In this extraordinary introduction to the study of the philosophy of technology, Andrew Feenberg argues that techonological design is central to the social and political structure of modern societies. Environmentalism, information technology, and medical advances testify to technology's crucial importance.
In his lucid and engaging style, Feenberg shows that technology is the medium of daily life. Every major technical changes reverberates at countless levels: economic, political, and cultural. If we continue to see the social and technical domains as being seperate, then we are essentially denying an integral part of our existence, and our place in a democratic society.
Questioning Tecchnology convinces us that it is vital that we learn more about technology the better to live with it and to manage it.

In a crucial sense, all machines are time machines. The essays in Media Infrastructures and the Politics of Digital Time develop the central concept of hardwired temporalities to consider how technical networks hardwire and rewire patterns of time. Digital media introduce new temporal patterns in their features of instant communication, synchronous collaboration, intricate time management, and continually improved speed. They construct temporal infrastructures that affect the rhythms of lived experience and shape social relations and practices of cooperation. Interdisciplinary in method and international in scope, the volume draws together insights from media and communication studies, cultural studies, and science and technology studies while staging an important encounter between two distinct approaches to the temporal patterning of media infrastructures, a North American strain emphasizing the social and cultural experiences of lived time and a European tradition, prominent especially in Germany, focusing on technological time and time-critical processes.

Ideal for undergraduate students in philosophy and science studies, "Philosophy of Technology" offers an engaging and comprehensive overview of a subject vital to our time.
An up-to-date, accessible overview of the philosophy of technology, defining technology and its characteristics.
Explores the issues that arise as technology becomes an integral part of our society.
In addition to traditional topics in science and technology studies, the volume offers discussion of technocracy, the romantic rebellion against technology.
Complements "The Philosophy of Technology: The Technological Condition: An Anthology," edited by Robert C. Scharff and Val Dusek (Blackwell, 2003).

"The essays collected in this book are sparkling, imaginative pieces of journalism that just happen to be about technology. People steeped in the world of AJAX or Massively Mulitplayer Online Games will find a lot to value here, but so will readers simply in search of good writing."
--James Fallows, National Correspondent for "Atlantic Monthly"
"The human experience is being shaped by our symbiotic relationship to technology. What makes this collection wonderful is that it's not about the technology, per se, but it's about this changing human experience. I will look forward to it every year."
--Po Bronson, author of "What Should I Do With My Life?"
"The Best of Technology Writing 2006" brings together some of the most important, timely, and just plain readable writing in the fast-paced, high-stakes field of technology. The first annual collection to target this vibrant and versatile area, "The Best of Technology Writing 2006" features innovative work from an unusually diverse array of writers: best-selling authors, noted academics, and indie journalists and bloggers. The culmination of an open, on-line nominating process, this collection covers topics ranging from jetpacks, to the ethics of genetically cloned pets, to the meaning of life in the information age. By turns epic and intimate, serious and playful, "The Best of Technology Writing 2006" captures the vitality, importance, and complexity of technology today. Koerner
Featuring contributions from: David A. BellDavid BernsteinMike DaiseyJoshua DavisJay DixitDaniel EngberDan FerberSteven JohnsonSteven LevyFarhad ManjooLisa MargonelliDavid McNeillJustin MullinsKoranteng Ofosu-AmaahAdam L. PenenbergDanielH. PinkEvan RatliffAlex RossJim RossignolJesse SunenblickEdward TennerClive ThompsonJoseph TurowRichard Waters Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor for "Wired," a columnist for both "New York Times" and "Slate," and a fellow at the New America Foundation. His first book will be published by Henry Holt & Company in 2008.

digitalculturebooks is an imprint of the University of Michigan Press and the Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library dedicated to publishing innovative and accessible work exploring new media and its impact on society, culture, and scholarly communication. Visit the website at www.digitalculture.org.

This book offers fresh insight into women's mastery of technologies commonly associated with men, with important implications for institutional efforts to identify and support technical proficiency among girls and women. The work is structured across five original case studies featuring: breast cancer survivors in Newfoundland who constructed a wooden dragon boat using hand and power tools; Egyptian women who used information and communication technologies for political action during the Revolution of 2011; pioneer female audio engineers in the United States working in live concert and studio venues; U.S. female commercial airline pilots who mastered the complexity of flying large aircraft; and a university-educated woman working in sewer maintenance and repair for the City of Detroit in the 1970s. The case studies capture women's own voices and present a range of historical and geographic locations. A major contribution of this volume is the multidisciplinary analytical framework used to explain women's motivation to engage with non-traditional technologies, the role of peer and political support in encouraging persistence, and informal as well as formal knowledge and skill acquisition. Above all, it is a story of women's empowerment - individually and collectively. This is a unique book suitable for undergraduates and graduates in the fields of Women's and Gender Studies; Science, Technology and Society (STS) Studies; Engineering Education; and Adult Education.

This is the first scholarly monograph marking the social justice turn in technical and professional communication (TPC). Social justice often draws attention to structural oppression, but to enact social justice as technical communicators, first, we must be able to trace daily practice to the oppressive structures it professionalizes, codifies, and normalizes. Technical Communication After the Social Justice Turn moves readers from conceptual explorations of oppression and justice to a theoretical framework that allows for the concepts to be applied and implemented in a variety of practical contexts. It historicizes the recent social justice turn in TPC scholarship, models a social justice approach to building theories and heuristics, and presents scenarios that illustrate how to develop sustainable practices of activism and social justice. Its commitment to coalition building, inclusivity, and socially just practices of citation and activism will support scholars, teachers, and practitioners not only in understanding how the work of technical communication is often complicit in oppression but also in recognizing, revealing, rejecting, and replacing oppressive practices.

"A Companion to American Technology" is a groundbreaking collection of original essays that analyze the hard-to-define phenomenon of 'technology' in America. 22 original essays by expert scholars cover the most important features of American technology, including developments in automobiles, television, and computing. This book analyzes the ways in which technologies are organized, such as in the engineering profession, government, medicine and agriculture. It includes discussions of how technologies interact with race, gender, class, and other organizing structures in American society.

Focusing on six steps for effective innovation, this volume presents guidelines for a new worldclass approach for developing technologies. From technology strategy to concept creation and selection, the authors cover each innovation activity, taking you step by step through the effective methods. They provide a clear focus on robustness development and technology transfer, which leads to the commercialization activity. Diagrams and case studies through the text clearly illustrate the concepts. "Effective Innovation: The Development of Successful Engineering Technologies" is a comprehensive and invaluable resource. "This book is a 'must' read for engineers in any organization from the Chief Technology Officer on down and compelling reading for the lead innovators in an organization. The authors describe the comprehensive framework of the most powerful methods to help organizations their management, innovators and inventors to 'leap frog' to superior technical innovation capabilities and results." - James R Norton, Managing Director, BLN Associates.

This comprehensive sister volume to Cliff Matthews' highly successful "Handbook of Mechanical Works Inspection" gives a detailed coverage of pressure equipment and other mechanical plant such as cranes and rotating equipment.

Key features: Accessible source of information Lavishly illustrated with numerous diagrams, photographs, and tables A wealth of valuable information Detailed, comprehensive coverage Written in easily accessible style A 'must buy' reference book

The "Handbook of Mechanical In-Service Inspection" is a vital source of information for: plant owners and operators maintenance engineers inspection engineers from insurance companies and 'competent bodies' who perform in-service inspection health and safety operatives engineers operating pressure systems and mechanical plant all those concerned with the safe and efficient operation of machinery, plant, and pressure equipment.

All engineering pressure systems and other types of mechanical equipment must be installed, operated, and maintained properly. It must be safe and comply with standards, regulations, and guidelines. In-service inspection is more formally controlled by statutory requirements than other types of inspection. The "Handbook of Mechanical In-service Inspection" puts a good deal of emphasis on the 'compliance' aspects and the 'duty of care' requirements placed on plant owners, operators, and inspectors.

The book is suitable for those who operate pressure systems, lifting equipment, and similar mechanical plant are subject to rigorous inspection from external bodies as a matter of course. All operators have a duty to conduct in-service checks and internal inspection procedures to ensure thesafe, reliable, and economic running of their equipment.

Emerging technologies such as the Internet and biotechnology have the potential to create new industries and transform existing ones. Incumbent firms, despite their superior resources, often lose out to smaller rivals in developing emerging technologies. Why do these incumbents have so much difficulty with disruptive technologies? How can they anticipate and overcome their handicaps?

Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies presents insights, tools, and frameworks from leading busi-ness thinkers based on the research of Wharton's Emerging Technologies Management Research Program. This pioneering industry-academic partnership, established in 1994, is one of the longest and broadest initiatives on the management of emerging technologies. For the first time, this book distills the insights from the program into a single volume for managers, covering a wide range of issues related to the successful management of emerging technologies.

The editors contend that managing emerging technologies represents a "different game," requiring a different set of management skills, frameworks, and strategies than those used by established firms to manage existing technologies. In this book, experts from diverse fields examine key issues such as:
* Common pitfalls and potential solutions for incumbent firms in managing emerging technologies
* Strategies for assessing the potential of new markets and designing technologies to take advantage of market "lumpiness"
* The need for scenario planning and "disciplined imagination" to develop strategies under uncertainty
* The limits of patents in protecting gains from technology, and the use of lead time and other strategies
* The power of innovative financial strategies and the use of real options in making investments
* Using alliances and new organizational forms
* Developing a "customized workplace"

Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies represents a powerful survival kit for managers "dropped behind the lines" of these new technologies. The authors provide a comprehensive set of tools and insights that will help you understand the new challenges and develop effective strategies to succeed at this different game.

Praise for WHARTON on MANAGING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

"New technologies are transforming markets, businesses, and society at an ever-increasing rate. We have a critical need for better road maps for managing our way through this new terrain. This book offers critical insights and useful new models for thinking through these challenges."-Professor Thomas Gerrity, Director of the Wharton e-Commerce Forum

"Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies covers the emerging technology landscape-from strategy to finance to human resources-in a way that only a group of top scholars from many disciplines could do. Insightful, accessible, and smart ideas that make for 'must reading' for thoughtful executives in today's turbulent economy. The authors prove, once again, the power of research to yield deep insight into tough business problems."-Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Professor of Strategy and Organization, Stanford University and coauthor, Competing on the Edge: Strategy As Structured Chaos

"Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies provides those of us who live in the chaotic environment of 'discovery by the minute' many ways of thinking about how to make a new idea successful. The collective knowledge and personal wisdom represented in this book is like having a person with hundreds of years of learning and experience sitting on the business team. Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies is vital to anyone trying to develop new businesses in today's world."-Terry J. Fadem, Director, Corporate New Business Development, DuPont

Now in its second edition, this widely used text provides a unique presentation of today's polymer science. It is both comprehensive and readable. The authors are leading educators in this field with extensive background in industrial and academic polymer research.

The text starts with a description of the types of microstructures found in polymer materials. This forms the basis of understanding some of the key features of the various mechanisms of homopolymerization and copolymerization that are discussed in following chapters. Also discussed in these chapters are the kinetics and statistics of polymerization with a separate chapter on the characterization of chain structure by spectroscopic methods.

The next part of the text deals with chain conformation, structure and morphology, leading to a discussion of crystallization, melting and glass transition. The discussion then moves from solid state to solution properties where solution thermodynamics is introduced. This provides the basis for discussion of the measurement of molecular weight by various solution methods.

The final chapter deals with mechanical and rheological properties, which are discussed from a phenomenological continuum approach and then in terms of a fundamental molecular perspective.

Altogether, the text provides a comprehensive, lucid introduction to today's polymer science as a foundation to the R&D of polymeric materials. More than 200 schematics and other figures illustrate key concepts and important aspects of polymeric materials. The text will be useful as an update for polymer and other materials scientists in industry, and as an introduction to engineers working with polymeric materials who would benefit from a better understanding of polymer science basics.

Our technology shapes the way we live, interact, work, play, and even worship. Technology and its power are both old and new-as is the wisdom we need to envision, design, build, and use it well. For Christians passionate about developing technology, it's not always clear how their faith and work intersect. How can designing and using technology actually be a way of loving God and our neighbors? Veteran engineers and teachers Ethan Brue, Derek Schuurman, and Steve VanderLeest provide a field guide for fellow explorers working with technology. Using numerous case studies, historical examples, and personal stories, they explore issues such as: biblical themes and passages that relate to technology the ethics and norms involved in technology design how engineering and technology tap into human dreams for a better world Along the way they acknowledge the challenges arising from technology but also point to the wonderful possibilities it offers us and its ability to contribute to the common good. For Christians studying and working in engineering, computer science, technical design, architecture, and related fields, this book is packed with wisdom and practical guidance. By sharing what they have learned, the authors encourage readers to ask harder questions, aspire to more noble purposes, and live a life consistent with their faith as they engage with technology.

If you like to tweak, disassemble, recreate, and invent cool new uses for technology, you'll love MAKE, our project-based quarterly for the inquisitive do-it-yourselfer.
Volume 11: Includes a special "DIY Wheels" section, with plans for making a mobile drive-in movie theater, a cool chopper out of an old bicycle, and a pedal powered iPod charger. We'll also show you how to make a remote control bird feeder to take amazing photos of birds, a vintage-style remote control race car out of sheet-metal, and a vacuum-former that lets you create molded 3D parts out of plastic. These articles are just the tip of the iceberg in this project-packed volume of MAKE.

This title offers a fast track route to understanding and implementing the best ideas from the world's top technology businesses. It covers all key aspects of technology leadership, from open technology to entrepreneurial leadership, and from boundaryless product development to resource allocation. It contains examples, cases and ideas from the world's greatest technology companies, including Hewlett Packard, Cisco, IBM, Schlumberger, Gillette and Merck. It also includes a glossary of key concepts and a comprehensive resources guide.

Algorithms are a fundamental building block of artificial intelligence - and, increasingly, society - but our legal institutions have largely failed to recognize or respond to this reality. The Cambridge Handbook of the Law of Algorithms, which features contributions from US, EU, and Asian legal scholars, discusses the specific challenges algorithms pose not only to current law, but also - as algorithms replace people as decision makers - to the foundations of society itself. The work includes wide coverage of the law as it relates to algorithms, with chapters analyzing how human biases have crept into algorithmic decision-making about who receives housing or credit, the length of sentences for defendants convicted of crimes, and many other decisions that impact constitutionally protected groups. Other issues covered in the work include the impact of algorithms on the law of free speech, intellectual property, and commercial and human rights law.

In this extraordinary introduction to the study of the philosophy of technology, Andrew Feenberg argues that techonological design is central to the social and political structure of modern societies. Environmentalism, information technology, and medical advances testify to technology's crucial importance.
In his lucid and engaging style, Feenberg shows that technology is the medium of daily life. Every major technical changes reverberates at countless levels: economic, political, and cultural. If we continue to see the social and technical domains as being seperate, then we are essentially denying an integral part of our existence, and our place in a democratic society.
Questioning Tecchnology convinces us that it is vital that we learn more about technology the better to live with it and to manage it.

In these crisscrossing threads are woven the fabric of a community, a society, an economy, a nation. And beyond that, the world itself. But the technology isn't the dream. The dream is what you can do with it.' Three revolutions changed the face of South Africa, the economic powerhouse of the African continent, in 1994. The first was democracy, as millions of newly-enfranchised citizens went to the polls to elect a new government. The second was the internet, bringing information, learning and entertainment into millions of homes. But the real signal of change in the air was the arrival of an electronic device that would put undreamed-of power into the hands of the people. The cellular phone. In a country where less than four per cent of the population had access to a landline phone, mobile telephony opened the gateway to new ways and new worlds of communication. Today, more than 90 per cent of South Africans own at least one mobile phone, and they're not just using them to talk to each other. Mobiles have become tools of education, entrepreneurship, trade, empowerment, activism, media and upliftment. With the advent of the mobile internet, mobiles have also become the hubs of the most powerful force in modern communication. The social network, bringing people together in an interchange of ideas, opinions, chatter and commerce that is changing the way we understand and define communities. This is the story of the biggest and fastest-growing social network in Africa. A network that took shape in the townships of the Western Cape and has grown to be part of the lives of more than 50 million users in 120 countries, sending more than 23 billion messages a month. This is the story of Mxit. A cultural force, a community of millions, with its own economy, its own infrastructure, its own language and its own traditions. This is the story of Mobinomics, the new economy of mobile, and how it is connecting people and changing lives. Read it and learn. Read it and understand. Read it and be moved by the power of mobile.

This volume presents the first comprehensive, detailed, and up-to-date overview of the economics of technological diffusion. By organizing past articles under themes and providing introductory chapters for each theme, Stoneman has created a highly accessible and sophisticated volume that goes beyond a textbook. This mix of classical and original material is the most authoritative overview of the literature in each topic. The key topics covered are:
theory, empirics, and policy.
technology and trade.
the theory and practice of technology policy.
finance and technological change.
R&D and diffusion.
measuring both technological change and its impact.
game theoretic modelling of technological change.

The quality and scope of the contributions ensures that the book uniquely covers all of this field's various dimensions while achieving the necessary depth of analysis. The articles are specifically designed to be both rigorous and accessible.

This book is an essential text and reference for those in the fields of the economics of technological diffusion, industrial organization and science, and technology policy. The material is accessible to students, researchers, and those working or setting policy in these fields.

The achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in ultra-cold vapours of alkali atoms has given enormous impulse to the study of dilute atomic gases in condensed quantum states inside magnetic traps and optical lattices. High purity and easy optical access make them ideal candidates to investigate fundamental issues on interacting quantum systems. This review presents some theoretical issues which have been addressed in this area and the numerical techniques which have been developed and used to describe them, from mean-field models to classical and quantum simulations for equilibrium and dynamical properties. The attention given in this article to methods beyond standard mean-field approaches should make it a useful reference point for future advances in these areas.

The LEGO Boost is an introductory robotics product that introduces young kids to robotics and programming. With this guide, readers will learn the ins-and-outs of building and programming robots, including fun stuff like using sensors to trigger events which react to light and colour, building a tool that allows their creation to lift and move objects, and how to shoot darts at a target! After learning the basics, readers will build a Brick-Sorting Bird and program it to sort LEGO bricks by colour, a turtle that walks, and a machine that draws and writes on paper using a pen.

Extraction Methods for Environmental Analysis is the first book to bring together all the extraction techniques used for analysis of liquid and solid environmental samples, including solid phase extraction and micro--extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, microwave--assisted extraction and accelerated solvent extraction. The book is divided into two sections -- solid sample preparation and liquid sample preparation -- to facilitate access, and each section starts with a summary of methods available. The techniques are compared and contrasted by means of 70 bar charts, all in two colours, and 32 tables. Relative merits of the techniques are discussed to enable the user to select the most appropriate technique for their sample and method of analysis. Extraction Methods for Environmental Analysis is essential reading for anyone involved in environmental analysis.

Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship: Adapting Library Instruction to Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics applies learning styles and personality characteristics to science and engineering library instruction. After introducing the idea that individuals tend to choose college majors and occupations in alignment with their learning style and personality characteristics, the book presents background on the Kolb Learning Styles model, the 16 PF (Personality Factor) framework, and the Big Five/Narrow Traits personality framework. It then reviews extant knowledge on the learning styles and personality characteristics of scientists, engineers and librarians. Next, the book considers general approaches to the personalization of instruction to learning styles and personality characteristics, opportunities for such personalization in science and engineering library instruction, and science and engineering librarian attitudes towards, and approaches to, this type of personalization of instruction.

Continued economic growth, human welfare, and national security depend upon constant technological progress; and the chief area for innovation in the coming years will be converging technologies, the synergistic combination of the "NBIC" fields: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and new technologies based in cognitive science.

The significance of convergence was initially recognized in the first National Science Foundation conference on the societal implications of nanotechnology in 2000, which reported that the newly developed ability to measure, manipulate, and organize matter on the nanoscale was revolutionizing science and technology.

This volume will mark a major step forward, for three reasons: (1) Enough is understood about convergence now to permit serious consideration of governance issues and the likely human consequences. (2) Among the many convergence-related research projects, several in diverse areas have begun to deliver real results. (3) The network of NBIC researchers and analysts has developed to the point of being a real scientific and engineering community.

One cross-cutting theme will be the ethical, legal, and social consequences of technological convergence. Another is the hunt for areas of remarkable research opportunities and the transforming tools required to take maximum advantage of them.

Convergence will bring new approaches to what are currently diverse areas of research, such as converging technology platforms, physical and mental performance, human-machine interfaces, human cognition and communication, education and training, work efficiency, and many others. On their own, each of the NBIC technologiesoffers the potential for extraordinary advancement, but combined their potential is enormous and may provide revolutionary progress in human longevity, quality of life, learning, and productivity.

"NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit ""www.blackwellpublishing.com/nyas,""

ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (""www.nyas.org""). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to the Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit ""www.nyas.org/membership"" for more information about becoming a member."

Dusty Plasmas Physics, Chemistry and Technological Impacts in Plasma Processing Edited by Andr? Bouchoule Universit? d'Orl?ans, France Dusty Plasmas gives the reader a thorough overview of current knowledge on many aspects of the subject, from the basic science to technological implications. The basic physics and chemistry of dusty plasmas developed in the first two chapters are complemented by the more practical considerations of diagnostics and technological implications in the two final chapters. The book will be of interest to those already involved in or just discovering dusty plasmas in their research and/or industrial activity.
* Physics and Modelling of Dusty Plasmas
* Sources and Growth of Particles
* Diagnostics of a Dusty Plasma
* Technological Impacts of Dusty Plasmas