The Globalization of the Software Industry: Perspectives and Opportunities for Developed and Developing Countries

The spectacular growth of the software industry in some non-G7 economies has aroused both interest and concern. This paper addresses two sets of inter-related issues. First, we explore the determinants of these successful stories. We then touch upon the broader question of what lessons, if any, can be drawn from for economic development more generally. Finally, examining the long term implications of offshoring of software, we conclude that it is unlikely to pose a long term threat to American technological leadership. Instead, the U.S. economy will broadly benefit from the growth of new software producing regions. The U.S. technological leadership rests in part upon the continued position of the U.S. as the primary destination for highly trained and skilled scientists and engineers from the world over. Though this is likely to persist for some time the increasing attractiveness of foreign emerging economy destinations is a long-term concern for continued U.S. technological leadership.

Developing and Harnessing Software Technology in the South: The Roles of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa

Software technology is gaining prominence in national information technology (IT) strategies due to its huge potential for socioeconomic development, particularly through the support it provides in the productive sectors of the economy, delivery of public services and engagement of citizens. In growing numbers of developing countries, software technology is also being leveraged for income generation from digital services and products. For instance, in recent years, India, Chile, the Philippines, Brazil, China, and Indonesia have emerged as important global players in the offshore software services industry, with India and China standing out as leaders. Cooperation between developing countries (south-south) in the area of software technology has also been growing; particularly in the application of software technology to agriculture, public administration and governance (e-governance), transportation and the society (knowledge society). The paper presents the current state of software technology in the south and specifically, the maturity of the software industries in China, India, Brazil, and South Africa (CIBS). It establishes profiles of different regions based on the level of education, quality of research and availability of e-infrastructure and e-applications for determining the potential of these regions in terms of growth and competitiveness in the global software industry. Further complementary analysis of country profiles produced country clusters, helping to identify potential collaboration scenarios for advancing software capacity in the south. Finally, the paper discusses how CIBS can pivot regional or inter-regional cooperation in software technology in the south.software technology, software industry, south-south cooperation, China, Brazil, India, South Africa

Establishment of computational biology in Greece and Cyprus: Past, present, and future.

We review the establishment of computational biology in Greece and Cyprus from its inception to date and issue recommendations for future development. We compare output to other countries of similar geography, economy, and size—based on publication counts recorded in the literature—and predict future growth based on those counts as well as national priority areas. Our analysis may be pertinent to wider national or regional communities with challenges and opportunities emerging from the rapid expansion of the field and related industries. Our recommendations suggest a 2-fold growth margin for the 2 countries, as a realistic expectation for further expansion of the field and the development of a credible roadmap of national priorities, both in terms of research and infrastructure funding

E-voting in Brazil - the risks to democracy

Literature has shown that countries with strong democratic traditions, such as the United States and Canada, are not yet using electronic voting systems intensively, due to the concern for and emphasis on security. It has revealed that there is no such thing as an error-free computer system, let alone an electronic voting system, and that existing technology does not offer the conditions necessary for a reliable, accurate and secure electronic voting system. In this context, then, what are the risks of e-voting to democracy? In what ways, if at all, can more fragile, less mature democracies be buttressed with e-voting systems? As a key component of e-democracy, it seems that e-voting technologies are to become more secure and increasingly reliable in the near future and will indeed be adopted in many countries. In what ways, if at all, will the introduction of such systems increase voter confidence in the political system, promote citizen engagement in political life, and nurture the evolution of democracy? If both e-voting and edemocracy are emerging based on popular demand - that is, as a demand-driven alternative to current processes, then there is no doubt that they are likely to enhance and improve the efficiency of traditional democracy. However, if e-voting technology is being introduced based on a supply-driven fashion - the technology exists therefore it should and must be implemented - then the implications for democracy should be considered. Brazil's introduction of e-voting offers a cautionary tale of supply-driven technological implication. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the introduction of e-voting in Brazil is highly risky to democracy due to the lack of emphasis on security and the lack of a sociallyinformed and socially driven approach to technological innovation. The Brazilian example illustrates the democratic implications of a market-driven approach. The lack of a technology strategy designed to promote and extend democratic principles is not surprising given the closed door, market-based negotiations that led to the adoption of e-voting in Brazil. The promise, and indeed, the imperative of a democratic, voter-centered approach as an alternative for the development of an electronic voting system, is explored in the paper

Latin American perspectives to internationalize undergraduate information technology education

The computing education community expects modern curricular guidelines for information technology (IT) undergraduate degree programs by 2017. The authors of this work focus on eliciting and analyzing Latin American academic and industry perspectives on IT undergraduate education. The objective is to ensure that the IT curricular framework in the IT2017 report articulates the relationship between academic preparation and the work environment of IT graduates in light of current technological and educational trends in Latin America and elsewhere. Activities focus on soliciting and analyzing survey data collected from institutions and consortia in IT education and IT professional and educational societies in Latin America; these activities also include garnering the expertise of the authors. Findings show that IT degree programs are making progress in bridging the academic-industry gap, but more work remains

Knowledge Cartography: Software tools and mapping techniques

Knowledge Cartography is the discipline of mapping intellectual landscapes.The focus of this book is on the process by which manually crafting interactive, hypertextual maps clarifies one’s own understanding, as well as communicating it.The authors see mapping software as a set of visual tools for reading and writing in a networked age. In an information ocean, the primary challenge is to find meaningful patterns around which we can weave plausible narratives. Maps of concepts, discussions and arguments make the connections between ideas tangible and disputable. With 17 chapters from the leading researchers and practitioners, the reader will find the current state–of-the-art in the field. Part 1 focuses on educational applications in schools and universities, before Part 2 turns to applications in professional communitie

Software Sustainability: The Modern Tower of Babel

<p>The aim of this paper is to explore the emerging definitions of software sustainability from the field of software engineering in order to contribute to the question, what is software sustainability?</p

The competitive repositioning of automotive firms in Turin: innovation, internationalisation and the role of ICT

Following the increasing competitive pressure and the emergence of new industrial poles within the auto industry, Italian firms have been the protagonists of an intense reorganisation, which is still ongoing. This case-study involves 13 supplier firms, operating in the automotive industry, localised in Turin, that have adopted a series of strategies aimed at improving their international competitiveness. The empirical findings show that there is a particularly strong innovative drive for the interviewed firms to position themselves in activities with greater added value and to undertake internationalisation strategies, from the 'lighter' to the more 'complex' forms, coupled with a use of information and communication technologies epresents a case of excellence.Innovation, Internationalisation, ICT, Automotive Industry