Performance – Competence Model of Technology Diffusion Comm 421 September 1, 2004

Much of the material here is based on ideas developed in Media, Technology and Society by Brian Winston.

PERFORMANCE COMPETENCE Technology Science The Social Sphere PASTFUTURE

PERFORMANCE COMPETENCE Technology Science PASTFUTURE IDEATION Transformation transformation Social Sphere

PERFORMANCE COMPETENCE Technology Science PASTFUTURE IDEATION Social Sphere PROTOTYPES

PERFORMANCE COMPETENCE Technology Science PASTFUTURE IDEATION Social Sphere PROTOTYPES Supervening Social Necessity

Prototypes Rejected because there is no supervening necessity (Ronald’s telegraph) Accepted because an early appearance of a supervening necessity has made it acceptable (Hollerith calculator) Parallel – already in existence solving another technological problem (Hertz radio) Partial – designed to solve a problem but do not (Bell early telephone)

Supervening Social Necessity 1.Those occasioned by the consequences of other technological innovation 1.Railway transformed the telegraph into a diffused technology 2.Radio and Iron Clad battleship 2.Concentration of social forces working directly on the innovation 1.Modern business game rise to telephony 3.Commercial interests 1.Super 8mm film, CDs, Polaroid, etc.

PERFORMANCE COMPETENCE Technology Science PASTFUTURE IDEATION Social Sphere PROTOTYPES Supervening Social Necessity INVENTION

Invention Special case of the prototype Often many people are working on the same “invention” Makes it to the market place

PERFORMANCE COMPETENCE Technology Science PAST FUTURE IDEATION Social Sphere PROTOTYPES Supervening Social Necessity INVENTION Suppression of Potential DIFFUSION (PRODUCTION) REDUNDANCIES SPIN-OFFS Transformation

Famous Spin-Offs Videogames from microchip technology CD as a computer memory and video format device to a replacement for vinyl

Famous Redundancies Laser disk Polaroid instant movie film

Performance – Competence Model of Technology Diffusion Comm 421 September 1, 2004

PERFORMANCE COMPETENCE Technology Science PAST FUTURE String phones 1665 Magnetism, Electricity, Galvanometer 1819 Flags, semaphore 1780s IDEATION= Schwenteer 1635 Ampere prior to 1820 PROTOTYPES pith ball telegraph bubble telegraph INVENTION Schilling 1825 Gauss 1833 Cooke/Wheat- stone 1837 Morse 1837 DIFFUSION Western Union by 1866 SOCIAL NECESSITY railways 1825 stockbrokers newspapers SUPPRESSION OF POTENTIAL government uninterest chemical telegraphs SPIN OFF telephony SPIN OFF fax television