New forms of knowledge creation and diffusion in the industrial district of Matera-Altamura-Santeramo

Purpose This paper aims at identifying knowledge creation and diffusion challenges and explaining their causal relationship in renewable energy technologies in Iran. Design/methodology/approach By reviewing literature of renewable energy technologies development, key knowledge creation and diffusion challenges are extracted. Then, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method is used to investigate the cause-effect relationships as well as the influence structure of aforementioned challenges in Iran. Findings The results indicate that lack of specialized higher education and research institutions (C4), limited international product development and technological cooperation with international pioneer firms (C8), insufficient international research interactions of institutions and academic research centres (C6), tight and temporary subsidies to domestic institutes (C13), limited and non-systematic government grants (C14), insufficient tax incentives with low impact on investment (C12), weak enforcement of intellectual property rights (C5), low number and relatively poor performance of NGOs and scientific and trade associations (C19) and the limited number of conferences, workshops, meetings and specialized journals (C15) are among the most instrumental challenges of knowledge creation and diffusion of renewable energy technologies development in Iran. Originality/value This paper identifies knowledge creation and diffusion challenges of renewable energy technologies development in Iran, which is applicable for other developing countries. It also analyses the interrelationship and causal effect between challenges which is a neglected issue in the literature and has beneficial theoretical and policy implications.

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Acknowledging Knowledge: Dissemination and Reception of Expertise in Colonial Africa

History in Africa ◽

10.1353/hia.2006.0005 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 33 ◽

pp. 389-393 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dmitri van den Bersselaar

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Creation ◽

Government Support ◽

Knowledge Dissemination ◽

Basic Assumptions ◽

Broad Field ◽

The Creation ◽

Forms Of Knowledge

At every level, the functioning of African colonial societies depended on the availability and mediation of useful information and knowledge. The majority of the existing literature on “colonial knowledge” focuses on one area of this broad field: the various forms of knowledge about their subjects on which colonial states depended. Most of our attempts to understand such knowledge have tended to analyze colonial knowledge as a system: we have tried to identify which were the sets of shared basic assumptions and rules that governed the creation and presentation of knowledge. In analyzing the processes through which colonial knowledge was produced, we have looked at the role of “Orientalism” and other forms of “Othering.” We have examined various investigative modalities. Finally, we have seen how such knowledge may be compared to a pidgin language that allows for communication between colonizers and representatives of the colonized. We have also examined the opportunities for Africans to manipulate the outcomes of colonial knowledge creation, as well as such basic but essential factors as the realities of government support and funding.

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