Heuristics and Innovation

Heuristics and Innovation

1. Peter M. Todd, Gerd Gigerenzer (2007) ,Environments That Make Us Smart: Ecological Rationality , Current Directions in Psychological Science 16 (3), 167–171.

Traditional views of rationality posit general-purpose decision mechanisms based on logic or optimization. The study of ecological rationality focuses on uncovering the "adaptive toolbox" of domain-specific simple heuristics that real, computationally bounded minds employ, and explaining how these heuristics produce accurate decisions by exploiting the structures of information in the environments in which they are applied. Knowing when and how people use particular heuristics can facilitate the shaping of environments to engender better decisions.

2. Alan G. Sanfey (2007) ,Decision Neuroscience: New Directions in Studies of Judgment and Decision Making ,Current Directions in Psychological Science 16 (3), 151–155.

Investigations of decision making have historically been undertaken by different disciplines, each using different techniques and assumptions, and few unifying efforts have been made. Economists have focused on precise mathematical models of normative decision making, psychologists have examined how decisions are actually made based on cognitive constraints, and neuroscientists have concentrated on the detailed operation of neural systems in simple choices. In recent years, however, researchers in these separate fields have joined forces in an attempt to better specify the foundations of decision making. This interdisciplinary effort has begun to use decision theory to guide the search for the neural bases of reward value and predictability. Concurrently, these formal models are beginning to incorporate processes such as social reward and emotion. The combination of these diverse theoretical approaches and methodologies is already yielding significant progress in the construction of more comprehensive decision-making models

3. Peter M. Todd, Gerd Gigerenzer (2007) ,Environments That Make Us Smart: Ecological Rationality ,Current Directions in Psychological Science 16 (3), 167–171.

4.Michael A. Bishop (2006) ,Fast and Frugal Heuristics1 ,Philosophy Compass 1 (2), 201–223.

A heuristic is a rule of thumb. In psychology, heuristics are relatively simple rules for making judgments. A fast heuristic is easy to use and allows one to make judgments quickly. A frugal heuristic relies on a small fraction of the available evidence in making judgments. Typically, fast and frugal heuristics (FFHs) have, or are claimed to have, a further property: They are very reliable, yielding judgments that are about as accurate in the long run as ideal non-fast, non-frugal rules. This paper introduces some well-known examples of FFHs, raises some objections to the FFH program, and looks at the implications of those parts of the FFH program about which we can have some reasonable degree of confidence.

5. Hans Björkman (2004) ,Design Dialogue Groups as a Source of Innovation: Factors behind Group Creativity ,Creativity and Innovation Management 13 (2), 97–108.

Sif – a Swedish national trade union for white-collar workers in Industry – has recognized the importance of enhancing its service innovation processes through careful listening to its members. This article will discuss the Design Dialogue Group (DDG) methodology that has been developed through collaborative research between Sif and the Fenix Research Program, in order to enhance group creativity and organizational learning. The emphasis of this paper is restricted to the issue of enhancing group creativity, and literature and empirical data will be used in order to discuss the factors enabling and restraining creativity. The major assumption behind this study is that many factors behind group creativity can be controlled. Thus, a careful design of the group creativity process would increase the likelihood for success since measures to enhance creative behaviours and to avoid pitfalls can be planned and/or taken by a group moderator. In short, the aims of this study are twofold: (1) to relate prior research contributions to DDG experiences in order to augment our understanding concerning factors enhancing and threatening creativity in DDG settings and (2) to systematize these findings into a set of proposed design principles related to domain-relevant skills, creativity-related processes, and task motivation. These propositions concern the recruitment of participants, group characteristics, and group processes.

6. James Allen, Andrew D. James, Phil Gamlen (2007) ,Formal versus informal knowledge networks in R&D: a case study using social network analysis,R&D Management 37 (3), 179–196.

The existence of informal social networks within organizations has long been recognized as important and the unique working relationships among scientific and technical personnel have been well documented by both academics and practitioners. The growing interest in knowledge management practices has led to increased attention being paid to social network analysis as a tool for mapping the nature and membership of informal networks. However, despite the knowledge-intensive nature of research and development (R&D) activities, social network analyses of the R&D function remain relatively rare. This paper discusses the role of informal networks in the development, exchange and dissemination of knowledge within the R&D function. A case study using social network analysis is used to compare and contrast formal and informal knowledge networks within ICI. Marked differences between the informal organization and ICI's formal structures for knowledge exchange are revealed and a series of insights into the working habits of technical staff are presented. The implications for managers are clear: through a better understanding of the informal organization of R&D staff, they can more successfully capture and exploit new ideas; more efficiently disseminate information throughout the function; and more effectively understand the working habits and activities of employees.

Intellectual Property and Technological Creativity

7. Kenneth Carlaw, Les Oxley, Paul Walker, David Thorns, Michael Nuth (2006) ,BEYOND THE HYPE: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY/KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY ,Journal of Economic Surveys 20 (4), 633–690

This paper explores the debates surrounding whether or not we have now moved into a new knowledge economy and/or knowledge society and if so whether this shift is as significant and as far reaching as the industrial revolution. In this possible transformation the place of information communications technologies has been crucial. Debate has occurred across both economics and sociology with differing emphases as is shown in the ranges of definitions that we review in the paper. One consistent factor is the lack of clarity and consistency between them both within and across the disciplines. In order to explore the issues that the debates raises in a more grounded way, the paper explores them in relation to intellectual property (IP) and the intellectual commons in the process of innovation, growth and economic development. The paper is developed through an analysis first of the industrial revolution and the role within this of uncertainty, technologies, complementarities and elective affinities and the way IP was protected and controlled through patents, secrecy, being first to the market and copyright. The second part of the paper examines definitions of the knowledge economy and society and the role within these of information communication technologies in order to explore whether the ways that IP is protected and controlled have changed. In the debate about the 'knowledge economy and society' the role of innovation via human capital with a greater reliance on intellectual capabilities has been emphasized. The role of IP thus remains central but is now challenged by the rise of new forms of communication, which make its protection harder and move much of the concern with respect to regulation to a global rather than national and local level.

8.Denise Eby Konan, Sumner J. La Croix, James A. Roumasset, Jeffery Heinrich (1995) ,Intellectual Property Rights in the Asian-Pacific Region: problems, patterns, and policy ,Asian-Pacific Economic Literature 9 (2), 13–35.

This paper explores recent theory and evidence regarding increased protection of intellectual property rights (ZPRs) in Asia. Knowledge has significant public good aspects making optimal provision a problem of trading off universal access against adequate incentives for R&D. Given the ease of evasion of IPR relative to tariffs, attempts to push low and middleincome countries to higher levels of protection may be against their national interests. The Uruguay Round may encounter less than enthusiastic enforcement. Further efforts to refine IPR protection might usefully be focused on flexibility instead of harmonisation.

9.Bronwyn Parry (2002) ,Cultures of Knowledge: Investigating Intellectual Property Rights and Relations in the Pacific ,Antipode 34 (4), 679–706.

Although often presented as inherently normative, Euro-American systems of intellectual property rights (IPRs) law are, like earlier systems of biological classification, best understood as particular, culturally defined systems for codifying knowledge employed to discipline objects, phenomena and social relations. Despite their partiality, such systems have successfully colonised new domains, recently underpinning a new uniform global regime for the protection of IPRs (GATT/WTO TRIPs). In this paper I reveal the central role that global institutions now play in accelerating the universalisation of specific "cultures of regulation": acting as powerful vectors for the transmission of particular types of knowledge and arbiters of the "normative" bases of global regulatory regimes. Recent empirical evidence from the Pacific illustrates how the TRIPs regime facilitates the commodification and appropriation of intellectual, cultural and biological resources in that region and highlights the development of alternative sui generis systems of IPR protection that challenge the normativity and hegemony of this regime. The article serves as an entry point for further research into the geography of knowledge systems—the way in which the colonisation of certain regulatory systems and forms facilitates the pursuit of particular interests or sustains relations of domination.

Participatory Research: Farmers and Scientist

10.Eric Van Dusen, D. Gauchan, M. Smale (2007) ,On-Farm Conservation of Rice Biodiversity in Nepal: A Simultaneous Estimation Approach ,Journal of Agricultural Economics 58 (2), 242–259.

This paper presents an empirical case study about farmer management of rice genetic resources in two communities of Nepal, drawing on interdisciplinary, participatory research that involved farmers, rice geneticists and social scientists. The decision-making process of farm households is modelled and estimated in order to provide information for the design of community-based conservation programmes. A bivariate model with sample selection examines the simultaneous process of whether farmers decide to plant landraces or modern varieties, and whether the landraces they choose to plant constitute the genetic diversity of interest for future crop improvement. Findings show that the two landrace choices are affected by different social and economic factors, but in certain cases the decision processes are interrelated. Policies to promote the conservation of local rice diversity will need to take both processes into account.

11. Roberto La Rovere, Aden Aw‐Hassan, Francis Turkelboom, Richard Thomas (2006)
Targeting Research for Poverty Reduction in Marginal Areas of Rural Syria
Development and Change 37 (3), 627–648.

Agricultural research in marginal dry areas can contribute to reducing poverty through the development of technological, institutional and policy options for poor farmers. Such research should address diversified opportunities and development pathways. This article analyses the diversity of livelihood strategies of rural people living in the Khanasser Valley in northwestern Syria, an area that is typical of marginal drylands. It proposes an operational classification of households based on their different livelihood strategies, applying an integrated methodology within a Sustainable Livelihoods framework. Households are classified into three clusters: agriculturists, labourers and pastoralists. The article examines the diversity of livelihoods involved, and considers where and how research should be directed to have greatest impact on poverty. Given that rural households are not homogeneous but dynamic entities, with diverse assets, capabilities and opportunities, the definition of household typologies can help to target development research. The article concludes that while agriculturists benefit most, poor labourers with enough land can also gain from pro‐poor agriculturalresearch. The poorest households with little land, and pastoralists, benefit little or only indirectly.

12. Mrill Ingram (2007) ,Biology and Beyond: The Science of "Back to Nature" Farming in the United States ,Annals of the Association of American Geographers 97 (2), 298–312.

Organic farming, biodynamic farming, and other alternative approaches to agriculture are often described in spatial terms such as "close to," "going back to," and "following" nature, and correspondingly represent a production process that is ineluctably local, farmer-led, and relies on minimal external inputs, especially in terms of science and technology. In contrast to this representation, however, this article argues that going back to nature is, and has been, a scientific process. An examination of the development of several key ideas in alternative agriculture reveals the participation of scientists and the pursuit of scientific research resulting in a diverse range of society-nature relationships and agricultural technologies. By applying Bruno Latour's circulatory model of scientific work to the endeavors of people involved in U.S. alternative agriculture, I show how networks of people involved in alternative agriculture, like scientific disciplines, have produced "immutable mobiles," or ideas that travel across time and space, and have made control of knowledge as much a focus as control of crop production. This investigation seeks to contribute to current analyses of the rise of the organic agriculture movement and more broadly to our understanding of the dynamics of alternative groups and the generation of alternative ideas. Latour's model proves effective for analyzing the mechanisms through which new knowledge is generated, even outside conventional academic disciplines. Deploying this model within a context of power, particularly Foucault's ideas about discourse, is necessary to evaluate why some ideas prove more successful than others.

13. DAVID BARKER, CLINTON BECKFORD (2006) ,PLASTIC YAM AND PLASTIC YAM STICKS - PERSPECTIVES ON INDIGENOUS TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AMONG JAMAICAN FARMERS ,Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 97 (5), 535–546.

Yam farming in Jamaica has been one of the few success stories in agriculture since Independence in 1962. Production is entirely dominated by small farmers who have intensified production systems. Over the last decade yam farmers experienced a 'yam stick problem' due to the scarcity, poor quality and high prices of yam sticks. This paper focuses on the content and contextualisation of indigenous technical knowledge among yam farmers. The intrinsic dynamic nature of indigenous technical knowledge is revealed by showing how farmers have adapted their cultivation methods and have themselves innovated new ways of staking yams in efforts to solve the yam stick problem. In effect they have had to rely on their own indigenous knowledge base as a source of new ideas. We discuss a series of alternatives to traditional yam staking methods with a large sample of farmers, including both real and hypothetical examples of externally-induced innovations. Farmers' responses to these innovations are reported and analysed in the context of Briggs' recent review of indigenous knowledge and development issues. Our research suggests that farmer innovation is a normal consequence of coping with farming problems. Further, farmers are not intrinsically unresponsive to externally-induced innovations, which supports the view that 'Western science' and indigenous knowledge are not necessarily bipolar and mutually exclusive knowledge systems. We conclude that indigenous technical knowledge can provide a nexus for research in fostering partnerships with farmers, NGOs and planners in their search for sustainable solutions to the yam stick problem and broader aspects of rural development and resource management.

14. Mark Lubell (2004) ,Collaborative Watershed Management: A View from the Grassroots ,Policy Studies Journal 32 (3), 341–361.

To date, research on collaborative watershed management has paid scant attention to the role of grassroots stakeholders, who are the people that actually use natural resources. This article argues cooperation from grassroots stakeholders is necessary for the success of collaborative management, and outlines three theoretical perspectives to explain cooperation. The validity of these theoretical perspectives is tested using a survey of farmer participation in the Suwannee River Partnership in Florida. The findings suggest farmers' perceptions of policy effectiveness are largely driven by economic considerations, whereas participation in collaborative management is linked to social capital.

15. M W PASQUINI, M J ALEXANDER (2005) ,Soil fertility management strategies on the Jos Plateau: the need for integrating 'empirical' and 'scientific' knowledge in agricultural development ,The Geographical Journal 171 (2), 112–124.

Tin mining carried out on the Jos Plateau since the beginning of the last century has disturbed some 320 km2 of agricultural land. Formal attempts at reclamation of this land failed, but local farmers have developed a successful informal strategy for reclamation. This paper reports on a study undertaken to comprehend the farmers''informal' approach to soil fertility management. Their soil fertility management practices centre on the use of a complex combination of traditional organic manures and 'modern' inorganic fertilizers that they have developed entirely on the basis of experimentation. A central focus of this paper is therefore the empirical knowledge base of the farmers and an assessment of any underlying scientific explanations for their strategies, including an analysis of their assertion that different brands of NPK fertilizers differ in their nutrient value. This discussion is followed by a consideration of the difficulties in accessing and understanding empirical knowledge. It is concluded that farmers' knowledge and understanding of the values of different fertilizers and manures does have a scientific basis. It is argued that for further agricultural development to take place on the Jos Plateau, there must be synergy between farmers' empirical knowledge (which has led to the development of successful and effective soil fertility management strategies, unlike the attempts of the local 'scientific' communities) and scientific knowledge (which can identify health and environmental hazards which may not be immediately visible to farmers).