scholarly journals Transhumanisme et effondrement entre utopie et idéologie

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Defilippi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Technological Transformation ◽  
Social Imaginaries ◽  
Utopian Vision ◽  
Ideological Dimension ◽  
Economic Balance ◽  
Ways Of Life

This paper compares the utopian dimension of the transhumanist movements, which advocate for a technological transformation of the human condition, with the utopian vision of those perspectives – recently popularized in France – that imagine an alternative society starting from the risk of a widespread collapse of our ways of life and production. Through the work of the French philosopher Paul Ricœur on social imaginaries, this paper looks at these two linked movements, their ideological dimension and their relationship with utopia. The main hypothesis is that the perspectives focusing on collapse could be effective in overcoming some contemporary ecological and social issues, whilst the transhumanist utopia could strengthen some of the present ideological contradictions. The transhumanist imaginary contributes in fact to preserve the dominant socio-economic balance and it lacks the critical approach that is key to utopia. On the contrary, the effort to imagine the collapse of our society could be the first step of a real utopian project, of the development of an alternative society, starting today.

scholarly journals Thematic Preoccupation of Nigerian Literature: A Critical Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Adetuyi, Chris Ajibade
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Traditional Values ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Public Property ◽  
Economic Exploitation ◽  
Nigerian Literature

Nigerian literature takes "matter" from the realities of Nigerian living conditions and value systems in the past and present. In the Nigerian society the writer, be it a novelist, dramatist or poet is a sensitive "questioner" and reformer; as all literature in a way is criticism of the human condition obtainable in the society it mirrors. The writer often cannot help exposing the bad and the ugly in man and society. Thus much of Nigerian literature is a deploration of the harsh and inhuman condition in which the majority of Nigerians live in i.e. poverty, misery, political oppression, economic exploitation, excesses of the affluent, liquidation of humane Nigerian traditional values, and all forms of injustices which seem to be the lot of a large majority in most Nigerian societies.In drama, novel, poetry or short - story, the writer's dialogue with his physical and human environment comes out as a mirror in which his people and society can see what they look like. Every image painted by a skillful artist is expressed or put into writing / print, becomes public property and leaves itself open for evaluation by those who read and understand the language and expression. There is therefore a need to identify the thematic preoccupation of Nigeria literature which is the focus of this paper with a view to identifying their peculiarities with textual references.

Losing metrics … finding heart

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-192
Author(s):  
Julia K. Day
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Narrative Methods ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
Do So

Purpose This paper aims to provide an example of ways in which research plans may shift and how the research team dealt with necessary changes as they unfolded; within this context, the authors encourage the use of qualitative and narrative methods prior to and during the design process to better understand the population for which they are designing. Second, the stories from this case study illustrate the importance of understanding the overall context in design solutions, understanding the value of working with residents during the design process and using design as a tool for advocacy and empathy. Design/methodology/approach Initially, a traditional mixed method approach was developed to study the feasibility of tiny homes in homeless populations. Responding to unforeseen circumstances, the research team shifted to more appropriate narrative research methods, capturing a profile of the community. The paper shares narrative accounts from the tiny home village residents. Findings Overall, the stories from the Portland visit illustrate the importance of social impact and the understanding of the overall context in design. This study also advocates the use of qualitative interview and narrative methods in design research, especially when used to better understand the “houseless” or other special populations. Research limitations/implications There were limitations to the research that likely affected the outcomes and the results. The most apparent limitation was the unanticipated shift in methodology that occurred during the research study, which is also arguably one of the best strengths. Also, because of the qualitative nature of this research, the results are not generalizable to a broader context and only valuable or applicable to special cases. Practical implications The true human condition of displaced people is often misrepresented in the minds of those who are unaffected. Designers are uniquely qualified to help solve seemingly unsolvable problems but must do so with caution. Social implications For those taking on the challenge of designing for disadvantaged communities, this paper reveals that design research is more than just a problem to solve through habitable boxes. This study brings to light several social, economic and design complications that may arise in this vein of research. Originality/value This research methodology was unexpectedly altered when unforeseen events necessitated a shift in the research plan. This process revealed that sensitive social issues can be difficult to navigate and must be treated with utmost respect and flexibility. Issues such as affordable housing, homelessness and sustainability are all examples of wicked problems, which designers are uniquely qualified to help solve but must do so with caution and a true understanding of context. Many lessons were learned through this process.

scholarly journals Informaciniai nutylėjimai: priežastys ir pasekmės

2014 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 127-146
Author(s):  
Mantas Martišius
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
General Context ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
The Media ◽  
Political Economic

Šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje žiniasklaida atlieka svarbią funkciją. Ji ne tik informuoja, teikia pramogą ar šviečia, bet ir kuria bendrąjį kontekstą. Žiniasklaidos temų darbotvarkės kūrimas formuoja visuomenės temų darbotvarkę. Medijos teikiamos informacijos kokybė lemia visuomenėje naudojamo diskurso lygį, o pastarasis turi įtakos bendrųjų politinių, ekonominių ar socialinių klausimų sprendimui. Siūlomas naujas teorinis bendrojo konteksto nagrinėjimo aspektas – informacinis nutylėjimas. Informaciniai nutylėjimai – tai svarbios informacijos nepasakymas, kuris veikia bendrąjį kontekstą. Empirinis tyrimas nėra atliekamas, nes siekiama į reiškinį pažvelgti komunikacijos teorijos aspektu. Kitas aspektas, kad informacinių nutylėjimų empirinis nagrinėjimas vestų prie konkrečios istorijos pateikimo analizės. Būtų prarastas holistinis teorinis požiūris į informacinį nutylėjimą, kai, pateikiant informaciją ir sąmoningai ar atsitiktinai dalį svarbių žinių, duomenų ar faktų paliekant paraštėse, kuriamas nevisavertis visuomenės informuotumas. Straipsnio tikslas – analitiniu teoriniu būdu panagrinėti informacinio nutylėjimo reiškinį, jį sieti su propaganda ir bendrojo konteksto formavimu. Aptarti informacinio nutylėjimo priežastis ir poveikį Jurgeno Habermaso viešosios erdvės teorijos aspektu.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: informacinis nutylėjimas, propaganda, bendrasis kontekstas, žiniasklaida. Informative veiling: causes and consequencesMantas Martišius SummaryIn the modern society, the media play an important role. They not only inform, educate and provide entertainment, but also provide to the people the general context. Creating the news, the media shape the public agenda. The information provided by the media determine the quality of society’s discourse level and affect the political, economic, and social issues. The article theoretically proposes a new aspect of the examination, which is the information veiling. Informative veiling is an important information suppressing, which affects understanding of the context of general events. The information veiling can be intentional or accidental, but the effect will be the suppressing of important knowledge, data or facts and their unbalanced awareness. The purpose of the article is to examine analytically and theoretically the phenomenon of information veiling, linking it with propaganda and the context formation in general. In the deliberate or accidental information veiling, the result appears to be similar. Such information creates a weakly informed audience which is not using the valuable information for making the most effective decisions. If the public space is dominated by a large percentage of information veiling news, in society evolve myths, false assessments, and incorrect conclusions. In order to reduce the influence of information veiling, the audience should be careful as to the source of information and its expected effect. Examination of the media interest in the material reduces its propagandistic effect, and a more critical approach to the media coverage could reduce the information influence on the audience. On the other hand, we have to admit that it is a more idealistic approach rather than the reality.

scholarly journals Urban governance and informality in China’s Pearl River Delta

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Schröder ◽  
Michael Waibel
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Pearl River Delta ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Economic Upgrading

AbstractAgainst the background of current economic upgrading trends in China’s so called “factory of the world“, the Pearl River Delta, this paper adopts an analytical urban governance perspective to investigate the role of informality in urban affairs. In the wake of dynamic economic and urban growth coinciding with rising environmental and social issues, local governments increasingly re-orientate their urban development strategies and apply flexible modes in responding to these challenges. The main hypothesis of this paper is that informality in particular is used as a tool of flexibility and that experimental policies as typical characteristics of the transitional process in China are widely applied nowadays to attract knowledge-intensive and service-oriented industries as well as a highly educated, and presumably creative, workforce. The hypothesis is validated by empirical research analyzing governance processes in development and locational policies of Guangzhou Science City.

scholarly journals Your Robot Therapist Will See You Now: Ethical Implications of Embodied Artificial Intelligence in Psychiatry, Psychology, and Psychotherapy (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Fiske ◽  
Peter Henningsen ◽  
Alena Buyx
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Ethical Implications

BACKGROUND Research in embodied artificial intelligence (AI) has increasing clinical relevance for therapeutic applications in mental health services. With innovations ranging from ‘virtual psychotherapists’ to social robots in dementia care and autism disorder, to robots for sexual disorders, artificially intelligent virtual and robotic agents are increasingly taking on high-level therapeutic interventions that used to be offered exclusively by highly trained, skilled health professionals. In order to enable responsible clinical implementation, ethical and social implications of the increasing use of embodied AI in mental health need to be identified and addressed. OBJECTIVE This paper assesses the ethical and social implications of translating embodied AI applications into mental health care across the fields of Psychiatry, Psychology and Psychotherapy. Building on this analysis, it develops a set of preliminary recommendations on how to address ethical and social challenges in current and future applications of embodied AI. METHODS Based on a thematic literature search and established principles of medical ethics, an analysis of the ethical and social aspects of currently embodied AI applications was conducted across the fields of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Psychotherapy. To enable a comprehensive evaluation, the analysis was structured around the following three steps: assessment of potential benefits; analysis of overarching ethical issues and concerns; discussion of specific ethical and social issues of the interventions. RESULTS From an ethical perspective, important benefits of embodied AI applications in mental health include new modes of treatment, opportunities to engage hard-to-reach populations, better patient response, and freeing up time for physicians. Overarching ethical issues and concerns include: harm prevention and various questions of data ethics; a lack of guidance on development of AI applications, their clinical integration and training of health professionals; ‘gaps’ in ethical and regulatory frameworks; the potential for misuse including using the technologies to replace established services, thereby potentially exacerbating existing health inequalities. Specific challenges identified and discussed in the application of embodied AI include: matters of risk-assessment, referrals, and supervision; the need to respect and protect patient autonomy; the role of non-human therapy; transparency in the use of algorithms; and specific concerns regarding long-term effects of these applications on understandings of illness and the human condition. CONCLUSIONS We argue that embodied AI is a promising approach across the field of mental health; however, further research is needed to address the broader ethical and societal concerns of these technologies to negotiate best research and medical practices in innovative mental health care. We conclude by indicating areas of future research and developing recommendations for high-priority areas in need of concrete ethical guidance.

scholarly journals “os dentes afiados da vida preferem a carne na mais tenra infância ”: etnocartografar com olhos de besta

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (36) ◽  
pp. 01-28
Author(s):  
Marcos Ribeiro de Melo ◽  
Michele De freitas faria de Vasconcelos ◽  
Edson Augusto de Souza neto
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Main Character ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Forms Of Life ◽  
Dominant Narratives ◽  
Ways Of Life ◽  
The Human Condition

in this article, we experience the exercise of a screen ethnocartography in agency with the film Beasts of the southern wild (2012) by the director Benh Zeitlin. We tested a film experimentation that led to a renewed writing (our) ways of life. We bet on cinema and childhood as possibilities for creating cracks and a stutter of language for the creation of new worlds and ways of living. In cinema images less as a representation, and more as art that proposes incompleteness, fissure, a hole in appearances. In childhood as an exercise of differentiation and resistance to dominant narratives in a given context. In childhood as a limiting experience of/in language, tirelessly exposing the human condition in front of the world. Thus, accompanying the main character of the plot, little Hushpuppy — a six-year-old resident of the “Charles Doucet Island”, experienced as “the Bathtub” —, we are shaken by the forms of life there, considered bestial and not recognized by city humans. Hushpuppy, his father and friends resist attempts to destroy their existence by the forms of the state that try to domesticate them, imbued with the logic that primitives must come to civilization, just as children must become adults. 

scholarly journals Psyche of the Modern Youth: A Critical Study on Chetan Bhagat’s Half Girlfriend.

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
S. Mijo Rexly
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Condition ◽  
Generation Gap ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Behavioural Pattern ◽  
Research Article ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ways Of Life

The research article focuses on the Psyche of the Modern Youth in Half girlfriend as presented by the Indian writer Chetan Bhagat. The psyche of the modern youth analyses the factors like social condition, education, aspiration and behavioural pattern that influence the youth. It also highlights the positive and negative characteristics of modern youth in India. The generation gap between the old and young is clearly explained in this novel. Westernization exposes its impact on the younger generation who are influenced to a western life style, because of their education and choice of profession. The modern youth easily adopt the western ways of life as it symbolises success and social status. The modern youth expect a world full of creative challenges and opportunities. Still the world remains unchanged. A country’s destiny is the hands of youngsters as they ignore advice. Chetan Bhagat skilfully explores the psyche of modern youth with their aspirations, anger, hope and empowerment in his novel. The purpose of the paper is to unfold the mindset of modern generation by focusing on the impact of westernization and social issues that challenges them.   

Introduction

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Salzman ◽  
Stephen R. Rosenthal
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Technology Design ◽  
Engineering Technology ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Quality Of Worklife

The concept of social values shaping technology design seems oddly out-of-place to many. Isn’t the design of technology the province of engineers? Aren’t values and technology and other social issues really outside the scope of engineering? Engineering decisions are not, after all, based on philosophy and sociology some would argue. Efficiency and economy are the objective criteria for making design decisions and these can be determined through a relatively precise calculus. Making these determinations is an objective engineering task not a matter of subjective preferences and interpretation. There is error, of course, and unintended consequences are inevitable, but these are matters to be corrected by better science and engineering. Following in this vein, one might argue that the link between technology design and quality of worklife is even further removed from the concerns of engineering. Technology is delivered “as is” and the work organization must accommodate it. Perhaps technology can be fiddled with at the margins for better ergonomics for example, but again, the essence of design is independent of quality of worklife concerns. To take this argument a step further, it is commonly stated that, for most people, work is not an activity for pleasure but for sustenance. We may wish it were otherwise, but it just isn’t so. Changing technology or other aspects of worklife is, therefore, of limited value in improving the human condition. (In fact, if changes made for worklife improvements decrease productivity, they could be detrimental by lowering prosperity and thus the quality of life outside of work.) One engineer (Florman, 1981, p. 103), writing that “blaming technology” is an “irrational search for scape goats,” states that “alienation cannot be cured by a fascinating job any more than it can be cured by a clean apartment.” Engineers should thus concentrate on designing technology the best they can and leave social issues or workplace concerns to others. It is only the application and implementation of technology that is relevant for social science. So runs the argument in many a discussion about how technology should be designed for the workplace.

scholarly journals Region innovative development in the Russian economy technological transformation: ecosystem approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
pp. 12004
Author(s):  
Artem Salamatov ◽  
Yuriy Maltsev ◽  
Nikita Pavlov
Keyword(s):  
Regional Development ◽  
Network Effects ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Technological Transformation ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
Ecosystem Effects ◽  
Economic Balance ◽  
Comprehensive Programs ◽  
Further Development

The article considers the ecosystem approach to regional development. The ecosystem approach allows under conditions of technological transformation of the economy to maintain the socio-ecological-economic balance of the region, to develop the culture and quality of life of the region's population. The structure of ecosystem of the region, the main actors of which are the actors of the system, is considered. By ecosystem we understand a self-organizing, highly adaptive, territorially limited within the natural, institutional, social and political environment network complex of freely cooperating, interacting and mutually influencing each other actors - organizations, processes, projects, services. The core of ecosystems are firms where the first business model prevails and network effects are evident. Russia is in the process of realizing the importance of the ecosystem approach to regional development in the context of technological transformation of the economy. Further development consists in the introduction of "green growth" of the economy, where it is impossible to do without taking into account the ecosystem effects, the development of comprehensive programs for the development of the territory based on the principles of sustainable development.

Celebrating life or adversity? The redefinition of features in the Pictures of the Year International contest

Journalism ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 766-783
Author(s):  
Jennifer Midberry ◽  
Ryan N Comfort ◽  
Joseph E Roskos
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
National Identities ◽  
The Past ◽  
Increasing Trend ◽  
Visual Frame ◽  
The Human Condition

Photojournalism contests have been criticized for continually awarding top prizes in hard news categories to images that depict conflict, disaster, poverty, and other problems. Pictures like these, which have a social issues visual frame, usually focus on people from countries other than the United States and on minorities. Some photojournalism contests, like Pictures of the Year International (POYi), include a features category. Traditionally, the purpose of feature photographs is to celebrate the human condition; however, in recent years of the POYi contest the features category has been dominated by images that stress hardship. To investigate whether this represents an increasing trend in POYi of awarding prizes to pictures that focus on social issues, a content analysis of the winning photographs from the past 20 years was conducted. Understanding whether the feature category in Pictures of the Year International has evolved is important because when it comes to shaping discourses about social issues, national identities, ethnicity, and race, feature photos have the potential for emphasizing commonality. If the newsworthiness of feature photos starts to become tied to similar criteria as hard news photos, that potential will be diminished.

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