Zebrafish Beyond the Bench: The ‘Plataforma Zebrafish Open Doors’ Programme

The Butantan Institute is a pioneering Brazilian health sciences institution, which also houses a large science park with museums that contribute to ongoing science education for schools and the wider community. In recent years, as part of Butantan Institute’s Plataforma Zebrafish™, zebrafish embryos have been used for the dissemination of scientific knowledge during on-site events and as part of outreach campaigns to non-scientific audiences, mostly children. The aim of this work is mainly to demystify the activities of the scientific researcher, highlight the role of science in the furthering of knowledge, and increase public interest and confidence in science. In this article, the Institute’s ‘Plataforma Zebrafish Open Doors’ programme is described, which offered guided tours of the laboratory facilities. The tours gave visitors the opportunity to observe zebrafish research and embryo development, and to use the knowledge gained from this experience as a framework for understanding fundamental ethical issues. During the 2-day event, around 800 visitors (most of them school-age children) attended. Together with the guided tours, our experience of outreach offered meaningful opportunities to bring children and members of the public closer to science and ‘real-life’ scientists, hopefully inspiring and encouraging the next generation of scientists. It also gave the scientists an opportunity to engage more closely with wider society. We believe that these activities also substantially contribute to the wider dissemination of relevant experimental results that have been obtained with public funding and that impact society in general.

Science Parks and High-Tech Zones

Science parks were envisioned as an economic development institution from their inception, designed to provide employment that is particularly geared toward a highly educated labor force. Funds generally come from government sources at the early stage. The intention of science park development is to jump-start businesses that could benefit from research generated by a nearby university or research institution. This chapter reviews the development of science parks and high-technology zones in China with a focus on their impact on regional and national innovation. Discussion includes the industrial and technological focus of such zones, the relevance of specialization, and issues of effective implementation.

SWISS SCIENCE CENTER TECHNORAMA, WINTERTHUR The new Park and the Bridges

<p>The Swiss Science Center Technorama in Winterthur, Switzerland is building a new Science Park on an area of 15,000 m2, with completely new paths, vegetation and water surfaces, creating space for numerous new exhibits, art works and experimental possibilities.</p><p>At the heart of the new park is the «Wunderbrücke» (Marvel Bridge), co-developed by the SIA (Swiss Associ- ation of Engineers and Architects) as a large experimental platform with unusual engineering components, and the «Hängebrücke», an adjustable suspension bridge, to illustrate the vibration behaviour of structures.</p>

How do human capital and R&D structure facilitate FDI knowledge spillovers to local firm innovation? a panel threshold approach

This paper examines how local firms’ structure of human capital and R&D strategies influence their absorption of FDI knowledge spillovers. Using a unique dataset of Chinese firms in Beijing Zhongguancun Science Park from 2009 to 2015, our panel endogenous threshold models confirm two thresholds for human capital diversity and one threshold for R&D diversity in facilitating FDI spillovers. When human capital diversity is below its second threshold, FDI presence positively influences local firms’ innovation performance; while above the second threshold, the FDI turns to an insignificant impact. Besides, when R&D diversity is below its single threshold, FDI spillovers are positively associated with local firms’ innovation; otherwise, the effect of FDI is insignificantly negative. Our findings highlight the importance of human capital and R&D structures in local firms’ absorptive capacity. Local organizations need to keep diversifying their human capital and R&D strategies to learn from FDI knowledge but avoid allocating their efforts evenly upon sub-categories within the two resources.

From production to consumption-oriented development: New planning strategies in science parks? The case of Sophia-Antipolis

Recent works have highlighted the role of consumption in regional development and questioned the focus on production-oriented approaches in regional planning. To date, consumption-oriented strategies have only been studied in specific cases such as rural areas or urban regeneration projects. This article examines the impact of the growth of consumption-oriented activities on local policymaking processes. To do so, it studies the reshaping of local planning strategies in the science park of Sophia-Antipolis in the context of a growing residential economy. We show that local governments are now questioning traditional production-oriented policies as tensions appear between maintaining the area’s high-tech specialization and meeting the demands of residents for services and amenities. However, production- and consumption-oriented strategies should not be seen as being incompatible. Consumption-oriented strategies aim at reducing the dependence on high-tech activities, but they also contribute to meeting some of the science park’s challenges, such as housing shortages. They also help attract and retain highly skilled executives or engineers in the science park. More than a consumption turn, recent local policies in Sophia mark a shift from a technopolitan production-oriented strategy to a hybrid strategy based on tools embedded in a vast continuum from production-oriented to consumption-oriented strategies.

Identifying Barriers to the Establishment of Strategic Management based on the SWOT Model

In the current unstable world, where environmental changes and changes are accelerating, effective management of organizations is not possible except with a proper understanding of the conditions and requirements around them. The management of today's and tomorrow's organizations will face challenges that solutions based on past experiences and old teachings will not meet the truth that is accepted in a universally accepted interpretation as "strategic" management and strategic planning. The purpose of this study is to identify and investigate the various dimensions of the process and barriers to the establishment of strategic management in knowledge-based companies located in the science park based on the SWOT model. Therefore, the statistical population of this study consists of managers working in knowledge-based companies located in the science park, whose number is 250 people, so we obtained a sample size of 123 people with Cochran's formula. The method of the present research is a descriptive survey and applied in terms of purpose. The researcher-made questionnaire is based on the Likert five-dimensional spectrum, the validity, and reliability of which were confirmed. To analyze the research questions, a one-group t-test was used. The research findings showed that internal and external factors are effective in the establishment of strategic management in knowledge-based companies located in the science park. "Training of all managers and employees on the importance of strategic management" and the most important role of external factors "full reliance of the country's economy on export earnings" on the establishment of strategic management in knowledge-based companies located in the science park.

LEGAL REGULATION OF SCIENCE PARKS ACTIVITIES IN UKRAINE

The article is devoted to topical issues of legal regulation of science parks in Ukraine and the world. The study examined the essence of the concept of science park and the genesis of the development of legislation on the activities of science parks. The peculiarities of the types of science parks have been studied. The issue of regulating the activities of the science park as a subject of legal relations is detailed. The general tendencies of the international legal regulation of activity of science parks are defined. The author came to the conclusion that science parks have proven their effectiveness and efficiency in the development, implementation and dissemination of modern innovative technologies, have played a significant role in raising the level of science in Ukraine, as well as in training highly qualified scientists. However, starting in the mid-2000s, almost all indicators of technology parks began to decline sharply. The main reason lies in the state's non-compliance with the law and its constant change, the termination of state support in the form of benefits and reduction of the tax burden, blocking of innovative projects and the actual lack of budget funding for science.