Tag Archives: technology

Final Project: America with Disabilities Act and Responsible Design

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After seriously considering my previous idea for my final project, I have decided to change my topic focus again. I originally decided that continuing with the topic of Amniocentesis would not be a good choice for my final project. It truly was just not working out. Then, a couple days ago, I posted a blog about doing my final project about global trade and green design; however, after further reading in Design for Society and considering my passion for the ADA, I decided to tweak my topic a bit. I am sorry for all of the continuous changes, but I really want to do a thorough and good job on this final project.
My hope is to first discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act in terms of the following: Who the various stakeholders are, what the systems of value are, under what model and under whose conception, the political implications, and other kinds of questions to gain a better understanding and refine such a broad legislative act and history. I will most likely be focusing on Chapter 3 of Nigel Whiteley’s Design for Society in which he discusses the 6 categories of real people with real needs that should be a primary focus of design… One of these categories is designing teaching and training devices for those with disabilities.

More specifically, I am questioning why, according to Whiteley, America does not adopt “responsible” design and instead remains focused on profit and market based design. What does America value? How could responsible design improve upon a decrease in unnecessary goods?

I am hoping to post a stronger focus once further research is underway, by tomorrow most likely or Monday at the latest.

The Open Road

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Roads might not seem like a very political technology at first. However, there are many issues and effects of roads that make it a complex political issue. First, I will discuss the history of roads then how roads can be political. Also, I will go into some effects of the building of roads, both economical and environmental.

I won’t bore you with a definition of a road but they are used mainly for the transportation of goods, services, and people. Roads were first built in the Middle East around 4000 BC. These roads were made of paved stone, which is not too unlike the roads we see today. The U.S. has the most roads of any country in the world with 4 million miles.

So how does a road become political? Roads are almost always financed by the public sector. This means its done by our governments, both state and local, with our taxpayer dollars. Like death, taxes are certain and everyone pays them. However, the problem arises in the fact that the implementation of roadways are only decided by a select few. One of the most widely used public good is controlled by a very small percentage of its users.

You might look at road or highway being built and not think much of it, but the effect that road has on a community, an area, and a region can be far-reaching. A road can bring people and business to a community or town. However, if a town is not part of the road or highway, it can be overlooked. This can cause people to move away, businesses to close down, and generally hurt the community. Roadways can also bring new services and goods to a town that was once cut off from other areas. This can result in different kinds of food being trucked in from all over the country. Large highways and turnpikes might seem to help diversify local culture by being able to allow access for different ideas and attitudes. However, these types of roads bring out a degree of standardization. The different types of restaurants on any major highway is a good example. You will see McDonald’s, Burger King, and other fast-food corporations. This type of standardization cuts off local restaurants and diners that once would have been the place to stop before that 4 lane highway was put in. Another effect of roads can be environmental. Roads can cause water, air, and noise pollution. Roads are impervious surfaces that do not allow water to seep into the ground easily. This causes more runoff and less water in our soils. Also, automobiles create pollution by the liquids they leak (oil, anti-freeze, etc.) as well as the gases they emit (CO,CO2). Also, spraying ice to help thaw ice can have a negative effect on the local watershed if environmentally unfriendly products are used. 

Beijing Smog.png

So how do we still build more roads when the land is already owned? Eminent Domain allows for a state to seize a citizen’s private property without their consent as long as the state pays due compensation. This is often done to build widen roads as towns become more populated. I saw evidence of this first hand when my own lawn was shortened because of the local township widening a road beside my property. Eminent domain is used for more than just roads. Many public goods such as water treatment facilities, electrical power-lines, and powerplants rely on eminent domain to acquire the land to build on.

Roads can affect towns, economies, regions, and cultures. They are one if the most shared and widely used public goods. However, even though they affect everyone and anyone, they are only controlled by a select few.

References

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/real_estate/eminent_domain.html

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200707/r157257_569758.jpg

http://unix.eng.ua.edu/~rpitt/Publications/BooksandReports/Stormwater%20Effects%20Handbook%20by%20%20Burton%20and%20Pitt%20book/MainEDFS_Book.html

http://books.google.com/books?visbn=0813526914&id=flvS-nJga8QC&pg=PR3&lpg=PR3&ots=DvEHtwROGm&dq=%22Ways+of+the+world%22+Rutgers+University+Press,+New+Brunswick&sig=tK2dgY-CJ8S2DSeTaMJKKi82Uew#v=onepage&q=%22Ways%20of%20the%20world%22%20Rutgers%20University%20Press%2C%20New%20Brunswick&f=false

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Technology and Politics: Oil

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Since the production, refining, and transportation of oil was introduced to the world, oil has become an important factor in the modern industrialized world, being the number one source of energy in the planet. As a strong element in modern life, oil raised a lot of different political issues in the world, as well as economical and environmental issues that have political views about it.

    Oil was first introduced as a medicine, and cementing walls in ancient Babylon. As a fuel, oil was originally used for lighting, and furnaces. Oil wells were firsts drilled at 347 AD in China up to 800 ft using bits attached to bamboo poles. In 1848, the first modern oil well is drilled in Asia, on the Aspheron Peninsula northeast of Baku. What revolutionized the way we view oil these days was in 1985 when the technology of processing oil was introduced, processing it into more useful products as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas.

    

   The exploration of oil revolutionized many countries, one of the biggest benefiters were Saudi Arabia. Before oil Saudi was just a dry desert with no noticeable industrialized movement. In 1933, Saudi Arabia granted oil concession to California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc) Oil prospecting begins on Kingdom’s east coast. In 1956, Aramco confirmed scale of Ghawar and Safaniya, world’s largest oil field and largest offshore field, respectively. In 1973, Saudi Arabia’s Government acquires a 25 percent participation interest in Aramco, and where politics began to play a role in the company. In 1980, Saudi Government acquires 100 percent participation interest in Aramco, purchasing almost all of the company’s assets. In 1992, 1,700km Trans-Arabian Pipe Line (Tapline) is completed, linking Eastern Province oil fields to Lebanon and the Mediterranean. According to the CIA Data Saudi Arabia now has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Now the petroleum sector accounts for roughly 80% of budget revenues, and 90% of export earnings.

 

   Oil was used many times as a political weapon; a good example was the 1973 Oil embargo .

 

  Many other political controversies about oil technologies are the environmental pollution that this technology creates. One example is the processing technology, when processing oil, many other unnecessary materials remain unused, and it’s hard to get rid of it.  Another thing is the oil spills that occur in offshore rigs, a good example is the current oil spill in the Arabian Gulf. Even transporting ships have spills like the one that happened in the Arabian Gulf.

•http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Saudi_Arabia/Background.html

•http://www.astm.org/COMMIT/D02/to1899_index.html

•http://www.jobsataramco.com/home/history.aspx

•http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/cartoon/2010/jun/01/bp-oil-spill-tony-hayward-comment

Technology and Politics: The Stealth Bomber

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    The B-2 Spirit aircraft was first used in combat in 1999 during the Kosovo War, although it was first decided to be built and designed in 1979.  Initially, the United States planned on producing 132 stealth bombers, but that number was later cut to 20 due to extremely large costs and the ending of the Cold War.  This aircraft is one of the most expensive to build along with maintaining.  For one hour of flight time, the stealth bomber needs 119 hours of maintenance in turn.  In 1997, the physical cost of one stealth aircraft was 797 million dollars.  The procurement costs which included spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support was in the range of 929 million dollars per aircraft.  The total program cost which included research development, engineering and testing was around 2.1 billion dollars per aircraft.

Stealth Pic.jpg

    The stealth has a length of 69 feet, a wingspan of 172 feet, and a height of 17 feet.  It can travel at a maximum speed of 604 mph and has a cruising speed of 541 mph.  On one tank of fuel, it can fly 6,900 miles without refueling.  It’s two internal bays for ordnance are capable of carrying 50,000 pounds.  This is one of few military technologies that is completely undetectable on enemy radar. 

    This military weapon has been involved in 3 campaigns including:  The Kosovo War in 1999; The War in Afghanistan; and The War in Iraq.  It was given credit for taking out thirty-three percent of Serbian bombing targets during the first eight weeks of the United States being involved in the Kosovo War.  This aircraft has been nothing but successful since its first use in combat.

    The stealth is a very elitist technology.  Only a handful of people on the planet know how to operate this technology first hand.  The reason this technology is not democratic is because the inception and design of this aircraft was done very secretively.  The United States government wrote this project off as something that would not bring much attention and spent outrageous quantities of money on it.  Although, this type of sophisticated military technology needs a type of undemocratic force behind it.  The government can not just release a statement saying they are designing and developing a secret airplane that is undetectable on radar.  If they did, it would bring much speculation and ploys by foreign powers to try to get their hands on it.  In some cases, I believe that undemocratic methods are necessary for the greater good.

   The intended use of the stealth bomber is to bomb targets in an undetectable way.  It’s intended use is exactly how it sounds.   This type of technology requires a very authoritarian power structure with heavy government control.  This ensures the safety of classified materials and the security of the technology.  The gatekeepers of this highly sought after technology are the United States government, the United States Air Force (who controls it), and the actual pilots that operate it.  The conditions for participation is a need for the aircraft such as a threat on the United States such as a war.  The most important condition is the actual training the pilot receives. 

    This very innovative and weaponized technology was created solely for the purpose of use during the Cold War.  Since the Cold War ended and the use for it diminished, it wasn’t first used in combat until the Kosovo War in 1999 (20 years after it was started).  This is an example of a technology that was made for a specific time in history.

   Stealth Pic2.jpg

   In conclusion, this aircraft is one of the most advanced technologies on the face of the planet.  It also is used for very important and highly crucial missions for the United States of America.  There are many controversial issues associated with this technology, but in my opinion it has only helped us as a nation. 

 

Works Cited

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-2_Spirit

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_project

Image Sources

http://custodialsmackdown.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/b2.jpg

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/10/24/1

http://www.aviationexplorer.com/Commercial_Airliners-Military_Aircraft_Pictures/b2_stealth_bomber_aerial_refueling.jpg

 

http://www.mimenta.com/Mimenta_Art/Images/Extra%20Graphics/Desktops/B2%20StealthBomber.jpg

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Valiant_Shield_-_B2_Stealth_bomber_from_Missouri_leads_ariel_formation.jpg

 

                                                          Video Link

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntcsZH5N-MA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technology and Politics: Gas Turbine Engine

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The gas turbine engine is one of the most widely used technologies in the world today. Its uses range from powering aircraft, seacraft and some military vehicles (e.g. M-1 tank) to generating electricity.

The basic principle of a gas turbine engine is a very simple thermodynamic cycle. It comprises of 3 main parts. First is a compressor which takes air from the atmosphere and compresses it to a high pressure increasing its velocity, This high-pressure air then enters the combustion area where fuel (generally jet fuel, propane or n�atural gas) is injected and combusted. This gives the air more energy by further increasing its velocity and also in the form of thermal energy. The air finally enters the turbine stage. Here the hot air turns the turbine blades and we obtain energy in the form of shaft work. Part of this goes back to powering the compressor and the rest is the useful output.

image002.gif

The concept of a turbine engine goes back much further in time than one would imagine. The first model was developed as far back as 150 AD by Hero of Alexandria. This model used steam to make a wheel turn. Leonardo Da Vinci also invented a device which used the same principles to turn a roasting spit. The hot air rising from the chimney turned a fan which through a series of gears was connected to a spit which turned. Various models of turbines (mostly steam turbines) were invented in the 16th and 17th centuries. But the biggest breakthrough was in 1791 when John Barber obtained a patent for his design of a gas turbine engine which had most of the elements present in modern gas turbines. After making various improvements to his design, it was used to power one of the earlier automobiles which were known as a ‘horseless carriages’. Since then gas turbine design has improved with advancing technology and we now have the turbines that we can see in our modern aircraft and power plants.

In this discussion the focus will be on the turbines that are used in power plants. This is an inherently political technology. It is part of a process and system that distributes electricity to a mass populace so it can be called a democratic technology. However it is not completely democratic as for example solar power (Winner) since it is very much an elitist technology which is why we don’t see people trying to build a turbine in their backyard and generate electricity. It requires large centralized power plants to generate and distribute electricity. And it requires a certain management and power structure to run. In most cases the government owns and ensures the running of power plants.

Even though the gas turbine is one of the most useful technologies today, it has its drawbacks. The main one being emissions which has become quite an ethical issue of recent times. The combustion process of the gas turbine engine results in gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) being released into the atmosphere. Statistics by the Environmental Protection Agency have shown that electricity generation and fossil fuel combustion are two of the biggest contributors to this problem. Continued emissions at the current rates would result in more formation of smog, acid rain and increased global warming.

Now a question that has been raised a lot in the recent times is if there is any alternate form of energy we can use? There exist many forms of alternate energy like solar, wind, geothermal etc. but the fact of the matter is that none of these can fully replace a gas turbine engine. Nuclear power plants use steam turbines which have similar issues as gas turbine engines do. And the other forms of energy mentioned have issues with storing the acquired energy which is a critical factor to consider since energy cannot always be harnessed from those sources (e.g. solar panels cannot do anything at nighttime). Research into alternative forms of energy will go on but in addition to that universities like Penn State and gas turbine manufacturers like GE are looking into finding methods of building low emissions gas turbine engines. The main way they hope to achieve this is by using a more lean mixture (more air than fuel) during the combustion process. Of course this method has its issues too like pressure oscillations and heat fluctuations that occur when the fuel and air don’t mix uniformly. Researchers are working to find ways of predicting and preventing these phenomena. The issue of emissions is one that needs a solution soon or the future of the gas turbine industry as well as our environment will be at risk.

Thumbnail image for alternative_energy_vs_improving_current_design.jpg

 

References

Langdon Wagner, Do artifacts have politics

National nitrogen oxides emissions by source sector from http://www.epa.gov/cgi-bin/broker?_service=data&_program=dataprog.dw_12cat_nat.sas&pol=227

Technology: Goodbye radio, hello apps

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So I was on my way back to school from home last week and decided I wanted to listen to some music. I turned on the stereo only to find that my dad left one of his CD’s in. My dad is past the age of 50. Needless to say, his music tastes are drenched in the retro years of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s of which I am not entirely opposed to, but are also not necessarily tunes I would blast with my windows down. But as I listened to the disc, I heard a song that made me think about our discussions of technology, and I starting asking myself: when does an object become obsolete?  I started to think about this because the lyrics to one of my dad’s ancient songs went something like “Video killed the radio star”. I rarely ever think about the radio anymore, let alone listen to it. But I wanted to ask you all: has the radio become obsolete? Do you still listen to the radio? If you do, why?

Other than maybe specific radio shows, weather and traffic updates, or a favorite song, I cannot think of any other major reasons the general public would listen to the radio anymore. Even weather and traffic updates can be accessed quicker and in more detail through various cell phone apps and alert systems. We can plug in i-pods and i-phones to listen to our favorite songs. So is the radio era really dying out?

Catching a Computer Cold! can it be possible?

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Is it possible for the human body to get infected by computer viruses? Are we on our way of discovering new illnesses and diseases that is transfered to our bodies via computers?
Is it going to happen soon that we treat computers that are infected by viruses in the same way we treat people infected by epidemic diseases?
Well, here is a link that might answer the questions I raised above, and it is related to the discussion we had the other night about technology and its consequences on us human beings.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4217995/catching-a-computer-cold

Assignments for Week 3

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Reading

• Read Chapters 1 -3 of “The Timeless Way of Building”
• Read Introduction to SCOT approach. (Social Construction of Technology–pdf file in folder)
• Read Introduction and Chapters 1-3 of “How Users Matter”

Class Presentation and Blog Post on Politics of Objects

Part I: Between now and Tuesday, 6/1

Use the tools provided by our discussion of Winner to analyze some technology from the perspective of its politics–Think about questions such as:

• Is it an inherently elitist technology?
• Is it an inherently democratic technology?
• What is its intended use?
• Is it used to either deny or allow certain people access to goods or services that others enjoy?
• What kind of power structure does it require/allow?
• Who are the gatekeepers to its use?
• What are the conditions for participation?
• How is it connected to the politics of the time in which it was introduced?
• How does it function in contemporary arrangements in society?

Prepare a 10 minute presentation (using power-point, web-sites, video clips, or whatever tools you like) that informs the class about the history of the technology, its current role in society, and the social and ethical issues the technology raises and/or attempts to address.

Part II: On Tuesday, 6/1

Give your presentation to the class. After each presentation, we will have five minutes for questions and discussion. Take note of whatever factual questions come up that you don’t yet have the answer to, and of whatever questions about values that deserve some further reflection.

Part III: Between Tuesday, 6/1 and the following Tuesday, 6/8

Prepare a blog post with:

• A written version of your presentation
• Links to the materials you used and/or embedded video clips
• A list of the questions brought up in discussion, your provisional answers to these questions, and your thoughts on what more would need to be done in order to provide fuller answers.

Technology and Redefining Terms

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After Reading Chapter two in Volti’s and knowing what effect technology had on members of society and the impact it had on society roles. What surprised me the most is the experience of Yir Yont with the stone axes. The stones were obtained from a trading network that involved only adult males, and axes were exclusively for men to own. And women and children are allowed to borrow an axe from a close relative only. all of those values were changed when metal axes were given to all members of society including women, young men and children by the missionaries in the twentieth century, and by this time all men lost their roles in the society and having an axe is not a privilege anymore . ( Volti, Ch.2, P.20-21 )
After reading this I started thinking about what terms or values technology affected or altered in our lives. And what I thought of was illiteracy and how this term is affected in a way that suites the technology advancement and the world we live in today.

before talking about my point I wanted to state two important definitions,

illiteracy: is a term used to describe the inability to read or write in any capacity. (1)
functional illiteracy: is a term used to describe reading and writing skills that are inadequate to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level. (2)

After i have finished with reading, I started thinking about how did the introduction of computers affect our thinking and definition of many terms and values. And what I asked myself was did our view of illiterate people changed? We used to think about them as people who do not how to write or read. But what about a person who does not know how to use a computer? can we call hem or her an illiterate too?

I remember one of my friends talking about a person who does not know how to operate a computer at all and saying that he is illiterate.

So did the technological advancement changed our views about the definition of an illiterate person? so can we say that a person who does not know how to operate a computer at all is an illiterate, and a person who knows a little bit about working with a computer a functional illiterate?

At the end, I thought of all of this after reading chapter two of volti and thought it would be great if I got some feedback from you guys.

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illiteracy
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_illiteracy