Cultural Software

Cultural Software

Author: J. M. Balkin

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 9780300084504

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In this book J. M. Balkin offers a strikingly original theory of cultural evolution, a theory that explains shared understandings, disagreement, and diversity within cultures. Drawing on many fields of study--including anthropology, evolutionary theory, cognitive science, linguistics, sociology, political theory, philosophy, social psychology, and law--the author explores how cultures grow and spread, how shared understandings arise, and how people of different cultures can understand and evaluate each other's views. Cultural evolution occurs through the transmission of cultural information and know-how--cultural software--in human minds, Balkin says. Individuals embody cultural software and spread it to others through communication and social learning. Ideology, the author contends, is neither a special nor a pathological form of thought but an ordinary product of the evolution of cultural software. Because cultural understanding is a patchwork of older imperfect tools that are continually adapted to solve new problems, human understanding is partly adequate and partly inadequate to the pursuit of justice. Balkin presents numerous examples that illuminate the sources of ideological effects and their contributions to injustice. He also enters the current debate over multiculturalism, applying his theory to problems of mutual understanding between people who hold different worldviews. He argues that cultural understanding presupposes transcendent ideals and shows how both ideological analysis of others and ideological self-criticism are possible.


Book Synopsis Cultural Software by : J. M. Balkin

Download or read book Cultural Software written by J. M. Balkin and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book J. M. Balkin offers a strikingly original theory of cultural evolution, a theory that explains shared understandings, disagreement, and diversity within cultures. Drawing on many fields of study--including anthropology, evolutionary theory, cognitive science, linguistics, sociology, political theory, philosophy, social psychology, and law--the author explores how cultures grow and spread, how shared understandings arise, and how people of different cultures can understand and evaluate each other's views. Cultural evolution occurs through the transmission of cultural information and know-how--cultural software--in human minds, Balkin says. Individuals embody cultural software and spread it to others through communication and social learning. Ideology, the author contends, is neither a special nor a pathological form of thought but an ordinary product of the evolution of cultural software. Because cultural understanding is a patchwork of older imperfect tools that are continually adapted to solve new problems, human understanding is partly adequate and partly inadequate to the pursuit of justice. Balkin presents numerous examples that illuminate the sources of ideological effects and their contributions to injustice. He also enters the current debate over multiculturalism, applying his theory to problems of mutual understanding between people who hold different worldviews. He argues that cultural understanding presupposes transcendent ideals and shows how both ideological analysis of others and ideological self-criticism are possible.

Two Bits

Two Bits

Author: Christopher M. Kelty

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2008-06-09

Total Pages: 402

ISBN-13: 9780822342649

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In Two Bits, Christopher M. Kelty investigates the history and cultural significance of Free Software, revealing the people and practices that have transformed not only software but also music, film, science, and education. Free Software is a set of practices devoted to the collaborative creation of software source code that is made openly and freely available through an unconventional use of copyright law. Kelty explains how these specific practices have reoriented the relations of power around the creation, dissemination, and authorization of all kinds of knowledge. He also makes an important contribution to discussions of public spheres and social imaginaries by demonstrating how Free Software is a “recursive public”—a public organized around the ability to build, modify, and maintain the very infrastructure that gives it life in the first place. Drawing on ethnographic research that took him from an Internet healthcare start-up company in Boston to media labs in Berlin to young entrepreneurs in Bangalore, Kelty describes the technologies and the moral vision that bind together hackers, geeks, lawyers, and other Free Software advocates. In each case, he shows how their practices and way of life include not only the sharing of software source code but also ways of conceptualizing openness, writing copyright licenses, coordinating collaboration, and proselytizing. By exploring in detail how these practices came together as the Free Software movement from the 1970s to the 1990s, Kelty also considers how it is possible to understand the new movements emerging from Free Software: projects such as Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that creates copyright licenses, and Connexions, a project to create an online scholarly textbook commons.


Book Synopsis Two Bits by : Christopher M. Kelty

Download or read book Two Bits written by Christopher M. Kelty and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2008-06-09 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Two Bits, Christopher M. Kelty investigates the history and cultural significance of Free Software, revealing the people and practices that have transformed not only software but also music, film, science, and education. Free Software is a set of practices devoted to the collaborative creation of software source code that is made openly and freely available through an unconventional use of copyright law. Kelty explains how these specific practices have reoriented the relations of power around the creation, dissemination, and authorization of all kinds of knowledge. He also makes an important contribution to discussions of public spheres and social imaginaries by demonstrating how Free Software is a “recursive public”—a public organized around the ability to build, modify, and maintain the very infrastructure that gives it life in the first place. Drawing on ethnographic research that took him from an Internet healthcare start-up company in Boston to media labs in Berlin to young entrepreneurs in Bangalore, Kelty describes the technologies and the moral vision that bind together hackers, geeks, lawyers, and other Free Software advocates. In each case, he shows how their practices and way of life include not only the sharing of software source code but also ways of conceptualizing openness, writing copyright licenses, coordinating collaboration, and proselytizing. By exploring in detail how these practices came together as the Free Software movement from the 1970s to the 1990s, Kelty also considers how it is possible to understand the new movements emerging from Free Software: projects such as Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that creates copyright licenses, and Connexions, a project to create an online scholarly textbook commons.

The Unity Game Engine and the Circuits of Cultural Software

The Unity Game Engine and the Circuits of Cultural Software

Author: Benjamin Nicoll

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-08-22

Total Pages: 123

ISBN-13: 3030250121

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Videogames were once made with a vast range of tools and technologies, but in recent years a small number of commercially available 'game engines' have reached an unprecedented level of dominance in the global videogame industry. In particular, the Unity game engine has penetrated all scales of videogame development, from the large studio to the hobbyist bedroom, such that over half of all new videogames are reportedly being made with Unity. This book provides an urgently needed critical analysis of Unity as ‘cultural software’ that facilitates particular production workflows, design methodologies, and software literacies. Building on long-standing methods in media and cultural studies, and drawing on interviews with a range of videogame developers, Benjamin Nicoll and Brendan Keogh argue that Unity deploys a discourse of democratization to draw users into its ‘circuits of cultural software’. For scholars of media production, software culture, and platform studies, this book provides a framework and language to better articulate the increasingly dominant role of software tools in cultural production. For videogame developers, educators, and students, it provides critical and historical grounding for a tool that is widely used yet rarely analysed from a cultural angle.


Book Synopsis The Unity Game Engine and the Circuits of Cultural Software by : Benjamin Nicoll

Download or read book The Unity Game Engine and the Circuits of Cultural Software written by Benjamin Nicoll and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-08-22 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Videogames were once made with a vast range of tools and technologies, but in recent years a small number of commercially available 'game engines' have reached an unprecedented level of dominance in the global videogame industry. In particular, the Unity game engine has penetrated all scales of videogame development, from the large studio to the hobbyist bedroom, such that over half of all new videogames are reportedly being made with Unity. This book provides an urgently needed critical analysis of Unity as ‘cultural software’ that facilitates particular production workflows, design methodologies, and software literacies. Building on long-standing methods in media and cultural studies, and drawing on interviews with a range of videogame developers, Benjamin Nicoll and Brendan Keogh argue that Unity deploys a discourse of democratization to draw users into its ‘circuits of cultural software’. For scholars of media production, software culture, and platform studies, this book provides a framework and language to better articulate the increasingly dominant role of software tools in cultural production. For videogame developers, educators, and students, it provides critical and historical grounding for a tool that is widely used yet rarely analysed from a cultural angle.

Software Theory

Software Theory

Author: Federica Frabetti

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2014-11-17

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1783481986

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The cultural and philosophical study of software is crucial, both within and outside of the university, at an international level and across disciplines. Software is increasingly considered the focus of digital media studies because of the perceived need to address the invisibility, ubiquity, and power of digital media. Yet software remains quite obscure to students and scholars in media studies, the social sciences, and the humanities. This unique book engages directly in close readings of technical texts and computer code in order to show how software works and in what sense it can be considered constitutive of culture and even of human thought. Federica Frabetti combines this with an engagement with thinkers such as Bernard Steigler and Jacques Derrida to problematize the very nature of the conceptual system on which software is based and which has shaped its historical evolution. The book argues for a radical demystification of software and digital technologies by addressing the mystery that surrounds its function and that affects our comprehension of its relationship between technology, philosophy, culture, and society.


Book Synopsis Software Theory by : Federica Frabetti

Download or read book Software Theory written by Federica Frabetti and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-11-17 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cultural and philosophical study of software is crucial, both within and outside of the university, at an international level and across disciplines. Software is increasingly considered the focus of digital media studies because of the perceived need to address the invisibility, ubiquity, and power of digital media. Yet software remains quite obscure to students and scholars in media studies, the social sciences, and the humanities. This unique book engages directly in close readings of technical texts and computer code in order to show how software works and in what sense it can be considered constitutive of culture and even of human thought. Federica Frabetti combines this with an engagement with thinkers such as Bernard Steigler and Jacques Derrida to problematize the very nature of the conceptual system on which software is based and which has shaped its historical evolution. The book argues for a radical demystification of software and digital technologies by addressing the mystery that surrounds its function and that affects our comprehension of its relationship between technology, philosophy, culture, and society.

Cultural Analytics

Cultural Analytics

Author: Lev Manovich

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 0262360632

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A book at the intersection of data science and media studies, presenting concepts and methods for computational analysis of cultural data. How can we see a billion images? What analytical methods can we bring to bear on the astonishing scale of digital culture--the billions of photographs shared on social media every day, the hundreds of millions of songs created by twenty million musicians on Soundcloud, the content of four billion Pinterest boards? In Cultural Analytics, Lev Manovich presents concepts and methods for computational analysis of cultural data. Drawing on more than a decade of research and projects from his own lab, Manovich offers a gentle, nontechnical introduction to the core ideas of data analytics and discusses the ways that our society uses data and algorithms.


Book Synopsis Cultural Analytics by : Lev Manovich

Download or read book Cultural Analytics written by Lev Manovich and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A book at the intersection of data science and media studies, presenting concepts and methods for computational analysis of cultural data. How can we see a billion images? What analytical methods can we bring to bear on the astonishing scale of digital culture--the billions of photographs shared on social media every day, the hundreds of millions of songs created by twenty million musicians on Soundcloud, the content of four billion Pinterest boards? In Cultural Analytics, Lev Manovich presents concepts and methods for computational analysis of cultural data. Drawing on more than a decade of research and projects from his own lab, Manovich offers a gentle, nontechnical introduction to the core ideas of data analytics and discusses the ways that our society uses data and algorithms.

Cross-Cultural Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications

Cross-Cultural Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications

Author: Management Association, Information Resources

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2014-01-31

Total Pages: 1740

ISBN-13: 1466649801

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In a globalized society, individuals in business, government, and a variety of other fields must frequently communicate and work with individuals of different cultures and backgrounds. Effectively bridging the culture gap is critical to success in such scenarios. Cross-Cultural Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications explores contemporary research and historical perspectives on intercultural competencies and transnational organizations. This three-volume compilation will present a compendium of knowledge on cultural diversity and the impact this has on modern interpersonal interactions. Within these pages, a variety of researchers, scholars, professionals, and leaders who interact regularly with the global society will find useful insight and fresh perspectives on the field of cross-cultural interaction.


Book Synopsis Cross-Cultural Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications by : Management Association, Information Resources

Download or read book Cross-Cultural Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications written by Management Association, Information Resources and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2014-01-31 with total page 1740 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a globalized society, individuals in business, government, and a variety of other fields must frequently communicate and work with individuals of different cultures and backgrounds. Effectively bridging the culture gap is critical to success in such scenarios. Cross-Cultural Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications explores contemporary research and historical perspectives on intercultural competencies and transnational organizations. This three-volume compilation will present a compendium of knowledge on cultural diversity and the impact this has on modern interpersonal interactions. Within these pages, a variety of researchers, scholars, professionals, and leaders who interact regularly with the global society will find useful insight and fresh perspectives on the field of cross-cultural interaction.

Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind

Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind

Author: Geert Hofstede

Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional

Published: 2004-10-03

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 0071505687

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The landmark study of cultural differences across 70 nations, Cultures and Organizations helps readers look at how they think—and how they fail to think—as members of groups. Based on decades of painstaking field research, this new edition features the latest scientific results published in Geert Hofstede’s scholarly work Culture’s Consequences, Second Edition. Original in thought and profoundly important, Cultures and Organizations offers vital knowledge and insight on issues that will shape the future of cultures and nations in a globalized world.


Book Synopsis Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind by : Geert Hofstede

Download or read book Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind written by Geert Hofstede and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2004-10-03 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The landmark study of cultural differences across 70 nations, Cultures and Organizations helps readers look at how they think—and how they fail to think—as members of groups. Based on decades of painstaking field research, this new edition features the latest scientific results published in Geert Hofstede’s scholarly work Culture’s Consequences, Second Edition. Original in thought and profoundly important, Cultures and Organizations offers vital knowledge and insight on issues that will shape the future of cultures and nations in a globalized world.

Software Studies

Software Studies

Author: Matthew Fuller

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 0262062747

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This collection of short expository, critical and speculative texts offers a field guide to the cultural, political, social and aesthetic impact of software. Experts from a range of disciplines each take a key topic in software and the understanding of software, such as algorithms and logical structures.


Book Synopsis Software Studies by : Matthew Fuller

Download or read book Software Studies written by Matthew Fuller and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of short expository, critical and speculative texts offers a field guide to the cultural, political, social and aesthetic impact of software. Experts from a range of disciplines each take a key topic in software and the understanding of software, such as algorithms and logical structures.

Cross-cultural Competence

Cross-cultural Competence

Author: Sławomir Magala

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9780415349666

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Cross-cultural management is a crucial challenge for the development of international business, yet it is often badly understood and poorly implemented. This book provides a fresh look at this complex topic with theory, tool-kits and applications.


Book Synopsis Cross-cultural Competence by : Sławomir Magala

Download or read book Cross-cultural Competence written by Sławomir Magala and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cross-cultural management is a crucial challenge for the development of international business, yet it is often badly understood and poorly implemented. This book provides a fresh look at this complex topic with theory, tool-kits and applications.

Doing Cultural Studies

Doing Cultural Studies

Author: Paul du Gay

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780761954026

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In recent years `culture' has become a central concern in a wide range of fields and disciplines. This book introduces the main substantive and theoretical strands of this `turn to culture' through the medium of a particular case study: that of the Sony Walkman. Using the example of the Walkman, the book indicates how and why cultural practices and institutions have come to play such a crucial part in our lives, and introduces some of the central ideas, concepts and methods of analysis involved in conducting cultural studies.


Book Synopsis Doing Cultural Studies by : Paul du Gay

Download or read book Doing Cultural Studies written by Paul du Gay and published by SAGE. This book was released on 1997 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years `culture' has become a central concern in a wide range of fields and disciplines. This book introduces the main substantive and theoretical strands of this `turn to culture' through the medium of a particular case study: that of the Sony Walkman. Using the example of the Walkman, the book indicates how and why cultural practices and institutions have come to play such a crucial part in our lives, and introduces some of the central ideas, concepts and methods of analysis involved in conducting cultural studies.