Technology and Society Social Networks, Work, and Inequality

by Quan-haase, Anabel

• ISBN13: 9780195437836
• ISBN10: 0195437837
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Technology-whether crude tools in the Stone Age or smart phones in the twenty-first century-has always found its way into our everyday lives, as we work and play. But how does that technology influence and change our society? InTechnology and Society, a new text in theThemes in Canadian Sociologyseries, author Anabel Quan-Haase examines those places in which technology and society intersect, connecting the reality of our technological age to issues of social networks, work, and inequality. The text also places an emphasis on experiential learning, serving as a bridge between abstract, theoretical thinking about technology and real-life events and experiences: issues and examples plucked from readers' daily realities clearly illustrate the history and concepts that form the foundational chapters of the book. The result is an action-oriented volume, one that initiates curiosity and sparks a desire to know more about technology and society: what the tools we use are, where they come from, and how they are changing our perceptions of ourselves and the relationships we form with others.

Author Biography

Anabel Quan-Haase is an associate professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies as well as the Department of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario, where her work and teaching focuses on the technology and its effects on society, as well as computer-mediated communication. She is also the director of the Sociodigital Lab, which explores how information and communication technologies lead to social change. Some of her current projects involve examining the impact of the e-book and electronic networks of exchange on humanist scholarship, 'breakup 2.0' (ending relationships in era of digital communication), facets of serendipity in everyday chance encounters, and the media's role in disaster early-warning systems in Brazil. She has also authored numerous book chapters and journal articles on instant messaging, social networking, information technology, and internet use.

Table of Contents

Preface
Overview of the Book
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Chapter 1 The Technological Society
Learning Objectives
Introduction
What Is Technology?
Technology as Material Substance
Technology as Knowledge
Technology as Practice
Technology as Technique
Technology as Society
Making Sense of Definitions
Technology in Society
Box 1-1 Challenges in the Study of Technology and Society
Contemporary Discussions of Technology
Simulation
Augmentation
Box 1-2 Augmentation through Wearable Computing: the Birth of the Cyborg
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggested Readings
Online Resources
Chapter 2 Technology in Society: A Historical Overview
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Technology as Encompassing the Past
Box 2-1 Digging Technology: Tool Use in the Stone Age
The Early Beginnings of Technological Ingenuity
Ancient Technology: Basic Research
The Awakening of the Mind through Technology: The Renaissance
The Industrial Revolution: Revolting against Technology
Electronic Times: Hot and Cool Media
Box 2 2 Cinema as a Propaganda Tool in Society
The Information Society
iPod Culture
Cellphones as Empowerment
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggested Readings
Online Resources
Chapter 3 Theoretical Perspectives on Technology
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Utopian versus Dystopian Views of Technology
Theories of Technology and Society
Neutral versus Value Laden
Box 3 1 The Neutrality of Guns
Autonomous versus Humanly Controlled
Four Theories of the Technology-Society Intersection
Science and Technology Studies (STS)
Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)
Box 3 2 The Case of the Electric Car in 1970s France
Actor Network Theory (ANT)
Box 3 3 Discovering Pasteurization
Social Informatics
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggested Readings
Chapter 4 Techno-Social Designing
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Design of Technology
Systems Theory
Technopoles: Centres of Innovation
Box 4 1 Silicon Valley: Centre of Innovation
Research and Development (R&D)
Invention
Innovation
Imitation
Global R&D
Software Development
Industry
Tasks
Cultural Milieus
Box 4 2 Designing Social Network Sites
Team Structure
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggested Readings
Online Resources
Chapter 5 The Adoption and Diffusion of Technological Innovations
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Technological Innovations
Cutting Edge Societies: Inventing and Copying Technology
The Classic Model of the Diffusion of Innovations
Elements in the Diffusion of Technology
The Innovation-Decision Process
Box 5 1 Diffusion and Adoption of the QWERTY Keyboard
Change Agents
Box 5 2 The Role of Change Agents in the Innovation-Decision Process
Adoption Categories
Tools of the Future: Marketing Relations with Early Adopters
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggested Readings
Online Resources
Chapter 6 The Labour of Technology
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Luddites: The Early Struggles with Technology
Technology and the Division of Labour
The Networked Organization
Box 6 1 KME: A Case Study of a Networked Organization
The Immaterial Labour of Technology
The Value of User-Generated Content
Box 6 2 Facebook as Web 2.0 Immaterial Labour
The Produser
The Preconditions of Produsage
Key Principles of Produsage
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggested Readings
Online Resources
Chapter 7 Technology and Inequality
Learning Objectives
Introduction
The Digital Divide
Early Studies of the Digital Divide
Policy Intervention vis-a-vis the Digital Divide
Closing the Digital Divide
Looking Beyond the Access Divide
The Global Digital Divide
Fixed Lines
Cellphones
Internet
Broadband
Box 7 1 Closing the Global Digital Divide: One Laptop per Child
China's Move toward Digitization
Technology Transfer
Critical Perspectives of the Digital Divide
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Online Resources
Chapter 8 Community in the Network Society
Learning Objectives
Introduction
What Is Community?
Industrialization and Community
Social Isolation in America
TV and the Decline of Social Captial
Revisiting Community in the Internet Era
Box 8 1 Social Capital in the Internet Era
Transforming the Public Sphere
Theories of the Demise of the Public Sphere
Third Places
Box 8 2 Social Media in the Middle East
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Online Resources
Chapter 9 Technology-Mediated Social Relationships
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Early Beginnings of Mediated Communication
America Calling: The Impact of the Telephone
Penetration of Mediated Communication
Relationships Online
Romance Online
Box 9 1 Break-Up 2.0
Death and Virtual Mourning
Virtual Mourning
Box 9 2 65 RedRoses: The Community Around Eva Markvoort
Virtual Stranger Loss
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Online Resources
Chapter 10 The Surveillance Society
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Defining Surveillance
Capitalism
Rationalization
Power
The Panopticon
The New Surveillance
Reality TV
Box 10 1 Big Brother: The Act of Being Watched
Digital Surveillance
Box 10 2 Information Revelation on Facebook
Counter-surveillance
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Online Resources
Chapter 11 Ethical Dimensions of Technology
Learning Objectives
Introduction
Central Themes of the Book
The Sociotechnical Approach
Technological Inequality
Social Change
Ethical and Moral Dimensions of our Technological Society
Neutrality of Technology
Box 11 1 AK-47: Questioning Neutrality
Technology as Human Destiny
Box 11 2 Fukushima and Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants
Technology as Progress
Conclusions
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggested Readings
Online Resources
Notes
Glossary
References
Index