The contribution of Project-based-learning to high-achievers’ acquisition of technological knowledge and skills

The main goals of this study were to look after the technological knowledge construction process by high-school high-achievers, and their ability to design and implement solutions for technological problems. More specifically, we examine the contribution of Project-based-learning (PBL), as pedagogical means for supporting the students’ knowledge acquisition and problem-solving process. The findings show a significant increase in formal knowledge as measured by standardized matriculation exams; an expansion in the scope of technological knowledge acquired and implemented, and in the scope of knowledge resources utilized for the projects; a high level of overall performance as regards to the set of design skills studied; a positive change in attitude towards technology and technological studies; the emergence of consistent design styles by individuals and groups along their work in the projects.     

Researching cognition and technology: how we learn across the lifespan

This article addresses how we learn technology across the lifespan. After outlining findings of research into how children, adolescents, teens and adults learn technology, we address theoretical shifts from sociocultural to technocultural theories of cognition and reorientations from mediated to cyborgenic learning. The balance of the article describes effective methods for researching cognition and technology. In the process of outlining key findings from research, we emphasize the links among methods and theories employed, data produced and conclusions drawn. Our goal is to sketch a lifelong learning context for undertaking studies of cognition and technology, and to provide a methodological and theoretical analysis for researchers venturing into this dynamic and volatile field. In summary, we provide a far-ranging agenda for researching cognition and technology.

On using relative prices to measure capital-specific technological progress

Recently, Greenwood, Hercowitz and Krusell (GHK) have identified the relative price of (new) capital with capital-specific technological progress. In a two-sector growth model, however, the relative price of capital equals the ratio of the productivity processes in the two sectors. Restrictions from this model are used with data on wages and prices to construct measures of productivity growth and test the GHK identification, which is easily rejected by the data. This raises questions about various measures of the contribution that capital-specific technological progress might make to the economy. This identification also induces a negative correlation between the resulting measures of capital-specific and economy-wide technological change, which potentially explains why papers employing this identification find that capital-specific technological change accelerated in the mid-1970s. We impose structure on the productivity measures based on their long-run behavior and find evidence of a slowdown in productivity in the 1970s that is common to both sectors and an acceleration in the mid-1990s that is exclusive to the capital sector.     

Technological diversification, complementary assets, and performance

Most research on technological diversification or complementary assets has been carried out in isolation when assessing their effects on performance. In this study, we posit that technological diversification and performance are positively linked and that specialized complementary assets have a moderating effect on this relationship. This study also finds that different specialized complementary assets have distinctive moderating effects on the relationship between technological diversification and performance. We conclude that maintaining a coherent relationship between technological diversification and specialized complementary assets give firms generates competitive advantage.     

Exploring technology paths: The development of alternative transport fuels in Sweden 2007-2020

By using socio-technical scenarios, we investigate how present policy choices may affect the development of alternative transport fuels in Sweden. One important choice for policy lies in the balance between general tax exemptions stimulating the market for alternative fuels, and funding of research and development more directly promoting new technology. The implications of this choice are illustrated with four diverging development paths until 2020. In the market-oriented scenarios, we illustrate consequences of breaking the dominance of entrenched technologies and demonstrating a growing market potential for alternatives, but also the risks with a large focus on first generation renewable fuels. In the technology-oriented scenarios, we point out the value of keeping variety among niches in this stage of the transition. In conclusion, if policy is implemented without taking the dynamic forces within the system into account, there is a risk that any measure leads the system into a dead end. But if policy strives to balance the development in different parts of the technological system while making use of various prevailing forces of change, a multitude of different efforts can contribute to the development of a more sustainable transport system.     

产业融合理论及其经济效果

产业融合是信息化进程中呈现的一种产业新范式，是21世纪产业发展的新趋势。国内外许多学者从各个角度对这一经济现象进行了论述。本文主要阐述了产业融合内涵，介绍了产业融合过程中出现的主要产业融合类型，并分析了产业融合对社会经济发展的影响。     

加强企业核心竞争力之探析

核心竞争力是企业竞争能力的基础,培育企业核心竞争力既离不开技术创新,又离不开制度创新。技术创新是培育企业核心竞争力的内核,而制度创新是技术创新的前提和保证,兼顾两种创新方式才能最终获得企业竞争优势。     

初次收入分配与技术进步——基于马克思主义经济学的视角

生产力概念的深化对于马克思主义的发展非常重要,考察初次收入分配与技术进步之间的关系是一个可行的切入点。在税收收入占比保持不变的情况下,劳动收入占比的下降意味着资本收入占比的上升。劳动收入占比的下降缩小了消费市场规模而抑制技术进步(消费效应),资本收入占比的提高使得企业技术投资面临更少的融资约束而促进技术进步(融资效应),初次收入分配与技术进步之间可能呈现出无关、线性或者倒U型关系,其具体关系要视消费效应和融资效应的相对强弱而定。基于中国省际面板数据的实证分析发现,中国初次收入分配与技术进步之间的关系呈现出倒U型关系,存在一个最有利于技术进步的初次收入分配格局,意味着当前需要同时保护劳动和资本的权利。     

上市公司R & D投入与其成长的相关性研究

本文采用上证A股中小板块的55家上市公司所披露的2011年度报表信息为数据样本,并从偿债能力、资产运营能力、发展能力和盈利能力四个方面的10个指标通过因子分析法来研究公司的成长性,从而得到公司成长性的得分。然后,以公司成长性得分作为因变量,以R&D投入强度和技术人员投入比率、技术人员素质为自变量通过回归法研究上市公司R&D的投入与其成长的数理关系。通过研究得出以下结论：R&D强度对企业成长性的影响为正,相关系数为2.2373,说明影响较大;技术人员投入比率对企业成长影响为正,相关系数为0.72,说明具有一定的促进作用,但作用效果与R&D强度相比小的多;但技术人员的素质与企业的成长不存在相关性。     

总需求、国际贸易与我国省际生产率变化——基于省际面板数据的研究

全要素生产率的提高是促进经济持续增长的重要原因,对生产率的研究,主要是从供给方面展开的,本文试图从需求角度研究全要素生产率变动的原因。理论上看,总需求通过影响技术创新、技术选择、规模经济效益和要素的使用效率等途径引起生产率的变化,国际贸易则通过促进分工深化、产生技术溢出等促进生产率的提高。然后,本文采用数据包络分析方法测算了中国省际全要素生产率变化,并将其分解为技术效率的变化和技术进步。结果发现中国改革开放以来全要素生产率增长主要是技术进步的结果,技术效率的作用很小。在测算和分解的基础上,利用省际面板数据,就总需求和国际贸易对生产率增长的影响作了实证分析,发现最终消费和资本形成对技术进步和全要素生产率的提高作用显著,出口对生产率增长的作用不显著,进口显著地促进了省际全要素生产率增长和技术进步。