Introduction to Engineering and Technology Concepts Unit Nine Chapter Two – Technology and Society

Instructions for Success: Each chapter of every unit will begin with a “Mindjog.” This is a warm up question that you should answer in your workbook in the proper chapter. Please take notes as you move through the presentations in the notebook that has been provided. Sections will come up in each presentation with an assignment notice. Turn to the section detailed on the slide in your workbook and complete the assignment before proceeding. Good luck!

Objective Students will consider the impact of technology on today’s society.

Mindjog! On your worksheet, please respond to the following question: “If I were to say that technology is neutral (Wright, 2004) …what does that mean to you?”

Neutral Technology is neutral. It is neither good or bad and by itself does not affect people or the environment. It is how people use technology that determines if it is helpful or harmful. We will look at this in terms of how technology controls natural forces, has a global impact, develops into the future, and its challenges and promises (Wright, 2004).

Natural Forces Natural forces affect human life. Hurricanes wreck ships and destroy coastlines while tornadoes can level entire sections of towns and cities. One of the earliest uses of technology was to harness natural forces. People started to design a human-built world that could reduce natural forces. Consider that dams hold back floodwater and produce energy (hydroelectric plants), fire is tamed to heat our homes, earth’s core, wind, and solar energy can provide electricity and energy for businesses and homes. Still, controlling natural forces comes with serious responsibilities. (Wright, 2004).

Global Impact Responsible use of technology requires that we realize we live in a world very different from that of our grandparents. The technology impacts beyond our homes, cities, states, and countries…it impacts the entire world. For example, the automobile as the primary mode of transportation has global impacts. Citizens of North America represent a small percent of the population, but use a large percent of the world’s petroleum. Couple that with how many pollutants are pushed into the atmosphere. Likewise, many North Americans are concerned about high birth rates in Third World countries. However, the impact of each new North American child on the world’s resources is many times greater than a child from the Third World. We must be concerned about population and resource use (Wright, 2004).

The Future Since technology is a product of human activity, humans can control it. To do this, we must have an idea of the kind of future we want. Futuring or future research is an actual research technique that identifies five distinct features: Alternate Avenues – many possible answers rather than the answer. Different Futures – instead of refining what is, a futurist looks for an entirely new future. Rational Decision-Making – uses logical thinking over math and statistics when making decisions. Designing the Future – not improving present or past practices. Futurists focus on predicting a possible future that can be created. Interrelationships – linear models suggest one step leads to the next. Futurists see alternatives, cross-impacts, and leaps forward (Wright, 2004).

The Future (continued) Using a future approach, exciting new technologies can be developed. Futuring requires two types of thinking: divergent and convergent. Divergent Thinking – lets the mind soar, exploring all possibilities and impossible solutions. Convergent Thinking – focus on the positive and negative aspects of a potential final solution (Wright, 2004).

The Future (continued) The aforementioned analysis must be done with four types of futures in mind: Social Future – suggests the type of relationships people want with each other. Technological Future – looks at the human built world we desire. Biological Future – the type of plant and animal life we want. Human-Psyche Future – This deals with the mental condition of people. It stresses the sprit over the mind, attitude instead of physical condition. Even though these futures are listed separately, like technology, each affects the other (Wright, 2004).

Challenges and Promises It is impossible to explore how each new technology has impacted our lives and how it will impact the future. However, we can explore examples. Consider energy use, environment protection, and global economic competition (Wright, 2004).

Energy Use The world would come to a halt without energy. Everyone uses resources and some of them are exhaustible, or non renewable. The supply is said to be finite, because they are in limited quantity and when we use them all, they will be no more. One alternative is to begin using renewable resources, but they are in limited supply at any one time due to their life cycle. Another solution is to use inexhaustible resources. We can harness solar, wind, and water energy to generate electricity, but that would require a large expenditure of money and human energy, land use, and time to develop technology to fully use these resources. An immediate solution is to use energy more efficiently. People will have to ask themselves questions like, “should humans drive to work alone or carpool? (Wright, 2004).”

Environmental Protection The use of technology can threaten our quality of life. People have participated in what can be called an environmental revolution, which includes three principles: The natural environment has a direct affect on the safety and health of people. The long-term survival of any civilization is based on wisely managing natural resources. A healthy natural environment is essential for life (Wright, 2004).

Global Economic Competition The distribution of wealth and power is a third issue directly related to people and technology. Countries on the back side of the economic wave can take a number of actions to resist losing economic power: Changing management styles – from a boss to a team member who helps others do their work better and with greater ease. Increasing use of computers – competitive companies are assigning their routine work to computers, having less manual labor. Producing World Class Products – Successful companies make products that meet the needs of customers around the world. They function well, are fairly priced, and deliver excellent value. Flexible Automated Manufacturing Systems – no longer based on long production runs, computer-controlled systems can produce a number of different products with simple tooling changes. This is cost-effective for small quantities of products. (Wright, 2004).

Assignment #1 Please turn to the section in your workbook entitled, “Unit Nine, Chapter Two – Technology and Society.” Complete the extension questions under the “Assignment #1” header before moving onto the next section of slides.

BEFORE MOVING ON: Did you complete the “Assignment #1” Section under the “Unit Nine, Chapter Two – Technology and Society” section of your workbook? If you have, please proceed to the next slide.

Chapter Two Completed! Please close this presentation and launch the file entitled, “Chapter 3 – Course Review.”

References Wright, R. (2004) “Technology” The Goodheart-Willcox Company, Inc.