John M. Jordan has 3 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 3 ratings. The most-rated is 3D Printing.
3D Printing
Summary
The use of 3-D printing - digitally controlled additive manufacturing - is growing rapidly. Consumer models of 3-D printers allow people to fabricate small plastic objects, from cabinet knobs to wedding cake toppers. Industrial uses are becoming widespread, as businesses use the technology to fabricate prototypes, spare parts, custom-fitted prosthetics, and other plastic or metal items, often at lower cost and with greater efficiency than standard manufacturing. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, John Jordan offers an accessible introduction to 3-D printing. Jordan outlines the stages of 3-D printing, from idea to software model to a printable file that slices the planned object into printable layers to the finished object itself. He describes additive technologies, consumer 3-D printing in homes and schools, mass customization, and industrial uses. He considers the possible unintended consequences of 3-D printing on jobs, as companies scramble to find employees with an uncommon skill set; on business models and supply chains, as manufacturing is decentralized; and on patent law, as machines can be programmed to copy protected property. Finally, Jordan looks at new and emerging uses, including bioprinting, building construction, and micromachines.
©2018 Massachusetts Intsitute of Technology (P)2019 Gildan Media, LLC
Information, Technology, and Innovation
Summary
A big-picture look at how the latest trends in information management and technology are impacting business models and innovation worldwide.... With all of the recent emphasis on "big data", analytics and visualization, and emerging technology architectures such as smartphone networks, social media, and cloud computing, the way we do business is undergoing rapid change. The right business model can create overnight sensations - think of Groupon, the iPad, or Facebook. At the same time, alternative models for organizing resources such as home schooling, Linux, or Kenya's Ushihidi tool transcend conventional business designs. Timely and visionary, Information, Technology, and Innovation looks at how the latest technology trends and their impact on human behavior are impacting business practices from recruitment through marketing, supply chains, and customer service. Discusses information economics, human behavior, technology platforms, and other facts of contemporary life Examines how humans organize resources and do work in the changing landscape Provides case studies profiling how competitive advantage can be a direct result of innovative business models that exploit these trends Revealing why traditional strategy formulation is challenged by the realities of the connected world, Information, Technology, and Innovation ties technology to business and social environments in an approachable, informed manner with innovative, big-picture analysis of what's taking place now in information strategy and technology. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Robots
Summary
Robots are entering the mainstream. Technologies have advanced to the point of mass commercialization - Roomba, for example - and adoption by governments - most notably, their use of drones. Meanwhile, these devices are being received by a public whose main sources of information about robots are the fantasies of popular culture. We know a lot about C-3PO and Robocop, but not much about Atlas, Motoman, Kiva, or Beam - real-life robots that are reinventing warfare, the industrial workplace, and collaboration. In this book, technology analyst John Jordan offers an accessible and engaging introduction to robots and robotics, covering state-of-the-art applications, economic implications, and cultural context. Jordan chronicles the prehistory of robots and the treatment of robots in science fiction, movies, and television - from the outsized influence of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Isaac Asimov's I, Robot (in which Asimov coined the term "robotics"). He offers a guided tour of robotics today, describing the components of robots, the complicating factors that make robotics so challenging, and such applications as driverless cars, unmanned warfare, and robots on the assembly line. Roboticists draw on such technical fields as power management, materials science, and artificial intelligence. Jordan points out, however, that robotics design decisions also embody such nontechnical elements as value judgments, professional aspirations, and ethical assumptions, and raise questions that involve law, belief, economics, education, public safety, and human identity. Robots will be neither our slaves nor our overlords; instead, they are rapidly becoming our close companions, working in partnership with us - whether in a factory, on a highway, or as a prosthetic device. Given these profound changes to human work and life, Jordan argues that robotics is too important to be left solely to roboticists.
©2016 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2016 Gildan Media LLC