The application of knowledge is a primary source of growth in the knowledge economy. The World Bank Group has developed a rigorous assessment methodology for assessing a country＇s ability to access and use knowledge ...The application of knowledge is a primary source of growth in the knowledge economy. The World Bank Group has developed a rigorous assessment methodology for assessing a country＇s ability to access and use knowledge to become more competitive in the knowledge economy of the 21st century. The World Bank＇s annual knowledge economy index is grounded on a four-pillar model： （1） economic incentives and institutional regime; （2） education and skills; （3） information and communication infrastructure; and （4） innovation systems. An argument can be made that the model lacks coverage of some key factors that pertain to intellectual capital and the production and consumption of knowledge. The model＇s heavy focus on economic incentives and open institutional regimes comes at a societal cost. This paper proposes an alternative knowledge economy index which is grounded in a more holistic and balanced view of a knowledge society. Adopting the perspective of triple bottom line shifts the purpose and design of a knowledge economy from one of aggregation and reporting to action and involvement. The World Bank＇s scorecard and indexing methodology are adaptable to this new perspective and a new set of indicators.展开更多
Sustainable development contributes to the economic and social advancement of construction projects. Ignoring sustainability during the cost estimating process associated with evaluation phase develops many problems o...Sustainable development contributes to the economic and social advancement of construction projects. Ignoring sustainability during the cost estimating process associated with evaluation phase develops many problems of conventional decision methodology used in construction industry in the most of developing countries. This research focuses on sustainability which is the key factor in all decision making in design and construction processes. Therefore, Iraqi construction industry should respond to sustainability as a leading indicator of its infrastructure rebuilding. The construction management and sustainability could help to manage the rebuilding of the destroyed public infrastructure during the disaster wars periods passed thru thirty years ago and also to modernize of private buildings and plants. Field study has been carried out by adopting personal interviews and questionnaires conducted with experts, experienced consultants and designers working in many design organizations. The data collected has been analyzed and the results obtained show a clear weakness in the field of sustainability understanding, practicing and implementation. Moreover, the design work in Iraq is suffering from a lack of scientific techniques and a lack in experience in the domain of sustainability field. This will take an integrated approach to study the impact of sustainability on construction management which encompasses both public and private sector perspectives for building and engineering construction, and the roles played by all the participants in the construction team （owners, contractors, design professionals, and other supporting professionals）.展开更多
文摘The application of knowledge is a primary source of growth in the knowledge economy. The World Bank Group has developed a rigorous assessment methodology for assessing a country＇s ability to access and use knowledge to become more competitive in the knowledge economy of the 21st century. The World Bank＇s annual knowledge economy index is grounded on a four-pillar model： （1） economic incentives and institutional regime; （2） education and skills; （3） information and communication infrastructure; and （4） innovation systems. An argument can be made that the model lacks coverage of some key factors that pertain to intellectual capital and the production and consumption of knowledge. The model＇s heavy focus on economic incentives and open institutional regimes comes at a societal cost. This paper proposes an alternative knowledge economy index which is grounded in a more holistic and balanced view of a knowledge society. Adopting the perspective of triple bottom line shifts the purpose and design of a knowledge economy from one of aggregation and reporting to action and involvement. The World Bank＇s scorecard and indexing methodology are adaptable to this new perspective and a new set of indicators.
文摘Sustainable development contributes to the economic and social advancement of construction projects. Ignoring sustainability during the cost estimating process associated with evaluation phase develops many problems of conventional decision methodology used in construction industry in the most of developing countries. This research focuses on sustainability which is the key factor in all decision making in design and construction processes. Therefore, Iraqi construction industry should respond to sustainability as a leading indicator of its infrastructure rebuilding. The construction management and sustainability could help to manage the rebuilding of the destroyed public infrastructure during the disaster wars periods passed thru thirty years ago and also to modernize of private buildings and plants. Field study has been carried out by adopting personal interviews and questionnaires conducted with experts, experienced consultants and designers working in many design organizations. The data collected has been analyzed and the results obtained show a clear weakness in the field of sustainability understanding, practicing and implementation. Moreover, the design work in Iraq is suffering from a lack of scientific techniques and a lack in experience in the domain of sustainability field. This will take an integrated approach to study the impact of sustainability on construction management which encompasses both public and private sector perspectives for building and engineering construction, and the roles played by all the participants in the construction team （owners, contractors, design professionals, and other supporting professionals）.
