scholarly journals Socially robotic: making useless machines

AI & Society ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ceyda Yolgormez ◽  
Joseph Thibodeau
Keyword(s):  
Human Subjects ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Western History ◽  
Instrumental Approach ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
Purposeful Behavior ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Control ◽  
Social Behaviours

AbstractAs robots increasingly become part of our everyday lives, questions arise with regards to how to approach them and how to understand them in social contexts. The Western history of human–robot relations revolves around competition and control, which restricts our ability to relate to machines in other ways. In this study, we take a relational approach to explore different manners of socializing with robots, especially those that exceed an instrumental approach. The nonhuman subjects of this study are built to explore non-purposeful behavior, in an attempt to break away from the assumptions of utility that underlie the hegemonic human–machine interactions. This breakaway is accompanied by ‘learning to be attuned’ on the side of the human subjects, which is facilitated by continuous relations at the level of everyday life. Our paper highlights this ground for the emergence of meanings and questions that could not be subsumed by frameworks of control and domination. The research-creation project Machine Ménagerie serves as a case study for these ideas, demonstrating a relational approach in which the designer and the machines co-constitute each other through sustained interactions, becoming attuned to one another through the performance of research. Machine Ménagerie attempts to produce affective and playful—if not unruly—nonhuman entities that invite interaction yet have no intention of serving human social or physical needs. We diverge from other social robotics research by creating machines that do not attempt to mimic human social behaviours.

“Call Me Mama”

2012 ◽  
Vol 642 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Chihye Kim
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Korean American ◽  
Immigrant Workers ◽  
Undocumented Immigrant ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Unpaid Labor ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Control ◽  
Insight Into

Based on three years of participant observation, this article provides insight into the working relationship between a small business owner and undocumented immigrant workers at a Korean-Japanese restaurant. The case study focuses on a Korean American businesswoman who depends on the unpaid labor of family members and the cheap labor of undocumented immigrants. Using naturalistic ethnography, which consists of casual interactions and conversations with informants, the author relates the life history of the owner, Mrs. Kwon, who asks her employees to call her “Mama,” and analyzes her preference for undocumented immigrant workers. The article elucidates the ways she asserts power and control in the workplace.

Language Contact

2020 ◽  
pp. 857-870
Author(s):  
Klaus Beyer
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Contact Linguistics ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Social Network Approach ◽  
Areal Linguistics ◽  
French Tradition

The chapter starts with a short history of contact studies related to Africa. It briefly looks at early works from Heine (pidgins in the Bantu area) and the French tradition exemplified in the LACITO series on language contact. Considerable space is given to the developments of the last ten years or so when areal linguistics (Aikhenvald and Dixon), linguistic geography (Heine and Nurse), and contact linguistics (Childs, Mesthrie) were put center stage in the African linguistic context. The second part of the chapter looks at methodological issues. Substantial space is given to social contexts in the description of contact-induced language change. The social network approach and other sociolinguistic tools are demonstrated by means of a brief case study from a West African rural contact zone.

scholarly journals New Towns’ Planning and Construction in the Pre-Urbanization or Post-Urbanization Period: A Case Study of the New Towns’ Development Process of Beijing

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxiao Cai ◽  
Bruno De Meulder ◽  
Yanliu Lin ◽  
Hong Sun
Keyword(s):  
Social Background ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
New Towns ◽  
History Of ◽  
Planning And Construction ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Transformation Processes

Social background and planning objectives differentiate two kinds of development modes for new towns. One starts in the period of post-urbanization and post-industrialization and is committed to improving living conditions and dispersing urban central areas. The other begins in the stage of pre-urbanization and pre-industrialization with the purpose of promoting the development of urbanization and industrialization. However, academics have not given enough attention to researching the relationship between the different modes and their respective social backgrounds. This paper first proposes these two kinds of development modes and analyses how their different social contexts and institutional backgrounds lead to different planning and construction characteristics. Then, taking Beijing as an example, this paper presents a complete review of the development and transformation history of the planning and construction of China’s new towns with different urbanization levels and in an institutional context. The whole history and transformation process can be considered a demonstration and evolution of the two different development modes. Accordingly, by analyzing the respective characteristics and transformation processes in different periods, this study reveals the impact of social background on the new towns’ development and the problems caused by different development modes.

‘Fountain’, from Victorian necessity to modern inconvenience: Contesting the death of public toilets

Urban Studies ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 004209802199470
Author(s):  
Catalina Pollak Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Right To The City ◽  
Political Complexity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Austerity ◽  
Awareness Raising ◽  
And Control ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The City ◽  
Public Toilets

Drawing on the politicised history of Public Conveniences in England since the 19th century, this paper traces the socio-political motives for their provision and for their gradual withdrawal in recent decades. It discusses the effects these developments have had on public mobility, and the socio-political complexity these infrastructures pose to city-making agendas. In particular, the essay highlights the notions of stigma associated with these spaces in relation to gender, body-politics and control, which led to a lack of political interest in their provision and a pattern of closures that began in the Thatcher era and has continued through later times of economic austerity. To unfold these arguments, the essay examines a series of initiatives put forward to reclaim for public use a derelict toilet in the centre of London: from the concept of an interactive site-specific intervention to raise awareness of its closure, to a campaign for its listing as an Asset of Community Value, to contest its privatisation. This case study is used to address the spatial stigma that public toilets carry as a contested locus of public sanitation and, furthermore, to highlight important questions surrounding their provision in the context of contemporary citizen-driven urban agendas. To articulate this argument, the case study exemplifies how critical spatial practices can operate as a form of pedagogical urban praxis for awareness-raising and citizen engagement, advancing a Lefebvrian ‘right to the city’ against hegemonic neoliberal agendas.

Uncertainty and Control in Russia

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob N. Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Organizational Dynamics ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Secret Police ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter analyzes the organization of pre-Revolutionary Russian terrorist groups in the 1880s and 1900s. Understanding these groups is useful in many ways. First, and most important, many of the organizational pathologies of terrorism are starkly illustrated by the travails of what were really the first modern terrorist organizations. Second, comparing these groups offers an opportunity to test hypotheses about the relationship between uncertainty and control. Third, the history of these groups is extremely well developed, in part because the archives of the Tsarist secret police were preserved, giving historians a rich set of investigative and interrogation reports to work with. Finally, the scale of violence in Russia was much greater than in Northern Ireland or Palestine. Examining this case thus complements the al-Qa'ida in Iraq case study in confirming that organizational dynamics described in preceding chapters are not unique to small-scale conflicts.

scholarly journals What Discourses Relating to the Purpose of Early Childhood Are Shaping the Work of Early Childhood Practitioners in Three Different Contexts: UK, Bhutan and Fiji?

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Margaret Sims ◽  
Elise Alexander ◽  
Karma Pedey ◽  
Lavinia Tausere-Tiko
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Western History ◽  
Gross National Happiness ◽  
Political Discourses ◽  
Dominant Ideologies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Short Time ◽  
And Control

We explore the way dominant political discourses are perceived to influence developing professionalisation of early childhood in three contexts. The UK is strongly influenced by the neoliberal agenda which positions managerialism, bureaucracy, accountability and control as necessary to drive quality improvement. Bhutan has been exposed to western ideologies for a short time (as time counts in human history) and is attempting to manage tensions between western ideologies and the philosophy underpinning Gross National Happiness. Fiji has a history of colonisation. With a growing commitment across Pacific nations to postcolonialism, Fiji professionals are struggling to manage the intersection between their neoliberal western history and their own postcolonial ambitions. We argue a better understanding of the ways in which dominant ideologies impact on the development of early childhood professionalisation will uncover unintended, taken-for-granted assumptions and illuminate potential risks, thus better positioning readers to make informed choices about their work and the development of their profession.

Effect of Patellar Taping and Bracing on Patellar Position: An MRI Case Study

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teddy W. Worrell ◽  
Christopher D. Ingersoll ◽  
Jack Farr
Keyword(s):  
Pain Syndrome ◽  
Analog Scale ◽  
Patellar Position ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Step Down ◽  
And Control ◽  
Anterior Knee ◽  
Patellar Taping

The purpose of this case study was to determine the effect of patellar taping, patellar bracing, and control condition on (a) patellofemoral congruence angle (PFC), (b) lateral patellar angle (LPA), (c) lateral patellar displacement (LPD), and (d) pain, as determined by the visual analog scale (VAS) during an 8-in. step-down. The subject was a 15-year-old female with a 3-year history of recurrent patellar subluxations and anterior knee pain syndrome. Results revealed the following: control condition—PFC 41.4-1.1°, LPA 19.9-6.9°, LPD 18.6-8.3 mm, VAS 8.8 cm; tape—PFC 46.2-2.3°, LPA 25.1-2.9°, LPD 24.2-7.5 mm, VAS 0.8 cm; brace—PFC 3.4-16.5°, LPA 7.9-0.8°, LPD 9.4-4.7 mm, VAS 0.3 cm. Patellar bracing was effective in centralizing the patella as revealed by the PFC, LPA, and LPD measures; however, patellar taping did not improve patellar position, and in some positions taping actually worsened patellar position. A large reduction in pain as measured by the VAS occurred during an 8-in. step-down for both taping and bracing. More research is necessary to explain the pain reduction without a change in patellar position using tape.

Linguistic Interactions: A Therapeutic Consideration for Adults With Aphasia

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-98
Author(s):  
Lynn E. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Interaction Models ◽  
Social Communities ◽  
Wernicke's Aphasia ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
Therapeutic Consideration ◽  
Patterns Of Interaction ◽  
Structural Language

Abstract Linguistic interaction models suggest that interrelationships arise between structural language components and between structural and pragmatic components when language is used in social contexts. The linguist, David Crystal (1986, 1987), has proposed that these relationships are central, not peripheral, to achieving desired clinical outcomes. For individuals with severe communication challenges, erratic or unpredictable relationships between structural and pragmatic components can result in atypical patterns of interaction between them and members of their social communities, which may create a perception of disablement. This paper presents a case study of a woman with fluent, Wernicke's aphasia that illustrates how attention to patterns of linguistic interaction may enhance AAC intervention for adults with aphasia.

Press Propaganda and Subaltern Agents of Pan-Islamic Networks in the Muslim Mediterranean World prior to World War I

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odile Moreau
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
World War I ◽  
North Africa ◽  
World War ◽  
Subaltern Studies ◽  
Resistance Movements ◽  
The Press ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
History Of

This chapter explores movement and circulation across the Mediterranean and seeks to contribute to a history of proto-nationalism in the Maghrib and the Middle East at a particular moment prior to World War I. The discussion is particularly concerned with the interface of two Mediterranean spaces: the Middle East (Egypt, Ottoman Empire) and North Africa (Morocco), where the latter is viewed as a case study where resistance movements sought external allies as a way of compensating for their internal weakness. Applying methods developed by Subaltern Studies, and linking macro-historical approaches, namely of a translocal movement in the Muslim Mediterranean, it explores how the Egypt-based society, al-Ittihad al-Maghribi, through its agent, Aref Taher, used the press as an instrument for political propaganda, promoting its Pan-Islamic programme and its goal of uniting North Africa.

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