International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development - Volume 4, Issue 1, 2005

The People's Technology Initiative (PTI) represents a radical departure from the conventional paradigm to science and technology (S&T) and rural development by providing an alternative to it. The PTI approach emerged out of the broader People's Science Movement in India, itself a backlash against what was viewed as the weak governance of science and its failure to meet the needs of the poor and enhance their productive capacities. Elements of the PTI philosophy reflect these contextual origins with an approach that seeks to build technology systems around local knowledge, resources, and economies, rather than vice versa, as is the case with conventional models of technology development. Networking as an aspect of building partnership has been a very important component in PTI - both in terms of individual initiatives and in promoting and supporting the PTI approach. Notable also is the capacity development focus of PTI in terms of enhancing the skills and technologies of poor people and linking them to sources of S&T, thereby enhancing the capacity of the local technology system. The evolutionary characteristics of this capacity development reflect the learning-based nature of the PTI approach. PTI presents a rather radical alternative to mainstream S&T and rural development initiatives. It also contains principles of partnership and learning that are of generic significance, capable of being applied to poverty reduction programmes in different countries.

In the popular discourse on food and agriculture, one struggles to find two terms as commonly used, yet as poorly understood, as ‘genetically modified’ and ‘biotechnology’. The misunderstanding surrounding these terms is at least partially perpetuated by the fact that most social science literature on transgenic agriculture contains much of the same imprecise and inaccurate terminology found in the popular discourse on ‘GM crops’. The effect this adoption of terms has on discourse is two-fold: social science literature on ‘GMOs’ reaches a broader audience while at the same time such literature re-enforces common misconceptions on the nature of transgenic biotechnology. This article argues that phrases such as ‘genetically modified’ (and related terms) are imprecise, misleading, and thus should be eschewed by social scientists and other academics conducting research on this topic. In place of this phraseology, terms such as ‘transgenic’ and ‘rDNA-derived biotechnology’ should be adopted where appropriate. Not only would this shift in terminology have the advantage of being more accurate and precise, it would also encourage the emergence of a more informed popular discourse on this controversial aspect of agricultural research and food production.

The rapid pace of globalization has increased the desire of many developing countries to catch up on the developed ones as quickly as possible. The reality, however, is that the gap between the poor and the rich has widened over the years. This article takes up the case for building technological competitiveness as the way forward for developing countries to face the ‘catch-up’ challenge. Technological competitiveness is conditional on three key factors - access to competitive technology, continuous innovation of soft technology and provision of a soft environment or macro environment system (including a hard environment and a soft environment) that is favourable for innovation. The article attributes the gap between developed and developing countries mainly to differences in soft technology and soft environment.

The share of the manufacturing sector of South Africa in GDP doubled in the two decades following World War II. The growth of this sector after 1975 however, has been modest. Nevertheless, with respect to employment and income generation, manufacturing is the leading sector in the South African economy. This study examined the growth characteristics of South Africa using the Kaldorian approach, which purports that the manufacturing sector is the engine of economic growth. Various specifications of Kaldor's three growth laws were estimated. The empirical results support the predictions of Kaldor's growth model and are comparable to similar studies done in the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and China.

The management of research is a critical topic for universities worldwide. It is also one in which we all have much to learn. For developing countries, however, the need is perhaps even greater. Without effective research management, their task of becoming equal players in the global knowledge market will become even harder. It is in all of our interests that they succeed.