The Technological Imperative in Canada


Book Description

From the mid-nineteenth century onward, advocates argued that technology, as a moral force, would strengthen the ties that bound Canada to Britain and Western civilization, while opponents saw technology as a source of American power that threatened Canadian independence. The Technological Imperative in Canada offers new insights into the ideas of influential and lesser-known theorists of technology and morality that will appeal to anyone who wants a Canadian perspective on a critical subject.




The Imperative of Responsibility


Book Description

Hans Jonas here rethinks the foundations of ethics in light of the awesome transformations wrought by modern technology: the threat of nuclear war, ecological ravage, genetic engineering, and the like. Though informed by a deep reverence for human life, Jonas's ethics is grounded not in religion but in metaphysics, in a secular doctrine that makes explicit man's duties toward himself, his posterity, and the environment. Jonas offers an assessment of practical goals under present circumstances, ending with a critique of modern utopianism.




The Innovator’s Imperative


Book Description

The pace of technological change is accelerating, hyper competition is growing, opportunities for business model disruption are exploding, and comprehensive cloud delivery is readily available. These factors challenge every aspect of business technology strategy. The Innovator’s Imperative: Rapid Technology Adoption for Digital Transformation prepares twenty-first century businesses leaders for competing and leading in this disruptive digital environment. Five years of research conducted by the authors suggests that leading companies have all but abandoned the requirements analysis and modeling best practices of the twentieth century. Accordingly, the authors put forth the innovator’s imperative that contends: All companies wanting to be competitive should adopt emerging and disruptive technologies as quickly as possible, and in many cases, immediately. Technology is driving business strategy, and companies are rethinking their technology strategy, especially the governance that determines how and why technology investments are made. Based on their research the authors have developed a five-step framework for digital transformation: Model and simulate Identify high-leverage opportunities Prioritize transformational targets Identify digital opportunities Find courageous leaders The book explains each of these steps to guide business leaders in architecting digital transformation projects according to their organization’s market positions, budgets, objectives, and corporate culture. Hyper-competitive, disruptive companies are jumping across technology adoption phases without regard to any phasing whatsoever. Companies focused on digital transformation often adopt emerging technologies immediately. They have become early adopters of technologies that can impact existing—and create whole new—business models and processes. This book examines this jump into new technologies, processes, and business models to prepare twenty-first century business leaders to make that leap.




Applying the Actor-Network Theory in Media Studies


Book Description

Actor-Network Theory (ANT), originally a social theory, seeks to organize objects and non-human entities into social networks. Its most innovative claim approaches these networks outside the anthropocentric view, including both humans and non-human objects as active participants in a social context; because of this, the theory has applications in a myriad of domains, not merely in the social sciences. Applying the Actor-Network Theory in Media Studies applies this novel approach to media studies. This publication responds to the current trends in international media studies by presenting ANT as the new theoretical paradigm through which meaningful discussion and analysis of the media, its production, and its social and cultural effects. Featuring both case studies and theoretical and methodical meditations, this timely publication thoroughly considers the possibilities of these disparate, yet divergent fields. This book is intended for use by researchers, students, sociologists, and media analysts concerned with contemporary media studies.




Biomedicine Examined


Book Description

The culture of contemporary medicine is the object of investigation in this book; the meanings and values implicit in biomedical knowledge and practice and the social processes through which they are produced are examined through the use of specific case studies. The essays provide examples of how various facets of 20th century medicine, including edu cation, research, the creation of medical knowledge, the development and application of technology, and day to day medical practice, are per vaded by a value system characteristic of an industrial-capitalistic view of the world in which the idea that science represents an objective and value free body of knowledge is dominant. The authors of the essays are sociologists and anthropologists (in almost equal numbers); also included are papers by a social historian and by three physicians all of whom have steeped themselves in the social sci ences and humanities. This co-operative endeavor, which has necessi tated the breaking down of disciplinary barriers to some extent, is per haps indicative of a larger movement in the social sciences, one in which there is a searching for a middle ground between grand theory and attempts at universal explanations on the one hand, and the context-spe cific empiricism and relativistic accounts characteristic of many historical and anthropological analyses on the other.




Beginnings Count


Book Description

This book explores the impact of American values on the evolving design of health care. It gives us a fascinating picture of three machines--the iron lung, the dialysis machine, and the respirator--and three turning points in health policy: the rise of Blue Cross, the passage of Medicare, and the failure of the Clinton Health Security Act. By analyzing the links between medical technologies and legislative developments, this pioneering book clarifies the complex relationship between social values and public policy in the shaping of our health care system. It helps us to understand why middle-class Americans preferred to keep government out of health care, when they made exceptions to the rule, and how their preferences fit with their own experiences and served their self-interest. Beginnings Count argues that it is lived history, not an abstract commitment to marketplace forces or a reflexive opposition to big government, that has shaped the American Way in health care.




Open Innovation


Book Description

"Based on the author's extensive field research, academic study, and professional experience, Open Innovation calls for revolutionary organizing principles for managing research and innovation. Through descriptions of the innovation processes of Xerox, IBM, Proctor & Gamble, and other firms, Henry Chesbrough shows you the principles of open innovation in practice."--BOOK JACKET.




The Technological Imperative in Medicine


Book Description

This volume contains the edited proceedings of a Totts Gap Colloquium held June 15 to 17, 1980 at Totts Gap Medical Research Laboratories in Bangor, Pennsylvania under the sponsorship of three neighboring community hospitals in the Lehigh Valley; St. Luke's Hospital of Bethlehem, Easton Hospital of Easton and Muhlenberg Medical Center of Bethlehem. The objective of the meeting was to examine from several points of view the impact of rapidly proliferating technology on medical education, practice and research, on hospitals and on the community at large. The participants were selected not only for their diversity of experience and point of view, but also for ability to listen as well as to speak. They were asked to examine, in an informal analytical dialogue, the effects on the quality and cost of health care and health education brought about by increasing reliance on medical technology. A further aim was to explore various strategies through which might be devised an affordable way to benefit fully from technological advances without compromising human initiative or diminishing emphasis on clinical judgment and effective communication between doctor and patient. The participants included a medical student, seasoned practitioners and medical educators, young specialists, researchers, administrators and members of boards of trustees of community hospitals and laymen as follows: Dr. Robert Ackerman, Associate Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School and Director of the Carotid Evaluation and Cerebral Blood Flow Laboratories at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Paul B.




The Technology Fallacy


Book Description

Why an organization's response to digital disruption should focus on people and processes and not necessarily on technology. Digital technologies are disrupting organizations of every size and shape, leaving managers scrambling to find a technology fix that will help their organizations compete. This book offers managers and business leaders a guide for surviving digital disruptions—but it is not a book about technology. It is about the organizational changes required to harness the power of technology. The authors argue that digital disruption is primarily about people and that effective digital transformation involves changes to organizational dynamics and how work gets done. A focus only on selecting and implementing the right digital technologies is not likely to lead to success. The best way to respond to digital disruption is by changing the company culture to be more agile, risk tolerant, and experimental. The authors draw on four years of research, conducted in partnership with MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte, surveying more than 16,000 people and conducting interviews with managers at such companies as Walmart, Google, and Salesforce. They introduce the concept of digital maturity—the ability to take advantage of opportunities offered by the new technology—and address the specifics of digital transformation, including cultivating a digital environment, enabling intentional collaboration, and fostering an experimental mindset. Every organization needs to understand its “digital DNA” in order to stop “doing digital” and start “being digital.” Digital disruption won't end anytime soon; the average worker will probably experience numerous waves of disruption during the course of a career. The insights offered by The Technology Fallacy will hold true through them all. A book in the Management on the Cutting Edge series, published in cooperation with MIT Sloan Management Review.




The technology imperative


Book Description