Designing trans-disciplinary research to support policy formulation for sustainable agricultural development

The article shows how existing multidisciplinary studies on sustainable agricultural development can be joined into a trans-disciplinary approach. Three interdisciplinary projects have been combined in a participatory discussion platform, in which researchers from different disciplines (economists, ecologists, social scientist and geographers) were brought together with a variety of stakeholders. The specific application of the developed method on agricultural development in Belgium, has revealed the need for crossing system boundaries within research, articulation of definitions on sustainable development, development of a coherent sustainability labelling policy and increasing the access to nation wide data both for researchers and policy makers.     

Technological innovation and knowledge network in Asia: Evidence from comparison of information and communication technologies among six countries

South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and India have become much larger force in the world economy. Due to the enormous contribution of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in economic growth, this study investigates four main issues related to technological innovation and knowledge network in ICT among six countries. First, indicators of technological innovation were evaluated and used to compare capability of technological innovation in ICT between the six countries. Secondly, differences in innovation configurations among six countries were manifested. Thirdly, relative innovation strengths of these six countries were examined in five sub-technological fields. Finally, this study consists of analyzing the interactions into knowledge network among them; moreover, this study manifests the difference of knowledge network in five sub-technological field of ICT. The empirical findings of this study, based on analysis of a patent and citation dataset comprised of all patents granted by the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) to assignees in six countries from 1976 to 2006, are helpful to understand the comparative development of technological innovation of ICT in six countries.     

The determinants of investment in information and communication technologies

In this paper, we assess the determinants of information and communication technology (ICT) investment at the macro-level, for a panel of 10 advanced countries, in the period 1992–2005. We investigate the idea that, since ICTs are general purpose technologies, the decision to invest in these technologies is strongly affected by the general business environment in which the investment takes place. The empirical results are consistent with this idea: facilitating factors such as changes in market regulation, amount of human capital, expenditure on R&D, and the share of the dynamic services sector in the economy, positively influence investment in ICT.     

Innovation and ICT in service firms: towards a multidimensional approach for impact assessment

This article focuses on the multimodal character of innovation in services firms as the analytical framework by which to assess the role of different sources and agents, ICT in particular, in enabling various impacts of innovation. The peculiarities of service innovation require a wider approach than that observed for goods innovation, which is less focused on non-technological aspects. An ad hoc survey was carried out in the region of Madrid to test a microeconometric and multidimensional approach at the firm level. Specific impacts of innovation are examined by carrying out an ordered probit model with sample selection. Results indicate a certain correspondence between the multidimensional nature of service innovation and a preliminary impact assessment. The paper notes that ICT and clients–providers interactions are both important, acting to facilitate different types of service innovation.

A patent-based cross impact analysis for quantitative estimation of technological impact: The case of information and communication technology

The increasing syntheses and interactions between various technologies increase the usefulness of cross impact analysis (CIA) as a method for forecasting and analyzing them. Conventional CIA depends on an expert's qualitative judgment or intuition and thus it is difficult to evaluate quantitatively the impact of one technology on another. In this study, we employ patent analysis in CIA to examine such impacts between technologies based on multiple patent classifications. Patent information is used for facilitating quantitative and systematic approach in CIA. The distinctive feature and main contribution of the proposed approach is the overcoming of the limitations of conventional CIA, by employing conditional probabilities based on the patent information. The classification of patents, particularly the multiple classifications, is used to evaluate the relationships between technologies. As an illustration, a patent-based CIA with information and communication technologies (ICTs) was conducted. Firstly, the patent-based cross impact among ICTs was calculated. Secondly, the technology pairs were classified based on the cross impact score between ICTs. Thirdly, a cross impact network was constructed to identify the complex relation among ICTs. Finally, the changes in cross impact scores between technologies over time were analyzed. The results of this research are expected to help practitioners to forecast future trends and to develop better R&D strategies.     

A grey dynamic model for the evaluation of regional sustainable development and its emoirical study

Currently,traditional development issues,such as economic stagnation,as well as new challenges like environmental degradation and globalization,need attention.Sustainable development,including economic,environmental,and social elements,is a main goal of decision-makers.The key to sustainable decision-making is to evaluate and forecast the status quo of sustainable development.Policy makers need a tool based on scientific information to forecast the effects of future actions on sustainability and make policies for sustainable development.This paper analyzes the relation of the economy,environment and social welfare by the grey dynamic model.The proposed method use time series and basic indicators of ecological system,including economic,environmental and social sub-systems.It is applied to Heilongfiang Province and Jiangsu Province.The results have proved different status quo of sustainable development in these two regions,and suggestions are proposed,such as optimization of industrial structure and eco-industrial development.The conclusion is that there is no unique sustainable path,and accordingly,policy makers shouM choose different criteria and strategies to make efficient sustainable decisions for each region.     

A grey dynamic model for the evaluation of regional sustainable development and its empirical study

Currently, traditional development issues, such as economic stagnation, as well as new challenges like environmental degradation and globalization, need attention. Sustainable development, including economic, environmental, and social elements, is a main goal of decision-makers. The key to sustainable decision-making is to evaluate and forecast the status quo of sustainable development. Policy makers need a tool based on scientific information to forecast the effects of future actions on sustainability and make policies for sustainable development. This paper analyzes the relation of the economy, environment and social welfare by the grey dynamic model. The proposed method uses time series and basic indicators of ecological system, including economic, environmental and social sub-systems. It is applied to Heilongjiang Province and Jiangsu Province. The results have proved different status quo of sustainable development in these two regions, and suggestions are proposed, such as optimization of industrial structure and eco-industrial development. The conclusion is that there is no unique sustainable path, and accordingly, policy makers should choose different criteria and strategies to make efficient sustainable decisions for each region.     

A systemic comparative assessment of the multifunctional performance of alternative olive systems in Spain within an AHP-extended framework

The concept of sustainable agriculture is strongly related to the multifunctional role, either explicitly or implicitly, recognized to the primary sector. When assessing the performance and value to society of particular agricultural systems, the multifunctional nature of agriculture requires an approach based on multicriteria. Amongst others, these include economic, environmental, social, cultural and technical criteria. Like other complex multicriteria analyses, this evaluation of agricultural systems is characterized by the existence of not only many, but often conflicting criteria, multiple stakeholders and decision-makers who have competing interests, lack of information and a consideration of the high risks involved.The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a methodology that deals with problems of this sort in a relatively easy, flexible and economical manner. Therefore it is a potentially useful tool for the practical resolution of complex problems, often an object of Ecological Economics. One such problem is the analysis of the sustainability of economic activities.This article has three aims. The first is to present AHP as a powerful methodology for assessing multifunctional performances of different agricultural systems in a comparative way. AHP can also be applied to other multifunctional economic activities. The second aim is to propose an extension of AHP for improving the decision-making processes when different groups of decision agents are involved. A final aim is to illustrate the AHP-extended methodology in a particular case study. This is done by using it to compare the multifunctional performance of alternative olive growing systems in Andalusia, a region located in the south of Spain, on the basis of the assessments of different groups of experts. This tests the hypothetically greater sustainability of organic and integrated farming over conventional farming systems in the medium/long term under average conditions for this region. Results for this case study show a greater global performance of organic and integrated agriculture despite differences in the ideological tendencies of the experts, thus providing a scientific basis for endorsing institutional and social support for the promotion and implementation of these farming techniques. Some conflictive issues, however, have been detected, especially in areas related to environmental performance. Further research on the controversial topics is desirable for clarification.     

County financial ecology and the development of new socialist countryside in China

The new rural construction will involve many fields, such as the upgrade of the industrial structure of agriculture, the impravement of the efficiency in the use of agricultural resources, the increase of farmers＇ income, maintaining sustainable agricultural development, and strengthening the construction of agricultural service system and circulation system.Finance, as the core of modem economy, should serve the new rural construction. However, there are many problems about the financial system in the rural area for a long time. So it is vital to build a good county financial eco-environment to promote the development of county financial systems and give full scope to the supporting function of finance. Only when we solve the problems in rural financial ecology and make clear the government ＇s fanction and activities, the county financial environment can function and be improved. Based on the reality of county economic development and starting from the connotation of county financial ecology, this paper analyzes the status quo of county financial eco-environment, especially the significance of optimizing the county financial eco-environment under the macroscopic background that the country proposed the socialist new rural reconstruction, and proposes the opinions and suggestions to construct and the maintain county financial eco-environment.     

印度农村科技服务体系建设初探

印度首任总理尼赫鲁说过：“其他事情都可以等,唯独农业不能等”。作为拥有12亿人口的农业大国印度,农业和农村问题对其国民经济发展和国家稳定至关重要。本文对印度农村科技服务体系建设情况,农村科技信息化的发展及其在农村科技服务中的作用进行了介绍．针对印度中央政府、地方政府、非政府组织以及私营企业等各利益攸关方在农村科技服务体系建设中的作用进行了分析,重点研究了印度在现有体制和当前的社会发展现状中如何整合资源、发挥有关各方的积极性,因地制宜地开展农村科技服务工作。     

Backcasting images of the future city—Time and space for sustainable development in Stockholm

This paper presents and discusses a backcasting study for Stockholm 2050. The focus is on developing images of a future where Stockholm citizens have sustainable energy use—here defined as a 60% reduction per capita over a 50-year period. The perspective is that of households, so all energy is allocated to individuals’ activities rather than being discussed from a sector perspective. Six images of the future are developed by combining a space dimension (three versions of changes in urban structure) and a time dimension (two versions of people's life tempo). Added to this is technological development, so that the images of the future illustrate how combinations of planning, behavioural change and technological development could lead to sustainable energy use.     

Evaluation and countermeasures for coordinated development in the active export-oriented region： a case study on Zhejiang, China

Taking a typical active export-oriented region Zhejiang as an example, this paper tries to evaluate its Coordinated Development Degree （CDD） form 1997, focusing on the characteristics of its export-oriented econom〉 and regional environment. The results show that Zhejiang ＇s CDD has kept increasing steadily after its slight drop in 1998. Finally, four measurements are proposed to promote sustainable development, including increasing and equalizing region＇s environmental investment, changing pollution-intensive export structure to avoid restricting the whole industrial structure, restricting simple spatial translocation of high-material consumption, high-energy consumption and high-pollution industries, etc.     

Cultural lag and international communication The Case of Japan

In this special first issue contribution by Dr. Nagai in his capacity of Supervisory Editor of this new Journal, attention is given to the often neglected influence of the cultural lag on communications and its impact on economic policies and international relations.     

An analytic network process approach to partner selection for acquisition and development

To cope with rapid technological change and the increasing R&D costs during a period of decreasing technology and product life cycles, acquisition and development (A&D) has been suggested to be an important method for high-tech firms to achieve higher economic returns. However, few studies have examined the operational problems of choosing a compatible A&D candidate from a pool of potential A&D candidates. To address this limitation, this study proposes an approach based on the analytic network process (ANP) to rank a set of potential A&D candidates within a multivariate set of attributes systematically. A total of 25 criteria were identified and used to construct the ANP model in which the final selection is based on the resulting priorities assigned to the A&D candidates. A case study of a semiconductor manufacturing company was conducted to illustrate the application of the proposed approach. The results indicated that the proposed ANP method can aid in A&D decision-making problems systematically.     

From natural resources and environmental accounting to construction of indicators for sustainable development

Norway has a long history in trying to develop management tools for sustainable development. From the early development of natural resources accounts in the 1980s, through discussions of the usefulness of indices like “green GDP” to efforts of developing sustainable development indicators, experiences have been gained. The paper seeks to both describe the landscape and discussions associated with the key terms, and to communicate some lessons drawn from the Norwegian experiences. The conclusion focuses on the fact that whatever information is collected and organised to support the relevant decision-making processes, the final outcome should always be judged in terms of its impacts on policy processes. Thus, we issue a warning against large-scale development of information systems, without due regard to the final utilisation of the output.     

The healthy development of economies: A strategic framework for competitiveness in the health industry

Applying a strategic decision-making perspective on the economics of business, we suggest that a competitive locality in the health industry is one that, relative to other localities, is effective in: (1) providing the healthcare that enables everyone to participate fully in the democratic development of the locality; (2) providing the healthcare that is democratically identified as a direct objective of this development; (3) contributing through the health industry to any other democratically determined objectives of the locality's development. The paper hypothesizes that strategic decision-making in organizations is an especially significant determinant of the impacts of the health industry. We conclude that: (i) a locality that suffers concentration in the power to determine the objectives of its health industry could not be strictly competitive in that industry; (ii) the first best way to achieve competitiveness in the health industry would be to democratize its strategic decision-making. What this would entail in practice is discussed in some detail.     

The role of externalities and information aggregation in market collapse

We examine the role that belief, network externality, and information aggregation play in inefficient market collapses. After receiving consecutive negative shocks, some ex-ante identical Bayesian agents will be discouraged about the unknown state of the market they invest; therefore, they will stop investing. This decision will have two effects: first, it will cause agents to aggregate information through social/observational learning; second, it will decrease the network externality effect. We show that there might be an inefficient market collapse if the externality effect diminishes too much, and the cost of re-entry to the market is too high. We also analyze the effects of strategic delay and experimentation on the exit decision of the agents. I especially thank Thomas D. Jeitschko, Matthew Mitchell, B. Ravikumar Ted Temzelides. I also thank anonymous referees, an associate editor, John Conlon, Larry Samuelson, Troy Tassier, Stephen Williamson, and seminar participants of the University of Saskatchewan, Georgia Tech, Concordia University, University of Manitoba, Iowa Alumni Workshop, Midwest Economic Theory Conferences held at Indiana Bloomington, and Notre Dame, and 1st International Conference on Business, Management and Economics organized by Yasar University.     

The rising culture and worldview of contemporary spirituality: A sociological study of potentials and pitfalls for sustainable development

Several social scientists claim that the rise of the culture of contemporary spirituality is a pivotal part of the gradual but profound change taking place in the Western worldview, both reflecting the larger cultural development, as well as giving shape and direction to it. Its emergence is therefore not to be neglected in attempts to create a more sustainable society. The aim of this study is to generate insight into the culture and worldview of contemporary spirituality and explore its potentials and pitfalls for sustainable development. An investigation of the sociological literature on the so-called “New Age” phenomenon results in a delineation and overview of these and shows that this culture is both a potentially promising force, as well as a phenomenon posing specific risks. A structural-developmental understanding is introduced in order to be able to distinguish between regressive and progressive tendencies in this culture, and comprehend the deeper logic behind the observed potentials and pitfalls. This may serve to facilitate the actualization of the culture's potentials while mitigating its pitfalls, and in that way contribute to the timely challenge of creating a more sustainable society.     

A resilience-based framework for evaluating adaptive co-management: Linking ecology, economics and society in a complex world

Adaptive co-management brings together collaborative and adaptive approaches in pursuit of sustainable resource use and social-ecological resilience. Enthusiasm for this management approach, however, is countered by recent critiques regarding outcomes. A lack of evidence from consistent evaluation of adaptive co-management further exacerbates this situation. This paper revisits the issue of evaluation in natural resource management and recasts it in light of complex adaptive systems thinking. An evaluative framework for adaptive co-management is developed which directs attention toward three broad components: ecosystem conditions, livelihood outcomes and process and institutional conditions. Scale-specific parameters are offered for each component to facilitate systematic learning from experience and encourage cross-site comparisons. Conclusions highlight the importance of systematically incorporating evaluation into the adaptive co-management process and recognize the challenge for resource agencies and researchers to shift from a conventional to a complex adaptive system perspective.     

浅析统计信息失真的原因及对策

近年来一些领域和地方的统计信息失真现象严重,极大地影响了国家决策部门的决策行为,对国民经济的有效运行带来了严重的负面影响。本文对我国统计信息失真的原因进行了剖析,进而有针对性地提出了提高统计信息质量的相应对策。