Authors:
Paperback, 386 pages
Publisher: National Academies Press
Publication Date: 2008-05-12


Reviews :

    The debate over offshoring of production, transfer of technological capabilities, and potential loss of U.S. competitiveness is a long-running one. Prevailing thinking is that 'the world is flat' - that is, innovative capacity is spreading uniformly; as new centers of manufacturing emerge, research and development and new product development follow. "Innovation in Global Industries" challenges this thinking. The book, a collection of individually authored studies, examines in detail structural changes in the innovation process in 10 service, as well as manufacturing industries: personal computers; semiconductors; flat-panel displays; software; lighting; biotechnology; pharmaceuticals; financial services; logistics; and venture capital. There is no doubt that overall there has been an acceleration in global sourcing of innovation and an emergence of new locations of research capacity and advanced technical skills, but the patterns are highly variable.Many industries and some firms in nearly all industries retain leading-edge capacity in the United States. However, the book concludes that is no reason for complacency about the future outlook. Innovation deserves more emphasis in firm performance measures and more sustained support in public policy. "Innovation in Global Industries" will be of special interest to business people and government policy makers as well as professors, students, and other researchers of economics, management, international affairs, and political science....

Authors: Gregory F. Treverton.
Paperback, 288 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Date: 2003-03-03


Reviews :

    In a bold and penetrating study, Gregory Treverton, former Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council and Senate investigator, offers his insider's views on how intelligence gathering and analysis must change. Treverton suggests why intelligence needs to be contrarian and attentive to the longer term. Believing that it is important to tap expertise outside government to solve intelligence problems, he argues that involving colleagues in the academy, think tanks, and Wall Street befits the changed role of government from doer to convener, mediator, and coalition-builder. Hb ISBN (2001): 0-521-58096-X...

Authors: Martin C. Libicki.
Paperback, 336 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Date: 2007-04-16
Edition: 1

Reviews :

    With billions of computers in existence, cyberspace, 'the virtual world created when they are connected,' is said to be the new medium of power. Computer hackers operating from anywhere can enter cyberspace and take control of other people's computers, stealing their information, corrupting their workings, and shutting them down. Modern societies and militaries, both pervaded by computers, are supposedly at risk. As Conquest in Cyberspace explains, however, information systems and information itself are too easily conflated, and persistent mastery over the former is difficult to achieve....

Authors: John Parker.
Hardcover, 314 pages
Publisher: Piatkus Books
Publication Date: 2001-05


Reviews :

    This text investigates how in the the 21st century, the lives of ordinary individuals, businesses, and criminals are being recorded in every detail. The book explores the implications of CCTV, listening operations and their spies and examines the effect that computer technology has had on privacy....

Authors:
Hardcover, 575 pages
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing
Publication Date: 2003-12


Reviews :

    This volume focuses on the information and communication (ICT) revolution and its impact on economic growth. Even though the emergence of the knowledge economy is at the center of attention by media and is often a subject of economic policy debate, economic research on the issue is still relatively underdeveloped and many aspects of it are still awaiting proper theoretical and empirical scrutiny. One important question is whether, as many economists and opinion leaders maintain the knowledge economy and the new information technologies have fostered the birth of a "new economy" which by inducing a strong productivity growth in most sectors, is behind the impressive growth of GDP experienced by the US economy. Empirical research has in fact been unable to provide a conclusive answer to this question. This book debates this issue and provides the opportunity to discuss the economic and social effects of the ICT revolution. It also focuses on the functioning and the micro-economic structure of the ICT sector, as well as on its impact on various industries, on the financial system and on the labor market. It analyses the role of the ICT revolution on regional development and it addresses important policy issues such as its consequences for antitrust legislation and government regulation....

Authors: France Belanger. Dianne H. Jordan.
Paperback, 246 pages
Publisher: Idea Group Publishing
Publication Date: 1999-12
Edition: 1

Reviews :

    The twentieth century has seen the creation and evolution of technologies beyond imagination a century ago. The computer has enabled the digital presentation of knowledge, and increased the speed with which information can be captured and processed. Communication technologies have made possible the storage, transfer and sharing of information across vast distances and different time zones.

The acceptance of these technologies has led to a new alternative for providing education and training - distance learning. This book focuses on the processes, techniques and tools that are being used to successfully plan, implement and operate distance learning projects. Both professionals and educators who must enter this challenging teaching and training environment in the new millennium will benefit from Evaluation and Implementation of Distance Learning: Technologies, Tools and Techniques....

Authors: M. Henry Heines.
Hardcover, 216 pages
Publisher: Praeger Publishers
Publication Date: 2007-01-30


Reviews :

    In a world where your intellectual property is your most valuable asset, patents are becoming an essential tool for achieving and maintaining a competitive edge. With billions of dollars at stake, companies are defending their patents vigorously; high-profile cases, such as Microsoft's $900 million patent dispute settlement with Sun Microsystems, and Medtronic's acquisition of a competitor's entire patent portfolio for $1.35 billion, are cases in point. While most companies will not operate at this level, the strategic management of patents, and the costs of enforcing and defending them, are becomining critical business functions. In this accessible and practical guide, Henry Heines shows readers how to apply "due diligence," a common concept in corporate finance and investing, to analyze the costs and benefits of patent management, and to navigate through the legal and technical maze. With dozens of examples from many industries, he walks readers through the various ways in which technological advances can be presented as patentable inventions and in which the patents of competitors can be confronted and evaluated. He also offers guidance in managing a portfolio of patents and inventions, regardless of whether they make it to market as products. A glossary of terms and listing of resources will make this book a handy reference for anyone involved in product development, corporate strategy, or intellectual property....

Authors: Lisa J. Servon.
Paperback, 320 pages
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Publication Date: 2002-08-15
Edition: 1st

Reviews :

    Bridging the Digital Divide investigates problems of unequal access to information technology. The author redefines this problem, examines its severity, and lays out what the future implications might be if the digital divide continues to exist.

• Examines unequal access to information technology in the United States.
  
• Analyses the success or failure of policies designed to address the digital divide.
  
• Draws on extensive fieldwork in several US cities.
  
• Makes recommendations for future public policy.
  
• Series editor: Manuel Castells.

...

Authors: Simon Head.
Paperback, 240 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Publication Date: 2005-03-24


Reviews :

    In the great boom of the 1990s, top management's compensation soared, but the wages of most Americans barely grew at all. This wages stagnation has baffled experts, but in The New Ruthless Economy, Simon Head points to information technology as the prime cause of this growing wage disparity.
Many economists, technologists and business consultants have predicted that IT would liberate the work force, bringing self-managed work teams and decentralized decision making. Head argues that the opposite has happened. Reengineering, a prime example of how business processes have been computerized, has instead simplified the work of middle and lower level employees, fenced them in with elaborate rules, and set up digital monitoring to make sure that the rules are obeyed. This is true even in such high-skill professions as medicine, where decision-making software in the hands of HMOs decides the length of a patient's stay in hospital and determines the treatments patients will or will not receive.
In lower-skill jobs, such as in the call center industry, workers are subject to the indignity of scripting software that lays out the exact conversation, line by line, which agents must follow when speaking with customers. Head argues that these computer systems devalue a worker's experience and skill, and subject employees to a degree of supervision which is excessive and demeaning. The harsh and often unstable work regime of reengineering also undermines the security of employees and so weakens their bargaining power in the workplace.
Drawing upon ten years of research visiting work places across America, ranging from medical offices to machine tool plants, Head offers dramatic insight into the impact of information technology on the quality of working life in the United States....

Authors:
Hardcover, 528 pages
Publisher: Libraries Unlimited
Publication Date: 1997-12-15
Edition: 2 Sub

Reviews :

    Publications of international governmental organizations (IGOs) are among the most difficult documents for librarians to acquire, organize, and use. This revised work examines the documentation, publications, and computerized information services of major IGOs, such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the League of Nations, the International Development Research Center, and the G-7. Special attention is given to the consequences of recent institutional restructuring and retrenchment. The book covers institutions, resources, and processes. Chapters discuss the organizational and functional characteristics of IGOs; examine their available resources, including documents now available through electronic sources; and explore the role of the private sector and institutions outside the IGOs in providing access to IGO information. Hajnal also discusses collection development and reference and information work. This authoritative, up-to-dat...