Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2006. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-106). / Governmental industrial policies have great influence on industrial performances and development trajectories. The infant industry theory has been the dominating theoretical foundation of the industrial policies in developing countries to protect and foster their immature industries. However, the successful application of infant industry theory is subject to many conditions, such as the economic and political environment in a specific country. In this thesis, the case of China's automotive industry under strong industrial policies is used to demonstrate the complex dynamics between policies and industrial development, as well as the interactions between government and industry. Especially, the key factors that determine the success or failure of the infant industry theory are the research focus. The overall industrial characteristics of China's automotive industry were overviewed. The industry was protected and fostered in the past two decades with a few policy options, such as trade barriers, joint venture regulation, local content rule, industrial entry limit and etc. However, the indigenous industry became highly fragmented, still lacks independent technological capabilities, and relies on the international automakers which have gradually dominated the passenger car market in China over the time of protection. / (cont.) Systematic causal analyses are conducted to explore the essential reasons for the distorted policy impacts on industrial evolution. The results indicate the regionalism and departmentalism in China's government system led to the fragmentation, and the "regulatory capture" between the government and state-owned enterprises is the major reason for the oligopoly of joint ventures and the industry-wide lack of active capability development. The uniqueness of the strong governmental ownership in the market players in the Chinese automotive industry determined the failure of the application of infant industry theory. A further cross-country comparative analysis also supports these major findings. A few policy recommendations, including ownership reform of state-owned enterprises, centralization of industrial management and etc., are proposed at the end of the thesis. / by Jianxi Luo. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technology and Policy Program, 2001. / "June 2001." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-125). / Aircraft are a significant source of emissions whose impact on local air quality and global climate change is expected to increase as the aviation industry continues to grow. Operational improvements are an attractive alternative for emissions reductions, because in addition to the environmental benefits, they can reduce airspace congestion, delays and unnecessary fuel consumption. Furthermore, most stakeholders and regulations prefer operational measures over increased stringency or environmental taxes. This thesis estimates emissions reductions through operational improvements by comparing mission time, emissions and fuel consumption for a conservative baseline scenario and for actual aviation activity. Unlike previous efforts, fuel consumption estimates are not based on fleet averages and schedules but are based on actual mission times and aircraft types from the Airline Service Quality Performance (ASQP) database, which contains airline information reported by the ten largest US carriers. Results indicate that fuel bum during ground operations has been growing at a faster rate than operations or total mission time in US domestic aviation and may therefore become a considerable constraint to airport expansion, and that the potential for local emissions reductions through improved surface operations is significant. The results also indicate that significant airborne fuel burn savings may be achieved through operational improvements, but these are not sufficient to offset the growth in aviation emissions. This suggests the need for a comprehensive approach that combines other alternatives, such as increased stringency and market-based mechanisms. A systems engineering approach is recommended to address this complex effort, which must reconcile diverging positions of stakeholders vis-a-vis reductions alternatives and structure a harmonized regulatory framework. / by Bruno Miller. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-192). / This thesis focuses on the potential of strategic technology innovation and implementation in sustaining an aging society, and examines the need for a comprehensive national technology and innovation infrastructure in the U.S., capable of supporting the development and use of technologies by the aging population and their caregivers. The pervasiveness of population aging makes it a primary concern for nations around the world today. As the inadequacies of existing resources become apparent, policy makers .are now turning to technology and innovation to cope with the changing demographics. 'Technological innovations to accommodate the elderly have existed since centuries ago, and they been useful in extending the human capability beyond perceived limitations of aging. However, new technologies developed with the same objectives are not widely adopted and accepted by the aging population today. The thesis is divided into two complementary sections. / (cont.) The first examines three hypotheses for the slow penetration rates of new technologies for aging: 1) Useful, affordable and usable technologies are unavailable, 2) Professional carers that can play a catalytic role between technological innovation and implementation are not technologically educated and prepared to incorporate the technologies into elderly care, and 3) The dynamics of policy formation and agenda setting are not conducive to the design and implementation of "technology for aging" policies. The second section consists of two comparative studies to highlight the gaps within the existing "technologies for aging" industry infrastructure. A study of the domestic automobile and mobile telecommunications industry provides a national perspective, whereas a study of eleven industrialized nations engaged in technological innovations for the elderly provides an international perspective. The research shows that useful, affordable and usable technologies are available, but their diffusion is hindered by inadequate human capital development and an unconducive policy formation and agenda setting climate. / (cont.) The comparative studies further illuminate existing infrastructure gaps and also provide useful frameworks to facilitate the bridging of these gaps. By facilitating the development of a robust "technology for aging" infrastructure, policy makers can help to ensure that the U.S. is ready to meet the challenges of an aging population. / by Jasmin Lau. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2003. / Leaf 110 blank. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-107). / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / After a decade of development, advanced telecommunications services (ATS) are widely available in many markets. This thesis is concerned with the impact of local competition and government regulation on the deployment of advanced telecommunications services for business in the United States. These services include packet switching, digital signal level (DS) technologies and synchronous optical network (SONET) – optical carrier (OC) transport. Increasingly, businesses are using these services for intra and extra network communications. Access to advanced telecommunication services is important for economic development. Government policy makers are interested in identifying what steps can be taken to accelerate the roll-out of services in their communities. Business and corporate users are often interested in services that are different from what the residential customers desire. This thesis focuses on a broader range of advanced services of interest to the business customers than most empirical research to date. It also provides a better and more insightful metric at a finer level of granularity to address these questions. The impacts of local business conditions, rivalry and regulations on the deployment of advanced telecommunication services are analyzed by means of econometric analysis. A rich data set has been constructed which identifies the competitive, regulatory and economic climates at each incumbent’s wire center in the United States. A qualitative response model is used to estimate how business characteristics of the communities and their regulatory environments affect the deployment of ATS. I conclude that local competition, federal subsidies, 271 approval, and high unbundled network element (UNE) price to book cost ratio have positive impacts on advanced telecommunication services deployment, while federal price cap regulation and location in a rural area have negative impacts. These findings have significant implications on government regulatory policies. The thesis recommends regulatory policies, which focus on services, such as rate-based rate-of-return regulation over price caps and encourages competitors’ entry, facilities-based competition and federal support to accelerate deployment of advanced telecommunications services. It concludes by encouraging governments and organizations to support more research, experimentation and better data collection to increase understanding of underlying socio-economic and regulatory factors affecting deployment of advanced telecommunications services. / by Guang-Lih Huang. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2007. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-77). / Hurricane Katrina showed that the current methods for handling medical records are minimally resilient to large scale disasters. This research presents a preliminary model for measuring the resilience of medical records systems against public policy goals and uses the model to illuminate the current state of medical record resilience. From this analysis, three recommendations for how to make medical records more resilient are presented. The recommendations are: 1) Federal and state governments should use the preliminary resilience model introduced here as the basis for compliance requirements for electronic medical record technical architectures. 2) Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) should consider offering services in disaster management to healthcare organizations. This will help RHIOs create sustainable business models. 3) Storage companies should consider developing distributed storage solutions based on Distributed Hash Table (DHT) technology for medical record storage. Distributed storage would alleviate public concerns over privacy with centralized storage of medical records. Empirical evidence is presented demonstrating the performance of DHT technology using a prototype medical record system. / by Robert Rudin. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-93). / During the last decades, distributed energy (DE) resources received considerable attention and support because of the confluence of technology development - particularly gas turbines - and deregulation - which would allow access to the distribution systems. DE was seen as addressing numerous issues, including transmission constraints, reliability, power quality, energy efficiency, and environmental quality through combined heat and power (CHP) applications. Numerous barriers, such as stranded asset requirements and lack of uniform interconnection standards, were recognized but viewed as manageable. Nevertheless, the penetration of DE/CHP has been considerably less than anticipated by many. More recent developments in the DE technology, regulatory environment, and fuel prices call for a re-examination of the cost-benefit balance for DE owners and of the societal implications that underpin public policy. This study addresses the MIT Cogeneration Plant in that context, motivated by the fact MIT was an early mover in adopting CHP technology in institutional settings. After a decade addressing numerous obstacles, the plant was put into operation about a decade ago with the expectations of reducing energy costs, improving the quality of power, and reducing net atmospheric emissions. / (cont.) This study reviews the major drivers for deciding on-campus power generation, and analyzes the project retrospectively in the context of today's market and regulatory conditions. Alternative scenarios are also evaluated in terms of technology improvements, standby rates, and fuel prices with the further goal of understanding their impact on the viability of DE/CHP projects. Our baseline results lead us to conclude that MIT Cogeneration Plant is a better alternative than generating the steam and purchasing the electricity needs separately. The present value of the economic savings are about $43m for the period 2006 to 2020, while the environmental benefits in terms of C02 emissions represent in average about 65,000 metric tons/yr. These numbers represent about 10% cost savings and 22% CO2 reduction under the set of assumptions and projections in the base case. Then, we performed four sensitivity analyses to understand the impact of technology efficiency, electricity rate structure, market fuel cost uncertainties and a carbon tax on the viability of DE/CHP projects: - Better turbine electrical efficiency represents more economic and CO2 emission benefits for the cogeneration alternative, with economic savings increasing up to about $73m and C02 benefits up to 93 metric tons/yr. / (cont.) - If the utility's new rate structure were applicable to the MIT cogeneration facility, it would have additional economic benefits of about $4.6m. - The project can be particularly sensitive to market conditions, especially natural gas prices. If fuel price conditions are not favorable, the cogeneration alternative becomes uneconomic with incremental costs of almost $56m. - Finally, the economic recognition of the CO2 reductions can change the economics of a cogeneration project. A DE/CHP project may displace emissions from less efficient technology and fossil fuel sources - depending on the utility's energy portfolio. For example, a $100/tonne carbon-tax brings additional economic savings of about $16m for the Cambridge utility fuel mix (about two thirds fossil). However, this particular cogeneration project would have additional costs of $2m if the Cambridge utility used entirely "carbon-free" sources. In summary, this study illustrates that CHP systems provide real economic and environmental benefits, through better efficiency, reutilization of exhaust gases, and displacement of polluting technologies. However, changes in current operational, market and regulatory conditions may greatly affect the benefits and viability of DE projects, requiring institutions to perform an in-depth analysis to weigh the pros and cons of specific projects. / by Karen de los Angeles Tapia-Ahumada. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-126). / This thesis proposes a technology strategy that is formulated to serve as the foundation for a holistic. global knowledge networking strategy for multinational enterprises (MNEs). This thesis is framed in the context of the increasing salience of knowledge for all enterprises, everywhere, today. The uncertainties of the marketplace, global e-business opportunities born of the Internet revolution, and the paradigmatic shifts in thought on organizational design have amplified the demand for the right knowledge of the right kind at the right time. The multi-dimensional nature of knowledge and the complexities of enterprise activities are compounded by the fact that enterprises today are increasingly globalized and seeking to globally expand its activities. The capabilities to acquire quality-controlled knowledge within the necessary time-horizons, and the capabilities to leverage and diffuse acquired knowledge throughout the organization have become critical. However, the mechanisms by which to perform and enable these functions are not strategically integrated across the organization, and on a global basis. This thesis focuses on the knowledge network as a mechanism and as a process by which to coordinate innovation and learning for enterprises and enterprise-value-networks on a global basis. While knowledge networks have been formed in both non-profit and for-profit sectors, this thesis will be concerned solely with knowledge networks for businesses. Knowledge networks can be analyzed into technology and human elements, but often there is no coordinating strategy that synthesizes both elements into integrative solutions that can capture the value of knowledge for the enterprise. The hypothesis . guiding this thesis is that existing models of knowledge networking are not sufficiently holistic. and proposes an integrated knowledge networking strategy that leverages both technology infrastructure and human competencies in meeting organizational knowledge requirements. The emergent nature of strategically initiated knowledge networks in business can adapt knowledge networking solutions that have been developed in the non-profit sector. One such framework for knowledge networking from the non-profit sector is the GSSD (Global System for Sustainable Development) initiative, developed in MIT with partners in academic institutions around the world, is one such methodology that aims to facilitate knowledge flows and knowledge sharing on a global scale. This thesis (a) develops a technology strategy that adapts the GSSD framework for enterprises that operate on a global scale, (b) illustrates its conceptual feasibility by proposing several designs for GSSD-E, or GSSD for the enterprise, and (c) applies the designs to a test case. The test case is a conceptual implementation of the GSSD-E design for Sony Environmental Management Systems. The thesis concludes by suggesting further possible directions in researching GSSD-E possibilities. / by Shung Yar Lim. / S.M.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technology and Policy Program, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-129). / by Bertrand Delcaire. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-73). / The Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies Program in the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at MIT conducted a survey of public attitudes on energy use and environmental concerns. Over 1,200 people, representing a general population sample of the United States, responded. The survey asked a representative sample of the American public seventeen questions about the environment, global warming, and climate change-mitigation technologies. The analysis in this thesis uses the survey responses to draw conclusions about the level of public understanding and awareness of global climate change and carbon dioxide capture and storage and to suggest implications for public outreach. The survey results show that carbon dioxide capture and storage and carbon sequestration are largely unknown to the general public, and there is significant confusion over which environmental issue the technology is intended to address. The environment is not a top priority for the U.S. public, and global warming is not the top environmental concern, even for those concerned about the environment. The public's willingness to pay to solve global warming increases when an individual is concerned about the environment or believes that immediate action is necessary to address global warming. An experiment within the survey shows that a large portion of the public supports investment in renewable energy technologies but that support decreases when cost information for all climate mitigation technologies is provided. / by Thomas Edward Curry. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [57]-58). / This research focuses on two specific research problems in the context of innovation in the biotech industry. These research problems map to the two phases of innovation process--creation of new scientific expertise (Phase I) and commercialization of that new expertise (Phase II). The research problem in Phase I, examines determinants of productivity in the creation of new scientific expertise, specifically following scholarship in the sociology of networks, assessing the impact of patterns of scientific research networks on research productivity. The setting for the study is a group of research scientists associated with the Du Pont-MIT Alliance. Findings suggest that optimal research networks should have a large number of relatively strong links and avoid over-dependence on a few research collaborators, to enhance research productivity. With respect to Phase II and the transformation of scientific ideas into commercial products, existing innovation literature has identified several ingredients for commercial success, and in particular, for start-up ventures: reputed management teams, BODs (Board of Directors), SABs (Scientific Advisory Boards) and prominent VC (venture capital) firms. However the relative influence of the inventor's reputation versus the quality of the research idea in assembling these necessary constituents has not been researched. The study sample for the research problem under Phase II, consisted of all the biotech start-ups in the Massachusetts area, founded after 1995. The research findings highlight the usage of 'signaling' (reputation in this case) in assembling reputed teams. The study also shows diminishing returns to such signaling as the uncertainty reduces. The implications of these finding can be broadly drawn / (cont.) at the level of technology policy and at the unit level of a firm. Technology policy can influence the organization of university research networks as well as make funding allocation decisions. Individual firms can use these results to shape their collaboration with academia. The results also send a strong signal that if a research idea attains prominence, it can be successfully commercialized regardless of the inventor reputation. / by Vishwanath Kanda. / S.M.