Do we control technology or does technology control us? This title brings together readings that focus on the conflicting views concerning the nature of modern technology as it relates to the quality of everyday life and to the larger problems of human survival on this planet.
How Nanotechnology, Robotics, Genetics and Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Our World
What will happen to our jobs, health care, and investments when the molecular revolution hits? How might artificial intelligence transform our lives? How can molecular technologies help us cope with climate changes, earthquakes, and other extreme natural threats? This title explores some intriguing possibilities that answer these questions.
This text brings together major European writers, including Ulrich Beck, to discuss issues related to technology, risk and nature. The first section examines the "instrumentalization" of nature and the relation between science, technology and expert systems. These themes are elaborated in the second section by a discussion of the implication of technology (and risk) in late-modern ideas of the "self", individualization and reflexivity. The third section examines the institutionalization of enivironmentalism, the politics of ecology and the role that the social sciences can play in these debates.
Offers reflections on the question of cosmic purpose. This book deals with cosmic purpose from an interreligious and interdisciplinary perspective. It examines such perplexing issues as the possible existence of multiple universes and the implications of seemingly purposive features in life.
`It is a clich [ac]e but this book is timely, welcome and indeed a breath of fresh air....It is of particular value for people concerned with public communications, political economy, economics and the relationship between society and technology. Moreover, this book powerfully dispels the tacit assumption, prevalent in business, politics, media and academia that a combination of technical fixes and the free market can right all social problems' - Irish Journal of Sociology Thirty years ago, one writer complained that 'to admire technology is all out of fashion'. Today excited claims are made for the impact that these technologies are having on social, political and economic life. But how are we to assess these claims? This book critically interrogates many of the prevailing ideas offers a fresh perspective on this new`digital age'. Reshaping Communications: * Provides an alternative and more grounded account of the complex interplay between new technology and information structures and changes in society * Illuminates the fundamental continuities as well as changes in socioeconomic and political processes * Draws on an interdisciplinary perspective and original empirical research. The book will be essential reading for all those concerned with the new communication technologies, including students of media and communications as well as policy-makers.
This text explores the relationship between race and technology. From Indian H-1B workers and Detroit techno music to karaoke and the Chicano interneta, this book uses case studies to document the use of technology - rupturing stereotypes such as Asian whizz kids and black technophobes.
This text explores the relationship between race and technology. From Indian H-1B workers and Detroit techno music to karaoke and the Chicano interneta, this book uses case studies to document the use of technology - rupturing stereotypes such as Asian whizz kids and black technophobes.
What is the potential of animal cloning in the research and treatment of human disease? What are the scientific facts as opposed to the public perception of cloning? Will it be possible to clone human beings in the near future? If so, what are the moral implications? This collection of articles on the subject of cloning addresses these questions.
`It is a clich [ac]e but this book is timely, welcome and indeed a breath of fresh air....It is of particular value for people concerned with public communications, political economy, economics and the relationship between society and technology. Moreover, this book powerfully dispels the tacit assumption, prevalent in business, politics, media and academia that a combination of technical fixes and the free market can right all social problems' - Irish Journal of Sociology Thirty years ago, one writer complained that 'to admire technology is all out of fashion'. Today excited claims are made for the impact that these technologies are having on social, political and economic life. But how are we to assess these claims? This book critically interrogates many of the prevailing ideas offers a fresh perspective on this new`digital age'. Reshaping Communications: * Provides an alternative and more grounded account of the complex interplay between new technology and information structures and changes in society * Illuminates the fundamental continuities as well as changes in socioeconomic and political processes * Draws on an interdisciplinary perspective and original empirical research. The book will be essential reading for all those concerned with the new communication technologies, including students of media and communications as well as policy-makers.
