Assessment of perspectives and challenges on sustainability in Palestine

Part of: Seliger, Günther (Ed.): Innovative solutions : proceedings / 11th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, Berlin, Germany, 23rd - 25th September, 2013. - Berlin: Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, 2013. - ISBN 978-3-7983-2609-5 (online). - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:83-opus4-40276. - pp. 177–180.Sustainability has rapidly become imperative at a global level. Collaborative work is required to address the global challenges. However, the effort towards sustainability varies between developing and developed countries. Assessing sustainability in Palestine with its unique context can exemplify the awareness and understanding of sustainability in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to assess the awareness of sustainability from different perspectives of government, industry, and academia. The significant of this study is how to promote sustainability in a country with limited resources and special conditions. The primary data was collected through conducting semi-structured and in-depth interviews with CEOs and decision makers of the major stakeholders in government, industry, and academia. In addition, secondary data were used, which included literature review of current practices documented in government and NGOs reports

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0): A Social Innovation Perspective

The rapid pace of technological developments played a key role in the previous industrial revolutions. However, the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and its embedded technology diffusion progress is expected to grow exponentially in terms of technical change and socioeconomic impact. Therefore, coping with such transformation require a holistic approach that encompasses innovative and sustainable system solutions and not just technological ones. In this article, we propose a framework that can facilitate the interaction between technological and social innovation to continuously come up with proactive, and hence timely, sustainable strategies. These strategies can leverage economic rewards, enrich society at large, and protect the environment. The new forthcoming opportunities that will be generated through the next industrial wave are gigantic at all levels. However, the readiness for such revolutionary conversion require coupling the forces of technological innovation and social innovation under the sustainability umbrella

Systems of innovation, diversification, and the R&D trap: a case study of Kuwait

The relationship between R&D investment and economic development is well established. Yet at a global scale, the resource rich countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are consistent outliers in this relationship, combining rich-world national incomes with R&D expenditure of developing countries. This paper uses a case study on Kuwait to illustrate a particular form of developmental trap, a version of the resource curse which makes it irrational for private business firms to invest in R&D and innovation. Based on an analysis of the literature and secondary data, focus groups, and an original survey of large manufacturing firms, we argue that a narrow focus on R&D-led diversification of economic activity ignores the systemic problems faced by Kuwait, and particularly the unsuitable supply of skills and capabilities provided by the national education and training system