The issue of diabetes prevention is extensive due to the need to choose measures for different population groups and avoid various complications. For this reason, it is more appropriate to discuss the application of translation science theory using one example of complications, namely the high risk of fractures in people living with diabetes. Therefore, this discussion will apply Everett Rogers’s theory of diffusion of innovations and a five-step innovation-decision process to prevent fractures in people with diabetes.
Such complication as the fragility of bones is a lesser-known consequence of diabetes as it is not sufficiently studied. However, as Ho-Pham and Nguyen (2019) argue, the increased risk of fracture in people living with diabetes is associated with a low trabecular bone score (TBS). Hence, healthcare professionals and patients should take steps to overcome this problem.
Everett Rogers’s theory of diffusion of innovations is relevant to this process since, according to it, the process of diffusion of innovations goes through five stages and depends on several factors. These steps are knowledge, persuasion, decision, acceptance, and confirmation (Kuang, 2018). In other words, fracture prevention should use such actions as educating professionals and patients about measures to improve TBS and fracture prevention, convincing them of the importance of these measures, their moral acceptance, practical application, and testing their effectiveness. For example, according to Borgen et al. (2020), ingestion of glucocorticoids, significant consumption of alcohol, and high body mass index are negatively associated with TBS. The DNP scholar should be innovators and early adopters, according to Roger’s classifications of groups, to implement the strategy that includes researching, finding valid evidence, and educating their colleagues and patients, who are stakeholders, about preventive measures (Kuang, 2018). In this way, the knowledge about bone fragility and preventive practice will be spread between medical professionals and people living with diabetes at higher rates.
However, the use of this theory has some challenges in practice. First, the relationship between TBS and fractures in people living with diabetes is still not well understood, which can lead to doubts among medical professionals at the decision-making step and difficulties in choosing measures to improve it. Second, since the rate of adoption of an innovation depends on the ability of the population to observe its effectiveness, fracture prevention may not be a priority for people living with diabetes (Kuang, 2018). This assumption is justified by the fact that a person must get injured to fracture a bone. Although this situation is probable, it depends on many external factors, such as physical activity and the environment.
The technological development of medicine is a multifaceted process.
Technologies are aimed at reducing the time to reach medical goals and increasing accuracy.
Improving the quality and reliability of medical research and services.
The technological development of society affects all spheres of life, where medicine is no exception. First of all, innovations are used to increase the efficiency and competence of specialists, as well as to increase the reliability of healthcare. Technological advancement has brought a large number of improvements and positive developments in the area that stand out in contrast to the methods of the past. In order to analyze in more detail the changes in the field, it is necessary to consider the most striking aspects of medicine that have developed most effectively
Medical Cards
Handwritten by a doctor.
History of diseases and treatment of the patient.
Inaccurate and intermittent misdiagnosis.
First of all, it is necessary to note the technology of maintaining medical records used to control the history of diseases and treat the patient. This method is one of the oldest, the essence of which was in the doctor’s handwritten notes on the condition of the individual (Ascione, 2021). Due to the fact that the process of processing and recording data was long, the information had time to become outdated. In turn, this led to untimely or erroneous diagnoses, which led to negative consequences. In addition, the carriers relevant to the past could be lost or destroyed, which deprived specialists of the background of the disease and the patient’s condition (Ansehi & Murthy, 2020). At the moment, this area has been transformed with the introduction of electronic medical records. This allows you to instantly capture information, storing it in a single database. This ensured timely and most effective diagnosis, which led to an increase in the recovery rate of sick people.
Medical Glassware
Poor storage of drugs.
Fermentation, rottenness and natural change in the composition of the drug.
The high cost and danger of the storage method.
Another important technology is the introduction of frosted plastic as a material for medical glassware. The fact is that in the past, glass was relevant, which consisted of containers for tablets and solutions (Ansehi & Murthy, 2020). This led to the contact of some elements with the sun’s rays, which ensured fermentation and a change in the composition of the drug. At the same time, the glassware was extremely fragile, and, accordingly, the loss of medicines, in particular, expensive or rare ones, was great (Ansehi & Murthy, 2020). This also explained the high cost of tablets for the population, since their storage led to high costs. At the moment, the glass has been completely replaced with matte plastic, which does not allow the external among the negative affect the chemical composition (Ansehi & Murthy, 2020). At the same time, the material itself is durable and cheap, which has led to an increase in both the quality and availability of medicines.
Medical Experiment
Time-consuming process, requiring several years.
Non-universal study results.
Great reliance on chance.
The third most important change is the creation of laboratories and conditions for conducting experiments in virtual reality. In the past, an experiment to introduce a new drug or study the interaction of certain substances with others took several years (Ascione, 2021). This led to the extremely low relevance of medicine, which can be seen in the example of global epidemics of diseases. A separate negative element was the strong dependence of the results of the experiment on randomness, since the process was based on the results of a study of volunteers. At the moment, such shortcomings have been practically eliminated thanks to computer technologies of virtual reality and 3D modeling (Ascione, 2021). In other words, the experiments take only a few months or weeks, as seen in the case of Ebola (Ascione, 2021). The ability to implement a large number of processes at the same time eliminated the dependence on chance, making the results universal.
References
Ansehi, A. & Murthy, P. (Eds.). (2020). Technology and global public health. Springer International Publishing.
Ascione, R. (2021). The future of health. How digital technology will make care accessible, sustainable, and human. Wiley.
Constructing a public health strategy and program depend on research and innovation. Research provides essential information about diseases, their trajectories, risk factors, treatment response or interventions, functional capacities, care patterns, costs, and healthcare usage. It is imperative that the health and well-being of participants who are utilized as research subjects are protected. Several steps can be taken to ensure the safety of research participants. Public health professionals, including researchers, health managers, and educators, should ensure that all guidelines concerning the health and safety of persons participating in research trials are observed. In this manner, they fulfill their duties of advocating for research, innovation, and patient protection.
Notably, many contemporary ethical and safety measures stem from failures to protect participants in past trials. For example, the Tuskegee syphilis study is an example of patients being abused for medical research, with their rights being compromised for the good of the greater public (Waxman, 2017). The study was carried out under the pretenses of treatment, and the participants were not informed about its primary goal of observing the disease trajectory. Researchers in the Tearoom sex study failed to obtain consent from participants and observed sexual encounters under claims of watching out for police (“Laud Humphreys and the Tearoom sex study,” 2022). Similarly, during birth control trials in Puerto Rico, no consent was collected, with the participants receiving no compensation (Vargas, 2017). Furthermore, they were not explicitly explained that the drug was untested and had severe, said effects (Vargas, 2017). These studies exemplify unethical research practices that, despite their innovation, may endanger human lives.
In summary, while research and innovation are fundamental in advancing knowledge and protecting the public from the catastrophic impact of new diseases, the rights of the individuals used to gain this knowledge require protection. Past trials indicate the areas that need to be addressed when advocating for innovation and research in healthcare. Therefore, when proposing new research, drug trials, or experiments, public health professionals should ensure no unethical practices are employed and that the studies follow current ethical and safety guidelines.
In public health, several theories are used in order to systematize and explain the knowledge related to certain phenomena and situations. Theories are also applied to practice when it is necessary to demonstrate the relationship between determining variables. In this case, variables can be health behaviors and the use of new practices among others. In order to understand why theories are important for the sphere of public health, it is necessary to focus on the analysis of such two main theories as to the Social Cognitive Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory.
The first theory that needs to be discussed in detail is the Social Cognitive Theory. This theory is used in public health to explain how interpersonal relations can influence people’s behaviors, and then, their health. According to this theory, people’s health behaviors depend on their interactions with the social environment (Glanz, Marcus, & Rimer, 2005, p. 19). The other theory to pay attention to is the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. According to this perspective, all new ideas, visions, inventions, and products need to be diffused and combined to achieve a certain goal as a result of the spread of these ideas and inventions among researchers (Glanz et al., 2005, p. 27). These two theories can be discussed as key perspectives in public health because they provide the background for interpreting the patient’s and practitioners’ behaviors and actions.
The theorist who developed the principles of the Social Cognitive Theory is Albert Bandura. The theory was discussed in Bandura’s work Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory published in 1986 as a new approach to his previous Social Learning Theory first formulated in the 1960s (Bandura, 1986). Later, the Social Cognitive Theory was also adapted for the sphere of public health, and Bandura presented his main visions of the role of the theory for public health promotion in the article “Health Promotion by Social Cognitive Means” published in 2004. In this article, the author identified the theory as important to affect the individuals’ health habits in the context of the health regulation and following certain health patterns (Bandura, 2004, p. 144). The Diffusion of Innovations Theory also has its start in the 1960s, when Everett Rogers published his book Diffusion of Innovations (1962). Rogers formulated the vision according to which the innovative idea was spread within the society as a result of the people’s communication (Rogers, 1962). Such researchers as Berwick noted that the real diffusion of innovations in the sphere of public health can be a challenging task, and he conducted a study in order to offer recommendations on the diffusion of innovations to improve public health in his article “Disseminating Innovations in Health Care” (Berwick, 2003, p. 1970). Thus, the discussed theories are used in the sphere of public health promotion for a long period of time.
Having focused on the authors and sources of the theories, it is important to determine the basic principles of the Social Cognitive Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. The key tenets of the Social Cognitive Theory in the sphere of public health include the idea that a person is focused on developing self-efficacy, and he or she has definite goals and expectations associated with health. As a result, an individual can focus on controlling the heath while having stimuli, having a goal, and being oriented to the social examples. Observing positive outcomes of other people’s health-oriented actions, people can make efforts to improve their own health (Bandura, 2004, p. 144). Referring to these ideas, it is possible to identify such concepts used in the theory as reciprocal determinism, behavioral capability, self-efficacy, expectations, learning through observation, and the use of stimuli (Glanz et al., 2005, p. 20). These key concepts are used in order to discuss how a person can behave in this or that situation related to his or her health.
The Diffusion of Innovations Theory is based on such critical concepts as the idea of innovation, the use of different communication channels, the adoption of the innovation within one social system, and the time necessary for adopting the innovation (Rogers, 1962). According to this theory, a certain health behavior, or the innovation associated with the definite invention, can be adopted in the society or within the group of medical specialists during a certain period of time if all the available channels are used appropriately to promote this diffusion of the innovation (Glanz et al., 2005, p. 27). At different levels, the adoption can be associated with the development of programs and policies, and the users of innovations can be divided into early adopters or late adopters among other categories to demonstrate the progress of diffusion.
In the sphere of public health, the Social Cognitive Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory can be discussed as related to each other. The reason is that both theories discuss social interaction as a source of the new behavioral pattern or the new knowledge. In addition, these theories can be applied to the public health practice simultaneously because while developing the certain health behavior in patients according to the principles of the Social Cognitive Theory, it is necessary to effectively communicate the advantages of different methods, including new ones, according to the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. Finally, both theories are based on the idea of social diffusion.
The discussed theories are significant because they are typically used for developing efficient public health strategies and interventions that should be adopted widely. The principles of the Social Cognitive Theory are used to provide meaningful reinforcers for individuals to control their health behaviors and achieve success. In addition, the principles of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory are used to make the public early adopters of new effective health practices and ideas in order to improve health significantly (Glanz et al., 2005, p. 6). Thus, these theories can be effectively used to explain the patients’ behaviors when alternative ways of treatment are proposed to them. For instance, to guarantee that a person chooses the most appropriate health behavior, it is important to refer to the person’s reciprocal determinism and to make him or she is an early adopter of the behavior.
From this point, the Social Cognitive Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory are followed in public health because these theories are appropriate to explain the relationships between different variables. In the case of the Social Cognitive Theory, the variables are certain health behaviors and the people’s development or non-development of these behaviors with the focus on reinforcements. In the case of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory, these variables are the new public health practices or ideas and the process of their adoption through communication.
References
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education and Behavior, 31(2), 143-164.
Berwick, D. M. (2003). Disseminating innovations in health care. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 289(15): 1969–1975.
Glanz, K., Marcus, F. L., & Rimer, B. K. (2005). Theory at a glance: A guide for health promotion practice. Web.
Rogers, E. (1962). Diffusion of innovations. Glencoe, MN: Free Press.
Health care providers are under pressure to improve the safety and quality of the services offered to patients. Health care institutions are striving to cut on costs, reduce patient cycle times in hospitals, improve laboratory and post care services. Change and innovation do not fail because the new strategies and goals are inappropriate but because organizations lack proper implementation mechanisms.
Patient data security and privacy have been a challenge for many health institutions. Many institutions have concentrated on improving electronic health systems to enhance reconciliation, storage systems, drug administration, and recording systems among others. They are implemented to reduce medication errors and improve patient safety (Ciampa & Revels, 2013).
The Case of Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) is dedicated to technology and the safety of patients. This has seen the institution achieve recognition in the United States. However, BWH experienced frequent and severe medical errors that occurred mostly during physician ordering and nursing administration stages.
This is what necessitated the introduction of technologies to address medication administration, verification, dispensing, and drug therapy monitoring. A team consisting of nurses, physicians, and pharmacists came together to study the existing workflow in the entire organization. They came up with a system that could be integrated into the existing one and minimize the changes that would be made (Fiumara, et al, n.d).
This strategy may have sounded convincing at the start. However, introducing the new system for employees to adopt would have facilitated the process. Instead, face to face workshops after the initial training would have been used such that the employees would have to fit into the new system rather than fitting the new system into their existing structure.
This could be enhanced through informal personalized assistance by the support teams (Ciampa & Revels, 2013). Once the pilot was done, it was realized that there was a need for multiple changes. Thus, implementation had to be halted. Unlike the existing system, the new system required extra fields for drug names, route, dose, frequency and order instructions.
It also required extra laboratory information that would be displayed when making order entry. Such changes were unforeseen. There were chances that others would come up once the system was fully in use. These challenges could have been avoided. This could be possible if the team opted to study the new system before establishing changes within the current structure to satisfy the new requirements.
For instance, the existing structure required a lot of time in writing and making orders. The new system simplified the process through simplified login procedures (Fiumara, et al, n.d). Adapting to the new system would have promoted task distribution in which one employee would handle the increased fields (Ciampa & Revels, 2013).
Conclusion
The challenges experienced in BWH came as a result of a wrong approach towards the invention of a new technology system. In their attempt to reduce errors, they introduced the new system into their existing structure. The study was biased towards the existing structure and did not consider the option of restructuring the organization to fit the new system requirements.
Organizations should consider both possibilities before implementing a new system. In this case, the possible challenges can be anticipated, and the corrective procedures established. The implementation of the new technology took a longer period since it had to be halted to allow changes to be made. The changes would have been easily made in the structure rather than the new system.
References
Ciampa, M. D., & Revels, M. (2013). Introduction to healthcare information technology. Boston, MA: Course Technology.
Fiumara, K., et al. (n.d). Case Study on the Use of Health Care Technology to Improve Medication Safety. Web.
The success of an innovation is largely dependant on vital intelligence which when incorporated into the open innovation process, may produce what the innovators call technical thrust1. Reflectively, when properly planned and executed, intelligence is the main force behind successful and accelerated innovation2.
On the boundary spanners, innovations should be fairly fast and inclusive of all the stake holders. Innovation decision process is inclusive of knowledge, persuasion, implementation, and confirmation among the innovators, early majority, and late adopters3.
Thus, this reflective essay explores on the innovation decision process for the innovator, early majority, and laggards in reference to introduction of eco friendly bags. In the reflection, I have employed scenario as story, history, and recollection.
Scenario – Innovator
As the need for greener lifestyle emerges following the much hyped need for sustainability and environmental friendliness, using the readily available biodegradable raw materials might be the awaited solution to save planet Earth from the devastating effects of green house and pollution4.
To capitalize on the immediate needs of the mass, GreenTech Company releases a biodegradable, affordable, light, and formal bag which can be used in the formal and in informal settings5. As part of their green products, this bag is 98% biodegradable. As the product hits the market, GreenTech offers the most competitive price available, in the market. The management has factored in the need for safety in use and reusability.
In the final meeting of the top management, Plum, the marketing manager, decides to approach the local green campaign group for a partnership aiming to capitalize on their influence. The product seem admirable, the market extensive, and if it become successful, the demand could be heavy. In the opinion of Erick, the general manager, safety standard has been met following the approval by the local standards department.
Graig, the production manager has presented the right formula backed by what he termed as polyetherine component which has never been introduced into the market.
Despite the fact that the creation of this product was as a result of thorough research, every member of this team is anxious on the expected response once the product hits the market. As an introductory approach, the marketing manager approached Mr. Ali, a local grocery owner to stock a quantity for trial of which he immediately agrees.
Scenario – Early Majority
Ericka, a local ice cream vendor has just gone into the local grocery to purchase extra polythene bags for his business. Often, he would purchase 250 pieces for an entire week. While almost done with the shopping, Ericka notices the unique nicely packed bags with green symbol on their side. He moves closer and consults Mr. Ali, the store keeper. Mr. Ali offers no explanation but hand him a brochure with explanation.
Despite the risks involved in trying a new thing, Ericka decides to have the bags. The following day, Ericka show up and purchase even more bags from Mr. Ali who surprisingly enough has not even attempted to use any. Being a lover of new products in the market, Ericka seem convinced that this new model of bags are lighter, more descent, and larger than the usual ones.
While at the Ice cream company, he reveals the new finding to the ice scream steward, Mrs. Hannah. Despite getting a sample from Ericka, she would rather give out the sample to a fellow worker first before even trying anything out. Unfortunately, the friend also turns down the gift claiming that a friend had issues with the product.
Scenario – Laggard
Back at the store, Mr. Ali, despite selling the new product, has not tried any out and is still waiting for a response from some of his clients. Mr. Ali thinks of the new product as a mere test and experimentation. He is unable to neither decide nor accept the message from his best customer, Mr. Ericka. He is ready to find out more information on this product before event attempting to use one for personal activities.
Regardless of the good intention of the innovation, he is unable to recognize any positive benefits but would rather prefer the usual polythene bag. Ericka cannot tell whether Mr. Ali likes the new product or he is just being difficult.
The following day, at the Ice factory, Mr. Ericka is surprised at Mrs. Hannah’s positive response even though she rejected the product the previous day. She is too willing to try the new product out after having seen a picture advertisement in the local television station. However, her friend is still uncomfortable with the new product and would rather wait until it hits the market.
In the above scenarios, the company is the innovators faced with the anxiety on the forecasted response on their product. Despite proper management, thorough research, pre-contemplation, contemplation, and action, none is sure6.
Rather, they are risk takers. Mr. Ericka and Mrs. Hannah present themselves as early adopters. They are willing to take the risk of trying out a new product; they are on the look out for new information, and positive on innovations. However, Mr. Ali and Mrs. Hannah’s friend fall in the bracket of laggards. They would rather stay in the comfort zone and awaits the outcome of a new invention before attempting to adopt the same.
Dismukes, J., Miller, L. K, and Bers, J. A. “Technologies of Thinking Seen Key to Accelerating Radical Innovation”, Research Technology Management, Vol. 48, 23-32, New York: Cangage, 2005.
Etzkowitz, H. and Leydesdorff, L. The dynamics of innovation: from National Systems and “Mode 2” to a Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations. Research Policy, 45-47, Alabama: Cangage, 2000.
Porter, Alan. “Tech Mining” to Drive Open Innovation (Georgia Tech: Technology Policy & Assessment Center, 2006). Web.
Robinson, D. K. R., and Propp, T. “Multi-path mapping for alignment strategies in emerging science and technologies,” Second International Seville Seminar on Future-Oriented Technology Analysis. Web.
Footnotes
Dismukes, J., Miller, L. K., and Bers, J. A. Technologies of Thinking Seen Key to Accelerating Radical Innovation, Research Technology Management, Vol. 48 , 2-4. 2005.
Porter, Alan, “Tech Mining” to Drive Open Innovation (Georgia Tech: Technology Policy & Assessment Center,2006).
Porter.
Etzkowitz, H. and Leydesdorff, L., The dynamics of innovation: from National Systems and “Mode 2” to a Triple Helix of university-industry-government, 2000.
Cascio, Jamais. “Futures Thinking: Writing Scenarios,” Fast Compan. 2010.
Robinson, D. K. R., and Propp, T. “Multi-path mapping for alignment strategies in emerging science and technologies,” Second International Seville Seminar on Future-Oriented Technology Analysis.
In the context of the explored topic, the technological process of plastic productions should be discussed to enhance the explanation of how human activities influence the environment. The way in which plastic products such as packaging are designed plays a massive role in the way the industry impacts the environment. Most plastic products are made through injection molding, which is completed through several procedures. First, plastic pellets are fed into the equipment to facilitate the heating and liquefication of the material. Second, when the desired shape is achieved, the plastic is cooled and sealed to prevent leakages (see Figure 1). Except for silicones, the majority of plastics have a base of the carbon atom, which is used for linking to other atoms to form chemical bonds (American Chemistry Council, 2018). The transformation of raw material starts from the process called cracking, in which hydrocarbon chemicals are separated from natural gas or petroleum (American Chemistry Council, 2018). During the cracking, raw materials are transformed into monomers that react to forming polymers and subsequently become plastic.
Figure 1. Plastic production (“Plastic manufacturing process,” 2017).
Despite the fact that plastic and its production continue to benefit societies in a variety of ways (including medicine and public health), not all of them are sustainable and can result in efficient recycling. Moreover, plastic can contain harmful components such as endocrine-disrupting bisphenol-A (BPA) or phthalates (DEHP), which have a negative effect on health (Posnack, 2014). BPA has gained a reputation as the most recognized material that causes health problems; as stated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “recent studies provide a reason for some concern about the potential effects of BPA” (as cited in North & Halden, 2013, p. 3). While the lifespan of plastic is extremely long (450 for plastic bottles or over 5,000 years for extruded polystyrene foam), industries such as healthcare as well as general consumers dispose of plastic very quickly since the majority of it is used for packaging, which means that the time between its production and disposal is far less than the time necessary for its disintegration.
Innovation and Alternatives
While there is a variety of alternatives to plastic to facilitate sustainability, it is important to mention that such industries as a healthcare need plastic products to use for packaging due to the material’s durability and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, the key point to consider refers to innovation in the sphere of plastic recycling. As mentioned by O’Connor (2017) from The Guardian, only 14% of plastic products are recycled, which points to the need for tech innovation to solve the problem of not recycling the rest of 86%. It is important to note that recycling plastic can generate from $80 to $120 billion in revenues; however, such high numbers are impossible to achieve without innovation (O’Connor, 2017). Some alternative solutions for addressing the challenge of plastic pollution include plant-based plastic that breaks down without contaminating the environment; although, such alternatives have only attracted smaller companies rather than large corporations, which is a part of the issue.
Innovation in the sphere of plastic recycling has facilitated a range of discoveries. For instance, scientists at the University of Illinois developed a way of transforming used plastic bags into diesel fuel, an Indian entrepreneur mixed landfill plastic to develop asphalt, a graduate from the Polytechnic University in Albany discovered how to use plastic bags to form concrete bricks, and researchers at the University of Adelaide turned plastic into carbon nanotube membranes (Johnson, 2018). These developments point to the massive potential of plastic recycling to reduce the environmental impact and improve societies’ health.
References
American Chemistry Council. (2018). How plastics are made. Web.
Johnson, S. (2018). 5 high-tech innovations taking on plastic bag recycling. Web.
North, E., & Halden, R. (2013). Plastics and environmental health: The road ahead. Reviews on Environmental Health, 28(1), 1-8.
Plastic manufacturing process [Image]. (2017). Web.
Posnack, N. (2014). The adverse cardiac effects of Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and bisphenol A. Cardiovascular Toxicology, 14(4), 339-357.
Recent studies reveal that the natural human resources are being depleted at a faster rate. It is a major concern as people are worried since the available resources will not be adequate to sustain the total population on earth in the near future. Besides, the global warming has enormously changed the weather pattern thus distorting the ecosystem. All this is as a result of using non renewable energy that emits harmful substances into the atmosphere. An example is the use of fossil fuel which is known to be hazardous to the environment and non renewable. Also, clearing of green vegetation on the earths surface at an alarming rate distorts the ecosystem. Industrialization and deforestation play a key role in the distortion of the environment. The depletion of resources at a soaring rate and the global warming has necessitated human being to adopt consumption and production habits that are sustainable and that provide adequate food for all. Ensuring sustainability is the foundation of preservation of the environment. This promotes the continuous production and consumption (Slattery, 2009).
In the recent past, there are a number of production habits that have been adopted by human being. These habits focuses on the use of renewable energy and reduction of emission. The first production habit focuses on production of renewable energy and other resources. Man has developed ways of producing renewable and sustainable energy. Examples are the generation of energy from solar, wind, and running water. Production of plenty of renewable energy aims at reducing the use of fossil fuel that is currently depleted. Besides, the fossil fuel is characterized by the emission of harmful waste to the environment. Secondly, people are focusing on going clean and green. Production plants are constructed in such a way that they minimize pollution and damage on the environment. In most countries, it is a mandatory requirement that wastes from production plants should be purified before being emitted into the environment. This aims at reducing global warming. Further, people tend to use less fossil fuel during production which emits plenty of pollutions in production. Examples of energy being used in production of goods and services are solar and wind energy consumption (Slattery, 2009).
Apart from production, human beings are also changing consumption patterns. The change in consumption pattern focuses on consumption that consume less energy. This is necessitated by the fact that man has realized that in order to create supportable production, then there has to be sustainable use of resources. This has lead to the innovation and production of ‘green’ products. Examples of the ‘green’ products are energy saving bulbs and hybrid vehicles among other products. These green products are efficient and minimize waste. They have led to sensitization of how to use resources in a supportable manner for everyone in the universe.
Another consumption habit is the use, reuse and recycling. Recent consumption pattern focuses on re – using materials from the production of materials that are re – useable. This ensures efficiency in the use of resources. Also, it minimizes cost and pollution that comes about as a result of reduced consumption. Generally, re – use of resources reduces the use of resources in an economy thus conserving the environment. The move towards changing consumption patterns has pushed producers to also change production patterns. The change in the production and consumption patterns has resulted in conservation of environment, efficiency in use of resources and supportable resources.
Sustaining the global population
Changing production and consumption is not adequate to sustain global population. There are additional efforts that must be put in place so as to stand the population of the whole world. One such effort that needs to be taken into account is to minimize the amount of harmful emissions. There are a number of measures that can be taken into account to minimize emission of harmful gases. For instance, emission from traffic can be reduced by reducing rural urban migration. This can be achieved by modernizing more centers so as to minimize transportation hence reduction in emission of harmful gases. Secondly, there should be a reduction of encroachment into the unused land. Use of these lands disturbs the ecosystem and biodiversity since it creates imbalance in the number of plants and animals. Further, another measure that can be beneficial to the environment is treatment of industrial waste before emitting them in the environment.
This minimizes water and air pollution. Finally, there should be minimization of deforestation. Deforestation also distorts biodiversity. Man should focus on the use of alternative sources of energy that is renewable and sustainable. Apart from these micro measures, governments have also signed an “international legal agreements which commit them to alter patterns of production and consumption in order to protect the environment ” (United Nations Department of Public Information, 1997). Such agreements have led to enactment of various legislations such as “United States Clean Air Act Amendments” to mitigate damage to the environment as a result of environmental pollution and creating an environment that promote sustainable production and consumption (United Nations Department of Public Information, 1997).
References
United Nations Department of Public Information. (1997). Changing our patterns of production and consumption to save the global environment. Web.
Slattery, M. (2009). Contemporary Environmental Issues. USA: Kendall/Hunt Publishers.
For the last seven years, the Chinese government has been working towards the promotion of low carbon energy technologies. In 2009, the government focused on the ‘indigenous innovation’ policy that was aimed at adopting and developing ultra-modern technologies in almost all its sectors. This paper seeks to discuss four managerial dilemmas that such technology standards have posed.
Analysis of the Case
Competition by the US
China has been facing stiff competition from the United States of America. Having been confronted with an intense congressional criticism concerning solar subsidies, the US the administration headed by President Obama was worried about the China’s new energy policies (Vietor 1). In turn, the US government resorted to saving its energy competitiveness by upgrading its technology standards to be ahead of China (Urban and Nordensvärd 200). In 2011, the installation of the three wind turbines in Minnesota caused a 42% increase in the import of the Chinese solar cells by the United States with over 30 times exports of the US solar energy going to China (Lewis 78; Vietor 5). The situation forced China to develop low carbon sources within the country.
Poisonous Carbon Emissions
China needed a lot of energy because its population was growing faster year after another. For instance, the electric generation was powered by hydropower and coal. With coal production, 100 million tons were imported while 3.7 billion tons were obtained from within country. However, the country has worked hard to raise 4.1 billion tons. Ideally, this figure is closely four times the amount produced by the United States of America. China also burns natural gas that is mostly imported at an approximate rate of 8.6 billion barrels of petroleum in a single day. This amount has been more than half of what the country imports. Consequently, the situation has resulted in increased carbon dioxide emissions. Consequently, the ‘western’ countries have become much concerned about the issue of climate changes that have in turned pressed China to work on reducing its poisonous carbon emissions (Vietor 5).
Pressure by the International Atomic Energy Agency
In 2011, China had 14 operational nuclear reactors of about 11,000MW. About 25 of them were under construction while others had been planned to be executed later. The nuclear power was entirely under the watch of the China National Nuclear Corporation. Therefore, besides nuclear safety being regulated by the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), it was audited by the review teams of safety from the International Atomic Energy Agency or the World’s Association Nuclear Operators (Desai and Potter 67).
In 2011, an accident occurred that called for immediate safety checks on the construction reviews that were performed from time to time. As a result, new approvals were to be suspended pending review of the lessons learned during the incident. When assessing China’s nuclear policies, the Center for Strategic and the International Studies enforced four elements that were considered primary. First, it emphasized pressurized power reactors for future generation. Secondly, it pointed out the maximizing of domestic manufacture of the equipment and plants as other key aspects of nuclear energy. Finally, the element of becoming self-reliant in terms of design and project management was vital. However, based on the review, it was unreasonable to enlarge the mentioned observations to cover all the renewable energy policies in China.
Low Quality Production
In 2010, China suppressed the United States’ wind market since many Chinese companies were collectively involved with the manufacture of blades and turbines. However, many of the companies produced small and dubious quality turbines. The greatest challenge that was experienced during this period involved mass wind power production that led to low profitability because of the witnessed compromised quality of products. Additionally, the companies faced a problem in accessing the electrical grid.
The US was hesitant to buy the turbines from China, even though the prices were competitive. In addition, the EU was concerned about the low-ball bids and the negative profitability that disregarded the issue of maintenance, quality, and performance (Zhou 278). With the biggest challenge being access to electrical grid, China managed to raise the growth of the turbine installations annually at 60%. However, this situation caused a rapid drop of the electrical grids to a level that was below its ability to absorb the fluctuating output power. In places such as Inner Mongolia where wind power grew fast, the inadequacy of the grid left many turbines inoperative. The National Energy Bureau ended up burning wind construction, especially in regions, which had over 20% installed capacity not in use.
How China addressed the Dilemmas
China produced 3.7billion tons of coal. In turn, severe problems of air pollution resulted from carbon emissions. The government was quite aware of the situation. Therefore, it put in place major initiatives to lower the intensity of carbon and/or curb the issue of carbon emissions. Compared to the US and other European countries, China wanted to generate more power that was efficient to capture the released carbon dioxide. In accomplishing the plan, the country used super- efficient boilers, which deployed the gasification method that was combined with cycle generation technology whose goal was to reduce the emissions of Carbon Dioxide (Lewis 45). However, the expertise was expensive. Other engineering companies in China such as Siemens and Alstom companies worked towards capturing the emitted Carbon Dioxide by scientifically creating a fluid that could easily be injected into unfathomable underground wells.
In addition, in response to the competition posed by the US, the Chinese government placed two billion Yuan for research and advancement, as well as for establishing a 250MW IGCC Plant (Vietor 7). Later, another 3 billion Yuan was set aside to start a GreenGen Project whose goal was to carry out studies that could help to establish ultra-modern low-production coal-based energy creation (Urban 89). Besides, China has devoted all its abilities to promoting the development of the renewable source of energy technologies to cut down the costs it has been incurring in importing energy from countries such as the US. China targets to achieve a situation where it will domestically provide the main renewable energy equipment that is used in the country. However, it has to meet a set of goals by 2020 to acquire the home-based intellectual property privileges that are accorded to all local manufacturing plants.
Conclusion
The analysis of carbon innovation in China clearly brings out primary differences that are associated with low carbon technologies. The level to which the country’s companies are moving towards the international frontier largely varies. Clearly, the Chinese technological ability is strong in terms of market technologies such as the fired plants with wind technologies. Early stage technologies, including the electric vehicles and wind turbines, significantly point out some loopholes that have resulted in the discussed dilemmas that the country has faced. Despite China being the second largest economy in the world and the leading energy consumer, it suffers several development challenges, especially when it comes to addressing energy demands for its low-income population. However, as the paper has revealed, China has managed to address some of the dilemmas.
Works Cited
Desai, Vandana, and Robert Potter. The Companion to Development Studies, London: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Lewis, Joanna. China’s Wind Power Industry and the Global Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy, New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Print.
Urban, Frauke, and Johan Nordensvärd. Low Carbon Development, London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Urban, Frauke. Low Carbon Transitions for Developing Countries, London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2014. Print.
Vietor, Richard. Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School. Print.
Zhou, Yu. China as an Innovation Nation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Print.
In this paper, the researcher wanted to explore factors of innovation development in Dubai schools and how effective they are in promoting creativity and innovation among learners. The researcher used both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was obtained from sampled participants in four schools in Dubai. Secondary data was obtained from books, journal articles, and reliable online sources. The findings show that students’ limited interaction with the business environment, overemphasis on exams, and limited interest shown by parents and teachers are the major hindrance in creating an enabling environment for innovation to flourish. The study recommends that there should be a multi-stakeholder approach to address current problems.
Introduction
In the current globalized society, education is considered a perfect tool that empowers children to face the world and various forces in their socio-economic and political lives. Schools are under pressure to offer students more than the simple theoretical concepts of dealing with forces in life. Schools have to ensure that they produce highly creative individuals who perfectly understand the forces in their environment and are capable of coming up with unique ways of addressing them.
According to Cankar, Tomi, and Cankar (2013), the world is currently grappling with completely new issues such as global warming, climate change, cyber threat, and cybersecurity, global trade and globalization, radicalization and violent extremism, and communitarianism among other complex social issues that never existed in the past. To address these problems, society often turns to schools to find solutions.
Institutions of learning are considered the epitome of knowledge centers where research is highly valued. However, some stakeholders have warned that most of the local learning institutions in the United Arab Emirates are completely out of touch with the realities. The system is so focused on exams that very little attention is given to the need to promote creativity and innovation. Rogers (2016) defines innovation, in the context of schools and school management behavior, as the ability and willingness to use and promote creativity in an organizational setting.
According to Zhao (2012), the education system in Dubai is a step ahead of that in other emirates within the country. This is partly attributed to the massive development of Dubai city as a major global tourist destination and a business hub. The city is home to the world’s tallest building and the largest man-made island. These new forces in the environment have forced the stakeholders in this emirate to rethink the education system. It has become evident that it is critically important to have an education system that supports creativity and innovation in line with the current environmental forces and the changing trends.
Students must learn to think creatively to address the current issues they face and other issues affecting society. Rogers (2016) says that for students to be innovative, they need an environment that supports innovation. They need the material and emotional support that will allow them to think creatively to come up with ways of addressing the forces within the environment. Some institutions have tried to create systems and structures to enable their learners to think creatively and to come up with ways addressing problems they face in their environment.
These are some of the issues that the stakeholders must consider when trying to motivate creativity and innovation among learners. In this paper, the researcher seeks to explore factors of innovation development in Dubai Schools and how effective they are in promoting creativity and innovation among learners.
Research Objectives
The research outcome in this project may play a significant role in informing the policies which stakeholders in the education sectors embrace when redefining the curriculum used in this country. The importance of this study makes it necessary to come up with clear objectives that should be achieved by the end of the project. The following are the research objectives for this study:
To explore different factors of innovation development in Dubai schools and how effective they are;
To determine how innovative students in Dubai schools are in addressing the social issues they face at school;
To come up with recommendations on how to improve creativity and innovation in Dubai schools.
Research Questions
The process of collecting data may sometimes be confusing as one may encounter numerous pieces of information, some of which may not be entirely relevant to the study. As such, Zhao (2012) advises that a researcher should come up with clearly defined research questions that would help in the process of collecting the needed data from various sources. The following are the research questions that were used in this study.
What are the different factors of innovation development in Dubai, and how effective are they?
How innovative are students in Dubai schools when it comes to addressing various issues that affect them?
What can be done to help promote creativity and innovation in Dubai schools?
Theory and Hypotheses
Background
Innovation is increasingly becoming a major key to solving the socio-political and economic problems that the United Arab Emirates face in the twenty-first century going forward. According to Andersson and Djeflat (2013), for a long time, the United Arab Emirates relied heavily on oil and gas to support its economy. However, with the oil reserves expected to dry up in the near future, there have been attempts to find creative ways of diversifying the economy.
The stakeholders have turned to innovative ideas to promote tourism and trade in the local economy. The efforts put in place have borne fruits, and currently, the city of Dubai is a top tourists’ destination and a global business hub. Although the efforts put in place by the government and stakeholders to transform the economy of Dubai has been impressive, Andersson and Djeflat (2013) say that it is worrying that most of the experts involved in these projects came from other countries.
The designers and other experts who put up Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on earth, were foreigners. The local stakeholders also had to seek the services of these foreigners when designing and constructing the Palm Island, which currently holds the record as the largest man-made island in the world. The government has invested heavily in the field of education. However, the fact that the country has to rely on foreign experts is a sign that the education sector, in its current form, is not capable of meeting the local demands in a globalizing society.
Creativity and innovation is a virtue that people learn. It is apparent that the learning institutions in the country have not inculcated the culture of innovativeness among the learners. More emphasis is still placed on passing examinations instead of having creative ways of solving problems in society. Excellence in the education sector is still placed on exams instead of looking at the holistic growth and development of the learners.
Rogers (2016) says that to secure our future, we have to fix the education system. We have to empower the future generation in a way that will enable them to address the emerging socio-economic and political problems from a different perspective compared with the current generation. That is why this research is very critical. It will help in ensuring that the future leaders and workers in this country are capable of understanding the changing trends and patterns and can define creative solutions for such emerging issues.
Literature Review
According to Oxford Business Group (2014), the education sector in Dubai has undergone massive changes over the recent past as stakeholders try to ensure that the institutions can produce graduates who can manage the emerging forces in the environment. The government of Dubai has invested heavily in the education sector, especially in terms of infrastructure and human resources.
New schools have been built, and the old ones renovated to ensure that they meet the international standards as the city becomes a center of attention globally in terms of tourism and trade. The stakeholders have also made a concerted effort to ensure that these schools have the right number of teachers who are qualified and capable of meeting the emerging needs in the education sector. Andersson and Djeflat (2013) say that the government has even hired some international teachers to ensure that the local schools have the required number of staff capable of meeting the needs of students in the best way possible.
However, Blatchford (2014) says that the level of creativity among the local students is not as high as many would expect based on the massive investments that have been made in this sector. Learners are still focused on passing their exams just as it was in the past. It means that as the government-engineered massive infrastructural and human resource development in the education sector, the vision and mission remained the same. Little was done to ensure that focus in the education sector was redefined to be in line with the emerging environmental forces.
Innovation Management and Practices and Impact in Schools
According to Alon, Jones, and McIntyre (2013), creativity and innovation must be inculcated in people from a very early to empower them in their future lives. It is a concept that people learn and must be embraced early enough. Trying to promote creativity and innovation in institutions of higher learning is important. However, it is more important to ensure that culture is promoted among learners from the early stages of education.
Rogers (2016) says that high school students should be empowered by making them creative in solving the problems they face. In high schools, these learners already understand some of the real challenges in life. They understand poverty and its dangers, and factors that may lead to it. They also understand the concept of success. At high school, learners understand some of the real challenges in life. They reason rationally and can be trusted to offer solutions to some of the problems at home or school.
As such, they are the best group of learners who should start embracing creativity in addressing socio-economic and political problems. Their focus should be moved from passing exams to understanding of the real life challenges and how they can be addressed. Blatchford (2014) says that high school students are capable of come up with innovative solutions to some of the problems they face in life.
In a study that was conducted by Audretsch, Link, and Walshok (2015), for students to be creative, they need to understand the forces in the labor market and the environment in which they are expected to work after graduation. They need to be in touch with the realities in the society beyond what they read in books. They have to understand the real problems for which innovative ideas are needed. When they are allowed to interact with the realities in the labor market, they get to understand to understand the reason why they are in classrooms.
They get to appreciate that their focus should be to use the knowledge learnt in class to address the real life problems. Such students get to appreciate that the only way of being ahead of the rest is to come up with unique ways of solving the environmental issues. When such an environment is created for the learners, they become innovative because they know it is the only way of being successful in life.
Case Study: Benchmarking
Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, the United States, is one of the high schools that have adopted a very unique mode of education. According to Tan and Perleth (2015), the learning system in this school is based the application of Harkness education. This form of education involves learners sitting in large groups and discussing ideas with minimal teacher intervention. This mode of teaching fully empowers learners and relegates the role of a teacher to that of a guide.
The student-centered approach used in this school highly encourages innovation among the learners. During the round-table discussions, students are encouraged to come up with innovative ideas of solving the social problems they face at home or at school. Each student will propose the idea and the group members will discuss it and develop it into a practical action plan in case it is viable.
Phillips Exeter Academy also uses Socratic Method of education where learners engage in cooperative argumentative dialogues where questions are answered and answers are given from various perspectives as a way promoting critical thinking. It is a concept meant to empower learners to embrace peer reviews and development as they try to address real life problems. The school was selected because it epitomizes creativity and innovation in a school setting.
The institution is also keen on promoting co-curriculum activities to help learners identify their special talents that may help them in their later lives. Some of the alumni of this school have become United States’ presidents such as Franklin Pierce, top government administrators such as Robert Lincoln, top entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg, Ulysses Grant Jr., and Jay Rockefeller, and other top celebrities such as David Rockefeller, China Forbes, and Drew Pearson.
It is a clear demonstration that students from this institution understand the forces in the society and can come up with practical ways of solving them. The creativity and innovativeness that Mark Zuckerberg learnt from this institution helped him come up with Facebook to ease social communication, an invention that has made him become one of the top 10 billionaires in the world.
Students in Phillips Exeter Academy are highly motivated and self-driven towards creativity and innovation. The administration and the system in the school make it possible for the students to understand real life challenges in the country. They understand that the best way of dealing with the emerging issues in the society is to be creative and innovative. The institution has not come up with specific awards for the students.
However, students who excel in sports, science and art fairs, academics, and other activities are often recognized and in some cases given financial incentives (Tan & Perleth 2015). The moral incentive, especially in the form of praise encouragements by the teachers and administrators for those who demonstrate unique levels of creativity also motivates the students to be innovative. To ensure that innovation is sustainable at this institution, the administration has created a culture where every student is expected to come up with a unique and practical solution to a real life problem. The culture keeps the students constantly focused on creative thinking.
Theoretical Concepts
It is important to look at some of the theories related to creativity and innovation that can help inform the policy makers who are trying to redefine the education system. One of the major theories relevant to this study is the Humanistic Theory of Creativity. According to Tan and Perleth (2015), this theory- as put forth by Maslow, Rogers, and Fromm- holds that every human being desires to achieve self-actualization. Self-actualization is a state where one feels that he or she has achieved what was expected and can now focus on other issues in life. Self-actualization should not be confused by wealth accumulation (Andersson & Djeflat 2013).
In the context of learners in high school, self-actualization can be achieved when the learners feel that they have registered excellence in their academics and can now use their knowledge to address complex problems in the society. Self-actualization creates a sense of satisfaction and confidence among learners. It makes them feel that they have unique capabilities that can be used to find unique solutions to the current or future problems. Blatchford (2014) says that teachers and parents must play a major role in inculcating the confidence among the learners and make them feel that they have the capacity to address socio-economic and political problems in the society even at that tender age.
The Psychoanalytical Theory of Creativity is another important concept that should be used to motivate creativity and innovation among high school learners (Cooke 2012). This theory, which is often associated with Sigmund Freud, holds that people tend to be creative in reaction to difficult circumstances that they cannot avoid (Tan & Perleth 2015). A clear example is the issue of exams. Most students often fear exams. It is an emotional torture that they have to suppress because the system of education is anchored on examination. However, they have come up with creative ways of addressing the difficult situations in the name of exams.
Some students make very short notes to help the cram the concepts specifically to pass the exams. After the exams, they rarely remember the concepts. Others have come up with very creative ways of cheating, such as writing down major formulas and concepts in highly concealed places that examiners cannot detect. Such creative efforts that these students often take to pass the exams should be transformed into solving real life problems. Policy change is needed in the education sector to ensure that learners worry about solving real life problems in the business or social environment, not in the exams. They should start worrying about coming up with practical means of achieving success in the society instead of excelling in theoretical concepts in exams.
Hypotheses
The review of literature conducted above help in shedding light about the issue under investigation. It helps in understanding the weaknesses in the current education system and what can be done to ensure that creativity and innovation can be promoted. The following is the hypothesis that has been developed based on the reviewed literature.
H1o. Linking education systems and activities with labor market/ business environment will not promote creativity, innovation, and enterprise.
H1a. Linking education systems and activities with labor market/ business environment will promote creativity, innovation, and enterprise.
Methods
Data Sources
In this study, data was collected from various sources to help find the link between education system and the business environment. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. A comprehensive literature review was conducted from secondary data sources such as books, journal articles, and reliable online sources. Primary data was collected from a sampled population of respondents.
Research Design
According to Cooke (2012), when defining the research design, one must understand the objective of the study. The primary objective in this study is to explore different factors of innovation development in Dubai schools and determine how effective they are. To achieve this objective, both qualitative and quantitative research will be relevant in this study. Quantitative research method will help in determining the magnitude of the impact of innovation and the level of efforts that stakeholders have put in place to promote it. On the other hand, qualitative method will facilitate a descriptive analysis of the relevant factors.
Looking at various phenomena and case studies will help in explaining why and how creativity and innovativeness can be promoted in Dubai Schools. The mixed method will ensure that the research not only answers the questions of why and how in the study but also provide the magnitude of the impact of various forces on innovation.
Sample and Data Sources
Data needed for this study can be collected from students, teachers, and experts in the field of education. It is easy to reach these people within the city of Dubai. However, one of the main constraints in this study was the limited time available for the project. As such, it was necessary to come up with a manageable sample population from whom data was collected. The researcher had three different categories of people who were included in the study.
They were head teachers, students, and education experts. As such, stratified sampling method was necessary to ensure that respondents from each of the stratum mentioned above were identified. In each stratum, researcher used simple random sampling to identify specific participants for the study. The researcher avoided any form of bias when identifying the participants and when collecting data from them. Four private schools within Dubai were selected to take part in the study. The researcher identified 7 students from each of the four schools in grades 10-12 to take part in the data collection process. The head teachers and selected employees in these schools were also part of the data collection process. The following are the schools selected to participate in this project:
Dubai International School.
Al Mawakeb School.
Al Ittihad private School.
The International School of Choueifat.
Procedure
The researcher identified a number of schools that were appropriate for the study. A letter was written and then physically delivered to the administrators of these private schools to seek permission for the research to be conducted in their institution. Approval was given from the four schools named above. The researcher then selected seven students from each of the schools who were surveyed. In each school, one student was selected to take part in a face-to-face interview with the researcher.
Head teachers in the seven schools were also interviewed. The researcher also identified some employees, especially the teachers in these institutions, to get their views about the issue under investigation. After collecting data from these four institutions, the researcher identified three experts who were also interviewed within Dubai. The use of questionnaire helped in collecting data from the head teachers and the experts. The primary data that was collected was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Measurement
In this study, the variables were defined to help in understanding the measurements. Innovativeness in Dubai schools was the dependent variables affected by the independent variables. On the other hand, infrastructure, leadership, teaching approach, and exposure of the learners to the market forces were the independent variables.
Analysis and Results
Descriptive Statistics
In the methodology section, it was explained that descriptive statistics was one of the major methods used in the analysis of the data collected from the participants. One of the major issues that the researcher wanted to determine was the different factors of innovation development in Dubai and how effective they are. The following question was posted to the participants.
What are the different factors of innovation development in Dubai and how effective are they?
The following graph shows the data that was obtained after analyzing the response obtained from the participants in the study:
Figure 1: Factors of innovation development in Dubai schools.
As shown in the figure above, the local community, parents, teachers, administrators, policy makers, experts, and personal initiatives are the key drivers of innovation in Dubai schools. It is clear that 75% of the respondents felt that teachers are very effective in promoting change because they spend a lot of time with learners at school and have significant influence on them. The data also shows that 55% of the respondents felt that administrators and policy makers were other significantly important drivers. Those interviewed also admitted that personal initiatives among the learners can also promote creativity and innovation among learners. The next question below wanted to determine what can be done to promote creativity and innovation in Dubai schools.
What can be done to help promote creativity and innovation in Dubai schools?
To answer this question in relation to the above question, the researcher identified forces that limit innovation in Dubai schools so that they can be eliminated. The figure below shows the response obtained from the participants.
Figure 2: Factors limiting innovation in Dubai schools.
A number of factors were identified as major hindrances to creativity and innovation in Dubai schools. Emphasis on exams, limited contact with the business environment at, limited motivation, inadequate facilities, and overreliance on expatriates were some of the factors identified as major hindrances to creativity and innovation. The data shows that 85% of the participants blamed overemphasis on exams, 75% blamed overreliance on expatriates, while 70% blamed limited contact that students have with the business environment. Eliminating these factors can help promote a culture of innovation in these schools.
Other Types of Analysis
The researcher also used qualitative analysis to help provide a detailed explanation to the descriptive data analyzed above. The following is one of the questions the researcher posed to the respondents.
How innovative are students in Dubai schools when it comes to addressing various issues that affect them?
Most of the respondents felt that students in Dubai schools are not innovative when it comes to addressing issues that affect them both at school and out of school. When asked to explain why, they stated that most of them are only focused on passing their exams at the expense of finding creative ways of solving social problems. The results obtained show that the four schools lack cooperation with the external environment (government organizations, companies, and entrepreneurs).
These institutions rarely invite external stakeholders such as top government experts and accomplished entrepreneurs to help the learners think creatively. The stakeholders should find ways of addressing to promote creativity and innovativeness in Dubai schools. The question below focused on determining how learners can be involved in solving societal problems as a way of motivating them to be innovative.
How can students in Dubai schools be involved in solving socio-economic and political problems in the country?
The graph below shows the suggestions of the respondents, indicating the most preferred ways of doing so.
As shown in the above figure, a number of respondents (33%) having regular engagement forums where students meet industry experts and entrepreneurs was considered one of the most effective ways of involving students in solving real life problems. Another 31% felt that exposing the learners to the business environment helps them understand the real-life forces that they must be ready to deal with. Award winning competition was also believed to be a good motivation for students. Some of the respondents (7%) also noted that lessons learnt in class should not be ignored.
Discussion
The analysis of primary data above shows that the level of innovation in Dubai schools is below the expectations of participants who were interviewed. One of the issues that they brought out was that schools lack cooperation with external forces. The stakeholders in the education system have failed to make learners realize that the concepts they learn in school are expected to help them address real life problems. In fact, one of the entrepreneurs interviewed stated that some of the college graduates are unable to apply the concepts learnt in classroom in real world situations. It forces the employers to spend resources training the new employees who are fresh from college to enable them understand how to deal with real life challenges at work.
In the analysis of primary data, a number of factors were identified to be the factors that limit creativity and innovation in Dubai schools. One of the top factors is overemphasis on exams. Students are so keen on passing their exams that they pay less attention to realities in the socio-economic and political contexts. The stakeholders such as parents, teachers, administrators, and entrepreneurs have also failed to motivate students to be innovative.
The fact that the entrepreneurs can easily hire expatriates to do skilled work such as designing unique structures eliminates the pressure to have local talents who can undertake such tasks. The culture of innovation should be created among learners so that they can embrace creativity as a way of addressing issues that they face in their school and after school life.
Theoretical Implications
This study has a significant contribution to the theoretical concepts proposed by other scholars. It has demonstrated how Humanistic Theory of Creativity can be used in the context of promoting creativity and innovation in the school context. The theory has been used extensively to explain how creativity can be promoted in an organizational setting. However, the outcome of this study now shows that the theory can also be relevant in making the learners be creative. The study also shows how the Psychoanalytical Theory of Creativity can be used to make learners feel the pressure of the socio-economic and political forces so that they can be part of the solution to some of the major problems in the society.
Managerial Implications/Recommendations
The need to promote creativity and innovativeness in Dubai schools is obvious. However, the stakeholders have been unclear on the best approach that should be taken to address the issue. The administrators and those in top managerial positions in the country will find this document very important as they try to come up with policies that can help promote innovation in these schools. This study provides clear recommendations on what the stakeholders should do to promote creativity and innovation in these schools. The following are the major recommendations that are made in this study:
Schools should do Memorandum of Understanding between government organizations and companies where they can use their innovation centers to run and test some ideas and activities;
Brainstorming hours should be created where students are asked to find ways through which they can solve real-life problems;
Schools in Dubai should come up with science fair and business fair where students are encouraged to come up with ad showcase innovative ideas of solving socio-economic or political problems;
School administrators should use benchmarking as a way of embracing best practices within their institutions.
Limitation and Future Research
It is important to note that there were a number of limitations in this study. Time constraint was the biggest challenge. The process of reviewing literatures, collecting and analyzing primary data, and developing a report is time consuming. The researcher had to plan well and do everything within the limited period. Inaccuracy of information gotten from the various sources was another issue. Some of the headmasters were not truthful when answering the questions because they were keen on protecting the image of their school. Other respondents did not take this study seriously and provided answers just for the sake of completing the interview.
Insufficiency in the number of respondents was also an issue. The time available for the study forced the researcher to use a small sample size. The researcher had planned to collect data from entrepreneurs. However, the limited time that was available made it impossible to interview them. As such, data was not collected from this important group of participants.
Conclusion
Globalization is creating an environment where countries have to compete in various fronts to achieve the desired success. Currently, Dubai is competing with cities such as Paris and Cape Town to attract global tourists. This city is also competing with other regional cities to become a dominant business hub. Creativity and innovation is critical in achieving success in such a competitive environment. It is important to inculcate the culture of creativity and innovation among learners at very early stage of their development to prepare them for the competitive nature of the environment in the world after school.
The paper has identified a number of drivers of innovation that Dubai schools should embrace and hindrances that should be dealt with to ensure that the schools become innovative. The stakeholders in the education sector should consider the following recommendations:
Learners should always be exposed to the business environment and be allowed to interact with experts and entrepreneurs to promote innovation among them.
Award winning competitions should be organized regularly in schools where learners are encouraged to use their knowledge to try to solve specific socio-economic or political issues in the society.
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