Managing technological innovations and related policy and strategy issues have been a central focus of the new millennium. This book series presents an interdisciplinary scholarship and dialogue on the management of innovation and technological change in a global context from a variety of perspectives, including strategic, managerial, behavioral, and policy issues. Papers selected in this volume have four prominent themes: the wide spread interests and the global application of the technological innovation; the practicality of the research on technological innovation implementation to foster success and financial growth; the socio-technical challenges behind innovation and creativity that might outweigh the benefits; and the new principles/practices/perspectives on our understanding of the technological innovation. Contributed by prominent scholars and practitioners from around the world in innovation, management and policy area, this book will become a very useful read for anyone who is interested in learning the most contemporary perspectives on the subject.

Major world oil crops and their products are among the most valuable commodity in today's world trade. Over the past couple of decades, oilseed production has increased to become the most important world sources of vegetable oils, in response to the rising world population and living standard. Recent technological advances made in breeding major world oil crops have led to higher production and improved product quality.This comprehensive volume encompasses recent innovations and practice in the production and use of different oil crops, including Brassica, Sunflower, Safflower, Cottonseed, Castor, Olive, Coconut, Oilpalm, Sesame, Groundnut, and Soybean. The contributors are leading specialists from different countries of the world. Much of the literature available on these crops is not up-to-date; hence this volume is a ready reference for researchers, breeders, biotechnologists, industrialists, and nutritionists. Dr. Surinder Kumpar Gupta, born in 1959, is currently working as Professor/Chief Scientist (Oilseeds) Plant Breeding & Genetics and Nodal officer in the School of Biotechnology, S K University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology. He holds a brilliant academic and service record and has been devoted to research on Oilseed Brassicas for nearly two decades. He obtained his post-graduate degree and PhD from Punjab Agricultural University. He is a recipient of a post-doctoral Fellowship in Plant Biotechnology and has published more than 100 research papers in esteemed national and international journals, mostly on Brassicas. He has already developed five varieties of rapeseed-mustard, and has written two books and edited three volumes on rapeseed & mustard breeding. For his excellent scientific endeavors, he has been conferred the 'Young Scientists Award: 1993-1994' by the State Department of Science & Technology.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Global Perspectives on Design Science Research, DERIST 2010, held in St. Gallen, Switzerland, in June 2010. The 35 revised full papers presented together with 10 revised short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 80 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on organising design research, reflecting design science research, design research techniques, design and context, design and organisation, design and information, design research exemplars, design and behaviour, designing collaboration, as well as design and requirements engineering.

Approaches and methods in comparative education research are of obvious importance, but do not always receive adequate attention. This book contributes new insights within the longstanding traditions of the field. A particular feature is the focus on different units of analysis. Individual chapters compare places, systems, times, cultures, values, policies, curricula and other units. These chapters are contextualised within broader analytical frameworks which identify the purposes and strengths of the field. The book includes a focus on intra-national as well as cross-national comparisons, and highlights the value of approaching themes from different angles. The book will be of great value not only to producers of comparative education research but also to consumers who wish to understand more thoroughly the parameters and value of the field.

The high level of innovation currently transforming our society and its technological dynamics can be seen as a second wave of innovation of the third technological system, which emerged in the late 1970s. This book discusses the concept of technological systems, focusing on the tools used for formalizing the organization of technology in society and its dynamics of evolution. The author uses these tools to characterize the contemporary technological system and to model its specific dynamics. In doing so, he raises questions about the continuity of the current technological system, and its capacity to generate powerful innovatory movements.

The scientific field of data analysis is constantly expanding due to the rapid growth of the computer industry and the wide applicability of computational and algorithmic techniques, in conjunction with new advances in statistical, stochastic and analytic tools. There is a constant need for new, high-quality publications to cover the recent advances in all fields of science and engineering. This book is a collective work by a number of leading scientists, computer experts, analysts, engineers, mathematicians, probabilists and statisticians who have been working at the forefront of data analysis and related applications. The chapters of this collaborative work represent a cross-section of current concerns, developments and research interests in the above scientific areas. The collected material has been divided into appropriate sections to provide the reader with both theoretical and applied information on data analysis methods, models and techniques, along with related applications.

Sustainable Enterprise Performance details a method for evaluating an enterprise’s readiness and progress toward sustainable performance through a comprehensive set of qualitative and quantitative indicators. These indicators cover enterprise strategy for meeting both the impact of the enterprise within the framework of corporate social responsibility and the expectations of stakeholders, evolving and monitoring the product and service offerings and business processes. The second half of the book focuses more closely on fundamental determinants of performance, such as digital transformation and artificial intelligence, corporate culture, ethics and compliance, branding and e-reputation and best-practice Lean management, and provides practical measures against which companies may assess the maturity of their sustainable performance.

Innovation, in economic activity, in managerial concepts and in engineering design, results from creative activities, entrepreneurial strategies and the business climate. Innovation leads to technological, organizational and commercial changes, due to the relationships between enterprises, public institutions and civil society organizations. These innovation networks create new knowledge and contribute to the dissemination of new socio-economic and technological models, through new production and marketing methods. Innovation Economics, Engineering and Management Handbook 1 is the first of the two volumes that comprise this book. The main objectives across both volumes are to study the innovation processes in todays information and knowledge society; to analyze how links between research and business have intensified; and to discuss the methods by which innovation emerges and is managed by firms, not only from a local perspective but also a global one. The studies presented in these two volumes contribute toward an understanding of the systemic nature of innovations and enable reflection on their potential applications, in order to think about the meaning of growth and prosperity.

This work analyzes the role of private equity firms (SCIs) in forming strategic alliances in the French private equity market. The subject is important because the formation of alliances and, more generally, the networking of SMEs, could be an alternative to the lack of medium-sized companies in France. For French SCIs, which are increasingly in a competitive situation, assistance in forming alliances for their holdings may represent a new activity and be a source of competitive advantage. The work is positioned transversally, touching the areas of corporate governance, entrepreneurial finance and strategy.

The status of knowledge management (KM) as a mature science has long been recognized in the academic world. However, in the economic arena, its connection with companies and organizations has been more gradual. Jean-Louis Ermine established a theoretical and practical framework for KM in his book, Knowledge Management: The Creative Loop issued by the same publishers as this book. In this latest tome, practical examples are illustrated with real case studies. Modeled on the four-step operational approach inspired by the creative loop, this book includes four sets of real case studies each one following the basic presentation of the fundamental material per step. Knowledge Management in Innovative Companies 1 is especially useful for practitioners, as there are numerous illustrations based on best practices for each specific KM step and for global project implementation. Indeed, the last chapter is dedicated to the implementation of a global KM corporate project.