Topic 3 DEVELOPMENT, ADVANCEMENT AND MODERNITY: ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT

TERMINOLOGY Technology is the modification of the natural environment in order to satisfy perceived human needs and wants. Technological literacy is the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technology.

OUR CHANGING SOCIETY Living longer More generations co-existing Rising divorce rate Changing household structures Smaller households Fast rising incomes & wealth Changing ethnic mix (Eurasian) Living elsewhere Living differently Home leasing on the rise New tribalism Spending differently Outsourcing tasks and chores

Rise of virtual shopping Living with leisure New entertainment & sports Increasing knowledge Increasing financial literacy Living with IC&T Electronic “guardian angels” Working differently New industries/ occupations Changing spirituality Outlawing discrimination Changing politics (ideologies) Ecological sensitivity

OUR PLANET IN DANGER Atmospheric pollution and climate change. Water pollution, including ground aquifers. Deforestation and loss of oxygenation. The oceans, coral reefs and their bounty. National parks, wildernesses and wetlands. Nonrenewable natural resource depletion. Biodiversity is in Danger. Global warming…

DRIVERS FOR TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE Social Technology and Science Economic Environmental Political

THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE COMPUTERS AND ICT Computers and Employment – Has machinery displaced workers? Steam engine turbines – Industrial revolution. Factory workers and robotics. – Have computers replaced workers? – Have more jobs have been created by the new technology (computerisation)? – What has happened to clerical workers over the last 20 years? – How has their skills been lost/changed?

The Changing Nature of Employment – What has happened to the Farm and Factory workers? – What is the Service industries? – How does computers assist employment in the Service industry? Consider: banking, travel, supermarket etc. – Has computerisation given greater job satisfaction? Consider: engineering, architecture, accounting etc.

THE OTHER SIDE What happens to older workers who may find it difficult to re-train to adapt to the new technology? What happens to people that do not have access to the new technology? What about people who try to ignore the new technology? What can happen when people rely on technology? Consider: back up systems for breakdown, fault handling, natural accidents, malicious damage

DEPENDENCE ON IT How are individuals dependant on IT? – Routine chores: money, shopping, holiday, – Scanners and imaging systems, – Traffic control, and car parking, motorway, – Flood warning systems, – Computer controlled braking, fuel, on cars, – Personal use, data, accounts, education, – Electrical devices in the home, washing machines, video DVD players, microwaves, etc, – Telephone lines for Internet communications.

How are organisations dependant on IT? Consider the type of organisation: – Supermarkets, – Hospitals, – The emergency services, – The utility companies, – Schools, – Air traffic control, – Nuclear power stations. What would be the consequences of failure on the organisations above?

SUMMARY Major increases are occurring in human population and affluence. Major stresses result in our society, natural environment, and ecology. Technology and engineering are central to the creation and the mitigation of problems. Predicting the future is difficult. The next twenty five to fifty years will be decisive.