Regional Variability in Lithic Miniaturization and the Organization of Technology in Late Glacial Southern Africa (~18-11 kcal BP)

Miniaturized stone tools made by controlled fracture are reported from nearly every continent where archaeologists have systematically looked for them. While similarities in technology are acknowledged between regions, few detailed inter-regional comparative studies have been conducted. Our paper addresses this gap, presenting results of a comparative lithic technological study between Klipfonteinrand and Sehonghong – two large rock shelters in southern Africa. Both sites contain Late Glacial (~18-11 kcal BP) lithic assemblages, though they are located in regions with different geologies, climates and environments. Results demonstrate that lithic miniaturization manifests differently in these different regions. Both assemblages provide evidence for small blade production, though key differences exist in terms of the specific technological composition of this evidence, the raw materials selected, the role played by bipolar reduction and the manner in which lithic reduction was organized. Patterned variability of this nature demonstrates that humans deployed miniaturized technologies strategically in relation to local conditions.

Stone Tool Life Meets Everyday Life

Often, the lives of people in the past were constrained by their basic everyday needs and what they needed to accomplish. This chapter considers both how people conducted certain minimal activities everyday to meet those needs and how those activities left traces in the archaeological record. An Organization of Technology model articulates the archaeological record (artifact form and distribution) not only through activities and technological strategy but also through other considerations. The authors explore the possibilities of how examining the everyday life of an individual in the past just from discarded Lithics is possible: from the stone’s first procurement for the manufacture of chipped stone tools, to the stone’s use in various activities before it’s either (eventually) discarded or reused, to the stone’s finally recovery by archaeologists.

Generations of Technology Intelligence in the SMEs

Technology intelligence is important among the management researchers in order to present best service and product, increase diversity and flexibility, and speed the process of production and innovation. On the other hand, identification of the situation of organizations in technology intelligence is a key subject in the researches. This research is a survey to review and characterize the generations of technology intelligence in the companies located at a science park. The results show most companies are in the third generation of technology intelligence from the two indicators entitled “approach for information evaluation” and “characteristics of technology management”. However, indicators entitled “organization of technology intelligence” and “approach for communication” should be considered more as their positions have less considerations to the third generation. The contributions can help science and technology policymakers and researchers, as well as the SME owners to formulate appropriate development strategies for business environment.

La valorisation de la recherche : une nouvelle mission pour l’université?

Over the last few years the process of adding value to academic research results has become a growing phenomenon entailing important institutional changes. In the context of the knowledge economy, universities are considered to be central socio-economic actors. They are concerned with the development and the organization of technology transfer and the management of intellectual property. However, the value-adding process runs the risk of becoming confined to the commercialization of research results. The evolution of the role of the university in the economy and society is a subject of debates among politicians as well as academic and industrial actors. What is the impact of the process of adding value to research, considered as a new mission of the university, on the changing academic environment and on the traditional role of the university? To study this question we focus on the cases of Canada and Quebec.