Responsiveness of Academic Libraries in South Africa to Research Support in the 4th Industrial Revolution: A Preliminary study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis N. Ocholla ◽  
◽  
Lyudmila Ocholla ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Library Services ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
University Library ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
The Revolution

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2016, the concept of the 4th Industrial revolution (4IR) was coined by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, with the reference that it would be building on «the Third, the digital revolution» and would be «characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological». Thus, the ‘smart’ technologies will spearhead the revolution. We acknowledge that the 4IR will impact on everything, everywhere, including research and libraries. In this paper we conceptualize 4IR, and compare current academic/university library services/trends in South Africa with 4IR requirements through the analysis of 26 public university library websites. The findings show that the libraries are responding well to the revolution through their services, with remarkable of innovation and creativity on display. The study expects library services to be responsive, resourced and accessible anytime and anywhere, and provides a framework for further research and exploration in the region and perhaps elsewhere.

scholarly journals Foreword

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Manuela Epure
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Responsible Leadership ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic

Recently, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting took place from 17-20 January 2017 at Davos-Klosters, Switzerland and then key topic was Global Governance and the related issues such as: Fourth Industrial Revolution, responsive and responsible leadership, restoring economic growth and global collaboration.[1]Important changes are expected regarding size, speed and scope of these transformations that Fourth Industrial Revolution generated.  The transformations consist mainly of new systems built on the infrastructure of the digital revolution. Also, this will fundamentally change the way in which we produce, consume, move, communicate and interact with one another.  Nanotechnologies and given new powers of genetic engineering will impact dramatically who we are and how we think and behave[2] . 

The World Economic Forum Principles on "Climate Governance on Corporate Boards": can soft law help to face climate change around the world?

2020 ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Sabrina Bruno
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Financial Factor ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic

Climate change is a financial factor that carries with it risks and opportunities for companies. To support boards of directors of companies belonging to all jurisdictions, the World Economic Forum issued in January 2019 eight Principlescontaining both theoretical and practical provisions on: climate accountability, competence, governance, management, disclosure and dialogue. The paper analyses each Principle to understand scope and managerial consequences for boards and to evaluate whether the legal distinctions, among the various jurisdictions, may undermine the application of the Principles or, by contrast, despite the differences the Principles may be a useful and effective guidance to drive boards' of directors' conduct around the world in handling climate change challenges. Five jurisdictions are taken into consideration for this comparative analysis: Europe (and UK), US, Australia, South Africa and Canada. The conclusion is that the WEF Principles, as soft law, is the best possible instrument to address boards of directors of worldwide companies, harmonise their conduct and effectively help facing such global emergency.

Desserts With Oasis—SkillGap Analysis Into Dubai’s Labour Intensive Market

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (11) ◽  
pp. 533-541
Author(s):  
Dr. Premila Koppalakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
Scholarly Community ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The World ◽  
Basic Level ◽  
The Revolution

The world stands on the precarious edge of an innovative transformation that will on a very basic level modify the manner in which we live, work, and identify with each other. In its scale, degree, and unpredictability, the change will be not normal for anything mankind has encountered previously. We don't yet know exactly how it will unfurl, however one thing is clear: the reaction to it should be incorporated and exhaustive, including all partners of the worldwide nation, from the general population and private segments to the scholarly community and common society. It is The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the digital revolution. The digital revolution has opened way for many impacts. All of the emirates are experiencing the effects of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” This revolution reflects the velocity, scope, and systems impact of a digital transformation that is changing economies, jobs, and work as it is currently known. Characteristics of the revolution include a fusion of technologies across the physical, digital, and biological spheres.

scholarly journals Post Human Craft: A Humble Attempt to Reorient Makers to the Inevitable

Cubic Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 150-165
Author(s):  
James Stevens ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
First Century ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Profound Change ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Digital Algorithms ◽  
Waking Up

Nearing the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century many craftspeople and makers are waking up to the inevitable reality that our next human evolution may not be the same, that this time it could be different. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum refers to what we are beginning to experience as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Schwab 2017, 01). Schwab and his colleagues believe that this revolution could be much more powerful and will occur in a shorter period than the preceding industrial and digital revolutions. This revolution will cause a profound change in how we practice, labour and orient ourselves in the world. Rapidly evolving technologies will proliferate the use of robotics and personalised robots (co-bots) that can sense our presence and safely work alongside us. Digital algorithms are already becoming more reliable predictors of complex questions in medicine and economics than their human counterparts. Therefore, the gap between what a computer can learn and solve and what a robot can do will quickly close in the craft traditions. This article will engage in the discourse of posthumanism and cybernetics and how these debates relate to craft and making. Intentionally this work is not a proud manifesto of positions, strategies, and guidelines required for greatness. Alternatively, it is a humble attempt to reorient makers to the necessary discourse required to navigate the inevitable changes they will face in their disciplines. Thus, the article seeks to transfer posthumanist literary understanding to intellectually position craft in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

scholarly journals The Disruptive Futures of Education—Post-COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 407-412
Author(s):  
Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Inflection Point ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic

AbstractThe year 2020 is mostly known to many as an inflection point. A metaphorical vision to look far ahead, with clarity, taking on the various “disruptions” that have been much touted, namely, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Since its pronouncement, four years ago, during the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos, the world of higher education has been inundated with demands to introduce the so-called ‘Education 4.0’.

scholarly journals BRICS Message From South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (26) ◽  
pp. 529-544
Author(s):  
Natalya Zavyalova ◽  
Evgenia Evgenevna Frolova ◽  
Vitaliy Vasilievich Bezbakh ◽  
Ekaterina Petrovna Rusakova ◽  
Mihail Nikolaevich Dudin
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
South African ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Complex Mixture ◽  
The South ◽  
Max Planck ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Video And Audio

The paper features the data obtained from the analysis of a video strip with the help of ELAN 5.4, the free software developed by the experts from Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, the Language Archive, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The software enables to annotate video and audio strips, describing pauses, the duration of utterances, gestures, pronunciation and other linguistic and extralinguistic factors. The speaker in the video – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa – delivers his official address to the leaders of the 10th BRICS leadership summit in Sandton, Johannesburg on July 26, 2018. BRICS is a powerful link of a global financial architecture. Its main targets are to mobilize resources for sustainable development projects of BRICS and to facilitate the global growth of multilateral and regional financial, educational and industrial institutions. The material and the speaker for the analysis belong to the domain of BRICS top level politics. South Africa was the main host of the leadership summit in 2018. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his speech stressed the significance of the fourth industrial revolution highlighted by Professor Klaus Schawb at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2016. The notion of the revolution appeared in the South African leader's address 7 times. Nevertheless, the authors of the paper see more messages hidden between the lines of the South African President's address. In the paper it is argued that BRICS architecture has a right to be interpreted as an attempt of keeping the world away from further plunging into environmental degradation, the development of critical thinking and innovation among BRICS citizens. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the method of pauses analysis to reveal a more complex mixture of speakers' visions. Long pauses are meaningful and extremely informative for discourse analysis. The data may be relevant for discourse analysis experts, political journalists, educators and copywriters.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF THE 4th INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ON THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP AND ADAPTIVE SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odirile Sepeng
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
Adaptive Skills ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Industrial Revolutions

This article reflects on the possible future of labour law as a response to industrialisation, particularly the 4IR. First, I discuss the origin of the industrial revolution by reflecting on the first three industrial revolutions and the present 4IR. Second, I reflect on; 1) the possible impact of the 4IR on the employment relationship and 2) the new and/or adaptive skills requirements. Third, I present recommendations to respond to the fast-changing pace of labour and industrialisation suggested by the World Economic Forum (WEF). I thereafter conclude that the 4IR may be used as a vehicle to promote a socially affirmative interpretation of fairness in the labour context. This promotes a constitutional obligation to protect the interests of workers, in light of technological advancement, that have the potential to widen the income inequality gap.

scholarly journals The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Opportunities and Challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Xu ◽  
Jeanne M. David ◽  
Suk Hi Kim
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
The Third ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Separate Event ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Automate Production ◽  
Third Industrial Revolution ◽  
Industrial Revolutions

The fourth industrial revolution, a term coined by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, describes a world where individuals move between digital domains and offline reality with the use of connected technology to enable and manage their lives. (Miller 2015, 3) The first industrial revolution changed our lives and economy from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. Oil and electricity facilitated mass production in the second industrial revolution. In the third industrial revolution, information technology was used to automate production. Although each industrial revolution is often considered a separate event, together they can be better understood as a series of events building upon innovations of the previous revolution and leading to more advanced forms of production. This article discusses the major features of the four industrial revolutions, the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution, and the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.

Industry 4.0: Opportunities and Challenges for the World Economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Belova ◽  
Olga Vikhoreva ◽  
Sofya Karlovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
State University ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
The World ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
Moscow State University

The article is devoted to the review of trends, features and problems of the fourth industrial revolution discussed at the conference held on November 14, 2017 at the Economics Faculty of Moscow State University. During the discussion, the following issues were raised: the correlation of phenomena Industry 4.0 and the digital economy; display of Industry 4.0 in the energy sector: the limits of growth; is there a future for the globalization of the world economy; smart technologies as a key element in industrial competition; Crypto currency as the locomotive of the current stage of the world economy’s financialization; intellectual challenges and paradoxes of the digital revolution; concept and world practice of the sharing economy; new social challenges and the future of the labor market in the context of «Industry 4.0».

scholarly journals Country competitiveness in the era of globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-313
Author(s):  
Dušanka Jovović
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Country Competitiveness

An extremely complex nature of competition processes often makes the identification of the category of country competitiveness inaccurate and complicated to understand. This is particularly manifested in the era of globalization and the affirmation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as two phenomena that shape contemporary developments in the world to a large extent. Globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution have ensured economic prosperity to some countries, but at the same time, they have also caused increasingly prominent developmental inequalities at worldwide level. The same conclusion refers to the matter of the competitiveness level achieved by the countries. This is convincingly proved by the 2019 World Economic Forum data about country competitiveness, based on which the greatest number of the countries in the world are still far from the targeted "limit" of competitiveness.

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