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Collaborating on Convergent Technologies: Education and Practice
Author(s) -
GORMAN MICHAEL E.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1305.003
Subject(s) - metaphor , set (abstract data type) , discipline , work (physics) , public relations , engineering ethics , sociology , knowledge management , business , computer science , political science , engineering , social science , mechanical engineering , philosophy , linguistics , programming language
A bstract : Converging technologies will require collaboration across disciplines. A good metaphor for such collaborations is the kind of trading zone that emerges whenever human beings from different cultures interact. NBIC must avoid trading zones that are dominated by one discipline or set of interests and instead encourage multiple stakeholders to form a shared mental model of what needs to be accomplished. An example is drawn from current work on societal dimensions of nanotechnology. Students need to gain experience working in such trading zones, in addition to acquiring disciplinary depth.