Note from the Editor

2011

The production of scientific publications in engineering in South Africa has expanded over the last three decades. Because engineering is an important science, this expansion has implications for the growth and development of the economy. Drawing on a sample range of years of the publications stored in the ISI Web of Knowledge, the engineering publications of South Africans for a 30-year period from 1975-2005 are analysed. This analysis shows that the production of scientific publications in engineering by South African researchers has increased during the analysed period; that the number of researchers per publication has grown; that the number of countries collaborating with South Africa has increased; and that the number of sole-authored papers has decreased. Domestic collaboration (between researchers within South Africa) has decreased, while international collaboration has grown considerably. The key objective of the paper is to find out whether the production of publications i...

The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 2012

Engineering as a branch of science has a crucial role in the growth of the economy. The growth and development of engineering is therefore highly relevant. One way to understand this is to examine the characteristics of the scientific knowledge produced in the field of engineering. Drawing on the publications in engineering from the ISI Web of Science over the last three decades, this paper looks at the visibility and importance of engineering research in South Africa. The visibility of research publications is studied in terms of the number of citations a publication receives. The analysis shows that the visibility of South African engineering research is determined by the number of authors involved in the production of a paper, the presence of international collaboration, the degree of collaboration, and the journals in which the papers are published. Engineering research in South Africa, compared with that of all subjects, is clearly growing. But the visibility of South African engineering publications, in comparison with all other subjects, has been diminishing in recent years.

Higher Education Policy, 2003

This article focuses on the redefinition of South Africa's Colleges for Advanced Technical Education into research organizations in higher learning. It reports results of the first phase of a project into the impact of national policies intended 'to cultivate the culture of the much-needed applied research' in higher education and to fill a gap left by universities. National policies were analysed and representatives from national policy-making bodies interviewed. Inconsistencies between the different policy documents, practical problems emerging at the implementation stage and views of the Technikon umbrella organization, on the progress so far made are discussed.

Industrial engineering (IE) is a multi-disciplinary field, with its research borders broadening into a wide range of sub-disciplines. The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering (SAJIE) has been the official voice of IE research in South Africa for the past 22 years. In the interests of evaluating research scope, it is worth determining how IE fields have been covered by this journal. What are the current topics in IE, and how do they align with IE publication trends in other countries? This article attempts to investigate these issues in an objective way by using a text analytical technique to analyse the SAJIE publication collection. Due to the growth in the quantity of accessible textual information, and the growing importance of this type of information to business people and industrial engineers alike, the relevant text analytical method is also outlined.

Scientometrics, 1991

This article is an attempt to identify the strengths and weaknesses of South African technology as they are manifested in patent analysis. Using the "Technological Activity and Impact Indicators Database" of CHI Research/Computer Horizons, Inc., we identified the South African Innovation profile for the period 1975-1988. Patents are analysed in their aggregate form in patent classes, Standard Industrial Classes and technologically similar classes. The result indicates a shift of activity from low to medium technology fields and a weakness in high technology fields. Comparison of scientific and technological activity also reveals that South Africa contributes five times as much in international science than it does in technology. Detailed analyses indicate the rise of a defence related industry in the country and reveal areas of emphasis and neglect.

International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management, 2008

We tend to use the terms engineering management (EM) and management of technology (MOT) interchangeably. This paper tries to examine what these mean through a bibliometric study of IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. As well as introducing bibliometric ideas, network analysis tools identify and explore central concepts covered by EM/MOT and their interrelationships. Specific results to be presented will cover different levels of analysis and so show different dimensions which can be extracted from citation data: • Co-word terms from article keywords used to identify themes • Journal title co-citation network: link MOT to other disciplines • Individual publications co-citation networks used to show concentrations of underlying themes and how they relate Citation patterns show that MOT appears dominant in IEEE TEM and that EM is difficult to identify. The discipline represented by IEEE TEM has a bridging role in integrating ideas from several distinct areas including innovation, NPD, strategy, organisation science and management science. The analysis further suggests that MOT essentially relates to the firm rather than policy.

The industrial engineering discipline in South Africa is examined by introducing the context of the discipline and by revisiting its history. The drivers influencing the context and future of industrial engineering in South Africa are also considered, and the discipline is analysed in terms of the following aspects: university qualifications, employment in industry sectors, race and gender profiles, use and competence in industry, and income profiles. The analysis is based on a recent survey sent to practising industrial engineers, on membership data from the Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering (SAIIE), and on two internal SAIIE investigations. The study concludes that the success of transformation, particularly in terms of race, has been limited. The results also indicate that there are an almost equal number of black and white industrial engineers, yet the majority of black industrial engineers have technical qualifications, while the majority of white industrial engineers have academic qualifications. The results indicate that this limits the use of black industrial engineers in industry and, consequently, the success of their careers. This in turn means that there are fewer black role models to attract young black students to the discipline. Some preliminary opportunities to unlock the increased transformation of the profession are identified. OPSOMMING Die bedryfsingenieurswese dissipline in Suid-Afrika is ondersoek deur eerstens die konteks van die dissipline te stel, die geskiedenis op te som, die drywers te identifiseer wat die konteks en toekoms van bedryfsingenieurswese beïnvloed, en dan die dissipline te analiseer in terme van die volgende aspekte: universiteit kwalifikasies, indiensneming in industrie sektore, ras en geslag profiele, benutting en vaardigheid in industrie, en inkomste profiele. Die analise is gebaseer op 'n onlangse meningsopname wat aan praktiserende bedryfsingenieurs gestuur is, op die Suider Afrikaanse Instituut van Bedryfsingenieurswese (SAIIE) se lidmaatskap data, en op twee interne SAIIE ondersoeke wat gedoen is. Die studie bevind dat die sukses van transformasie, veral in terme van ras, nog beperk is. Die resultate toon dat daar omtrent ewe veel wit en swart bedryfsingenieurs is, maar dat die meerderheid swart bedryfsingenieurs tegniese kwalifikasies het, terwyl die meerderheid wit bedryfsingenieurs akademiese kwalifikasies het. Die resultate toon dat dit die benutting van swart bedryfsingenieurs in industrie beperk en dus ook die sukses wat hul in hul loopbane behaal in terme van inkomste. Dit veroorsaak dat daar minder swart rolmodelle is om jong swart student na die dissipline te lok. Voorlopige geleenthede om transformasie in die professie te ontsluit word geïdentifiseer.

Nearly all companies face the challenge of looking beyond their existing markets to capture growth opportunities in new, rapidly evolving areas. Exploiting opportunities in entirely new spaces is critical to achieving and sustaining growth. But identifying compelling business opportunities in these spaces is diffi cult, and it can be challenging to convince executives to make risky investments in high-uncertainty areas. As a result, delivering innovation in new-to-company spaces is challenging, with failure rates reaching 75 to 95 percent ( Day 2007 ). Combatting these challenges requires the proper scaffolding to support breakthrough efforts; one way to provide this structure is to create a dedicated team that is Irene Spitsberg is founder and managing director at InnoVentures LLC, a strategic innovation consulting company focused on building innovation capabilities and achieving early stage effectiveness. She spent nine years with Kennametal, where she was responsible for global teams working on the development and commercialization of new offerings in adjacent and new spaces. She was the key strategist and driver in establishing its Innovation Ventures Group and designing its core processes. Irene's other roles include Director Global R&D Business with Cristal and a number of technology leadership positions with GE Aviation. Her demonstrated successes have ranged from organization building, to technology development and commercialization, to structuring and managing alliances to achieve strategic goals. Irene is the inventor or co-inventor on over 80 US patents and a recipient of NASA's Turn Goals to Reality award. [email protected]

2010

Engineering Department. They are circulated for discussion purposes only and should not be quoted without the author's permission. Your comments and suggestions are welcome and should be directed to the first named author.