Mapping the Territorial Adaptation of Technological Innovation Systems—Trajectories of the Internal Combustion Engine

Besides the rise of sustainable technologies, successful sustainability transitions crucially depend on the phase-out of unsustainable ones. However, the detailed dynamics of declining technological innovation systems (TIS) remain vague. Thus, based on the new TIS life cycle framework, we investigate how the technological dimension of a mature TIS adapts to increasing transformational pressures towards its decline. Considering the internal combustion engine (ICE) as a suitable research case, we measure the technological adaptation as changes in the dominant technological trajectory over time and across TIS territories. Empirically, this is operationalised by a main path analysis in patent citation networks, using 221,700 patents to cover the period from 10 January 1901 until 31 January 2019. Our results not only point to considerable shifts in the direction of technological development over time but also highlight stark differences across the three major car markets. Most notably, in contrast to USA and Japan, where hybrid powertrains have become the dominant alternative powertrains, the dominant trajectory in the EU territory points to an ongoing commitment towards diesel technology. In essence, our results highlight the importance of path dependency and connectivity of the knowledge search process as well as selective forces on the innovation system level, which have been neglected by related empirical studies. Conceptionally, our analysis demonstrates that the technological adaptation process is influenced by specific developments during a time period and heterogenous territorial dynamics within the TIS. Consequently, future TIS studies might consider spatially heterogeneous development cycles as well as possible mechanisms to establish an international trajectory towards sustainability goals.

The effect of climate change on future Common Security and Defence Policy missions and operations

Never before in the known history of the world people had such a great impact on climate change as since the beginning of the era of industrialization. Industrial production on a huge, unprecedented scale, apart from its benefits, causes climate change on a global scale through the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. According to the AR5 IPCC report, it is expected that the ever-increasing CO2 emissions and the lack of action to reduce it will increase the average global temperature from the pre-industrial era by up to 4 degrees Celsius to 2100. Such significant climate change can have catastrophic and irreversible consequences for the inhabitants of our planet. Exhausting sources of drinking water, land that cannot be cultivated and depleting natural resources will force people to fight for what will remain. The emergence of military groups will result in both internal armed conflicts and international tensions caused by mass migration of people from countries with the least vulnerability to the effects of climate change, to highly developed regions such as EU countries. Climate change in the context of security is multidimensional and affects almost every sector. EU countries will be forced to counteract the effects of climate change not only through agreements or declarations within the UN, but also by involving their own forces and resources in CSDP missions and operations. The current activities under CSDP will be intensified as well as diversified by implementing support for technological adaptation to new climate conditions in undeveloped countries.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Ordinary People; A Social Distancing Challenge

COVID-19 has become a part of everyone's day-to-day life, since the outbreak in 2019 the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused more than 4.5 million deaths with over 200 million cases reported globally. Currently, the number of infections and deaths are gradually lowering in different countries however the underlying challenges still exist. COVID-19 threatens human life, social functioning and development. Although numerous studies have been carried out in the past to highlight the key challenges very limited studies have been conducted from an ordinary person's viewpoint. In the fight against COVID-19, humanity has been pushed to a level which cannot be accepted where establishing that balance is a priority. This study focuses on highlighting the common issues faced by the ordinary public in the current era. Five key areas were identified to be the most essential; education, technological adaptation, transportation, mental health and gender-based violence (GBV).

The Natural Evolution of Computing

The evolution of computing is an example of a major, transformative technological adaptation still unfolding in human history. Information technologies are supported by many other knowledge domains that have evolved through a cumulative cultural process, yet at the same time computing affects the tempo and mode of cultural evolution, greatly accelerating innovation processes driven by recombination of present technologies. Additionally, computing has created entire new domains for cumulative cultural evolution, furthering an era dominated by digital economies and media. These new domains offer very desirable qualities for cultural evolution research and digital archaeology, including good coverage in data completeness in widely different aspects of human culture, from social networks to innovation in programming languages. We review the major transitions in information technologies, with especial interest in their connections to a biological evolutionary framework. In particular, software vs. hardware evolution poses an interesting example of symbiotic technologies that display strong social dependencies as well as an extrinsic fitness due to energetic and temporal constrains. Properly accounting for the interplay of material and social factors can explain the coexistence of gradualism and punctuated dynamics in cultural and technological evolution.

Innovative Finance, Technological Adaptation and SMEs Sustainability: The Mediating Role of Government Support during COVID-19 Pandemic

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) survival is critical for economic sustainability due to the multifaceted role of the economy. Thus, halting SMEs operation hurts the aggregate economy. During the present pandemic, SMEs’ sustainability in Bangladesh is under-challenged because of limited market demand, supply constraints, financial incapacity, and capital restrictions. However, with the concerted effort from firms and the government, SME’s have been trying to reestablish from the unforeseen consequence by capitalizing on innovation, skills, and economic resources. The motivation of the study is to gauge the impact of innovative finance, technological adaptation, and the government’s role on SMEs’ sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. As a study sample, 2000 SMEs were considered for data collection through a structured questionnaire from 10 December 2020, to 28 January 2021. A sample of 1895 SMEs was returned with their responses. However, after a careful data cleaning procedure, only a sample of 1395 (69.75%) responses was found suitable for study. The study applied structural equation modelling to explore causal effects and test the proposed hypothesis for the hypnotized model, i.e., more precisely, to explore the direct effects of technology adaptation and innovative finance and indirect effects through government support on SMEs. Study findings revealed that SMEs’ sustainability positively accelerates by applying innovative finance and integration of technological adaptation. In contrast, the mediating role of government was also established with indirect assessment. Study findings suggest that policy formulation and implementation must be initiated, focusing on effective online financial services, settling business transactions, and integrating IT advancements in operation.

The Brighter Side of Home Schooling for Children with Special Needs: Learning from COVID-19 Lockdown

COVID-19 has resulted in widespread social isolation, quarantines, and suspended academic activity. Children with special needs are socially, financially, and educationally impacted by dramatic changes to laws and restrictions put in place to curtail this devastating global pandemic. This study addresses the beneficial improvements that occurred in the lives of children with special needs during the quarantine period. It led to improved skills, better family dynamics, and an enhancement in technological expertise. Here, we use the case study approach. Twelve parents of children with special needs were selected from the Kozhikode district of Kerala, India. Convenient sampling methods were used for the selection of respondents. The data obtained from the twelve participants were scrutinized. The verbatims were coded with the QDA-Miner Software. Our findings indicate that the lockdown has reinforced family bonds; opened up spaces for homeschooling and digital learning; strengthened relationships with parents, communities, and teachers; and paved the way for technological adaptation. During lockdown, children with special needs continued to learn and build skills in a nurturing familial environment.

Architectural Evaluation of 3D-Printed Buildings

3D-printed constructions express the capacity of automated technologies to elaborate buildings through additive manufacturing. These constructions require an architectural design according to their manufacturing conditions. This research reviews buildings that have been executed with these technologies in order to determine architectural characteristics. From an Internet search, a register was compiled of 112 cases of 3D-printed constructions around the globe. They include some 10,000 m2 of built surface area and were mainly erected in the last five years. The review shows that cases were built by approximately thirty executors, mostly entrepreneurs’ companies who have made different buildings as single-family dwellings constructed with gantries or robotic arms, either on-site or in factories. Most of the components printed are walls, with single or double filaments with interior voids. In some cases, they integrate reinforcements and openings. The geometry of the 3D-printed constructions varies between orthogonal layouts that replicate existing buildings and spherical shapes that reflect printing capabilities. Many of the cases are a combination of these characteristics, mixing a technological adaptation to existing architecture and new operative conditions. This review reveals the emerging development of this construction system with the progressive consolidation of some architectural attributes.

The Role of Education and Technology Adaptation in Poverty Reduction in Indonesia

This study examines the role of education in improving technology adoption as reflected in technology inclusion, poverty alleviation and efforts to increase community income which is reflected in economic growth. This study uses secondary data from world banks and processed regression using the moving average autoregression method. We found that education investment and technology inclusion were positively related to economic growth. And,negatively related to probability. This indicates that education plays a role in encouraging technological inclusion which reflects technological adaptation and encourages economic growth which is an indicator of the prosperity of the people in Indonesia which is strengthened by a negative relationship with poverty which indicates that education plays an important role in poverty alleviation

Changes in the methodology of teaching foreign languages at higher educational institutions under current conditions

In 2020, the majority of higher educational institutions have faced global and unique problems that are particularly acute at the social, economic, scientific and educational level. The purpose of the academic paper is to consider the adoption and transformation of the methodology of teaching foreign languages at the HEIs and analyze how much has the interaction of students changed and how the capitalization of knowledge is carried out in the implementation of virtual and online education. The academic paper describes how new teaching methods are introduced and implemented in quarantine conditions in the university education system. The basic methods of the investigation are as follows: the method of experiment, questionnaire and observation; the interdisciplinary nature of the research is also marked by the use of a combination of analytical methods. The hypothesis lies in the fact that the conditions of virtual distance education involve changes in the complex of methods and their technological adaptation. The scientific article contains the answers, challenges and practices used in the process of teaching foreign languages in the space of university education.