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University-Industry Collaboration: An issue for Ireland as an Economy With a High Dependence on Academic Research
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| Presenter(s):
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| James Ryan,
CIRCA Group Europe Ltd,
jim.ryan@circa.ie
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| Abstract:
In the last 7 years, Ireland has invested heavily in the concept of a knowledge economy. A strong emphasis has been on development of the university sector as a national research base in which commercial technologies and expertise will develop. Recent concerns about the state of University-Industry collaboration resulted in a major study of this topic. The study also sought new models and initiatives to assist the level of collaboration. The study was conducted by CIRCA with US and other EU partners and involved consultation with industry, researchers and academic management. The presentation will outline the findings.
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Measuring the Interdisciplinarity of a Body of Research
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| Presenter(s):
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| David Roessner,
SRI International,
david.roessner@sri.com
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| Alan Porter,
Georgia Institute of Technology,
alan.porter@isye.gatech.edu
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| Anne Heberger,
National Academies,
aheberger@nas.edu
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| Alex Cohen,
The National Academies,
ascohen@nas.edu
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| Marty Perreault,
National Academies,
mperreault@nas.edu
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| Abstract:
This paper describes a methodology developed by a team charged with evaluating the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, a 15-year $40 million program to facilitate interdisciplinary research and teaching in the US. Over the past three years, the team has developed and tested promising quantitative measures of the integration (I) and specialization (S) of research outputs, the former essential to evaluating the impact of several Futures Initiative programs. Both measures are based on Thomson-ISI Web of Knowledge Subject Categories (SCs). “I” measures the cognitive distance (dispersion) among the SCs of journals cited in a body of research. “S” measures the spread of SCs in which a body of research is published. Pilot results for samples of researchers drawn from 22 diverse SCs show a surprisingly high level of interdisciplinarity. Correlations between integration and the degree of co-authorship of selected bodies of research show a low degree of association.
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Wikis in Evaluation: Evaluating Wikis for Theory Development in a Multi-disciplinary Center
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| Presenter(s):
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| P Craig Boardman,
Science and Technology Policy Institute,
pboardma@ida.org
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| Nathaniel Deshmukh Towery,
Science and Technology Policy Institute,
ndtowery@ida.org
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| Brian Zuckerman,
Science and Technology Policy Institute,
bzuckerm@ida.org
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| Abstract:
New, multidisciplinary fields of inquiry are usually inspired by a collective goal to solve a practical problem. For these cases theory development can prove challenging because of competing epistemological norms across disciplines and because of the focus on the practical application of knowledge to the problem at hand. In this manuscript we present a case study of an NSF-funded Center charged with developing a theory of learning. This case presents a new opportunity for the evaluation of theory development by exploring the use of “wiki” technology in theory development efforts. Implications for the use of wikis as a data source for evaluating theory development and other scientific outcomes are discussed.
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