Developing Knowledge-Intensive Society and Knowledge Industrial Hub in Kerala: Global Applications and Implications
Economics / India Dec 08, 2016 - 04:31 PM GMTBy: Dr_R_M_Mathew
This is a work on Development Strategy based on Knowledge and Brain Power, rather than Capital and Technology, including Information Technology. It is prepared for the specific context of Kerala, one of the smallest Indian states and also known as ‘God’s Own Country’. Kerala has the highest digital connectivity. The proposed Kerala Model may have wider applications to various small and big countries, including India as a whole, in pursuing a Knowledge-Intensive Development Strategy (KIDS).
Coming of the Age of Knowledge
Twenty first century is the age of Knowledge, rather than mere Data, Information, Capital, Technology and knowledge-poor workforce. Knowledge has been emerging the strategic factor that determines Peace and Development besides Coexistence between Peoples and nations. When a society turns highly knowledge-intensive, it starts to play strategic roles in global issues besides solving its own problems and everybody is empowered with knowledge.
Here, ‘Knowledge’ should not be confused with Data, Information, Data Mining, Big Data and Information Management which is also wrongly designated as ‘Knowledge Management’, as Knowledge has been distinguished from Data or Information in the ongoing discussion.
Data-Intensive Growth
The last thirty years of growth and penetration of Information Technology show that the Humanity is heading towards a big crisis brought out by too much Data and Data-Intensification, making Wisdom and Knowledge the great causalities, besides prolonging the Global Economic Crisis coupled with rising Islamic Terrorism. In the Data-Intensive Economy, knowledge is buried under the truck-load of Data.
It can be seen that almost every decision-making process of individuals, firms, institutions, corporations, industries, nations, governmental and inter-governmental agencies and above all, the global economy is on the basis of a set of Data or Information without the backing of sound theories, wisdom, experiences, and expertise, together known as Knowledge.
The Humanity is getting realized that without Knowledge, Data or Information has no value. All these complexities helped the re-orientation and reinvention of Knowledge, developing new sciences, technology and systems for knowledge processing and delivering, namely Knowmatics and Dynamic Knowledge Banks besides redefining Knowledge Economy. These issues have been discussed in my following earlier works:
Knowledge Economy - New Directions And Challenges http://www.slideshare.net/drrajumathew/knowledge-economy-illusions-and-hard-realities-14622932
U.A.E Knowledge Economy — Problems and Challenges http://www.slideshare.net/drrajumathew/uae-knowledge-economy-challanges
Google, Facebook and Wikipedia
IT giants like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are riddled with innumerable bundles of Data and Information and are unable to process and deliver strategic Knowledge to its customers in spite some of efforts in developing Google Scholar, Expert Systems, Semantic Computing and Artificial Intelligence. Wikipedia is unable to provide reliable, up-to-date and personalized or customized knowledge. Unless they redesign and restructure themselves, in the coming days of knowledge their relevance or the very existence will be questioned as discussed in some of my works appeared in the Market Oracle (UK).
Redesigning Internet and Facebook to Explore Their Full Potentialities and Empower the Humanity with Knowledge for Finding Solutions for Its Problems http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article52547.html
Delivering Quality Education for All Under the Threats of Islamic Terrorism, Refugee Crisis and Budget Cuts - New Roles of UNESCO, Internet, Google and Facebook http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article54496.html
Strategic, Methodological and Developmental Importance of Knowledge Consumption - Production in Countering Terrorism and Ensuring Peace (5788 Reads) http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article48326.html
Obsolete Development Strategies
Kerala, a small strip of land between the Sea and High Mountains, and its over 35 million people, are under a developmental crisis though it projected the Kerala Development Model and growth based on earning made by the Keralites working in foreign countries. No Development is possible for Kerala within the framework of the conventional agricultural or industrial or service sector development. So also is the case with the Data-intensive Information Technology development strategy, including undertaking Business Outsourcing, Data Coding and Call Centre activities amidst the rising Populism in the entire West.
Development Crisis of Kerala
Kerala Development Strategy has been based on the familiar 4-Factor (land, labor, capital and organization) and 3 –Sector (primary, secondary and tertiary) Model, incorporating Globalization and Information Technology. It has set a development boundary in which no further development is possible. It is getting realized that just by setting up ‘Technoparks’ or ‘Smart Cities’ or ‘Cyber Parks’ centered on Software Exports and undertaking on-shore or off-shore business activities, including business outsourcing, Kerala cannot attain development as they could not tap the real wealth of Kerala, namely Knowledge and Brain Power of its people.
New Development Strategies
All these realities necessitate the formulation of innovative development strategies for Kerala based on its own available resources. Kerala can attain sustainable development based on Knowledge and Brain Power of its educated and knowledge rich people, including youth, women and wise elders. It needs a strategy to transform the brain power and knowledge of the people into wealth and marketable knowledge products, packages and solution globally, besides making every social productive process, including education, professional services and agricultural or industrial or governmental activities into highly ‘Knowledge-Intensive’.
Knowing Knowledge
There exists a lot of confusion between Data, including Information, and Knowledge. This can be resolved only by identifying their basic structures and building-blocks. Whereas the building blocks of Data or Information are ‘Bytes’, the building blocks of Knowledge are ‘Concepts’. Concepts have independent meaning and Bytes do not have any independent meaning at all. While the structure of Data is linear and static; the structure of knowledge is non-linear and dynamic as is in the case of the thinking of the human brain.
Knowledge and Information Technology
Information Technology or Informatics has originally been designed for Processing and Transferring or Communicating Truck-loads of Data or Information at a very high speed globally. However, it is wrongly assumed, even by the experts that Information Technology is capable of dealing everything connected with Knowledge, including Education, Professional Services and Practices, Decision-Making, Scientific Research and Putting Knowledge into Practice can effectively be solved.
But Information Technology has been built upon algorithms based on the data structure which is static and linear, besides Bytes, the building blocks of Data and not on knowledge structure which is dynamic and non-linear besides Concepts, the building blocks of Knowledge. That is why; Information (Processing) Technology is inappropriate for Knowledge Processing and Transferring or Communication. There is a need for developing new algorithms based on Knowledge Structure which is dynamic and non-linear besides the building blocks of Knowledge, to process knowledge and develop Knowledge Technology. For this purpose, Knowmatics has been propounded. The following works are relevant in these contexts:
Knowmatics….http://www.slideshare.net/drrajumathew/ knowmatics-and-it-education-cognitve-science-brain-research-and-psycholingustics
Knowledge Bank Global..http://www.slideshare.net/ drrajumathew/arab-african-american-chinese-and-indian-knowledge-banks-knowledge-for-all
Arab Dynamic Knowledge Bank http://www.slideshare.net/drrajumathew/arab-knowledge-bank-for-the
Arab Knowledge Bank -- Why And How ? http://www.slideshare.net/drrajumathew/arab-knowledge-bank-why-and-how-14599650
Mega Knowledge Corporation and The Decline of Universities http://www.slideshare.net/drrajumathew/mega-knowledge-corporation-system-technology-and-business-model
Knowledge Industries for Kerala Development
Knowledge Industry, as the name indicates, is concerned with the production, marketing and delivery of knowledge as a product to the global market and not confined with the traditional concept of IT Industry, Education or Scientific Research. Knowledge Industry can transform Knowledge and Brain Power of the people into marketable Knowledge Packages and Solutions globally for Education, Professional Services, Scientific Research, Decision-making and all other social production processes as they are getting into knowledge-intensive.
Knowledge Industry must be distinguished from the familiar IT Industries, including software development, coding, business outsourcing and e-commerce as they are based on a set of skills rather than the actual knowledge and intellectual power of the people. Knowledge intensification of social production process leads to the growth of knowledge industries capable of delivering knowledge products, packages and solutions globally as a Big Business in terms of billions and trillions.
Kerala must set up a series of Knowledge Parks to augment the Consumption and Production of Knowledge in diverse fields of knowledge, including scientific and traditional; then it can systematically bring out Knowledge Products, Packages and Solutions and market and deliver them globally for Education in different levels, industries, business, professions, enterprises, governments and so on.
Kerala can also set up Dynamic Knowledge Banks and Mega Knowledge Corporations for the global market with high level decentralization extending to every household consisting of Knowledge Workers, Knowledge Managers, Knowledge Technicians or Engineers either at Public Sector or Cooperative Sector or even Private Sector using the modified technologies available.
What is proposed in the specific case of Kerala can be modified, redesigned and applied nationally or globally. For revolutionizing knowledge and augmenting knowledge consumption and production of a nation strong Political Will and Visions are required. If Trump, Putin and Modi can jointly launch Global Initiatives on Knowledge Intensive Development Strategy, the humanity can attain a tenfold development within a short span of time besides reversing the trend of Global Economic Crisis grown to the extent of the Great Depression II.
Prof. (Dr.) Raju M. Mathew
(Dr. Raju M. Mathew has formulated two theories of knowledge, known as ‘Mathew’s Theories of Knowledge Consumption- Production’ besides propounding Knowmatics – Cybernetics of Knowledge. They have emerged as new fields of research,including doctoral research. So far twelve doctoral works have been brought out under his supervision. Besides publishing well refereed research monographs and research papers, he regularly publishes articles on various current issues, especially in the Market Oracle (UK) : www.marketoracle.co.uk/Userinfo-Dr_R_M_Mathew.html )
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