The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution PDF

Author: Klaus Schwab

Publisher: Currency

Published: 2017-01-03

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1524758876

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World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.

Nation, State and the Industrial Revolution

Nation, State and the Industrial Revolution PDF

Author: Lars Magnusson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-09-10

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 1135256640

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This book puts the industrial revolution in a political and institutional context of state-making and the creation of modern national states, demonstrating that industrial transformation was connected to state and military interests.

Reconceptualizing the Industrial Revolution

Reconceptualizing the Industrial Revolution PDF

Author: Jeff Horn

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2010-10-29

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 0262515628

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Closely linked essays examine distinctive national patterns of industrialization. This collection of essays offers new perspectives on the Industrial Revolution as a global phenomenon. The fifteen contributors go beyond the longstanding view of industrialization as a linear process marked by discrete stages. Instead, they examine a lengthy and creative period in the history of industrialization, 1750 to 1914, reassessing the nature of and explanations for England's industrial primacy, and comparing significant industrial developments in countries ranging from China to Brazil. Each chapter explores a distinctive national production ecology, a complex blend of natural resources, demographic pressures, cultural impulses, technological assets, and commercial practices. At the same time, the chapters also reveal the portability of skilled workers and the permeability of political borders. The Industrial Revolution comes to life in discussions of British eagerness for stylish, middle-class products; the Enlightenment's contribution to European industrial growth; early America's incremental (rather than revolutionary) industrialization; the complex connections between Czarist and Stalinist periods of industrial change in Russia; Japan's late and rapid turn to mechanized production; and Brazil's industrial-financial boom. By exploring unique national patterns of industrialization as well as reciprocal exchanges and furtive borrowing among these states, the book refreshes the discussion of early industrial transformations and raises issues still relevant in today's era of globalization.

Industrialization of Biology

Industrialization of Biology PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-06-29

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 0309316553

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The tremendous progress in biology over the last half century - from Watson and Crick's elucidation of the structure of DNA to today's astonishing, rapid progress in the field of synthetic biology - has positioned us for significant innovation in chemical production. New bio-based chemicals, improved public health through improved drugs and diagnostics, and biofuels that reduce our dependency on oil are all results of research and innovation in the biological sciences. In the past decade, we have witnessed major advances made possible by biotechnology in areas such as rapid, low-cost DNA sequencing, metabolic engineering, and high-throughput screening. The manufacturing of chemicals using biological synthesis and engineering could expand even faster. A proactive strategy - implemented through the development of a technical roadmap similar to those that enabled sustained growth in the semiconductor industry and our explorations of space - is needed if we are to realize the widespread benefits of accelerating the industrialization of biology. Industrialization of Biology presents such a roadmap to achieve key technical milestones for chemical manufacturing through biological routes. This report examines the technical, economic, and societal factors that limit the adoption of bioprocessing in the chemical industry today and which, if surmounted, would markedly accelerate the advanced manufacturing of chemicals via industrial biotechnology. Working at the interface of synthetic chemistry, metabolic engineering, molecular biology, and synthetic biology, Industrialization of Biology identifies key technical goals for next-generation chemical manufacturing, then identifies the gaps in knowledge, tools, techniques, and systems required to meet those goals, and targets and timelines for achieving them. This report also considers the skills necessary to accomplish the roadmap goals, and what training opportunities are required to produce the cadre of skilled scientists and engineers needed.

The Industrial Revolution in World History

The Industrial Revolution in World History PDF

Author: Peter N Stearns

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-04-17

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 0429974108

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The industrial revolution was the single most important development in human history over the past three centuries, and it continues to shape the contemporary world. With new methods and organizations for producing goods, industrialization altered where people live, how they play, and even how they define political issues. By exploring the ways the industrial revolution reshaped world history, this book offers a unique look into the international factors that started the industrial revolution and its global spread and impact. In the fourth edition, noted historian Peter N. Stearns continues his global analysis of the industrial revolution with new discussions of industrialization outside of the West, including the study of India, the Middle East, and China. In addition, an expanded conclusion contains an examination of the changing contexts of industrialization. The Industrial Revolution in World History is essential for students of world history and economics, as well as for those seeking to know more about the global implications of what is arguably the defining socioeconomic event of modern times.

The Industrial Revolution in World History

The Industrial Revolution in World History PDF

Author: Peter N. Stearns

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-16

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 100022712X

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Now in its fifth edition, this book explores the ways in which the industrial revolution reshaped world history, covering the international factors that helped launch the industrial revolution, its global spread and its impact from the end of the eighteenth century to the present day. The single most important development in human history over the past three centuries, the industrial revolution continues to shape the contemporary world. Revised and brought into the present, this fifth edition of Peter N. Stearns’ The Industrial Revolution in World History extends his global analysis of the industrial revolution. Looking beyond the West, the book considers India, the Middle East and China and now includes more on key Latin American economies and Africa as well as the heightened tensions, since 2008, about the economic aspects of globalization and the decline of manufacturing in the West. This edition also features a new chapter on key historiographical debates, updated suggestions for further reading and boxed debate features that encourage the reader to consider diversity and different viewpoints in their own analysis, and pays increased attention to the environmental impacts. Illustrating the contemporary relevance of the industrial revolution's history, this is essential reading for students of world history and economics, as well as for those seeking to know more about the global implications of what is arguably the defining socioeconomic event of modern times.

The Scientific Revolution in National Context

The Scientific Revolution in National Context PDF

Author: Roy Porter

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-09-25

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780521396998

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The 'scientific revolution' of the sixteenth and seventeenth century continues to command attention in historical debate. Controversy still rages about the extent to which it was essentially a 'revolution of the mind', or how far it must also be explained by wider considerations. In this volume, leading scholars of early modern science argue the importance of specifically national contexts for understanding the transformation in natural philosophy between Copernicus and Newton. Distinct political, religious, cultural and linguistic formations shaped scientific interests and concerns differently in each European state and explain different levels of scientific intensity. Questions of institutional development and of the transmission of scientific ideas are also addressed. The emphasis upon national determinants makes this volume an interesting contribution to the study of the Scientific Revolution.

Nation, State and the Industrial Revolution

Nation, State and the Industrial Revolution PDF

Author: Lars Magnusson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-09-10

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 1135256632

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The industrial revolution and the creation of the modern (national) state are two of the most important historical processes to have occurred in Europe during the 19th century. The state and other bodies of governance play an important role in the development of capitalist market societies since the 18th century. But modern market economies are to a large degree a product of the interplay between market and governance. Yet we are often told a strikingly different tale about the modern economy, at least how it ought to work and operate - as far as possible without public interference. Even more frequently we have been taught that the modern capitalist market economy is a product of an industrial revolution, originating with the UK in the middle of the 18th century propelled by laissez faire and the triumph of free markets which gradually liberated themselves from the grip of an old dirigiste state. This book argues that in order to get a better understanding of this period and the rise of modern industrial capitalism it is necessary to link the industrial revolution in its various forms to a political and institutional context of state-making and the creation of modern national states. Professor Magnusson demonstrates that a historical narrative which does not acknowledge the role of the state and public governance for the establishment of the modern capitalist market economy is fundamentally flawed.