Technology, Science, and Perception: Key Concepts & Examples
Political Dimensions of Technology
I. Introduction: Langdon Winner argues that technology has political dimensions, demonstrating how artifacts enforce or shape power structures. Thesis: Technological artifacts are not neutral; they embody and reinforce political structures, intentionally or unintentionally.
II. Body:
- Robert Moses’ Low Bridges: Designed to prevent buses (and therefore lower-income and minority communities) from accessing certain areas.
- Nuclear Power Plants: Require centralized authority
Nordic Model: Welfare States, Globalization, and Social Policy
The Nordic Model
The Nordic Model represents a prototype of the welfare state with a societal and universal character. Through public policy efforts involving budgetary, political, and administrative measures, it aims to achieve the welfare of its citizens. Like other models, it has been greatly affected by globalization.
The Nordic countries are regarded as a distinctive group, representative of a social democratic system. This analysis draws on Kosonen Pekka’s (2001) work, “Globalization and the
Read MoreEarly Modern Europe: Crisis, Science, and New Philosophy
Responses to Early Modern Crises
Mercantilism
The mercantilist doctrine was an attempt to cope with economic crises by maximizing domestic production, protecting commerce, and industrializing the country.
Absolutism
Absolute monarchy was viewed as the best means of ensuring peace and security, which everyone desired. However, absolute monarchs often aggravated crises instead of resolving them.
Official Culture
The monarchy utilized culture as a tool to manage crises and reduce concerns and protests.
The
Read MoreDefining Research Objects, Delimitation, and Hypothesis Formulation
Construction of the Object of Research
The beginning and end of research are not always presented with the necessary transparency. The confusing path of much research stems from a faulty definition of the subject for investigation.
The epistemologist insists that the object of research is a product of the researcher or the research itself and not a zero outside the research. However, the methodologist assumes an external reality on which to develop joint procedures. Methodological or design, or the
Read MoreWork Organization: Division of Labor, Taylorism, Fordism
Division of Labor: Foundational Concepts
Adam Smith argued that economic growth depends significantly on the division of labor. He stated that the “significant increase in production… depends on the division of labor” resulting from three key factors:
- First, the greater skill acquired by each individual worker.
- Second, saving the time commonly lost in transitioning between different tasks.
- Third, the invention of numerous machines that facilitate and shorten labor.
Charles Babbage (1792-1871) noted,
Read MoreLiberalism, Nationalism, and the Seeds of Revolution
Liberalism
The set of ideological and political transformations occurring in Europe and America between the late eighteenth century and the end of the Napoleonic empire established a school of thought and political/economic doctrine known as liberalism. Its main reference was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), which aimed to cohere society based on citizens forming a nation unified by the State. Liberalism posits that society is composed of individuals, not estates, and defends
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