THD204 - THD204 TMA01(Cont) - Part 2 What drives, or shapes, IT developments?
Concerns of Social Scientists
The main point of this block is the relationship between IT and Society, and the ways it manages shapes and exploits our social, organisational, political and economic, environments. Social scientists have raised many concerns during their research in to social shaping of technologies; some of the concerns raised are now listed:-
a) Access and Inequality - fear of a growing divide between individuals or nations, i.e. those who have IT and those who don't.
b) Control and Regulation of Information - who will control the information and who will regulate it. This poses a question for government, as information is now global. What vested interests?
c) Globalisation - IT has made it possible for individuals, companies, institutions to transfer data of almost any kind (email, financial, newscasts etc.) within seconds to almost any point on the globe. The emergence of the Internet with its global reach has led some sociologists to believe we are heading towards a global society.
d) Information Ownership - information is fast becoming a commercial commodity. What vested interests?
e) Information Society - more and more companies and workers are being drawn into the information industry, this is concerning because IT could become the major sector of our economy.
f) Pace of Change - the current pace of change making advances in technology almost continual this perceived gap could widen, as 'keeping up' becomes more elusive.
g) Privacy and Security of Information - fears that information might be available by legal or illegal means to unscrupulous individuals or companies to exploit, commercially or politically. Personal privacy, there is a large amount of data stored about individuals i.e. credit card details, credit reference details, bank account details etc. There are also concerns of civil liberties with the way in which governments are adopting, promoting and subsidising IT solutions -'Big Brother'?
Key concepts
Technical Determinism
Technological Determinism approach focuses on the 'impact' and 'effects' caused by technology, it supposes that technology in itself is autonomous, independent and is not influenced by social factors.
Social Shaping
This view is opposed to Technological Determinism and looks at how people and society respond to, and are affected by technological change. It is less well appreciated that technological change is itself influenced, moulded and directed by complex social processes. Technological change has social and economic, as well as physical causes and consequences. Social Shaping believes that our understanding of characteristics and abilities of people is central to exploring the development of technologies:
Macro Approach to Social Shaping
The macro deals investigates how broad category events such as the Cold War, capitalism and gender have shaped technology
Micro Approach to Social Shaping
In the micro approach it is argued that the macro can only exist if there is a micro interaction supporting it. It is basically looking at narrower categories and how the social interactions around them influence the technology development. The three subcategories discussed in block 1 follow:
Systems Approach
In the systems approach developed by Thomas Hughes all factors affecting a project are taken into consideration, for example engineering, science, economics, and the law as well as the technology. Should any element fail then the technology fails and will not be developed.
Social Constructivist Approach
In this approach technology is socially constructed rather than awaiting discovery. Processes of choice and negotiation between relevant social groups are deemed to be the way technology is developed.
Actor-Network Approach
This approach drops the distinction between animate and inanimate all parts are treated equally. In effect human and non-human elements become 'actor's' in an 'actor network' relationship.
Further Concepts Introduced by David Edge and Hughie Mackay
David Edge - Feedback Loops
In David Edge's approach to social shaping he believes that the relationship between technology and society is both an interaction and a recursive process. His believe is that throughout the product's cycle everything is interactive and recursive to all parts of the development process. The feedback loops from each process are in constant feedback to all processes. The following diagram has been copied from the CDROM to illustrate Edge's approach.
(Figure 7 - David Edge, CDROM)
Hughie Mackay - The Full Life Cycle
Hughie Mackay argues that technology is socially shaped from its origins at explains how with his three stage formula. Firstly the designer has to take into account and balance the needs of the consumer with the product image.
The second stage in his formula is marketing. Mackay believes that technology designed and packaged to meet consumer demand; but demand is also created through extensive market research and product advertising. The 'consumer' was created by three key elements; built-in obsolescence, personalisation within the mass market and consumer credit.
Mackay's final stage is appropriation by the user, this is the part where the designers and technology lose control of how the consumer uses it, the consumer might use the product in a completely unexpected way or reject it altogether. " People may reject technologies, redefine their functional purpose, customise or even invest idiosyncratic symbolic meanings in them. Indeed they may redefine a technology in a way that defies its original, designed and intended purpose. Thus the appropriation of technology is an integral part of its social shaping" (Mackay - CDROM). In the text he shows several examples of this one being; the video recorder in that the design intention was for people to watch films but users predominantly use it to time-shift programmes.
Overview
The main point of this block is the relationship between IT and Society, and the ways it manages, shapes and exploits our social, organisational, political and economic, environments. From the readings of block 1 book and the articles on the CDROM it becomes obvious that IT does socially shape society whether at the individual level or in the wider world. As Edge says " evidence for this is overwhelming: economic, cultural, political and organisational factors - all of which we subsume in the term 'social' - have been shown to shape technological change" (Edge - CDROM)
Throughout the readings one theme is common and that the Technological Determinist approach is acceptable in its own right, however there are serious misgivings because it does not take account the wider picture of social shaping. "The reality, of course, is that technologies do not, in practice, follow some pre-determined course of development" (Mackay CDROM). " By understanding the full scope of social choice that is involved, we are best equipped to counter notions of technological determinism.(Mackay CDROM)".
Importance
Information Technology drives and is driven by major social changes. They are crucial for competitive advantage, but they also raise important questions relating to their impact on civil liberties and ethical judgements. Further questions are asked about the deployment of technologies and are they being used for the purpose they were to perform. "The way in which a technology is deployed is also determined by its user: this is not inevitable, built into technology or fixed" (Mackay - CDROM)
Information Technology and its applications are having a major impact on almost all areas of people's lives at the individual level, the household, and the workplace. Computer technologies are opening up education, training and information opportunities, but are also affecting the nature of human interaction and social behaviour. It is apparent that further research is required into the commercialisation, regulation and marketing of IT and the process by which it has become established and appears to enjoy a broad level of public acceptance. How does people's perception, understanding and the pros and cons of IT affect their lifestyles and quality of life? "It is clear that any research agenda must contain, not only a range of specific projects, at a variety of 'levels', but also a programme aimed at the integration of the emerging analyses" (Edge - CDROM).
IT, remote networking and the Internet are radically changing the way people communicate across geographical and social boundaries. To what extent can these changes can shape, improve performance and communication especially at work. Who has access to and who excluded IT and what are the social and ethical implications relating to privacy, security and civil liberties? These are just a few of the challenges facing researcher in this field. "The intimate interweaving of the 'technological' and the 'social' is a practical policy matter, as well as an engrossing intellectual challenge" ! (Edge - CDROM) .
Bibliography
David Edge (1988) 'The Social Shaping of Technology', CDROM
Hughie Mackay (1995a) 'Theorising the IT/Society Relationship', CDROM