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Full-Text Articles in Technology and Innovation

Economic And Technological Innovation In Maine Before The Twentieth Century: Complex, Uneven, But Pervasive And Important, Howard P. Segal Jan 2014

Economic And Technological Innovation In Maine Before The Twentieth Century: Complex, Uneven, But Pervasive And Important, Howard P. Segal

Maine Policy Review

Maine had a long history of economic and technological innovation which began long before it became a state in 1820. Over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, woolen mills, shoe factories, paper mills, hydroelectric power and utilities, and other components of mainstream America’s industrial and commercial revolutions became key parts of most Mainers’ daily lives. This article argues that the blue highway signs one passes on entering Maine—Maine: The Way Life Should Be—conceal much of Maine’s actual past and present, especially its rich and complex history of innovation.


Research, Innovation, And Commercialization At The University Of Maine, James S. (Jake) Ward Iv Jan 2014

Research, Innovation, And Commercialization At The University Of Maine, James S. (Jake) Ward Iv

Maine Policy Review

This paper presents the University of Maine’s accomplishments through its use of state R&D funds.


Natural Advantages Are Key To Achieving A Vibrant Innovation Ecosystem In Maine, David J. Kappos Jan 2014

Natural Advantages Are Key To Achieving A Vibrant Innovation Ecosystem In Maine, David J. Kappos

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Maine’S Innovation Prospects: What The Research Can Tell Us, Linda Silka Jan 2014

Maine’S Innovation Prospects: What The Research Can Tell Us, Linda Silka

Maine Policy Review

The innovation literature suggests Maine faces a number of challenges. This overview article discusses this literature, noting how recent findings about boundary spanning point to the importance of both individual skills and group collaboration in innovation. It highlights the implications for policies that could jumpstart innovation, noting the importance of looking to history, looking across topics, looking across disciplines, looking to other states, and looking to other countries to avoid becoming too short-sighted and parochial in approaches.


An Emerging Model Of Innovation For Maine, Renee Kelly Jan 2014

An Emerging Model Of Innovation For Maine, Renee Kelly

Maine Policy Review

The state of Maine began making significant investments in research and development in the late 1990s, aligning those investments with industry sectors that drew upon the state’s traditional strengths as well as emerging industries such as biotechnology. This strategy was largely built upon the cluster theory of economic development, which can be challenging to implement in rural areas, in part because of their less dense social networks. This paper suggests that developing more efficient social networks will build stronger clusters and make rural areas more successful in innovation, and presents the Blackstone Accelerates Growth initiative as an emerging model for …


Transforming Maine’S Economy: Innovation And Entrepreneurship Policy, Catherine Searle Renault Jan 2014

Transforming Maine’S Economy: Innovation And Entrepreneurship Policy, Catherine Searle Renault

Maine Policy Review

Innovation and entrepreneurship are major drivers of economic growth. Support for them is a primary role of state government in order to increase the well being of its citizens through the provision of well-paying jobs that cannot be easily exported. Today, the state’s role is described as “enhancing the innovation ecosystem,” with the goal of increased productivity, innovation and competitiveness. Policies to build the ecosystem include: (1) building and supporting a state’s research and development capacity; (2) encouraging a state’s entrepreneurial community, (3) increasing the productivity of a state’s economy though the commercialization of new products, services, processes, business models …


R&D: Cornerstone Of The Knowledge Economy, Evan Richert Jan 2014

R&D: Cornerstone Of The Knowledge Economy, Evan Richert

Maine Policy Review

Maine has made progress toward achieving the goals set out 13 years ago in the State Planning Office’s publication “30 and 1000.” That publication projected that if 30 percent of the state’s adults had at least four-year degrees and if businesses, academia, and government were spending $1,000 per employed worker on research and development, Maine’s per capita income would reach the national average. The state still has a ways to go. Today it is estimated that the R&D threshold is about $1,600 per employed worker. Business will need to nearly double its effort to reach its share of the goal. …


Interview With Doug Hall On The Role Of Training In Innovation, Margo Lukens, Doug Hall Jan 2014

Interview With Doug Hall On The Role Of Training In Innovation, Margo Lukens, Doug Hall

Maine Policy Review

In this interview, Doug Hall gives his current thinking on the teaching of innovation and the urgency for doing so. Hall has been working in the field of innovation for most of his career. He has served as partner and mentor in the University of Maine’s program which offers an Innovation Engineering minor open to undergraduate students in any major and a certificate for graduate students. Hall says that “the world of the guru is done” and that “companies, colleges, and countries need to empower their people to lead the transformation from the inside out.”


Innovation Engineering, Brianna Hughes, Kathryn Smith Jan 2014

Innovation Engineering, Brianna Hughes, Kathryn Smith

Maine Policy Review

A graduate and an undergraduate student reflect on their experiences in the University of Maine’s Innovation Engineering program.


Farming’S Future Depends On Continued Innovation, John Piotti Jan 2014

Farming’S Future Depends On Continued Innovation, John Piotti

Maine Policy Review

Farming is on the upswing in Maine, with many innovative practices and institutions described in this article.


State Investment In University Research And Commercialization: What Is Measurable And What Is Meaningful?, Kris Burton Jan 2014

State Investment In University Research And Commercialization: What Is Measurable And What Is Meaningful?, Kris Burton

Maine Policy Review

There are serious challenges in measuring the impact of universities on their state economies and in measuring the return on investment in universities by state legislatures. This article discusses the metrics currently used in looking at societal investment in research and the commercialization of research results. It asks if more meaningful metrics are needed, and if so, are they possible to obtain?


Finding Untapped Opportunities In Forests, Linda Silka Jan 2014

Finding Untapped Opportunities In Forests, Linda Silka

Maine Policy Review

Opportunities for innovation in forests in Maine and elsewhere are discussed, including forest bioproducts research at the University of Maine.


Book Publishers And Libraries: Historic Partners Facing A Disruptive Technology, Tom Allen Jan 2013

Book Publishers And Libraries: Historic Partners Facing A Disruptive Technology, Tom Allen

Maine Policy Review

The explosion of digital materials and e-readers has disrupted the historic partnership between book publishers and libraries. Tom Allen explains that the new business models required for more widespread e-lending will necessarily involve compromises. He suggests that e-lending pilot projects between individual publishers and libraries are a promising development.


New Foods For Thought: Maine Food Producers Add Value Through Innovation, Betsy Bieman Jan 2011

New Foods For Thought: Maine Food Producers Add Value Through Innovation, Betsy Bieman

Maine Policy Review

This short article discusses how the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) is contributing to the state’s value-added food cluster.


Commentaries On "The State Of Nebraska's Plan For The Creation Of Community-Based Technology Committees", Dianne Tilton, Harry H. Dresser Jr. Jan 1996

Commentaries On "The State Of Nebraska's Plan For The Creation Of Community-Based Technology Committees", Dianne Tilton, Harry H. Dresser Jr.

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Building An Information Infrastructure, Christopher E. Hoy Jan 1996

Building An Information Infrastructure, Christopher E. Hoy

Maine Policy Review

How we provide education, how farmers and manufacturers do business in local and global economies, and how rapidly-improving technologies will drive life in the 21st century remain somewhat mysterious. Christopher E. Hoy has been at the forefront of a movement to develop a telecommunications infrastructure in the state of Nebraska. He initiated a project called “The Global Community Initiative.” As part of that project, Hoy organized more than 45 community information technology committees in rural Nebraska and developed a model planning process for them to follow. He describes this as a statewide, grass-roots organizing effort designed to stimulate demand for …


Regulatory Updates: Telephone Carriers Headed Toward Cable Market, Barbara L. Krause Jan 1995

Regulatory Updates: Telephone Carriers Headed Toward Cable Market, Barbara L. Krause

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Pricing Issues In Telecommunications, Robert W. Crandall Jan 1994

Pricing Issues In Telecommunications, Robert W. Crandall

Maine Policy Review

Over the last quarter century, significant changes have occurred in telecommunications. The breakup of AT&T and a myriad of technological innovations have sounded the death knell for the theory of telecommunications as a natural monopoly, according to Robert W. Crandall of the Brookings Institute. In the following article, Dr. Crandall assesses a variety of pricing issues that must be addressed by regulators, telecommunications firms and consumers in an increasingly competitive telecommunications market.


From Cold War To Microchips: Stepping From The Past Into Our Future, Malcolm Forbes Jr. Jan 1994

From Cold War To Microchips: Stepping From The Past Into Our Future, Malcolm Forbes Jr.

Maine Policy Review

Malcolm "Steve" Forbes Jr., editor-in-chief of FORBES Magazine, looks often to history to explain the present and to predict the future. In an address to the 21st annual Governor's Economic Development Conference at the University of Maine last fall, Forbes identified two important trends, one grounded in the past (the Cold War), and one symbolic of the rapid change experienced at present (the microchip), in suggesting that the economic future for Maine and the nation is only limited by our willingness to give in to our fears about what that future holds. This article is an edited version of Forbes’ …


Next Steps In Business Conversion: Supporting Innovation And Entrepreneurship, Eric R. Pages Jan 1994

Next Steps In Business Conversion: Supporting Innovation And Entrepreneurship, Eric R. Pages

Maine Policy Review

Defense conversion is a major issue confronting Maineand other states that are threatened with the loss of major military and civilian defense facilities. The closing of Loring Air Force Base this year has made real to most Mainecitizens the rapidly changing nature of the state’s defense infrastructure. As the anxiety increases about the future of remaining defense facilities, both the public and private sectors are working to develop meaningful conversion programs and policies. The latter was the focus of a statewide conference on defense conversion, "From Defense to Offense" held last June in Portland. This article by Eric R. Pages …


Two Case Studies In Local Cable Renewal, George F. Burns Jan 1993

Two Case Studies In Local Cable Renewal, George F. Burns

Maine Policy Review

In October, 1992, Congress responded to consumer complaints about their cable rates and services by passing the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. The numerous provisions of the new act were the subject of two, day-long workshops held in Portland and Orono last fall that were targeted to municipal officials. The workshops were jointly sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy, the Maine Municipal Association and the Community Television Network of Portland. Three articles in this issue are excerpted from those presentations in an effort to both communicate and explain the important changes wrought …