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This slidecast is for TECH 3020: Technology Systems in Societies, at Bowling Green State University.
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Volti, Unit 1 information, chapters 1-3
• The Nature of Technology• Winners and Losers: The Differential Effects
of Technological Change• The Sources of Technological Change
Technological change
• inevitably produces social change.• does not affect everyone in the same way.• produces “winners” and “losers.”• can be used for either good or evil.
Technological change, cont.• does not yield benefits without exacting a cost.• may require changes in habits and attitudes.• often shaped by distribution of power. [change
takes place--or doesn’t take place--because of a particular group]
• is sometimes used to “fix” problems that are not technical in nature.
Technological change, cont.• demands “push” and “pull.”• treated differently in market economies than it
is in centrally planned economies.• Requires forecasters to examine trends
Examples
NYC Taxi Strike, 2008
Dockworker standoff, cont.
© 2002, New York Times
August 29, 2007
August 29, 2007
HNRS 201 May 18, 2010
Resolved• PDAs / barcode scanners introduced, ports
modernized• Efficiency increased, U.S. stayed somewhat
competitive with Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.• Some dockworkers reassigned• Union - not management - retained control
over jobs created by displaced dockworkers• Little to no outsourcing
HNRS 201 May 18, 2010
HNRS 201 May 18, 2010
Technological Fix• Technological solution to a non-technical
problem• Can be effective, but sometimes value is
limited: social problems are fundamentally different from technical problems.
• Examples: airbags, scientific management
Tech. Fix for dockworkers• PDAs / barcode scanners introduced, ports
modernized• Efficiency increased, U.S. stayed somewhat
competitive with Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.• Some dockworkers reassigned• Union - not management - retained control
over jobs created by displaced dockworkers• Little to no outsourcing
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