Wiley Series in System and Management Concept Oriented Research and Development in Information Technology By Mori, Kinji

Sinopsis

The concept-oriented IT research and development (R&D) approach proposed in this book is based on current trends in society, the economy, technology, and the commercial market, which are the main drivers in shifting to a new R&D approach. The concept of R&D involved in creating a chain of technologies and markets is divided into technology and business concepts. The technology concept is a general abstract approach for characterizing a basis for technologies to be created toward cultivating markets. The business concept is a general abstract approach for characterizing a basis for markets to be cultivated toward developing technologies. The two concepts are applied together to successively evolve technologies and markets in the R&D process. In unpredictably changing situations, these concepts should be applied consistently, to avoid changing the basic direction of R&D. The approach consisting in the application of either of these two concepts to create a chain of technologies and markets is defined as concept-oriented R&D. Without these concepts, technologies and markets are inconsistently dispersed. The objective of this concept-oriented approach is to achieve a new value of sustainability by creating a chain of technologies and markets in recent unpredictably fluctuating socioeconomic conditions or trends. Information technologies are used to generate products and services to be put on the market. Through operation in utilizing products and services, new needs and problems in markets have arisen that lead to the creation of new technologies and markets.

In this book, a new, unconventional concept-oriented R&D approach has been shown to be effective in real-world conditions. Viewpoints on how to achieve concept creation, technological innovation, and market cultivation are discussed. The primary emphasis is on creating a chain of technologies and markets on the basis of a consistent concept for achieving a sustainable society and economy through R&D, with a focus on the field of information technology (IT).

Current R&D approaches are shifting from conventional technologyoriented and solution-oriented approaches to concept-oriented approaches to increase business sustainability by adapting to changing socioeconomic situations. In the late nineteenth century, at the beginning of the industrial revolution, individual consumers had few commodities in their daily lives and business activities, but most consumers expressed common needs for these commodities. Therefore, manufacturers played a key role in the market, and they formulated a technology-oriented R&D approach that enabled them to target both technology and market; as a result, the R&D technology directly contributed to the dominance of the market. In the 1990s, due to diversification of user needs, developing technologies to satisfy these different needs became the main factor in R&D. Finding and resolving problems to meet these needs became essential. Therefore, solution-oriented R&D became the main approach. However, now, in the twenty-first century, user needs, as well as those of society and the economy, have been not only diversifying but also changing rapidly and unpredictably. Thus, it is difficult for solution-oriented R&D to consistently satisfy market demands. If there is limited, narrow focus only on special needs and technologies, the markets for these technologies may eventually become unsustainable in the unpredictably changing real-world situations. Unlike the conventional approaches, a concept-oriented R&D is proposed to accommodate a chain of technologies and markets. In Part I (Chapter 1), the reader is introduced to historic trends in R&D approaches with respect to both technological and socioeconomic aspects. The difference between conventional and concept-oriented R&D is also clarified. As an example of concept-oriented R&D, the autonomous decentralized system (ADS) is described not only regarding the concept, technologies, and applications but also regarding the background of the concept creation and the chain of technologies and markets.

In Part II, the creation of a concept as a key factor in achieving a chain of technologies and markets is discussed and clarified in terms of four aspects: (1) human education, (2) an interdisciplinary perspective, (3) business fields (commerce), and (4) correlation between aspects 1–3. (Aspect 4 can also be termed the chain of concept creation.) First, people should be educated regarding the philosophy and consistent application of concept creation, technological innovation, and market cultivation. Through education, people’s viewpoints or knowledge can be broadened from one technical field to the interdisciplinary, social, and cultural fields. With this broadened view, business can be expanded from a component of a system to a whole system or a system of systems. Aspects 1–3 can drive the innovation chain or sequence of concept, technologies, and markets.

In Part III, the authors argue that technological innovation is possible by fusing technologies outside their conventional classifications to achieve sustainability. This fusion has been accelerated by IT. Computer and communication, communication and control, control and computer, and computer, communication, and control technologies have penetrated IT systems in various forms, such as the Internet, wireless communication links, broadcasting, infrared beacon systems, cellular radio, and local area networks. Computers have been an enabling tool for control facilities. Computer control is now a standard practice in implementation on any physical scale ranging from a single device to a large system. When decisionmaking functions are distributed in a control system, communication becomes essential.

In Part IV, the creation of global and local markets is discussed from three organizational perspectives: organization; intellectual property; and values for individuals, society, and the overall economy, such as convenience, safety, or efficiency. Customer needs have diversified globally while remaining specific to local markets of emerging as well as technologically advanced economies. For market cultivation, it is important to understand how companies apply their intellectual property through their organizations in society to create new values, such as sustainability. The coexistence of global and local markets proceeds through global organizations with local cooperation in R&D. Intellectual property is used through standardization in accordance with the characteristics of global and local customer needs and contributes to creation of multiple values by applying the technologies in global and local societies. The term glocalization is defined as a combination or synthesis of global and local markets, organizations, standards, and values.

In Part V (Chapter 16), the author argues that the concept-oriented R&D approach initially developed against the background of constantly changing socioeconomic situations. This approach has a clear target for creating a chain of technologies and markets by applying concept-based R&D. This book provides guidelines for employing a concept-oriented R&D approach for researchers, engineers, and students to achieve sustainable R&D, and provides project managers with the tools to create a chain of technologies and markets in present and future socioeconomic situations.

Content

1. INTRODUCTION
2. Challenges in Technology Education and System Development in Software Ecosystem Environment
3. Concept-Oriented Research and Development from Social and Cultural Perspectives
4. Roads to Smarter Cities
5. Advancing Knowledge and Evolving Society
6. FUSION OF TECHNOLOGIES
7. Fusion of Computer and Communication
8. Future of Railway Signaling and Train Control
9. Fusion of Control Systems, Computers, and the Real World
10. Fusion of Computer, Communication, and Control Technologies: Needs and Strategies
11. Glocalization of the Market
12. Thinking Globally, Acting Locally and Thinking Locally, Acting Globally
13. Glocalization: Market Cultivation and the Future of Standards
14. Smart Urban Infrastructure as an Enabler of the Integration of Resident-Oriented Services
15. Summary of Market Glocalization
16. CONCLUSION

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