Masters Degrees (Industrial Engineering)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/776

Browse

Browsing Masters Degrees (Industrial Engineering) by Author "Asiimwe, Martha Mukama"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Towards an integration of socio-technical transitions and the Fourth Industrial Revolution
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Asiimwe, Martha Mukama; De Kock, Imke; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Contemporary societal systems are faced with an array of grand sustainability and sustainable development challenges. Mandates to transition these systems to more sustainable configurations have become widely institutionalised through global targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals presented by the United Nations. Socio-technical Transitions (STTs) are a demanded topic in sustainability discourse due to the possibilities that they present in the analysis of contemporary systems in transition to more sustainable states. The incorporation of the human ‘socio’ aspects with technology aspects which is distinct to socio-technical studies is a key proponent to harnessing technologies for society’s good as the modern world thrives off technological advancement. Furthermore, sustainability and sustainable development analysts highlight those digital revolutions are a key contributor to global systemic transformations. The contemporary world is currently undergoing a fourth industrial revolution which is changing the nature and functioning of global systems. The rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) presents possibilities for contemporary societal systems in the quest to sustainability and sustainable development. Both the 4IR and the STTs have evident connections to sustainability and sustainable development; therefore, an integration of the concepts is envisaged to further support the quest for sustainability and sustainable development in contemporary societal systems. However, on investigating the extent to which these concepts have been jointly analysed within academic literature, it was found that these concepts are not sufficiently integrated. Furthermore, literature that attempts some extent of analysing the concepts together was found to hold theoretical disconnects and conceptual gaps. This research is designed to provide a premise on which the 4IR and STTs are integrated with the ultimate aim of contributing to the effective and efficient transition of societal systems. The research employs existing theoretical and conceptual research on the 4IR and STTs to infer and demonstrate an integration between the concepts. The research is therefore a non-empirical, qualitative study that utilises both inductive and deductive approaches in an investigative or exploratory manner. The aim of this research is achieved through the development of an Integrated Fourth Industrial Revolution and Socio-technical Transitions Framework (I4IR-STT framework). The framework is conceptual in nature and is developed following requirement specifications constructed from deductions made through the gaps and disconnects identified in existing academical literature. The framework has three key features i.e., transition aspects, technology aspects and relationships. Given the conceptual and generic nature of the framework, it is accompanied by practical utility in the form of an operationalisation strategy to enable a user to apply the framework to a societal system of interest. The I4IR-STT framework was evaluated in three ways: first, with subject matter experts in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Socio-technical Transitions fields, second through an illustrative case study application of the framework and third through an assessment of the framework against the requirement specifications for its development. Experts verified the theoretical correctness and reasonableness of the framework’s content. A self-assessment of the framework against its requirements specifications demonstrated that the framework met the stipulated requirements for its development. Finally, the illustrative case study demonstrated the applicability, practicability and usability of the framework through its operationalisation strategy. The overall evaluation of the framework demonstrates that the framework achieves the stated research aim and provides a premise for the integration of the 4IR and STTs.