Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present eight papers selected from ALTEC 2015 that provide an overview of innovation in Latin America. Design/methodology/approach This editorial seeks to define innovation by examining its conceptual foundations. It considers innovation beyond firms and technology to address other forms, such as social and institutional innovations. Thereafter, it discusses innovation in the context of Latin America and suggests means by which to stimulate it in the region. Finally, the authors present the eight papers included in this “special edition.” Findings The major findings of the paper are that it considers non-technological innovation within firms, innovation beyond the firm and innovation beyond technology. Moreover, it helps to better understand a core issue of innovation in Latin America, which is the focus on macroeconomic policy instead of microeconomic stimuli. Originality/value A broader understanding of the concept of innovation is of notable importance. Innovation implies the recognition of issues related to the market (firm), but also to the community (society) and to humanly devised constraints (institutions). Technology is only one part of it. For this special issue, the selected articles highlight the efforts made by different authors to contribute to innovation studies in the editors’ region.

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) and globus pallidus internus (GPi) have recently been shown to encode reward, but few studies have been performed in humans. We investigated STN and GPi encoding of reward and loss (i.e., valence) in humans with Parkinson's disease. To test the hypothesis that STN and GPi neurons would change their firing rate in response to reward- and loss-related stimuli, we recorded the activity of individual neurons while participants performed a behavioral task. In the task, action choices were associated with potential rewarding, punitive, or neutral outcomes. We found that STN and GPi neurons encode valence-related information during action control, but the proportion of valence-responsive neurons was greater in the STN compared to the GPi. In the STN, reward-related stimuli mobilized a greater proportion of neurons than loss-related stimuli. We also found surprising limbic overlap with the sensorimotor regions in both the STN and GPi, and this overlap was greater than has been previously reported. These findings may help to explain alterations in limbic function that have been observed following deep brain stimulation therapy of the STN and GPi. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1952-1964, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

These findings provide further evidence of STN involvement in impulsive behaviour in the PD population.

El presente estudio de vigilancia tecnológica sobre las temáticas asociadas a la aplicación industrial de las enzimas, específicamente en el sector textil, busca establecer el desarrollo científico y tecnológico que ha tenido lugar en este sector a partir del año 1998. Para ello, se emplearon herramientas de software para la captura, preparación y análisis de información procedente de artículos científicos y patentes, así como la experiencia acumulada en investigaciones previas de características similares, a partir de la cual se estructuró la metodología de trabajo. Se identificaron las principales áreas de aplicación industrial, así como las dinámicas investigativas y de desarrollo industrial de los procesos enzimáticos en el tratamiento de textiles, estableciendo indicadores de actividad e indicadores relacionales que permitieron la generación de mapas tecnológicos y la identificación de clusters temáticos

Traditionally, Technology valuation has been applied with the financial focus of Project management, focusing on the economical dimension. However, several authors have detected problems in this approach and propose the inclusion of qualitative aspects of technology. The aim of this paper is to identify alternative proposals for estimating the value of technology. A scientometric study was carried out and as a result, novel works were identified, like the use of roadmapping, econometrics and neural networks in technology valuation. We conclude that different approaches exist, but, in general, aspects as the knowledge embodied in technology are not taken into account, with a reductionist and linear view of the valuation process and the technology itself. We formulate some considerations on an approach of technology valuation from biology, as an alternative approximation from the organicistic view, in order to add attributes like dynamicity and adaptation.Keywords: technology valuation; technological capabilities; alternatives of technology valuation; hard and soft technology.Tradicionalmente la valoración tecnológica se ha abordado con un enfoque financiero de gestión de proyectos, centrándose en la dimensión económica. Sin embargo, diversos autores han detectado falencias en esta aproximación, proponiendo incluir aspectos cualitativos de la tecnología. El objetivo de este artículo es identificar propuestas alternativas a las tradicionales para determinar el valor de la tecnología. Se hizo un análisis cienciométrico, y como resultado se identificaron trabajos novedosos como la aplicación de roadmapping, econometría y redes neuronales en procesos de valoración. Se concluye que, si bien se han planteado aproximaciones diferentes, en general se desconocen aspectos como el conocimiento embebido en la tecnología, con una visión reduccionista y lineal del proceso de valoración y de la propia tecnología. Se plantean consideraciones sobre un abordaje de la valoración desde la biología, como enfoque alternativo a partir de la visión organicista, agregando al proceso atributos como la dinamicidad y la adaptación.