Assignment # 5

Enumerate the effects of technological change in our society and describe and list strategies used in the Philippines to address the skills shortage in advanced technology sectors. (at least 1,500 words)
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Our period is commonly said be a time of rapid technological change. The effects of technological change occurring in our society is said to be dramatic, others are subtle, and the changes are experienced in the mundane activities of everyday life. From the beginning of our assignment we get to know what is technology and the reasons why we used them. We mentions many of the positive aspects that a technology can give us while juxtaposing it with the many negative effects that it will cause in our society.

History demonstrates that when new inventions are introduced into a society, the society changes.
Technology is changing and will continue to change society. There are many factors that change a society at any one time in history, but that technology plays a key role. There are number of ways that our society and surroundings has affected by technology. It can be enlivening and horrifying. In many societies, the result of advanced economy and the rise of the quality of life of humanity are brought by technology. On the other hand, many technological processes produce unwanted results that harm the society and the natural resources. Acknowledging the nature of technology, the public supports it in spite of the disaster brought by technology because as observed most of us people are poorly informed about how technology actually works.

The ability of human to create and use technology sets us apart from other animals. Technologies are developed to help us do something we could not do. It is not always the case that the invention of technology comes about in order to meet the existing needs of mankind. However, over the history of technology it main purpose of invention is to solve for problems. When our needs increases new technologies are created, thus this new technology often gives satisfaction in our own needs. It is not always for practical reasons the intention of attaining technology because there are also new technologies often developed as a symbol of prestige like the innovation cars having renowned brand names. It is naturally dynamic and increasing process the development of technology. Without considering the social concern, technological change is absolutely one of the unstoppable advancement of present technologies. With this technological advancement we can always make things better and faster, which is one of the main goal of developing technology, improving the quality of life. We take this technological change in our society as one of the unique human endeavor. Other endeavors do not have these characteristics that in spite of the disaster brought by technology still the public support it. Nowadays, most countries are advanced technologically, and they are now experiencing the effects of technological change in their society.

A Technologically progressive society is one in which problems are observed in systematic way and, more importantly, that solutions to problems are possible.With progress of technological change, human in the society has stopped believing in magic powers because they can find answer in the technology itself. Our lack of understanding over the technology can render us powerless over it. Understanding of technology is the key importance. This influences what technology is or is not made available to us.

There are winners and losers in our society because of the effect of this technological change. Since technology has both positive and negative aspects it is the greatest source of economic growth or the technology of production. The negative effect of this economic growth is elimination of man power. Possible, there will be so many jobless people and they will have a hard time looking for a job.
People in the society lost distinct identity, and the way of life began to fall in to pieces.

Technology does not succeed or fail on its natural value. Some technology succeeds because of particular group interest like the victory of the atomic power while some technology fails because of particular group interest like the AIDS research, ‘til now there no is treatment found for this kind of disease.
The technological Fix: Technology used to attempt solutions for many problems, Heroin addiction: development of Methadone and now cocaine vaccine, Car Accidents: seat belt and air bags, Graffiti on public property: stronger chemicals to resist paint.

The technological change in our society may also cause poverty. This is social problem and the goal of technology for this social problem is to come up with different ways to solve poverty. When problem cannot be easily cut off: technological solution less likely to be effective. Technology will continue to make advancements in their respective field, but until society can learn to protect our world, especially our environment, from these advancements, they will continue to cause problem. We can see how much potential damage technological change can bring forth, yet the cure for this damage can be found in new technology which is also brought by the technological change. The cycle pattern is clear that technological change plays both roles a constructive and destructive in the society. A technology is a solution to one problem creates new problem. Artificial hearts help sustain life but it is expensive, growth of population needs to be cared for, and issues of morality.

In many ways, technology simplifies life. The effects of lifestyle in the society brought by technological change are: the rise of a leisure class; a more informed society, which can make quicker responses to events and trends; Sets the stage for more complex learning tasks; Increases multi-tasking (although this may not be simplifying); Global networking; Creates denser social circles; Cheaper prices; Greater specialization in jobs. On the other hand, technology complicates life: Pollution is a serious problem in a technologically advanced society (from acid rain to Chernobyl and Bhopal); The increase in transportation technology has brought congestion in some areas; Technicism; New forms of danger existing as a consequence of new forms of technology, such as the first generation of nuclear reactors; New forms of entertainment, such as video games and internet access could have possible social effects on areas such as academic performance; Increased probability of some diseases and disorders, such as obesity; Social separation of singular human interaction. Technology has increased the need to talk to more people faster; Structural unemployment; anthropocentric climate change.

Technology has followed a path that began slowly, and is now increasing rapidly. Technology is once again adding to this base of knowledge needed to better society. People today are ignorant and do not fully understand the effects of technology. This ignorance shifts the balance between society and technology, causing technology to no longer be properly checked by public awareness. Even though technology has many positive effects, in the long run, it may be argued, technology generates more harm than good. Technology has been with us since the very beginning. It has lasted all this time and has become even more prominent.

People should stop thinking only about the short-term gains that can be facilitated by technology and focus on long-term issues; otherwise, the use of technology can create an irreversible, dangerous world state that will completely outweigh the good that has come from it. The negative effects of technology will outweigh the positive ones. Society will continue to rely on new advancements to cure these technological complications. However, we should always bare in mind that we shouldn’t rely solely on technology to solve our problems.

As a society people have access to and benefit from advanced technologies, yet rarely do they understand how these technologies function or how they can be fully used. As such, they are often left feeling frustrated and incompetent. Lack of participation and understanding of technological development and application can produce a fusion of naïve hope and paranoid reaction. In the Philippines, to address the skills shortage in advanced technology sectors, the public must become more aware and participatory in facilitating the causes, applications, and results of these innovations and in order for technology to achieve its maximum benefits in the future. Technologies are ever-increasing and more advanced. Our efforts to adjust our lifestyles in order to preserve earth’s diminishing resources are also important in order to conquer our earthly conditions. Society’s ignorance of technology doesn’t need to be a permanent condition, and that people can eventually come to comprehend the sources and consequences of changes in technology through increased education.

Technology is overall advantageous to society. We realize that society should be thankful for all the benefits that technology has provided, allowing humans to lead comfortable and convenient lives. If society could understand that technology does create many problems and actively participate in the effort to resolve these problems, they would see that the positive effects could outweigh the negative effects. Although technology creates many problems, the solution is not to give up all that we have gained from it, but to address these problems, and then continue to reap their benefits. Recognizing all of the small contribution that technologies have made in our lives help us more ambitious to have a better life. The star leading strategy used in the Philippines to address the skills shortage in advanced technology sectors is to conquer the ignorance which is the major problem.


References:

http://www.nas.edu/21st/society/
http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/280/soctechchange/soctech1.htm
http://learning.berkeley.edu/cipolat/PDF/ISF60/2005/Student%20summaries/Volti.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_and_society
http://education.llnl.gov/bep/socsci/9/tImpact.html