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tech and society > midterm exam: 2nd half of chapter 3 > Flashcards

midterm exam: 2nd half of chapter 3 Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

True or False: No single approach adequately describes the complex interrelationship between technology and society?

A

True

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2
Q

What can be said about theoretical perspectives on tech?

A
  • Divergent perspectives each shed light on different aspects of technological society
  • early theoretical perspectives represent simplistic views of this intersection
  • More recent ones shed greater light on the relationship between technology and society
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3
Q

What is the utopian view on technology?

A
  • embrace technology as a new means of achieving progress and efficiency

-allows us to dominate and manage nature, leading to advancements in how we produce material goods

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4
Q

What is the dystopian view on technology?

A
  • technology “threatens established ways of life” and is thus seen as a regressive force
  • View technology as hindering us to combat of key problems of our times
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5
Q

Feenberg’s (1999) theoretical model distinguishes between what two central dimensions?

A
  • Neutral vs Value-Laden
  • Autonomous vs Human Controlled
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6
Q

What is the Neutral vs Value Laden central dimension?

A

Neutral = tech as separate from human activity, with no effect on natural ends
- Neutralization of tech hinders any in-depth analysis of social change (50dollarsnotfiftyshades)

V-L = technology is actively shaping or being shaped by culture, politics, or social values
any new experience realized through technology is seen as progress for the entire human race
- eg. humans landed on the moon

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7
Q

What is the Autonomous vs Human Controlled central dimension?

A

Auto = humans have little choice in deciding how the tech will evolve and diffuse in society
- tech propels and alters the development of social structures and cultural values
- once introduced into an environment - key factor in determining the direction of social change and progress

H-C = tech is controlled by humans and that it is a socially constructed entity, whose meaning and use is determined by human action
- people as having a choice in selecting and deciding how techs will be used, determining the value given to a particular tech

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8
Q

What four theories did Feenberg (1999) identify that exist along the two dimensions that are tech-society intersection?

A
  • Determinism
  • Instrumentalism
  • Substantivism
  • Critical Theory
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9
Q

determinisms 2 opposing views?

A

(1) Technological determinism = tech is the driving force in developing the structure of society and culture
- tech directs and shapes social interactions

(2) Social determinism = sees factors in society as creating specific uses of tech
- Social norms, attitudes, cultural practices, and religious beliefs are perceived as directly impacting how tech is used and what its social consequences are

neutral and autonomous

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10
Q

instrumentalism?

A
  • tech as a neutral tool or instrument whose purpose is to fulfill users’ specific tasks
  • can be used for either positive or negative reasons depending on the moral intentions of the human agents who employ them
  • evolutionary process in which technologies are the product of previous technological endeavours

human controlled and neutral

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11
Q

substantivism?

A

tech brings forth new social, political, and cultural systems, which it then structures and controls

  • tech act as an independent force and is uncontrollable by humans,
  • Nature of the technology (used to liberate or destruct) predetermines how the tech will be utilized and its subsequent impacts on society
  • eg. automic bombs putting fear in people

value laden and autonomous

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12
Q

critical theory?

A
  • Tech is the product of both technical and social factors
  • understood within the context of its use and development
  • process which directs a specific mode of living and understanding

technocracy = tech embodies the values, social structures, and goals of hegemonic elites
- ruling class dominates through the use of technologies that subserve their needs

participatory democratic actions offer an alternative to the technocracy through tactical resistance
- tech used for democratic aims

value laden and human controlled

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13
Q

what is STS or science and tech studies?

A

interdisciplinary field that studies how scientific and tech changes intersect with society

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14
Q

what are the 2 main challenges that STS confronts?

A
  1. aims at conducting meaningful research at the micro and macro levels
  2. neither embraces a fully utopian nor dystopian perspective of technology
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15
Q

what are the 4 main characteristics of STS?

A
  1. rejection of tech determinism
  2. rejection of social determinism
  3. holistic approach
  4. qualitative methods
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16
Q

STS rejects the notion of tech determinism where……

A

tech is perceived as the agent of social, political, cultural, and econ change

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17
Q

STS rejects the notion of social determinism where……

A

the investor of technology alone drives technological progress without any consideration of the social system in which an investigation occurs

  • society determines what tech is used and its consequences
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18
Q

what does STS say in terms of taking a holistic approach?

A

intends to study the entire sociotechnical system and not just the social, political, cultural and econ dimensions separately

19
Q

why do STS use qualitative methods?

A

use to provide in-depth examination of sociotechinal system that generate rich descriptions
eg. case studies and ethnographies

20
Q

Social construction of tech advocates see human action as shaping tech

A

true

  • new tech emerges and gather meanings through social norms
  • tech object can acquire diff uses and values depending on social context
21
Q

what are the 4 key concepts that have emerged within SCOT?

A
  1. relevant social groups
  2. interpretive flexibility
  3. closure and stabilitization
  4. wider context
22
Q

what does the concept of “relevant social groups” entail?

A
  • important due to their influence in attributing meaning to the artifact through interacting with likeminded social groups, who share a similar opinion about the artifact and its uses
  • without social support, new or existing technology can fail to be adopted within a group, causing both new and older products to be out dated
23
Q

what happened in the video game case study?

A

main idea: how world of video games can be seen as a “heavily negotiated terrain of activity.”

social group: children as users and consumers in 4 themes

24
Q

what are the 4 themes players were configured to?

A
  1. Easily amused - limited opportunities for interaction, customization, and communication
  2. “At risk”– contained safety feature to restrict the content that children could see and to limit their interactions with other players
  3. Nice player– idealized form of children’s play through reinforcement of rules around appropriate behaviour
  4. Consumer–involved some kind of currency that allowed player to purchase additional features or vitrual items (get further in game)
25
Q

what is interpretive flexibility and what does it entail?

A

how artifacts are not neutral, but their meaning emerges in a socio-cultural context
- flexibility in how ppl think of or interpret artifacts, and in how artifacts are designed

26
Q

what does closure and stabilitization entail?

A
  • as artifacts become popular - flexibility decreases as artifacts meaning become embedded

Closure = moment at which the relevant social group has reached a consensus on what the tool is all about

Stabilization = when the tool has been assigned a very specific use

27
Q

what does the “wider context” entail?

A

how the sociocultural and political situation of a social group shapes its norms and values, which in turn influence the meaning given to an artifact

  • norms and values powerful for interpreting artifacts and giving value to society
    eg. electrics cars then vs now
28
Q

what is the actor network theory?

A

views everything in the world as a continuously generated effect of web of relations within which they are located

  • ability to examine active processes and interconnected relationships between human and non-human actors
29
Q

what is at the core of understanding these relationships?

A

network
- relations with ppl, interactions with organizations and objects
- characterized by size, concentration of resources and fragility

30
Q

Two types of contours examined within ANT:

A
  1. Spaces of prescription - network with a clearly defined and recognizable centre, overall stable and follows pre-established norms and rules
  2. Spaces of negotiation - networks where connections are constantly renegotiated by various social actors
31
Q

“heterogeneous network of aligned interests, including people, organizations, and standards”

A

actor network

32
Q

“Creating a body of allies, human and non-human, through a process of translating their interests to be aligned with the actor network”

A

enrolment and translation

33
Q

what are delegates?

A

actors who “stand in and speak for” particular viewpoints that have been inscribed in them

34
Q

what is the black box immutable mobile?

A

frozen network element with strong properties of irreversibility, and effects that transcend time and space

35
Q

what are the 3 main limitations of the actor network theory?

A
  1. heterogeneous actors and networks
  2. networks remain vague
  3. macro structures are ignored
36
Q

heterogeneous actors and network explained:

A
  • all actors have equal significance ignoring the role of human agency in decision-making
  • ignores relevance of power and economic interests in technological developments
37
Q

networks remain vague explained:

A

structure and composition of networks are not sufficiently described and so are the connections that link various actors

38
Q

macro structures ignored explained:

A

Fails to consider role of macro-level social structures, social norms, and cultural practices in shaping the network

39
Q

what does the theoretical framework of affordances tell us?

A

allows us to understand what features, functions, and characteristics of digital media facilitate what kinds of social and information possibilities and constraints

Affordances = how computers, apps, and interfaces together create a range of action possibilities (to invite or suggest a user action)

40
Q

how does gibson coin “affordances”?

A

how features of the environment create opportunities for good or ill in terms of an object
- design of objects interacts with a person’s mental model and thereby elicits specific opportunities

eg. the design of the door affords it when it tells you want to do (whether to push or pull)

41
Q

what did norman say about “affordances”?

A

context of human–computer interaction to refer to how computers create a range of action possibilities

42
Q

what are the social and informal benefits of affordances of social media?

A
  • allows us to understand the development of social norms in digital communication and the link these to features
  • affordances in the educational context - aid designers to map social and information behaviours to features
43
Q

what happened in the fake news study?

A
  • social and information affordances of social media facilitate the propagation of fake news

Clickbait - attracts more likes, shares, and forwards, leading to rapid dissemination across social networks
- these stories are often shared or liked by family, friends, and other trusted network members

tech and society (8 decks)

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