note Class Notes: Harvard Discrimination, California’s Shelter-in-Place Order, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:21:40 +0000 This week in Class Notes: California's shelter-in-place order was effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Asian Americans experience significant discrimination in the Harvard admissions process. The U.S. tax system is biased against labor in favor of capital, which has resulted in inefficiently high levels of automation. Our top chart shows that poor workers are much more likely to keep commuting in… Full Article
note Class Notes: College ‘Sticker Prices,’ the Gender Gap in Housing Returns, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:48:43 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Fear of Ebola was a powerful force in shaping the 2014 midterm elections. Increases in the “sticker price” of a college discourage students from applying, even when they would be eligible for financial aid. The gender gap in housing returns is large and can explain 30% of the gender gap in wealth accumulation at retirement.… Full Article
note Class Notes: Unequal Internet Access, Employment at Older Ages, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 22 Apr 2020 17:04:00 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The digital divide—the correlation between income and home internet access —explains much of the inequality we observe in people's ability to self-isolate. The labor force participation rate among older Americans and the age at which they claim Social Security retirement benefits have risen in recent years. Higher minimum wages lead to a greater prevalence… Full Article
note Class Notes: Selective College Admissions, Early Life Mortality, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2020 18:36:42 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The Texas Top Ten Percent rule increased equity and economic efficiency. There are big gaps in U.S. early-life mortality rates by family structure. Locally-concentrated income shocks can persistently change the distribution of poverty within a city. Our top chart shows how income inequality changed in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Tammy Kim describes the effect of the… Full Article
note Class Notes: College ‘Sticker Prices,’ the Gender Gap in Housing Returns, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:48:43 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Fear of Ebola was a powerful force in shaping the 2014 midterm elections. Increases in the “sticker price” of a college discourage students from applying, even when they would be eligible for financial aid. The gender gap in housing returns is large and can explain 30% of the gender gap in wealth accumulation at retirement.… Full Article
note Class Notes: Income Segregation, the Value of Longer Leases, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 26 Feb 2020 14:06:26 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Reforming college admissions to boost representation of low and middle-income students could substantially reduce income segregation between institutions and increase intergenerational mobility. The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend increased fertility and reduced the spacing between births, particularly for females age 20-44. Federal judges are more likely to hire female law clerks after serving on a panel… Full Article
note Class Notes: Selective College Admissions, Early Life Mortality, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2020 18:36:42 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The Texas Top Ten Percent rule increased equity and economic efficiency. There are big gaps in U.S. early-life mortality rates by family structure. Locally-concentrated income shocks can persistently change the distribution of poverty within a city. Our top chart shows how income inequality changed in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Tammy Kim describes the effect of the… Full Article
note Class Notes: Barriers to neighborhood choice, wage expectations, and more By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 04 Sep 2019 17:27:51 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Barriers in the housing search process contribute to residential segregation by income. Greater Medicaid eligibility promotes many positive outcomes for children, including increased college enrollment, lower mortality, decreased reliance on the Earned Income Tax Credit, and higher wage incomes for women. The large gender gap in wage expectations closely resembles actual wage differences, and career sorting and negotiation… Full Article Uncategorized
note Class Notes: Wealth taxation, US wage growth, and more By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 15 Jan 2020 15:35:53 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Both Senator Warren's wealth tax and a popular alternative – a Swiss-style tax on household wealth – would have miniscule effects on income inequality. The ACA Medicaid expansion substantially increased insurance coverage and improved access to health care among unemployed workers. An increased tendency for men and women to remain single may have contributed… Full Article
note A note on current problems with ODA as a statistical measure By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 18:09:03 +0000 In 1969, the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) created official development assistance (ODA) as a measure of foreign aid effort. To qualify as ODA, transactions had to be "concessional in character,” i.e., to give something of value away. In 1970 the U.N. set a target for ODA of 0.7 percent of donors’ national income. The… Full Article
note Class Notes: College ‘Sticker Prices,’ the Gender Gap in Housing Returns, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:48:43 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Fear of Ebola was a powerful force in shaping the 2014 midterm elections. Increases in the “sticker price” of a college discourage students from applying, even when they would be eligible for financial aid. The gender gap in housing returns is large and can explain 30% of the gender gap in wealth accumulation at retirement.… Full Article
note Class Notes: Unequal Internet Access, Employment at Older Ages, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 22 Apr 2020 17:04:00 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The digital divide—the correlation between income and home internet access —explains much of the inequality we observe in people's ability to self-isolate. The labor force participation rate among older Americans and the age at which they claim Social Security retirement benefits have risen in recent years. Higher minimum wages lead to a greater prevalence… Full Article
note Class Notes: Elite college admissions, data on SNAP, and more By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 14:48:42 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Harvard encourages applications from many students who have very little chance of being admitted, particularly African Americans Wages for low-skilled men have not been influenced by changes in the occupational composition of workers. Retention rates for the social insurance program SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) are low, even among those who remain eligible.… Full Article
note Class Notes: Virtual college counseling, rainy-day savings accounts, and more By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 11 Dec 2019 16:28:18 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Accounting for the consumption value of college increases the rate of return to a college education by 12-14%. Virtual college counseling increases applications to four-year and selective universities, particularly among disadvantaged students, but the effect on acceptance and enrollment is minimal. Automatically enrolling employees into an employer-sponsored savings account is a cost-effective way of helping workers… Full Article
note Class Notes: Wealth taxation, US wage growth, and more By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 15 Jan 2020 15:35:53 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Both Senator Warren's wealth tax and a popular alternative – a Swiss-style tax on household wealth – would have miniscule effects on income inequality. The ACA Medicaid expansion substantially increased insurance coverage and improved access to health care among unemployed workers. An increased tendency for men and women to remain single may have contributed… Full Article
note Class Notes: Minimum Wage and Children’s Health, College Regrades, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 17:16:52 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Male students are significantly more likely than female students to ask for regrades in college. Higher minimum wages have large, positive effects on child health, with the greatest benefits between ages 1-5. The Social Security Annual Earnings Test reduces the employment rate of affected Americans by at least 1.2 percentage points. Our top chart shows… Full Article
note Class Notes: Unequal Internet Access, Employment at Older Ages, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 22 Apr 2020 17:04:00 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The digital divide—the correlation between income and home internet access —explains much of the inequality we observe in people's ability to self-isolate. The labor force participation rate among older Americans and the age at which they claim Social Security retirement benefits have risen in recent years. Higher minimum wages lead to a greater prevalence… Full Article
note Class Notes: Harvard Discrimination, California’s Shelter-in-Place Order, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:21:40 +0000 This week in Class Notes: California's shelter-in-place order was effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Asian Americans experience significant discrimination in the Harvard admissions process. The U.S. tax system is biased against labor in favor of capital, which has resulted in inefficiently high levels of automation. Our top chart shows that poor workers are much more likely to keep commuting in… Full Article
note Class Notes: Harvard Discrimination, California’s Shelter-in-Place Order, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:21:40 +0000 This week in Class Notes: California's shelter-in-place order was effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Asian Americans experience significant discrimination in the Harvard admissions process. The U.S. tax system is biased against labor in favor of capital, which has resulted in inefficiently high levels of automation. Our top chart shows that poor workers are much more likely to keep commuting in… Full Article
note Class Notes: Income Segregation, the Value of Longer Leases, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 26 Feb 2020 14:06:26 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Reforming college admissions to boost representation of low and middle-income students could substantially reduce income segregation between institutions and increase intergenerational mobility. The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend increased fertility and reduced the spacing between births, particularly for females age 20-44. Federal judges are more likely to hire female law clerks after serving on a panel… Full Article
note Class Notes: Selective College Admissions, Early Life Mortality, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2020 18:36:42 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The Texas Top Ten Percent rule increased equity and economic efficiency. There are big gaps in U.S. early-life mortality rates by family structure. Locally-concentrated income shocks can persistently change the distribution of poverty within a city. Our top chart shows how income inequality changed in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Tammy Kim describes the effect of the… Full Article
note Class Notes: Harvard Discrimination, California’s Shelter-in-Place Order, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:21:40 +0000 This week in Class Notes: California's shelter-in-place order was effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Asian Americans experience significant discrimination in the Harvard admissions process. The U.S. tax system is biased against labor in favor of capital, which has resulted in inefficiently high levels of automation. Our top chart shows that poor workers are much more likely to keep commuting in… Full Article
note Class Notes: Harvard Discrimination, California’s Shelter-in-Place Order, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:21:40 +0000 This week in Class Notes: California's shelter-in-place order was effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Asian Americans experience significant discrimination in the Harvard admissions process. The U.S. tax system is biased against labor in favor of capital, which has resulted in inefficiently high levels of automation. Our top chart shows that poor workers are much more likely to keep commuting in… Full Article
note Class Notes: Unequal Internet Access, Employment at Older Ages, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 22 Apr 2020 17:04:00 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The digital divide—the correlation between income and home internet access —explains much of the inequality we observe in people's ability to self-isolate. The labor force participation rate among older Americans and the age at which they claim Social Security retirement benefits have risen in recent years. Higher minimum wages lead to a greater prevalence… Full Article
note Class Notes: Harvard Discrimination, California’s Shelter-in-Place Order, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:21:40 +0000 This week in Class Notes: California's shelter-in-place order was effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Asian Americans experience significant discrimination in the Harvard admissions process. The U.S. tax system is biased against labor in favor of capital, which has resulted in inefficiently high levels of automation. Our top chart shows that poor workers are much more likely to keep commuting in… Full Article
note Why should I buy a new phone? Notes on the governance of innovation By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 22 Jan 2016 20:00:00 -0500 A review essay of “Governance of Socio-technical Systems: Explaining Change”, edited by Susana Borrás and Jakob Edler (Edward Elgar, 2014, 207 pages). Phasing-out a useful and profitable technology I own a Nokia 2330; it’s a small brick phone that fits comfortably in the palm of my hand. People have feelings about this: mostly, they marvel at my ability to survive without a smart-phone. Concerns go beyond my wellbeing; once a friend protested that I should be aware of the costs I impose onto my friends, for instance, by asking them for precise directions to their houses. Another suggested that I cease trying to be smarter than my phone. But my reason is simple: I don’t need a smart phone. Most of the time, I don’t even need a mobile phone. I can take and place calls from my home or my office. And who really needs a phone during their commute? Still, my device will meet an untimely end. My service provider has informed me via text message that it will phase out all 2G service and explicitly encouraged me to acquire a 3G or newer model. There is a correct if simplistic explanation for this announcement: my provider is not making enough money with my account and should I switch to a newer device, they will be able to sell me a data plan. The more accurate and more complex explanation is that my mobile device is part of a communications system that is integrated to other economic and social systems. As those other systems evolve, my device is becoming incompatible with them; my carrier has determined that I should be integrated. The system integration is easy to understand from a business perspective. My carrier may very well be able to make a profit keeping my account as is, and the accounts of the legion of elderly and low-income customers who use similar devices, and still they may not find it advantageous in the long run to allow 2G devices in their network. To understand this business strategy, we need to go back no farther than the introduction of the iPhone, which in addition to being the most marketable mobile phone set a new standard platform for mobile devices. Its introduction accelerated a trend underway in the core business of carriers: the shift from voice communication to data streaming because smart phones can support layers of overlapping services that depend on fast and reliable data transfer. These services include sophisticated log capabilities, web search, geo-location, connectivity to other devices, and more recently added bio-monitoring. All those services are part of systems of their own, so it makes perfect business sense for carriers to seamlessly integrate mobile communications with all those other systems. Still, the economic rationale explains only a fraction of the systems integration underway. The communication system of mobile telephony is also integrated with regulatory, social, and cultural systems. Consider the most mundane examples: It’s hard to imagine anyone who, having shifted from paper-and-pencil to an electronic agenda, decided to switch back afterwards. We are increasingly dependent of GPS services; while it may have once served tourists who did not wish to learn how to navigate a new city, it is now a necessity for many people who without it are lost in their home town. Not needing to remember phone numbers, the time of our next appointment, or how to go back to that restaurant we really liked, is a clear example of the integration of mobile devices into our value systems. There are coordination efforts and mutual accommodation taking place: tech designers seek to adapt to changing values and we update our values to the new conveniences of slick gadgets. Government officials are engaged in the same mutual accommodation. They are asking how many phone booths must be left in public places, how to reach more people with public service announcements, and how to provide transit information in real-time when commuters need it. At the same time, tech designers are considering all existing regulations so their devices are compliant. Communication and regulatory systems are constantly being re-integrated. The will behind systems integration The integration of technical and social systems that results from innovation demands an enormous amount of planning, effort, and conflict resolution. The people involved in this process come from all quarters of the innovation ecology, including inventors, entrepreneurs, financiers, and government officials. Each of these agents may not be able to contemplate the totality of the system integration problem but they more or less understand how their respective system must evolve so as to be compatible with interrelated systems that are themselves evolving. There is a visible willfulness in the integration task that scholars of innovation call the governance of socio-technical systems. Introducing the term governance, I should emphasize that I do not mean merely the actions of governments or the actions of entrepreneurs. Rather, I mean the effort of all agents involved in the integration and re-integration of systems triggered by innovation; I mean all the coordination and mutual accommodation of agents from interrelated systems. And there is no single vehicle to transport all the relevant information for these agents. A classic representation of markets suggests that prices carry all the relevant information agents need to make optimal decisions. But it is impossible to project this model onto innovation because, as I suggested above, it does not adhere exclusively to economic logic; cultural and political values are also at stake. The governance task is therefore fragmented into pieces and assigned to each of the participants of the socio-technical systems involved, and they cannot resolve it as a profit-maximization problem. Instead, the participants must approach governance as a problem of design where the goal could be characterized as reflexive adaptation. By adaptation I mean seeking to achieve inter-system compatibility. By reflexive I mean that each actor must realize that their actions trigger adaption measures in other systems. Thus, they cannot passively adapt but rather they must anticipate the sequence of accommodations in the interaction with other agents. This is one of the most important aspects of the governance problem, because all too often neither technical nor economic criteria will suffice; quite regularly coordination must be negotiated, which is to say, innovation entails politics. The idea of governance of socio-technical systems is daunting. How do we even begin to understand it? What kinds of modes of governance exist? What are the key dimensions to understand the integration of socio-technical systems? And perhaps more pressing, who prevails in disputes about coordination and accommodation? Fortunately, Susana Borrás, from the Copenhagen Business School, and Jakob Edler, from the University of Manchester, both distinguished professors of innovation, have collected a set of case studies that shed light on these problems in an edited volume entitled Governance of Socio-technical Change: Explaining Change. What is more, they offer a very useful conceptual framework of governance that is worth reviewing here. While this volume will be of great interest to scholars of innovation—and it is written in scholarly language—I think it has great value for policymakers, entrepreneurs, and all agents involved in a practical manner in the work of innovation. Organizing our thinking on the governance of change The first question that Borrás and Edler tackle is how to characterize the different modes of governance. They start out with a heuristic typology across the two central categories: what kinds of agents drive innovation and how the actions of these agents are coordinated. Agents can represent the state or civil society, and actions can be coordinated via dominant or non-dominant hierarchies. Change led by state actors Change led by societal actors Coordination by dominant hierarchies Traditional deference to technocratic competence: command and control. Monopolistic or oligopolistic industrial organization. Coordination by non-dominant hierarchies State agents as primus inter pares. More competitive industries with little government oversight. Source: Adapted from Borrás and Adler (2015), Table 1.2, p. 13. This typology is very useful to understand why different innovative industries have different dynamics; they are governed differently. For instance, we can readily understand why consumer software and pharmaceuticals are so at odds regarding patent law. The strict (and very necessary) regulation of drug production and commercialization coupled with the oligopolistic structure of that industry creates the need and opportunity to advocate for patent protection; which is equivalent to a government subsidy. In turn, the highly competitive environment of consumer software development and its low level of regulation foster an environment where patents hinder innovation. Government intervention is neither needed nor wanted; the industry wishes to regulate itself. This typology is also useful to understand why open source applications have gained currency much faster in the consumer segment than the contractor segment of software producers. Examples of the latter is industry specific software (e.g. to operate machinery, the stock exchange, and ATMs) or software to support national security agencies. These contractors demand proprietary software and depend on the secrecy of the source code. The software industry is not monolithic, and while highly innovative in all its segments, the innovation taking place varies greatly by its mode of governance. Furthermore, we can understand the inherent conflicts in the governance of science. In principle, scientists are led by curiosity and organize their work in a decentralized and organic fashion. In practice, most of science is driven by mission-oriented governmental agencies and is organized in a rigid hierarchical system. Consider the centrality of prestige in science and how it is awarded by peer-review; a system controlled by the top brass of each discipline. There is nearly an irreconcilable contrast between the self-image of science and its actual governance. Using the Borrás-Edler typology, we could say that scientists imagine themselves as citizens of the south-east quadrant while they really inhabit the north-west quadrant. There are practical lessons from the application of this typology to current controversies. For instance, no policy instrument such as patents can have the same effect on all innovation sectors because the effect will depend on the mode of governance of the sector. This corollary may sound intuitive, yet it really is at variance with the current terms of the debate on patent protection, where assertions of its effect on innovation, in either direction, are rarely qualified. The second question Borrás and Edler address is that of the key analytical dimensions to examine socio-technical change. To this end, they draw from an ample selection of social theories of change. First, economists and sociologists fruitfully debate the advantage of social inquiry focused on agency versus institutions. Here, the synthesis offered is reminiscent of Herbert Simon’s “bounded rationality”, where the focus turns to agent decisions constrained by institutions. Second, policy scholars as well as sociologists emphasize the engineering of change. Change can be accomplished with discreet instruments such as laws and regulations, or diffused instruments such as deliberation, political participation, and techniques of conflict resolution. Third, political scientists underscore the centrality of power in the adjudication of disputes produced by systems’ change and integration. Borrás and Edler have condensed these perspectives in an analytical framework that boils down to three clean questions: who drives change? (focus on agents bounded by institutions), how is change engineered? (focus on instrumentation), and why it is accepted by society? (focus on legitimacy). The case studies contained in this edited volume illustrate the deployment of this framework with empirical research. Standards, sustainability, incremental innovation Arthur Daemmrich (Chapter 3) tells the story of how the German chemical company BASF succeeded marketing the biodegradable polymer Ecoflex. It is worth noting the dependence of BASF on government funding to develop Ecoflex, and on the German Institute for Standardization (DIN), making a market by setting standards. With this technology, BASF capitalized on the growing demand in Germany for biodegradables, and with its intense cooperation with DIN helped establish a standard that differentiate Ecoflex from the competition. By focusing on the enterprise (the innovation agent) and its role in engineering the market for its product by setting standards that would favor them, this story reveals the process of legitimation of this new technology. In effect, the certification of DIN was accepted by agribusinesses that sought to utilize biodegradable products. If BASF is an example of innovation by standards, Allison Loconto and Marc Barbier (Chapter 4) show the strategies of governing by standards. They take the case of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling alliance (ISEAL). ISEAL, an advocate of sustainability, positions itself as a coordinating broker among standard developing organizations by offering “credibility tools” such as codes of conduct, best practices, impact assessment methods, and assurance codes. The organization advocates what is known as the tripartite system regime (TSR) around standards. TSR is a system of checks and balances to increase the credibility of producers complying with standards. The TSR regime assigns standard-setting, certification, and accreditation of the certifiers, to separate and independent bodies. The case illustrates how producers, their associations, and broker organizations work to bestow upon standards their most valuable attribute: credibility. The authors are cautious not to conflate credibility with legitimacy, but there is no question that credibility is part of the process of legitimizing technical change. In constructing credibility, these authors focus on the third question of the framework –legitimizing innovation—and from that vantage point, they illuminate the role of actors and instruments that will guide innovations in sustainability markets. While standards are instruments of non-dominant hierarchies, the classical instrument of dominant hierarchies is regulation. David Barberá-Tomás and Jordi Molas-Gallart tell the tragic consequences of an innovation in hip-replacement prosthesis that went terribly wrong. It is estimated that about 30 thousand replaced hips failed. The FDA, under the 1976 Medical Device Act, allows incremental improvements in medical devices to go into the market after only laboratory trials, assuming that any substantive innovations have already being tested in regular clinical trials. This policy was designed as an incentive for innovation, a relief from high regulatory costs. However, the authors argue, when products have been constantly improved for a number of years after an original release, any marginal improvement comes at a higher cost or higher risk—a point they refer to as the late stage of the product life-cycle. This has tilted the balance in favor of risky improvements, as illustrated by the hip prosthesis case. The story speaks to the integration of technical and cultural systems: the policy that encourages incremental innovation may alter the way medical device companies assess the relative risk of their innovations, precisely because they focus on incremental improvements over radical ones. Returning to the analytical framework, the vantage point of regulation—instrumentation—elucidates the particular complexities and biases in agents’ decisions. Two additional case studies discuss the discontinuation of the incandescent light bulb (ILB) and the emergence of translational research, both in Western Europe. The first study, authored by Peter Stegmaier, Stefan Kuhlmann and Vincent R. Visser (Chapter 6), focuses on a relatively smooth transition. There was wide support for replacing ILBs that translated in political will and a market willing to purchase new energy efficient bulbs. In effect, the new technical system was relatively easy to re-integrate to a social system in change—public values had shifted in Europe to favor sustainable consumption—and the authors are thus able to emphasize how agents make sense of the transition. Socio-technical change does not have a unique meaning: for citizens it means living in congruence with their values; for policy makers it means accruing political capital; for entrepreneurs it means new business opportunities. The case by Etienne Vignola-Gagné, Peter Biegelbauer and Daniel Lehner (Chapter 7) offers a similar lesson about governance. My reading of their multi-site study of the implementation of translational research—a management movement that seeks to bridge laboratory and clinical work in medical research—reveals how the different agents involved make sense of this organizational innovation. Entrepreneurs see a new market niche, researchers strive for increasing the impact of their work, and public officials align their advocacy for translation with the now regular calls for rendering publicly funded research more productive. Both chapters illuminate a lesson that is as old as it is useful to remember: technological innovation is interpreted in as many ways as the number of agents that participate in it. Innovation for whom? The framework and illustrations of this book are useful for those of us interested in the governance of system integration. The typology of different modes of governance and the three vantage points from which empirical analysis can be deployed are very useful indeed. Further development of this framework should include the question of how political power is redistributed by effect of innovation and the system integration and re-integration that it triggers. The question is pressing because the outcomes of innovation vary as power structures are reinforced or debilitated by the emergence of new technologies—not to mention ongoing destabilizing forces such as social movements. Put another way, the framework should be expanded to explain in which circumstances innovation exacerbates inequality. The expanded framework should probe whether the mutual accommodation is asymmetric across socio-economic groups, which is the same as asking: are poor people asked to do more adapting to new technologies? These questions have great relevance in contemporary debates about economic and political inequality. I believe that Borrás and Edler and their colleagues have done us a great service organizing a broad but dispersed literature and offering an intuitive and comprehensive framework to study the governance of innovation. The conceptual and empirical parts of the book are instructive and I look forward to the papers that will follow testing this framework. We need to better understand the governance of socio-technical change and the dynamics of systems integration. Without a unified framework of comparison, the ongoing efforts in various disciplines will not amount to a greater understanding of the big picture. I also have a selfish reason to like this book: it helps me make sense of my carrier’s push for integrating my value system to their technical system. If I decide to adapt to a newer phone, I could readily do so because I have time and other resources. But that may not be the case for many customers of 2G devices who have neither the resources nor the inclination to learn to use more complex devices. For that reason alone, I’d argue that this sort of innovation-led systems integration could be done more democratically. Still, I could meet the decision of my carrier with indifference: when the service is disconnected, I could simply try to get by without the darn toy. Note: Thanks to Joseph Schuman for an engaging discussion of this book with me. Authors Walter D. Valdivia Image Source: © Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters Full Article
note The half-beef/half-mushroom burger: Notes from the field By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 11 Jul 2017 06:54:08 -0400 Veggie-burger skeptic? Why not meat us halfway? Full Article Living
note House Made of a Billion Euro Notes Opens to the Public By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0400 It's a house made out of a billion euro notes, but you can't spend any of them. Full Article Design
note A Note to Mayor de Blasio: Don’t forget the environment as a cause of inequality By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 09 Jan 2014 17:24:26 -0500 Environmental initiatives are integral to addressing the "tale of two cities" that Mayor de Blasio campaigned on. Full Article Business
note Notes from a digital detox By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 04 Sep 2019 07:00:00 -0400 Or, what happens when you go without Facebook and Instagram for an entire month. Full Article Living
note Safe manufacture and use of nanotechnology gets a boost By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 06 Mar 2018 06:00:00 -0500 As nanoparticles spread widely into consumer products as well as offering great technological promise in certain applications, how can we judge the risks? Full Article Business
note Bristol Prints Own Money, Including Banksy-notes and Eco Themes, to Spur Local Buying By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Sun, 23 Sep 2012 01:00:00 -0400 The British city of Bristol hopes to promote local business with their own high-security scrip featuring local designs Full Article Business
note Note to Bloggers: Not Every Building with Corrugated Metal is Made of Shipping Containers By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:35:00 -0500 A blog confuses corrugated metal with containers on a project that could have been interesting for its own sake. Full Article Design
note What we learned about Apple Park from the keynote intro By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 14 Sep 2018 13:13:47 -0400 Like Kremlinology in the cold war, you take what you can get. Full Article Design
note Notes from a snowstorm By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 15 Nov 2019 10:00:00 -0500 It's only mid-November and winter has arrived with a vengeance. How do I stay sane? Full Article Living
note Notes from Sri Lanka: A lesson in coconuts By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 13 Dec 2019 07:00:00 -0500 It's the ultimate zero-waste crop, useful from root to shoot. Full Article Living
note Stay in touch! A note to our Google Reader users By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:08:00 -0400 Google Reader is gone on July 1, but our RSS feed isn't going anywhere. Full Article Social Media
note Grundig Unveils Built-In Collection Striking a Note at EuroCucina - Grundig Film By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 18 Apr 2016 09:59:00 EDT Grundig Film Full Article Consumer Electronics Household Consumer Cosmetics Home Improvement Household Products (vacuum cleaners supplies etc) New Products Services Trade show news MultiVu Video
note Grundig Unveils Built-In Collection Striking a Note at EuroCucina - Grundig Film By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 18 Apr 2016 09:59:00 EDT Grundig Film Full Article Consumer Electronics Household Consumer Cosmetics Home Improvement Household Products (vacuum cleaners supplies etc) New Products Services Trade show news MultiVu Video
note Bank Audit Revision notes - CA Inter students By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 7 May 2020 09:13:18 GMT Bank audit revision notes by CA Ekta Shah prepared from ICAI Module covering all questions Full Article
note Bank Audit full notes- From ICAI module- CA Inter By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sat, 9 May 2020 10:18:58 GMT Handwritten full notes - Bank Audit - CA Inter by CA Ekta Shah Full Article
note Today's Thank You Note By kristincashore.blogspot.com Published On :: Tue, 04 Sep 2018 00:10:00 +0000 Today, inspired by a loved-one who did it first, I'm sending a thank you note to Josh Shapiro, the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, to thank him and his team for the 1000+ page report listing 300 predator priests in Pennsylvania and detailing decades of illegal coverups and lies. This report changed my life; it was a step toward justice, validating the reality of so many people, not just in Pennsylvania. I'm sharing this thank you idea with you all, because it didn't even occur to me to write a thank you note until someone else showed me hers. Maybe you're like me. If so, you too could send a grateful red monster to the Attorney General of PA.Here's the mailing address: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney GeneralStrawberry SquareHarrisburg, PA 17120 (Oh and I got my cute thank you cards from this Etsy shop.)Those promised adventure pics are coming very soon. Until then, be well, everyone. Full Article Catholic Church justice thanks
note Further COVID-19 U.S-bound import declines are expected, notes Port Tracker report By www.logisticsmgmt.com Published On :: 2020-05-08T16:24:00+00:00 Heavy declines for imports at United States-based retail container ports, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, are expected to continue in the coming months, according to the new edition of the Port Tracker report, which was issued today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates. Full Article
note Dinotendies By questionablecontent.net Published On :: Tue, 28 Jan 2020 22:15:58 -0400 Hssss Full Article
note Pagan Community Notes: PSG 2020 canceled, leadership change within Sacred Well, indigenous shaman and actor Antonio Bolivar crosses Veil, and more! By wildhunt.org Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 21:45:36 +0000 In this week's Pagan Community Notes, Pagan Spirit Gathering has been canceled, indigenous shaman and actor Antonio Bolivar joins the Ancestors, Sacred Well announces changes in leadership, and more! Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: PSG 2020 canceled, leadership change within Sacred Well, indigenous shaman and actor Antonio Bolivar crosses Veil, and more! at The Wild Hunt. Full Article Paganism Antonio Bolivar Circle Sanctuary Crossings of the Veil Dylan Sprouse Heathenry occult Pagan Spirit Gathering Sacred Well Congregation UK Witchcraft
note Gurinder Chadha pens an emotional note as she loses her aunt due to Coronavirus complications By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 21 Apr 2020 05:18:38 GMT Gurinder Chadha's aunt passed away on Sunday due to Coronavirus complications. The UK-based filmmaker shared the news on social media. "She was my buaji, dad's sister. She survived the Partition and, sadly for us, no one could be with her in person in her final moments. But two nurses in the Surrey hospital held her hand, FaceTimed her children who chanted Sikh prayers. God bless the #NHS heroes who made my dear aunt's passing humane (sic)," wrote the Beecham House (2019) director. "Today we said goodbye to my dearest bhuaji /aunt from #covid19 complications. She was my dad's little sister," Gurinder wrote alongside a family picture. View this post on Instagram Today we said goodbye to my dearest bhuaji /aunt from #coviÌd19 complications. She was my dads little sister She is the aunt sitting down in these final pictures from #viceroyshouse and doted on me. She survived the Partiton of India and sadly for us, her family no one could be with her in person in her final moments ð¢ BUT two nurses in the Surrey hospital held her hand, FaceTimed her children who all chanted Sikh prayers during which her soul departed. God bless the #nhsheroes who made my dear aunts passing humane. ððð A post shared by Gurinder Chadha, OBE (@gurinder.chadha) onApr 19, 2020 at 5:10am PDT "God bless the #nhsheroes who made my dear aunts passing humane," she added. Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps. Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news Full Article
note Fake currency notes worth Rs 15.76 lakh seized in Thane By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 31 Mar 2019 02:20:35 GMT Counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 15.76 lakh were seized from three persons in Mumbra area here in the early hours of Saturday, police said. Assistance Commissioner of Police Ramesh Dhumal said the police had received a tip-off that some persons were going to arrive in Kismat Colony, carrying counterfeit notes with them. Jainkumar Chunnulal (41), Mohammad Dilshad (26), both from Uttar Pradesh, and local resident Javed Ahmed Ansari (30) were arrested and a bag of counterfeit notes in Rs 2,000 denomination was seized from their possession, he said. Jainkumar and Dilshad had allegedly procured the notes from Asansol in West Bengal by paying Rs 3.50 lakh, the ACP said. Police were probing if the contraband had any link with the ongoing election campaign, he said. Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates Full Article
note Coolpad 'Note 6' with dual selfie cameras launched in India By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 01 May 2018 08:24:18 GMT Coolpad 'Note 6'. Pic courtesy/Twitter Chinese handset maker Coolpad launched 'Note 6', an offline exclusive product in India on Tuesday. Two of the most notable features of Note 6 are 5.5-inch HD display and 8MP+5MP dual front cameras. The company in a statement said that smartphone will be available from Tuesday in 32GB and 64GB internal storage variants with 4GB RAM for Rs 8,999 and Rs 9,999 respectively.Note 6 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 chipset, backed by 4,070 mAh battery and runs on Android 7.1 Nougat Operating System (OS). "Coolpad 'Note 6' will offer a great value for money smartphone for Indian customers," said Syed Tajuddin, CEO, Coolpad India. "We are also planning to introduce more aggressive offline devices in the next few months to expand in the offline market through our retails partners and multi-brand outlets," Tajuddin added. Coolpad "Note 6" will be available at over 300 multi-brand stores across eight states including Delhi-NCR, Telangana and Maharashtra. (Edited by mid-day online desk, with inputs from IANS) Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates Full Article
note Galaxy Note 9 to have Bixby 2.0: Samsung By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 21 May 2018 09:13:23 GMT Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Pic courtesy/YouTubeSouth Korean electronics giant Samsung has confirmed that its flagship Galaxy Note 9 would have a new version of company's Airtificial Intelligence (AI)-powered assistant "Bixby 2.0". Speaking to The Korea Herald, Gray G. Lee, Head of the AI Centre Under Samsung Research, revealed that the Galaxy Note 9 will be the launch device for "Bixby 2.0", Forbes reported. Lee said that "Bixby 2.0" would be more than just a personal assistant. It would be an 'artificial intelligence platform' which enhances the performance and user experience across the phone. Bixby itself would also have enhanced natural language processing, improved noise resistance capability and faster response times. According to the executive, Samsung now has a 1,000-strong AI workforce and would consider merger and acquisitions of promising AI businesses. He also revealed Samsung expects Bixby to be running on 14 million Samsung devices by the end of 2018. The German research firm GfK has revealed that Samsung became the leader in the Indian flagship smartphone market, garnering 49.2 per cent share in the first quarter of 2018. In the full financial year (April 2017-March 2018), Samsung registered 55.2 per cent market share in the Rs 40,000 and above price segment, said GfK that reports final consumption of the devices and not only shipments. In March alone, the South Korean giant registered a massive 58 per cent market share in the flagship segment, riding on the success of Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones that were available for sale in India from March 16. Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Full Article
note Notebook Movie Review: Children steal the thunder from newbies By www.mid-day.com Published On :: 30 Mar 2019 01:43:43 GMT NotebookU/A: RomanceDir: Nitin KakkarCast: Zaheer Iqbal, Pranutan BahlRatings: I, for one, am not of the belief that remakes are a bad thing. If made well, they can stand their ground and even shine, in some cases, better than the original. Given that Notebook is directed by Nitin Kakkar (the man behind the luminous gem Filmistaan), I had a fair share of expectations, despite the underwhelming trailer. Kakkar's powerful storytelling in the unassuming Filmistaan played in my mind as I walked in to watch Notebook, an adaptation of the Thai film, The Teacher's Diary that released in 2014. It's not a good sign when, in a love story, children steal your heart over the lead pair. Individually, both debutants Zaheer Iqbal and Pranutan Bahl sparkle, but they meet only at the fag end of the film. Kakkar draws out adequate performances from both, playing to their strengths, using the naivety of the novices to build on some screen charm. But with so much solo heavy lifting and a wobbly screenplay in tow, Kakkar delivers far short of what he is capable of. Watch the trailer here: As a plus, the film uses the picturesque settings of Kashmir, blending it with good music. The story, much like the original, traces the unlikely love life of Firdaus (Bahl) and Kabir (Iqbal). She leaves behind a notebook full of sketches and doodles; he is her replacement in a school where they teach. The notebook becomes a source of hope for Kabir, who connects deeply with her over the pages. She is an unusual teacher in an abusive relationship. As Kabir struggles to bond with the children, the notebook comes handy. The rest of the film paves the way to their final interaction. Kakkar remains faithful to the original design, transporting his viewers into a world of innocence. It is concerning that the director never delves deep into the problems of the state, bringing forth its elements for a pure cosmetic use. A child with a fundamentalist father is a needless addition to the plot. Kabir's former job as a soldier, and his Kashmiri pandit background, also do little to add to the larger plot. It's a balanced view, but not a bold one; too simplistically handled, which is unlike Kakkar's risque style. Watch it for the adorable kids, and if you are excited about star children in general, Pranutan is a good deal as a first timer. Also Read: Notebook celeb review: Bollywood unanimously touts the film as a sweet and genuine Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates Full Article
