Kevin Sevag Kertechian

By Louise Lambert, Yasmeen Khadri, Suhina Mayet, Jessica Vedanayagam, Vaishnavi Varma and Kevin S. Kertechian

How happiness is defined depends on who is asked. In the case of universities, student happiness should prevail, yet their voices are often overlooked. This is also the case in the research literature where non-Western views are less frequently reflected. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country whose population is comprised of nearly 90% expatriate residents, is a good study case as campuses are filled with international students and the wellbeing of residents is a national priority. Responses from 80 UAE-based expatriate students reveal they are happiest with friends and in social activities and interactions; they want more opportunities to connect socially in classrooms and campuses, efforts which can be crafted by faculty. They also want joyful, inspiring learning where they can discuss and be exposed to other views, with many driven by the need to feel productive, efficacious and engaged. Solutions included the need for faculty to develop warmer student relationships, the maintenance of online learning to reflect realities of work and relationships, and for students to be treated with more respect as fee-paying adults. As the number of international students rise, research into their happiness and what universities can do to increase it remains a global priority.

Part of the book: Happiness and Wellness

By Kevin Sevag Kertechian and Hadi El-Farr

The rapid ascent of artificial intelligence (AI) and other general-purpose technologies has marked the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, triggering substantial transformations in business practices and productivity potential. While these emerging technologies offer numerous benefits, they also present a range of threats, concerns, and challenges. This chapter aims to investigate the dark side of the fourth industrial revolution, based on the available literature. One major concern revolves around employment, encompassing the potential rise in unemployment rates and the emergence of structural unemployment. The set of skills needed for the changing nature of work is significantly different, thus there is a need for rapid reskilling and deskilling to ensure the future employability of the existing workforce. Furthermore, high dependence on machines might lead to major ethical concerns, including, but not limited to, breaches of privacy and discrimination. More so, high unemployment might lead to further social and income inequalities, relegating many to the lower class and decreasing their purchasing power, while placing few in the upper class.

Part of the book: The Changing Landscape of Workplace and Workforce

By Hadi El-Farr and Kevin Sevag Kertechian

As acknowledged by scholars and practitioners, the rise of artificial intelligence and cyber-physical systems has led to a shift from the third to the fourth industrial revolution. Knowledge management as a discipline evolved in the late twentieth century, reflecting the increasing importance of knowledge as a resource in the knowledge-economy era. This chapter explores how organizations manage their knowledge in the fourth industrial revolution, which arguably should differ from how they did in the 1990s. The paper will begin by identifying the major characteristics of the four industrial revolutions. It will then delve into organizations’ strategies for managing knowledge during the third industrial revolution. Subsequently, alternative knowledge management strategies will be highlighted to address the changes brought about by the fourth industrial revolution. We claim that organizations might decide to prioritize augmentation or automation, or we propose an organic relationship between both, calling for another approach to managing knowledge: DeParadoxication. By reviewing relevant literature, this chapter proposes a theoretical framework for knowledge management in the twenty-first century.

Part of the book: The Changing Landscape of Workplace and Workforce