DOCSLIB.ORG

Advanced Automation for Space Missions

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Advanced Automation for Space Missions NASA Conference Publication 2255 Advanced Automation for Space Missions Edited by Robert A. Freitas, Jr. Space Initiative/XRI Santa Clara, California William P. Gilbreath NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, California Proceedings of the 1980 NASA/ASEE Summer Study sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the American Society for Engineering Education held at the University of Santa Clara Santa Clara, California June 23-August 29, 1980 N/\51\ National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Branch 1982 For aale by the Superintendent of Document.., U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 2CK02 N83·15352 CHAPTER 5 REPLICATING SYSTEMS CONCEPTS: SELF-REPLICATING LUNAR FACTORY AND DEMONSTRATION 5.1 Introduction duplicates of itself which would themselves be capable of further replication. Successive new systems need not be As the cost of fossil-fuel energy continues to escalate exact copies of the original, but could, by remote design and supplies of readily accessible high-grade ores and min­ and control, be improved, reorganized, or enlarged so as to erals gradually become depleted, the utilization of non­ reflect changing human requirements. A few of the benefits terrestrial sources of energy and materials and the develop­ of a replicative growing lunar manufacturing facility (dis­ ment of a nonterrestrial industrial capacity become cussed at greater length in secs. 5 .4 and 5 .5) include: increasingly desirable. The Moon offers plentiful supplies (I) The process of LM F design will lead to the develop­ of important minerals and has a number of advantages for ment of highly sophisticated automated processing and manufacturing which make it an attractive candidate fac­ assembly technologies. These could be used on Earth to tory site compared to Earth. Given the expense and danger further enhance human productivity and could lead to the associated with the use of human workers in such a remote emergence of novel forms of large-scale industrial organiza­ location, the production environment of a lunar manufac­ tion and control. turing facility should be automated to the highest degree (2) The self-replicating LMF can augment global indus­ feasible. The facility ought also to be flexible, so that its trial production without adding to the burden on Earth's product stream is easily modified by remote control and limited energy and natural resources. requires a minimum of human tending. However, sooner or later the factory must exhaust local mineral resources and (3) An autonomous, growing LMF could, unaided, fall into disrepair or become obsolete or unsuitable for construct additional production machinery, thus increasing changing human requirements. This will necessitate either its own output capacity. By replicating, it enlarges these replacement or overhaul, again requiring the presence of capabilities at an increasing rate since new production human construction workers with the associated high machinery as well as machines to make new machines can costs and physical hazards of such work. be constructed. The Replicating Systems Concepts Team proposes that (4) The initial LMF may be viewed as the first step in a this cycle of repeated construction may possibly be largely demonstration-development scenario leading to an indefi­ eliminated by designing the factory as an automated, multi­ nite process of automated exploration and utilization of product, remotely controlled, reprogrammable Lunar nonterrestrial resources. (See fig. 5 .1.) Replicating factories Manufacturing Facility (LMF) capable of constructing should be able to achieve a very general manufacturing Figure 5.1.- Automated space exploration and industrialization using self-replicating systems. 189 capability including such products as space probes, plane­ Section 5 .4 deals with possible applications of the SRS tary landers, and transportable "seed" factories for siting concept. Applications of replication technology include on the surfaces of other worlds. A major benefit of repli­ enormous gains in terrestrial industrial productivity (auto­ cating systems is that they will permit extensive exploration mation and computer-aided design and manufacturing), and utilization of space without straining Earth's resources. utilization of Solar System resources, orbital and planetary opportunities, and the possibility of interstellar exploration 5.1.1 Summary of Chapter Contents on a grand scale. Indefinitely large masses can be organized in extraterrestrial environments using self-replicating The history of the concept of machine replication is systems. reviewed in section 5 .2. This theoretical background is Section 5 .5 deals with just a few of the many implica­ largely a consideration of the work of John von tions of SRS. The advantages of space-based replicative Neumann - in particular, his kinematic and cellular models manufacturing are considered, together with possible politi­ of automata self-reproduction. Post-von Neumann research cal, social, economic, cultural, and psychological conse­ is reviewed next, noting particularly the established theoret­ quences of the proposed SRS development program. ical capabilities of machines in the realm of general con­ Section 5 .6 sets forth in some detail how NASA can take struction, inspection, and repair strategies. Such strategies action at once toward the achievement of the ultimate goal may prove useful, even vital, to the successful design, of establishing a replicating manufacturing facility. Sug­ realization, and operation of actual replicating systems. gested statements of work (SOWs) and a listing of institu­ Section 5 .3 deals with the engineering feasibility of the tions that might undertake the tasks outlined in the work concept of self-replicating systems (SRS). An attempt is statements are included. A series of specific conclusions and made to confront two important general problems in creat­ recommendations generated by the Replicating Systems ing a lunar replicating factory: Concepts Team are presented in section 5 .7. • Given that in theory, machines can construct dupli­ cates of themselves, how might systems designers and 5.2 Theoretical Background engineers identify all functions which must be carried out to achieve machine replication and also develop The notion of a machine reproducing itself has great the technological means by which to implement these intrinsic interest and invariably elicits a considerable range functions? of responses - some directed toward proving the impossi­ bility of the process, others claiming that it can be carried • Given the constraints obtaining in the lunar environ­ out, but almost all of them indicating an unwillingness to ment, particularly in terms of the inventory of known subject the question to a thorough examination. In discuss­ kinds and quantities of naturally occurring raw ing self-replication by automata it is essential to establish materials and the existing repertoire of materials early rather important ground rules for the discussion. processing technologies, can all machine functions According to Kemeny (1955), "If [by 'reproduction'] we required both for production and for replication and mean the creation of an object like the original out of growth be implemented? nothing, then no machine can reproduce - but neither can To attack the first of these problems - identification of a human being .... The characteristic feature of the reproduc­ necessary functions for practical machine replication - the tion of life is that the living organism can create a new team proposes a specific phased demonstration­ organism like itself out of inert matter surrounding it." development scenario, described in section 5 .3. For the Often it is asserted that only biological organisms can second problem - establishing that machine replication can reproduce themselves. Thus, by definition, machines cannot feasibly take place in the actual lunar environment - a carry out the process. On the other hand, others argue that strawman mission concept was employed. In this scenario, a all living organisms are machines and thus the proof of 100-ton initial "seed" factory is planted on the Moon with machine reproduction is the biosphere of Earth. Also, access only to local resources and established materials sometimes it is claimed that although machines can pro­ processing techniques. The initial system should be able to duce other machines, they can only produce machines less successfully develop into an expanded machine system complex than themselves. This "necessary degeneracy" of capable of conducting all functions necessary for autono­ the machine construction process implies that a machine mous replication, growth, and automated production and can never make a machine as good as itself. An automated manufacturing. assembly line can make an automobile, it is said, but no The problem of "closure" is also considered at length in number of automobiles will ever be able to construct an section 5 .3. The issue of closure is whether autonomous assembly line. manufacturing and construction systems can make available Another common argument is that for a machine to to themselves all of the materials, parts, and assembly tech­ make a duplicate copy it must employ a description of niques required for all internal operations. An iterative itself. This description, being a part of the original machine, strategy is presented for detecting and eliminating closure must itself be described and contained within the original
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mcgraw-Hill New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto Mcgraw-Hill Abc
    Y L F M A E T Team-Fly® Streaming Media Demystified Michael Topic McGraw-Hill New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto McGraw-Hill abc Copyright © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distrib- uted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 0-07-140962-9 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-07-138877-X. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps. McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in cor- porate training programs. For more information, please contact George Hoare, Special Sales, at george_hoare@mcgraw- hill.com or (212) 904-4069. TERMS OF USE This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms.
    [Show full text]
  • Imagining and Building a New Encyclopedia
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Sum of all knowledge: Wikipedia and the encyclopedic urge Salor, F.E. Publication date 2012 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Salor, F. E. (2012). Sum of all knowledge: Wikipedia and the encyclopedic urge. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:29 Sep 2021 2. Imagining and Building a New Encyclopedia It is quite natural that such developments should seem like marvels and that initially, deeming them to be impossible, the mind should reject any pursuit of them. But, according to a common slogan, do we not live in a time in which yesterday’s utopia is today’s dream and tomorrow’s reality? Paul Otlet Microphotographic Book, 1906 2.1 Introduction The modern encyclopedia, as it existed in the beginning of the 20th century, was the culmination of a continuous evolution that can be traced back to its Enlightenment origins, which in turn was the transformation of a much older ideal.
    [Show full text]
  • Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
    THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY BY DOUGLAS ADAMS 2001 HANOMAG D OCUMENT VERSION 1.0 C OPYRIGHT © DOUGLAS A DAMS for Jonny Brock and Clare Gorst and all other Arlingtonians for tea, sympathy, and a sofa Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape- descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea. This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy. And so the problem remained; lots of the people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches. Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans. And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, one girl sitting on her own in a small cafe in Rickmansworth suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place.
    [Show full text]
  • Mostly Harmless Free Ebook
    FREEMOSTLY HARMLESS EBOOK Douglas Adams | 240 pages | 01 Apr 2005 | Random House USA Inc | 9780345418777 | English | New York, United States Mostly Harmless | Hitchhikers | Fandom It is described on the cover of the first editions as "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhikers Trilogy". It was the last Hitchhiker's book written by Adams and his final book released in his lifetime. The title derives from a joke early in the series, when Arthur Dent discovers that the entry for Earth in Mostly Harmless Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy consists, in its entirety, of the word "Harmless". His friend Ford PrefectMostly Harmless contributor to the Guideassures him that the next edition will contain the article on Mostly Harmless that Ford has spent the last 15 years researching—somewhat cut due to space restrictions, but still an improvement. The revised article, he eventually admits, will simply read " Mostly harmless". It later turns out that Ford had written a long essay on how to have fun Mostly Harmless Earth, but the editors in the guide's main office building edited everything out. Later in the series, Ford is surprised to discover that all of his Mostly Harmless had been edited back into the Guide, prompting his reunion with Arthur on Mostly Harmless alternate Earth in So Long, Mostly Harmless Thanks for All the Fish. In an interview reprinted in The Salmon of DoubtAdams expressed dissatisfaction with the tone of this book, which he blamed on personal problems, saying "for all sorts of personal reasons that I don't want to go into, I just had a thoroughly miserable year, and I was trying to write a book against that background.
    [Show full text]
  • “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” Douglasa Adamsa I Prevo
    University of Sarajevo Faculty of Philosophy English Department Završni magistarski rad Analiza prevodilačkih strategija: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” Douglasa Adamsa i prevod na hrvatski i srpski jezik Analysis of Translation Strategies: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams and Translation into Croatian and Serbian Student: Mentor: Marko Trogrančić Amira Sadiković, Ph.D. Sarajevo, 2020 Abstract Since its publication in 1979, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was translated into many languages across the world and became one of the most read literary works among the science-fiction audience. The aim of this paper is to analyse translation into Croatian and Serbian language and the translation strategies that were used. The analysis of these two translations shows how two different approaches to translation can change the perception of the source text and that the usage of domesticating or foreignizing strategies can create a different impact among the target language readers. Douglas Adams‟ writing style is characterized by unusual usage of language in terms of syntax structure, the characters in the novel have highly suggestive personal names and he often creates neologisms that are an important part of his literary universe. All of these features should be preserved in the translation, and this paper shows if this was achieved by the translators. Keywords: Domestication, foreignization, personal names, neologisms, source text, target text Sažetak Od objavljivanja 1979. godine, roman Autostoperski vodič kroz galaksiju je preveden na mnoge jezike širom svijeta i postao je jedno od najčitanijih knjiţevnih djela meĎu ljubiteljima naučne fantastike. Cilj ovog rada je analiza prevoda na hrvatski i srpski jezik, kao i prevodilačkih strategija koje su upotrijebljene.
    [Show full text]
  • THE PROSPECTOR's GUIDE to the GALAXY 237 on Whether Anyone Can Own Or Use Celestial Resources
    Fordham International Law Journal Volume 37, Issue 1 2013 Article 12 The Prospector’s Guide to the Galaxy Austin C. Murnane∗ ∗Fordham Law School Copyright c 2013 by the authors. Fordham International Law Journal is produced by The Berke- ley Electronic Press (bepress). http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj NOTE THE PROSPECTOR’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY * Austin C. Murnane a INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 236 I. ABORIGINAL TITLE, EXTRATERRITORIAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND THE COMMON HERITAGE OF MANKIND .................................................................... 243 A. Aboriginal Title: The Reward of Discovery .................. 243 B. Terra Nullius and the Exercise of Remote Sovereignty ................................................................... 245 C. Earth’s Deep Seabed: The Common Heritage of Mankind? ...................................................................... 249 II. LAW ON THE FINAL FRONTIER ......................................... 254 A. Extraterrestrial Sovereignty .......................................... 255 1. The Outer Space Treaty .......................................... 255 2. The Moon Agreement ............................................. 257 3. Property without Sovereignty? ................................. 259 4. American Asteroid Law ........................................... 259 B. Free Space ...................................................................... 261 1. The Limits of the Outer Space Treaty .................... 261 2. The Failure of the
    [Show full text]
  • Science Fictional Parody As a Postmodernist Trope in Douglas Adams’S Serial Novels the Hitchhiker’S Guide to the Galaxy
    SCIENCE FICTIONAL PARODY AS A POSTMODERNIST TROPE IN DOUGLAS ADAMS’S SERIAL NOVELS THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY Pamukkale University Social Sciences Institution Master of Arts Thesis Department of English Language and Literature Çelik EKMEKÇİ Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali ÇELİKEL June 2012 DENİZLİ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to express my sincerest gratitudes and thanks to my supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali ÇELİKEL for his guidance and helpful suggestions for my study and my teachers whose wisdom I have profited during my MA education; Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul İŞLER, Assist Prof. Dr. Şeyda İNCEOĞLU, Assist. Prof. Dr. Cumhur Yılmaz MADRAN, Assist. Prof. Dr. Meryem AYAN and Assist. Prof. Dr. Sonia VILLEGAS-LOPEZ. I am also grateful to my MA Classmates and Research Assistants Selime SOYUÇOK, Reyhan ÖZER TANIYAN and Baysar TANIYAN. Lastly, I want to thank my dearest family members, especially my mother, Türkan EKMEKÇİ, for her endless contribution, support and patience. iii ABSTRACT SCIENCE FICTIONAL PARODY AS A POSTMODERNIST TROPE IN DOUGLAS ADAMS’S SERIAL NOVELS THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY EKMEKÇİ, Çelik M.A. Thesis in English Literature Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali ÇELİKEL June 2012, 55 pages Postmodern elements found in Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is the main topic of this study. Thanks to its postmodern science fictional specialties, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy has been considered one of the favored best-seller books ever written. Even though the humorous narrative of the novel has the potential risk of impetuous categorization as science fiction as a genre, the novel moves closer to postmodernist science fictional text domain since the structural features of postmodernism are combined with the qualities and the elements of science fiction which establish a unification and integrity.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparison Between Science Fiction Works of Arthur C. Clarke and Douglas Adams' Parody of the Genre
    Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích Pedagogická fakulta Katedra anglistiky Bakalářská práce A Comparison Between Science Fiction Works of Arthur C. Clarke and Douglas Adams' Parody of the Genre Vypracoval: Michal Horák Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Alice Sukdolová, Ph.D. České Budějovice 2017 Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že svoji bakalářskou práci jsem vypracoval samostatně pouze s použitím pramenů a literatury uvedených v seznamu citované literatury. Prohlašuji, že v souladu s § 47b zákona č. 111/1998 Sb. v platném znění souhlasím se zveřejněním své bakalářské práce, a to v nezkrácené podobě elektronickou cestou ve veřejně přístupné části databáze STAG provozované Jihočeskou univerzitou v Českých Budějovicích na jejích internetových stránkách, a to se zachováním mého autorského práva k odevzdanému textu této kvalifikační práce. Souhlasím dále s tím, aby toutéž elektronickou cestou byly v souladu s uvedeným ustanovením zákona č. 111/1998 Sb. zveřejněny posudky školitele a oponentů práce i záznam o průběhu a výsledku obhajoby kvalifikační práce. Rovněž souhlasím s porovnáním textu mé kvalifikační práce s databází kvalifikačních prací Theses.cz provozovanou Národním registrem vysokoškolských kvalifikačních prací a systémem na odhalování plagiátů. Datum: Podpis studenta: Anotace Úkolem práce je nejprve definovat žánr science fiction na základě odborné literatury a dále rozebrat obecně literárně teoretický pojem parodie. Součástí práce budou stručné životopisy obou autorů (Arthur C. Clarke a Douglas Adams) a analýza Clarkovy série románů Vesmírná Odysea. Cílem práce je srovnání Clarkovy legendární série a Adamsovy parodie žánru Stopařův průvodce Galaxií, přičemž v každé sérii práce vytyčí hlavní postavy, motivy a symboly a následně porovná prostředí obou sérií, motivaci hrdinů, narativní strategii a vypravěčský styl. Abstract The first purpose of this paper is to define the term of science fiction genre, using literature specialized in the subject and later analyse the theoretical concept of parody in literature.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER I Isaac Asimov
    UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCA FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA, LETRAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN CARRERA DE LENGUA Y LITERATURA INGLESA "Isaac Asimov and the Golden Age of Science Fiction: A Study in Terms of his Contribution to the Genre” Trabajo de graduación previo a la obtención de un título de Licenciado en Ciencias de la Educación en Lengua y Literatura Inglesa AUTOR: ISMAEL ALEJANDRO OCHOA COBOS CI. 0106650153 DIRECTOR: FABIÁN DARÍO RODAS PACHECO CI. 0101867703 CUENCA-ECUADOR 2017 Universidad de Cuenca RESUMEN Este trabajo investigativo trata de la vida y la obra literaria de una persona extraordinaria: Isaac Asimov. Su vida fue la de un genio que aprendió a leer y escribir por sí mismo y que escribió su primer relato a la edad de once años. Su producción literaria abarca diversos campos del conocimiento: ciencia pura, religión, humanismo, ecología y, especialmente, el campo de la ciencia ficción. Este último, género literario al cual él contribuyó a darle la forma definitiva que tiene en la actualidad. Concomitantemente, entonces, esta investigación cubre la historia de la ciencia ficción como género literario, desde sus manifestaciones más tempranas hace miles de años, hasta las absorbentes producciones audiovisuales que cautivan la atención tanto de niños como adultos hoy en día. Por este motivo, los contenidos de esta tesis también incluyen una descripción, llena de abundantes ejemplos, sobre las características que este género ha adquirido en nuestros días. Entre los numerosos trabajos de Asimov que se encuentran ligados a la ciencia ficción, dos series de libros aparecen como los más importantes. Se trata de sus series Fundación y Robots.
    [Show full text]
  • Ford Foundation 1St Edition Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    FORD FOUNDATION 1ST EDITION PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Dwight MacDonald | 9781351519588 | | | | | Ford Foundation 1st edition PDF Book You should also avoid treating leather bindings with oil; instead, consult a professional restoration technician. Decorative Books. Winklevoss twins on crypto: Wall Street has been asleep at the wheel. Wellesley College. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. He observes that the technicians can only maintain the plants, but cannot repair them. Foundations by Total Giving". Roy links the Ford Foundation's establishment of a economics course at the Indonesian University with aligning students with the coup that installed Suharto as president. Under pressure by several members of Congress, chief among them Rep. Conservative critic Heather Mac Donald contends that the financial involvement of the foundation instead changed the clinics' focus from giving students practical experience to engaging in leftwing advocacy. He also knew that Anacreon's forces would be arriving soon to forcibly take the Foundation. Margaret Atwood Signed. Namespaces Article Talk. After the previous viceroy rebelled against the Emperor, Barr participated in a revolution that overthrew the viceroy. Salvor Hardin , as Mayor of Terminus City, is the effective ruler of the Foundation, and has been reelected as mayor continuously since his political victory over the Encyclopedia Galactica Board of Trustees. Retrieved A short time after Parma has been let aboard the ship, an angry mob appears, surrounding the Far Star, and demanding that the missionary be turned over to them as an escaped criminal. Anne Rice Signed. More than 80 percent have completed their studies and are now serving their home communities. Between and , the foundation was the biggest funder for research into In vitro fertilisation in the United Kingdom, which led to the first baby, Louise Brown born from the technique.
    [Show full text]
  • Essays on Volunteer Mobilization in Peer Production
    Essays on Volunteer Mobilization in Peer Production by Benjamin Mako Hill B.A. Hampshire College (2003) S.M. Media Arts and Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2007) Submitted to the Sloan School of Management in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management and Media Arts and Sciences at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY September 2013 ©2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved. Signature of Author: Sloan School of Management July 31, 2013 Certified By: Eric von Hippel T. Wilson Professor of Management and Professor of Engineering Systems Thesis Supervisor Accepted By: Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan Nanyang Technological University Professor Director, Sloan PhD Program Essays on Volunteer Mobilization in Peer Production by Benjamin Mako Hill Submitted to the Sloan School of Management in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management and Media Arts and Sciences on July 31, 2013. ABSTRACT Although some examples of Internet-based collaborative “peer production” – like Wikipe- dia and Linux – build large volunteer communities and high-quality information goods, the vast majority of attempts at peer production never even attract a second contributor. This dissertation is composed of three essays that describe and test theories on the sources and effects of volunteer mobilization in peer production. The first essay is a qualitative analysis of seven attempts to create English-language on- line collaborative encyclopedia projects started before January 2001, when Wikipedia was launched. Analyzing data from interviews of these Wikipedia-like projects’ initiators, along with extensive archival data, I offer a set of three propositions for why Wikipedia, similar to previous efforts and a relatively late entrant, attracted a community of hundreds of thousands while the other projects did not.
    [Show full text]
  • Life Universe and Everything.Pdf
    Life, the Universe, and Everything Douglas Adams 2 Introduction The regular early morning yell of horror was the sound of Arthur Dent waking up and suddenly remembering where he was. It wasn't just that the cave was cold, it wasn't just that it was damp and smelly. It was the fact that the cave was in the middle of Islington and there wasn't a bus due for two million years. Time is the worst place, so to speak, to get lost in, as Arthur Dent could testify, having been lost in both time and space a good deal. At least being lost in space kept you busy. He was stranded in prehistoric Earth as the result of a complex sequence of events which had involved him being alternately blown up and insulted in more bizarre regions of the Galaxy than he ever dreamt existed, and though his life had now turned very, very, very quiet, he was still feeling jumpy. He hadn't been blown up now for five years. Since he had hardly seen anyone since he and Ford Prefect had parted com- pany four years previously, he hadn't been insulted in all that time either. Except just once. It had happened on a spring evening about two years previously. He was returning to his cave just a little after dusk when he became aware of lights flashing eerily through the clouds. He turned and stared, with hope suddenly clambering through his heart. Rescue. Escape. The castaway's im- possible dream - a ship. And as he watched, as he stared in wonder and excitement, a long silver ship descended through the warm evening air, quietly, without fuss, its long legs unlocking in a smooth ballet of technology.
    [Show full text]