A model for examining middle school students’ STEM integration behavior in a national technology competition

Background Research on teaching and learning for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects has increased, and has demonstrated the importance of integrating interdisciplinary knowledge and skills. Our research model was based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the data were analyzed by partial least squares-structural equation modeling. The present study aims to identify factors that play an important role in students’ ability to integrate STEM knowledge and skills. Results Data were collected from participants who had won awards in local contests and represented their regions in a national technology competition. The reliability and validity of our instrument, the Students’ STEM Integration Scale, were verified. The findings demonstrated that students’ intentions to integrate STEM knowledge and skills to solve complex problems can be predicted by their attitude and perceived behavioral control. Conclusions This work highlights factors which are associated with students’ intentions to integrate interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, and serves as a reference for research on the gap between intentions and actual behavior. The findings could help teachers and instructors design STEM-based activities to enhance students’ attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and intentions, to improve their ability to integrate STEM knowledge and skills.

Adoption time of a maturing disruptive technology in a duopoly market

New disruptive technologies invalidate the traditional competition dimension in continuous innovation and reconstruct the competitive landscape. These technologies leave a management gap in the adoption of new technologies by competing companies. Accordingly, this research establishes a duopoly game model based on horizontal and vertical differentiations for technology competition problems with asymmetric features. Competition between firms and technologies are investigated simultaneously. We find that a profit increase from new technologies is typically eliminated by the increased technology competition. Thus, firms with competitive advantages in the old market may be late in adopting new technologies, and the competition will further delay the adoption process. We then introduce a preemption strategy for adopting disruptive technologies, and test it in both current established competition and threat competition from the entrants. Results show that leading companies may hesitate in deterring new entrants for fear of losing the leadership in the current competition. At last, we provide a time strategy that can help the market leader maintain a leadership position with minimal losses. Our research has contributed to the studies of both the interpretation of the “innovator's dilemma” and the direction of technology adoption research under multi-dimensional technologies and multiple competitors.

Washington will rethink its foreign chip strategy

Significance Follow-on action from Washington and responses from foreign actors will shape the US government’s adversarial policy towards China in semiconductors and other strategic technologies. Impacts The Biden administration will likely conclude that broad-based diversion of the semiconductor supply chain away from China is not feasible. The United States will rely on export controls and political pressure to prevent diffusion to China of cutting-edge chip technologies. The United States will focus on persuading foreign semiconductor leaders to help develop US capabilities, thereby staying ahead of China. Washington will focus on less direct approaches to strategic technology competition with China, notably technical standards-setting. Industry leaders in the semiconductor supply chain worldwide will continue expanding business in China in less politically sensitive areas.

Part III Innovation and Trade-Finance Challengers, 14 Something Old, Something New: Open Account, Prepayment, and Supply Chain Finance

Letters of credit have increasingly come under strain as a payment mechanism in international trade as a result of increased technology, competition, and regulation. At the same time, the letter of credit’s efficiency has reduced over time as a result of its processing costs and speed. The space created by the decline of the letter of credit has been filled by trade parties turning to open account and prepayment terms, whilst using Supply Chain Financing (‘SCF’) techniques to provide the requisite liquidity. The advantages of such payment terms are principally their speed, convenience and cost, all of which the letter of credit increasingly lacks. Accordingly, it is unlikely that this trend towards SCF techniques will abate any time soon. Nevertheless, there are still legal difficulties associated with such payment and liquidity-enhancing techniques, as well as uncertainty associated with the regulatory and accounting treatment of these devices. If open-account trading and SCF techniques are going to eclipse the letter of credit as a payment mechanism, these challenges will have to be addressed.

From Potential to Real Threat? The Impacts of Technology Attributes on Licensing Competition—Evidence from China during 2002–2013

Prior studies have extensively discussed firms’ propensity of licensing under different levels of competition. This study clarifies the differences between potential technology competition (PTC) and actual licensing competition (ALC). We investigate the relationship between these two types of competition in the context of Chinese patent licensing landscape, using patent licensing data during 2002–2013. We find that the positive effect of PTC on ALC is contingent upon the nature of licensed patent, such as generality, complexity, and newness. Our findings help scholars and managers interested in licensing to understand and monitor the likelihood of licensing competition. Policy implications are presented at the end of this study.

Knowledge and event leadership (Jane Tattersall)

The aim of this chapter is to explain the value and management of different types of knowledge in an events or music festival business setting, where its potential to maximise profit and help an organisation to outperform its rivals has received less attention in academic literature than other sectors such as manufacturing or information technology. Competition in the events and festivals sectors has increased considerably as more companies join the market, and the nature and scope of events has widened to satisfy consumer appetites for more diverse and engaging experiences. Leaders that nurture, recognise, manage and employ knowledge effectively are more likely to be innovative and successful in their sector. Throughout the chapter, knowledge is explored mostly through the lens of music festivals, although the points made are easily applicable to the wider events, tourism and leisure sectors.

The implications of complexity, systems thinking and philosophy for pediatricians

National service systems in child healthcare are characterized by diversity and complexity. Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary healthcare services create complex networks covering pediatric subspecialties, psychology, sociology, economics and politics. Can pediatrics exist without philosophy? Does the absence of integrating philosophical perspectives during conceptualization of pediatric care contribute to deficiencies in the service systems structuring child healthcare? Philosophy offers new ways of complex systems thinking in scientific and clinical pediatrics. Philosophy could improve coping strategies on different levels when dealing with ethics of research projects, individual child healthcare and crises of healthcare service systems. Boundary and ultimate situations experienced by severely sick children require help, hope and resilience. Patients and families as well as pediatricians and other caregivers must act in concert. All of them may benefit from consulting with philosophers. The aim of this article is to point out the risks of a strict separation of scientific insight and sensory experience affecting child healthcare in our modern society, which is dominated by technology, competition and lack of equity and time.