Creating Knowledge Society for Economic and Social Growth in Africa

2014 ◽  
pp. 135-154
Author(s):  
Nathaniel O. Agola
Keyword(s):  
Economic Activity ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
High Wage ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Critical Determinant ◽  
Social Growth ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
The One

Knowledge use in socio-economic activities is a critical determinant of the divide between countries and regions into low-productivity-low-wage and labour intensive socio-economic activity countries on the one hand, and high-wage-high-productivity and technology abundant countries on the other hand. Therefore, it is indisputable that the creation of knowledge society is imperative for African countries. Economic transformation from low-productivity-low-wage and labour intensive socio-economic activity countries to high-wage-high-productivity and technology abundant countries predominantly define the socio-economic policy aspirations of most African countries. However, it has never been very clear what are the fundamental pillars that must be built and constantly reinforced by these countries to transition to knowledge society stage. This chapter first presents an empirical connection and contribution of knowledge to higher productivity in economic activities. The importance of infusion of knowledge into diverse economic activities to ensure higher levels of productivity both at micro and macro levels is therefore demonstrated through quantification attempts that include knowledge as one of the variables in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) equation. This empirical discussion serves to illuminate the place of knowledge in economic transformation. The second part of the chapter presents an incisive exposition of the critical ten pillars of knowledge creation, sharing, and usage that African countries can leverage to transition from economies defined by low productivity to higher levels of productivity. The chapter concludes that it is the improvement in the collective stock of knowledge of the African countries that would determine whether they could make a transition to a high productivity knowledge society.

Linking Education to Creating a Knowledge Society

2014 ◽  
pp. 52-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan S. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
High Price ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Boom And Bust ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Boom And Bust Cycles

Due to the continued high price of oil and gas, the oil-rich State of Qatar has used its large budget surpluses in the last decade to finance human capacity development, including research, higher education, and the reshaping of its K-12 educational system. This chapter argues that the recent substantial educational reforms in the State of Qatar are closely intertwined with planned future economic transformation (diversification). Although Qatar possesses the world's third largest reserves of natural gas, this resource is ultimately finite and over-reliance on one major economic driver (hydrocarbons) for the bulk of GDP creates boom and bust cycles that have shaped Gulf politics and social development since the 1970s. This chapter examines Qatar's educational efforts to build a knowledge economy to transition away from a resource-rich export-based hydrocarbon economy towards economic activities linked to patents, research, trademarked technologies, skills, and knowledge products.

Linking Education to Creating a Knowledge Society

2015 ◽  
pp. 818-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan S. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
High Price ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Boom And Bust ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Boom And Bust Cycles

Due to the continued high price of oil and gas, the oil-rich State of Qatar has used its large budget surpluses in the last decade to finance human capacity development, including research, higher education, and the reshaping of its K-12 educational system. This chapter argues that the recent substantial educational reforms in the State of Qatar are closely intertwined with planned future economic transformation (diversification). Although Qatar possesses the world's third largest reserves of natural gas, this resource is ultimately finite and over-reliance on one major economic driver (hydrocarbons) for the bulk of GDP creates boom and bust cycles that have shaped Gulf politics and social development since the 1970s. This chapter examines Qatar's educational efforts to build a knowledge economy to transition away from a resource-rich export-based hydrocarbon economy towards economic activities linked to patents, research, trademarked technologies, skills, and knowledge products.

scholarly journals U-15 Significance of Economical Dealings in Islam, It’s Basic Conditions and Remedy to the faults lying in Economical Affairs

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 212-228
Author(s):  
Ameer Ullah Khan ◽  
Hafiz Muhammad Sani ◽  
Zahid Channa
Keyword(s):  
Economic Activity ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
The Future ◽  
Important Field ◽  
The One ◽  
As If

Islam is a religion which guide us in all aspects of our lives, Economic Activity is also an important aspect where Islam guided us that how it is important and how the one can do his activities as per Shariah guidelines described in Qur'an o sunnah, these are divine revelation for Muslims and defined principles under which one can do his economic activities. Islam give importance to economic activities but today, as Muslims, we seem to be very active in the field of worship and try our best to fulfill it, but we are very lack in the field of economic activities, although the field of economic activities is more important than worship.  This is critical because the correctness of the acts of worship depends on the correctness of the economic activities as If the principles of Shari'ah are not observed in the economic activities, then its effects on the acts  of worship are also compounded. But even so, if we look at our society, we see more people who are negligent in economic activities than in worship.  Apparently, the religious class also looks weak in the economic activities.  While there are many other reasons for this, one of the main reasons is the lack of knowledge and awareness about this important field of Shariah. Therefore, as a Muslim, it is our responsibility to know and follow all the commands that we do in our daily lives so that we can do the correct economic activities along with worship and one should also be able to perform his duties according to the law and be entitled to the pleasure of his God. The principle stated by the jurists in the economic activities is that economic activities are permissible in nature which means that any transaction in the field of economic activities other than acts of worship will be permissible in principle, provided that the transaction should be free from Shariah prohibitions. Therefore, any transaction, whether it was made fourteen hundred years ago, whether it is a transaction in today's modern age, or a transaction in the future, in principle  this transaction will be ruled to be lawful until there is no Shari'ah prohibition in it. Now the question is what are those Shariah prohibitions? We can easily divide these Shari'ah prohibitions into four categories: General Prohibitions, interest, Uncertainty/Gambling  and Violation of Islamic Law of Contract. In this paper importance of economic activities, conditions and Shariah prohibitions are defined.

scholarly journals Disqualification of Company Directors: Safeguarding the Public Interest in the Kenyan Investment Market

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiarie Mwaura
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
African Region ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Tony Blair ◽  
The Public ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Company Directors

Over the last two decades, Africa has gone through tremendous economic transformation. It was only in 2004 when the Prime Minister for the UK, Tony Blair, described Africa as the “scar on the conscience of the world” when he was establishing the Commission for Africa. A decade later, he described Africa as “the most exciting continent on the planet because of its opportunities.” Within less than twenty years, the continent has become the world’s most rapidly growing economic region. This economic growth has been attributed largely to the active private sector. Kenya, for example, has realized the highest growth rate in the East African region due to its private sector, which makes a major contribution to the country’s GDP. For this growth rate to continue, African countries need to create competitive legal frameworks that continue to attract investors and protect their interests.One of such is the disqualification framework for company directors that seeks to protect the public by placing a prohibition on a miscreant director from being involved, for a specific period, in the management of companies. An efficient disqualification framework also prevents people without the necessary qualifications from managing companies and deters those who might be tempted to engage in fraudulent activities. Without a strict disqualification framework, investors are unlikely to be attracted to a country, as they risk losing their investments when their companies are managed by incompetent, negligent, or fraudulent directors, especially those with a track record of mismanaging other companies. This philosophy was captured clearly by the Kenyan Government when it enacted the Companies Act 2015 and stated that one of its key objectives was to facilitate commerce, industry, and other socio-economic activities.  It is against this backdrop that this Article examines whether the disqualification framework under the Companies Act 2015 is adequate to protect the interests of investors. This framework is contrasted with the one that existed under the repealed Companies Act 1962 with a view to assessing whether the reforms are likely to bring about the desired changes. 

Strategic Fundamentals of Knowledge and Information Management for Social and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Nathaniel O. Agola
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Individual Country ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
National Productivity ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Analysis Of Knowledge

This article critically analyzes the 10 fundamental pillars requisite for positive progression and creation of a knowledge society for socio-economic development in African countries. These pillars or basic rules, fundamental variables, and structures are identified based on the conceptualization of the key principles of knowledge management. The author asserts the transition to a knowledge society requires making investments and managing knowledge competently at the diverse micro-and-macro organizational levels within countries and even regions. However, doing so requires concurrent adherence to the rules and structures of knowledge management which form the fundamental pillars. The first part presents an empirical econometric analysis of knowledge-productivity nexus as an exposition of knowledge as a factor of production and national productivity. The second part presents a logical argumentation of the 10 fundamental pillars, supported by African regional and individual country data. This research then concludes by pointing out the 10 fundamental pillars in their extant state are inadequate and dysfunctional in most of the African countries and, therefore, socio-economic development efforts and resource allocation need to focus on nurturing and strengthening these pillars for the goal of transitioning to a high productivity and wealth creating knowledge society.

Identity and Its Transformative Dynamics in Knowledge Era: Some Critical Reflections

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debal K. SinghaRoy
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Industrial Society ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
The One

Collective identities of people have remained largely transitional despite largely remaining rooted in certain inherited essentialities. The essential dynamics of identity often get negotiated with various forces and processes like those of the economic transformation, technological reorientation, collective mobilisation, modernisation, colonisation, globalisation, penetration of information and communication technologies (ICTs), mass and social media among others. The contemporary society is marked by the fast transformation of its economic order from agriculture and industry to knowledge/information-driven post-industrial society, fast transference of information, images, ideas, services, goods and people across spaces and the borderless expansion of ICTs. These have paved the way for the emergence of a new social order which has been widely described as the knowledge society. Within this emerging economic, social and technological order, new varieties of social interaction and solidarities are constructed from within the pre-existing varieties causing a good deal of fluidity of collective identities on the one hand and their consolidation on the other. Thus, with fast social transformation and increasing interconnectivity and mobility of people across the globe on the one hand and consolidation of new forms of social collectivities on the other, the contours of contraction and configuration of identities have undergone phenomenal change. Against such a backdrop, this article is an attempt to develop an understanding of the nuances of identity: its essence, construction, transformation and configuration within the broad processes of social transition. This article is arranged in five sections. The Dynamics of Identity section deals with the dynamics of identity. In the Social Movements. Modernity, Colonisation, Globalisation and Identity: Changing Facets of Fluidity and Solidarity section, the processes of construction and reconfiguration of identity in the context of social movements, modernity, colonisation and globalisation are discussed. The key dimensions of the emergence of knowledge society are explained in the Emerging Knowledge Society and its Key Dynamics section. In the Solidarity and Fluidity in Identity: The Emerging Facets section, the emerging facets of solidarity and fluidity of identity are elucidated. Finally, the Conclusion section makes the concluding arguments.

scholarly journals Coping and Resilience in Life-Long Learning and Ageing: new challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Spulber
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Industrial Society ◽  
Aged People ◽  
Life Long Learning ◽  
Technological Competences ◽  
The One ◽  
Post Industrial

Abstract The society is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan as a consequence of driving wave of globalisation. Today we are living in a society with rapid dynamic changes and technologic it can be called the IT era. The one most used paradigm is “knowledge society”. The academic world uses this term for analysing the socio-economic transformation toward so-called post-industrial society. It is also used by politics world when the discourses are about the normative vision that the state, governs should aspire to fulfil or when the economic situation and the link with Universities take into consideration. Often the knowledge society is used in relationship with the economy of innovation or information society or technologic society metaphors that are used for to indicate that the labour market is in rapid change and technological competences are required. The demographic situation is also in rapid evolution: according to UNFPA data in 2019 we are around 7,715 million habitants with 26% of the population aged 0-14, 65% of people aged 15-65 and 9% of people aged more than 65 years. The demographic trends are to have more aged people and less young people. This trend is a new and powerful challenge for society. If we consider that adult percentage of the population is the biggest one and that LLL is seen as a concept that complete the gaps of the formal learning, we can confirm that LLL is a new reply to dynamic exchanges in the society and in the globalised economy. The article purpose is to analyse the different concepts of LLL and its link with ageing. The main focus will be on how LLL can improve the quality of ageing. The used methodology is a review of relevant intervention studies and Political Documents for examining the effectiveness of interventions and how the elder's literacy can be a value for society.

The Other Entrepreneurs - Migrant Economies as Spaces for Social Innovation?

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-271
Author(s):  
Claudia Lintner
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Migrant Entrepreneurship ◽  
False Dichotomy ◽  
Migrant Entrepreneurs ◽  
The One

This article analyses the relationship between migrant entrepreneurship, marginalisation and social innovation. It does so, by looking how their ‘otherness’ is used on the one hand to reproduce their marginalised situation in society and on the other to develop new living and working arrangements promoting social innovation in society. The paper is based on a qualitative study, which was carried out from March 2014- 2016. In this period, twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with migrant entrepreneurs and experts. As the results show, migrant entrepreneurs are characterised by a false dichotomy of “native weakness” in economic self-organisation against the “classical strength” of majority entrepreneurs. It is shown that new possibilities of acting in the context of migrant entrepreneurship are mostly organised in close relation to the lifeworlds and specific needs deriving from this sphere. Social innovation processes initiated by migrant entrepreneurs through their economic activities thus develop on a micro level and are hence less apparent. Supportive networks are missing on a structural level, so it becomes difficult for single innovative initiatives to be long-lasting.

TRADITIONAL OUTBUILDINGS OF THE MORDOVIANS

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena N. Mokshina ◽  
Mihail I. Svyatkin
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Main Building ◽  
Genetic Problem ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Functional Purpose

Introduction. The article deals with the main traditional outbuildings of the Mordvinians, reported on their functional purpose in economic activity. The forms and types of outbuildings, as well as the main building materials used by Mordvinians are described in details. Their significance in the religious and ceremonial life of the ethnic group is shown. Materials and Methods. The research is based on traditional methods of ethnographic science, such as field observation, survey and interviews, and a comprehensive approach. Among the methods of historical science comparative-historical, historical-genetic, problem-chronological, structural-system were used. Among the general scientific methods of research logical, descriptive, narrative, generalization, classification and systematization were involved. To achieve the results of the study, the materials collected by the authors in the course of field surveys conducted in the Mordovian villages were mainly used. Results and Discussion. Traditional outbuildings were of great importance in the economic activity of the Mordovian ethnic group. According to their functional purpose, they can be divided into the following groups: for livestock and poultry (stable, chicken coop, stable, kalda), sanitary and hygienic (bath), warehouse buildings for storage of food, utensils, firewood, animal feed (barn, cellar, woodshed, hayloft), for processing of grain (sheep, riga, mill). Depending on the welfare and financial capacity of the family, the number of outbuildings was different. As a rule, the wealthier families had more outbuildings than the less wealthier ones. The main building material for the construction of these buildings was wood. Conclusion. Thus, the traditional outbuildings of the Mordvinians occupied an important place in its economic activities. At the same time, each of them had its own purpose and performed certain functions. Some buildings, such as a bath and a barn, had not only economic purpose, but also were the venue for a number of prayers and ceremonies. It is now ordinarily they have banya (bath-house), outdoor courtyard with standing in different places sheds, barn and cellar.

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