No abstract

Technological knowledge created through government R&D investment not only contributes to technology and market expansion, but is also a major factor in evaluating a nation’s innovation capacity. As government budgets are limited, establishing an effective investment strategy is important. The purpose of this paper is to suggest R&D investment priorities in terms of the centrality of knowledge diffusion—which technology field is targeted in knowledge diffusion—and rapidity of knowledge diffusion—how quickly technological knowledge diffuses. The analysis focused on a water resources R&D program led by the Korean government. The centrality and rapidity of knowledge diffusion were analyzed using network analysis and patent citation information, respectively. By showing that results differ depending on whether centrality or rapidity are used to rank investments, the findings suggest the need for multiple analyses when establishing an R&D investment strategy. Moreover, this study expanded analysis of knowledge diffusion to the second diffusion, and confirmed that, when the rapidity of knowledge diffusion through the second diffusion is considered, priorities for government R&D investments change. The results have useful implications for R&D investment by identifying investment priorities in the water resources sector, and changes in those priorities when mid- to long-term knowledge diffusion is considered.

Powder bed 3D printing can be applied to sandcasting mold manufacturing to ensure high quality and economy through process innovation. In this study, refractory alumina cement was used as an aqueous binder to ensure high-temperature thermal stability to minimize the addition of organic matter to reduce gas generation. In addition, spherical silica sand, the study material, was selected to a size of 30 µm to improve the casting mold resolution. To improve the surface quality through the post-treatment process, we confirmed the change in the surface roughness of the mold depending on the surface treatment of colloidal silica and the presence or absence of heat treatment, and finally made the mold through actual casting. Changes in the surface roughness and flowability of the cast body after mold post-treatment were confirmed. For aluminum castings, the shrinkage rate and surface roughness were confirmed in a box-shaped mold via gravity casting, and the flowability of the molten metal in the mold was confirmed in a hand-shaped mold. There was a change in the roughness and porosity of the mold, owing to the post-treatment, and the influence of the surface roughness and flowability of the cast body during actual casting was confirmed.

In 2018, the Korean government established a legal foundation for integrated water management. Accordingly, various measures for integrated water management were taken, and water R&D is being integrated with the Ministry of Environment. Strategic planning is needed for the efficient implementation of integrated large-scale water R&D. This study aims to analyze the efficiency of large-scale R&D programs in the field of water resources conducted by the Korean government and identify matters of priority for planning future water resources R&D programs. An empirical analysis was conducted using DEA, in particular, a non-radial SBM model was applied to consider slacks in the input and output variables. The results showed that the efficiency of collaborative R&D projects was relatively lower than that of single projects. Further, corporate research institutes, which are typically considered as the leaders of technological innovation, were found to have conducted projects less efficiently than universities or public research institutes. Based on these results, this study recommends that: (1) a system to maximize the advantages of collaborative research should be established; (2) institutional support to enhance the enterprise's innovative activities should be prepared; and (3) comprehensive, long-term planning for integrated water management should be implemented.

No abstract