Assignment

1
Assignment 1

• The following assignment applies to the material
  in three of the readings in the courseware.
• Solomon describes the ethical dilemma of medical
  intervention on premature babies
• Suppose that a group of neonatologists, in
  response to this dilemma, were to form an
  organization called Neonatologists for Social
  Responsibility. Why would Chapman agree or
  disagree that this issue is an appropriate one
  for such an organization?
• Discuss this organization in terms of micro and
  macro ethics described in class
• How might the ideas of DiNorcia be applied in the
  formation of ethical guidelines for physicians
  surrounding this issue?
• Length Between 500 and 750 words (include a
  word count)
•  
• Due Thursday, Jan 29, 2004 at the start of
  class

2
Government and Technology

• McGinn
• Strengths and Weaknesses of Government Control
• John Street
• Effect of Political Structure on Government
  Control
• Limits of Political Control
• NIMBY
• Time Horizons of Technology Policy
• Transnational Technologies

3
McGinn Mechanisms for Social Control

• Government Regulation
• Government Funding
• Product Liability and Litigation
• Public Participation
• Advance Assessment
• Legislative Limits

Question What are the strengths and weaknesses
of the different mechanisms for social control?
4
Government Regulation

• Strengths
• Government in a position to save lives, save
  environment
• Can develop preventative standards
• Govt can act as an advocate for the non-powerful
• Weaknesses
• Government is open to politicization
• Rules are not necessarily context specific
• Govt is often reactive instead of proactive

5
Government Funding

• Strengths
• Able to finance projects that require large
  capital investment and benefits that are
  long-term
• Can avoid commercial interests
• Provide basic services that are valuable but not
  profitable
• Weaknesses
• May sponsor projects that do not have public
  support
• Open to lobby efforts, or influences from the
  powerful

6
Product Liability and Litigation

• Strengths
• Police corporations that may want to cut corners
• Protection for consumers
• Weaknesses
• Helpful only after a problem occurs
• Adds to costs of products

7
Legislative Limits

• (e.g. Levels of AOX in pulp mill effluent 1.5 kg
  / ton)
• (See Vincent Di Norcia reading)
• Strengths
• Clear way of saying NO
• Raise public awareness to environmental/social
  concerns
• Weaknesses
• Tend to be restrictive measures. Less often a
  complete ban.
• Can promote a technical fix, when a rethinking of
  the entire technology may be warranted
• May be reactive

8
John Street The State and Technology

• How does political structure affect how
  government policy is developed?

9
Comparison of McGinn to Street
10
Street State as regulator

• The form of regulation depends very much on the
  type of government
• Example Mass communications and radio in the UK
  versus the USA

11
Characteristics of Mass Communications
Political Structure
Little technological reason for different
broadcast systems!
12
Question

• Can you think of technologies where Canada has
  more centralized regulatory control and those
  where Canada has more decentralized control?

13
State as customer

• Certain technologies are integral to central
  functions of government
• Military, Surveillance
• Computer systems for taxation, welfare, etc.
• The government is a large customer it can have
  a major impact on the design of a technology
• Government can affect competitiveness
• E.g. Toronto Transit Commission

14
State as customer

• a political structure which excludes economic
  competition or political pluralism is liable to
  have a technology policy dictated by particular
  interests.(p 58)
• but
• a lack of central coordination can lead to the
  underdevelopment of technology policy (p 58)

15
State as Underwriter

• State funds technological development
• In Canada, we have
• Crown corporations
• Funding for research and development (NSERC)
• In US, France and Britain, a very large
  proportion of research and development funds are
  directed to defense
• Since the cold war -gtcivil applications for
  military RD facilities
• Example Las Alamos National Laboratory and
  TRANSIMS

16
Limits of Political ControlNIMBY

• NIMBY Not in my backyard
• Democracy -gt some notion of consent.
• How does a government handle situations where the
  costs of an action falls unevenly upon its
  citizens?
• Public enquiries and commissions to legitimate
  action
• Good example The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline

17
Question

• Examples of NIMBY being a positive force in
  limiting the control of the state?
• Examples of NIMBY being a negative force?

18
Time Horizons of Technology Policy

• Technology policy tends to work to a longer time
  horizon than democracy. . Whilst a particular
  leadership is in power it may prefer pragmatic,
  short-term solutions to those long-term solutions
  which a coherent technology policy might need.
  (Street p. 67)

19
Problem of Transnational Technologies

• Internet
• Media
• Technologies that may erode a nations cultural
  heritage (e.g. American clothing exported around
  the world, technologies that require knowledge of
  English language)
• Pollution that crosses borders
• To what extent can (should?) a government attempt
  to control technologies such as these?

20
Global Economics

• How much is a government driven by (or controlled
  by) global economics?
• Do governments have real control over bank
  mergers?
• Heavy pressure is placed on a government to
  deregulate and allow mergers, so that firms can
  compete globally
• Funding for RD and priorities in education
• often driven by the desire for global
  competitiveness rather than social needs

21
To think about

• Does a government direct the development of
  technology? Or is it forced merely to respond to
  the demands made upon it by technology?