"How and how much should we seek R&D knowledge to pursue 21st century human and economic goals? The valid options are clearly presented here with incomparable diversity and depth of thought."—Robert W. Galvin, Motorola, Inc. What are the links between technology and the economy? How much does research and development contribute to economic growth and productivity? In 1972, the National Science Foundation sponsored an historic colloquium on research and development and economic growth/productivity. At that time, the entire field of inquiry was in its infancy. Since then, a great deal of research has been devoted to the subject. This authoritative volume revisits the themes of the original conference and summarizes the contributions of research to the economy and society since that time. In this volume, some of the nation's most distinguished economists and science policy specialists assess the current state of knowledge and note the advances since the initial colloquium; examine recent contributions in light of the heightened awareness of the complexity of the R&D process and the increased international competition in many high-technology sectors; and review the broader implications of the contributions of research in areas such as education, health, the environment, and quality of life. They present a broad and up-to-date summary of how R&D and innovation contribute to economic growth and society. Their essays address such issues as the contributions of targeted national research investment, the differences in social and private rates of return from research, the appropriate mix of public and private support for research, and other critical issues. While the book authoritatively answers many questions, new analytical and policy puzzles have arisen. As the nation moves into a new era, the context and assumptions underlying the research system have undergone a transformation. The future roles of industrial research departments, national laboratories, and research universities will be subject to intense debate and scrutiny. This volume presents compelling evidence of the continuing importance of research and technology to vital national goals. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Michael J. Boskin, Harvey Brooks, Susan E. Cozzens, Bronwyn H. Hall, Lawrence J. Lau, Shirley M. Malcom, Edwin Mansfield, Ernest J. Moniz, David C. Mowery, Van Doorn Ooms, Paul Romer, and Charles L. Schultze. Copublished with the American Enterprise Institute

The original edition of this book summarized more than a decade of work oncommunications flow in science and engineering organizations, showing how human and organizationalsystems could be restructured to bring about improved productivity and better person-to-personcontact. While many studies have been done since then, few of them invalidate the generalconclusions and recommendations Allen offers. In a new preface he points out - new developments,noting areas that need some modification, elaboration, or extension, and directing readers to theappropriate journal articles where the findings, are reported.The first three chapters provide anoverview of the communication system in technology, present the author's research methods, anddescribe differences in the career paths and goals of engineers and scientists that cause specialproblems for organizations. The book then discusses how technological information is acquired by theR & D organization, shows how critical technical communication within the laboratory is for R& D performance, and originates the idea of the "gatekeeper," the person who links his or herorganization to the world at large. Concluding chapters take up the influence of formal and informalorganization and of architecture and office layouts on communication. Many of these ideas have beensuccessfully incorporated by architects and managers in the design of new R & D facilities andcomplexes.Thomas J. Allen is Professor of Organizational Psychology and Management at MIT's SloanSchool of Management.

The Economics of Information Technology is a concise and accessible review of some of the important economic factors affecting information technology industries. These industries are characterized by high fixed costs and low marginal costs of production, large switching costs for users, and strong network effects. These factors combine to produce some unique behavior. The book consists of two parts. In the first part, Professor Varian outlines the basic economics of these industries. In the second part, Professors Farrell and Shapiro describe the impact of these factors on competition policy. The clarity of the analysis and exposition makes this an ideal introduction for undergraduate and graduate students in economics, business strategy, law and related areas.

his textbook is designed to teach a first course in Information Technology (IT) to all undergraduate students. In view of the all-pervasive nature of IT in today’s world a decision has been taken by many universities to introduce IT as a compulsory core course to all Bachelor’s degree students regardless of their specialisation. This book is intended for such a course. The approach taken in this book is to emphasize the fundamental “Science” of Information Technology rather than a cook book of skills. Skills can be learnt easily by practice with a computer and by using instructions given in simple web lessons that have been cited in the References. The book defines Information Technology as the technology that is used to acquire, store, organize, process and disseminate processed data, namely, information. The unique aspect of the book is to examine processing all types of data: numbers, text, images, audio and video data. As IT is a rapidly changing field, we have taken the approach to emphasize reasonably stable, fundamental concepts on which the technology is built. A unique feature of the book is the discussion of topics such as image, audio and video compression technologies from first principles. We have also described the latest technologies such as ‘e-wallets’ and ‘cloud computing’. The book is suitable for all Bachelor’s degree students in Science, Arts, Computer Applications, and Commerce. It is also useful for general reading to learn about IT and its latest trends. Those who are curious to know, the principles used to design jpg, mp3 and mpeg4 compression, the image formats—bmp, tiff, gif, png, and jpg, search engines, payment systems such as BHIM and Paytm, and cloud computing, to mention a few of the technologies discussed, will find this book useful. KEY FEATURES • Provides comprehensive coverage of all basic concepts of IT from first principles • Explains acquisition, compression, storage, organization, processing and dis-semination of multimedia data • Simple explanation of mp3, jpg, and mpeg4 compression • Explains how computer networks and the Internet work and their applications • Covers business data processing, World Wide Web, e-commerce, and IT laws • Discusses social impacts of IT and career opportunities in IT and IT enabled services • Designed for self-study with every chapter starting with learning objectives and concluding with a comprehensive summary and a large number of exercises.

This important book delivers a critical wake-up call: a fierce global race for innovation advantage is under way, and while other nations are making support for technology and innovation a central tenet of their economic strategies and policies, America lacks a robust innovation policy. What does this portend? Robert Atkinson and Stephen Ezell, widely respected economic thinkers, report on profound new forces that are shaping the global economy—forces that favor nations with innovation-based economies and innovation policies. Unless the United States enacts public policies to reflect this reality, Americans face the relatively lower standards of living associated with a noncompetitive national economy.The authors explore how a weak innovation economy not only contributed to the Great Recession but is delaying America's recovery from it and how innovation in the United States compares with that in other developed and developing nations. Atkinson and Ezell then lay out a detailed, pragmatic road map for America to regain its global innovation advantage by 2020, as well as maximize the global supply of innovation and promote sustainable globalization.