TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Orientation of Technological Innovation and Societal Challenges in
Latin America
AU - Parra, Jose Carlos Vazquez AU - Villasana, Marcia AU - Arredondo Trapero, Florina Guadalupe 
JO  - The Social Sciences
VL  - 13
IS  - 3
SP  - 548
EP  - 555
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1818-5800
DO  - sscience.2018.548.555
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=sscience.2018.548.555
KW  - Technological innovation
KW  -societal challenges
KW  -Latin America
AB  - Technological innovation needs to become more responsive to societal challenges faced by
developing nations. This implies taking a closer look at how innovative projects contribute to finding solutions
to pressing concerns regarding the environment, health or food. This study investigates the orientation of
projects by young innovators in Latin America. For this purpose, a qualitative approach was applied using
content analysis to projects granted the MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 Award for the period
2011-2016. Findings reveal that projects in Latin America are mostly oriented towards issues related to human
wellbeing and social welfare. As expected, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil have the most projects aimed
at solving challenges in those dimensions. However, projects categorized as innovations with no practical
application represent almost 30% of total projects for the region.
ER  -