World Sustainable Development Outlook 2007 Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development in the 21st Century

About this book

The World Sustainable Development Outlook series has been developed to provide an overview of sustainable development, to discuss why it is important and to provoke forward thinking on the development of a more coherent approach to solving global problems related to sustainability through science and technology. In doing so, a holistic approach is used to critically examine the interrelationship between the natural, governmental, economic and social dimensions of our world and how science and technology can contribute to solutions.

This is a truly global source book, which is reflected in the varied national and cultural origins of the contributors, as well as the topics and case studies covered. Each year a different theme will be covered. The theme of World Sustainable Development Outlook 2007 is the different dimensions of knowledge and technology management in the new era of information revolution and how they relate to sustainable development. Rapid innovation in information and communication technologies (ICTs) is clearly reshaping the world we live in. Countries are increasingly judged by whether they are information-rich or information-poor. It is estimated that 30-40 per cent of the world's economic growth and 40-50 per cent of all new jobs will be IT-driven. Education and knowledge are the chief currencies of the modern age, and can also be a strategic resource and a lifeline for sustainable development. Yet, in Africa, millions of people have never made a telephone call. The technological gulf between developed and developing countries (DCs) is likely to widen further with the rapid expansion of the internet and the speedy transition to digitalisation in the West. The impacts on DCs may include an increase in the so-called brain drain and growing dependence on foreign aid of a different kind – knowledge aid. There are fears that knowledge imperialism is already with us.

What is clear is that most of the technological innovations in ICTs are Western-designed and fail to address the needs of the most disadvantaged. The interest of industrialised countries in the use of ICTs in DCs has largely been more concerned with the profitability of their own business enterprises than with any broader goals concerning the development of the host countries. DCs face the challenge of either becoming an integral part of the knowledge-based global economy or the very real danger of finding themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide. Successful management in the new millennium requires developing new methods and approaches to meet the challenges and opportunities of this information revolution while at the same time fostering sustainable development.Adopting a holistic approach, World Sustainable Development Outlook 2007 aims to critically examine the interrelationship between these different issues in order to reach solutions and a consensus for a better future – taking into account a variety of international, institutional and intellectual perspectives. It uses case and country studies in technological innovation and experience so that lessons in effective management of ICTs can be learned from successful initiatives, ideas and innovations.

Contents

Part I: Introduction
1. Building knowledge societies in the new era of globalisation
Allam Ahmed, University of Sussex, UK

Part II: Education
2. Do education reforms result in quality education?
Siham El-Kafafi, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand
3. Education for sustainable development: the experience of Tanzania
B.O. Koda, Institute of Development Studies, Tanzania
4. Educational outcomes and labour market between supply and demand: a Qatari perspective
Hend A. Jolo, Qatar University, Qatar
5. In search of African Tigers: repositioning African universities for challenges of research and development, wealth creation, and sustainable development
Michael J. Emeji, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nigeria
6. Research supervision: training, process and experience
Ihab Tewfik, University of Westminster, and Sundus Tewfik, London Metropolitan University, UK

Part III: Knowledge Management
7. Indigenous knowledge in agriculture with particular reference to medicinal crop production in Khorasan, Iran
P. Rezvani Moghaddam, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (Iran), A.K.S. Huda, Q. Parvez, University of Western Sydney (Australia), and A. Koocheki, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (Iran)
8. Strategic vision to knowledge management strategy: an evaluative paradigm
T. Shareef Younis, Mosul University-Iraq
9. Managing knowledge workers: the technologist in the IT industry
S.C. Poornima, ICFAI-IBS Bangalore, India

Part IV: Information and Communications Technologies
10. Cybernating the academe: centralisation of science assessment as hegemony - an African alternative
Williams E. Nwagwu, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
11. Readiness for online learning in business schools in India
Ramesh Behl, Deepak Chawla and Himanshu Joshi, International Management Institute, India
12. Improving agricultural sustainability and profitability via the use of computerised decision-support systems is challenging and complex
J.B. Robinson and D.M. Freebairn, Natural Resources and Water, and A.K.S. Huda, University of Western Sydney, Australia
13. A longitudinal study of farmers and trainers capturing climate information for sustainable development
D.A. George, University of Queensland, J.F. Clewett, Agroclim Australia, A.K.S. Huda, University of Western Sydney, C.J. Birch, The University of Queensland, A.H. Wright, The University of Queensland, W.R. Allen, AgForce Queensland, and Q. Parvez, University of Western Sydney, Australia
14. Exploring best practices in public-private partnership (PPP) in e-Government through select case studies from India
Soumitra Sharma, Banaras Hindu University, India
15. Airline distribution systems: history, challenges and solutions
Michael J. Williams and Dawna L. Rhoades, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, USA
16. Management of stock exchanges: automation and demutualisation
Subba Reddy Yarram, University of New England, Australia
17. XBRL benefits, challenges and adoption in the US and UK: clarification of a future research agenda
Aminah Abdullah, Belfast Metropolitan College, UK, Iqbal Khadaroo, Queen's University Belfast, UK, and Junaid Shaikh, Curtin University, Malaysia
18. Assuring intermodal security using RFID tags on cargo containers
Michael J. Williams and Cheryl Cunningham, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, USA

Part V: Science Technology and Innovation
19. Genetic engineering perception in New Zealand: is it the way of the future?
Siham El-Kafafi, Manukau Institute of Technology, New Zealand
20. Effect of sheath rot (Sarocladium oryzae) on rice seed health
S. Akter, M.A.T. Mia, M.S. Kabir and M.A. Latif, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh
21. Technical efficiency in artisanal fisheries: evidence from Fiji
Mahendra Reddy, University of the South Pacific, Fiji
22. Extension workers' attitude towards usefulness of integrated soil fertility and nutrient management approach for sustainable crop production: a case from Bangladesh
M.G. Farouque and H. Takeya, Nagoya University, Japan
23. Livelihoods of the people involved in Pangasiid catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) farming in Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Shuraya Tasnoova, Khan M. Iqbal, Izumi Ywamoto, Kagoshima University, Japan, and Md. Mahfuzul Haque, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh
24. Turkey's high-tech profile and sustainable development
Feride Doganer Gonel, Yildiz Technical University, Turkey
25. The contextual dimension of risk dialogues: the case of water recycling weblogs in South East Queensland, Australia
Jennifer Summerville, Evonne Miller, Lorraine Bell and Laurie Buys, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
26. Technological innovation and the microelectronic paradigm: analysis of the Brazilian Digital TV System (BDTVS)
Bruno Pontes Costanzo and Joao Amato Neto, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Part VI: Climate Change and Energy
27. Investment trends in alternate energy methods by large US corporations
M. Anaam Hashmi, Minnesota State University, USA
28. Aviation in a carbon-constrained world
Dawna L. Rhoades, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, USA

Part VII: Macroeconomic Analysis
29. Neoliberal idealism, state building, and the Washington Consensus: a story (still) under development
Michael Heazle, Griffith University, Australia
30. Post-crisis economic performance in East Asia: recovery or sustained decline?
Moazzem Hossain, Griffith University, Australia
31. A structural approach to diversification of the nation's economy and the economic development of Kazakhstan
Yelena N. Zabortseva, Kazak-British Technical University, Kazakhstan
32. The impact of industrial policy on capital structure with financial flexibility, macroeconomic conditions and economic growth and development taken into account: evidence from Taiwan
Hsien-Hung Yeh, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, and Eduardo Roca, Griffith University, Australia
33. The Firm and industry structure in economically sustainable development: a case study of the telecommunications industry
Frank M Little, Griffith University, Australia

Part VIII: Trade and Development
34. Trade and Economic Growth in Asian-5
Tajul Ariffin Masron, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Zulkornain Yusop, Ahmad Zubaidi Baharumshah and Muzafar Shah Habibullah, Universiti Putra Malaysia
35. Towards an agri-food 'culture': managing the impact on agricultural supply chains of changes in consumer culture
Tony Webb, University of Western Sydney, Australia
36. Adjusting external trade strategies and its effects on the sustainable economic development of Kazakhstan
Jung-Wan Lee, Kazakh-British Technical University, and Simon W. Tai, Bang College of Business, Kazakhstan
37. Central bank independence in East African countries: the case of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
Fitsum S. Weldegiorgis and G.M. (Buks) Wessels, University of the Free State, South Africa
38. International transmission of stock price movement: evidence from ASEAN-Plus-3 and the world's most advanced markets
Ruzita Abdul Rahim and Abu Hassan Shaari Mohd. Nor, National University of Malaysia, Malaysia

Part IX: Gender and Development
39. Women, sustainable community development and human resource development: the sub-Saharan African Context
Peter Cunningham and Kristine Sydhagen, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
40. The role of women in farm decision-making using data from selected locations in Bangladesh
S. Hassan, Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh and Q. Parvez, A.K.S. Huda and G. Ramsay, University of Western Sydney, Australia
41. The economics behind son preference in South India
S. Mumtaj Begum and Christianna Singh, Lady Doak College, India

Part X: Executive Summary
42. Managing knowledge in the 21st century and the roadmap to sustainability
Allam Ahmed, University of Sussex, UK

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