Technology in Society最新文献

Studies of quantification are an emerging academic interest due to the datafication and quantification trends in modern society. The existing literature on this interdisciplinary field involves two approaches: a history of science approach and a sociology approach. This article argues for adding perspectives from the philosophy of technology. The philosophy of technology raises otherwise neglected ontological, epistemological, and ethical questions about the technology of quantification. Quantification as social technology is non-neutral and exhibits social constructed features, which beyond the commonly perceived realist opinions. The social-constructed quantification also has the ability to influence social agents, mediating the way humans exist in and understand the life world. Ethical and political questions about quantification call for integration into an already rich ethical and political discourse surrounding technological artifacts, actions, and political agendas.

This article philosophically addresses the promise of biomimetic design, according to which mimicking natural forms can provide better, more sustainable and less risky engineering solutions. Focusing on the grammar of scientific practices, the article establishes an epistemological basis for biomimetic technology that explores the creative interaction between technology and nature. The epistemological framework shows that bioinspired objects are autonomous with specific properties. They must be evaluated in their ability to fulfill the biomimetic promise in local applications and contexts. The article presents three results. First, it presents a philosophical framework that deepens the understanding of the relationship between sustainability and bioinspired technologies and allows for a retrospective assessment of their sustainability. Second, it points out that the scientific framework emerging from bioinspired technologies is based on collaboration, interdisciplinarity, and a holistic approach to scientific inquiry. Third, it encourages a shift in perspective from the ontology of bioinspired design to the epistemic grammar of its production.

New mobility technologies related to autonomous, connected, and shared vehicles have prompted the entry of new players into the automotive industry, which has influenced the industry's traditional configuration of regional status. Under the global value chain (GVC) approach, this research proposes a new framework for defining a ‘core–periphery’ spatial model of the automotive industry. Under that model, based mainly on the key variables of domestic firms linked to new mobility technologies, analysis is made of the comparative status of regions of the European automotive industry traditionally regarded as peripheral (Portugal) and semi-peripheral (Spain). Results indicate that domestic firms located in each of those two regions do not differ in terms of decision-making power, first-level supply positioning, added value of activities, and technological innovation. This implies that the two regions now share the same status within the new (autonomous, connected, and shared) mobility value chain. This has relevant implications for public policies throughout the European automotive industry. Policies should focus on innovation in new mobility technologies and on the creation of an ecosystem adequate to develop strong domestic capabilities around these new mobility technologies, in order to ensure more favourable regional status in the spatial model of this competitive industry.

Technology adoption has recently gained more attention due to its significant impact on smart systems' user retention. Many procedures in education, business, and private life are anticipated to evolve and change shortly due to the use of 5/6 technology. This article specifically highlights the significance of deploying 5/6G technology in libraries to allow the development of creative, clever, and improved services backed by new digital technologies. It could start a revolution in smart libraries and change how they are run now. According to our best knowledge, this is the first attempt that enriches our understanding of 5/6G and its adoption intentions in libraries using a combined SF-AHP and PLS path modeling. As per Spherical fuzzy AHP, all variables except social influence were the most important factors predicting adoption intention for 5G- and 6G-based services from experts' point of view. The structural equation modeling (SEM) method showed that all of our conceptual model variables, including perceived performance expectancy, perceived effort expectancy, and perceived attitude towards using 5/6G, positively impacted adoption intention in the library. At the same time, perceived social influence did not affect adoption intention (5/6G). One explanation is that there is still some ambiguity about what “5/6G technologies” entail and the minimal carrying out of the technology we bring into the survey by libraries at this time. Furthermore, we did not account for variations in each librarian's function. It is conceivable that the work spent on such technologies was exaggerated or unclearly by those not directly engaged in their implementation.

Digital technology has evolved very quickly in a very short space of time, to the point at which it is now a personal technology that manages the information and communications of users who access the different services offered over the Internet - users who are increasingly younger and at greater risk. Negligent technology use is understood as use linked to the management of social media accounts and mobile apps that, while not intentionally harmful, may nevertheless place the user and/or others at risk. The study of negligent digital technology use during adolescence is vital to preventing risk behaviours through education. These types of behaviours range from anxiety to cyberbullying, device addiction, problems with self-perceptions of one's own body and depression, among others. In this context, the aim of the present study is to analyse negligent digital technology use among adolescents on social media, and to explore the perceptions of this population group regarding the seriousness of these actions and the possible relationship between the two variables. Participants were 2529 students aged between 10 and 17 years from seven regions in southern Europe spread across three countries (Spain, Italy and Greece). The instrument used to collect the data was an ad hoc questionnaire designed to measure, among other things, actions indicating negligent use, excessive use of social medial and perceptions of the seriousness of such social media behaviour. The results reveal that the most negligent actions carried out by minors are: arranging to meet people they met on a social media site; displaying personal information in their account; and giving their passwords to people other than their parents and/or teachers. The results also indicate that adolescents engage in those negligent actions that they perceive to be less serious more assiduously, and carry out those they perceive to be more serious more sporadically. One of the principal findings was the increase in negligent use among older adolescents, which suggests that education in this field needs to begin much earlier, ideally before the age of 12 years.

Automotive companies are investing in automated vehicles, conducting real world testing, and many countries are setting the pre-conditions for being the first to receive the benefits from this technology. In this study, we conducted a content analysis of the German Act on Autonomous Driving (2021) – one of the most advanced regulatory frameworks on driverless vehicles - to evaluate the role of regulation in achieving three socially desirable promises related to driverless cars: reducing road accidents, improving environmental sustainability, and ensuring equal access to road mobility.

The main finding from our analysis of the German legal framework is that there was evidence of the three promises, but no provisions to operationalize them.

Despite the prevalence of generative AI chatbots such as GPT and Bard, scholarly inquiry into how users' enduring expectations influence their engagement with AI chatbots remains scant. Drawing on expectation violation theory, the present study examines how user expectations, informed by belief in machine heuristics and concerns over human uniqueness, impact chatbot loyalty through a moderated mediation framework. A questionnaire survey of 900 participants in China revealed that belief in machine capabilities bolsters users' perceptions of machine intelligence, which in turn, enhances user loyalty. Interestingly, when users encounter service failures that challenge their expectations, their perceived intelligence of the chatbot intensifies rather than diminishes. In contrast, expectations shaped by human uniqueness concerns diminish users' perceptions of machine intelligence and, consequently, their loyalty, which remains consistent regardless of the encounter with AI failure. The study also delves into the theoretical contributions of these findings to the evolution of expectation violation theory within the sphere of human-robot interaction.

Citizen science (CS) means including volunteers alongside professional researchers in the research process. CS is predominantly and traditionally used in natural sciences, but also increasingly in social sciences. The understanding of traditional CS is oftentimes completely transferred to citizen social science, which we argue is inadequate. As social sciences study human interactions, they involve people in their data collection all the time. Commonly used social science methods therefore already cover one type of CS that is defined by including volunteers mainly in data collection: contributory CS. This overlap creates an urgent need for redefining the boundaries of citizen social science. We argue for only calling those projects citizen social science that go beyond contributory projects to avoid the mere repacking of commonly used social science methods.

Recent studies emphasize the potential of green technologies and political factors as catalysts for sustainability. Despite extensive examination of various factors' impacts on ecological footprints in previous literature, there is limited empirical evidence regarding the environmental effects of these two factors. Addressing this gap in the literature, this study underscores the importance of green innovation technologies and democracy in the transition to sustainability. The study aims to investigate the impact of green innovation technologies, democracy, income inequality, globalization, economic growth, and energy consumption on the ecological footprint in seven leading emerging market nations from 1990 to 2018. The study utilized second-generation panel data methodology to identify the relationship between variables using the Augmented Mean Group procedure. The study's findings indicate that green innovation technologies and democracy reduce the ecological footprint of the entire panel. While globalization is a force that reduces ecological pressure, income distribution has no significant impact. Factors that significantly increase the ecological footprint include economic growth and energy consumption. Although the results at the country level are somewhat heterogeneous, they provide supportive and promising insights for the panel.

Appropriation of generative artificial intelligence is a burgeoning area in the realm of technological advancements and holds significant promise for organizational dynamics and creative performance. This study seeks to clarify its relationship with Individual Creative Performance, understand the influences of Innovation Orientation and Agile Leadership on Appropriation, with particular reference with ChatGPT and propose a framework for its comprehension. Drawing from a targeted sample of 671 responses across prominent industries in Poland, we uncover a marked empirical gap. Our results underscore the instrumental role of Innovation Orientation in molding both ChatGPT Appropriation and Individual Creative Performance, while also emphasizing the mediating roles of Innovation Orientation and ChatGPT Appropriation in the nexus between Agile Leadership and Individual Creative Performance.