Research Analysis Essay
Sara Waldron
Honestly? Technology? What would be so great about researching something like that? What’s to research? This was my first reaction when my instructor for English 102 told the class that Technology was our research topic. To be honest, I had no idea what I would be able to research in regards to technology. I had never really thought about technology and all the problems that could come along with it. To me technology just seemed like a great invention that suddenly became popular to people all over the world. It was not only for things such as games, dvd players, and DVRs, but also for things in businesses such as computational technologies, xray machines, and copy machines. What more could you ask for out of technology?
As we started discussing technology in English 102 it really opened up my mind to new ideas and thoughts about technology. Maybe technology could actually be considered to be something that was not so good. When we began to read our first novel Cat’s Cradle, it really emphisized on the fact that many people don’t know if technology is good or bad. A scientist from the novel had invented this techology called Ice-nine that could freeze any person and turn them into stone. Now, could this technology be good or bad? Could it be beneficial or unbeneficial? As a student in college, who really thinks about these kinds of things about technology? Who wants to see the bad in it? I know I didn’t. The novel does a great job at presenting both sides of the good and bad of Ice-nine. Ice-nine could be considered good for things such as fighting or wars to freeze the enemy, but also could also be considered bad because it does freeze and turn people into stone, and could be considered dangerous.
David E. Nye also allows people’s minds to open up a little bit and see that there are two sides to every opinion or story. Nye’s book Technology Matters has a good amount of detail that discuss things about technology that could make it good or bad. There were so many topics in Nye’s book, I had no idea where to start with a question or how I would narrow down all the topics into the one that most interested me. I guess technology use more important to me than I had ever thought about.
English 102 really opened up a new door for me. It kind of inspired me, actually, because I think that I, and a lot of other students, don’t really involve themselves in anything that doesn’t apply to something in their own lives. I mean, think about it, I don’t think there was one student in my class that actually wanted to read Cat’s Cradle or Technology Matters. Who cares about ice-nine or what technology is all about? Technology is great for us students because it gives us a lot of the great things we “need” in our lives to survive. Ipods, Wii, computers, Blue Ray DVDs, the list will always go on. All students use these technologies almost weekly, if not daily. This proves my statement in saying that students, or anyone, really don’t notice things that aren’t literally presented right in front of their face. I would have never thought about my future based off technology if I hadn’t read the books and hadn’t started to realize what technology is capable of.
Coming into college for the first time was a really big wake up call for me. I had no idea how difficult it was going to be compared to high school. All the exercises I did in high school really seemed like a joke compared to all the work and studying you had to do in college. My first semester was a big struggle for me. I knew I really wanted to do really good in college because I felt that, even though I considered myself a great student in high school, I wanted to strive even higher in college, and challenge the best of my knowledge to the material presented in college. In thinking about technology, and all of the ideas I had for college and my future, the question finally hit me. Do I really want to work as hard as I can without even knowing if I am guarenteed to get a job in the work field that I wanted? Will techology really, eventually just take over all jobs and cause them to disappear? It is a crazy thought, but it’s something that I knew I had to learn more about. I think of myself as a hard working student, as kind of a perfectionist. I need everything to be perfect and can’t stop thinking about it if I don’t turn in a final paper that isn’t “perfect.” Since I care so much about school and am so in love with Psychology, I knew that I had to find the answer and research information about employment loss due to these technological uses.
After discovering my research question, it led me to ask myself even more questions about technology and jobs in the future. The economy is really bad right now. It is harder to get a job now, than it ever has been. My sister is graduating this year, and she is having the hardest time finding a job even had completed the education required for her major. Today, for the graduating students of 2009, there is a 5% chance that they will actually get a job. Additionally, the education expectations are rediculously high today than they ever have been, at least in my opinion. When I ask my parents about what kind of grades they had to get in order to get into a good college, they had much lower standards than now-a-days. Another question that was brought to mind, through this information was; will working hard in college, to get your major, really be worth it? If we will eventually lose or have no jobs for our majors, because of technology, then why do we have to work so hard to get that job? Even with a bad economy, based on how hard you’ve worked in college and your experiences in college to get your major, technology shouldn’t be the reason that you don’t get your desired job. In my opinion, businesses should see what you’ve done and how educated you are and should higher you based off of that. What about technology, though? Can it get in the way? If so, how will it get in the way? How has it started, already, to get in the way? What jobs has it taken over already, and what’s for the future of other jobs? These are the types of questions I really wanted to get answered in my research paper.
My college education and future job is really important to me. I really want to have a well paid job and be able to take care of my family. This is where the technology problem really struck me. This is why I wanted to find out more about it. I am not only concerned for myself, but for all college students’ futures. I want people to know what is at stake for their futures and I think it’s important to tell people about it. A lot of the other authors that wrote the technology books seemed to write about technology, but not really make it known that they had so many thoughts and so much information about technology. In thinking about it in a different way, as I said before, I don’t think people really noticed these sources because they didn’t really take the time to open their minds to new ideas and what see what kinds of things could interfere with their future career plans.
I was also concerned for the people who are already in these work forces that could lose their job or that have already lost their job because of technological use. I felt it necessary to put them in my paper because I believe that older adults should know about their futures and know what could happen if they don’t pay attention to small things, such as this. As I stated earlier, I want to get a good job so I can raise and take care of a good family, and, to me, the older adults are important to mention because of this specific factor. What are these older individuals going to do once these technologies take over their job and they can no longer take care of their families?
I have always been a caring person, and always like to help people when they are in trouble. This characteristic is also something that I think helped inspire me to write about technology unemployment. I really think that students or younger people can make a difference in people’s lives if they actually take the time to be heard. I will be honest, going into these english classes, the courses seem to make you do these “stupid” assignments that don’t seem to benefit the student at all. This is what I sometimes thought about the English 101 assignments and the English 102 assignements. I sometimes didn’t understand the point of the assignment or why someone would want to write about the things that we did, but in the end it all made sense. I realized I really enjoyed doing the assignments because I got something out of it. This is what I hope to do for my research paper. Maybe the person reading it will just think of it as a boring topic or not really want to read it, but I want to be able to really interest them in what I’m saying and want them to feel the same thing as I did, when I realized that the assignments and information I learned or read about in my english classes were truly inspiring and fun.
The thing I really enjoyed about doing the research paper is that I actually discovered more information about technology, and, obviously, my topic than I had wanted to. I remember getting really excited once I got a good start in writing my paper and actually engaging in the texts because the information was so interesting. It really inspired me to want to research more and discover more. I thought that my sources were good too. I used a good variety of books and articles. I wanted to use both because I think the books had a lot of good information and the articles seemed more up to date. It was also a benefit that all of the sources seemed to some how link to each other. Everytime I used one source, I could mention another source that related to the previous one. It was very helpful in proving points and allowed me to know that the information wasn’t just made up.
As I noticed in my English 101 class, and now my English 102 class, I really learned a lot out of both of them. When beginning English 102, I was amazed at how much I remembered from English 101 to use in my papers for English 102. I remember turning in my first paper thinking that it was one of the best papers I had ever writen because I used all of the knowledge I had learned from English 101 into that paper. Ironically, I got the paper back and it had a ton of comments on it and, what seemed to me, was now thought of by the instructor as a paper that could be much better. I remember getting frustrated a lot of the time because I thought I really did do a good job in writing my papers. There was even one time when my instructor printed out my paper and gave it to the class to review and discuss what could have added to make it a better paper. I was so embarrassed and, even though I never want that to happen again, I was kind of thankful, after a while, that my instructor did that because it allowed not only me, but the entire class to see the mistakes and how to do better on the next paper.
Based off my knowledge, English 101 seemed to be a class that taught you how to really give a lot of detail in your papers and to make sure you understand what author’s are trying to say so, eventually, you could do the same in your papers. English 102 went beyond that, and taught the students how to really dig deep in the texts to understand the detail of other writers. That would then allow the students to make up their own thoughts and opinions, based of their information, so they could get good information for their research papers. I think one of my favorite assignments from English 102, and what I thought to be extremely beneficial for my research paper, was the Annotated Bibliography assignment. That assignment was so valuable because it allowed the students to see if their sources were complete junk or if they were actually going to be helpful. I really think that my research paper has come a long way, and not just from writing a simple first draft, but from writing the smaller assignments in English 102. Without the English 102 assignments, my research paper, I believe, wouldn’t be as greatly done as I would have needed it needed to be.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Writing is All About Choices
When first writing this research paper, I found it hard to get all the information down in my paper in an orderly fashion. I felt like my sources had so much information and I just had trouble putting it all together, and making it look like something that would be beneficial to read or that would help my questions about technology in the work force. The group conferences really helped me in realizing what I needed to do in making my paper more successful. I looked over all the comments that the students and instructor gave me and really tried to meet their demands as far as making my paper better. I felt the comments to be highly helpful and really liked being able to hear another person's perspective of my paper was instead of just myself. The purpose of a rough draft is ultimately that it is going to be "rough" but I felt that their input really helped make my paper better than it had been. I also felt that all the comments that I got from my peers and instructor were positive comments. I reread my paper and thought it was absolutely horrible, but their comments made me feel better about it. I realized that it's not bad to have a bad start to the paper, as long as you keep revising and keep rereading the information and keep researching information to build and build into your paper.
The choice I made when I started revising my paper was that I had to meet all of the needs that my peers and instructors wanted me to have in my paper. I also decided that I wanted to dig deeper in the information and really get a good conversation going about my topic. I realize my revision isn't perfect right now, but I believe that if i constantly revise my paper and constantly catch my mistakes or discover new things that could make a better paper, it will honestly turn out to be a well developed research paper.
I really am excited for the research paper. After I revised my paper, I felt even more engaged in the texts than I had the first time, and really enjoyed reading about what others thought about my topic. It was interesting how much of a problem my technology topic really is to the society. This also helped my choices in revision because it allowed me to see that I really have to dig deep into the material to get the answers and get the information I need. I believe this, though, to be the fun part about the research paper, the actual RESEARCHING part is really intriguing.
My goal for this paper is to really get involved in my topic and the information based off my topic and really overachieve in this paper so it will hopefully be a passing, well done paper!
The choice I made when I started revising my paper was that I had to meet all of the needs that my peers and instructors wanted me to have in my paper. I also decided that I wanted to dig deeper in the information and really get a good conversation going about my topic. I realize my revision isn't perfect right now, but I believe that if i constantly revise my paper and constantly catch my mistakes or discover new things that could make a better paper, it will honestly turn out to be a well developed research paper.
I really am excited for the research paper. After I revised my paper, I felt even more engaged in the texts than I had the first time, and really enjoyed reading about what others thought about my topic. It was interesting how much of a problem my technology topic really is to the society. This also helped my choices in revision because it allowed me to see that I really have to dig deep into the material to get the answers and get the information I need. I believe this, though, to be the fun part about the research paper, the actual RESEARCHING part is really intriguing.
My goal for this paper is to really get involved in my topic and the information based off my topic and really overachieve in this paper so it will hopefully be a passing, well done paper!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Research Paper - Part 1
I just want to let my group know that this is NOT what my final paper is going to look like. I found it difficult to get so many of my ideas and information all down and organized in the first draft (and in five pages) so sorry if this seems like a messed up first paper!
See you thursday!
Research Paper - Part 1
There will be a great employment decline and less job opportunities for college students all around the world if technology continue to interfer with the basic skill level of human beings. Technology has become so involved in the work force that people will eventually be replaced by these technologies in their jobs. Two of my biggest concerns are that, as me being one of those college students, I lose an opportunity for my desired job in the future due to advanced technologies. Even in sight that I might get a job, the use of technology is very high in all work forces and my second fear would be that I lose my basic skills to get the job done. In this paper, I will be discussing skill loss and job loss that have been caused due to technologies in the work force.
There has been debate on whether technology in the work force will provide a good outcome to our futures or a bad outcome. David E. Nye presents both issues in his book Technology Matters and gives detail about why each is considered good or bad.
“Tedious and dangerous factory work has been replaced by robots or automatic machines, while millions of people hold jobs that did not exits 150 years ago in industries created around new technologies, such as computing, musical recordking, broadcasting, design, advertising and research and development” (Nye: 109).
In this statement, Nye is saying that many jobs are indeed replacing the jobs of others due technolgies or “robots” in the work force, but also he states that technology isnt necessarily a bad thing in the work force because it presents new opportunities and working availabilities due to these advanced technologies. In my opinion, however, it still concerns me that my future career could be replaced by technologies. Sure, some technologies bring great things to the work force, but I believe they could eventually become an invention that takes over my job completely. It was further discussed in Nye’s novel that these machines or “robots” have been a problem for employment for over 200 years (119). Multiple machines have been constructed to perform our own human-like skills and eventually replaced jobs such as industries, telephone operators, and bank tellers (118). These are the kinds of things that worry me and should also worry many other individuals that are working for employment in college. If technology has slowly, yet surely, started to elimidate jobs one by one, there won’t be many jobs for these students to be involved in. Considering there are such high expectations or education in jobs I think technologies should be narrowed down to only be used for beneficial purposes and not all purposes. By beneficial purposes, I mean the work force should only use technologies that will benefit to their job and not take over their job. Things such as x-ray machines, cat scan machines, and computational machines that form helpful data for ill people at a hospital would be great beneficial technologies. These kinds of beneficial technologies help make our jobs easier by getting information for us quicker. They do not take away our jobs and cause unemployment in doing so.
Additionally, maybe employment won’t be taken away, but eventually a person’s ability to do simple things and simple tasks will disappear. Harold Hellman describe his concerns about the loss of skills due to technologies being used in the work force in Albert H. Teich’s novel Technology and Man’s Future. Hellman talks about how a friend eventually lost his ability to remember how to fix his car due to the fact that technology usually did it for him (25).
Additionally, Christian Heath and Paul Luff did a research study and presented it in their novel Technology in Action that engages in the technologies that are involved in the work place and then provide that information to their audiences so they understand the effects of technology in the work place. These authors actually go to work places and observe the workers in addition to video tapping their observations to share the information with other collegues. The authors observe how the social interactions change the skills of the working and their abilities to have face to face communication. The section of the book covers information to help researchers see that communication difficulties are starting to form due to technologies being used in that work place. Their main stakeholder for this research experiment were practitioners who want to learn about the new skills needed to attain their position in the work force but then end up having problems with their basic skills after using those technologies (Heath and Luff: 2). I think that both of these authors are really trying to tell their readers that technology is becoming more complex in the work force than people thought. As I thought, and many others might think, technology was considered great until you discover the downfalls of it, especially if it portakes in your future career. The stakeholders that were particularly aimed, in addition to the practitioners, were more so individuals that might be entering the work force such as college students and/or people in the work force now that might also have problems such as the practionors did in aquiring new skills.
In concerns of the research information Heath and Luff had gathered from the practitioners, Teich discusses the use of a simple machine known as the copy machine in saying that many people have them at work, but do not know how to use basic or common knowledge to use them (Teich:24). We have a fear of technology because it requires an uneasy amount of knowledge that many employers may not beable to aquire on the first, second, or even third time around (24). I believe that this is a common reason as to why technology causes unemployment. If many employees cannot work the technologies that are placed in their work forces, then why not just make a “robot” techological invention that can do the job. In stating this, another thought as to why many are losing their jobs could be the simple idea that owners or managers of a work force or facility want the best work possible and if humans aren’t able to do what they need them to do to get the job done, then they will find someone or something to get the job done no matter what or who it is.
Another reason that there has been great decline in employment due to technology is because of competition involved in the new technologies (Mittelhauser: 18). Multiple problems have evolved over the years involving a higher competition for companies due to the technological use in the work force (18). These problems come about due to the uses of technology in that specific company(18). It’s quite possible that companies have better technologies than others and, for that reason, companies being forced out of business because they can’t keep up with the more advanced technologies. This is also a concern to not only myself, but a concern to all college level students and the individuals that are in these kinds of textile or apparel factories because technology in the work force is now dealing with the quality of the technologies and how companies use them. Mark Mittelhauser states in his Job Loss and Survival Strategies in the Textile and Apparel Industries article that multiple jobs have been lost due to fierce domestic and international competition in businesses with textile mills and appearal factories (18). Mittelhauser believes that it is expect that textile and apparel workers are expected to lose jobs at an even faster rate thatn during the past decade (19). “The effects of trade and technology will combine to negatively effect the labor market for textile and apparel workers” (19). Additionally, the imports from trade will most likely supply net growth in the domestic market and will eventually lead to little or no growth in the textile markets (19). In stating this information, this leads me to believe that it is not only a concern that technologies cause job loss to individuals because they lose their ability to do basic skills, but people lose their jobs additionally because new technologies in the work force are too much for not only the employees, but also the companies themselves.
The future jobs of farmers, police officers, physicians, utility workers, salespeople, consultants, scientists, doctors, factory workers, pilots, and teachers are also at stake in regards to these kinds of new technologies in the work force. Andy Hines recognizes what is known to him as the “Big Four” or the four highly used technologies in these specific jobs. The big four include computer networks, imaging technology, massive data storage, and artificial intelligence (9). These “big four” are skills that many of these workers need to utilize to be able to have a greater impact on their futures and careers, however, if these technologies are not used wisely and correctly, they could lead to bad outcomes involving these technologies completely taking over the employee’s jobs. Hines bases his article not only on the “Big Four” but also on the information technologies, or better known as infotechs, of the work force and the future of those individuals that are currently employeed in these infotech careers. Hines states
“By the year 2010, information technology (infotech) will make many jobs more challenging and rewarding, but it may also lead to job loss, boredom, and depersonalization. Consisting primarily of computing combined with telecommunications and networking, infotech includes expert systems, imaging, automation, robotics, sensing technologies, and mechatronics” (9).
Many of us may see these technologies in this work area to be a benefit because it allows us to get information quicker and better, but Hines information seems to portray that, yes, these technologies are great for these jobs, but they will eventually take over these jobs completely because the technologies do so much in that work force for the employers (9).
Ultimately , technolgy is considered to be a highly greatful invention to all individuals who use it, but it is my concerns that people do not see the big picture as to what technology can really do to our world. Throughout this paper, I have discussed the effects on technology and how it has caused job loss and, if not, basic skills needed for use in the work force. Technology is slowly changing the world for college students who are working hard in their educations to get a good career. I believe that these technologies are slowly going to take over the work force and there will not be much employment left for not only college students, but anyone for that matter. Technology is a big idea and the world doesn’t see that if we don’t do something now to attain our basic skills and use technologies only to an advantage to help employers get the job done easier and/or quicker. I believe that we can stop these technologies from “taking over” if we sit down and see what is has already done to our society and what will happen to our society and our future careers and abilities if we let it continue to do so. Technology is not in control, we are in control.
See you thursday!
Research Paper - Part 1
There will be a great employment decline and less job opportunities for college students all around the world if technology continue to interfer with the basic skill level of human beings. Technology has become so involved in the work force that people will eventually be replaced by these technologies in their jobs. Two of my biggest concerns are that, as me being one of those college students, I lose an opportunity for my desired job in the future due to advanced technologies. Even in sight that I might get a job, the use of technology is very high in all work forces and my second fear would be that I lose my basic skills to get the job done. In this paper, I will be discussing skill loss and job loss that have been caused due to technologies in the work force.
There has been debate on whether technology in the work force will provide a good outcome to our futures or a bad outcome. David E. Nye presents both issues in his book Technology Matters and gives detail about why each is considered good or bad.
“Tedious and dangerous factory work has been replaced by robots or automatic machines, while millions of people hold jobs that did not exits 150 years ago in industries created around new technologies, such as computing, musical recordking, broadcasting, design, advertising and research and development” (Nye: 109).
In this statement, Nye is saying that many jobs are indeed replacing the jobs of others due technolgies or “robots” in the work force, but also he states that technology isnt necessarily a bad thing in the work force because it presents new opportunities and working availabilities due to these advanced technologies. In my opinion, however, it still concerns me that my future career could be replaced by technologies. Sure, some technologies bring great things to the work force, but I believe they could eventually become an invention that takes over my job completely. It was further discussed in Nye’s novel that these machines or “robots” have been a problem for employment for over 200 years (119). Multiple machines have been constructed to perform our own human-like skills and eventually replaced jobs such as industries, telephone operators, and bank tellers (118). These are the kinds of things that worry me and should also worry many other individuals that are working for employment in college. If technology has slowly, yet surely, started to elimidate jobs one by one, there won’t be many jobs for these students to be involved in. Considering there are such high expectations or education in jobs I think technologies should be narrowed down to only be used for beneficial purposes and not all purposes. By beneficial purposes, I mean the work force should only use technologies that will benefit to their job and not take over their job. Things such as x-ray machines, cat scan machines, and computational machines that form helpful data for ill people at a hospital would be great beneficial technologies. These kinds of beneficial technologies help make our jobs easier by getting information for us quicker. They do not take away our jobs and cause unemployment in doing so.
Additionally, maybe employment won’t be taken away, but eventually a person’s ability to do simple things and simple tasks will disappear. Harold Hellman describe his concerns about the loss of skills due to technologies being used in the work force in Albert H. Teich’s novel Technology and Man’s Future. Hellman talks about how a friend eventually lost his ability to remember how to fix his car due to the fact that technology usually did it for him (25).
Additionally, Christian Heath and Paul Luff did a research study and presented it in their novel Technology in Action that engages in the technologies that are involved in the work place and then provide that information to their audiences so they understand the effects of technology in the work place. These authors actually go to work places and observe the workers in addition to video tapping their observations to share the information with other collegues. The authors observe how the social interactions change the skills of the working and their abilities to have face to face communication. The section of the book covers information to help researchers see that communication difficulties are starting to form due to technologies being used in that work place. Their main stakeholder for this research experiment were practitioners who want to learn about the new skills needed to attain their position in the work force but then end up having problems with their basic skills after using those technologies (Heath and Luff: 2). I think that both of these authors are really trying to tell their readers that technology is becoming more complex in the work force than people thought. As I thought, and many others might think, technology was considered great until you discover the downfalls of it, especially if it portakes in your future career. The stakeholders that were particularly aimed, in addition to the practitioners, were more so individuals that might be entering the work force such as college students and/or people in the work force now that might also have problems such as the practionors did in aquiring new skills.
In concerns of the research information Heath and Luff had gathered from the practitioners, Teich discusses the use of a simple machine known as the copy machine in saying that many people have them at work, but do not know how to use basic or common knowledge to use them (Teich:24). We have a fear of technology because it requires an uneasy amount of knowledge that many employers may not beable to aquire on the first, second, or even third time around (24). I believe that this is a common reason as to why technology causes unemployment. If many employees cannot work the technologies that are placed in their work forces, then why not just make a “robot” techological invention that can do the job. In stating this, another thought as to why many are losing their jobs could be the simple idea that owners or managers of a work force or facility want the best work possible and if humans aren’t able to do what they need them to do to get the job done, then they will find someone or something to get the job done no matter what or who it is.
Another reason that there has been great decline in employment due to technology is because of competition involved in the new technologies (Mittelhauser: 18). Multiple problems have evolved over the years involving a higher competition for companies due to the technological use in the work force (18). These problems come about due to the uses of technology in that specific company(18). It’s quite possible that companies have better technologies than others and, for that reason, companies being forced out of business because they can’t keep up with the more advanced technologies. This is also a concern to not only myself, but a concern to all college level students and the individuals that are in these kinds of textile or apparel factories because technology in the work force is now dealing with the quality of the technologies and how companies use them. Mark Mittelhauser states in his Job Loss and Survival Strategies in the Textile and Apparel Industries article that multiple jobs have been lost due to fierce domestic and international competition in businesses with textile mills and appearal factories (18). Mittelhauser believes that it is expect that textile and apparel workers are expected to lose jobs at an even faster rate thatn during the past decade (19). “The effects of trade and technology will combine to negatively effect the labor market for textile and apparel workers” (19). Additionally, the imports from trade will most likely supply net growth in the domestic market and will eventually lead to little or no growth in the textile markets (19). In stating this information, this leads me to believe that it is not only a concern that technologies cause job loss to individuals because they lose their ability to do basic skills, but people lose their jobs additionally because new technologies in the work force are too much for not only the employees, but also the companies themselves.
The future jobs of farmers, police officers, physicians, utility workers, salespeople, consultants, scientists, doctors, factory workers, pilots, and teachers are also at stake in regards to these kinds of new technologies in the work force. Andy Hines recognizes what is known to him as the “Big Four” or the four highly used technologies in these specific jobs. The big four include computer networks, imaging technology, massive data storage, and artificial intelligence (9). These “big four” are skills that many of these workers need to utilize to be able to have a greater impact on their futures and careers, however, if these technologies are not used wisely and correctly, they could lead to bad outcomes involving these technologies completely taking over the employee’s jobs. Hines bases his article not only on the “Big Four” but also on the information technologies, or better known as infotechs, of the work force and the future of those individuals that are currently employeed in these infotech careers. Hines states
“By the year 2010, information technology (infotech) will make many jobs more challenging and rewarding, but it may also lead to job loss, boredom, and depersonalization. Consisting primarily of computing combined with telecommunications and networking, infotech includes expert systems, imaging, automation, robotics, sensing technologies, and mechatronics” (9).
Many of us may see these technologies in this work area to be a benefit because it allows us to get information quicker and better, but Hines information seems to portray that, yes, these technologies are great for these jobs, but they will eventually take over these jobs completely because the technologies do so much in that work force for the employers (9).
Ultimately , technolgy is considered to be a highly greatful invention to all individuals who use it, but it is my concerns that people do not see the big picture as to what technology can really do to our world. Throughout this paper, I have discussed the effects on technology and how it has caused job loss and, if not, basic skills needed for use in the work force. Technology is slowly changing the world for college students who are working hard in their educations to get a good career. I believe that these technologies are slowly going to take over the work force and there will not be much employment left for not only college students, but anyone for that matter. Technology is a big idea and the world doesn’t see that if we don’t do something now to attain our basic skills and use technologies only to an advantage to help employers get the job done easier and/or quicker. I believe that we can stop these technologies from “taking over” if we sit down and see what is has already done to our society and what will happen to our society and our future careers and abilities if we let it continue to do so. Technology is not in control, we are in control.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Research Paper
At first I thought the books I got for my paper were going to be a complete hassle to read over and get information out of, but the readings actually were quite interesting and I got a lot out of them. After reading small parts of each source I got from Nye, I got really interested in technology and wanted to know more. The information I read allowed me to form questions in my head and narrow information down into a research question. Althought I dont have my research topic fully ready to go considering there's so much information I could get from the broken down question I already have, I do plan on getting a good experience out of this research paper and am excited to learn more about technology and what people think.
Before this class I had no idea people thought this way about technology and had no idea that it was as big of a topic as it really is. It really enhanced my knowledge and my interests to want to discover more about technology. Due to the information from the books and in class, I was able to come up with my research topic. My topic has to due with technology taking over the jobs of humans and I find it really interesting because it will be a serious problem if it actually does happen. I guess I came about this topic because I saw through the readings and in class discussions on how this topic is a serious topic. I dont think its a high topic for technology, but I still feel its an important issue. Working is important for living and/or survival so it would be a tough life or a much different life without a job.
In discussing it in further terms, I think this is also a big issue because I am still a college student working hard to get a job for my future. What will happen to me or schooling systems if we are no longer in need of preparation for jobs due to the fact that technology does the job for us? Will additional education in colleges even be needed if technology takes over jobs? And how will people make a living and/or what will they do if they don't work? The society would become lazier and less informed of their own capabilities if technology completely takes over. Jobs are how we make a living. They are how we buy homes and take care of our families and go out to dinner with friends. Jobs are our lives and if technology takes over those jobs, we would have an intense change in society, and, to my understanding, not for the better. Life, to me, would honestly be so boring.
All in all, even after writing this i'm really excited for my topic now and excited to start the research!
Before this class I had no idea people thought this way about technology and had no idea that it was as big of a topic as it really is. It really enhanced my knowledge and my interests to want to discover more about technology. Due to the information from the books and in class, I was able to come up with my research topic. My topic has to due with technology taking over the jobs of humans and I find it really interesting because it will be a serious problem if it actually does happen. I guess I came about this topic because I saw through the readings and in class discussions on how this topic is a serious topic. I dont think its a high topic for technology, but I still feel its an important issue. Working is important for living and/or survival so it would be a tough life or a much different life without a job.
In discussing it in further terms, I think this is also a big issue because I am still a college student working hard to get a job for my future. What will happen to me or schooling systems if we are no longer in need of preparation for jobs due to the fact that technology does the job for us? Will additional education in colleges even be needed if technology takes over jobs? And how will people make a living and/or what will they do if they don't work? The society would become lazier and less informed of their own capabilities if technology completely takes over. Jobs are how we make a living. They are how we buy homes and take care of our families and go out to dinner with friends. Jobs are our lives and if technology takes over those jobs, we would have an intense change in society, and, to my understanding, not for the better. Life, to me, would honestly be so boring.
All in all, even after writing this i'm really excited for my topic now and excited to start the research!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Blog Assignment #7
For this assignment, considering my books were quite big and had a lot of information in them, I looked at the abstract version of the books to figure out what each section of the book was about. Additionally, I skimmed the chapters until I found a good source of information that I could use in my paper, or to what I thought would be useful for my paper. I didn't exactly use all the information I noted, but the information helped. If I would have had more time, I would have read each chapter throughly, however, I feel that the way I did it was great too. It allowed me to just get the main points I needed.
I got kind of excited to explore other sources beyond Nye's book. I thought it was great to learn more and understand more about the information Nye talked about in his novel. Once I picked out a good quote or picked out good source information, I tried to think about questions I had about the information Nye provided. Since I thought that Nye provided the abstract version of the issues discussed about technology, I wanted to try to get as many questions as possible out of his information so I'd know what to look for in the other source's information.
As far as the peer editing goes, I thought the person was very helpful. I liked what they said and liked the ideas they had. It made me think more about my paper and understand what I needed to change and/or fix in my paper. The only two problems I had with the peer editing was that I only got one comment and that I also like to hear the teacher's comments before I turn the final in.
Lastly, I think writing these papers is somewhat difficult. In terms of a research paper, I think they are really fun and interesting because you gain a lot of information out of them that you hadn't known previous, but I think the actual writing part of them is very hard. I am so used to writing regular papers that just involve my thoughts and feelings to the information I talk about in addition to the factual information given throughout the paper. I think I'm really kind of struggling with this though because I don't know whats good or bad about my research papers or what I'm doing right or what I should be doing. I've writen a few research papers in the past (high school) but feel like my information or the things I write about isn't good enough. I like how Nye does it and how he uses sources throughout his novel. That's great, but I feel like I'm still struggling a little bit with my research paper(s) in comparison to Nye's research information. As said before, I really like research papers and think they are fun because you learn so much and it's actually fun to do the research part. The only problem for me though is that it's harder than I thought and nobody likes to struggle. Getting the information is fun, but then having to put it down on paper and into your own words is the difficult part.
I got kind of excited to explore other sources beyond Nye's book. I thought it was great to learn more and understand more about the information Nye talked about in his novel. Once I picked out a good quote or picked out good source information, I tried to think about questions I had about the information Nye provided. Since I thought that Nye provided the abstract version of the issues discussed about technology, I wanted to try to get as many questions as possible out of his information so I'd know what to look for in the other source's information.
As far as the peer editing goes, I thought the person was very helpful. I liked what they said and liked the ideas they had. It made me think more about my paper and understand what I needed to change and/or fix in my paper. The only two problems I had with the peer editing was that I only got one comment and that I also like to hear the teacher's comments before I turn the final in.
Lastly, I think writing these papers is somewhat difficult. In terms of a research paper, I think they are really fun and interesting because you gain a lot of information out of them that you hadn't known previous, but I think the actual writing part of them is very hard. I am so used to writing regular papers that just involve my thoughts and feelings to the information I talk about in addition to the factual information given throughout the paper. I think I'm really kind of struggling with this though because I don't know whats good or bad about my research papers or what I'm doing right or what I should be doing. I've writen a few research papers in the past (high school) but feel like my information or the things I write about isn't good enough. I like how Nye does it and how he uses sources throughout his novel. That's great, but I feel like I'm still struggling a little bit with my research paper(s) in comparison to Nye's research information. As said before, I really like research papers and think they are fun because you learn so much and it's actually fun to do the research part. The only problem for me though is that it's harder than I thought and nobody likes to struggle. Getting the information is fun, but then having to put it down on paper and into your own words is the difficult part.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Nye’s Source Views of Technology
David E. Nye’s thoughts about technology have been all over the place in his book intitled Technology Matters. One of the main topics he discusses in his book is the evolution of technology and that much of where technology came from was through using tools in the earlier centuries of human lives. Nye states a small amount of detailed information about his idea of tools being used as a starter of technology for the Homo Sapians species in the earlier years of the human life: “Learning to use tools was a crucial step in the species’ development, both because it increased adaptability and because it led to a more complex social life” (Nye: 2). Nye continues his discussion on tools in not only notifying his readers that tools built up a more diverse social life, but also states that tools can be used in survival and safety mechanisms for these earlier species. Using the tools to kill animals, tend fires, and for murdering for safety matters are all examples of these survival and safety mechanisms. As years and years went on, these tools were made into bigger and better technologies that could be used for a higher purpose. In stating this, Albert H. Teich also discusses the topic of tools having a higher purpose in his novel Technology and the Man’s Future.
Albert H. Teich discusses the idea of tools becoming bigger and better and gaining a greater purpose as something that should be a bigger issue than most think. Teich states that there is a current situation that seems different from the past years of our lives. Teich gives three reasons on why he believes this, however states one specific reason about tools that is in comparison to Nye’s ideas on tools.
“(1) Our tools are more powerful than any before. The rifle wiped out the buffalo, but nuclear weapons can wipe out man. Dust storms lay whole regions wast, but too much radioactivity in the atmosphere could make the planet uninhabitable. The domestication of animals and the invention of the wheel literally lifted the burden from man’s back, but computers could free him fromall need to labor” (Teich: 102-103).
In this quotation, it goes further into the fact that, yes, tools have been something that has been a starter technology since the beginning of time, but as technology continues to grow throughout the years it places a higher impact upon our lives. This impact, in reading Teich’s information, may not be as good of an impact as humans may have wanted.
In addition to talking about the tool usage and its changes throughout the years, a second source of ideas has been brought up in comparison to Nye’s information about how those tools have caused issue for the social aspects of our human lives. Christian Heath and Paul Luff talk about the current uprising issues of technology and the technological social complications it brings to humans.
“Over the past decade or so, a substantial body of literature has emerged concerned with social aspects of tecnology. Perhaps the most important and wide-ranging contributions are concered with the ways in whuch new computer and commiunication technologies are changing the character of contemporary society… (Heath & Luff: 7).
Now that we have all these new technological tools that are constantly being updated and being turned into things that are known to draw a greater attention to the human race, it is becoming a social problem for many. Heath and Luff really dig deep into the matter of social technologies and the problem technology causes all throughout our society and really want to notify people that it really is a bigger issue than many people may actually realize.
I believe the arguments here to be simple. In putting Nye, Teich, Heath and Luff’s ideas together they really want people to understand that if technology keeps growing the way it does, and keeps having such a great impact on our lives, there won’t be much hope for the lives of us humans. In stating that, I mean that the more we depend on technology,the less we are able to look upon ourselves for the answer and do things on our own. I think its good that we use tools and they help impact our lives in what seems to be a helpful way, however, I do agree with the authors in saying that technology continues to be a social issue.
Nye clearifies his information about technology in a smaller amounts of detail than Teich, Heath and Luff. Teich, Heath and Tuff really identify that tools and/or the social aspects of technology have become greater problems than many realize and that people really need to realize these issues before it becomes a bigger problem than it already is. Nye’s information is a simple abstract version of the other authors’ detailed information. I think that Nye just wants it to be straight forward and real. He wants to state something about technology, and be straight forward about it the information. Teich, Heath and Tuff on the other hand really want people to see what they are saying so that is why they write an entire book about the issue as apposed to Nye who writes an entire book about all the technological issues of this world.
Furthermore, in the idea of discussing Nye, Teich, Heath and Tuff’s reasoning and understandings for their novels, Nye’s information, as stated before, is the abstract version of the other authors. This means that Nye tries to aim at the audience of everyone. His information causes the readers to think about the subject involving technology. With that information and that new thinking process the reader can then look at the other authors, that Nye uses, and find further information on the subject through those authors. In reguards to the other authors, Teich seems to focus on the audience of many ages. Since he talks about tools and information concerning the technological tools that form over time, it’s to my understanding that he is looking at people of all age levels. Heath and Tuff on the other hand forward their information on the concerns of technology socially toward business people who form the new technologies that affect our social lives, but also only older individuals. I say only older individuals instead of younger individuals because Heath and Tuff use actual statistics and great amounts of in depth information that may cause some kind of difficulty comprehension for someone at a younger age.
After reading, analyzing, and comparing Nye’s information to Teich, Heath and Tuff’s information throughout their novels a series of new questions based off their information have come to my mind. Is there a point in which we should stop updating the tools that have already been presented to the world or, better yet, is there a point that we will stop looking for new tools at all? In addition, as far as the social issues go, I wonder what kind of society we will have once the technology “completely” takes over our lives. Can we stop it before it does, or has it gone to far? Where did we start to get out of control and why didn’t anyone see it before, or, furthermore, why didn’t these authors themselves do something to get the information out to the world in a different way beyond their novels?
Albert H. Teich discusses the idea of tools becoming bigger and better and gaining a greater purpose as something that should be a bigger issue than most think. Teich states that there is a current situation that seems different from the past years of our lives. Teich gives three reasons on why he believes this, however states one specific reason about tools that is in comparison to Nye’s ideas on tools.
“(1) Our tools are more powerful than any before. The rifle wiped out the buffalo, but nuclear weapons can wipe out man. Dust storms lay whole regions wast, but too much radioactivity in the atmosphere could make the planet uninhabitable. The domestication of animals and the invention of the wheel literally lifted the burden from man’s back, but computers could free him fromall need to labor” (Teich: 102-103).
In this quotation, it goes further into the fact that, yes, tools have been something that has been a starter technology since the beginning of time, but as technology continues to grow throughout the years it places a higher impact upon our lives. This impact, in reading Teich’s information, may not be as good of an impact as humans may have wanted.
In addition to talking about the tool usage and its changes throughout the years, a second source of ideas has been brought up in comparison to Nye’s information about how those tools have caused issue for the social aspects of our human lives. Christian Heath and Paul Luff talk about the current uprising issues of technology and the technological social complications it brings to humans.
“Over the past decade or so, a substantial body of literature has emerged concerned with social aspects of tecnology. Perhaps the most important and wide-ranging contributions are concered with the ways in whuch new computer and commiunication technologies are changing the character of contemporary society… (Heath & Luff: 7).
Now that we have all these new technological tools that are constantly being updated and being turned into things that are known to draw a greater attention to the human race, it is becoming a social problem for many. Heath and Luff really dig deep into the matter of social technologies and the problem technology causes all throughout our society and really want to notify people that it really is a bigger issue than many people may actually realize.
I believe the arguments here to be simple. In putting Nye, Teich, Heath and Luff’s ideas together they really want people to understand that if technology keeps growing the way it does, and keeps having such a great impact on our lives, there won’t be much hope for the lives of us humans. In stating that, I mean that the more we depend on technology,the less we are able to look upon ourselves for the answer and do things on our own. I think its good that we use tools and they help impact our lives in what seems to be a helpful way, however, I do agree with the authors in saying that technology continues to be a social issue.
Nye clearifies his information about technology in a smaller amounts of detail than Teich, Heath and Luff. Teich, Heath and Tuff really identify that tools and/or the social aspects of technology have become greater problems than many realize and that people really need to realize these issues before it becomes a bigger problem than it already is. Nye’s information is a simple abstract version of the other authors’ detailed information. I think that Nye just wants it to be straight forward and real. He wants to state something about technology, and be straight forward about it the information. Teich, Heath and Tuff on the other hand really want people to see what they are saying so that is why they write an entire book about the issue as apposed to Nye who writes an entire book about all the technological issues of this world.
Furthermore, in the idea of discussing Nye, Teich, Heath and Tuff’s reasoning and understandings for their novels, Nye’s information, as stated before, is the abstract version of the other authors. This means that Nye tries to aim at the audience of everyone. His information causes the readers to think about the subject involving technology. With that information and that new thinking process the reader can then look at the other authors, that Nye uses, and find further information on the subject through those authors. In reguards to the other authors, Teich seems to focus on the audience of many ages. Since he talks about tools and information concerning the technological tools that form over time, it’s to my understanding that he is looking at people of all age levels. Heath and Tuff on the other hand forward their information on the concerns of technology socially toward business people who form the new technologies that affect our social lives, but also only older individuals. I say only older individuals instead of younger individuals because Heath and Tuff use actual statistics and great amounts of in depth information that may cause some kind of difficulty comprehension for someone at a younger age.
After reading, analyzing, and comparing Nye’s information to Teich, Heath and Tuff’s information throughout their novels a series of new questions based off their information have come to my mind. Is there a point in which we should stop updating the tools that have already been presented to the world or, better yet, is there a point that we will stop looking for new tools at all? In addition, as far as the social issues go, I wonder what kind of society we will have once the technology “completely” takes over our lives. Can we stop it before it does, or has it gone to far? Where did we start to get out of control and why didn’t anyone see it before, or, furthermore, why didn’t these authors themselves do something to get the information out to the world in a different way beyond their novels?
Monday, March 9, 2009
Technology Research Sources
“Technology is more than just machines. It is a percasive complex system whose cultural, social, political, and intellectual elements are manifest in virtually every aspect of our lives” (Teich: 1). This brief definition of technology was said by a man named Albert H. Teich in his novel Technolog and Man’s Future. In this novel, Teich discusses these kinds of issues based off technology and how it is considered a threat to our human race. The book is based off three major ideas of technology: Thinking About Technology, Forecasting, Assessing and Controlling Technology, and Reshaping Technology. The first, Thinking About Technology, involves discussing the relationship technology has with society itself. This first section is comparable to Nye’s book because it doesn’t necessarily state one specific opinion about technology, but it causes the readers to think deeper about technology and question their own personal thoughts that they had before reading this book. The second section, Forecasting, Assessing and Controlling Technology, focuses on the concerns of public actions of technology and involve making public decisions about new technologies. This section also discusses governmental mechanisms for handling technology. Finally, Reshaping Technology addresses the current ideas of technology; Is it considered to be good or bad? Finally, the novel then discusses ideas in discovering alternatives for technology. For this novel, in terms of Nye, I believe that Nye may have touched slightly on these kinds of issues but not in as much detail as Teich does in his book. The book breaks down three main ideas to technology and discusses those three specific issues. Nye’s book discusses some of the issues, but not in as much detail.
In my second novel, called Technology in Action by Christian Heath and Paul Luff., discusses the different types of technology. It starts with the introduction of the basic information system, further more into the medical practices of technology, and then discusses the intrapersonal communication in media. Breaking it into further detail, the novel has eight chapters discussing a variety of different topics about technology such as related ethnographic studies of technology, informational medicine and general practice of technology, the actions and activities of individuals based off technology, control rooms of urban transportation, and the impact technology has placed on the workplace environments. For this novel, I believe it to be more like Nye’s novel because it discusses a variety of different issues about technology. However,Technology in Action seems to discuss one basic thing about technology: how technology effects the working world and actions that have taken place while using those technologies all throughout the world. Nye discusses these ideas of technology slightly different, however, this novel uses just one of Nye’s ideas. I think that Nye didn’t get further into these ideas, including the information in Technology and Man’s Future, because, as stated before, Nye uses technology as a whole and uses a variety of different ideas about technology in his novel. These two novels “take one of Nye’s ideas” and break that idea down even further than Nye. Both novels are similar, in comparison to Nye, to Vicente and Vonnegut’s novels. Vicente and Vonnegut both seem to “use” one of Nye’s idea’s discussed in his novel and breaks it down into a more simple way, just as Teich, Heath and Luff do in their novels.
In my second novel, called Technology in Action by Christian Heath and Paul Luff., discusses the different types of technology. It starts with the introduction of the basic information system, further more into the medical practices of technology, and then discusses the intrapersonal communication in media. Breaking it into further detail, the novel has eight chapters discussing a variety of different topics about technology such as related ethnographic studies of technology, informational medicine and general practice of technology, the actions and activities of individuals based off technology, control rooms of urban transportation, and the impact technology has placed on the workplace environments. For this novel, I believe it to be more like Nye’s novel because it discusses a variety of different issues about technology. However,Technology in Action seems to discuss one basic thing about technology: how technology effects the working world and actions that have taken place while using those technologies all throughout the world. Nye discusses these ideas of technology slightly different, however, this novel uses just one of Nye’s ideas. I think that Nye didn’t get further into these ideas, including the information in Technology and Man’s Future, because, as stated before, Nye uses technology as a whole and uses a variety of different ideas about technology in his novel. These two novels “take one of Nye’s ideas” and break that idea down even further than Nye. Both novels are similar, in comparison to Nye, to Vicente and Vonnegut’s novels. Vicente and Vonnegut both seem to “use” one of Nye’s idea’s discussed in his novel and breaks it down into a more simple way, just as Teich, Heath and Luff do in their novels.
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