Third world entry into the electronic age

The above three concepts are a product of scientific ideas. Global development can only be achieved with solid reliance on research, technology and innovation. The three concepts represents the only way for developing the world in order to foster economic, education, environmental, medical and societal development at large (Cramer and Zegveld, 1991). Development in science and technology are fundamentally altering the way people live, connect, communicate and transact, with profound effects on economic development (Lee-Roy, 2012). According to V. Samuel cited in Jubel (2012), ‘Science is the key which unlocks for humankind the store houses of nature’. Obsessed by the quest to improve his life; to add values and make a paradigm shift in nature, a global change has smiled to the prevailing efforts of man. He has not just learnt how to cut stones in to blocks but how to use them in a better published form to build edifices. This is development! A sweep in to the history of the computer system marshals out litanies of stages that the computing system had undergone before it came to the taste of the modern man. Right from the times of the ancient Babylon which is now known as ‘Iraq’, the so-called abacus machine was invented, one of the earliest devices used by the primitive man to improve his state of living, calculation. He was not satisfied by this innovation; he enthusiastically delved more in to research and found out that addition and subtraction could be better done using a machine which was named after the inventor, ‘Napier bone’ by John Napier, precisely in 1614. This technological advancement and product of research work was spiced by the innovation of the inquisitive man.

Journal of International Development, 1990

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1996

e live in a new era. One could almost talk about a new civilization emerging, W the global market civilization. The global market has its own characteristics. It is being formed around a number of cities around the world, which provide the key ingredients: technology, finance, information, and people. Some two hundred million people are today living in or around the urban centers which dominate the new global economy. They belong to the groups of people that are the likely winners of globalization. At the same time, there is a great risk that strong market forces will marginalize parts of the world's population-those who are not integrated into this new global economy. One salient feature of the new economy is the importance of knowledge. We have always lived in a knowledge society. The difference today is the revolutionary pace at which technologies change. In the early parts of this century it was estimated that the volume of knowledge in society doubled every fifty years. Today it happens in five years. One important characteristic of the new technologies-particularly in combination-is the potential for wealth creation. Hence, we are already witnessing rapidly widening gaps in wealth and income between the "knowledge workers" and the rest of society. Knowledge is power, today more than ever before. The formidable chal

South Africa and the Non-aiigned Movemenl cag" 101 MEETING THE CF{ALLENGES OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS Graduate School of Busin"r, oHfl?l#;lffli'ln.rrity of rhe vitwatersrand 'J(/hat_.are the driving forces of the knowledge revolutionl Essentially, thq, lie around rwo axes: globalism and technological innovation. Below, some of the effects of t.chnological innovationthe so-called ,five waves,, namely computers_, telecommunications, biotechnolory, nanotechnologr and alternative energyare considered. The driving forces of the knowledge revolution in S&T Compwters Computers and the use of semiconductor chips in consumer goods is something that we are all s.'ell aware o{. The market for semiconductor-reliant goods is huge, but the real question is to s.hat extent developing countries actually participate in the conceptualisation of chip rechnolog,. Networks are emerging around us that rapidly increase the scope and capaciry of computing power. The design and shaping o{ these networks still largely take place in the Nonh. It is true that n'e make use of these systemswe buy them and some of our personnel are involved in acrually engaging with the systems themselves, Yet very rarely has one seen innovati'ue concepts around neworking emerging from within the South itself. Quantum computing is going to raise the next v/ave or generation of computer technolog'. The failure of optical lithography (the ability to etch onto silicone) is leading to notions and innovations that take us out of the realm of silicone based chips. Again, developing countries have only marginally participated in this path-breaking world. The current generation is the one who will have to implement technolog' management; this is also the first generation that has some intuitive abilities in handling everyday technological tasks, such as progremming video machines. These are the people that constitute the maioriqy in developing South Af,ica and the Non•ahQlled Movement

This ten year study suggests that the digital divide in connectivity may have largely closed for the scientific community in parts of the world that were previously unconnected. Almost a decade ago examined the diffusion of information * This essay presents findings from a grant issued

Science, 1998

Nature, 2008

Proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference on …, 2003

New information and communication technologies will arrive on the market at a fast and furious pace. Two technologies of immediate relevance to information and communication infrastructure (ICI) development are broadband access and secure servers. Emerging features of an ICI include distributed computing and associated communications; sophistication of end-devices through links to global positioning systems, sensors that detect and transmit environmental conditions, unique identity systems; and Public key infrastructures for secure and authenticated commercial transactions or e-commerce.

Intl. J. Services Technology & Management, , 2003

India, since independence in 1947, had initiated policies and programmes for the development of indigenous capacities in Science and Technology as an integral part of its efforts at establishing a modern nation state. A five-year planning approach had been adopted for economic and industrial development. The Indian experience of strengthening the Science and Technology capacities in the context of industrialization as it has evolved over the various plan periods from 1947 to 2001 has been analyzed. Strengthening of Science and Technology capacities is viewed as a process establishing innovation networks interconnecting science, innovation and industrial activities. Therefore, India's policies and programmes for both Science and for Industry and the interrelationship between the two have been examined. It is shown that the Indian policies and programmes have evolved through five phases of development. In terms of strengthening of Science and Technology capacities, the phases have been characterized as, Phase I: Infrastructure building, Phase II: Reorientation, Phase III: Promotion of indigenous technologies, Phase IV: Moving towards economic liberalization and Phase V: Science and Technology in liberalized economy. Policies and programmes as they have evolved in each of the phases have been examined with illustrative examples. The growth of Science and Technology capacities for indigenisation of technology has been analyzed to show the gradual emergence of innovation networks.