This contributed volume presents the experiences, challenges, trends, and advances in Service Science from Japan's perspective. As the global economy becomes more connected and competitive, many economies depend the service sector on for growth and prosperity. A multi-disciplinary approach to Service Science can potentially transform service industries through research, education, and practice. Offering a forum for best practices in Service Science within Japan, the volume benefits its audience by sharing viewpoints from a wide range of geographical regions and economies. The book is organized as follows: * Foundations of Service Science and the service industry sector * Public/Private sector partnerships, policies, trade in services, future prospects * Contributions from science, social science, management, engineering, design as well as industry sector perspectives * Road-maps, methodology, business development, strategies and innovative models, application of information technology, performance measures, and service system design * Education and workforce development * Case studies from practice, research and educational community * Future Directions in Japan This book includes three Forewords written by key leaders in Service Science:* Takayuki Aso (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology in Japan) * Yasuhiro Maeda (Director, Service Affairs Policy Division METI) * Norihisa Doi (Professor Emeritus, Keio University and Service Science, Solutions and Foundation Integrated Research (S3FIRE) Program Officer, JST/RISTEX)

This book aims to address how nanotechnology risks are being addressed by scientists, particularly in the areas of human health and the environment and how these risks can be measured in financial terms for insurers and regulators. It provides a comprehensive overview of nanotechnology risk measurement and risk transfer methods, including a chapter outlining how Bayesian methods can be used. It also examines nanotechnology from a legal perspective, both current and potential future outcomes. The global market for nanotechnology products was valued at $22.9 billion in 2013 and increased to about $26 billion in 2014. This market is expected to reach about $64.2 billion by 2019, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8% from 2014 to 2019. Despite the increasing value of nanotechnologies and their widespread use, there is a significant gap between the enthusiasm of scientists and nanotechnology entrepreneurs working in the nanotechnology space and the insurance/regulatory sector. Scientists are scarcely aware that insurers/regulators have concerns about the potential for human and environmental risk and insurers/regulators are not in a position to access the potential risk. This book aims to bridge this gap by defining the current challenges in nanotechnology across disciplines and providing a number of risk management and assessment methodologies. Featuring contributions from authors in areas such as regulation, law, ethics, management, insurance and manufacturing, this volume provides an interdisciplinary perspective that is of value to students, academics, researchers, policy makers, practitioners and society in general.

This book discusses the use, economic importance and impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in public and private Sudanese universities. The author provides an in-depth analysis of the economic impact of ICT from the demand perspective as well as from the public-private perspective. This book also examines the status, pattern, structure, trend and determinants of the demand for ICT in public and private Sudanese universities. It investigates the economic impacts of the uses of ICT, the potential opportunities and challenges that ICT is expected to create for public and private Sudanese universities, and explains the role of ICT in facilitating the production, creation and transfer of knowledge in Sudanese universities.

The world-class National Palace Museum (NPM) in Taiwan possesses a repository of the largest collection of Chinese cultural treasures of outstanding quality. Through implementing a two-organizational restructuring, and shifting its operational focus from being object-oriented to public-centered, it aims to capture the attention of people and promote awareness of the culture and traditions of China. In this vein, the NPM combines its expertise in museum service with the possibilities afforded by Information Technology (IT). This book analyses the research results of a team sponsored by the National Science Council in Taiwan to observe the development processes and accomplishments, and to conduct scientific researches covering not only the technology and management disciplines, but also the humanities and social science disciplines. The development process of new digital content and IT-enabled services of NPM would be a useful benchmark for museums, cultural and creative organizations and traditional organizations in Taiwan and around the world.

The Media Convergence Handbook sheds new light on the complexity of media convergence and the related business challenges. Approaching the topic from a managerial, technological as well as end-consumer perspective, it acts as a reference book and educational resource in the field. Media convergence at business level may imply transforming business models and using multiplatform content production and distribution tools. However, it is shown that the implementation of convergence strategies can only succeed when expectations and aspirations of every actor involved are taken into account. Media consumers, content producers and managers face different challenges in the process of media convergence. Volume II of the Media Convergence Handbook tackles these challenges by discussing media business models, production, and users' experience and perspectives from a technological convergence viewpoint.

The practical approached championed in this book have led to increasing the quality on many successful products through providing a better understanding of consumer needs, current product and process performance and a desired future state. In 2009, Frank Rossi and Viktor Mirtchev brought their practical statistical thinking forward and created the course "Statistics for Food Scientists". The intent of the course was to help product and process developers increase the probability of their project's success through the incorporation of practical statistical thinking in their challenges. The course has since grown and has become the basis of this book.

This third volume on detox fashion highlights sustainable wastewater treatment methods, as well as techniques used by and the adoption of detox strategies by different brands in the textile sector. These aspects are addressed in three central chapters: Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Technologies; Review of the Utilization of Plant-based Natural Coagulants as Alternatives to Textile Wastewater Treatment; and New Waste Management through Collaborative Business Models for Sustainable Innovation.

This book summarizes the results of Design Thinking Research carried out at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA and at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany. Offering readers a closer look at Design Thinking, its innovation processes and methods, the book covers topics ranging from how to design ideas, methods and technologies, to creativity experiments and wicked problem solutions, to creative collaboration in the real world, and the interplay of designers and engineers. But the topics go beyond this in their detailed exploration of Design Thinking and its use in IT systems engineering fields, or even from a management perspective. The authors show how these methods and strategies actually work in companies, introduce new technologies and their functions, and demonstrate how Design Thinking can influence such unexpected topics as marriage. Furthermore, readers will learn how special-purpose Design Thinking can be used to solve wicked problems in complex fields. Thinking and devising innovations are fundamentally and inherently human activities - so is Design Thinking. Accordingly, Design Thinking is not merely the result of special courses nor of being gifted or trained: it's a way of dealing with our environment and improving techniques, technologies and life.

This book provides fresh insights into the cutting edge of multimedia data mining, reflecting how the research focus has shifted towards networked social communities, mobile devices and sensors. The work describes how the history of multimedia data processing can be viewed as a sequence of disruptive innovations. Across the chapters, the discussion covers the practical frameworks, libraries, and open source software that enable the development of ground-breaking research into practical applications. Features: reviews how innovations in mobile, social, cognitive, cloud and organic based computing impacts upon the development of multimedia data mining; provides practical details on implementing the technology for solving real-world problems; includes chapters devoted to privacy issues in multimedia social environments and large-scale biometric data processing; covers content and concept based multimedia search and advanced algorithms for multimedia data representation, processing and visualization.

This book is the first in a series on Chinese management based on the Global Chinese Management Conferences (from 2015 to 2017), an annual conference organized by the Sun Tzu Art of War Institute. The first volume is by FOO Check Teck, professor at Fudan and Hunan University and founding editor of Chinese Management Studies (SSCI), who encourages readers to broaden their minds to embrace the Universe as a Community. The book argues that the lives of all beings are worth preserving and urges the academic community to recognize the ideologies at heart of management and to see research as a deep, reflective thinking process that goes far beyond the testing of hypotheses - great works, lasting 2,500 years are the result of deep reflection upon experiences. It also calls for the re-framing of management integration of a variety of ideological strands, typically in topics in MBA or MPA programs: earnings, mobility of human capital, complex adaptive systems, HRM (in small high-tech firms), technology standardization, Xin (trust: labor relations), multi-leveling, re-forming (hospitals), He-Xie (doctoral work), upgrading (automobile industry). The major consequential consideration must be what it means for people.

This book examines the introduction of smart technologies into public administrations and the organizational issues caused by these implementations, and the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to rationalize and improve government, transform governance and organizational issues, and address economic, social, and environmental challenges. Cities are increasingly using new technologies in the delivery of public sector services and in the improvement of government transparency, business-led urban development, and urban sustainability. The book will examine specific smart projects that cities are embracing to improve transparency, efficiency, sustainability, mobility, and whether all cities are prepared to implement smart technologies and the incentives for promoting implementation. This focus on the smart technologies applied to public sector entities will be of interest to academics, researchers, policy-makers, public managers, international organizations and technical experts involved in and responsible for the governance, development and design of Smart Cities.

Cooperative activities, or joint ventures, are becoming increasingly popular as instruments of strategic action. But although more and more companies are entering into these alliances full of hope and enthusiasm, past experience shows that most will likely experience the disillusionment of having their ventures fall apart. William Murphy contends that our understanding of the strategic management of collective action needs improvement if the hoped for benefits of cooperation are to be realized. In this work, he examines the management of a specific type of cooperative action that has become critically important to company and national competitiveness: the cooperative research venture.

Murphy thoroughly details this new class of inter-firm cooperation to produce knowledge, which has only recently been made possible by changes in the competitive and legal environments. He begins with an introduction and review of the prior literature on cooperative ventures, followed by an extensive survey of competition and cooperation. The management challenges of cooperative research, particularly the need to forge a consensus among participants, are examined in a brief chapter, which precedes four studies of specific cooperative ventures: the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation, Sematech, and U.S. Memories. A final chapter draws conclusions and lessons from the examples, and three appendixes detail antitrust laws applicable to cooperative ventures, Japanese and European microelectronic and computer ventures, and cooperative ventures under NCRA. This work will be an important resource for executives and managers in companies involved in research and development, as well as for college courses in business and economics. Public and academic libraries will also find it to be a valuable addition to their collections.

This volume deals with the role and impact of technology on the economy and society. The papers on corporate dimensions address the impact of patents, determinants of innovative activities, differential behaviour of multinationals, industrial groups and other firms with regard to innovations and technology. In contrast, the papers on social dimensions chiefly deal with the role of technology in reducing inequality. The majority of the papers employ econometric techniques and other statistical methods, and many are based on primary data. The studies emphasise the importance of innovations (especially patents) and human capital in influencing productivity across Indian states, the significance of patenting in determining the efficiency of firms, the role of business groups in promoting innovations, differences in the technological characteristics of multinational and domestic firms, and how mergers and acquisitions can promote R&D. The papers on social dimensions analyse how innovative activities can shape employment, the impact of technology on poverty, the socioeconomic characteristics of mobile phone ownerships, use of information and communications technologies at educational institutions, and the influence of Synchronous Technologies in reducing access to teaching programmes. The studies show that those Indian states that have invested in human capital and technology experienced higher labour productivity. Further, the studies establish a positive correlation between R&D spending and employment. Lastly, they demonstrate that the adoption of agriculture-related technologies can have a significant impact on rural poverty and consumption expenditures.

The Palgrave Handbook of Research Design in Business and Management uses a new state-of-the-art research design typology model to guide researchers in creating the blueprints for their experiments. By focusing on theory and cutting-edge empirical best-practices, this handbook utilizes visual techniques to appease all learning styles.

The Lean Product Lifecycle is a playbook that provides frameworks, methods and tools to develop innovative new products and business models, while managing your core portfolio.

Follow the 6 key phases of a product’s life - idea, explore, validate, grow, sustain and retire – and discover how to develop products according to their life stage and ensure the right investment for each. For each stage there is a step-by-step guide of product development best practices using examples and case studies from several companies and start-ups.

Using the tools and templates in this book, you’ll be able to:

- Take a new product from idea to scale within a market.

- Understand the difference between executing on products that are already successful in the market and searching for profitable business models for new products.

- Use the right tools and methods for validating new products ideas and business models.

- Understand how to manage mature products and retire old products using lean innovation principles.

Discover how lessons from lean start-ups can transform your business.

These proceedings gather selected peer-reviewed papers from the 11th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM), which was held in Jiuzhaigou, China, on 25-28 July, 2016. These proceedings cover a wide range of topics in engineering asset management, including: * strategic asset management; * condition monitoring and diagnostics; * integrated intelligent maintenance; * sensors and devices; * information quality and management; * sustainability in asset management; * asset performance and knowledge management; * data mining and AI techni ques in asset management; * engineering standards; and * education in engineering asset management. The breadth and depth of these state-of-the-art, comprehensive proceedings make them an excellent resource for asset management practitioners, researchers and academics, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.

This proceedings volume explores the socio-economic dimension of the heritage sector from a broad, interdisciplinary perspective. Featuring contributions from the 2016 ALECTOR International Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey, this book presents current theoretical and empirical research related to such topics as: R&D and ICT in tourism; heritage products and services; climate change; finance and tourism; cultural communication; anthropological cultural heritage; and heritage management. Collectively, the papers presented in this book provides methodologies, strategies and applications to measure the socio-economic dimension of the heritage sector and also good practices in the heritage sector that drive regional, cultural and economic development and sustainability. The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre (ENPI) Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) Black Sea project "Collaborative Networks of Multilevel Actors to Advance Quality Standards for Heritage Tourism at Cross Border Level", or ALECTOR, focuses on different types of heritage assets as a means to invest in human capital and tourism innovation in order to achieve socio-economic development and cooperation with social partners in the Black Sea region. Featuring collaborations from Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey, the project proposes a cognitive and educational framework for using a region's assets, which would guide final beneficiaries (regions, communities, SMEs) to identify, signify, valorize and manage their natural and cultural resources, in order to use heritage potential as a vehicle for tourism. Presenting case studies of successful initiatives, the enclosed papers are divided into two parts: * Part I: Economics of Heritage features innovative research results on the heritage and tourism topics from countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Russia, and Romania * Part II: Best Practices features best practices, experiences, and promotion plans for cultural heritage through tourism from countries such as Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova, Turkey, Russia, and Romania

This book clarifies the common misconception that there are no systematic instruments to support ideation, heuristics and creativity. Using a collection of articles from professionals practicing the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), this book presents an overview of current trends and enhancements within TRIZ in an international context, and shows its different roles in enhancing creativity for innovation in research and practice. Since its first introduction by Genrikh Saulovich Altshuller in 1956 in the USSR, the TRIZ method has been widely used by inventors, design engineers and has become a standard element of innovation support tools in many Fortune 500 companies. However, TRIZ has only recently entered the domain of scientific publications and discussion. This collection of articles is meant as a record of scientific discussion on TRIZ that reflects the most interesting talking points, research interests, results and expectations. Topics such as Creative and Inventive Design, Patent Mining, and Knowledge Harvesting are also covered in this book.

Industrial Applications of Affective Engineering introduces new analytical methods such as fluctuation, fuzzy logic, fractals, and complex systems, and pursuing interdisciplinary research that traverses a wide range of fields, including information engineering, human engineering, cognitive science, psychology, and design studies. The book is split into two parts: theory and applications. The book is a collection of the best papers from ISAE2013 (International Symposium of Affective Engineering) held at Kitakyushu, Japan and Japan Kansei Engineering Meeting on March 6-8, 2013.

The geography of networks and R&D collaborations, in particular the spatial dimension of interactions between organisations performing joint R&D, have attracted a burst of attention in the last decade, both in the scientific study of the networks and in the policy sector. The volume is intended to bring together a selection of articles providing novel theoretical and empirical insights into the geographical dynamics of such networks and R&D collaborations, using new, systematic data sources and employing cutting-edge spatial analysis and spatial econometric techniques. It comprises a section on analytic advances and methodology and two thematic sections on structure and spatial characteristics of R&D networks and the impact of R&D networks and policy implications. The edited volume provides a collection of high-level research contributions with an aim to contribute to the recent debate in economic geography and regional science on how the structure of formal and informal networks modifies and influences the spatial and temporal diffusion of knowledge.

This book presents a curated collection of research on ethnic entrepreneurship, focusing on the informal sector. The common theme of the expert contributions is that entrepreneurial motivation to start informal business is paramount to ethnic groups. In particular, the book explores the factors influencing ethnic groups to start informal businesses and how this creates innovative business activity. It also charts the evolution of ethnic entrepreneurship and informal businesses in advanced and emerging economies; the diversity of entrepreneurial strategies; the economics of co-ethnic employment; and the issues surrounding immigrant entrepreneurship. The book is a valuable resource for researchers in the field of informal ethnic entrepreneurship, as well as for policy makers and entrepreneurs.

This book focuses on understanding the strategic role of the knowledge workers in companies, especially in creating an innovative company. The author presents the 'Sknowinnov method' and a decision-making model for the assessment of the value of strategic knowledge resources in companies. This method and its approach can be used as excellent tools for a quantitative knowledge analysis in an economic viewpoint. The IT tool that is developed for this method offers support in decision making at a strategic level regarding the profitability of any investment in employee qualifications and skills. The tool also connects the selected determinants described in an innovative company with the value of the personnel usefulness function, enabling the assessment of the rationality and effectiveness of knowledge. HR managers and knowledge management consultants for innovative companies would find this book and the IT tools presented specially useful. This book also adds value to researchers dealing with analysis of quantitative and qualitative methods in intellectual capital research.

This book analyzes the common set of obstacles to the development and integration of government Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects and effective e-government initiatives in developing countries. It draws on the expertise and experience of more developed states in the Pacific, notably Australia and New Zealand, both highly rated in global rankings for e-government and active in a variety of e-government development projects across the region. There has been a general failure to identify priorities and align projects with local needs in ICT/e-government projects. Small Island Developing States (or SIDS) present a unique problem in terms of e-government. Not only do they suffer from a common set of barriers to ICT development such as their remoteness, geographical dispersion, moist tropical climates, largely rural populations, and lack of ICT capacity and infrastructure, but are also dependent on external agencies for investment, and must negotiate with powerful donors who have conflicting agendas. E-government is widely regarded as 'transformational', increasing efficiency, productivity, accountability, economic growth, and citizen involvement. But while the governments of SIDS are committed to harnessing ICTs for effective government and economic development, they face major challenges in establishing successful e-government initiatives, due to the problems outlined above, coupled with a lack of HR capacities and appropriate strategies and policies. Drawing on the experience of the states mentioned above, as well as regional quasi-governmental bodies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), aid agencies, and the private sector, the book will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of e-government, public administration, political science, communication, information science, and social media.

This book discusses the experience of enterprise transformation and upgrading and the role of government in promoting this dramatic change in Asian emerging economies. The author specifically explores the direction, influencing factors, paths and modes of enterprise transformation and upgrading by conducting intensive case studies on a number of enterprises having accomplished upgrading in mainland China and Taiwan, and draws experience and lessons from them. These theoretical and practical insights have great significance for Chinese enterprises in improving their ability to respond to drastic external changes and provide useful reference for the formulation of government policies.