Seeking the Sublime

This thesis examines a search for the sublime. Definitions of the sublime have transformed over the centuries. In the modern era, that has come to encompass an idea of the Technological Sublime. This thesis will examine a more nature-centric idea of the sublime, with a thoughtful examination of the current digital culture and it’s impact. As we continue to become more distant from our natural world, and more immersed in the digital landscape, we miss opportunities to connect with our true nature and gain-first hand knowledge of the sublime understandings that nature can impart to us. This thesis explores our natural and digital culture - culminating in mixed media printmaking and installation. Concepts of our material culture, and the non- material sublime are at the core of the investigation. Reflections on the human experience and our social culture are seen in visual imagery of invented landscapes in printmaking, forms and materials of our natural world and abstract digital imagery. Research includes time spent in nature and elements collected from our digital culture. Printmaking and mixed media combine representations of invisible forces - electric, thermal, radio, with elements drawn from the current digital culture - AI responses, news feeds, and promotions, that often ‘exist’ only briefly in our digital landscape, into the material world. They now become artifacts of this current period in time. Keywords Sublime : lofty, grand, or exalted in thought, expression, or manner : of outstanding spiritual, intellectual, or moral worth : tending to inspire awe usually because of elevated quality (as of beauty, nobility, or grandeur) or transcendent excellence https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sublime Technological Sublime In his book American Technological Sublime, David Nye points out a number of different places this term is mentioned, starting with Perry Miller in The Life of the Mind in America. “..awe inspired by large-scale applications of technological prowess” Digital Culture Gmail AI responses, advertising, news apps, social apps, gaming apps, time spent on a screen

Templates for Innovation: A Comment on Mumford, Bedell and Hunter

The authors confront the nontrivial issue of whether or not creativity and innovation can be planned, and proceed to support an affirmative answer with a well-organizated treatment of the applied research literature relevant to this topic. They outline and reference an incremental approach to this planning process at multiple level of aggregation (organization, group, and individual), and present both a state-of-the-art review and a general, normative approach to this daunting challenge

Strategic Predictors of Successful Enterprise Systems Deployment

Purpose The delivered wisdom to date has enterprise system purchase and implementation as one of the most hazardous projects any organization can undertake. The aim was to reduce this risk by both theoretically and empirically finding those key predictors of a successful enterprise system deployment. Design/methodology/approach A representative sample of 60 firms drawn from the Fortune 1000 that had recently (1999-2000) adopted enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems was used to test a model of adoption performance with significant results. Findings Leadership (social learning theory), business process re-engineering (change the company not the technology) and acquisition strategy (buy, do not make) were found to be significant predictors of adoption performance (final model R 2=43 percent, F=5.5, pp Originality/value The “four factor” model we validate is a robust predictor of ERP adoption success and can be used by any organization to audit plans and progress for this undertaking

The Adoption of Entreprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems present significant challenges to modern businesses. Although some organizations enjoy a smooth ERP implementation, others experience very public failures. The present research develops a general models that uses differences between appropriability regimes to predict which adoption strategies will lead to successful implementation. In strong appropriability regimes, intellectual property protection (e.g. patents) helps firms secure the benefits of technological innovation. However, ERP software is usually purchased rather than developed, so it is subject to the minimal intellectual property protection typical of a weak appropriateness regime. It is the latter, weak appropriation context that is the recently adopted Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems was used to test a model of weak appropriation with significan results. Leadership (social learning theory), business process reengineering (change the company not the technology) and acquisition strategy (buy, don\u27t make) were found to be significant predictors of adoption performance (final model R-square=43%, F=5.5, p\u3c .001, df=7,52). Industry (manufacturing versus service) and scale (sales) were included as control variables but were not significant in the analysis. EDI (electronic data interchange usage), and project start date were also used as control variables and were found to have significant regression coefficients. That is, EDI tends to substitute for, and slow adoption of ERP, and early movers finish implementation sooner than competitors. In general, strong, honds-on leadership, and business process reengineering coupled with purchasing ERP systems were found to be a much more effective adaptation strategy than tailoring enterprise software. The implications of these results are discussed

Strategic Predictors of Successful Enterprise Systems Deployment

Purpose The delivered wisdom to date has enterprise system purchase and implementation as one of the most hazardous projects any organization can undertake. The aim was to reduce this risk by both theoretically and empirically finding those key predictors of a successful enterprise system deployment. Design/methodology/approach A representative sample of 60 firms drawn from the Fortune 1000 that had recently (1999-2000) adopted enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems was used to test a model of adoption performance with significant results. Findings Leadership (social learning theory), business process re-engineering (change the company not the technology) and acquisition strategy (buy, do not make) were found to be significant predictors of adoption performance (final model R 2=43 percent, F=5.5, pp Originality/value The “four factor” model we validate is a robust predictor of ERP adoption success and can be used by any organization to audit plans and progress for this undertaking

Technology, Customization, and Reliability

This research examines the relative importance that customers place on product reliability, or things-gone-wrong, and customization, or things-gone-right, across a range of industrial settings. We integrate an evolutionary theory of technology with a dynamic theory of competition to predict that: (1) when technological intensity is relatively low or high, customers place greater value on customization and (2) when technological intensity is more intermediate, product reliability and customization are more equally important. The predictions are tested and supported using data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey

Two-tiered measurement systems in modernizing plants

In this study we predicted and found evidence to support two general themes about new production systems measurement. First, there are two tiers of measures that are becoming popular to gauge performance. These two tiers are relatively independent- system-level measures like uptime, and business-level outcomes like return on investment. Second, when measures from these two categories are significantly correlated, they are likely to be for the time or flexibility measures at the system level. The rationale for this thesis is that modernization programs implement the leading edge of manufacturing strategies, and time or flexibility are replacing quality as priorities in leading-edge domestic manufacturing.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45528/1/10696_2004_Article_BF00170211.pd

Adoption complexity and economies of scope for new process technology in manufacturing

In a study of 39 domestic, durable goods plants, justifications for purchase of new process technology varied from the simple, single-goal approach to the complex, multiple-objective strategy. This variety contributes to a larger construct of adoption complexity, which was found to be a function of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) (vs. cellular) purchase choice and plant size in a significant path model. Adoption complexity, in turn, significantly influences intrafirm personnel flows for implementation (e.g., mobility and job rotation). Flexible outcomes are not automatic with FMS purchase, however. Part family variety was significantly higher in larger plants and part variety was significantly promoted by personnel flows. Suggestions for further research and policy implications are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31648/1/0000582.pd

QUALITY, TECHNOLOGY, AND GLOBAL MANUFACTURING

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73074/1/j.1937-5956.1997.tb00423.x.pd