5,694 research outputs found
The Globalization of Artificial Intelligence: African Imaginaries of Technoscientific Futures
Imaginaries of artificial intelligence (AI) have transcended geographies of the Global North and become increasingly entangled with narratives of economic growth, progress, and modernity in Africa. This raises several issues such as the entanglement of AI with global technoscientific capitalism and its impact on the dissemination of AI in Africa. The lack of African perspectives on the development of AI exacerbates concerns of raciality and inclusion in the scientific research, circulation, and adoption of AI. My argument in this dissertation is that innovation in AI, in both its sociotechnical imaginaries and political economies, excludes marginalized countries, nations and communities in ways that not only bar their participation in the reception of AI, but also as being part and parcel of its creation.
Underpinned by decolonial thinking, and perspectives from science and technology studies and African studies, this dissertation looks at how AI is reconfiguring the debate about development and modernization in Africa and the implications for local sociotechnical practices of AI innovation and governance. I examined AI in international development and industry across Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria, by tracing Canadaâs AI4D Africa program and following AI start-ups at AfriLabs. I used multi-sited case studies and discourse analysis to examine the data collected from interviews, participant observations, and documents.
In the empirical chapters, I first examine how local actors understand the notion of decolonizing AI and show that it has become a sociotechnical imaginary. I then investigate the political economy of AI in Africa and argue that despite Western efforts to integrate the African AI ecosystem globally, the AI epistemic communities in the continent continue to be excluded from dominant AI innovation spaces. Finally, I examine the emergence of a Pan-African AI imaginary and argue that AI governance can be understood as a state-building experiment in post-colonial Africa. The main issue at stake is that the lack of African perspectives in AI leads to negative impacts on innovation and limits the fair distribution of the benefits of AI across nations, countries, and communities, while at the same time excludes globally marginalized epistemic communities from the imagination and creation of AI
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The impact of employees' working relations in creating and retaining trust: the case of the Bahrain Olympic Committee
Introduction: This thesis investigates the impact of employeesâ working relations in creating, maintaining and retaining trust in the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC).
Aim: The main aim of this thesis is to determine how the three groups of Organisational Trust variables, namely Social System Elements (SSE), Factors of Trustworthiness (FoT) and Third-Party Gossip (TPG), affect employeesâ Organisational Trust (OTR) in the BOC and promote Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). To answer this main aim, a conceptual framework was created that focused on exploring the following research aims: (1) the interrelationship between SSE and FoT, (2) the effect of SSE on OTR, (3) the impact of TPG on OTR and (4) the effect of OTR on overall OCB.
Methodology: The study uses a mixed-method case study research style that included in-depth semi-structured interviews with 17 managers, an online questionnaire survey with 320 employees of the BOC and an analysis of the BOCâs Annual Reports from 2015 to 2018.
Results: The qualitative and quantitative findings indicate, firstly, that there is a significant interrelationship between SSE and FoT, establishing that SSEâs perception of organisational justice (OJ), including that FoTs benevolence and integrity as the most important factors in yielding employeesâ trust in the BOC. Secondly, it has been established that SSEs have significant direct and indirect effects on OTR. Thirdly, negative and positive TPG concurrently occurred in the BOC and the prevalence of negative TPG poses more impact on OTR. Finally, this studyâs findings demonstrated OTRâs effect in generating OCB, including that Civic Virtue was rated as the most preferred of the five OCB themes; this indicates the managersâ and the employeesâ strong emotional attachment and support of the activities taking place at the BOC.
Contributions: Overall, this thesis substantially contributes to OTR literature, particularly in the context of the Middle East. It also proposes several insightful recommendations for future research and practical implications for practitioners in the field of Organisational Trust
Ab Initio Language Teaching in British Higher Education
Drawing extensively on the expertise of teachers of German in universities across the UK, this volume offers an overview of recent trends, new pedagogical approaches and practical guidance for teaching at beginners level in the higher education classroom. At a time when entries for UK school exams in modern foreign languages are decreasing, this book serves the urgent need for research and guidance on ab initio learning and teaching in HE. Using the example of teaching German, it offers theoretical reflections on teaching ab initio and practice-oriented approaches that will be useful for teachers of both German and other languages in higher education.
The first chapters assess the role of ab initio provision within the wider context of modern languages departments and language centres. They are followed by sections on teaching methods and innovative approaches in the ab initio classroom that include chapters on the use of music, textbook evaluation, the effective use of a flipped classroom and the contribution of language apps. Finally, the book focuses on the learner in the ab initio context and explores issues around autonomy and learner strengths. The whole builds into a theoretically grounded guide that sketches out perspectives for teaching and learning ab initio languages that will benefit current and future generations of students
Development of linguistic linked open data resources for collaborative data-intensive research in the language sciences
Making diverse data in linguistics and the language sciences open, distributed, and accessible: perspectives from language/language acquistiion researchers and technical LOD (linked open data) researchers. This volume examines the challenges inherent in making diverse data in linguistics and the language sciences open, distributed, integrated, and accessible, thus fostering wide data sharing and collaboration. It is unique in integrating the perspectives of language researchers and technical LOD (linked open data) researchers. Reporting on both active research needs in the field of language acquisition and technical advances in the development of data interoperability, the book demonstrates the advantages of an international infrastructure for scholarship in the field of language sciences. With contributions by researchers who produce complex data content and scholars involved in both the technology and the conceptual foundations of LLOD (linguistics linked open data), the book focuses on the area of language acquisition because it involves complex and diverse data sets, cross-linguistic analyses, and urgent collaborative research. The contributors discuss a variety of research methods, resources, and infrastructures. Contributors Isabelle Barrière, Nan Bernstein Ratner, Steven Bird, Maria Blume, Ted Caldwell, Christian Chiarcos, Cristina Dye, Suzanne Flynn, Claire Foley, Nancy Ide, Carissa Kang, D. Terence Langendoen, Barbara Lust, Brian MacWhinney, Jonathan Masci, Steven Moran, Antonio Pareja-Lora, Jim Reidy, Oya Y. Rieger, Gary F. Simons, Thorsten Trippel, Kara Warburton, Sue Ellen Wright, Claus Zin
Futures of shipbuilding in the 22nd century : Explorative industry foresight research of the long-range futures for commercial ship-building, using elements of OpenAI.
The shipbuilding industry has historically shaped global trade, logistics, research, and cultural globalization. It was instrumental in exploring and colonizing new continents, thereby significantly shaping our society. Today, it's essential to consider the industry's current transformations and speculate on what shipbuilding might look like in the 22nd century.
This study is dedicated to exploring the possible futures of shipbuilding over a long-range time horizon of 70 -100 years. This thesis applied futures research methods to data collected using OpenAI tools and explored possible transformative pathways within the industry. The research offers potential future scenarios and delineates change pathways from external pressures and internal shifts within the shipbuilding system. Additionally, the study highlights the possible applications and implications of utilizing OpenAI technology in a research context.
The analysis of shipbuilding incorporates the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) concept, viewing the industry as a system involving ten groups of key actors. This structure guided the data collection process for the input of the research. The primary research process adheres to traditional futures research methods, which include horizon scanning, systems thinking, scenario building, and causal layered analysis (CLA). Furthermore, the methodology was expanded to incorporate AI-assisted techniques. This includes using AI technology for automated data collection and a separate pathway using ChatGPT-4 for computer-generated scenarios and CLA narratives development. The outcomes from both methodologies are compared, and additional literature research about the applicability and implications of using AI in futures studies.
The research has identified critical external drivers of change, originating from fields such as technology, energy, and social development, as well as internal drivers, including biotechnology and diversifying floating structures. The external drivers could influence the future direction of shipbuilding, while the internal factors represent potential changes originating from within the industry. The constructed scenarios are designed to stimulate discussion and provide context for future developmental trajectories of shipbuilding
Multi-layered discourse shaping military AI: the cases of Germany and the UK
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being increasingly utilized by militaries across the globe, with
major powers like the USA and China leading the way. Indeed, from the perspective of various
realist theories, it can be expected that all countries with sufficient resources for developing
military AI capabilities will do so. However, there are instances of countries with sufficient
resources not showing any substantial military AI practices, defying realist expectations. This
study proposes an alternative explanation to realist theories for the differences in the scope of
military AI practices by states, arguing that ideational conditions like norms, ethics, and identity
are decisive rather than structural pressures. To answer the research question âWhat explains
difference in the scope of military AI practices by states?â, the study formulates a theoretical
framework integrating Strategic Culture and Sociotechnical Imaginaries as a countryâs
deeper discourse layers within Ole WĂŚverâs multi-layered discourse analysis model. This
framework is then applied within a most similar systems design, controlling for realist conditions
and selecting Germany and the UK as case studies with differing dominant discourses on
military AI. Thereafter, detailed discourse analysis on dominant discourses on military AI is
conducted for both cases, and their scope of military AI practices is determined based on the
number of military AI applications, expert assessments, and specific instructions, policies, and
doctrines for military AI. Germany showed a cautious dominant discourse on military AI and
a limited scope of military AI practices, while the UK showed an embracing dominant discourse
on military AI and a comprehensive scope of military AI practices. Hence, the discourse-
theoretical framework developed in this study offers an explanation superior to realist
accounts and contributes to the literature on military and security studies more broadly by offering
an innovative approach to studying general enabling technologies. It also has important
policy implications for AI arms control and diplomacy
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Ensuring Access to Safe and Nutritious Food for All Through the Transformation of Food Systems
CITIES: Energetic Efficiency, Sustainability; Infrastructures, Energy and the Environment; Mobility and IoT; Governance and Citizenship
This book collects important contributions on smart cities. This book was created in collaboration with the ICSC-CITIES2020, held in San JosĂŠ (Costa Rica) in 2020. This book collects articles on: energetic efficiency and sustainability; infrastructures, energy and the environment; mobility and IoT; governance and citizenship
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