144 research outputs found
Knowledge Clusters and Knowledge Hubs: Designing Epistemic Landscapes for Development
No full textWith globalization and knowledge-based production, firms may cooperate on a global scale, outsource parts of their administrative or productive units and negate location altogether. The extremely low transaction costs of data, information and knowledge seem to invalidate the theory of agglomeration and the spatial clustering of firms, going back to the classical work by Alfred Weber and Alfred Marshall, who emphasized the microeconomic benefits of industrial collocation. This paper will argue against this view and show why the growth of knowledge societies will rather increase than decrease the relevance of location by creating knowledge clusters and knowledge hubs, due to sharing of tacit knowledge and research and development outputs. Designing epistemic landscapes of knowledge clusters and hubs is, therefore, proposed as a viable development policy.knowledge governance; knowledge cluster; knowledge hub; epistemic landscape; development
Social and Cultural Dimensions of Market Expansion
No full textWe have identified three dimensions of market expansion: the growth of market oriented production and trade, internal and external market integration and the creation of virtual markets. These three processes can occur side by side and are connected with social and cultural change.markets culture market expansion
Constructing Epistemic Landscapes: Methods of GIS-Based Mapping
No full textThe construction of knowledge maps, demonstrated in this paper, is designed to show the epistemic landscape of cities, countries or regions. Knowledge assets, knowledge producing and disseminating organisations are referenced to spatial objects and integrated into GIS. They are further represented in thematic maps and in 3-D perspective graphs. Special attention is given to mapping and measuring knowledge clusters. Statistical procedures to measure the degree of knowledge clustering are discussed and ways are indicated to compare and determine the emergence of knowledge clusters. We conclude that the construction of knowledge maps showing the complexity of epistemic landscapes will enhance the chances of government agencies, companies and civic organisations to understand and use knowledge for development. This paper is in the first place meant as guideline for the related analysis.Knowledge and development; knowledge maps; epistemic landscapes; knowledge clusters; Geographic Information System (GIS)
Social change and life planning of rural Javanese women
No full textGerke S. Social change and life planning of rural Javanese women. Bielefelder Studien zur Entwicklungssoziologie, 51. Saarbrücken: Breitenbach; 1992
Knowledge cluster formation in Peninsular Malaysia: The emergence of an epistemic landscape
No full textKnowledge clusters are central places within an epistemic landscape, i.e. in a wider structure of knowledge production and dissemination. They have the organisational capability to drive innovations and create new industries. Examples of such organisations in knowledge clusters are universities and colleges, research institutions, think tanks, government research agencies and knowledge-intensive firms with their respective knowledge workers. The following paper will look at Malaysia and its path towards a Knowledge-based economy. We first describe the development strategy of the Malaysian government which has emphasized cluster formation as one of its prime targets. We then provide evidence of the current state of knowledge cluster formation in Peninsular Malaysia and try to answer the following questions. If the formation of a knowledge cluster (especially in the ICT and multimedia industry) has been the government policy, what has been the result? Has Malaysia developed an epistemic landscape of knowledge clusters? Has the main knowledge cluster really materialised in and around Cyberjaya in the MSC Malaysia? Data collected from websites, directories, government publications and expert interviews have enabled us to construct the epistemic landscape of Peninsular Malaysia. Several knowledge clusters of a high density of knowledge producing institutions and their knowledge workers have been identified and described. The analysis of the knowledge output, measured in terms of scientific publications, patents and trademarks show that existing knowledge clusters have, indeed, been productive as predicted by cluster theory. On the other hand government designed development corridors do not always coincide with the distribution of knowledge assets. The analysis of our data pertaining to Cyberjaya, the MSC Malaysia and the “corridors” needs to be developed further to produce more robust results.Malaysia; Cyberjaya; knowledge and development; knowledge-based economy (KBE); knowledge clusters; knowledge corridors; epistemic landscape; development strategy
Strategic Group Formation in the Mekong Delta: The Development of a Modern Hydraulic Society
No full textThe lower Mekong Delta, one of the largest river deltas in Asia, is a landscape shaped by the waters of the Mekong River that flows, as last part of its long way from the Tibetan Plateau to the South Chinese Sea, through a dense river and canal network in the Southwest of Vietnam. People in this area are, traditionally, exposed to a water-shaped environment and have lived for generations in adaptation to their natural surrounding without much human interference into the complex natural hydraulic system of the delta. However, this has changed dramatically during recent decades when hydraulic management started to become a key issue for the development of the lower Mekong Delta constantly, in particular with respect to the agricultural sector, which is the backbone of the delta’s economy. After the Second Indochinese War ended in 1975 the delta started to shift from human adaption to human control, transforming itself into what Wittfogel has described as a hydraulic society. This was mainly due to the new socialist government’s policy of rapid agricultural extension and growing endeavours in hydraulic management for fostering irrigated rice production. By now, in many places of the delta hydraulic works such as additional canals, dykes and sluices have been set up, constructed for regulating water flows. Technical innovations in hydraulic management and agricultural production have not only had significant impact on the delta’s environment and ecology, but also have triggered social transformation, in particular the appearance of new social groups struggling for access to resources and power. This paper intends to analyzes recent trends of social development and water management in the Mekong Delta from a scientific approach that is based on two social theories, firstly “strategic group analysis”, and secondly selected core aspects of Wittfogel’s social theory of “hydraulic society”. By presenting recently collected data, it is illustrated how the Mekong Delta has been transformed into a modern hydraulic society, in which certain strategic groups emerged as a consequence of growing activities in hydraulic management and agricultural-based economic growth. More specifically, the paper aims to give an overview of strategic group development in the delta by putting a strong focus on the process of forming a state bureaucracy of hydraulic management and the appearance of hydraulic construction companies as its clients. The paper shows how the strategic alliance between both groups has increased the chances for mutually appropriating government funds spent on hydraulic works and how this has caused ecologically and socially far-reaching impacts for the Mekong Delta.Vietnam; Mekong Delta; strategic groups; hydraulic society; social transformation and power; water management; hydraulic bureaucracy; economic development
Strategic Group Formation in the Mekong Delta - The Development of a Modern Hydraulic Society
No full textThe lower Mekong Delta, one of the largest river deltas in Asia, is a landscape shaped by the waters of the Mekong River that flows, as last part of its long way from the Tibetan Plateau to the South Chinese Sea, through a dense river and canal network in the Southwest of Vietnam. People in this area are, traditionally, exposed to a water-shaped environment and have lived for generations in adaptation to their natural surrounding without much human interference into the complex natural hydraulic system of the delta. However, this has changed dramatically during recent decades when hydraulic management started to become a key issue for the development of the lower Mekong Delta constantly, in particular with respect to the agricultural sector, which is the backbone of the delta’s economy. After the Second Indochinese War ended in 1975 the delta started to shift from human adaption to human control, transforming itself into what Wittfogel has described as a hydraulic society. This was mainly due to the new socialist government’s policy of rapid agricultural extension and growing endeavours in hydraulic management for fostering irrigated rice production. By now, in many places of the delta hydraulic works such as additional canals, dykes and sluices have been set up, constructed for regulating water flows. Technical innovations in hydraulic management and agricultural production have not only had significant impact on the delta’s environment and ecology, but also have triggered social transformation, in particular the appearance of new social groups struggling for access to resources and power. This paper intends to analyzes recent trends of social development and water management in the Mekong Delta from a scientific approach that is based on two social theories, firstly “strategic group analysis”, and secondly selected core aspects of Wittfogel’s social theory of “hydraulic society”. By presenting recently collected data, it is illustrated how the Mekong Delta has been transformed into a modern hydraulic society, in which certain strategic groups emerged as a consequence of growing activities in hydraulic management and agricultural-based economic growth. More specifically, the paper aims to give an overview of strategic group development in the delta by putting a strong focus on the process of forming a state bureaucracy of hydraulic management and the appearance of hydraulic construction companies as its clients. The paper shows how the strategic alliance between both groups has increased the chances for mutually appropriating government funds spent on hydraulic works and how this has caused ecologically and socially far-reaching impacts for the Mekong Delta.Vietnam; Mekong Delta; strategic groups; hydraulic society; social transformation and power; water management; hydraulic bureaucracy
Solar PV rural electrification and energy-poverty: A review and conceptual framework with reference to Ghana
No full textIn spite of the intention of governments to increase the use of renewable energy in electricity supply, particularly the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) for energy poverty reduction in rural and peri-urban areas of Africa, there is relatively little information on how solar PV electrification impacts on energy poverty reduction. Therefore, there is a gap in the literature and hence the need for continuous research. Using Ghana as a reference country, the historical trend, donor cooperation and other aspects of solar PV rural electrification are discussed . The paper illustrates the intersectoral linkages of solar PV electrification and indicators on education, health, information acquisition, agriculture and micro-enterprises. It also reviews sustainability related issues including costs and market barriers, subsidies, stakeholders involvement, political and policy implications, which are critical factors for sustainable market development of solar PV and other renewables. Finally, a common framework is developed to provide a basic understanding of how solar PV electrification impacts on energy-poverty. This framework provides a structure of the interrelated concepts and principles relevant to the issues under review.Rural electrification; solar PV electrification; energy-poverty; renewable energy; economic development; Ghana; Africa
Globalizing Local Knowledge: Social Science Research on Southeast Asia, 1970-2000
No full textGerke S, Evers H-D. Globalizing Local Knowledge: Social Science Research on Southeast Asia, 1970-2000. SOJOURN. 2018;33(S (Suppl.):S242-S263.New knowledge is produced at great speed and fed into a global epistemic machinery of data banks, publications, and think tanks. In reverse, global knowledge is absorbed and used locally. Locally produced knowledge is on the increase as society moves towards a knowledge society. Social science research adds to knowledge of societies. If it is locally produced, it can be interpreted as reflexive modernization in so far as it provides paradigms for an interpretation of social processes and structures. This article traces the development of social science research on Southeast Asia and its increasing localization. A model is developed to summarize the output of interpretative schemes and published documents. Statistical data on the global absorption of locally produced knowledge are used to measure the extent of the move towards a knowledge society. Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines have relatively high local social science output, whereas Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos have low output rates. We diagnose four different paths from 1970 to 2000: Indonesia shows a stable high level of dependence, Malaysia and the Philippines are increasing local output but also increasing dependence, whereas Singapore is increasing output with decreasing dependence on global social science knowledge
The Culture of Planning : Transmigration Area Development in East Kalimantan, Indonesia
No full textEvers H-D, Gerke S. The Culture of Planning : Transmigration Area Development in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. International Sociology. 1992;7(2):141-151.Development planning presupposes that target areas are defined as underdeveloped. In planning an area development project, experts have therefore to conceptually create 'underdevelopment' to legitimise their intervention in the social and economic processes of their target area. On the basis of field research in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, it is shown that a lack of information hides existing structures and institutions which in tum leads to the assumption that an area is underdeveloped. Furthermore, the planning process itself is defined as modern, while existing local procedures are seen as traditional. It is part of the culture of planning that an artificial contrast between planners and target populations is constructed. On the basis of interviews it is shown that the target population has its own culture of planning which is often long-term spanning several generations in contrast to the usual three- to five-year planning intervals of development projects. This culture gap between experts and target group is not a result of the personal inaptitude of experts or the unwillingness to help and assist but rather a systemic difference. Data from Indonesian as well as German development planning procedures are used to substantiate these points
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