Thesis on "Technology Society and Culture"
Thesis 5 pages (1455 words) Sources: 0 Style: APA
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Technology, Society and CultureMost of the actions performed by people in the present are owed to the great technological breakthroughs done over the last centuries. Technology is a key element in the chain of evolution, as humankind has succeeded in achieving many things that once seemed to be impossible. There is virtually no domain that has remained unaffected by technology, with almost all people constantly being in need of technological assistance in the acts that they carry out.
Numerous accounts have been written with the intention of making the public better acquainted with technology and the benefits that it involves. It is curious to most people how mankind has experienced a remarkable evolution over the last centuries. While some would attribute the evolution to a series of coincidences, most people would certainly realize that man's superior intellect has been a decisive factor.
Morton Winston has gone at finding several answers to questions related to evolution and to technological advancements. Humans have created technology because they needed it, as it is typical for people to progress. In Winston's opinion, some basic technological innovations have made it possible for today's society to function properly.
In its history, man has undergone three major technological revolutions that have brought serious changes to the way that society behaved until the time. The Agricultural Revolution has brought complexity to society, has made the population denser, and has given birth to education. The Industrial Revolution has made living a lot easier, and, with the emergence of industry, the standard of living had increased,
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The present society considers the recent technological achievements to have been made possible by systems consisting of a series of elements. The first element to influence a technological achievement is the technique that one uses in order to make the realization. Another aspect influencing a technological achievement is the resources that one uses. The technological products used by one to achieve a technological breakthrough are also a vital element of a technological system.
The technological system depends on the initial function of the technological products that one uses. For one to successfully manage to attain a technological invention, it is necessarily for the respective to have had serious knowledge relating to the activity that he or she performs. The sixth element required for a technological system to work properly is the social context in which the technological achievement has been created in.
Even though technology and science are considered by most people today to be one and the same thing, they are very different. Initially, science was considered to be related to thinking and to knowledge, while technology was considered to be related to more simple matters.
The Industrial Revolution is responsible for the great progress experienced by industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In her book Industrial Society and Technological Systems, Ruth Cowan presents her readers with an elaborate account of the Industrial Revolution and the performances that it involved. The U.S. felt the full hit of the Industrial Revolution, with people having experienced serious progress and having abandoned their previous activities in favor of more profitable ones. One of the major achievements brought by the Industrial Revolution is the railroad system. After having been accustomed to traditional means of transport, people observed the clear benefits presented by the railroad system. People could now work together in giving shape to their country, and, the railroad system seemed like the perfect method of doing it. The telegraph and the telephone also made it easier for people to communicate and to send messages instantly. Another major breakthrough owed to the Industrial Revolution is the electric system. With its help, people could enjoy electric power and lightning systems.
In his book, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, David Landes describes the factors which have lead to the financial growth or to the financial decay experienced by certain states from around the world. Apparently, some states have been reluctant to accept certain technological achievements performed by others, in spite of the fact that it had been clear that the respective achievements were beneficial for the whole of humankind.
A great deal of technological achievements completed in the West has… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Technology Society and Culture" Assignment:
1. Morton Winston, *****Children of Invention.*****
Be able to identify the three technological revolutions of human history.
Be able to identify the five elements of a technological system.
Be able to distinguish science from technology and discuss the contributions of Rene Descartes to this understanding.
2. Ruth Cowan, *****Industrial Society and Technological Systems.*****
Be able to identify three historical examples of technologies during the U.S. Industrial Revolution and analyze how they have made humans more dependent on each other.
3. ***** Landes, *****The Invention of Invention.*****
Be able to identify three technologies invented in the West and analyze what factors contributed to their acceptance in the West but not the Middle East (Islamic civilization) or the Orient (China).
4. Richard Sclove, *****I*****d Hammer Out Freedom*****¦*****
Identify three elements of technology as a social structure and then analyze the concept of polypotency.
5. Langdon Winner, *****Artificacts/Ideas and Political Culture.*****
Describe five concepts present in the structure of contemporary technology and analyze how one technology illustrates this definition.
6. Claire Hope Cummings, *****Trespass.*****
Identify one emerging technology and analyze how cultural and social factors may promote or prevent its acceptance.
Review the Timeline of Significant Technological Innovations
Notice how the technologies evolved through the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the Information Age (or, Knowledge) Revolution.
How to Reference "Technology Society and Culture" Thesis in a Bibliography
“Technology Society and Culture.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2009, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/technology-society-culture-most/6047472. Accessed 27 Sep 2024.
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