Sample records for create innovative solutions

  1. Solution mechanism guide: implementing innovation within a research & development organization.

    PubMed

    Keeton, Kathryn E; Richard, Elizabeth E; Davis, Jeffrey R

    2014-10-01

    In order to create a culture more open to novel problem-solving mechanisms, NASA's Human Health and Performance Directorate (HH&P) created a strategic knowledge management tool that educates employees about innovative problem-solving techniques, the Solution Mechanism Guide (SMG). The SMG is a web-based, interactive guide that leverages existing and innovative problem-solving methods and presents this information as a unique user experience so that the employee is empowered to make the best decision about which problem-solving tool best meets their needs. By integrating new and innovative methods with existing problem solving tools, the SMG seamlessly introduces open innovation and collaboration concepts within HH&P to more effectively address human health and performance risks. This commentary reviews the path of creating a more open and innovative culture within HH&P and the process and development steps that were taken to develop the SMG.

  2. Disruptive innovation for social change.

    PubMed

    Christensen, Clayton M; Baumann, Heiner; Ruggles, Rudy; Sadtler, Thomas M

    2006-12-01

    Countries, organizations, and individuals around the globe spend aggressively to solve social problems, but these efforts often fail to deliver. Misdirected investment is the primary reason for that failure. Most of the money earmarked for social initiatives goes to organizations that are structured to support specific groups of recipients, often with sophisticated solutions. Such organizations rarely reach the broader populations that could be served by simpler alternatives. There is, however, an effective way to get to those underserved populations. The authors call it "catalytic innovation." Based on Clayton Christensen's disruptive-innovation model, catalytic innovations challenge organizational incumbents by offering simpler, good-enough solutions aimed at underserved groups. Unlike disruptive innovations, though, catalytic innovations are focused on creating social change. Catalytic innovators are defined by five distinct qualities. First, they create social change through scaling and replication. Second, they meet a need that is either overserved (that is, the existing solution is more complex than necessary for many people) or not served at all. Third, the products and services they offer are simpler and cheaper than alternatives, but recipients view them as good enough. Fourth, they bring in resources in ways that initially seem unattractive to incumbents. And fifth, they are often ignored, put down, or even encouraged by existing organizations, which don't see the catalytic innovators' solutions as viable. As the authors show through examples in health care, education, and economic development, both nonprofit and for-profit groups are finding ways to create catalytic innovation that drives social change.

  3. Building America Top Innovations 2013 Profile – Building America Solution Center

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    none,

    2013-09-01

    This Top Innovation profile provides information about the Building America Solution Center created by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a web tool connecting users to thousands of pieces of building science information developed by DOE’s Building America research partners.

  4. Straighttalk. Creating a climate of innovation: the healthcare industry's biggest challenge. Panel discussion.

    PubMed

    Chin, David; Rosenblatt, Alice; Simon, Greg; Lauer, Charles

    2007-10-29

    The U.S. health system is not sustainable as currently structured--innovation is necessary to fuel reform, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' report, HealthCast 2020: Creating a Sustainable Health System. But wide-scale innovation--which requires diverse players within the industry to collaborate--is difficult to achieve. In this installment of Straight Talk, leaders from WellPoint, Inc., one of the nation's largest health benefits companies, and FasterCures/The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions, a think-tank based in Washington, talk about what they're doing to nurture innovation.

  5. Innovative Learning Solutions in New Communities: Opportunities and Challenges to Teachers' Conceptions of Workspace

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Costley, Debra

    2007-01-01

    This article explores the possibilities and opportunities created by large-scale property developers for new ways of learning and working in master-planned communities. The discussion is based on the findings from research of one developer's innovative solutions to learning in newly developed communities and specifically draws on data from one…

  6. The Barrow Innovation Center Case Series: A novel 3D-printed retractor for use with electromagnetic neuronavigation systems.

    PubMed

    Bohl, Michael A; Xu, David S; Cavallo, Claudio; Paisan, Gabriella M; Smith, Kris A; Nakaji, Peter

    2018-06-01

    The Barrow Innovation Center consists of an educational program that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration among neurosurgery, legal, and engineering professionals to foster the development of new medical devices. This report describes a common issue faced during the placement of ventricular shunts for the treatment of hydrocephalus, and the solution to this problem that was developed through the Barrow Innovation Center. Neurosurgery residents involved in the Barrow Innovation Center presented the problem of ferromagnetic retractors interfering with pinless image-guidance systems at a monthly meeting. Potential solutions were openly discussed by an interdisciplinary committee of neurosurgeons, patent lawyers, and biomedical engineers. The committee decided to pursue development of a novel self-retaining retractor made of non-ferromagnetic material as a solution to the problem. Each retractor design was tested in the cadaver laboratory for size and functionality. A final design was chosen and used in a surgical case requiring ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement. The new retractor successfully retracted the scalp without interfering with the electromagnetic image-guidance system. Through the interdisciplinary Barrow Innovation Center program, a newly designed, 3-dimensional-printed skin and soft tissue retractor was created, along with an innovative universal shunt retainer. Through this integrated program dedicated to surgical innovation (i.e., the Barrow Innovation Center), the process of developing and implementing new technology at our institution has been streamlined, creating a culture of innovation within the neurosurgery training program. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. The Motivational and Information Needs of Young Innovators: Stimulating Student Creativity and Inventive Thinking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Small, Ruth V.

    2014-01-01

    Innovation is the essence of the American spirit. In the twenty-first century, it will be the innovative thinkers who will make the greatest contributions to our society, find cures for diseases, create technologies that enrich our lives, and find innovative solutions to the world's problems. Schools must provide more opportunities for students to…

  8. Big Ideas and Small Solutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tennant, Roy

    2004-01-01

    Small solutions solve discrete, well-bounded problems and can be pieces of larger solutions. They can move things forward by mixing and matching available components in new and previously unimagined ways. A number of innovations, which at first glance are completely unrelated, can come together and create important synergics. This article…

  9. Collaborative Service Learning: A Winning Proposition for Industry and Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crutsinger, Christy A.; Pookulangara, Sanjukta; Tran, Gina; Duncan, Kim

    2004-01-01

    Collaboration between industry and academia creates a win-win situation for individuals and communities. Through innovative partnering, students apply knowledge to real-world situations, institutions increase program visibility, and businesses receive innovative solutions to complex problems. This article provides a roadmap for implementing a…

  10. Connected Building Challenge – Seattle Demonstration

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Nora; Khamphanchai, Warodom; Chotibhongs, Tony

    2016-11-07

    PNNL's first-ever innovation challenge invited teams to leverage PNNL's VOLTTRON technology to create solutions that advance the growth of the smart building market. Five teams presented their solutions at Seattle's Smart Buildings Center in early August 2016. This video summarizes the event.

  11. Connected Building Challenge – Seattle Demonstration

    ScienceCinema

    Wang, Nora; Khamphanchai, Warodom; Chotibhongs, Tony; Hjortland, Andrew; David, Nigel; Bao, Han; Huang, Da-Wei; Shillingford, Kirk; Gutierrez, Lourdes; Kapadia, Priyank; Hagerman, Joe

    2018-06-13

    PNNL's first-ever innovation challenge invited teams to leverage PNNL's VOLTTRON technology to create solutions that advance the growth of the smart building market. Five teams presented their solutions at Seattle's Smart Buildings Center in early August 2016. This video summarizes the event.

  12. Allergen Challenge Chamber: an innovative solution in allergic rhinitis diagnosis.

    PubMed

    Krzych-Fałta, Edyta; Sowa, Jerzy; Wojas, Oksana; Piekarska, Barbara; Sybilski, Adam; Samoliński, Bolesław

    2015-12-01

    The Allergen Challenge Chamber (ACC) is definitely a serious challenge on the one hand and an innovative solution in allergic rhinitis diagnosis on the other. The gradual validation of the chamber (according to the test protocol) will allow for standardisation, which is a process undertaken by centres worldwide. The process of designing a consistent system that allows for creating conditions as those in the case of natural inhalation took into account all the aspects (technical specification) necessary to ensure appropriate inhalation.

  13. Innovation and social transmission in experimental micro-societies: exploring the scope of cumulative culture in young children.

    PubMed

    McGuigan, Nicola; Burdett, Emily; Burgess, Vanessa; Dean, Lewis; Lucas, Amanda; Vale, Gillian; Whiten, Andrew

    2017-12-05

    The experimental study of cumulative culture and the innovations essential to it is a young science, with child studies so rare that the scope of cumulative cultural capacities in childhood remains largely unknown. Here we report a new experimental approach to the inherent complexity of these phenomena. Groups of 3-4-year-old children were presented with an elaborate array of challenges affording the potential cumulative development of a variety of techniques to gain increasingly attractive rewards. In contrast to a prior study, we found evidence for elementary forms of cumulative cultural progress, with inventions of solutions at lower levels spreading to become shared innovations, and some children then building on these to create more advanced but more rewarding innovations. This contrasted with markedly more constrained progress when children worked only by themselves, or if groups faced only the highest-level challenges from the start. Further experiments that introduced higher-level inventions via the inclusion of older children, or that created ecological change, with the easiest habitual solutions no longer possible, encouraged higher levels of cumulative innovation. Our results show children are not merely 'cultural sponges', but when acting in groups, display the beginnings of cycles of innovation and observational learning that sustain cumulative progress in problem solving.This article is part of the themed issue 'Process and pattern in innovations from cells to societies'. © 2017 The Author(s).

  14. Interactive eLearning - a safe place to practice.

    PubMed

    Einarson, Elisabeth; Moen, Anne; Kolberg, Ragnhild; Flingtorp, Gry; Linnerud, Eva

    2009-01-01

    Interactive web-based learning environment offers refreshing opportunities to create innovative solutions to explore and exploit informatics support on-the-job training. We report from a study where a hospital is created a interactive eLearning resource. The modules are creating a safe place to practice - to be used for introduction to the work and preparation for certification or re-certification of competencies.

  15. INNOVATIVE BIODIESEL PRODUCTION: A SOLUTION TO THE SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL, AND EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABILITY

    EPA Science Inventory

    Loyola's STEP students completed over 20 team projects: Developed a business plan for biodiesel production, created the LUC biodiesel website, created the Bio­shorts documentaries, tabled at environmental events, publicized and put on two Biodiesel Forums (2nd one pending,...

  16. Addressing challenges of training a new generation of clinician-innovators through an interdisciplinary medical technology design program: Bench-to-Bedside.

    PubMed

    Loftus, Patrick D; Elder, Craig T; D'Ambrosio, Troy; Langell, John T

    2015-01-01

    Graduate medical education has traditionally focused on training future physicians to be outstanding clinicians with basic and clinical science research skills. This focus has resulted in substantial knowledge gains, but a modest return on investment based on direct improvements in clinical care. In today's shifting healthcare landscape, a number of important challenges must be overcome to not only improve the delivery of healthcare, but to prepare future physicians to think outside the box, focus on and create healthcare innovations, and navigate the complex legal, business and regulatory hurdles of bringing innovation to the bedside. We created an interdisciplinary and experiential medical technology design competition to address these challenges and train medical students interested in moving new and innovative clinical solutions to the forefront of medicine. Medical students were partnered with business, law, design and engineering students to form interdisciplinary teams focused on developing solutions to unmet clinical needs. Over the course of six months teams were provided access to clinical and industry mentors, $500 prototyping funds, development facilities, and non-mandatory didactic lectures in ideation, design, intellectual property, FDA regulatory requirements, prototyping, market analysis, business plan development and capital acquisition. After four years of implementation, the program has supported 396 participants, seen the development of 91 novel medical devices, and launched the formation of 24 new companies. From our perspective, medical education programs that develop innovation training programs and shift incentives from purely traditional basic and clinical science research to also include high-risk innovation will see increased student engagement in improving healthcare delivery and an increase in the quality and quantity of innovative solutions to medical problems being brought to market.

  17. LeagueTLC: Transformational Learning Connections. Connecting Community Colleges with Innovative Solutions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perez, Stella

    This document describes LeagueTLC: Transformational Learning Connections (http://www.league.org/leaguetlc/index.htm), a Web site created by the League for Innovation in the Community College with funding from the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE). This Web site serves as a resource for community colleges by disseminating…

  18. Energy Innovation Portal Brings DOE Technologies to the Market (Fact Sheet)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    2011-10-01

    For venture capitalists, energy entrepreneurs, and industry veterans, finding the right renewable energy or energy efficiency solution used to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Now, a searchable treasure trove of innovative U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) technologies is available. Created by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the online Energy Innovation Portal helps businesses and entrepreneurs access the intellectual property of DOE's 17 national laboratories and other research partners.

  19. A model for 'reverse innovation' in health care.

    PubMed

    Depasse, Jacqueline W; Lee, Patrick T

    2013-08-30

    'Reverse innovation,' a principle well established in the business world, describes the flow of ideas from emerging to more developed economies. There is strong and growing interest in applying this concept to health care, yet there is currently no framework for describing the stages of reverse innovation or identifying opportunities to accelerate the development process. This paper combines the business concept of reverse innovation with diffusion of innovation theory to propose a model for reverse innovation as a way to innovate in health care. Our model includes the following steps: (1) identifying a problem common to lower- and higher-income countries; (2) innovation and spread in the low-income country (LIC); (3) crossover to the higher-income country (HIC); and (4) innovation and spread in the HIC. The crucial populations in this pathway, drawing from diffusion of innovation theory, are LIC innovators, LIC early adopters, and HIC innovators. We illustrate the model with three examples of current reverse innovations. We then propose four sets of specific actions that forward-looking policymakers, entrepreneurs, health system leaders, and researchers may take to accelerate the movement of promising solutions through the reverse innovation pipeline: (1) identify high-priority problems shared by HICs and LICs; (2) create slack for change, especially for LIC innovators, LIC early adopters, and HIC innovators; (3) create spannable social distances between LIC early adopters and HIC innovators; and (4) measure reverse innovation activity globally.

  20. Crowd-sourcing delivery system innovation: A public-private solution.

    PubMed

    Agrawal, Shantanu; Chen, Christopher; Tanio, Craig P

    2015-03-01

    We propose the establishment of a public-private approach which creates and maintains a "delivery systems innovations knowledge management system" to define, describe, and assess novel delivery approaches. The public sector could provide the foundational technology, resources and convening power for this innovations database. The private sector would contribute practical innovations that could guide annual strategic planning and implementation. A crowd-sourced effort would jump start delivery system reform. We believe that providing a comprehensive knowledge resource will not stifle competition or private sector opportunities but rather augment and speed the application of effective innovation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Centennial Challenges Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ortega, Sam; Eberly, Eric

    2015-01-01

    NASA's Centennial Challenges Program was initiated in 2005 to directly engage the public in the process of advanced technology development. The program offers incentive prizes to generate revolutionary solutions to problems of interest to NASA and the nation. The program seeks innovations from diverse and nontraditional sources. Competitors are not supported by government funding and awards are only made to successful teams when the challenges are met. In keeping with the spirit of the Wright Brothers and other American innovators, the Centennial Challenge prizes are offered to independent inventors including small businesses, student groups, and individuals. These independent inventors are sought to generate innovative solutions for technical problems of interest to NASA and the nation and to provide them with the opportunity to stimulate or create new business ventures.

  2. Innovative solutions in monitoring systems in flood protection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sekuła, Klaudia; Połeć, Marzena; Borecka, Aleksandra

    2018-02-01

    The article presents the possibilities of ISMOP - IT System of Levee Monitoring. This system is able to collecting data from the reference and experimental control and measurement network. The experimental levee is build in a 1:1 scale and located in the village of Czernichow, near Cracow. The innovation is the utilization of a series of sensors monitoring the changes in the body of levee. It can be done by comparing the results of numerical simulations with results from installed two groups of sensors: reference sensors and experimental sensors. The reference control and measurement sensors create network based on pore pressure and temperature sensors. Additionally, it contains the fiber-optic technology. The second network include design experimental sensors, constructed for the development of solutions that can be used in existing flood embankments. The results are important to create the comprehensive and inexpensive monitoring system, which could be helpful for state authorities and local governments in flood protection.

  3. Supporting Trust in Globally Distributed Software Teams: The Impact of Visualized Collaborative Traces on Perceived Trustworthiness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trainer, Erik Harrison

    2012-01-01

    Trust plays an important role in collaborations because it creates an environment in which people can openly exchange ideas and information with one another and engineer innovative solutions together with less perceived risk. The rise in globally distributed software development has created an environment in which workers are likely to have less…

  4. A model for ‘reverse innovation’ in health care

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    ‘Reverse innovation,’ a principle well established in the business world, describes the flow of ideas from emerging to more developed economies. There is strong and growing interest in applying this concept to health care, yet there is currently no framework for describing the stages of reverse innovation or identifying opportunities to accelerate the development process. This paper combines the business concept of reverse innovation with diffusion of innovation theory to propose a model for reverse innovation as a way to innovate in health care. Our model includes the following steps: (1) identifying a problem common to lower- and higher-income countries; (2) innovation and spread in the low-income country (LIC); (3) crossover to the higher-income country (HIC); and (4) innovation and spread in the HIC. The crucial populations in this pathway, drawing from diffusion of innovation theory, are LIC innovators, LIC early adopters, and HIC innovators. We illustrate the model with three examples of current reverse innovations. We then propose four sets of specific actions that forward-looking policymakers, entrepreneurs, health system leaders, and researchers may take to accelerate the movement of promising solutions through the reverse innovation pipeline: (1) identify high-priority problems shared by HICs and LICs; (2) create slack for change, especially for LIC innovators, LIC early adopters, and HIC innovators; (3) create spannable social distances between LIC early adopters and HIC innovators; and (4) measure reverse innovation activity globally. PMID:24001367

  5. Innovation management based on proactive engagement of customers: A case study on LEGO Group. Part I: Innovation Management at Lego Group

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rusu, G.; Avasilcăi, S.

    2015-11-01

    Customers' proactive engagement in the innovation process represents a business priority for companies which adopt the open innovation business model. In such a context, it is of outmost importance for companies to use the online environment and social media, in order to create an interactive and open dialogue with customers and other important external stakeholders, achieving to gather creative solutions and innovative ideas by involving them in the process of co-creating value. Thus, the current paper is based on a case study approach, which aims to highlight the open innovation business model of the LEGO Group, one of the most successful and active company in engaging customers in submitting ideas and creative solutions for developing new products and new technologies, through online platforms. The study then proceeds to analyze the innovation management at LEGO Group, emphasizing the most important elements regarding the management team, the success and failures, the evolution of the LEGO products focusing on the innovation efforts of the company, its mission, vision, and values, emphasizing the innovation terms which guide the actions and objectives of the LEGO Group. Also, the research based on the case study approach, outlines the most important policies and strategies of the company, the organizational structure consisting of flat structures which facilitate the orientation of the team management on the innovation process and the proactive involvement of consumers and other external stakeholders in product development, highlighting also the most important activities developed by the management team in exploring the new opportunities which may occur on the market, involving customers in sharing their ideas at festivals, participating to discussions of adult fans on web-based platforms and establishing partnerships with the external stakeholders in order to create value. Moreover, the paper is focused on identifying the company's concerns regarding the competitive strategies, new technologies developed for sustainable development and innovation, emphasizing also the concerns of the LEGO Group for a long-term orientation strategy which implies developing innovative products, made by ecological materials, reducing the negative impact on the environment. In addition, the company aims to foster innovation maintaining a clear vision, multiple contacts with the internal and external environment, and the flat structures which enable the communication between innovative management teams and top management team. Consequently, the study provides the insights regarding the innovation management of the LEGO Group, emphasizing the role of engaging customers and other external stakeholders in the co-creation of value.

  6. Frugal innovation in medicine for low resource settings.

    PubMed

    Tran, Viet-Thi; Ravaud, Philippe

    2016-07-07

    Whilst it is clear that technology is crucial to advance healthcare: innovation in medicine is not just about high-tech tools, new procedures or genome discoveries. In constrained environments, healthcare providers often create unexpected solutions to provide adequate healthcare to patients. These inexpensive but effective frugal innovations may be imperfect, but they have the power to ensure that health is within reach of everyone. Frugal innovations are not limited to low-resource settings: ingenuous ideas can be adapted to offer simpler and disruptive alternatives to usual care all around the world, representing the concept of "reverse innovation". In this article, we discuss the different types of frugal innovations, illustrated with examples from the literature, and argue for the need to give voice to this neglected type of innovation in medicine.

  7. Accelerating medical innovation at USC: realizing the dream of Alfred E. Mann.

    PubMed

    Gosset, Nathalie; Lasch, Jonathan G

    2012-07-01

    Alfred E. Mann's vision is to create organizations that will help medical innovations born in academic environments evolve into commercially fit solutions, without the risk of being abandoned under the financial pressures early stage start-ups often experience. In 1998, Mann worked with Stephen Sample, president of USC, to create the first AMI for Biomedical Engineering, an organization fueled by an endowment valued at approximately US$160 million today. Technology-acceleration centers come in different flavors. AMI USC's recipe has evolved since its creation, with edits that incorporate lessons learned and improvements brought by its expanding network of talented resource people. Its 15-member staff, consisting of three-fourths industry professionals, includes seasoned generalists and specialists in medical technology commercialization. Although the support varies with each invention, some recurring ingredients weave into the AMI approach to accelerating medical innovation.

  8. Innovation Best Practices in the Medical Device Industry.

    PubMed

    Ray, Partha P; Amaral, Joseph F; Hinoul, Piet

    2017-06-01

    Advances in patient care often germinate from keen clinical insights and a needs-based approach to innovation. Although there is an important role for incremental improvements to existing solutions, transformational innovation is what truly drives real shifts in clinical outcomes and subsequently patient satisfaction, market access, and economic value. A good example of this is the evolution of the coronary stent market. The best innovation programs are focused on unmet needs rather than solutions, call for a careful articulation of the specific problems to be solved, involve a deep dive within a clinical area, and seek to prioritize research and development investments into areas where the greatest impact can be expected. To enhance its ability to pursue breakthrough innovation, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) has organized itself along priority disease areas, created the global J&J Innovation organization to pursue external technology and know-how, and continues to partner closely with clinical practitioners. The process undertaken at J&J to acquire a microwave ablation technology and enter the interventional oncology space is a recent case study of these innovation principles and organizational focus in action. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Match your innovation strategy to your innovation ecosystem.

    PubMed

    Adner, Ron

    2006-04-01

    High-definition televisions should, by now, be a huge success. Philips, Sony, and Thompson invested billions of dollars to develop TV sets with astonishing picture quality. From a technology perspective, they've succeeded: Console manufacturers have been ready for the mass market since the early 1990s. Yet the category has been an unmitigated failure, not because of deficiencies, but because critical complements such as studio production equipment were not developed or adopted in time. Under-performing complements have left console producers in the position of offering a Ferrari in a world without gasoline or highways--an admirable engineering feat, but not one that creates value for customers. The HDTV story exemplifies the promise and peril of innovation ecosystems--the collaborative arrangements through which firms combine their individual offers into a coherent, customer-facing solution. When they work, innovation ecosystems allow companies to create value that no one firm could have created alone. The benefits of these systems are real. But for many organizations the attempt at ecosystem innovation has been a costly failure. This is because, along with new opportunities, innovation ecosystems also present a new set of risks that can brutally derail a firm's best efforts. Innovation ecosystems are characterized by three fundamental types of risk: initiative risks--the familiar uncertainties of managing a project; interdependence risks--the uncertainties of coordinating with complementary innovators; and integration risks--the uncertainties presented by the adoption process across the value chain. Firms that assess ecosystem risks holistically and systematically will be able to establish more realistic expectations, develop a more refined set of environmental contingencies, and arrive at a more robust innovation strategy. Collectively, these actions will lead to more effective implementation and more profitable innovation.

  10. Disease Management Partnerships: Creating Health Solutions. Proceedings from a special symposium of the 4th annual Canadian Therapeutics Congress, May 27, 2007, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

    PubMed

    2008-01-01

    A symposium at the fourth annual Canadian Therapeutics Congress in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on May 27, 2007, discussed the ability of multistakeholder partnerships to create new and better ways to manage chronic disease; particularly, to achieve cost efficiency and better health outcomes for the ever-increasing number of patients dealing with chronic disease. The presentations included the experiences of three innovative programs under way in Nova Scotia, Alberta and Ontario, as well as the viewpoints of representatives from both the pharmaceutical industry and government. The symposium revealed that innovative partnerships are providing some encouraging signs of progress in this vital area.

  11. Innovative Approach to Senior Practicum Students.

    PubMed

    Golightly, Melissa; Kennett, Natalie; Stout, Jacqueline A

    2017-12-01

    Traditional senior practicum experiences (SPEs) are microsystem based-they allow senior nursing students the opportunity to build professional nursing competencies as they transition into practice. As health care transformation continues unabated, there is a need to work toward closing the gap between nursing academia and nursing practice. A cardiovascular service line created an innovative SPE to better prepare senior nursing students for working as professional nurses in a service line model. The Senior Practicum Immersion Experience (SPIE) proved to be beneficial to senior practicum students and offered firsthand experience of the role professional nurses play in a service line model. This model increased the number of senior practicum students accepted into the cardiac service line by 50%. The SPIE creates an innovative solution to increasing the number of senior practicum students while allowing students the ability to learn and practice in a service line model. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(12):745-747.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

  12. Mapping your innovation strategy.

    PubMed

    Anthony, Scott D; Eyring, Matt; Gibson, Lib

    2006-05-01

    In the complex sport of American football, teams rely on playbooks as thick as the Manhattan phone directory. But when it comes to creating innovative growth businesses-which is at least as complicated as professional football--most companies have not developed detailed game plans. Indeed, many managers have concluded that a fog enshrouds the world of innovation, obscuring high-potential opportunities. The authors believe that companies can penetrate that fog by developing growth strategies based on disruptive innovations, as defined by Clayton Christensen. Such innovations conform to a pattern: They offer an entirely new solution; they perform adequately along traditional dimensions and much better along other dimensions that matter more to target customers; and they are not initially appealing to powerful incumbents. Companies can develop customized checklists, or playbooks, by combining this basic pattern with analysis of major innovations in their markets. The key early on is to focus not on detailed financial estimates--which will always guide companies toward the markets most hostile to disruptive innovations--but on how well the innovation fits the pattern of success. It's also crucial to encourage flexibility: Companies must be willing to kill projects that are going nowhere, exempt innovations from standard development processes, and avoid burdening project teams with extra financing, which can keep them heading in the wrong direction. Companies can create competitive advantage by becoming champions at defining the pattern of successful innovations and executing against it. But as that pattern becomes obvious--and others emerge-building a sustainable advantage on innovation competencies will again prove elusive.

  13. Perspective: The language of leadership.

    PubMed

    Souba, Chip

    2010-10-01

    Human meaning is not given before language in and by some detached, prelinguistic domain and then labeled with words. Rather, language itself, always already ardently at play in our lives, is constitutive of the realities of our experience, opening up to us a uniquely human world. Language is the bridge between the created present and the uncreated future, affording leaders of medical schools with an underused opportunity to transform academic medicine. In creating and exchanging meaning, good leaders translate ambiguity into clear messages that convey the rationale for change and enroll others in a compelling strategy that fosters alignment and commitment. Because language influences our thinking and emotions, it is most powerful and effective for tackling challenges that rely heavily on conceptual, innovative solutions as opposed to those problems whose solutions are simple and technical in nature. However, many leaders in academic medicine spend much of their time in the domain of content, where issues are understandable, strategies are familiar, and solutions are seemingly apparent. Complex problems cannot be tackled by solely addressing content; the issue in question must be situated within an appropriate conversational context to provide a basis for action. Leaders do this by creating linguistic distinctions that prompt cognitive shifts in others, jarring them loose from their entrenched worldviews. This property of language--its ability to bring forth, out of the unspoken realm, innovative ideas and possibilities--will determine the future of our health care system and our world.

  14. Mutual learning and reverse innovation--where next?

    PubMed

    Crisp, Nigel

    2014-03-28

    There is a clear and evident need for mutual learning in global health systems. It is increasingly recognized that innovation needs to be sourced globally and that we need to think in terms of co-development as ideas are developed and spread from richer to poorer countries and vice versa. The Globalization and Health journal's ongoing thematic series, "Reverse innovation in global health systems: learning from low-income countries" illustrates how mutual learning and ideas about so-called "reverse innovation" or "frugal innovation" are being developed and utilized by researchers and practitioners around the world. The knowledge emerging from the series is already catalyzing change and challenging the status quo in global health. The path to truly "global innovation flow", although not fully established, is now well under way. Mobilization of knowledge and resources through continuous communication and awareness raising can help sustain this movement. Global health learning laboratories, where partners can support each other in generating and sharing lessons, have the potential to construct solutions for the world. At the heart of this dialogue is a focus on creating practical local solutions and, simultaneously, drawing out the lessons for the whole world.

  15. EVALUATION OF USFILTER CORPORATION'S RETEC® MODEL SCP-6 SEPARATED CELL PURIFICATION SYSTEM FOR CHROMIC ACID ANODIZE BATH SOLUTION

    EPA Science Inventory

    The USEPA has created the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental technologies through performance verification and dissemination of information. The ETV P2 Metal Finishing Technologies (ETV-MF) Prog...

  16. Global Social Entrepreneurship Competitions: Incubators for Innovations in Global Health?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huster, Karin; Petrillo, Carl; O'Malley, Gabrielle; Glassman, Debra; Rush, Jessica; Wasserheit, Judith

    2017-01-01

    A growing number of organizations have launched social entrepreneurship competitions to help students develop the knowledge and skills to create sustainable solutions to the intertwined challenges of health and development. We conducted a program evaluation of the first 9 years of the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) at the…

  17. Stealth Learning: Unexpected Learning Opportunities through Games

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharp, Laura A.

    2012-01-01

    Educators across the country struggle to create engaging, motivating learning environments for their Net Gen students. These learners expect instant gratification that traditional lectures do not provide. This leaves educators searching for innovative ways to engage students in order to encourage learning. One solution is for educators to use…

  18. Project-Based Learning: Differentiating Instruction for the 21st Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bender, William N.

    2012-01-01

    Project-based learning has emerged as one of today's most effective instructional practices. In PBL, students confront real-world issues and problems, collaborate to create solutions, and present their results. This exciting new book describes how PBL fosters 21st century skills and innovative thinking. The author provides instructional…

  19. A Systems Approach to Healthcare Innovation Using the MIT Hacking Medicine Model.

    PubMed

    Gubin, Tatyana A; Iyer, Hari P; Liew, Shirlene N; Sarma, Aartik; Revelos, Alex; Ribas, João; Movassaghi, Babak; Chu, Zen M; Khalid, Ayesha N; Majmudar, Maulik D; Lee, Christopher Xiang

    2017-07-26

    MIT Hacking Medicine is a student, academic, and community-led organization that uses systems-oriented "healthcare hacking" to address challenges around innovation in healthcare. The group has organized more than 80 events around the world that attract participants with diverse backgrounds. These participants are trained to address clinical needs from the perspective of multiple stakeholders and emphasize utility and implementation viability of proposed solutions. We describe the MIT Hacking Medicine model as a potential method to integrate collaboration and training in rapid innovation techniques into academic medical centers. Built upon a systems approach to healthcare innovation, the time-compressed but expertly guided nature of the events could enable more widely accessible preliminary training in systems-level innovation methodology, as well as creating a structured opportunity for interdisciplinary congregation and collaboration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The New Universities of Russia: Problems and Solutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kiroi, V. N.

    2011-01-01

    Russian universities do poorly in international rankings, and this will hurt Russia's ability to compete successfully in the global market. One way in which to try to improve this situation is to create new universities by merging institutions and organize them in innovative ways to become more efficient and effective. [This article was translated…

  1. "Enhancing the Creative Process for Learning in Primary Technology Education"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Webster, Alistair; Campbell, Coral; Jane, Beverley

    2006-01-01

    When undertaking design and technology activities, children are provided with opportunities to create solutions to problems in new and innovative ways. The mental processes involved in the generation of new ideas may be enhanced when children's attention is not focussed and is allowed to wander in a relaxed and uncompetitive environment. Research…

  2. Education for Sustainability: Becoming Naturally Smart

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clarke, Paul

    2011-01-01

    In this book, Paul Clarke argues that in order to live sustainably we need to learn how to live and flourish in our environment in a manner that uses finite resources with ecologically informed discretion. Education is perfectly placed to create the conditions for innovative and imaginative solutions and to provide the formulas that ensure that…

  3. Innovative Railway Stations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rzepnicka, Sylwia; Załuski, Daniel

    2017-10-01

    In relation to modern demographic trends, evolving technologies and environment-friendly solutions increases the potential of rail considered as sustainable form of public transport. Contemporary tendencies of designing railway stations in Europe are focused on lowering energy consumption and reducing carbon emission. The main goal of the designers is to create a friendly and intuitive space for its users and at the same time a building that uses renewable energy sources and minimizes negative impact on the environment by the increase of biologically active areas, reuse of rainwater and greywater, innovative heating and cooling solutions and reduction of energy losses. The optimisation of a life circle in railway architecture introduces new approach to passenger service. Examples mentioned in the content of this article help to synthesize changes in approach to the design within the context of sustainability.

  4. Learning to create new solutions together: A focus group study exploring interprofessional innovation in midwifery education.

    PubMed

    Johnsen, Helle

    2016-01-01

    Undergraduate students can learn how to be innovative in partnerships with health care institutions and private enterprises. This study portrays how a three phase innovation model was applied in an interprofessional health education context at a Danish university college. The aim of the study was to explore midwifery, nutrition and health as well physiotherapy students' perceptions of participating in a real-life innovation project situated in antenatal care. A total of eighteen students participated in five focus group interviews. Thematic analysis was used to interpret data findings. Data analysis revealed three themes: 'Navigating in uncertainty', 'Being part of a team' and 'Impact of project learning'. Students found project learning to be the most relevant with regards to their clinical practice. Furthermore, study findings suggest that innovation is promoted by teamwork, interprofessional participation, mentor support and external partnerships. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. If You Build It, They Will Come: How to Establish an Academic Innovation Enterprise.

    PubMed

    Srimathveeravalli, Govindarajan; Balesh, Elie; Cheng, Christopher P; Chen, David

    2017-06-01

    The rapid growth of minimally invasive, image-guided intervention has redefined the procedural management of multiple disease entities. The process of innovation which has characterized the growth of interventional radiology can be best described as "needs-based," whereby practicing interventionalists identify unmet clinical needs and subsequently invent solutions to achieve desired technical and clinical outcomes. Historically, catheters and other percutaneous devices were developed with rudimentary manufacturing techniques and subsequently translated to patients with relatively little regulatory oversight. Since then, the resources required and financial costs of interventional technology development have grown exponentially. Fortunately, advances in software development, new methods of rapid prototyping, and commoditization of hardware components have made in-house engineering feasible once again. This has created an opportunity for academic medical centers to translate their research into testable prototypes in humans sooner and at reduced costs, and academic interventional radiology divisions are now leveraging these developments to create collaborative centers of innovation. This article describes five such organizational formats for collaboration and innovation in the academic setting, describing the structure, opportunities, requirements, and caveats of each model. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Nurses at the forefront of innovation.

    PubMed

    Hughes, F

    2006-06-01

    This paper is based on a presentation given by the author at the 23rd Quadrennial ICN Congress and 7th International Regulation Congress in Taipei in May 2005. Nurses worldwide are engaged in innovative practice on a daily basis. In most health systems across the world, nurses provide up to 80% of primary health care and are therefore well positioned to provide critically needed innovative solutions to many global health challenges. The aim of this paper is to increase awareness of the importance and value of innovations in nursing; provide an improved understanding of the contribution nurses make to innovation in health care; and increase understanding of the importance of creating environments that inspire innovation and help shape practice in new and improved ways. This paper explores the concept of innovation, the inherent set of characteristics that need to be present in order for innovations to succeed, and the barriers that impede innovation from occurring. There are numerous examples of successful innovations worldwide that are developed and implemented by nurses, some of which are described in this paper. The paper concludes that organizations need to have a support climate that encourages creativity and innovation to occur.

  7. Nature-Based Solutions in the EU: Innovating with nature to address social, economic and environmental challenges.

    PubMed

    Faivre, Nicolas; Fritz, Marco; Freitas, Tiago; de Boissezon, Birgit; Vandewoestijne, Sofie

    2017-11-01

    Contemporary societies are facing a broad range of challenges, from pressures on human health and well-being to natural capital depletion, and the security of food, water and energy. These challenges are deeply intertwined with global processes, such as climate change and with local events such as natural disasters. The EU's research & innovation (R&I) policy is now seeking to address these challenges from a new perspective, with Nature-Based Solutions, and turn them into innovation opportunities that optimise the synergies between nature, society and the economy. Nature-Based Solutions can be an opportunity for innovation, and are here promoted by both policymakers and practitioners as a cost-effective way of creating a greener, more sustainable, and more competitive economy. Since 2013, the European Commission has devoted particular attention to Nature-Based Solutions through consultations and dialogues that sought to make the concept of these solutions more concrete and to define the concept's place within the spectrum of ecosystem-based approaches. In 2014, the Commission launched an expert group, which conducted further analysis, and made recommendations to help increase the use of Nature-Based Solutions and bring nature back into cities. In 2015, a survey was conducted on citizens' views and perceptions of 'Nature in Cities' to provide further insight for future work. Based on these elements and on results from running EU projects, the Commission has developed an R&I agenda for Nature-Based Solutions and has published targeted calls for proposals for large-scale demonstration projects in this field in 2016 and 2017. Additional R&I actions at EU level that promote systemic Nature-Based Solutions and their benefits to cities and territories are planned with the aim to improve the implementation capacity and evidence base for deploying Nature-Based Solutions and developing corresponding future markets. They are also expected to foster an interdisciplinary R&I and stakeholder community and the exchange of good practices in this field, as well as help shaping and implementing international R&I agendas on Nature-Based Solutions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  8. Evidence on Private Sector Training. Background Paper No. 7c.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ouweneel, William M.

    Private sector training is a primary force in education in the United States for a number of reasons: (1) the sheer amount of such training makes it a major factor; (2) this training has a significant impact on the nation's productivity and competitiveness; (3) it plays a major role in creating innovative and cost-effective solutions to training…

  9. Home Infotainment Platform - A Ubiquitous Access Device for Masses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pal, Arpan; Prashant, M.; Ghose, Avik; Bhaumik, Chirabrata

    There is tremendous need for a low-cost Internet-Enabled Platform for developing countries like India that uses TV as the display medium and can connect to Internet using various available connectivity solutions. The paper presents how a generic framework middleware can be used to create a Home Infotainment Platform that can support variety of value-added applications. It also talks about the innovative designs employed to bring about the low-cost solution keeping in mind both the limitations of TV as a display and non-availability of high quality-of-service networks. Finally the social, economic and environmental implications of wide-spread deployment of the proposed solution are outlined.

  10. The Wyss institute: A new model for medical technology innovation and translation across the academic-industrial interface.

    PubMed

    Tolikas, Mary; Antoniou, Ayis; Ingber, Donald E

    2017-09-01

    The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University was formed based on the recognition that breakthrough discoveries cannot change the world if they never leave the laboratory. The Institute's mission is to discover the biological principles that Nature uses to build living things, and to harness these insights to create biologically inspired engineering innovations to advance human health and create a more sustainable world. Since its launch in 2009, the Institute has developed a new model for innovation, collaboration, and technology translation within academia, breaking "silos" to enable collaborations that cross institutional and disciplinary barriers. Institute faculty and staff engage in high-risk research that leads to transformative breakthroughs. The biological principles uncovered are harnessed to develop new engineering solutions for medicine and healthcare, as well as nonmedical areas, such as energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing. These technologies are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and the formation of new start-ups that are driven by a unique internal business development team including entrepreneurs-in-residence with domain-specific expertise. Here, we describe this novel organizational model that the Institute has developed to change the paradigm of how fundamental discovery, medical technology innovation, and commercial translation are carried out at the academic-industrial interface.

  11. Creating a culture of innovation in nursing education through shared vision, leadership, interdisciplinary partnerships, and positive deviance.

    PubMed

    Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Davidson, Sandra

    2009-01-01

    Although innovation is typically viewed by healthcare and academic institutions, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and private corporations as necessary for continuous improvement, high-quality care, and scientific advancement, barriers in creating and sustaining innovative academic environments abound and require effective leadership to overcome them. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe the major barriers and facilitators to innovation in colleges of nursing and healthcare professions along with recommendations for creating a culture of innovation in these academic environments. In addition, key strategies for educational innovation are discussed. Innovations launched by the Arizona State University College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation are highlighted to provide examples of how a college that established innovation as a top priority in 2005 in its strategic plan created an innovative culture that has led to several successful outcomes.

  12. Creating a testing field where delta technology and water innovations are tested and demonstrated with the help of citizen science methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Vries, Sandra; Rutten, Martine; de Vries, Liselotte; Anema, Kim; Klop, Tanja; Kaspersma, Judith

    2017-04-01

    In highly populated deltas, much work is to be done. Complex problems ask for new and knowledge driven solutions. Innovations in delta technology and water can bring relief to managing the water rich urban areas. Testing fields form a fundamental part of the knowledge valorisation for such innovations. In such testing fields, product development by start-ups is coupled with researchers, thus supplying new scientific insights. With the help of tests, demonstrations and large-scale applications by the end-users, these innovations find their way to the daily practices of delta management. More and more cities embrace the concept of Smart Cities to tackle the ongoing complexity of urban problems and to manage the city's assets - such as its water supply networks and other water management infrastructure. Through the use of new technologies and innovative systems, data are collected from and with citizens and devices - then processed and analysed. The information and knowledge gathered are keys to enabling a better quality of life. By testing water innovations together with citizens in order to find solutions for water management problems, not only highly spatial amounts of data are provided by and/or about these innovations, they are also improved and demonstrated to the public. A consortium consisting of a water authority, a science centre, a valorisation program and two universities have joined forces to create a testing field for delta technology and water innovations using citizen science methods. In this testing field, the use of citizen science for water technologies is researched and validated by facilitating pilot projects. In these projects, researchers, start-ups and citizens work together to find the answer to present-day water management problems. The above mentioned testing field tests the use of crowd-sourcing data as for example hydrological model inputs, or to validate remote sensing applications, or improve water management decisions. Currently the testing field starts two pilot projects concerning (1) the validation of green measures used for water storage in order to better quantify their worth, and (2) the collection of water quality data in a polder polluted by horticulture in such manner that water management and awareness are improved.

  13. Improving the Leader Development Experience in Army Units

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-04-01

    conditions and creating a “ sweet spot” between order and chaos and simplicity and complexity, leaders can modify the experience to better align it with...subordinates to exercise initiative, overcome adversity, consider innovative solutions, or taste failure may not achieve maximum growth and are not...division commander’s behavior, preferences , and priorities become known down to battalion and lower levels.49 Some might view these techniques as

  14. GODAN Local Farming Challenge 2017 - Encourage Geo-Innovation Solutions for Zero Hunger

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anand, Suchith; Hogan, Patrick; Brovelli, Maria; Schaap, Ben; Musker, Ruthie; Laperrière, André

    2017-04-01

    The initial ideas for Open Geospatial Science [1] were presented nearly a decade ago. They build upon the proposition of Open science which argues that scientific knowledge develops more rapidly and productively if openly shared (as early as is practical in the discovery process). The key ingredients that make Open Geospatial Science possible are enshrined in Open Principles, i.e.: open source geospatial software, open data, open standards, open educational resources, and open access to research publications. OpenCitySmart[2] is an initiative of Geo for All [3] that aims to develop a suite of tools for city-related infrastructure management (utilities, traffic, services, etc.). Its purpose will be to continually refine and add functionality that not only streamlines operational efficiency but also considers the need for sustainability and quality of urban life. OpenCitySmart employs Open solutions to build richer tools that empower organisations and individuals to utilizespatial and non-spatial data alike. This will create opportunities for innovation both globally and locally. As the population of cities grow, the concern of food security will shift from rural to urban areas. Currently, nearly 800 million people struggle with debilitating hunger and malnutrition and can be found in every corner of the globe. That's one in every nine people, with the majority being women and children. The Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) [4] supports the proactive sharing of open data to make information about agriculture and nutrition available, accessible and usable to deal with the urgent challenge of ensuring world food security. A core principle behind GODAN is that a solution to Zero Hunger lies within existing, but often unavailable, agriculture and nutrition data. Through an online survey, GODAN found that the most needed data type across its 430+ partner network was geospatial data. Through the GODAN Europa Challenge we want to bring together researchers and students to work collaboratively on innovative ideas to create change using agriculture and nutrition data. The Europa Challenge is a World Challenge, though we use the wisdom of Europe's INSPIRE Directive to guide project development. The Europa Challenge is asking the world's *best and brightest* to deliver solutions serving city needs. With support from the NASA Europa Challenge[5], GODAN is launching a Local Farming Challenge. We welcome students to create innovative ideas that will help tackle the solutions of local farming in growing cities, using some aspect of the OpenCitySmart Design and uses NASA's open source virtual globe technology, WebWorldWind. Ideas may include ways for optimally linking local farming communities directly with potential customers, tools for visualising spatio-temporal aspects of local farming, tools for helping reducing wastage (for example linking with local food banks), and any number of solutions for helping our goal of Zero Hunger. 1. http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijgi/special_issues/science-applications 2. http://www.geoforall.org/ 3. https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Opencitysmart 4. http://www.godan.info 5. http://eurochallenge.como.polimi.it

  15. Honduras: A Pariah State, or Innovative Solutions to Organized Crime Deserving U.S. Support

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-06-01

    organized crime and delinquency in the coun- try. More controversially, he has created a new police force within the military, the Military Police of...and ambitious structure, wrestling with the inter-institutional challenges of the fight against orga- nized crime and delinquency in Honduras is no...example, statistics involving the activi- ties of the organizations under its operational control, 36 including counter-narcotics operations, actions

  16. Innovative IT system for material management in warehouses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Papoutsidakis, Michael; Sigala, Maria; Simeonaki, Eleni; Tseles, Dimitrios

    2017-09-01

    Nowadays through the rapid development of technology in all areas there is a constant effort to introduce technological solutions in everyday life with emphasis on materials management information systems (Enterprise Resource Planning). During the last few years the variety of these systems has been increased for small business or for SMEs as well as for larger companies and industries. In the field of material management and main management operations with automated processes, ERP applications have only recently begun to make their appearance. In this paper will be presented the development of a system for automated material storage process in a system built through specific roles that will manage materials using an integrated barcode scanner. In addition we will analyse and describe the operation and modules of other systems that have been created for the same usage. The aim of this project is to create a prototype application that will be innovative with a flexible nature that will give solutions, with low cost and it will be user friendly. This application will allow quick and proper materials management for storage. The expected result is that the application can be used by smart devices in android environment and computers without an external barcode scanner, making the application accessible to the buyer at low cost.

  17. Lidar and Dial application for detection and identification: a proposal to improve safety and security

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gaudio, P.; Malizia, A.; Gelfusa, M.; Murari, A.; Parracino, S.; Poggi, L. A.; Lungaroni, M.; Ciparisse, J. F.; Di Giovanni, D.; Cenciarelli, O.; Carestia, M.; Peluso, E.; Gabbarini, V.; Talebzadeh, S.; Bellecci, C.

    2017-01-01

    Nowadays the intentional diffusion in air (both in open and confined environments) of chemical contaminants is a dramatic source of risk for the public health worldwide. The needs of a high-tech networks composed by software, diagnostics, decision support systems and cyber security tools are urging all the stakeholders (military, public, research & academic entities) to create innovative solutions to face this problem and improve both safety and security. The Quantum Electronics and Plasma Physics (QEP) Research Group of the University of Rome Tor Vergata is working since the 1960s on the development of laser-based technologies for the stand-off detection of contaminants in the air. Up to now, four demonstrators have been developed (two LIDAR-based and two DIAL-based) and have been used in experimental campaigns during all 2015. These systems and technologies can be used together to create an innovative solution to the problem of public safety and security: the creation of a network composed by detection systems: A low cost LIDAR based system has been tested in an urban area to detect pollutants coming from urban traffic, in this paper the authors show the results obtained in the city of Crotone (south of Italy). This system can be used as a first alarm and can be coupled with an identification system to investigate the nature of the threat. A laboratory dial based system has been used in order to create a database of absorption spectra of chemical substances that could be release in atmosphere, these spectra can be considered as the fingerprints of the substances that have to be identified. In order to create the database absorption measurements in cell, at different conditions, are in progress and the first results are presented in this paper.

  18. The Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh): Driving Innovation in Translational Research Through an Incentive-Based, Problem-Focused Competition.

    PubMed

    Fitzpatrick, Nicole Edgar; Maier, John; Yasko, Laurel; Mathias, David; Qua, Kacy; Wagner, Erika; Miller, Elizabeth; Reis, Steven E

    2017-05-01

    Translational research aims to move scientific discoveries across the biomedical spectrum from the laboratory to humans, and to ultimately transform clinical practice and public health policies. Despite efforts to accelerate translational research through national initiatives, several major hurdles remain. The authors created the Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh) as an incentive-based, problem-focused approach to solving identified clinical or public health problems at the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute in spring 2014. With input from a broad range of stakeholders, PInCh leadership arrived at the challenge question: How do we empower individuals to take control of their own health outcomes? The authors developed the PInCh's three-round proposal submission and review process as well as an online contest management tool to support the process. Ninety-two teams submitted video proposals in round one. Proposals included mobile applications (29; 32%), other information technology (19; 21%), and community program (22; 24%) solutions. Ten teams advanced to the final round, where three were awarded $100,000 to implement their solution over 12 months. In a 6-month follow-up survey, 6/11 (55%) team leaders stated the PInCh helped to facilitate connections outside their normal sphere of collaborators. Additional educational training sessions related to problem-focused research will be developed. The PInCh will be expanded to engage investment and industry communities to facilitate the translation of solutions to clinical practice via commercialization pathways. External organizations and other universities will be engaged to use the PInCh as a mechanism to fuel innovation in their spaces.

  19. The Wyss institute: A new model for medical technology innovation and translation across the academic‐industrial interface

    PubMed Central

    Tolikas, Mary; Antoniou, Ayis

    2017-01-01

    Abstract The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University was formed based on the recognition that breakthrough discoveries cannot change the world if they never leave the laboratory. The Institute's mission is to discover the biological principles that Nature uses to build living things, and to harness these insights to create biologically inspired engineering innovations to advance human health and create a more sustainable world. Since its launch in 2009, the Institute has developed a new model for innovation, collaboration, and technology translation within academia, breaking “silos” to enable collaborations that cross institutional and disciplinary barriers. Institute faculty and staff engage in high‐risk research that leads to transformative breakthroughs. The biological principles uncovered are harnessed to develop new engineering solutions for medicine and healthcare, as well as nonmedical areas, such as energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing. These technologies are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and the formation of new start‐ups that are driven by a unique internal business development team including entrepreneurs‐in‐residence with domain‐specific expertise. Here, we describe this novel organizational model that the Institute has developed to change the paradigm of how fundamental discovery, medical technology innovation, and commercial translation are carried out at the academic‐industrial interface. PMID:29313034

  20. Innovation management based on proactive engagement of customers: A case study on LEGO Group. Part II: Challenge of engaging the digital customer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Avasilcăi, S.; Rusu, G.

    2015-11-01

    To foster the development of innovative products and new technologies, nowadays companies use an open innovation system, encouraging stakeholders to contribute, using the companies’ online platforms for open innovation or social media, bringing and sharing creative solutions and ideas in order to respond to challenging needs the company directly expresses. Accordingly, the current research continues the analysis of the LEGO Group innovation efforts, aiming to provide a case study approach based on describing the most important projects and online instruments company uses to interact with customers and other external stakeholders. Thus, by analysing the experience of the company in developing projects of involving stakeholders in the innovation processes, the article emphasizes the objective of these past projects developed by LEGO Group, outlining their objectives regarding the focus on the product or process innovation, the team management and stakeholders involved in the innovation actions and the results they obtained. Moreover, the case study highlights the features of the most important online instruments LEGO Group uses at the moment for engaging LEGO fans, children, parents, and other external stakeholders in developing new LEGO sets. Thus, LEGO online instruments provide the opportunity for customers to be creative and to respond to LEGO management team challenges. Accordingly, LEGO involve customers in bringing innovative ideas for LEGO sets through LEGO Ideas instrument, which aims to engage customers in submitting projects, voting and supporting ideas and also sharing them on social media. Also, the research emphasizes the role of supporting the open dialogue and interaction with customers and other external stakeholders through LEGO.com Create & Share Galleries instrument, using their creativity to upload innovative models in the public galleries. The continuous challenges LEGO launches for their fans create a long-term connection between company and its customers, supporting the value co-creation process, as the submitted ideas can materialize in new LEGO products which can be found on the market. As a consequence, customers’ engagement in the co-creation process facilitated by the multiple online instruments provided by LEGO, resulted in positive outcomes for the company regarding new product development for the sets launched on the market to satisfy changing needs of their customers. The results provided by this case study approach can be useful for the business environment and academia as well in order to understand the role of engaging customers in the open innovation process, creating a competitive advantage on the market for companies.

  1. Innovation Zones: Creating Policy Flexibility for Personalized Learning. Issue Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patrick, Susan; Gentz, Susan

    2016-01-01

    There is a new state education policy concept termed either innovation zones or districts of innovation. State education agencies interested in shifting their role from enforcing compliance to one of supporting innovation and building capacity in districts are working to spur new innovative instructional models and create space for…

  2. The BioIntelligence Framework: a new computational platform for biomedical knowledge computing.

    PubMed

    Farley, Toni; Kiefer, Jeff; Lee, Preston; Von Hoff, Daniel; Trent, Jeffrey M; Colbourn, Charles; Mousses, Spyro

    2013-01-01

    Breakthroughs in molecular profiling technologies are enabling a new data-intensive approach to biomedical research, with the potential to revolutionize how we study, manage, and treat complex diseases. The next great challenge for clinical applications of these innovations will be to create scalable computational solutions for intelligently linking complex biomedical patient data to clinically actionable knowledge. Traditional database management systems (DBMS) are not well suited to representing complex syntactic and semantic relationships in unstructured biomedical information, introducing barriers to realizing such solutions. We propose a scalable computational framework for addressing this need, which leverages a hypergraph-based data model and query language that may be better suited for representing complex multi-lateral, multi-scalar, and multi-dimensional relationships. We also discuss how this framework can be used to create rapid learning knowledge base systems to intelligently capture and relate complex patient data to biomedical knowledge in order to automate the recovery of clinically actionable information.

  3. Basic Requirements for Systems Software Research and Development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kuszmaul, Chris; Nitzberg, Bill

    1996-01-01

    Our success over the past ten years evaluating and developing advanced computing technologies has been due to a simple research and development (R/D) model. Our model has three phases: (a) evaluating the state-of-the-art, (b) identifying problems and creating innovations, and (c) developing solutions, improving the state- of-the-art. This cycle has four basic requirements: a large production testbed with real users, a diverse collection of state-of-the-art hardware, facilities for evalua- tion of emerging technologies and development of innovations, and control over system management on these testbeds. Future research will be irrelevant and future products will not work if any of these requirements is eliminated. In order to retain our effectiveness, the numerical aerospace simulator (NAS) must replace out-of-date production testbeds in as timely a fashion as possible, and cannot afford to ignore innovative designs such as new distributed shared memory machines, clustered commodity-based computers, and multi-threaded architectures.

  4. Phage display creates innovative applications to combat hepatitis B virus

    PubMed Central

    Tan, Wen Siang; Ho, Kok Lian

    2014-01-01

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has killed countless lives in human history. The invention of HBV vaccines in the 20th century has reduced significantly the rate of the viral infection. However, currently there is no effective treatment for chronic HBV carriers. Newly emerging vaccine escape mutants and drug resistant strains have complicated the viral eradication program. The entire world is now facing a new threat of HBV and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection. Could phage display provide solutions to these life-threatening problems? This article reviews critically and comprehensively the innovative and potential applications of phage display in the development of vaccines, therapeutic agents, diagnostic reagents, as well as gene and drug delivery systems to combat HBV. The application of phage display in epitope mapping of HBV antigens is also discussed in detail. Although this review mainly focuses on HBV, the innovative applications of phage display could also be extended to other infectious diseases. PMID:25206271

  5. A human-centered framework for innovation in conservation incentive programs.

    PubMed

    Sorice, Michael G; Donlan, C Josh

    2015-12-01

    The promise of environmental conservation incentive programs that provide direct payments in exchange for conservation outcomes is that they enhance the value of engaging in stewardship behaviors. An insidious but important concern is that a narrow focus on optimizing payment levels can ultimately suppress program participation and subvert participants' internal motivation to engage in long-term conservation behaviors. Increasing participation and engendering stewardship can be achieved by recognizing that participation is not simply a function of the payment; it is a function of the overall structure and administration of the program. Key to creating innovative and more sustainable programs is fitting them within the existing needs and values of target participants. By focusing on empathy for participants, co-designing program approaches, and learning from the rapid prototyping of program concepts, a human-centered approach to conservation incentive program design enhances the propensity for discovery of novel and innovative solutions to pressing conservation issues.

  6. Study on Product Innovative Design Process Driven by Ideal Solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Fuying; Lu, Ximei; Wang, Ping; Liu, Hui

    Product innovative design in companies today relies heavily on individual members’ experience and creative ideation as well as their skills of integrating creativity and innovation tools with design methods agilely. Creative ideation and inventive ideas generation are two crucial stages in product innovative design process. Ideal solution is the desire final ideas for given problem, and the striving reaching target for product design. In this paper, a product innovative design process driven by ideal solution is proposed. This design process encourages designers to overcome their psychological inertia, to foster creativity in a systematic way for acquiring breakthrough creative and innovative solutions in a reducing sphere of solution-seeking, and results in effective product innovative design rapidly. A case study example is also presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design process.

  7. Urban Water Innovation Network (UWIN): Transitioning Toward Sustainbale Urban Water Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arabi, M.

    2015-12-01

    City water systems are at risk of disruption from global social and environmental hazards, which could have deleterious effects on human health, property, and loss of critical infrastructure. The Urban Water Innovation Network (UWIN), a consortium of 14 academic institutions and other key partners across the U.S., is working to address challenges that threaten urban water systems across the nation. UWIN's mission is to create technological, institutional and management solutions to help communities increase the resilience of their water systems and enhance their preparedness for responding to water crisis. The network seeks solutions that achieve widespread adoption consistent with inclusive, equitable and sustainable urban development. The integrative and adaptive analysis framework of UWIN is presented. The framework identifies a toolbox of sustainable solutions by simultaneously minimizing pressures, enhancing resilience to extreme events, and maximizing cobenefits. The benefits of sustainable urban water solutions for linked urban ecosystems, economies, and arrangements for environmental justice and social equity, will be discussed. The network encompasses six U.S. regions with varying ecohydrologic and climatic regimes ranging from the coastal moist mid-latitude climates of the Mid-Atlantic to the subtropical semi-arid deserts of the Southwest. These regions also represent a wide spectrum of demographic, cultural, and policy settings. The opportunities for cross-site assessments that facilitate the exploration of locally appropriate solutions across regions undergoing various development trajectories will be discussed.

  8. Inspired by design and driven by innovation. A conceptual model for radical design driven as a sustainable business model for Malaysian furniture design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yusof, Wan Zaiyana Mohd; Fadzline Muhamad Tamyez, Puteri

    2018-04-01

    The definition of innovation does not help the entrepreneurs, business person or innovator to truly grasp what it means to innovate, hence we hear that government has spend millions of ringgit on “innovation” by doing R & D. However, the result has no avail in terms of commercial value. Innovation can be defined as the exploitation of commercialization of an idea or invention to create economic or social value. Most Entrepreneurs and business managers, regard innovation as creating economic value, while forgetting that innovation also create value for society or the environment. The ultimate goal as Entrepreneur, inventor or researcher is to exploit innovation to create value. As changes happen in society and economy, organizations and enterprises have to keep up and this requires innovation. This conceptual paper is to study the radical design driven innovation in the Malaysian furniture industry as a business model which the overall aim of the study is to examine the radical design driven innovation in Malaysia and how it compares with findings from Western studies. This paper will familiarize readers with the innovation and describe the radical design driven perspective that is adopted in its conceptual framework and design process.

  9. The Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh): Driving Innovation in Translational Research Through an Incentive-Based, Problem-Focused Competition

    PubMed Central

    Fitzpatrick, Nicole Edgar; Maier, John; Yasko, Laurel; Mathias, David; Qua, Kacy; Wagner, Erika; Miller, Elizabeth; Reis, Steven E.

    2017-01-01

    Problem Translational research aims to move scientific discoveries across the biomedical spectrum from the laboratory to humans, and to ultimately transform clinical practice and public health policies. Despite efforts to accelerate translational research through national initiatives, several major hurdles remain. Approach The authors created the Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh) as an incentive-based, problem-focused approach to solving identified clinical or public health problems at the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute in spring 2014. With input from a broad range of stakeholders, PInCh leadership arrived at the challenge question: How do we empower individuals to take control of their own health outcomes? The authors developed the PInCh’s three-round proposal submission and review process as well as an online contest management tool to support the process. Outcomes Ninety-two teams submitted videos proposals in round one. Proposals included mobile applications (29, 32%), other information technology (19, 21%), and community program (22, 24%) solutions. Ten teams advanced to the final round, where three were awarded $100,000 to implement their solution over twelve months. In a six-month follow-up survey, 6/11 (55%) team leaders stated the PInCh helped to facilitate connections outside their normal sphere of collaborators. Next Steps Additional educational training sessions related to problem-focused research will be developed. The PInCh will be expanded to engage investment and industry communities to facilitate the translation of solutions to clinical practice via commercialization pathways. External organizations and other universities will be engaged to use the PInCh as a mechanism to fuel innovation in their spaces. PMID:27508341

  10. Creating Orthographically Rectified Satellite Multi-Spectral Imagery with High Resolution Digital Elevation Model from LiDAR: A Tutorial

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-08-15

    challenges. ERDC develops innovative solutions in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences for...GRL TR-14-1 iv Abstract Orthoimages are used to produce image- map products for navigation and planning, and serve as source data for advanced...resulting mosaic covers a wider area and contains less visible seams, which makes the map easier to understand. RPC replace the actual sensor model while

  11. Diffusing Supply Chain Innovations at Hewlett-Packard Company: Applications of Performance Technology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cargille, Brian; Branvold, Dwight

    2000-01-01

    Explains how Hewlett-Packard creates supply chain management innovations and effectively diffuses new technologies. Outlines how performance technologists help accelerate the diffusion and adoption of innovations by modifying innovations, define the client adoption path, create resources to lead clients through adoption, and improve the diffusion…

  12. 3 CFR - Driving Innovation and Creating Jobs in Rural America Through Biobased and Sustainable Product...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 3 The President 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Driving Innovation and Creating Jobs in Rural... Documents Memorandum of February 21, 2012 Driving Innovation and Creating Jobs in Rural America Through... The BioPreferred program—established by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law...

  13. The innovation catalysts.

    PubMed

    Martin, Roger L

    2011-06-01

    A few years ago the software development company Intuit realized that it needed a new approach to galvanizing customers. The company's Net Promoter Score was faltering, and customer recommendations of new products were especially disappointing. Intuit decided to hold a two-day, off-site meeting for the company's top 300 managers with a focus on the role of design in innovation. One of the days was dedicated to a program called Design for Delight. The centerpiece of the day was a PowerPoint presentation by Intuit founder Scott Cook, who realized midway through that he was no Steve Jobs: The managers listened dutifully, but there was little energy in the room. By contrast, a subsequent exercise in which the participants worked through a design challenge by creating prototypes, getting feedback, iterating, and refining, had them mesmerized. The eventual result was the creation of a team of nine design-thinking coaches--"innovation catalysts"--from across Intuit who were made available to help any work group create prototypes, run experiments, and learn from customers. The process includes a "painstorm" (to determine the customer's greatest pain point), a "soljam" (to generate and then winnow possible solutions), and a "code-jam" (to write code "good enough" to take to customers within two weeks). Design for Delight has enabled employees throughout Intuit to move from satisfying customers to delighting them.

  14. Innovation by patients with rare diseases and chronic needs.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Pedro; Zejnilovic, Leid; Canhão, Helena; von Hippel, Eric

    2015-04-09

    We provide the first empirical exploration of disease-related innovation by patients and their caregivers. Our aims were to explore to what degree do patients develop innovative solutions; how many of these are unique developments; and do these solutions have positive perceived impact on the patients' overall quality of life? In addition, we explored the factors associated with patient innovation development, and sharing of the solutions that the patients developed. We administered a questionnaire via telephone interviewing to a sample of 500 rare disease patients and caregivers. The solutions reported were pre-screened by the authors for their fit with the self-developed innovation aim of the study. All the reported solutions were then validated for their novelty by two medical professionals. Logistic regression models were used to test the relationships between our key variables, patient innovation and solution sharing. 263 (53%) of our survey respondents reported developing and using a solution to improve management of their diseases. An initial screening removed 81 (16%) solutions for being an obvious misfit to the self-developed innovation aim of the study. This lowered the sample of potentially innovative solutions to 182 (36%). Assessment of novelty and usefulness of the solutions, conducted by two medical evaluators, confirmed that 40 solutions (8%) were indeed novel, while the remaining 142 (28%) were already known to medicine. The likelihood of patient innovation increased as the education level increased (OR 2, p < 0.05), and as their perception of limitations imposed by their disease increased (OR 1.3, p < 0.05). 55 individuals diffused their solutions to some degree, with 50 of these sharing via direct diffusion to other patients. There is a positive relationship between the impact of a solution on the respondents' overall quality of life and likelihood of solution sharing. Given that hundreds of millions of people worldwide are afflicted by rare diseases, patient and their caregivers can be a tremendous source of innovation for many who are similarly afflicted. Our findings suggest that many patients could be greatly assisted by improved diffusion of known solutions and best practices to and among patients and their caregivers.

  15. Soft Costs Fact Sheet

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    2016-05-01

    This fact sheet is an overview of the systems integration subprogram at the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative. Soft costs can vary significantly as a result of a fragmented energy marketplace. In the U.S., there are 18,000 jurisdictions and 3,000 utilities with different rules and regulations for how to go solar. The same solar equipment may vary widely in its final installation price due to process and market variations across jurisdictions, creating barriers to rapid industry growth. SunShot supports the development of innovative solutions that enable communities to build their local economies and establish clean energy initiatives that meetmore » their needs, while at the same time creating sustainable solar market conditions.« less

  16. Battlefield innovation: a case-study of remote sensor development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Orson, Jay A.; Hague, Tyler N.

    2007-10-01

    Evolving threats encountered by coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom drive the need for innovations in airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. In many cases, disruptive capabilities are created by linking existing technologies and new radical technologies in a novel way. Some of the radical technologies used in achieving these disruptive capabilities are existing prototypes or one-of-a-kind systems that are thrust into the field to quickly react to emerging threats. Horned Owl is one such rapidly developed innovative technical solution designed to meet immediate battlefield needs. This paper focuses on two key areas of this initiative. The first is the innovation champion establishing a collaborative environment which fosters creativity and allows the project to mature the disruptive capability. The second is the practical implication, or challenges of deploying experimental systems in a battlefield environment. Discussions of these two areas provide valuable lessons to guide future innovation champions when presented with the dual task of balancing system maturation with meeting operational demand. Contents of this paper are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, or the Department of the Air Force.

  17. The CNO and Leading Innovation: Competencies for the Future.

    PubMed

    Weatherford, Barbara; Bower, Kathleen A; Vitello-Cicciu, Joan

    Although innovation is critical to success in today's tumultuous environment, health care is slow to embrace it, and there is significant variability in strategic adoption of innovation across organizations. Nurse leaders do not need to be innovators themselves but must engage in, and have the ability to create, an organizational culture of innovation. Twenty-six leadership behaviors specific to innovation leadership were identified through a Delphi study to develop competencies as well as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that support nurse leaders in acquiring or expanding the capability of nurse leaders to create a culture of innovation. It was demonstrated that nursing innovation experts were able to differentiate between general leadership behaviors and innovation leader behaviors. In addition, the need to acquire basic leadership competencies before mastering innovation leader competencies was identified. Five strategies to initiate or expand a culture of innovation in organizations were identified, including (1) assessment of organizational capacity for innovation; (2) acknowledgement of the responsibility of all leaders to create an innovation-rich environment; (3) provision of education, skill building, and coaching; (4) encouragement of an ongoing practice of innovation, even in the face of failure; and (5) development of a sustainable culture of innovation.

  18. The Space Apps Challenge: Using Open Innovation Competitions to Engage The Public in the Scientific Process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, S. S.

    2016-12-01

    NASA's Space Apps Challenge encourages innovation, creativity and collaborative problem solving by gathering coders, builders, artists, designers, and storytellers in a 48-hour hackathon. Open Innovation competitions such as the Space Apps Challenge bring the scientific world to members of the public, regardless of age, experience, credentials, or expertise. In the past five years, this model of public engagement has been widely employed by government, nonprofit and academic institutions, allowing the building of partnerships between the scientific community and the individuals and communities they serve. Furthermore, advances in technology and challenge models have lowered the barriers and costs to scientific collaboration with and for the public. NASA's Space Apps Challenge, structured as a competition seeking solutions from the public to posed problems, brings together teams and forges collaborations between individuals and groups who would otherwise have never worked together for a short but high intensity problem solving session, Space Apps has has created a pathway to public engagement and innovation that is often faster, cheaper, and more impactful than traditional approaches.

  19. Less noise, more hacking: how to deploy principles from MIT's hacking medicine to accelerate health care.

    PubMed

    DePasse, Jacqueline W; Carroll, Ryan; Ippolito, Andrea; Yost, Allison; Santorino, Data; Chu, Zen; Olson, Kristian R

    2014-07-01

    Medical technology offers enormous potential for scalable medicine--to improve the quality and access in health care while simultaneously reducing cost. However, current medical device innovation within companies often only offers incremental advances on existing products, or originates from engineers with limited knowledge of the clinical complexities. We describe how the Hacking Medicine Initiative, based at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed an innovative "healthcare hackathon" approach, bringing diverse teams together to rapidly validate clinical needs and develop solutions. Hackathons are based on three core principles; emphasis on a problem-based approach, cross-pollination of disciplines, and "pivoting" on or rapidly iterating on ideas. Hackathons also offer enormous potential for innovation in global health by focusing on local needs and resources as well as addressing feasibility and cultural contextualization. Although relatively new, the success of this approach is clear, as evidenced by the development of successful startup companies, pioneering product design, and the incorporation of creative people from outside traditional life science backgrounds who are working with clinicians and other scientists to create transformative innovation in health care.

  20. An innovation diffusion model of a local electricity network that is influenced by internal and external factors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hattam, Laura; Greetham, Danica Vukadinović

    2018-01-01

    Haynes et al. (1977) derived a nonlinear differential equation to determine the spread of innovations within a social network across space and time. This model depends upon the imitators and the innovators within the social system, where the imitators respond to internal influences, whilst the innovators react to external factors. Here, this differential equation is applied to simulate the uptake of a low-carbon technology (LCT) within a real local electricity network that is situated in the UK. This network comprises of many households that are assigned to certain feeders. Firstly, travelling wave solutions of Haynes' model are used to predict adoption times as a function of the imitation and innovation influences. Then, the grid that represents the electricity network is created so that the finite element method (FEM) can be implemented. Next, innovation diffusion is modelled with Haynes' equation and the FEM, where varying magnitudes of the internal and external pressures are imposed. Consequently, the impact of these model parameters is investigated. Moreover, LCT adoption trajectories at fixed feeder locations are calculated, which give a macroscopic understanding of the uptake behaviour at specific network sites. Lastly, the adoption of LCTs at a household level is examined, where microscopic and macroscopic approaches are combined.

  1. Perceptions of an international interprofessional education experience: Findings from students based in Europe and North America.

    PubMed

    Macauley, Kelly; Skov, Hanne; Lehtonen, Krista; Shulman, Brian

    2016-09-01

    The globalisation of healthcare is changing the demands placed on health professionals. It requires different skills and thought processes across national borders. Thinking in an innovative manner may provide healthcare workers with some of the necessary tools to facilitate international change by increasing students' mental flexibility and ability to apply solutions in multiple contexts. We created the International Innovation Program for health profession education students to learn about and implement the innovation process. The programme provides students the opportunity to learn in interprofessional, international teams and apply didactic knowledge to community problems using the innovation process. The purpose of this article is to describe student perceptions across 4 years of programme implementation. Through analysis of closed-ended survey data, we found that students who participated in the programme reported improvements in collaboration and teamwork, project management, interprofessional teamwork, professional growth and development, thinking in an innovative manner, research and development skills, information seeking, and willingness to work on international projects. Analysis of the open-ended questions revealed five themes: language, teamwork and collaboration, cultural awareness, innovation process, and personal growth and self-improvement. The long-term, follow-up data indicate that these attributes can be transferred into a clinical context which have implications for improved collaboration and patient care.

  2. To make or buy patient safety solutions: a resource dependence and transaction cost economics perspective.

    PubMed

    Fareed, Naleef; Mick, Stephen S

    2011-01-01

    For almost a decade, public and private organizations have pressured hospitals to improve their patient safety records. Since 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has no longer been reimbursing hospitals for secondary diagnoses not reported during the point of admission. This ruling has motivated some hospitals to engage in safety-oriented programs to decrease adverse events. This study examined which hospitals may engage in patient safety solutions and whether they create these patient safety solutions within their structures or use suppliers in the market. We used a theoretical model that incorporates the key constructs of resource dependence theory and transaction cost economics theory to predict a hospital's reaction to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services "never event" regulations. We present propositions that speculate on how forces conceptualized from the resource dependence theory may affect adoption of patient safety innovations and, when they do, whether the adopting hospitals will do so internally or externally according to the transaction cost economics theory. On the basis of forces identified by the resource dependence theory, we predict that larger, teaching, safety net, horizontally integrated, highly interdependent, and public hospitals in concentrated, high public payer presence, competitive, and resource-rich environments will be more likely to engage in patient safety innovations. Following the logic of the transaction cost economics theory, we predict that of the hospitals that react positively to the never event regulation, most will internalize their innovations in patient safety solutions rather than approach the market, a choice that helps hospitals economize on transaction costs. This study helps hospital managers in their strategic thinking and planning in relation to current and future regulations related to patient safety. For researchers and policy analysts, our propositions provide the basis for empirical testing.

  3. Implementation of spatial smart waste management system in malaysia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Omar, M. F.; Termizi, A. A. A.; Zainal, D.; Wahap, N. A.; Ismail, N. M.; Ahmad, N.

    2016-06-01

    One of the challenges to innovate and create an IoT -enabled solution is in monitoring and management of the environment. Waste collection utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) with the technology of smart wireless sensors will able to gather fill-level data from waste containers hence providing a waste monitoring solution that brings up savings in waste collection costs. One of the challenges to the local authority is how to monitor the works of contractor effective and efficiently in waste management. This paper will propose to the local authority the implementation of smart waste management in Malaysia to improve the city management and to provide better services to the public towards smart city applications.

  4. Fire safety arrangement of inhabited pressurized compartments of manned spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bolodian, Ivan; Melikhov, Anatoliy; Tanklevskiy, Leonid

    2017-06-01

    The article deals with innovative technical solutions that provide fire safety in inhabited pressurized compartments of manned spacecraft by means of a fireproof device of inhabited pressurized compartments via application of engineering means of fire prevention and fire spreading prevention by lowering fire load in an inhabited pressurized module up to the point when the maximum possible levels of fire factors in an inhabited pressurized compartment of a manned spacecraft are prevented. Represented technical solutions are used at the present time according to stated recommendations during provision of fire safety of equipment created by a number of Russian organizations for equipage of inhabited pressurized compartments of spacecraft of the Russian segment of International space station.

  5. 2012 Presidential Address: Daring to Be Different Using Five Discovery Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buck, Sue

    2012-01-01

    In "The Innovator's DNA, Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators," authors Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton M. Christensen, challenge the reader to become more innovative and impactful. They share three levels of innovation. Level one is creating enough program change so it creates interest for people to come back. Level two is…

  6. Empower: access to medicine - working towards early access.

    PubMed

    Pearson, Jennifer Bryant; Turgoose, James; Hargrave, James

    2015-01-01

    Empower: Access to Medicine's contribution will document the founding of Empower: Access to Medicine and tactics used to create a lobbying campaign designed to facilitate the debate around barriers to medical innovation and patient access to medicines. The article will detail the evolution of the campaign's goals and the potential solutions to an expensive and slow system. Specifically the submission will look at the influence that Empower: Access to Medicine had on the Government's thinking and development of an early access scheme.

  7. The new world of discovery, invention, and innovation: convergence of knowledge, technology, and society

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roco, Mihail C.; Bainbridge, William S.

    2013-09-01

    Convergence of knowledge and technology for the benefit of society (CKTS) is the core opportunity for progress in the twenty-first century. CKTS is defined as the escalating and transformative interactions among seemingly different disciplines, technologies, communities, and domains of human activity to achieve mutual compatibility, synergism, and integration, and through this process to create added value and branch out to meet shared goals. Convergence has been progressing by stages over the past several decades, beginning with nanotechnology for the material world, followed by convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information, and cognitive science (NBIC) for emerging technologies. CKTS is the third level of convergence. It suggests a general process to advance creativity, innovation, and societal progress based on five general purpose principles: (1) the interdependence of all components of nature and society, (2) decision analysis for research, development, and applications based on dynamic system-logic deduction, (3) enhancement of creativity and innovation through evolutionary processes of convergence that combines existing principles and divergence that generates new ones, (4) the utility of higher-level cross-domain languages to generate new solutions and support transfer of new knowledge, and (5) the value of vision-inspired basic research embodied in grand challenges. CKTS is a general purpose approach in knowledge society. It allows society to answer questions and resolve problems that isolated capabilities cannot, as well as to create new competencies, knowledge, and technologies on this basis. Possible solutions are outlined for key societal challenges in the next decade, including support for foundational emerging technologies NBIC to penetrate essential platforms of human activity and create new industries and jobs, improve lifelong wellness and human potential, achieve personalized and integrated healthcare and education, and secure a sustainable quality of life for all. This paper provides a 10-year "NBIC2" vision within a longer-term framework for converging technology and human progress outlined in a previous study of unifying principles across "NBIC" fields that began with nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and technologies based on and enabling cognitive science (Roco and Bainbridge, Converging technologies for improving human performance: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive sciences, 2003).

  8. The BioIntelligence Framework: a new computational platform for biomedical knowledge computing

    PubMed Central

    Farley, Toni; Kiefer, Jeff; Lee, Preston; Von Hoff, Daniel; Trent, Jeffrey M; Colbourn, Charles

    2013-01-01

    Breakthroughs in molecular profiling technologies are enabling a new data-intensive approach to biomedical research, with the potential to revolutionize how we study, manage, and treat complex diseases. The next great challenge for clinical applications of these innovations will be to create scalable computational solutions for intelligently linking complex biomedical patient data to clinically actionable knowledge. Traditional database management systems (DBMS) are not well suited to representing complex syntactic and semantic relationships in unstructured biomedical information, introducing barriers to realizing such solutions. We propose a scalable computational framework for addressing this need, which leverages a hypergraph-based data model and query language that may be better suited for representing complex multi-lateral, multi-scalar, and multi-dimensional relationships. We also discuss how this framework can be used to create rapid learning knowledge base systems to intelligently capture and relate complex patient data to biomedical knowledge in order to automate the recovery of clinically actionable information. PMID:22859646

  9. Part 3 Specialized aspects of GIS and spatial analysis . Garage band science and dynamic spatial models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Box, Paul W.

    GIS and spatial analysis is suited mainly for static pictures of the landscape, but many of the processes that need exploring are dynamic in nature. Dynamic processes can be complex when put in a spatial context; our ability to study such processes will probably come with advances in understanding complex systems in general. Cellular automata and agent-based models are two prime candidates for exploring complex spatial systems, but are difficult to implement. Innovative tools that help build complex simulations will create larger user communities, who will probably find novel solutions for understanding complexity. A significant source for such innovations is likely to be from the collective efforts of hobbyists and part-time programmers, who have been dubbed ``garage-band scientists'' in the popular press.

  10. Sense and Sensibility: The Case for the Nationwide Inclusion of Engineering in the K-12 Curriculum

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lindberg, Robert E.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Batterson, James G.

    2008-01-01

    The competitive status of the United States is inextricably linked to innovation just as innovation is inseparable from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. To stay competitive in innovation requires that the United States produce a 21st century workforce complete with requisite education, training, skills, and motivation. If we accept a priori that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education are crucial to competitiveness and innovation and that, in terms of innovation, mathematics, science, and engineering are interdependent, why are mathematics and science uniformly ubiquitous in the K-12 curriculum while engineering is conspicuously absent? We are passionate in our belief that the uniform addition of engineering to the K-12 curriculum will help ensure that the nation has "the right" 21st Century workforce. Furthermore, we believe that a nationwide effort, led by a coalition of engineering academics, practitioners, and societies is required to turn this goal into reality. However, accomplishing this goal necessitates, as we are reminded by the title of Jane Austen's timeless novel, "Sense and Sensibility", a workable solution that seeks the "middle ground" between passion and reason. We begin our paper by making two essential points: Engineers are not scientists. Engineering exists separate from science, has its own specialized knowledge community apart from science, and it is largely responsible for many of the most significant advancements and improvements in the quality of our life. Our workable solution requires that K-12 education, nationwide, accommodate the inclusion of engineering as a stand alone curriculum and we offer three reasons to support our position: (1) workforce development, (2) stimulating interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses and careers, and (3) creating a technologically literate society. We conclude with some thoughts on how this important goal can be accomplished.

  11. ARPA-E: Creating Practical, Affordable Natural Gas Storage Solutions

    ScienceCinema

    Boysen, Dane; Loukus, Josh; Hansen, Rita

    2018-05-11

    Allowing people to refuel natural gas vehicles at home could revolutionize the way we power our cars and trucks. Currently, our nation faces two challenges in enabling natural gas for transportation. The first is improving the way gas tanks are built for natural gas vehicles; they need to be conformable, allowing them to fit tightly into the vehicle. The second challenge is improving the way those tanks are refueled while maintaining cost-effectiveness, safety, and reliability. This video highlights two ARPA-E project teams with innovative solutions to these challenges. REL is addressing the first challenge by developing a low-cost, conformable natural gas tank with an interconnected core structure. Oregon State University and OnBoard Dynamics are addressing the second challenge by developing a self-refueling natural gas vehicle that integrates a compressor into its engine-using one of the engine's cylinders to compress gas eliminates the need for an expensive at-home refueling system. These two distinct technologies from ARPA-E's MOVE program illustrate how the Agency takes a multi-pronged approach to problem solving and innovation.

  12. Surmounting the unique challenges in health disparities education: a multi-institution qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Carter-Pokras, Olivia; Bereknyei, Sylvia; Lie, Desiree; Braddock, Clarence H

    2010-05-01

    The National Consortium for Multicultural Education for Health Professionals (Consortium) comprises educators representing 18 US medical schools, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Collective lessons learned from curriculum implementation by principal investigators (PIs) have the potential to guide similar educational endeavors. Describe Consortium PI's self-reported challenges with curricular development, solutions and their new curricular products. Information was collected from PIs over 2 months using a 53-question structured three-part questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed PI demographics, curriculum implementation challenges and solutions, and newly created curricular products. Study participants were 18 Consortium PIs. Descriptive analysis was used for quantitative data. Narrative responses were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative thematic coding. Response rate was 100%. Common barriers and challenges identified by PIs were: finding administrative and leadership support, sustaining the momentum, continued funding, finding curricular space, accessing and engaging communities, and lack of education research methodology skills. Solutions identified included engaging stakeholders, project-sharing across schools, advocacy and active participation in committees and community, and seeking sustainable funding. All Consortium PIs reported new curricular products and extensive dissemination efforts outside their own institutions. The Consortium model has added benefits for curricular innovation and dissemination for cultural competence education to address health disparities. Lessons learned may be applicable to other educational innovation efforts.

  13. Exploration and practice of the cultivation of optoelectronic innovative talents based on the Students Innovation Training Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lei, Bing; Liu, Wei; Shi, Jianhua; Yao, Tianfu; Wang, Wei; Hu, Haojun

    2017-08-01

    The Students Innovation Training Program (SITP) has become an effective method to impel the teaching reform and improve undergraduate's innovative practical ability in Chinese colleges and universities, which is quite helpful for students to understand the social requirement, to grasp the basic means of scientific research and to improve their innovative practical ability and team work spirit. In this paper, three problems have been analyzed and discussed based on our organizing and instructing experience of SITP in recent years. Firstly, the SITP is a synthetically training project, and it is quite suitable to cultivate the students' innovative practical ability. Because SITP is similar to the real scientific research activity, and both of them include the steps of project application, solution design, research implementation and project summary etc. By making great efforts to these basic training steps, the undergraduates' innovative practical ability has been improved systemically. Secondly, a new talents cultivation system has been constructed based on SITP by integrating the subject competitions, graduation design and other conventional training activities, which is quite good to improve the training quality and decrease the total training class hours. Thirdly, a series of long-term effective operation and management guidelines have been established to ensure the SITP work normally, including doing a good job of project evaluation, setting up a reward and punishment system and creating a good atmosphere for innovation. In conclusion, great efforts have been made to enhance undergraduates' innovative ability, and the research results will provide useful reference for improving the training effects and reforming talents cultivating mode further.

  14. 21st-Century Schools and School Leadership: Creating and Sustaining Innovation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Butler, Victoria Lee

    2016-01-01

    As schools move from more traditional educational curricula and systems to practices more innovative and relevant to 21st-century learning, it is necessary to understand the actions and attributes that are effective for creating innovative learning environments. This study explored how 21st-century learning environments and practices are…

  15. Creating a High Impact Learning Environment for Engineering Technology Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhan, Wei; Wang, Jyhwen; Vanajakumari, Manoj; Johnson, Michael D.

    2018-01-01

    This paper discusses an initiative called Product Innovation and Development (PID) that was launched at Texas A&M University. The goal of PID is to create a high impact learning environment that focuses on innovative product development. Undergraduate students are hired to develop innovative new products. The student teams generate ideas for…

  16. An innovative way of thinking nuclear waste management - Neutron physics of a reactor directly operating on SNF.

    PubMed

    Merk, Bruno; Litskevich, Dzianis; Bankhead, Mark; Taylor, Richard J

    2017-01-01

    A solution for the nuclear waste problem is the key challenge for an extensive use of nuclear reactors as a major carbon free, sustainable, and applied highly reliable energy source. Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T) promises a solution for improved waste management. Current strategies rely on systems designed in the 60's for the massive production of plutonium. We propose an innovative strategic development plan based on invention and innovation described with the concept of developments in s-curves identifying the current boundary conditions, and the evolvable objectives. This leads to the ultimate, universal vision for energy production characterized by minimal use of resources and production of waste, while being economically affordable and safe, secure and reliable in operation. This vision is transformed into a mission for a disruptive development of the future nuclear energy system operated by burning of existing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) without prior reprocessing. This highly innovative approach fulfils the sustainability goals and creates new options for P&T. A proof on the feasibility from neutronic point of view is given demonstrating sufficient breeding of fissile material from the inserted SNF. The system does neither require new resources nor produce additional waste, thus it provides a highly sustainable option for a future nuclear system fulfilling the requests of P&T as side effect. In addition, this nuclear system provides enhanced resistance against misuse of Pu and a significantly reduced fuel cycle. However, the new system requires a demand driven rethinking of the separation process to be efficient.

  17. An innovative way of thinking nuclear waste management – Neutron physics of a reactor directly operating on SNF

    PubMed Central

    Litskevich, Dzianis; Bankhead, Mark; Taylor, Richard J.

    2017-01-01

    A solution for the nuclear waste problem is the key challenge for an extensive use of nuclear reactors as a major carbon free, sustainable, and applied highly reliable energy source. Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T) promises a solution for improved waste management. Current strategies rely on systems designed in the 60’s for the massive production of plutonium. We propose an innovative strategic development plan based on invention and innovation described with the concept of developments in s-curves identifying the current boundary conditions, and the evolvable objectives. This leads to the ultimate, universal vision for energy production characterized by minimal use of resources and production of waste, while being economically affordable and safe, secure and reliable in operation. This vision is transformed into a mission for a disruptive development of the future nuclear energy system operated by burning of existing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) without prior reprocessing. This highly innovative approach fulfils the sustainability goals and creates new options for P&T. A proof on the feasibility from neutronic point of view is given demonstrating sufficient breeding of fissile material from the inserted SNF. The system does neither require new resources nor produce additional waste, thus it provides a highly sustainable option for a future nuclear system fulfilling the requests of P&T as side effect. In addition, this nuclear system provides enhanced resistance against misuse of Pu and a significantly reduced fuel cycle. However, the new system requires a demand driven rethinking of the separation process to be efficient. PMID:28749952

  18. Terra-Preta-Technology as an innovative system component to create circulation oriented, sustainable land use systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dotterweich, M.; Böttcher, J.; Krieger, A.

    2012-04-01

    This paper presents current research and application projects on innovative system solutions which are based on the implementation of a regional resource efficient material flow management as well as utilising "Terra-Preta-Technology" as an innovative system component. Terra Preta Substrate (TPS) is a recently developed substance composed of liquid and solid organic matter, including biochar, altered by acid-lactic fermentation. Based on their properties, positive effects on water and nutrient retention, soil microbiological activity, and cation-exchange capacity are expected and currently investigated by different projects. TPS further sequesters carbon and decreases NO2 emissions from fertilized soils as observed by the use of biochar. The production of TPS is based on a circulation oriented organic waste management system directly adapted to the local available inputs and desired soil amendment properties. The production of TPS is possible with simple box systems for subsistence farming but also on a much larger scale as modular industrial plants for farmers or commercial and municipal waste management companies in sizes from 500 and 50,000 m3. The Terra-Preta-Technology enhances solutions to soil conservation, soil amelioration, humic formation, reduced water consumption, long term carbon sequestration, nutrient retention, containment binding, and to biodiversity on local to a regional scale. The projects also involve research of ancient land management systems to enhance resource efficiency by means of an integrative and transdisciplinary approach.

  19. Cultivating a Grassroots Aerospace Innovation Culture at NASA Ames Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    D'Souza, Sarah; Sanchez, Hugo; Lewis, Ryan

    2017-01-01

    This paper details the adaptation of specific 'knowledge production' methods to implement a first of its kind, grassroots event that provokes a cultural change in how the NASA Ames civil servant community engages in the creation and selection of innovative ideas. Historically, selection of innovative proposals at NASA Ames Research Center is done at the highest levels of management, isolating the views and perspectives of the larger civil servant community. Additionally, NASA innovation programs are typically open to technical organizations and do not engage non-technical organizations to bring forward innovative processes/business practices. Finally, collaboration on innovative ideas and associated solutions tend to be isolated to organizational silos. In this environment, not all Ames employees feel empowered to innovate and opportunities for employee collaboration are limited. In order to address these issues, the 'innovation contest' method was adapted to create the NASA Ames Innovation Fair, a unique, grassroots innovation opportunity for the civil servant community. The Innovation Fair consisted of a physical event with a virtual component. The physical event provided innovators the opportunity to collaborate and pitch their innovations to the NASA Ames community. The civil servant community then voted for the projects that they viewed as innovative and would contribute to NASA's core mission, making this event a truly grassroots effort. The Innovation Fair website provided a location for additional knowledge sharing, discussion, and voting. On March 3rd, 2016, the 'First Annual NASA Ames Innovation Fair' was held with 49 innovators and more than 300 participants collaborating and/or voting for the best innovations. Based on the voting results, seven projects were awarded seed funding for projects ranging from innovative cost models to innovations in aerospace technology. Surveys of both innovators and Fair participants show the Innovation Fair was successful in fostering cross-organizational collaborations, soliciting participation of non-technical innovations, and increasing employee engagement in influencing the future of NASA Ames Research Center. The grassroots component of the Innovation Fair has been bench marked by the agency as a solid foundation for increasing employee engagement in the development of game changing aerospace technology and processes in support of NASA's mission.

  20. ARPA-E: Celebrating the Energy Entrepreneur

    ScienceCinema

    Williams, Ellen; Henshall, Dave; Babinec, Sue; Wessells, Colin; Zakhor, Avideh; Mockler, Todd

    2018-01-16

    The world faces urgent energy challenges brought on by projected population increases, aging infrastructure and the global threat of climate change. ARPA-E is investing in some of the country’s brightest energy entrepreneurs that are developing innovative technological options to help meet future energy needs. Featuring remarks from ARPA-E Director Dr. Ellen D. Williams, as well as interviews with the Deputy Director of Commercialization Dave Henshall, Senior Technology-to-Market Advisor Sue Babinec, and a number of ARPA-E awardees, this video highlights the energy entrepreneur, and the critical role they play in creating solutions to address future energy challenges and ensure a secure energy future. The video also incorporates footage shot on site with several ARPA-E awardees who are spurring innovation, much of which will be highlighted in other videos shown throughout the Summit.

  1. Improving Ambulatory Training in Internal Medicine: X + Y (or Why Not?).

    PubMed

    Ray, Alaka; Jones, Danielle; Palamara, Kerri; Overland, Maryann; Steinberg, Kenneth P

    2016-12-01

    The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirement that internal medicine residents spend one-third of their training in an ambulatory setting has resulted in programmatic innovation across the country. The traditional weekly half-day clinic model has lost ground to the block or "X + Y" clinic model, which has gained in popularity for many reasons. Several disadvantages of the block model have been reported, however, and residency programs are caught between the threat of old and new challenges. We offer the perspectives of three large residency programs (University of Washington, Emory University, and Massachusetts General Hospital) that have successfully navigated scheduling challenges in our individual settings without implementing the block model. By sharing our innovative non-block models, we hope to demonstrate that programs can and should create the solution that fits their individual needs.

  2. ARPA-E: Celebrating the Energy Entrepreneur

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Williams, Ellen; Henshall, Dave; Babinec, Sue

    The world faces urgent energy challenges brought on by projected population increases, aging infrastructure and the global threat of climate change. ARPA-E is investing in some of the country’s brightest energy entrepreneurs that are developing innovative technological options to help meet future energy needs. Featuring remarks from ARPA-E Director Dr. Ellen D. Williams, as well as interviews with the Deputy Director of Commercialization Dave Henshall, Senior Technology-to-Market Advisor Sue Babinec, and a number of ARPA-E awardees, this video highlights the energy entrepreneur, and the critical role they play in creating solutions to address future energy challenges and ensure a securemore » energy future. The video also incorporates footage shot on site with several ARPA-E awardees who are spurring innovation, much of which will be highlighted in other videos shown throughout the Summit.« less

  3. A remote-controlled adaptive medchem lab: an innovative approach to enable drug discovery in the 21st Century.

    PubMed

    Godfrey, Alexander G; Masquelin, Thierry; Hemmerle, Horst

    2013-09-01

    This article describes our experiences in creating a fully integrated, globally accessible, automated chemical synthesis laboratory. The goal of the project was to establish a fully integrated automated synthesis solution that was initially focused on minimizing the burden of repetitive, routine, rules-based operations that characterize more established chemistry workflows. The architecture was crafted to allow for the expansion of synthetic capabilities while also providing for a flexible interface that permits the synthesis objective to be introduced and manipulated as needed under the judicious direction of a remote user in real-time. This innovative central synthesis suite is herein described along with some case studies to illustrate the impact such a system is having in expanding drug discovery capabilities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. [Revascularisation of the aorta, of the renal and of the lower limb arterial systems].

    PubMed

    Nagy, Csaba; Király, István; Bánsághi, Zoltán; Doros, Attila

    2015-04-26

    Revascularisation aims to create a patent lumen in an acutely or chronically occluded or stenosed vessel. Interventional radiology has developed and used minimally invasive methods for decades concurring surgical methods and medical therapy. Innovative fields in healthcare may be handicapped since revolutionary solutions usually gain wide acceptance slowly and the results of randomized controlled trials are reported late. At present endovascular recanalization, dilatation and stent placement have achieved a well-established role in the treatment of stenosis or occlusion of the aorta, and renal and peripheral arteries.

  5. Green ergonomics: combining sustainability and ergonomics.

    PubMed

    Pilczuk, Davana; Barefield, Kevin

    2014-01-01

    When discussing ergonomics, the term 'sustainability' usually refers to the preservation of the human workforce. However, in 2010 Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation made a conscious effort to combine ergonomics and environmental sustainability in order to increase employee engagement for both programs. They introduced a companywide campaign called Green Ergo which is the idea of creating ergonomic solutions from scrap material found on site. This concept embraced the true meaning of 'green' and encouraged engineers and employees all across the company to design innovative green ergonomic solutions. The idea generated over 35 new ergo solutions, reduced waste production, and solved over 700 ergo problems for a fraction of the cost of newly purchased items. The demand for these items grew large enough that the company outsourced their manufacturing to a local non-profit. The Green Ergo campaign has changed the culture of the company and has increased the level of buy-in for both the ergonomics and sustainability programs.

  6. Agile Methods: Selected DoD Management and Acquisition Concerns

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-10-01

    SIDRE Software Intensive Innovative Development and Reengineering/Evolution SLIM Software Lifecycle Management -Estimate SLOC source lines of code...ISBN #0321502752 Coaching Agile Teams Lyssa Adkins ISBN #0321637704 Agile Project Management : Creating Innovative Products – Second Edition Jim...Accessed July 13, 2011. [Highsmith 2009] Highsmith, J. Agile Project Management : Creating Innovative Products, 2nd ed. Addison- Wesley, 2009

  7. Hackathon Public Health.

    PubMed

    Firenze, A; Provenzano, S; Santangelo, O E; Alagna, E; Piazza, D; Torregrossa, M V

    2017-01-01

    It is necessary to implement current teaching in the healthcare and university sector by promoting new tools for the enhancement of public health, bearing in mind that some health determinants seek to create a context in which to present their own idea of innovative Startup, can represent the opportunity to give your professional contribution to the development of another's idea or to propose an improved solution to the private business. On the other hand, networking with companies and networking between training participants will allow us to recognize the importance of demonstrating their diverse skills as a key element to create a successful Startup or to implement the activities of a reality already consolidated. This paper describes the research protocol of a Hackathon Public Health (HPH) teaching methodology aimed at: a) increasing public health knowledge; b) changing the proactive approach of the healthcare provider, especially by increasing the sectoral training activity; c) to promote educational and training activities in Italian regions. The subjects involved will be healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, health professions, psychologists, biologists, assistants in training) who are selected to receive or not the intervention through the implementation of a HPH which also includes training activity. HPH is an innovation in the national health landscape, with the aim of creating environments and training policies aimed at promoting proper clinical risk management as part of the continuous improvement of the quality of healthcare organizations and proper training activities.

  8. Use of Innovative Forms of Teaching Students to Create Business Discourse

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gennadyevna, Novikova Natalia; Mikhailovna, Zorina Natalia; Vadimovich, Kortunov Vadim

    2015-01-01

    This article highlights an important role of speech studies disciplines in teaching students to create business discourse, stresses practical orientation of teaching, a need to achieve a greater and more effective balance of theory and practice. The article presents innovative forms of teaching students to create and percept institutional business…

  9. Biomedical device innovation methodology: applications in biophotonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beswick, Daniel M.; Kaushik, Arjun; Beinart, Dylan; McGarry, Sarah; Yew, Ming Khoon; Kennedy, Brendan F.; Maria, Peter Luke Santa

    2018-02-01

    The process of medical device innovation involves an iterative method that focuses on designing innovative, device-oriented solutions that address unmet clinical needs. This process has been applied to the field of biophotonics with many notable successes. Device innovation begins with identifying an unmet clinical need and evaluating this need through a variety of lenses, including currently existing solutions for the need, stakeholders who are interested in the need, and the market that will support an innovative solution. Only once the clinical need is understood in detail can the invention process begin. The ideation phase often involves multiple levels of brainstorming and prototyping with the aim of addressing technical and clinical questions early and in a cost-efficient manner. Once potential solutions are found, they are tested against a number of known translational factors, including intellectual property, regulatory, and reimbursement landscapes. Only when the solution matches the clinical need, the next phase of building a "to market" strategy should begin. Most aspects of the innovation process can be conducted relatively quickly and without significant capital expense. This white paper focuses on key points of the medical device innovation method and how the field of biophotonics has been applied within this framework to generate clinical and commercial success.

  10. Gaining a Competitive Edge through Action Design Research

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alexa, L.; Alexa, M.; Avasilcăi, S.

    2016-08-01

    The current business environment is characterized by increased competition and highly innovative approach, in order to create products and services to better respond to the costumers’ needs and expectations. In this specific context, the research approaches need to be more flexible and business oriented and so, throughout the paper we have used a research method that combines design research and action research, named Action Design Research which is a research method used for generating prescriptive design knowledge through building and evaluating IT artifacts in an organizational setting [1]. Following the Action Design Research stages and principles: problem identification, building, intervention and evaluation, reflection and learning and formalization of learning, the research team has developed an online instrument used to actively involve the consumer in the product development process, in order to generate a better consumers insight regarding their needs and desires and to design and/or adjust the product accordingly. The customer engagement IT tool created and tested by using Action Design Research, E-PICUS, has been developed within the framework of the research project „E-solutions for innovation through customer pro-active involvement in value creation to increase organisational competitiveness (E-PICUS)”, PN- II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1811, currently undergoing.

  11. Creating a Learning Community for Solutions to Climate Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bloom, A. J.; Benedict, B. A.; Blockstein, D. E.; Hassenzahl, D. M.; Hunter, A.; Jorgensen, A. D.; Pfirman, S. L.

    2011-12-01

    The rapidly evolving and interdisciplinary nature of climate change presents a challenge to colleges and universities as they seek to educate undergraduate students. To address this challenge, the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) with NSF funding is creating a nationwide cyber-enabled learning community called CAMEL (Climate, Adaptation, and Mitigation e-Learning). CAMEL engages experts in science, policy and decision-making, education, and assessment in the production of a virtual toolbox of curricular resources designed for teaching climate change causes, consequences, and solutions. CAMEL is: ? Developing cyberinfrastructure that supports and promotes the creation of materials and community; ? Generating materials for the Encyclopedia of Earth, a site averaging 50,000 views per day; ? Ensuring that materials developed and shared are founded on the best available scientific information and follow the most appropriate educational practices; ? Assisting faculty at institutions of higher education across the United States as they create, improve, test, and share resources for teaching students not only how to diagnose climate change problems, but also to identify and effect solutions; ? Evaluating the determinants of successful community building using cybermedia. The community and resultant content range from general education to upper division courses for students in a variety of majors. At the center of the community are the 160 colleges and universities represented in NCSE's Council of Environmental Deans and Directors. Members of this group represent recognized expertise in virtually all areas of this project. A team with substantial experience with evaluating innovative initiatives in STEM education is administering the evaluation component.

  12. Research and exploration of product innovative design for function

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Donglin; Wei, Zihui; Wang, Youjiang; Tan, Runhua

    2009-07-01

    Products innovation is under the prerequisite of realizing the new function, the realization of the new function must solve the contradiction. A new process model of new product innovative design was proposed based on Axiomatic Design (AD) Theory and Functional Structure Analysis (FSA), imbedded Principle of Solving Contradiction. In this model, employ AD Theory to guide FSA, determine the contradiction for the realization of the principle solution. To provide powerful support for innovative design tools in principle solution, Principle of Solving Contradiction in the model were imbedded, so as to boost up the innovation of principle solution. As a case study, an innovative design of button battery separator paper punching machine has been achieved with application of the proposed model.

  13. Understanding Innovation Engines: Automated Creativity and Improved Stochastic Optimization via Deep Learning.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, A; Yosinski, J; Clune, J

    2016-01-01

    The Achilles Heel of stochastic optimization algorithms is getting trapped on local optima. Novelty Search mitigates this problem by encouraging exploration in all interesting directions by replacing the performance objective with a reward for novel behaviors. This reward for novel behaviors has traditionally required a human-crafted, behavioral distance function. While Novelty Search is a major conceptual breakthrough and outperforms traditional stochastic optimization on certain problems, it is not clear how to apply it to challenging, high-dimensional problems where specifying a useful behavioral distance function is difficult. For example, in the space of images, how do you encourage novelty to produce hawks and heroes instead of endless pixel static? Here we propose a new algorithm, the Innovation Engine, that builds on Novelty Search by replacing the human-crafted behavioral distance with a Deep Neural Network (DNN) that can recognize interesting differences between phenotypes. The key insight is that DNNs can recognize similarities and differences between phenotypes at an abstract level, wherein novelty means interesting novelty. For example, a DNN-based novelty search in the image space does not explore in the low-level pixel space, but instead creates a pressure to create new types of images (e.g., churches, mosques, obelisks, etc.). Here, we describe the long-term vision for the Innovation Engine algorithm, which involves many technical challenges that remain to be solved. We then implement a simplified version of the algorithm that enables us to explore some of the algorithm's key motivations. Our initial results, in the domain of images, suggest that Innovation Engines could ultimately automate the production of endless streams of interesting solutions in any domain: for example, producing intelligent software, robot controllers, optimized physical components, and art.

  14. Section 4: Requirements Intertwining

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Loucopoulos, Pericles

    Business analysts are being asked to develop increasingly complex and varied business systems that need to cater to the changing and dynamic market conditions of the new economy. This is particularly acute in today’s turbulent business environment where powerful forces such as deregulation, globalisation, mergers, advances in information and telecommunications technologies, and increasing education of people provide opportunities for organising work in ways that have never before been possible. Enterprises attempt to create wealth either by getting better at improving their products and services or by harnessing creativity and human-centred management to create innovative solutions. In these business settings, requirements become critical in bridging system solutions to organisational and societal problems. They intertwine organisational, social, cognitive, and implementation considerations and they can provide unique insights to change in systems and their business context. Such design situations often involve multiple stakeholders from different participating organisations, subcontractors, divisions, etc., who may have a diversity of expertise, come from different organisational cultures and often have competing goals. The success or failure of many projects depends, to a large extent, on understanding the contextual setting of requirements and their interaction amongst a diverse population of stakeholders.

  15. 78 FR 73852 - Army Science Board Winter Plenary Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-09

    ... Board to review the results of the FY13 study titled, ``Creating an Innovation Culture in the Army'' in... the Fiscal Year 2013 ``Creating an Innovation Culture'' Study. The ASB board members will cast a vote...

  16. Can psychology walk the walk of open science?

    PubMed

    Hesse, Bradford W

    2018-01-01

    An "open science movement" is gaining traction across many disciplines within the research enterprise but is also precipitating consternation among those who worry that too much disruption may be hampering professional productivity. Despite this disruption, proponents of open data collaboration have argued that some of the biggest problems of the 21st century need to be solved with the help of many people and that data sharing will be the necessary engine to make that happen. In the United States, a national strategic plan for data sharing encouraged the federally funded scientific agencies to (a) publish open data for community use in discoverable, machine-readable, and useful ways; (b) work with public and civil society organizations to set priorities for data to be shared; (c) support innovation and feedback on open data solutions; and (d) continue efforts to release and enhance high-priority data sets funded by taxpayer dollars. One of the more visible open data projects in the psychological sciences is the presidentially announced "Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies" (BRAIN) initiative. Lessons learned from initiatives such as these are instructive both from the perspective of open science within psychology and from the perspective of understanding the psychology of open science. Recommendations for creating better pathways to "walk the walk" in open science include (a) nurturing innovation and agile learning, (b) thinking outside the paradigm, (c) creating simplicity from complexity, and (d) participating in continuous learning evidence platforms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. IN2 Profile: Go Electric Provides Grid Stabilizing Energy Service Solutions to Utilities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pless, Shanti

    Through the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) program, Go Electric will validate their Link DR technology, which is an advanced, uninterruptable power supply that provides secure power, lowers facility energy costs, integrates renewables, and generates income from utility demand response programs. The IN² program launched in October 2014 and is part of Wells Fargo’s 2020 Environmental Commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities. The goal is to create an ecosystem that fosters and accelerates the commercialization of promising commercial buildings technologies that can provide scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of buildings. According to the Departmentmore » of Energy, nearly 40 percent of energy consumption in the U.S. today comes from buildings at an estimated cost of $413 billion.« less

  18. Cognitive approaches for patterns analysis and security applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ogiela, Marek R.; Ogiela, Lidia

    2017-08-01

    In this paper will be presented new opportunities for developing innovative solutions for semantic pattern classification and visual cryptography, which will base on cognitive and bio-inspired approaches. Such techniques can be used for evaluation of the meaning of analyzed patterns or encrypted information, and allow to involve such meaning into the classification task or encryption process. It also allows using some crypto-biometric solutions to extend personalized cryptography methodologies based on visual pattern analysis. In particular application of cognitive information systems for semantic analysis of different patterns will be presented, and also a novel application of such systems for visual secret sharing will be described. Visual shares for divided information can be created based on threshold procedure, which may be dependent on personal abilities to recognize some image details visible on divided images.

  19. Pattern of Cleanliness with Technology Intervention for Innovation Life

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hutari Mulyani, Sitti; Hendrik, Billy; Andhika Putra, Rio; Masril, Mardhiah

    2017-12-01

    Environmental solutions around the world today are making people dependent on technological developments. However, the technology cannot be separated from the community either in the form or its influence, therefore the pattern of behavior of society must also get arrangements for technology to occur as an acceleration of life done properly. This study aims to obtain patterns of community behavior on non-organic waste by using technology intervention. Gap exploration is essential for theoretical and experimental analysis of humans who dispose of unorganic and organic waste out of place. But the field of behavior analysis is uniquely tailored to contribute to this body of work. Sustainable development depends on changing technology to achieve its goals. We report on data collected form an on-line survey, which possible solutions for trash problems. In this paper we present an integrated waste management system with IT that we called I-BSC (Indonesia Bersih (Clean), Sehat (Healty) and Cerdas (Smart)). This I-BSC is not only for deposit bottles and systems but the system aims also to create awareness of waste production and management, which serves as an educational platform in urban environments for further life innovation.

  20. Wind turbines using self-excited three-phase induction generators: an innovative solution for voltage-frequency control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brudny, J. F.; Pusca, R.; Roisse, H.

    2008-08-01

    A considerable number of communities throughout the world, most of them isolated, need hybrid energy solutions either for rural electrification or for the reduction of diesel use. Despite several research projects and demonstrations which have been conducted in recent years, wind-diesel technology remains complex and much too costly. Induction generators are the most robust and common for wind energy systems but this option is a serious challenge for electrical regulation. When a wind turbine is used in an off-grid configuration, either continuously or intermittently, precise and robust regulation is difficult to attain. The voltage parameter regulation option, as was experienced at several remote sites (on islands and in the arctic for example), is a safe, reliable and relatively simple technology, but does not optimize the wave quality and creates instabilities. These difficulties are due to the fact that no theory is available to describe the system, due to the inverse nature of the problem. In order to address and solve the problem of the unstable operation of this wind turbine generator, an innovative approach is described, based on a different induction generator single phase equivalent circuit.

  1. My care pathways - creating open innovation in healthcare.

    PubMed

    Lundberg, Nina; Koch, Sabine; Hägglund, Maria; Bolin, Peter; Davoody, Nadia; Eltes, Johan; Jarlman, Olof; Perlich, Anja; Vimarlund, Vivian; Winsnes, Casper

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we describe initial results from the Swedish innovation project "My Care Pathways" which envisions enabling citizens to track their own health by providing them with online access to their historical, current and prospective future events. We describe an information infrastructure and its base services as well as the use of this solution as an open source platform for open innovation in healthcare. This will facilitate the development of end-user e-services for citizens. We have technically enabled the information infrastructure in close collaboration with decision makers in three Swedish health care regions, and system vendors as well as with National eHealth projects. Close collaboration between heterogeneous actors made implementation in real practice possible. However, a number of challenges, mainly related to legal and business issues, persist when implementing our results. Future work should therefore target the development of business models for sustainable provision of end-user e-services in a public health care system such as the Swedish one. Also, a legal analysis of the development of third party provider (nonhealthcare based) personal health data e-services should be done.

  2. Bringing Together Community Health Centers, Information Technology and Data to Support a Patient-Centered Medical Village from the OCHIN community of solutions

    PubMed Central

    DeVoe, Jennifer E.; Sears, Abigail

    2013-01-01

    Creating integrated, comprehensive care practices requires access to data and informatics expertise. Information technology (IT) resources are not readily available to individual practices. One model of shared IT resources and learning is a “patient-centered medical village.” We describe the OCHIN Community Health Information Network as an example of this model where community practices have come together collectively to form an organization which leverages shared IT expertise, resources, and data, providing members with the means to fully capitalize on new technologies that support improved care. This collaborative facilitates the identification of “problem-sheds” through surveillance of network-wide data, enables shared learning regarding best practices, and provides a “community laboratory” for practice-based research. As an example of a Community of Solution, OCHIN utilizes health IT and data-sharing innovations to enhance partnerships between public health leaders, community health center clinicians, informatics experts, and policy makers. OCHIN community partners benefit from the shared IT resource (e.g. a linked electronic health record (EHR), centralized data warehouse, informatics and improvement expertise). This patient-centered medical village provides (1) the collective mechanism to build community tailored IT solutions, (2) “neighbors” to share data and improvement strategies, and (3) infrastructure to support EHR-based innovations across communities, using experimental approaches. PMID:23657695

  3. Surmounting the Unique Challenges in Health Disparities Education: A Multi-Institution Qualitative Study

    PubMed Central

    Bereknyei, Sylvia; Lie, Desiree; Braddock, Clarence H.

    2010-01-01

    Background The National Consortium for Multicultural Education for Health Professionals (Consortium) comprises educators representing 18 US medical schools, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Collective lessons learned from curriculum implementation by principal investigators (PIs) have the potential to guide similar educational endeavors. Objective Describe Consortium PI’s self-reported challenges with curricular development, solutions and their new curricular products. Methods Information was collected from PIs over 2 months using a 53-question structured three-part questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed PI demographics, curriculum implementation challenges and solutions, and newly created curricular products. Study participants were 18 Consortium PIs. Descriptive analysis was used for quantitative data. Narrative responses were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative thematic coding. Results Response rate was 100%. Common barriers and challenges identified by PIs were: finding administrative and leadership support, sustaining the momentum, continued funding, finding curricular space, accessing and engaging communities, and lack of education research methodology skills. Solutions identified included engaging stakeholders, project-sharing across schools, advocacy and active participation in committees and community, and seeking sustainable funding. All Consortium PIs reported new curricular products and extensive dissemination efforts outside their own institutions. Conclusion The Consortium model has added benefits for curricular innovation and dissemination for cultural competence education to address health disparities. Lessons learned may be applicable to other educational innovation efforts. PMID:20352503

  4. What does an innovative teaching assignment strategy mean to nursing students?

    PubMed

    Neuman, Lois H; Pardue, Karen T; Grady, Janet L; Gray, Mary Tod; Hobbins, Bonnie; Edelstein, Jan; Herrman, Judith W

    2009-01-01

    The concept of innovation in nursing education has been addressed in published literature on faculty-defined and faculty-created teaching strategies and instructional methods. In this project, innovation is defined as "using knowledge to create ways and services that are new (or perceived as new) in order to transform systems" (Pardue, Tagliareni, Valiga, Davison-Price, & Orchowsky, 2005). Studies on nursing student perceptions of innovation are limited, and it is unclear how undergraduate and graduate students conceptualize innovative learning experiences. This project explored students' perceptions of their experiences with instructor-defined, innovative teaching/learning strategies in four types of nursing education programs. Issues nurse educators should consider as they apply new techniques to their teaching are discussed.

  5. Foresight Group Roundtable: Fresh Thinking for Learning and Skills. Centre for Innovation in Learning--Positioning Paper

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Learning and Skills Network (NJ3), 2010

    2010-01-01

    Creating a fertile space for debate and ideas in order to drive innovation in learning and skills is integral to LSN's (Learning and Skills Network's) mission. To achieve this LSN has pioneered a new approach to making learning work from classroom to boardroom--and created the Centre for Innovation in Learning. This new, independent think tank…

  6. A model for training medical student innovators: the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care Abundance Agents of Change program

    PubMed Central

    Duong, David B.; Sullivan, Erin E.; Minter-Jordan, Myechia; Giesen, Lindsay; Ellner, Andrew L.

    2016-01-01

    Background In 2013, the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care established the Abundance Agents of Change (AoC) program to promote interprofessional learning and innovation, increase partnership between 15 academic and community health centers (CHCs) in Boston's most under-served communities, and increase medical student interest in primary care careers. Methods The AoC is modeled in the form of a ‘grants challenge’, offering $20,000 to interprofessional student teams to develop an innovative solution that addresses a healthcare delivery need identified by CHCs. The program's initial two years were characterized by a four-stage process which included working with CHCs and crafting a request for proposals, forming interprofessional 20 student teams comprising students from across and outside of Harvard University, training students using a systems-based innovation curriculum, and performing program evaluation. Results Our evaluation data from cohorts 1 and 2 of the AoC program demonstrate that we succeeded in training students as innovators and members of interprofessional teams. We also learned valuable lessons regarding creating better alignment with CHC priorities, extending the program cycle from 12 to 18 months, and changing the way funding is disbursed to 25 students, which will be incorporated in later versions of the program. Conclusions Based on our experience and evaluation data, we believe that this program is a replicable way to train students as innovators and members of interprofessional teams to address the current complex healthcare environment. PMID:27306994

  7. A model for training medical student innovators: the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care Abundance Agents of Change program.

    PubMed

    Duong, David B; Sullivan, Erin E; Minter-Jordan, Myechia; Giesen, Lindsay; Ellner, Andrew L

    2016-01-01

    Background In 2013, the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care established the Abundance Agents of Change (AoC) program to promote interprofessional learning and innovation, increase partnership between 15 academic and community health centers (CHCs) in Boston's most under-served communities, and increase medical student interest in primary care careers. Methods The AoC is modeled in the form of a 'grants challenge', offering $20,000 to interprofessional student teams to develop an innovative solution that addresses a healthcare delivery need identified by CHCs. The program's initial two years were characterized by a four-stage process which included working with CHCs and crafting a request for proposals, forming interprofessional 20 student teams comprising students from across and outside of Harvard University, training students using a systems-based innovation curriculum, and performing program evaluation. Results Our evaluation data from cohorts 1 and 2 of the AoC program demonstrate that we succeeded in training students as innovators and members of interprofessional teams. We also learned valuable lessons regarding creating better alignment with CHC priorities, extending the program cycle from 12 to 18 months, and changing the way funding is disbursed to 25 students, which will be incorporated in later versions of the program. Conclusions Based on our experience and evaluation data, we believe that this program is a replicable way to train students as innovators and members of interprofessional teams to address the current complex healthcare environment.

  8. A model for training medical student innovators: the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care Abundance Agents of Change program.

    PubMed

    Duong, David B; Sullivan, Erin E; Minter-Jordan, Myechia; Giesen, Lindsay; Ellner, Andrew L

    2016-01-01

    In 2013, the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care established the Abundance Agents of Change (AoC) program to promote interprofessional learning and innovation, increase partnership between 15 academic and community health centers (CHCs) in Boston's most under-served communities, and increase medical student interest in primary care careers. The AoC is modeled in the form of a 'grants challenge', offering $20,000 to interprofessional student teams to develop an innovative solution that addresses a healthcare delivery need identified by CHCs. The program's initial two years were characterized by a four-stage process which included working with CHCs and crafting a request for proposals, forming interprofessional 20 student teams comprising students from across and outside of Harvard University, training students using a systems-based innovation curriculum, and performing program evaluation. Our evaluation data from cohorts 1 and 2 of the AoC program demonstrate that we succeeded in training students as innovators and members of interprofessional teams. We also learned valuable lessons regarding creating better alignment with CHC priorities, extending the program cycle from 12 to 18 months, and changing the way funding is disbursed to 25 students, which will be incorporated in later versions of the program. Based on our experience and evaluation data, we believe that this program is a replicable way to train students as innovators and members of interprofessional teams to address the current complex healthcare environment.

  9. Team-Based Development of Medical Devices: An Engineering–Business Collaborative

    PubMed Central

    Eberhardt, Alan W.; Johnson, Ophelia L.; Kirkland, William B.; Dobbs, Joel H.; Moradi, Lee G.

    2016-01-01

    There is a global shift in the teaching methodology of science and engineering toward multidisciplinary, team-based processes. To meet the demands of an evolving technical industry and lead the way in engineering education, innovative curricula are essential. This paper describes the development of multidisciplinary, team-based learning environments in undergraduate and graduate engineering curricula focused on medical device design. In these programs, students actively collaborate with clinicians, professional engineers, business professionals, and their peers to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems. In the undergraduate senior capstone courses, teams of biomedical engineering (BME) and business students have produced and delivered numerous functional prototypes to satisfied clients. Pursuit of commercialization of devices has led to intellectual property (IP) disclosures and patents. Assessments have indicated high levels of success in attainment of student learning outcomes and student satisfaction with their undergraduate design experience. To advance these projects toward commercialization and further promote innovative team-based learning, a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Design and Commercialization was recently launched. The MEng facilitates teams of graduate students in engineering, life sciences, and business who engage in innovation-commercialization (IC) projects and coursework that take innovative ideas through research and development (R&D) to create marketable devices. The activities are structured with students working together as a “virtual company,” with targeted outcomes of commercialization (license agreements and new start-ups), competitive job placement, and/or career advancement. PMID:26902869

  10. Team-Based Development of Medical Devices: An Engineering-Business Collaborative.

    PubMed

    Eberhardt, Alan W; Johnson, Ophelia L; Kirkland, William B; Dobbs, Joel H; Moradi, Lee G

    2016-07-01

    There is a global shift in the teaching methodology of science and engineering toward multidisciplinary, team-based processes. To meet the demands of an evolving technical industry and lead the way in engineering education, innovative curricula are essential. This paper describes the development of multidisciplinary, team-based learning environments in undergraduate and graduate engineering curricula focused on medical device design. In these programs, students actively collaborate with clinicians, professional engineers, business professionals, and their peers to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems. In the undergraduate senior capstone courses, teams of biomedical engineering (BME) and business students have produced and delivered numerous functional prototypes to satisfied clients. Pursuit of commercialization of devices has led to intellectual property (IP) disclosures and patents. Assessments have indicated high levels of success in attainment of student learning outcomes and student satisfaction with their undergraduate design experience. To advance these projects toward commercialization and further promote innovative team-based learning, a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Design and Commercialization was recently launched. The MEng facilitates teams of graduate students in engineering, life sciences, and business who engage in innovation-commercialization (IC) projects and coursework that take innovative ideas through research and development (R&D) to create marketable devices. The activities are structured with students working together as a "virtual company," with targeted outcomes of commercialization (license agreements and new start-ups), competitive job placement, and/or career advancement.

  11. The Indiana University Center for Healthcare Innovation and Implementation Science: Bridging healthcare research and delivery to build a learning healthcare system.

    PubMed

    Azar, Jose; Adams, Nadia; Boustani, Malaz

    2015-01-01

    In the United States, it is estimated that 75,000 deaths every year could be averted if the healthcare system implemented high quality care more effectively and efficiently. Patient harm in the hospital occurs as a consequence of inadequate procedures, medications and other therapies, nosocomial infections, diagnostic evaluations and patient falls. Implementation science, a new emerging field in healthcare, is the development and study of methods and tools aimed at enhancing the implementation of new discoveries and evidence into daily healthcare delivery. The Indiana University Center for Healthcare Innovation and Implementation Science (IU-CHIIS) was launched in September 2013 with the mission to use implementation science and innovation to produce great-quality, patient-centered and cost-efficient healthcare delivery solutions for the United States of America. Within the first 24 months of its initiation, the IU-CHIIS successfully scaled up an evidence-based collaborative care model for people with dementia and/or depression, successfully expanded the Accountable Care Unit model positively impacting the efficiency and quality of care, created the first Certificate in Innovation and Implementation Science in the US and secured funding from National Institutes of Health to investigate innovations in dementia care. This article summarizes the establishment of the IU-CHIIS, its impact and outcomes and the lessons learned during the journey. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  12. Entrepreneurship Education: Ireland's Solution to Economic Regeneration?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Connor, John; Fenton, Mary; Barry, Almar

    2012-01-01

    The significance of entrepreneurship has come into sharper focus as enterprise and innovation are being flagged as solutions to regenerate the Irish economy. The Irish Innovation Task Force believes that Ireland could become an "innovation hub", attracting foreign risk capital and international and indigenous entrepreneurs to start and…

  13. Additive manufacturing integrated energy—enabling innovative solutions for buildings of the future

    DOE PAGES

    Biswas, Kaushik; Rose, James; Eikevik, Leif; ...

    2016-11-10

    Here, the AMIE (Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy) demonstration utilized 3D printing as an enabling technology in the pursuit of construction methods that use less material, create less waste, and require less energy to build and operate. It was developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in collaboration with the Governor's Chair for Energy and Urbanism, a research partnership of the University of Tennessee (UT) and ORNL led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), AMIE embodies a suite of innovations demonstrating a transformative future for designing, constructing and operating buildings. Subsequent, blind UT College of Architecture and Design studios taughtmore » in collaboration with SOM professionals also explored forms and shapes based on biological systems that naturally integrate structure and enclosure. AMIE, a compact micro-dwelling developed by ORNL research scientists and SOM designers, incorporates next-generation modified atmosphere insulation, self-shading windows, and the ability to produce, store and share solar power with a paired hybrid vehicle. It establishes for the first time, a platform for investigating solutions integrating the energy systems in buildings, vehicles, and the power grid. The project was built with broad-based support from local industry and national material suppliers. Designed and constructed in a span of only nine months, AMIE 1.0 serves as an example of the rapid innovation that can be accomplished when research, design, academic and industrial partners work in collaboration toward the common goal of a more sustainable and resilient built environment.« less

  14. Innovation, imitation, and problem-solving in a networked group.

    PubMed

    Wisdom, Thomas N; Goldstone, Robert L

    2011-04-01

    We implemented a problem-solving task in which groups of participants simultaneously played a simple innovation game in a complex problem space, with score feedback provided after each of a number of rounds. Each participant in a group was allowed to view and imitate the guesses of others during the game. The results showed the use of social learning strategies previously studied in other species, and demonstrated benefits of social learning and nonlinear effects of group size on strategy and performance. Rather than simply encouraging conformity, groups provided information to each individual about the distribution of useful innovations in the problem space. Imitation facilitated innovation rather than displacing it, because the former allowed good solutions to be propagated and preserved for further cumulative innovations in the group. Participants generally improved their solutions through the use of fairly conservative strategies, such as changing only a small portion of one's solution at a time, and tending to imitate solutions similar to one's own. Changes in these strategies over time had the effect of making solutions increasingly entrenched, both at individual and group levels. These results showed evidence of nonlinear dynamics in the decentralization of innovation, the emergence of group phenomena from complex interactions of individual efforts, stigmergy in the use of social information, and dynamic tradeoffs between exploration and exploitation of solutions. These results also support the idea that innovation and creativity can be recognized at the group level even when group members are generally cautious and imitative.

  15. Innovation and behavioral flexibility in wild redfronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons).

    PubMed

    Huebner, Franziska; Fichtel, Claudia

    2015-05-01

    Innovations and problem-solving abilities can provide animals with important ecological advantages as they allow individuals to deal with novel social and ecological challenges. Innovation is a solution to a novel problem or a novel solution to an old problem, with the latter being especially difficult. Finding a new solution to an old problem requires individuals to inhibit previously applied solutions to invent new strategies and to behave flexibly. We examined the role of experience on cognitive flexibility to innovate and to find new problem-solving solutions with an artificial feeding task in wild redfronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons). Four groups of lemurs were tested with feeding boxes, each offering three different techniques to extract food, with only one technique being available at a time. After the subjects learned a technique, this solution was no longer successful and subjects had to invent a new technique. For the first transition between task 1 and 2, subjects had to rely on their experience of the previous technique to solve task 2. For the second transition, subjects had to inhibit the previously learned technique to learn the new task 3. Tasks 1 and 2 were solved by most subjects, whereas task 3 was solved by only a few subjects. In this task, besides behavioral flexibility, especially persistence, i.e., constant trying, was important for individual success during innovation. Thus, wild strepsirrhine primates are able to innovate flexibly, suggesting a general ecological relevance of behavioral flexibility and persistence during innovation and problem solving across all primates.

  16. Innovation Relay: Empowering School Nurses to Find New Solutions for Old Problems.

    PubMed

    Maughan, Erin D; Galemore, Cynthia; Mattey, Beth

    2016-09-01

    NASN's 48th Annual School Nurse Conference-Learning, Linking, Leading-included the first ever innovation relay contest. The relay was based on a design developed by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's Innovation Relay. Participation included 43 contestants from 16 states and one foreign country. Teams were given 24 hours to develop a solution. This article describes the process utilized, the problem introduced, and a brief synopsis of each team's solution. The ongoing purpose of the exercise is to encourage innovation by school nurses as they experience student health-related barriers in the academic setting. © 2016 The Author(s).

  17. Levee Setbacks: An Innovative, Cost Effective, and Sustainable Solution for Improved Flood Risk management

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-06-30

    ER D C/ EL S R- 17 -3 Levee Setbacks: An Innovative, Cost-Effective, and Sustainable Solution for Improved Flood Risk Management En vi...EL SR-17-3 June 2017 Levee Setbacks: An Innovative, Cost-Effective, and Sustainable Solution for Improved Flood Risk Management David L. Smith...describes levee setbacks as alternatives to traditional levees for flood risk management and environmental benefits. It is organized into five sections

  18. User Participation in Coproduction of Health Innovation: Proposal for a Synergy Project

    PubMed Central

    Zukauskaite, Elena; Westberg, Niklas

    2018-01-01

    Background This project concerns advancing knowledge, methods, and logic for user participation in coproduction of health innovations. Such advancement is vital for several reasons. From a user perspective, participation in coproduction provides an opportunity to gain real influence over goal definition, design, and implementation of health innovations, ensuring that the solution developed solves real problems in right ways. From a societal perspective, it’s a mean to improve the efficiency of health care and the implementation of the Patient Act. As for industry, frameworks and knowledge of coproduction offer tools to operate in a complex sector, with great potential for innovation of services and products. Objective The fundamental objective of this project is to advance knowledge and methods of how user participation in the coproduction of health innovations can be applied in order to benefit users, industry, and public sector. Methods This project is a synergy project, which means that the objective will be accomplished through collaboration and meta-analysis between three subprojects that address different user groups, apply different strategies to promote human health, and relate to different parts of the health sector. Furthermore, subprojects focus on distinctive stages in the spectrum of innovation, with the objective to generate knowledge of the innovation process as a whole. The project is organized around three work packages related to three challenges—coproduction, positioning, and realization. Each subproject is designed such that it has its own field of study with clearly identified objectives but also targets work packages to contribute to the project as a whole. The work on the work packages will use case methodology for data collection and analysis based on the subprojects as data sources. More concretely, logic of multiple case studies will be applied with each subproject representing a separate case which is similar to each other in its attention to user participation in coproduction, but different regarding, for example, context and target groups. At the synergy level, the framework methodology will be used to handle and analyze the vast amount of information generated within the subprojects. Results The project period is from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022. Conclusions By addressing the objective of this project, we will create new knowledge on how to manage challenges to health innovation associated with the coproduction process, the positioning of solutions, and realization. PMID:29743159

  19. Building a Culture of Health Informatics Innovation and Entrepreneurship: A New Frontier.

    PubMed

    Househ, Mowafa; Alshammari, Riyad; Almutairi, Mariam; Jamal, Amr; Alshoaib, Saleh

    2015-01-01

    Entrepreneurship and innovation within the health informatics (HI) scientific community are relatively sluggish when compared to other disciplines such as computer science and engineering. Healthcare in general, and specifically, the health informatics scientific community needs to embrace more innovative and entrepreneurial practices. In this paper, we explore the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship as they apply to the health informatics scientific community. We also outline several strategies to improve the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within the health informatics scientific community such as: (I) incorporating innovation and entrepreneurship in health informatics education; (II) creating strong linkages with industry and healthcare organizations; (III) supporting national health innovation and entrepreneurship competitions; (IV) creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within healthcare organizations; (V) developing health informatics policies that support innovation and entrepreneurship based on internationally recognized standards; and (VI) develop an health informatics entrepreneurship ecosystem. With these changes, we conclude that embracing health innovation and entrepreneurship may be more readily accepted over the long-term within the health informatics scientific community.

  20. Technology Innovation

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA produces innovative technologies and facilitates their creation in line with the Agency mission to create products such as the stormwater calculator, remote sensing, innovation clusters, and low-cost air sensors.

  1. Course Management Systems and Blended Learning: An Innovative Learning Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chou, Amy Y.; Chou, David C.

    2011-01-01

    This article utilizes Rogers' innovation-decision process model (2003) and Beckman and Berry's innovation process model (2007) to create an innovative learning map that illustrates three learning methods (i.e., face-to-face learning, online learning, and blended learning) in two types of innovation (i.e., incremental innovation and radical…

  2. A whole-process progressive training mode to foster optoelectronic students' innovative practical ability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhong, Hairong; Xu, Wei; Hu, Haojun; Duan, Chengfang

    2017-08-01

    This article analyzes the features of fostering optoelectronic students' innovative practical ability based on the knowledge structure of optoelectronic disciplines, which not only reveals the common law of cultivating students' innovative practical ability, but also considers the characteristics of the major: (1) The basic theory is difficult, and the close combination of science and technology is obvious; (2)With the integration of optics, mechanics, electronics and computer, the system technology is comprehensive; (3) It has both leading-edge theory and practical applications, so the benefit of cultivating optoelectronic students is high ; (4) The equipment is precise and the practice is costly. Considering the concept and structural characteristics of innovative and practical ability, and adhering to the idea of running practice through the whole process, we put forward the construction of three-dimensional innovation and practice platform which consists of "Synthetically Teaching Laboratory + Innovation Practice Base + Scientific Research Laboratory + Major Practice Base + Joint Teaching and Training Base", and meanwhile build a whole-process progressive training mode to foster optoelectronic students' innovative practical ability, following the process of "basic experimental skills training - professional experimental skills training - system design - innovative practice - scientific research project training - expanded training - graduation project": (1) To create an in - class practical ability cultivation environment that has distinctive characteristics of the major, with the teaching laboratory as the basic platform; (2) To create an extra-curricular innovation practice activities cultivation environment that is closely linked to the practical application, with the innovation practice base as a platform for improvement; (3) To create an innovation practice training cultivation environment that leads the development of cutting-edge, with the scientific research laboratory as a platform to explore; (4) To create an out-campus expanded training environment of optoelectronic major practice and optoelectronic system teaching and training, with the major practice base as an expansion of the platform; (5) To break students' "pre-job training barriers" between school and work, with graduation design as the comprehensive training and testing link.

  3. Creating Innovative Frameworks to Spur Cultural Change at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Samuel, Aamod; Lozano, Joel; Carte, Olivia; Robillos, Troy

    2018-01-01

    Changing the culture of an organization is a monumental task that often takes years and has no set formula. Steps can be taken, however, to spur cultural change by creating spaces and infrastructure to serve as the initial driving force. An innovation space and a bicycle sharing (bike share) program were implemented at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) (Edwards, California) with a vision toward connecting Center personnel, fostering collaboration and innovation, retaining newer employees, promoting flexibility, and improving the culture and workplace atmosphere. This paper discusses the steps taken, challenges faced, novel culture-change-focused design elements, lessons learned, acquired metrics, and how these initiated cultural change at AFRC. For both the innovation space and the bike share program, funding was negotiated and provided through the NASA Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) project, which was seeking to improve the innovation and collaboration capabilities at each of the four NASA aeronautics Centers. Key stakeholders across AFRC from upper management, facilities, safety, engineering, and procurement were identified early in the process and were consulted and included throughout execution to ensure that any encountered roadblocks could be easily navigated. Research was then conducted by attending conferences and visiting culture-changing organizations both inside and outside United States Government agencies. Distilling the research, identifying available space, and deciding on specific design elements for the space was conducted by a subset of individuals of diverse backgrounds to enable quick, effective decision-making. Decisions were made with the intent to increase usage and diversity of users of the space; care was taken to ensure a well-crafted atmosphere that would foster the desired culture change. The allocated physical space required major structural modifications, new furniture, and new capabilities that would bring people in. Decisions and desires underwent a rapid reiterative process in order to stay within budget and short deadlines, while holding firm to what was seen as fundamental elements of an innovation space. The framework for cultural change being established, the more difficult task began: incubating the desired culture. Intentional workday use of the innovation space was encouraged, and organized events coordinated in order to truly foster culture change. Such incubation supports the organic spread of culture change to all areas of AFRC. This framework was complemented and expanded by the implementation of the bike share program. Steps for implementation included bike selection based on lessons learned, creating bike stations and signage, implementing bike share rules, and building a volunteer maintenance infrastructure. A novel user-reporting feedback system at each bike station is a low-impact method of capturing usage metrics. Due to the nature of the work conducted at AFRC, the bike share program and feedback system were negotiated and vetted through various organizations including legal, safety, and operations. The innovation space and the bike share program together are an effective initial framework for innovation and collaboration. Culture change takes time, but the innovation space and the bike share program are already showing signs of making a positive impact on the AFRC workforce.

  4. Creating a climate that catalyses healthcare innovation in the United Kingdom - learning lessons from international innovators.

    PubMed

    Cresswell, Kathrin; Cunningham-Burley, Sarah; Sheikh, Aziz

    2017-01-25

    The United Kingdom (UK) lags behind other high-income countries in relation to technological innovation in healthcare. In order to inform UK strategy on how to catalyse innovation, we sought to understand what national strategies can help to promote a climate for innovation in healthcare settings by extracting lessons for the UK from international innovators. We undertook a series of qualitative semi-structured interviews with senior international innovators from a range of health related policy, care/service delivery, commercial and academic backgrounds. Thematic analysis helped to explore how different stakeholder groups could facilitate/inhibit innovation at individual, organisational, and wider societal levels. We conducted 14 interviews and found that a conducive climate for healthcare innovation comprised of national/regional strategies stimulating commercial competition, promoting public/private relationships, and providing central direction (e.g. incentives for adoption and regulation through standards) without being restrictive. Organisational attitudes with a willingness to experiment and to take risks were also seen as important, but a bottom-up approach to innovation, based on the identification of clinical need, was seen as a crucial first step to construct relevant national policies.  There is now a need to create mechanisms through which frontline National Health Service staff in relation can raise ideas/concerns and suggest opportunities for improvement, and then build national innovation environments that seek to address these needs. This should be accompanied by creating competitive health technology markets to stimulate a commercial environment that attracts high-quality health information technology experts and innovators working in partnership with staff and patients.

  5. Virtual in Real. Interactive Solutions for Learning and Communication in the National Archaeological Museum of Marche

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clini, P.; Nespeca, R.; Ruggeri, L.

    2017-05-01

    Today the ICTs are favourable additions to museum exhibitions. This work aims to realize an innovative system of digital exploitation of artefacts in the National Archaeological Museum of Marche (MANaM), in order to create a shared museum that will improve the knowledge of cultural contents through the paradigm "learning by interacting" and "edutainment". The main novelty is the implementation of stand-alone multimedia installations for digital artefacts that combine real and virtual scenarios in order to enrich the experience, the knowledge and the multi-sensory perception. A Digital Library (DL) is created using Close Range Photogrammetry (CRP) techniques applied to 21 archaeological artefacts belonging to different categories. Enriched with other data (texts, images, multimedia), all 3D models flow into the cloud data server from which are recalled in the individual exhibitions. In particular, we have chosen three types of technological solutions: VISUAL, TACTILE, SPATIAL. All the solutions take into account the possibility of group interaction, allowing the participation of the interaction to an appropriate number of users. Sharing the experience enables greater involvement, generating communicative effectiveness much higher than it would get from a lonely visit. From the "Museum Visitors Behaviour Analysis" we obtain a survey about users' needs and efficiency of the interactive solutions. The main result of this work is the educational impact in terms of increase in visitors, specially students, learning increase of historical and cultural content, greater user involvement during the visit to the museum.

  6. Economic aspects of rare diseases.

    PubMed

    Borski, Krzysztof

    2015-01-01

    Economic problems related to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases are presented paying particular attention to the costs of financing treatment, including the issue of its refund, which is a fundamental and difficult to solve economic problem of the health care system. Rare diseases, despite the low frequency of occurrence, together cover a large group of diseases being a serious medical, social and economic problem. The adoption of Polish National Plan for Rare Diseases resulting from the recommendations of the Council of the European Union, the extension of institutional activities related to the area of public health and social initiatives seeking innovative solutions to create a model of social support for patients and their families, with very high complexity of the issues regarding rare diseases, results in the need for a coherent, comprehensive, system operations and adoption of comprehensive solutions.

  7. Catalyzing healthcare transformation with digital health: Performance indicators and lessons learned from a Digital Health Innovation Group.

    PubMed

    Tseng, Jocelyn; Samagh, Sonia; Fraser, Donna; Landman, Adam B

    2018-06-01

    Despite considerable investment in digital health (DH) companies and a growing DH ecosystem, there are multiple challenges to testing and implementing innovative solutions. Health systems have recognized the potential of DH and have formed DH innovation centers. However, limited information is available on DH innovation center processes, best practices, or outcomes. This case report describes a DH innovation center process that can be replicated across health systems and defines and benchmarks process indicators to assess DH innovation center performance. The Brigham and Women's Hospital's Digital Health Innovation Group (DHIG) accelerates DH innovations from idea to pilot safely and efficiently using a structured process. Fifty-four DH innovations were accelerated by the DHIG process between July 2014 and December 2016. In order to measure effectiveness of the DHIG process, key process indicators were defined as 1) number of solutions that completed each DHIG phase and 2) length of time to complete each phase. Twenty-three DH innovations progressed to pilot stage and 13 innovations were terminated after barriers to pilot implementation were identified by the DHIG process. For 4 DH solutions that executed a pilot, the average time for innovations to proceed from DHIG intake to pilot initiation was 9 months. Overall, the DHIG is a reproducible process that addresses key roadblocks in DH innovation within health systems. To our knowledge, this is the first report to describe DH innovation process indicators and results within an academic health system. Therefore, there is no published data to compare our results with the results of other DH innovation centers. Standardized data collection and indicator reporting could allow benchmark comparisons across institutions. Additional opportunities exist for the validation of DH solution effectiveness and for translational support from pilot to implementation. These are critical steps to advance DH technologies and effectively leverage the DH ecosystem to transform healthcare. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Accelerating the Integration of Distributed Water Solutions: A Conceptual Financing Model from the Electricity Sector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quesnel, Kimberly J.; Ajami, Newsha K.; Wyss, Noemi

    2017-11-01

    Modern challenges require new approaches to urban water management. One solution in the portfolio of potential strategies is the integration of distributed water infrastructure, practices, and technologies into existing systems. However, many practical barriers have prevented the widespread adoption of these systems in the US. The objective of this paper is to address these challenges by developing a conceptual model encompassing regulatory, financial, and governance components that can be used to incorporate new distributed water solutions into our current network. To construct the model, case studies of successfully implemented distributed electricity systems, specifically energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, were examined to determine how these solutions have become prominent in recent years and what lessons can be applied to the water sector in a similar pursuit. The proposed model includes four action-oriented elements: catalyzing change, establishing funding sources, using resource pathways, and creating innovative governance structures. As illustrated in the model, the water sector should use suite of coordinated policies to promote change, engage end users through fiscal incentives, and encourage research, development and dissemination of new technologies over time.

  9. Accelerating the Integration of Distributed Water Solutions: A Conceptual Financing Model from the Electricity Sector.

    PubMed

    Quesnel, Kimberly J; Ajami, Newsha K; Wyss, Noemi

    2017-11-01

    Modern challenges require new approaches to urban water management. One solution in the portfolio of potential strategies is the integration of distributed water infrastructure, practices, and technologies into existing systems. However, many practical barriers have prevented the widespread adoption of these systems in the US. The objective of this paper is to address these challenges by developing a conceptual model encompassing regulatory, financial, and governance components that can be used to incorporate new distributed water solutions into our current network. To construct the model, case studies of successfully implemented distributed electricity systems, specifically energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, were examined to determine how these solutions have become prominent in recent years and what lessons can be applied to the water sector in a similar pursuit. The proposed model includes four action-oriented elements: catalyzing change, establishing funding sources, using resource pathways, and creating innovative governance structures. As illustrated in the model, the water sector should use suite of coordinated policies to promote change, engage end users through fiscal incentives, and encourage research, development and dissemination of new technologies over time.

  10. Crossing and creating boundaries in healthcare innovation.

    PubMed

    Ingerslev, Karen

    2016-06-20

    Purpose - This paper reports from a qualitative case study of a change initiative undertaken in a Danish public hospital setting during national healthcare reforms. The purpose of this paper is to challenge understandings of innovations as defined by being value-adding per se. Whether the effects of attempting to innovate are positive or negative is in this paper regarded as a matter of empirical investigation. Design/methodology/approach - Narrative accounts of activities during the change initiative are analysed in order to elucidate the effects of framing the change initiative as innovation on which boundaries are created and crossed. Findings - Framing change initiatives as innovation leads to intended as well as unanticipated boundary crossings where healthcare practitioners from different organizations recognize a shared problem and task. It also leads to unintended boundary reinforcements between "us and them" that may exclude the perspectives of patients or stakeholders when confronting complex problems in healthcare. This boundary reinforcement can lead to further fragmentation of healthcare despite the stated intention to create more integrated services. Practical implications - The paper suggests that researchers as well as practitioners should not presume that intentions to innovate will by themselves enhance creativity and innovation. When analysing the intended, unintended as well as unanticipated consequences of framing change initiatives as innovation, researchers and practitioner gain nuanced knowledge about the effects of intending to innovate in complex settings such as healthcare. Originality/value - This paper suggests the need for an analytical move from studying the effects of innovation to studying the effects of framing complex problems as a call for innovation.

  11. Health Systems Innovation at Academic Health Centers: Leading in a New Era of Health Care Delivery.

    PubMed

    Ellner, Andrew L; Stout, Somava; Sullivan, Erin E; Griffiths, Elizabeth P; Mountjoy, Ashlin; Phillips, Russell S

    2015-07-01

    Challenged by demands to reduce costs and improve service delivery, the U.S. health care system requires transformational change. Health systems innovation is defined broadly as novel ideas, products, services, and processes-including new ways to promote healthy behaviors and better integrate health services with public health and other social services-which achieve better health outcomes and/or patient experience at equal or lower cost. Academic health centers (AHCs) have an opportunity to focus their considerable influence and expertise on health systems innovation to create new approaches to service delivery and to nurture leaders of transformation. AHCs have traditionally used their promotions criteria to signal their values; creating a health systems innovator promotion track could be a critical step towards creating opportunities for innovators in academic medicine. In this Perspective, the authors review publicly available promotions materials at top-ranked medical schools and find that while criteria for advancement increasingly recognize systems innovation, there is a lack of specificity on metrics beyond the traditional yardstick of peer-reviewed publications. In addition to new promotions pathways and alternative evidence for the impact of scholarship, other approaches to fostering health systems innovation at AHCs include more robust funding for career development in health systems innovation, new curricula to enable trainees to develop skills in health systems innovation, and new ways for innovators to disseminate their work. AHCs that foster health systems innovation could meet a critical need to contribute both to the sustainability of our health care system and to AHCs' continued leadership role within it.

  12. Games and Students: Creating Innovative Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis, Jason Stratton

    2011-01-01

    To create professionals for the future, who will be innovative and internationally competitive, we need to change the learning environment. The current traditional delivery systems of education do not develop the necessary interpersonal, analytical and creative skills to deal with the new knowledge economy. Baer (2005), in calling for a new model…

  13. Technologies and Innovative Solutions for Harvesting and Nonpotable Use of Rain and Stormwater in Urban Settings; Meeting Summary Report:

    EPA Science Inventory

    The workshop on Technologies and Innovative Solutions for Harvesting and Nonpotable Use of Rain and Stormwater in Urban Settings was held on April 24–25, 2013, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The purpose of this workshop was to identify: (1) innovative strategies currently being employed fo...

  14. Macro trends in pharmaceutical innovation.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Fredric J

    2005-01-01

    Critics decry the lack of 'truly innovative' new medicines and question the role of the pharmaceutical industry in creating the few that are developed. Is this an accurate portrayal of the state of pharmaceutical innovation? Does major pharma still innovate? If so, how? Must the industry innovate to survive? These and related issues are discussed.

  15. Engineering Encounters: The Tightrope Challenge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burton, Bill

    2014-01-01

    In order to prepare students to become the next innovators, teachers need to provide real-world challenges that allow children to exercise their innovation muscles. Innovation starts with a problem and innovators work to solve a problem by planning, creating, and testing. The real-world innovation process does not happen on a worksheet, and it…

  16. Innovation in Your Community

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA has many innovation programs that can help the public bring innovative solutions to their local areas by reducing waste, engaging students to contribute innovative ideas, and helping businesses implement sustainable practices.

  17. From spare change to real change. The social sector as beta site for business innovation.

    PubMed

    Kanter, R M

    1999-01-01

    Corporations are continually looking for new sources of innovation. Today several leading companies are beginning to find inspiration in an unexpected place: the social sector. That includes public schools, welfare-to-work programs, and the inner city. Indeed, a new paradigm for innovation is emerging: a partnership between private enterprise and public interest that produces profitable and sustainable change for both sides. In this article, the author shows how some companies are moving beyond corporate social responsibility to corporate social innovation. Traditionally, companies viewed the social sector as a dumping ground for their spare cash, obsolete equipment, and tired executives. But that mind-set hardly created lasting change. Now companies are viewing community needs as opportunities to develop ideas and demonstrate business technologies; find and serve new markets; and solve long-standing business problems. They focus on inventing sophisticated solutions through a hands-on approach. This is not charity; it is R & D, a strategic business investment. The author concedes that it isn't easy to make the new paradigm work. But she has found that successful private-public partnerships share six characteristics: a clear business agenda, strong partners committed to change, investment by both parties, rootedness in the user community, links to other organizations, and a commitment to sustain and replicate the results. Drawing on examples of successful companies such as IBM and Bell Atlantic, the author illustrates how this paradigm has produced innovations that have both business and community payoffs.

  18. The use of smart technologies in enabling construction components reuse: A viable method or a problem creating solution?

    PubMed

    Iacovidou, Eleni; Purnell, Phil; Lim, Ming K

    2018-06-15

    The exploitation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for tracking and archiving the properties of structural construction components could be a potentially innovative disruption for the construction sector. This is because RFID can stimulate the reuse of construction components and reduce their wastage, hence addressing sustainability issues in the construction sector. To test the plausibility of that idea, this study explores the potential pre-conditions for RFID to facilitate construction components reuse, and develops a guidance for promoting their redistribution back to the supply chain. It also looks at how integrating RFID with Building Information Modelling (BIM) can possibly be a valuable extension of its capabilities, providing the opportunity for tracked components to be incorporated into new structures in an informed, sound way. A preliminary assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the RFID technology is presented in order to depict its current and future potential in promoting construction components' sustainable lifecycle management, while emphasis has been laid on capturing their technical, environmental, economic and social value. Findings suggest that the collection of the right amount of information at the design-construction-deconstruction-reuse-disposal stage is crucial for RFID to become a successful innovation in the construction sector. Although a number of limitations related to the technical operability and recycling of RFID tags seem to currently hinder its uptake for structural components' lifecycle management, future technological innovations could provide solutions that would enable it to become a mainstream practice. Taken together these proposals advocate that the use of RFID and its integration with BIM can create the right environment for the development of new business models focused on sustainable resource management. These models may then unlock multiple values that are otherwise dissipated in the system. If the rapid technological development of RFID capability can be allied to policy interventions that control and manage its uptake along the supply chain, the sustainable lifecycle management of construction components could be radically enhanced. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. The OCHIN community information network: bringing together community health centers, information technology, and data to support a patient-centered medical village.

    PubMed

    Devoe, Jennifer E; Sears, Abigail

    2013-01-01

    Creating integrated, comprehensive care practices requires access to data and informatics expertise. Information technology (IT) resources are not readily available to individual practices. One model of shared IT resources and learning is a "patient-centered medical village." We describe the OCHIN Community Health Information Network as an example of this model; community practices have come together collectively to form an organization that leverages shared IT expertise, resources, and data, providing members with the means to fully capitalize on new technologies that support improved care. This collaborative facilitates the identification of "problem sheds" through surveillance of network-wide data, enables shared learning regarding best practices, and provides a "community laboratory" for practice-based research. As an example of a community of solution, OCHIN uses health IT and data-sharing innovations to enhance partnerships between public health leaders, clinicians in community health centers, informatics experts, and policy makers. OCHIN community partners benefit from the shared IT resource (eg, a linked electronic health record, centralized data warehouse, informatics, and improvement expertise). This patient-centered medical village provides (1) the collective mechanism to build community-tailored IT solutions, (2) "neighbors" to share data and improvement strategies, and (3) infrastructure to support innovations based on electronic health records across communities, using experimental approaches.

  20. A conceptual framework for addressing complexity and unfolding transition dynamics when developing sustainable adaptation strategies in urban water management.

    PubMed

    Fratini, C F; Elle, M; Jensen, M B; Mikkelsen, P S

    2012-01-01

    To achieve a successful and sustainable adaptation to climate change we need to transform the way we think about change. Much water management research has focused on technical innovation with a range of new solutions developed to achieve a 'more sustainable and integrated urban water management cycle'. But Danish municipalities and utility companies are struggling to bring such solutions into practice. 'Green infrastructure', for example, requires the consideration of a larger range of aspects related to the urban context than the traditional urban water system optimization. There is the need for standardized methods and guidelines to organize transdisciplinary processes where different types of knowledge and perspectives are taken into account. On the basis of the macro-meso-micro pattern inspired by complexity science and transition theory, we developed a conceptual framework to organize processes addressing the complexity characterizing urban water management in the context of climate change. In this paper the framework is used to organize a research process aiming at understanding and unfolding urban dynamics for sustainable transition. The final goal is to enable local authorities and utilities to create the basis for managing and catalysing the technical and organizational innovation necessary for a sustainable transition towards climate change adaptation in urban areas.

  1. Innovation in Deep Space Habitat Interior Design: Lessons Learned From Small Space Design in Terrestrial Architecture

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Simon, Matthew A.; Toups, Larry

    2014-01-01

    Increased public awareness of carbon footprints, crowding in urban areas, and rising housing costs have spawned a 'small house movement' in the housing industry. Members of this movement desire small, yet highly functional residences which are both affordable and sensitive to consumer comfort standards. In order to create comfortable, minimum-volume interiors, recent advances have been made in furniture design and approaches to interior layout that improve both space utilization and encourage multi-functional design for small homes, apartments, naval, and recreational vehicles. Design efforts in this evolving niche of terrestrial architecture can provide useful insights leading to innovation and efficiency in the design of space habitats for future human space exploration missions. This paper highlights many of the cross-cutting architectural solutions used in small space design which are applicable to the spacecraft interior design problem. Specific solutions discussed include reconfigurable, multi-purpose spaces; collapsible or transformable furniture; multi-purpose accommodations; efficient, space saving appliances; stowable and mobile workstations; and the miniaturization of electronics and computing hardware. For each of these design features, descriptions of how they save interior volume or mitigate other small space issues such as confinement stress or crowding are discussed. Finally, recommendations are provided to provide guidance for future designs and identify potential collaborations with the small spaces design community.

  2. Key Conditions for Successful Serial Entrepreneurship in Healthcare.

    PubMed

    Piron, Cameron

    2017-01-01

    As a serial entrepreneur in the medical device industry, the author embraces Snowdon's (2017) effort to create and stimulate dialogue among experts in health system innovation in an effort to define and support Canada's innovation agenda. In this paper, he outlines some of the attributes and skills that companies need to launch their products and scale their companies. He also identifies the main conditions of an innovation ecosystem that create the necessary infrastructure to enable and support highly successful companies while allowing them to accelerate their growth.

  3. Standardization as an Arena for Open Innovation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grøtnes, Endre

    This paper argues that anticipatory standardization can be viewed as an arena for open innovation and shows this through two cases from mobile telecommunication standardization. One case is the Android initiative by Google and the Open Handset Alliance, while the second case is the general standardization work of the Open Mobile Alliance. The paper shows how anticipatory standardization intentionally uses inbound and outbound streams of research and intellectual property to create new innovations. This is at the heart of the open innovation model. The standardization activities use both pooling of R&D and the distribution of freely available toolkits to create products and architectures that can be utilized by the participants and third parties to leverage their innovation. The paper shows that the technology being standardized needs to have a systemic nature to be part of an open innovation process.

  4. IN2 Profile: Reducing Energy Prices for Commercial Buildings with NETenergy’s Black ICE Technology

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Deru, Michael; Pintar, Mike

    To cool a commercial building properly and cost-effectively, the owners of NETenergy have created a thermal battery that works much like an electrical battery except instead of storing energy electrically, it stores energy thermally. Through the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) program, NETenergy will be able to advance modeling of their system and increase product development. The IN² program launched in October 2014 and is part of Wells Fargo’s 2020 Environmental Commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities. The goal is to create an ecosystem that fosters and accelerates the commercialization of promising commercial buildings technologies thatmore » can provide scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of buildings. According to the Department of Energy, nearly 40 percent of energy consumption in the U.S. today comes from buildings at an estimated cost of $413 billion.« less

  5. Designing and Evaluating a Climate Change Course for Upper-Division Engineers and Scientists

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samson, P. J.

    2002-12-01

    AOSS 300, GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, was created to provide a mechanism for scientific exploration of the unexpected global environmental side effects of technological innovation with emphasis on issues of the atmosphere and oceans. The course is specifically designed to contribute to the desired Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) outcomes that engineering and science graduates possess "the broad education necessary to understand the impact of solutions in a global and societal context." To facilitate this new course a new suite of coupled Flash/PHP/MySQL tools have been created that allow personalization of the students' learning space and interaction with faculty. Using these tools students are challenged to actively participate in the construction of knowledge through development of on-line portfolios that influence course content. This paper reports on lessons learned in the first semester that will guide further course development.

  6. Inservice Teachers' Difficulties with and Resistance to Curricular Innovation: A Solution-Finding Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center on Innovations in Learning, Temple University, 2016

    2016-01-01

    This Solution-Finding Report provides references and information requested on the topic of inservice teachers finding it difficult to implement, or resisting, curricular innovation. Many of the citations in this bibliography also deal with ways to overcome these difficulties and this resistance. Solution-finding Reports are intended to provide a…

  7. Intangible factors leading to success in research: strategy, innovation and leadership.

    PubMed

    Hecker, Louise; Birla, Ravi K

    2008-03-01

    At the heart of research is the scientific process, which includes identifying a knowledge gap, execution of experiments, and finally, presentation of scientific data. Identifying a systematic way to undertake research is important; however, equally important are intangible factors, including strategy, innovation and leadership, in determining the outcome of any research project. These intangible factors, although often unspoken, are the essence of success in research. Strategy determines the direction of research and the ability to respond to acute changes in the field to ensure a competitive advantage. Innovation involves generating novel ideas, and at the heart of innovation is the ability to create a positive work environment. Leadership is the ability to exercise influence so as to create change; empowerment and the ability to create leaders at every level are central to effective leadership. Collectively, defining and implementing aspects of these intangible factors will strengthen any research endeavor.

  8. Competing in the brave new (deregulated) world: Service innovation and brand strategy for utilities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Foster, D.; Lathrop, S.; Wolf, A.

    This paper will address ways utilities can gain a competitive advantage despite industry turbulence. It details how to create successful brand and innovation strategies and how to link these in order to create successful new products and services for customers. After gaining a solid understanding of industry trends, the first step is to develop an ideal brand image and create a brand strategy around it. Next, companies must determine how to roll out and leverage brands to targeted customer segments over time through a brand architecture. Then, they must build an innovation strategy, defining where and how to apply newmore » technologies and develop new products and services. This strategy is linked to the brand architecture through a product architecture. Finally, companies must be able to successfully develop new products and services through a well-planned innovation process.« less

  9. Ethical Concerns of and Risk Mitigation Strategies for Crowdsourcing Contests and Innovation Challenges: Scoping Review

    PubMed Central

    Pan, Stephen W; Mathews, Allison; Stein, Gabriella; Bayus, Barry; Rennie, Stuart

    2018-01-01

    Background Crowdsourcing contests (also called innovation challenges, innovation contests, and inducement prize contests) can be used to solicit multisectoral feedback on health programs and design public health campaigns. They consist of organizing a steering committee, soliciting contributions, engaging the community, judging contributions, recognizing a subset of contributors, and sharing with the community. Objective This scoping review describes crowdsourcing contests by stage, examines ethical problems at each stage, and proposes potential ways of mitigating risk. Methods Our analysis was anchored in the specific example of a crowdsourcing contest that our team organized to solicit videos promoting condom use in China. The purpose of this contest was to create compelling 1-min videos to promote condom use. We used a scoping review to examine the existing ethical literature on crowdsourcing to help identify and frame ethical concerns at each stage. Results Crowdsourcing has a group of individuals solve a problem and then share the solution with the public. Crowdsourcing contests provide an opportunity for community engagement at each stage: organizing, soliciting, promoting, judging, recognizing, and sharing. Crowdsourcing poses several ethical concerns: organizing—potential for excluding community voices; soliciting—potential for overly narrow participation; promoting—potential for divulging confidential information; judging—potential for biased evaluation; recognizing—potential for insufficient recognition of the finalist; and sharing—potential for the solution to not be implemented or widely disseminated. Conclusions Crowdsourcing contests can be effective and engaging public health tools but also introduce potential ethical problems. We present methods for the responsible conduct of crowdsourcing contests. PMID:29523500

  10. A Sales Representative Is Made: An Innovative Sales Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levin, Michael A.; Peterson, Lori T.

    2016-01-01

    Job openings for nonscientific business-to-business sales professionals will increase over the next 10 years. A small private university in the Midwest has developed an innovative sales course to help create professionals who are ready to fill this need. This article addresses the challenges of creating a meaningful, hands-on, experiential course…

  11. Creating an Innovative Learning Organization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salisbury, Mark

    2010-01-01

    This article describes how to create an innovative learning (iLearning) organization. It begins by discussing the life cycle of knowledge in an organization, followed by a description of the theoretical foundation for iLearning. Next, the article presents an example of iLearning, followed by a description of the distributed nature of work, the…

  12. The Possibilities of Production Engineering in the Development of Smart Specialisations Illustrated with the Example of the Silesian Voivodeship

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Biały, Witold

    2016-12-01

    Smart specialisations, a new area of economy/science which constitutes a new, growing economic specialisation based on utilising the unique natural resources of a region, connecting various branches of the industry, applying innovative technological solutions. Each Polish voivodeship has a specific list of smart specialisations aimed at creating new markets for economic activity, modernisation and increasing the region's competitiveness. Using as an example the technical universities in the Silesian Voivodeship, the author considers the possibility of teaching future experts for Smart Specialisation implementation as part of the Production Engineering course. He signalises the potential and omissions.

  13. Reverse innovation in maternal health.

    PubMed

    Firoz, Tabassum; Makanga, Prestige Tatenda; Nathan, Hannah L; Payne, Beth; Magee, Laura A

    2017-09-01

    Reverse innovation, defined as the flow of ideas from low- to high-income settings, is gaining traction in healthcare. With an increasing focus on value, investing in low-cost but effective and innovative solutions can be of mutual benefit to both high- and low-income countries. Reverse innovation has a role in addressing maternal health challenges in high-income countries by harnessing these innovative solutions for vulnerable populations especially in rural and remote regions. In this paper, we present three examples of 'reverse innovation' for maternal health: a low-cost, easy-to-use blood pressure device (CRADLE), a diagnostic algorithm (mini PIERS) and accompanying mobile app (PIERS on the Move), and a novel method for mapping maternal outcomes (MOM).

  14. Systematic review of innovation design contests for health: spurring innovation and mass engagement

    PubMed Central

    Pan, Stephen W; Stein, Gabriella; Bayus, Barry; Tang, Weiming; Mathews, Allison; Wang, Cheng; Wei, Chongyi; Tucker, Joseph D

    2018-01-01

    We undertook a systematic review evaluating the effectiveness and cost of health-focused innovation design contests. We followed Cochrane guidance and systematically searched eight databases. Articles were included if they reported an open contest focused on improving health, required participants submit finished design solutions and contained a prize structure. We searched 3579 citations, identifying 29 health-focused innovation design contests which collectively received 15494 contest submissions. Contests solicited submissions worldwide (7) and exclusively from North America (13), Asia (4), Africa (2), Australia (2) and Europe (1). Submissions per contest ranged from 3 to 11354 (median of 73). Contest entrants were tasked with helping develop health promotion messages (HPM) (25) and improve predictive clinical models, protocols and/or algorithms (4). Two types of contests emerged—those focused on high-quality, innovative outcomes and those focused on the process of mass community engagement. All outcome-oriented contests had innovation design contest solutions equivalent or superior to the comparator (100%; 7/7). Two of two studies found that innovation design contests saved money (100%; 2/2). Five of seven process-oriented contests concluded the contest improved at least one health indicator (71%; 5/7). Innovation design contests are an effective way to solicit innovative solutions to health problems and spur mass community engagement. PMID:29576873

  15. Systematic review of innovation design contests for health: spurring innovation and mass engagement.

    PubMed

    Pan, Stephen W; Stein, Gabriella; Bayus, Barry; Tang, Weiming; Mathews, Allison; Wang, Cheng; Wei, Chongyi; Tucker, Joseph D

    2017-01-01

    We undertook a systematic review evaluating the effectiveness and cost of health-focused innovation design contests. We followed Cochrane guidance and systematically searched eight databases. Articles were included if they reported an open contest focused on improving health, required participants submit finished design solutions and contained a prize structure. We searched 3579 citations, identifying 29 health-focused innovation design contests which collectively received 15494 contest submissions. Contests solicited submissions worldwide (7) and exclusively from North America (13), Asia (4), Africa (2), Australia (2) and Europe (1). Submissions per contest ranged from 3 to 11354 (median of 73). Contest entrants were tasked with helping develop health promotion messages (HPM) (25) and improve predictive clinical models, protocols and/or algorithms (4). Two types of contests emerged-those focused on high-quality, innovative outcomes and those focused on the process of mass community engagement. All outcome-oriented contests had innovation design contest solutions equivalent or superior to the comparator (100%; 7/7). Two of two studies found that innovation design contests saved money (100%; 2/2). Five of seven process-oriented contests concluded the contest improved at least one health indicator (71%; 5/7). Innovation design contests are an effective way to solicit innovative solutions to health problems and spur mass community engagement.

  16. Rethinking Communication in Innovation Processes: Creating Space for Change in Complex Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leeuwis, Cees; Aarts, Noelle

    2011-01-01

    This paper systematically rethinks the role of communication in innovation processes, starting from largely separate theoretical developments in communication science and innovation studies. Literature review forms the basis of the arguments presented. The paper concludes that innovation is a collective process that involves the contextual…

  17. An Exploration of Open Innovation: An Environmental Scanning Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elci, Nuray

    2009-01-01

    Globalization and direction toward a knowledge economy, along with an economic downturn, is creating a competitive environment that calls for corporations to become more innovative. As the business environment becomes more competitive and dynamic, corporations are looking for new ways of achieving innovation. Open innovation is one approach that…

  18. Creating a Nation of Innovators. A Brief Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fluellen, Jerry E., Jr.

    2011-01-01

    The Learning and Brain Conference for 2011 featured talks on a handful of themes including creativity, technology, education tomorrow, five minds for the future and innovation. Of these, innovation took center stage. Tony Wagner's opening plenary session became the conference prologue, examining innovation from several perspectives including seven…

  19. Innovation in Open & Distance Learning: Successful Development of Online and Web-Based Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lockwood, Fred, Ed.; Gooley, Anne, Ed.

    This book contains 19 papers examining innovation in open and distance learning through development of online and World Wide Web-based learning. The following papers are included: "Innovation in Distributed Learning: Creating the Environment" (Fred Lockwood); "Innovation in Open and Distance Learning: Some Lessons from Experience…

  20. Funding breakthrough therapies: A systematic review and recommendation.

    PubMed

    Hanna, E; Toumi, M; Dussart, C; Borissov, B; Dabbous, O; Badora, K; Auquier, P

    2018-03-01

    Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are innovative therapies likely associated with high prices. Payers need guidance to create a balance between ensuring patient access to breakthrough therapies and maintaining the financial sustainability of the healthcare system. The aims of this study were to identify, define, classify and compare the approaches to funding high-cost medicines proposed in the literature, to analyze their appropriateness for ATMP funding and to suggest an optimal funding model for ATMPs. Forty-eight articles suggesting new funding models for innovative high-cost therapies were identified. The models were classified into 3 groups: financial agreement, health outcomes-based agreement and healthcoin. Financial agreement encompassed: discounts, rebates, price and volume caps, price-volume agreements, loans, cost-plus price, intellectual-based payment and fund-based payment. Health outcomes-based agreements were defined as agreements between manufacturers and payers based on drug performance, and were divided into performance-based payment and coverage with evidence development. Healthcoin described a new suggested tradeable currency used to assign monetary value to incremental outcomes. With a large number of ATMPs in development, it is time for stakeholders to start thinking about new pathways and funding strategies for these innovative high-cost therapies. An "ATMP-specific fund" may constitute a reasonable solution to ensure rapid patient access to innovation without threatening the sustainability of the health care system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. The hackathon model to spur innovation around global mHealth

    PubMed Central

    Angelidis, Pantelis; Berman, Leslie; de la Luz Casas-Perez, Maria; Celi, Leo Anthony; Dafoulas, George E.; Dagan, Alon; Escobar, Braiam; Lopez, Diego M.; Noguez, Julieta; Osorio-Valencia, Juan Sebastian; Otine, Charles; Paik, Kenneth; Rojas-Potosi, Luis; Symeonidis, Andreas L.; Winkler, Eric

    2017-01-01

    The challenge of providing quality healthcare to underserved populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has attracted increasing attention from information and communication technology (ICT) professionals interested in providing societal impact through their work. Sana is an organisation hosted at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that was established out of this interest. Over the past several years, Sana has developed a model of organising mobile health bootcamp and hackathon events in LMICs with the goal of encouraging increased collaboration between ICT and medical professionals and leveraging the growing prevalence of cellphones to provide health solutions in resource limited settings. Most recently, these events have been based in Colombia, Uganda, Greece and Mexico. The lessons learned from these events can provide a framework for others working to create sustainable health solutions in the developing world. PMID:27538360

  2. Manufacturing Innovation and Technological Superiority

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-09-01

    Defense AT&L: September-October 2016 2 From the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisit ion, Technology, and Logist ics Manufacturing Innovation ...program to establish Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs) that would create incubators for advanced manufacturing technology in key

  3. Innovative ventilation system for animal anatomy laboratory

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lacey, D.R.; Smith, D.C.

    1997-04-01

    A unique ventilation system was designed and built to reduce formaldehyde fumes in the large animal anatomy lab at the Vet Medical Center at Cornell University. The laboratory includes four rooms totaling 5,500 ft{sup 2}. The main room has 2,300 ft{sup 2} and houses the laboratory where up to 60 students dissect as many as 12 horses at a time. Other rooms are a cold storage locker, an animal preparation room and a smaller lab for specialized instruction. The large animal anatomy laboratory has a history of air quality complaints despite a fairly high ventilation rate of over 10 airmore » changes/hour. The horses are embalmed, creating a voluminous source of formaldehyde and phenol vapors. Budget constraints and increasingly stringent exposure limits for formaldehyde presented a great challenge to design a ventilation system that yields acceptable air quality. The design solution included two innovative elements: air-to-air heat recovery, and focused ventilation.« less

  4. Scalable Integrated Multi-Mission Support System (SIMSS) Simulator Release 2.0 for GMSEC

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kim, John; Velamuri, Sarma; Casey, Taylor; Bemann, Travis

    2012-01-01

    Scalable Integrated Multi-Mission Support System (SIMSS) Simulator Release 2.0 software is designed to perform a variety of test activities related to spacecraft simulations and ground segment checks. This innovation uses the existing SIMSS framework, which interfaces with the GMSEC (Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center) Application Programming Interface (API) Version 3.0 message middleware, and allows SIMSS to accept GMSEC standard messages via the GMSEC message bus service. SIMSS is a distributed, component-based, plug-and-play client-server system that is useful for performing real-time monitoring and communications testing. SIMSS runs on one or more workstations, and is designed to be user-configurable, or to use predefined configurations for routine operations. SIMSS consists of more than 100 modules that can be configured to create, receive, process, and/or transmit data. The SIMSS/GMSEC innovation is intended to provide missions with a low-cost solution for implementing their ground systems, as well as to significantly reduce a mission s integration time and risk.

  5. The Need, Development, and Validation of the Innovation Test Instrument

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wheadon, Jacob; Wright, Geoff A.; West, Richard E.; Skaggs, Paul

    2017-01-01

    This study discusses the need, development, and validation of the Innovation Test Instrument (ITI). This article outlines how the researchers identified the content domain of the assessment and created test items. Then, it describes initial validation testing of the instrument. The findings suggest that the ITI is a good first step in creating an…

  6. BioBridge Professional Development: Bringing Innovative Science into the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Babendure, Jeremy; Thompson, Loren; Peterman, Karen; Teiper, Leanne; Gastil, Heather; Liwanag, Heather; Glenn-Lee, Shelley

    2011-01-01

    The BioBridge Professional Development model was created to bring current and relevant science into the high school classroom. The purpose of this intervention was to connect teachers with relevant science and to create innovative, hands-on activities that engage students, with the goal of increasing student interest in STEM careers. To this end,…

  7. Development of steel design details and selection criteria for cost effective and innovative steel bridges in Colorado : CDOT study no. 85-00 final report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-07-01

    This research focuses on finding a method for creating cost effective and innovative steel bridges in Colorado. The design method that was discovered to create this cost efficiency was designing the beams as simply supported for non-composite dead lo...

  8. User Participation in Coproduction of Health Innovation: Proposal for a Synergy Project.

    PubMed

    Nygren, Jens; Zukauskaite, Elena; Westberg, Niklas

    2018-05-09

    This project concerns advancing knowledge, methods, and logic for user participation in coproduction of health innovations. Such advancement is vital for several reasons. From a user perspective, participation in coproduction provides an opportunity to gain real influence over goal definition, design, and implementation of health innovations, ensuring that the solution developed solves real problems in right ways. From a societal perspective, it's a mean to improve the efficiency of health care and the implementation of the Patient Act. As for industry, frameworks and knowledge of coproduction offer tools to operate in a complex sector, with great potential for innovation of services and products. The fundamental objective of this project is to advance knowledge and methods of how user participation in the coproduction of health innovations can be applied in order to benefit users, industry, and public sector. This project is a synergy project, which means that the objective will be accomplished through collaboration and meta-analysis between three subprojects that address different user groups, apply different strategies to promote human health, and relate to different parts of the health sector. Furthermore, subprojects focus on distinctive stages in the spectrum of innovation, with the objective to generate knowledge of the innovation process as a whole. The project is organized around three work packages related to three challenges-coproduction, positioning, and realization. Each subproject is designed such that it has its own field of study with clearly identified objectives but also targets work packages to contribute to the project as a whole. The work on the work packages will use case methodology for data collection and analysis based on the subprojects as data sources. More concretely, logic of multiple case studies will be applied with each subproject representing a separate case which is similar to each other in its attention to user participation in coproduction, but different regarding, for example, context and target groups. At the synergy level, the framework methodology will be used to handle and analyze the vast amount of information generated within the subprojects. The project period is from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022. By addressing the objective of this project, we will create new knowledge on how to manage challenges to health innovation associated with the coproduction process, the positioning of solutions, and realization. ©Jens Nygren, Elena Zukauskaite, Niklas Westberg. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 09.05.2018.

  9. The JMC Innovation Project: A Pivotal Moment for Journalism, Media and Communication Education: Assessing the State of Innovation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richards, Allan; Fitzpatrick, Kathy R.

    2018-01-01

    The JMC Innovation Project recently released its first report, "The 'New' JMC: Creating Cultures of Innovation in Schools of Journalism, Media and Communication," which assessed the scope and status of innovation in schools and colleges of journalism, media and communication (JMC), based on personal interviews with 70 deans and directors…

  10. Rapid prototyping of microchannels with surface patterns for fabrication of polymer fibers

    DOE PAGES

    Goodrich, Payton J.; Sharifi, Farrokh; Hashemi, Nastaran

    2015-08-14

    Microfluidic technology has provided innovative solutions to numerous problems, but the cost of designing and fabricating microfluidic channels is impeding its expansion. In this study, Shrinky-Dink thermoplastic sheets are used to create multilayered complex templates for microfluidic channels. We also used inkjet and laserjet printers to raise a predetermined microchannel geometry by depositing several layers of ink for each feature consecutively. We achieved feature heights over 100 μm, which were measured and compared with surface profilometry. Templates closest to the target geometry were then used to create microfluidic devices from soft-lithography with the molds as a template. These microfluidic devicesmore » were, futhermore used to fabricate polymer microfibers using the microfluidic focusing approach to demonstrate the potential that this process has for microfluidic applications. Finally, an economic analysis was conducted to compare the price of common microfluidic template manufacturing methods. We showed that multilayer microchannels can be created significantly quicker and cheaper than current methods for design prototyping and point-of-care applications in the biomedical area.« less

  11. 2016 Summer Series - Thomas Barclay - Microlensing and the K2 Experiment

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-07-05

    Innovation is the ability to create a new idea, device or method from what already exists. It is even more innovative when it arises from what is considered to be waste. The NASA Ames Kepler mission revolutionized the way we see our place in the universe by demonstrating that planets are a common occurrence. When the Kepler mission ended, the team took the satellite that was considered to be useless and created a new innovative approach and platform to investigate a wide array of astronomy subfields called the K2 mission.

  12. Seeking Innovation: Librarians Help Push Organizations Ahead.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hudner, Ed

    2002-01-01

    Defines and discusses innovation in organizations and considers roles that information professionals can play in encouraging and supporting innovation in their organizations. Highlights include understanding future possibilities; contributing to strategy development; distilling information to create added value; developing partnerships; organizing…

  13. SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION PROGRAM TECHNOLOGY PROFILES: SIXTH EDITION

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program evaluates new and promising treatment and monitoring and measurement technologies for cleanup of hazardous waste sites. The program was created to encourage the development and routine use of innovative treatment techn...

  14. SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION PROGRAM - TECHNOLOGY PROFILES - SEVENTH EDITION

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program evaluates new and promising treatment and monitoring and measurement technologies for cleanup of hazardous waste sites. The program was created to encourage the development and routine use of innovative treatment techn...

  15. Talent Development in STEM Disciplines: Developing Talent That Leads to Innovation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Julia Link

    2011-01-01

    Innovation fuels the economy by creating jobs rather than just filling them. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2009) says that innovation is (1) "the introduction of something new" and (2) "a new idea, method, or device." "Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators: Identifying and Developing Our Nation's Human Capital" (2010)…

  16. 3 Crucial Behaviors for Successfully Leading Innovation. White Paper

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Michael T.

    2017-01-01

    Does innovation matter? In a 2015 survey, the authors asked the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) clients about innovation. Not surprisingly, nearly all of them--94%--said that innovation is important. People are living in a time when technology is advancing at a blistering pace, creating new possibilities for individuals and organizations…

  17. Innovation Squared: Comparison of Models by Tony Wagner and Steven Johnson

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fluellen, Jerry E., Jr.

    2012-01-01

    On the surface, Tony Wagner's model of innovation differs from Steven Johnson's. One explores the following: how might we develop a nation of innovators? The other offers seven patterns that mark environments for innovation. Drawing from triangulated data, both authors create regularities (not laws) that have new paradigm, scientific credibility.…

  18. Investment in Open Innovation Service Providers: NASA's Innovative Strategy for Solving Space Exploration Challenges

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fogarty, Jennifer A.; Rando, Cynthia; Baumann, David; Richard, Elizabeth; Davis, Jeffrey

    2010-01-01

    In an effort to expand routes for open communication and create additional opportunities for public involvement with NASA, Open Innovation Service Provider (OISP) methodologies have been incorporated as a tool in NASA's problem solving strategy. NASA engaged the services of two OISP providers, InnoCentive and Yet2.com, to test this novel approach and its feasibility in solving NASA s space flight challenges. The OISPs were chosen based on multiple factors including: network size and knowledge area span, established process, methodology, experience base, and cost. InnoCentive and Yet2.com each met the desired criteria; however each company s approach to Open Innovation is distinctly different. InnoCentive focuses on posting individual challenges to an established web-based network of approximately 200,000 solvers; viable solutions are sought and granted a financial award if found. Based on a specific technological need, Yet2.com acts as a talent scout providing a broad external network of experts as potential collaborators to NASA. A relationship can be established with these contacts to develop technologies and/or maintained as an established network of future collaborators. The results from the first phase of the pilot study have shown great promise for long term efficacy of utilizing the OISP methodologies. Solution proposals have been received for the challenges posted on InnoCentive and are currently under review for final disposition. In addition, Yet2.com has identified new external partners for NASA and we are in the process of understanding and acting upon these new opportunities. Compared to NASA's traditional routes for external problem solving, the OISP methodologies offered NASA a substantial savings in terms of time and resources invested. In addition, these strategies will help NASA extend beyond its current borders to build an ever expanding network of experts and global solvers.

  19. Agent-based Modeling to Simulate the Diffusion of Water-Efficient Innovations and the Emergence of Urban Water Sustainability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kanta, L.; Giacomoni, M.; Shafiee, M. E.; Berglund, E.

    2014-12-01

    The sustainability of water resources is threatened by urbanization, as increasing demands deplete water availability, and changes to the landscape alter runoff and the flow regime of receiving water bodies. Utility managers typically manage urban water resources through the use of centralized solutions, such as large reservoirs, which may be limited in their ability balance the needs of urbanization and ecological systems. Decentralized technologies, on the other hand, may improve the health of the water resources system and deliver urban water services. For example, low impact development technologies, such as rainwater harvesting, and water-efficient technologies, such as low-flow faucets and toilets, may be adopted by households to retain rainwater and reduce demands, offsetting the need for new centralized infrastructure. Decentralized technologies may create new complexities in infrastructure and water management, as decentralization depends on community behavior and participation beyond traditional water resources planning. Messages about water shortages and water quality from peers and the water utility managers can influence the adoption of new technologies. As a result, feedbacks between consumers and water resources emerge, creating a complex system. This research develops a framework to simulate the diffusion of water-efficient innovations and the sustainability of urban water resources, by coupling models of households in a community, hydrologic models of a water resources system, and a cellular automata model of land use change. Agent-based models are developed to simulate the land use and water demand decisions of individual households, and behavioral rules are encoded to simulate communication with other agents and adoption of decentralized technologies, using a model of the diffusion of innovation. The framework is applied for an illustrative case study to simulate water resources sustainability over a long-term planning horizon.

  20. The SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION program - Technology Profiles

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program was created to evaluate new and promising treatment technologies for cleanup at hazardous waste sites. The mission of the SITE program is to encourage the development and routine use of innovative treatment technologie...

  1. SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION PROGRAM - TECHNOLOGY PROFILES 4th Edition

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program evaluates new and promising treatment technologies for cleanup of hazardous waste sites. The program was created to encourage the development and routine use of innovative treatment technologies. As a result, the SI...

  2. The Design of an Instructional Model Based on Connectivism and Constructivism to Create Innovation in Real World Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jirasatjanukul, Kanokrat; Jeerungsuwan, Namon

    2018-01-01

    The objectives of the research were to (1) design an instructional model based on Connectivism and Constructivism to create innovation in real world experience, (2) assess the model designed--the designed instructional model. The research involved 2 stages: (1) the instructional model design and (2) the instructional model rating. The sample…

  3. Health insurance and corporate social responsibility.

    PubMed

    Carter, Tony

    2009-01-01

    Innovation drives productivity in the nonprofit sector as well as in the commercial sector. The greatest advances come not from incremental improvements in efficiency but from new and better approaches. The most powerful way to create social value, therefore, is by developing a new means to address social problems and putting it into widespread practice. The expertise, research capacity, and reach that companies bring to philanthropy can help nonprofits create new solutions that they could never afford to develop on their own. Corporate managers sometimes work directly with faculty and community residents to implement local business projects. These projects often have significant societal benefits, especially since student collaboration and involvement extend to communities in many different inner cities. These projects are incredibly diverse and through such initiatives, management education not only provides an educationally rewarding outlet for students but also endows and enriches inner city communities. Management students sometimes work directly with faculty and community residents to implement local business projects. These projects often have significant societal benefits, especially since student collaboration and involvement extend to communities in many different inner cities. These projects are incredibly diverse and through such initiatives, management education not only provides an educationally rewarding outlet for students but also endows and enriches inner city communities. This article looks at how to use corporate social responsibility and service learning to drive innovation for local inner-city economic development.

  4. Universal Design as a Booster for Housing Quality and Architectural Practice.

    PubMed

    Denizou, Karine

    2016-01-01

    Norwegian central government has for the last decade increasingly focused on universal design. Fundamental changes in the Norwegian building code and corresponding regulations in 2010 give an apparently clear framework for the implementation of accessibility and universal design. However, it seems that neither increased awareness of accessibility requirements and universal design, nor compliance with the building code guarantees improvement of housing quality and usability. The Norwegian regulations have gone further in the direction of performance requirements than most other countries. This applies to all types of requirements, including requirements for usability, functionality and accessibility. Hardly any specifications are to be found in the regulations. Ideally, this lack of specifications should give designers the opportunity to develop innovative answers and hence to respond to different contexts and needs. Still, many architects and builders ask for clear specifications, in order to simplify and speed up design processes and make control of solutions easier. Many architects understand guidelines as minimum requirements, and are thus reproducing the identical solutions without considering the context and the needs of the users. They see accessibility as another regulatory pressure and requirements as restrictions rather than positive incentives. However, there are examples of designers who have internalised the regulatory framework and thus are able to create and integrate inclusive design in their daily work. Based on recent research conducted by SINTEF Building and Infrastructure and financed by the Norwegian State Housing Bank, this paper presents examples of practice where dwellings have been developed within a framework of universal design. Focus of the research has been on the approach of the design team and their understanding and use of the regulatory framework in order to create better homes in dialogue with the building authorities. Main objectives are to: - Contribute to better understanding of universal design as a tool and a method to improve housing quality and usability - Investigate the conditions for developing dwellings with innovative and functional solutions in compliance with the building code - Discuss challenges in interpreting the requirements and in taking the needs of various resident groups into account.

  5. Designing With Empathy: Humanizing Narratives for Inspired Healthcare Experiences.

    PubMed

    Carmel-Gilfilen, Candy; Portillo, Margaret

    2016-01-01

    Designers can and should play a critical role in shaping a holistic healthcare experience by creating empathetic design solutions that foster a culture of care for patients, families, and staff. Using narrative inquiry as a design tool, this case study shares strategies for promoting empathy. Designing for patient-centered care infuses empathy into the creative process. Narrative inquiry offers a methodology to think about and create empathetic design that enhances awareness, responsiveness, and accountability. This article shares discoveries from a studio on empathetic design within an outpatient cancer care center. The studio engaged students in narrative techniques throughout the design process by incorporating aural, visual, and written storytelling. Benchmarking, observations, and interviews were merged with data drawn from scholarly evidence-based design literature reviews. Using an empathy-focused design process not only motivated students to be more engaged in the project but facilitated the generation of fresh and original ideas. Design solutions were innovative and impactful in supporting the whole person. Similarities as well as differences defined empathetic cancer care across projects and embodied concepts of design empowerment, design for the whole person, and design for healing. By becoming more conscious of empathy, those who create healthcare environments can better connect holistically to the user to take an experiential approach to design. Explicitly developing a mind-set that raises empathy to the forefront of the design process offers a breakthrough in design thinking that bridges the gap between what might be defined as "good design" and patient-centered care. © The Author(s) 2015.

  6. Open Source Hbim for Cultural Heritage: a Project Proposal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Diara, F.; Rinaudo, F.

    2018-05-01

    Actual technologies are changing Cultural Heritage research, analysis, conservation and development ways, allowing new innovative approaches. The possibility of integrating Cultural Heritage data, like archaeological information, inside a three-dimensional environment system (like a Building Information Modelling) involve huge benefits for its management, monitoring and valorisation. Nowadays there are many commercial BIM solutions. However, these tools are thought and developed mostly for architecture design or technical installations. An example of better solution could be a dynamic and open platform that might consider Cultural Heritage needs as priority. Suitable solution for better and complete data usability and accessibility could be guaranteed by open source protocols. This choice would allow adapting software to Cultural Heritage needs and not the opposite, thus avoiding methodological stretches. This work will focus exactly on analysis and experimentations about specific characteristics of these kind of open source software (DBMS, CAD, Servers) applied to a Cultural Heritage example, in order to verifying their flexibility, reliability and then creating a dynamic HBIM open source prototype. Indeed, it might be a starting point for a future creation of a complete HBIM open source solution that we could adapt to others Cultural Heritage researches and analysis.

  7. Creativity and innovation by empowering the customer: The case of Mulino Bianco. Part II: The digital customer value added

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bujor, A.; Avasilcăi, S.

    2015-11-01

    The terms of creativity, co-creation, creative industries, innovation, and coinnovation are more and more used nowadays. While co-creation offers the possibility and encourages a more active involvement from the customers to create value rich experiences, innovation is responsible for the little improvements made for a better life, to grow a business, to improve products, services or company's productivity. Either customers, current and potential, or stakeholders’ involvement into innovation activities, through their creativity, represent an important way of value creation, of actions’ performance that increases the worth of goods, services, or business as a whole. More and more, different size businesses gather ideas for innovation from customers / stakeholders by involving them into the early stages of the innovation process. Actually, it has been shown that their ideas sketch their needs and wishes, and have been described as “need information”. Customers and stakeholders, in general, also offer ideas that have been called “solution information”, which represents, not only need information, but also customer-based proposals that describe how ideas can be transformed into marketable products. The term of creative industries refers to those goods that can technically be reproduced, industrially produced, and commercially sold, this being one of the many definitions found in the literature. Mulino Bianco was first launched in Italy, being one of the value brands of Barilla Group, which we can say, according to the Italian definition and classification, it belongs to creative industries: industry of food and taste. Even though Barilla Group's Research & Development department does its job very efficiently, developing and creating new products under different brands, lately a key strategy for the Group and for Mulino Bianco, by default, is customers’ pro-active involvement in products’ development or creation. One of the tools used for this is the Internet Toolkit and Web 2.0. by means of which customers are being invited to participate in competitions, being asked to design and share their concepts / views for new products, or to get involved in by voting those ideas they best like and would love to find them on markets. The aim of this paper is to explore and identify the involvement of stakeholders in Mullino Bianco's product development or improvement through creativity and innovation. As methodology approach, a case study about Mulino Bianco was done, and the foreseen result is highlighting the Nel Mulino Che Vorrei platform's features for consumer's engagement in the value creation and co-creation.

  8. Creating an Innovative Workplace in EPA: A Manager’s Guide

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Innovation is seeking out the best ideas to meet a challenge and putting full effort into making them work. A manager’s role in an innovative workplace is to facilitate staff involvement by inspiring new ideas and making them come alive.

  9. Ethical Concerns of and Risk Mitigation Strategies for Crowdsourcing Contests and Innovation Challenges: Scoping Review.

    PubMed

    Tucker, Joseph D; Pan, Stephen W; Mathews, Allison; Stein, Gabriella; Bayus, Barry; Rennie, Stuart

    2018-03-09

    Crowdsourcing contests (also called innovation challenges, innovation contests, and inducement prize contests) can be used to solicit multisectoral feedback on health programs and design public health campaigns. They consist of organizing a steering committee, soliciting contributions, engaging the community, judging contributions, recognizing a subset of contributors, and sharing with the community. This scoping review describes crowdsourcing contests by stage, examines ethical problems at each stage, and proposes potential ways of mitigating risk. Our analysis was anchored in the specific example of a crowdsourcing contest that our team organized to solicit videos promoting condom use in China. The purpose of this contest was to create compelling 1-min videos to promote condom use. We used a scoping review to examine the existing ethical literature on crowdsourcing to help identify and frame ethical concerns at each stage. Crowdsourcing has a group of individuals solve a problem and then share the solution with the public. Crowdsourcing contests provide an opportunity for community engagement at each stage: organizing, soliciting, promoting, judging, recognizing, and sharing. Crowdsourcing poses several ethical concerns: organizing-potential for excluding community voices; soliciting-potential for overly narrow participation; promoting-potential for divulging confidential information; judging-potential for biased evaluation; recognizing-potential for insufficient recognition of the finalist; and sharing-potential for the solution to not be implemented or widely disseminated. Crowdsourcing contests can be effective and engaging public health tools but also introduce potential ethical problems. We present methods for the responsible conduct of crowdsourcing contests. ©Joseph D Tucker, Stephen W Pan, Allison Mathews, Gabriella Stein, Barry Bayus, Stuart Rennie. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 09.03.2018.

  10. Spinoff 2012

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2013-01-01

    Topics covered include: Water Treatment Technologies Inspire Healthy Beverages; Dietary Formulas Fortify Antioxidant Supplements; Rovers Pave the Way for Hospital Robots; Dry Electrodes Facilitate Remote Health Monitoring; Telescope Innovations Improve Speed, Accuracy of Eye Surgery; Superconductors Enable Lower Cost MRI Systems; Anti-Icing Formulas Prevent Train Delays; Shuttle Repair Tools Automate Vehicle Maintenance; Pressure-Sensitive Paints Advance Rotorcraft Design Testing; Speech Recognition Interfaces Improve Flight Safety; Polymers Advance Heat Management Materials for Vehicles; Wireless Sensors Pinpoint Rotorcraft Troubles; Ultrasonic Detectors Safely Identify Dangerous, Costly Leaks; Detectors Ensure Function, Safety of Aircraft Wiring; Emergency Systems Save Tens of Thousands of Lives; Oxygen Assessments Ensure Safer Medical Devices; Collaborative Platforms Aid Emergency Decision Making; Space-Inspired Trailers Encourage Exploration on Earth; Ultra-Thin Coatings Beautify Art; Spacesuit Materials Add Comfort to Undergarments; Gigapixel Images Connect Sports Teams with Fans; Satellite Maps Deliver More Realistic Gaming; Elemental Scanning Devices Authenticate Works of Art; Microradiometers Reveal Ocean Health, Climate Change; Sensors Enable Plants to Text Message Farmers; Efficient Cells Cut the Cost of Solar Power; Shuttle Topography Data Inform Solar Power Analysis; Photocatalytic Solutions Create Self-Cleaning Surfaces; Concentrators Enhance Solar Power Systems; Innovative Coatings Potentially Lower Facility Maintenance Costs; Simulation Packages Expand Aircraft Design Options; Web Solutions Inspire Cloud Computing Software; Behavior Prediction Tools Strengthen Nanoelectronics; Power Converters Secure Electronics in Harsh Environments; Diagnostics Tools Identify Faults Prior to Failure; Archiving Innovations Preserve Essential Historical Records; Meter Designs Reduce Operation Costs for Industry; Commercial Platforms Allow Affordable Space Research; Fiber Optics Deliver Real-Time Structural Monitoring; Camera Systems Rapidly Scan Large Structures; Terahertz Lasers Reveal Information for 3D Images; Thin Films Protect Electronics from Heat and Radiation; Interferometers Sharpen Measurements for Better Telescopes; and Vision Systems Illuminate Industrial Processes.

  11. Innovation, TIDE Teachers, and the Global Economy: The Direct Ability of a TIDE Education to Create Investors and Innovators is Simply Overlooked and Underestimated

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Starkweather, Kendall N.

    2005-01-01

    The National Innovation Initiative (NII) defines innovation as "the intersection of invention and insight, leading to the creation of social and economic value." Innovation has been fundamental in exploration, opportunity, and discovery. It is the story of how technology has advanced, is used, and powers the economic engines of a country. NII…

  12. Combining selection valve and mixing chamber for nanoflow gradient generation: Toward developing a liquid chromatography cartridge coupled with mass spectrometer for protein and peptide analysis.

    PubMed

    Chen, Apeng; Lu, Joann J; Gu, Congying; Zhang, Min; Lynch, Kyle B; Liu, Shaorong

    2015-08-05

    Toward developing a micro HPLC cartridge, we have recently built a high-pressure electroosmotic pump (EOP). However, we do not recommend people to use this pump to deliver an organic solvent directly, because it often makes the pump rate unstable. We have experimented several approaches to address this issue, but none of them are satisfactory. Here, we develop an innovative approach to address this issue. We first create an abruption (a dead-volume) within a fluid conduit. We then utilize an EOP to withdraw, via a selection valve, a train of eluent solutions having decreasing eluting power into the fluid conduit. When these solutions are further aspirated through the dead-volume, these solutions are partially mixed, smoothening concentration transitions between two adjacent eluent solutions. As these solutions are pushed back, through the dead-volume again, a smooth gradient profile is formed. In this work, we characterize this scheme for gradient formation, and we incorporate this approach with a high-pressure EOP, a nanoliter injection valve, and a capillary column, yielding a micro HPLC system. We then couple this micro HPLC with an electrospray ionization - mass spectrometer for peptide and protein separations and identifications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Rethinking the Clockwork of Work: Why Schedule Control May Pay Off at Work and at Home

    PubMed Central

    Kelly, Erin L.; Moen, Phyllis

    2014-01-01

    The problem and the solution Many employees face work–life conflicts and time deficits that negatively affect their health, well-being, effectiveness on the job, and organizational commitment. Many organizations have adopted flexible work arrangements but not all of them increase schedule control, that is, employees’ control over when, where, and how much they work. This article describes some limitations of flexible work policies, proposes a conceptual model of how schedule control impacts work–life conflicts, and describes specific ways to increase employees’ schedule control, including best practices for implementing common flexible work policies and Best Buy’s innovative approach to creating a culture of schedule control. PMID:25598711

  14. Developing a UAS Program for Electric Utilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keltgen, James

    New innovations and technologies using unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones, have created unique opportunities for commercial applications. Electric utilities, likewise, realize the benefits of using UAS as a tool in electric utility operations. Although the opportunities exist, establishing a UAS program for electric utilities is largely an endeavor of trial and error or research and development with no clear path defined on how to establish a UAS program. By reviewing UAS use case examples and integrating lessons learned with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, UAS best practices, unique electric utility values, legal and insurance perspectives, equipment selection, and thoughtful planning and preparation; a solution model is developed to establish a UAS program for electric utilities.

  15. Reaching out to retirees.

    PubMed

    Adigozel, Ozgur; Huber, Celia; Lewis, Greg; Singhal, Shubham

    2006-01-01

    The numbers pertaining to the approaching demographic boom in health-care-related expenditures are eye-popping: Health-related financial products to help retiring baby boomers deal with out-of-pocket costs alone will generate up to 80 billion dollars in revenues and 8-12 billion dollars in pre-tax profits by 2014. But health insurers will have to refocus their efforts if they want to take full advantage of this opportunity. (For more, see "Turning Subscribers Into Customers: The Future Is Now" in the July/August issue, the first in this two-part series.) Two areas are critical: product innovation to provide comprehensive solutions that meet seniors' needs more effectively, and advice-based distribution that creates privileged customer relationships.

  16. Building Bridges to Integrate Care (BRIDGES): Incubating Health Service Innovation across the Continuum of Care for Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions.

    PubMed

    Bhattacharyya, Onil; Schull, Michael; Shojania, Kaveh; Stergiopoulos, Vicky; Naglie, Gary; Webster, Fiona; Brandao, Ricardo; Mohammed, Tamara; Christian, Jennifer; Hawker, Gillian; Wilson, Lynn; Levinson, Wendy

    2016-01-01

    Integrating care for people with complex needs is challenging. Indeed, evidence of solutions is mixed, and therefore, well-designed, shared evaluation approaches are needed to create cumulative learning. The Toronto-based Building Bridges to Integrate Care (BRIDGES) collaborative provided resources to refine and test nine new models linking primary, hospital and community care. It used mixed methods, a cross-project meta-evaluation and shared outcome measures. Given the range of skills required to develop effective interventions, a novel incubator was used to test and spread opportunities for system integration that included operational expertise and support for evaluation and process improvement.

  17. BioInnovate Ireland--fostering entrepreneurial activity through medical device innovation training.

    PubMed

    Bruzzi, M S; Linehan, J H

    2013-09-01

    In the midst of a rich environment for medical device development and manufacturing, universities can play a critical role by developing relevant training programs to produce entrepreneurs who can be efficient and successful in creating early stage companies by understanding deeply the issues involved in creating a useful device, how to raise money, designing early clinical studies and locating manufacturing partners.

  18. Creating a Climate for Innovation in Education: Reframing Structure, Culture, and Leadership Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong-Kam, JoAnn C. W. N.

    2012-01-01

    The focus of this study was on creating a climate for innovation in schools to lead to improvements in student achievement. Bolman and Deal's (2008) four frame model of organizational thinking was used as a framework for the study. The study examined the influence of leadership practices, structure, and school culture in the context of a K-12…

  19. Economic Model For a Return on Investment Analysis of United States Government High Performance Computing (HPC) Research and Development (R & D) Investment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Joseph, Earl C.; Conway, Steve; Dekate, Chirag

    This study investigated how high-performance computing (HPC) investments can improve economic success and increase scientific innovation. This research focused on the common good and provided uses for DOE, other government agencies, industry, and academia. The study created two unique economic models and an innovation index: 1 A macroeconomic model that depicts the way HPC investments result in economic advancements in the form of ROI in revenue (GDP), profits (and cost savings), and jobs. 2 A macroeconomic model that depicts the way HPC investments result in basic and applied innovations, looking at variations by sector, industry, country, and organization size. Amore » new innovation index that provides a means of measuring and comparing innovation levels. Key findings of the pilot study include: IDC collected the required data across a broad set of organizations, with enough detail to create these models and the innovation index. The research also developed an expansive list of HPC success stories.« less

  20. The Palatability of Lopinavir and Ritonavir Delivered by an Innovative Freeze-Dried Fast-Dissolving Tablet Formulation

    PubMed Central

    Brantly, Alexandra M.; Drobonick, Alexandra L.; King, Hannah T.; Mesta, Daniel C.; Richards, Caroline G.; Lal, Manjari; Lai, Manshun

    2018-01-01

    Negative hedonic sensory qualities of HIV antiretroviral drugs often reduce patient adherence particularly in pediatric populations requiring oral consumption. This study examines the palatability of an innovative delivery mechanism utilizing a freeze-drying-in-blister approach to create fast-dissolving tablets (FDTs) containing a fixed-dose combination of lopinavir and ritonavir (LPV/r). Consumption patterns of solutions during brief-access and long-term testing and baby foodstuff consumption were analyzed to evaluate the orosensory detection and avoidance of placebo FDTs containing no LPV/r (FDT−) and FDTs containing LPV/r (FDT+). Rats showed no change in consumption patterns for the placebo FDT− compared with control solutions. Rats can detect but do not avoid FDT+ at body-weight-adjusted dosages in both brief-access (30-s) and long-term (23 h) consumption tests. There is an aversive response to concentrated doses of FDT+ during brief-access tests that cannot be masked by 25% sucrose. However, the strongest FDT+ concentration was not rejected when mixed with 50 g of applesauce, banana sauce, or rice cereal baby foodstuffs. The averseness of the FDT+ was associated with the presence of LPV/r and not the FDT− formulation itself. The novel FDT formulation appears to be a palatable delivery mechanism for oral antiretroviral pharmaceuticals especially when mixed with baby foodstuffs. PMID:29593900

  1. The Palatability of Lopinavir and Ritonavir Delivered by an Innovative Freeze-Dried Fast-Dissolving Tablet Formulation.

    PubMed

    Pittman, David W; Brantly, Alexandra M; Drobonick, Alexandra L; King, Hannah T; Mesta, Daniel C; Richards, Caroline G; Lal, Manjari; Lai, Manshun

    2018-01-01

    Negative hedonic sensory qualities of HIV antiretroviral drugs often reduce patient adherence particularly in pediatric populations requiring oral consumption. This study examines the palatability of an innovative delivery mechanism utilizing a freeze-drying-in-blister approach to create fast-dissolving tablets (FDTs) containing a fixed-dose combination of lopinavir and ritonavir (LPV/r). Consumption patterns of solutions during brief-access and long-term testing and baby foodstuff consumption were analyzed to evaluate the orosensory detection and avoidance of placebo FDTs containing no LPV/r (FDT-) and FDTs containing LPV/r (FDT+). Rats showed no change in consumption patterns for the placebo FDT- compared with control solutions. Rats can detect but do not avoid FDT+ at body-weight-adjusted dosages in both brief-access (30-s) and long-term (23 h) consumption tests. There is an aversive response to concentrated doses of FDT+ during brief-access tests that cannot be masked by 25% sucrose. However, the strongest FDT+ concentration was not rejected when mixed with 50 g of applesauce, banana sauce, or rice cereal baby foodstuffs. The averseness of the FDT+ was associated with the presence of LPV/r and not the FDT- formulation itself. The novel FDT formulation appears to be a palatable delivery mechanism for oral antiretroviral pharmaceuticals especially when mixed with baby foodstuffs.

  2. A Measurement Framework for Team Level Assessment of Innovation Capability in Early Requirements Engineering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Regnell, Björn; Höst, Martin; Nilsson, Fredrik; Bengtsson, Henrik

    When developing software-intensive products for a market-place it is important for a development organisation to create innovative features for coming releases in order to achieve advantage over competitors. This paper focuses on assessment of innovation capability at team level in relation to the requirements engineering that is taking place before the actual product development projects are decided, when new business models, technology opportunities and intellectual property rights are created and investigated through e.g. prototyping and concept development. The result is a measurement framework focusing on four areas: innovation elicitation, selection, impact and ways-of-working. For each area, candidate measurements were derived from interviews to be used as inspiration in the development of a tailored measurement program. The framework is based on interviews with participants of a software team with specific innovation responsibilities and validated through cross-case analysis and feedback from practitioners.

  3. An Innovative Program in the Science of Health Care Delivery: Workforce Diversity in the Business of Health.

    PubMed

    Essary, Alison C; Wade, Nathaniel L

    2016-01-01

    According to the most recent statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics, disparities in enrollment in undergraduate and graduate education are significant and not improving commensurate with the national population. Similarly, only 12% of graduating medical students and 13% of graduating physician assistant students are from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Established in 2012 to promote health care transformation at the organization and system levels, the School for the Science of Health Care Delivery is aligned with the university and college missions to create innovative, interdisciplinary curricula that meet the needs of our diverse patient and community populations. Three-year enrollment trends in the program exceed most national benchmarks, particularly among students who identify as Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native. The Science of Health Care Delivery program provides students a seamless learning experience that prepares them to be solutions-oriented leaders proficient in the business of health care, change management, innovation, and data-driven decision making. Defined as the study and design of systems, processes, leadership and management used to optimize health care delivery and health for all, the Science of Health Care Delivery will prepare the next generation of creative, diverse, pioneering leaders in health care.

  4. The role of pulses in sustainable and healthy food systems.

    PubMed

    McDermott, John; Wyatt, Amanda J

    2017-03-01

    Improving nutrition is a development priority, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa and South Asia, in which there is a persistent burden of undernutrition and increasing obesity. Healthy food systems can play a necessary role, aligned with other multisectoral actions, in addressing this challenge. Contributing to improved nutrition and health outcomes through food-based solutions is complex. In considering the role that pulses can play in addressing this challenge, there are useful conceptual frameworks and emerging lessons. National food systems in LMICs provide limited diet quality. Foods for a healthy diet may be produced locally, but they increasingly rely on improved markets and trade. What might be done to transform food systems for healthier diets, and what role can pulses play? Food systems innovations will require a convergence of technical innovation with smarter institutional arrangements and more effective policies and regulations. In many countries in Africa and South Asia, pulses can make important contributions to healthier diets. Options for supporting pulses to make a greater contribution to healthier diets include increasing the efficiency of pulse supply chains, creating more effective public-private institutional arrangements for innovation, and establishing policies, regulations, and investments that are nutrition sensitive. © 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.

  5. NASA technology investments: building America's future

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peck, Mason

    2013-03-01

    Investments in technology and innovation enable new space missions, stimulate the economy, contribute to the nation's global competitiveness, and inspire America's next generation of scientists, engineers and astronauts. Chief Technologist Mason Peck will provide an overview of NASA's ambitious program of space exploration that builds on new technologies, as well as proven capabilities, as it expands humanity's reach into the solar system while providing broadly-applicable benefits here on Earth. Peck also will discuss efforts of the Office of the Chief Technologist to coordinate the agency's overall technology portfolio, identifying development needs, ensuring synergy and reducing duplication, while furthering the national initiatives as outlined by President Obama's Office of Science and Technology Policy. By coordinating technology programs within NASA, Peck's office facilitates integration of available and new technology into operational systems that support specific human-exploration missions, science missions, and aeronautics. The office also engages other government agencies and the larger aerospace community to develop partnerships in areas of mutual interest that could lead to new breakthrough capabilities. NASA technology transfer translates our air and space missions into societal benefits for people everywhere. Peck will highlight NASA's use of technology transfer and commercialization to help American entrepreneurs and innovators develop technological solutions that stimulate the growth of the innovation economy by creating new products and services, new business and industries and high quality, sustainable jobs.

  6. Creating a Culture of Innovation: The Challenge in Becoming and Staying a World-Class University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tierney, William G.

    2014-01-01

    In the 21st century world-class universities will need to be much more focused on innovation, rather than on stability and standardization. An innovative organization is different from a stable one. It requires different skills from its participants, and it functions in a different way from a stable organization. A focus on innovation will…

  7. Education for All. INNOV Data Base. Making It Work. Innovative Basic Education Projects in Developing Countries Database 1994.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France).

    The INNOV database was created as part of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) program to collect, analyze and promote successful basic education projects in the developing world, and this report lists innovations in the field. It is divided into sections of project reports in three major geographical…

  8. The Investigation of Pre-Service Teachers' Concerns about Integrating Web 2.0 Technologies into Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hao, Yungwei; Wang, Shiou-ling; Chang, Su-jen; Hsu, Yin-hung; Tang, Ren-yen

    2013-01-01

    Studies indicated Web 2.0 technologies can support learning. Then, integration of innovation may create concerns among teachers because of the innovative features. In this study, the innovation refers to Web 2.0 technology integration into instruction. To help pre-service teachers make the best use of the innovation in their future instruction, it…

  9. National Implications: Closed Systems Stifle Innovation, Collaboration and Flexibility

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cloud, Michelle; Kritsonis, William Allan

    2006-01-01

    Educational leaders must work to establish organizational structures that help schools achieve and sustain their vision. The intent of this article is to briefly examine how closed systems stifle innovation, collaboration and flexibility in schooling. Innovation, collaboration and flexibility are key ingredients for creating successful…

  10. A business strategy formulation for commercializing university-created technology: A university spin-offs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saputra, Iqbal Wahyu; Sutopo, Wahyudi; Zakaria, Roni

    2018-02-01

    There are some mechanism to commercialize the innovations that have been developed by academic scientists in universities, i.e. patenting, licensing, start-up creation, and university-industry partnerships. The start-up creations or university spin-offs (USOs) company is a very special start-up company that is founded by an academic inventor and the university with the aim to commercialize the technological innovation that created by the university. However, it is not always as smooth as expected. The market competitiveness of the USOs obviously has many challenges to be able to compete with the existing companies, analysis need to be done to get the right business step so the business strategy will be efficient. In this article, we discuss a real case study of a university spin-off that owned by Sebelas Maret University for Commercializing Battery Lithium. The aim of our research is twofold: first, to identify the gap in the literature of business strategy formulation between a conventional and USOs. Second, to propose a business strategy formulation for commercializing university-created technology, i.e. battery lithium as core business of a university spin-off as a case study. We conduct surveys, observation and FGD in order to collect the data and information to build the company objective and goals. The analytical tools to generate the solution of business strategy are SWOT analysis, IFE-EFE matrix, and QSPM model so the result will be the most attractive and suitable for the company. The result shows that the case study of USO company is classified on conservative continuous improvement phase so the suitable strategy for this company are product development and business strategy integration.

  11. A Planning Framework for the Deployment of Innovative Information and Communication Technologies in Procurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alard, Robert; Gustafsson, Martin; Nienhaus, Jörg

    The management of buyer-supplier relations is a major topic for many enterprises today. Modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) offer interesting perspectives on opportunities and implementation approaches. Today, logistics and procurement departments of numerous enterprises are evaluating the possibilities and opportunities of new ICT solutions and especially of internet-based electronic procurement solutions for the optimisation and re-engineering of their buyer-supplier relationships. Due to the highly innovative character of the new ICT solutions and the scarcely available operational examples in the industry, only little guidance exists to support responsible managers during the evaluation, planning and designing of internet-based electronic procurement solutions. This paper describes a framework for the strategic evaluation and planning of the deployment of internet-based procurement solutions for direct materials. The presented approach supports enterprises in the analysis of procurement objects and procurement structuring, in the definition and management of buyer-supplier-relationships, in the requirements analysis of ICT solutions as well as the assessment of the potential to support procurement with innovative ICT and internet-based electronic procurement solutions.

  12. STARS Quarterly Review. Summer 2012: Innovations in Campus Sustainability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Urbanski, Monika

    2012-01-01

    The Summer 2012 SQR: "Innovations in Campus Sustainability," explores the critical linkages between education, innovation, and sustainability. This issue highlights new and ground-breaking practices within the Innovation (IN) category of STARS, focusing on the unique solutions within higher education that positively impact current and…

  13. Image Montaging for Creating a Virtual Pathology Slide: An Innovative and Economical Tool to Obtain a Whole Slide Image

    PubMed Central

    Pandurangappa, Rohit; Annavajjula, Saileela; Rajashekaraiah, Premalatha Bidadi

    2016-01-01

    Background. Microscopes are omnipresent throughout the field of biological research. With microscopes one can see in detail what is going on at the cellular level in tissues. Though it is a ubiquitous tool, the limitation is that with high magnification there is a small field of view. It is often advantageous to see an entire sample at high magnification. Over the years technological advancements in optics have helped to provide solutions to this limitation of microscopes by creating the so-called dedicated “slide scanners” which can provide a “whole slide digital image.” These scanners can provide seamless, large-field-of-view, high resolution image of entire tissue section. The only disadvantage of such complete slide imaging system is its outrageous cost, thereby hindering their practical use by most laboratories, especially in developing and low resource countries. Methods. In a quest for their substitute, we tried commonly used image editing software Adobe Photoshop along with a basic image capturing device attached to a trinocular microscope to create a digital pathology slide. Results. The seamless image created using Adobe Photoshop maintained its diagnostic quality. Conclusion. With time and effort photomicrographs obtained from a basic camera-microscope set up can be combined and merged in Adobe Photoshop to create a whole slide digital image of practically usable quality at a negligible cost. PMID:27747147

  14. Image Montaging for Creating a Virtual Pathology Slide: An Innovative and Economical Tool to Obtain a Whole Slide Image.

    PubMed

    Banavar, Spoorthi Ravi; Chippagiri, Prashanthi; Pandurangappa, Rohit; Annavajjula, Saileela; Rajashekaraiah, Premalatha Bidadi

    2016-01-01

    Background . Microscopes are omnipresent throughout the field of biological research. With microscopes one can see in detail what is going on at the cellular level in tissues. Though it is a ubiquitous tool, the limitation is that with high magnification there is a small field of view. It is often advantageous to see an entire sample at high magnification. Over the years technological advancements in optics have helped to provide solutions to this limitation of microscopes by creating the so-called dedicated "slide scanners" which can provide a "whole slide digital image." These scanners can provide seamless, large-field-of-view, high resolution image of entire tissue section. The only disadvantage of such complete slide imaging system is its outrageous cost, thereby hindering their practical use by most laboratories, especially in developing and low resource countries. Methods . In a quest for their substitute, we tried commonly used image editing software Adobe Photoshop along with a basic image capturing device attached to a trinocular microscope to create a digital pathology slide. Results . The seamless image created using Adobe Photoshop maintained its diagnostic quality. Conclusion . With time and effort photomicrographs obtained from a basic camera-microscope set up can be combined and merged in Adobe Photoshop to create a whole slide digital image of practically usable quality at a negligible cost.

  15. Integrated solution for the complete remote sensing process - Earth Observation Mission Control Centre (EOMC2)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Czapski, Paweł

    2016-07-01

    We are going to show the latest achievements of the Remote Sensing Division of the Institute of Aviation in the area of remote sensing, i.e. the project of the integrated solution for the whole remote sensing process ranging from acquiring to providing the end user with required information. Currently, these tasks are partially performed by several centers in Poland, however there is no leader providing an integrated solution. Motivated by this fact, the Earth Observation Mission Control Centre (EOMC2) was established in the Remote Sensing Division of the Institute of Aviation that will provide such a comprehensive approach. Establishing of EOMC2 can be compared with creating Data Center Aerial and Satellite Data Centre (OPOLIS) in the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography in the mid-70s in Poland. OPOLIS was responsible for broadly defined data processing, it was a breakthrough innovation that initiated the use of aerial image analysis in Poland. Operation center is a part of the project that will be created, which in comparison with the competitors will provide better solutions, i.e.: • Centralization of the acquiring, processing, publishing and archiving of data, • Implementing elements of the INSPIRE directive recommendations on spatial data management, • Providing the end-user with information in the near real-time, • Ability of supplying the system with images of various origin (aerial, satellite, e.g. EUMETCast, Sentinel, Landsat) and diversity of telemetry data, data aggregation and using the same algorithms to images obtained from different sources, • System reconfiguration and batch processing of large data sets at any time, • A wide range of potential applications: precision agriculture, environmental protection, crisis management and national security, aerial, small satellite and sounding rocket missions monitoring.

  16. Your company's secret change agents.

    PubMed

    Pascale, Richard Tanner; Sternin, Jerry

    2005-05-01

    Organizational change has traditionally come about through top-down initiatives such as hiring experts or importing best-of-breed practices. Such methods usually result in companywide rollouts of templates mandated from on high. These do little to get people excited. But within every organization, there are a few individuals who find unique ways to look at problems that seem impossible to solve. Although these change agents start out with the same tools and access to resources as their peers, they are able to see solutions where others do not. They find a way to bridge the divide between what is happening and what is possible. These positive deviants are the key, the authors believe, to a better way of creating organizational change. Your company can make the most of their methods by following six steps. In Step 1, Make the group the guru, the members of the community are engaged in the process of their own evolution. Step 2, Reframe through facts, entails restating the problem in a way that opens minds to new possibilities. Step 3, Make it safe to learn, involves creating an environment that supports innovative ideas. In Step 4, Make the problem concrete, the community combats abstraction by stating uncomfortable truths. In Step 5, Leverage social proof, the community looks to the larger society for examples of solutions that have worked in parallel situations. In Step 6, Confound the immune defense response, solutions are introduced organically from within the group in a way that promotes acceptance. Throughout the steps, the leader must suspend his or her traditional role in favor of more facilitatory practices. The positive-deviance approach has unearthed solutions to such complicated and diverse problems as malnutrition in Mali and human trafficking in East Java. This methodology can help solve even the most extreme dilemmas.

  17. University of Saskatchewan Radiology Courseware (USRC): an assessment of its utility for teaching diagnostic imaging in the medical school curriculum.

    PubMed

    Burbridge, Brent; Kalra, Neil; Malin, Greg; Trinder, Krista; Pinelle, David

    2015-01-01

    We have found it very challenging to integrate images from our radiology digital imaging repository into the curriculum of our local medical school. Thus, it has been difficult to convey important knowledge related to viewing and interpreting diagnostic radiology images. We sought to determine if we could create a solution for this problem and evaluate whether students exposed to this solution were able to learn imaging concepts pertinent to medical practice. We developed University of Saskatchewan Radiology Courseware (USRC), a novel interactive web application that enables preclinical medical students to acquire image interpretation skills fundamental to clinical practice. This web application reformats content stored in Medical Imaging Resource Center teaching cases for BlackBoard Learn™, a popular learning management system. We have deployed this solution for 2 successive years in a 1st-year basic sciences medical school course at the College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. The "courseware" content covers both normal anatomy and common clinical pathologies in five distinct modules. We created two cohorts of learners consisting of an intervention cohort of students who had used USRC for their 1st academic year, whereas the nonintervention cohort was students who had not been exposed to this learning opportunity. To assess the learning experience of the users we designed an online questionnaire and image review quiz delivered to both of the student groups. Comparisons between the groups revealed statistically significant differences in both confidence with image interpretation and the ability to answer knowledge-based questions. Students were satisfied with the overall usability, functions, and capabilities of USRC. USRC is an innovative technology that provides integration between Medical Imaging Resource Center, a teaching solution used in radiology, and a Learning Management System.

  18. Principal Leadership and the Colorado Innovation Schools Act of 2008

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walsh, Margaret A.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of principals whose schools were granted innovation status in accordance with the "Colorado Innovation Schools Act of 2008" (CISA). The CISA created a statewide system that allowed individual schools and entire districts to increase autonomy and…

  19. Innovation in Student Services: Planning for Models Blending High Touch/High Tech.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burnett, Darlene J., Ed.; Oblinger, Diana G., Ed.

    This collection is intended to help planners, administrators, and student service professionals gain a better understanding of the changes emerging in student services as it demonstrates how innovative leaders are responding to these challenges. Part 1, "Creating the Student-Centered Experience," contains: (1) "Innovation in Student…

  20. Faculty Development: A Stage Model Matched to Blended Learning Maturation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fetters, Michael L.; Duby, Tova Garcia

    2011-01-01

    Faculty development programs are critical to the implementation and support of curriculum innovation. In this case study, the authors present lessons learned from ten years of experience in faculty development programs created to support innovation in technology enhanced learning. Stages of curriculum innovation are matched to stages of faculty…

  1. Against the Odds: Professional Development and Innovation under Less-than-Ideal Conditions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunter, Beverly

    2001-01-01

    Reports accomplishments of teachers who overcame obstacles to create innovative learning opportunities using electronic technologies. Summarizes findings of a research project conducted by Department of Defense Education Activity schools with teachers who worked in small teams to plan, implement, and evaluate innovative practices and used Vanguard…

  2. Ethical issues in surgical innovation.

    PubMed

    Miller, Megan E; Siegler, Mark; Angelos, Peter

    2014-07-01

    Innovation is responsible for most advances in the field of surgery. Innovative approaches to solving clinical problems have significantly decreased morbidity and mortality for many surgical procedures, and have led to improved patient outcomes. While innovation is motivated by the surgeon's expectation that the new approach will be beneficial to patients, not all innovations are successful or result in improved patient care. The ethical dilemma of surgical innovation lies in the uncertainty of whether a particular innovation will prove to be a "good thing." This uncertainty creates challenges for surgeons, patients, and the healthcare system. By its very nature, innovation introduces a potential risk to patient safety, a risk that may not be fully known, and it simultaneously fosters an optimism bias. These factors increase the complexity of informed consent and shared decision making for the surgeon and the patient. Innovative procedures and their associated technology raise issues of cost and resource distribution in the contemporary, financially conscious, healthcare environment. Surgeons and institutions must identify and address conflicts of interest created by the development and application of an innovation, always preserving the best interest of the patient above the academic or financial rewards of success. Potential strategies to address the challenges inherent in surgical innovation include collecting and reporting objective outcomes data, enhancing the informed consent process, and adhering to the principles of disclosure and professionalism. As surgeons, we must encourage creativity and innovation while maintaining our ethical awareness and responsibility to patients.

  3. Risk as a Driver for Innovation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Davis, Jeff; Fogarty, Jennifer; Perchonok, Michele; Zapp, Neal; Ferebee, Melvin; Edwards, J. Michelle

    2010-01-01

    The Space Life Sciences directorate (SLSD) and Human Research Program (HRP) at NASA Johnson Space Center has implemented a system for managing human systems risks. These risks are defined as the health and performance risks posed to crew during and after spaceflight. Identification and evaluation of these risks has led to the identification of gaps in knowledge about the risks as well as gaps in technology needed to mitigate them. Traditional routes of closing technology gaps have, in some cases, proven to be too slow when a solution was required quickly. Therefore, certain gaps were used to drive the development of "challenges" for the scientific community. Partnering with open innovation service providers such as InnoCentive and Yet2.com, SLSD and HRP have decreased the amount of time from identification of a need to the evaluation of a solution. Although not all proposed solutions will result in a risk mitigation strategy or tool, the process has allowed faster evaluation of proposed solutions providing the researcher the ability to move to another possible solution if the first does not sufficiently address the problem. Moreover, this process engages the community outside of NASA and broadens the population from which to draw solutions. In the traditional grant funding structure, only those in the specific field will apply for the grant. However, using open innovation, solutions can come from individuals in many different fields. This can expand the general view of a field (way of thinking within a field) and the application of solutions form new fields while providing a pathway for the acquisition of novel solutions or refinements of current mitigations. Identification of the human systems risks has helped drive the development and evaluation of innovative solutions as well as engaging a broader scientific audience in working with NASA.

  4. Gynecologic Oncology Group quality assurance audits: analysis and initiatives for improvement.

    PubMed

    Blessing, John A; Bialy, Sally A; Whitney, Charles W; Stonebraker, Bette L; Stehman, Frederick B

    2010-08-01

    The Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) is a multi-institution, multi-discipline Cooperative Group funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to conduct clinical trials which investigate the treatment, prevention, control, quality of survivorship, and translational science of gynecologic malignancies. In 1982, the NCI initiated a program of on-site quality assurance audits of participating institutions. Each is required to be audited at least once every 3 years. In GOG, the audit mandate is the responsibility of the GOG Quality Assurance Audit Committee and it is centralized in the Statistical and Data Center (SDC). Each component (Regulatory, Investigational Drug Pharmacy, Patient Case Review) is classified as Acceptable, Acceptable, follow-up required, or Unacceptable. To determine frequently occurring deviations and develop focused innovative solutions to address them. A database was created to examine the deviations noted at the most recent audit conducted at 57 GOG parent institutions during 2004-2007. Cumulatively, this involved 687 patients and 306 protocols. The results documented commendable performance: Regulatory (39 Acceptable, 17 Acceptable, follow-up, 1 Unacceptable); Pharmacy (41 Acceptable, 3 Acceptable, follow-up, 1 Unacceptable, 12 N/A): Patient Case Review (31 Acceptable, 22 Acceptable, follow-up, 4 Unacceptable). The nature of major and lesser deviations was analyzed to create and enhance initiatives for improvement of the quality of clinical research. As a result, Group-wide proactive initiatives were undertaken, audit training sessions have emphasized recurring issues, and GOG Data Management Subcommittee agendas have provided targeted instruction and training. The analysis was based upon parent institutions only; affiliate institutions and Community Clinical Oncology Program participants were not included, although it is assumed their areas of difficulty are similar. The coordination of the GOG Quality Assurance Audit program in the SDC has improved data quality by enhancing our ability to identify frequently occurring deviations and develop innovative solutions to avoid or minimize their occurrence in the future.

  5. Beyond Making the Case, Creating the Space for Innovation.

    PubMed

    Boston-Fleischhauer, Carol

    2016-06-01

    Disruptive innovation results in something different from incremental change. Instead of focusing on improving an existing process, product, or service through performance improvement, disruptive innovation disregards status quo service or work and uses very different approaches to change, seeking to design the product, process, or service according to the consumer's perspective versus the providers' By its very nature, disruptive innovation provokes organizational, professional, and cultural controversy.

  6. Schooling, cognition and creating capacity for technological innovation in Africa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eisemon, Thomas Owen

    1989-09-01

    This paper examines the important role of schooling in creating capacities for technological innovation in Africa. Schooling is a principal source of the modern scientific knowledge which most individuals possess. However, increasing levels of educational attainment does not necessarily increase capacities for innovation; it is what students learn in school rather than how long they attend school that is important. Policies to strengthen the impact of schooling must be based on a better understanding of how the content, language and processes of instruction influence the ways individuals think about the natural world and perform practical tasks in daily life involving use of modern health and agricultural technologies.

  7. A new class of draw solutions for minimizing reverse salt flux to improve forward osmosis desalination.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Hau Thi; Nguyen, Nguyen Cong; Chen, Shiao-Shing; Ngo, Huu Hao; Guo, Wenshan; Li, Chi-Wang

    2015-12-15

    The applications of forward osmosis (FO) have been hindered because of the lack of an optimal draw solution. The reverse salt flux from the draw solution not only reduces the water flux but also increases the cost of draw solute replenishment. Therefore, in this study, Tergitol NP7 and NP9 with a long straight carbon chain and low critical micelle concentration (CMC) were coupled with highly charged ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as an innovative draw solution to minimize reverse salt diffusion in FO for the first time. The results showed that the lowest reverse salt flux of 0.067 GMH was observed when 0.1M EDTA-2Na coupled with 15mM NP7 was used as a draw solution and deionized water was used as a feed solution in FO mode (active layer facing with the feed solution). This is due to the hydrophobic interaction between the tails of NP7 and the FO membrane, thus creating layers on the membrane surface and constricting the FO membrane pores. Moreover, 1M EDTA-2Na coupled with 15mM NP7 is promising as an optimal draw solution for brackish water and sea water desalination. Average water fluxes of 7.68, 6.78, and 5.95 LMH were achieved when brackish water was used as a feed solution (5, 10, and 20g/L NaCl), and an average water flux of 3.81 LMH was achieved when sea water was used as a feed solution (35g/L NaCl). The diluted draw solution was recovered using a nanofiltration (NF-TS80) membrane with a high efficiency of 95% because of the high charge and large size of the draw solution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Understanding innovation in social service delivery systems.

    PubMed

    Moore, S

    1994-01-01

    Progress in the social services is driven by innovation. It depends on the ability of social work researchers and practitioners to find innovative solutions to the problems they face. Innovation entails the creation, adaptation, and adoption of new approaches to service delivery. The most fundamental type of innovation is the creation of a new service product. However, innovations in the way services are delivered are equally important. This paper provides a model for understanding innovation in social services.

  9. Integrated skills, integrated data: Mapping best practice and collections for innovation and engagement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hosker, Rachel; Knowles, Claire; Rodger, Norman

    2015-02-01

    In recent years the University of Edinburgh [UoE] has seen change, mergers, external partnerships and innovation at the heart of its growth and activity. Collections at UoE were not immune from these changes and have pioneered projects that both support and highlight unique educational cultures. Technology and the dissemination of collections has not only engendered positive relationships with academics but has created wider opportunities for the use of collections in teaching, learning and research. This momentum and an established commitment to the interoperability of data and standards presented an opportunity to look for a global solution to collections management within the converged, cross disciplinary environment. This included harnessing expertise in the University with systems development for large European projects and wider project management. This session will explore how UoE became the first European contributor to the collections management tool Archives Space. Snapshots of a converged culture and how 'archives' have benefited from this (including how 'techies' and 'archivists' worked together). An upbeat finale will look at what the team at the UoE achieved and are excited about for the future.

  10. TU-E-BRD-01: President’s Symposium: The Necessity of Innovation in Medical Physics

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bayouth, J; Siewerdsen, J; Wahl, E

    This abstract will not blow you away, but speed-painting presenter Erik Wahl will certainly make a truly unique AAPM symposium that you will not want to miss. Along with clinical director John Bayouth and scientific leader Jeff Siewerdsen, this session will highlight innovation. To avoid being button pushers and irrelevant investigators of yesterday’s science, we must innovate. This is particularly challenging in the changing landscape of declining research funding and healthcare reimbursement. But all hope is not lost, Medical Physics is a field born out of innovation. As scientists we quickly translated the man-made and natural phenomena of radiation intomore » a tool that could diagnose broken bones, locate foreign objects imbedded within the body, and treat a spectrum of diseases. As hyperbolae surrounding the curative powers of radiation overcame society, physicists continued their systematic pursuit of a fundamental understanding of radiation and applied their knowledge to enable the diagnostic and therapeutic power of this new tool. Health economics and the decline in research funding have put the Medical Physicist in a precarious position: how do we optimally participate in medical research and advanced patient care in the face of many competing needs? Today's diagnostic imaging and therapeutic approaches are tremendously sophisticated. Researchers and commercial vendors are producing technologies at a remarkable rate; to enable their safe and effective implementation Medical Physicists must work from a fundamental understanding of these technologies. This requires all of us, clinically practicing Medical Physicists, Researchers and Educators alike, to combine our training in scientific methods with innovation. Innovation is the key to our past, a necessity for our contemporary challenges, and critical for the future of Medical Physics. The keynote speakers for the 2014 AAPM Presidential Symposium session will address the way we approach these vitally important technologies for diagnosis and therapy into opportunities to innovate. The speed-painting artist and lecturer Erik Wahl will finish the symposium with a fast-paced and entertaining presentation on embracing the future by creating disruptive innovation strategies. Learning Objectives: Identify connection between Medical Physics and Innovation. Understand how Innovation enables Clinical Medical Physicists to implement novel technologies. Learn how innovative Medical Physics solutions can address significant and relevant challenges in science. Become inspired to pursue a new scientific understanding, positive change in clinical practice, and benefit to patients.« less

  11. University Research Funding: The United States Is Behind and Falling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atkinson, Robert D.; Stewart, Luke A.

    2011-01-01

    Research and development drives innovation and innovation drives long-run economic growth, creating jobs and improving living standards in the process. University-based research is of particular importance to innovation, as the early-stage research that is typically performed at universities serves to expand the knowledge pool from which the…

  12. Chapter Innovators Guide, 2000: Models of Innovation Award Winners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National FFA Organization, Indianapolis, IN.

    This guide presents the Future Farmers of America (FFA) 2000 Model of Innovation award winners' projects. Chapters demonstrated abilities to identify goals and objectives, create a workable plan of action, attain and evaluate results, and identify items learned and ways to improve. Chapter 1 discusses the FFA National Chapter Award program that…

  13. Toward a Model of Explaining Teachers' Innovative Behavior: A Literature Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thurlings, Marieke; Evers, Arnoud T.; Vermeulen, Marjan

    2015-01-01

    Innovative behavior can be described as a process in which new ideas are generated, created, developed, applied, promoted, realized, and modified by employees to benefit role performance. Various reasons, such as rapid technological and social changes in society, underline the necessity for innovative behavior of employees and certainly of…

  14. Photochemical oxidation: A solution for the mixed waste dilemma

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Prellberg, J.W.; Thornton, L.M.; Cheuvront, D.A.

    1995-12-31

    Numerous technologies are available to remove organic contamination from water or wastewater. A variety of techniques also exist that are used to neutralize radioactive waste. However, few technologies can satisfactorily address the treatment of mixed organic/radioactive waste without creating unacceptable secondary waste products or resulting in extremely high treatment costs. An innovative solution to the mixed waste problem is on-site photochemical oxidation. Liquid-phase photochemical oxidation has a long- standing history of successful application to the destruction of organic compounds. By using photochemical oxidation, the organic contaminants are destroyed on-site leaving the water, with radionuclides, that can be reused or disposedmore » of as appropriate. This technology offers advantages that include zero air emissions, no solid or liquid waste formation, and relatively low treatment cost. Discussion of the photochemical process will be described, and several case histories from recent design testing, including cost analyses for the resulting full-scale installations, will be presented as examples.« less

  15. Securing Color Fidelity in 3D Architectural Heritage Scenarios.

    PubMed

    Gaiani, Marco; Apollonio, Fabrizio Ivan; Ballabeni, Andrea; Remondino, Fabio

    2017-10-25

    Ensuring color fidelity in image-based 3D modeling of heritage scenarios is nowadays still an open research matter. Image colors are important during the data processing as they affect algorithm outcomes, therefore their correct treatment, reduction and enhancement is fundamental. In this contribution, we present an automated solution developed to improve the radiometric quality of an image datasets and the performances of two main steps of the photogrammetric pipeline (camera orientation and dense image matching). The suggested solution aims to achieve a robust automatic color balance and exposure equalization, stability of the RGB-to-gray image conversion and faithful color appearance of a digitized artifact. The innovative aspects of the article are: complete automation, better color target detection, a MATLAB implementation of the ACR scripts created by Fraser and the use of a specific weighted polynomial regression. A series of tests are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the developed methodology and to evaluate color accuracy ('color characterization').

  16. Securing Color Fidelity in 3D Architectural Heritage Scenarios

    PubMed Central

    Apollonio, Fabrizio Ivan; Ballabeni, Andrea; Remondino, Fabio

    2017-01-01

    Ensuring color fidelity in image-based 3D modeling of heritage scenarios is nowadays still an open research matter. Image colors are important during the data processing as they affect algorithm outcomes, therefore their correct treatment, reduction and enhancement is fundamental. In this contribution, we present an automated solution developed to improve the radiometric quality of an image datasets and the performances of two main steps of the photogrammetric pipeline (camera orientation and dense image matching). The suggested solution aims to achieve a robust automatic color balance and exposure equalization, stability of the RGB-to-gray image conversion and faithful color appearance of a digitized artifact. The innovative aspects of the article are: complete automation, better color target detection, a MATLAB implementation of the ACR scripts created by Fraser and the use of a specific weighted polynomial regression. A series of tests are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the developed methodology and to evaluate color accuracy (‘color characterization’). PMID:29068359

  17. Marketers don't wear plaid: marketing and health care administration in the Canadian context.

    PubMed

    Rigby, J M; Backman, A M

    1997-01-01

    Marketing has a bad reputation among Canadian health managers, even though marketing solutions may address many of their problems. This article provides an overview of current understandings of marketing and how they may be applied to health care situations. Marketing should be considered an ongoing process. This is particularly helpful if we understand the root task of health managers as creating and promoting exchanges--with governments, physicians, nurses, other health workers and client groups. Exchanges that are desirable to the health care community will more likely occur if the true costs and benefits of health services are analyzed, understood and imaginatively communicated. The public constantly evaluates the health system. Constant evaluation implies a need for marketing directed internally at staff and those within the health system, and externally at constituents outside the system. Properly understood and practiced, marketing can be part of the innovative solutions health care managers develop and apply as they deal with the difficult challenges facing them in Canada's current health care environment.

  18. Open Collaboration: A Problem Solving Strategy That Is Redefining NASA's Innovative Spirit

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rando, Cynthia M.; Fogarty, Jennifer A.; Richard, Elizabeth E.; Davis, Jeffrey R.

    2011-01-01

    In 2010, NASA?s Space Life Sciences Directorate announced the successful results from pilot experiments with open innovation methodologies. Specifically, utilization of internet based external crowd sourcing platforms to solve challenging problems in human health and performance related to the future of spaceflight. The follow-up to this success was an internal crowd sourcing pilot program entitled NASA@work, which was supported by the InnoCentive@work software platform. The objective of the NASA@work pilot was to connect the collective knowledge of individuals from all areas within the NASA organization via a private web based environment. The platform provided a venue for NASA Challenge Owners, those looking for solutions or new ideas, to pose challenges to internal solvers, those within NASA with the skill and desire to create solutions. The pilot was launched in 57 days, a record for InnoCentive and NASA, and ran for three months with a total of 20 challenges posted Agency wide. The NASA@work pilot attracted over 6000 participants throughout NASA with a total of 183 contributing solvers for the 20 challenges posted. At the time of the pilot?s closure, solvers provided viable solutions and ideas for 17 of the 20 posted challenges. The solver community provided feedback on the pilot describing it as a barrier breaking activity, conveying that there was a satisfaction associated with helping co-workers, that it was "fun" to think about problems outside normal work boundaries, and it was nice to learn what challenges others were facing across the agency. The results and the feedback from the solver community have demonstrated the power and utility of an internal collaboration tool, such as NASA@work.

  19. Open Collaboration: A Problem Solving Strategy That is Redefining NASA's Innovative Spirit

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rando, Cynthia M.; Fogarty, Jennifer A.; Richard, E. E.; Davis, Jeffrey R.

    2011-01-01

    In 2010, NASA's Space Life Sciences Directorate announced the successful results from pilot experiments with open innovation methodologies. Specifically, utilization of internet based external crowdsourcing platforms to solve challenging problems in human health and performance related to the future of spaceflight. The follow-up to this success was an internal crowdsourcing pilot program entitled NASA@work, which was supported by the InnoCentive@work software platform. The objective of the NASA@work pilot was to connect the collective knowledge of individuals from all areas within the NASA organization via a private web based environment. The platform provided a venue for NASA Challenge Owners, those looking for solutions or new ideas, to pose challenges to internal solvers, those within NASA with the skill and desire to create solutions. The pilot was launched in 57 days, a record for InnoCentive and NASA, and ran for three months with a total of 20 challenges posted Agency wide. The NASA@work pilot attracted over 6,000 participants throughout NASA with a total of 183 contributing solvers for the 20 challenges posted. At the time of the pilot's closure, solvers provided viable solutions and ideas for 17 of the 20 posted challenges. The solver community provided feedback on the pilot describing it as a barrier breaking activity, conveying that there was a satisfaction associated with helping co-workers, that it was fun to think about problems outside normal work boundaries, and it was nice to learn what challenges others were facing across the agency. The results and the feedback from the solver community have demonstrated the power and utility of an internal collaboration tool, such as NASA@work.

  20. Innovation and wound healing.

    PubMed

    Harding, Keith

    2015-04-01

    Innovation in medicine requires unique partnerships between academic research, biotech or pharmaceutical companies, and health-care providers. While innovation in medicine has greatly increased over the past 100 years, innovation in wound care has been slow, despite the fact that chronic wounds are a global health challenge where there is a need for technical, process and social innovation. While novel partnerships between research and the health-care system have been created, we still have much to learn about wound care and the wound-healing processes.

  1. Refueling the U.S. Innovation Economy: Fresh Approaches to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education. Executive Summary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atkinson, Robert; Mayo, Merrilea

    2010-01-01

    Innovation has powered America's economy, creating good jobs and a high standard of living. Yet, the U.S. share of innovation-based industries is in decline, jeopardizing our status as the world's innovation leader. And one reason is that the United States has been unable to produce enough of its own workers with sufficient skills in science,…

  2. Value Co-creation and Co-innovation: Linking Networked Organisations and Customer Communities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Romero, David; Molina, Arturo

    Strategic networks such as Collaborative Networked Organisations (CNOs) and Virtual Customer Communities (VCCs) show a high potential as drivers of value co-creation and collaborative innovation in today’s Networking Era. Both look at the network structures as a source of jointly value creation and open innovation through access to new skills, knowledge, markets and technologies by sharing risk and integrating complementary competencies. This collaborative endeavour has proven to be able to enhance the adaptability and flexibility of CNOs and VCCs value creating systems in order to react in response to external drivers such as collaborative (business) opportunities. This paper presents a reference framework for creating interface networks, also known as ‘experience-centric networks’, as enablers for linking networked organisations and customer communities in order to support the establishment of user-driven and collaborative innovation networks.

  3. Utilization of wheel dop based on ergonomic aspects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Widiasih, Wiwin; Murnawan, Hery; Setiawan, Danny

    2017-06-01

    Time is an important thing in life. People need a tool or equipment to measure time which is divided into two types, namely clock and watch. Everyone needs those kinds of tool. It becomes an opportunity for manufacturer to build a business. However, establishing a business by depending on the demand is not enough, it is necessary to take a consideration of making innovation. Innovation is a difficult thing to find out, but it is not impossible to do it. By creating an innovative product, it can be a strategy to win the competitive market. This study aimed to create an innovative product based on the ergonomic aspects, which was by utilizing wheel dop. This methodology consisted of pre-study, planning and product development, and product analysis. This product utilized wheel dop and was made based on the ergonomic aspects.

  4. Social transformation in transdisciplinary natural hazard management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Attems, Marie-Sophie; Fuchs, Sven; Thaler, Thomas

    2017-04-01

    Due to annual increases of natural hazard losses, there is a discussion among authorities and communities in Europe on innovative solutions to increase resilience, and consequently, business-as-usual in risk management practices is often questioned. Therefore, the current situation of risk management requests a societal transformation to response adequately and effectively to the new global dynamics. An emerging concept is the implementation of multiple-use mitigation systems against hazards such as floods, avalanches and land-slides. However, one key aspect refers to the involvement of knowledge outside academic research. Therefore, transdisciplinary knowledge can be used to discuss vital factors which are needed to upscale the implementation of multiple-use mitigation measures. The method used in this contribution is an explorative scenario analysis applied in Austria and processes the knowledge gained in transdisciplinary workshops. The scenario analysis combines qualitative data and the quantitative relations in order to generate a set of plausible future outcomes. The goal is to establish a small amount of consistent scenarios, which are efficient and thereby representative as well as significantly different from each other. The results of the discussions among relevant stakeholders within the workshops and a subsequent quantitative analysis, showed that vital variables influencing the multiple use of mitigation measures are the (1) current legislation, (2) risk acceptance among authorities and the public, (3) land-use pressure, (4) the demand for innovative solutions, (5) the available technical standards and possibilities and (6) finally the policy entrepreneurship. Four different scenarios were the final result of the analysis. Concluding the results, in order to make multiple-use alleviations systems possible contemporary settings concerning risk management strategies will have to change in the future. Legislation and thereby current barriers have to be altered in order to create a possibility for innovative solutions. If the state of the art in technical perspectives allows constructions with limited additional risk, multiple-use structures are an option in risk management. The present and future land-use pressure also intensifies the economic interest in finding and accepting such measures.

  5. Scalable Integrated Multi-Mission Support System Simulator Release 3.0

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kim, John; Velamuri, Sarma; Casey, Taylor; Bemann, Travis

    2012-01-01

    The Scalable Integrated Multi-mission Support System (SIMSS) is a tool that performs a variety of test activities related to spacecraft simulations and ground segment checks. SIMSS is a distributed, component-based, plug-and-play client-server system useful for performing real-time monitoring and communications testing. SIMSS runs on one or more workstations and is designed to be user-configurable or to use predefined configurations for routine operations. SIMSS consists of more than 100 modules that can be configured to create, receive, process, and/or transmit data. The SIMSS/GMSEC innovation is intended to provide missions with a low-cost solution for implementing their ground systems, as well as significantly reducing a mission s integration time and risk.

  6. Healthcare architecture in metamorphosis--observations in Hong Kong's heuristic experience.

    PubMed

    Lai, M

    2001-01-01

    Healthcare Architecture in Hong Kong is in an on-going process of metamorphosis in response to the social, economical and technological developments in the territory. In the process of transformation, universal problems like obsolescence, growth and expansion, and advances in science and technology as well as problems unique to Hong Kong like population growth, scarcity in land supply and high density development all call for special solutions. With the turn of the century, new forces of change have also begun to take shape, and in anticipation of the hyper-turbulent changes ahead, we need to shift our paradigm to allow revolutionary new perspectives and innovate, shape and create the future healing space which is sustainable, adaptable, flexible and humane.

  7. From grey to green: Efficacy of eco-engineering solutions for nature-based coastal defence.

    PubMed

    Morris, Rebecca L; Konlechner, Teresa M; Ghisalberti, Marco; Swearer, Stephen E

    2018-05-01

    Climate change is increasing the threat of erosion and flooding along coastlines globally. Engineering solutions (e.g. seawalls and breakwaters) in response to protecting coastal communities and associated infrastructure are increasingly becoming economically and ecologically unsustainable. This has led to recommendations to create or restore natural habitats, such as sand dunes, saltmarsh, mangroves, seagrass and kelp beds, and coral and shellfish reefs, to provide coastal protection in place of (or to complement) artificial structures. Coastal managers are frequently faced with the problem of an eroding coastline, which requires a decision on what mitigation options are most appropriate to implement. A barrier to uptake of nature-based coastal defence is stringent evaluation of the effectiveness in comparison to artificial protection structures. Here, we assess the current evidence for the efficacy of nature-based vs. artificial coastal protection and discuss future research needs. Future projects should evaluate habitats created or restored for coastal defence for cost-effectiveness in comparison to an artificial structure under the same environmental conditions. Cost-benefit analyses should take into consideration all ecosystem services provided by nature-based or artificial structures in addition to coastal protection. Interdisciplinary research among scientists, coastal managers and engineers is required to facilitate the experimental trials needed to test the value of these shoreline protection schemes, in order to support their use as alternatives to artificial structures. This research needs to happen now as our rapidly changing climate requires new and innovative solutions to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to an increasingly uncertain future. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. "I didn't know if it would work, but I tried it anyway".

    PubMed

    Davidhizar, R

    1996-03-01

    To be an excellent manager, daring, creative, and innovative solutions should be tried for management problems. A manager may feel he or she is treading on ground where no one walked before; however, the manager who takes no risk will never come up with the novel and original solutions. This article supplies guidelines for the evaluation of creative and innovative solutions. These guidelines are especially appropriate for the employee who needs a smooth transition into management.

  9. Using Innovative Technical Solutions as an Intervention for at Risk Students: A Meta-Cognitive Statistical Analysis to Determine the Impact of Ninth Grade Freshman Academies, Centers, and Center Models upon Minority Student Retention and Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osler, James Edward; Waden, Carl

    2012-01-01

    This paper provides an active discourse on the use of innovative solutions to conduct an in-depth investigation on the success and viability of 9th Grade Freshman Academies, Centers, and Center Models to aid in the retention of at risk students. These types of academic programs provide an active solution for the retention and projected completion…

  10. Creating a context for excellence and innovation: comparing chief nurse executive leadership practices in magnet and non-magnet hospitals.

    PubMed

    Porter-O'grady, Tim

    2009-01-01

    Chief nurse executives create a context for leadership, innovation, and practice in hospitals. It is valuable to get a sense of nurse executives' perceptions regarding their leadership practices and how they value them. Furthermore, it is of interest to see if there is significant differentiation in these perceptions between chief nurse executives in Magnet hospitals and those in non-Magnet hospitals. This article discusses a study of the leadership practices of these 2 groups of nurse executive's leadership practices and reports the results. Concluding is a brief discussion regarding impact and importance of the nurse executive related to excellence and innovation.

  11. Creating innovative programs for the future.

    PubMed

    Allen, Patricia E; Keough, Vicki A; Armstrong, Myrna L

    2013-09-01

    Although several major national mandates advocate for a better educated workforce, this push comes at a time when the competition for faculty, financial resources, advanced technology, and students remains strong. If nurse educators are seriously considering creating a new nurse program at their school, some key points are essential during the development stage. Using the innovation frameworks from the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, from the global design firm IDEO, and from Gladwell's The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, this article examines the informal, formal, internal, and external work needed during program conceptualization, initial program exploration, resource infrastructure, support, and evaluation for an effective and innovative plan. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

  12. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    Think. Make. Innovate. A festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness that gathers makers of all kinds. Scientists are seeking to find innovative solutions to the energy challenges in the world.

  13. Private sector approaches to workforce enhancement.

    PubMed

    Wendling, Wayne R

    2010-06-01

    This paper addresses the private practice model of dental care delivery in the US. The great majority of dental care services are delivered through this model and thus changes in the model represent a means to substantially change the supply and availability of dental services. The two main forces that change how private practices function are broad economic factors, which alter the demand for dental care and innovations in practice structure and function which alter the supply and cost of services. Economics has long recognized that although there are private market solutions for many issues, not all problems can be addressed through this model. The private practice of dentistry is a private market solution that works for a substantial share of the market. However, the private market may not work to resolve all issues associated with access and utilization. Solutions for some problems call for creative private - public arrangements - another form of innovation; and market-based solutions may not be feasible for each and every problem. This paper discusses these economic factors and innovation as they relate to the private practice of dentistry, with special emphasis on those elements that have increased the capacity of the dental practice to offer services to those with limited means to access fee-based care. Innovations are frequently described as new care delivery models or new workforce models. However, innovation can occur on an ongoing and regular basis as dental practices examine new ways to combine capital and human resources and to leverage the education and skill of the dentists to a greater number of patients. Innovation occurs within a market context as the current and projected economic returns reward the innovation. Innovation can also occur through private-public arrangements. There are indications of available capacity within the existing delivery system to expand service delivery. The Michigan Medicaid Healthy Kids Dental program is discussed as one example of how dental services to Medicaid insured children were effectively expanded using the private practice model.

  14. Re-thinking Innovation in Organizations in the Industry 4.0 Scenario: New Challenges in a Primary Prevention Perspective.

    PubMed

    Palazzeschi, Letizia; Bucci, Ornella; Di Fabio, Annamaria

    2018-01-01

    In organizations, innovation is considered a relevant aspect of success and long-term survival. Organizations recognize that innovation contributes to creating competitive advantages in a more competitive, challenging and changing labor market. The present contribution addresses innovation in organizations in the scenario of Industry 4.0, including technological innovation and psychological innovation. Innovation is a core concept in this framework to face the challenge of globalized and fluid labor market in the 21st century. Reviewing the definition of innovation, the article focuses on innovative work behaviors and the relative measures. This perspective article also suggests new directions in a primary prevention perspective for future research and intervention relative to innovation and innovative work behaviors in the organizational context.

  15. Re-thinking Innovation in Organizations in the Industry 4.0 Scenario: New Challenges in a Primary Prevention Perspective

    PubMed Central

    Palazzeschi, Letizia; Bucci, Ornella; Di Fabio, Annamaria

    2018-01-01

    In organizations, innovation is considered a relevant aspect of success and long-term survival. Organizations recognize that innovation contributes to creating competitive advantages in a more competitive, challenging and changing labor market. The present contribution addresses innovation in organizations in the scenario of Industry 4.0, including technological innovation and psychological innovation. Innovation is a core concept in this framework to face the challenge of globalized and fluid labor market in the 21st century. Reviewing the definition of innovation, the article focuses on innovative work behaviors and the relative measures. This perspective article also suggests new directions in a primary prevention perspective for future research and intervention relative to innovation and innovative work behaviors in the organizational context. PMID:29445349

  16. Of Squalls and Fathoms: Navigating the Seas of Educational Innovation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, Patricia A.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Outlines two responses regarding why educational innovations come and go with such regularity. It is argued that there is a paucity of knowledge about these innovations which is leading to superficial solutions or implementation and that the inability to tap into the roots of these educational innovations results in the reinvention or recycling of…

  17. Answering the Challenge of a Changing World: Strengthening Education for the 21st Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    US Department of Education, 2006

    2006-01-01

    To Americans, innovation means much more than the latest gadget. It means creating a more productive, prosperous, mobile and healthy society. Innovation fuels this way of life and improves quality of life. Its wellspring is education. President Bush has made innovation and education top priorities. He worked with Congress to pass the most…

  18. 2016 Innovation Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colorado Department of Education, 2016

    2016-01-01

    The Innovation Schools Act of 2008, (§ 22-32.5-102, C.R.S. et.seq) was created in response to district and school leaders' interest in finding a way for districts to develop and implement innovative practices in a wide variety of areas for the purpose of improving student outcomes. The Act provides a formal process that allows schools to petition…

  19. Four Decades of Innovation: Impact of the League for Innovation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Los Santos, Gerardo E.; O'Banion, Terry

    2008-01-01

    This article describes the League for Innovation in the Community College which will be celebrating throughout 2008 its 40th anniversary as one of the oldest and most significant organizations in the community college world. Created in 1968, when community colleges were being established at the rate of one per week, the League became a beacon for…

  20. The Adoption of Innovation in Youth Organizations: Creating the Conditions for Youth-Adult Partnerships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zeldin, Shepherd; Camino, Linda; Mook, Carrie

    2005-01-01

    Youth-adult partnerships (Y-APs) for organizational and community change represent an innovative practice in the United States. Innovations are typically a challenge to implement, so it is not surprising that youth organizations are seeking guidance on how to adopt and sustain Y-APs. This article brings contemporary scholarship to bear on the…

  1. Ready...Set... Command! Rethinking Training for Squadron Commanders

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-02-16

    building a culture of innovation, critical thinking , and strategic alignment. 40 Gen Stephen R...of the climate for organizational creativity .45 The squadron commander is essential to creating and sustaining a culture of innovation. To be...successful he/she must understand innovative- thinking skills such as paying attention, personalizing, imaging, collaborative inquiry, and crafting.46 To be

  2. 2015 Innovation Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colorado Department of Education, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The Innovation Schools Act of 2008, (§ 22-32.5-102, C.R.S. et.seq) was created in response to district and school leaders' interest in finding a way for districts to develop and implement innovative practices in a wide variety of areas for the purpose of improving student outcomes. The Act provides a formal process that allows schools to petition…

  3. Faster and Cheaper: Creating a Culture of Innovation for AFRL Intellectual Property

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-01-01

    Martin Haemming, “Funding Innovation through Venture Capital: A Global Perspective,” in Tony Davila, Marc J. Epstein, and Robert Shelton, eds., The...Innovation, 145. Although, there are cautions against using patents as a measure of success. Petra Moser, “Patents and Innovation: Evidence from...Economic History,” Journal of Economic Perspectives vol. 27, no. 1 (Winter 2013), 24-25, 40. Ryan Lampe and Petra Moser, “Do Patent Pools Encourage

  4. Open Innovation and the Evolving Federal R&D Enterprise

    EPA Science Inventory

    Open Innovation approaches, from crowdsourcing to prize competitions, are being adopted by federal agencies at an accelerating rate over the last ten years. Open Innovation is a problem‐solving approach that seeks to gather and develop external ideas and solutions in additi...

  5. Data-Driven Diffusion Of Innovations: Successes And Challenges In 3 Large-Scale Innovative Delivery Models.

    PubMed

    Dorr, David A; Cohen, Deborah J; Adler-Milstein, Julia

    2018-02-01

    Failed diffusion of innovations may be linked to an inability to use and apply data, information, and knowledge to change perceptions of current practice and motivate change. Using qualitative and quantitative data from three large-scale health care delivery innovations-accountable care organizations, advanced primary care practice, and EvidenceNOW-we assessed where data-driven innovation is occurring and where challenges lie. We found that implementation of some technological components of innovation (for example, electronic health records) has occurred among health care organizations, but core functions needed to use data to drive innovation are lacking. Deficits include the inability to extract and aggregate data from the records; gaps in sharing data; and challenges in adopting advanced data functions, particularly those related to timely reporting of performance data. The unexpectedly high costs and burden incurred during implementation of the innovations have limited organizations' ability to address these and other deficits. Solutions that could help speed progress in data-driven innovation include facilitating peer-to-peer technical assistance, providing tailored feedback reports to providers from data aggregators, and using practice facilitators skilled in using data technology for quality improvement to help practices transform. Policy efforts that promote these solutions may enable more rapid uptake of and successful participation in innovative delivery system reforms.

  6. The role of bioethics in the international prescription drug market: economics and global justice.

    PubMed

    Newland, Shelby E

    2006-01-01

    In terms of health care access, bioethics has an important role to inform and shape policy issues and develop interdisciplinary ideas and interventions. The rising price of prescription drugs presents one of the most looming barriers to health care access in the world today. Including both theoretical and practical features of the pharmaceutical industry's behavior is necessary to find ethical solutions towards increasing access. Bioethics can evaluate global justice by weighing human rights theory and future innovation at the macro level, and by addressing market forces and responsibilities at the micro level. Inherent structural features of pharmaceuticals, such as its reliance on research and development, cause the industry to employ pricing strategies that seem counter-intuitive to conventional wisdom, but that result in producing a just allocation as defined by market forces. Parallel trade and drug exportation/reimportation threaten the saliency of the industry's differential pricing scheme; a case-study of a single "Euro-price" within the European Union illustrates how this will actually create harm to the most needy member states. This complex situation requires solutions weighing arguments from human rights theory with those from economic theory to arrive at the most globally just allocation of prescription drugs in the global marketplace, as well as to ensure future innovation and scientific progress. Bioethicists as well as economists need to partake urgently in this discourse for the betterment of the global injustices in the international prescription drug market.

  7. Possibilities of Architectural Lighting to Create New Style

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chudinova, V. G.; Bokova, O. R.

    2017-11-01

    The article presents the argumentation of the provision on the style-forming potential of the lighting design the sphere of which is interpreted in a wide range of genres. The area of the intersection of form-building technological and artistic aspects lies in the field of ecology which includes not only energy saving, but also the well-being of the human and the society. The theory and practice of designing the night-time image of architectural ensembles, buildings and landscapes develops much slower than the implementation of light solutions in the advertising industry. In most cases, the possibilities of lighting design are used only in the field of decorative lighting despite their huge aesthetic potential and rapidly improving technologies. The request for innovation and uniqueness usually arises on the basis of image and political ambitions of large corporations or for the positioning of powerful brands. The success of such projects becomes a driver for both creation and promotion of innovative solutions. However, in a broader scientific sense, not only the design of artificial light systems but also the optimization of the daylight usage falls into the sphere lighting design. The need for the new methods of architectural shaping is dictated by the need to introduce in the building of resource-saving lighting technologies, ecological infrastructure including alternative energy sources. The article gives the examples of different lighting design genres supplemented with illustrations. The conclusions concern the prospective directions and tasks of scientific research in the field of lighting design.

  8. Swaps and Chains and Vouchers, Oh My!: Evaluating How Saving More Lives Impacts the Equitable Allocation of Live Donor Kidneys.

    PubMed

    Tenenbaum, Evelyn M

    2018-03-01

    Live kidney donation involves a delicate balance between saving the most lives possible and maintaining a transplant system that is fair to the many thousands of patients on the transplant waiting list. Federal law and regulations require that kidney allocation be equitable, but the pressure to save patients subject to ever-lengthening waiting times for a transplant has been swinging the balance toward optimizing utility at the expense of justice. This article traces the progression of innovations created to make optimum use of a patient's own live donors. It starts with the simplest - direct donation by family members - and ends with voucher donations, a very recent and unique innovation because the donor can donate 20 or more years before the intended recipient is expected to need a kidney. In return for the donation, the intended recipient receives a voucher that can be redeemed for a live kidney when it is needed. Other innovations that are discussed include kidney exchanges and list paired donation, which are used to facilitate donor swaps when donor/recipient pairs have incompatible blood types. The discussion of each new innovation shows how the equity issues build on each other and how, with each new innovation, it becomes progressively harder to find an acceptable balance between utility and justice. The article culminates with an analysis of two recent allocation methods that have the potential to save many additional lives, but also affirmatively harm some patients on the deceased donor waiting list by increasing their waiting time for a life-saving kidney. The article concludes that saving additional lives does not justify harming patients on the waiting list unless that harm can be minimized. It also proposes solutions to minimize the harm so these new innovations can equitably perform their intended function of stimulating additional transplants and extending the lives of many transplant patients.

  9. Innovations in Doctoral Training and Research on Tinnitus: The European School on Interdisciplinary Tinnitus Research (ESIT) Perspective.

    PubMed

    Schlee, Winfried; Hall, Deborah A; Canlon, Barbara; Cima, Rilana F F; de Kleine, Emile; Hauck, Franz; Huber, Alex; Gallus, Silvano; Kleinjung, Tobias; Kypraios, Theodore; Langguth, Berthold; Lopez-Escamez, José A; Lugo, Alessandra; Meyer, Martin; Mielczarek, Marzena; Norena, Arnaud; Pfiffner, Flurin; Pryss, Rüdiger C; Reichert, Manfred; Requena, Teresa; Schecklmann, Martin; van Dijk, Pim; van de Heyning, Paul; Weisz, Nathan; Cederroth, Christopher R

    2017-01-01

    Tinnitus is a common medical condition which interfaces many different disciplines, yet it is not a priority for any individual discipline. A change in its scientific understanding and clinical management requires a shift toward multidisciplinary cooperation, not only in research but also in training. The European School for Interdisciplinary Tinnitus research (ESIT) brings together a unique multidisciplinary consortium of clinical practitioners, academic researchers, commercial partners, patient organizations, and public health experts to conduct innovative research and train the next generation of tinnitus researchers. ESIT supports fundamental science and clinical research projects in order to: (1) advancing new treatment solutions for tinnitus, (2) improving existing treatment paradigms, (3) developing innovative research methods, (4) performing genetic studies on, (5) collecting epidemiological data to create new knowledge about prevalence and risk factors, (6) establishing a pan-European data resource. All research projects involve inter-sectoral partnerships through practical training, quite unlike anything that can be offered by any single university alone. Likewise, the postgraduate training curriculum fosters a deep knowledge about tinnitus whilst nurturing transferable competencies in personal qualities and approaches needed to be an effective researcher, knowledge of the standards, requirements and professionalism to do research, and skills to work with others and to ensure the wider impact of research. ESIT is the seed for future generations of creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative researchers, trained to master the upcoming challenges in the tinnitus field, to implement sustained changes in prevention and clinical management of tinnitus, and to shape doctoral education in tinnitus for the future.

  10. Co-Creating the Cities of the Future

    PubMed Central

    Gutiérrez, Verónica; Theodoridis, Evangelos; Mylonas, Georgios; Shi, Fengrui; Adeel, Usman; Diez, Luis; Amaxilatis, Dimitrios; Choque, Johnny; Camprodom, Guillem; McCann, Julie; Muñoz, Luis

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, the evolution of urban environments, jointly with the progress of the Information and Communication sector, have enabled the rapid adoption of new solutions that contribute to the growth in popularity of Smart Cities. Currently, the majority of the world population lives in cities encouraging different stakeholders within these innovative ecosystems to seek new solutions guaranteeing the sustainability and efficiency of such complex environments. In this work, it is discussed how the experimentation with IoT technologies and other data sources form the cities can be utilized to co-create in the OrganiCity project, where key actors like citizens, researchers and other stakeholders shape smart city services and applications in a collaborative fashion. Furthermore, a novel architecture is proposed that enables this organic growth of the future cities, facilitating the experimentation that tailors the adoption of new technologies and services for a better quality of life, as well as agile and dynamic mechanisms for managing cities. In this work, the different components and enablers of the OrganiCity platform are presented and discussed in detail and include, among others, a portal to manage the experiment life cycle, an Urban Data Observatory to explore data assets, and an annotations component to indicate quality of data, with a particular focus on the city-scale opportunistic data collection service operating as an alternative to traditional communications. PMID:27886069

  11. Co-Creating the Cities of the Future.

    PubMed

    Gutiérrez, Verónica; Theodoridis, Evangelos; Mylonas, Georgios; Shi, Fengrui; Adeel, Usman; Diez, Luis; Amaxilatis, Dimitrios; Choque, Johnny; Camprodom, Guillem; McCann, Julie; Muñoz, Luis

    2016-11-23

    In recent years, the evolution of urban environments, jointly with the progress of the Information and Communication sector, have enabled the rapid adoption of new solutions that contribute to the growth in popularity of Smart Cities. Currently, the majority of the world population lives in cities encouraging different stakeholders within these innovative ecosystems to seek new solutions guaranteeing the sustainability and efficiency of such complex environments. In this work, it is discussed how the experimentation with IoT technologies and other data sources form the cities can be utilized to co-create in the OrganiCity project, where key actors like citizens, researchers and other stakeholders shape smart city services and applications in a collaborative fashion. Furthermore, a novel architecture is proposed that enables this organic growth of the future cities, facilitating the experimentation that tailors the adoption of new technologies and services for a better quality of life, as well as agile and dynamic mechanisms for managing cities. In this work, the different components and enablers of the OrganiCity platform are presented and discussed in detail and include, among others, a portal to manage the experiment life cycle, an Urban Data Observatory to explore data assets, and an annotations component to indicate quality of data, with a particular focus on the city-scale opportunistic data collection service operating as an alternative to traditional communications.

  12. Importance And Role Of Competence In Professional Career Of Product Develop Engineers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miltenović, Aleksandar; Banić, Milan; Miltenović, Vojislav

    2015-07-01

    Product development is a creative task where is systematically created a new product, which makes possible to firms to offer attractive, innovative and market oriented products. In conditions of fierce competition and saturated markets, companies that do not innovate are stagnating and disappear from the market. Innovation is therefore every intervention which can reduce production costs, enables optimum utilization of available human, energy and material resources, improve product quality, improve the placement, which leads to an increase in competitiveness. A prerequisite for fulfillment of the above-mentioned tasks is that the companies have engineers with the appropriate competencies, which are able to, through creativity, innovation and fascinating technique of creating new or improving existing products and lunch it on the market. The paper discusses the role and importance of the competences that are necessary for a successful professional career of product development engineers.

  13. 2012 Innovators Awards

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lloyd, Meg; Raths, David; Namahoe, Kanoe

    2012-01-01

    In this article, the authors present the 2012 Campus Technology Innovators. These IT leaders have deployed extraordinary technology solutions to meet campus challenges. The authors also recognize the vendors and products involved in making these innovative projects a success. The 10 winners are: (1) University of Arizona (Student Systems and…

  14. Installed Base as a Facilitator for User-Driven Innovation: How Can User Innovation Challenge Existing Institutional Barriers?

    PubMed Central

    Andersen, Synnøve Thomassen; Jansen, Arild

    2012-01-01

    The paper addresses an ICT-based, user-driven innovation process in the health sector in rural areas in Norway. The empirical base is the introduction of a new model for psychiatric health provision. This model is supported by a technical solution based on mobile phones that is aimed to help the communication between professional health personnel and patients. This innovation was made possible through the use of standard mobile technology rather than more sophisticated systems. The users were heavily involved in the development work. Our analysis shows that by thinking simple and small-scale solutions, including to take the user's needs and premises as a point of departure rather than focusing on advanced technology, the implementation process was made possible. We show that by combining theory on information infrastructures, user-oriented system development, and innovation in a three-layered analytical framework, we can explain the interrelationship between technical, organizational, and health professional factors that made this innovation a success. PMID:23304134

  15. Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). Volume 2. Navy Projects, Abstracts of Phase 1 Awards from FY 1989 SBIR Solicitation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-04-01

    DECISION AIDS HAVE CREATED A VAST NEW POTENTIAL FOR SUPPORT OF STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL OPERATIONS. THE NON-MONOTONIC PROBABILIST (NMP), DEVELOPED BY...QUALITY OF THE NEW DESIGN WILL BE EVALUATED BY CREATING A VIDEO TAPE USING A VIDEO ANIMATION SYSTEM, AND A SOFTWARE SIMULATION OF THE NEW DESIGN. THE...FAULT TOLERANT, SECURE SHIPBOARD COMMUNICATIONS. THE LAN WILL UTILIZE PHOENIX DIGITAL’S FAULT TOLERANT, " SELF - HEALING " SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH

  16. Implementing Innovation: The Creation of an iUnit and the Role of Nursing.

    PubMed

    Tiase, Victoria L; Ventura, Rosemary; Sorbello, Daniel; Robinson, Kenya

    2016-01-01

    NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital took on the challenge of thinking about innovation differently with the implementation of an innovation unit or iUnit to create the patient care unit of the future. Goals were to understand more about the innovation process and to test new service models, technology platforms, devices, and deployment models. Key findings from the focus groups included the need for additional training and technical support. In general, the initiative was felt to improve overall communication and represents a starting point for further innovation programs.

  17. Agile Mythbusting

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-01-01

    0321502752 Coaching Agile Teams Lyssa Adkins ISBN #0321637704 Agile Project Management : Creating Innovative Products – Second Edition Jim Highsmith ISBN...Picatinny Arsenal Lapham, Wrubel Jan 2015 © 2015 Carnegie Mellon University. DoD Acquisition and Innovation Many regulated environments, like the DoD...NEED innovation and NEED incremental improvements to their systems. Many of them are now willing to consider changing their approach if they can do it

  18. Handling Disruptive Innovations in HE: Lessons from Two Contrasting Case Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, Stephen; Olivier, Bill; Yuan, Li

    2015-01-01

    This article aims to show how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can recognise and best respond to a disruptive innovation. A disruptive innovation creates a new business model using a new process and usually a new technology to offer a product or service with new features and/or lower cost and initially addresses a group of people who are…

  19. Cognitive Design for Learning: Cognition and Emotion in the Design Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hasebrook, Joachim

    2016-01-01

    We are so used to accept new technologies being the driver of change and innovation in human computer interfaces (HCI). In our research we focus on the development of innovations as a design process--or design, for short. We also refer to the entire process of creating innovations and putting them to use as "cognitive processes"--or…

  20. 3 CFR 8363 - Proclamation 8363 of April 21, 2009. National Volunteer Week, 2009

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... in our schools. The law also creates a Social Innovation Fund. This fund looks for new ideas in communities and leverages private, nonprofit, and faith-based support to invest in local innovation. The fund...

  1. Goals, Strategies

    Science.gov Websites

    stability Science & Innovation Collaboration Careers Community Environment Science & Innovation . Provide a safe, secure, and effective stockpile Protect against the nuclear threat Counter emerging excellence STRATEGY We will create a modern workplace that is environmentally responsible, safe, and secure

  2. Data-Driven Diffusion Of Innovations: Successes And Challenges In 3 Large-Scale Innovative Delivery Models

    PubMed Central

    Dorr, David A.; Cohen, Deborah J.; Adler-Milstein, Julia

    2018-01-01

    Failed diffusion of innovations may be linked to an inability to use and apply data, information, and knowledge to change perceptions of current practice and motivate change. Using qualitative and quantitative data from three large-scale health care delivery innovations—accountable care organizations, advanced primary care practice, and EvidenceNOW—we assessed where data-driven innovation is occurring and where challenges lie. We found that implementation of some technological components of innovation (for example, electronic health records) has occurred among health care organizations, but core functions needed to use data to drive innovation are lacking. Deficits include the inability to extract and aggregate data from the records; gaps in sharing data; and challenges in adopting advanced data functions, particularly those related to timely reporting of performance data. The unexpectedly high costs and burden incurred during implementation of the innovations have limited organizations’ ability to address these and other deficits. Solutions that could help speed progress in data-driven innovation include facilitating peer-to-peer technical assistance, providing tailored feedback reports to providers from data aggregators, and using practice facilitators skilled in using data technology for quality improvement to help practices transform. Policy efforts that promote these solutions may enable more rapid uptake of and successful participation in innovative delivery system reforms. PMID:29401031

  3. The Marine Technology Liguria District, an opportunity for Collaboration and Training

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carmisciano, C.; Tivegna, P.; Sgherri, R. G.; Gambetta, M.; Caratori Tontini, F.; Stefanelli, P.; Cocchi, L.

    2008-05-01

    This work focus on the newly born DLTM, namely the Distretto Ligure delle Tecnologie Marine, based in La Spezia, Liguria Region (IT). The main involved partners are: Ministries, Regione Liguria Council, Spedia SpA Company, Industries, SMEs (SMBs), Universities and National Research Institutes. The DLTM has been created as an answer to the local versus global needs of marine products innovation, technology and science. In order to provide, both the local and international community, effective solutions the DLTM aims to: - promote Innovation and pre-competitiveness of activities related to industrial research; - enhance the value and visibility of excellence areas existing in the Ligurian region (in the big enterprises as well as in SMEs) concerning marine technology; - enhance the value of academic activities focusing their R&D on industrial products/processes, assuring, evaluating and preventing environmental sustainability also in case of extreme events; - harmonize/make sustainable the economy and the society promoting scientific innovation and technological development, by means of Universities, Public and Private Research Institutes (at regional, national and EU level); - help the exchange of ideas and realization of projects aimed at developing the District objectives; - increase the dissemination and valorisation of District results and achievements, build capacity in the sectors of interest to the District. The DLTM is characterized by two main macro-themes. The first concerns infrastructures, materials and processes, while the second is committed to eco-compatible solutions for harbours, ships and coastal scenarios, security and control management of human activities, risky operations and extreme natural events. The former macro-theme is expected to provide the community with innovative solutions, technologies, materials, processes applied to marine sectors, shipyard and related subsystems and components, in a wide sense such as leisure, commercial, navy, submarine, offshore. The social and strategic relevance of the area implies a particular attention to natural disasters, due to possible industrial plants failure and natural causes (i.e. floods), and human activities (hazardous goods haulage or terrorism). The latter macro-theme deals with this effort, providing the community with a framework for sharing experiences and skills, devoted to the management of aforementioned issues. Integrated, high efficiency plans and management systems will spring out of the DLTM community for immediate issues resolution, with effects on the life-style and productivity. The DLTM will set up and finance specific University courses, second level masters and doctorate together with the creation and/or the best use of the laboratories: public and private.

  4. Applying the concepts of innovation strategies to plastic surgery.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yirong; Kotsis, Sandra V; Chung, Kevin C

    2013-08-01

    Plastic surgery has a well-known history of innovative procedures and products. However, with the rise in competition, such as aesthetic procedures being performed by other medical specialties, there is a need for continued innovation in plastic surgery to create novel treatments to advance this specialty. Although many articles introduce innovative technologies and procedures, there is a paucity of publications to highlight the application of principles of innovation in plastic surgery. The authors review the literature regarding business strategies for innovation. The authors evaluate concepts of innovation, process of innovation (i.e., idea generation, idea evaluation, idea conversion, idea diffusion, and adoption), ethical issues, and application to plastic surgery. Adopting a business model of innovation is helpful for promoting a new paradigm of progress to propel plastic surgery to new avenues of creativity.

  5. Innovation 101: Promoting Undergraduate Innovation through a Two-Day Boot Camp

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    West, Richard E.; Tateishi, Isaku; Wright, Geoffrey A.; Fonoimoana, Melia

    2012-01-01

    Over the years, many training methods for creativity and innovation have been developed. Despite these programs and research, further improvement is necessary, particularly in schools of technology and engineering education, where previous efforts have focused on developing solutions to defined problems, not in identifying and defining the…

  6. Breakthrough Performance: Creating the Innovative Enterprise.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanson, Diane; Bapst, Jerry

    1998-01-01

    Illustrates a new model for innovative enterprises by reviewing the process an instruments and control systems manufacturer used to implement changes in its corporate operating philosophy. Outlines the "Quantum Model": spheres of control, influence, interest, and UNs (unknown, unpredictable, uncontrollable, uncomfortable). Discusses…

  7. USEPA SITE PROGRAM APPROACH TO TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND REGULATORY ACCEPTANCE

    EPA Science Inventory

    The SITE Program was created to meet the increased demand for innovative technologies for hazardous waste treatment. To accomplish this mission, the program seeks to advance the development, implementation and commercialization of innovative technologies for hazardous waste chara...

  8. Reawaken the American Spirit of Innovation in Your Organization

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-04-01

    worked to create a culture conducive to innovation, simply defined as “the introduction of something new”? Today we typi- cally use the word in the...areas of national interest. Ter- rorists will imaginatively use resources in new ways, as they did in the 2008 Mumbai attack.2 Latin American drug...core—the “why”—emphasizes innovation with a culture in which “every Airmen is an innovator.”4 Gen Mark Welsh III, the Air Force chief of staff

  9. Translating three states of knowledge--discovery, invention, and innovation

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Knowledge Translation (KT) has historically focused on the proper use of knowledge in healthcare delivery. A knowledge base has been created through empirical research and resides in scholarly literature. Some knowledge is amenable to direct application by stakeholders who are engaged during or after the research process, as shown by the Knowledge to Action (KTA) model. Other knowledge requires multiple transformations before achieving utility for end users. For example, conceptual knowledge generated through science or engineering may become embodied as a technology-based invention through development methods. The invention may then be integrated within an innovative device or service through production methods. To what extent is KT relevant to these transformations? How might the KTA model accommodate these additional development and production activities while preserving the KT concepts? Discussion Stakeholders adopt and use knowledge that has perceived utility, such as a solution to a problem. Achieving a technology-based solution involves three methods that generate knowledge in three states, analogous to the three classic states of matter. Research activity generates discoveries that are intangible and highly malleable like a gas; development activity transforms discoveries into inventions that are moderately tangible yet still malleable like a liquid; and production activity transforms inventions into innovations that are tangible and immutable like a solid. The paper demonstrates how the KTA model can accommodate all three types of activity and address all three states of knowledge. Linking the three activities in one model also illustrates the importance of engaging the relevant stakeholders prior to initiating any knowledge-related activities. Summary Science and engineering focused on technology-based devices or services change the state of knowledge through three successive activities. Achieving knowledge implementation requires methods that accommodate these three activities and knowledge states. Accomplishing beneficial societal impacts from technology-based knowledge involves the successful progression through all three activities, and the effective communication of each successive knowledge state to the relevant stakeholders. The KTA model appears suitable for structuring and linking these processes. PMID:20205873

  10. Innovative Practices for Special Warfare

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-12-01

    stealing customers from traditional quick service fast food restaurants .243 Innovations in restaurant design, food preparation and distribution, are...and diverse organizations to reap the benefits of loyalty and connectivity that small teams enjoy.152 To create the linkages, JSOC strove to dissolve...those new to a field. Garage startups generate many disruptive innovations because “they are not tied to any specific customer base, product design

  11. Innovation in Health Care Delivery.

    PubMed

    Sharan, Alok D; Schroeder, Gregory D; West, Michael E; Vaccaro, Alexander R

    2016-02-01

    As reimbursement transitions from a volume-based to a value-based system, innovation in health care delivery will be needed. The process of innovation begins with framing the problem that needs to be solved along with the strategic vision that has to be achieved. Similar to scientific testing, a hypothesis is generated for a new solution to a problem. Innovation requires conducting a disciplined form of experimentation and then learning from the process. This manuscript will discuss the different types of innovation, and the key steps necessary for successful innovation in the health care field.

  12. [Innovative thinking in nursing practice].

    PubMed

    Lin, Chia-Ling; Wang, Ya-Ni; Tsai, Hsiu-Min

    2013-04-01

    The nursing profession is patient-centered and responsible to meet the disparate health needs of a wide range of client "groups". Ensuring continued innovation and change to further improve care quality in an evolving health care system is an important issue. A focus on resolving minor points rather than on achieving major change may be the best approach to realizing continuous innovation in nursing. The advantages include not only promoting nursing quality and decreasing costs and manpower, but also giving satisfaction and self-fulfillment to the innovator. Successful innovation is affected by environmental structural support as well as the characteristics of the innovation and innovator. A successful innovator is sensitive to each opportunity, but is not a risk creator. This article describes innovator characteristics and innovation execution, and investigates the content and process of nursing innovation from various points of view in order to create new ideas and values related to the traditional nursing role.

  13. Adaptive eLearning modules for cytopathology education: A review and approach.

    PubMed

    Samulski, T Danielle; La, Teresa; Wu, Roseann I

    2016-11-01

    Clinical training imposes time and resource constraints on educators and learners, making it difficult to provide and absorb meaningful instruction. Additionally, innovative and personalized education has become an expectation of adult learners. Fortunately, the development of web-based educational tools provides a possible solution to these challenges. Within this review, we introduce the utility of adaptive eLearning platforms in pathology education. In addition to a review of the current literature, we provide the reader with a suggested approach for module creation, as well as a critical assessment of an available platform, based on our experience in creating adaptive eLearning modules for teaching basic concepts in gynecologic cytopathology. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2016;44:944-951. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. IN2 Profile: 7AC Technologies Takes High-Efficiency Air Conditioning to a New Level

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kozubal, Eric; Swan, Jed; Luttik, Peter

    As part of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) program, 7AC Technologies has developed a liquid desiccant evaporative technology that will result in a 40-50% energy savings for commercial buildings. The IN² program launched in October 2014 and is part of Wells Fargo’s 2020 Environmental Commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities. The goal is to create an ecosystem that fosters and accelerates the commercialization of promising commercial buildings technologies that can provide scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of buildings. According to the Department of Energy, nearly 40 percent of energy consumption in the U.S.more » today comes from buildings at an estimated cost of $413 billion.« less

  15. Development and Testing of an Innovative Two-Arm Focal-Plane Thermal Strap (TAFTS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Urquiza, E.; Vasquez, C.; Rodriguez, J.; Van Gorp, B.

    2011-01-01

    Maintaining temperature stability in optical focal planes comes with the intrinsic challenge of creating a pathway that is both extremely flexible mechanically and highly conductive thermally. The task is further complicated because science-caliber optical focal planes are extremely delicate, yet their mechanical resiliency is rarely tested and documented. The mechanical engineer tasked with the thermo-mechanical design must then create a highly conductive thermal link that minimizes the tensile and shear stresses transmitted to the focal plane without design parameters on an acceptable stiffness. This paper will describe the development and testing of the thermal link developed for the Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer (PRISM) instrument. It will provide experimentally determined mechanical stiffness plots in the three axes of interest. Analytical and experimental thermal conductance results for the two-arm focal-plane thermal strap (TAFTS), from cryogenic to room temperatures, are also presented. The paper also briefly describes some elements of the fabrication process followed in developing a novel design solution, which provides high conductance and symmetrical mechanical loading, while providing enhanced flexibility in all three degrees of freedom.

  16. The World Leader in Health Information and Innovation Celebrates 175 Years | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    MedlinePlus

    ... NLM 175th Anniversary The World Leader in Health Information and Innovation Celebrates 175 Years Past Issues / Winter ... betterment of American–and global–human health. Creating Information Resources for Researchers Since the dawn of the ...

  17. SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION: TECHNOLOGY PROFILES, NINTH EDITION

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program, now in its eleventh year, is an integral part of EPA's research into alternative cleanup methods for hazardous waste sites around the nation. The SITE Program was created to encourage the development and routine use o...

  18. Using multimedia virtual patients to enhance the clinical curriculum for medical students.

    PubMed

    McGee, J B; Neill, J; Goldman, L; Casey, E

    1998-01-01

    Changes in the environment in which clinical medical education takes place in the United States has profoundly affected the quality of the learning experience. A shift to out-patient based care, minimization of hospitalization time, and shrinking clinical revenues has changed the teaching hospital or "classroom" to a degree that we must develop innovative approaches to medical education. One solution is the Virtual Patient Project. Utilizing state-of-the-art computer-based multimedia technology, we are building a library of simulated patient encounters that will serve to fill some of the educational gaps that the current health care system has created. This project is part of a newly formed and unique organization, the Harvard Medical School-Beth Israel Deaconess Mount Auburn Institute for Education and Research (the Institute), which supports in-house educational design, production, and faculty time to create Virtual Patients. These problem-based clinical cases allow the medical student to evaluate a patient at initial presentation, order diagnostic tests, observe the outcome and obtain context-sensitive feedback through a computer program designed at the Institute. Multimedia technology and authoring programs have reached a level of sophistication to allow content experts (the teaching faculty) to design and create the majority of the program themselves and to allow students to adapt the program to their individual learning needs.

  19. Interdisciplinary development of manual and automated product usability assessments for older adults with dementia: lessons learned.

    PubMed

    Boger, Jennifer; Taati, Babak; Mihailidis, Alex

    2016-10-01

    The changes in cognitive abilities that accompany dementia can make it difficult to use everyday products that are required to complete activities of daily living. Products that are inherently more usable for people with dementia could facilitate independent activity completion, thus reducing the need for caregiver assistance. The objectives of this research were to: (1) gain an understanding of how water tap design impacted tap usability and (2) create an automated computerized tool that could assess tap usability. 27 older adults, who ranged from cognitively intact to advanced dementia, completed 1309 trials on five tap designs. Data were manually analyzed to investigate tap usability as well as used to develop an automated usability analysis tool. Researchers collaborated to modify existing techniques and to create novel ones to accomplish both goals. This paper presents lessons learned through the course of this research, which could be applicable in the development of other usability studies, automated vision-based assessments and the development of assistive technologies for cognitively impaired older adults. Collaborative interdisciplinary teamwork, which included older adult with dementia participants, was key to enabling innovative advances that achieved the projects' research goals. Implications for Rehabilitation Products that are implicitly familiar and usable by older adults could foster independent activity completion, potentially reducing reliance on a caregiver. The computer-based automated tool can significantly reduce the time and effort required to perform product usability analysis, making this type of analysis more feasible. Interdisciplinary collaboration can result in a more holistic understanding of assistive technology research challenges and enable innovative solutions.

  20. [Formulation and special investigations of innovative intraoral solid dosage forms.

    PubMed

    Kristo, K; kATONA, B; Piukovics, P; Olah, I; Sipos, B; Sipos, S E; Sovany, T; Hodi, K; Ifi Regdon, G

    During our work, we summarized the types of solid dosage forms which were in the focus of attention in the last years because of their innovative pharmaceutical technology solution and simple use. The biopharmaceutics of solid dosage forms for intraoral use and the advantages of the use of these dosages forms were presented in general. However, these dosage forms cannot always be prepared with conventional pharmaceutical processes, therefore the special pharmaceutical solutions which can be applied for their preparation were presented. In addition to testing the European Pharmacopoeia dosage forms, the special tests which can be applied for the characterization of innovative solid dosage forms were highlighted.

  1. Technological and social innovation: a unifying new paradigm for global health.

    PubMed

    Gardner, Charles A; Acharya, Tara; Yach, Derek

    2007-01-01

    This paper highlights the growing capacity for innovation in some developing countries. To maximize the potential of this phenomenon for global health, countries and donors need to link two disparate schools of thought: (1) a search for technological solutions exemplified by global public-private product development partnerships, and (2) a focus on systemic solutions exemplified by health policy and systems research. A strong capacity for both technological and social innovation in developing countries represents the only truly sustainable means of improving the effectiveness of health systems. Local public-private research and development partnerships, implementation research, and individual leadership are needed to achieve this goal.

  2. Make Energy at the Bay Area Maker Faire

    ScienceCinema

    None

    2018-01-16

    Think. Make. Innovate. A festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness that gathers makers of all kinds. Scientists are seeking to find innovative solutions to the energy challenges in the world.

  3. Creating a new investment pool for innovative health systems research.

    PubMed

    Laba, Tracey-Lea; Patel, Anushka; Jan, Stephen

    2017-05-01

    Recent trends in health research funding towards 'safe bets' is discouraging investment into the development of health systems interventions and choking off a vital area of policy-relevant research. This paper argues that to encourage investment into innovative and perceivably riskier health systems research, researchers need to create more attractive business cases by exploring alternative approaches to the design and evaluation of health system interventions. At the same time, the creation of dedicated funding opportunities to support this work, as well as for relevant early career researchers, is needed.

  4. Modelling the role of national system of innovation in economical differentiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruiz, Ricardo M.; Albuquerque, Eduardo; Ribeiro, Leonardo C.; Bernardes, Américo T.

    2005-07-01

    Nowadays it is well accepted that science and technology has a fundamental role in the economic development (GNP per capita) of any country. Aiming to study this role, we introduce a model that creates an artificial world economy that is a network of countries. Each country has its own national system of innovation (represented by a technological parameter). The interactions among the countries are given by functions that connect their prices, demands and incomes. Starting from random values, the artificial world economy self-organize itself and create hierarchies of countries.

  5. Open innovation in health care: analysis of an open health platform.

    PubMed

    Bullinger, Angelika C; Rass, Matthias; Adamczyk, Sabrina; Moeslein, Kathrin M; Sohn, Stefan

    2012-05-01

    Today, integration of the public in research and development in health care is seen as essential for the advancement of innovation. This is a paradigmatic shift away from the traditional assumption that solely health care professionals are able to devise, develop, and disseminate novel concepts and solutions in health care. The present study builds on research in the field of open innovation to investigate the adoption of an open health platform by patients, care givers, physicians, family members, and the interested public. Results suggest that open innovation practices in health care lead to interesting innovation outcomes and are well accepted by participants. During the first three months, 803 participants of the open health platform submitted challenges and solutions and intensively communicated by exchanging 1454 personal messages and 366 comments. Analysis of communication content shows that empathic support and exchange of information are important elements of communication on the platform. The study presents first evidence for the suitability of open innovation practices to integrate the general public in health care research in order to foster both innovation outcomes and empathic support. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Eco-innovations in the functioning of companies.

    PubMed

    Ociepa-Kubicka, A; Pachura, P

    2017-07-01

    The development of entrepreneurships in the 21st century cannot occur without taking care of the natural environment. The article presents issues related to eco-innovation. Despite the opportunities offered by eco-innovations, implementation of such initiatives remains to lead to various difficulties. They vary across countries and sectors. The insufficient number of enterprises in Poland and other European countries implement adequate level of eco-innovations. The main aim of this paper is to indicate the causes of this status and activities aimed to develop eco-innovativeness. The benefits and risks connected with implementation of innovative products and technologies were also discussed. Furthermore, the advantages of and barriers to their implementation into companies were analysed. The entrepreneurs from the least eco-innovative countries emphasize serious barriers, including uncertain demand from the market, uncertain return on investment or too long a payback period for eco-innovation, lack of funds within the enterprise, insufficient access to existing subsidies and fiscal incentive. They are especially afraid of the financial risks, which raises uncertainty and leads to refraining from innovative initiatives. The possibilities were indicated for the entrepreneurs who face problems with the implementation of innovative solutions. Particular attention was paid to the European Union activities for the development of eco-innovations. Numerous programs supporting their implementation were indicated. The article also presents examples of eco-innovation in water and sewage enterprises. It was emphasized that planning of eco-innovative solutions should be based on comprehensive information about actual benefits and possibility of threats to the environment which can be caused by implementation of eco-innovations. The study presents the example of threats resulting from different methods of sewage sludge management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. A Critique of Radical Innovation as a Solution to Contemporary Problems of Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baumrind, Diana

    Without well-defined criteria for success, all radical innovations are doomed to failure. To facilitate successful experimentation the following are necessary: an outside agency to conduct evaluation; criteria of success acceptable to innovators and critics; and, in control and comparison groups, assessment and accounting of the initial versus…

  8. The National Issues Forum: Bridging the Human Gap through Innovative Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McMahan, Eva M.

    The National Issues Forum model, a series of community based public discussions on key domestic issues, may be a partial solution to the "human gap" between growing complexity and a capacity to deal with it, by exemplifying "innovative learning." To engage in innovative learning, characterized by anticipation and participation,…

  9. Applying the Concepts of Innovation Strategies to Plastic Surgery

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yirong; Kotsis, Sandra V.; Chung, Kevin C.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Plastic surgery has a well-known history of innovative procedures and products. However, with the rise in competition, such as aesthetic procedures being performed by other medical specialties, there is a need for continued innovation in plastic surgery to create novel treatments to advance this specialty. Although many articles introduce innovative technologies and procedures, there is a paucity of publications to highlight the application of principles of innovation in plastic surgery. Methods: We review the literature regarding business strategies for innovation. Results: We evaluate concepts of innovation, process of innovation (idea generation, idea evaluation, idea conversion, idea diffusion and adoption), ethical issues, and the application to plastic surgery. Conclusions: Adopting a business model of innovation is helpful to promote a new paradigm of progress to propel plastic surgery to new avenues of creativity. PMID:23897344

  10. Synthetic biology in the UK - An outline of plans and progress.

    PubMed

    Clarke, L J; Kitney, R I

    2016-12-01

    Synthetic biology is capable of delivering new solutions to key challenges spanning the bioeconomy, both nationally and internationally. Recognising this significant potential and the associated need to facilitate its translation and commercialisation the UK government commissioned the production of a national Synthetic Biology Roadmap in 2011, and subsequently provided crucial support to assist its implementation. Critical infrastructural investments have been made, and important strides made towards the development of an effectively connected community of practitioners and interest groups. A number of Synthetic Biology Research Centres, DNA Synthesis Foundries, a Centre for Doctoral Training, and an Innovation Knowledge Centre have been established, creating a nationally distributed and integrated network of complementary facilities and expertise. The UK Synthetic Biology Leadership Council published a UK Synthetic Biology Strategic Plan in 2016, increasing focus on the processes of translation and commercialisation. Over 50 start-ups, SMEs and larger companies are actively engaged in synthetic biology in the UK, and inward investments are starting to flow. Together these initiatives provide an important foundation for stimulating innovation, actively contributing to international research and development partnerships, and helping deliver useful benefits from synthetic biology in response to local and global needs and challenges.

  11. Older, sociable capuchins (Cebus capucinus) invent more social behaviors, but younger monkeys innovate more in other contexts

    PubMed Central

    Perry, Susan E.; Godoy, Irene

    2017-01-01

    An important extension to our understanding of evolutionary processes has been the discovery of the roles that individual and social learning play in creating recurring phenotypes on which selection can act. Cultural change occurs chiefly through invention of new behavioral variants combined with social transmission of the novel behaviors to new practitioners. Therefore, understanding what makes some individuals more likely to innovate and/or transmit new behaviors is critical for creating realistic models of culture change. The difficulty in identifying what behaviors qualify as new in wild animal populations has inhibited researchers from understanding the characteristics of behavioral innovations and innovators. Here, we present the findings of a long-term, systematic study of innovation (10 y, 10 groups, and 234 individuals) in wild capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) in Lomas Barbudal, Costa Rica. Our methodology explicitly seeks novel behaviors, requiring their absence during the first 5 y of the study to qualify as novel in the second 5 y of the study. Only about 20% of 187 innovations identified were retained in innovators’ individual behavioral repertoires, and 22% were subsequently seen in other group members. Older, more social monkeys were more likely to invent new forms of social interaction, whereas younger monkeys were more likely to innovate in other behavioral domains (foraging, investigative, and self-directed behaviors). Sex and rank had little effect on innovative tendencies. Relative to apes, capuchins devote more of their innovations repertoire to investigative behaviors and social bonding behaviors and less to foraging and comfort behaviors. PMID:28739946

  12. 1993 UPDATE OF THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S SITE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Emerging Technology Program (ETP), part of the U.S. EPA`s Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program, is continuing to create an environment where technical innovation can accelerate into field and commercial applications for treatment of hazardous waste sites....

  13. School Principals' Decision-Making Behaviour in the Management of Innovation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGeown, Vincent

    1979-01-01

    A rating scale operationalized a model for the adoption and implementation of educational innovation. Phases were designated: creating a climate for change; analyzing antecedent conditions; generating alternatives; initiating change adoption; implementing change; and evaluating change outcomes. Principals' decision-making behavior was the best…

  14. Economic Engagement Framework: Economic Impact Guidelines

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ambargis, Zoë; Mead, Charles Ian; Rzeznik, Stanislaw J.; Swenson, David; Weisenberger, Janet

    2014-01-01

    The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities' (APLU's) Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Economic Prosperity (CICEP) views university contributions to the economy across a spectrum of activity--from educating students and creating the talent necessary for the 21st century workforce to developing innovation ecosystems and…

  15. Systems Innovation and Education Management Systems (EMS)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rao, Nageswararao A. V.

    2006-01-01

    Many researchers and practitioners contend that all institutions respond to changing market need and can create competitive advantage through innovation and creativity. Each year, institutions expend significant resources developing new products and processes and yet research shows that more than half these initiatives fail. Successful…

  16. Aerodynamic flow deflector to increase large scale wind turbine power generation by 10%.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-11-01

    The innovation proposed in this paper has the potential to address both the efficiency demands of wind farm owners as well as to provide a disruptive design innovation to turbine manufacturers. The aerodynamic deflector technology was created to impr...

  17. Leveraging Quality Charters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Caprice

    2012-01-01

    Charter public schools serve a variety of roles in education reform: innovation labs, havens from failing traditional schools; and competitors for pubic resources. Education leaders have the opportunity to use high quality charter schooling to innovate not only in developing transformative schools but, more importantly, in creating great public…

  18. Universities, SMEs and Innovation Frameworks: Think Global, Act Local?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pickernell, David; Clifton, Nick; Senyard, Julienne

    2009-01-01

    Universities are increasingly encouraged to take a leading role in economic development, particularly through innovation. Simultaneously, economic development policy itself is increasingly focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), creating overlapping interactions in the roles of government policy, universities and SMEs and the…

  19. Readings in Innovation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gryskiewicz, Stanley S., Ed.; Hills, David A., Ed.

    This book was created to place side by side the ideas of researchers and practitioners concerned with organizational innovation. Included are 18 papers: (1) "Social Environments That Kill Creativity" (Teresa Amabile); (2) "High Creativity versus Low Creativity: What Makes the Difference?" (Teresa Amabile and Sharon Sensabaugh); (3) "Creativity and…

  20. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION REPORT, GROUNDWATER SAMPLING TECHNOLOGIES, GEOPROBE INC., PNEUMATIC BLADDER PUMP GW 1400 SERIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) design efficient processes for conducting has created the Environmental Technology perfofl1lance tests of innovative technologies. Verification Program (E TV) to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental techn...

  1. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION REPORT, GROUNDWATER SAMPLING TECHNOLOGIES, GEOPROBE INC, MECHANICAL BLADDER PUMP MODEL MP470

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) design efficient processes for conducting has created the Environmental Technology perfofl1lance tests of innovative technologies. Verification Program (E TV) to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental techn...

  2. System thinking shaping innovation ecosystems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abreu, António; Urze, Paula

    2016-11-01

    Over the last few decades, there has been a trend to build innovation platforms as enablers for groups of companies to jointly develop new products and services. As a result, the notion of co-innovation is getting wider acceptance. However, a critical issue that is still open, despite some efforts in this area, is the lack of tools and models that explain the synergies created in a co-innovation process. In this context, the present paper aims at discussing the advantages of applying a system thinking approach to understand the mechanisms associated with co-innovation processes. Finally, based on experimental results from a Portuguese co-innovation network, a discussion on the benefits, challenges and difficulties found are presented and discussed.

  3. The Role of Innovation Regimes and Policy for Creating Radical Innovations: Comparing Some Aspects of Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Technology Development with the Development of Internet and GSM

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Godoe, Helge

    2006-01-01

    Telegraphy, the distant ancestor of Internet and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), was invented by Samuel Morse in 1838. One year later, William Grove invented the fuel cell. Although numerous highly successful innovations stemming from telegraphy may be observed, the development of fuel cells has been insignificant, slow, and erratic…

  4. Speed and Agility: How Defense Acquisition Can Enable Innovation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-30

    an example of an innovation partnership, Airbus partnered with micro- manufacturing innovator Local Motors to co-create commercial drones using the... Airbus Quadcruiser’s hybrid concept as the starting design. Local Motors recently released its Strati roadster, the world’s first 3D-printed car... Airbus sought to “speed-up development and manufacturing in aerospace through an open competition based on co-creation and micro- manufacturing.” The

  5. 20 Observations on Innovation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-08-01

    DoD acquisition system, here are some observations : 1 Innovation is not a product; it’s a byproduct. You can’t create innovative ideas by trying to...organization. For example, a teacher who worries about educating kids, looks for better ways to educate kids and stays up nights wor­ rying about...protecting teacher tenure is protecting and advancing the organization. In most situations, these two people will be in agreement. Reducing

  6. 75 FR 78875 - White House Council for Community Solutions

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-17

    ... Service (CNCS) to support the social innovation and civic participation agenda of the Domestic Policy... problems; and (e) honoring and highlighting the work of leaders in service and social innovation who are...

  7. Crowdsourcing for Challenging Technical Problems - It Works!

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Davis, Jeffrey R.

    2011-01-01

    The NASA Johnson Space Center Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) and Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering (Wyle) will conduct a one-day business cluster at the 62nd IAC so that IAC attendees will understand the benefits of open innovation (crowdsourcing), review successful results of conducting technical challenges in various open innovation projects, and learn how an organization can effectively deploy these new problem solving tools to innovate more efficiently and effectively. Results from both the SLSD open innovation pilot program and the open innovation workshop conducted by the NASA Human Health and Performance Center will be discussed. NHHPC members will be recruited to participate in the business cluster (see membership http://nhhpc.nasa.gov) and as IAF members. Crowdsourcing may be defined as the act of outsourcing tasks that are traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to an undefined, generally large group of people or community (a crowd) in the form of an open call. The open call may be issued by the organization wishing to find a solution to a particular problem or complete a task, or by an open innovation service provider on behalf of that organization. In 2008, the SLSD, with the support of Wyle, established and implemented pilot projects in open innovation (crowdsourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical challenges. These unsolved technical problems were converted to problem statements, called Challenges by some open innovation service providers, and were then posted externally to seek solutions to these problems. In addition, an open call was issued internally to NASA employees Agency wide (11 Field Centers and NASA HQ) using an open innovation service provider crowdsourcing platform to post NASA challenges from each Center for the others to propose solutions). From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external problems or challenges were posted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive crowdsourcing platform designed for use internal to an organization and customized for NASA use, and promoted as NASA@Work. The results were significant. Of the seven InnoCentive external challenges, two full and five partial awards were made in complex technical areas such as predicting solar flares and long-duration food packaging.

  8. Building America Top Innovations 2014 Profile: Cost-Optimized Attic Insulation Solution for Factory-Built Homes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    none,

    This 2014 Top Innovation profile describes a low-cost, low-tech attic insulation technique developed by the ARIES Building America team with help from Southern Energy Homes and Johns Manville. Increasing attic insulation in manufactured housing has been a significant challenge due to cost, production and transportation constraints. The simplicity of this dense-pack solution to increasing attic insulation R-value promises real hope for widespread industry adoption.

  9. Creating Opportunities for Organizational Leadership (COOL): Creating a culture and curriculum that fosters psychiatric leadership development and quality improvement.

    PubMed

    Dickey, Chandlee; Dismukes, Rodney; Topor, David

    2014-06-01

    The authors describe the Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency Training Program curriculum "Creating Opportunities for Organizational Leadership," an innovative, multitiered, resident-driven, outcome-focused set of experiences designed to develop residents' leadership skills in personal leadership, organizational leadership, negotiation, strategic thinking, and systems redesign.

  10. Is there a role for a test controller in the development of new ATC equipment?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Westrum, Ron

    1994-01-01

    Earl Wiener points out that human factors problems fixed during the R & D stage are paid for once. When they are not fixed during R & D, they are then paid for every day. How users are involved in the R & D process to assist in developing equipment is a critical issue. Effective involvement can produce real improvements. Ineffective involvement can produce inefficient kludges or systems that are actually dangerous. The underlying problem is the management of information and ideas. To develop a really generative system a great deal would have to change in the way that the FAA innovates. Use of test controllers would solve only some of the problems. For instance, we have cockpit resource management now for pilots; we may have it soon for controllers. But the management of ideas in the innovation process also needs intellectual resource management. Simply involving users is not enough. Brought in at the wrong point in the development process, users can block or compromise innovation. User involvement must be carefully considered. A test controller may be one solution to this problem. It might be necessary to have several kinds of test controllers (en route versus TRACON, for instance). No doubt further problems would surface in getting test controllers into operation. I would recommend that the FAA engage in a series of case studies of controller involvement in the innovation process. A systematic comparison of effective and ineffective cases would do much to clarify what we ought to do in the future. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any cases where test controllers have been used. Perhaps we need to create some, to see how they work.

  11. Continuous quality improvement programs provide new opportunities to drive value innovation initiatives in hospital-based radiology practices.

    PubMed

    Steele, Joseph R; Schomer, Don F

    2009-07-01

    Imaging services constitute a huge portion of the of the total dollar investment within the health care enterprise. Accordingly, this generates competition among medical specialties organized along service lines for their pieces of the pie and increased scrutiny from third-party payers and government regulators. These market and political forces create challenge and opportunity for a hospital-based radiology practice. Clearly, change that creates or builds greater value for patients also creates sustainable competitive advantage for a radiology practice. The somewhat amorphous concept of quality constitutes a significant value driver for innovation in this scenario. Quality initiatives and programs seek to define and manage this amorphous concept and provide tools for a radiology practice to create or build more value. Leadership and the early adoption of these inevitable programs by a radiology practice strengthens relationships with hospital partners and slows the attrition of imaging service lines to competitors.

  12. Market Innovation, Rational Housing Supply and Urban Quality at the Neighbourhood Scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Puglisi, Valentina; Celani, Alberto

    2017-10-01

    Innovation of product, process and markets are the three categories to assess the improvement of a sector. This document is aimed to provide a review of papers about innovation in housing market and analyses solutions adopted by the international market in terms of definition of attributes of housing products. Enlightening aspects linked to quality attributes of housing products and it has been tried to read a common scheme in any study analysed to provide solutions to set innovation hints to enhance market innovation in the sector. The idea of choice, user and buyer categories definition, assessment and rating system is the backbone of the paper, as the parallelism between marketing of industrial goods and services and built environment objects. Quality of the neighbourhood and the idea of an ex-post assessment is the theme behind the last case presented, based on a research made by ABC Department of Politecnico di Milano in a neighbourhood in Milano, aimed to assess its quality.

  13. [Telecardiology: Tasks and duties of telemedicine].

    PubMed

    Borbás, János; Forczek, Erzsébet; Sepp, Róbert; Bari, Ferenc

    2017-11-01

    Telemedicine is a young science that integrates innovations of information-technology and telecommunications into medical science. A successful telemedicine procedure should guarantee reduced workload of the healthcare system with well secured and cost-effective processes. Our goal was to collect the development phases of telemedicine projects through existing telecardiology solutions. Subsequent to reviewing international publications we analyzed the past and present situation of blood pressure monitoring, remote diagnostics of electrocardiography, implantable cardioverter defibrillator monitoring and pocket ultrasound devices. In case of new solutions (a) several internationally accepted, confidently reproducible "good practices" are needed for creating (b) guidelines and recommendations of international medical associations. They have to ensure (c) cost-effective work, with well-designed sustainability and (d) patient confidentiality. Improving (e) education for professionals and patients is essential. We recommend to telemedicine developers to use our standards in order to introduce their products more effectively into clinical practice. It is encouraging that current possibilities of telecardiology partly or fully meet the aforementioned criteria. Further development of the topic can contribute to financial sustainability of our healthcare and might be able to resolve limitations of human resources. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(44): 1741-1746.

  14. Healthcare Hackathons Provide Educational and Innovation Opportunities: A Case Study and Best Practice Recommendations.

    PubMed

    Silver, Julie K; Binder, David S; Zubcevik, Nevena; Zafonte, Ross D

    2016-07-01

    Physicians and other healthcare professionals are often the end users of medical innovation; however, they are rarely involved in the beginning design stages. This often results in ineffective healthcare solutions with poor adoption rates. At the early design stage, innovation would benefit from input from healthcare professionals. This report describes the first-ever rehabilitation hackathon-an interdisciplinary and competitive team event aimed at accelerating and improving healthcare solutions and providing an educational experience for participants. Hackathons are gaining traction as a way to accelerate innovation by bringing together a diverse group of interdisciplinary professionals from different industries who work collaboratively in teams and learn from each other, focus on a specific problem ("pain point"), develop a solution using design thinking techniques, pitch the solution to participants, gather fast feedback and quickly alter the prototype design ("pivoting"). 102 hackers including 19 (18.6 %) physicians and other professionals participated, and over the course of 2 days worked in teams, pitched ideas and developed design prototypes. Three awards were given for prototypes that may improve function in persons with disabilities. 43 hackers were women (42.2 %) and 59 men (57.8 %); they ranged in age from 16 to 79 years old; and, of the 75 hackers who reported their age, 63 (84 %) were less than 40 years old and 12 (16 %) were 40 years or older. This report contributes to the emerging literature on healthcare hackathons as a means of providing interdisciplinary education and training and supporting innovation.

  15. 2010 NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate: Lunabotics Mining Competition Systems Engineering Paper

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2010-01-01

    A fast growing approach in determining the best design concept for a problem is to hold a competition in which the rules are based on requirements similar to the actual problem. By going public with such competitions, sponsoring entities receive some of the most innovative engineering solutions in a fraction of the time and cost it would have taken to develop such concepts internally. Space exploration is a large benefactor of such design competitions as seen by the results of X-Prize Foundation and NASA lunar excavation competitions [1]. The results of NASA's past lunar excavator challenges has led to the need for an effective means of collecting lunar regolith in the absence of human beings. The 2010 Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) Lunar Excavation Challenge was created "to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, in a competitive environment that may result in innovative ideas and solutions, which could be applied to actual lunar excavation for NASA." [2]. The ESMD Challenge calls for "teams to use telerobotics or autonomous operations to excavate at least 10kg of lunar regolith simulant in a 15 minute time limit" [2]. The Systems Engineering approach was used in accordance with Auburn University's mechanical engineering senior design course (MECH 4240-50) to develop a telerobotic lunar excavator, seen in Fig. 1, that fulfilled requirements imposed by the NASA ESMD Competition Rules. The goal of the senior design project was to have a validated lunar excavator that would be used in the NASA ESMD lunar excavation challenge.

  16. Innovations in clinical trials informatics.

    PubMed

    Summers, Ron; Vyas, Hiten; Dudhal, Nilesh; Doherty, Neil F; Coombs, Crispin R; Hepworth, Mark

    2008-01-01

    This paper will investigate innovations in information management for use in clinical trials. The application typifies a complex, adaptive, distributed and information-rich environment for which continuous innovation is necessary. Organisational innovation is highlighted as well as the technical innovations in workflow processes and their representation as an integrated set of web services. Benefits realization uncovers further innovations in the business strand of the work undertaken. Following the description of the development of this information management system, the semantic web is postulated as a possible solution to tame the complexity related to information management issues found within clinical trials support systems.

  17. Competition and Curriculum Diversity in Local Schooling Markets: Theory and Evidence.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adnett, Nick; Davies, Peter

    2000-01-01

    Based on conventional economic analysis, increasing competitive pressures on schools should promote greater curricular innovation and diversity. The United Kingdom's experience suggests that market-based reforms can initially create pressures to increase curriculum conformity in local schooling markets. Innovation incentives are greatest for…

  18. An Extension Case Study in Institutional Innovation: Microfinance Intermediary Formation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edelman, Mark A.

    2015-01-01

    An institutional innovation process led by Extension created a statewide microfinance intermediary. The intermediary provides business technical assistance and microloans to entrepreneurs having difficulty securing conventional credit but having workable business plans. The process included (1) gathering indicators of a problem; (2) formation of a…

  19. Teachers as Hackers: Implications for 21st Century Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wizel, Maya

    2017-01-01

    This qualitative study introduces a new framework for describing teachers who act innovatively in public schools--teachers as "hackers." It examines the characteristics and conditions under which teachers "hack" their classroom pedagogy to create disruptive innovation in the public education system and identify implications for…

  20. Senior living technology.

    PubMed

    Weiss, G

    1999-10-01

    The pros and cons of long term care's shift to a prospective payment system will be debated well into the next millennium, but its effects have already been profound. Not least has been the role PPS has played in dragging providers into the information age. Providers who were once steadfast in their refusal to participate in the computer revolution are now eager converts, implementing innovative information and clinical technologies to operate more efficiently and improve quality of care. Major changes rarely happen overnight. The long process of upgrading information systems and integrating new clinical technologies will remain arduous for years to come. But innovative technologies (including non-computerized devices and equipment ranging from lift systems to weightlifting equipment) will play an ever-increasing role as the industry takes a more consumer-driven approach to delivery of care. While some providers complain that vendors have been slow to develop the level of sophisticated, integrative systems they require, vendors fault providers for not being able or willing to invest the capital necessary to upgrade their platforms to support state-of-the-art software. But partnering rather than finger-pointing appears to be winning the day as facilities and vendors intensify their efforts to create more and better technology for long term care. In the following pages, we look at a number of innovative providers--from Bronx, New York, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, from big chains to mom-and-pops--who have come up with creative solutions to common problems.

  1. Helpful strategies for GPs seeing patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms: a focus group study.

    PubMed

    Aamland, Aase; Fosse, Anette; Ree, Eline; Abildsnes, Eirik; Malterud, Kirsti

    2017-08-01

    Patients with long-lasting and disabling medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are common in general practice. GPs have previously described the challenges regarding management and treatment of patients with MUPS. To explore GPs' experiences of the strategies perceived as helpful when seeing patients with MUPS. Three focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 24 experienced GPs were held in southern Norway. Discussions were audiotaped and transcribed. Systematic text condensation was used for analysis. Several strategies were considered helpful during consultations with patients with MUPS. A comprehensive outline of the patient's medical past and present could serve as the foundation of the dialogue. Reviewing the patient's records and sharing relevant information with them or conducting a thorough clinical examination could offer 'golden moments' of trust and common understanding. A very concrete exchange of symptoms and diagnosis interpretation sometimes created a space for explanations and action, and confrontations could even strengthen the alliance between the GP and the patient. Bypassing conventional answers and transcending tensions by negotiating innovative explanations could help patients resolve symptoms and establish innovative understanding. GPs use tangible, down-to-earth strategies in consultations with patients with MUPS. Important strategies were: thorough investigation of the patient's symptoms and story; sharing of interpretations; and negotiation of different explanations. Sharing helpful strategies with colleagues in a field in which frustration and dissatisfaction are not uncommon can encourage GPs to develop sustainable responsibility and innovative solutions. © British Journal of General Practice 2017.

  2. Creativity and innovation by empowering the customer: The case of Mulino Bianco. Part I: Organisational innovation context

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bujor, A.; Avasilcăi, S.

    2015-11-01

    The terms of creativity, co-creation, creative industries, innovation, and coinnovation are more and more used nowadays. While co-creation offers the possibility and encourages a more active involvement from the customers to create value rich experiences, innovation is responsible for the little improvements made for a better life, to grow a business, to improve products, services or company's productivity. Either customers, current and potential, or stakeholders’ involvement into innovation activities, through their creativity, represent an important way of value creation, of actions’ performance that increases the worth of goods, services, or business as a whole. More and more, different size businesses gather ideas for innovation from customers / stakeholders through their involvement into the early stages of the innovation process. Actually, it has been shown that their ideas sketch their needs and wishes, and have been described as “need information”. Customers and stakeholders, in general, also offer ideas that have been called “solution information”, which represents, not only need information, but also customer-based proposals that describe how ideas can be transformed into marketable products. The term of creative industries refers to those goods that can technically be reproduced, industrially produced, and commercially sold, this being one of the many definitions found in the literature. The classification of creative industries differs at the European Union level according to each country's development level and opening towards these industries’ perception as an engine for economic growth. To better explore and identify the importance of innovation and creativity for new products’ development or improvement a case study about Mulino Bianco was done. This methodology approach represents a part of a qualitative research approach within a broader research undertaken within the framework of the National Research Program PN II. Mulino Bianco was first launched in Italy, being one of the value brands of Barilla Group, which we can say, according to the Italian researches regarding their definition and classification, it belongs to creative industries: industry of food and taste. The foreseen result of this paper is highlighting the fact that the key strategy for the Group and for Mulino Bianco, by default, is mainly its customers’ pro-active involvement in products’ development or creation.

  3. Innovative Project Activities in Science [From the NSTA Study of Innovative Project Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Science Teacher, 1975

    1975-01-01

    Describes four projects chosen as innovative project activities in science which exhibited identification of unique or novel problems and creative approaches to their solutions. Projects included a study of fish in Lake Erie, a goat raising project, an analysis of terrestrial plant ecology and soil composition, and a study of marine and wetlands…

  4. Innovative contracting strategies for combating climate change.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-11-01

    The state of Maryland has made a strong commitment to combating climate change and reducing : greenhouse gas emissions. This research investigated the state of practice of innovative contracting : solutions to reduce emissions from highway constructi...

  5. Balancing innovation with commercialization in NASA's Science Mission Directorate SBIR Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Terrile, R. J.; Jackson, B. L.

    The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) administers a portion of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program. One of the challenges of administrating this program is to balance the need to foster innovation in small businesses and the need to demonstrate commercialization by infusion into NASA. Because of the often risky nature of innovation, SBIR programs will tend to drift into a status that rewards proposals that promise to deliver a product that is exactly what was specified in the call. This often will satisfy the metric of providing a clear demonstration of infusion and thus also providing a publishable success story. However, another goal of the SBIR program is to foster innovation as a national asset. Even though data from commercially successful SMD SBIR tasks indicate a higher value for less innovative efforts, there are programmatic and national reasons to balance the program toward risking a portion of the portfolio on higher innovation tasks. Establishing this balance is made difficult because there is a reward metric for successful infusion and commercialization, but none for successful innovation. In general, the ultimate infusion and commercialization of innovative solutions has a lower probability than implementation of established ideas, but they can also have a much higher return on investment. If innovative ideas are valued and solicited in the SBIR program, then NASA technology requirements need to be specified in a way that defines the problem and possible solution, but will also allow for different approaches and unconventional methods. It may also be necessary to establish a guideline to risk a percentage of awards on these innovations.

  6. Encouraging innovation by CDOT workers.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-02-01

    "In the course of their work, Colorado DOT employees have been known to create devices that improve the : safety, efficiency, and quality of their work. The purpose of this study was to identify recent devices that were : created by CDOT employees an...

  7. Barriers to Innovation in Urban Wastewater Utilities: Attitudes of Managers in California.

    PubMed

    Kiparsky, Michael; Thompson, Barton H; Binz, Christian; Sedlak, David L; Tummers, Lars; Truffer, Bernhard

    2016-06-01

    In many regions of the world, urban water systems will need to transition into fundamentally different forms to address current stressors and meet impending challenges-faster innovation will need to be part of these transitions. To assess the innovation deficit in urban water organizations and to identify means for supporting innovation, we surveyed wastewater utility managers in California. Our results reveal insights about the attitudes towards innovation among decision makers, and how perceptions at the level of individual managers might create disincentives for experimentation. Although managers reported feeling relatively unhindered organizationally, they also spend less time on innovation than they feel they should. The most frequently reported barriers to innovation included cost and financing; risk and risk aversion; and regulatory compliance. Considering these results in the context of prior research on innovation systems, we conclude that collective action may be required to address underinvestment in innovation.

  8. Barriers to Innovation in Urban Wastewater Utilities: Attitudes of Managers in California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiparsky, Michael; Thompson, Barton H.; Binz, Christian; Sedlak, David L.; Tummers, Lars; Truffer, Bernhard

    2016-06-01

    In many regions of the world, urban water systems will need to transition into fundamentally different forms to address current stressors and meet impending challenges—faster innovation will need to be part of these transitions. To assess the innovation deficit in urban water organizations and to identify means for supporting innovation, we surveyed wastewater utility managers in California. Our results reveal insights about the attitudes towards innovation among decision makers, and how perceptions at the level of individual managers might create disincentives for experimentation. Although managers reported feeling relatively unhindered organizationally, they also spend less time on innovation than they feel they should. The most frequently reported barriers to innovation included cost and financing; risk and risk aversion; and regulatory compliance. Considering these results in the context of prior research on innovation systems, we conclude that collective action may be required to address underinvestment in innovation.

  9. The human anatomy teacher-scholar: Meeting the expectations of educational outcomes research, course content innovation, and textbook innovation for educational scholarship

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eckel, Christine Marie

    A human anatomy teacher-scholar is a scholar whose area of expertise includes content knowledge of the anatomical sciences (gross anatomy, histology, embryology, and/or neuroanatomy) and whose research interests and focus are centered in medical educational outcomes. The projects described in this dissertation represent endeavors I engaged in to become a human anatomy teacher-scholar. These projects included: (1) prospectively testing a hypothesis, and performing outcomes assessment in a field for which little data (theory) exist (dissection guide educational research project), (2) creating innovative course content that bridged disciplines (cadaver autopsy project), and (3) composing original teaching material for a specific audience (human anatomy laboratory manual). The training of a human anatomy teacher-scholar emphasizes knowledge acquisition in both the basic sciences (particularly gross anatomy) and in educational outcomes research methodology and theory. Therefore, human anatomy teacher-scholars are positioned to create innovative course content and materials and assess the innovations to guide future efforts. These are important skills for faculty members involved in the education of medical students in the U.S. as the medical education system in the U.S. continues to evolve.

  10. The stage-value model: Implications for the changing standards of care.

    PubMed

    Görtz, Daniel Patrik; Commons, Michael Lamport

    2015-01-01

    The standard of care is a legal and professional notion against which doctors and other medical personnel are held liable. The standard of care changes as new scientific findings and technological innovations within medicine, pharmacology, nursing and public health are developed and adopted. This study consists of four parts. Part 1 describes the problem and gives concrete examples of its occurrence. The second part discusses the application of the Model of Hierarchical Complexity on the field, giving examples of how standards of care are understood at different behavioral developmental stage. It presents the solution to the problem of standards of care at a Paradigmatic Stage 14. The solution at this stage is a deliberative, communicative process based around why certain norms should or should not apply in each specific case, by the use of "meta-norms". Part 3 proposes a Cross-Paradigmatic Stage 15 view of how the problem of changing standards of care can be solved. The proposed solution is to found the legal procedure in each case on well-established behavioral laws. We maintain that such a behavioristic, scientifically based justice would be much more proficient at effecting restorative legal interventions that create desired behaviors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. From the Bench to the Bedside: The Role of Semantic Web and Translational Medicine for Enabling the Next Generation Healthcare Enterprise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kashyap, Vipul

    The success of new innovations and technologies are very often disruptive in nature. At the same time, they enable novel next generation infrastructures and solutions. These solutions introduce great efficiencies in the form of efficient processes and the ability to create, organize, share and manage knowledge effectively; and the same time provide crucial enablers for proposing and realizing new visions. In this paper, we propose a new vision of the next generation healthcare enterprise and discuss how Translational Medicine, which aims to improve communication between the basic and clinical sciences, is a key requirement for achieving this vision. This will lead therapeutic insights may be derived from new scientific ideas - and vice versa. Translation research goes from bench to bedside, where theories emerging from preclinical experimentation are tested on disease-affected human subjects, and from bedside to bench, where information obtained from preliminary human experimentation can be used to refine our understanding of the biological principles underpinning the heterogeneity of human disease and polymorphism(s). Informatics and semantic technologies in particular, has a big role to play in making this a reality. We identify critical requirements, viz., data integration, clinical decision support and knowledge maintenance and provenance; and illustrate semantics-based solutions wrt example scenarios and use cases.

  12. [Horizon 2020, new EU Framework programme for research and innovation, 2014-2020].

    PubMed

    Kinkorová, Judita

    2014-01-01

    Horizon 2020 is a financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europes global competitiveness. Running from 2014 to 2020 with a budget of just over € 80 billion, the EUs new programme for research and innovation is part of the drive to create new growth and jobs in Europe. Societal challenge Health, demographic change and wellbeing is an important part of Horizon 2020.

  13. ACHP | Section 106 Success Stories

    Science.gov Websites

    Casa Farnese "Creative Solution Preserves Integrity of Historic Development Project" -site mitigation solution." - Fort A.P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia Franklin Post Office " "VA Medical Center: consultation leads to innovative solution." - Leavenworth, Kansas

  14. Novel Problem Solving - The NASA Solution Mechanism Guide

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Keeton, Kathryn E.; Richard, Elizabeth E.; Davis, Jeffrey R.

    2014-01-01

    Over the past five years, the Human Health and Performance (HH&P) Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) has conducted a number of pilot and ongoing projects in collaboration and open innovation. These projects involved the use of novel open innovation competitions that sought solutions from "the crowd", non-traditional problem solvers. The projects expanded to include virtual collaboration centers such as the NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) and more recently a collaborative research project between NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF). These novel problem-solving tools produced effective results and the HH&P wanted to capture the knowledge from these new tools, to teach the results to the directorate, and to implement new project management tools and coursework. The need to capture and teach the results of these novel problem solving tools, the HH&P decided to create a web-based tool to capture best practices and case studies, to teach novice users how to use new problem solving tools and to change project management training/. This web-based tool was developed with a small, multi-disciplinary group and named the Solution Mechanism Guide (SMG). An alpha version was developed that was tested against several sessions of user groups to get feedback on the SMG and determine a future course for development. The feedback was very positive and the HH&P decided to move to the beta-phase of development. To develop the web-based tool, the HH&P utilized the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL) to develop the software with TopCoder under an existing contract. In this way, the HH&P is using one new tool (the NTL and TopCoder) to develop the next generation tool, the SMG. The beta-phase of the SMG is planed for release in the spring of 2014 and results of the beta-phase testing will be available for the IAC meeting in September. The SMG is intended to disrupt the way problem solvers and project managers approach problem solving and to increase the use of novel and more cost and time effective problem solving tools such as open innovation, collaborative research, and virtual collaborative project centers. The HH&P envisions changing project management coursework by including the SMG in the teaching of project management problem solving tools.

  15. USEPA'S SITE PROGRAM IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF INNOVATIVE HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    The USEPA's SITE Program was created to meet the increased demand for innovative technologies for hazardous waste treatment. The primary mission of the SITe Program is to expedite the cleanup of sites on the NPL. The SITE Program has two components: The Demonstration Program and ...

  16. NEWPATH: An Innovative Program to Nurture IT Entrepreneurs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soundarajan, Neelam; Camp, Stephen M.; Lee, David; Ramnath, Rajiv; Weide, Bruce W.

    2016-01-01

    The number of freshmen interested in entrepreneurship has grown dramatically in the last few years. In response, many universities have created entrepreneurship programs, including ones focused on engineering entrepreneurship. In this paper, we report on NEWPATH, an innovative NSF-supported program at Ohio State, designed to nurture students to…

  17. Designing Pedagogical Innovation for Collaborating Teacher Teams

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weitze, Charlotte Laerke

    2017-01-01

    In this design-based research project, teachers co-created and used a new learning design model, the "IT-Pedagogical Think Tank Model for Teacher Teams." This continuous-competence-development method enabled teachers to collaborate and develop innovative-learning designs for students in a new hybrid synchronous video-mediated learning…

  18. The Venture Capital-University Interface: Best Practices for Maximum Impact

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holly, Krisztina

    2010-01-01

    Entrepreneurial start-ups have left an indelible impression on much of the USA's recent economic history. As hotbeds for technological innovation, university research laboratories create groundbreaking innovations that have been at the heart of many successful start-ups. However, powerful ideas do not necessarily beget successful companies: great…

  19. Innovation Constructs: An Exploratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sauer, Paul L.; O'Donnell, Joseph B.

    2007-01-01

    Many organizations strive to improve performance by creating and marketing new products and/or services. Understanding why some new products and services succeed while others fail is critical to managers and marketing researchers. Diffusion of innovation theory addresses the reasons for, and rate of, the adoption of new ideas, products, and…

  20. Use of Prezi Software to Support and Expand Extension Outreach and Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elnakib, Sara

    2018-01-01

    Working with innovative technologies helps Extension professionals promote, enhance, and expand outreach. Innovative software, for example, can support educators in creating presentations that better accommodate various types of learners and appeal to new audiences. This article highlights one such technology: Prezi. Prezi is a free software…

  1. Business Model Innovation: A Blueprint for Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flanagan, Christine

    2012-01-01

    Business model innovation is one of the most challenging components of 21st-century leadership. Making incremental improvements to a business model--creating new efficiencies, expanding into adjacent markets--is hard enough. Developing and experimenting with new business models that truly transform how an institution delivers value (while…

  2. ADDENDUM TO SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION PROGRAM TECHNOLOGY PROFILES, TENTH EDITION, VOLUME 1 - DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program, now in its thirteenth year, is an integral part of EPA's research into alternative cleanup methods for hazardous waste sites around the nation. The SITE Program was created to encourage the development and routine us...

  3. Creating Connections: College Innovations in Flexibility, Access and Participation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Further Education Development Agency, London (England).

    This document contains 14 papers explaining how 12 further education colleges in the United Kingdom used fellowship funds to maximize their use of current information and learning technologies and make other substantial innovations to improve their flexibility, accessibility, and rates of participation. The following papers are included:…

  4. Networked but No System: Educational Innovation among Bay Area Jewish Organizations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rubin Ross, Renee

    2017-01-01

    A widely read article from this journal explores innovative Jewish educational programs, initiatives, and organizations, arguing that these share a comdmitment to being "learner-centered" and recommending that a system be created to foster collaboration among them (Woocher, 2012). Using five San Francisco Bay Area-based…

  5. Implementation of Innovation to Improving Leadership Skill of TVET Student

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hassan, Nur Farha; Sanusi, Amanina binti Muhamad

    2015-01-01

    Leadership is influencing activities, directing ability, the ability to create, process, influencing, directing effort, power relationships, ability to convince, persuade art, the way a person has influence and get someone else to do something. The innovative systems, tools, and thinking are essential for organizational health and future…

  6. Use of Blackboard Collaborate for Creation of a Video Course Library

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitzova-Vladinov, Greta; Bizzio-Knott, Rossana; Hooshmand, Mary; Hauglum, Shayne; Aziza, Khitam

    2017-01-01

    This case study examines an innovative way the Blackboard Collaborate video conferencing learning platform was used to record graduate student presentations for creating a course library utilized in individualized student teaching. The presentation recordings evolved into an innovative strategy for providing feedback and ultimately improvement in…

  7. Fermilab Friends for Science Education | Support Us

    Science.gov Websites

    economy are driven by scientific and technological innovations. We want a strong future and must support our future scientists and their teachers now. We need a scientifically literate and aware society create new, innovative science education programs and make the best use of unique Fermilab resources

  8. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION REPORT, LEAD IN DUST WIPE MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY, NITON LLC, X-RAY FLUORESCENCE SPECTRUM ANALYZER, XLT-700

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) design efficient processes for conducting has created the Environmental Technology perfofl1lance tests of innovative technologies. Verification Program (E TV) to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental techn...

  9. Innovations: Scientific, Technological, and Social.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gabor, Dennis

    Dr. Gabor, the inventor of holography (lenseless photography), defines "innovation" as a methodical creation of the human spirit, a novelty that once created can be usefully and repeatedly applied. He describes and evaluates 100 important technological and biological inventions that can probably be expected within the next 50 years. He also…

  10. An Examination of Faculty Innovativeness in Relation to Inductive Teaching and the Use of Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forrer, Donald A.; Wyant, Nancey A.; Gordin, Patricia C.

    2014-01-01

    The conceptual framework for this research describes the processes faculty use to create an online course that meets learning outcomes while creating a positive learning experience for the online student. This involves acceptance of technology to create a course structured for inductive learning in addition to traditional deductive learning. The…

  11. Technology for Building Systems Integration and Optimization – Landscape Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goetzler, William; Guernsey, Matt; Bargach, Youssef

    BTO's Commercial Building Integration (CBI) program helps advance a range of innovative building integration and optimization technologies and solutions, paving the way for high-performing buildings that could use 50-70% less energy than typical buildings. CBI’s work focuses on early stage technology innovation, with an emphasis on how components and systems work together and how whole buildings are integrated and optimized. This landscape study outlines the current body of knowledge, capabilities, and the broader array of solutions supporting integration and optimization in commercial buildings. CBI seeks to support solutions for both existing buildings and new construction, which often present very differentmore » challenges.« less

  12. How far will a behaviourally flexible invasive bird go to innovate?

    PubMed Central

    Logan, Corina J.

    2016-01-01

    Behavioural flexibility is considered a key factor in the ability to adapt to changing environments. A traditional way of characterizing behavioural flexibility is to determine whether individuals invent solutions to novel problems, termed innovativeness. Great-tailed grackles are behaviourally flexible in that they can change their preferences when a task changes using existing behaviours; however, it is unknown how far they will go to invent solutions to novel problems. To begin to answer this question, I gave grackles two novel tests that a variety of other species can perform: stick tool use and string pulling. No grackle used a stick to access out-of-reach food, even after seeing a human demonstrate the solution. No grackle spontaneously pulled a vertically oriented string, but one did pull a horizontally oriented string twice. Additionally, a third novel test was previously conducted on these individuals and it was found that no grackle spontaneously dropped stones down a platform apparatus to release food, but six out of eight did become proficient after training. These results support the idea that behavioural flexibility is a multi-faceted trait because grackles are flexible, but not particularly innovative. This contradicts the idea that behavioural flexibility and innovativeness are interchangeable terms. PMID:27429781

  13. A framework to overcome barriers to green innovation in SMEs using BWM and Fuzzy TOPSIS.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Himanshu; Barua, Mukesh Kumar

    2018-08-15

    Recent years have witnessed a significant rise in exploring the barriers which obstruct adoption of green practices by SMEs. There is a constant need to innovate in terms of products, processes, and management so that we can overcome these barriers to green practices adoption and implementation. This study employs a three-phase methodology to identify barriers and solutions to overcome these barriers to green innovation in SMEs. Through extensive literature review and the opinion of selective manager's, seven main category barriers, thirty-six sub-category barriers, and twenty solutions to overcome these barriers were identified. BWM is used to rank these barriers and Fuzzy TOPSIS is used to rank solutions to overcome these barriers. Four Indian SMEs are taken to exemplify the proposed three paged model. To check the robustness of the model, a sensitivity analysis was also performed. The results of the analysis can act as a stepping stone for SME managers to eliminate and overcome barriers to green innovation in their firm and compete healthily in the market. The paper sets a framework for future studies in this area of research-work. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Educational Innovation as a Process of Coalition-Building: A Study of Organizational Decision-Making. Volume I: Analysis and Conclusions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambright, W. Henry; And Others

    Local school districts must strengthen their innovative capacity in order to respond effectively to the problems facing them. Success depends on both an organization's technical capacity to match problems with appropriate solutions and its political capacity to move an innovation through the process from adoption to incorporation. Research shows…

  15. Ideation Training via Innovation Education to Improve Students' Ethical Maturation and Social Responsibility

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thorsteinsson, Gisli

    2013-01-01

    This paper will represent the pedagogy of Innovation Education in Iceland that is a new school policy within the Icelandic school system. In Innovation Education (IE) students are trained to identify needs and problems in their environment and to find solutions: this is referred to as the process of ideation. The main aim is to improve their…

  16. Sustainability-Related Publications Calendar Years 2015- 2016

    DTIC Science & Technology

    The Center for the Advancement of Sustainability Innovations (CASI) was established by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC...and around the globe. CASI teams strive to measure sustainability innovations against the Triple Bottom Line of mission, environment, and community...CASI focuses on cost savings, innovation , collaborative solutions, and continuous learning which directly link sustainability to Army policy and guidance

  17. Perspectives on knowledge in engineering design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rasdorf, W. J.

    1985-01-01

    Various perspectives are given of the knowledge currently used in engineering design, specifically dealing with knowledge-based expert systems (KBES). Constructing an expert system often reveals inconsistencies in domain knowledge while formalizing it. The types of domain knowledge (facts, procedures, judgments, and control) differ from the classes of that knowledge (creative, innovative, and routine). The feasible tasks for expert systems can be determined based on these types and classes of knowledge. Interpretive tasks require reasoning about a task in light of the knowledge available, where generative tasks create potential solutions to be tested against constraints. Only after classifying the domain by type and level can the engineer select a knowledge-engineering tool for the domain being considered. The critical features to be weighed after classification are knowledge representation techniques, control strategies, interface requirements, compatibility with traditional systems, and economic considerations.

  18. 2007-2008 Annual Progress Report for BPA Grant Exp Restore Walla Walla River Flow

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bower, Bob

    WWBWC and its partners have been working on a wide variety of conservation and aquifer recharge related activities including: monitoring groundwater and surface water conditions, creating a geospatial database for the Walla Walla River valley (project focal area), expanding aquifer recharge testing at the HBDIC site and conducting an extensive outreach/education program by which to share the information, ideas and potential solutions to our current water management issues in this basin. This report is an outline of those activities and is accompanied by individual program-component (attached as appendices) reports for the areas that BPA is assisting to fund these on-the-groundmore » projects along with the innovative research and monitoring being done to further aquifer recharge as a water management tool for the Pacific Northwest.« less

  19. Meeting the Challenge of Chronic Conditions in a Sustainable Manner: Building on the AHC Learning.

    PubMed

    Delgado, Pedro

    2016-01-01

    The Atlantic Healthcare Collaboration for Innovation and Improvement in Chronic Disease (AHC) set out to achieve three aims: to create a patient- and family-centred approach to manage chronic diseases; to build a network of organizational, regional and provincial teams to share evidence-informed, systems-level solutions and work together to develop, implement and sustain improvement initiatives; and to promote the sustainability of the participating health systems. Important elements of all three aims were achieved and the synthesis provides a meaningful contribution to systems working to improve chronic care. This paper explores those achievements as well as some of the areas for improvement, including replicability, expanded outcome measurement, greater detail around patient and family engagement, increased focus on specific outcomes and processes, and further articulation of lessons learned and recommendations.

  20. Phylogenetic search through partial tree mixing

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Recent advances in sequencing technology have created large data sets upon which phylogenetic inference can be performed. Current research is limited by the prohibitive time necessary to perform tree search on a reasonable number of individuals. This research develops new phylogenetic algorithms that can operate on tens of thousands of species in a reasonable amount of time through several innovative search techniques. Results When compared to popular phylogenetic search algorithms, better trees are found much more quickly for large data sets. These algorithms are incorporated in the PSODA application available at http://dna.cs.byu.edu/psoda Conclusions The use of Partial Tree Mixing in a partition based tree space allows the algorithm to quickly converge on near optimal tree regions. These regions can then be searched in a methodical way to determine the overall optimal phylogenetic solution. PMID:23320449

  1. IN2 Profile: Reducing Energy Consumption through Thermolift’s Heating and Cooling System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Woods, Jason; Schwartz, Paul

    Through the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) program, Thermolift will have the opportunity to take their natural gas based air conditioning and heat pump technology and apply it to commercial and residential applications, and reduce fuel consumption between 30-50% while helping to balance the energy grid demand. The IN² program launched in October 2014 and is part of Wells Fargo’s 2020 Environmental Commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities. The goal is to create an ecosystem that fosters and accelerates the commercialization of promising commercial buildings technologies that can provide scalable solutions to reduce the energy impactmore » of buildings. According to the Department of Energy, nearly 40 percent of energy consumption in the U.S. today comes from buildings at an estimated cost of $413 billion.« less

  2. IN2 Profile: Polyceed Electrochromic Window Technology Expected to Lower Energy Costs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tenent, Rob; Achour, Maha

    Through the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) program, Polyceed will validate their electrochromic window technology. The technology is expected to provide customers with 75% lower cost than conventional dynamic windows and offer small residences $200 a year of cost savings for energy consumption. The IN² program launched in October 2014 and is part of Wells Fargo’s 2020 Environmental Commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities. The goal is to create an ecosystem that fosters and accelerates the commercialization of promising commercial buildings technologies that can provide scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of buildings. According tomore » the Department of Energy, nearly 40 percent of energy consumption in the U.S. today comes from buildings at an estimated cost of $413 billion.« less

  3. Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy for Surgical Margin Evaluation During Breast Conserving Therapy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-02-01

    was connected to a 785 nm diode laser (I0785MB0350M, Innovative Photonics Solutions, Monmouth Junction, NJ) which delivered 80 mW of power to the...I0785MB0350M, Innovative Photonics Solutions, Monmouth Junction, New Jersey). The collection fibers deliv- ered light to a near-infrared-optimized...and Tecnology - calibrated tungsten-halogen lamp was used to correct the sys- tem response.29 After wavenumber binning (in 3.5 cm−1 steps given the

  4. Open Innovation Challenge in Healthcare. Role for Education.

    PubMed

    Dimitriu, Rodica; Lungeanu, Diana; Mãnescu, Cristina; Pantazi, Mirela; Mihalas, George I

    2015-01-01

    The vision of this paper is that collaboration creates new openings for engagement of non-commercial actors, such as universities, in innovation networks on the one hand, while opening up for collaborative innovation, and getting valuable real life anchors on the other hand, all these underpinned by greater connectivity and globalization. We present our approach in re-designing the courses on medical informatics and data processing to meet these challenges by employing public Internet services and media facilitation.

  5. Reply to "transforming oncology care": advancing value, accessing innovation.

    PubMed

    Paradis, Rebecca

    2015-09-01

    Alternative payment models in oncology are already successfully standardizing care, curbing costs, and improving the patient experience. Yet, it is unclear whether decision makers are adequately considering patient access to innovation when creating these models, which could have severe consequences for a robust innovation ecosystem and the lives of afflicted patients. The suggested chart includes recommendations on: Allowing for the adoption of new, promising therapies; Promoting the measurement of patient-centered outcomes; and Providing support for personalized medicine.

  6. International "best practices" in health care: the roles of context and innovation.

    PubMed

    Goes, Jim; Savage, Grant T; Friedman, Leonard H

    2015-01-01

    Explores recent approaches to international best practices and how they relate to context and innovation in health services. Critical review of existing research on best practices and how they created, diffused, and translate in the international setting. Best practices are widely used and discussed, but processes by which they are developed and diffused across international settings are not well understood. Further research is needed on innovation and dissemination of best practices internationally. This commentary points out directions for future research on innovation and diffusion of best practices, particularly in the international setting.

  7. Innovating Method of Existing Mechanical Product Based on TRIZ Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Cunyou; Shi, Dongyan; Wu, Han

    Main way of product development is adaptive design and variant design based on existing product. In this paper, conceptual design frame and its flow model of innovating products is put forward through combining the methods of conceptual design and TRIZ theory. Process system model of innovating design that includes requirement analysis, total function analysis and decomposing, engineering problem analysis, finding solution of engineering problem and primarily design is constructed and this establishes the base for innovating design of existing product.

  8. Lightweight Steel Solutions for Automotive Industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Hong Woo; Kim, Gyosung; Park, Sung Ho

    2010-06-01

    Recently, improvement in fuel efficiency and safety has become the biggest issue in worldwide automotive industry. Although the regulation of environment and safety has been tightened up more and more, the majority of vehicle bodies are still manufactured from stamped steel components. This means that the optimized steel solutions enable to demonstrate its ability to reduce body weight with high crashworthiness performance instead of expensive light weight materials such as Al, Mg and composites. To provide the innovative steel solutions for automotive industry, POSCO has developed AHSS and its application technologies, which is directly connected to EVI activities. EVI is a technical cooperation program with customer covering all stages of new car project from design to mass production. Integrated light weight solutions through new forming technologies such as TWB, hydroforming and HPF are continuously developed and provided for EVI activities. This paper will discuss the detailed status of these technologies especially light weight steel solutions based on innovative technologies.

  9. How to Create Videos for Extension Education: An Innovative Five-Step Procedure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dev, Dipti A.; Blitch, Kimberly A.; Hatton-Bowers, Holly; Ramsay, Samantha; Garcia, Aileen S.

    2018-01-01

    Although the benefits of using video as a learning tool in Extension programs are well known, less is understood about effective methods for creating videos. We present a five-step procedure for developing educational videos that focus on evidence-based practices, and we provide practical examples from our use of the five steps in creating a video…

  10. Franklin Benjamin Sanborn: Human Services Innovator

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chaiklin, Harris

    2005-01-01

    In social welfare history, F. B. Sanborn is only vaguely remembered. Yet he initiated landmark programs in public welfare and institutions for the mentally ill, retarded, deaf, and criminal. He played a major role in creating and sustaining the National Conference of Charities and Corrections. His program innovations were so far ahead of his time…

  11. PhD Year 1 Students' Experience with the Educational Technology and Innovation Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Asamoah, Moses Kumi; Mackin, Eva Esi

    2016-01-01

    The advent of information, communication and new technologies, globalisation and rising costs has prompted rethinking what we teach, how we teach and even where teaching and learning take place. The Educational Technology and Innovation Course (Adlt704) was designed to enable students to create, use and manage appropriate technological processes…

  12. Facilitating Evaluations of Innovative, Competence-Based Assessments: Creating Understanding and Involving Multiple Stakeholders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gulikers, Judith T. M.; Baartman, Liesbeth K. J.; Biemans, Harm J. A.

    2010-01-01

    Schools are held more responsible for evaluating, quality assuring and improving their student assessments. Teachers' lack of understanding of new, competence-based assessments as well as the lack of key stakeholders' involvement, hamper effective and efficient self-evaluations by teachers of innovative, competence-based assessments (CBAs). While…

  13. Beyond Functionality and Technocracy: Creating Human Involvement with Educational Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Westera, Wim

    2005-01-01

    Innovation of education is highly topical. It is obviously boosted by a range of new technologies, which enable new modes of learning that, are independent of time and place through Web-based delivery and computer-mediated communication. However, innovators in education often encounter intrinsic conservatism or even deliberate obstructions. For…

  14. Determination of the Innovative Capacity of Ecuadorian Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loaiza-Aguirre, María I.; Andrade-Abarca, Paola S.; Salazar-Romero, Ángela del Cisne

    2017-01-01

    Today the Higher Education Institutions are immersed in a world of constant change, and it is necessary to adapt to this environment with skill and speed. This has forced universities to adopt practices that create or strengthen their capacity to innovate, based on the determination of factors that influence it positively. This study is centered…

  15. Innovation and Global elearning: A Case Study at Brigham Young University--Idaho

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Alan L.

    2016-01-01

    This chapter provides a case study of innovation using eLearning in higher education. The case study shows how one university made system-wide organizational and procedural changes to create low-cost, open-access distance learning opportunities on a global level in response to student needs and opportunities.

  16. Leading Education Innovations in Rural Schools: Reflections from i3 Grantees

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fox, Tom; Friedrich, Linda; Harmon, Hobart; McKithen, Clarissa; Phillips, Andie; Savell, Susan; Schaefer, Victoria; Silva, Mihiri

    2017-01-01

    The Investing in Innovation (i3) Improving Rural Achievement Community, a professional learning community of grantees under the US Department of Education's i3 program, created this document to share knowledge and experiences related to working in rural districts across the United States. Grounded in field-based experiences and lessons, it serves…

  17. Creating Institutional Space for Business Model Innovation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sheets, Robert; Crawford, Stephen

    2013-01-01

    From college campuses to the halls of Congress, there is broad agreement that higher education is experiencing a major wave of innovation. This article holds that the changes are significant, but that the resulting threats to existing institutions are manageable if key leaders understand them and if institutions adapt to the new environment. The…

  18. Using Mobile Technologies to Create Interwoven Learning Interactions: An Intuitive Design and Its Evaluation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ting, Yu-Liang

    2013-01-01

    Numerous studies have proposed and implemented various innovative designs of mobile learning practices, and several pedagogical affordances of mobile technologies in different subject domains have also been suggested. This study proposes a notion for helping instructors design an innovative mobile learning practice in their subject domain. The…

  19. Engineering the Future: The Social Necessity of Communicative Engineers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ravesteijn, Wim; De Graaff, Erik; Kroesen, Otto

    2006-01-01

    It is a long and winding road from invention to innovation. Starting from this observation, this paper presents a historical perspective on the capabilities engineers should possess to do their work. The importance of the "communicative competence" involved in creating a social base for innovation is underpinned. We will present a…

  20. The New Leadership Model of University Management for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sart, Gamze

    2014-01-01

    Problem Statement: Today's ever-changing educational environment has created a need for new leadership styles that encourage positive change and improvement. In Turkish universities, the most commonly used leadership models are the classic and/or traditional ones, which lead to stagnation in innovation and entrepreneurship. Only a limited number…

  1. Incorporating a Quality and Innovation Culture in Daily Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ibañez, Francisco; Plaza, Inmaculada; Igual, Raul; Medrano, Carlos; Arcega, Francisco

    2017-01-01

    Quality and excellence are requirements that Society demands from universities. However, several questions arise in the real-world application of these concepts: How can they be incorporated into the classrooms or laboratories? What is the proper way to create a quality and innovation culture in daily teaching? In order to answer to these…

  2. Unleashing Waves of Innovation: Transformative Broadband for America's Future. Version 18

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2009

    2009-01-01

    A forward-thinking National Broadband Strategy should focus on the transformative power of advanced networks to unleash new waves of innovation, jobs, economic growth, and national competitiveness. Such a strategy should create new tools to deliver health care, education, and a low carbon economy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act…

  3. SBIR and STTR Programs: The Private Sector, Public Sector and University Trifecta

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ford, Bryan K.; Sander, Erik; Shino, Kathleen J.; Hardin, J. Michael

    2008-01-01

    The process of creating and transitioning the storehouse of university research and development to commercial products is by its nature a true partnership of great university innovators, experienced entrepreneurs and adequate funding sources. In the United States, the process of university innovation to commercialization begins deep in university…

  4. University Knowledge Production and Innovation: Getting a Grip

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Rooij, Arjan

    2014-01-01

    Today universities are increasingly seen as motors of innovation: they not only need to provide trained manpower and publications to society, but also new products, new processes and new services that create firms, jobs, and economic growth. This function of universities is controversial, and a huge and still expanding literature has tried to…

  5. Supporting Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Higher Education in Hungary. OECD Skills Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    OECD Publishing, 2017

    2017-01-01

    This report presents evidence-based analysis of current strategies and practices in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Hungary towards a value-creating use of knowledge resources for innovation and entrepreneurship. The analysis and recommendations are highly relevant for policy makers and HEI leaders in other countries. Increased attention…

  6. Software Innovations: The Influence of Quality, Diversity and Structure of Network Ties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singh, Harpeet

    2010-01-01

    There is high uncertainty associated with the outcomes of Information Technology (IT) investments and innovations. In such environments, IT actors (firm and individuals) are also unsure about their actions and preferences. The social relationships of these actors create substantial value for these actors in multiple ways (e.g. providing social…

  7. Handbook on Personalized Learning for States, Districts, and Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphy, Marilyn, Ed.; Redding, Sam, Ed.; Twyman, Janet S., Ed.

    2016-01-01

    The "Handbook on Innovations in Learning", published in 2014, responded to a call by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to "leverage the innovation and ingenuity this nation is known for to create programs and projects that every school can implement to succeed." In December 2015, passage of the "Every Student Succeeds…

  8. Helping Preservice Teachers (PSTs) Understand the Realities of Poverty: Innovative Curriculum Modules

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cho, Moon-Heum; Convertino, Christina; Khourey-Bowers, Claudia

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop an innovative addition to the curriculum to help preservice teachers cultivate an understanding of poverty. Using technology, an interdisciplinary team created two online learning modules entitled Teacher as Learning Facilitator and Teacher as Anthropologist. Preservice teachers valued the newly developed…

  9. Straight from the Horse(Man)'s Mouth: Innovative 4-H Camps

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kurtzo, Fawn; Edgar, Leslie D.; Graham, Donna L.; Russell, Mark

    2017-01-01

    As 4-H evolves to include a wide breadth of youths' modern interests, innovative educational opportunities and evaluation practices become necessary. Horsemanship and safety-based horse camps were created in response to a statewide challenge to develop competitive 4-H members and retain those members as they approach adolescence. This article…

  10. Creating and Sustaining Successful K-8 Magnet Schools. Innovations in Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    US Department of Education, 2008

    2008-01-01

    Magnet schools have developed strong national and local constituencies among parents and educators, who see them as vehicles for bringing equity and academic excellence to all students. Typically, these schools offer innovative programs through a specialized focus or theme. They may emphasize subjects like science or the arts, or they may adopt…

  11. Decision-Makers As Messengers Of Climate Change Impacts And Ambassadors For Their Communities.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boudrias, M. A.; DeBenedict, C.; Bruce, L.; Estrada, M.; Hedge, N.; Silva-Send, N. J.

    2016-12-01

    Over the past several years there have been many coordinated efforts to improve climate change literacy of diverse audiences. The challenge has been to balance science content with audience-specific messaging with a goal to reach solutions and build community resilience. In the San Diego Region, Climate Education Partners (CEP) has been working with business leaders, elected officials, tribal leaders, and other community leaders to develop a suite of programs and activities to enhance the channels of communication outside traditional settings. CEP has employed a multidisciplinary approach that integrates climate science, social and learning sciences and effective communication strategies to create innovative resources and new approaches to climate change communication in order to engage audiences more effectively. We have interviewed over 140 key San Diego leaders and invited them to serve as ambassadors to the project by engaging them directly in the creation of a variety of innovative educational resources as well as serving as spokespersons for outreach activities. Our program has evolved from having only scientists, educators and community practitioners serve as presenters to strategically and deliberately engaging a mix of scientists, educators and decision makers as the conveyers of key messages. Our protocol for events includes preparing all speakers in advance, researching our audience, creating a script, immediate debriefs of each activity and a qualitative and quantitative assessment of each event. Two examples of this integrated approach will show how to engage decision-makers more deeply: (1) coastal flooding tour as a place-based activity and (2) impact videos that blend climate science, local personal stories and key messages from decision makers themselves. For climate change communication to be successful in the future, we will need creative and coordinated approaches.

  12. Examining the need & potential for biomedical engineering to strengthen health care delivery for displaced populations & victims of conflict.

    PubMed

    Nadkarni, Devika; Elhajj, Imad; Dawy, Zaher; Ghattas, Hala; Zaman, Muhammad H

    2017-01-01

    Conflict and the subsequent displacement of populations creates unique challenges in the delivery of quality health care to the affected population. Equitable access to quality care demands a multi-pronged strategy with a growing need, and role, for technological innovation to address these challenges. While there have been significant contributions towards alleviating the burden of conflict via data informatics and analytics, communication technology, and geographic information systems, little has been done within biomedical engineering. This article elaborates on the causes for gaps in biomedical innovation for refugee populations affected by conflict, tackles preconceived notions, takes stock of recent developments in promising technologies to address these challenges, and identifies tangible action items to create a stronger and sustainable pipeline for biomedical technological innovation to improve the health and well-being of an increasing group of vulnerable people around the world.

  13. The application of welat latino for creating paes in solo wedding bride

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ihsani, Ade Novi Nurul; Krisnawati, Maria; Prasetyaningtyas, Wulansari; Anggraeni, Puput; Bela, Herlina Tria; Zunaedah, Putri Wahyu

    2018-03-01

    The purposes of this research were: 1) to find out the process of creating innovative welat, 2) to find out how to use innovative welat for Solo wedding bride paes creation. The method used in the research was research and development (R & D). Sampling technique in this research was purposive sampling by using 13 people as models. The data collection technique used observation and documentation. Data analysis technique used descriptive technique. The results of the study showed that 1) there were two times design change of the validity of welat creation, each product passed through several stages of designing, forming, determining the material and printing, 3) the first way of using the welat determined the distance dot between the cengkorongan of both forms by using welat according to the existed mold. In conclusion, Innovative welat can produce paes in accordance with the standard and shorten the process.

  14. Biorefineries - New Green Strategy For Development Of Smart And Innovative Industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Płaza, Grażyna A.; Wandzich, Dorota

    2016-09-01

    Ecological engineering or ecotechnology is defined as the design of sustainable production that integrate human society with the natural environment for the benefit of both. In order to reach the goal of sustainability therefore important that bioproduct production systems are converted from to natural cycle oriented. In natural cycles there are not waste, but products are generated at different stages of the cycle. The ecotechnology creates a sustainable bioeconomy using biomass in a smart and efficient way. The biorefining sector, which uses smart, innovative and efficient technologies to convert biomass feedstocks into a range of bio-based products including fuels, chemicals, power, food, and renewable oils, currently presents the innovative and efficient bio-based production can revitalize existing industries. The paper presents the concept of biorefinery as the ecotechnological approach for creating a sustainable bioeconomy using biomass in a smart and efficient way.

  15. Design of Chemistry Teacher Education Course on Nature of Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vesterinen, Veli-Matti; Aksela, Maija

    2013-09-01

    To enhance students' understanding of nature of science (NOS), teachers need adequate pedagogical content knowledge related to NOS. The educational design research study presented here describes the design and development of a pre-service chemistry teacher education course on NOS instruction. The study documents two iterative cycles of problem analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation. The main aims of the study were (1) to create an in-depth and detailed description of the process used in the development of the course and the design solutions produced, and (2) to evaluate how the design solutions affected participants' commitment to teach NOS. Based on the problem analysis based on challenges recognized from the previous research, three design solutions were produced: (1) definition of central dimensions of domain-specific NOS for chemistry education, (2) teaching cycle for explicit and structured opportunities for reflection and discussion, and (3) design assignments to translate NOS understanding into classroom practice. The major data-sources used in the evaluation of the design solutions were the four in-depth interviews conducted after the course. Based on the evaluation, the design solutions supported internalizing understanding of NOS and transforming the understanding to instruction. Supporting the implementation of new innovative teaching practices such as NOS instruction in pre-service teacher education is a challenge. However, the success of the participants in implementing NOS instruction demonstrates, that a pre-service teacher education course can be successful in producing early adopters of NOS instruction and thus might be one of the first steps in injecting NOS instruction into the curriculum.

  16. U.S. Government Initiatives in Afghanistan: An Application of Diffusion of Innovations Theory

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-05-17

    current plight. First, polygamy led to rivalries and struggles for power among offspring, which created instability and disunity within the country.45...Secondly, foreign interference further weakened already feeble domestic structures. The foreign intervention and the rivalries created by polygamy

  17. Promoting Undergraduate Research through Integrative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Elise C.

    2017-01-01

    Educators in higher education often seek innovative pedagogies to include in their classrooms. This article describes an integrative learning experience and details the planning, implementation, considerations, and benefits of creating a major-specific undergraduate research day. The event created an opportunity for students to gain confidence and…

  18. Holopoetry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kac, Eduardo

    1996-01-01

    Discusses a new poetic language invented in 1983 based on innovative use of the holographic medium. Defines what a holopoem is and explains the fundamental concepts of holopoetics. Introduces theoretical principles that address the new readerly experience created by the holotext. Provides a descriptive list of all holopoems created to date. (PA)

  19. Two innovative solutions based on fibre concrete blocks designed for building substructure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pazderka, J.; Hájek, P.

    2017-09-01

    Using of fibers in a high-strength concrete allows reduction of the dimensions of small precast concrete elements, which opens up new ways of solution for traditional construction details in buildings. The paper presents two innovative technical solutions for building substructure: The special shaped plinth block from fibre concrete and the fibre concrete elements for new technical solution of ventilated floor. The main advantages of plinth block from fibre concrete blocks (compared with standard plinth solutions) is: easier and faster assembly, higher durability and thanks to the air cavity between the vertical part of the block, the building substructure reduced moisture level of structures under the waterproofing layer and a comprehensive solution to the final surface of building plinth as well as the surface of adjacent terrain. The ventilated floor based on fibre concrete precast blocks is an attractive structural alternative for tackling the problem of increased moisture in masonry in older buildings, lacking a functional waterproof layer in the substructure.

  20. Mapping Social Ecological Systems Archetypes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rocha, J. C.; Malmborg, K.; Gordon, L.

    2016-12-01

    Achieving sustainable development goals requires targeting and monitoring sustainable solutions tailored to different social and ecological contexts. Elinor Ostrom stressed that there is no panaceas or universal solutions to environmental problems, and developed a social-ecological systems' (SES) framework -a nested multi tier set of variables- to help diagnose problems, identify complex interactions, and solutions tailored to each SES arena. However, to our knowledge, the SES framework has only been applied to over a hundred cases, and typically reflect the analysis of local case studies with relatively small coverage in space and time. While case studies are context rich and necessary, their conclusions might not reach policy making instances. Here we develop a data driven method for upscaling Ostrom's SES framework and applied to a context where we expect data is scarce, incomplete, but also where sustainable solutions are badly needed. The purpose of upscaling the framework is to create a tool that facilitates decision making on data scarce environments such as developing countries. We mapped SES by applying the SES framework to poverty alleviation and food security issues in the Volta River basin in Ghana and Burkina Faso. We found archetypical configurations of SES in space given data availability, we study their change over time, and discuss where agricultural innovations such as water reservoirs might have a stronger impact at increasing food security and therefore alleviating poverty and hunger. We conclude outlining how the method can be used in other SES comparative studies.

  1. Accelerating innovation in information and communication technology for health.

    PubMed

    Crean, Kevin W

    2010-02-01

    Around the world, inventors are creating novel information and communication technology applications and systems that can improve health for people in disparate settings. However, it is very difficult to find investment funding needed to create business models to expand and develop the prototype technologies. A comprehensive, long-term investment strategy for e-health and m-health is needed. The field of social entrepreneurship offers an integrated approach to develop needed investment models, so that innovations can reach more patients, more effectively. Specialized financing techniques and sustained support from investors can spur the expansion of mature technologies to larger markets, accelerating global health impacts.

  2. Fuzzy Neuron: Method and Hardware Realization

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Krasowski, Michael J.; Prokop, Norman F.

    2014-01-01

    This innovation represents a method by which single-to-multi-input, single-to-many-output system transfer functions can be estimated from input/output data sets. This innovation can be run in the background while a system is operating under other means (e.g., through human operator effort), or may be utilized offline using data sets created from observations of the estimated system. It utilizes a set of fuzzy membership functions spanning the input space for each input variable. Linear combiners associated with combinations of input membership functions are used to create the output(s) of the estimator. Coefficients are adjusted online through the use of learning algorithms.

  3. Crowdsourcing biomedical research: leveraging communities as innovation engines

    PubMed Central

    Saez-Rodriguez, Julio; Costello, James C.; Friend, Stephen H.; Kellen, Michael R.; Mangravite, Lara; Meyer, Pablo; Norman, Thea; Stolovitzky, Gustavo

    2018-01-01

    The generation of large-scale biomedical data is creating unprecedented opportunities for basic and translational science. Typically, the data producers perform initial analyses, but it is very likely that the most informative methods may reside with other groups. Crowdsourcing the analysis of complex and massive data has emerged as a framework to find robust methodologies. When the crowdsourcing is done in the form of collaborative scientific competitions, known as Challenges, the validation of the methods is inherently addressed. Challenges also encourage open innovation, create collaborative communities to solve diverse and important biomedical problems, and foster the creation and dissemination of well-curated data repositories. PMID:27418159

  4. Crowdsourcing biomedical research: leveraging communities as innovation engines.

    PubMed

    Saez-Rodriguez, Julio; Costello, James C; Friend, Stephen H; Kellen, Michael R; Mangravite, Lara; Meyer, Pablo; Norman, Thea; Stolovitzky, Gustavo

    2016-07-15

    The generation of large-scale biomedical data is creating unprecedented opportunities for basic and translational science. Typically, the data producers perform initial analyses, but it is very likely that the most informative methods may reside with other groups. Crowdsourcing the analysis of complex and massive data has emerged as a framework to find robust methodologies. When the crowdsourcing is done in the form of collaborative scientific competitions, known as Challenges, the validation of the methods is inherently addressed. Challenges also encourage open innovation, create collaborative communities to solve diverse and important biomedical problems, and foster the creation and dissemination of well-curated data repositories.

  5. Customised 3D Printing: An Innovative Training Tool for the Next Generation of Orbital Surgeons.

    PubMed

    Scawn, Richard L; Foster, Alex; Lee, Bradford W; Kikkawa, Don O; Korn, Bobby S

    2015-01-01

    Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is the process by which three dimensional data fields are translated into real-life physical representations. 3D printers create physical printouts using heated plastics in a layered fashion resulting in a three-dimensional object. We present a technique for creating customised, inexpensive 3D orbit models for use in orbital surgical training using 3D printing technology. These models allow trainee surgeons to perform 'wet-lab' orbital decompressions and simulate upcoming surgeries on orbital models that replicate a patient's bony anatomy. We believe this represents an innovative training tool for the next generation of orbital surgeons.

  6. Infographic Development by Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Students: An Innovative Technology-Based Approach to Public Health Education.

    PubMed

    Falk, Nancy L

    Health communications and baccalaureate nursing education are increasingly impacted by new technological tools. This article describes how an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program incorporates an infographic assignment into a graduate-level online health information and technology course. Students create colorful, engaging infographics using words and visuals to communicate public health information. The assignment, which incorporates the use of data and evidence, provides students the opportunity to acquire new research and technology skills while gaining confidence creating and innovating. The finished products may be disseminated, serving as vehicles to influence public health and well-being.

  7. National Systems of Innovation and Technological Differentiation:. a Multi-Country Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ribeiro, Leonardo C.; Ruiz, Ricardo M.; Albuquerque, Eduardo M.; Bernardes, Américo T.

    Science and technology have a fundamental role in the economic development. Although this statement is generally well accepted, the internal mechanisms which are responsible for these interactions are not clear. In the last decade, dealing with this problem, many models have been proposed. In this paper, we introduce a model that creates an artificial world economy that is a network of countries. Each country has its own national system of innovation and the interactions between countries are given by functions that connect the competitiveness of their prices and their technological capabilities. Starting from different configurations, the artificial world economy self-organizes itself and creates a hierarchies of countries.

  8. Imitate or innovate? Children's innovation is influenced by the efficacy of observed behaviour.

    PubMed

    Carr, Kayleigh; Kendal, Rachel L; Flynn, Emma G

    2015-09-01

    This study investigated the age at which children judge it futile to imitate unreliable information, in the form of a visibly ineffective demonstrated solution, and deviate to produce novel solutions ('innovations'). Children aged 4-9 years were presented with a novel puzzle box, the Multiple-Methods Box (MMB), which offered multiple innovation opportunities to extract a reward using different tools, access points and exits. 209 children were assigned to conditions in which eight social demonstrations of a reward retrieval method were provided; each condition differed incrementally in terms of the method's efficacy (0%, 25%, 75%, and 100% success at extracting the reward). An additional 47 children were assigned to a no-demonstration control condition. Innovative reward extractions from the MMB increased with decreasing efficacy of the demonstrated method. However, imitation remained a widely used strategy irrespective of the efficacy of the method being reproduced (90% of children produced at least one imitative attempt, and imitated on an average of 4.9 out of 8 attempt trials). Children were more likely to innovate in relation to the tool than exit, even though the latter would have been more effective. Overall, innovation was rare: only 12.4% of children innovated by discovering at least one novel reward exit. Children's prioritisation of social information is consistent with theories of cultural evolution indicating imitation is a prepotent response following observation of behaviour, and that innovation is a rarity; so much so, that even maladaptive behaviour is copied. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES EVALUATION (SITE) PROGRAM FOR MONITORING AND CHARACTERIZATION TECHNOLOGIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This task seeks to identify high priority needs of the Regions and Program Offices for innovative field sampling, characterization, monitoring, and measurement technologies. When an appropriate solution to a specific problem is identified, a field demonstration is conducted to d...

  10. Advancing Health Professions Education Research by Creating a Network of Networks.

    PubMed

    Carney, Patricia A; Brandt, Barbara; Dekhtyar, Michael; Holmboe, Eric S

    2018-02-27

    Producing the best evidence to show educational outcomes, such as competency achievement and credentialing effectiveness, across the health professions education continuum will require large multisite research projects and longitudinal studies. Current limitations that must be overcome to reach this goal include the prevalence of single-institution study designs, assessments of a single curricular component, and cross-sectional study designs that provide only a snapshot in time of a program or initiative rather than a longitudinal perspective.One solution to overcoming these limitations is to develop a network of networks that collaborates, using longitudinal approaches, across health professions and regions of the United States. Currently, individual networks are advancing educational innovation toward understanding the effectiveness of educational and credentialing programs. Examples of such networks include: (1) the American Medical Association's Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative, (2) the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, and (3) the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's Accreditation System. In this Invited Commentary, the authors briefly profile these existing networks, identify their progress and the challenges they have encountered, and propose a vigorous way forward toward creating a national network of networks designed to determine the effectiveness of health professions education and credentialing.

  11. Globalisation and climate change in Asia: the urban health impact.

    PubMed

    Munslow, Barry; O'Dempsey, Tim

    2010-01-01

    Asia's economic development successes will create new policy areas to address, as the advances made through globalisation create greater climate change challenges, particularly the impact on urban health. Poverty eradication and higher standards of living both increase demand on resources. Globalisation increases inequalities and those who are currently the losers will carry the greatest burden of the costs in the form of the negative effects of climate change and the humanitarian crises that will ensue. Of four major climate change challenges affecting the environment and health, two—urban air pollution and waste management—can be mitigated by policy change and technological innovation if sufficient resources are allocated. Because of the urban bias in the development process, these challenges will probably register on policy makers' agenda. The second two major challenges—floods and drought—are less amenable to policy and technological solutions: many humanitarian emergency challenges lie ahead. This article describes the widely varying impact of both globalisation and climate change across Asia. The greatest losers are those who flee one marginal location, the arid inland areas, only to settle in another marginal location in the flood prone coastal slums. Effective preparation is required, and an effective response when subsequent humanitarian crises occur.

  12. Translating Knowledge: Promoting Health Through Intergenerational Community Arts Programming.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Sharon; Fast, Janet; Keating, Norah; Eales, Jacquie; Chivers, Sally; Barnet, David

    2016-03-01

    Intergenerational programs have been touted to address the generation gaps and isolation of older adults. Mutual contact alone has produced mixed results, but attention to the intergenerational program content demonstrates well-being benefits. This practice-based article examines the benefits of creating and performing ensemble-created plays to older adults' and university students' well-being and the key processes that promote well-being. This community participatory research project involved older adults as researchers as well as research subjects. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted by two trained interviewers with older adults (n = 15) and university students (n = 17). Professional dramaturgical processes of storytelling, reminiscence, and playfulness were key elements in participants' generative learning. They augmented older adults' and university students' ability to understand their situations and try innovative solutions. Skills such as openness, flexibility, and adaptation transferred into students' and older adults' daily lives. Participating in this intergenerational theatre group reduced ageism and improved intergenerational relationships. It increased older adults' and university students' well-being by building social networks, confidence, and self-esteem and developed a sense of social justice, empathy, and support for others. © 2016 Society for Public Health Education.

  13. An Innovative Method for Obtaining Consistent Images and Quantification of Histochemically Stained Specimens

    PubMed Central

    Sedgewick, Gerald J.; Ericson, Marna

    2015-01-01

    Obtaining digital images of color brightfield microscopy is an important aspect of biomedical research and the clinical practice of diagnostic pathology. Although the field of digital pathology has had tremendous advances in whole-slide imaging systems, little effort has been directed toward standardizing color brightfield digital imaging to maintain image-to-image consistency and tonal linearity. Using a single camera and microscope to obtain digital images of three stains, we show that microscope and camera systems inherently produce image-to-image variation. Moreover, we demonstrate that post-processing with a widely used raster graphics editor software program does not completely correct for session-to-session inconsistency. We introduce a reliable method for creating consistent images with a hardware/software solution (ChromaCal™; Datacolor Inc., NJ) along with its features for creating color standardization, preserving linear tonal levels, providing automated white balancing and setting automated brightness to consistent levels. The resulting image consistency using this method will also streamline mean density and morphometry measurements, as images are easily segmented and single thresholds can be used. We suggest that this is a superior method for color brightfield imaging, which can be used for quantification and can be readily incorporated into workflows. PMID:25575568

  14. Energy Access Solutions Advance Gender Mainstreaming in West African States

    Science.gov Websites

    | Integrated Energy Solutions | NREL Energy Access Solutions Advance Gender Mainstreaming in West African States Energy Access Solutions Advance Gender Mainstreaming in West African States Under a expertise to an innovative policy that not only supports women in energy, but also helps bring clean energy

  15. A Blueprint for Innovation to Achieve Health System Transformation.

    PubMed

    Snowdon, Anne W

    2017-01-01

    Global health systems are challenged by escalating costs and growing demands for care created by the demands of aging populations and rising rates of chronic illness which place unsustainable pressure on health systems to meet population health needs. To overcome these challenges, transformational change is needed to strengthen health system performance and sustainability. Innovation is widely viewed as the strategy to drive transformational change in health systems; yet to date, innovation has lacked a clearly defined focus or agenda to achieve transformation. An actionable innovation agenda is needed to achieve transformational change for health systems. The key conditions for success as an innovation strategy are examined, including clearly defined innovation objectives, key milestones, and actionable steps every system stakeholder must pursue in order to guide the innovation agenda and ultimately accelerate the transformational changes needed for a sustainable healthcare system that delivers value to populations.

  16. Creating Quality Media Materials.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hortin, John A.; Bailey, Gerald D.

    1982-01-01

    Innovation, imagination, and student creativity are key ingredients in creating quality media materials for the small school. Student-produced media materials, slides without a camera, personalized slide programs and copy work, self-made task cards, self-made overhead transparencies, graphic materials, and utilization of the mass media are some of…

  17. Innovative multi-cantilever array sensor system with MOEMS read-out

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ivaldi, F.; Bieniek, T.; Janus, P.; Grabiec, P.; Majstrzyk, W.; Kopiec, D.; Gotszalk, T.

    2016-11-01

    Cantilever based sensor system are a well-established sensor family exploited in several every-day life applications as well as in high-end research areas. The very high sensitivity of such systems and the possibility to design and functionalize the cantilevers to create purpose built and highly selective sensors have increased the interest of the scientific community and the industry in further exploiting this promising sensors type. Optical deflection detection systems for cantilever sensors provide a reliable, flexible method for reading information from cantilevers with the highest sensitivity. However the need of using multi-cantilever arrays in several fields of application such as medicine, biology or safety related areas, make the optical method less suitable due to its structural complexity. Working in the frame of a the Joint Undertaking project Lab4MEMS II our group proposes a novel and innovative approach to solve this issue, by integrating a Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-System (MOEMS) with dedicated optics, electronics and software with a MOEMS micro-mirror, ultimately developed in the frame of Lab4MEMSII. In this way we are able to present a closely packed, lightweight solution combining the advantages of standard optical read-out systems with the possibility of recording multiple read-outs from large cantilever arrays quasi simultaneously.

  18. Creating an "Education Shark Tank" to Encourage and Support Educational Scholarship and Innovation.

    PubMed

    Cofrancesco, Joseph; Wright, Scott M; Vohr, Eric; Ziegelstein, Roy C

    2017-11-01

    Creating and supporting opportunities for innovation that showcase and reward creativity in medical and biomedical education is critically important for academic institutions, learners, and faculty. In 2014, the Institute for Excellence in Education at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine created a small grant program called Education Shark Tank, in which two to five finalist teams present their proposals on innovative initiatives to improve education to four or five senior educator "sharks" at an educational conference, with an audience. The sharks then "grill" the presenters, considering which if any to fund, focusing on the rationale, feasibility, appropriateness of the outcome measures, evaluation and assessment plan, and proposed method of dissemination. They also make suggestions that challenge the presenters to assess and improve their designs. In the program's first year (2014), funds were divided equally between two projects, both of which were successfully completed and one of which led to a journal publication; this led to increased funding for the program in 2015. Participants have called Education Shark Tank a "challenging and rewarding experience." Education Shark Tank can facilitate educational innovation and scholarship via engaging and challenging interactions between grant applicants and reviewers in a public venue. The authors plan to conduct a five-year survey (after 2018) of all Education Shark Tank finalists to determine the success and challenges the funded projects have had, what scholarly dissemination has occurred, whether nonfunded projects were able to move forward, and the value of the feedback and mentoring received.

  19. Using the crowd as an innovation partner.

    PubMed

    Boudreau, Kevin J; Lakhani, Karim R

    2013-04-01

    From Apple to Merck to Wikipedia, more and more organizations are turning to crowds for help in solving their most vexing innovation and research questions, but managers remain understandably cautious. It seems risky and even unnatural to push problems out to vast groups of strangers distributed around the world, particularly for companies built on a history of internal innovation. How can intellectual property be protected? How can a crowd-sourced solution be integrated into corporate operations? What about the costs? These concerns are all reasonable, the authors write, but excluding crowdsourcing from the corporate innovation tool kit means losing an opportunity. After a decade of study, they have identified when crowds tend to outperform internal organizations (or not). They outline four ways to tap into crowd-powered problem solving--contests, collaborative communities, complementors, and labor markets--and offer a system for picking the best one in a given situation. Contests, for example, are suited to highly challenging technical, analytical, and scientific problems; design problems; and creative or aesthetic projects. They are akin to running a series of independent experiments that generate multiple solutions--and if those solutions cluster at some extreme, a company can gain insight into where a problem's "technical frontier" lies. (Internal R&D may generate far less information.)

  20. Closing the Gap: Principal Perspectives on an Innovative School-Based Mental Health Intervention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blackman, Kate F.; Powers, Joelle D.; Edwards, Jeffrey D.; Wegmann, Kate M.; Lechner, Ethan; Swick, Danielle C.

    2016-01-01

    Mental health needs among children in the United States have significant consequences for children and their families, as well as the schools that serve them. This qualitative study evaluated the second year of an innovative school-based mental health project that created a multi-system partnership between an urban school district, a public mental…

  1. What Discourages Students from Engaging with Innovative Instructional Methods: Creating a Barrier Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ellis, Donna E.

    2015-01-01

    When faculty members choose to implement instructional methods that are learning-centred, this may represent a change for students; and some resist engaging. In this exploratory case study research, 172 students shared what discourages them from being willing to engage with these innovative methods that aim to facilitate their learning.…

  2. Creating Interactive Web-Based Environments to Scaffold Creative Reasoning and Meaningful Learning: From Physics to Products

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jou, Min; Chuang, Chien-Pen; Wu, Yu-Shiang

    2010-01-01

    With the evolution of the surrounding world market, engineers have to propose innovations in products and processes. Industrial innovation frequently results from an improved understanding of basic physics. In this paper, an approach to accelerate inventive preliminary design is presented. This method combines the main advantages of CBR (Case…

  3. ICT-Based Learning Personalization Affordance in the Context of Implementation of Constructionist Learning Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ignatova, Natalija; Dagiene, Valentina; Kubilinskiene, Svetlana

    2015-01-01

    How to enable students to create a personalized learning environment? What are the criteria of evaluation of the ICT-based learning process personalization affordance? These questions are answered by conducting multiple case study research of the innovative ICT-based learning process in iTEC (Innovative Technologies for Engaging Classrooms)…

  4. Knowledge Diffusion in the Context of Development in Rural Areas. Keynote Address.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martinez-Brawley, Emilia E.

    This paper analyzes principles of knowledge diffusion and provides a framework for applying new ideas or innovations, particularly in relation to rural community development. As new knowledge is created or old knowledge is found to have new applications, the art of spreading knowledge and managing innovation has become more crucial in both urban…

  5. New York City's iZone. CRPE Working Paper #2011-1

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lake, Robin; Gross, Betheny

    2011-01-01

    Can public schools learn to embrace innovation and employ cutting edge technology to solve students' most persistent learning problems? In 2010, New York City's Department of Education (NYCDOE) created the Innovation Zone (iZone) to try to accomplish just that. This report reflects the findings of a CRPE study of the iZone, its goals and…

  6. Innovative Physics Teaching Conferences in the Czech Republic

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milbrandt, Rod

    2010-01-01

    Even today, with all of the instant communication technologies available, we are still often unaware of all that happens in other parts of the world. In the middle of Europe, in the Czech Republic, physics teachers have created a couple of innovative conferences--or "workshops" might be a better term. Having attended two of each, I think…

  7. Negotiating Professional and Personal Biographies in a Liquid World: Creating Space for Reflexive Innovation in Career Counselling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reid, Hazel; West, Linden

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores the constraints to innovative, creative and reflexive careers counselling in an uncertain neo-liberal world. We draw on previously reported research into practitioners' use of a narrative model for career counselling interviews in England and a Europe-wide auto/biographical narrative study of non-traditional learners in…

  8. The Paradox of the Diffusion of Innovations Research: Creating More Communication Bottlenecks Than Breaking Them.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Melkote, Srinivas R.; Babbili, Anantha S.

    The paradox of the diffusion of innovations research is that in its efforts to find ways and means of breaking the communication constraint in Third World countries, it has generated many bottlenecks that cumulatively constitute the major constraint: lack of an efficient system for delivering adequate and reliable information, knowledge, and…

  9. Innovation in Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Habon, Melody Peralta

    2012-01-01

    Innovation is needed to create new industries and jobs to strengthen our nation's security, protect our planet and have an insurmountable amount of new jobs for our people. A great starting point would be educating our children with disabilities. Students with disabilities who were once absent from public school campuses have since been…

  10. Trauma-Informed Day Services for Individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities: Exploring Staff Understanding and Perception within an Innovative Programme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keesler, John M.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a systems-level philosophy of service delivery which integrates choice, collaboration, empowerment, safety and trust to create an organizational culture sensitive to trauma. This study explores staff understandings and perceptions within an innovative trauma-informed day program for individuals with…

  11. A Unique Methodology for Implementing High School Capstone Experiences through Teacher Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chin, Jessica; Zeid, Abe; Duggan, Claire; Kamarthi, Sagar

    2011-01-01

    Innovators and abstract thinkers--students who question why are going to be the future of engineering, of science and cures for diseases. Rarely do students ask where and how innovation is created. Students, particularly post-secondary students have lost their curiosity and they have lost their ability to question. Why? Because the relationship…

  12. Balancing Innovation with Tradition: Maintaining a Relevant College Music Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marcel, Linda A.

    2007-01-01

    The paper considers the innovations and impacts of technology on the fine arts. It explores the effect of technology on how music is taught, studied, performed and created. There is a brief historical account of the recent advances in personal computers, MIDI, synthesizers and music software. The standard of technology competency, set by the…

  13. Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessments: Creating a Grassroots Accountability System to Leverage State Policy Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    French, Dan

    2018-01-01

    Standardized testing remains the predominant proficiency measure for students and schools, placing teacher and student focus on test-prep and lower order skills while maintaining achievement gaps that penalize underserved students. The Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Assessment seeks to close this gap and change assessment measures on a…

  14. Cross-Border Collaboration in History among Nordic Students: A Case Study about Creating Innovative ICT Didactic Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spante, Maria; Karlsen, Asgjerd Vea; Nortvig, Anne-Mette; Christiansen, Rene B.

    2014-01-01

    Gränsöverskridande Nordisk Undervisning/Utdanelse (GNU, meaning Cross-Border Nordic Education), the larger Nordic project, under which this case study was carried out, aims at developing innovative, cross-border teaching models in different subject domains in elementary school, including mathematics, language, science, social studies and history.…

  15. Doctoral and Postdoctoral Education in Science and Engineering: Europe in the International Competition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MOGUEROU, PHILIPPE

    2005-01-01

    In this article, we discuss the recent evolutions of science and engineering doctoral and postdoctoral education in Europe. Indeed, Ph.Ds are crucial to the conduct of research and innovation in the national innovation systems, as they provide a large amount of input into creating the competitive advantage, notably through basic research. First,…

  16. 21st Century Community Learning Centers: Stable Funding for Innovation and Continuous Improvement. Research Update: Highlights from the Out-of-School Time Database. Number 8

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wimer, Christopher; Harris, Erin

    2012-01-01

    As the only federal funding stream that provides dedicated funds for afterschool programs across the country, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative plays an important role in supporting the innovation that takes place in afterschool programs. Social innovation has been defined as "a novel solution to a social…

  17. DIUx Commercial Solutions Opening: How to Guide

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-11-30

    Secretary Carter charged ​ the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (​DIUx) to “develop new partnerships with the private sector in communities in Silicon...founded the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) to accelerate innovation to the warfighter. In the past, government funding spurred significant...philosophy on OTs. These are guiding principles through which DIUx designed the CSO that can easily be adopted by others as an additional tool in the

  18. The beyond borders initiative: Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and international public health students: engaging partners in cross-cultural learning.

    PubMed

    Dickson, Michelle; Manalo, Giselle

    2014-01-01

    The University of Sydney's Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion (GDIHP) and Masters of International Public Health (MIPH) students have expressed a consistent desire to engage more with each other through student tutorials or any small group activity. MIPH students have expressed an interest in learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderpeople and their health issues recognising contextual similarities in health priorities and social-cultural determinants. A and TSI students enrolled in the GDIHP have traditionally had very little contact with other students and are often unaware of the innovative solutions implemented in developing countries. Through this inclusive teaching innovation the MIPH and GDIHP programmes utilised diversity in the student population and responded to the University's Strategic Plan to promote and enhance pathways for supporting Indigenous students. This innovation provided an opportunity for both groups to learn more about each other as they develop into globally competitive public health practitioners. The 'Beyond Borders' initiative exposed MIPH and GDIHP students to problem-based learning that incorporated global perspectives as well as focusing on the very specific and unique realities of life in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Both student cohorts reported that the knowledge and skill exchange was highly valuable and contributed to their development as health professionals. This simple yet effective initiative created a sustainable cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and community-oriented partnership that benefited all involved and assisted in addressing health inequities in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and in developing countries.

  19. Wound Healing Angiogenesis: Innovations and Challenges in Acute and Chronic Wound Healing

    PubMed Central

    Demidova-Rice, Tatiana N.; Durham, Jennifer T.; Herman, Ira M.

    2012-01-01

    Background Formation of new blood vessels, by either angiogenesis or vasculogenesis, is critical for normal wound healing. Major processes in neovascularization include (i) growth-promoting or survival factors, (ii) proteolytic enzymes, (iii) activators of multiple differentiated and progenitor cell types, and (iv) permissible microenvironments. A central aim of wound healing research is to “convert” chronic, disease-impaired wounds into those that will heal. The problem Reduced ability to re-establish a blood supply to the injury site can ultimately lead to wound chronicity. Basic/Clinical Science Advances (1) Human fetal endothelial progenitor cells can stimulate wound revascularization and repair following injury, as demonstrated in a novel mouse model of diabetic ischemic healing. (2) Advances in bioengineering reveal exciting alternatives by which wound repair may be facilitated via the creation of vascularized microfluidic networks within organ constructs created ex vivo for wound implantation. (3) A “personalized” approach to regenerative medicine may be enabled by the identification of protein components present within individual wound beds, both chronic and acute. Clinical Care Relevance Despite the development of numerous therapies, impaired angiogenesis and wound chronicity remain significant healthcare problems. As such, innovations in enhancing wound revascularization would lead to significant advances in wound healing therapeutics and patient care. Conclusion Insights into endothelial progenitor cell biology together with developments in the field of tissue engineering and molecular diagnostics should not only further advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating wound repair but also offer innovative solutions to promote the healing of chronic and acute wounds in vivo. PMID:24527273

  20. 78 FR 18681 - Final Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria-Investing in Innovation Fund

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-27

    ...The Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement announces priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria under the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). The Assistant Deputy Secretary may use one or more of these priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2013 and later years. We clarify and redesign key aspects of the program by incorporating lessons learned from past i3 competitions. Specifically, we intend to improve the i3 program to better achieve its purposes and goal by making changes that will result in accelerating the identification of promising solutions to pressing challenges in K-12 public education, supporting the evaluation of the efficacy of such solutions, and developing new approaches to scaling effective practices to serve more students.

  1. Active Solution Space and Search on Job-shop Scheduling Problem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watanabe, Masato; Ida, Kenichi; Gen, Mitsuo

    In this paper we propose a new searching method of Genetic Algorithm for Job-shop scheduling problem (JSP). The coding method that represent job number in order to decide a priority to arrange a job to Gannt Chart (called the ordinal representation with a priority) in JSP, an active schedule is created by using left shift. We define an active solution at first. It is solution which can create an active schedule without using left shift, and set of its defined an active solution space. Next, we propose an algorithm named Genetic Algorithm with active solution space search (GA-asol) which can create an active solution while solution is evaluated, in order to search the active solution space effectively. We applied it for some benchmark problems to compare with other method. The experimental results show good performance.

  2. SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES EVALUATION ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This task seeks to identify high priority needs of the Regions and Program Offices for innovative field sampling, characterization, monitoring, and measurement technologies. When an appropriate solution to a specific problem is identified, a field demonstration is conducted to document the performance and cost of the proposed technologies. The use of field analysis almost always provides a savings in time and cost over the usual sample and ship to a conventional laboratory for analysis approach to site characterization and monitoring. With improvements in technology and appropriate quality assurance/quality control, field analysis has been shown to provide high quality data, useful for most environmental monitoring or characterization projects. An emphasis of the program is to seek out innovative solutions to existing problems and to provide the cost and performance data a user would require to make an informed decision regarding the adequacy of a technology to address a specific environmental problem. The objective of this program is to promote the acceptance and use of innovative field technologies by providing well-documented performance and cost data obtained from field demonstrations.

  3. An Innovative Solution to NASA's NEO Impact Threat Mitigation Grand Challenge and Flight Validation Mission Architecture Development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wie, Bong; Barbee, Brent W.

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the results of a NASA Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) Phase 2 study entitled "An Innovative Solution to NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Impact Threat Mitigation Grand Challenge and Flight Validation Mission Architecture Development." This NIAC Phase 2 study was conducted at the Asteroid Deflection Research Center (ADRC) of Iowa State University in 2012-2014. The study objective was to develop an innovative yet practically implementable mitigation strategy for the most probable impact threat of an asteroid or comet with short warning time (< 5 years). The mitigation strategy described in this paper is intended to optimally reduce the severity and catastrophic damage of the NEO impact event, especially when we don't have sufficient warning times for non-disruptive deflection of a hazardous NEO. This paper provides an executive summary of the NIAC Phase 2 study results. Detailed technical descriptions of the study results are provided in a separate final technical report, which can be downloaded from the ADRC website (www.adrc.iastate.edu).

  4. The probability of misassociation between neighboring targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Areta, Javier A.; Bar-Shalom, Yaakov; Rothrock, Ronald

    2008-04-01

    This paper presents procedures to calculate the probability that the measurement originating from an extraneous target will be (mis)associated with a target of interest for the cases of Nearest Neighbor and Global association. It is shown that these misassociation probabilities depend, under certain assumptions, on a particular - covariance weighted - norm of the difference between the targets' predicted measurements. For the Nearest Neighbor association, the exact solution, obtained for the case of equal innovation covariances, is based on a noncentral chi-square distribution. An approximate solution is also presented for the case of unequal innovation covariances. For the Global case an approximation is presented for the case of "similar" innovation covariances. In the general case of unequal innovation covariances where this approximation fails, an exact method based on the inversion of the characteristic function is presented. The theoretical results, confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations, quantify the benefit of Global vs. Nearest Neighbor association. These results are applied to problems of single sensor as well as centralized fusion architecture multiple sensor tracking.

  5. Diversification and enrichment of clinical biomaterials inspired by Darwinian evolution.

    PubMed

    Green, D W; Watson, G S; Watson, J A; Lee, D-J; Lee, J-M; Jung, H-S

    2016-09-15

    Regenerative medicine and biomaterials design are driven by biomimicry. There is the essential requirement to emulate human cell, tissue, organ and physiological complexity to ensure long-lasting clinical success. Biomimicry projects for biomaterials innovation can be re-invigorated with evolutionary insights and perspectives, since Darwinian evolution is the original dynamic process for biological organisation and complexity. Many existing human inspired regenerative biomaterials (defined as a nature generated, nature derived and nature mimicking structure, produced within a biological system, which can deputise for, or replace human tissues for which it closely matches) are without important elements of biological complexity such as, hierarchy and autonomous actions. It is possible to engineer these essential elements into clinical biomaterials via bioinspired implementation of concepts, processes and mechanisms played out during Darwinian evolution; mechanisms such as, directed, computational, accelerated evolutions and artificial selection contrived in the laboratory. These dynamos for innovation can be used during biomaterials fabrication, but also to choose optimal designs in the regeneration process. Further evolutionary information can help at the design stage; gleaned from the historical evolution of material adaptations compared across phylogenies to changes in their environment and habitats. Taken together, harnessing evolutionary mechanisms and evolutionary pathways, leading to ideal adaptations, will eventually provide a new class of Darwinian and evolutionary biomaterials. This will provide bioengineers with a more diversified and more efficient innovation tool for biomaterial design, synthesis and function than currently achieved with synthetic materials chemistry programmes and rational based materials design approach, which require reasoned logic. It will also inject further creativity, diversity and richness into the biomedical technologies that we make. All of which are based on biological principles. Such evolution-inspired biomaterials have the potential to generate innovative solutions, which match with existing bioengineering problems, in vital areas of clinical materials translation that include tissue engineering, gene delivery, drug delivery, immunity modulation, and scar-less wound healing. Evolution by natural selection is a powerful generator of innovations in molecular, materials and structures. Man has influenced evolution for thousands of years, to create new breeds of farm animals and crop plants, but now molecular and materials can be molded in the same way. Biological molecules and simple structures can be evolved, literally in the laboratory. Furthermore, they are re-designed via lessons learnt from evolutionary history. Through a 3-step process to (1) create variants in material building blocks, (2) screen the variants with beneficial traits/properties and (3) select and support their self-assembly into usable materials, improvements in design and performance can emerge. By introducing biological molecules and small organisms into this process, it is possible to make increasingly diversified, sophisticated and clinically relevant materials for multiple roles in biomedicine. Copyright © 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Jen Gustetic visits Swamp Works

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-10-28

    Jenn Gustetic, NASA's Small Business Innovation Research Program executive, talks with Rob Mueller, senior technologist and co-founder of Kennedy Space Center's Swamp Works. Gustetic met team members and viewed many of the pioneering technologies and innovations in development at Kennedy. Swamp Works is a hands-on, lean development environment for innovation following the philosophies pioneered in Kelly Johnson's Skunk Works and Werner von Braun's development shops. The Swamp Works establishes rapid, innovative and cost-effective exploration mission solutions through a highly collaborative, "no walls" approach, leveraging partnerships across NASA, industry and academia.

  7. 77 FR 75766 - Federal Acquisition Regulation; Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-21

    ... offeror's ingenuity in proposing a technical approach or solution based on limitations of the existing... solution. Another respondent expressed concern that the rule would limit offerors' ability to craft innovative solutions to Government requirements. Response: Under the SCA, the successor contractor must pay...

  8. Successful Design of Learning Solutions Being Situation Aware

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Niemelä, Pia; Isomöttönen, Ville; Lipponen, Lasse

    2016-01-01

    Education is increasingly enhanced by technology, and at the same time, the rapid pace of technology innovation and growing demand of consumers introduces challenges for providers of technological learning solutions. This paper investigates Finnish small and medium size companies who either develop or deliver technological solutions for education.…

  9. 3D printing to simulate laparoscopic choledochal surgery.

    PubMed

    Burdall, Oliver C; Makin, Erica; Davenport, Mark; Ade-Ajayi, Niyi

    2016-05-01

    Laparoscopic simulation has transformed skills acquisition for many procedures. However, realistic nonbiological simulators for complex reconstructive surgery are rare. Life-like tactile feedback is particularly difficult to reproduce. Technological innovations may contribute novel solutions to these shortages. We describe a hybrid model, harnessing 3D technology to simulate laparoscopic choledochal surgery for the first time. Digital hepatic anatomy images and standard laparoscopic trainer dimensions were employed to create an entry level laparoscopic choledochal surgery model. The information was fed into a 3D systems project 660pro with visijet pxl core powder to create a free standing liver mold. This included a cuboid portal in which to slot disposable hybrid components representing hepatic and pancreatic ducts and choledochal cyst. The mold was used to create soft silicone replicas with T28 resin and T5 fast catalyst. The model was assessed at a national pediatric surgery training day. The 10 delegates that trialed the simulation felt that the tactile likeness was good (5.6/10±1.71, 10=like the real thing), was not too complex (6.2/10±1.35; where 1=too simple, 10=too complicated), and generally very useful (7.36/10±1.57, 10=invaluable). 100% stated that they felt they could reproduce this in their own centers, and 100% would recommend this simulation to colleagues. Though this first phase choledochal cyst excision simulation requires further development, 3D printing provides a useful means of creating specific and detailed simulations for rare and complex operations with huge potential for development. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. Talent Management in Academies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davies, Brent; Davies, Barbara J.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: Academies are semi-autonomous schools set up outside the normal local government structures with sponsors from business and charity groups to create new and innovative ways of creating and sustaining school transformation. The aim of this paper is to assist in a strategic conversation within the academy movement on talent development.…

  11. Spurring Innovation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLester, Susan

    2005-01-01

    For many teachers and students, it was ThinkQuest that gave them their first experiences with the Internet. A collaborative competition, created by Advanced Network & Services (now managed by the Oracle Education Foundation), ThinkQuest asked students to form teams and create Web sites that were designed to help other students learn something. In…

  12. Can Children Really Create Knowledge?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bereiter, Carl; Scardamalia, Marlene

    2010-01-01

    Can children genuinely create new knowledge, as opposed to merely carrying out activities that resemble those of mature scientists and innovators? The answer is yes, provided the comparison is not to works of genius but to standards that prevail in ordinary research communities. One important product of knowledge creation is concepts and tools…

  13. Creating a culture of safety: why CEOs hold the key to improved outcomes.

    PubMed

    Birk, Susan

    2009-01-01

    When the nonprofit VHA foundation, created by VHA Inc., Irving, Texas, embarked on a national patient safety initiative it looked first to outside industries, gathering information and ideas from pioneers in nuclear energy, aviation, the military and other innovation-rich fields known for safety excellence.

  14. Extending the "Knowledge Advantage": Creating Learning Chains

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maqsood, Tayyab; Walker, Derek; Finegan, Andrew

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a synergy between the approaches of knowledge management in a learning organisation and supply chain management so that learning chains can be created in order to unleash innovation and creativity by managing knowledge in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: Through extensive literature…

  15. A Site to Behold: Creating Curricula about Local Urban Environmental Art.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thurber, Frances E.

    1997-01-01

    Describes "Site Omaha" an interactive public arts project designed to explore alternative art venues in the urban environment and to create a common link between artists and other community members. "Site Omaha" initiated innovative community arts projects. Provides a brief overview of urban environmental art. (MJP)

  16. Creating Student Engagement: The Kickstarter Active Learning Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manzon, Elliott

    2017-01-01

    Students can become disengaged from marketing material if they cannot see the direct application. Marketing material needs to be applied to a meaningful business task to engage and motivate students. This article introduces the Kickstarter Active Learning Project--an innovative semester-long project in which students create a Kickstarter…

  17. Educational Charter Schools: A Civil Rights Mirage?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frankenberg, Erica

    2011-01-01

    The idea of charter schools arose as a means to allow for innovation by creating schools that were free from traditional regulations, but were held accountable for their performance. More recently, however, charter school advocates have suggested that increasing school choice options will create competition that improves the quality of education…

  18. Summary of "Magnesium Vision 2020: A North American Automotive Strategic Vision for Magnesium"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cole, Gerald S.

    This paper summarizes the monograph, "Magnesium Vision 2020. A North American Automotive Strategic Vision for Magnesium"1 prepared under the auspices of the United States Automotive Materials Partnership The objective was to understand the infrastructural and technical challenge that can increase the use of magnesium in the automotive industry. One hundred sixty three (163) Research and Technology Development Themes (RTDTs), or RTD projects were developed that addressed issues of corrosion, fastening, and processing-other-than-high pressure die casting to produce automotive magnesium parts. A major problem identified in the study is the limited ability of the current magnesium industrial infrastructure to supply RTD and implementation-ready automotive magnesium components. One solution is to create a magnesium cyber center wrhere globally networked experts would be able to innovate in process and product development, model metalworking and non-HPDC foundry processes, and integrate theoretical predictions/models of metallurgical structure with component function.

  19. Privacy protection for patients with substance use problems.

    PubMed

    Hu, Lianne Lian; Sparenborg, Steven; Tai, Betty

    2011-01-01

    Many Americans with substance use problems will have opportunities to receive coordinated health care through the integration of primary care and specialty care for substance use disorders under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Sharing of patient health records among care providers is essential to realize the benefits of electronic health records. Health information exchange through meaningful use of electronic health records can improve health care safety, quality, and efficiency. Implementation of electronic health records and health information exchange presents great opportunities for health care integration, but also makes patient privacy potentially vulnerable. Privacy issues are paramount for patients with substance use problems. This paper discusses major differences between two federal privacy laws associated with health care for substance use disorders, identifies health care problems created by privacy policies, and describes potential solutions to these problems through technology innovation and policy improvement.

  20. Privacy protection for patients with substance use problems

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Lianne Lian; Sparenborg, Steven; Tai, Betty

    2011-01-01

    Many Americans with substance use problems will have opportunities to receive coordinated health care through the integration of primary care and specialty care for substance use disorders under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Sharing of patient health records among care providers is essential to realize the benefits of electronic health records. Health information exchange through meaningful use of electronic health records can improve health care safety, quality, and efficiency. Implementation of electronic health records and health information exchange presents great opportunities for health care integration, but also makes patient privacy potentially vulnerable. Privacy issues are paramount for patients with substance use problems. This paper discusses major differences between two federal privacy laws associated with health care for substance use disorders, identifies health care problems created by privacy policies, and describes potential solutions to these problems through technology innovation and policy improvement. PMID:24474860

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