We examine concepts of new knowledge creation and embedded research in a case study on the i-limb, the world’s first commercial prosthetic hand with five independently powered digits. Although the case demonstrates many elements of the mode 2 concept, that does not adequately describe the influence of context. In addition to the forces of contextualization, we argue there was also a strong influence on the R&D process and product from the embedding of scientific research and technology development in a location of use, specifically a prosthetic clinic in a hospital. We use the literature on embedded research to supplement our examination of this case of new knowledge creation. We contribute to the literature on mode 2 knowledge production and contexts of application by applying the literature on embedded research to explain the creation of new knowledge in locations of use.

PAGES
217 – 234
DOI
All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Issues
Also in this issue:
-
Do AIs have politics? Thinking about ChatGPT through the work of Langdon Winner
-
Creating value through service innovation: an effectual design thinking framework
-
Health and medical researchers are willing to trade their results for journal impact factors: results from a discrete choice experiment
-
The death and resurrection of manuscript submission systems
-
Ryan Jenkins, David Černý and Tomáš Hříbek (eds) Autonomous Vehicle Ethics: The Trolley Problem and Beyond