Enhancing Humans and Sustainability: The Reunion of Bioethics and Environmental Ethics

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Normative Study ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Enhancement Technologies

Emerging technologies are hyped as ‘transformative’ by their proponents, who prophesize that these new technologies will significantly and beneficially change our world. Concerns have been raised about the potential environmental impacts of these technologies. Emerging technologies and their implications on humans, society, and the environment challenge our understanding of our responsibilities to the environment and future generations. Utilizing Van Potter’s sense of bioethics that meant the normative study of humanity’s place in the biosphere, I attempt to reintegrate bioethics and environmental ethics, to address questions about human well-being in the future, its dependence on complex environmental systems, and the impact of emerging technologies particularly enhancement technologies upon it. Ultimately, I argue that the future envisioned by proponents of human enhancement technologies is not consistent with our responsibilities to future generations which including leaving certain amounts of natural capital, including human ones.

scholarly journals Governing the future and the search for spatial justice: Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act

2019 ◽  
Vol 197 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-24
Author(s):  
Rhys Jones
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Spatial Justice ◽  
The Future ◽  
Just Society ◽  
The Many ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

Recent contributions in Geography and beyond have examined historical and more contemporary efforts to govern the future. Work in this area has highlighted some important conceptual considerations by drawing attention to the way in which states, regions and other organisations view the future as an object of governance for a variety of reasons: as something that constitutes a threat that needs to be managed; as something that can be predicted, thus leading to an improvement in governance; as something that allows a more hopeful and just society, economy and environment to be expressed (and achieved). In this paper, I use this context as a way of making an argument for the need to: 1) consider more explicitly the many geographies associated with governing the future; and 2) explore how these geographies might impact on the definition and promotion of spatial justice. I illustrate these arguments through an empirical discussion of the development and implementation of Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act, an Act that seeks to create a better and more just Wales by the year 2050. I conclude by exhorting geographers to take the lead in exploring the impact that geographical themes might have on states’ and regions’ attempts to achieve spatial justice in the present and the future.

The Impact of Emerging Technologies on the Law of Armed Conflict

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

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.

scholarly journals Sustainable Supply Chains with Blockchain, IoT and RFID: A Simulation on Order Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6372
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Varriale ◽  
Antonello Cammarano ◽  
Francesca Michelino ◽  
Mauro Caputo
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chains ◽  
Time Performance ◽  
Order Management ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Internet Of Things

The digital transformation of supply chains should revolutionize entire management processes and improve various aspects of sustainability. In particular, the plans of Industry 4.0 aim towards a digitization of several procedures by exploiting emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, RFID and blockchain. The purpose of this study is to highlight how order and disruption events processes can be improved with the adoption of emerging technologies and how this reflects on the improvement of sustainability aspects. The study is based on the comparison of two simulation scenarios between three actors in the cheese supply chain. In particular, a first traditional scenario “as is” is simulated without the use of new technologies and is compared to a second scenario “to be” that adopts IoT, RFID and blockchain. The results show an improvement in time performance for managing both perfect and non-compliant orders. The developed framework highlights the impact of new technologies on sustainability aspects, showing further managerial implications.

Intuitive, digitale Strukturlayoutplanung*/Intuitive digital planning of structure layouts – Overcoming the challenges of disruptive production programs in the automotive industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (09) ◽  
pp. 611-616
Author(s):  
S. F. Schäfer ◽  
U. Bracht
Keyword(s):  
Automotive Industry ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Know How ◽  
Digital Planning ◽  
The Future ◽  
Factory Of The Future ◽  
Future Technologies ◽  
The Impact

Zukünftige Antriebstechnologien sowie neue Fabrik- und Logistikkonzepte verändern die Rahmenbedingungen der Automobilproduktion grundlegend. Schon heute muss die Strukturlayoutplanung Innovationen und Unsicherheiten in Form von mehr Varianten, abgestimmt in sehr kurzer Zeit, durch die Einbeziehung von weiteren Know-how-Trägern berücksichtigen. Neue Herausforderungen, wie die Planung der Batteriefertigungen, müssen schnell und intuitiv gelöst werden. Einen Beitrag dafür liefert dieser Artikel.   Future technologies in automotive mobility as well as new factory and logistic concepts are changing the framework in car production. Innovations and uncertainties (e. g. the impact of new technologies) have to be taken in consideration for the factory of the future. New tasks, such as planning the assembly of batteries, need to be solved fast and intuitively. This paper presents an approach to this topic.

scholarly journals Servant leadership, team-based learning and hope and optimism: A sectoral comparative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Grobler ◽  
Aden-Paul Flotman
Keyword(s):  
Servant Leadership ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Future Orientation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Team Based Learning ◽  
The Future ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: This is an era of unprecedented turbulence. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) global pandemic testifies to this turmoil as, daily, the unknown dynamically unfolds. It is important during challenging times like these that leadership and organisational response enhance a shared positive vision for the future of humanity. This study aimed at determining the role played by servant leadership (SL) in promoting employee well-being, specifically, a positive future expectation in terms of hope and optimism (HO), as well as the impact that team-based learning (TBL) has on this relationship, and whether this is the same for both the private and public sectors.Design/methodology/approach: This study employed an empirical paradigm, using a cross-sectional design and quantitative analysis. The total sample consisted of 1560 participants, with 780 employed in the private and public sector, respectively.Findings/results: The results suggest that both SL and TBL have a significant impact on employees’ HO, with TBL being a mediating variable and with stronger relationships reported for the private sector. Technically, the TBL instrument employed was validated for South African use and the study included a statistical assessment of common method bias, which was found not to skew the results.Practical implications: This study provides further empirical evidence that SL is positively associated with HO. Secondly, the future-mindedness and future-orientation of HO could stimulate adaptive responses during this time of uncertainty and turmoil. Thus, HO, as potential resilience factors, could generate resilience by harnessing opportunities and setbacks both during the Covid-19 pandemic and in its aftermath.Originality/value: The practical value of this article is in the empirical evidence that both the leaders and the organisation have an impact on the employees’ wellness and positive work attitudes.

scholarly journals Environmental noise, its types and effects on health

2021 ◽  
pp. 41-48
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Environmental Noise ◽  
Road Traffic Noise ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Railway Traffic ◽  
The Impact

Noise can be defined as an undesirable sound that pollutes the environment. If noise is continuous and exceeds certain levels, negative effects on health can be observed. In recent years, the impact of environmental noise (road traffic noise, railway traffic noise, air traffic noise and industrial noise) on human health has come under increasingly intense scrutiny. Noise can cause a number of negative effects on health that directly or indirectly affect humans. The occurrence of some certain and harmful health effects drives the onset of others and may contribute to the development of various diseases. Health is not only a state of physical well-being, but also mental well-being. Mental health primarily depends on the quality of life, which can be affected by various environmental factors, such as noise. An important aspect of fighting noise is the most effective protection of the population by avoiding sources of noise and reducing it. This can be achieved by introducing new technical solutions and new technologies, including devices that generate less noise. Another important measure is educating the society and influencing the change of individual and collective behavior, which may contribute to reducing the harmful factor, which is noise in human life, and minimize the resulting negative effects on health.

Psychiatric epidemiology: Looking to the future

2020 ◽  
pp. 425-432
Author(s):  
Jayati Das-Munshi ◽  
Tamsin Ford ◽  
Matthew Hotopf ◽  
Martin Prince ◽  
Robert Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Psychiatric Epidemiology ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Gps Tracking ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact

In this final chapter to the second edition of Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology, developments in psychiatric epidemiology since the first edition are summarized and the editors offer a view on where the future may lie. The themes summarized in this chapter include those related to large-scale datasets or ‘big data’, new technologies and science communication (including data generated through GPS tracking systems and the impact of social media), expanding biological data and biobanks, as well as the impact of globalization, migration, and culture on understanding psychiatric epidemiological principles. The last part of this chapter raises the important issue of open science initiatives. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion on the constancy and ongoing evolution of psychiatric epidemiology.

scholarly journals Translator Education at a Crossroads:the Impact of Automation

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Begoña Rodríguez de Céspedes
Keyword(s):  
Machine Translation ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Translation Tools ◽  
Technological Competence ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Translator Education

Abstract Automation is affecting all spheres of our daily lives and humans are adapting both to the challenges that it poses and the benefits that it brings. The translation profession has also experienced the impact of new technologies with Language Service Providers adapting to changes (Presas/Cid-Leal/Torres-Hostench 2016; Sakamoto/Rodríguez de Céspedes/Evans/Berthaud 2017). Translation trainers are not oblivious to this phenomenon. There have indeed been efforts to incorporate the teaching of digital translation tools and new technologies in the translation classroom (Doherty/Kenny/Way 2012; Doherty/Moorkens 2013; Austermühl 2013; O’Hagan 2013; Gaspari/Almaghout/Doherty 2015; Moorkens 2017) and many translation programmes in Europe are adapting their curricula to incorporate this necessary technological competence (Rothwell/Svoboda 2017). This paper reflects on the impact that automation and, more specifically machine translation and computer assisted tools, have and will have on the future training of translators and on the balance given by translation companies to language and technological skills.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Understanding and optimizing quality of life and psychological well-being presents a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the enhancement of the lives of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their caregivers. ALS is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disorder. No current medical therapy can reverse or stop its progression, and the promotion of quality of life and psychological well-being is a central component of ALS care. Health care professionals who work in this field should incorporate attention to psychological, emotional, and relational aspects of the disease into their approach to care. This book provides some of the knowledge and direction necessary for optimizing the quality of care for individuals with ALS and their caregivers. Topics discussed include an ALS-centred view of quality of life, depressive features, anxiety, resilience, cognitive impairment, complementary and alternative medicines, and psychological research. Specific elements of ALS, such as end-of-life concerns and bulbar dysfunction, are described through the lens of their psychological impact. There is extensive discussion of the development of new psychological treatments, as well as the impact and incorporation of new technologies, with the goal of fostering optimal quality of life and psychological well-being as key parts of a holistic approach to care for the patients and for those who are close to such individuals.

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