Marshaling Technology for Development Proceedings of a Symposium (1995) / Chapter Skim
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The Global Generation, Transmission and Diffusion of Knowledge: How Can the Developing Countries Benefit?
The Global Generation, Transmission and Diffusion of Knowledge: How Can the Developing Countries Benefit?
Pages 61-82
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From page 61... ...
But the very existence of the developing countries indicates just how much knowledge the world still needs to narrow the gap between these nations and the developed countries. The task of the developed countries in achieving this is even more daunting than that of the developing countries because the consumption patterns of the industrial nations cannot be used as a model for the rest of the world.
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From page 62... ...
Thus findings about the existence of genes and their role in the replication of life raise a host of new questions: from how humans fit into the evolution of life, to the role of specific genes, to how genes can be altered to fight specific diseases and used to modify living organisms so that they better respond to human needs. Today, it is impossible to quantify how much knowledge is being generated worldwide.
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From page 63... ...
An increasingly promising aspect of the transmission of knowledge is the opportunity to use advanced telecommunications to operate laboratories and other research facilities at a distance and eventually also to perform medical procedures. This not only can offer major savings to developing and developed countries alike, but it also can help scientists, engineers, and medical doctors from developing countries to work at the cutting edge of science, technology, and medicine.
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From page 64... ...
institutions that spearheaded the green revolution and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) which will become even more important as individual countries find major research facilities increasingly unaffordable.
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From page 65... ...
But the process has worked at best only partially in the eradication of hunger and poverty and in the development of population policies, and it has worked very poorly in the avoidance of regional conflicts and genocide and in the preservation of ecosystems. The Need for a Global Knowledge Strategy The challenge is how to increase the effectiveness of the knowledge process its ability to do what it is intended to do with as much economy of means
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From page 66... ...
A global knowledge strategy should respond to two fundamental sets of questions:
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From page 67... ...
THE IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION TO THE WORLD ECONOMY Of the many facets of the process through which knowledge is generated, transmitted, and used, technological innovation is by far the most significant for the world economy. In his 1885 presidential address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Sir Lyon Playfair observed, France and Germany are fully aware that science is the source of wealth and power and that the only way of advancing it is to encourage universities to malice researches and to spread existing knowledge through the community....
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From page 68... ...
lion to modern economies. Major technological innovations, however, have had a revolutionary impact on the world economy, directly or indirectly, throughout history for example, the impact of scientific navigation initiated by Henry the Navigator in Portugal in the fifteenth century, or that of firearms and of the railroad.
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From page 69... ...
An effective technological infrastructure enables a country to generate and utilize knowledge. It includes an educational system that encourages creativity and the pursuit of scientific and technological knowledge at all levels; an educated and skilled work force; a network of outstanding research laboratories; measures and standards laboratories; critical machine shops; linkages between
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From page 70... ...
Among many developing countries, particularly the poorer ones, widespread technological interest has yet to emerge, hindering in many ways the process of technological development that has been so successful in Europe, America, Japan, and parts of Asia. If technological innovations are to occur, those developing countries must emphasize technological literacy in schools and encourage it among the entire population.
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From page 71... ...
Radio was not developed in the country where it was invented; the significance of airplanes as transports or offensive weapons was not envisioned at the beginning; the naval screw propeller took a long time to prevail over paddle wheels. Thus often even the most useful technological innovations have to overcome the hold of conservative older technologies.
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From page 72... ...
A frequent mistake made by developing countries is that of following uncritically the examples of developed countries and perpetuating them by counterproductive mechanisms of faculty selection and career advancement, based, for example, on the production of papers rather than on the ability to teach effectively and to focus on national problems. In a number of developed countries, faculty interactions with industry are limited, and the duration of an education is much too long, bringing to the job market students who are too old and have lost some of their spark and flexibility.
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From page 73... ...
The developing countries also need to learn the techniques of science and technology policy research, which will serve as the basis for science and technology policy decisions.7 · Investments in "technological observatories," joint ventures, and other arrangements. Developing countries might consider locating "observatories" in other, more technologically advanced countries to help to assess future scientific and technological directions and how to profit from them.
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From page 74... ...
Increased production efficiency requires the introduction of automation, preferably by a cadre of efficiency specialists capable of turning around an industrial company or service organization. Although the route to economic well-being for a developing country is through higher pay for its workers, this goal must be pursued gradually to enable the country to maintain its cost advantage while progress is achieved in other areas.
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From page 75... ...
Again, in the area of processes a growing portion of products in the world market stems from complex processes above the threshold. But such percentages do not mean that the world will not continue to need the many basic products below the simplicity threshold.
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From page 76... ...
Thus it is imperative that a developing nation differentiate its products from others, as well as seek efficiency, quality, higher value added, and regional cooperation. Technological innovations that render the industrial products of a particular developing country obsolete can come on the scene very rapidly.
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From page 77... ...
This potential advantage should not be lost if a developing country is to provide a higher quality of life for its citizens and if it seeks to attract tourism as well as commercial, service, and industrial nonpolluting operations from developed countries. Unrealistic expectations and aggravated internal inequalities also are negative side effects of technological innovation.
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From page 78... ...
The associated increase in urban population entails all kinds of risks: invasion of fertile land (as in Cairo) , greater exposure of large population conglomerates to disease and natural hazards such as floods or earthquakes (but also to better educational and economic opportunities)
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From page 79... ...
A sociotechnological factor of considerable importance, among many, is the different time constants of technological development and political life and associated different levels of knowledge and experience. Political changes occur both in the developing countries and in the more developed countries with which the developing countries need to interact in order to sustain their technological development.
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From page 80... ...
The labor cost gap with the more advanced countries will close slowly, however, in spite of the exceptionally fast rates demonstrated by such countries as Taiwan or Korea. This will give many developing countries some breathing space, but they cannot stand still lest they fall further below the simplicity threshold.
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From page 81... ...
In formulating their strategies, developing countries also must consider how they can position themselves with respect to the simplicity threshold, how they can define the most desirable proportion among the different factors of production, how they can best meld indigenous creativity and innovation with the import of products and ideas, and how they can balance technological advances with social health-all of which will spell the difference for a developing country between success and inability to take off. And across the globe, a pivotal element of any knowledge strategy must be stronger national knowledge infrastructures and their global integration.
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From page 82... ...
12. George Bugliarello, "Technology Transfer: A Socio-Technological Paradigm," in Development and Transfer of Industrial Technology, ed.
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