Author: Klaus Schwab Publisher: Currency ISBN: 1524758876 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 192
Book Description
World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolution, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wearable sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manufacturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individuals. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frameworks that advance progress.
Author: Jeff Horn Publisher: MIT Press ISBN: 0262263122 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 396
Book Description
In The Path Not Taken, Jeff Horn argues that—contrary to standard, Anglocentric accounts—French industrialization was not a failed imitation of the laissez-faire British model but the product of a distinctive industrial policy that led, over the long term, to prosperity comparable to Britain's. Despite the upheavals of the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, France developed and maintained its own industrial strengths. France was then able to take full advantage of the new technologies and industries that emerged in the "second industrial revolution," and by the end of the nineteenth century some of France's industries were outperforming Britain's handily. The Path Not Taken shows that the foundations of this success were laid during the first industrial revolution. Horn posits that the French state's early attempt to emulate Britain's style of industrial development foundered because of revolutionary politics. The "threat from below" made it impossible for the state or entrepreneurs to control and exploit laborers in the British manner. The French used different means to manage labor unruliness and encourage innovation and entrepreneurialism. Technology is at the heart of Horn's analysis, and he shows that France, unlike England, often preferred still-profitable older methods of production in order to maintain employment and forestall revolution. Horn examines the institutional framework established by Napoleon's most important Minister of the Interior, Jean-Antoine Chaptal. He focuses on textiles, chemicals, and steel, looks at how these new institutions created a new industrial environment. Horn's illuminating comparison of French and British industrialization should stir debate among historians, economists, and political scientists.
Author: Ian Inkster Publisher: ISBN: Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 416
Book Description
This book is about the changing relationships between science, technology and economic development from the eighteenth century to the present time. The task of this book is to uncover the dynamics of industrial change. --from the Preface (p. xiv).
Author: Sergey Bodrunov Publisher: Academic Studies PRess ISBN: Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 334
Book Description
The book explores the effect of modern technological shifts on human society, showing that technologies are undergoing accelerating qualitative changes that open up new opportunities for personal development and satisfaction of wants and, simultaneously, engender risks associated with growing opportunities of human interference with nature and technogenic stress on the environment. Based on the study of cutting-edge technologies and resulting socioeconomic shifts, Bodrunov’s analysis outlines the shape of the civilizational crisis we face. It can only be overcome by founding a new industrial society of the second generation (if we consider the new industrial state described by J. K. Galbraith as the first generation) reliant on knowledge intensive material production and the gradual removal of humans from immediate material production.
Author: Bei Jin Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 9811515069 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 250
Book Description
This book reviews China’s industrialization from the perspective of inclusiveness, and discusses the challenges arising from its industrialization process and how the Chinese people view and seek to overcome these challenges. By examining China’s industrialization in the context of the global economy, it reveals how China should be further integrated into and contribute to the great endeavor of worldwide industrialization and human development in the new era of economic globalization, allowing it to become a responsible stakeholder through its national rejuvenation for the benefit of the entire world.
Author: J. David Cummins Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 9780792385356 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 388
Book Description
Ten chapters explore the determinants of firm performance in the life insurance industry by identifying the best practices employed by leading insurers to succeed in the changing business environment. Particular attention is devoted to strategic choices in distribution systems, information technology, mergers and acquisitions, human resources, and financial strategies. Generic strategies such as cost leadership, customer focus, and product differentiation are analyzed as well as strategic practices specific to the insurance industry. The book concludes with an analysis of the future opportunities and challenges facing managers. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR