Powerpoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More Information

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Powerpoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More Information Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society PowerPoint has become an integral part of academic and professional life across the globe. In this book, Hubert Knoblauch offers the first complete analysis of the PowerPoint presentation as a form of commu- nication. Knoblauch charts the diffusion of PowerPoint and explores its significance as a ubiquitous and influential element of contemporary communication culture. His analysis considers the social and intellec- tual implications of the genre, focusing on the dynamic relationships among the aural, visual, and physical dimensions of PowerPoint pre- sentations, as well as the diverse institutional contexts in which these presentations take place. Ultimately, Knoblauch argues that the param- eters of the Powerpoint genre frame the ways in which information is presented, validated, and absorbed, with ambiguous consequences for the acquisition and transmission of knowledge. This original and timely book is relevant to scholars of communications, sociology, and education. Hubert Knoblauch is a professor of sociology at the Technical University of Berlin. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives Series Editor Emeritus John Seely Brown, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center General Editors Christian Heath, Work, Interaction and Technology, The Department of Management, King’s College London Roy Pea, Professor of Education and the Learning Sciences and Director, Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning, Stanford University Lucy A. Suchman, Centre for Science Studies and Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, UK Books in the Series The Construction Zone: Working for Cognitive Change in School Denis Newman, Peg Griffin, and Michael Cole Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger Street Mathematics and School Mathematics Terezinha Nunes, David William Carraher, and Analucia Dias Schliemann Understanding Practice: Perspectives on Activity and Context Seth Chaiklin and Jean Lave, Editors Distributed Cognitions: Psychological and Educational Considerations Gavriel Salomon, Editor The Computer as Medium Peter Bøgh Anderson, Berit Holmqvist, and Jens F. Jensen, Editors Sociocultural Studies of Mind James V. Wertsch, Pablo del Rio, and Amelia Alvarez, Editors Sociocultural Psychology: Theory and Practice of Doing and Knowing Laura Martin, Katherine Nelson, and Ethel Tobach, Editors (Continued after Index) © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert KNOblauch Technische Universität Berlin © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521197328 © Hubert Knoblauch 2013 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2013 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Knoblauch, Hubert. PowerPoint, communication, and the knowledge society / Hubert Knoblauch. p. cm. – (Learning in doing) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-521-19732-8 (hardback) 1. Microsoft PowerPoint (Computer file) 2. Presentation graphics software. 3. Communication. 4. Information society. I. Title. P93.53.M534K66 2012 302.23′1–dc23 2012017766 ISBN 978-0-521-19732-8 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information If society is conceived of interactions among individuals, the description of the forms of this interaction is the task of the sci- ence of society in the strictest and most essential sense. Georg Simmel (1896) Lectures are silvern, but slides are golden. William Henry Young (1896) © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information Contents Series Foreword page xiii Acknowledgments xv 1. Introduction 1 1. “PowerPoint” and Powerpoint 1 2. Communication Culture 4 3. Information and Knowledge Society 9 4. Structure of the Book 22 2. On the History of PowerPoint 26 1. The Archaeology of PowerPoint 27 2. The Double Invention of PowerPoint 29 3. Presentation as Digital Document and Presentation as Event 34 4. PowerPoint Is Evil – Discourse and Studies on Powerpoint 37 5. Tufte and the Public Discourse on Powerpoint 39 6. The Inconclusiveness of Studies on Powerpoint 44 7. Presentation as Event and Genre 46 3. Communicative Action, Culture, and the Analysis of Communicative Genres 50 1. Communicative Actions and Genres 51 2. The Three Levels of Genre Analysis and Communication Culture 58 4. The Internal Level: Slides, Speech, and Synchronization 67 1. Rhetoric of Visual Presentation 67 2. Slides, Text, and Speech 71 ix © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information x Contents 3. Multimodality and the Synchronization of Speech and Slides 77 4. Speech and Talk 79 5. Linguistic Deixis, Paralleling, and Communicative Things 81 6. Lists and Seriality 90 7. Macrostructures 94 5. The Intermediate Level: Pointing, the Body Formation, and the Triadic Structure of Powerpoint Presentations 102 1. Pointing, Gesture, and Speech 103 2. Pointing, Space, and the Objectivation of Meaning 107 3. Body Formation and the Triadic Structure of the Presentation 114 4. Audience Interaction 125 (a) Interaction at the Beginnings of Presentations 127 (b) Audience Interventions 128 (c) Presenters and Audiences 130 (d) Endings and Applause 131 5. Technology, Failures, and Footing 135 (a) Technical Problems and Technical Failures 136 (b) Projection Is What Technology Does 145 6. The External Level: Settings, Meetings, and the Ubiquity of Powerpoint 152 1. Objects, Settings, and Spaces 156 2. The Temporal Order of Presentations and the Meeting 166 3. The Multiplication and the Ubiquity of Powerpoint Presentation 172 (a) The Institutionalization of the Meeting 172 (b) Ubiquity and the Structural Diffusion of Technology 176 (c) From Presentations to Powerpoint Presentations 183 7. Conclusion: The Ubiquity of Powerpoint and the Communicative Culture of the Knowledge Society 189 1. The Invention and Ubiquity of Powerpoint Presentations 192 2. Contextualization and Mediatization 195 3. Communicative Things and the Subjectivation of Knowledge 200 4. Powerpoint Presentation in the Communicative Culture of the Knowledge Society 204 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information Contents xi Appendix I. Video and the Analysis of Communicative Action 209 Appendix II. Data 213 Appendix III. Transcription Conventions 215 List of Diagrams, Photographs, and Stills and Sources 215 (a) Diagrams 215 (b) Slides 216 (c) Stills 217 Notes 219 References 231 Index 245 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society Hubert Knoblauch Frontmatter More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19732-8 - PowerPoint, Communication,
Recommended publications
  • A New Knowledge Society Index: Global Tendencies and an Analysis of Turkey Oguz Demira Istanbul Commerce University
    ISSN 1303-0485 • eISSN 2148-7561 DOI 10.12738/estp.2015.2.2356 Received | 24 December 2013 Copyright © 2015 EDAM • http://www.estp.com.tr Accepted | 24 August 2014 Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice • 2015 April • 15(2) • 325-335 OnlineFirst | 7 April 2015 A New Knowledge Society Index: Global Tendencies and an Analysis of Turkey Oguz Demira Istanbul Commerce University Elif Guneren Gencb Istanbul Commerce University Elcin Aykac Alpc Istanbul Commerce University Figen Yildirimd Istanbul Commerce University Abstract Numerous studies have examined the growth rate and the level of development of countries. According to economy, sociology, and even history, it can be easily observed that knowledge is one of the most important indicators for countries to achieve sustainable growth and development. Education is seen as the main input for a society to be considered a “knowledge society,” and the aim of this study is to investigate this multidimensional character of education. In the scope of the study, United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN)’s Knowledge Society Index is reviewed and recalculated with respect to different variables to understand the significance of being a knowledge society for the economic g rowth of a country. Regarding this recalculation, another important aim of the study is to rank Turkey in the recalculated index and try to expose reasons for its actual situation. In this context, Turkey’s strengths and weaknesses are set out. In conclusion, in accordance with the determinations, policy recommendations to authorities are also included. Keywords: Knowledge society • Composite indicators • Knowledge economy • UNPAN Knowledge Society Index a Assist. Prof. Oguz Demir (PhD), Department of Economics, Istanbul Commerce University, Istanbul, Turkey Email: [email protected] b Corresponding author Assist.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is the Knowledge Society?
    What is the Knowledge Society? Marin Dinu Ph.D. Professor Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest Abstract. This study sets out to establish conceptual delimitations, more concordant to the theoretical acquisitions with regard to the knowledge society. The author considers it opportune to situate in the center of the definition of the concept of knowledge society the problem of prevalence in the typology of resources. Thus, the knowledge society appears as a form of organization in which scientific knowledge predominates, be that informatics as well. The concordances of essence are discovered through the discerning of the functional relationship knowledge society – global society. In the spectrum of meanings specific to this highway of post-postmodernist configuration of the world, the priorities of the project of the second modernity – the paradigmatic matrix of globalization – are approached. In fact, the study argues in favor of refocusing globalization on the humane, on its distinctive values which substantiate and lend sense to the evolutions of the world. Postreferentiality is the rational expression of humanity coming back to itself(1). Key words: the principle of critical mass; postreferentiality; the second modernity; the substance of globalization. JEL Classification: D83, O33. A postreferential perspective on resources The real problem of the knowledge based society is The first referential: the explicative model meta-knowledge. The basis for this statement resides in When we talk about the knowledge society, in its the performance
    [Show full text]
  • Knowledge Society Network: Toward a Dynamic, Sustained Network for Building Knowledge
    University at Albany, State University of New York Scholars Archive Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship Educational Theory and Practice 2010 Knowledge Society Network: Toward a dynamic, sustained network for building knowledge Jianwei Zhang University at Albany, State University of New York, [email protected] Huang-Yao Hong National Chengchi University, Taiwan, [email protected] Marlene Scardamalia University of Toronto, Canada Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etap_fac_scholar Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Zhang, Jianwei; Hong, Huang-Yao; and Scardamalia, Marlene, "Knowledge Society Network: Toward a dynamic, sustained network for building knowledge" (2010). Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship. 4. https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etap_fac_scholar/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Educational Theory and Practice at Scholars Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholars Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Knowledge Society Network: Toward a Dynamic, Sustained Network for Building Knowledge Le Knowledge Society Network : vers un réseau dynamique et durable pour la coélaboration de connaissances Huang-Yao Hong, Marlene Scardamalia, and Jianwei Zhang Authors Huang-Yao Hong, Assistant Professor, National Chengchi University, Taiwan. Correspondence regarding this article can be sent to [email protected] Marlene Scardamalia, Presidents' Chair in Education and Knowledge Technologies and Director, Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology, OISE, University of Toronto Jianwei Zhang, Assistant Professor, University at Albany, USA Abstract The Knowledge Society Network (KSN) “takes advantage of new knowledge media to maximize and democratize society’s knowledge-creating capacity” (www.ikit.org/KSN).
    [Show full text]
  • Education in the Knowledge Society: Genesis of Concept and Reality
    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 2016, VOL. 11, NO. 17, 9949-9958 OPEN ACCESS Education in the Knowledge Society: Genesis of Concept and Reality Alexander O. Karpova aBauman Moscow State Technical University, Moscow, RUSSIA ABSTRACT The aim of the article is to define the content of theoretical ideas about education in the knowledge society in terms of the birth of its social reality. It is shown that the genesis of the concept of education in the knowledge society goes back to the period of 1950-1960s and is due to the emergence of new qualities of an industrial worker that the knowledge worker inherits. In 1957 P. Drucker (1957) formulates an idea of advanced training and in 1968 the principle of continuing education to train the knowledge worker. Their relation to the concept of distributed education by P. Drucker is revealed. It is stated that the key institutions of the knowledge society are university and school established on the principles of research training and related scientific and cognitive continuity. The concept of dynamic competence is defined; the relationship of creative learning with the reality of the knowledge society is shown. The analysis of fundamental contradictions of education in the knowledge society is given. KEYWORDS ARTICLE HISTORY Education, society, learning, competence, creativity Received 21 August 2015 Revised 20 July 2016 Accepted 15 August 2016 Introduction In the middle of the XXth century in the socio-economic reality of industrially developed countries of the world there was a move in the direction of a knowledge society. This process found its special expression in culture, social structure, economic instruments as well as in education.
    [Show full text]
  • Information and Communication Technology and the Knowledge Society PAJEE 18(8) (2021)
    Information and communication technology and the knowledge society PAJEE 18(8) (2021) Information and communication technology and the knowledge society Aseel Hameed Raheem 1 , Nabeel Imran Mussa Al-Khaldi 2 1,2 University Of Al-Qadisiyah / College of Arts / Department of Sociology Corresponding Author1: [email protected] Aseel Hameed Raheem 1 , Nabeel Imran Mussa Al-Khaldi 2 , Information and communication technology and the knowledge society . Palarch’s Journal Of Archaeology Of Egypt/Egyptology 18 (8). ISSN 1567-214x Keywords: Information and communication technology, knowledge society ABSTRACT The subject of research on information and communication technology in building a knowledge society. The general question in this paper may be as follows: What are the impacts of information and communication technology and e-education on building a knowledge society? . The researchers in this research seek to achieve an overall goal of identifying information and communication technology and e-education and its relationship to building the knowledge society. The importance of research is evident that information and communication technology and e-education issues have had and their role in building the knowledge society in recent years. The most important conclusion of the researchers in the knowledge society has recognized the role and right to life of the individual, the freedom to express an opinion, the freedom to choose who represents, the facilitation of trade, and the opening of new markets. The knowledge society recognizes all the rights of the individual to modern knowledge and technology and a fair return on the wealth of the society for specific efforts to the knowledge society and the knowledge economy, the potential for employment, and various basic needs.
    [Show full text]
  • From Periphery to Center: Emerging Research Topics on Knowledge Society
    116 01 From Periphery to Center: Emerging Research Topics on Knowledge Society From Periphery to Center: Emerging Research Topics on Knowledge Society Ilkka Tuomi Technology Review 116/2001 From Periphery to Center: Emerging Research Topics on Knowledge Society Technology Review 116/2001 For more information Riku Mäkelä Te k e s P. O . B o x 6 9 FIN-00101, Helsinki Tel. +358-10521 5817 E-mail: [email protected] Ilkka Tuomi Metaxis Arkadiankatu 20 A 19 FIN-00100 Helsinki Finland Tel. +358-50-564 6768 E-mail: [email protected] National Technology Agency Technology Review P. O . B o x FIN-00101 Helsinki Finland Tel. +358-105 2151 Fax +358-9-694 9196 [email protected] www.tekes.fi August 2001 ISBN 952-457-046-7 ISSN 1239-758X From Periphery to Center: Emerging Research Topics on Knowledge Society Ilkka Tuomi Technology Review 116/2001 Helsinki 2001 Tekes – your contact for Finnish technology Tekes, the National Technology Agency of Finland, is the main financing or- ganisation for applied and industrial R&D in Finland. Funding is granted from the state budget. Tekes’ primary objective is to promote the competitiveness of Finnish indus- try and the service sector by technological means. Activities aim to diversify production structures, increase productivity and exports, and create a foun- dation for employment and social well-being. Tekes supports applied and industrial R&D in Finland to the extent of some EUR 390 million, annually. The Tekes network in Finland and overseas offers excellent channels for co- operation with Finnish companies, universities and research institutes.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Knowledge Society' As Academic Concept and Stage of Development — a Conceptual and Historical Review
    b1134_Chapter-03.qxd 1/19/2011 11:04 AM Page 1 b1134 Beyond the Knowledge Trap 1st Reading 1 Chapter 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ‘Knowledge Society’ 11 12 as Academic Concept and Stage 13 14 of Development — A Conceptual 15 16 and Historical Review 17 18 Anna-Katharina Hornidge 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 1. Introduction 25 In the past twenty to thirty years, visionary terms which have been 26 incorporated into public speeches, academic writings, and day-to-day 27 journalism such as ‘knowledge society’, ‘information society’ and 28 ‘knowledge-based economy’2 announced a future in which social and 29 economic development is increasingly based on knowledge. While 30 31 32 1 This book chapter is largely based on Hornidge (2007). 33 2 For reasons of terminological clarity, this paper subsumes the wide range of terms including ‘knowledge society’, ‘information society’, ‘knowledge-based economy’ 34 under the term ‘knowledge society’. The remaining terms are merely addressed in 35 the sections specifically devoted to them. 36 1 b1134_Chapter-03.qxd 1/19/2011 11:04 AM Page 2 1st Reading b1134 Beyond the Knowledge Trap 2 A.-K. Hornidge 1 the concepts ‘knowledge society’ and ‘information society’ were 2 mainly developed by academics from Japan, the USA and Europe, the 3 concept ‘knowledge-based economy’ was proposed somewhat later 4 by international organizations such as the OECD.3 From there — 5 although far from complete — all three concepts entered the national 6 politics of many countries which aimed at the active creation of better 7 futures.
    [Show full text]
  • Innovation, Growth and Competitiveness in the Knowledge Society
    Innovation, Growth and Competitiveness in the Knowledge Society Ilkka Tuomi Joint Research Centre Institute for Prospective Technological Studies ilkka.tuomi @ cec.eu.int Paper presented at: Foro de la Innovación y Modernización en Andalucía Málaga, 14 December 2004 This paper complements existing analyses and recommendations on achieving the Lisbon goals of growth and competitiveness in Europe. The paper emphasizes new approaches that might facilitate the realisation of the Lisbon goals and summarises research conducted at the DG JRC - IPTS FISTE1 action in the area of information society technologies, new innovation models, ICT productivity impacts, and regional knowledge society development. The author would like to thank Marc Bogdanowicz, Jean-Claude Burgelman, Clara Centeno, and Martin Ulbrich for useful discussions, comments and contributions. The author remains responsible for errors and omissions. The views expressed in this working paper are intended to promote discussion and research. They do not represent the views of the Joint Research Centre, the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, or the European Commission. Please do not quote without permission. 1 Foresight for Information Society Technologies in Europe, http://fiste.jrc.es/. Innovation, growth and competitiveness in the knowledge society Several recent reports2 and Commission documents3 have reasserted the importance of the Lisbon strategy, emphasizing the role of information society technologies in creating growth and competitiveness in Europe. The objective of this paper is to highlight issues that complement existing analyses and recommendations, with a particular emphasis on new approaches that might facilitate the realisation of the Lisbon goals. The note summarises research conducted at the DG JRC - IPTS FISTE4 action in the area of information society technologies, new innovation models, ICT productivity impacts, and regional knowledge society development.
    [Show full text]
  • Overview on the Knowledge Economy and Society
    OVERVIEW ON THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY Prepared by Wendy MacDonald Research & Consulting December 1997 Preface Through the recent formation of the Knowledge Economy Partnership (KEP), the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island have demonstrated their intent to move towards a more knowledge-intensive economy and society. Under the aegis of the KEP, the Institute of Island Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island has undertaken an initiative that seeks to build a foundation of public understanding about, and to shape some consensus on, how Prince Edward Island can benefit in the emerging "Knowledge Era." The project will employ a participatory approach in testing a methodology developed by the U.S. National Research Council to assess the readiness of a jurisdiction to participate in the knowledge economy. In an age of acronyms, the project is known as KAM: Knowledge Assessment Methodology. Prince Edward Island will be among the first two or three world test sites for the KAM. This paper seeks to contribute to this initiative by providing an introduction to some of the concepts and issues related to the Knowledge Era. It is also intended to serve as a conceptual framework for a detailed review of the landscape of Prince Edward Island's knowledge economy and society. That paper will be completed as a second phase of this project. The support of Prince Edward Island's Knowledge Economy Partnership for the first phase of this project, under which this paper was prepared, is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks go, as well, to the staff of the Institute of Island Studies Harry Baglole, Nancy Murphy, Ed MacDonald, and Laurie Brinklow for their encouragement, advice and patience, and to the many other reviewers who read the first draft and suggested improvements to it.
    [Show full text]
  • The Knowledge Society: a Freedom- Centered Perspective
    The Knowledge Society: a freedom- centered perspective Authors: Wouter Tebbens, Hinde ten Berge, David Jacovkis1 (Free Knowledge Institute) License: CC by-sa Introduction The Indian Nobel Prize winner in Economics Amartya Sen defines freedom both as an objective as well as instrumental to reach that objective. He says: ‘freedoms are not only the primary ends of development, they are also among its principal means’ (Sen, 1999). Thus, the advancement of human freedoms defines development. Sen distinguishes different forms of freedom: 1. political freedom, including freedom of expression and association, 2. economic facilities, 3. social opportunities, 4. transparency guarantees and 5. protective security. These freedoms have in some form or another been laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights2. While these freedoms are indeed fundamental for any free society, as we will see in this article some of these freedoms are sacrificed for the sake of ‘intellectual property’. The freedom of expression is more and more limited by exclusive ownership of imagery and expressions which in the past were in the Public Domain but are nowadays controlled by Copyright Law. The freedom to work in favourable conditions and with traditional practices in agricultural communities is more and more limited by patents on plants, seeds and micro- organisms. The Internet has the potential to enhance the freedoms of thousands of millions of people around the world. It has enabled new forms of relationships, with less intermediaries, and has allowed people to cooperate with others with a shared interest in for profit or for benefit projects on an unprecedented scale. Although many people are still excluded from this technology due to computer illiteracy, financial poverty or political suppression, over 1,5 billion people worldwide had access to the Internet in 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • Knowledge Society and the Knowledge Gap1
    1 Knowledge Society and the Knowledge Gap Hans-Dieter Evers Dept. of Southeast Asian Studies University of Bonn, Germany Abstract Knowledge has been widely recognised by economists as the most important factor of production in a “new economy”. The production and utilisation of knowledge is therefore essential for development. Some countries, Malaysia among others, have embarked on an ambitious plan to use knowledge as a base for economic development, by-passing earlier stages of industrialisation. Some commentators have, in contrast, asserted “that it is doubtful that the knowledge revolution will let developing countries leapfrog to higher levels of development” as “the knowledge economy will actually expand the gap between rich and poor” (Avinash Persaud in Foreign Affairs 80, 2, 2001:108). The paper will discuss this controversy by showing that the development of a knowledge society and an epistemic culture is a precondition for knowledge-based economic growth. Socio-economic indicators will be used to investigate whether or not the existing knowledge gap is widening between Southeast Asia and the OECD countries. Factors explaining the situation will be outlined. Contents 1. Defining the Knowledge Gap (K-Gap) ..............................................................................2 2. A Counter-Thesis................................................................................................................3 2.1. The Widening K-Gap .................................................................................................3
    [Show full text]
  • Knowledge Society and Technical Professional Education in Brazil
    Sociedade do conhecimento... SOCIEDADE DO CONHECIMENTO E EDUCAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL DE NÍVEL TÉCNICO NO BRASIL CELSO JOÃO FERRETTI Programa de Mestrado em Educação da Universidade de Sorocaba [email protected] RESUMO Pretende-se abordar neste artigo a discussão sobre formação e conhecimento focalizando o tema nas reiteradas afirmações de que as sociedades atuais, em âmbito mundial, são “sociedades do conhecimento”. Por essa razão, numa primeira parte será discutida essa formulação, assim como o conceito de “formação”, para, em uma segunda, estabelecer-se a relação entre conhecimento e formação e desta com a educação escolar, em geral, e com a profissional, em particular. SOCIEDADE DO CONHECIMENTO – FORMAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL – POLÍTICAS EDUCACIONAIS ABSTRACT KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY AND TECHNICAL PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN BRAZIL. This article approaches the discussion on education and knowledge focusing on the subject of the reiterated statement that present societies are “knowledge societies” on the world level. Thus, the first part of the text discusses this formulation, as well as the concept of “education”, and its second part establishes the relationship between both of them, as well as the relationship between “education”, school education in general and professional education in particular. KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY – VOCATIONAL TRAINING – EDUCATIONAL POLICIES CadernosCadernos dede Pesquisa,Pesquisa, v.v. 38,38, n.n. 135,135, set./dez.p. 637-656, 2008 set./dez. 2008 637 CP 135-3prova.indd 637 9/10/2008 11:31:20 Celso João Ferretti A SOCIEDADE DO CONHECIMENTO O termo “sociedade do conhecimento” é utilizado com freqüência em textos que se voltam para o exame e análise das mudanças que se têm veri- ficado no campo do trabalho, em particular aquele afeto ao setor industrial, em razão da adoção de novas tecnologias de base física e organizacional, com especial atenção para as primeiras.
    [Show full text]