Globalization Goes High-Tech: A Worrisome World of Abundance

Halal (2008) states that technology will become overly abundant and globally available in the future (p. 31). One indicator is the increasing availability of data that is ripe to be collated and processed by sophisticated technology. Among the seven high-tech manufacturing forecasts Halal makes, Smart Robots is especially interesting.

Image Source: Performing Objectives 2012

The concept of smart robots is prevalent in film and book form.  Smart robots are likely to become more prevalent as aided by the following forces:

1. Technological. Technology will continue to increase making way for more sophistication in robotics and artificial intelligence.
2. Social. Robots are likely to be modeled in human form ("My Robot Girlfriend" by Wesley Allison provides a glimpse of this) so that they are more socially acceptable. This is counter intuitive since the trend is to make better computing devices smaller. The form of robots will be predominately in human form.



Reference:

Halal, W. E. (2008). Technology's Promise: Expert Knowledge on the Transformation of Business and Society. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Evolutionary Learning

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Schriebman & Christakis (2008) detailed the architecture of structured design dialogue, touting it as a necessary precursor to the envisioned Technology of Democracy. While the architecture is comprised of 31 components, of significant interest is the six dialogue laws:
1. Diversity of Perspectives
2. Disciplined Dialogue
3. Comparison of Observer and Group Ideas
4. Meaning and Wisdom
5. Autonomy and Authenticity
6. Evolutionary Learning

Schriebman & Christakis (2008) stated that evolutionary learning occurs, within a dialogue, when the observers understand how their individual ideas are related (p. 27). This intuitive observation is more apt to be realized when disciplined dialogue is part of the process. Personal biases, knowledge, and lack of knowledge can impede on the evolutionary learning process. In addition, two external forces can impact this process:

1. Global. For learning to be evolutionary, there must be a global perspective. New ideas are often formed when components are incorporated from beyond the local space. We must look beyond our local space to form evolutionary ideas. Thinking globally helps us envision what impacts and influences our ideas have on the global community and, conversely, what impacts and influences the global community might have on our ideas.

2. Social. Personal behaviors and ideas are often influenced by social norms, relationships, and beliefs. These social aspects help guide how we think and how we behave. This directly impacts our ideas and our willingness to expose them to others.

Case Study

Wireless electricity is a future innovation that can benefit from the concept of evolutionary learning. To thoroughly examine the technological aspects of the innovation, a cross-section of personnel will spend several mutil-hour sessions in a think tank. The six dialogue laws will be observed so that evolutionary learning can take place. Through this process, the think tank members are more likely to produce results necessary to move wireless electricity from concept to future reality.

References:

Schriebman, V., & Christakis, A. N. (2008). New agora: New geometry of languaging and new technology of democracy. Updated version 2008. Journal of Applied Systemic Studies, 1, 1, 15-31

http://www.harnessingcollectivewisdom.com/

NGT and Delphi Research Approaches

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The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is an evaluation tool that uses "semi-quantitative, rank-ordered" data. The data is collected from learner perceptions of a course (Dobbie, Rhodes, Tysinger, & Freeman (2004).

The Delphi Method is a research approach that uses an iterative and controlled feedback system (Skulmoski, Hartman, & Krahn, 2007). The authors detail 11 steps in a typical Delphi research process:

1. Develop the research question.
2. Design the research.
3. Select a research sample.
4. Initial questionnaire.
5. Pilot study.
6. Release initial questionnaire results.
7. Questionnaire round two.
8. Release round two results.
9. Questionnaire round three.
10. Release round three results.
11. Verify, generalize, and document research results.

As with most research, the Delphi Method and NGT are impacted by social and economical forces.

Social. Both research approaches/techniques require input from people. People have biases, agendas, and other factors that can impact data collection validity.

Economical. Research involving human subjects requires time and space. Time is needed of the researchers and human subjects involved. Space refers to the physical facility required for conducting research. Both time and space cost money.

Like most research methodologies, the Delphi Method has flexibility and several different permutations. Key to this method is iterative questionnaires and controlled feedback. The NGT tool is less iterative but more rigorous regarding statistical data analysis.

References:

Dobbie, A., Rhodes, M., Tysinger, J., & Freeman, J. (2004). Using a Modified Nominal Group Technique as a Curriculum Evaluation Tool. Retrieved August 8, 2012 from http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2004/June/Alison402.pdf

Skulmoski, G., Hartman, F., & Krahn, J. (2007). The Delphi Method for Graduate Research. Retrieved August 8, 2012 from http://jite.org/documents/Vol6/JITEv6p001-021Skulmoski212.pdf