Technology and innovations have fueled the evolution of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). Industry 4.0 spurs growth and development through its efficiency capacity, as documented in the literature. The growth of the construction industry is a subset of the universal set of the value of gross domestic product, and thus, industry 4.0 has a spillover effect on the engineering and construction industry. The aim of this paper is to map the state of Industry 4.0 in the construction industry from the point of view of manarial activities, such as investment management, project preparation, and an overall approach to the management of related activities. This study employed scoping review techniques to dissect the status quo for Industry 4.0 and the construction industry. The empirical results from the systematic and scoping review methods for the ten sampled publications revealed that information and communication technology (ICT)—Industry 4.0—has a significant positive impact on the growth of the construction industry. Therefore, construction practitioners should partner more with researchers in the ICT industry to enhance the automation of work processes and managerial activities in the engineering and construction industry.
Africa is an emerging, frontier economy that is gradually becoming a gold miner of the fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0) to achieve speedy economic growth and development. Through the transmission channel of technological drive that relies on the penetration of modern communication means (information and communication technology [I.C.T.]). It is on this basis that this study examines the performance of I.C.T., economic growth and development in Africa. In capturing I.C.T. performance; penetration of I.C.T. indicatorsmobile telephone, fixed-line telephone and Internet access subscriptions are used as measurements and reduced to a single index through principal components analysis (P.C.A.). Economic growth and development is measured with the real gross domestic product and the human development index (H.D.I.), respectively. The data for this study were sourced from the international telecommunication union (I.T.U.) and world development indicators from the World Bank databases. The results show that mobile telecommunication is growing faster than other telecommunication indicators and I.C.T. penetration has positive impacts on economic growth and development in Africa. The study, therefore, recommends that simultaneous investments are required in the fixed-line and Internet access telecommunications in Africa in order to fully tap into the optimal impetus of I.C.T. penetration for economic growth and development in Africa.
South Africa faces many socio-economic challenges, which include sluggish economic growth, increasing unemployment rates, increasing inequality, and high poverty levels., This paper focused on examining how spatial inequality causes these socio-economic issues. The main thrust of the paper is to briefly investigate two major aspects, firstly the root cause of spatial inequality in South Africa, and secondly the impact that spatial inequality has on socio-economic indicators such as economic inequality, poverty, and employment levels. This research used a mixed methodology approach. Empirical research findings proved that apartheid policies contributed to high levels of poverty and inequality in South Africa. As the empirical results show, the existing inequalities in South Africa are predominantly based on a racial sub-group basis, which confirms the causal relationship with historic apartheid spatial policies enforced on a racial basis. Primary research findings depicted that the post-apartheid era is characterised by high poverty levels and huge inequality with the bulk of blacks exposed to diverse macro-economic challenges. Policy recommendation-wise, it was suggested that the government should continue to redress the systems of apartheid and use policies that help to eradicate poverty.
The apartheid legacy molded urbanization changes in South Africa. Post-1994 people were free to migrate to areas with greater economic activities (increased socio-economic opportunities) subsequently, the genesis of migration. Majority of the people aimed for Gauteng Province which is considered the economic hub of the country and a magnet of opportunities. This study looked at the history of Gauteng- primarily the economic position in conjunction with economic theories. This quantitative research investigated the relationship between economic growth and urbanization in the Gauteng Province. Granger causality tests were used to ascertain the relationship used in the research and the study focused on the period 1997 to 2020, using quarterly data. From the study, it was established that there is a unidirectional causality running from economic growth and employment in Gauteng- meaning that an increase in economic growth enables more jobs to be created, leading to migration of people to the province. The paper also found no causal relationship between population and economic growth- meaning that population increase does not have any effect on economic growth. People seek to progress out of poverty, primarily to an urban lifestyle to leverage socio-economic benefits- grow skills and knowledge by accessing public services such as education, and infrastructure mainly available in urbanized areas. The paper recommends for the government redefine urbanization policy to manage rapid migration. Failure to do so will lead to infrastructure ( housing, water, and electricity) and employment challenges within the province.
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