Prospective collaborative sensemaking for identifying the potential impact of emerging technologies

Impact of Emerging Technology in Social Work Practice

Social Work ◽

10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0277 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Paul Freddolino

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Social Work ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

New Technologies ◽

Emerging Technologies ◽

Work Practice ◽

The United States ◽

Social Work Practice ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Potential Impact

There is little doubt that social work practice has been, is, and will continue to be impacted by emerging technologies, generally defined in terms of information and communication technologies (ICT), in the United States and around the globe. However, while it is relatively easy to locate descriptions of innovative technologies and social work services utilizing these technologies, it is somewhat more difficult to locate concrete evidence to illustrate actual widely-adopted changes in the practice arena brought about as a result of ICTs. It is harder still to identify concrete, data-based evidence concerning the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these technologies and services, the “real impact” that changes clients’ lives. Furthermore, there is little discussion concerning the concurrent impact of other significant ongoing transformations in social work practice that in some ways support increased impact of emerging technologies and in other ways limit their potential impact. Such trends as the following: the increasing prevalence of integrated mental health and substance abuse services into “behavioral health”; the promotion of inter-professional and multidisciplinary approaches; greater awareness of, and in some venues now required, focus on patient/client-centered care; heightened acknowledgement of the role of caregivers and their enhanced influence and power as advocates; heightened prevalence of universal design principles; increased attention to mindfulness; and greater sensitivity to the short- and long-term impact of trauma are all relevant. These trends create an environment in which emerging ICTs can have greater potential impact. They interact with both the development of new technologies and the escalating awareness of the potential of these technologies by practitioners, the agencies that employ them, and the clients and caregivers who utilize their services. Also involved are for-profit enterprises that see in this technology-enhanced arena a potential to earn substantial profits. The available sources make clear that little is indeed clear, and that there are both challenges and opportunities confronting the use of emerging technologies, with critical trade-offs between access and privacy, and between enhanced services and technology-related barriers to these services. Throughout this review social work’s commitment to social justice provides a lens that cannot be ignored, demanding recognition of sources whose description of impact may be less optimistic than that of ICT cheerleaders. The current state of affairs should serve as a call to action for all stakeholders in the human services to share information and data about these emerging trends, and to play an active role in their further development to ensure that the demands of social justice are addressed.

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Measuring risk/benefit perceptions of emerging technologies and their potential impact on communication of public opinion toward science

Public Understanding of Science ◽

10.1177/0963662510390159 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (7) ◽

pp. 830-847 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Andrew R. Binder ◽

Michael A. Cacciatore ◽

Dietram A. Scheufele ◽

Bret R. Shaw ◽

Elizabeth A. Corley

Keyword(s):

Public Opinion ◽

Emerging Technologies ◽

Potential Impact

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Foresight of cyber security threat drivers and affecting technologies

foresight ◽

10.1108/fs-02-2018-0020 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 353-363 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yoel Raban ◽

Aharon Hauptman

Keyword(s):

Cyber Security ◽

Online Survey ◽

Emerging Technologies ◽

Homomorphic Encryption ◽

Positive Contribution ◽

Cyber Attack ◽

Content Type ◽

Horizon Scanning ◽

Potential Impact

Purpose The cyber security industry emerged rapidly in recent years due to mounting cyber threats and increasing cyber hacking activities. Research on emerging technologies emphasizes the risks and sometimes neglects to address the potential positive contribution to cyber security. The purpose of this study is to conduct a relatively balanced long-term foresight study to elicit major significant threat drivers and to identify emerging technologies that are likely to have a significant impact on defense and attack capabilities in cyber security. Design/methodology/approach The main instruments used in this study were horizon scanning and an online survey among subject-matter experts that assessed emerging threats and the potential impact of several emerging technologies on cyber defense capabilities and cyber attack capabilities. Findings An expert survey shows that cyber resilience, homomorphic encryption and blockchain may be considered as technologies contributing mainly to defense capabilities. On the other hand, Internet of Things, biohacking and human machine interface (HMI) and autonomous technologies add mainly to attack capabilities. In the middle, we find autonomous technologies, quantum computing and artificial intelligence that contribute to defense, as well as to attack capabilities, with roughly similar impact on both. Originality/value This study adds to the current research a balanced long-term view and experts’ assessment of negative and positive impacts of emerging technologies, including their time to maturity and consensus levels. Two new Likert scale measures were applied to measure the potential impact of emerging technologies on cyber security, thus enabling the classification of the results into four groups (net positive, net negative, positive-positive and negative-negative).

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Effects of Gender, Parental Role, and Time on Infant- and Adult-Directed Read and Spontaneous Speech

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-s-19-0047 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (11) ◽

pp. 4001-4014

Author(s):

Melanie Weirich ◽

Adrian Simpson

Keyword(s):

Parental Involvement ◽

Gender Identity ◽

Spontaneous Speech ◽

First Year ◽

Space Size ◽

Vowel Space ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Phonetic Features ◽

And Gender ◽

Description Task

Purpose The study sets out to investigate inter- and intraspeaker variation in German infant-directed speech (IDS) and considers the potential impact that the factors gender, parental involvement, and speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech) may have. In addition, we analyze data from 3 time points prior to and after the birth of the child to examine potential changes in the features of IDS and, particularly also, of adult-directed speech (ADS). Here, the gender identity of a speaker is considered as an additional factor. Method IDS and ADS data from 34 participants (15 mothers, 19 fathers) is gathered by means of a reading and a picture description task. For IDS, 2 recordings were made when the baby was approximately 6 and 9 months old, respectively. For ADS, an additional recording was made before the baby was born. Phonetic analyses comprise mean fundamental frequency (f0), variation in f0, the 1st 2 formants measured in /i: ɛ a u:/, and the vowel space size. Moreover, social and behavioral data were gathered regarding parental involvement and gender identity. Results German IDS is characterized by an increase in mean f0, a larger variation in f0, vowel- and formant-specific differences, and a larger acoustic vowel space. No effect of gender or parental involvement was found. Also, the phonetic features of IDS were found in both spontaneous and read speech. Regarding ADS, changes in vowel space size in some of the fathers and in mean f0 in mothers were found. Conclusion Phonetic features of German IDS are robust with respect to the factors gender, parental involvement, speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech), and time. Some phonetic features of ADS changed within the child's first year depending on gender and parental involvement/gender identity. Thus, further research on IDS needs to address also potential changes in ADS.

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Exploring the Potential Impact of Sentence-Level Comprehension and Sentence-Level Fluency on Deaf Students' Passage Comprehension

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-19-00205 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (7) ◽

pp. 2281-2292

Author(s):

Ying Zhao ◽

Xinchun Wu ◽

Hongjun Chen ◽

Peng Sun ◽

Ruibo Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Independent Predictor ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Group Differences ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Deaf Students ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Sentence Level ◽

Mediating Mechanisms ◽

Potential Impact ◽

The Relationship

Purpose This exploratory study aimed to investigate the potential impact of sentence-level comprehension and sentence-level fluency on passage comprehension of deaf students in elementary school. Method A total of 159 deaf students, 65 students ( M age = 13.46 years) in Grades 3 and 4 and 94 students ( M age = 14.95 years) in Grades 5 and 6, were assessed for nonverbal intelligence, vocabulary knowledge, sentence-level comprehension, sentence-level fluency, and passage comprehension. Group differences were examined using t tests, whereas the predictive and mediating mechanisms were examined using regression modeling. Results The regression analyses showed that the effect of sentence-level comprehension on passage comprehension was not significant, whereas sentence-level fluency was an independent predictor in Grades 3–4. Sentence-level comprehension and fluency contributed significant variance to passage comprehension in Grades 5–6. Sentence-level fluency fully mediated the influence of sentence-level comprehension on passage comprehension in Grades 3–4, playing a partial mediating role in Grades 5–6. Conclusions The relative contributions of sentence-level comprehension and fluency to deaf students' passage comprehension varied, and sentence-level fluency mediated the relationship between sentence-level comprehension and passage comprehension.

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