Development Of Technological Knowledge Research Articles

Big Data, Algorithmic Regulation, and the History of the Cybersyn Project in Chile, 1971–1973

We are living in a data-driven society. Big Data and the Internet of Things are popular terms. Governments, universities and the private sector make great investments in collecting and storing data and also extracting new knowledge from these data banks. Technological enthusiasm runs throughout political discourses. “Algorithmic regulation” is defined as a form of data-driven governance. Big Data shall offer brand new opportunities in scientific research. At the same time, political criticism of data storage grows because of a lack of privacy protection and the centralization of data in the hands of governments and corporations. Calls for data-driven dynamic regulation have existed in the past. In Chile, cybernetic development led to the creation of Cybersyn, a computer system that was created to manage the socialist economy under the Allende government 1971–1973. My contribution will present this Cybersyn project created by Stafford Beer. Beer proposed the creation of a “liberty machine” in which expert knowledge would be grounded in data-guided policy. The paper will focus on the human–technological complex in society. The first section of the paper will discuss whether the political and social environment can completely change the attempts of algorithmic regulation. I will deal specifically with the development of technological knowledge in Chile, a postcolonial state, and the relationship between citizens and data storage in a socialist state. In a second section, I will examine the question of which measures can lessen the danger of data storage regarding privacy in a democratic society. Lastly, I will discuss how much data-driven governance is required for democracy and political participation. I will present a second case study: digital participatory budgeting (DPB) in Brazil.

أثر استخدام المستودعات التعليمية الرقمية في تنمية المعرفة التکنولوجية لدى طلاب المعهد العالي للدراسات النوعية واتجاهاتهم نحو البرمجة الهيکلية

أثر استخدام المستودعات التعليمية الرقمية في تنمية المعرفة التکنولوجية لدى طلاب المعهد العالي للدراسات النوعية واتجاهاتهم نحو البرمجة الهيکلية

A construção de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem para educação a distância: uma estratégia educativa em serviço

Este estudo objetivou descrever sobre construção de um Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem (AVA) em rede social para a implementação da Educação a Distância (EAD), desenvolvido em instituição hospitalar pública cardiológica por 23 enfermeiros do Grupo de Educação. A construção e a implementação foram realizadas em serviço, seguindo as etapas de estruturação do Grupo de Educação, Construção e Avaliação do AVA para EAD no olhar de tutores e alunos. Verificou-se que houve aprendizado e evolução do conhecimento tecnológico e valorização da construção e utilização do AVA. As dificuldades relacionaram-se à falta de conhecimento específico, tempo e infraestrutura. Também foram identificadas limitações relacionadas às ferramentas e ao acesso à internet. Para viabilizar o projeto, o enfermeiro desenvolveu competências de conhecimento específico e tecnológico atualizado, criatividade, busca de recursos alternativos para superação de dificuldades estruturais, mobilização coletiva e implementação de processos educativos inovadores em serviço.

Technical activities: Fostering the development of technological knowledge

Technical activities: Fostering the development of technological knowledge

Laser-induced fluorescence and FT-Raman spectroscopy for characterizing patinas on stone substrates

This article reports on a compositional investigation of stone patinas: thin colored layers applied for protective and/or aesthetic purposes on architectural or sculptural substrates of cultural heritage. The analysis and classification of patinas provide important information of historic and artistic interest, as their composition reflects local practices, the availabilities of different materials, and the development of technological knowledge during specific historical periods. Model patinas fabricated according to traditional procedures and applied onto limestone, and a historic patina sample from the main façade of the San Blas Monastery in Lerma (a village in the province of Burgos, Spain), were analyzed by laser-induced fluorescence and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy. The results obtained demonstrate the ability of these two analytical techniques to identify the key components of each formulation and those of the reaction products which result from the chemical and mineralogical transformations that occur during aging, as well as to provide information that can aid the classification of different types of patinas.

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT MODE ON FIRM PERFORMANCE IN EMERGING ECONOMY

Roles played by various modes of developing technological knowledge differ across emerging economy firms and developed economy firms. These modes are therefore expected to have different implication on performance of these two types of firms. Extant literature on technology management has developed theoretical insights on developed economy context but has hardly addressed the emerging economy context. Addressing this gap, this paper explores how different modes of technological knowledge development in emerging economies influence firm performance for an extended period of time. The multi-industry longitudinal study of 3026 manufacturing firms in India reveals: payoffs from investments in different modes of technological knowledge development occurs over an extended period of time, but are different in nature (positive vis-a-vis negative) at different points of time. The pattern of payoff depends on the dimensions of performance and on the mode of technological knowledge development. The research contribu...

The search for excellence in Brazilian Nursing knowledge dissemination

Nursing is a knowledge area whose representations are occupying different spaces in Brazilian and international institutions. These representations are based on the advancement of the profession in terms of the quality of its scientific production, excellence in human resource training and defense of the population’s human rights. Research development, especially in recent decades, highlights Nursing, as illustrated by the excellence of its graduate programs, projects funded by support agencies, the quality of its research products and results, besides representations in Brazilian and international entities, among others.New challenges have been included in the Nursing agenda though. The analysis of knowledge production shows that existing studies, in line with scientific development stages, are predominantly descriptive, which allowed researchers to get to know phenomena of interest to the profession. The growth of Brazilian graduate programs and advances achieved in terms of knowledge production have also made Nursing researchers explore other factors related to the phenomena nurses research on.Current trends in Nursing research are increasingly oriented towards the explanation, forecasting and control phases of phenomena, seeking strong scientific evidence to support care actions. These challenges can partially explain the difficulties researchers are facing to have their manuscripts accepted in high-impact journals. Bottlenecks include problems related to sample representativeness, instruments validated for the culture of the country of origin, mastery of the language the manuscript will be published in, among others. On the other hand, themes of national or regional interest, of high social relevance, are accepted in Brazilian journals only. Thus, Brazilian researchers are facing difficulties to disseminate knowledge through publication in high-impact journals.In that sense, the expand research excellence in Brazilian Nursing, investments are needed in internationalization as one route for researchers’ complementary education at foreign colleges, in the increased qualified demand for projects submitted to funding agencies to get resources for research development, in the insertion of undergraduate Nursing students into scientific initiation programs, so as to identify potential talent for academic work, in permanent research training through collaborative work with researchers from other Brazilian researchers and abroad, and in graduate programs that offer the tools needed for scientific and technological knowledge development, significantly contributing to the country’s development

Paradigms and Novelty in Economics: The History of Economic Thought as a Source of Enlightenment

AbstractOver time, economics has experienced paradigm shifts, and there is every reason to think this will continue. In economics, as in the development of technological knowledge, paradigms do not emerge from nowhere, but build on precursors, possibly from other fields. Our understanding of current economic thinking can be enhanced by paying greater attention to the role of paradigms and by using concepts such as myth, plot structure, and cultural endowment, which are typically given greater attention by literary analysts than by economists, to study paradigms. Here we argue that together these can help us better understand how ideas from other times and fields may be combined with our own to generate better research and publications, and that a greater awareness of the history of economics may well be an excellent vehicle for enhancing that understanding.

Elementary Children's Conceptions of Structural Stability: A Three Year Study

Background to the Study The research reported in this paper is drawn from a much larger three-year study focused on the 1996 implementation of Problem Solving Through Technology topics in Alberta, Canada elementary science classrooms. In this three year study, we worked to characterize children’s development of technological knowledge and skills during design technology problem solving activities and report on support needed by teachers to present these topics in classrooms. We also examined the Problem Solving Through Technology inquiry model presented in the Alberta Elementary Science Program (1996) and explored whether this model resembled how professionals (e.g., engineers) engaged in technological problem solving described their work. The study commenced in September 1995, one year prior to the mandated implementation of a new Alberta Elementary Science Program (1996). In this preliminary year (Study Year One), 20 engineers were interviewed about their perceptions of technological problem solving (Rowell, Gustafson & Guilbert, 1997). One hundred fifty three children (80 male, 73 female) completed a performance based assessment related to the impending program. Three hundred thirty four children (180 male, 154 female) completed an Awareness of Technology Survey. Data from Study Year One provided insight into children’s technological knowledge and problem solving skills prior to formal classroom instruction and information about how engineers characterized their work. In Study Year Two, six case studies were conducted on the classroom implementation of the Problem Solving Through Technology topics. These case studies allowed insight into the practical problems encountered by teachers and their concerns about support needed to teach design technology in an effective manner (Rowell & Gustafson, 1998). Case studies also provided a context in which we could begin to characterize how children solved design technology problems in classrooms. Study Year Three involved locating children from Study Year One and re-administering the performance based assessment and a ____________________________

In Want of Information: A Case Study of Engineers in the South Pacific

Abstract This paper is primarily concerned with information networks and their significance to the development of technological knowledge in Pacific Island engineers. Essentially, the paper addresses a research agenda outlined by Cooper, who argues that studies of innovation in industrialised countries have relevance to technological capability development in developing countries. More specifically, the paper picks up on the theme of ‘technological knowledge development as a communication process’ where studies reveal the contribution that communication linkages within and between organisations make towards the development of this form of knowledge. Using Macdonald's ‘information perspective’ as an analytical tool, the paper identifies a number of organisational-related factors which constrain the access that these engineers have to problem-solving information. The paper argues that the organisation, and the social milieu in which it interacts, is influential in determining access to problem-solving information. This analysis provides support for Cooper's arguments and points to a broader set of challenges than is often accepted in development commentaries: that is, of information being widely available and easy to transport by communication technologies.

“Preparing for the Duties and Practical Business of Life”: Technological Knowledge and Social Structure in Mid-19th-Century Philadelphia

‘'Preparingfor the Duties and Practical Business of Life’ Technological Knowledge and Social Structure in Mid-19th-Century Philadelphia NINA E. LERMAN Industrialization is commonly described as a social as well as a technological transformation. Nonetheless, the tight links between the history of technology and social history suggested by such a phrase have remained largely elusive; the “social” and the “techno­ logical” are most often treated in opposition to one another.1 But scholars discuss both technology and social categories like gender in terms of their “social construction,” suggesting another, more parallel or even interdependent relationship. Indeed, phrases such as “social shaping of technology” invite transgression of traditional boundaries. Exploring the “social and technological transforma­ tion” ofAmerican industrialization in this spirit, I find that techno­ logical knowledge (a topic long since introduced in these pages) provides an ideal approach: the study of technological knowledge places people making and doing things—from cooking to carpentry— at the focus of our scrutiny, and demands integration of the techni­ cal and the social.2 Dr. Lerman teaches U.S. history, women’s history, and the history of technology at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. She is working on a book about technical education and social categories in industrializing Philadelphia. She thanks Lindy Biggs, Christian Gelzer, Mark T. Hamel, Gabrielle Hecht, Michael B. Katz, Sally Gregory Kohlstedt, Helen Longino, Judith McGaw, Arwen Mohun, Ruth Oldenziel , Philip Scranton, John Staudenmaier, and the Technology and Culture referees for their comments on the several incarnations of this article. ‘Studies integrating social and technological change include Merritt Roe Smith, Harpers Ferry Armory and the New Technology: The Challenge of Change (Ithaca, N.Y., 1977); Anthony Wallace, Rochdale: The Growth of an American Village in the Industrial Revolution (New York, 1972; paperback, 1980); Judith McGaw, Most Wonderful Ma­ chine: Mechanization and Social Change in Berkshire Paper-Making, 1801-1885 (Princeton, N.J., 1987). 2As Walter Vincenti has put it, “emphasis on knowledge . . . brings history of technology into symbiotic relation, not only with intellectual history and philosophy, but with social history and sociology as well.” Walter Vincenti, What Engineers Know© 1997 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/97/3801-0004$01.00 31 32 Nina E. Lerman Industrialization as a process of rapid technological, economic, and social change means, by definition, the great upheaval and over­ haul of technological knowledge as well as of social structures and ideas. By focusing on the acquisition of technological knowledge, or technical education, this article begins to explore the multilayered interconnections between social and technological change, and to study closely the fabric of the industrial transformation. Examining the technical education adults provide children—“preparing for the duties and practical business of life,” as one board of managers described girls’ sewing and boys’ shoemaking3—allows us to explore important questions about technological knowledge: What kinds of choices are made by whom in the acquisition and development of technological knowledge? Who learns how to do what?—and fur­ ther, who is allowed to learn how to do what? What knowledge is ubiquitous, and what is unusual? What does it mean, in a particular context, to say that a particular person possesses a particular skill? These questions draw our attention to the reciprocal shapings of technological knowledge and social ideologies such as gender, race, and class. This article examines the particular case of technical education in mid-19th-century Philadelphia, a city caught up in the whirlwind boom and bustle of changing technologies, changing populations, and the changing social strategies of urban industrialization. Mid­ century Philadelphia was a city in transition—an old social and tech­ nological order was, for many, being replaced with a larger-scale, more bureaucratic and industrial vision. The population of urban Philadelphia had more than tripled since 1820; when the whole of Philadelphia County was consolidated into one municipal jurisdic­ tion in 1854, its twenty-four wards housed more than 400,000 people, and How They Know II: Analytical Studiesfrom Aeronautical History (Baltimore, 1990), p. 5, citing Hugh Aitken, Edwin Layton, and Rachel Laudan. Philosopher Helen Longino has made a related argument about science: “What I urge is a contextualism which understands the cognitive processes...

Estabilidad antisísmica de taludes en presas de tierra

At present, economic reasons and the high development of technological knowledge lead to the construction of structures with low factors of safety. This makes it necessary to have accurate knowledge of the real bebaviour of the materials. This problem is of special importance when the seismic factor intervenes. In recent years it has become common practice to analyse the stability of soil embankments located in seismic zones, using the seismic factor in conjunction with the surface sliding method. Taking into account that existing methods of analysis lead to varying factors of safety, and that safety factor one is the lowest acceptable when there is a seismic effect, it will be obvious that more accurate methods are now essential. This paper includes: a) A description of the most recent methods at present in use. Special attention has been given to more accurate methods, which take account of intergranular forces action on the lateral faces of the various wedges into which the sliding mass is divided. b) An analytical solution suggested by the author. c) Solutions involving the seismic effect, applicable to all above mentioned methods. d) Brief comments on the various methods. e) Numerical application to a typical embankment.