Showing papers on "Ingenuity published in 2015"

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Enhancing Adaptive Capacity to Complex Global Challenges

Abstract: Multiple intersecting factors place pressure on planetary systems on which society and ecosystems depend. Climate change and variability, resource use patterns, globalization viewed in terms of economic enterprise and environmental change, poverty and inequitable access to social services, as well as the international development enterprise itself, have led to a rethinking of development that solely addresses economic growth. Fulfilling the essential human aspirations for quality of life, meaningful education, productive and rewarding work, harmonious relations, and sustainable natural resource use requires ingenuity, foresight and adaptability.

Conceptual Design: Interpretations, Mindset and Models

Abstract: Maximisingreader insights into the theory, models, methods and fundamental reasoning of design, this book addresses design activities in industrial settings, as well as the actors involved. This approach offers readers a new understanding of design activities and related functions, properties and dispositions. Presenting a design mindset that seeks to empower students, researchers, and practitioners alike, it features a strong focus on how designers create new concepts to be developed into products, and how they generate new business and satisfy human needs. Employing a multi-faceted perspective, the book supplies the reader with a comprehensive worldviewof design in the form of a proposed model that will empower their activities as student, researcher or practitioner. We draw the reader into the core role ofdesign conceptualisationfor society, for the development of industry, for users and buyers of products, and for citizens in relation to public systems. The book also features original contributions related to exploration,conceptualisationand product synthesis. Exploring both the power and limitations of formal design process models, methods, and tools viewed in the light of human ingenuity and cognition, the book develops a unique design mindset that adds human understanding to the list of methods and tools essential to design. This insight is distilled into useful mindset heuristics included throughout the book

Conditions for Peace and Conflict Applying a Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to Cases of Resource Scarcity

Abstract: This study applies fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to the debate on links between resource scarcity and armed conflict. Previous studies on this relationship have reached contradictory results. This study aims to solve this contradiction by arguing that social, economic, and political conditions play an important role in determining whether armed conflict erupts over resource scarcity. I test three theoretic hypotheses, focusing on weak states, economic situations of households, and human ingenuity. I compare fifteen resource scarce cases with conflict to sixteen cases without armed conflict. My analysis supports the hypothesis that the economic situation of households and the levels of human ingenuity matter. In particular, the impact of high dependence on agriculture and low levels of tertiary education on the link between resource scarcity and conflict is discussed. While employing an fsQCA proves a valuable step in accounting for contradictory results, limits of the methods are appa...

Contrasting approaches to projecting long-run global food security

Abstract: The provision of food has been a central preoccupation of policy-makers throughout history. Today we are witnessing a period of food security pessimism triggered by increases in food prices, and their higher volatility, that began in 2008. However, previous episodes of food pessimism were ended by the Industrial and Green Revolutions, and policy-makers legitimately ask whether human ingenuity and technical advances will address today’s worries without the need for their intervention. Here we explore some of the ways natural and social scientists have attempted to explore the supply and demand for food in the future to help policy-makers understand the challenges ahead. We are particularly struck that different communities have approached this problem in different ways that seldom reference each other. We describe two broad approaches: statistical extrapolation and economic simulation models of the food system that incorporate market mechanisms. We compare the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches and make some tentative suggestions about how they can together address important policy priorities.

How Dialogue on 'Ingenuity in Nature' Increases Enthusiasm for Engineering and Science in Traditional Religious Communities

Abstract: The perceived conflict between science and traditional religious beliefs appears to be one reason why some young people shy away from pursuing careers in engineering and other STEM fields. A three year grant from the BioLogos Foundation, to help traditional religious communities appreciate the ingenuity displayed by our evolving universe, is assisting in alleviating this unfortunate trend. Engineering students and faculty members work together to develop, and deliver, seminars in local schools and churches that demonstrate compatibility between science and religion, with emphasis on the role that engineering can play in this ongoing dialogue. The project team has committed to conduct 250 of these seminars over the life of the grant, with an anticipated total direct audience of approximately 12,500 people. Religions and religious denominations often take a simplistic view of origins based largely on a particular interpretation of creation accounts offered by the special revelation of sacred scriptures. The project team is currently working to complement this view with up-to-date information from science and engineering. Most denominations recognize that the general revelation of nature also has an important role to play in providing information about origins. One way that science and religion constructively interact occurs when religion allows current scientific discoveries to inform its interpretations of scripture. The application of concepts from the field of engineering has proven useful in helping religious groups engage in this kind of interaction with science. In the process, appreciation for ingenuity in nature and enthusiasm for engineering appear to be increasing in participating religious communities. Among several other outcomes, preliminary survey data indicate that a strong majority of participants either “agree” or “strongly agree” that their participation in the aforementioned seminars not only “helps me appreciate the ingenuity that underlies our universe,” but also “increases my enthusiasm for science or engineering.” Engineering students who serve on the project team have also acknowledged significant benefits as a result of participating in this project. Among other outcomes, data from a separate survey indicate enhancements in their communication skills, their ability to lead in the midst of contentious issues, and their understanding of personal mission and purpose. They also experienced an increased enthusiasm for engineering and science, which should not be underappreciated when considering the challenge of completing a rigorous undergraduate engineering degree. Engineering Insight on Life’s Big Questions The world is a crazy place. Lots of wild things happen, both amazingly good and extraordinarily bad. It is enough to make one wonder if anyone is actually running this show. That is a good question. In fact, that is the right question. The answer to this question greatly influences how people live their lives, and who they become. The universe seems engineered specifically to make us curious about many things, especially such “big questions” as the existence of God, and life after death. This is one of the reasons why education is so valuable. School should satisfy the P ge 26851.2

Will the Real Scientists Please Stand Up? Taboo Topics, Creative Risk, and Paradigm Shift

Abstract: The “real scientist” brings not only investigative ingenuity but also courage and integrity that permit a challenging of the status quo. Here, three issues and their relationship are considered: (a) Taboo Topics as per Norman Farberow’s 1963 book, where conscious/unconscious fears and prohibitions can hinder scientific progress, (b) creative qualities catalyzing open-mindedness and pursuit of truth, and (c) factors heightening or lowering resistance to paradigm shift as per Thomas Kuhn—including sudden change when the data become overwhelming. A key illustration involves parapsychology and the work of Stanley Krippner and colleagues—showing long-standing and rigorous research, plus efforts to disseminate findings and to open minds.

Innovation in the Informal Economy

Abstract: the central economic and social role of the informal sector is increasingly appreciated. Yet while evidence shows that informal entrepreneurs can drive innovation, research on innovation in developing countries has been devoted mostly to formal sectors, organizations and institutions. What is lacking are studies assessing the role of innovation emanating within and from the informal sector. Who is the archetypical innovator in the informal economy? What types of innovations are generated? What is different from what one would encounter in the formal economy? Finding answers to these questions is a new field of research. On the one hand, the literature devoted to the study of the informal sector does not directly address the topic of innovation. In fact, the ability of the informal economy to do “new things in a different way,” its inventive ingenuity, rarely features as a topic at all. On the other hand, the equally vast literature on national innovation systems in countries at different stages of development largely overlooks the informal sector. The objective of this chapter is to push the boundaries of research in this field, first by conceptually integrating so far separate analyses of innovation and the informal economy and second by using research methods not often used by those studying the economic and employment aspects of innovation or the informal economy. The findings are based on an analysis of the existing literature, but more importantly on analytical fieldwork conducted for this book in three countries, and in the context of research undertaken by the Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network.

Integration | Innovation | Inclusion: Values, Variables and the Design of Human Environments

Abstract: Complexity, complication, contradiction, consumption, confusion, delusion, depression. Opportunity, inspiration, ingenuity, compassion, wisdom. Our world is perplexing, our times are fast moving, and our choices are many. To find an appropriate path is a daunting yet vital challenge that confronts us as individuals, as communities, and as a civilization. How sustainable is our world? How reasonable are our behaviors? The present article is a collection of thoughts on a series of intertwined issues related to the contemporary world, its environmental dimensions, and their present-day problems. The goal is to survey the landscape through a lens of Environmental Design, to provide some perspectives, to raise some questions, and to explore systems, beliefs, and values informing and influencing actions. It is important to consider how people's belief systems influence, inform, and shape actions. This holds true in realms political, spiritual, and cultural. It also proves relevant in the ways in which we imagin...

Empowered genome community: leveraging a bioinformatics platform as a citizen–scientist collaboration tool

Abstract: There is on-going effort in the biomedical research community to leverage Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology to identify genetic variants that affect our health The main challenge facing researchers is getting enough samples from individuals either sick or healthy – to be able to reliably identify the few variants that are causal for a phenotype among all other variants typically seen among individuals At the same time, more and more individuals are having their genome sequenced either out of curiosity or to identify the cause of an illness These individuals may benefit from of a way to view and understand their data QIAGEN's Ingenuity Variant Analysis is an online application that allows users with and without extensive bioinformatics training to incorporate information from published experiments, genetic databases, and a variety of statistical models to identify variants, from a long list of candidates, that are most likely causal for a phenotype as well as annotate variants with what is already known about them in the literature and databases Ingenuity Variant Analysis is also an information sharing platform where users may exchange samples and analyses The Empowered Genome Community (EGC) is a new program in which QIAGEN is making this on-line tool freely available to any individual who wishes to analyze their own genetic sequence EGC members are then able to make their data available to other Ingenuity Variant Analysis users to be used in research Here we present and describe the Empowered Genome Community in detail We also present a preliminary, proof-of-concept study that utilizes the 200 genomes currently available through the EGC The goal of this program is to allow individuals to access and understand their own data as well as facilitate citizen–scientist collaborations that can drive research forward and spur quality scientific dialogue in the general public

Diversity Ideology in the United States: Historical, Contemporary, and Sociological Perspectives

Abstract: Diversity has become one of the most commonly used words in the United States. Walter B. Michaels, author of The Trouble with Diversity, put it most aptly when he claimed that diversity “has become virtually a sacred concept in American life today. No one’s really against it; people tend instead to differ only in their degrees of enthusiasm for it and their ingenuity in pursuing it” (2006, 12). In fact, few other words generate such an uplifting feeling of what it means to live in a democratic and free society. But what exactly does it mean to be diverse? Does it mean that we should accept the racial and ethnic differences of others? Or perhaps diversity refers to class tolerance? What about gender, sexual orientation, age, culture, religion, or any multitude of other differences between people who live in our society?

Explorations in Cyber International Relations: A Research Collaboration of MIT and Harvard University

Abstract: In international relations, the traditional approaches to theory and research, practice, and policy were derived from experiences in the 19th and 20th centuries. But cyberspace, shaped by human ingenuity, is a venue for social interaction, an environment for social communication, and an enabler of new mechanisms for power and leverage. Cyberspace creates new condition — problems and opportunities — for which there are no clear precedents in human history. Already we recognize new patterns of conflict and contention, and concepts such as cyberwar, cybersecurity, and cyberattack are in circulation, buttressed by considerable evidence of cyber espionage and cybercrime.The research problem is this: distinct features of cyberspace — such as time, scope, space, permeation, ubiquity, participation and attribution — challenge traditional modes of inquiry in international relations and limit their utility. The interdisciplinary MIT-Harvard ECIR research project explores various facets of cyber international relations, including its implications for power and politics, conflict and war.Our primary mission and principal goal is to increase the capacity of the nation to address the policy challenges of the cyber domain. Our research is intended to influence today’s policy makers with the best thinking about issues and opportunities, and to train tomorrow’s policy makers to be effective in understanding choice and consequence in cyber matters.Accordingly, the ECIR vision is to create an integrated knowledge domain of international relations in the cyber age, that is (a) multidisciplinary, theory-driven, technically and empirically; (b) clarifies threats and opportunities in cyberspace for national security, welfare, and influence;(c) provides analytical tools for understanding and managing transformation and change; and (d) attracts and educates generations of researchers, scholars, and analysts for international relations in the new cyber age.

Creating a Culture of Inclusion to Attain Organizational Success

Abstract: Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ert.21497 37 later expanded to an emphasis on cultural diversity, which sought diversity of life experiences, socioeconomic background, and language proficiencies. More recently, companies have realized that creating a diverse workforce requires going beyond a multicultural and socioeconomic demographic base and are focusing on the value of diversity of thought (see “Why HR Leaders Should Encourage Diversity of Thought” in the Summer 2014 issue of Employment Relations Today) as a way to encourage innovation and creative problem solving. When different types of thinkers come together in the workplace, companies can avoid restrictive groupthink, stimulate ingenuity, encourage vision, and increase productivity. The development of productive relationships within a diverse workforce and ensuring that employees communicate effectively is also essential. Therefore, many corporate diversity initiatives now include a focus on inclusion, which builds on diversity and channels it in a productive way. By expanding diversity to also focus on inclusion, companies are forced to examine how well they actually embrace new ideas, accommodate different thinking styles, enable collaboration, and encourage different types of leaders. Diversity and its partner in innovation, inclusion, are no longer a social responsibility but rather a business imperative in Diverse and multicultural workforces have been a reality for companies and organizations for nearly two decades. Yet there are still many companies where diversity and inclusion initiatives fall short and do not successfully achieve the desired goal. These shortcomings reveal themselves through high employee turnover, diminished performance levels, disinterest, and negative attitudes. When engagement and inclusion are low, a disconnect between organization and employee is indicated. Successful companies demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion for the tangible business benefits they provide. Through the strategic use of proven human relations principles, organizations can create stronger, innovative, and more productive teams and workforces.

The Learning of Human Ingenuity Within a Formal, Environmental Education Program: A Case Study of Two Secondary School Programs

Abstract: .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii Table of

Robots vs animals: Learning from the ingenuity of nature. Final summary report

Abstract: ‘Robots vs Animals’ was a creative collaboration between engineers and zoologists, exploring the ingenuity of both nature and humankind. The project was organised and managed by the Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE), and funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious Awards. The project communicated the stories of the engineering design process taken by Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) engineers to create biologically inspired robots. Interactive sessions at Bristol Zoo Gardens and other public venues and events featured engineers and zoologists explaining and demonstrating the skills and processes of their respective charges.

Beyond the Product – Enabling design services in small and medium sized enterprises

Abstract: While the design industry is moving into new domains, it seems that potential customers do not always understand how the designer can contribute beyond the aesthetically appealing product. The overall purpose of this thesis is to expand our understanding of design as an enabling service in the context of small and medium sized enterprises. Enabling design services have the potential to result in organizational learning and change. The co-creation of new knowledge and competencies can in turn enable the customer organization to become more innovative and able to deal with an ambiguous environment. The first part of the research consisted of interviews and workshops with the major industrial design consultancies in Sweden and Finland and some smaller American consultancies. A conceptual business model canvas based on service dominant logic is presented in the thesis to increase our understanding of the business of the industrial design consultancy. During the study, we observed several changes in the organization of the industrial design consultancy. We also noticed self-confidence among the industrial design consultancies in respect to their skills in methods to orchestrate collaboration and contribute to strategic development in customer organizations. An analysis of the initial interviews and workshops together with a literature study helped me to summarize the characteristics of the methods and processes designers are educated in as being integrative, collaborative and explorative. They are integrative in that they incorporate hands with thought, and theory with practice. They are collaborative in that interaction between individuals is a necessity to solve the wicked, ambiguous and open-ended problems the designer usually faces. This has resulted in designers being educated in methods involving a broad range of stakeholders such as users in development processes. Finally, the methods and processes are explorative in that they aim at ingenuity and focus on how things ought to be rather than on the present state. The second part of the research consisted of interviews and observations and had a focus on shared activities between design students and participants from small and medium sized companies. Design methods and processes were put into the context of organizational learning and change theories that centered on knowing as embodied and encultured. An activity theoretical model was applied to enrich the analysis of the diversity of perspectives that may lead to conflicting interpretation and negotiation in shared activities. The concepts of place and space were used to highlight the dynamics between how structures and human desires and needs motivated participants in the shared activities. Place is characterized by stability and is the strategy of the prevailing and often connected to identity. Space is practiced place and connected to change and human agency. The thesis presents how design services enabled individuals and organizations to be introduced to and to strengthen a given place, such as a discipline or organization. It also provides examples of the opposite, with individuals distancing themselves from a place, such as a discipline. Mediating artifacts and the integration of doing and reflection created experiences that evoked emotional involvement and enactment among the participants. Most activities resulted in creating space for change and learning and the outcome can be characterized as business and organizational development.

How Can Scientific and Technological Breakthroughs Be Accelerated to Improve the Human Condition

Abstract: Technology has often been the driving force in changing the nature of work, but not only the nature of work. From the miracle of the microchip to the divine practice of cloning, the human imagination for technical ingenuity often creates revolutions that outpace society’s evolution Barbian (Training 40(10), 52–55, 2003), which can be both empowering and disturbing Buechner & Balog (Time International (Canada Edition), 151(20), 8-13, 1998).

Niche Markets: Filling Gaps with Expertise, Ingenuity.

Abstract: Niche markets present opportunities for pharmacists to expand their presence and increase the demand for their services. These practitioners have clinical skills that they can use to improve medication management, reduce medication-related problems and hospitalizations, and enhance the quality of life for patients in specialty areas such as menopause management and women's health, hospice and palliative care, and pediatric long-term care.

The role of internal communication in employee motivation

Abstract: The changes brought by globalization require the internal organization to be adjusted in all systems, regardless of the activity and the type of ownership. The basic characteristics of these changes are: all-inclusiveness, depth (subtlety), and the dramatic speed. All-inclusiveness, among other things, means also significant changes in internal relations in the organization. The role of the leader - an individual and a visionary, who 'walks' far ahead of all, relying on his own ingenuity and visionary intuition, is relativized. Instead, affirmed is the role of the leader who is integrated into the team as the 'first among equals' and who, through so-called natural leadership leads by engaging his associates, rather than imposing solutions. Traditional models of leadership based on rigid hierarchy, giving orders, maintaining constant tension, etc. become counterproductive. Practice proves that the challenges of globalization can be responded to only by teams, but only on condition that they are competent and highly motivated. Accordingly, the basic functions of a manager become trust building and employee motivation. To meet such a complex requirement, the manager of the 21st century must possess three qualities: character, competence and ability to foster internal communication. Numerous examples of successful organizations around the world show that the emphasis of the competitive struggle is transferred to the internal marketing, in order for the most important resource of any organization - employees - to be put into operation. The central figure of any organization remains the manager, but only under the condition that he treats his employees with respect, and shows empathy and openness for communication. In direct communication, the manager should have the ability to respond quickly, but also to distinguish between the important and unimportant, and to precisely combine tenacity and open-mindedness, tolerance and decisiveness. To be able to motivate others, an individual has to be self-motivated. This process is reciprocal, which means that while working on raising the motivation of employees, the manager raises his own motivational capacity. The quality internal communication and employee motivation are ways to improve organizational trust and professional rapport, which is directly related to: the quality of task execution, results, achievement of goals, and fulfillment of the mission of the organization. In this way the performance of the organization is significantly improved, without significant engagement of additional resources. Successful business communication in the organization requires a lot of experience and knowledge of work with people, and above all: the knowledge of laws of motivation, recognition of demotivation, knowledge of mechanisms for motivating the individuals and teams, and purposeful use of criticism so as to make it become motivating.

Eco-creative training: wider competences profiling session for green design in chemical engineering

Abstract: As human populations increase in size, extent, and diversity, natural resource planners and policymakers must address growing concerns about a wide range of environments. To make the best decisions - for people and for nature - they need knowledge, skills and wider competences of creative thinking and decision-making, about how people, industry and natural environments influence each other. The human component of natural resource management became important issue worldwide. All forms of creative thinking can be an efficient mean to spread values and ideas important to influence people's minds and have an effect on their ways of thinking and living, thus generating some sort of change that may drive to reduce the impact of human being on the environment. Creative training for green design is important tool where creativity, business ideas, environmental issues and social inclusion come together. Creative design, in fact, thanks to its huge power of communication and capacity of interpreting the contemporaneity is particularly indicated to diffuse a message among young generations, especially engineering students, which are the ones who can really have possibility to change reality. Our research was aimed to reveal what effect it has of a two-day of training in the field of creative thinking on the activation of the creative potential of chemical engineering freshman students. Chemical engineers design both products and processes, and manage and optimize their performance in order to ensure safe that are economically viable and acceptable to the environment. It is important to note that chemical engineers must be able to respond to changing conditions of production. Thus, the success of chemical engineering is not only dependent on a formal or explicit knowledge, but - more than in the science-driven, such as chemistry - is also not explicable or implicit knowledge. Classified information is essential for the creation of tacit knowledge, which is crucial for the ingenuity of creative attitude characteristic of the humans. Hence, this present paper highlights the most appropriate creative thinking techniques that the educators and trainers employ to motivate the green abilities seekers most effective and inspirational for the upcoming generation.

Применение инновационных технологий в ходе учебного процесса в школе

Abstract: This article deals with the various forms of lessons through the using in the educational process of innovative technologies. Questions of the importance of pedagogical skills of teachers in improving the quality of education and educational aspects of innovative teaching. Presented the discussion of the impact of innovative methods for the formation and development of creative thinking of students, their research skills, resourcefulness, ingenuity. The various types of work carried out by means of media education. Widely analyzed methods to improve knowledge on the application in the educational process of computer technology. The main problems of the development of intellectual and cognitive abilities of students which are trained. Considered effective ways to increase knowledge through e-learning. Lists the various uses of information technology in education. Focuses on key areas: given their complete characterization. Stresses that now electronic media are a major means of learning in the educational process. Concludes that e-learning tools play an important role in the intensification and optimization of the educational process. By electronic means students have the opportunity to qualitatively and quickly learn the language.

Apologies to the Planet—Can We Restore the Damage?

Abstract: Many of us believe that human ingenuity can promote the innovations required to face the challenge of demographic pressure. But twentieth century experience has shown that pollution by human beings (through increased population), by manufacturing industries and by agricultural practices have severely damaged the environment, requiring continuous mitigation efforts. And still we are unable to bring an acceptable standard of living to half of the world population.

Discovering Light. The 5th Science Fair Hands-on Science

Abstract: Inscribed in the celebrations of the International Year of Light, IYL2015, in Portugal, the Hands-on Science Network Association together with the Portuguese Society of Optics and Photonics15, SPOF, and with the support of the European Physical Society, organised the 5 th Science Fair Hands-on Science this year under the main theme "DISCOVERING LIGHT". The competition was open to students and groups of students, but also teachers and educators of all levels of education, from pre- primary to higher education and to anyone interested on science and science education. Over hundred contributions were considered of all kinds, from hands-on experiments to experimental demonstrations, posters and lectures but also dance and drama performances as well as other artistic expressions such as drawings, poems, and even songs… all vivid expression of a fertile imagination creativity and ingenuity with a true and sound interest of the participants on science and specially on light optics and its applications. Themes were the most varied, not only related to the physical properties of light and its multiple applications or to the different and extraordinary optical phenomena or optical instruments that make our lives easier and more interesting and which are so important for the development of our societies, but also those in the fields of dream and "magic" ... connecting in fact all dimensions of the human being in most interesting and pleasant ways.

The Stranger Society: The Case of Economic and Social Development in the Tropics

Abstract: The economic and social prosperity of nations are usually attributed to functional requirements—such as honest government, effective transport and communication networks, health care and education—and development strategies such as investment in infrastructure. However, beyond a certain point peak economic and social success relies as much on human ingenuity as on capital investment. The article proposes that the world’s most prosperous societies have three recurring characteristics that foster such ingenuity: (1) they are all closely connected to trading portals, (2) they nourish paradoxical belief systems that underscore a proclivity for intellectual abstraction and pattern-based interaction, and (3) they are stranger societies that encourage high levels of interaction between unknown persons.