Heuristics and Innovation
1. Peter M. Todd, Gerd Gigerenzer (2007) ,Environments That Make Us Smart: Ecological
Rationality , Current Directions in Psychological Science 16 (3), 167–171.
Traditional views of rationality posit general-purpose decision mechanisms based on logic
or optimization. The study of ecological rationality focuses on uncovering the "adaptive
toolbox" of domain-specific simple heuristics that real, computationally bounded minds
employ, and explaining how these heuristics produce accurate decisions by exploiting
the structures of information in the environments in which they are applied. Knowing
when and how people use particular heuristics can facilitate the shaping of
environments to engender better decisions.
2. Alan G. Sanfey (2007) ,Decision Neuroscience: New Directions in Studies of Judgment
and Decision Making ,Current Directions in Psychological Science 16 (3), 151–155.
Investigations of decision making have historically been undertaken by different
disciplines, each using different techniques and assumptions, and few unifying efforts
have been made. Economists have focused on precise mathematical models of normative
decision making, psychologists have examined how decisions are actually made based on
cognitive constraints, and neuroscientists have concentrated on the detailed operation of
neural systems in simple choices. In recent years, however, researchers in these
separate fields have joined forces in an attempt to better specify the foundations of
decision making. This interdisciplinary effort has begun to use decision theory to guide
the search for the neural bases of reward value and predictability. Concurrently, these
formal models are beginning to incorporate processes such as social reward and emotion.
The combination of these diverse theoretical approaches and methodologies is already
yielding significant progress in the construction of more comprehensive decision-making
models
3. Peter M. Todd, Gerd Gigerenzer (2007) ,Environments That Make Us Smart: Ecological
Rationality ,Current Directions in Psychological Science 16 (3), 167–171.
Traditional views of rationality posit general-purpose decision mechanisms based on logic
or optimization. The study of ecological rationality focuses on uncovering the "adaptive
toolbox" of domain-specific simple heuristics that real, computationally bounded minds
employ, and explaining how these heuristics produce accurate decisions by exploiting the
structures of information in the environments in which they are applied. Knowing when
and how people use particular heuristics can facilitate the shaping of environments to
engender better decisions.
4.
Michael A. Bishop (2006) ,Fast and Frugal Heuristics1 ,Philosophy Compass 1 (2),
201–223.
A heuristic is a rule of thumb. In psychology, heuristics are relatively simple rules for
making judgments. A fast heuristic is easy to use and allows one to make judgments
quickly. A frugal heuristic relies on a small fraction of the available evidence in making
judgments. Typically, fast and frugal heuristics (FFHs) have, or are claimed to have, a
further property: They are very reliable, yielding judgments that are about as accurate in
the long run as ideal non-fast, non-frugal rules. This paper introduces some well-known
examples of FFHs, raises some objections to the FFH program, and looks at the
implications of those parts of the FFH program about which we can have some reasonable
degree of confidence.
5. Hans Björkman (2004) ,Design Dialogue Groups as a Source of Innovation: Factors
behind Group Creativity ,Creativity and Innovation Management 13 (2), 97–108.
Sif – a Swedish national trade union for white-collar workers in Industry – has recognized
the importance of enhancing its service innovation processes through careful listening to
its members. This article will discuss the Design Dialogue Group (DDG) methodology that
has been developed through collaborative research between Sif and the Fenix Research
Program, in order to enhance group creativity and organizational learning. The emphasis
of this paper is restricted to the issue of enhancing group creativity, and literature and
empirical data will be used in order to discuss the factors enabling and restraining
creativity. The major assumption behind this study is that many factors behind group
creativity can be controlled. Thus, a careful design of the group creativity process would
increase the likelihood for success since measures to enhance creative behaviours and to
avoid pitfalls can be planned and/or taken by a group moderator. In short, the aims of
this study are twofold: (1) to relate prior research contributions to DDG experiences in
order to augment our understanding concerning factors enhancing and threatening
creativity in DDG settings and (2) to systematize these findings into a set of proposed
design principles related to domain-relevant skills, creativity-related processes, and task
motivation. These propositions concern the recruitment of participants, group
characteristics, and group processes.
6. James Allen, Andrew D. James, Phil Gamlen (2007) ,Formal versus informal knowledge
networks in R&D: a case study using social network analysis,R&D Management 37 (3),
179–196.
The existence of informal social networks within organizations has long been recognized
as important and the unique working relationships among scientific and technical
personnel have been well documented by both academics and practitioners. The growing
interest in knowledge management practices has led to increased attention being paid to
social network analysis as a tool for mapping the nature and membership of informal
networks. However, despite the knowledge-intensive nature of research and development
(R&D) activities, social network analyses of the R&D function remain relatively rare. This
paper discusses the role of informal networks in the development, exchange and
dissemination of knowledge within the R&D function. A case study using social network
analysis is used to compare and contrast formal and informal knowledge networks within
ICI. Marked differences between the informal organization and ICI's formal structures for
knowledge exchange are revealed and a series of insights into the working habits of
technical staff are presented. The implications for managers are clear: through a better
understanding of the informal organization of R&D staff, they can more successfully
capture and exploit new ideas; more efficiently disseminate information throughout the
function; and more effectively understand the working habits and activities of employees.
Intellectual Property and Technological Creativity
7. Kenneth Carlaw, Les Oxley, Paul Walker, David Thorns, Michael Nuth (2006) ,BEYOND
THE HYPE: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY/KNOWLEDGE
ECONOMY ,Journal of Economic Surveys 20 (4), 633–690
This paper explores the debates surrounding whether or not we have now moved into a
new knowledge economy and/or knowledge society and if so whether this shift is as
significant and as far reaching as the industrial revolution. In this possible transformation
the place of information communications technologies has been crucial. Debate has
occurred across both economics and sociology with differing emphases as is shown in the
ranges of definitions that we review in the paper. One consistent factor is the lack of
clarity and consistency between them both within and across the disciplines. In order to
explore the issues that the debates raises in a more grounded way, the paper explores
them in relation to intellectual property (IP) and the intellectual commons in the
process of innovation, growth and economic development. The paper is developed
through an analysis first of the industrial revolution and the role within this of
uncertainty, technologies, complementarities and elective affinities and the way IP was
protected and controlled through patents, secrecy, being first to the market and
copyright. The second part of the paper examines definitions of the knowledge economy
and society and the role within these of information communication technologies in order
to explore whether the ways that IP is protected and controlled have changed. In the
debate about the 'knowledge economy and society' the role of innovation via human
capital with a greater reliance on intellectual capabilities has been emphasized. The role
of IP thus remains central but is now challenged by the rise of new forms of
communication, which make its protection harder and move much of the concern with
respect to regulation to a global rather than national and local level.
8.
Denise Eby Konan, Sumner J. La Croix, James A. Roumasset, Jeffery Heinrich
(1995) ,Intellectual Property Rights in the Asian-Pacific Region: problems, patterns, and
policy ,Asian-Pacific Economic Literature 9 (2), 13–35.
This paper explores recent theory and evidence regarding increased protection of
intellectual property rights (ZPRs) in Asia. Knowledge has significant public good
aspects making optimal provision a problem of trading off universal access against
adequate incentives for R&D. Given the ease of evasion of IPR relative to tariffs, attempts
to push low and middleincome countries to higher levels of protection may be against
their national interests. The Uruguay Round may encounter less than enthusiastic
enforcement. Further efforts to refine IPR protection might usefully be focused on
flexibility instead of harmonisation.
Bronwyn Parry (2002) ,Cultures of Knowledge: Investigating Intellectual Property
Rights and Relations in the Pacific ,Antipode 34 (4), 679–706.
9.
Although often presented as inherently normative, Euro-American systems of
intellectual property rights (IPRs) law are, like earlier systems of biological
classification, best understood as particular, culturally defined systems for codifying
knowledge employed to discipline objects, phenomena and social relations. Despite their
partiality, such systems have successfully colonised new domains, recently underpinning
a new uniform global regime for the protection of IPRs (GATT/WTO TRIPs). In this paper I
reveal the central role that global institutions now play in accelerating the universalisation
of specific "cultures of regulation": acting as powerful vectors for the transmission of
particular types of knowledge and arbiters of the "normative" bases of global regulatory
regimes. Recent empirical evidence from the Pacific illustrates how the TRIPs regime
facilitates the commodification and appropriation of intellectual, cultural and biological
resources in that region and highlights the development of alternative sui generis
systems of IPR protection that challenge the normativity and hegemony of this regime.
The article serves as an entry point for further research into the geography of knowledge
systems—the way in which the colonisation of certain regulatory systems and forms
facilitates the pursuit of particular interests or sustains relations of domination.
Participatory Research: Farmers and Scientist
10.
Eric Van Dusen, D. Gauchan, M. Smale (2007) ,On-Farm Conservation of Rice
Biodiversity in Nepal: A Simultaneous Estimation Approach ,Journal of Agricultural
Economics 58 (2), 242–259.
This paper presents an empirical case study about farmer management of rice genetic
resources in two communities of Nepal, drawing on interdisciplinary, participatory
research that involved farmers, rice geneticists and social scientists. The decisionmaking process of farm households is modelled and estimated in order to provide
information for the design of community-based conservation programmes. A bivariate
model with sample selection examines the simultaneous process of whether farmers
decide to plant landraces or modern varieties, and whether the landraces they choose to
plant constitute the genetic diversity of interest for future crop improvement. Findings
show that the two landrace choices are affected by different social and economic factors,
but in certain cases the decision processes are interrelated. Policies to promote the
conservation of local rice diversity will need to take both processes into account.
11. Roberto La Rovere, Aden Aw‐Hassan, Francis Turkelboom, Richard Thomas (2006)
Targeting Research for Poverty Reduction in Marginal Areas of Rural Syria
Development and Change 37 (3), 627–648.
Agricultural research in marginal dry areas can contribute to reducing poverty through
the development of technological, institutional and policy options for poor farmers. Such
research should address diversified opportunities and development pathways. This
article analyses the diversity of livelihood strategies of rural people living in the
Khanasser Valley in northwestern Syria, an area that is typical of marginal drylands. It
proposes an operational classification of households based on their different livelihood
strategies, applying an integrated methodology within a Sustainable Livelihoods
framework. Households are classified into three clusters: agriculturists, labourers and
pastoralists. The article examines the diversity of livelihoods involved, and considers
where and how research should be directed to have greatest impact on poverty. Given
that rural households are not homogeneous but dynamic entities, with diverse assets,
capabilities and opportunities, the definition of household typologies can help to target
development research. The article concludes that while agriculturists benefit most, poor
labourers with enough land can also gain from pro‐poor agricultural research. The
poorest households with little land, and pastoralists, benefit little or only indirectly.
12. Mrill Ingram (2007) ,Biology and Beyond: The Science of "Back to Nature" Farming in
the United States ,Annals of the Association of American Geographers 97 (2), 298–312.
Organic farming, biodynamic farming, and other alternative approaches to agriculture are
often described in spatial terms such as "close to," "going back to," and "following"
nature, and correspondingly represent a production process that is ineluctably local,
farmer-led, and relies on minimal external inputs, especially in terms of science and
technology. In contrast to this representation, however, this article argues that going
back to nature is, and has been, a scientific process. An examination of the development
of several key ideas in alternative agriculture reveals the participation of scientists and
the pursuit of scientific research resulting in a diverse range of society-nature
relationships and agricultural technologies. By applying Bruno Latour's circulatory model
of scientific work to the endeavors of people involved in U.S. alternative agriculture, I
show how networks of people involved in alternative agriculture, like scientific disciplines,
have produced "immutable mobiles," or ideas that travel across time and space, and
have made control of knowledge as much a focus as control of crop production. This
investigation seeks to contribute to current analyses of the rise of the organic agriculture
movement and more broadly to our understanding of the dynamics of alternative groups
and the generation of alternative ideas. Latour's model proves effective for analyzing the
mechanisms through which new knowledge is generated, even outside conventional
academic disciplines. Deploying this model within a context of power, particularly
Foucault's ideas about discourse, is necessary to evaluate why some ideas prove more
successful than others.
13. DAVID BARKER, CLINTON BECKFORD (2006) ,PLASTIC YAM AND PLASTIC YAM
STICKS - PERSPECTIVES ON INDIGENOUS TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AMONG JAMAICAN
FARMERS ,Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 97 (5), 535–546.
Yam farming in Jamaica has been one of the few success stories in agriculture since
Independence in 1962. Production is entirely dominated by small farmers who have
intensified production systems. Over the last decade yam farmers experienced a 'yam
stick problem' due to the scarcity, poor quality and high prices of yam sticks. This paper
focuses on the content and contextualisation of indigenous technical knowledge among
yam farmers. The intrinsic dynamic nature of indigenous technical knowledge is revealed
by showing how farmers have adapted their cultivation methods and have themselves
innovated new ways of staking yams in efforts to solve the yam stick problem. In effect
they have had to rely on their own indigenous knowledge base as a source of new ideas.
We discuss a series of alternatives to traditional yam staking methods with a large
sample of farmers, including both real and hypothetical examples of externally-induced
innovations. Farmers' responses to these innovations are reported and analysed in the
context of Briggs' recent review of indigenous knowledge and development issues. Our
research suggests that farmer innovation is a normal consequence of coping with farming
problems. Further, farmers are not intrinsically unresponsive to externally-induced
innovations, which supports the view that 'Western science' and indigenous knowledge
are not necessarily bipolar and mutually exclusive knowledge systems. We conclude that
indigenous technical knowledge can provide a nexus for research in fostering
partnerships with farmers, NGOs and planners in their search for sustainable solutions to
the yam stick problem and broader aspects of rural development and resource
management.
14. Mark Lubell (2004) ,Collaborative Watershed Management: A View from the
Grassroots ,Policy Studies Journal 32 (3), 341–361.
To date, research on collaborative watershed management has paid scant attention to
the role of grassroots stakeholders, who are the people that actually use natural
resources. This article argues cooperation from grassroots stakeholders is necessary for
the success of collaborative management, and outlines three theoretical perspectives to
explain cooperation. The validity of these theoretical perspectives is tested using a survey
of farmer participation in the Suwannee River Partnership in Florida. The findings suggest
farmers' perceptions of policy effectiveness are largely driven by economic
considerations, whereas participation in collaborative management is linked to social
capital.
15. M W PASQUINI, M J ALEXANDER (2005) ,Soil fertility management strategies on the
Jos Plateau: the need for integrating 'empirical' and 'scientific' knowledge in agricultural
development ,The Geographical Journal 171 (2), 112–124.
Tin mining carried out on the Jos Plateau since the beginning of the last century has
disturbed some 320 km2 of agricultural land. Formal attempts at reclamation of this land
failed, but local farmers have developed a successful informal strategy for reclamation.
This paper reports on a study undertaken to comprehend the farmers''informal'
approach to soil fertility management. Their soil fertility management practices centre on
the use of a complex combination of traditional organic manures and 'modern' inorganic
fertilizers that they have developed entirely on the basis of experimentation. A central
focus of this paper is therefore the empirical knowledge base of the farmers and an
assessment of any underlying scientific explanations for their strategies, including an
analysis of their assertion that different brands of NPK fertilizers differ in their nutrient
value. This discussion is followed by a consideration of the difficulties in accessing and
understanding empirical knowledge. It is concluded that farmers' knowledge and
understanding of the values of different fertilizers and manures does have a scientific
basis. It is argued that for further agricultural development to take place on the Jos
Plateau, there must be synergy between farmers' empirical knowledge (which has led to
the development of successful and effective soil fertility management strategies, unlike
the attempts of the local 'scientific' communities) and scientific knowledge (which can
identify health and environmental hazards which may not be immediately visible to
farmers).
16
G. Page West III (2007) ,Collective Cognition: When Entrepreneurial Teams, Not
Individuals, Make Decisions, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 31 (1), 77–102.
New venture success often depends on how the founding team collectively understands
its world, estimates effects of possible actions, makes decisions, and allocates
appropriate resources. Drawing on recent work in managerial cognition and
entrepreneurship, this article argues for the importance of examining cognition at the
team level. New venture strategy is used as a springboard to discuss collective cognition,
although other important critical decision domains in new ventures may also be used to
illustrate the arguments. In this and other such decision domains, collective cognition
mediates between individual cognitions and firm actions and performance. A method for
assessing entrepreneurial top management team cognition is developed and then tested
in an exploratory study of technology-based new ventures. Two structural characteristics
of collective cognition (differentiation and integration) are strongly related to firm
performance, suggesting interesting opportunities for future entrepreneurship research
in cognition.
17.