Search results for "Economy"
showing 10 items of 2131 documents
A SOLUTION TO THE DILEMMA BETWEEN R&D EXPANSION AND THE PRODUCTIVITY DECLINE: LESSONS FROM THE R&D MODELS IN AMAZON AND FINLAND
2019
As a consequence of the two-faced nature of information and communication technology (ICT), a majority of ICT leaders have been confronting the critical problem of a dilemma between R&D expansion and productivity decline in the digital economy. However, Amazon has been able to accomplish a skyrocketing increase in R&D and market capitalization. Finland has also accomplished balanced advancement not only of welfare but also economic resurgence. This paper attempted to elucidate the miracle of two ICT leaders. By means of a comparative empirical analysis of respective development trajectories, the sources of their success were analyzed thereby the comparative advantage and disadvantag…
Building trust in the sharing economy: Current approaches and future considerations
2021
The sharing economy could be an answer to the challenge of sustainability; it can facilitate the sharing and reuse of resources, create new ways of earning money, and enhance social connections. For example, by reducing the use of natural resources without having to acquire or own everything, the sharing economy can positively affect sustainability. At the core of this type of economy lies trust among users and between users and the platform—the system cannot reach its full potential without trust. In fact, businesses or organizations in the sharing economy can even fail due to trust issues, although more information is needed to make better use of the existing platforms. The aim of this sy…
Ecosocial innovations enabling social work to promote new forms of sustainable economy
2020
Social work research and practice that address environmental sustainability have already become prominent. However, a change in unsustainable economic structures is also urgently needed. This study explored emerging opportunities in theory and practice for a sustainable economy that are relevant to the aims of social work. As practical examples, our study concerns ‘ecosocial innovations’, i.e., social innovations that combine ecological and social goals. We analysed how these grassroots innovations in the field of social work reflect crucial shared conceptions of alternative economies. The qualitative data set comprised of 50 ecosocial innovations and six case studies in five European count…
Examining the role of waste-to-energy in a circular economy in Finland with meeting a zero-waste goal
2016
As the concept for circular economy gains traction in the world and the EU pushes for the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy model, the role of waste-toenergy is crucial in a circular economy as it is the last chance to extract value out of material at the same time as providing an alternative energy source, henceforth bringing together a closed-loop system. A functioning circular economy will also have minimal waste generated which is sync with the idea of zero-waste. How all these aspects really work together is the focal point of this Master’s thesis where the aim is to see how the three factors of waste-to-energy, the circular economy and a zero-waste goal work toget…
Water-smart circular economy – Conceptualisation, transitional policy instruments and stakeholder perception
2022
Highlights • A concept for a water-smart Circular Economy (CE) is introduced. • Elements of a water-smart CE are presented. • Instruments to support the transition to a water-smart CE are analysed. • Drivers for and barriers to the transition to a water-smart CE are identified. The Circular Economy (CE) is a concept that has gained considerable global attention during the past decade amongst private and public sector actors, politicians and policymakers, citizens and media, and scientific communities. Water and water-related ecosystems, despite their vital role in practically all human activities, have been largely missing from conceptualisations and scientific definitions of the CE. Theref…
Policy is what happens while you’re busy doing something else: introduction to special issue on “language” indexing higher education policy
2016
Traditionally, language has had three functions in higher education. It has been seen as a medium of teaching; as a means of archiving knowledge in different text depositories like books and libraries; and as an object of theoretical study (Brumfit 2004, 164). Brumfit’s typology acknowledges the fact that language somehow crosses the everyday experience of everyone working, studying or otherwise engaged at universities—in other words, in knowledge production. In recent years, however, two major trends in higher education policies have challenged Brumfit’s classification and called for attention to language in a new way: internationalization and globalization policies on the one hand, and kn…
From innovation to labour costs : Change of emphasis in Finnish competitiveness policy ideas after the Eurocrisis
2018
Small open economies such as Finland are particularly exposed to international market competition. In this article, Finland is analysed as a competition state where the pursuit of international advantages is a policy priority. Previously, Finland has been argued to be an exemplar of an economy following a strategy of radical transformation via creatively utilizing corporatist institutions instead of relying mainly on liberal reforms. In the 1990s, Finnish policymakers adopted policy ideas that emphasize technological change, innovation and education as a means to competitive edges and pursued these goals in a coordinated manner. This allowed Finland to adopt an export-led growth model and s…
Indo-French educational partnerships: Institutions, Technologies and Higher Education
2016
International audience; Chapter 1 Why France and India? The Convergence Hypothesis The cross-fertilization of insights derived from French and Indian intellectual History, with, on the one hand, the Age of Enlightment in Western Europe in the 18th century, bringing forward an autonomous position for knowledge in human societies, and, on the other hand, the visionary prediction made by Radhakrishnan (1911, 1933, 1936) that India’s future would be built in her classrooms, have ignited an innovative pluridisciplinary reflection on the role played by these two countries in the fabric of the knowledge-based economy in the twenty-first century (Pilkington and Nair, 2013, p.2). Pilkington and Nair…
Intellectual Capital as a Key Factor of Socio-economic Development of Regions and Countries
2013
Abstract The main goal of the paper is to present the concept of intellectual capital (IC) from regional perspective and define intangible assets as knowledge that can be converted into value or profit. Most of the measurement methods designed by now apply for measuring the intellectual capital at corporate level. Some efforts are being made to present the IC concept in the regional perspective. Development of research on a new regional approach to the intellectual capital theory has been noticed. A sample model of IC for countries and its main sub-components have been presented as well. Some selected knowledge indicators for measuring intellectual capital at national level have been illust…
The sidelining of gender equality in a corporatist and knowledge-oriented regime : The case of failed family leave reform in Finland
2020
Reform of the family leave system has been on the Finnish political agenda for a long time but has proved to be a challenging task. The challenges relate to ideological differences between the political parties and to non-decision making in tripartite working groups, where the labour market parties participate in policy formulation. The article analyses the recent attempt to reform the Finnish family leave system under a right-conservative government (2015–2019) as an example of how diverging political ideologies and vested interests undermine adoption of government gender equality policy. The case also serves as an example of the growing influence of knowledge, and especially economic know…