Democracy in the Age of Information Abundance: The Impact of New Technologies on Our Democratic Political System

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhamad Rosyid Jazuli
2017 ◽  
pp. 111-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kapeliushnikov

The paper provides a critical analysis of the idea of technological unemployment. The overview of the existing literature on the employment effects of technological change shows that on the micro-level there exists strong and positive relationship between innovations and employment growth in firms; on the sectoral level this correlation becomes ambiguous; on the macro-level the impact of new technologies seems to be positive or neutral. This implies that fears of explosive growth of technological unemployment in the foreseeable future are exaggerated. Our analysis further suggests that new technologies affect mostly the structure of employment rather than its level. Additionally we argue that automation and digitalisation would change mostly task sets within particular occupations rather than distribution of workers by occupations.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pereira ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel ◽  
Elizabeth Ann Harris

Political misinformation, often called “fake news”, represents a threat to our democracies because it impedes citizens from being appropriately informed. Evidence suggests that fake news spreads more rapidly than real news—especially when it contains political content. The present article tests three competing theoretical accounts that have been proposed to explain the rise and spread of political (fake) news: (1) the ideology hypothesis— people prefer news that bolsters their values and worldviews; (2) the confirmation bias hypothesis—people prefer news that fits their pre-existing stereotypical knowledge; and (3) the political identity hypothesis—people prefer news that allows their political in-group to fulfill certain social goals. We conducted three experiments in which American participants read news that concerned behaviors perpetrated by their political in-group or out-group and measured the extent to which they believed the news (Exp. 1, Exp. 2, Exp. 3), and were willing to share the news on social media (Exp. 2 and 3). Results revealed that Democrats and Republicans were both more likely to believe news about the value-upholding behavior of their in-group or the value-undermining behavior of their out-group, supporting a political identity hypothesis. However, although belief was positively correlated with willingness to share on social media in all conditions, we also found that Republicans were more likely to believe and want to share apolitical fake new. We discuss the implications for theoretical explanations of political beliefs and application of these concepts in in polarized political system.


2017 ◽  
pp. 110-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kużelewska

This article analyses the impact of constitutional referendums on the political system in Italy. There were three constitutional referendums conducted in 2001, 2006 and 2016. All of them have been organised by the ruling parties, however, only the first one was successful. In the subsequent referendums, the proposals for amending the constitution have been rejected by voters. The article finds that lack of public support for the government resulted in voting „no” in the referendum.


Emerging technologies have always played an important role in armed conflict. From the crossbow to cyber capabilities, technology that could be weaponized to create an advantage over an adversary has inevitably found its way into military arsenals for use in armed conflict. The weaponization of emerging technologies, however, raises challenging legal issues with respect to the law of armed conflict. As States continue to develop and exploit new technologies, how will the law of armed conflict address the use of these technologies on the battlefield? Is existing law sufficient to regulate new technologies, such as cyber capabilities, autonomous weapons systems, and artificial intelligence? Have emerging technologies fundamentally altered the way we should understand concepts such as law-of-war precautions and the principle of distinction? How can we ensure compliance and accountability in light of technological advancement? This book explores these critical questions while highlighting the legal challenges—and opportunities—presented by the use of emerging technologies on the battlefield.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Bader A. Alyoubi

Big Data is gaining rapid popularity in e-commerce sector across the globe. There is a general consensus among experts that Saudi organisations are late in adopting new technologies. It is generally believed that the lack of research in latest technologies that are specific to Saudi Arabia that is culturally, socially, and economically different from the West, is one of the key factors for the delay in technology adoption in Saudi Arabia. Hence, to fill this gap to a certain extent and create awareness about Big Data technology, the primary goal of this research was to identify the impact of Big Data on e-commerce organisations in Saudi Arabia. Internet has changed the business environment of Saudi Arabia too. E-commerce is set for achieving new heights due to latest technological advancements. A qualitative research approach was used by conducting interviews with highly experienced professional to gather primary data. Using multiple sources of evidence, this research found out that traditional databases are not capable of handling massive data. Big Data is a promising technology that can be adopted by e-commerce companies in Saudi Arabia. Big Data’s predictive analytics will certainly help e-commerce companies to gain better insight of the consumer behaviour and thus offer customised products and services. The key finding of this research is that Big Data has a significant impact in e-commerce organisations in Saudi Arabia on various verticals like customer retention, inventory management, product customisation, and fraud detection.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019251212096737
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Baldini ◽  
Edoardo Bressanelli ◽  
Emanuele Massetti

This article investigates the impact of Brexit on the British political system. By critically engaging with the conceptualisation of the Westminster model proposed by Arend Lijphart, it analyses the strains of Brexit on three dimensions developed from from Lijphart’s framework: elections and the party system, executive– legislative dynamics and the relationship between central and devolved administrations. Supplementing quantitative indicators with an in-depth qualitative analysis, the article shows that the process of Brexit has ultimately reaffirmed, with some important caveats, key features of the Westminster model: the resilience of the two-party system, executive dominance over Parliament and the unitary character of the political system. Inheriting a context marked by the progressive weakening of key majoritarian features of the political system, the Brexit process has brought back some of the traditional executive power-hoarding dynamics. Yet, this prevailing trend has created strains and resistances that keep the political process open to different developments.


Horticulturae ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Athanasios Koukounaras

Greenhouse horticulture is one of the most intensive agricultural systems, with the advantages of environmental parameter control (temperature, light, etc.), higher efficiency of resource utilization (water, fertilizers, etc.) and the use of advanced technologies (hydroponics, automation, etc.) for higher productivity, earliness, stability of production and better quality. On the other hand, climate change and the application of high inputs without suitable management could have negative impacts on the expansion of the greenhouse horticulture sector. This special issue gathers twelve papers: three reviews and nine of original research. There is one review that focuses on irrigation of greenhouse crops, while a second surveys the effects of biochar on container substrate properties and plant growth. A third review examines the impact of light quality on plant–microbe interactions, especially non-phototrophic organisms. The research papers report both the use of new technologies as well as advanced cultivation practices. In particular, new technologies are presented such as dye-sensitized solar cells for the glass cover of a greenhouse, automation for water and nitrogen deficit stress detection in soilless tomato crops based on spectral indices, light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and gibberellic acid supplementation on potted ornamentals, the integration of brewery wastewater treatment through anaerobic digestion with substrate-based soilless agriculture, and application of diatomaceous earth as a silica supplement on potted ornamentals. Research studies about cultivation practices are presented comparing different systems (organic-conventional, aeroponic-nutrient film technique (NFT)-substrate culture), quantitative criteria for determining the quality of grafted seedlings, and of wild species as alternative crops for cultivation.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4663
Author(s):  
Janaina Cavalcanti ◽  
Victor Valls ◽  
Manuel Contero ◽  
David Fonseca

An effective warning attracts attention, elicits knowledge, and enables compliance behavior. Game mechanics, which are directly linked to human desires, stand out as training, evaluation, and improvement tools. Immersive virtual reality (VR) facilitates training without risk to participants, evaluates the impact of an incorrect action/decision, and creates a smart training environment. The present study analyzes the user experience in a gamified virtual environment of risks using the HTC Vive head-mounted display. The game was developed in the Unreal game engine and consisted of a walk-through maze composed of evident dangers and different signaling variables while user action data were recorded. To demonstrate which aspects provide better interaction, experience, perception and memory, three different warning configurations (dynamic, static and smart) and two different levels of danger (low and high) were presented. To properly assess the impact of the experience, we conducted a survey about personality and knowledge before and after using the game. We proceeded with the qualitative approach by using questions in a bipolar laddering assessment that was compared with the recorded data during the game. The findings indicate that when users are engaged in VR, they tend to test the consequences of their actions rather than maintaining safety. The results also reveal that textual signal variables are not accessed when users are faced with the stress factor of time. Progress is needed in implementing new technologies for warnings and advance notifications to improve the evaluation of human behavior in virtual environments of high-risk surroundings.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document