scholarly journals (Re)-fashioning the Techno-erotic Woman

Author(s):  
Diah Handayani

This study examines the techno-journals and futuristic zines such as Boing Boing inscribe a kind of textual prologue for cyber-culture. They are valuable in themselves because they forge a much-needed connection between late print culture and the new cyberspatial network, formatting the matrix of this social space in ways that begin to define it. Wired magazine, for instance, participates in a cultural dialogue concerning issues of network privacy, governmental regulation, and censorship. Wired also sponsors HotWired, its online counterpart, where participants can exchange information, chat with live guests, and buy, sell, or trade computers and software products. Boing Boing, while differing from Wired in their hyperbolic presentation, share the techno-journal's fascination with "New Edge" culture, which includes, in addition to a hacker-like obsession with computers, technological phenomena such as raves, body alteration, smart drugs, and techno-spiritual movements. Because the communications revolution has brought about a phenomenological change in our perceptions of lived experience. These publications could be said to provide a type of public service by offering interfacing media that connect the user-friendly world of print with the phenomenon of cyberspatial networking. Yet, for all of their cutting-edge potential as links to the democratizing venues of cyberspace or as media for constructing alternative cybertextual practices, many of these techno-journals remain disturbingly vested in the politics of late capitalist culture. This includes heralding the new technologies in what amounts to an almost nostalgic longing for the ultimate "metanarrative"—pronouncing technological libertarianism and combining social consciousness with rampant consumerism.

2020 ◽  
Vol 158 (04) ◽  
pp. 345-350
Author(s):  
Christian Juhra ◽  
Jörg Ansorg ◽  
David Alexander Back ◽  
Dominik John ◽  
Andrea Kuckuck-Winkelmann ◽  
...  

AbstractNew communication technologies allow patients to communicate with their physicians from anywhere using computer or smartphone. Adding video to the mere phone call optimizes the personal contact between patient and physicians regardless of distance. Legal and reimbursements requirements must be taken into account, especially only certified software products must be used. In addition, patient consent is needed and confidentiality must be assured. The video patient consultation can be reimbursed by the health insurance companies. As with all new technologies, the introduction of these video consultations faced some challenges. Although patients and physicians have expressed great interest in this technology, it has been rarely used so far. The current COVID crisis increased the need for video consultations resulting in an increasing use of video patient consultation. It can be expected that this demand will still exists after the COVID crisis.


Holzforschung ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vebi Mimini ◽  
Vasken Kabrelian ◽  
Karin Fackler ◽  
Hubert Hettegger ◽  
Antje Potthast ◽  
...  

AbstractThe bulk use of renewable polymers is currently largely limited to cellulose and, less significantly, hemicelluloses. Technical lignins are only applied in novel materials to a rather limited extent, although bulk lignin utilization is a worldwide research object. Native lignins, which belong to the second or third most abundant biopolymers of terrestrial plants, are mostly used in the form of technical lignins from wood pulping processes; they are employed in low-performance sectors or simply burnt for the generation of energy. Technical lignins are available in huge quantities and have a large application potential, mainly in areas where their aromatic nature is of relevance. This review presents the state of the art of foamed lignin-based polymers (lignofoams) as high-performance insulation materials. In the focus of this presentation are the fundamental foaming principles and influential agents that have an improvement potential concerning the matrix interactions between technical lignins (including lignosulfonates) and a copolymer in foam composites. The different approaches for foam preparation are critically compared. In general, the reviewed papers disclose that the lignin part in foams should be less than 37%. There are significant difficulties to improve the properties of lignofoams, and thus intensive research is needed to find better formulations and new technologies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-75
Author(s):  
M. A. Golovchin

In 2016-2018 the state in Russia adopted a package of program documents, which implies the transfer of education to the large-scale introduction of digital technologies. This phenomenon has been called “digitalization of education”. In scientific literature, electronization and digitalization are increasingly called one of the institutional traps for the development of Russian universities, since the corresponding institutional environment has not yet been formed due to the forced nature of innovations. As a result, the processes of introducing new technologies into education are still not regulated. Within the framework of the purpose of the study, the manifestations of the trap of electronization and digitalization of Russian higher education were analyzed on the basis of sociological data, and the theoretical modeling of the process of adaptation of educational agents to the institution of digitalization was carried out.In the course of the study, the approaches were summarized that have been developed in discussions on educational digitalization. The article presents the author’s vision of the studied phenomenon as an institutional trap; as well as understanding of the institutional features and characteristics of electronization and digitalization in education.The research method is the analysis of estimates obtained in the course of an expert survey which was conducted by the Vologda Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences among the representatives of the teaching staff of state universities in the Vologda region. In the course of this analysis, the indicators of educational digitalization as an effective innovation were clarified such as an increased accessibility of educational resources; simplification of communication and the process of transferring knowledge from teacher to student; increased opportunities for training specialists for the new (digital) economy; improving the quality of education in universities, etc. Based on the results of the empirical study, it has been determined that the conditions for the development of digitalization in Russian universities are currently ambiguous, which is closely related to the level of competitiveness of the educational organization.The scientific novelty of the research consists in the presentation of an original matrix describing the process of university employees adaptation to the conditions of digital transformation of education. The matrix is proposed on the basis of a sociological analysis of the impact of the trap of electronization and digitalization on the activities of educational agents. The matrix can be taken into account in the practice of higher education management.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-771
Author(s):  
Jean Collingsworth

he self-help book is a prominent cultural and commercial phenomenon in the therapeutic ontosphere which permeates contemporary life. The generic term ’ontosphere’ is here co-opted from IT to describe a notional social space in which influential conceptualisations and shared assumptions about personal values and entitlements operate without interrogation in the demotic apprehension of ’’. It thus complements the established critical terms ’discourse’ and ’episteme’. In the therapeutic ontosphere the normal vicissitudes of life are increasingly interpreted as personal catastrophes. As new issues of concern are defined, it is assumed that an individual will need help to deal with them and live successfully. Advice-giving has become big business and the self-help book is now an important post-modern commodity. However a paradox emerges when the content and ideology of this apparently postmodern artifact is examined. In its topical eclecticism the genre is indeed unaligned with those traditional ’grand narratives’ and collective value systems which the postmodern critical project has sought to discredit. It endorses relativism, celebrates reflexivity and valorizes many kinds of ’personal truth’. Moreover readers are encouraged towards self-renovation through a process of ’bricolage’ which involves selecting advice from a diverse ethical menu along-side which many ’little narratives’ of localized lived experience are presented as supportive exemplars. However in asserting the pragmatic power of individual instrumentality in an episteme which has seen the critical decentering of the human subject, the self-help book perpetuates the liberal-humanist notion of an essential personal identity whose stable core is axiomatic in traditional ethical advice. And the heroic journey of self-actualization is surely the grandest of grand narratives: the monomyth. Thus the telic self-help book presents the critical theorist with something of a paradox.


Author(s):  
Gurutz JÁUREGUI BERECIARTU

LABURPENA: Ziberespazioak eta sare sozialek sinbolikoki ordezkatzen duten iraultza teknologikoaren ezaugarri nagusia ez da teknologia bera, baizik eta horrek gaur egungo gizartearen egoera kulturalean eta politikoan duen lekua edo eginkizuna. Azken iraultzak ekarritako berritasunen artean, teknologia politikaren, ekonomiaren, nazioarteko lehiaren, norgehiagokaren, gerraren eta gizakiak mehatxatzen dituzten arrisku masiboen erregulazio globalaren edo estatalaren muin bihurtu dela azpimarratu daiteke. Labur esanda, laugarren iraultzaren ezaugarria da teknologiak jarduera politikoa eta ekonomiko erabat menderatzen dituela. Iraultzak aurrekaririk gabeko aurrerabide globala ekarri dio gizateriari. Hala ere, ez du lortu askatasunaren hobekuntzarik, berdintasun eta gizakien berdintasun ekonomiko eta sozial handiagoa ekartzea, kontrakoa baizik. Garapen teknologikoaren eta burokratikoaren protagonistek ezin izan dute teknologia berriek gure bizitzetan benetan duten eraginari buruzko oso zalantza serioak argitu. Egia da, sare sozialen bidez, Internetek kontsumitzaileei informazioaren sortzaile izatea ahalbidetzen diela. Gainera, Internetek hainbat erabakitan parte hartzeko aukera ematen duen espazio soziala sortu du. Azkenik, partaidetza horrek ondorio positiboak eta arrakasta nabariak eragin ditu zenbait kasutan (udaberri arabiarrak, 15M, etab.). Hala ere, horrek ez du esan nahi sarea berez espazio demokratikoa denik. Interneten ez dago botere publikorik eta demokratikorik. Aitzitik, espazio sozial berria demokraziaren kontroletik kanpo dauden erakunde pribatu boteretsuek menderatzen dute. Horrenbestez, espazio horretan herritar kategoria lortzetik urrun gaude oraindik. RESUMEN: La peculiaridad de la actual revolución tecnológica, representada simbólicamente por el ciberespacio y las redes sociales, no radica en la tecnología en sí misma considerada sino el lugar o papel jugado por ella en el contexto cultural y político de la actual sociedad. Lo nuevo en esta última revolución es el hecho de que la tecnología se ha convertido en la cuestión central, el nudo gordiano de la política, de la economía, de la competencia internacional, de la rivalidad, de la guerra, o de la regulación global o estatal de los riesgos masivos que amenazan a los seres vivos. Lo específico, en definitiva, de la cuarta revolución es, precisamente, el dominio aplastante de la tecnología sobre la actividad política y económica. Esta revolución está dando lugar a un progreso global sin precedentes de la humanidad, pero, sin embargo, no ha logrado favorecer, sino todo lo contrario, una mejora de la libertad ni un aumento de la igualdad económica y social de los seres humanos. Los protagonistas del desarrollo tecnológico y burocrático no han sido capaces de ahuyentar numerosas dudas e inquietudes muy serias acerca del impacto real de las nuevas tecnologías sobre nuestras vidas. Es cierto que, a través de las redes sociales, internet permite a los consumidores convertirse en productores de información. No es menos cierto que internet ofrece un nuevo espacio social que abre unas mayores posibilidades de participación en determinadas decisiones. También es cierto, por último, que esa participación ha producido, en algunos casos, consecuencias positivas y éxitos evidentes (primaveras árabes, 15M, etc.). Pero eso no significa necesariamente que la red constituya por sí misma un espacio democrático. No existe un poder público y democrático en internet. Bien al contrario, el nuevo espacio social está controlado y dominado por entidades privadas poderosas que escapan al control democrático. No hallamos lejos, por lo tanto, de alcanzar en ese espacio la categoría de ciudadanos. ABSTRACT: The peculiarity of the current technological revolution, symbolicaly represented by the cyberspace and social networks, does not lie on the technology itself but on the place or role played by it within the cultural and political context in the present society. The novelty in this revolution is the fact that technology has become a central issue, the guardian knot of the politics, economy, international competition, rivalry, war or global and state regulation of the massive risks that threat human beings. The specific, all in all, of the fourth revolution is specifically the overwhelming power of technology over political and economic action. This revolution gives place to an unprecedented global advance for humanity but nevertheless it has not been able, but the opposite, to boost an improvement in freedom nor an upgrading of economic and social equality of human beings.The protagonist of the technological and bureaucratic development has not been able to dispel many serious doubts and concerns about the real impact of new technologies in our lifes. It is true that by means of social networks internet allows consumers to become information providers. It cannot be denied that internet offers a new social space which opens some greater possibilities for participation in some decisions. It is also true, last but not least, that in some cases that participation has produced positive consequences and obvious successes (Arab spring, 15 May, etc.). But that does not necessarily mean that the net is to be considered a democratic space. There does not exist a public and democratic power in internet. On the contrary, the new social space is controlled and dominated by powerful private entities which scape from democratic control. We are accordingly far away from reaching the category of citizens in that space.


2009 ◽  
pp. 1405-1419
Author(s):  
George Boston ◽  
Randle J. Gedeon

This chapter provides a general overview of the development and implementation of existing techniques for the reference linking of scholarly research materials, additionally, some of the new techniques designed for advanced linking are described. Also presented are several new technologies currently under development, with an eye toward enhancing resource discovery and the interlinking of resources. The progress of computer technology, the adoption of those technologies by the information consumer, and the implementation of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 tools to existing resources have combined in opening up new avenues of linking previously isolated resources together. Information professionals must come to appreciate and apply these new techniques and in doing so will provide library patrons with a more user friendly and thorough research experience.


Author(s):  
Julian Joy ◽  
Sumesh Singh Dadwal ◽  
Philiph A. Pryce

Technology is playing a pivotal role in shaping the operations and marketing and events industry. The modern event manager has understood that the event success or failure may depend on the technology used or the lack of it. An event is a set of activities with specific purpose goals and needs of the attendees. An event can be defined as an organised occasion, it provides some lived experience and meaning. The technology has the potential to be used at each stage of the consumers' experience of events. The chapter has taken a resource-based view and analysed how technology can be a tool for operations and service innovation and ultimately a strategics for creating core competencies and core capabilities. This chapter explores how technology can be used in the management event, technology in the value delivery network of events, and marketing of events. Various new technologies like block-chain technology, augment relativity, RFID, social media, digital promotional tactics are discussed.


1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 2008-2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry J Kricka

Abstract Miniaturization has been a long-term trend in clinical diagnostics instrumentation. Now a range of new technologies, including micromachining and molecular self-assembly, are providing the means for further size reduction of analyzers to devices with micro- to nanometer dimensions and submicroliter volumes. Many analytical techniques (e.g., mass spectrometry and electrophoresis) have been successfully implemented on microchips made from silicon, glass, or plastic. The new impetus for miniaturization stems from the perceived benefits of faster, easier, less costly, and more convenient analyses and by the needs of the pharmaceutical industry for microscale, massively parallel drug discovery assays. Perfecting a user-friendly interface between a human and a microchip and determining the realistic lower limit for sample volume are key issues in the future implementation of these devices. Resolution of these issues will be important for the long-term success of microminiature analyzers; in the meantime, the scope, diversity, and rate of progress in the development of these devices promises products in the near future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kyazze ◽  
Janet Wesson ◽  
Kevin Naudé

Background: Individuals with disabilities experience difficulty in using various everyday technologies such as computers and smartphones.Objectives: To propose a conceptual framework that will lead to the development of practical and user friendly assistive technology.Method: A literature review of challenges faced by individuals with physical disabilities was carried out. Interviews with adults with physical disabilities in Kampala, Uganda, and Port Elizabeth, South Africa, identified three main challenges with regard to using technology: using a mobile phone, controlling an electronic environment and using a computer.Results: The challenges identified can be solved by taking into consideration the needs of individuals with disabilities. However, the design of new technologies and interaction techniques, such as natural hand gestures and voice, as input mechanisms has able-bodied individuals in mind. Individuals with disabilities are considered as an afterthought. The main reason for this is that individuals with a disability are a minority and hence it may not make economic sense for technology innovators to cater for their unique needs. A lack of practical guidelines on how to design for individuals with disabilities is another reason why designing for individuals with disabilities is often an afterthought.Conclusion: This article proposes a conceptual framework that can be used by researchers and technology designers in order to design products that could cater for the unique needs of individuals with disabilities. The article also emphasises the importance of exploring alternative interaction techniques, as they could enable individuals with disabilities to fully utilise technologies such as smart phones, computers and smart home electronics.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
Geetha Udayangani Kulasekara ◽  
Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke ◽  
Uma Coomaraswamy

Interactive Multimedia (IMM) package has a greater potential of supporting individual differences of learners due to its inherent strength of media attributes. This study was carried out to explore the design features of IMM, which was specially designed to support the open and distant learners, studying Microbiology as a part of the B.Sc. Degree program, of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), with the purpose of explaining the dynamic abstract concepts in Microbiology. When designing the IMM emphasis was placed on the design features, interface design in particular, in order to help the learners to achieve a meaningful learning experience. The purpose of this research paper is to explore learner perceptions of the design features of the IMM and, in developing a more user friendly, authentic instructional package. As such, quantitative and qualitative research methods were used by means of questionnaires, interviews and observations. Evaluation reveals many supportive and constructive outcomes, and suggests improvements in providing a better support for learners studying science subjects at a distance. In the context of the university using new technologies, especially for delivery, the results of this study would be a great asset.


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