Authors: de Gier, Erik & Warmerdam, J.
Year: 2009
Abstract: This book integrates the various country reports about (1) the discourse of the Globalised Knowledge-based Society in six EU countries Austria, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain; (2) the perception of (new) social risks in these countries; and (3) the role and functions of universities. The six country reports were elaborated in the course of the project NESOR – New Social Risk in the European knowledge society and higher education. The European Union cofounded this project through the Socrates programme.
Although in advance a common format of the country reports was agreed, the final output of reports proved to be rather diverse. To some extent this is caused by the fact that each country finds itself in a different developmental stage and speed on the road to the Globalised Knowledge-Based Society and also by the fact that actual discourses and policies are deeply embedded in national cultures. So, this trans-national report will not be a true and tough comparative exercise in the strict methodological sense of the word. What it does offer is an in-depth insight into national debates and policies and above that, also some common felt problems with respect to the Globalised Knowledge-Based Society. What you can expect in the remaining part of this report is not first of all a more or less descriptive summary of the various national reports, but an attempt to develop a sort of coherent transnational perspective of what means Globalised Knowledge-Based Society.