The corps of philosophers who make up the Society for Philosophy & Technology has now been collaborating, in one fashion or another, for almost fifteen years. In addition, the number of philosophers, world-wide, who have begun to focus their analytical skills on technology and related social problems grows increasingly every year. {It would certainly swell the ranks if all of them joined the Society ) It seems more than ap propriate, in this context, to publish a miscellaneous volume that em phasizes the extraordinary range and diversity of contemporary contribu tions to the philosophical understanding of the exceedingly complex phenomenon that is modern technology. My thanks, once again, to the anonymous referees who do so much to maintain standards for the series. And thanks also to the secretaries - Mary Imperatore and Dorothy Milsom - in the Philosophy Department at the University of Delaware; their typing and retyping of the MSS, and especially notes and references, also contributes to keeping our standards high. PAUL T. DURBIN vii Paul T. Durbin (ed.), Philosophy ofT echnology, p. vii."

A reactive system is one that is in continual interaction with its environment and executes at a pace determined by that environment. Examples of reactive systems are network protocols, air-traffic control systems, industrial-process control systems etc. Reactive systems are ubiquitous and represent an important class of systems. Due to their complex nature, such systems are extremely difficult to specify and implement. Many reactive systems are employed in highly-critical applications, making it crucial that one considers issues such as reliability and safety while designing such systems. The design of reactive systems is considered to be problematic, and p.oses one of the greatest challenges in the field of system design and development. In this paper, we discuss specification-modeling methodologies for reactive systems. Specification modeling is an important stage in reactive system design where the designer specifies the desired properties of the reactive system in the form of a specification model. This specification model acts as the guidance and source for the implementation. To develop the specification model of complex systems in an organized manner, designers resort to specification modeling methodologies. In the context of reactive systems, we can call such methodologies reactive-system specification modeling methodologies.

One of the main applications of VHDL is the synthesis of electronic circuits. Circuit Synthesis with VHDL is an introduction to the use of VHDL logic (RTL) synthesis tools in circuit design. The modeling styles proposed are independent of specific market tools and focus on constructs widely recognized as synthesizable by synthesis tools. A statement of the prerequisites for synthesis is followed by a short introduction to the VHDL concepts used in synthesis. Circuit Synthesis with VHDL presents two possible approaches to synthesis: the first starts with VHDL features and derives hardware counterparts; the second starts from a given hardware component and derives several description styles. The book also describes how to introduce the synthesis design cycle into existing design methodologies and the standard synthesis environment. Circuit Synthesis with VHDL concludes with a case study providing a realistic example of the design flow from behavioral description down to the synthesized level. Circuit Synthesis with VHDL is essential reading for all students, researchers, design engineers and managers working with VHDL in a synthesis environment.

A Formal Approach to Hardware Design discusses designing computations to be realised by application specific hardware. It introduces a formal design approach based on a high-level design language called Synchronized Transitions. The models created using Synchronized Transitions enable the designer to perform different kinds of analysis and verification based on descriptions in a single language. It is, for example, possible to use exactly the same design description both for mechanically supported verification and synthesis. Synchronized Transitions is supported by a collection of public domain CAD tools. These tools can be used with the book in presenting a course on the subject. A Formal Approach to Hardware Design illustrates the benefits to be gained from adopting such techniques, but it does so without assuming prior knowledge of formal design methods. The book is thus not only an excellent reference, it is also suitable for use by students and practitioners.

The highly sophisticated techniques of modern engineering are normally conceived of in practical terms. Corresponding to the instrumental function of technology, they are designed to direct the forces of nature according to human purposes. Yet, as soon as the realm of mere skills is exceeded, the intended useful results can only be achieved through planned and preconceived action processes involving the deliberately considered application of well designed tools and devices. This is to say that in all complex cases theoretical reasoning becomes an indispensable means to accomplish the pragmatic technological aims. Hence the abstracting from the actual concrete function of technology opens the way to concentrate attention on the general conceptual framework involved. If this approach is adopted the relevant knowledge and the procedures applied clearly exhibit a logic of their own. This point of view leads to a methodological and even an epistemological analysis of the theoretical structure and the specific methods of procedure characteristic of modern technology. Investigations of this kind, that can be described as belonging to an ana lytical philosophy of technology, form the topic of this anthology. The type of research in question here is closely akin to that of the philosophy of science. But it is an astonishing fact that the commonly accepted and carefully investigated philosophy of science has not yet found its counterpart in an established philosophy of technology."

For many years, the dominant fault model in automatic test pattern gen eration (ATPG) for digital integrated circuits has been the stuck-at fault model. The static nature of stuck-at fault testing when compared to the extremely dynamic nature of integrated circuit (IC) technology has caused many to question whether or not stuck-at fault based testing is still viable. Attempts at answering this question have not been wholly satisfying due to a lack of true quantification, statistical significance, and/or high computational expense. In this monograph we introduce a methodology to address the ques tion in a manner which circumvents the drawbacks of previous approaches. The method is based on symbolic Boolean functional analyses using Or dered Binary Decision Diagrams (OBDDs). OBDDs have been conjectured to be an attractive representation form for Boolean functions, although cases ex ist for which their complexity is guaranteed to grow exponentially with input cardinality. Classes of Boolean functions which exploit the efficiencies inherent in OBDDs to a very great extent are examined in Chapter 7. Exact equa tions giving their OBDD sizes are derived, whereas until very recently only size bounds have been available. These size equations suggest that straight forward applications of OBDDs to design and test related problems may not prove as fruitful as was once thought."

The goal of the research out of which this monograph grew, was to make annealing as much as possible a general purpose optimization routine. At first glance this may seem a straight-forward task, for the formulation of its concept suggests applicability to any combinatorial optimization problem. All that is needed to run annealing on such a problem is a unique representation for each configuration, a procedure for measuring its quality, and a neighbor relation. Much more is needed however for obtaining acceptable results consistently in a reasonably short time. It is even doubtful whether the problem can be formulated such that annealing becomes an adequate approach for all instances of an optimization problem. Questions such as what is the best formulation for a given instance, and how should the process be controlled, have to be answered. Although much progress has been made in the years after the introduction of the concept into the field of combinatorial optimization in 1981, some important questions still do not have a definitive answer. In this book the reader will find the foundations of annealing in a self-contained and consistent presentation. Although the physical analogue from which the con cept emanated is mentioned in the first chapter, all theory is developed within the framework of markov chains. To achieve a high degree of instance independence adaptive strategies are introduced."

Design automation of electronic and hybrid systems is a steadily growing field of interest and a permanent challenge for researchers in Electronics, Computer Engineering and Computer Science. System Design Automation presents some recent results in design automation of different types of electronic and mechatronic systems. It deals with various topics of design automation, ranging from high level digital system synthesis, through analogue and heterogeneous system analysis and design, up to system modeling and simulation. Design automation is treated from the aspects of its theoretical fundamentals, its basic approach and its methods and tools. Several application cases are presented in detail. The book consists of three chapters: High-Level System Synthesis (Digital Hardware/Software Systems). Here embedded systems, distributed systems and processor arrays as well as hardware-software codesign are treated. Also three special application cases are discussed in detail; Analog and Heterogeneous System Design (System Approach and Methodology). This chapter copes with the analysis and design of hybrid systems comprised of analog and digital, electronic and mechanical components; System Simulation and Evaluation (Methods and Tools). In this chapter object-oriented Modelling, analog system simulation including fault-simulation, parameter optimization and system validation are regarded. The contents of the book are based on material presented at the Workshop System Design Automation (SDA 2000) organised by the Sonderforschungsbereich 358 of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft at TU Dresden.

In the following pages I have endeavored to show the impact on philosophy of tech nology and science; more specifically, I have tried to make up for the neglect by the classical philosophers of the historic role of technology and also to suggest what positive effects on philosophy the ahnost daily advances in the physical sciences might have. Above all, I wanted to remind the ontologist of his debt to the artificer: tech nology with its recent gigantic achievements has introduced a new ingredient into the world, and so is sure to influence our knowledge of what there is. This book, then, could as well have been called 'Ethnotechnology: An Explanation of Human Behavior by Means of Material Culture', but the picture is a complex one, and there are many more special problems that need to be prominently featured in the discussion. Human culture never goes forward on all fronts at the same time. In our era it is unquestionably not only technology but also the sciences which are making the most rapid progress. Philosophy has not been very successful at keeping up with them. As a consequence there is an 'enormous gulf between scientists and philosophers today, a gulf which is as large as it has ever been. ' (1) I can see that with science moving so rapidly, its current lessons for philosophy might well be outmoded tomorrow."

An engaging and far-reaching exploration of refrigeration, tracing its evolution from scientific mystery to globe-spanning infrastructure, and an essential investigation into how it has remade our entire relationship with food—for better and for worse

How often do we open the fridge or peer into the freezer with the expectation that we’ll find something fresh and ready to eat? It’s an everyday act—but just a century ago, eating food that had been refrigerated was cause for both fear and excitement. The introduction of artificial refrigeration overturned millennia of dietary history, launching a new chapter in human nutrition. We could now overcome not just rot, but seasonality and geography. Tomatoes in January? Avocados in Shanghai? All possible.

In Frostbite, New Yorker contributor and cohost of the award-winning podcast Gastropod Nicola Twilley takes readers on a tour of the cold chain from farm to fridge, visiting off-the-beaten-path landmarks such as Missouri’s subterranean cheese caves, the banana-ripening rooms of New York City, and the vast refrigerated tanks that store the nation’s orange juice reserves. Today, nearly three-quarters of everything on the average American plate is processed, shipped, stored, and sold under refrigeration. It’s impossible to make sense of our food system without understanding the all-but-invisible network of thermal control that underpins it. Twilley’s eye-opening book is the first to reveal the transformative impact refrigeration has had on our health and our guts; our farms, tables, kitchens, and cities; global economics and politics; and even our environment.

In the developed world, we’ve reaped the benefits of refrigeration for more than a century, but the costs are catching up with us. We’ve eroded our connection to our food and redefined what “fresh” means. More important, refrigeration is one of the leading contributors to climate change. As the developing world races to build a US-style cold chain, Twilley asks: Can we reduce our dependence on refrigeration? Should we? A deeply researched and reported, original, and entertaining dive into the most important invention in the history of food and drink, Frostbite makes the case for a recalibration of our relationship with the fridge—and how our future might depend on it.

The second half of this century will remain as the era of proliferation of electronic computers. They did exist before, but they were mechanical. During next century they may perform other mutations to become optical or molecular or even biological. Actually, all these aspects are only fancy dresses put on mathematical machines. This was always recognized to be true in the domain of software, where "machine" or "high level" languages are more or less rigourous, but immaterial, variations of the universaly accepted mathematical language aimed at specifying elementary operations, functions, algorithms and processes. But even a mathematical machine needs a physical support, and this is what hardware is all about. The invention of hardware description languages (HDL's) in the early 60's, was an attempt to stay longer at an abstract level in the design process and to push the stage of physical implementation up to the moment when no more technology independant decisions can be taken. It was also an answer to the continuous, exponential growth of complexity of systems to be designed. This problem is common to hardware and software and may explain why the syntax of hardware description languages has followed, with a reasonable delay of ten years, the evolution of the programming languages: at the end of the 60's they were" Algol like" , a decade later "Pascal like" and now they are "C or ADA-like". They have also integrated the new concepts of advanced software specification languages.

"A required read for every university administrator grappling with the complexities of technology and education. Bates has combined an impressive depth of experience and practice to produce an authoritative and well-reasoned approach."--Bruce Pennycook, vice-principal, Information Systems and Technology, McGill University

"Digital technologies are revolutionizing the practices of teaching and learning at colleges and universities all around the world. This book will be helpful for all those who are planning and managing such organizational and technological change on their campuses."--Timothy W. Luke, executive director, Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning, Virginia Tech

Implementing new technology at a college or university requires more than simply buying new computers and establishing a Web site. The successful use of technology for teaching and learning also demands major changes in teaching and organizational culture. In Managing Technological Change, Tony Bates -- a world-renowned expert on the use of technology in university teaching -- reveals how to create the new, technologically competitive academic organization. He draws from recent research and best practice case studies--as well as on his thirty years of experience in using technology for teaching--to provide practical strategies for managing change to ensure the successful use of technology. Readers will learn how to win faculty support for teaching with technology and get advice on appropriate decision-making and reporting structures. Other topics covered include reward systems, estimating costs of teaching by technology, and copyright issues. Bates also details the essential procedures for funding new technology-based systems, managing the technology, and monitoring its ongoing educational effectiveness in anticipation of future changes. Throughout the book, he maintains a focus on the human factors that must be addressed, identifying the risks and penalties of technologically based teaching and showing how to manage those hazards.

This unique book deals with the migration of existing hard IP from one technology to another, using repeatable procedures. It will allow CAD practitioners to quickly develop methodologies that capitalize on the large volumes of legacy data available within a company today.

How can we promote people-centered governance in Africa? Cell phones/ information and communications technology (ICT) are shown to be linked to neoliberal understandings of more democratic governance structures, defined by the Worldwide Governance Indicators as: the rule of law, corruption-control, regulation quality, government effectiveness, political stability/no violence, and voice and accountability. However, these indicators fall short: they do note emphasize gender equity or pro-poor policies. Writing from an African feminist scholar-activist perspective, Assata Zerai emphasizes the voices of women in two ways: (1) she examines how women's access to ICT makes a difference to the success of people-centered governance structures; and (2) she demonstrates how African women's scholarship, too often marginalized, must be used to expand and redefine the goals and indicators of democratice governance in African countries. Challenging the status quo that praises the contributions of cell phones to the diffusion of knowledge and resultant better governance in Africa, this book is an important read for scholars of politics and technology, gender and politics, and African Studies.

What are the borders of risk? How is the perception of risk related to new technologies and digital changing? This book discusses these topics, moving from theories to research data, looking for concrete answers now, or taking a picture of reality. The volume is divided into three main sections: Exploring the Edges of Risk, according to sociological, psychological and artificial intelligence perspective; Technological and Digital Risks, exploring social media, cyberbullying, hate speech, social bots on digital platforms; Risk in the Cities, working with risk and deviance, risk communication, environmental and nuclear risks. Inside, research data from Europe, USA and Mexico are discussed.

SIIE is an international forum of Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking and English-speaking researchers devoted to investigate and implement the use of computers in education. In 1999 the Symposium was held in Aveiro, Portugal. In the year 2000 it was celebrated in Puertollano, Spain. Other meetings preceded this Symposium, namely, the "Simposio de Investigacao e Desenvolvimento de Software Educativo" held in Lisbon, Coimbra and Evora, two Congresses held in Spain and organised by ADIE: Encuentro de Informatica Educativa, in Madrid and the so successful ConieD'99 held in Puertollano in 1999. A collection of Conied'99 papers is also published in this collection with the title "Computers in Education in the 21st Century" (2000). ADIE (Association for the Development of Computers in Education) undertook the organisation of the congresses and symposiums on Computers in Education. It is an association which organises meetings for researchers in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. ADIE publishes "Revista de Ensenanza y Tecnologia" in Latin America quarterly."

Vulnerability Assessment of Physical Protection Systems will describe the entire vulnerability assessment (VA) process, from the start of planning through final analysis and out brief to senior management. The text will draw heavily on the principles introduced in the author's best-selling Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems and allow readers to apply those principles and conduct a VA that is aligned with system objectives and achievable with existing budget and personnel resources. The book will address the full spectrum of a VA, including negotiating tasks with the customer, project management and planning of the VA, team membership, step-by-step details for performing the VA, data collection and analysis, important notes on how to use the VA to suggest design improvements and generate multiple design options. The text will end with a discussion of how to out brief the results to senior management in order to gain their support and demonstrate the return on investment of their security dollar. Several new tools will be introduced to help readers organize and use the information at their sites and allow them to mix the physical protection system with other risk management measures to reduce risk to an acceptable level at an affordable cost and with the least operational impact.
- Guides the reader through the topic of physical security doing so with a unique, detailed and scientific approach
- Takes the reader from beginning to end and step-by-step through a Vulnerability Assessment
- Over 150 figures and tables to illustrate key concepts