Commercializing science: nineteenth- and twentieth-century academic scientists as consultants,patentees, and entrepreneurs

Abstract

The collection of essays introduced in this article contributes to the debate on the commercialization of academic science by shifting the focus from institutional developments meant to foster university technology transfer to the actions of individual scientists. Instead of searching for the origins of the ‘entrepreneurial university,’ this special issue examines the personal involvement of academic physicists, engineers, photographic scientists, and molecular biologists in three types of commercial activity: consulting, patenting, and full-blown business entrepreneurship. The authors investigate how this diverse group of teachers and researchers perceived their institutional and professional environments, their career prospects, the commercial value of their knowledge and reputation, and their ability to exploit these assets. By documenting academic scientists’ response to market opportunities, the articles suggest that, already in the decades around 1900, commercial work was widespread and, in some cases, integral to academics’ teaching and research activity.     

Employment Dynamics on Business Estates

The central question of this paper is: “What is the magnitude of different forms of employment dynamics on business estates in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2005 and to what extent are the employment dynamics on business estates different from employment dynamics in general?” In order to answer this question, we examine three kinds of local employment dynamics: (1) entries and exits, (2) inter-municipal relocation and (3) the growth/decline of existing firms. We find that new firm formation and inter-municipal relocation do not lead to employment growth on business estates. However, the in situ employment growth on business estates is higher than the general employment growth in the Netherlands. Therefore, it can be concluded that business estates play an important role in local employment dynamics by facilitating the growth of incumbent firms.     

Hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the southern North Sea basin: Final Palaeolithic–Final Mesolithic land use in northwest Belgium

Situated along the southern fringe of the North Sea basin, northwest Belgium holds great potential for understanding hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Recent intensive fieldwork has yielded valuable data on the palaeoenvironment, chronology, and hunter–gatherer mobility and land use in this region. At the Late Glacial/Early Holocene transition this region was comprised of a landscape of coversand ridges and lakes that flanked the northern part of the Scheldt river basin. This landscape was highly productive for hunter–gatherer populations. As the landscape developed in response to the increasing water table caused by the inundation of the North Sea populations responded by changing their forms of mobility and land use. These changes are indicated by the reduction in the number and density of sites, as well as their geographical settings, from the Late Glacial (Federmesser) and Early Mesolithic to the Middle-Final Mesolithic. Late Glacial/Early Mesolithic sites indicate much higher mobility comprised of rapid displacements of camps and re-occupation of the same coversand ridges over long time-spans. Middle/Late Mesolithic sites indicate a reduction in mobility, increasing focus on prolonged riverside settlement, and a more rigid organization of residential sites.     

THE FUTURE OF SPATIAL ECONOMETRICS*

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we give an overview of the general direction the spatial econometrics literature has taken without attempting to provide a representative survey of all interesting work that has appeared. Second, we identify a number of problems in spatial econometrics that are as yet unresolved. Finally, we provide advocacy for the notion that new spatial econometric theory should be inspired by actual empirical applications as opposed to being directed by what appears to be the most obvious extension of what is currently available.     

The ‘invisible’ hearths: a contribution to the discernment of Mesolithic non-structured surface hearths

In the cover sand area of the NW European plain very little is known about fireplaces within Mesolithic settlement areas. Yet the frequent occurrence of burnt ecofacts (hazelnut shells and bone) and artefacts (flint and quartzite) clearly indicates the presence of (surface) hearths on nearly every campsite. Most of these hearths are non-structured and are thus barely visible in the soil. Furthermore in most spatial studies minimal effort has been made to locate these ‘invisible’ hearths as accurately as possible. This paper discusses the potential and modalities of detailed spatial analysis of burnt artefacts and ecofacts, using recently obtained archaeological and experimental evidences. It is concluded that such an analysis can offer interesting insights into the dynamics of Mesolithic hearths.     

Do nationalist parties shape or follow sub‐national identities? A panel analysis on the rise of the nationalist party in the Flemish Region of Belgium, 2006–11

In this article, we examine the steep and unprecedented rise of the New Flemish Alliance (N‐VA), a Flemish nationalist party in Belgium that succeeded in gaining almost thirty per cent of the vote in a couple of years. During this period, a panel survey among 3,025 late adolescents and young adults was conducted. Our analyses suggest that support for a sub‐nationalist ideology is far more successful in explaining a subsequent vote for the nationalist party than vice versa. In terms of supply and demand mechanisms, we find that N‐VA has managed to address a preexisting reservoir of Flemish nationalist voters (demand), rather than attributing to a development of a stronger Flemish identity among its followers (supply). We should therefore not overestimate the constructionist power of (sub‐)nationalist political elites for the development of (sub‐)nationalist identities.     

A brackish water aquatic foodweb: trophic levels and salinity gradients in the Schlei fjord, Northern Germany, in Viking and medieval times

This study serves for the definition of baseline isotopic signatures of vertebrates living in the Schlei fjord, a brackish water inlet in the north German plain, where the salinity decreases from its mouth at the Baltic Sea towards the inland locations. The Viking trade centre Haithabu and its immediate successor, the town of Schleswig, are located at opposite banks of the Schlei and constitute a settlement continuum from the 9th until the 13th century. This development not only includes a relocation of the settlement site, but also a change in economy and social structure, and witnesses the metamorphosis from an international trading locality to the rise and decline of a prototypical medieval town with town charter. In this paper, stable isotope ratios of bone collagen and bone structural carbonate of 141 vertebrate bone finds mainly of fish, birds, and sea mammals from both sites are reported to provide the baseline food web in this brackish water environment, which is the prerequisite for our ongoing studies aiming at the reconstruction of human subsistence strategies as well as the geographic origin of humans, animals, food stuffs, and raw materials in order to complete the historical picture of emerging medieval towns in a complex palaeoecosystem. In particular, we are able to show how a combination of stable isotopes from bone collagen and carbonate is capable of defining the salinity gradients in the aquatic environment.     

Meta-analysis of zooarchaeological data from SW Asia and SE Europe provides insight into the origins and spread of animal husbandry

Identifying spatial and temporal variation in animal exploitation patterns is essential for building our understanding of the transition from hunting to stock-keeping. Quantitative analysis of the published records of over 400,000 animal bones recovered from 114 archaeological sites from SW Asia and SE Europe from c12 ka to c7.5 ka cal BP (thousands of calibrated radiocarbon years before present) demonstrates significant spatiotemporal variability in faunal exploitation patterns. Sites in the Euphrates region show adoption of domestic taxa by c10.5 ka cal BP, although on average these taxa contribute less than 10% to total assemblage size. This rises to a median of about 40% by c9.5 ka cal BP, and then to about 45% of total NISP by c8.5 ka cal BP. By c10.5 ka in the Tigris and Zagros region domesticates contribute less than 5% to faunal assemblages, but then rise to a median of about 20% by c9.5 ka and 40% by c8.4 ka cal BP. In contrast, Levantine sites have low numbers of domestic taxa (<1%) until c8.8 ka cal BP, when the proportion dramatically increases to a median of about 35%. This apparent delayed-adoption pattern also holds true for the southern Levant, which shows, on average, low levels (<1%) of domestic taxa until 8.8 ka cal BP, at which point domesticates contribute a median of about 10% to assemblages. In the northern parts of SW Asia, the mid- to late-10th millennium cal BP is pivotal, as proportions of domestic taxa show a dramatic increase in frequency during this time, and the ‘package’ of domestic sheep, goat, cattle and pig becomes more firmly established. This sets the trend for sites of the 9th millennium and the appearance of Neolithic communities in SE Europe from the 8th millennium cal BP onwards, from which point domestic animals are ubiquitous in faunal assemblages.