Knowledge-oriented Society Policies in the Arab World

Download or read book Knowledge-oriented Society Policies in the Arab World written by Ghassan Mohamad Abdel Kader and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the rapid advances in science and technology, information and communication technologies have assumed a pervasive and transformative role in production, or ganization, management, labor relations, and work patterns. Government across th e globe, especially in developing countries, have responded to the emerging know ledge coordination demands by orienting their public policies and management pra ctices towards the creation of Information and Knowledge society. Since the 1990s, Jordan has consistently integrated knowledge-oriented society p olicies into its development plan. The turning point towards information technol ogy and knowledge as key factors for development has been the ascension of King Abdullah to the throne. Through a long series of projects, initiatives, and stra tegies, and a large number of participating institutions, policies have been pro moting the creation of knowledge society. Moreover, Jordan integrated the knowle dge policies within its development plans, especially the last plan of 2004-2007 , showing the high political commitment to comprehensive reforms at all levels. This thesis reorients the analysis of Jordan's development policies, by shifting the emphasis from information and communication technologies to knowledge and k nowledge-oriented policies. The objective is thus to analyze the context of know ledge-oriented policies and examine the extent to which Jordanian decision-maker s are using this insight to create new knowledge and task systems that guide kno wledge-oriented strategies. The building blocks of a knowledge society for development are the following: kn owledge vision, political commitment, major economic liberalization and reforms, a reliable technological infrastructure, a professional cadre, greater social p articipation, and an educational policy based on information technology and orie nted towards the knowledge economy.