The BBC is reporting that the "The US has lost its position as the world's primary engine of technology innovation, according to a report by the World Economic Forum," from their article here. The other point of interest, is that Denmark is ranked first, which was rather interesting. Though this might sound like big news, it is important to check the fact instead of just taking everything at face value. The first thing that must be asked is "what were the evaluated factors?" If you don't know how these people are evaluating the countries then everything is pretty much meaningless. Besides, I was keen on trying to find out what put Denmark in first!
I popped by the World Economic Forum webpage get further details on this report, which is actually the Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007. After reading the report title, I am not very happy about the BBC's reporting! The BBC said "Technology innovation" which can mean, electronic devices, computers, jet engines, high-tech cars, whatever right? But the report they are talking about is "information technology," which means communication, data indexing, storage, computing (some) and etc. Obviously this is a misrepresentation of the report.
I've tried to find a copy of the report but couldn't find anything more than a ranked list here. No criteria, nothing. I am afraid that the report is available for purchase and no detailed information is available (other than a table of contents). Sure, I could write up a report on "Oranges are scientifically proven to be better on apples" and then charge, say $100 for it and then just say, "Oranges are better than apples for fluid content." The possibilities are dubious.
Word to the wise: If someone makes a claim, always be demanding of evidence.
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