The rapid uptake of digital technologies is constantly transforming the modern culture of sports spectating; however, relatively little is known about the impact of digitalization on the changing face of global sports-consuming audiences, particularly from a qualitative perspective. In this article, the relationship between modern mass digital technologies and audiences of sports spectators is described and explained by taking a customer-centric approach to grounded theory using a literature review and in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews with sports marketing, management, and technology (...) professionals. The qualitative approach permits the gathering of in-depth insights into a problem, generates new concepts through data synthesis and analysis, and captures changing attitudes within the sports industry. Moreover, the qualitative approach to research is not bound by the limitations of quantitative methods and focuses on the primary questions of “how” and “why” digital technology’s mass deployment and diffusion have transformed content consumption in the sports industry. The analysis first systematizes and codes the collected data. Second, all the materials are iteratively read and the key points are outlined. Using the iterative analysis, the theoretical and empirical insights and findings are synthesized in order to achieve the results. Finally, dimensions of the transformation of sports spectators’ consumption are identified and explained. The research implications highlight “how” and “why” modern digital technologies have changed the sports-consuming audience by making it more inclusive in terms of age, gender, demographics, social and health status. These findings are useful for sport managers to better understand their audiences and processes in an ever-changing global society. (shrink)

The diffusion of technology in the US has taken place in an environment of both regulation and free enterprise. Each has been subject to manipulation by doctors and medical administrators that has fostered unprecedented ethical dilemmas and legal challenges. Understanding these developments and historical precedents may allow a more rational diffusion policy for medical technology in the future.

ObjectiveWe aim to investigate the feasibility of using diffusion tensor imaging to evaluate changes in extraocular muscles and lacrimal gland in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy and to evaluate disease severity.Materials and MethodsA total of 74 participants, including 17 healthy controls, 22 patients with mild TAO, and 35 patients with moderate-severe TAO, underwent 3-Tesla DTI to measure fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity of the EOMs and LG. Ophthalmological examinations, including visual acuity, exophthalmos, intraocular pressure, and fundoscopy, were performed. FA and (...) MD values were compared among patients with different disease severity. Multiple linear regression was adopted to predict the impact of clinical variables on DTI parameters of orbital soft tissue.ResultsTAO patients’ EOMs and LG showed significantly lower FA values and higher MD compared to HCs’. Moderate-severe TAO patients’ EOMs and LG had dramatically lower FA and higher MD compared with HCs. In addition, only the DTI parameters of the medial rectus were considerably different between mild and moderate-severe TAO patients. Multiple linear regression showed that disease severity had a significant impact on the DTI parameters of orbital soft tissue.ConclusionDTI is a useful tool for detecting microstructural changes in TAO patients’ orbital soft tissue. DTI findings, especially medial rectus DTI parameters, can help to indicate the disease severity in TAO patients. (shrink)

Biometric technology was once the purview of security, with face recognition and fingerprint scans used for identification and law enforcement. This is no longer the case; biometrics is increasingly used for commercial and civil applications. Due to the widespread diffusion of biometrics, it is important to address the ethical issues inherent to the development and deployment of the technology. This article explores the burgeoning research on biometrics for non-security purposes and the ethical implications for organizations. This will (...) be achieved by reviewing the literature on biometrics and business ethics and drawing from disciplines such as computer ethics to inform a more robust discussion of key themes. Although there are many ethical concerns, privacy is the key issue, with associated themes. These include definitions of privacy, the privacy paradox, informed consent, regulatory frameworks and guidelines, and discrimination. Despite the proliferation of biometric technology, there is little empirical research on applied biometrics and business ethics. As such, there are several avenues for research to improve understanding of the ethical implications of using this technology. (shrink)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be impacting all industry sectors, while becoming a motor for innovation. The diffusion of AI from the civilian sector to the defense sector, and AI’s dual-use potential has drawn attention from security and ethics scholars. With the publication of the ethical guideline Trustworthy AI by the European Union (EU), normative questions on the application of AI have been further evaluated. In order to draw conclusions on Trustworthy AI as a point of reference for responsible (...) research and development (R&D), we approach the diffusion of AI across both civilian and military spheres in the EU. We capture the extent of technological diffusion and derive European and German patent citation networks. Both networks indicate a low degree of diffusion of AI between civilian and defense sectors. A qualitative investigation of project descriptions of a research institute’s work in both civilian and military fields shows that military AI applications stress accuracy or robustness, while civilian AI reflects a focus on human-centric values. Our work represents a first approach by linking processes of technology diffusion with normative evaluations of R&D. (shrink)

Technology transfer is the movement of technical and organizational skills, knowledge, and methods from one individual or organization to another for economic purposes. This process usually involves a group that possesses specialized technical skills and technology that transfers it to a target group of receptors who do not possess those skills, and who cannot create that technology themselves.

The adoption of the codex for literature in the Roman world was one of the most significant developments in the history of the book, yet remains poorly understood. Physical evidence seems to contradict literary evidence from Martial's epigrams. Near-total adoption of the codex for early Christian works, even as the book roll dominated non-Christian book forms in the first centuries of our era, has led to endless speculation about possible ideological motives for adoption. What has been unquestioned is the importance (...) of Christian scribes in the surge of adoption from 300 C.E. onward. This article reexamines the foundation of many theories, the timeline for non-Christian adoption sketched by Roberts and Skeat in their study, The Birth of the Codex, and reevaluates it through the lens of “diffusion of innovations theory” in order to reconcile the evidence and elevate practical considerations once and for all over ideological motives. (shrink)

This brief review of the efficacy, safety, and costs of IVF demonstrates that this procedure has become accepted medical practice without adequate scientific assessment. Its rapid proliferation especially in the market-oriented USA system, has preceded the type of outcomes research that is essential in order to protect both individual patients and the health care system. In addition, concern over the psychological costs borne by the vast majority of women who unsuccessfully pursue pregnancy through these techniques should warrant a level of (...) caution which to date has not been forthcoming. The demand for pregnancy, the organisation of medical specialties surrounding these procedures, the open-ended reimbursement and incentive structure, and powerful market forces make it unlikely that IVF and a whole range of medical technologies can be regulated without some semblance of a national health system. These findings clearly reinforce the themes raised by the Radical Statistics Health Group and illustrate some of the weaknesses of a market approach to medical care. (shrink)

This article is a contribution to the critical sociology of science perspective introduced and developed by Pierre Bourdieu. The paper proposes a transversalist theory of science and technology production and diffusion. It is here argued that science and technology are comprised of multiple regimes where each regime is historically grounded, possesses its own division of labour, modes of cognitive and artifact production and has specific audiences. The major regimes include the disciplinary regime, utilitarian regime, transitory regime and (...) research-technology regime. Though each regime is autonomous, they are simultaneously closely interlaced. In science and technology, autonomy is not antithetical to interdependence and reciprocity. This study demonstrates for the four specified regimes of production and diffusion that differentiation is not contrary to interaction. In science, differentiation and interaction comprise two sides of the same coin. All regimes exhibit a measure of transversality. (shrink)

This article examines the response of minority gamers as they adopt new innovations in Xbox Live. Using diffusion of innovation theory, specific attention is given to gamers’ rate of adoption of the new Xbox Live environment, which was a recent update to the Xbox Live interface. By employing virtual ethnography, observations, and interviews reveal that gaming duration and gender are significant factors in identifying a gamer’s successful rate of adoption of the new innovation. Female participants reveal that Xbox Live (...) intentionally targets males as the default gamer and enact changes based on their needs. The research concludes with a plea to Xbox Live to acknowledge minority gamers such as women to incorporate their needs within the decision-making process of new innovations. (shrink)

The illicit diffusion of intimate photographs or videos intended for private use is a troubling phenomenon known as the diffusion of Non-Consensual Intimate Images (NCII). Recently, it has been feared that the spread of deepfake technology, which allows users to fabricate fake intimate images or videos that are indistinguishable from genuine ones, may dramatically extend the scope of NCII. In the present essay, we counter this pessimistic view, arguing for qualified optimism instead. We hypothesize that the growing (...) diffusion of deepfakes will end up disrupting the status that makes our visual experience of photographic images and videos epistemically and affectively special; and that once divested of this status, NCII will lose much of their allure in the eye of the perpetrators, probably resulting in diminished diffusion. We conclude by offering some caveats and drawing some implications to better understand, and ultimately better counter, this phenomenon. (shrink)

Technological gaps in large-scale systems, whether ancient empires or the modern world system, are millenia old and are usually viewed in terms of variable rates of innovation and diffusion. When overlaid with large-scale, tightly coupled systems, such as air transport, pharmaceutical regimes, power grids, industrial supply chains, or food supply networks, these mismatches frequently have adverse consequences for the performance of the system. This article suggests that these gaps are a consequence of the network topologies that produce innovation, and (...) more importantly that the dynamics of these networks progressively amplify the gaps. The dark side of technological acceleration in core regions is an expanding gap between core and periphery, creating a unique class of hazards outside the core. (shrink)

Virtual reality has developed rapidly, drawing more businesses to such development. Based on the diffusion of innovations theory, the study combines the flow theory and the satisfaction perspective to explore purchase intention influencing customers’ adoption of the VR shopping platform system. This study found that satisfaction and flow experience enhance their purchase intention. In technological characteristics, relative advantage, service compatibility, spatial presence, and complexity are important in satisfaction. Among them, both relative advantage and spatial presence impact flow experience. Additionally, (...) a cluster analysis based on gender was conducted, and the study found a significant difference between relative advantages, service compatibility, and complexity in women and men users. The flow experience is an important factor affecting women users’ shopping intention, while insignificant for male users. The implications of these findings are discussed. (shrink)

This article addresses concerns of technology dissemination for small farmers, specifically focusing on the diffusion of new varieties of a self-pollinating crop. Based on bean seed systems research in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it shows four commonly-held basic assumptions to be false, namely that: first, small-scale farmers do not buy bean seed; they mainly rely on their own stocks or obtain seed from other farmers; second, that small-scale farmers cannot afford to buy seed (...) of newly introduced bean varieties or will not risk it; third, that farmer seed networks function efficiently in varietal diffusion; and lastly, that a good variety will sell itself. Grounded in the reality under which small farmers actually operate, the article offers recommendations for improving the delivery of newly introduced bean cultivars by NARS and seed suppliers. Most of the recommendations are relevant to other self-pollinating crops. (shrink)

We take a logical approach to threshold models, used to study the diffusion of opinions, new technologies, infections, or behaviors in social networks. Threshold models consist of a network graph of agents connected by a social relationship and a threshold value which regulates the diffusion process. Agents adopt a new behavior/product/opinion when the proportion of their neighbors who have already adopted it meets the threshold. Under this diffusion policy, threshold models develop dynamically towards a guaranteed fixed point. (...) We construct a minimal dynamic propositional logic to describe the threshold dynamics and show that the logic is sound and complete. We then extend this framework with an epistemic dimension and investigate how information about more distant neighbors’ behavior allows agents to anticipate changes in behavior of their closer neighbors. Overall, our logical formalism captures the interplay between the epistemic and social dimensions in social networks. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: “Indian Agriculture” Practical Astronomy, Surveying and Time‐keeping Gunpowder and Firearms Philosophy of Technology References and Further Reading.

Farmer innovation diffusion (FID) in the developing world is not simply the adoption of an innovation made by farmers, but a process of communication and cooperation between farmers, governments, and other stakeholders. While increasing attention has been paid to farmer innovation, little is known about how farmers’ innovations are successfully diffused. To fill this gap, this paper aims to address the following questions: What conditions are necessary for farmers to participate in FID? How is a collaborative network built up (...) between farmers and stakeholders for this purpose? And what roles can government play? The above questions are addressed through analysis of the diffusion of winter greenhouse technology in China. A framework for analyzing a FID system is developed, and the conclusion is drawn that building mutual trust and collaborative networks is crucial for the success of FID. Furthermore, this network building can be broken down into various levels with different scales, speeds and consequences for FID: informal networks among farmers themselves, farmer-led networks, and government-facilitated networks. The success of government intervention depends upon building and enhancing the collaborative networks in which farmer leadership is crucial. (shrink)

Focusing on the controversial birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin, this article explores how debates about the safety of these drugs have materialized in risk evaluations and the management of technological risk. Drawing on in-depth interviews with stakeholders and content analysis of legal, medical, and regulatory documents, I highlight how professional contraceptive risk assessment is characterized by systemic uncertainty and doubt, resulting in increased responsibility for users themselves to manage the drugs’ potentially increased risks of venous thromboembolism. The analysis centers (...) on three key areas in the assessment process that denote disagreement: risk measurement in postmarket surveillance data, the distinctiveness of the drugs’ benefits when compared to other contraceptive technologies, and the weighing of the risks and benefits against each other. While professionals negotiate uncertainty both in epidemiological research and in clinical practice, users are constructed as agents who should manage risk individually. Such processes are underlined by a diffusion of responsibility in the systemic management of contraceptive risk. This article suggests, more broadly, that medical technologies can be conceptualized as artifacts that are instrumental in the dispersion of risks. (shrink)

Technologies for mitigating and adapting to climate change are inherently political. Their development, diffusion and deployment will have uneven impacts within and across national borders. Bringing the governance of climate technologies under democratic control is imperative but impeded by the global scale of governance and its polycentric nature. This article draws on innovative theorising in the deliberative democracy tradition to map possibilities for global democratic governance of climate technologies. It is argued that this domain is not beyond the reach (...) of democracy. Civil society has a unique and expanded role to play in generating democratic legitimacy by fostering public deliberation; translating and transmitting concepts, ideas and messages; and promoting and facilitating deliberative accountability. (shrink)

In 2000 Bill Joy proposed that the best way to prevent technological apocalypse was to "relinquish" emerging bio-, info- and nanotechnologies. His essay introduced many watchdog groups to the dangers that futurists had been warning of for decades. One such group, ETC, has called for a moratorium on all nanotechnological research until all safety issues can be investigated and social impacts ameliorated. In this essay I discuss the differences and similarities of regulating bio- and nanotechnological innovation to the efforts to (...) regulate nuclear and biological weapons of mass destruction. I then suggest the creation of a global technology regulatory regime to ensure the safe and equitable diffusion of genetic, molecular and information technologies, and point out the principal political obstacles to implementing such a regime. (shrink)

Information technology, that assortment of technology that enables the conversion of data into information, has had an enormous impact on the field of public administration and its theoretical foundation. This article explores five of them. It begins with a discussion of one of the primary impacts of information technology on public administration theory: the development of systems theory and its descendants including the study of complex systems, chaos, and complexity theory. The importance of information technology in (...) decision-making is explored next. Does information technology free us from the limits of bounded rationality or are we simply overwhelmed by the volume of information available via new sources, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web? The third role examined is the use of information technology as a research tool to make previously intractable problems solvable. Computer capability has enormously advanced the theoretical underpinnings of public administration. Fourth, the significance of information technology as a change agent that calls for revision of other theoretical postulates is investigated. As information technology has diffused into public organizations, how has it called into question what we previously thought about the foundation of bureaucracy? Finally, learning by doing and the manner through which practice informs theory is considered. (shrink)

Technological literacy means far more than just the ability to use computers and other machines. It implies an understanding of the factors involved in the creation and development of technologies and of the impacts of technology on society, on individuals, and on the environment. Ignorance of any of these facets can have serious consequences in a future in which technology will play an ever more determinant role. Unfortunately, the importance as well as the intrinsically interdisciplinary nature of technological (...) literacy have not yet been perceived by the educational system and used to enrich the content of school curricula and of traditional liberal arts college curricula. The diffusion of technological literacy is an urgent priority in helping shape our culture, in providing a sense of optimism about our future, and in enabling us to avoid the disasters that the neglect of technology has wreaked historically on other societies. (shrink)

The marketization of interest rate is an inevitable requirement for China’s financial reform and joining the WTO to connect with the international financial market. It is also an important link to improve the marketization degree of China’s financial system. The marketization of interest rate in China is gradually advancing according to its preset mode. In the process of interest rate marketization, an unavoidable problem is that while the interest rate marketization gives the commercial banks the autonomy of capital pricing, the (...) fluctuation of interest rate is more and more frequent. However, due to the fluctuation of interest rate, the loan as the main assets of commercial banks will be prepayed by borrowers, and the time deposit as the main liabilities of commercial banks will be withdrawn by depositors in advance; that is, embedded options are implied in asset liability items, which makes it difficult for commercial banks to accurately calculate the actual interest margin of deposits and loans and manage the interest rate risk. Therefore, it is of great significance to identify and price such embedded option value. On the basis of identifying and decomposing the embedded options in deposit and loan of commercial banks, according to the change characteristics of deposit and loan interest rate of Chinese commercial banks, this paper chooses jump-diffusion interest rate model to describe the change of benchmark interest rate of deposit and loan in China and demonstrates the advantages of this model compared with other models. Based on Monte Carlo simulation technology, the embedded options of five-year fixed deposit and ten-year prepayable loan in China are priced. On this basis, it points out that the real interest margin of commercial bank’s deposit and loan should be the nominal interest margin minus the value of deposit and loan’s embedded options. In the process of interest rate risk management, we should pay attention to the existence of embedded options and carry out effective management. (shrink)

Information technology is considered a potentially transformative element in the field of health care by payers, providers, vendors, and consumers alike. Because of this transformative potential, health information technology adoption is viewed by many as a key component of health system reform. HIT is in its earliest stages, with diffusion of the technology still relatively limited; at the same time, there is growing awareness of its potential to affect the operation of the entire health care system (...) as a result of the vast amount of information that will become available to both health professionals and patients. (shrink)

Old age is not normally associated with innovativeness and technical prowess. To the contrary, when treating age as a distinct category, policy makers, innovation scholars, and companies typically regard younger people as drivers of innovation, and the early adoption of new technology. In this paper, we critically investigate this link between age, ineptness, and technology adoption using a case study of the diffusion of electric bikes in the Netherlands. We demonstrate how, during the first wave of e-bike (...) acceptance, old age was constructed as an arena in which important learning processes took place, and where older persons became early adopters of e-bikes. Theoretically, this paper speaks critically to the prolific literature on innovation diffusion and its treatment of adopter categories as generic concepts. Using age as a central dimension, our research highlights the situated and constructed nature of adopter categories, and thus challenges age-based assumptions about innovation and technology use by younger and older persons. These insights about what we term the rejuvenation of e-bikes help us rectify existing biases of older persons as an inherently problematic group of technology users. (shrink)

Technology transfer is a multi-level process of communication involving a variety of senders and receivers of ideas and materials. As a response to market failure, or as an effort to accelerate market-driven social change, technology transfer may combine public and private aparatus or rely solely on public institutional mechanisms to identify, develop, and deliver innovations and information. Technology transfer institutions include universities, government ministries, research institutes, and what may be termed the ‘project sector’. Four farm- and village-level (...) change models are considered: traditional community development, adoption-diffusion, training and Visit Extension, and Farming Systems Research. The challenges to technology transfer efforts center on developing indigenous capacity to generate and adapt agricultural technology to local conditions. This is the primary objective of technology transfer in agriculture and the basis for advancing rural development. (shrink)

The primary focus of agricultural research and extension in eastern Africa is technology generation and dissemination. Despite prior critiques of the shortcomings of this approach, the consequences of such activities continue to be measured through the number of technologies developed and introduced into the supply chain. At best, impact is assessed by the total numbers of adopters and by the household and system factors influencing adoption. While the diffusion research tradition has made substantive advances in recent decades, attention (...) to what happens to technologies after adaptive, on-farm research trials continues to be limited in practice. While a host of newer approaches designed to correct for past shortcomings in diffusion research is now available, integrative methodologies that capitalize on the strengths of these different traditions are sorely needed. This article presents a more encompassing methodology for tracking the fate of technological interventions, illustrating the potential applications of findings for enhancing the positive impact of agricultural research and extension in the region. (shrink)

Promoting clinicians’ knowledge sharing of appropriate health technology within the integrated care system is of great vitality in bridging the technological gap between member institutions. However, the role of social networks in knowledge sharing of health technology is still largely unknown. To address this issue, the study aims to clarify the influence of clinicians’ social networks on knowledge sharing of health technology within the ICS. A questionnaire survey was conducted among the clinicians in the Alliance of Liver (...) Disease Specialists in Fujian Province, China. Social network analysis was conducted using NetDraw and UCINET, and the quadratic assignment procedure multiple regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of knowledge sharing of health technology. The results showed that the ICS played an insufficient role in promoting overall knowledge sharing, especially inter-institutional knowledge sharing. Trust, emotional support, material support, and cognitive proximity positively influenced knowledge sharing of health technology, while the frequency of interaction and relationship importance had a negative impact on it. The finding extended the research scope of social network theory to the field of healthcare and will bridge the evidence gap in the influence of the clinicians’ social networks on their knowledge sharing within the ICS, providing new ideas to boost knowledge sharing and diffusion of appropriate health technology. (shrink)

Technological advances over the past 50 years or so have resulted in the development of a succession of hardware and software systems intended to improve the quality and effectiveness of Western music instrument pedagogy during classroom instruction or individual study. These systems have aimed to provide evaluation or visualization of single or combined technical aspects by analyzing performance data collected in real time or offline. The number of such educational technologies shows an ever-increasing trend over time, aided by the wide (...) diffusion and availability of mobile devices. However, we believe there are unrealized opportunities for modern technologies to help music students in their technical development and assist them during their practice sessions in between visits to their teachers. The ubiquity of PCs and mobile devices with built-in microphones, speakers, and cameras has inspired the development of media technologies in support of music pedagogy. They offer an attractive potential for implementing audio signal processing algorithms addressing different technical skills of the performer, providing real-time feedback, collecting data over time, and applying statistical models. Despite this potential, most available software for music instrument pedagogy remains very limited in functionality. This study provides a survey of music edTech software available, together with the methods of use, addressed technical skills, commonalities, and limitations. Results show that most current software is based on the metronome and tuner, with only a few systems that have limited abilities to follow a performance in real-time and compare it to a given score to monitor correctness of notes, intonation, and rhythm. The survey also highlights a high and under-exploited potential regarding the monitoring of other more specific technical skills, which are more instrument-dependent, but no less important, such as the control of dynamic range and clarity of the attack. This article ends with a discussion of possible directions for future development of technologies to support the practice of music students at different levels, with some consideration for the corresponding signal processing methods that can be utilized or that need advancement. By helping students to more efficiently achieve a high level of proficiency of their instruments with assistive technologies, we hope to minimize stress and afford better enjoyment of the music performance experience for all. (shrink)

PurposeThrough an evaluation of the information technology adoption and diffusion models and the free and/or open source policy of the South African Government, the underlying assumption is that the developmental divide between those with and those without access to technology is purely technical. This paper aims to illustrate that if Free and/or Open Source Software is to be used as a building block to bridge the “digital divide” a more social and environmental perspective, which embraces the philosophy (...) behind the software, needs to complement the technical perspective. The human environmental model is presented as a useful alternative which, if embraced, can inform more holistic information and communication technology policies.Design/methodology/approachThrough a review of diffusion of innovations models an alternative diffusion framework is described and applied to an interpretive open source case study in South Africa.FindingsContemporary diffusion and innovation models are narrowly focused on IT as a purely technological linear phenomenon. This perspective also underlies many ICT policies. A more socio‐technical adoption model can assist in providing a more holistic approach to ICT policy development.Originality/valueThe application of a new innovation model, the human environmental model, to ICT policy provides a holistic framework in which the complexity of the innovation process can be reflected in policy. Such an approach to ICT policy formulation will assist with broadening the perspective of policy makers from IT as a technical solution to IT as part of a socio‐technical solution and recognise the duality of the innovation process. (shrink)

The recent rapid development of information technology, such as sensing technology, communications technology, and database, allows us to use simulation experiments for analyzing serious accidents caused by hazardous chemicals. Due to the toxicity and diffusion of hazardous chemicals, these accidents often lead to not only severe consequences and economic losses, but also traffic jams at the same time. Emergency evacuation after hazardous chemical accidents is an effective means to reduce the loss of life and property and (...) to smoothly resume the transport network as soon as possible. This paper considers the dynamic changes of the hazardous chemicals’ concentration after their leakage and simulates the diffusion process. Based on the characteristics of emergency evacuation of hazardous chemical accidents, we build a mixed-integer programming model and design a heuristic algorithm using network optimization and diffusion simulation. We then verify the validity and feasibility of the algorithm using Jinan, China, as a computational example. In the end, we compare the results from different scenarios to explore the key factors affecting the effectiveness of the evacuation process. (shrink)

SummaryThe contrasting economic and technological histories of Japan, China, and India prior to 1914 are very often explained in socio-cultural terms. It is too easily assumed that culturally Japan was somehow more ‘prone’ to development along Western lines than were either of China and India. This paper addresses the socalled ‘failure’ of economic modernization in China and India in terms of socioeconomic processes and mechanisms. Knowledge and machinery were transferred to all three nations prior to 1914. But only in Japan (...) were conditions favourable to the subsequent adoption, diffusion, and adaptation of technologies. A major argument is that officialdom in China and India was not unwary or dissolute but merely hamstrung through a removal of effective sovereignty over decision making. The reduction of sovereignty was of greater importance than the supposed retardative impact of deeply held cultural traits. (shrink)

We argue that the notion of trust, as it figures in an ethical context, can be illuminated by examining research in artificial intelligence on multi-agent systems in which commitment and trust are modeled. We begin with an analysis of a philosophical model of trust based on Richard Holton’s interpretation of P. F. Strawson’s writings on freedom and resentment, and we show why this account of trust is difficult to extend to artificial agents (AAs) as well as to other non-human entities. (...) We then examine Margaret Urban Walker’s notions of “default trust” and “default, diffuse trust” to see how these concepts can inform our analysis of trust in the context of AAs. In the final section, we show how ethicists can improve their understanding of important features in the trust relationship by examining data resulting from a classic experiment involving AAs. (shrink)

Improving the coordination between technological innovation in high-tech industries and regional economic development is an important measure for all provinces to implement the innovation-driven development strategy. Based on the analysis of the mechanism of high-tech industrial technological innovation and regional economic development, this paper constructs the measurement index system of high-tech industrial technological innovation and regional economic development, and the chain network DEA model, entropy weight method, coupling coordination model, and exploratory spatial data analysis technology are comprehensively used to (...) empirically analyze the technological innovation efficiency of high-tech industries, regional economic development level, and the coupling coordination relationship between them and the spatiotemporal evolution trend in 24 provinces of China from 2009 to 2018. The results show that there are significant differences in the average level of technological innovation efficiency of high-tech industry in each stage, which is the most prominent in the technology research and development stage, followed by the industrialization stage, and finally in the technology transformation stage. The degree of coupling and coordination between high-tech industrial technological innovation and regional economic development is increasing year by year, which is in the adaptation stage of high-tech industrial technological innovation and regional economic development. From the perspective of spatial pattern, there is a positive spatial autocorrelation between the coupling coordination degree of high-tech industrial technological innovation and regional economic development. The number of provinces with low coupling coordination degree is much larger than that with high coupling coordination degree, showing a serious imbalance of regional heterogeneity and forming two spatial aggregation areas of “high-high” diffusion effect and “low-low” low-speed growth. (shrink)

The ArgumentThe impressive growth of the Swiss electricity supply industry in the late nineteenth cestury has usually been explained by Switzerland's abundant waterpower resouces, its well-equipped financial markets, and the mechanical skills of its Swiss workers and engineers. This article does not aim to deny the importance of these factors. Rather it seeks to explain how they developed synergetic effects and how they were knit together. The argument is put forward in three steps: First, I show the importance of the (...) new technology's discursive integration, arguing that the development of specialized electric discourse led to a social shaping of technology that was highly compatible with generalized cultural patterns of late nineteenth-century Swiss society. The expressive dispositions and instituted means of expression that constitiute the elextric discourse were constantly pursuing and achieving effective resonances in other discursive fields. This allowed for a solid integration of the electrotechnical discourse in late nineteenth-century Swiss society.Second, I argue that electrotechnology was modeled in such a way that it became coupled with existing technological practices, such as the national mapping endeavor, the urban gas and water supply, the sewer system, and the telegraphic networks. It is noteworthy that making electrotechnology compatible with other technological practices led not only to similar patterns in the design and management of both the old and the new technologies but also to operated with the existing water supply station.Using the example of the electrification of Zurich, I then, in a third step, combine the two elements – discursive accommodation and practical assimilation – to demonstrate their effects on the selection and construction of technology. The article's somewhat complex argumentative strategy allows for a differentiated interpretation of the phenomenon and shows the importance of taking into consideration the sociocultural dimension of economic growth that had its roots in the diffusion of a new technology. (shrink)

Community technology design has been deeply affected by paradigm shifts and dominant discourses of its seminal disciplines, such as Human Computer Interaction, Cultural and Design theories, and Community Development as reflected in Community Narratives. A particular distinction of community technology design endeavours has been their cultural stance, which directs the agendas, interactions, and outcomes of the collaboration. Applying different cultural lenses to community technology design, shifts not only practices but also directs the levels of awareness, thereby unfolding (...) fundamentally distinct cultural engagement approaches. Previous community technology design research indulged in cross-, inter-, and multicultural approaches to community engagement; it was occupied with meticulously deconstructing and reconstructing perspectives, interactions, roles, and agendas. We argue that when deeply immersed in joint design activities in long-term collaborations, we look beyond individual cultures and enter a transcultural mode of engagement. A transcultural community technology design endeavour supports a continuous creation and re-creation of new meanings, originating from individual entities yet being diffused and continuously reflected within the existing design space. We suggest that within community technology design, a context with abundant cultural diversity, a heightened awareness becomes a necessity. We exemplify different instantiations of the cultural engagement approaches within our long-term collaborations and technology design projects with indigenous communities in Malaysian Borneo and Namibia. A transcultural approach to indigenous knowledge preservation and digitisation efforts with indigenous communities opens up a controversial debate about protecting versus integrating local epistemologies. (shrink)

The diffusion of digital information and communication technologies is strongly supported by many countries of the world. Today, as well as in the past, new technologies are charged with high expectations, but at a closer look one can see that these expectations then are very different from now. Today they depend on the various interests of different groups of people. Globally acting enterprises see DICT as essential stra-tegic instruments in gaining competitive power; some governments hope to reach military hegemony, (...) others to control terrorism and crime, while grass root movements expect to become more influential on some aspects of society. The paper identifies and analyses basic tendencies which promote the various hopes: the effects of DICT on reducing production and transaction costs, and the possibility to transform information goods into marketable services or commodities. The final part of the paper is devoted to a few examples of how the potential of DICT can be used for social improvements. (shrink)

Can an artificially intelligent tool be a part of a human’s extended mind? There are two opposing streams of thought in this regard. One of them can be identified as the externalist perspective in the philosophy of mind, which tries to explain complex states and processes of an individual as co-constituted by elements of the individual’s material and social environment. The other strand is normative and explanatory atomism which insists that what is to be explained and evaluated is the behaviour (...) of individuals. In the present contribution, it is argued that counterintuitive results turn up once atomism tries to appropriate insights from psychological externalism and holism. These results are made visible by technological innovations, especially artificially intelligent systems, but they do not result from these innovations alone. They are rather implicit in situated cognition approaches which join both theoretical strands. This has repercussions for explanatory as well as ethical theorising based on situated cognition approaches. It is a fairly rare constellation that new technological options, namely artificial intelligence, raise doubts concerning a philosophical theory, namely extended mind theory. (shrink)

The role of digital technology in shaping attention and cognitive development has been at the centre of public discourse for decades. The current review presents findings from three main bodies of literature on the implications of technology use for attention and cognitive control: television, video games, and digital multitasking. The aim is to identify key lessons from prior research that are relevant for the current generation of digital users. In particular, the lack of scientific consensus on whether digital (...) technologies are good or bad for children reflects that effects depend on users’ characteristics, the form digital technologies take, the circumstances in which use occurs and the interaction between the three factors. Some features of digital media may be particularly problematic, but only for certain users and only in certain contexts. Similarly, individual differences mediate how, when and why individuals use technology, as well as how much benefit or harm can be derived from its use. The finding emerging from the review on the large degree of heterogeneity in associations is especially relevant due to the rapid development and diffusion of a large number of different digital technologies and contents, and the increasing variety of user experiences. We discuss the importance of leveraging existing knowledge and integrating past research findings into a broader organizing framework in order to guide emerging technology-based research and practice. We end with a discussion of some of the challenges and unaddressed issues in the literature and propose directions for future research. (shrink)

Scholars refute the dichotomy of subject and object in the study of technology. Basing on relational ontology and revised empirical study, namely the social historical phenomenology of technology, inspired by post-phenomenology and actor-network theory, this study adopts an approach informed by the genetic phenomenological sociology (Zhang 2017; 2020) of technology, and examines the formation of Apple’s technology in the process of its emergence and diffusion. Unlike post-phenomenology and actor-network theory, which mainly examine the role of (...) technology in the relation of human-technology-world after technology was formed, this study examines technology in the process of its formation. The relationship between the intentionality of humanity and the potentiality of technology is explored empirically and ontologically, thus transcending the dichotomy of subject and object in the examination of technology through the relational ontology indicated in potentiality, intentionality, embodiment, and genealogy, and simultaneously building a foundation for the critique, ethics, and normative theory of media and technology. (shrink)

The interrelations of science and technology as an object of study seem to have drawn the attention of a number of disciplines: the history of both science and technology, sociology, economics and economic history, and even the philosophy of science. The question that comes to mind is whether the phenomenon itself is new or if advances in the disciplines involved account for this novel interest, or, in fact, if both are intercon nected. When the editors set out to (...) plan this volume, their more or less explicit conviction was that the relationship of science and technology did reveal a new configuration and that the disciplines concerned with 1tS analysis failed at least in part to deal with the change because of conceptual and methodological preconceptions. To say this does not imply a verdict on the insufficiency of one and the superiority of any other one disciplinary approach. Rather, the situation is much more complex. In economics, for example, the interest in the relationship between science and technology is deeply influenced by the theoretical problem of accounting for the factors of economic growth. The primary concern is with technology and the problem is whether the market induces technological advances or whether they induce new demands that explain the subsequent diffusion of new technologies. Science is generally considered to be an exogenous factor not directly subject to market forces and, therefore, appears to be of no interest. (shrink)