The Driverless City

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are poised to become the next revolution in mobility. Marketers and engineers enthusiastically promise numerous benefits that AVs will deliver in a future without human drivers: huge reductions in accidents, parking spots, congestion, even the elimination of the loathsome commute among many others. But there are as many, if not more potential ways that the AV revolution can also go wrong: worsening traffic and congestion, urban sprawl, and eroding public transit, for example. How will Autonomous Vehicles shape cities in the future? The Driverless City is not one city: it is many. AVs could be a boon or a debacle. They could even be both at the same time. An extensive literature review revealed a broad cone of possibilities: a myriad different impacts that driverless vehicles could have on different aspects of a city. After synthesizing these into ten main areas of impact, key scenarios are expounded with supplemental foresight. This top-down approach is followed by a bottom-up research workshop where non-expert participants from the general public weighed in on the synthesis and scenarios, and expressed their own thoughts and concerns about what The Driverless City could be. Then, a group of experts helped narrow the cone of possibility into much tighter cones of probability using the Delphi research method. These forecasts and projections shine a spotlight on the key considerations that city planners, urban designers, policy makers and other decision-makers should be taking now to promote desirable outcomes for their city, and curtail undesirable ones

Communicating Augmented Reality Devices Improving Technology Acceptance Among Electric Utility Field Workers

Augmented Reality (AR) is very useful for many different fields and purposes such as entertainment, education, military, navigation, industrial, or electric utility. Electric utilities find use in AR due to the flexibility of location and the real-time information sharing with visuals to keep employees safe and efficient. This exploratory study investigated the use of infographic templates as a way to introduce this new technology to line workers in the electric utility field. Infographics were used as a way to prime workers to be more aware of the technology and its possible uses as well as usefulness. Through the use of Communication Accommodation Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model, the researcher found evidence indicating that presenting information in a clear and interesting way increased electric utility workers desire to adopt the new technology through perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness (Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1989)

AI and blockchain adoption in corporate governance

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonPurpose The purpose of this doctoral thesis sets out to explore and elaborate on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain adoption in corporate governance from ethical perspectives. Positioned within the corporate governance domain, this study adopts an explicit business perspective to study corporate governance change with emerging AI and blockchain technological tools in general and focuses on the ethical use of technologies specifically. As such, this empirical investigation aims to help organizations understand the ethical benefits and ethical dilemmas of using AI and blockchain in businesses and draw plans on how to govern these technologies ethically for the benefit of the business and society. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study adopts specific techniques and a pragmatic, step-by-step netnography approach to investigate online traces from social media sites and extends these online explorations with online semi-structured interviews. The research design of this investigation follows step-by-step procedures that are methodologically sound to ensure rigor in this investigation to enhance the trustworthiness of this study. In total, this research collects an abundance of data: 34 LinkedIn Posts with Comments; 12 Webinars; 22 YouTube Videos; 19 Videos; 10 Podcasts, and 17 semi-structured interview videos. The video, audio, and interview data have been transcribed into textual data total of 453065 words for thematic analysis using NVivo software. Enough time has been allocated to the iterative process of data collection and data analysis. The analysis moves back and forth to the point when theoretical saturation is achieved. The data structure extracts from data in this study illustrate the analytic claims that match the analysis and data together, to ensure a good fit between described method and reported analysis are consistent. Findings: This study develops a thematic framework that constitutes the corporate governance transformation with the ethical use of AI and blockchain technology. This framework provides a holistic understanding of why corporate governance needs to change, especially with the emergence of blockchain and AI technologies, what changes will corporate governance encounter, and how corporate governance can imperatively respond to the ethical use of these technologies. Specifically, it explicitly provides comprehensive understanding of the ethical benefits and ethical concerns of using AI and blockchain technologies in corporate governance, and reveals how companies can govern the use of these technologies ethically. In general terms, the findings of this study support the notion of corporate governance change to transform business models and processes to leverage the new capabilities of AI and blockchain technologies, to priories creativity, speed, and accountability, to replace the old business model, to foster agile or collaborative governance to deal with uncertainty, agility, adaptiveness, and cooperation in the digital world, to foster a network and platform strategies to drive success. This study goes beyond the extant corporate governance scholarship to assess the technological impact to capture values for companies in ethical ways to sustain future growth. Additionally, the notion of corporate governance is further specified and significantly expanded by this study to assess the adoption of AI and blockchain as new corporate governance tools or mechanisms, to enhance ethical benefits when used properly, and mitigate ethical dilemmas with proper checks and balances, safeguards in place, to help organizations stay relevant in this digital transformation and be ethical and sustainable. This study empirically corroborates that in theory, the use of blockchain and AI can enhance ethical practice by detecting fraud and anomaly activities, due to the unique capabilities of blockchain and AI technologies. Further, this research adds depth and specificity by identifying the ethical concerns of using blockchain and AI in corporate governance. The study empirically reveals the ethical concerns of privacy issues, unethical use of data, job transformation and replacement, and algorithm bias that companies will encounter when they use these technologies. In addition, the findings of this study suggest how companies can ethically govern the use of these technologies in socially responsible ways as they transform digitally. Originality/Value: The emergent thematic framework is constructed from the empirical and analytical procedures specifically and purposely designed for this study. This study makes theoretical contributions to knowledge and enriches the extant works of literature, and also provides practical contributions to the ethical use of disruptive technologies, future workforce, and regulations. However, the study was conducted within certain theoretical, methodological, empirical, and pragmatic conditions, which might constitute particular limitations and constraints. Therefore, the last section of this thesis elucidates and suggests the directions for future research

“So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy

Transformative artificially intelligent tools, such as ChatGPT, designed to generate sophisticated text indistinguishable from that produced by a human, are applicable across a wide range of contexts. The technology presents opportunities as well as, often ethical and legal, challenges, and has the potential for both positive and negative impacts for organisations, society, and individuals. Offering multi-disciplinary insight into some of these, this article brings together 43 contributions from experts in fields such as computer science, marketing, information systems, education, policy, hospitality and tourism, management, publishing, and nursing. The contributors acknowledge ChatGPT's capabilities to enhance productivity and suggest that it is likely to offer significant gains in the banking, hospitality and tourism, and information technology industries, and enhance business activities, such as management and marketing. Nevertheless, they also consider its limitations, disruptions to practices, threats to privacy and security, and consequences of biases, misuse, and misinformation. However, opinion is split on whether ChatGPT's use should be restricted or legislated. Drawing on these contributions, the article identifies questions requiring further research across three thematic areas: knowledge, transparency, and ethics; digital transformation of organisations and societies; and teaching, learning, and scholarly research. The avenues for further research include: identifying skills, resources, and capabilities needed to handle generative AI; examining biases of generative AI attributable to training datasets and processes; exploring business and societal contexts best suited for generative AI implementation; determining optimal combinations of human and generative AI for various tasks; identifying ways to assess accuracy of text produced by generative AI; and uncovering the ethical and legal issues in using generative AI across different contexts

Linking Research and Policy: Assessing a Framework for Organic Agricultural Support in Ireland

This paper links social science research and agricultural policy through an analysis of support for organic agriculture and food. Globally, sales of organic food have experienced 20% annual increases for the past two decades, and represent the fastest growing segment of the grocery market. Although consumer interest has increased, farmers are not keeping up with demand. This is partly due to a lack of political support provided to farmers in their transition from conventional to organic production. Support policies vary by country and in some nations, such as the US, vary by state/province. There have been few attempts to document the types of support currently in place. This research draws on an existing Framework tool to investigate regionally specific and relevant policy support available to organic farmers in Ireland. This exploratory study develops a case study of Ireland within the framework of ten key categories of organic agricultural support: leadership, policy, research, technical support, financial support, marketing and promotion, education and information, consumer issues, inter-agency activities, and future developments. Data from the Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), and other governmental and semi-governmental agencies provide the basis for an assessment of support in each category. Assessments are based on the number of activities, availability of information to farmers, and attention from governmental personnel for each of the ten categories. This policy framework is a valuable tool for farmers, researchers, state agencies, and citizen groups seeking to document existing types of organic agricultural support and discover policy areas which deserve more attention

The Critical Role of Public Charging Infrastructure

Editors: Peter Fox-Penner, PhD, Z. Justin Ren, PhD, David O. JermainA decade after the launch of the contemporary global electric vehicle (EV) market, most cities face a major challenge preparing for rising EV demand. Some cities, and the leaders who shape them, are meeting and even leading demand for EV infrastructure. This book aggregates deep, groundbreaking research in the areas of urban EV deployment for city managers, private developers, urban planners, and utilities who want to understand and lead change

The Trials, Tribulations, and Celebrations of Younger LGB Couples in Long-term Relationships

This thesis explores the long-term relationship experiences of younger LGB couples. It builds upon existing knowledge and understandings of LGB couple relationships and the lives of younger adults. The study utilised multiple qualitative methods informed by social science research on intimate relationships whilst appraising the biographical, socio-cultural, and temporal contexts within which LGB couple relationship experiences are situated. The research highlights the importance of attending to how couples ‘do’ their relationships as well as the ‘practices’ which sustain them. Findings emphasise the interconnected dimensions of time, space, and intimacy as resources for sustaining couple relationships, with analysis underlining the role of the ‘relational present’ as a lens for understanding everyday relationship experiences. It provides insight into how couples negotiate their everyday lives through relationship work, to facilitate connection, and to maintain and cultivate personal autonomy alongside their couple identity. The temporal horizons of the past and the future inform relationship experiences in different ways, increasing understanding of relating behaviours and signifying a commitment to a shared future. Such futures included marriage/civil partnership, children, and buying homes. Experiences were embedded in the context of participant biography, the wider relationships and communities of the couple, and the current zeitgeist of increased acceptance and civil rights for LGB individuals in the UK. The thesis concludes by discussing the findings in terms of age, reciprocity, relationship resources, and gender

Gay Men and Surrogacy: Navigating Boundaries in the Procreative Realm

Desire and motivation to parent has often been conceptualised as a women’s reproductive concern whilst relatively little is known about men’s reproductive desires, reproductive decision making and reproductive experiences. Gay men have specifically been represented as uninterested in children and parenting, yet an increasingly number of same-sex male couples are exploring the possibility of surrogacy as a means of creating a family. To date, no studies have explicitly explored men’s use of surrogacy within the UK context where gamete donation is highly regulated and commercial surrogacy is illegal. This study employed a qualitative, intrepretivist epistemology to explore the factors that influence UK resident men’s desire and motivation for parenthood, why men choose surrogacy over other family building options and their experiences as they navigate the surrogacy journey. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 21 gay men and 15 key stakeholders and analysed using thematic analysis informed by theoretical concepts of procreative consciousness and procreative responsibility (Marsiglio, 1991), micro-aggressions (Sue, 2010), and Critical Kinship Studies (Krolokke et al, 2016; Riggs & Peel, 2016). The findings reveal that a variety of interrelated factors, including learning of different parenting options, spending time with children, and the visibility of “role-models” enabled men’s procreative consciousness to emerge, and served as triggers to motivate them to act on this desire. Participants’ accounts depicted surrogacy as a complex and challenging route to parenthood, but one which offered men the possibility of a genetically-related child who could live with them permanently in their own family unit. Surrogacy required careful planning, decision-making, and a great deal of forethought as men considered and negotiated third-party input to help them create their families. Many of the challenges men faced in their pursuit of surrogacy were associated with healthcare professionals’ lack of familiarity and experience with surrogacy and its legal position within the UK. Central to the findings in this study is the importance of the socio-cultural context. This thesis argues that gay men’s motivation to parent and their experiences of surrogacy are shaped by the changing landscape of social, legal and technological possibilities within a society that privileges heterosexual parenting. This study presents the original concept of procreative boundaries to examine the broader multi-layered structural parameters within which gay men are able to realise their procreative consciousness and enact procreative responsibility in order to achieve parenthood and be recognised as legitimate parents

Design and semantics of form and movement (DeSForM 2006)

Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM) grew from applied research exploring emerging design methods and practices to support new generation product and interface design. The products and interfaces are concerned with: the context of ubiquitous computing and ambient technologies and the need for greater empathy in the pre-programmed behaviour of the ‘machines’ that populate our lives. Such explorative research in the CfDR has been led by Young, supported by Kyffin, Visiting Professor from Philips Design and sponsored by Philips Design over a period of four years (research funding £87k). DeSForM1 was the first of a series of three conferences that enable the presentation and debate of international work within this field: • 1st European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM1), Baltic, Gateshead, 2005, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 2nd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM2), Evoluon, Eindhoven, 2006, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 3rd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM3), New Design School Building, Newcastle, 2007, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. Philips sponsorship of practice-based enquiry led to research by three teams of research students over three years and on-going sponsorship of research through the Northumbria University Design and Innovation Laboratory (nuDIL). Young has been invited on the steering panel of the UK Thinking Digital Conference concerning the latest developments in digital and media technologies. Informed by this research is the work of PhD student Yukie Nakano who examines new technologies in relation to eco-design textiles