of this chapter relates to its focus on what universities are expected to contribute within a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. The findings suggest five specific roles for universities which opens a discussion around the strategic choices for university executive management in approaching regional engagement in economic development issues through contributions to entrepreneurship. We also discuss the issue of governance that arises through our analysis and the implications for place-based and regional entrepreneurial ecosystem development.
The employment effect of climate policy has emerged as an important concern of policy makers, not least in the USA. Yet the impact of climate policy on jobs is complex. In the short term, jobs will shift from high-carbon activities to low-carbon activities. The net effect could be job creation, as low-carbon technologies tend to be more labour-intensive, at least in the short term until efficiency gains bring down costs. In the medium term, the effect will be felt economy-wide as value chains and production patterns adjust. This effect is more difficult to gauge, particularly if climate policy is unilateral and trade effects have to be taken into account. However, the biggest effect is expected to be long term, when climate policy will trigger widespread structural adjustment. Such episodes of 'creative destruction' are often associated with innovation, job creation and growth. Les conséquences de la politique climatique sur l'emploi émergent en tant que question importante pour les décideurs, non pour le moindre aux Etats-Unis. Cependant l'impact des politiques climatiques sur les métiers est complexe. A court terme les métiers passeront d'activités à haute intensité carbone à des activités sobres en carbone. L'effet net pourrait se sentir dans la création d'emplois, vu que les technologies sobres en carbone ont tendance à être plus intensive en main d'oeuvre, si ce n'est dans le court terme. A moyen terme, l'effet se répercutera dans toute l'économie par l'ajustement des chaînes de valeur et coûts de production. Cet effet est plus difficile à évaluer particulièrement pour une politique climatique unilatérale, et les effets sur le commerce doivent être pris en compte. Cependant l'effet le plus considérable sera à long terme, lorsque la politique climatique produira des ajustements structuraux étendus. De tels épisodes de « destruction créatrice » sont souvent associés à l'innovation, la création d'emploi et la croissance.
From the demographic profile of the 1994-1998 International Adult Literacy Survey, we derive synthetic time series over the 1960-1995 period on the literacy level of labor market entrants. This information is then used as a measure of investment in education in a two-way error correction panel data analysis of cross-country growth for a set of 14 OECD countries. The analysis indicates that direct measures of human capital based on literacy scores contain more information about the relative growth of countries than measures based on years of schooling. The results show that, overall, human capital indicators based on literacy scores have a positive and significant effect on the transitory growth path and on the long-run levels of GDP per capita and labor productivity. Quantitatively, our results indicate that the skills associated with one extra year of schooling increase aggregate labor productivity by approximately 7 %, which is consistent with microeconomic evidence (Psacharopoulos, 1994). Moreover, we find that investment in the human capital of women is more important for growth than investment in the human capital of men and that increasing the average literacy skills over all individuals has a greater effect on growth than increasing the percentage of individuals that achieve high levels of literacy skills.
This chapter investigates the evolution of industrial structure in the Canadian food processing sector and its relationship to technological change. It uses a dataset combining advanced technology use that is derived from a 1998 special survey on advanced technology use in the food sector that is linked to data on firm performance derived from administrative records covering the period 1988-1997. The chapter first examines the characteristics of firms (size, nationality, emphasis given to training, innovativeness) that adopt advanced technologies and then how the use of these technologies is related to plant performance (growth in productivity and market share). Plants that adopted more advanced technologies enjoyed superior productivity growth. Process control and network communications technologies are particularly important to productivity growth in the foodprocessing sector. Those plants that increased their relative productivity growth and used more advanced technologies saw their market share increase...
Philippe Aghion emphasises that for Europe to stimulate innovation and growth, it is not enough to increase spending on research and development and the protection of intellectual property.
The education and training market, particularly for 16 year olds, is highly competitive and an understanding of how young people make decisions about careers and how that affects and interacts with choice of further and higher education pathways is a crucially important issue. The complexity of the decision-making process has been largely under-estimated in favour of an oversimplification of the economically rational view of choice. However, young people make choices which have an impact on the relationship between labour supply and demand and, therefore, an insight into how young people make choices is fundamental to the operation of both post-compulsory education and training markets and the labour market. The models presented in this paper attempt to provide a broad picture of some of the complex perspectives and processes at work in career choice and the link between perceptions of careers and post-compulsory education and training pathways – career ‘invisibility’ and the range of complex images which influence young people's perceptions of adult world jobs; the development of a model of the careers environment in terms of a careers choice landscape; and the implications of these perspectives for careers education and guidance.
Australia experienced both rapid uptake of ICTs and strong productivity growth in the 1990s. Growth accounting has established some links between the two, but the existence of productivity gains from complementary product and process innovations remained uncertain. Analysis in this paper using firm-level data from the Australian Business Longitudinal Survey shows positive and significant links between ICT use and productivity growth in manufacturing and a range of service industry sectors. Firm-characteristics were found to be important in identifying businesses using ICTs while significant interactions were also found between ICT use and complementary organisational characteristics (including skill, improved business practices and business restructuring) in raising productivity. Transition dynamics and time lags were of importance. After an initial productivity boost associated with the uptake of selected ICTs, productivity effects were estimated to have tapered off over time. Thus, the study suggests that the ultimate productivity effect of a new innovation is a step up in levels, rather than a permanent increase in the rate of growth.
This article analyses the importance of different technological inputs (R&D and human capital) and different spillovers in explaining the differences in patenting among Spanish regions in the period 1986 to 2003. The analysis is based on the estimation of a knowledge production function. A region's own R&D activities and human capital are observed to have a positive significant effect on innovation output, measured by the number of patents. R&D spillovers weighted by the distance and the volume of trade flows between regions cause positive effects on a region's patents. However, distance matters more than the intensity of trade flows and the R&D spillover effects between regions are bounded: spillovers from closer regions perform better than spillovers from distant regions. On the opposite side, human capital spillovers do not cause any effect outside the region itself.
Science and engineering skills as well as management and leadership skills are often referred to as sources of innovative activities within companies. Broken down into sectoral innovation patterns, this article examines the role of formal education, actual occupation and work experience in the innovation performance in manufacturing firms within a probit model. It uses unique micro data for Germany (LIAB) that contain information about corporate innovation activities and the qualification of employees in terms of formal education, actual professional status and work experience. We find clear differences in the human capital endowment between sectors according to the Pavitt classification. Sectors with a high share of highly skilled employees engage in above average product innovation (specialised suppliers and science-based industries). However, according to our estimation results, across as well as within these sectors a large share of highly skilled employees does not substantially increase the probability of a firm being innovative.
The article investigates the employment effects of technology. A set of models is developed where changes in industry-level employment are explained by changes in demand, wages, by the diffusion of innovation and its market impact. The empirical test uses data from two EU innovation surveys – CIS (Community Innovation Survey) 2 (1994–1996) and CIS 3 (1998–2000) – on 10 industrial sectors and 10 European countries. The results of the models show the importance to discriminate between different strategies for innovation, between high- and low-innovation industries, and between short-term labour market effects and the long-term impact of structural change.
College students select majors for a variety of reasons, including expected returns in the labor market. This paper demonstrates an empirical method linking a census of US degrees and fields of study with measures of the knowledge content of jobs. The study combines individual wage and employment data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) with ratings on 27 knowledge content areas from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), thus providing measures of the economy-wide knowledge content of jobs. Fields of study and corresponding BA degree data from the Digest of Education Statistics for 1976-1977 through 2001-2002 are linked to these 27 content areas. We find that the choice of college major is responsive to changes in the knowledge composition of jobs and, more problematically, the wage returns to types of knowledge. Women's degree responsiveness to knowledge content appears to be stronger than men's, but their response to wage returns is weak.