Suchergebnisse

Vor dem Hintergrund der Auseinandersetzung mit der Literatur zum Thema präsentiert die Verfasserin Ergebnisse einer empirischen Studie zur Bedeutung der beruflichen Qualifizierung in den unterentwickelten Regionen Spaniens. Dabei geht sie folgenden Fragen nach: Welche Bedeutung messen die Manager und die Beschäftigten den Qualifizierungsmaßnahmen in ihrem beruflichen Selbstverständnis bei, wie werden Qualifizierungsmaßnahmen organisiert, koordiniert, kontrolliert und finanziert, wie werden dabei die regionalen Differenzen und die Entwicklungen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt berücksichtigt? Es wird festgestellt, dass die Organisationskultur der einzelnen Unternehmen stark durch die Bereitschaft des Managements geprägt ist, Investitionen in Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung der Qualität des Humankapitals zu tätigen. Im Mittelpunkt des Interesses des Managements steht die unmittelbare Verbesserung der Produktionsergebnisse. Auf der anderen Seite diagnostiziert die Studie Mängel hinsichtlich der Koordination und der Kommunikation zwischen den einzelnen Teilnehmern an den Qualifizierungsmaßnahmen sowie solche, die ihre inhaltliche Prägung durch die strategische Orientierung der Unternehmen betreffen. Dementsprechend fehlt es an eindeutigen Kriterien zur Evaluation der Wirkungen solcher Trainingsmaßnahmen. Als einen wichtigen Befund betrachtet die Autorin die festgestellte ungleichmäßige regionale Verteilung solcher Maßnahmen und die Benachteiligung kleinerer Ortschaften. (ICF2).

It is contended that ballistic missile & missile defense technological advancements & increased security needs have created interest among American policymakers to revise the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. The impact of the Rumsfeld Commission's findings on the threat that ballistic missiles pose to national security & the growth of North Korea's ballistic missile program on missile defense technology are considered. A comparison of missile defense technology in 1972 & 2000 demonstrates that the ABM Treaty has placed severe constraints on US security. Specific technological improvements to the sensors & radar systems that guide interceptor missiles as well as changes to US political motivations for implementing a national missile defense system are then discussed. The benefits of creating land- & sea-based & boost phase interceptor theater missile defense systems for US security are contemplated. The Clinton administration's failure to revise the ABM Treaty to allow for theater missile defense is also covered. It is concluded that the ABM Treaty must be modernized to remain a viable agreement. 2 Figures. J. W. Parker

A review of empirical research on the innovative practices of Danish & US entrepreneurial communities suggests that the social organization of technical practices is institutionally shaped. Indeed, a case study of modern wind turbine technology, 1974-1990, reveals that although researchers in both countries were supported by government market subsidies to stimulate the installation of wind power, & by a test & research center design to support industrial technological development, they pursued different approaches to innovation & were constrained by different institutional environments. The set of social practices affected included the forms of work organization, the degree of technological novelty of the product design, the perception of dominant problems & of adequate problem-solving methods & research strategies, & the interaction between industrial research & development & external research. 1 Table, 1 Figure. M. Maguire

Considers the implications of abandoning the Soviet National Innovation System & the deep research & development (R&D) budget cuts in terms of two questions: (1) Is unlearning militaristic scientific knowledge beneficial or is deskilling a large percentage of the workforce detrimental to technological advance? (2) Noting that a nation's technological capacity is very path dependent & that technological advance is cumulative, what does the end of any technological innovation efforts on the part of the Russian Federation mean for its economy? The Russian defense industry is overviewed for the last decade, highlighting economic performance, ownership structures, & output & employment structures across industrial sectors. Also considered is why the military-industrial complex failed to meet expectations from a technological perspective. Focus turns to the space industry & its adjustment strategies & relative success, demonstrating the relationship between transition, technology, & economic performance. The Soviet & Russian national innovation systems (NIS) are detailed, arguing that a postcommunist NIS & concomitant large-scale restructuring of enterprises has not occurred sufficiently in the Russian Federation; ie, the legacy of the Soviet system -- incapacity to deliver basic consumption goods at a minimal level of quality, reliability, & efficiency -- has not been overcome. The complexity of the Russian R&D process is delineated, citing pros & cons. It is found that the many involved state organizations inhibit the creation of an institutional structure to provide stability for them, so it cannot promote R&D & pass knowledge to other branches. However, the host of disparate interests lacking an organizing umbrella organization, translated into decentralized restructuring, which in turn resulted in increased competition & international cooperation. Thus, the space sector proved to better able to compensate for the lack of state funding by moving into the international market & utilizing its military knowledge; hence its process of cumulative learning was not interrupted. Further, the old institutional structure of the scientific system still exerts influence, & technological advance will not occur without harnessing the various interests into a concerted effort toward technological change. 2 Tables. J. Zendejas

Discusses the nature & impact of the heavenly perspective offered by weather satellites. Whereas our ancestors looked up to the skies & stars to divine the weather & other knowledge, modern technology allows us to look down on the globe from an "objective" viewpoint. It is argued that the occasional failure of technology to accurately forecast the weather suggests a degree of subjectivity, & that the maps used to represent the globe evidence the influences of politics, economics, & mythology. It is suggested that the popularity of satellite weather forecasting has legitimated massive expenditures on space & computer technologies that are fundamentally military by design. Despite the practical benefits of such forecasts, it is concluded that the true appeal of satellite imagery rests in the symbolic representation of a partnership between science & art, & the ambiguity between the sublime beauty of the heavenly perspective & the underlying natural & sociopolitical powers. T. Sevier

Digital networking & genetic engineering are two clusters of new technologies having tremendous impact on global security. Although many assume that technological change is positive, it can have drawbacks. Problems related to digital networking include uneven diffusion within & between nations, the effects of exposure to advanced cultures on traditional societies, threats to authority from disaffected groups, & excessive dependence on certain networks. Digital networking also brings information theft, viruses, & subterfuge. Problems related to genetic engineering include interference in evolution, demographic change, erosion of biodiversity, new vulnerabilities, & threats to religious beliefs. Genetic engineering can bring lethal pathogens, is nearly impossible to control, & may be dominated by business interests over human rights. M. Pflum

The transition of computers from "number-crunching devices" to tools of mass communication is traced. Pertinent actions & theories in the careers of four individuals pivotal to computing's evolution are recounted. There is citation of Vannevar Bush's groundbreaking 1945 article on the memex device & of key elements in his thinking. J. C. R. Licklider's futuristic vision of computing, along with Robert W. Taylor's early enactment of his ideas, are reviewed. There is discussion of ARPANET's inception & of Douglas C. Engelbart's synchronous innovations. History of Xerox PARC, developments by Intel Corp & Apple Computer, & early communications, including BITNET & READMAIL, prefaces an outline of network expansion. A section on interactive computing methods & politics considers the Berkeley (CA) Community Memory Project, among other early interactive systems. A time-line of communicative computing is given. Concluding comments cite significant factors in computer development & issues of political participation. 1 Table, 31 References. M. C. Leary

Two types of establishments engaged in mass distribution of food in Japan, primarily in fast-paced urban areas, are examined. The Kaiten-zushi can be translated as "conveyer belt sushi" restaurants. The Konbini are franchised convenience stores that sell packaged, processed foodstuffs to be taken home or elsewhere to eat. Both represent the shift to fast food that gained prominence during the economic boom, using new technology for production & distribution of popular foods but has continued during the prolonged recession. The popularity of these outlets for industrialized fast food is explored from the perspective of distribution, based on research at Tokyo's Tsukiji wholesale fish market, the world's largest & a hub in both global & national distribution systems. Critics of these establishments contend that they purvey a highly impersonal popular culture of consumption that leads to social alienation. The new Japanese food system is dependent on the globalization of food supply, technological innovations, & business systems, the "moral panic" about changes in food culture may indicate the ambivalence in Japan about globalization. References. J. Stanton

Examines the impact of the Internet & other technological advances on the modern perception of capitalism, & discusses the importance of the emerging virtual/technological class. It is argued that the virtual class has blindly pursued the realization of a fully technological society, & has thereby bypassed personal ethics or any concern regarding the possibility for aesthetic creativity, social solidarity, democratic discourse, or economic justice. Under these circumstances, human concerns are sacrificed to technological advance, & the primacy of information surpasses that of the body & mind. It is suggested that the virtual class is aggressive & predatory, & that the success of a virtual postcapitalist system will erode the integrity of the state & divide the globe into three virtual classes: master function (virtual class), clone, & slave function. The slave-function class is already apparent in Third World nations where economic failure has subjected citizens to manifestations of predatory & unregulated capitalism, eg, child labor & black-market organ trade. It is concluded that the unchecked pursuit of the virtual world could destroy currently realized social advances, & lead to the abuses & inequalities characteristic of the colonial era. T. Sevier

Discusses the potential of various sensory-enhancing technologies in terrorist situations & the legal & constitutional questions raised by their use. The utility & efficiency of ambient light magnification, audio amplification, infrared lighting, & radar are compared. The potential for abuse of Fourth Amendment privacy rights, as seen in the 1967 Katz v. US case, & the legal implications of specific applications of these technologies in "classic" (drug interdiction) & "nonclassic" (counterterrorist) situations are assessed. It is shown how courts rely on passive vs penetrative technology distinctions to resolve these issues & how improvements in technology could provide a more accurate audio & visual record of terrorist incidents. These distinctions may influence the development & marketing of future sensory-enhancing technologies. T. Arnold

Examines implications of the increasingly rapid development of information-age technologies for terrorist activities. Recently extant & expected innovations from domestic terrorists are analyzed in terms of the expectations & motivations of late-20th-century terrorists & the emergence of 21st-century cyberterrorism & cyberbiotechnological terrorism. Potential terrorist targets & tactics are discussed. It is argued that, as user-friendly computers become less expensive & more available, so also will cyberspace crime & terrorism, which will appear in the vanguard US first. The potential use of these same technologies for counterterrorism is assessed. It is concluded that the most effective method against future high-technology terrorist activities lies not in technology, but in the ethics & values of a free society. T. Arnold

Assesses the importance of print technology on petitioning in the English Revolution & investigates the emergence of a British public sphere in this period as an extension of new practices of petitioning. It is shown that economic aspects of printing were responsible for the wide dissemination of printed petitions. Moreover, printing fostered the creation of an anonymous body of readers, the public, to whom reasoned debate was directed. It also was directly implicated in the organization of new political bodies called parties, which mobilized to put their arguments into print form. Thus, it is argued that, as a new means of communication, printing was central to the development of the modern public sphere. Other variables, eg, Protestantism & capitalism, commonly associated with the formation of the public sphere are demonstrated to be mediated by their linkage to communicative changes brought about by print culture. This historical study indicates that current debates on the public sphere would do well to focus more closely on the nature & significance of contemporary changes in the means of communication. 74 References. D. Ryfe

Employs the materio-spatial logic of new historical materialism to analyze the technological, financial, political, ideological, & social organizational innovations that maintained successful campaigns to dominate world trade in Portugal, Holland, Great Britain, Japan, & the US. Consideration is given to how the rise of each national economy contributed to globalization. Since the institutions that generate strategies to produce technological innovations are social, interactions between materio-spatial opportunities & constraints are highlighted to explain how matter, space, & technology shaped globalization. An analysis of increasingly efficient transport systems over greater distances is used to challenge the notion that globalization is recent, unique, & "deterritorialized." The various ways each nation expanded the then prevailing mode of heavy industry are explored in order to develop a synthetic model of national ascent to world trade dominance. Attention is also given to how hegemonic competition transforms world trade patterns; & the impact of weight, bulk, raw materials, & distance structure on social organization & national development. The future of global economies is discussed. References. J. Lindroth

Discusses the evolution of occupational opportunities in the postmodern US, & suggests that the labor process, & the associated realms of society & culture, have been transformed by the dominance of technoscience. Based on case studies of US workers, it is argued that technological advances in production methods are destroying jobs. Further, this trend seems likely to continue as more workers become redundant within the context of the global market of fewer opportunities; workers of all levels will be forced to seek income outside their primary jobs. It is suggested that technoscience has displaced manual labor & marginalized skilled & managerial positions, & that unions have been forced to reorganize the labor force in terms of the new demands for knowledge work. These circumstances have catalyzed two major problems: the erosion of the work ethic as a guiding social principle, & the lowering of wages. It is concluded that resolution of these problems demands creation of a new form of public morality & the decommodification of medicine, education, housing, & food. T. Sevier