Healthcare information systems are crucial to the effective and efficient delivery of healthcare. Healthcare Information Systems: Challenges of the New Millennium reports on the implementation of medical information systems.
The field of geoengineering is at a crossroads where the path to high-tech solutions meets the path to expanding applications of geotechnology. In this report, the term "geoengineering" includes all types of engineering that deal with Earth materials, such as geotechnical engineering, geological engineering, hydrological engineering, and Earth-related parts of petroleum engineering and mining engineering. The rapid expansion of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technology begs the question of how these new approaches might come to play in developing better solutions for geotechnological problems. This report presents a vision for the future of geotechnology aimed at National Science Foundation (NSF) program managers, the geological and geotechnical engineering community as a whole, and other interested parties, including Congress, federal and state agencies, industry, academia, and other stakeholders in geoengineering research. Some of the ideas may be close to reality whereas others may turn out to be elusive, but they all present possibilities to strive for and potential goals for the future. Geoengineers are poised to expand their roles and lead in finding solutions for modern Earth systems problems, such as global change, emissions-free energy supply, global water supply, and urban systems.
The dramatic recent advances and emergent trends in technologies have brought to the fore many vital and challenging questions and dilemmas for leaders and organizations. These are issues that call for a critical, insightful examination of key questions such as: are modern technologies beneficial or problematic for the well-being of individuals, organizations, and societies at large; why do we seem to feel more disconnected in an age of technological connectivity; can organizations reduce technology-induced stresses and find ways to enable the mindful use of technologies and how can organizations, governments and societies manage the use of technologies wisely? Such questions, when explored from various perspectives of wisdom, can yield significant insights, increase awareness of the issues, deepen the dialogue and help redesign an increasingly technology-driven future. However, there is little researched published material available on such questions and issues. Practical Wisdom in the Age of Technology: Insights, Issues and Questions for a New Millennium will provide a space to engage in thought-provoking dialogue and critical reflection on a variety of themes linking technology and practical wisdom. It will offer a foundation for exploration, inquiry, engagement, and discussion among organizational, political and social leaders, technology professionals, information systems academicians, wisdom researchers, managers, philosophers of technology, and other practitioners.
The recent digital and mobile revolutions are a minor blip compared to the next wave of technological change, as everything from robot swarms to skin-top embeddable computers and bio printable organs start appearing in coming years. In this collection of inspiring essays, designers, engineers, and researchers discuss their approaches to experience design for groundbreaking technologies. Design not only provides the framework for how technology works and how it’s used, but also places it in a broader context that includes the total ecosystem with which it interacts and the possibility of unintended consequences. If you’re a UX designer or engineer open to complexity and dissonant ideas, this book is a revelation. Contributors include: Stephen Anderson, PoetPainter, LLC Lisa Caldwell, Brazen UX Martin Charlier, Independent Design Consultant Jeff Faneuff, Carbonite Andy Goodman, Fjord US Camille Goudeseune, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Bill Hartman, Essential Design Steven Keating, MIT Media Lab, Mediated Matter Group Brook Kennedy, Virginia Tech Dirk Knemeyer, Involution Studios Barry Kudrowitz, University of Minnesota Gershom Kutliroff, Omek Studio at Intel Michal Levin, Google Matt Nish-Lapidus, Normative Erin Rae Hoffer, Autodesk Marco Righetto, SumAll Juhan Sonin, Involution Studios Scott Stropkay, Essential Design Scott Sullivan, Adaptive Path Hunter Whitney, Hunter Whitney and Associates, Inc. Yaron Yanai, Omek Studio at Intel
The field of assistive technology is influenced by the ongoing and rapid development of mainstream technologies on the one hand and continuing changes to social systems in relation to societal events - such as the ageing of the population - on the other. The articles in this book provide a broad overview of developments in technical support for people with functional restrictions: key technologies like telecommunications and IT are addressed, while low-tech practical solutions are also considered.
Horror Culture in the New Millennium: Digital Dissonance and Technohorror explores the myriad ways in which technology is altering the human experience as articulated in horrific storytelling. The text surveys a variety of emerging trends and story forms in the field, through both a series of critical essays and personal interviews with scholars, editors, authors, and artists now creating and refining horror stories in the new millennium. The project posits a rationale for the presence of technohorror as a defining concern in contemporary horror literature, marking a departure from the monstrous and spectral traditions of the twentieth century in its depictions of frightful narratives marked by the qualities of plausibility, mundanity, and surprise as we tell stories about what it means to be human. As our culture explores the dichotomies of the born/made, natural/artificial, and human/computer—all while subsumed within a paradigm shift predicated on the transition from the traditions of print to emerging digital communications practices—these changes form the basis for horrific speculations in our texts and technologies. Ultimately, Digital Dissonance: Horror Culture in the New Millennium explores that paradoxical human attraction for peering into the darkness as translated through our lived experiences in an era of rapidly evolving technologies.
Physical implementation of the memristor at industrial scale sparked the interest from various disciplines, ranging from physics, nanotechnology, electrical engineering, neuroscience, to intelligent robotics. As any promising new technology, it has raised hopes and questions; it is an extremely challenging task to live up to the high expectations and to devise revolutionary and feasible future applications for memristive devices. The possibility of gathering prominent scientists in the heart of the Silicon Valley given by the 2011 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks held in San Jose, CA, has offered us the unique opportunity of organizing a series of special events on the present status and future perspectives in neuromorphic memristor science. This book presents a selection of the remarkable contributions given by the leaders of the field and it may serve as inspiration and future reference to all researchers that want to explore the extraordinary possibilities given by this revolutionary concept.
Examines the question of whether providing work experience within courses of study in higher education affects entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviour, important given government imperatives to foster entrepreneurship through the education system.
Engineering Management: Meeting the Global Challenges prepares engineers to fulfill their managerial responsibilities, acquire useful business perspectives, and take on the much-needed leadership roles to meet the challenges in the new millennium. Value addition, customer focus, and business perspectives are emphasized throughout. Also underlined are discussions of leadership attributes, steps to acquire these attributes, the areas engineering managers are expected to add value, the web-based tools which can be aggressively applied to develop and sustain competitive advantages, the opportunities offered by market expansion into global regions, and the preparations required for engineering managers to become global leaders. The book is organized into three major sections: functions of engineering management, business fundamentals for engineering managers, and engineering management in the new millennium. This second edition refocuses on the new strategy for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals and managers to meet the global challenges through the creation of strategic differentiation and operational excellence. Major revisions include a new chapter on creativity and innovation, a new chapter on operational excellence, and combination of the chapters on financial accounting and financial management. The design strategy for this second edition strives for achieving the T-shaped competencies, with both broad-based perspectives and in-depth analytical skills. Such a background is viewed as essential for STEM professionals and managers to exert a strong leadership role in the dynamic and challenging marketplace. The material in this book will surely help engineering managers play key leadership roles in their organizations by optimally applying their combined strengths in engineering and management.