Policy Studies of Technology

Exploring the Structure of International Technology Diffusion

by Lawrenzo Hung-Chun Huang

PICMET 2012 Proceedings, July 29-August 2, Vancouver, Canada © 2012 PICMET

Globalization has highlighted changes in socio-economic terms and is reshaping the world. The international diffusion... more Globalization has highlighted changes in socio-economic terms and is reshaping the world. The international diffusion of technology therefore becomes one of the most important topics of economics and technology policy research. However, comparing endogenous factors, exogenous factors are complexity and demonstrate as network
phenomenon. The network phenomenon composes by neither solely nor independently unit. Countries in global network demonstrated interdependent, and influenced by many others. Thus, this study utilizes social network analysis to investigate the structural configuration of international technology diffusion. This study provides macro perspective on diffusion structure research. The purpose of this study is to investigate the deep structure of international technology diffusion and structural differences between embodied and disembodied technology diffusion networks. This work also provides an understanding of the nature of globalization. The findings not only illustrate the pattern change of diffusion structure form cascade-like to radial-like, but also present the structural configuration of technologically advanced countries and the competitive positions of each country. The findings regarding the diffusion pattern changes and network position identifications can make policy implications for countries interested in exogenous effects for technological growth.

The Politics of a Paradigm Shift: Telecommunications Regulation and the Communications Revolution; by W. Russell Neuman, Lee W. McKnight, and Richard Jay Solomon, in Political Communication, Vol. 10, pp. 77 - 94, 2003.

by Lee McKnight

Public engagement and nanotechnology in the UK: restoring trust or building robustness?

by Christopher Groves

Concerns about the social sustainability of emerging technologies are identified as a motivation behind recent... more Concerns about the social sustainability of emerging technologies are identified as a motivation behind recent interest in public engagement as a mode of formal technology assessment, nanoscale science and technology (NST) being a key example. Two rival understandings of engagement as a contribution to social sustainability, namely ‘restoring trust’ and ‘building robustness’ are identified. These different approaches are analysed as strategic responses to the politics of uncertainty in technological societies, each reflecting different assumptions about how to domesticate an intrinsically uncertain future. Government-sponsored experiments with upstream engagement around NST in the UK were surrounded by rhetoric concerning the need to build robustness into how nanotechnologies develop. It is argued, however, that assumptions held by policy and business actors about the strategic value of narratives of restoring trust, together with deeply embedded assumptions about how technological innovation creates the future, tended to place obstacles in the way of turning this aspiration into reality.

"Small Tech in a Small Nation:" Nanotechnology in Wales for Planet Magazine

by Christopher Groves

Articulating the space exploration policy–technology feedback cycle

by David Broniatowski

Published from my Masters Thesis

Political and technical concerns are tightly intertwined in the design of modern space systems. The political... more Political and technical concerns are tightly intertwined in the design of modern space systems. The political environment often responds harshly to the associated high costs of these endeavors. Political sustainability is therefore at least as important as the technical performance parameters of new space systems under development. This paper outlines a methodology by which a system architect may trace the recursive impacts of political choice on technical choice, and vice versa. Using the implementation of the Vision for Space Exploration as a case study, a Policy–Technology Feedback loop is outlined. This paper then demonstrates how political sustainability may be incorporated into the design process such that a politically savvy system architect may appropriately trade present costs against future costs.

Environment Effects on Patterns of Network Change: The Flat Panel Display Industry Network Evolution

by Lawrenzo Hung-Chun Huang

PICMET 2011 Proceedings, July 31-August 5, Portland, Oregon USA © 2011 PICMET

As strategic management and economic policy
making highly prioritize understanding how industry networksmore As strategic management and economic policy
making highly prioritize understanding how industry networks
evolve, this study discusses how environmental changes affect
the evolution of industrial networks, especially in the flat panel
display sector. Different Environmental scenarios through the
changes of environmental munificence and environmental
uncertainty simultaneously affect industrial network transition
and reshape distinctive network formations. This investigation
then utilizes data of 71 countries during 1976 to 2008 to
empirically examine their network relationship. This study thus
demonstrates a longitudinal evolutionary trajectory of the PFD
industry and finds the essential transition of technological
competition via international technologically co-evolution. The
analytical results demonstrate that different environmental
scenarios provide different countries to develop their niche
competence of the PFD industry. Results of this study provide
a valuable reference for policy makers and multinational
businesses involved in theoretical development to strategize
technological planning.

The shifting of innovative essence and academic consortarin network evolution : an example of Taiwan National telecommunication Plan

by Lawrenzo Hung-Chun Huang

Academic Consortarin Network Evolution In Taiwan

by Lawrenzo Hung-Chun Huang

Constructing National Innovative Capacity in Globalization: The Network Autocorrelation Perspective

by Lawrenzo Hung-Chun Huang

PICMET 2010 Proceedings, July 18-22, Phuket, Thailand © 2010 PICMET10R0142 http://www.picmet.org/main/students.asp#Constructing

Globalization has highlighted change in national technology capability. Exogenous factors drive a country towards... more Globalization has highlighted change in national technology capability. Exogenous factors drive a country towards technological progress, and drive economic growth via international technology diffusion. Previous studies have stressed that innovative capacity is determined by regional or local social systems. This paper reconsiders these studies and develops a new perspective of evaluating national innovative capacity. This method employs a network autocorrelation model which simultaneously considers both endogenous determiners and exogenous influence on national innovative capacity. Data from 42 countries from 1997 to 2002 are utilized to empirically examine their network relationship and innovation performance. The analytical results not only demonstrate the effect of domestic determiners with differences global context and their differential context attribute influence on national innovative performance more by network positioning than by network partnership, but also exhibit important differences between the alternate channels of international technology diffusion and their differential effects on innovative performance. This finding provides a new perspective for science and technology policy makers.

Contagion Effects of National Innovative Capacity: Comparing structural equivalence and cohesion models

by Lawrenzo Hung-Chun Huang

Forthcoming in Technological Forecasting & Social Change

The effective promotion of national innovation performance is a crucial component of national innovation policy. This... more The effective promotion of national innovation performance is a crucial component of national innovation policy. This study examines network contagion effects of national innovative capacity via the international diffusion of embodied and disembodied technology by two different social network models: the cohesion model, based on diffusion by direct communication, and the structural equivalence model,
based on diffusion by network position similarity. This investigation then utilizes data of 42 countries during 1997 to 2002 to empirically examine their network relationship.
The analytical results demonstrate that international technology diffusion influences national innovation performance through contagion effects, but that the international similarity of national innovative capacity performance is more accurately predicted by
network position than by interactions with others; and this study result provides a new perspective for science and technology policy makers.