ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the design and implementation of Malaysia's national Information Technology (IT) policy with a focus on the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project. Qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, document analysis and literature analysis, were used to build an understanding of the development of the MSC. The analysis adopts a holistic approach that draws upon the multidisciplinary perspectives of complex adaptive systems in order to understand how social, economic, political and institutional forces interact in a changing environment. This research contributes a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and methods. It is one of the first public studies of the MSC and one of very few complex systems analyses of a socio-economic system in a developing country. It has been argued that many countries around the world are competing rapidly to produce 'visionary' reports and policy statements on the future of their nations and societies in the 'Information Age'. This is due to the belief that IT can play critical role in stimulating the socio-economic growth of the countries. In Malaysia, the government embarked on an ambitious program to establish the MSC as an attempt to achieve Vision 2020, a national vision and Malaysia's statement of national goals that articulates the country's objective for developed-nation status, while moving towards the creation of an information-rich society by the year 2020. Despite the importance of national IT policies and the major commitment of resources to implement them, there are few critical studies of the positive and negative impacts of 'post-industrial' or 'information society' policy, particularly in the developing countries like Malaysia. This study seeks in part to fill this gap by providing a critical assessment of a Malaysian national IT policy. This research argues that IT policy for national development must be viewed holistically, taking into consideration innovations needed in the social, economic, political and institutional spheres, rather than taking limited view of IT as an economic growth engine. This is a paradigm shift that represents a movement from the traditional worldview (TWV), that was based on the Cartesian/Newtonian paradigm into new ways of thinking and action that is labelled here as the emerging worldview (EMV). The EMV is grounded in complexity theory, an interdisciplinary endeavour that draws upon ideas from a number of fields and seeks to understand and model systems with many interacting parts. This approach can help policy makers and analysts to understand, assess and develop a more balanced and comprehensive policy for the evolution of new technology such as IT and to tackle the complexity of socio-economic change of a dynamic real world setting. The data collection method is from in-depth, open-ended interviews and document analysis. This qualitative exploratory approach was chosen to understand and capture the points of view of other people without specifically limiting the lines of inquiry through questionnaires etc. This research was influenced by multiple theoretical frameworks, because taking one framework alone in analysing the complex issues involved in ICT would not provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay of the socio-technical and techno-economic paradigms. This resulted in the contribution of a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and method. This research found that the MSC policy plan and process were not working as intended to achieve the goals of Vision 2020. The strategy of clustering businesses in one physical location to establish synergy did not work as anticipated because: (1) Cyberjaya was not yet fully ready with all the necessary people, infrastructure and community since many basic amenities have yet to be competed; (2) The distance of Cyberjaya to key cities were perceived to be too far; (3) Operational costs in Cyberjaya were perceived as high; (4) The Cyberjaya ecosystem lacks attractive incentives; and (5) Most of the current and potential MSC firms, customers and suppliers were already located outside Cyberjaya with existing networks of people and facilities in other locations. (6) The current environment of the MSC was also found not to be conducive to facilitating a self-organizing system due to the lack of a wide consultative and participatory process. Consequently, drastic changes to the organizational structure and behaviour are needed before success can happen. It was found that the key challenges and barriers to the transformation process in and through the MSC lie in the nature of the existing mindset, the operational practice, culture and power structural arrangements within and among the policy, people and institutions of the MSC. Discussion on the MSC tends to be centred on the technological and commercial without recognizing that technological change relies on concomitant social and political shifts. By succumbing to technology driven views and 'information society' rhetoric, policy makers are allowing real economic and social choices to be smothered. This dissertation argues that instead of presenting technology as something which is external to the society, with a dynamics of its own, and to which society must learn to adapt, effective debate about new technology must acknowledge the related political choices, power relationships and value judgments about the shape and direction of the society using the technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop policies to ensure that the economic benefits and social engineering associated with Malaysia’s knowledge economy are managed through participatory and partnership methods at all levels of the country. This research has shown that complex systems analysis can lay the groundwork for a new approach that more accurately represents societal choices and outcomes than past approaches. Few researchers have undertaken complex systems analyses of social systems, with still fewer examining the context of a national public IT policy in a developing country like Malaysia. Further, there are very few thorough public studies done of the MSC itself, with most studies on the MSC either being done in confidence and/or being conducted by foreign consultants appointed by the government or by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC). As such, public accessibility to critical studies on the MSC or public documents on them is rarely available. This research, if not the first, is one of the first attempts made to provide a thorough constructive critical study on the MSC policy project since its official launch in 1996. It is also, if not the first, one of the first attempts made to apply the emerging paradigm or the new science of complexity in a real world national policy case study, specifically the MSC policy project. Moreover, there is a huge lacking of research done on behalf of 'marginalized communities'. This research is not carried out on behalf of private enterprise or national governments but rather it is done on behalf of its citizens.

ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the design and implementation of Malaysia's national Information Technology (IT) policy with a focus on the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project. Qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, document analysis and literature analysis, were used to build an understanding of the development of the MSC. The analysis adopts a holistic approach that draws upon the multidisciplinary perspectives of complex adaptive systems in order to understand how social, economic, political and institutional forces interact in a changing environment. This research contributes a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and methods. It is one of the first public studies of the MSC and one of very few complex systems analyses of a socio-economic system in a developing country. It has been argued that many countries around the world are competing rapidly to produce 'visionary' reports and policy statements on the future of their nations and societies in the 'Information Age'. This is due to the belief that IT can play critical role in stimulating the socio-economic growth of the countries. In Malaysia, the government embarked on an ambitious program to establish the MSC as an attempt to achieve Vision 2020, a national vision and Malaysia's statement of national goals that articulates the country's objective for developed-nation status, while moving towards the creation of an information-rich society by the year 2020. Despite the importance of national IT policies and the major commitment of resources to implement them, there are few critical studies of the positive and negative impacts of 'post-industrial' or 'information society' policy, particularly in the developing countries like Malaysia. This study seeks in part to fill this gap by providing a critical assessment of a Malaysian national IT policy. This research argues that IT policy for national development must be viewed holistically, taking into consideration innovations needed in the social, economic, political and institutional spheres, rather than taking limited view of IT as an economic growth engine. This is a paradigm shift that represents a movement from the traditional worldview (TWV), that was based on the Cartesian/Newtonian paradigm into new ways of thinking and action that is labelled here as the emerging worldview (EMV). The EMV is grounded in complexity theory, an interdisciplinary endeavour that draws upon ideas from a number of fields and seeks to understand and model systems with many interacting parts. This approach can help policy makers and analysts to understand, assess and develop a more balanced and comprehensive policy for the evolution of new technology such as IT and to tackle the complexity of socio-economic change of a dynamic real world setting. The data collection method is from in-depth, open-ended interviews and document analysis. This qualitative exploratory approach was chosen to understand and capture the points of view of other people without specifically limiting the lines of inquiry through questionnaires etc. This research was influenced by multiple theoretical frameworks, because taking one framework alone in analysing the complex issues involved in ICT would not provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay of the socio-technical and techno-economic paradigms. This resulted in the contribution of a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and method. This research found that the MSC policy plan and process were not working as intended to achieve the goals of Vision 2020. The strategy of clustering businesses in one physical location to establish synergy did not work as anticipated because: (1) Cyberjaya was not yet fully ready with all the necessary people, infrastructure and community since many basic amenities have yet to be competed; (2) The distance of Cyberjaya to key cities were perceived to be too far; (3) Operational costs in Cyberjaya were perceived as high; (4) The Cyberjaya ecosystem lacks attractive incentives; and (5) Most of the current and potential MSC firms, customers and suppliers were already located outside Cyberjaya with existing networks of people and facilities in other locations. (6) The current environment of the MSC was also found not to be conducive to facilitating a self-organizing system due to the lack of a wide consultative and participatory process. Consequently, drastic changes to the organizational structure and behaviour are needed before success can happen. It was found that the key challenges and barriers to the transformation process in and through the MSC lie in the nature of the existing mindset, the operational practice, culture and power structural arrangements within and among the policy, people and institutions of the MSC. Discussion on the MSC tends to be centred on the technological and commercial without recognizing that technological change relies on concomitant social and political shifts. By succumbing to technology driven views and 'information society' rhetoric, policy makers are allowing real economic and social choices to be smothered. This dissertation argues that instead of presenting technology as something which is external to the society, with a dynamics of its own, and to which society must learn to adapt, effective debate about new technology must acknowledge the related political choices, power relationships and value judgments about the shape and direction of the society using the technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop policies to ensure that the economic benefits and social engineering associated with Malaysia’s knowledge economy are managed through participatory and partnership methods at all levels of the country. This research has shown that complex systems analysis can lay the groundwork for a new approach that more accurately represents societal choices and outcomes than past approaches. Few researchers have undertaken complex systems analyses of social systems, with still fewer examining the context of a national public IT policy in a developing country like Malaysia. Further, there are very few thorough public studies done of the MSC itself, with most studies on the MSC either being done in confidence and/or being conducted by foreign consultants appointed by the government or by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC). As such, public accessibility to critical studies on the MSC or public documents on them is rarely available. This research, if not the first, is one of the first attempts made to provide a thorough constructive critical study on the MSC policy project since its official launch in 1996. It is also, if not the first, one of the first attempts made to apply the emerging paradigm or the new science of complexity in a real world national policy case study, specifically the MSC policy project. Moreover, there is a huge lacking of research done on behalf of 'marginalized communities'. This research is not carried out on behalf of private enterprise or national governments but rather it is done on behalf of its citizens.

ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the design and implementation of Malaysia's national Information Technology (IT) policy with a focus on the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project. Qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, document analysis and literature analysis, were used to build an understanding of the development of the MSC. The analysis adopts a holistic approach that draws upon the multidisciplinary perspectives of complex adaptive systems in order to understand how social, economic, political and institutional forces interact in a changing environment. This research contributes a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and methods. It is one of the first public studies of the MSC and one of very few complex systems analyses of a socio-economic system in a developing country. It has been argued that many countries around the world are competing rapidly to produce 'visionary' reports and policy statements on the future of their nations and societies in the 'Information Age'. This is due to the belief that IT can play critical role in stimulating the socio-economic growth of the countries. In Malaysia, the government embarked on an ambitious program to establish the MSC as an attempt to achieve Vision 2020, a national vision and Malaysia's statement of national goals that articulates the country's objective for developed-nation status, while moving towards the creation of an information-rich society by the year 2020. Despite the importance of national IT policies and the major commitment of resources to implement them, there are few critical studies of the positive and negative impacts of 'post-industrial' or 'information society' policy, particularly in the developing countries like Malaysia. This study seeks in part to fill this gap by providing a critical assessment of a Malaysian national IT policy. This research argues that IT policy for national development must be viewed holistically, taking into consideration innovations needed in the social, economic, political and institutional spheres, rather than taking limited view of IT as an economic growth engine. This is a paradigm shift that represents a movement from the traditional worldview (TWV), that was based on the Cartesian/Newtonian paradigm into new ways of thinking and action that is labelled here as the emerging worldview (EMV). The EMV is grounded in complexity theory, an interdisciplinary endeavour that draws upon ideas from a number of fields and seeks to understand and model systems with many interacting parts. This approach can help policy makers and analysts to understand, assess and develop a more balanced and comprehensive policy for the evolution of new technology such as IT and to tackle the complexity of socio-economic change of a dynamic real world setting. The data collection method is from in-depth, open-ended interviews and document analysis. This qualitative exploratory approach was chosen to understand and capture the points of view of other people without specifically limiting the lines of inquiry through questionnaires etc. This research was influenced by multiple theoretical frameworks, because taking one framework alone in analysing the complex issues involved in ICT would not provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay of the socio-technical and techno-economic paradigms. This resulted in the contribution of a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and method. This research found that the MSC policy plan and process were not working as intended to achieve the goals of Vision 2020. The strategy of clustering businesses in one physical location to establish synergy did not work as anticipated because: (1) Cyberjaya was not yet fully ready with all the necessary people, infrastructure and community since many basic amenities have yet to be competed; (2) The distance of Cyberjaya to key cities were perceived to be too far; (3) Operational costs in Cyberjaya were perceived as high; (4) The Cyberjaya ecosystem lacks attractive incentives; and (5) Most of the current and potential MSC firms, customers and suppliers were already located outside Cyberjaya with existing networks of people and facilities in other locations. (6) The current environment of the MSC was also found not to be conducive to facilitating a self-organizing system due to the lack of a wide consultative and participatory process. Consequently, drastic changes to the organizational structure and behaviour are needed before success can happen. It was found that the key challenges and barriers to the transformation process in and through the MSC lie in the nature of the existing mindset, the operational practice, culture and power structural arrangements within and among the policy, people and institutions of the MSC. Discussion on the MSC tends to be centred on the technological and commercial without recognizing that technological change relies on concomitant social and political shifts. By succumbing to technology driven views and 'information society' rhetoric, policy makers are allowing real economic and social choices to be smothered. This dissertation argues that instead of presenting technology as something which is external to the society, with a dynamics of its own, and to which society must learn to adapt, effective debate about new technology must acknowledge the related political choices, power relationships and value judgments about the shape and direction of the society using the technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop policies to ensure that the economic benefits and social engineering associated with Malaysia’s knowledge economy are managed through participatory and partnership methods at all levels of the country. This research has shown that complex systems analysis can lay the groundwork for a new approach that more accurately represents societal choices and outcomes than past approaches. Few researchers have undertaken complex systems analyses of social systems, with still fewer examining the context of a national public IT policy in a developing country like Malaysia. Further, there are very few thorough public studies done of the MSC itself, with most studies on the MSC either being done in confidence and/or being conducted by foreign consultants appointed by the government or by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC). As such, public accessibility to critical studies on the MSC or public documents on them is rarely available. This research, if not the first, is one of the first attempts made to provide a thorough constructive critical study on the MSC policy project since its official launch in 1996. It is also, if not the first, one of the first attempts made to apply the emerging paradigm or the new science of complexity in a real world national policy case study, specifically the MSC policy project. Moreover, there is a huge lacking of research done on behalf of 'marginalized communities'. This research is not carried out on behalf of private enterprise or national governments but rather it is done on behalf of its citizens.

ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the design and implementation of Malaysia's national Information Technology (IT) policy with a focus on the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project. Qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, document analysis and literature analysis, were used to build an understanding of the development of the MSC. The analysis adopts a holistic approach that draws upon the multidisciplinary perspectives of complex adaptive systems in order to understand how social, economic, political and institutional forces interact in a changing environment. This research contributes a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and methods. It is one of the first public studies of the MSC and one of very few complex systems analyses of a socio-economic system in a developing country. It has been argued that many countries around the world are competing rapidly to produce 'visionary' reports and policy statements on the future of their nations and societies in the 'Information Age'. This is due to the belief that IT can play critical role in stimulating the socio-economic growth of the countries. In Malaysia, the government embarked on an ambitious program to establish the MSC as an attempt to achieve Vision 2020, a national vision and Malaysia's statement of national goals that articulates the country's objective for developed-nation status, while moving towards the creation of an information-rich society by the year 2020. Despite the importance of national IT policies and the major commitment of resources to implement them, there are few critical studies of the positive and negative impacts of 'post-industrial' or 'information society' policy, particularly in the developing countries like Malaysia. This study seeks in part to fill this gap by providing a critical assessment of a Malaysian national IT policy. This research argues that IT policy for national development must be viewed holistically, taking into consideration innovations needed in the social, economic, political and institutional spheres, rather than taking limited view of IT as an economic growth engine. This is a paradigm shift that represents a movement from the traditional worldview (TWV), that was based on the Cartesian/Newtonian paradigm into new ways of thinking and action that is labelled here as the emerging worldview (EMV). The EMV is grounded in complexity theory, an interdisciplinary endeavour that draws upon ideas from a number of fields and seeks to understand and model systems with many interacting parts. This approach can help policy makers and analysts to understand, assess and develop a more balanced and comprehensive policy for the evolution of new technology such as IT and to tackle the complexity of socio-economic change of a dynamic real world setting. The data collection method is from in-depth, open-ended interviews and document analysis. This qualitative exploratory approach was chosen to understand and capture the points of view of other people without specifically limiting the lines of inquiry through questionnaires etc. This research was influenced by multiple theoretical frameworks, because taking one framework alone in analysing the complex issues involved in ICT would not provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay of the socio-technical and techno-economic paradigms. This resulted in the contribution of a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and method. This research found that the MSC policy plan and process were not working as intended to achieve the goals of Vision 2020. The strategy of clustering businesses in one physical location to establish synergy did not work as anticipated because: (1) Cyberjaya was not yet fully ready with all the necessary people, infrastructure and community since many basic amenities have yet to be competed; (2) The distance of Cyberjaya to key cities were perceived to be too far; (3) Operational costs in Cyberjaya were perceived as high; (4) The Cyberjaya ecosystem lacks attractive incentives; and (5) Most of the current and potential MSC firms, customers and suppliers were already located outside Cyberjaya with existing networks of people and facilities in other locations. (6) The current environment of the MSC was also found not to be conducive to facilitating a self-organizing system due to the lack of a wide consultative and participatory process. Consequently, drastic changes to the organizational structure and behaviour are needed before success can happen. It was found that the key challenges and barriers to the transformation process in and through the MSC lie in the nature of the existing mindset, the operational practice, culture and power structural arrangements within and among the policy, people and institutions of the MSC. Discussion on the MSC tends to be centred on the technological and commercial without recognizing that technological change relies on concomitant social and political shifts. By succumbing to technology driven views and 'information society' rhetoric, policy makers are allowing real economic and social choices to be smothered. This dissertation argues that instead of presenting technology as something which is external to the society, with a dynamics of its own, and to which society must learn to adapt, effective debate about new technology must acknowledge the related political choices, power relationships and value judgments about the shape and direction of the society using the technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop policies to ensure that the economic benefits and social engineering associated with Malaysia’s knowledge economy are managed through participatory and partnership methods at all levels of the country. This research has shown that complex systems analysis can lay the groundwork for a new approach that more accurately represents societal choices and outcomes than past approaches. Few researchers have undertaken complex systems analyses of social systems, with still fewer examining the context of a national public IT policy in a developing country like Malaysia. Further, there are very few thorough public studies done of the MSC itself, with most studies on the MSC either being done in confidence and/or being conducted by foreign consultants appointed by the government or by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC). As such, public accessibility to critical studies on the MSC or public documents on them is rarely available. This research, if not the first, is one of the first attempts made to provide a thorough constructive critical study on the MSC policy project since its official launch in 1996. It is also, if not the first, one of the first attempts made to apply the emerging paradigm or the new science of complexity in a real world national policy case study, specifically the MSC policy project. Moreover, there is a huge lacking of research done on behalf of 'marginalized communities'. This research is not carried out on behalf of private enterprise or national governments but rather it is done on behalf of its citizens.

ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the design and implementation of Malaysia's national Information Technology (IT) policy with a focus on the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project. Qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, document analysis and literature analysis, were used to build an understanding of the development of the MSC. The analysis adopts a holistic approach that draws upon the multidisciplinary perspectives of complex adaptive systems in order to understand how social, economic, political and institutional forces interact in a changing environment. This research contributes a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and methods. It is one of the first public studies of the MSC and one of very few complex systems analyses of a socio-economic system in a developing country. It has been argued that many countries around the world are competing rapidly to produce 'visionary' reports and policy statements on the future of their nations and societies in the 'Information Age'. This is due to the belief that IT can play critical role in stimulating the socio-economic growth of the countries. In Malaysia, the government embarked on an ambitious program to establish the MSC as an attempt to achieve Vision 2020, a national vision and Malaysia's statement of national goals that articulates the country's objective for developed-nation status, while moving towards the creation of an information-rich society by the year 2020. Despite the importance of national IT policies and the major commitment of resources to implement them, there are few critical studies of the positive and negative impacts of 'post-industrial' or 'information society' policy, particularly in the developing countries like Malaysia. This study seeks in part to fill this gap by providing a critical assessment of a Malaysian national IT policy. This research argues that IT policy for national development must be viewed holistically, taking into consideration innovations needed in the social, economic, political and institutional spheres, rather than taking limited view of IT as an economic growth engine. This is a paradigm shift that represents a movement from the traditional worldview (TWV), that was based on the Cartesian/Newtonian paradigm into new ways of thinking and action that is labelled here as the emerging worldview (EMV). The EMV is grounded in complexity theory, an interdisciplinary endeavour that draws upon ideas from a number of fields and seeks to understand and model systems with many interacting parts. This approach can help policy makers and analysts to understand, assess and develop a more balanced and comprehensive policy for the evolution of new technology such as IT and to tackle the complexity of socio-economic change of a dynamic real world setting. The data collection method is from in-depth, open-ended interviews and document analysis. This qualitative exploratory approach was chosen to understand and capture the points of view of other people without specifically limiting the lines of inquiry through questionnaires etc. This research was influenced by multiple theoretical frameworks, because taking one framework alone in analysing the complex issues involved in ICT would not provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay of the socio-technical and techno-economic paradigms. This resulted in the contribution of a policy framework called Goal-Policy-Implementation-Outcome (GPIO), which is used to understand, describe and assess the MSC policy design and method. This research found that the MSC policy plan and process were not working as intended to achieve the goals of Vision 2020. The strategy of clustering businesses in one physical location to establish synergy did not work as anticipated because: (1) Cyberjaya was not yet fully ready with all the necessary people, infrastructure and community since many basic amenities have yet to be competed; (2) The distance of Cyberjaya to key cities were perceived to be too far; (3) Operational costs in Cyberjaya were perceived as high; (4) The Cyberjaya ecosystem lacks attractive incentives; and (5) Most of the current and potential MSC firms, customers and suppliers were already located outside Cyberjaya with existing networks of people and facilities in other locations. (6) The current environment of the MSC was also found not to be conducive to facilitating a self-organizing system due to the lack of a wide consultative and participatory process. Consequently, drastic changes to the organizational structure and behaviour are needed before success can happen. It was found that the key challenges and barriers to the transformation process in and through the MSC lie in the nature of the existing mindset, the operational practice, culture and power structural arrangements within and among the policy, people and institutions of the MSC. Discussion on the MSC tends to be centred on the technological and commercial without recognizing that technological change relies on concomitant social and political shifts. By succumbing to technology driven views and 'information society' rhetoric, policy makers are allowing real economic and social choices to be smothered. This dissertation argues that instead of presenting technology as something which is external to the society, with a dynamics of its own, and to which society must learn to adapt, effective debate about new technology must acknowledge the related political choices, power relationships and value judgments about the shape and direction of the society using the technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop policies to ensure that the economic benefits and social engineering associated with Malaysia’s knowledge economy are managed through participatory and partnership methods at all levels of the country. This research has shown that complex systems analysis can lay the groundwork for a new approach that more accurately represents societal choices and outcomes than past approaches. Few researchers have undertaken complex systems analyses of social systems, with still fewer examining the context of a national public IT policy in a developing country like Malaysia. Further, there are very few thorough public studies done of the MSC itself, with most studies on the MSC either being done in confidence and/or being conducted by foreign consultants appointed by the government or by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC). As such, public accessibility to critical studies on the MSC or public documents on them is rarely available. This research, if not the first, is one of the first attempts made to provide a thorough constructive critical study on the MSC policy project since its official launch in 1996. It is also, if not the first, one of the first attempts made to apply the emerging paradigm or the new science of complexity in a real world national policy case study, specifically the MSC policy project. Moreover, there is a huge lacking of research done on behalf of 'marginalized communities'. This research is not carried out on behalf of private enterprise or national governments but rather it is done on behalf of its citizens.

abstract: Investments in climate science come with an expectation of social benefit. Science policy--decision processes through which individuals and organizations support, manage, and evaluate research--plays an important role in determining those outcomes. Yet the details of how climate science policy actually works have received very little attention amid academic and policy-focused discussions of climate science. This dissertation examines climate science policy with particular attention to how it supports "public values" that justify research investments. It is widely recognized funding for climate science in the US has advanced knowledge considerably in recent decades but failed to produce useful information for decision makers. In Chapter 2, I use a methodological approach known as Public Value Mapping (PVM) to investigate this failure of the science policy system. My results show that science funding institutions have been ineffective at guiding climate science toward desired outcomes because of problematic, but common assumptions about the links between science and societal benefit. The remaining chapters look more closely at the implications of these tacit assumptions, which are held by individuals, and embedded in the organizations that implement climate science policy. Chapter 3 examines the notion that prediction is essential to climate science. Wide acceptance of the "prediction imperative" limits the scope of climate science policy. Chapter 4 examines the interplay of values and assumptions in two recently established organizations in Australia, each supporting research on climate change adaptation. In Chapter 5 I document a widespread assumption in the climate science literature that agreement among multiple models should bolster confidence in their results. This can only be correct if the models are independent of one another. Climate scientists have not demonstrated this to be true, nor have they offered a plausible framework for doing so. This dissertation adds an important dimension to our understanding of how climate science knowledge is produced, while offering constructive and practical recommendations to science policy decision makers working in government programs that fund climate science. Insight from these chapters suggests that an explicit and reflexive focus on values in science policy can be helpful to organizations pursuing science policy innovation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Science and Technology Policy 2010

Submitted by paulo junior (paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2010-03-09T23:09:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandre Zucolo.pdf: 995139 bytes, checksum: a7e60d00a394a75379cd252cb230c7d0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by paulo junior(paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2010-03-09T23:09:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandre Zucolo.pdf: 995139 bytes, checksum: a7e60d00a394a75379cd252cb230c7d0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2010-03-10T13:30:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandre Zucolo.pdf: 995139 bytes, checksum: a7e60d00a394a75379cd252cb230c7d0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-13 / Technology Innovation is one of the main competitive factors of modern economies and is object of public policy in every developed country. In Brazil, Finep has been providing support to the technology development of firms since 1976. Starting from 2006, it also began to offer direct subsidies in the form of economic subventions. This study characterizes the concept of economic subvention according to Brazilian Law, presenting examples of its uses as public policies, and specifically the economic subvention for innovation as operated by Finep from 2006 to 2009. Then, Finep's subvention practice is compared, by content analysis, with related subsidies in developed countries. For such, the North American programs SBIR, ATP and TIP, and the programs operated by OSEO in France and CDTI in Spain were selected. Aspects related to the logics of intervention are approached, notably technology risk, government subsidies share, institutional models and instruments integration. / A inovação tecnológica é um dos principais fatores de competitividade das economias modernas e, em todos os países desenvolvidos, é objeto de políticas oficiais para sua promoção. No Brasil, a Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (Finep) apóia o desenvolvimento tecnológico das empresas desde 1976. A partir de 2006, passou a operar também subsídios diretos na forma de subvenção econômica. Este estudo caracteriza a subvenção econômica no marco legal brasileiro, apresentando exemplos de sua utilização como política pública e, especificamente, a subvenção à inovação operada pela Finep no período de 2006 a 2009. Em seguida, o instrumento da Finep é comparado, por análise de conteúdo, com programas de subsídio correlatos em países desenvolvidos. Para tal, foram selecionados os programas norte americanos SBIR, ATP e TIP, e aqueles operados pela OSEO na França e CDTI na Espanha. São abordados aspectos relativos à lógica de intervenção, dando ênfase a questões como risco tecnológico, intensidade no apoio, modelos institucionais e integração de instrumentos de apoio.

Nas últimas décadas um grande esforço governamental tem sido feito na adoção de políticas públicas e arranjos institucionais com o objetivo ampliar o índice de inovação tecnológica do País. No entanto, os estudos que dão suporte e influenciam a formulação de políticas públicas nem sempre levam em consideração elementos históricos, sociais, culturais que também condicionam este setor. Nesta pesquisa, a C&T é considerada um campo social com regras próprias, dentro do qual atores (indivíduos e instituições) estabelecem relações de poder e jogos de interesses que permeiam e condicionam a produção científica e tecnológica. A análise do campo científico é baseada no modelo estruturalista de Pierre Bourdieu e em alguns conceitos da Teoria Ator-Rede de Bruno Latour. O estudo de caso analisou a história e os desenvolvimentos da Divisão de Processamento de Imagens (DPI), do Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). O foco de análise voltou-se para à combinação dos condicionantes macro-políticos com os elementos micro-sociológicos que atuam e orientam as práticas científicas e tecnológicas. Apesar de os elementos estruturais determinarem as ações dos sujeitos, o estudo de caso mostrou como é possível tal equação se inverter, ou seja, atores e instituições modificarem a estrutura, de um ponto de vista do construtivismo, mesmo que de forma limitada. A análise procurou trazer uma contribuição aos estudos de políticas de ciência e tecnologia a partir da perspectiva das ciências humanas, diferente da visão econômica que domina a área. / In the last decades, a great governmental effort has been made to adopt public policies and institutional arrangements to increase the national index of technological innovation. However, the studies that support as well as influence the formulation of public policies not always take into consideration historical, social and cultural elements that condition this specific area. In this research, S&T is considered a social field with its own rules, in which actors (individuals and institutions) establish power relations and interest games that permeate and condition technological and scientific production. Scientific field analysis is based on Pierre Bourdieu structural model and on some concepts of Actor-Net Theory from Bruno Latour. The case study has examined the history and the developments of Image Processing Department (DPI) of National Institute of Space Research (INPE). The analysis focus has been applied to the combination of macro political conditionings and micro sociological elements s that act over and direct technological and scientific practices. Although the structural elements determine individual or institutional actions, the case study has demonstrated how it is possible to invert that equation, that is, actors and institutions can change the structure, from a constructivist point of view, even if in a limited way. The analysis has intended to offer a contribution to scientific and technological policies from a human science perspective, different from the economic view which dominates this area.

With the advent of the internet age, the way in which global society interacts with technology has changed dramatically. The instantaneous availability of information and connectivity, signal the rise of a knowledge economy. This is a system in which the most valuable resource, to nations and private enterprise, is knowledge. This thesis argues that value is created through knowledge flows, which result in innovation and technological advancement. This technological advancement is the primary determinant of a nation’s global competitive advantage in a globalized knowledge economy. This thesis then posits that these innovations are fostered by institutional, social, cultural, economic, and governmental factors within a nation. These factors make up a nations’ National Innovation System (NIS). Using case studies of the US, China, India, and the EU, this paper then attempts to deconstruct, compare, and contrast the innovation strategies of each country and what implications they might have for the future. Lastly, an analysis of potential trends attempts to forecast the global innovative landscape in the near future.

In an attempt to transition from its oil-based economy, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is taking further steps towards building a knowledge-based economy. Saudi universities play a pivotal role toward the country’s attempts to achieve the desired sustainable economic growth. And because knowledge production is dependent on the human capital embedded in faculty members working at theses universities, the recommendations of the Saudi National Science and Technology Policy stressed the importance of enhancing research skills of faculty members and researchers at public universities using different means and initiatives. However, a little is known about the impact of the implemented initiatives to promote research on the actual research outcomes of faculty members working at these universities. This study examined the impact of research promoting practices, and faculty personal characteristics (i.e., age, gender, marital status, academic rank, citizenship, and origin of PhD degree) on the levels of faculty research productivity at four Saudi Arabian public universities: King Saud University (KSU), King Abdulaziz University (KAU), King Khalid University (KKU), and King Faisal University (KFU). All PhD holder faculty members working at these universities were included in the sample of the study. A self-administrate web-based survey questionnaire was used to collect data for this study. Out of 7072 distributed questionnaires, 389 answered questionnaires were used for the data analysis. Multiple regression results revealed that the following research-promoting practices have positive and significant relationships with faculty research productivity: supportive collegial environment, the high perception of the academic editing and translating services, the positive perception of the research funding process, the rate of participation in collaboration programs, and conference attendance. Faculty’s perception of the role of research centers and research financial incentives revealed reverse relationships with certain types of faculty research productivity. Among the personal characteristics of faculty members, full professors were found to have the highest levels of research productivity. Citizenship (tenure status), and origin of PhD degree were found to have positive relationships with certain types of faculty research productivity. Male faculty were found to have more publications in refereed journals compared to female faculty. Also, older faculty were found to have more publications in refereed journals compared to junior faculty.