The new technology and its human impact

In the years that have passed since publication of the Club of Rome's seminal report “Limits to Growth,” the issues raised in terms of development, resource use and the environment have become ever more pressing. The potential of advances in science and technology to affect all aspects of life, including development, was then little understood. Today's unparalleled burst in scientific and technological creativity has given new options and opportunities to the world economic system.

Central to this process is a series of concepts which includes the scientification of technology, by which technology is increasingly generated and developed on scientific bases, the breaking down of interdisciplinary barriers and mankind's new found capacity literally to invent resources, leading to the emergence of whole categories of new materials. These changes make possible a new approach to economic growth, relying on decentralization and flexibility and the selection of technology mixes best suited to different socio‐economic and cultural contexts. In parallel, the key importance above all of the information technologies is producing a dematerialization of goods, a trend exemplified by the shift from product oriented to function oriented industries.

The new technologies of the 1980s are cross‐fertilizing and self‐disseminative. They are creating an exceptional number of innovative options in processes, products, services, organization and markets. Mature industrial sectors can undergo a process of rejuvenation to recover competitiveness by the grafting of advanced technologies onto traditional activities. The results are already evident in industrialized countries, such as Italy. The flexibility offered by the new technologies offers perhaps our best hope for a solution to the widening gap between rich and poor nations, contrary to the belief that identifies in advances in science and technology the seeds of a process of polarization dividing the world.

The countries of the United States, Japan and Western Europe—the so‐called Triad Power—dominate the emerging technologies and their applications. In fact, given the pace of today's technological revolution, developing countries are effectively excluded from active participation in the process of technological change. New technologies are not “off the peg,” they have to be learned and controlled, to be introduced into an existing flexible system possessing trained manpower and an adequate capital base. Introduction into the Third World, where these essential conditions are frequently lacking, will not be a painless process. Technology transfer without adaptation is likely to have undesirable cultural and societal disadvantages.

North and South are simultaneously experiencing radically different processes of evolution: the former, through restructuring and innovation; the latter, through the drive for more quantitative growth. Continuing stress on quantitative growth carries with it the risk that other goals—environmental quality, even the eradication of poverty—may suffer. Here lies the possibility that unless economic patterns change, today's imbalance between the haves and the have nots may be perpetuated or even consolidated.

The countries of the North individually all face problems in addressing these issues. The international banking system is hamstrung with the problems of Third World debt. Primary producers no longer command high prices for their raw materials on world markets and so this source of development funding is also drying up. The need is therefore for a global approach. In each Third World situation, specific needs and requirements must be identified to be tackled via technology blending, whereby a mix of emerging and traditional technologies is selected to raise the quality of output to the levels now demanded by a sophisticated world economy.

Another important area is that of energy, together with the worsening environmental and even climatic effects of energy policies. The need is for a long term strategic view to marshall the contribution new technologies can make to improving the lot of mankind in full respect for his environment.

Technological change also implies societal change. In labor markets, labor mismatch creates pockets of employment which are difficult to eradicate. Yet, overall, the hope is that expanding economic horizons will create unlimited opportunities for new jobs and new skills. The key is education and training. A feed and feedback mechanism between education and the economy represents an intangible investment in the future.

Economic growth, technological innovation, development of culture and society, have always moved together with synergism. Current changes are not so much just physical as conceptual. We are passing from a mechanical (or mechanistic) society to one that can be termed cybernetic. Causality, sequentiality and hierarchy are giving way to a functional interdependence at a systems level. Greater participation will produce more opportunities for self‐fulfillment. As old social equilibria collapse, management of social change can be seen to be as important as management of technological change.

The technological revolution has deep roots in Western culture. It is a liberating force that can lead to greater cultural enrichment. By understanding the changes now underway, we can ensure that the new pattern of society that emerges from exploitation of the new technologies retains man at its center and so benefits the whole of humanity.     

Coordination among thigh muscles including the vastus intermedius and adductor magnus at different cycling intensities

Although many studies have been focused on muscle synergies in the lower limbs, synergies of the thigh muscles during cycling have not been investigated in detail. We examined synergies of the thigh muscles including the vastus intermedius (VI) and adductor magnus (AM) while cycling. Eight healthy men pedaled at 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of maximal aerobic power output at a constant cadence of 60 rpm. Surface electromyography (EMG) recorded signals from the deep VI and the three superficial quadriceps femoris (QF) muscles, the two hamstrings and the AM. The root mean square of the EMG signal was averaged every 2° of crank rotation and normalized by the peak value for each muscle. We used factor analysis to assess normalized EMG recordings while cycling and to identify thigh muscle synergies. The VI, the superficial QF muscles and the AM dominated the first muscle synergy at all power output levels. The AM also formed a second synergy with the two hamstrings at all power output levels. These results suggest that the VI coordinates with the other QF and AM muscles, and that the AM coordinates with the QF and hamstring muscles while cycling.     

礼仪和当代社会理论：权力、公民社会和自我认同

德裔社会学家诺贝特．爱理雅斯的《文明化进程》是礼仪研究领域的名著。本文介绍了它的基本观点，指出了它的不足之处，并在三种新的社会理论的视角下，重新审视了该理论和礼仪研究。爱理雅斯认为，西欧社会在中世纪末以后经历了一个”文明化”的过程，即人们更能够克制自我，言行举止更为谦恭有礼，其原因有二，一是国家对暴力的垄断，二是社会相互依赖性的增强。这一理论在文明化进程的一般性、历史起源及真实性等三个方面都存在着缺陷。礼仪研究和三种新社会理论可以在如下的条件下相互增益：福柯式的权力重新获得主体，公民社会有必要关注非政治动机，而自我认同则可以突现其历史性和日常性的一面。     

Construction of CCZ transform for quadratic APN functions

Almost perfect nonlinear (APN) function is an important type of function in cryptography, especially quadratic APN function. Since the notion of CCZ-equivalence developed, the construction of CCZ transform for APN functions to obtain new APN functions became a critical issue in cryptography. Inspired by the result of Budaghyan who used Gold functions, this article gives the construction of CCZ transform for all quadratic vectorial Boolean functions and proves that for quadratic APN functions, the functions transformed have algebraic degree 3, thus EA-inequivalent to all quadratic functions, and have minimum algebraic degree 2, thus EA-inequivalent to all power functions.     

Distance de pouvoir et auto-évaluation de l’efficacité d’une équipe de travail

We introduce a study concerning relation between power and the evaluation of the effectiveness of working teams (Savoie & Brunet, 2000). The power model of Mulder lead to postulate a relation between power distance in the team and the evaluation of the effectiveness. We collected a series of measurements in working teams composed of students engineers. Results allow proving such relation.     

Telling the Truth About Power

SUMMARY

In this culture, those in power do not usually talk about it and the rest of us tend not to recognize it either. A similar situation exists in therapy, where the therapist herself may not be aware of her own power-over tactics. This article suggests methods that may help therapists to acknowledge their power and also to change from power-over actions to mutually empowering relationships. From this line of thinking, there follows an exploration of altering the concept of boundaries in therapy into mutually constructed agreements between patient and therapist. This article was presented at the Summer Training Institute of the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, June, 2003.