The following study is an attempt to ascertain the most adequate way to understand the relationship in modernity between religion and technology. This relationship is first analyzed by looking at a common way in which technology has been categorized and discussed as representing the religion of modernity. The first chapter critically evaluates several popular and scholarly works which contain arguments for understanding that the modern world participates in some kind of 'religion of technology.' The inadequacies of these arguments are shown to arise from the problematic ways in which they invoke the meanings of both religion and technology. The suggestive possibility of viewing religion as a kind of technology leads to a consideration of how technology is being understood in the field of the philosophy of technology. / The second chapter discusses the influence and responses to the conflation of technology and religion as manifestations of the same phenomenon in Euro-American philosophy. Influenced by German philosopher Martin Heidegger, this stream of thought takes as axiomatic his contention that "technique is the metaphysics of our time." The currency of the 'religion/technology' philosophy in European thought leads to a critical body of work amongst some North American philosophers concerned with a practical approach to technology. / In chapters three and four the work of two of these North American philosophers, Don Ihde and Albert Borgmann, is analyzed to evaluate their responses and reactions to the metaphysical and onto-theological interpretation of technology. Their interpretations contain an inherently religious understanding of modern technology which leads to the conclusion that there is neither religion nor technology in modernity, but only religious technology and technological religion. / The possibilities raised by this state of affairs are explored in the conclusion. The work of these philosophers of technology reveals how the study of religion in modernity would benefit from understanding the quotidian and material way in which religion is manifested technologically and technology religiously. Avenues of future research can address issues regarding globalization, cross-cultural technology implementation and how to understand the place of religion in global techno-culture from the development of a new praxis -oriented philosophy of technology-religion.

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There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Studies

莫苑玲. / "2008年5月". / "2008 nian 5 yue". / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-98). / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Mo Yuanling. / 摘要 --- p.i / 鳴謝 --- p.iii / 目錄 --- p.iv / Chapter 1. --- 引言 --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- 硏究方向 --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- 硏究方法 --- p.2 / Chapter 2. --- 有關中華基督教會香港區會所屬堂會在崇拜中使用投影銀幕情況 --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- 調查硏究的方法 --- p.4 / Chapter 2.2 --- 調查所反映之情況 --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- 第一部份的調查 --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- 第二部份的調查 --- p.6 / Chapter 2.3 --- 影響堂會是否在崇拜中使用投影銀幕的因素 --- p.6 / Chapter 3. --- 在崇拜中使用投影銀幕的反思 --- p.11 / Chapter 4. --- 基督與文化中的不同類型 --- p.18 / Chapter 4.1 --- 基督與文化的相遇 --- p.18 / Chapter 4.2 --- 基督反乎文化（Christ against Culture) --- p.19 / Chapter 4.3 --- 基督屬乎文化（Christ of Culture) --- p.21 / Chapter 4.4 --- 基督超乎文化（Christ above Culture) --- p.23 / Chapter 4.5 --- 基督與文化相反相成（Christ and Culture in Paradox) --- p.24 / Chapter 4.6 --- 基督爲文化的改造者（Christ the Transformer of Culture) --- p.26 / Chapter 4.7 --- 小結 --- p.28 / Chapter 5. --- 從世俗及神學角度考慮是否在崇拜中使用投影銀幕 --- p.29 / Chapter 5.1 --- 從世俗角度傾向使用 --- p.29 / Chapter 5.2 --- 從世俗角度傾向不使用 --- p.30 / Chapter 5.3 --- 從神學角度傾向使用 --- p.33 / Chapter 5.4 --- 從神學角度傾向不使用 --- p.35 / Chapter 5.5 --- 小結 --- p.38 / Chapter 6. --- 對中華基督教會香港區會所屬堂會的獻議 --- p.40 / 附件一 --- p.45 / 附件二 --- p.52 / 附件三 --- p.59 / 附件四 --- p.65 / 附件五 --- p.72 / 附件六 --- p.79 / 附件七 --- p.84 / 附件八 --- p.90 / 附件九 --- p.91 / 參考資料 --- p.96

This research focuses on the development and study of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that support religious practices and the use of standpoint theory in ICT evaluation studies. Three phases makeup this work: formative studies to understand how megachurches, their members and leaders use ICT in ways tied to their Protestant Christian faith and the design of a technology probe, a photo sharing website named ChurchShare. The final and most significant phase is the evaluation of this probe in two churches. I deployed ChurchShare in a Christian church comprised of U.S. born individuals and argue this initial deployment took place with â ideal users,â or those I intended to use the application and who represent the traditional targets of HCC (Human-Centered Computing) research. More than 200 photos were uploaded to ChurchShare and findings suggest that the technology probe was successfully integrated into the churchâ s worship services. Standpoint theory guided the second deployment study that was conducted with individuals who are marginalized in HCC researchâ "Kenyan immigrants. Participants rejected ChurchShare and zero pictures were uploaded to the website. I compare findings from both deployments and conclude that conducting ICT evaluation studies with marginalized users leads to more objective findings than conducting such studies with ideal users. I end with a discussion describing how standpoint theory can be incorporated into HCC, focusing on how this approach offers a practical way for researchers to uncover value differences between themselves and the people who interact with their work.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the legal and ethical consequences of new reproductive technologies in the context of Kenya's two systems of law, namely, English-based statutory law and native customary law. The paper starts by examining how infertility was dealt with by traditional Kenyan societies before the advent of reproductive technologies and proceeds to look at some of these customs that have survived in contemporary Kenya. / Currently reproductive technologies are being carried out in a legal vacuum in Kenya and in the event of any dispute involving the procedures, courts have to refer to existing laws, both customary and statutory. The thesis therefore examines what these technologies are and how Kenya's dual system of law would respond to some of the family law dilemmas raised by the use of these reproductive procedures. The thesis then discusses whether there is enough justification to enact a new, uniform, hybrid Act that takes into consideration both systems of laws in relation to the challenges brought on the technologies. / It is the position of the author that an integrated hybrid Act ought to be passed. This Act would act as a broad framework for regulation, however the Act would not be the exclusive form of regulation. The last part of the thesis therefore makes recommendations on other forms of control that ought to be considered by legislators and policy makers in Kenya, to deal with the myriad of legal and ethical issues precipitated by reproductive technologies.

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The notion of identity has always been central to the human person's understanding of self. The question "who am I?" is fundamental to human being. Answers to this question have come from a wide range of academic disciplines. Philosophers, theologians, scientists, sociologists and anthropologists have all sought to offer some insight. The question of individual identity has traditionally been answered from two broad perspectives. The objectivist approach has sought to answer the question through empirical observation - you are a mammal, you are a homo-sapien, you are male, you are African etc. The subjectivist approach has sought to answer the question through phenomenological exploration - I understand myself to be sentient, I remember my past, I feel love etc. A recent development in the field of computer science has however shown a shortcoming in both of these approaches. Ray Kurzweil, a theorist in strong artificial intelligence, suggests the possibility of an interesting identity crisis. He suggests that if a machine could be programmed and built to accurately and effectively emulate a person's conscious experience of being `self' it could lead to a crisis of identity. In an instance where the machine and the person it is emulating cannot be either objectively distinguished (i.e., both display the same characteristics of the person in question), or subjectively distinguish themselves (i.e., both believe themselves to be the `person in question' since both have an experience of being that person. This experience could be based on memory, emotion, understanding and other subjective realities) how is the true identity of the individual validated? What approach can be employed in order to distinguish which of the two truly is the `person in question' and which is the `emulation of that person'? This research investigates this problem and presents a suggested solution to it. The research begins with an investigation of the claims of strong artificial intelligence and discusses Ray Kurzweil's hypothetical identity crisis. It also discusses various approaches to consciousness and identity, showing both their value and shortfall within the scope of this identity conundrum. In laying the groundwork for the solution offered in this thesis, the integrative theory of Ken Wilber is presented as a model that draws on the strengths of the objectivist and subjectivist approaches to consciousness, yet also emphasises the need for an approach which is not only based on individual data (i.e., the objectivist - you are, or subjectivist - I am). Rather, it requires an intersubjective knowing of self in relation to others. The outcome of this research project is an African Theological approach to self-validating consciousness in strong artificial intelligence. This takes the form of an African Theology of relational ontology. The contribution falls within the ambit of Christian anthropology and Trinitarian theology - stressing the Christian belief that true identity is both shaped by, and discovered in, relationship with others. The clearest expression of this reality is to be found in the African saying Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (A person is a person through other persons). / Systematic Theology / D. Th.