This work refers to technological changes and technology transfer in current world conditions, and deals with the possibilities of Cuba to produce the goods of the III Scientific-Technological Revolution, based on the qualification of human capital, the industrial potential and technical scientist, the political will of the state and other potentialities in which the centers of the Scientific Pole of the West of Havana march to the top.
Introduction
Technological changes and the transfer of technologies constitute a current problem of science, which can affect or benefit globally, at the level of countries and at the level of companies, which influences, among other factors. The political will of the states, the level of development achieved by them and the preparation of human capital. So the average annual rate of incorporation of new knowledge in developed countries is higher than the average rate of incorporation and assimilation of that knowledge by underdeveloped countries. For all of the above, this work aims to examine. ¿What are the threats and opportunities that the establishment of the III Scientific-Technological Revolution imply for Cuba with its characteristic of increasing globalization increasingly based on knowledge ?
Before 1959, there was a high rate of illiteracy in the population in Cuba, the industry was dependent, there was no real science and technological innovation policy, there were few scientific institutions, among which were: the Institute of Chemical Research (1848), the Physical Meteorological Observatory (1856) and the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Havana (1861), which was the first in Latin America and preceded its similar in the United States. The foundation of the Royal Pontifical University of San Jerónimo in 1728, as well as the Seminars of San Carlos and San Basilio el Magno, and in 1793 the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country that worked for the introduction of advances in the economy. The centers did not have all the necessary technical means,nor was there a political will to solve the problems of science, there was no true integration, nor cooperation between the different scientific institutions. Only some figures in the individual order stood out, such as Dr. Carlos J. Finlay, discoverer of the yellow fever transmitting agent the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, Don Fernando Ortiz, who made great efforts in the field of culture, Dr. Emilio Roig de Leuschenring with a great work at the head of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, as well as Enrique José Varona, Pedro Kouri Esmeja who practically was the founder of the Cuban medical parasitology and Juan Tomas Roig among many others.Only some figures in the individual order stood out, such as Dr. Carlos J. Finlay, discoverer of the yellow fever transmitting agent the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, Don Fernando Ortiz, who made great efforts in the field of culture, Dr. Emilio Roig de Leuschenring with a great work at the head of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, as well as Enrique José Varona, Pedro Kouri Esmeja who practically was the founder of the Cuban medical parasitology and Juan Tomas Roig among many others.Only some figures in the individual order stood out, such as Dr. Carlos J. Finlay, discoverer of the yellow fever transmitting agent the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, Don Fernando Ortiz, who made great efforts in the field of culture, Dr. Emilio Roig de Leuschenring with a great work at the head of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, as well as Enrique José Varona, Pedro Kouri Esmeja who practically was the founder of the Cuban medical parasitology and Juan Tomas Roig among many others.Emilio Roig de Leuschenring with a great work at the head of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, as well as Enrique José Varona, Pedro Kouri Esmeja who practically was the founder of the Cuban medical parasitology and Juan Tomas Roig among many others.Emilio Roig de Leuschenring with a great work at the head of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, as well as Enrique José Varona, Pedro Kouri Esmeja who practically was the founder of the Cuban medical parasitology and Juan Tomas Roig among many others.
After the triumph of the Revolution on January 1, 1959. Many professionals decided to go into exile, and it is from this date that the true boom in science in Cuba begins. On January 15, 1960, Fidel stated that: "the future of our country must necessarily be a future of men of science." And within the first measures of the revolutionary government was to establish free education, then the literacy campaign began, taking teaching to the entire length and breadth of the country, the old educational system was transformed, the scholarship system was created, the schools of revolutionary instruction, art schools and university reform among many other measures aimed at guaranteeing the future development of science.
Che also with his clear vision, called from the beginning to prepare to assimilate new technologies and advances in science and technology, fight for a true culture of quality, rely on the experience of developed countries, develop electronics and give a correct use of scientific research.
Development
All the definitions of technology imply knowledge, there is no universally accepted definition, it is a system of knowledge, techniques, skills, experience and organization that is used to produce, market and use goods and services to satisfy economic and social demands, the Technology transfer is the set of activities that aim to help a company or institution to master new ways of doing things, the competences and skills required to use a new technology efficiently. Technological changes and transfer are complex and very expensive processes, depend on many factors, among which can be pointed out, the characteristics of the receiving company, the type and complexity of the technology being transferred, etc., the more recent the technology, the higher the cost of transfer.
Science and technology, from an economic point of view, are intangible assets, making it very difficult to measure them due to the number of factors involved, more and more the value of products is given to a greater extent by the knowledge used in them, because of the quantity of raw material. The diffusion of technology is carried out as a learning process, except that instead of being carried out in a laboratory, it is carried out by producers and users in the market, the information related to new technologies, their availability and characteristics are disseminated by the media. advertising, fairs, personal contacts, etc.
For the study of these topics related to technological changes and technology transfer, some authors speak of Scientific Technical Revolutions and match each Scientific Technical Revolution with an Industrial Revolution.
The Third Scientific-Technological Revolution (1968 to the present day), has as its fundamental headquarters the United States, Western Europe and Japan, has been characterized by great advances in science and technology, such as the development of computers, the Internet, goods electronic capital, Software, Hardware, Microelectronics, Opto electronics, fiber optics, development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Robotics, satellites, machines that can perform various operations and easily adapt to changes in the process production, development of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, third generation technological products, refined chemicals, advances in aviation and space defense.
In this stage the changes in the industry are constant, newer processes are introduced, so the previous ones go to obsolescence with increasing speed. New consumption needs are created for higher-income sectors, companies are looking for higher-level professionals and professionals in turn obtain degrees to earn better wages, more and more products imply a greater share of knowledge that is not necessarily associated with an increase in productivity, so that knowledge is becoming a profit, which leads to great inequalities and great economic distortions, science would put itself at the service of the powerful and would no longer be at the service of humanity,underdeveloped countries are unable to produce the goods of the Third Industrial Revolution due to ignorance. Hence, the different economic results are not as a consequence of the change in technology, but of its regulation.
The advances of the Third Industrial Revolution have affected the product, the production processes and the workers as new needs for qualification, skills and abilities have emerged.
In the last two centuries, countries have gone from agriculture-based production to science-based production, and the following phases of industrial development can be defined.
- Natural resource baseLight manufacturingHeavy industryHigh technologyScience-based industry
The countries of Latin America, Japan and the countries of Southeast Asia were at the first rung of the technological ladder. Today Japan is on the bottom rung.
The First Industrial Revolution was the one that Karl Marx studied and maintained that there is only one and that all the others are successive stages. The first is where the bourgeoisie emerges as the owner of the means of production and the worker who only has to sell is his labor power. Hence, it is suggested by many scholars that there was a Third Industrial Revolution. How does it compare with the first and the second in terms of its impact on the economy as a whole? There is much question as to whether the increase in productivity can be attributed to the Technological Revolution.
In the sphere of circulation, scientific technological advances, particularly computer science, have contributed to the disappearance of borders and the creation of commercial blocks. With the incorporation of science and technology into the sphere of circulation, products have other possibilities for action in the area of approach to consumers.
In the case of Cuba, much attention has been paid to the formation of human capital, which is the main resource of the country. Before the triumph of the Revolution, the average level of schooling was second grade and there was 33% illiteracy in the population. Today there is a System of Science and Technological Innovation, which is integrated among other actors, the National System of Industrial Property.
Currently, science and technological innovation in Cuba have the mission of:
- Increase the efficiency of the Cuban economy. Increase the quality of life of the population. Increase and diversify exportable rubles and other foreign exchange generators. Substitute imports. Develop a greater productive culture with the application of scientific-technical concepts. Create conditions for assimilation and development of future technologies. Deepen universal scientific knowledge. Protect the environment and deepen knowledge of natural resources and ways to achieve their rational use. Develop the theory and practice of socialism in the conditions of Cuba. Educate the population and especially the new generations in the scientific conception of the world and in the values of Cuban society. Continue developing the defensive capacity of the country.
This mission will be accomplished through the generation, transfer, assimilation, adaptation, dissemination, use and commercialization of scientific and technological knowledge.
Today it is proposed that among the ten most important technologies today and in the immediate future are:
- Telecommunications, electronics, Computing, New materials, Opto electronics, Biotechnology, Energy, Robotics, Genetics, Space
Cuba has dedicated great resources to the formation of human capital, it is one of the underdeveloped countries that invests the most in R&D, it has numerous Higher Education Centers, several Science and Technical Units, of which a significant number are Research Centers- Development. Within the entire scientific structure, the Scientific Pole of Western Havana stands out for the level of integration and for all the results achieved in the branch of Biotechnology, both for use in humans and in agriculture.
Where vaccines and well-known products have been achieved internationally. Work has also been done on the construction of high-tech and highly integrated medical equipment, which has required, in addition to the development of computer science.
All the achievements that have been achieved in Cuba and that have allowed the progress of the Third Industrial Revolution to be accepted properly and with regulations, regardless of its characteristic of increasing globalization, in order not to see national identity threatened, has been possible by the principles on which Cuban ideology is based.
- National independence. Anti-imperialism. Latin Americanism. Social emancipation. Dignification of man.
Development is in the hands of the powerful and they try to impose their models and end the identity, independence and sovereignty of poor countries, the dangerous thing is not in assimilating aspects of the culture and technology of other countries, but in accept the globalized model that is to be imposed, without any regulation, because it is known that the national culture is enriched by the universal and the universal culture is formed by the culture of the countries.
An adequate investment and technology assimilation policy allows the country to own its heritage as opposed to other third world countries where transnational corporations govern and take factories and technologies when they consider it appropriate, leaving hundreds of unemployed workers.
The technological development that the country requires cannot be achieved only through national research efforts, but the transfer of technology from abroad and its assimilation and adaptation to the country's conditions must be widely used., which requires effective access to world scientific and technical information; in which the information on patents in particular and Industrial Property in general plays an important role due to the valuable information it provides in legal, technical and commercial matters, which must be taken into account when concluding license agreements for technologies, know how, etc.; likewise, greater emphasis should be placed on the transfer of technologies from abroad, especially in the productive sector, achieving a balance between the assimilation of technologies from abroad and the internal generation of technologies.
Despite having a high degree of schooling in human capital formation and a high number of university graduates per number of inhabitants, it is necessary to continue increasing the number of graduates in specialties directly linked to the production of material goods such as science exact, technical sciences, computer sciences, economic sciences and natural sciences.
Conclusions
- To achieve the development that the country needs, it is not only possible to depend on national research efforts, but it is necessary to make extensive use of the transfer of technologies from abroad and to give it adequate assimilation and adaptation. Achieving a balance between the assimilation of technologies and the internal generation of technologies. Technological innovation must be an integral part of the productive and service sectors and their companies. For what is required, greater and effective access to world technical scientific information will be achieved by all technicians and university graduates. Work must be done to train more specialists in the branches related to the sphere of material production, such as engineering, computer science and computer science, exact science and natural science careers. And achieve a correct harmony between human capital, resources and the way of use. Biotechnology for Cuba is an opportunity because, in addition to the advantages it has for the highly qualified personnel it has trained, energy expenditure is relatively low and there is a wide range of products that can be obtained through this route. The Third Scientific-Technological Revolution with its characteristics of increasing globalization, for Cuba,With the human capital that the country has and the use that can be put to it, it has more advantages and opportunities than threats.
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