7,878 research outputs found
A Political Theory of Engineered Systems and A Study of Engineering and Justice Workshops
Since there are good reasons to think that some engineered systems are socially undesirable—for example, internal combustion engines that cause climate change, algorithms that are racist, and nuclear weapons that can destroy all life—there is a well-established literature that attempts to identify best practices for designing and regulating engineered systems in order to prevent harm and promote justice. Most of this literature, especially the design theory and engineering justice literature meant to help guide engineers, focuses on environmental, physical, social, and mental harms such as ecosystem and bodily poisoning, racial and gender discrimination, and urban alienation. However, the literature that focuses on how engineered systems can produce political harms—harms to how we shape the way we live in community together—is not well established. The first part of this thesis contributes to identifying how particular types of engineered systems can harm a democratic politics. Building on democratic theory, philosophy of collective harms, and design theory, it argues that engineered systems that extend in space and time beyond a certain threshold subvert the knowledge and empowerment necessary for a democratic politics. For example, the systems of global shipping and the internet that fundamentally shape our lives are so large that people cannot attain the knowledge necessary to regulate them well nor the empowerment necessary to shape them.
The second part of this thesis is an empirical study of a workshop designed to encourage engineering undergraduates to understand how engineered systems can subvert a democratic politics, with the ultimate goal of supporting students in incorporating that understanding into their work. 32 Dartmouth undergraduate engineering students participated in the study. Half were assigned to participate in a workshop group, half to a control group. The workshop group participants took a pretest; then participated in a 3-hour, semi-structured workshop with 4 participants per session (as well as a discussion leader and note-taker) over lunch or dinner; and then took a posttest. The control group participants took the same pre- and post- tests, but had no suggested activity in the intervening 3 hours. We find that the students who participated in workshops had a statistically significant test-score improvement as compared to the control group (Brunner-Munzel test, p \u3c .001). Using thematic analysis methods, we show the data is consistent with the hypothesis that workshops produced a score improvement because of certain structure (small size, long duration, discussion-based, over homemade food) and content (theoretically rich, challenging). Thematic analysis also reveals workshop failures and areas for improvement (too much content for the duration, not well enough organized).
The thesis concludes with a discussion of limitations and suggestions for future theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical research
Information actors beyond modernity and coloniality in times of climate change:A comparative design ethnography on the making of monitors for sustainable futures in Curaçao and Amsterdam, between 2019-2022
In his dissertation, Mr. Goilo developed a cutting-edge theoretical framework for an Anthropology of Information. This study compares information in the context of modernity in Amsterdam and coloniality in Curaçao through the making process of monitors and develops five ways to understand how information can act towards sustainable futures. The research also discusses how the two contexts, that is modernity and coloniality, have been in informational symbiosis for centuries which is producing negative informational side effects within the age of the Anthropocene. By exploring the modernity-coloniality symbiosis of information, the author explains how scholars, policymakers, and data-analysts can act through historical and structural roots of contemporary global inequities related to the production and distribution of information. Ultimately, the five theses propose conditions towards the collective production of knowledge towards a more sustainable planet
Approaching a fully-polarized state of nuclear spins in a solid
Magnetic noise of atomic nuclear spins is a major source of decoherence in solid-state spin qubits. In theory, near-unity nuclear spin polarization can eliminate decoherence of the electron spin qubit, while turning the nuclei into a useful quantum information resource. However, achieving sufficiently high nuclear polarizations has remained an evasive goal. Here we implement a nuclear spin polarization protocol which combines strong optical pumping and fast electron tunneling. Nuclear polarizations well above 95% are generated in GaAs semiconductor quantum dots on a timescale of 1 minute. The technique is compatible with standard quantum dot device designs, where highly-polarized nuclear spins can simplify implementations of qubits and quantum memories, as well as offer a testbed for studies of many-body quantum dynamics and magnetism
Unleashing the power of artificial intelligence for climate action in industrial markets
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a game-changing capability in industrial markets that can accelerate humanity's race against climate change. Positioned in a resource-hungry and pollution-intensive industry, this study explores AI-powered climate service innovation capabilities and their overall effects. The study develops and validates an AI model, identifying three primary dimensions and nine subdimensions. Based on a dataset in the fast fashion industry, the findings show that the AI-powered climate service innovation capabilities significantly influence both environmental and market performance, in which environmental performance acts as a partial mediator. Specifically, the results identify the key elements of an AI-informed framework for climate action and show how this can be used to develop a range of mitigation, adaptation and resilience initiatives in response to climate change
Southern Adventist University Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024
Southern Adventist University\u27s undergraduate catalog for the academic year 2023-2024.https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/undergrad_catalog/1123/thumbnail.jp
Indie encounters: exploring indie music socialising in China
Indie music, a genre deeply rooted in rock and punk music, is renowned for its independence from major commercial record labels. It has emerged as a choice for music consumers seeking alternatives to mainstream popular music, catering to a niche music preference. The minority nature of indie music not only provides its lovers with a profound space for individual expression and a sense of collective belonging but also introduces other challenges into their social lives. Recently, the field of music sociology has proposed a more diverse perspective to observe and analyse the intricate role of music for individuals and society. In this context, regarding Chinese indie music lovers with niche music preferences, how their indie music practices integrate into their social lives and how they navigate their niche music tastes have become worthwhile topics of exploration.
Drawing on interviews with 31 Chinese indie music lovers and extensive online ethnography, this thesis investigates how Chinese indie music lovers comprehend and engage with indie music, and how the power of indie music shapes them and their social behaviours.
I employ the theoretical framework of ‘music in action’ (Hennion, 2001; DeNora, 2011, 2016) and symbolic interactionism (Mead, 1934; Goffman, 1959; Blumer, 1969) to examine the dynamic and multifaceted roles of indie music in the social lives of Chinese indie music lovers. I develop a concept of ‘music socialising’ to delve into several key aspects of music lovers’ social practices. I contend that through various forms of musical activities such as music selection, live music attendance, and digital practices, indie music lovers exhibit strategic and reflexive characteristics in their music practices. These practices actively contribute to constructing and maintaining self and identity, negotiating social ties, and forming and mediating collectivity within a broader social landscape. It is through these processes that the music practices of Chinese indie music lovers are endowed with meanings, thereby shaping their social reality. This thesis presents a rich and nuanced picture of the social experiences of Chinese indie music lovers, uncovering the transformative power of their indie music practices. It presents a compelling argument for the significance of music as a social agency, highlighting the complex interactions between music, individuals, and society. By bridging theoretical insights with rich empirical data, this thesis contributes to our understanding of the socio-cultural dimensions of music, offering fresh perspectives on the role of indie music in contemporary Chinese society
Complementing Hi-C information for 3D chromatin reconstruction by ChromStruct
A multiscale method proposed elsewhere for reconstructing plausible 3D configurations of the chromatin in cell nuclei is recalled, based on the integration of contact data from Hi-C experiments and additional information coming from ChIP-seq, RNA-seq and ChIA-PET experiments. Provided that the additional data come from independent experiments, this kind of approach is supposed to leverage them to complement possibly noisy, biased or missing Hi-C records. When the different data sources are mutually concurrent, the resulting solutions are corroborated; otherwise, their validity would be weakened. Here, a problem of reliability arises, entailing an appropriate choice of the relative weights to be assigned to the different informational contributions. A series of experiments is presented that help to quantify the advantages and the limitations offered by this strategy. Whereas the advantages in accuracy are not always significant, the case of missing Hi-C data demonstrates the effectiveness of additional information in reconstructing the highly packed segments of the structure
UMSL Bulletin 2023-2024
The 2023-2024 Bulletin and Course Catalog for the University of Missouri St. Louis.https://irl.umsl.edu/bulletin/1088/thumbnail.jp
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