DOCSLIB.ORG

Ideological Evolution

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

IDEOLOGICAL EVOLUTION THE COMPETITIVENESS OF NATIONS IN A GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Individual Interdisciplinary Studies University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon by Harry Hillman Chartrand Keywords: competitiveness, economics, global, ideology, knowledge © Copyright Harry Hillman Chartrand, July 2006. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Chair of Interdisciplinary Studies 180 College Building University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A2 i ABSTRACT My objective is to deepen and thicken public and private policy debate about the competitiveness of nations in a global knowledge–based economy. To do so I first demonstrate the inadequacies of the Standard Model of economics, the last ideology standing after the Market- Marx Wars. Second, I develop a methodology (Trans-Disciplinary Induction) to acquire ‘knowledge about knowledge’. In the process of surveying the event horizons of seventeen sub- disciplines of thought, I redefine ‘ideology’ as the search for commensurable sets or systems of ideas shared across knowledge domains and practices. Third, I create a definitional avalanche about knowledge as a noun, verb, form and content in etymology, psychology, epistemology & pedagogy, law and economics. In the process I demonstrate that personal & tacit and codified & tooled knowledge are the staple commodities of the global knowledge-based economy. Fourth, I establish the origins and nature of the Nation-State, the shifting sands of sovereignty on which it stands and the complimentary roles it plays as curator, facilitator, patron, architect and engineer of the national knowledge-base. Fifth, I examine the competitiveness of nations with respect to a production function in which all inputs, outputs and coefficients are defined in terms of knowledge. In the process, I demonstrated that competitiveness, as Darwinian win/lose against rivals, is inadequate because it does not account for the mutualism of symbionts and environmental change, i.e., coevolution and coconstruction. Accordingly, I propose ‘fitness’ as a more appropriate criterion for the competitiveness of nations in a global knowledge-based economy. Finally, I consider the comparative advantage of nations given their initial and differing national knowledge endowments. ii Acknowledgements 1. I acknowledge my co-supervisors Dr. Peter W.B. Phillips of the Department of Political Studies and Director of the College of Biotechnology and Professor George Khachatourians, Head of the Department of Applied Microbiology and Food Science, University of Saskatchewan (USASK). Professor Phillips guided the work to completion. Dr. Khachatourians provided the inspiration and encouragement to undertake the effort in the first place. 2. To my Advisory Committee I wish to thank: Professor Tom Steele of the Department of Physics & Engineering whose intellectual skepticism served me well in shaping the crucial concept of ‘tooled knowledge’; Professor Grant Isaac of the College of Commerce whose good nature and insight, particularly at the beginning and end of the process, encouraged me to continue; and, Professor Zaheer Baber of the Department of Sociology for answering the call to join the Committee in spite of his busy schedule. 3. To my external examiner, Professor Brian J. Loasby of the Economics Department, University of Stirling, Scotland I extend also my sincerest thanks. His inspirational work is reflected throughout this dissertation. His critical comments of the final product also served, I hope, to smooth the rough edges and highlight some key findings of the work. I also acknowledge GELS Prairies for their financial assistance. 4. I thank: Professor Morris Altman, Head of the Economics Department for directing me to the work of Nathan Rosenberg and his ‘Black Box’; Professor Joel Bruneau, of the Economics Department, who encouraged development of a more formal economic epistemology; Professor Murray Fulton, Director of the Interdisciplinary Program and eventually Chairman of my Committee for directing me to the critically important work of Brian Loasby; and, Professor Glen Aikenhead of the College of Education for directing me to the work of Ken Kawasaki highlighting how knowledge is limited by natural language. 5. I would also like to acknowledge the support of my initial application by my former professors and sometimes colleagues: Gilles Paquet, Director, Centre for Governance; University of Ottawa; A. L. Keith Acheson, Professor, Department of Economics, Carleton University; and, Christopher Maule, Professor, Department of Economics, Carleton University. I would also like to acknowledge Richard Vanderberg, formerly of Carleton University, for introducing me to the Institutional Economics of John R. Commons. 6. On a more personal level I wish to thank my friend and colleague Guy Morin of the federal department of Indian Affairs & Northern Development for his time and patience in hearing me out and, most of all, I wish to thank Grier and Olivia for their patience and support. iii CHAPTER INDEX Page PERMISSION TO USE i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii CHAPTER INDEX iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF EXHIBITS x CHAPTERS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 2.0 PROBLEM: A FLAWED IDEOLOGY 5 3.0 METHODOLOGY: TRANS-DISCIPLINARY INDUCTION 19 4.0 KNOWLEDGE AS NOUN 28 5.0 KNOWLEDGE AS VERB 42 6.0 KNOWLEDGE AS FORM 65 7.0 KNOWLEDGE AS CONTENT 115 8.0 ETYMOLOGY 119 9.0 PSYCHOLOGY 130 10.0 EPISTEMOLOGY & PEDAGOGY 149 11.0 LAW 169 12.0 ECONOMICS 198 13.0 THE NATION-STATE 204 14.0 COMPETITIVENESS 225 15.0 CONCLUSIONS 258 REFERENCES 270 iv Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 2.0 PROBLEM: A FLAWED IDEOLOGY 5 2.1 Origins 7 2.2 The Standard Model 8 2.2.1 Epistemology 9 2.2.2 Limitations 11 2.3 Objectives 14 3.0 METHODOLOGY: TRANS-DISCIPLINARY INDUCTION 19 3.1 Trans- 20 3,2 Disciplinary 20 3.3 Induction 23 3.4 Weaknesses & Strengths 25 4.0 KNOWLEDGE AS NOUN 28 4.1 Monotone 28 4.2 Noun 30 4.3 Biology 30 4.4 Immeasurability 34 4.5 Incommensurability 35 4.6 Language 38 5.0 KNOWLEDGE AS VERB 42 5.1 Science 43 5.2 Design 48 5.2.1 Etymology 50 5.2.2 Aesthetics 51 5.2.3 Biology 52 5.2.4 Economics 54 5.2.5 Psychology 55 5.2.6 Technology 57 5.3 Reconciliation 58 5.3.1 Accept the Paradox 58 5.3.2 Design as a Special Case of Science 58 5.3.3 Science as a Special Case of Design 60 5.3.4 Common Ancestor 62 v 6.0 KNOWLEDGE AS FORM 65 6.1 As Form 65 6.1.1 Personal & Tacit Knowledge 66 6.1.2 Codified Knowledge 70 6.1.2.1 Innis, McLuhan & Réalism fantastique 71 6.1.2.2 Thomas Shales & the Re-Decade 75 6.1.2.3 William Gibson & Cybercode 76 6.1.3 Tooled Knowledge 76 6.1.3.1 Hard-Tooled 78 Sensors 79 Tools 81 Toys 82 6.1.3.2 Soft-Tooled 83 Computer & Genomic Programs 84 Mathematics 85 Standards 87 Technique 89 6.1.3.3 Characteristics 90 Design 90 Density 93 Fixation 94 Vintage 95 6.1.4 Reconciliation 95 6.2 As Input 96 6.2.1 Codified & Tooled Capital 97 6.2.1.1 Cultural 98 6.2.1.2 Financial 98 6.2.1.3 Human 98 6.2.1.4 Legal 99 6.2.1.5 Social 99 6.2.2 Personal & Tacit Labour 100 6.2.2.1 Productive 101 6.2.2.2 Managerial 101 6.2.2.3 Entrepreneurial 102 vi 6.2.3 Toolable Natural Resources 103 6.3 As Output 103 6.3.1 The Person 104 6.3.2 The Code 108 6.3.3 The Tool 109 6.4 Reconciliation 113 7.0 KNOWLEDGE AS CONTENT 115 8.0 ETYMOLOGY 119 8.1 The Word 119 8.1.1 Can 121 8.1.2 Know 121 8.1.3 Knowledge 122 8.1.4 Wit 122 8.1.5 Related & Imported Words 123 8.2 Findings 124 8.3 Reconciliation 126 8.3.1 By the Senses 126 8.3.2 By the Mind 127 8.3.3 By Doing 128 8.3.4 By Experience 128 8.4 Qubit WIT 129 9.0 PSYCHOLOGY 130 9.1 Definitions 130 9.2 Wetware 131 9.3 Software 134 9.3.1 Archetypes & Complexes 135 9.3.2 Faculties 136 9.3.2.1 Reason 137 9.3.2.2 Revelation 137 9.3.2.3 Sentiment 139 Adam Smith 140 Grant McCracken 142 Ekhart Schlicht 143 9.3.2.4 Sensation 143 vii Sciernce 145 Aesthetics 145 Economics 145 9.4 Qubit PSI 146 9.5 Reconciliation 147 10.0 EPISTEMOLOGY & PEDAGOGY 149 10.1 Domains 150 10.1.1 Natural & Engineering Sciences 152 10.1.2 Humanities & Social Sciences 154 10.1.3 The Arts 159 10.2 The Practices 164 10.3 Reconciliation 167 10.4 Qubit EPI 168 10.5 Qubit PED 168 11.0 LAW 169 11.1 The Myth of the Creator 169 11.2 The Matrix 173 11.3 Rights to Know 175 11.3.1 Copyrights & Trademarks 177 11.3.2 Designs & Patents 180 11.3.3 Know-How & Trade Secrets 182 11.3.4 Sui Generis 183 11.4 The Public Domain 184 11.4.1 Economic Commons 184 11.4.2 Legal Principle & Precedent 186 11.4.3 Constitutional & Cultural
Recommended publications
  • Article Consumer Databases and The

    Article Consumer Databases and The

    Consumer Databases and the Commercial Article Mediation of Identity: a medium theory analysis Vincent Manzerolle Sandra Smeltzer University of Western Ontario, Canada. University of Western Ontario, Canada. [email protected] [email protected] Abstract This paper argues that the systemic nature of contemporary consumer surveillance undermines the most fundamental principle of free market economics: consumer sovereignty. Specifically, this paper argues that the rise of an information society in conjunction with neoliberal capitalism has entrenched routine forms of surveillance within commercial strategies by employing networked databases as a primary medium for the articulation of consumer sovereignty. The communicative relationship between consumers and producers within the market involves effectively ‘listening’ (and then responding) to consumer needs and wants in a timely manner. Surveillance is therefore not only necessary for the operation of globalized consumer capitalism, it is also the primary means by which consumers communicate their sovereignty within the marketplace. By turning to the work of Harold Innis and the intellectual tradition known as medium theory, this paper will theorize how consumer databases are used to circumvent the fundamental neutrality of the market, and thus sovereignty, of individual consumers by exploiting individual vulnerabilities through behaviour and profile modelling. Increasingly, vast amounts of personal information are in the hands of third party entities, creating what Innis calls monopolies of knowledge. Drawing on the example of Acxiom, a US-based data collection and management corporation, we highlight how the commercial mediation of identity has become progressively more hidden from view of the consumer and thus the need for greater regulation of this industry. Introduction Personal information is increasingly the basic fuel on which economic activity runs.
  • Mcluhan Lecture

    Mcluhan Lecture

    MediaTropes eJournal Vol I (2008): 19–41 ISSN 1913-6005 “AGENTS OF AGGRESSIVE ORDER”: LETTERS, HANDS, AND THE GRASPING POWER OF TEETH IN THE EARLY CANADIAN TORTURE NARRATIVE MONIQUE TSCHOFEN Introduction This paper brings together a most fascinating and under-examined body of early New World writing that belong to a genre of writing I call “the torture narrative” with the insights of Marshall McLuhan in order to offer a way of thinking about body parts, especially hands, teeth, tongues, and eyeballs, and their extensions through technologies such as alphabets, manuscripts, books, and weapons. At its core are questions about the nature and effects of the changes wrought by the early-Gutenberg era—a period characterized by vast scientific and technical discoveries, rising nationalisms, explorations, and conquests—in the New World. Rather than explore the ways an early New World print culture reflects or distorts discrete historical or ethnographic facts about colonial contact, I want to probe the ways the torture narrative speaks to the conditions of speaking and writing, and therefore to the discursive and textual production of the New World subject and New World space. My inquiry seeks to understand both the violence in, and the violence of, representation at founding historical moments, but its relevance far exceeds Renaissance or American studies. At stake in this discussion is an appreciation of a mode of intellectual inquiry that is attentive to the relationship between media technologies and the social worlds they reflect and transform. I. McLuhan’s Theories: Break-Boundaries and the Effects of Alphabetization Fascinated by turbulence, over-heating, explosions, implosions, and reversals, Marshall McLuhan is a thinker of boundaries, limits, and all modalities of transformation.
  • Fitzgerald and Winseck.Docx

    Fitzgerald and Winseck.Docx

    Media Economics: Missed Opportunities, Mischaracterizations Scott Fitzgerald, Curtin Business School, Curtin University, Perth, Australia Dwayne Winseck, School of Journalism and Communication/Institute of Political Economy, Carleton A heightened state of flux is now sweeping the media, creative, telecom and internet industries. In the United States Netflix recently, albeit briefly, surpassed Disney as the country’s largest media company by market capitalization. The just completed mega-merger between AT&T and Time Warner and another prospective one between Disney and 21st Century Fox (or potentially Comcast and 21st Century Fox) are presented as countering the threat posed by Netflix, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google to traditional film and TV businesses. Such developments highlight the issues of competition, market power, consumer welfare and industry evolution. In the latter context, visions of heightened competition, technical innovation and interactivity associated with digital distribution have been recurrent themes in industry analysis since before the US Telecommunications Act of 1996. Media Economics, by Stuart Cunningham, Terry Flew and Adam Swift (2015), takes up the challenge of grappling with new institutional actors and considers how audiences interact with and contribute to the emergent digital media ecology. These leading media studies scholars survey several different schools of thought useful to analysing media industries. They suggest that certain schools of heterodox economics - the ‘new’ institutionalism, evolutionary
  • Mass Media and the Transformation of American Politics Kristine A

    Mass Media and the Transformation of American Politics Kristine A

    Marquette Law Review Volume 77 | Issue 2 Article 7 Mass Media and the Transformation of American Politics Kristine A. Oswald Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr Part of the Law Commons Repository Citation Kristine A. Oswald, Mass Media and the Transformation of American Politics, 77 Marq. L. Rev. 385 (2009). Available at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol77/iss2/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Marquette Law Review by an authorized administrator of Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MASS MEDIA AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN POLITICS I. INTRODUCTION The importance of the mass media1 in today's society cannot be over- estimated. Especially in the arena of policy-making, the media's influ- ence has helped shape the development of American government. To more fully understand the political decision-making process in this coun- try it is necessary to understand the media's role in the performance of political officials and institutions. The significance of the media's influ- ence was expressed by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: "The Press has become the greatest power within Western countries, more powerful than the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. One would then like to ask: '2 By what law has it been elected and to whom is it responsible?" The importance of the media's power and influence can only be fully appreciated through a complete understanding of who or what the media are.
  • The Boston College Economics Department

    The Boston College Economics Department

    THE BOSTON COLLEGE BC ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER June, 1992 EC August 1996 Prof. Robert McEwen, S.J. Professor Emeritus Robert J. McEwen of the Society of Jesus died of a heart attack on May 15, 1996 in Cork, Ireland, where he was visiting relatives. He was 79. He had just completed his 50th year of teaching in the Boston College Department of Economics. McEwen received one of the first Ph.D.’s granted in economics at Boston College, and chaired the department from 1957 to 1970, playing a crucial role in its development. His area of expertise was consumer economics–a field in which he received recognition from President Lyndon Johnson and from state leaders. In 1963, he successfully lobbied the Massachu- setts legislature to create the state Consumer Council, and served as its founding chair. The following remembrance of Bob McEwen was written by Prof. Francis McLaughlin, a colleague of Bob’s for many years. A remembrance In mid-May Father Robert J. McEwen died suddenly while visiting relatives in Ireland. He had turned in grades and completed fifty years of teaching economics at BC just a few weeks earlier. Father McEwen was chairman of the department from 1957 to 1970, and a key player in the department's growth and development. In 1957 he received one of the first three Ph.D. degrees in economics awarded by Boston College. His thesis was on the "so- called" fair trade laws. He was "against them" according to Father Seavey Joyce, a member of his thesis committee. The following September Bob became chairman, taking over from Father Joyce.
  • Changing Money: Communities, Longer Term Finance and You Transcript

    Changing Money: Communities, Longer Term Finance and You Transcript

    Changing Money: Communities, Longer Term Finance and You Transcript Date: Tuesday, 16 November 2010 - 12:00AM Location: Museum of London Changing Money: Communities, Longer Term Finance and You Ian Harris, Z/Yen Group 16/11/2010 Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. I am honoured to have been invited to deliver this third and final guest Gresham Lecture in the "Beyond Crisis" series. This lecture is entitled "Changing Money: Communities, Longer Term Finance & You". Cattle and Pens [SLIDE: OMO VALLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL] When my partner, Janie, and I travel in the developing world, it has long been our habit to take a healthy supply of basic, ball- point pens with us to give as gifts to children as a small contribution towards their education and therefore development. We are old hands at this now - we learnt many years ago that simply handing pens to children at random is not an educational gift at all, but a gift akin to money. The ball-point pen is a valuable commodity which can be exchanged for other more instantly gratifying items, such as sweets. Or perhaps even cash. In recent years, we have preferred to give the pens through schools, where we are more confident that the teachers will ensure that the children actually use the pens themselves for educational purposes. When we went to Ethiopia a few years ago, we 'struck gold' in a Karo village in the South Omo Valley. The Government had just built the village its first school, which was due to open later that year. But the Government had run out of money for this project before providing consumables for the school.
  • Economic Approaches to Language and Bilingualism. New AVAILABLE

    Economic Approaches to Language and Bilingualism. New AVAILABLE

    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 429 438 FL 025 708 AUTHOR Breton, Albert, Ed. TITLE Economic Approaches to Language and Bilingualism. New Canadian Perspectives. INSTITUTION Canadian Heritage, Ottawa (Ontario). ISBN ISBN-0-662-26885-7 ISSN ISSN-1203-8903 PUB DATE 1998-00-00 NOTE 261p. AVAILABLE FROM Official Languages Support Programs, Department of Canadian Heritage, 15 Eddy, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A-0M5 (Cat. no. CH3-2-7/1998E); Tel: 819-994-2224; Web site: http://www.pch.gc.ca/offlangoff/perspectives/index.htm (free). PUB TYPE Books (010) Collected Works General (020) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Bilingual Education; *Bilingualism; *Economic Factors; Economics; Foreign Countries; Global Approach; Human Capital; International Trade; *Labor Economics; Language Minorities; *Language Role; *Languages; *Official Languages; Regional Characteristics; Second Language Instruction IDENTIFIERS Acadians; *Canada; New Brunswick ABSTRACT Six essays on the links between official languages and the economy in Canada include: "An Economic Analysis of Language" (Albert Breton); "The Economics of Language in a Virtually Integrated Global Economy" (Richard G. Harris); "Speak and Ye Shall Receive: Language Knowledgeas Human Capital" (Krishna Pendakur, Ravi Pendakur); "Bilingualism and Earnings: A Study Based on 1971, 1981, and 1991 Census Data" (Louis N. Christofides, Robert Swidinsky); "Bilingualism in Employee Recruitment and the Role of Symbolic Analysts in Leading Export-Oriented Firms" (Harold Chorney); and "The Contributions of a Minority to its Region: The Case of the Acadians in New Brunswick's South East" (Maurice Beaudin).(MSE) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** oo en -cr o. A 110 A ISIS MIK MINIM AAs IA 1- .
  • Social Learning Systems and Communities of Practice Chris Blackmore Editor

    Social Learning Systems and Communities of Practice Chris Blackmore Editor

    Social Learning Systems and Communities of Practice Chris Blackmore Editor Social Learning Systems and Communities of Practice 123 Editor Chris Blackmore The Open University, Walton Hall MK7 6AA Milton Keynes United Kingdom First published in 2010 by Springer London In association with The Open University Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA United Kingdom Copyright c 2010 The Open University All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmit- ted or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS (website www.cla.co.uk). Open University course materials may also be made available in electronic formats for use by students of the University. All rights, including copyright and related rights and database rights, in electronic course materials and their contents are owned by or licensed to The Open University, or otherwise used by The Open University as permitted by applicable law. In using electronic course materials and their contents you agree that your use will be solely for the pur- poses of following an Open University course of study or otherwise as licensed by The Open University or its assigns. Except as permitted above you undertake not to copy, store in any medium (including electronic storage or use in a website), distribute, transmit or retransmit, broadcast, modify or show in public such electronic materials in whole or in part without the prior written consent of The Open University or in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
  • When the Map Becomes the Territory: Korzybski and Cyberculture

    When the Map Becomes the Territory: Korzybski and Cyberculture

    When the Map Becomes the Territory: Korzybski and Cyberculture Thierry Bardini Département de Communication Université de Montréal Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Thierry Bardini Département de Communication Université de Montréal C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville Montréal QC H3C 3J7 Canada Email: [email protected] 2 Abstract: I examine in this paper the direct and indirect influences that Alfred Korzybski had on contemporary cyberculture. I consider two different but sometimes intertwined lines of thought, genres and/or disciplines: (1) science-fiction, and (2) communication and/or media studies. In the first case, I consider Korzybski’s direct influence on William Burroughs and Alfred van Vogt and thus his indirect influence on Philip K. Dick (PKD) and the 1980s genre of cyberpunk literature. In the second case, I show how Korzybski’s direct influence on Gregory Bateson, among other cyberneticians of the first hour (McCullogh and Northrop), and Neil Postman, contributed in shaping one of the leading modes of thought in this domain, i.e. “media ecology.” Altogether, I argue that Korzybski’s legacy in contemporary culture greatly exceeds the “map is not the territory” slogan: instead, through such notions as “the unbearable aporias of being”, the power of the conjunction and the relation between language and power (“control”), he helped shape today’s modes of thought. 3 Introduction This paper is about maps and territories, but about special kinds of maps and territories; digital (and not virtual) maps and territories. So I start with a serious question: say at the sattelite resolution of Google maps, for instance, doesn’t the map look like the territory? And if the territory itself is digital (as in cyberspace), isn’t the map the territory? In order to give some elements of answer to these questions I examine here the direct and indirect influences Alfred Korzybski had on contemporary cyberculture.
  • Systemic Innovation and How Can It Be Done Effectively?

    Systemic Innovation and How Can It Be Done Effectively?

    1 Joined–Up INNOVATION WHAT IS SYSTEMIC INNOVATION AND HOW CAN IT BE DONE EFFECTIVELY? SYSTEMS INNOVATION DISCUSSION PAPER Geoff Mulgan Charlie Leadbeater January 2013 About Nesta Nesta is the UK’s innovation foundation. We help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills. We are an independent charity and our work is enabled by an endowment from the National Lottery. Nesta Operating Company is a registered charity in England and Wales with company number 7706036 and charity number 1144091. Registered as a charity in Scotland number SC042833. Registered office: 1 Plough Place, London, EC4A 1DE www.nesta.org.uk © Nesta 2013. CONTENTS WHAT IS SYSTEMIC INNOVATION AND HOW CAN IT BE INFluENCED? 4 Joined–UP INNOVATION: wHAT IS SYSTEMIC INNOVATION AND HOW CAN IT BE DONE EFFECTIVELY? 5 INTRODUCTION 6 1 BACKGROUND AND DEFINITIONS 6 2 UNDERSTANDING SYSTEMS 10 3 UNDERSTANDING HOW TO CHANGE SYSTEMS 15 4 WHAT CAN YOU DO? 20 ENDNOTES 24 THE SYSTEMS INNOVATOR: WHY succEssFUL INNOVATION GOES BEYOND PRODUCTS 25 AckNOWLEDGEMENTS 26 1 THE ART OF ARRIVING LATE 27 2 THE NEED FOR SYSTEMS INNOVATION 29 3 SCHOOLS, CONTAINERS AND TWEETS 31 4 INFRASTRUCTURES, ALLIANCES AND MOVEMENTS 35 5 THE VARIETY OF SYSTEMS 40 6 LEADING SYSTEMS CHANGE 45 7 THE NEW RULES OF INNOVATION 49 ENDNOTES 54 ANNEX: FURTHER READING 55 4 SYSTEMS INNOVATION WHAT IS SYSTEMIC INNOVATION AND HOW CAN IT BE INFluENCED? Introduction Over the past few years there has been growing interest in systemic innovation. We are defining this as an interconnected set of innovations, where each influences the other, with innovation both in the parts of the system and in the ways in which they interconnect.
  • Harold Innis and the Empire of Speed

    Harold Innis and the Empire of Speed

    Review of International Studies (1999), 25, 273–289 Copyright © British International Studies Association Harold Innis and the Empire of Speed RONALD J. DEIBERT* Abstract. Increasingly, International Relations (IR) theorists are drawing inspiration from a broad range of theorists outside the discipline. One thinks of the introduction of Antonio Gramsci’s writings to IR theorists by Robert Cox, for example, and the ‘school’ that has developed in its wake. Similarly, the works of Anthony Giddens, Michel Foucault, and Jurgen Habermas are all relatively familiar to most IR theorists not because of their writings on world politics per se, but because they were imported into the field by roving theorists. Many others of varying success could be cited as well. Such cross-disciplinary excursions are important because they inject vitality into a field that—in the opinion of some at least—is in need of rejuvenation in the face of contemporary changes. In this paper, I elaborate on the work of the Canadian communications theorist Harold Innis, situating his work within contemporary IR theory while underlining his historicism, holism, and attention to time- space biases. Introduction One of the more refreshing developments in recent International Relations (IR) theorizing has been the increasing willingness among scholars to step outside of traditional boundaries to draw from theorists not usually associated with the study of international relations.1 My own expeditions in this respect have been in the communications field, where I have drawn from an approach called ‘medium theory.’ Writers generally associated with this approach, such as Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, Eric Havelock, and Walter Ong, have analysed how different media of communications affect communication content, cognition, and the character of societies.2 In a recent study, I modified and reformulated medium theory to help * An earlier version of this article was delivered to the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 28–31, 1997, Washington, DC.
  • Regarding the Past

    Regarding the Past

    Regarding the Past Proceedings of the 20th Conference of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia University of Queensland 11-13 July 2007 Edited by Peter E. Earl and Bruce Littleboy This book comprises complete texts and/or abstracts of refereed papers presented at the 20th Conference of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia held at The Women’s College, University of Queensland, 11-13 July 2007. © Selection and editorial material Peter E. Earl and Bruce Littleboy; individual chapters, the respective contributors Published by The School of Economics University of Queensland St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia ISBN: 9781 8649 98 979 (pbk); 9781 8649 98 955 (CD-ROM) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in Australia by the University of Queensland Printery Contents List of Contributors v Introduction Peter E. Earl and Bruce Littleboy vii 1 History for Economics: Learning from the Past 1 Alexander Dow and Sheila Dow 2 Theories of Economic Development in the Scottish Enlightenment 9 Alexander Dow and Sheila Dow 3 Ethical Foundations of Adam Smith’s Political Economy 25 James E. Alvey 4 Smith and the Materialist Theory of History 44 Jeremy Shearmur 5 Post-Keynesianism and the Possibility of a Post-Keynesian Politics 62 Geoff Dow 6 George Stigler’s Rhetoric – Dreams of Martin Luther 78 Craig Freedman 7 Why is the Austrian School’s Methodology Problematical? 103 Troy P.