Smiths Group (formerly Smiths Industries), part of the UK FTSE 100 index, is a global engineering company with a market capitalisation over GBP5bn. Evolving from beginnings in the Victorian jewellery trade, to significant market presences in the twentieth century motor accessory, clock and watch industries, it has reinvented itself again as a diversified international company, operating in the medical, communications, security and engineered components sectors. Its narrative history, illuminating the reasons for its survival and adaptability, offers useful data and information to aid wider research into questions such as the legitimacy of conglomerates as a business model, the creation and maintenance of corporate culture, issues of succession, the effects of mergers and the questionable value placed upon targeted synergies-even the role of serendipity. The story begins with several generations of the Smith family amassing a fortune in retail, and then, following a 1914 stock-market flotation, describes the transition from family run business to the development of a professionally-run managerial enterprise. Since the 1970s it has had to face the decline of major markets and competitive pressures, leading to the adoption of new business lines, globalisation, and the internationalisation of its workforce. It now has 23,000 employees across more than 50 countries-along the way shocking the markets by abandoning core businesses and undergoing a controversial merger. Unfettered access to company records, and interviews with former staff members, provide insights into the strategy and management of the firm, illuminating the rich culture of Smiths, characterised by the frequent fostering of technical brilliance and a cast of larger than life characters.

The economics of regional clusters, where business formation, technological innovation, and the emergence of a highly-skilled labor force converge, has become a popular topic. This fascinating book applies a variety of tools and models to analyze, in depth, the formation and growth of high-tech clusters. It does this first by exploring the institutional forces that promote the failure or success of such agglomerations, and then by focusing on the dynamics of the labor force.

This book provides a clear analysis of the multi-level impacts of the existing international law regime related to genetic resources on developing countries. It does so through a cogent exposition of the different areas of the law pertaining to genetic resources that are relevant and impact on people's rights and livelihoods. Its focus on equity is a welcome addition to the literature.' - Philippe Cullet, University of London, UK'Camena Guneratne's thought-provoking book critically evaluates the clash between the private property approach to genetic resources embedded in international intellectual property conventions, and the competing values embedded in a variety of other conventions and laws. She contests key assumptions behind intellectual property regimes supporting genetic commerce, distinguishing the genetic 'commons' from other types of resource. This book provides a comprehensive scholarly dealing with the topics noted in its title, but also should increase debate about policy failures in responding to the risks to the underprivileged of the instruments we use to pursue our economic interests of the majority.' - Paul Martin, University of New England, Australia 'This is a wonderful book. All to often in the quest to preserve biodiviersity, we forget that the equation of equity hs to be the forefront of the debates on sustainable development. Dr. Guneratne rectifies this mistake.This linkage between biodiversity, politics and international law is of such a high calibre, that it is likely that this work will become a key text for students and scholars alike.' - Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato, New Zealand This book examines current developments in international law which regulate the uses of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, and the various property regimes which are applied to these resources by these international agreements. In the current context of the global food crisis, the development and stability of national agricultural systems is an urgent concern, particularly among developing countries. This stability, and national food security, will potentially be threatened if these countries are unable to have free access to agricultural crop plants. This book analyses a range of international agreements including the recently adopted Nagoya Protocol and demonstrates that in their current implementation they favor private ownership of these resources rather than free access. The book takes the position that this is inherently inequitable and these resources should be maintained in the public domain. This book will be of use to a wide range of readers from students and scholars to those working in the fields of trade and intellectual property, human rights, environmental conservation and advocacy on international issues. It contains a rigorous legal analysis of current international law development on the issue based on the negotiations which have taken place in the relevant forums, and will therefore be particularly useful to lawyers and legal scholars. It is also written in an uncomplicated style which makes it readily accessible to non-lawyers and the case studies and empirical data used throughout the book adds to its interest.

An Introduction to Healthcare Informatics: Building Data-Driven Tools bridges the gap between the current healthcare IT landscape and cutting edge technologies in data science, cloud infrastructure, application development and even artificial intelligence. Information technology encompasses several rapidly evolving areas, however healthcare as a field suffers from a relatively archaic technology landscape and a lack of curriculum to effectively train its millions of practitioners in the skills they need to utilize data and related tools. The book discusses topics such as data access, data analysis, big data current landscape and application architecture. Additionally, it encompasses a discussion on the future developments in the field. This book provides physicians, nurses and health scientists with the concepts and skills necessary to work with analysts and IT professionals and even perform analysis and application architecture themselves.

This is an original and very well structured and informative book. Its particular interest stems from the multidimensional and detailed analysis of a set of core technologies and their uneven diffusion process in eight countries of quite different levels of development. It challenges received ideas about what really matters to democratize the access to new technologies and provides evidence-based suggestions for policy design. Scholars and students interested in the technological side of inequality will read this book with delight.' - Judith Sutz, Universidad de la Republica, UruguayInequality is one of the main features of globalization. Do emerging technologies, as they spread around the world, contribute to more inequality or less? This unique interdisciplinary text examines the relationships between emerging technologies and social, economic and other forms of inequality. Susan Cozzens, Dhanaraj Thakur, and the other co-authors ask how the benefits and costs of emerging technologies are distributed amongst different countries - some rich and some poor. Examining the case studies of five technologies across eight countries in Africa, Europe and the Americas, the book finds that the distributional dynamics around a given technology are influenced by the way entrepreneurs and others package the technology, how governments promote it and the existing local skills and capacity to use it. These factors create social and economic boundaries where the technology stops diffusing between and within countries. The book presents a series of recommendations for policy-makers and private sector actors to move emerging technologies beyond these boundaries and improve their distributional outcomes. Offering a broad range of mature and relatively new emerging technologies from a diverse set of countries, the study will strongly appeal to policy-makers in science, technology and innovation policy. It will also benefit students and academics interested in innovation, science, technology and innovation policy, the economics of innovation, as well as the history and sociology of technology. Contributors: B. Beckert, I. Bortagaray, L. Brito, R. Brouwer, S. Cozzens, M.P.Falcao, S.D. Gatchair, J.A. Holbrook, L.A. Pace, D. Thakur

The U.S. computer software industry dominates the globe. But why has this critical industry succeeded so dramatically in world competition when so many other strategic technologies have fallen to foreign suppliers? In a detailed and well-reasoned economic analysis, Siwek and Furchtgott-Roth present the first truly comprehensive examination of international trade in computer software.

The authors identify software as one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States as measured by value-added to gross domestic product, employment, and foreign sales. They document the historical importance of U.S.-produced software in both American and foreign markets and they present country-by-country assessments of software markets around the world. Siwek and Furchtgott-Roth identify the principal areas of advantage held by the U.S. software industry and they go on to assess the future prospects of U.S. software in world markets.

For undergraduate and graduate courses on marketing high-tech products Provide your students with the vital information they need to successfully market high-tech products. Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations is the only text on the market that focuses on the unique marketing challenges that surround high-tech products and service. The third edition retains all the same concepts and materials of previous editions and includes comprehensive coverage of the latest academic research and leading-edge business practices.

Perspectives in the Development of Mobile Medical Information Systems: Life Cycle, Management, Methodological Approach and Application discusses System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) thoroughly, focusing on Mobile Healthcare Information Systems (M-HIS). Covering all aspect of M-HIS development, the book moves from modeling, assessment, and design phases towards prototype phase. Topics such as mobile healthcare information system requirements, model identification, user behavior, system analysis and design are all discussed. Additionally, it covers the construction, coding and testing of a new system, and encompasses a discussion on future directions of the field. Based on an existing mobile cardiac emergency system used as a real case throughout the chapters, and unifying and clarifying the various processes and concepts of SDLC for M-HIS, this book is a valuable source for medical informaticians, graduate students and several members of biomedical and medical fields interested in medical information systems.

Innovation in Health Informatics: A Smart Healthcare Primer explains how the most recent advances in information and communication technologies have paved the way for new breakthroughs in healthcare. The book showcases current and prospective applications in a context defined by an imperative to deliver efficient, patient-centered and sustainable healthcare systems. Topics discussed include big data, medical data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual and augmented reality, 5g and sensors, Internet of Things, nanotechnologies and biotechnologies. Additionally, there is a discussion on social issues and policy- making for the implementation of smart healthcare. This book is a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate students, practitioners, researchers, clinicians and data scientists who are interested in how to explore the intersections between bioinformatics and health informatics.

The Transformative Power of Mobile Medicine: Leveraging Innovation, Seizing Opportunities, and Overcoming Obstacles of mHealth addresses the rapid advances taking place in mHealth and their impact on clinicians and patients. It provides guidance on reliable mobile health apps that are based on sound scientific evidence, while also offering advice on how to stay clear of junk science. The book explores the latest developments, including the value of blockchain, the emerging growth of remote sensors in chronic patient care, the potential use of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant as patient bedside assistants, the use of Amazon's IoT button, and much more. This book enables physicians and nurses to gain a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of mobile health and helps them choose evidence-based mobile medicine tools to improve patient care.

A new era of space-based technology and interplanetary exploration will produce cost-effective solutions and innovative technologies to fulfill current societal needs. Space-Based Technologies and Commercialized Development: Economic Implications and Benefits introduces the concept of space-based technology commercialization and offers a first-time analysis of plausible opportunities. This essential reference examines the overall marketability of tourism in outer space, including business case studies on celestial solar power and space debris that demonstrate the potential of cosmic technologies in the context of interplanetary business.

This volume fills an important need for understanding about the interplay between China's intellectual property protection system and the potential for innovation in China's economy. Using examples from the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, the author suggests that, despite the widely documented challenges facing China's IPR protection system, the system has a demonstrable effect on innovation. The author suggests that China's patent system promotes innovation through economic incentives, soft factors of public encouragement, and intentional development strategies. This book is also useful as an overview of China's biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, offering a range of richly detailed case studies on China's industrial development strategies in these sectors. A number of important patent disputes between Chinese and foreign companies are also examined to useful effect. In the highly contentious policy world of intellectual property protection and pharmaceutical and biotech industry development, the volume offers a refreshing combination of detail and insight.'uPitman B. Potter, University of British Columbia, Canada'Yahong Li's pioneering study, Imitation to Innovation in China, breaks new ground in closely examining the extent to which the Chinese government's patent policies and patent activity by Chinese firms are influencing China's coming transformation from an imitation-oriented country to an innovation-oriented one. Her combination of theoretical and empirical approaches exploring the links between public policy, patenting activity and technological innovation (commercialization) is an important contribution to development studies, not just for China but for other newly innovative countries as well.'uWilliam O. Hennessey, Franklin Pierce Law Center, USA Following decades in which China's approach to technology has been to imitate, the country is now transforming itself to become innovation-oriented. This pioneering study examines whether patents play as similar a role in promoting innovation in China as they do in the West, exploring the interplay between patents and China's biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in particular. The author argues for a stronger patent regime based on an extensive review of the technological capacity, R&D models, patent filings and litigations, and issues in patent law, which involve China's biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. By comparing China with other developing countries and analyzing China's uniqueness in terms of its development stage, technological capacity and the strengths and weaknesses in its patent system, the author concludes that China is distinguished from the prevailing view that patents play a limited role in innovation in developing countries. The book also discusses whether and how patents can promote innovation in China's biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, based on the study of market scale, R&D capacity, innovation model and patent legislation and cases.

Design, Principle and Application of Self-Assembled Nanobiomaterials in Biology and Medicine discusses recent advances in science and technology using nanoscale units that show the novel concept of combining nanotechnology with various research disciplines within both the biomedical and medicine fields. Self-assembly of molecules, macromolecules, and polymers is a fascinating strategy for the construction of various desired nanofabrication in chemistry, biology, and medicine for advanced applications. It has a number of advantages: (1) It is involving atomic-level modification of molecular structure using bond formation advanced techniques of synthetic chemistry. (2) It draws from the enormous wealth of examples in biology for the development of complex, functional structures. (3) It can incorporate biological structures directly as components in the final systems. (4) It requires that the target self-assembled structures be thermodynamically most stable with relatively defect-free and self-healing. In this book, we cover the various emerging self-assembled nanostructured objects including molecular machines, nano-cars molecular rotors, nanoparticles, nanosheets, nanotubes, nanowires, nano-flakes, nano-cubes, nano-disks, nanorings, DNA origami, transmembrane channels, and vesicles. These self-assembled materials are used for sensing, drug delivery, molecular recognition, tissue engineering energy generation, and molecular tuning.

Key Account Management Excellence in Pharma & Medtech is designed to help life sciences practitioners develop and execute innovative and effective key account management (KAM) strategies and capabilities. Pharmaceutical and medtech companies are increasingly pursuing KAM in response to the rapid rise of large, sophisticated and complex healthcare provider and payer systems and groups. Those that invest the time to get KAM right will protect their business and grow with these rising customers. This book is groundbreaking in both its scope and its tailoring of leading KAM practices specifically for life sciences. The central theme is that "key account management is an organization-wide business strategy, not just a role or a sales-specific initiative." KAM is a strategy focused on providing unique offerings and value through an orchestrated, cross-functional, go-to-market model designed specifically to address the needs and engagement preferences of a unique segment of customers. The insights and practices shared in this book are designed to be a valuable reference at every stage of the KAM journey. The book has been designed to facilitate a common language and deep understanding of KAM issues and leading practices organization-wide-particularly for life sciences leaders, account managers and cross-functional team members responsible for building, transforming and supporting their organization's KAM strategies and capabilities.

Economic Evaluation of Pharmacy Services provides the latest on the trend to a more product-centered and service-centered practice, eschewing traditional economic evaluation techniques that focus on product-to-product comparisons in favor of evaluating processes that measure costs and health outcomes. Complete with examples focusing on best practices, including various study designs, types of pharmacy services, and types of outcomes being evaluated, the book emphasizes case studies and examples that help readers understand economic evaluation techniques. Many of these techniques are transferable across countries, especially where there are advanced and stable health systems in place. With the help of this practical guide, readers will gain a thorough understanding of the application of economic evaluation of pharmacy services.

Biomass Supply Chains for Bioenergy and Biorefining highlights the emergence of energy generation through the use of biomass and the ways it is becoming more widely used. The supply chains that produce the feedstocks, harvest, transport, store, and prepare them for combustion or refinement into other forms of fuel are long and complex, often differing from feedstock to feedstock. Biomass Supply Chains for Bioenergy and Biorefining considers every aspect of these supply chains, including their design, management, socioeconomic, and environmental impacts. The first part of the book introduces supply chains, biomass feedstocks, and their analysis, while the second part looks at the harvesting, handling, storage, and transportation of biomass. The third part studies the modeling of supply chains and their management, with the final section discussing, in minute detail, the supply chains involved in the production and usage of individual feedstocks, such as wood and sugar starches, oil crops, industrial biomass wastes, and municipal sewage stocks.

This book contains the most current information on how to implement, develop and maintain an effective Corrective Action and Preventive Action (CAPA) and investigation program using a 9-step closed-loop process approach for medical device, pharmaceutical and biologic manufacturers, as well as any company or institution, which has to maintain a quality system. CAPA violations along with ineffective complaint investigations continue to be the number one cited violation of device warning letters for the past four years, leading the US Food and Drug Administration or FDA to remind firms to fully investigate complaints, find the root cause of nonconforming products and document their CAPA activities. A review of FDA warning letters issued to pharmaceutical companies reveals that most of these warning letters resulted from recurring failures, ineffective investigations found, and missing or inappropriate corrective and preventive actions. Companies often make the mistake of fixing problems in their processes by revising procedures or more commonly by 'retraining' employees that may or may not have caused the problem. This is typically event-focused. Companies then will make the false assumption that the errors have been eradicated. In many cases they will also consider the steps taken as their Preventive Action. The reality is that the causes of the failure were never actually determined; therefore the same problem will recur over and over. CAPA is a complete system that collects information regarding existing and potential quality problems. It analyzes and investigates the issues to identify the root cause of nonconformities. CAPA is not just a quick-fix, simple approach. It is a process and has to be understood throughout organizations. This book addresses all of the above issues, in a pragmatic, down- to-earth manner.

This book aims to analyze how China's firms in the consumer electronics (CE) sector have developed their business strategy and corporate governance during the reform process. This book examines the CE sector in particular because it is one of the country's most important and dynamic manufacturing sectors and one of the earliest market-oriented sectors.

* Focus on seven critical, fast-paced industries where innovation capability is essential * Written by two prominent thought leaders with 50 years of combined experience working with hundreds of companies across industries * Provides templates to immediately put the book's frameworks in place to develop an organization's innovation plan

The Future of Work in Asia and Beyond presents the findings and associated implications arising from a collaborative research study conducted on the potential impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR - or Industry 4.0) on the labour markets, occupations and associated future workforce competencies and skills across ten countries. The 4IR concerns the digital transformation in society and business - an interface between technologies in the physical, digital and biological disciplines. The book explores many related issues: the nature of the 4IR, as well as demographic, generational and socio-cultural issues, economic and political perspectives, public and private sector similarities and differences, business strategy and managerial implications, human resource management/planning strategies, policies and practices, industry innovations, 'best practice' cases and comparative country studies. Chapters are based on a framework which combines labour market and multiple stakeholder theories. Issues are explored through the perceptions of organisational managers based in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand to provide an analysis of organisational, industry and government preparedness for the 4IR. This book is recommended reading for anyone wanting to gain an understanding of the 4IR and a range of related challenges and issues, as well as suggested strategies for governments, education and industry that are necessary to address them.

It is an old adage that "fortune favours the prepared mind", that in many cases the elements of a creativity synthesis just "happened to be there".  It is Koepp's valuable contribution that he assembles all such clustering dynamics and makes coherent "the gale of creativity destruction" that has puzzled us all.  An innovative book for an innovative topic.  Dr Charles Hampden-Turner, Cambridge University

Every so often one is lucky enough to be at the center of the world while it still is the center of the world.  Being in Silicon Valley during the 1990s was certainly just that.  Such centers produce a flowering of creativity that can only occur when the air becomes so turbulent that ideas, which in normal times would just be fleeting fantasies, get up and fly.  Clusters of Creativity captures this anti-gravitational feeling perfectly.  Rich Gold, Former Director of RED, Xerox PARC

In the year 2000, European Union governments announced a long-term strategic commitment to transform the European economy into the most competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based economy in the world. Technology is an integral part of the new economy and of the EU's strategy for economic development. This book deals with the development of infrastructure in the mobile communications, transport, space and radio sectors. It sets out to explain the conditions under which the EU, and in particular the European Commission, makes policy choices to support large-scale technology infrastructures, and why EU political intervention in seemingly similar infrastructure projects varies. Answering this question will provide insights into the political economy underpinning the ambitions to transform the European economy into the most competitive in the world. This study of EU political intervention in support of advanced technology will be a fascinating read for advanced students and academic researchers of international political economy, international affairs and political science. Competition for Technological Leadership will also appeal to journalists, policymakers and analysts with a special interest in EU high technology policy.

In this book, Florence Wambugu and Daniel Kamanga of "Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International" bring together expert African authorities to critique various biotechnology initiatives and project future developments in the field in Africa. For the first time, African voices from multidisciplinary fields as diverse as economics, agriculture, biotechnology, law, politics and academia, demand to be allowed to set the continent s biotech development agenda. This book argues that there is a great future for biotechnology in Africa which sidesteps western interests that do not match those of the local populace. In these diverse chapters, Africa s political and scientific leaders demand a greater say in how research and development funds are allocated and spent. They argue that Africa s political leaders must see both clear benefits and have elbow-room to drive the change required. This is the way that African governments can employ workable policies, suitable biosafety legislation and regulation and respond effectively to public-private partnerships. Wambugu and Kamanga show that biotechnology has the potential to improve food security and standard of living as well as mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change on the African continent."

The U.S. laser industry is a major player in the country's economy, with its products used in factories, laboratories, offices, homes and motor vehicles around the country. The issues addressed by the laser industry during the past several decades - patent litigation, worker education, export controls, international standardization, and others - are those that any emerging high-tech industry will have to face. Offering a roadmap for future technology development and commercialization, this book chronicles the laser and electro-optics industry and its issues for business executives, scientists and technicians, attorneys, journalists, historians, and others.

Stem Cells: Scientific Facts and Fiction, Third Edition, provides a state-of-the-art overview on the field of stem cells and their current applications. The book incorporates the history and firsthand commentaries in the field from clinical and research leaders, covering interesting topics of note, including the first clinical trials to treat Parkinson disease, macular degeneration, and corneal replacement, the cloning of monkeys, the organoid field, and CRISPR-edited genomics. In addition, coverage of adult, embryonic stem cells and iPS cells is included. This new edition distinguishes itself from the multiplicity of websites about stem cells with a broad view of the field.