This paper analyzes scientists’ discourses on the social impacts and acceptability of robotics, based on data collected through participant observation and interviews with robotics researchers in the US and Japan. It shows that a linear, technologically determinist, view of the interaction between robots and society is dominant in the field; in this narrative the social “impact” of robotic tech...

2 This case study has been prepared by Claudia Sarrocco , Policy Analyst, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Shaping the future mobile information society: The Case of Morocco is part of a series of telecommunication case studies produced under the ITU New Initiatives programme of the Office of the Secretary-General. The Shaping the future of information soci...

The JRF’s recent public consultation revealed a strong sense of unease about some of the changes shaping British society. This Viewpoint continues the discussion about modern ‘social evils’ on the theme of ‘distrusting and fearful society’. Anna Minton argues that the cause of growing fear and distrust is visible physical inequality and segregation in the environment, combined with a commercial...

Debate over climate change focuses narrowly on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. A common justification for such emissions reductions is that they will lead to a reduction in the future impacts of climate on society. But research from social scientists and others who study environment–society interactions clearly indicates that the dominant factors shaping the impacts of climate on soc...

The last few decades have seen tremendous innovations in information technology (IT) that have affected all aspects of modern life. Contemporary society has been variously called ‘Information Society,’ ‘Digital Economy,’ and ‘Knowledge Economy.’ The term ‘E-Society’ is perhaps more appropriate as it truly reflects the degree to which we are dependent on electronic or digital means even to execu...

We have used a commercially available liquid-crystal spatial light modulator within a reflective optics pulse-shaping apparatus to shape ultrashort pulses with temporal resolution approaching 10 fs. Using the spatial light modulator as a phase modulator, we produce a variety of complex ultrafast waveforms, including odd pulses, high repetition rate (.23 THz) pulse trains, and asymmetric pulse t...