6788 research outputs found
Sort by
Sensing a control problem? autonomous unmanned combat air systems and human control
No full textMilitary unmanned aerial system technology, remote sensing systems, and artificial intelligence all play critical roles in creating the possibility for completely autonomous unmanned combat air systems. The integration of these technologies is significantly affecting the human-technology relationship on the battlefield. Not only are these technologies decreasing the level of direct human interaction in warfare, they are also significantly increasing the physical distance between humans and machines. This increased distance raises questions regarding the ability of humanity to maintain control over autonomous weapons systems. The development of these autonomous technologies appears to validate the position of traditional technological determinists such as Martin Heidegger and Jacques Ellul, as well as contemporary thinkers such as Raymond Kurzweil, Stephen Hawking, and Elon Musk, who propose that artificial intelligence technology is not a thing that can be controlled, but rather an influence or force that transcends human ability to maintain control over, and that any sense of control is merely an illusion. This work defends the thesis that while integrated technologies are significantly contributing to the evolution of fully autonomous unmanned combat air systems, the existence and application of these technologies do not by default support the hard technological deterministic view that technology is a force or influence beyond human control, nor does the evolution of such technologies necessarily threaten humanity’s ability to maintain control
Centralization and its discontents: Exploring the relationship between measures of moral development, happiness and technology driven, centralized ways of being
No full textThis interdisciplinary, qualitative dissertation offers an exploration into possible intimate relationships between recently expanding, technology driven forms of centralization of our social institutions and a supposed decline in moral development and happiness among Americans today. According to Jacques Ellul, technology in itself is not the problem. Instead, he believes the tragedy is that the new idea or spirit of “technique”, technical efficiency and economic progress, which may have started with the Industrial revolution, and has become the western world’s new religion , the new salvation for humanity. Ellul and other thinkers suggest that the single-minded focus on material progress has made centralization of our institutions necessary. Within increasingly centralized systems human beings are being as means to the new end of efficiency for material progress. According to Ellul and others, our institutions have thereby become increasingly unfit for a certain uniquely human way of being, which facilitates moral development. The ideas of Aristotle and other theorists are used as lenses through which we can also look at the perennial question of human happiness and its possible relationship with moral development and the way we live within community. Aspects of life within centralized America today are being contrasted with features of Aristotle’s ideal state. Our highly centralized way of being in America today is also being compared to the less centralized way of being in America 50-60 years ago
Centralization and its Discontents: Exploring the Relationship between Measures of Moral Development, Happiness and Technology Driven, Centralized Ways of Being
Get PDFThis interdisciplinary, qualitative dissertation offers an exploration into possible intimate relationships between recently expanding, technology driven forms of centralization of our social institutions and a supposed decline in moral development and happiness among Americans today.
According to Jacques Ellul, technology in itself is not the problem. Instead, he believes the tragedy is that the new idea or spirit of technique , technical efficiency and economic progress, which may have started with the Industrial revolution, and has become the western world s new religion , the new salvation for humanity. Ellul and other thinkers suggest that the single-minded focus on material progress has made centralization of our institutions necessary. Within increasingly centralized systems human beings are being as means to the new end of efficiency for material progress. According to Ellul and others, our institutions have thereby become increasingly unfit for a certain uniquely human way of being, which facilitates moral development.
The ideas of Aristotle and other theorists are used as lenses through which we can also look at the perennial question of human happiness and its possible relationship with moral development and the way we live within community.
Aspects of life within centralized America today are being contrasted with features of Aristotle s ideal state. Our highly centralized way of being in America today is also being compared to the less centralized way of being in America 50-60 years ago
Management and Telework
Get PDFThis chapter discusses telework as a desirable option for workers and a valuable tool for employers to attract and retain employees. Telework\u27s many benefits are appealing to technologically competent and confident workers. Managers may be concerned with employee accessibility, productivity and possible loss of management roles (Arnold, 2006). When Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer banned working from home, it was described as a step backward that countered studies of increased productivity, retention and job satisfaction that could demoralize the workers (Cohan, 2013; Gaudreau, 2013). An overview of benefits, incentives, organizational examples as well as possible deterrents and management resistance are identified
Use of an LMS in Undergraduate Business Communications Courses
Get PDFDoes the current college population embrace the use of technology for classwork? They may be devoted users of text messaging, Facebook and even Google, but do they take advantage of the learning tools created for their specific coursework? Does it advance their knowledge or understanding of course objectives? The cost for the university licensing, faculty and staff effort to create, upload, troubleshoot and maintain is considerable. A small case study of Business Communication students who used a learning management system (LMS) was conducted. Analysis of this study and other recent research in this pedagogical method will be reported
Siege of British Forces in Newport County by Colonial and French in August 1778
Get PDFFunded by a grant from the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program, this study delves into the technical, often forgotten, aspects of the Siege of Newport - a Revolutionary War engagement that took place in Middletown, RI in August 1778. It pairs the historical record with scientific analysis of the artillery, fortifications, geography and unforeseen circumstances that impacted the Siege. While much of the original earthen defense-works are now gone, there are a small number of sites that still exist. This study also covers what sites remain, their condition and thoughts on how to preserve and commemorate them.https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/fac_staff_ebooks/1003/thumbnail.jp
The connected pilgrim: The potential for transformation in the social media age
No full textThe work highlights the origins of pilgrimage, with particular focus on the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. It also ties to other major pilgrimage locations and the commonality between faiths regarding the act of pilgrimage itself. The core focuses is the potential for an authentic-transformative experience through the act of pilgrimage while engaging in the profane activity of social media. The paper takes the position that while online faith practice and even digital or virtual pilgrimage offer deeply spiritual and potentially transformative experiences, traditional-physical pilgrimage practice is disturbed by the individual who chooses to consistently connect to the secular world via social media and/or electronic mail. Furthermore, this work illustrates, through a deep engagement with epic “travel” literature from the past, in comparison with modern and contemporary pilgrim memoirs and narratives, that humanity’s desire for engagement with the spiritual world has not changed in any fundamental way, rather how we engage with the spiritual has changed and continues to change. The instant connective power of mobile Smart Technology in general and Social Media specifically is a dangerous distraction to the traditional Pilgrim and ultimately pulls the pilgrim outside the sacred world of pilgrimage making it impossible to fully engage in the experience
Environmental ethics and the electric power grid: A case for technological momentum
No full textThis qualitative analysis examines the effects of a growing environmental ethic on the electric power grid in southeastern New England from the late nineteenth century to the start of the new millennia. The increased awareness of the environment evolved into a new belief system of the population and altered the methods of construction, operation and maintenance of the advanced technology system of the electric power grid. The manner in which this occurred suggests that technological momentum is a better concept than technological determinism with which to examine the development of technological systems in the modern world. This dissertation examines the trinity of actors affecting this process. The electric power companies, with the New England Electric System as the main protagonist, attempted to expand the electric power grid to meet expected consumer demand and economic opportunities. A devoted cadre of nascent environmentalists, dismissive of the commercial and technological requirements of the electric power grid, suggested to the population that the new idea of protecting the environment should instead take priority. The interaction of these two forces led to a governmental response that attempted to continue to meet the population’s demands while preventing the degradation of the environment. The resultant transformation of the population’s perception of the electric power grid, its regulation by the government, and its operation by the system members, suggest that advanced technology systems are influenced as much by philosophical concerns as any technical constraints
Art for the Elm City: Public art in New Haven, Connecticut
No full textThis dissertation identifies and investigates the development, content, placement and scope of imagery associated with the city of New Haven, Connecticut, as expressed in the medium of public art, monuments and memorials. Utilizing public art to analyze the construction of the city’s composite identity is a fresh approach to writing local history in the twenty-first century. Consisting of a narrative and a catalog of 470 works of public art, this dissertation offers insight into the conditions and sometimes competing interests that structured the production, placement and uses of public art in the context of one urban space, over the course of almost two centuries. The result is an image of a city shaped by sensitivity to place, supported by self-selected episodes from local and national history