Robert Newbery, Yevhen Baranchenko and Colin Bell
In a world where we recognize entrepreneurial means, ends and values in terms of geographies of meaning, this book explores the phenomenon of Entrepreneurial Place Leadership…
Abstract
In a world where we recognize entrepreneurial means, ends and values in terms of geographies of meaning, this book explores the phenomenon of Entrepreneurial Place Leadership. This book identifies that a place-led perspective of entrepreneurial development is becoming increasingly important, given narratives around entrepreneurial ecosystems, spatial and temporal contexts, and the active design of entrepreneurial institutions. This introductory chapter outlines the rationale for the book, explores the entrepreneurial landscape and then highlights the chapter contributions. It concludes by drawing together policy and practice recommendations and suggesting directions for future research.
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Kevin P. Jones and Colin L.M. Bell
It may appear rash to claim that an information retrieval system is ‘intelligent’, even if such claims are made within the limited context of artificial intelligence;…
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It may appear rash to claim that an information retrieval system is ‘intelligent’, even if such claims are made within the limited context of artificial intelligence; nevertheless, such a claim is implicit in the MORPHS acronym: minicomputer operated retrieval (partially heuristic) system. What is a heuristic system? Heuristics are systems where the instigator is less than completely certain about the outcome of material fed into them. This is not the type of behaviour most would expect from a computer system, where provided the program has been written correctly, the software and hardware are functioning correctly, and the limits of the system are not exceeded, results are highly predictable.
Colin Donaldson and Jorge Villagrasa
This chapter seeks to provide an overview of the role that culture plays in the effective governance and sustainability of an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE). In particular, the…
Abstract
This chapter seeks to provide an overview of the role that culture plays in the effective governance and sustainability of an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE). In particular, the authors draw upon their own experience at “Marina de Empresas” (MdE), an EE located in Valencia (Spain). MdE is an emerging and exciting EE that provides a unique context. Within the same complex, an entrepreneurial university, an incubator and accelerator (Lanzadera), and an entrepreneurial financing company (Angels) are all co-located. Thus, in one locality, the complete cycle of entrepreneurship is covered. Through an embedded case study methodology and using semi-structured interviews carried out with multiple key stakeholder’s insights are generated into the distinctive culture that the ecosystem holds. In so doing, the impact of entrepreneurial values, entrepreneurial spaces, and entrepreneurial practices, are considered in relation to how they can influence ecosystem functioning. The aim is to provide comprehension toward the transcending value that culture emits across an entrepreneurial community. The findings are relevant to entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, and the policy makers.
Colin L.M. Bell and Kevin P. Jones
Since 1965, a feature card index has formed an essential component in answering technical enquiries. It now contains over 20 000 items. By 1973 the Mathatron Desk‐Top computer…
Abstract
Since 1965, a feature card index has formed an essential component in answering technical enquiries. It now contains over 20 000 items. By 1973 the Mathatron Desk‐Top computer used to process the paper tape output from an automatic testing machine had become obsolete. It was decided that the replacement should handle the retrieval system input as well as meeting the general needs for scientific calculating. The machine selected was a Varian 620L: a £12 000 machine with 12–16K core and disc storage. Although the basic notion of an inverted file has been retained, a number of novel automatic features have been incorporated. These include the reduction of index entries (which may be compounds) to their singular root forms, the elimination of redundant words and the auto‐roling of words through their morphology. Some measure of heuristic performance is sought in this process. The system can easily contain the entire index to date on a single interchangeable disc and it is expected that subsequent discs will contain at least 3–4 years information.
The history of the Encyclopaedia Britannica from its inauguration in 1768 up to the ninth edition of 1888 is described. Its origins in Edinburgh during the Enlightenment are…
Abstract
The history of the Encyclopaedia Britannica from its inauguration in 1768 up to the ninth edition of 1888 is described. Its origins in Edinburgh during the Enlightenment are discussed and its early Edinburgh editors and contributors reviewed. Later editors and contributors and the gradual changing of the work are discussed. Its expansion from an Edinburgh to a global publication is also demonstrated.
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Jean‐Marc Robert, Lucie Moulet, Gonzalo Lizarralde, Colin H. Davidson, Jian‐Yun Nie and Lyne da Sylva
The construction sector is notorious for the dichotomy between its intensive use of information in its decision‐making processes and its limited access to, and insufficient use…
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The construction sector is notorious for the dichotomy between its intensive use of information in its decision‐making processes and its limited access to, and insufficient use of, the pertinent information that is potentially available, e.g. on the internet. This paper seeks to examine this issue. To solve this problem (the ‘problem of information aboutinformation’), a multidisciplinary team developed an online question‐answering (Q.‐A.)system that uses natural language for the query and the reply. The system provides a direct answer to questions posed by building industry participants, instead of providing a list of references (as is the case with most online information retrieval systems), much as if onewere asking a question of, and receiving a response from, an expert.It has the capabilitiesto process questions in natural language, to find appropriate fragments of answers indifferent web sites and to condense them into a paragraph, also written in natural language. The main features of the system are that it uses domain‐specific knowledge (in the form ofa hierarchical specialized thesaurus complemented by terms of fieldwork parlance),semantic categorization, a database of filtered and indexed web sites, and an online interface that is adapted to different profiles of actors in the construction sector. The testing process shows that the system goes beyond the lists of references and links provided by traditional search engines on the web.The Q.‐A.system already gives 70% of satisfactory answers. The Q.‐A.system can be applied to other business domains apart from information retrieval and decision‐making in the building sector. It is also possible to apply it to the exploitation of in‐house knowledge management database.