How The Twin Tsunamis Of Covid 19 And The Digital Revolution Are Transforming Business Studies

If Ray Kurzweil is correct, the world has experienced more technological change in the last decade than in the whole of the 20th century. This is enough, by itself, to be hugely challenging for most individuals and businesses. However, the systemic change referred to by Kurzweil has been compounded by the onset of first global pandemic in a century. The pandemic had an especially severe impact on the higher education sector where many institutions were providing education to thousands of students using traditional face-to-face, on-campus delivery. Prior to the pandemic, many decision-makers in the sector had recognised that digital technologies, which replaced industrial technologies as the main driver of economic growth around the end of the 20th century, provided the ability to modify this method of delivery to include a significant online component, delivered and accessible from anywhere. However, the power of inertia as well as the risks involved in being a technology leader encouraged all but a few institutions to put the serious introduction of online learning into the "for the future" basket. Hence, the initial reaction when mandated lockdowns necessitated an immediate and total shift to online delivery was generally one of apprehension and even despair.

This edited volume discusses digital transformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread lockdown policies that followed, digital technologies were touted as an effective means towards ensuring continuity and minimal interruption of day-to-day operations for businesses and other institutions. Digital transformation, however, is an inherently complex process and the pressure of short adoption times may further increase complexities for organizations looking to foster digital technologies. This volume comprises original research contributions on theoretical foundations and empirical studies of digital transformations in the pandemic era. Written by academics and practitioners from diverse disciplines and industries, the chapters cover topics such as psychological and technical implications of pandemic situations, the economic, organizational, social, and legal implications of digital adoption, and case studies for digital transformation in different industries. This book will be useful for academics, technology professionals, business policy makers, NGO managers, and governments looking to optimize their digital transformation processes to better prepare their organizations in the presence of pandemic situations.

This book explores the innovations, disruptions and changes that are required to adapt in a fast-evolving landscape due to the extraordinary circumstances triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognized experts from around the world share their research and professional experience on how the working environment, as well as the world around them, have changed due to the pandemic. Chapters consider how different fields across technology and business have been affected by this new, dramatic scenario and the drastic consequences that the pandemic had on them. With diverse contributions stemming from public health, technology strategies, urban planning and sociology to sustainable management, this volume is articulated into four distinct but complementary sections of People, Process, Planet, and Prosperity influencing the post-COVID world. This book will be of great interest to those in the fields of computer science and information technology, as well as those studying the impact and effects that COVID-19 is having on society.

This book explores how digital technologies have proved to be a useful and necessary tool to help ensure that local and regional governments on the frontline of the emergency can continue to provide essential public services during the COVID-19 crisis. Indeed, as the demand for digital technologies grows, local and regional governments are increasingly committed to improving the lives of their citizens under the principles of privacy, freedom of expression and democracy. The Digital Revolution began between the late 1950s and 1970s and represents the evolution of technology from the mechanical and analog to the digital. The advent of digital technology has also changed how humans communicate – today using computers, smartphones and the internet. Further, the digital revolution has made a tremendous wealth of information accessible to virtually everyone. In turn, the book focuses on key challenges for local and regional governments concerning digital technologies during this crisis, e.g. the balance between privacy and security, the digital divide, and accessibility. Privacy is a challenge in the mitigation of COVID-19, as governments rely on digital technologies like contact-tracking apps and big data to help trace peoples’ patterns and movements. While these methods are controversial and may infringe on rights to privacy, they also appear to be effective measures for rapidly controlling and limiting the spread of the virus. Next, the book discusses the 10 technology trends that can help build a resilient society, as well as their effects on how we do business, how we work, how we produce goods, how we learn, how we seek medical services and how we entertain ourselves. Lastly, the book addresses a range of diversified technologies, e.g. Online Shopping and Robot Deliveries, Digital and Contactless Payments, Remote Work, Distance Learning, Telehealth, Online Entertainment, Supply Chain 4.0, 3D Printing, Robotics and Drones, 5G, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

This edited volume discusses digital transformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread lockdown policies that followed, digital technologies were touted as an effective means towards ensuring continuity and minimal interruption of day-to-day operations for businesses and other institutions. Digital transformation, however, is an inherently complex process and the pressure of short adoption times may further increase complexities for organizations looking to foster digital technologies. This volume comprises original research contributions on theoretical foundations and empirical studies of digital transformations in the pandemic era. Written by academics and practitioners from diverse disciplines and industries, the chapters cover topics such as psychological and technical implications of pandemic situations, the economic, organizational, social, and legal implications of digital adoption, and case studies for digital transformation in different industries. This book will be useful for academics, technology professionals, business policy makers, NGO managers, and governments looking to optimize their digital transformation processes to better prepare their organizations in the presence of pandemic situations. .

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.

In the early 1990s, people predicted the death of privacy, an end to the current concept of 'property,' a paperless society, 500 channels of high-definition interactive television, world peace, and the extinction of the human race after a takeover engineered by intelligent machines. Imagining the Internet zeroes in on predictions about the Internet's future and revisits past predictions—and how they turned out. It gives the history of communications in a nutshell, illustrating the serious impact of pervasive networks and how they will change our lives over the next century.

The report highlights the crucial role of engineering in achieving each of the 17 SDGs. It shows how equal opportunities for all is key to ensuring an inclusive and gender balanced profession that can better respond to the shortage of engineers for implementing the SDGs. It provides a snapshot of the engineering innovations that are shaping our world, especially emerging technologies such as big data and AI, which are crucial for addressing the pressing challenges facing humankind and the planet. It analyses the transformation of engineering education and capacity-building at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that will enable engineers to tackle the challenges ahead. It highlights the global effort needed to address the specific regional disparities, while summarizing the trends of engineering across the different regions of the world.