Society and Technological Change is the best text available for undergraduate courses exploring the relationship between societal and technological change Brimming with Rudi Volti's expertise and enthusiasm for its dynamic subject, this always timely volume helps students grasp the vast societal implications of a wide range of technological breakthroughs, both historic and contemporary.
Philosophy of Technology: An introduction for technology and business students is an accessible guide to technology’s changes , their ubiquitousness, and the many questions these raise. Designed for those with no philosophical background in mind, it is ideal for technology and engineering students or specialists who want to learn to think critically about how their work influences society and our daily lives. The technological, business environment and daily experiences are the starting point of the book and the authors’ reflect upon these practices from a philosophical point of view. The text goes on to present a critical analysis of the subject including development, manufacturing, sales and marketing and the use of technological products and services. The abstract ideas are made easier to grasp with a story-telling approach: a vivid history of the discipline and colourful portraits of the core thinkers in this domain, as well as four case studies drawing from various engineering disciplines to demonstrate how philosophy can and should influence technology in practice. The first comprehensive introduction to this vibrant young sub-discipline in over 20 years, this is an ideal textbook for students of technology and engineering beginning a course or project in the philosophy of their subject.
Nicholas Rescher examines a number of controversial social issues using the intellectual tools of the philosopher, in an attempt to clarify some of the complexities of modern society, technology, and economics. He elucidates his thoughts on topics such as: whether technological progress leads to greater happiness; environmental problems; endangered species, costly scientific research on the frontiers of knowledge, medical/moral issues on the preservation of life; and crime and justice, among others.
At once sophisticated and practical, Writing in Engineering: A Brief Guide leads students through how to compose design reports, lab reports, and other key engineering genres while attending to the principles of argument, style, and visual design. It is a part of a series of brief, discipline-specific writing guides from Oxford University Press designed for today's writing-intensive college courses. The series is edited by Thomas Deans (University of Connecticut) and Mya Poe (Northeastern University).
This collection offers a challenging new interpretation of technical knowledge in Chinese thought and practice. Conveying technical knowledge in China through charts, plans or drawings (tu) dates back to antiquity. Earlier studies focused on specialised forms of tu like maps or drawings of machines. Here, however, tu is identified in Chinese terms, viz. as a philosophical category of knowledge production: visual templates for action, spanning a range from mandala to modernist mapping projects, inseparable from writing but with distinctive powers of communication. A distinction is made between two principal types of tu: ritual/symbolic and representational, highlighting essential issues such as historical shifts in their significance, the relations between tu and political power, media for inscribing tu and the impact of printing, and encounters with the West.
Get the updated industry standard for a new age of construction! For more than fifty years, Olin’s Construction has been the cornerstone reference in the field for architecture and construction professionals and students. This new edition is an invaluable resource that will provide in-depth coverage for decades to come. You’ll find the most up-to-date principles, materials, methods, codes, and standards used in the design and construction of contemporary concrete, steel, masonry, and wood buildings for residential, commercial, and institutional use. Organized by the principles of the MasterFormat® 2010 Update, this edition: Covers sitework; concrete, steel, masonry, wood, and plastic materials; sound control; mechanical and electrical systems; doors and windows; finishes; industry standards; codes; barrier-free design; and much more Offers extensive coverage of the metric system of measurement Includes more than 1,800 illustrations, 175 new to this edition and more than 200 others, revised to bring them up to date Provides vital descriptive information on how to design buildings, detail components, specify materials and products, and avoid common pitfalls Contains new information on sustainability, expanded coverage of the principles of construction management and the place of construction managers in the construction process, and construction of long span structures in concrete, steel, and wood The most comprehensive text on the subject, Olin’s Construction covers not only the materials and methods of building construction, but also building systems and equipment, utilities, properties of materials, and current design and contracting requirements. Whether you’re a builder, designer, contractor, or manager, join the readers who have relied on the principles of Olin’s Construction for more than two generations to master construction operations.
Technology has extended its reach to the human body, not just in a literal sense, through implants, transplants and technological substitutes for biological organs, but in a more figurative sense too. Technological infrastructure and the institutions of a technified society today determine what perception is, how we communicate and what forms of human relationship with the natural world are possible. A fundamental new conception of technology is urgently needed. Technology can no longer be seen as a means for efficiently attaining pre-established ends. Rather, it must be seen as a total structure which makes new forms of human action and human relationship possible, while limiting the possibilities of others. In Invasive Technification, acclaimed German philosopher Gernot Böhme offers a reading of technology that explores the many dimensions in which technology presents challenges for modern human beings. It is a book about the preservation of humanity and humane values under the demanding conditions of a technically advanced civilisation and makes a major contribution to the contemporary philosophy of technology.
Eldoret: An African Poetics of Technology is both a history and an anthropology of technology. As author Swiderski explains in the introduction", 'Poetics, ' derived from the Greek verb poein meaning 'to make do, ' has as much to do with technology (material making) as with poetry (verbal making), and refers to the ongoing act of assembly that can look like the passage of time or the eternity of culture and is actually both. It is an African poetics because the act of assembly is motivated by African conditions, and executed through the genius and strength of the African people". The resulting ethnography, illustrated with thirty-two of the author's delightful line drawings, is unconventional in design and brilliantly executed. It will be of considerable interest and value not only to cultural anthropologists but to many in geography, economics, business, technology studies and allied fields. Drawing on his personal experience in living in Eldoret, Swiderski creates an impressionistic sketch of the hybridization of imported and indigenous technologies in this community, and of the varied patterns that are created as the residents of the town and its hinterland employ these technologies in everyday life. The poetic focus on technology is a creative and effective device for exploring many wider issues - entrepreneurship, resource management, wealth, poverty, structural unemployment, bender relations, ethnic and class conflict, and other problems of life and development in Third World communities.
The articles in this collection analyse methodological aspects of todayâ (TM)s hard sciences and humanities and of applied research in the field of high technology. The authors explore structural and cultural contexts of scientific research, relations between information technologies and our everyday life, as well as relations between innovation and business culture.
