Showing papers in "Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society in 2004"
TL;DR: A summary of the author's five-stage model of adult skill acquisition, developed in collaboration with Hubert L. Dreyfus as mentioned in this paper, is given in the introduction of this article.
Abstract: The following is a summary of the author’s five-stage model of adult skill acquisition, developed in collaboration with Hubert L. Dreyfus. An earlier version of this article appeared in chapter 1 o...
890 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, three studies using the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition were conducted over a period of 21 years, where nurses with a range of experience and reported skillfulness were interviewed.
Abstract: Three studies using the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition were conducted over a period of 21 years. Nurses with a range of experience and reported skill-fulness were interviewed. Each study used nurses’ narrative accounts of actual clinical situations. A subsample of participants were observed and interviewed at work. These studies extend the understanding of the Dreyfus model to complex, underdetermined, and fast-paced practices. The skill of involvement and the development of moral agency are linked with the development of expertise, and change as the practitioner becomes more skillful. Nurses who had some difficulty with understanding the ends of practice and difficulty with their skills of interpersonal and problem engagement did not progress to the level of expertise. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the usefulness of the Dreyfus model for understanding the learning needs and styles of learning at different levels of skill acquisition.
530 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the time needed to develop expertise in teaching and the highly contextual nature of the expertise in pedagogy, in general and expertise in education in particular.
Abstract: Propositions about the nature of expertise, in general, and expertise in pedagogy, in particular, are discussed. The time needed to develop expertise in teaching and the highly contextual nature of...
461 citations
TL;DR: The authors assume that acting ethically is a skill and use a phenomenological description of five stages of skill acquisition to argue that an ethics based on principles corresponds to a beginner's re-training.
Abstract: We assume that acting ethically is a skill. We then use a phenomenological description of five stages of skill acquisition to argue that an ethics based on principles corresponds to a beginner’s re...
126 citations
TL;DR: The revolutionary Feynman vision of a powerful and general nanotechnology, based on nanomachines that build with atom-by-atom control, promises great opportunities and, if abused, great dangers as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The revolutionary Feynman vision of a powerful and general nanotechnology, based on nanomachines that build with atom-by-atom control, promises great opportunities and, if abused, great dangers. Th...
112 citations
TL;DR: Using Canada as a case study, this article argues that regulating biotechnology and nanotechnology is made unnecessarily complex and inherently unstable because of a failure to consult the public early and of-ten enough.
Abstract: Using Canada as a case study, this article argues that regulating biotechnology and nanotechnology is made unnecessarily complex and inherently unstable because of a failure to consult the public early and of-ten enough. Furthermore, it is argued that future regulators (and promoters) of nanotechnology may learn valuable lessons from the mistakes made in regulating biotechnology.
76 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define nanotechnology as science and engineering resulting from the manipulation of matter's most basic building blocks: atoms and molecules, and claim that nanotechnology offers unprecedented control over the world.
Abstract: Nanotechnology is science and engineering resulting from the manipulation of matter’s most basic building blocks: atoms and molecules. As such, nanotechnology promises unprecedented control over bo...
69 citations
TL;DR: This approach broadens the range of social considerations relevant to the sustainable development of nanotechnology and emphasizes the need for developing social tools for nanotechnology innovation while the technology is in its early stages of design.
Abstract: Biotechnology and nanotechnology are both strategic technologies, and the former provides several lessons that could contribute to more successful embedding and integration processes for the latter. This article identifies some of the key questions emerging from the biotechnology experience and summarizes several lessons learned in the context of constructive technology assessment. This approach broadens the range of social considerations relevant to the sustainable development of nanotechnology and emphasizes the need for developing social tools for nanotechnology innovation while the technology is in its early stages of design.
69 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, 19 international case studies of workplace stress prevention initiatives are analyzed and the focus of these cases, which span a variety of workplaces and locations, is on preventing stress.
Abstract: Nineteen international case studies of workplace stress prevention initiatives are analyzed. The focus of these cases, which span a variety of workplaces and locations, is on preventing stress thro...
58 citations
TL;DR: Martin Heidegger was the first philosopher to see skillful coping as the basis of our understanding of the world and ourselves as mentioned in this paper. But he acknowledges that such average understanding is banal and conc...
Abstract: Martin Heidegger was the first philosopher to see skillful coping as the basis of our understanding of the world and ourselves. But he acknowledges that such average understanding is banal and conc...
56 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of a knowledge-transfer process is presented to describe the practices and processes adopted by a knowledge broker who engaged workplace parties in discussions on research on physical and psychosocial factors important for employee health.
Abstract: In workplace health interventions, engaging management and union decision makers is considered important for the success of the project, yet little research has described the process of making this happen. A case study of a knowledge-transfer process is presented to describe the practices and processes adopted by a knowledge broker who engaged workplace parties in discussions on research on physical and psychosocial factors important for employee health. The process included one-on-one interactions between the knowledge broker and individuals to explain the research, to build trust and credibility, and to explore the applicability of the research to their work (sense making). It also included facilitated group sessions, where the groups explored how the research could solve problems within the workplace (social construction of knowledge). The workplace context offered multiple opportunities that helped and hindered the flow of research. Nevertheless, this intense, sustained, knowledge-transfer interventio...
TL;DR: In this paper, it is suggested that Weber can also be seen as a compelling early 20th-century critic of science and technology, and the theme of technology and Weber's ambivalence about it is approached through a discussion of his notion of disenchantment.
Abstract: Max Weber is seen by mainstream social scientists as a sociologist, social theorist, and theorist of bureaucracy. In this reassessment of Weber’s social science and its methodology, it is suggested that Weber can also be seen as a compelling early 20th-century critic of science and technology. The theme of technology, and Weber’s ambivalence about it, is approached through a discussion of his notion of disenchantment. In the modern, disenchanted world, social scientists are compelled to choose the values that guide research, but research is constrained by the technocratic requirements of large, bureaucratic institutions that sponsor and fund it. The article asks whether Weber’s notion of individual values is still applicable in the context of social science in the early 21st century. In a line of thought that can be traced to Postman and Ellul, it is asked whether the choices social scientists make can puncture the dense web of bureaucratic-technological rationality of which Weber was critical.
TL;DR: In this paper, a crucial task for sport research is to understand and explain the processes and conditions underlying skillful motor behavior, and one way to account for these processes and condition is to describe them.
Abstract: A crucial task for sport research is to understand and explain the processes and conditions underlying skillful motor behavior. One way to account for these processes and conditions is to describe ...
TL;DR: In particular, the technological and economic impulses of globalization further the capitalization of nature as discussed by the authors, which is evident in the regionalization of bioprospecting efforts in Mesoamerica.
Abstract: Globalization, as a technological and economic phenomenon, asserts specific models for the governance of common resources. In particular, the technological and economic impulses of globalization further the capitalization of nature. This process is evident in the regionalization of bioprospecting efforts in Mesoamerica.
TL;DR: In this article, a model of job socialization based on the joint effect of decision latitude and psychological demands is developed to predict how behaviors learned on the job would carry over to leisure and political activities out-side of work.
Abstract: A model of job socialization based on the joint effect of decision latitude and psychological demands are developed to predict how behaviors learned on the job would carry over to leisure and political activities out-side of work. The model is tested with a longitudinal national random sample of the Swedish male work force (1:1,000) in 1968 and 1974 (nlongitudinal = 1,508), including both expert and self-reports job data and 92% (1968) and 85% (1968-1974) response rates. Workers with more “active” jobs (high decision latitude and high demands) become more “active” in their political and leisure activity from 1968 to 1974 (p < .001). Cross-sectional analyses and work experience cohort results (1968) are consistent. Associations are unaffected by control for education and father’s education, limiting an alternative explanation via personal background. The content of work may substantially affect political behavior, culture, and the economic equilibrium of service-oriented societies.
TL;DR: In this article, a model of production and exchange is proposed as an alternative to both market-oriented policy and social welfare policy, which can help to resolve the unemployment dilemma arising with globalization.
Abstract: A model of production and exchange is proposed as an alternative to both market-oriented policy and social welfare policy. New patterns of social coordination at work form the basis for a new form of production output value: conducive value. This value is developed in both workers and consumers, activates skills and capabilities, and transforms customers from passive recipients to active users. It broadens the definition of economically valid social activity and it will help to resolve the unemployment dilemma arising with globalization. The article observes that the flexibility demanded by neoliberal, market-oriented policy is antithetical to the flexibility of creative production, which builds on horizontal interaction at work and in exchange, thereby facilitating the creation of social relationships and social capital. In that, it constructs bridges between the new policy and models of social policy which form its platform and enhances the chances for effective democracy in society.
TL;DR: Novel advances in microsystem platform technologies are about to greatly diminish that economic constraint while developing new industries, and properly used in a solid legal and ethical framework, will vastly enrich the authors' quality of life without being intrusive.
Abstract: At present there is an enormous discrepancy between our nanotechnological capabilities (particularly our nanobiotechnologies), our social wisdom, and consensus on how to apply them. To date, cost considerations have greatly constrained our application of nanotechnologies. However, novel advances in microsystem platform technologies are about to greatly diminish that economic constraint while developing new industries. Properly used in a solid legal and ethical framework, within an educated population, these advances will vastly enrich our quality of life without being intrusive. Improperly used, these technologies could lead to a modern-day Luddism, social turmoil, or possibly even to emulating those societies described in the darkest of novels. These technologies must be developed in tandem with the social and legal frameworks needed to ensure that they improve both individuals and our society. To ensure that this occurs, we need to have the ethical, legal, scientific, and engineering experts working tog...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss high-technology development in Indonesia, focusing on the Indonesian Aircraft Industry (IPTN), and critically examine how nationalism becomes an impetus for technological development.
Abstract: This article discusses high-technology development in Indonesia. Focusing on the Indonesian Aircraft Industry (IPTN), it critically examines how nationalism becomes an impetus for technological dev...
TL;DR: In this article, a neural network-based explanation of how a brain might acquire intuitive expertise is proposed, but this explanation is intended merely to be suggestive and lacks many complexities found in eve...
Abstract: The author proposes a neural-network-based explanation of how a brain might acquire intuitive expertise. The explanation is intended merely to be suggestive and lacks many complexities found in eve...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the Dreyfus skill model in connection with two different research projects concerning ski instruction and treating anorexia nervosa, and conclude that the skill model may very well be applied to these areas, and also bring about new ways of understanding the different domains.
Abstract: The Dreyfus skill model has a wide range of applications to various domains, including sport, nursing, engineering, flying, and so forth. In this article, the authors discuss the skill model in connection with two different research projects concerning ski instruction and treating anorexia nervosa. The latter project has been published but not in relation to the skill model. The skill model may very well be applied to these areas, and the authors conclude that in doing so, it also brings about new ways of understanding the different domains.
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TL;DR: This article explored the impact of the new communications technologies on the generation born in the 1980s, the first to grow up under the dominance of the computer and considered some of the parameters for discussing the close of one era and the beginning of another and drew on the writings of major civilizationist historians and futurologists.
Abstract: This article explores the impact of the new communications technologies on the generation born in the 1980s, the first to grow up under the dominance of the computer. It considers some of the parameters for discussing the close of one era and the beginning of another and draws on the writings of major civilizationist historians and futurologists, including Jacques Ellul, Samuel Huntington, and Romano Guardini.
TL;DR: Substantial urban growth fueled by a strong economy often results in heavy traffic thus making streets less hospitable and traffic calming one response to the pervasiveness of the automobile.
Abstract: Substantial urban growth fueled by a strong economy often results in heavy traffic thus making streets less hospitable. Traffic calming is one response to the pervasiveness of the automobile. The issues concern built environments and involve multiple actors reflecting different interests. The issues are rarely technical and involve combinations of behavior, social structure, and differential resources. Traffic calming takes many forms by attempting to serve many purposes. It is complex and confusing and is used by different people with different agendas. Traffic calming is not about applying techniques. It is a mindset. We must change both our perceptions and our behaviors. Instead of focusing on end-of-pipe solutions and on things, we must shift attention to the processes that generate things. Trying to accommodate more and more traffic is not the answer. Transportation is a means, not an end. What we are looking at is more people calming than traffic calming.
TL;DR: The Uddevalla Volvo plant represents a different paradigm for automotive assembly as mentioned in this paper, in which self-managed work groups assemble entire automobiles with comparable productivity as conventional assembly groups using parallel flow work.
Abstract: The Uddevalla Volvo plant represents a different paradigm for automotive assembly. In parallel-flow work, self-managed work groups assemble entire automobiles with comparable productivity as conven...
TL;DR: In this article, a re-understanding of work organization and the alternative forms of value it can create can help resolve current dilemmas relating to economic growth based on low production cost instead of skill development, hidden costs of work intensity and job insecurity, true service sector productivity, and current fragility of democratic institutions.
Abstract: A vacuum is arising in the social policy of advanced countries. It is due to the fact that both of the currently dominant bases for social policy, market-oriented policy, and its presumed antagonist, welfare state policy, have the same and an insufficiently broad production value model at their core. The solution is to create a true new alternative, work quality policy, based on a re-understanding of work organization and the alternative forms of value it can create. Understanding work organization’s consequences can help resolve current dilemmas relating to (a) economic growth based on low production cost instead of skill development, (b) hidden costs of work intensity and job insecurity, (c) true service sector productivity, and (d) current fragility of democratic institutions.
TL;DR: The universal attempt to link computers by means of business process reengineering, enterprise integration, and the management of technology is creating large systems that structure and control the flows of information within institutions.
Abstract: The universal attempt to link computers by means of business process reengineering, enterprise integration, and the management of technology is creating large systems that structure and control the flows of information within institutions. Human work associated with these systems must be reorganized in the image of these technologies. The transformation of office work now parallels that of factory work as a result of the intellectual assembly line: Each so-called knowledge worker adds and transforms information in a manner almost entirely prescribed by the system, which, in turn, takes this information to the next work station and so on. The result is a loss of control coupled with growing demands and a new kind of organizational structure. It would appear that the implications for human health are possibly even greater than those associated with traditional assembly-line work.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a model of conductivity to support the vision of the Danish program of "the developmental work" to improve working conditions and at the same time meet social and environmental needs.
Abstract: The Scandinavian working-life tradition is founded on ideas and values similar to the model of conductivity. However, although the Scandinavian working-life tradition is pragmatic and consensus seeking the model of conductivity is stringent following its principles. The pragmatic approach, here represented by the Danish program of “the developmental work,” has made it difficult to follow the vision of the program (to improve working conditions and at the same time meet social and environmental needs). Instead, the program has mainly targeted organizational development in established companies, accepting the existing principles of wealth creation. The model of conductivity can strength the visions behind the pragmatic approach by its conceptualization of an alternative creation of wealth related to opportunities in current working life: a creation of wealth based on skill, creativity and networking among employees across the borders of the organizations and released from the language of management.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that technology is the single most important factor in explaining the organization of modern societies, and that it is also the key to understanding the modern personality.
Abstract: If technology is the single most important factor in explaining the organization of modern societies, it is likewise the key to understanding the modern personality. The technological personality i...
TL;DR: In this paper, a critical review of The Technological Bluff, the last book on technology by Jacques Ellul, is presented, which provides a new perspective to understand contemporary technological society.
Abstract: This article is a critical review of The Technological Bluff, the last book on technology by Jacques Ellul. Although this work has attracted little attention, the concept oftechno-logical bluff1 provides a new perspective to understand contemporary technological society. After presenting Ellul’s exposition of the concept of techno-logical bluff, its original contribution to technology studies is emphasized. It is also examined how the analysis of techno-logical bluff is connected with other major Ellulian notions such as autonomous technique and the efficiency principle. This is followed by a suggestion that the analysis of techno-logical bluff could function as a basis for a constructive dialectic relationship between classical and more recent discourses on technology. The last section is devoted to the Ellulian solution for the technological society suggested in this work, namely, the paradox of nonfreedom.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the use of statistical measurement and prediction of the future in a wizarding world, where statistical information is perceived to be related to the success of an organization and is invariably collected in abundance.
Abstract: Technology and magic both represent the human will to power—to dominate nature and ultimately humans. In a technological civilization, magic imitates technology. Modern management often entails psychological techniques (the human relations approach) and organizational techniques (the scientific approach). The heart of the latter is statistical measurement and prediction of the future. This article examines the magical use of statistical measurement and prediction of the future. Magic here operates according to the principle of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Because statistical information is perceived to be related to the success of an organization and is invariably collected in abundance, it is given credit for actual success.
TL;DR: Semco as discussed by the authors was a company that changed the way it viewed and treated its workers for the better, by putting more power and decision-making in the hands of their employees, the company became very successful, as it was more efficient and flexible.
Abstract: This article examines and analyzes Semco, a company that changed the way it viewed and treated its workers for the better. It is the contention of Semco’s CEO, that at most large corporations “everyone is part of a gigantic, impersonal machine, and it is impossible to feel motivated when you feel you are just another cog. Human nature demands recognition. Without it, people lose their sense of purpose and become dissatisfied, restless, and unproductive” (Semler, 1993, p. 109). At Semco, employees were no longer just faceless drones acting as machines would. By putting more power and decision making in the hands of their employees, the company became very successful, as it was more efficient and flexible. Workers also reaped the rewards of significantly increased control and decision-making power. This improved their lives financially and personally, as they were better able to deal with stress.