SA's Human Sciences Research Council urges further focus on SME's
Small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs), a central policy focus area in South Africa, specifically with regard to economic growth and employment creation, have the potential to become engines of innovation. But lack of funding hampers the sector's innovation development. Irma Wilkinson believes that current SMME policies and programmes need to be broadened to stimulate innovation.More here
In NextBillion Manuel Bueno writes:
In the BOP, innovation often entails an unusual combination of technologies and other components that generates value for the consumer. It does not normally involve capital intensive research (like that which may be done in western pharmaceutical or technological corporations) or complex supply chains. BOP innovations are, for example, adding a torch light to mobile phones or developing wider washing machine pipes (for cleaning vegetables, you see). Rebecca Henderson of MIT and Kim Clark of Harvard have coined the phrase "architectural innovation" to describe these kind of innovations...Anywhere in the word, the best innovation will be the one that involves short development periods, less invested resources and brings additional benefits as fast as possible. However, at the BOP level, we are talking about probably more intuitive, more spontaneous and open innovations. They have a stronger anthropological bent, being dependent on customer observation and with more "obvious" innovations, rather than the more scientifically advanced research western markets are used to.
Sherine Nasr in Al-Ahram:
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." No more accurate a formula exists to describe the divide between developed and developing countries than that once proposed by Apple's CEO Steve Jobs.Innovation has different implications to a scientist and an economist. "If the applied research doesn't have an impact on the economy, and will not generate money, it is not an innovation," -Hamid El-Zoheiri(RDI),more here
Thus it becomes clear that the commercialisation of innovation -- at least for the businessman -- is what really counts. This brings up the issue of intellectual property rights that should be maintained and protected."We used to value only physical assets, but intangible assets are becoming more valuable. The market value of companies are increasingly based on intangible versus tangible assets,"-Beat Mollet of Nestle
Continuing our focus on Industrial Clusters,in the preface of an overview document for the recently concluded Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters in Africa conference it was noted:
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| Image courtesy of Mckinsey & Co. |
...that firms which operate close to related firms and supporting institutions are often more innovative and therefore more successful in raising productivity than firms that operate in isolation. The innovative cluster approach is thus an appropriate and established tool for analysis of industrial dynamics and for policy initiatives to foster innovations, growth and economic development.Consequently, the debate has now moved from whether or not innovative clusters are important, to how to best organize and manage clusters in order to exploit their maximum potentials. Thus, recently hundreds of cluster initiatives have beenMore here (PDF)
launched, involving nearly all the regions of the world except Africa. Is Africa an exception in these global initiatives? An understanding of the concept and the salient features of innovation systems and innovative clusters, and the critical factors for building and improving them are imof these global initiatives.
"...Edited by Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and Dorothy McCormick Industrial Clusters and Innovation Systems in Africa: Institutions, Markets and Policy aims to improve our understanding of how local clusters can be transformed into local systems of innovation and how local clusters can be better connected to global actors...",United Nations University.
Writing Better Blog Posts: What You NEED to Know | The Edublogger
Excellent post from Sue Waters about writing better blog posts.
24 free kindergarte apps from kindergarten.com Download all 24 of these apps. (From The Edcational Technology blog) by jonathan Wylie.
Scholastic: Best in Tech Today | Livescribe Education
I love my livescribe pen and agree with this review even if it is posted on the Livescribe website.
iAdvocate for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store
Free iAdvocate app to help parents who have children with learning disabilities advocate for them. It is a start and worth testing. Plus it is free!
School of Education launches new free mobile app to assist parents, advocates
New Mobile phone app from Alan Foley of Syracuse University - called iAdvocate designed to help parents advocate for their child with learning disabilities.
The app has 3 sections: strategies for parents, information and links, and simulated conversations to help guide parents. I hope that my friends who work in this area will test and post their reviews. If you do, let me know and I'll feature you in the daily spotlight! ;-)
QR Codes, Electronic Devices,Nonprofits, and Concert Etiquette | Beth’s Blog
Ecellent blog post on the use of QR codes in nonprofits from social media nonprofit guru - Beth Kanter. Tons of potential here!
10 Futuristic Inventions in Wearable Tech — Life Scoop
A fun discussion topic with technology students, this blog post about futuristic inventions in wearable tech includes buttons that are really mp3 players, a dress with room for a sim card that makes it funciton as a mobile phone when you lift your wrist, and the one I want -- the Massage Me Massage Video game - that makes a game out of having someone massage your back! (Oh yeah!)
This would be a great area to review and then have students invent their own.
Money Lessons: A Guide to Financial-Literacy Resources | Edutopia
Financial literacy resources. Curriculum directors and math teachers at all levels should take time to read this article from edutopia.
Another One Bites The Dust: Yahoo To Kill Buzz On April 21
Google video. Delicious. Now yahoo Buzz - their "digg" site. what else?
Congress, Can You Spare a Dime? A Teacher Makes the Case for the National Writing Project | Edutopia
Great things have come out of the national writing project. Their research is wonderful and many of them have taught me a lot in the hallways and byways of conferences around the world. It is a shame to see this go. Read more about this project so you can share your 10cents with congress - that is all it would take per child to keep it going.
Apple Launches iPad School Donation Program - Edudemic
Donate your "old" generation 1 ipad to schools through apple.
The Evolution of Classroom Technology - Edudemic
Fascinating Evolution of Classroom Technology over at Edudemic (hat tip Stephen Downes.) Look at how many of these technologies are still here in some forms. All I can think as I read about halfway down is the ah so lovely smell of that mimeograph paper!`
Apple Sues Samsung Over Galaxy; Are Other Tablet Makers Next?
Apple suing samsung over galaxy! With the iPad 2 in dwindling supply because of the components made in the affected area in Japan, I guess apple is trying to keep others out temporarily while they are rushing to find another supplier.
Another book review from one of our 8th graders. We are looking to add some more schools over the next few months. Fill out the info form on the bottom left of this page.
This is a great website for finding books that kids like.
In Pambazuka Ronald Elly Wanda makes a case for re-instituting the indigenous institution of traditional jurisprudence:
More hereSince flag independence in the 1960s, African governments have been in a rush to normalise authoritarian rule and human rights abuses under the auspices of maendeleo (development) and economic growth. A short stroll in any African village today confirms that the globalised Western culture of justice delivery or innovation that most African leaders seem to trust has not improved the well-being of our local communities or delivered justice for them. On the contrary, it has often blocked viable indigenous innovation of cultures and suffocated African justice. Here in East Africa, cultures of innovation have largely accrued from the jua kali (informal), and not the formal sector. Indigenous cultural innovations have also been at the centre of development in most highly indebted poor countries (HIPC), such as in Uganda or its slightly richer sister Kenya, notably because of wanainchi (citizens) exceptionally limited access to capital.
Ronald Elly Wanda
As such, when it comes to delivering justice in Africa, we ought to revise our priorities by doing away with existing preconceived ideas that might have worked within the European cultural setting. They have clearly not worked in the face of the socio-cultural heritages of African societies, and neither has the opposite, the Africanisation of Western concepts of justice delivery.
In SciDev Linda Nordling asks "Does Africa really need new idealism?" in its innovation policy.Commenting on a recent 'Knowledge Swaraj' manifesto which:
...suggests countries establish 'innovation fora' to debate technology investments and choices more broadly. And it wants funding for scientific 'centres of excellence' to give way to support for science that addresses local needs.In addition it:
...will go a step further in promoting the 'domestication' of science in Africa, says ATPS executive director, Kevin Urama.He says that Africa's confidence in its own science — traditional knowledge — dropped with colonialism and the arrival of Western science traditions. He argues that this cultural loss underpins Western-sponsored science's inability to improve the lives of ordinary Africans.More here
Image via CrunchBaseI have written often (for example here and here) on the subject of how more and more of the most interesting and disruptive innovations and business models of the 21st century and of the sixth paradigm will emerge from the “edges” of the global economy. Newly empowered by the continuing advances in information and communications technologies, and building off the powerful emergent platforms of the sixth paradigm (mobile, cloud, etc.), entrepreneurs in places like India and Africa will design and popularize some of the most potent business models going forward.
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Davos Newbies comments on a FT article about innovation in the Arab world:
A number of Arab countries are now pouring vast sums into research facilities. That’s all to the good, but without a deep-rooted culture of open, inquiring minds there is a danger that these countries will end up with magnificent complexes of buildings, a number of highly paid imported minds, and little else to show.Food for thought for those in SSA that complain only about the lack of investment in research. All to often we do not recognize innovation when it stares us in the face. We complacently assuage ourselves with empty white elephant edifices that are are not self sustaining.
Putting Africa First:The Making of African Innovation Systems "...brings together a selection of original contributions, which analyse African economic issues within the theoretical framework of 'innovation systems'. With its combination of conceptual, policy oriented, empirical, and cross-regional analyses this book appeals to scholars, policy makers, and development practitioners along with other students of African economic affairs..."
via InnovationAfrica
More hereThe prevailing 'creativity paradigm' has been accused of misrepresenting the dynamics of socialized processes of value creation, of imposing an ideological conception of intellectual property and of providing a neoliberal justification for unequal or precarious relations of production. While the critics are often justified, none of them have developed an alternative model of understanding the dynamics and potential politics of socialized processes of immaterial production. This public lecture uses the experience of Bangkok's fashion markets to begin to articulate an alternative understanding of creativity. The aim is not so much to articulate an 'asian' or even 'bangkok' model of creativity, but to investigate what diverse aspects emerge when viewed from an empirical context different form that of the US or UK. The speakers will suggest that the Bangkok experience highlight three dimensions of creativity that not only apply to many forms of socialized innovation process sin the East as well as in the West, but that the speakers suggest are particularly pertinent to understanding the new relations of socialized immaterial production that are presently made possible by information and communication technologies. These are, the emergent, intrinsically social or 'mass' nature of innovation and the concomitant fusion of innovation and imitation; the fusion of 'creativity' and everyday life, and the 'small and networked' nature of production chains.
Image courtesy of bkk fashion
The ongoing “Arab Spring”–courageously propelled by youth and individuals determined to have their voices heard and their human rights respected–is writing a new chapter in the region’s storied history. Recent changes pose many challenges but also an opportunity to reclaim the Golden Age of Arab and Islamic science, which took place from the 7th to the 13th century.On the need for press independence:
Freedom of the press inevitably helps drive scientific progress, which in turn propels innovation and economic prosperity. Moreover, science and the accurate communication of science go hand-in-hand: Good journalism, like good science, thrives on openness and a respect for truth based on evidence.Continuing:
Arab investment in science and technology cannot fully benefit society without the work of editorially independent science journalists. As many Arab nations emerge with new vigor and focus, they will benefit from building a well-functioning science and technology community that can contribute to innovation and economic growth as well as science-based challenges in sustainability and the environment.
So what's holding back all these African innovations?Continuing:
One thing is ideology. There is a general assumption, mostly informed by some economic theories, that, if the market is right, innovations will simply emerge and diffuse without requiring government support. And so the focus has been on liberalising economic systems and markets in the hope that innovations would just emerge on their own.
But we know, in fact, that innovations don't just emerge — they are a product of deliberate private and public support systems which help them to move from the lab to the market place. They include institutions such as venture capital, technology development agencies to improve the technologies, and institutions that guarantee that those innovations are safe.
Who should be creating those institutions?
That's something that has to be done by African governments themselves by legislation...We wanted to promote a culture of creativity so young people could see what had been patented and be inspired to develop their own ideas.
Here is what Richard A. Epstein, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Professor of Law at New York University Law School, and senior lecturer at the University of Chicago, had to say regarding the major speech that President Barack Obama (one-term Democrat) gave at Osawatomie, Kansas:
The painful ignorance that is revealed in these remarks augurs ill for the long-term recovery of America. With the president firmly determined to set himself against the tides of progress, innovation will be harder to come by. The levels of unemployment will continue to be high as the president works overtime to impose additional restrictions on the labor markets and more taxes at the top of the income distribution—both backhanded ways to reward innovation and growth.In Professor Epstein's analysis of President Obama's speech, he echo's some of the comments that I have been making on liberal blogs like Balloon Juice and others- that in spite of his rhetoric and because of his economic incoherence and illiteracy, workers, school teachers, union employees, blue collar employees, the middle class, supporters of Occupy Wall Street, and related groups are going to suffer the most from President Obama's policies.
The problem, therefore, with the president’s speech is not that it is demagogic in tone. The problem is that it is intellectually incoherent. As a matter of high principle, the president announces his fealty to markets. As a matter of practical politics, he denigrates and undermines them at every step. It is a frightening prospect to have a president who lives in a time warp that lets him believe that the failed policies of 1935 can lead this nation back from the brink. His chosen constituency, the middle class, should tremble at the prospect that his agenda might well set the course for the United States for the next four years.
It is a good thing when plants can achieve the same output with less labor. Do we really want an America in which thousands of people work in dangerous occupations to turn molten lava into steel bars? Far better it is that fewer workers are doing those jobs. The jobs lost in that industry will be in part replaced by newer jobs created in the firms that build the equipment that make it possible to run steel mills at a lower cost and far lower risk of personal injury. The former workers can seek jobs in newer industries that will only expand by competing for labor.You see, if President Obama had his way, we would return to the Great Depression, when people were dependent on government for goods and services because government was in the business of destroying productive business around the world. If President Obama had his way, he would increase taxes and regulations on businesses while giving out subsidies and tax breaks to favored businesses, favoring those who hire lobbyists and special interest groups who redirect wealth over those who create wealth and make products or sell goods and services. If President Barack Obama had his way- a Congress of Democrats that went along with his ideas and ideals- America would be dragged back to the early 1900's, when we had a low standards of living and shorter life spans, and Obama would happily fill up dangerous and inefficient steal mills with 'workers', he would sign praises to the joy of labor while factory workers worked for low wages (compared to today) in dangerous industries, and the working class would have few goods (like cheap cars coming in from the Far East, cheap electronics built in backward nations around the world, and labor-saving devices everywhere built everywhere) just so that he could burnish his protectionist credentials.
And what about those ATM machines? Does the president really want people to have to queue up in banks to make deposits or withdraw cash in order to make a boom market for human tellers? Perhaps we should return to the days before automation, when phone calls were all connected by human operators. And why blast the Internet, which has created far more useful jobs than it has ever destroyed?
Set Up Your Kindle Fire for Tiny Tablet Awesomeness
A handle Kindle Fire set up guide from Gizmodo.
The Next Mark Zuckerberg Is Likely At Harvard’s New Innovation Lab
The redesign of learning spaces has hit Harvard with their new iLab. Mark Zuckerberg was present at grand opening of venue which includes xbox gaming area and a stocked snack fridge.Before the i-lab, students like Mark connected and collaborated wherever they could find space,” Faust said. “Mentors mentored, and networks networked, and speakers spoke, and each of these things was happening. But now they can happen in one place"
Adobe Design Achievement Awards Now Open To Students & Teachers
Adobe design achiement awards 2012. Students are invited to compete in 13 categories, including Game Design and Development, as well as Application Development and Mobile Design. For the second consecutive year, the ADAA will also recognize teaching excellence through three categories designed specifically for higher education instructors. Since the ADAA competition began in 2001, nearly 25,000 students from 73 countries have been involved; in 2011, a record 4,600 entries were submitted.
New ELI 7 Things... Explores First-Generation Learning Analytics | EDUCAUSE
Learning analytics are underused but will be one of the most important tools in our online toolbox. Once we grasp the importance of these, we will be demanding more and more intelligence on behalf of the learning analytics that we use to support elearning, apps, and all of the things our students use as part of their learning toolbox.
Reports from Educause
A a recent article that Charles Moore wrote, I think he put his finger on exactly what is going on today- the success and advance of the twin threats of fear and doubt. Moore, who is a British journalist and former editor of The Daily Telegraph, in an article about Margaret Thatcher, wrote that after the long boom and success of capitalism and free market economics that "the worm of doubt entered the system":
You borrowed all the money needed for the price of a house. This made you, in your mind, though not in full fact, an owner. Because the value of the house was rising, it also made you, again in your mind, richer. The bank, which actually owned the house, found clever ways of mixing and selling on the loans it had granted so that it, too, felt richer. Governments, happy at rising revenues, thought it was their business to make sure that when the symptoms of high risk began to present themselves, they were suppressed.... (then) the roof fell in... (and now) when people now hear words like globalization or capitalism... they feel slightly sick.Free market economics and capitalism did not lead our nation to failure- rather, during its wild success at making millions around the world more prosperous over the past centuries, communism and socialism and fascism latched on to it, sucking from its prosperity to feed its sick aims like parasites, and over time, many smart people began to become confused and unable to see the parasites from the concepts that they latched on.
My grandparents served during World War II. He was a soldier in Patton’s Army; she was a worker on a bomber assembly line. And together, they shared the optimism of a nation that triumphed over the Great Depression and over fascism. They believed in an America where hard work paid off, and responsibility was rewarded, and anyone could make it if they tried -- no matter who you were, no matter where you came from, no matter how you started out.In this passage, Obama communicates to us that his parents believed in capitalism and free markets and personal responsibility and liberty and protection of property. And furthermore, Obama knows that this system worked. But yet, he has this nagging doubt and fear...
And these values gave rise to the largest middle class and the strongest economy that the world has ever known. It was here in America that the most productive workers, the most innovative companies turned out the best products on Earth. And you know what? Every American shared in that pride and in that success -- from those in the executive suites to those in middle management to those on the factory floor.
But for most Americans, the basic bargain that made this country great has eroded. Long before the recession hit, hard work stopped paying off for too many people. Fewer and fewer of the folks who contributed to the success of our economy actually benefited from that success. Those at the very top grew wealthier from their incomes and their investments -- wealthier than ever before. But everybody else struggled with costs that were growing and paychecks that weren’t -- and too many families found themselves racking up more and more debt just to keep up.He doesn't BELIEVE in capitalism. He has no faith in people, freedom, liberty, and rights. It's clear he doesn't have any hope that people will make the 'right decisions' (the decisions he would make) and he wants to therefore control other people. He continues:
But Roosevelt also knew that the free market has never been a free license to take whatever you can from whomever you can. (Applause.) He understood the free market only works when there are rules of the road that ensure competition is fair and open and honest. And so he busted up monopolies, forcing those companies to compete for consumers with better services and better prices. And today, they still must. He fought to make sure businesses couldn’t profit by exploiting children or selling food or medicine that wasn’t safe. And today, they still can’t.And it is around here that we get to the heart of the matter- in the last quarter of his speech, after ripping on capitalism and freedom for 3/4's of the speech, that we finally here what he wants to do...
We simply cannot return to this brand of “you’re on your own” economics if we’re serious about rebuilding the middle class in this country.
So what does that mean for restoring middle-class security in today’s economy? Well, it starts by making sure that everyone in America gets a fair shot at success. The truth is we’ll never be able to compete with other countries when it comes to who’s best at letting their businesses pay the lowest wages, who’s best at busting unions, who’s best at letting companies pollute as much as they want.So, in summary, here is Obama's alternative to free markets and capitalism- give him more power. Give him the power and authority to tell employers what to pay their employees, give him the power and authority to combine big government with big business and big labor (ie, fascism), give him and his cronies the power to give money to favored constituent groups to fund pet projects of vanity (palaces, statues, etc), and the power to demand that all of these decisions are paid for by someone else who does not want to pay for it- to use the power of guns to the head to make people give up cash to Obama and his people to feed their wrong ideas about the power of men to control others for their benefit.
We need to remember that we can only do that together. It starts by making education a national mission -- a national mission. (Applause.) Government and businesses, parents and citizens. We need to remember that we can only do that together. It starts by making education a national mission -- a national mission. (Applause.) Government and businesses, parents and citizens. They should be rebuilding our roads and our bridges, laying down faster railroads and broadband, modernizing our schools. Of course, those productive investments cost money. They’re not free. And so we’ve also paid for these investments by asking everybody to do their fair share. And so we have to set priorities. If we want a strong middle class, then our tax code must reflect our values. We have to make choices.
Too Much, the Magic Bus! - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post
Excellent post from my friend Walter at ASCD about innovation and how to build success for your program. A great read.
MCA school board votes down international trip - News - News Item
This makes me livid. My friend Suzie Nestico's students cannot come to Beijing at this point but the reasons stated are totally off base:
1) "Why can't they just watch it on a big screen?"
The time zone is 12 hours difference and this is a project-based learning conference. Students will not only learn about technology but will envision and develop future projects for global collaboration as they participate with some of the best minds in the business.
2) This is just a paid vacation to China!
This perhaps makes me most angry of all! If someone is going to China on vacation - you wouldn't go in February!1 We are going to a local school that is hosting us and this was the most convenient time for them and to get local participation.
3) Let's keep the money at home.
Rather than this small town having students and a teacher who understand how to work in one of the most rapidly growing markets in the world (China) they are choosing to stay at home and remain oblivious to the opportunities that exist.
4) They are not going for a competition
yes, they are - there is a competition. But the difference is that you are paired with three other students from three other countries. This year, we have an environmental focus as we work to design how students would benefit from collaborating globally on environmentally sensitive issues.
Yes, times are tough. Yes, it seems to only benefit a few. However, as we push towards globalization one step at a time we have to get out of our comfort zone for the future of our small towns and communities.
I could go on and it saddens me that these were just looking for a reason to say no. Of course, in a democracy they have a right to do this and it is ok. This is not a permanent setback, I just wish they had made this decision before they told her to go ahead and raise the money. This sort of vacillation can snuff out teacher motivation to try things that are new. Passports had already been stamped.
More here...jugaad innovation is one that is entirely outside the metrics of growth, scale and development as we have come to understand it. In fact, the original jugaad motor vehicles remain unregistered, and therefore not subject to India’s road tax, so it is impossible to estimate how many are on the road. It is this ambiguity that allows true, local innovation to remain almost entirely outside the frames I have described above. Does that mean that it is any less effective, or that the problems being solved by that local population are any less deserving of being solved, if only for that population itself?... it is an acknowledgment that local ecosystems with seemingly intractable problems beyond the scope of free markets and development initiatives can in fact be served by their very own populations. Once that is recognized and encouraged, it might even emerge that what we are most interested in measuring is not profitability or growth, but human dignity itself.Image via Wikipedia
Henry Ekwuruke asks
Is money an important vehicle for invention and innovation in science and technology research?He asserts that there is :
the need to adequately fund research without unfairly compromising invention and innovation,this is why money is such a complicated component of any scientific and technological development.
