1. Technology, Environment, and Society
Group members:
Aayush KC,08
Abhishek Khatiwada,10
Abhishek Subedi,11
Abin Phoju,12
Aditya Pandey,13
Adwait Bhandari,14
Tutor:
Asst. Prof. Shukra Raj Paudel
Department of Civil Engineering
IOE, Tribhuvan University
2019-05-24
Relevant
Pictures
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2. • To outline role of technology as a force against
societal problems
• To outline the forward irreversible march of technology
• To help learn about agricultural, industrial, and
information age technologies
• To discuss how information can be the source of
power and wealth
• To outline the characteristics of an information society
Objectives of the Presentation
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3. Presentation outline
1.8 Role of technology to unmask social problems,
society’s control of technology
1.9 Impact Of Technology On Culture, Tradition And
Social Values
1.10 Technology is irreversible
1.11 The age of revolutions
1.12 Characteristics of information society
1.13 Information as power and wealth
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4. 1.8 Role of technology to unmask social
problems, Society’s control of technology
• Condition which the bunch of people in society finds
undesirable
• Common social problems divulged by media are :
Social problems in Nepal
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5. Divorces
• Doubled in last 5 year to
1824 in 2013
• Most of them filed by
women
• One in 10 family related
cases in courts are
divorces
Source: archive.nepalitimes.com
Source: divorcenepal.com
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6. Polygamy
• Considered illegal in
Nepal
• According to statistics
with the Metropolitan
Police Office,
Kathmandu recorded
as many as 54 cases
of polygamy in the
fiscal year 2014-15
compared to 44 in
2013-14 and 39 in
2012-13.
Source: twitter.com
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7. Trafficking and Prostitution
• 5000 to 12000 girls and
women aged 10-20 yrs
trafficked every year
• About 75% of them below
18
• Majority of them for
prostitution
Source: thehimalyantimes.com
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8. Cast discrimination and Superstition
• Chaupadi pratha was
outlawed by Supreme
court of Nepal in 2005
• It was done with the help
of mass media, social
drama and awareness
program
• However, it still prevails at
low levelSource: http://www.volunteersummernepal.org/
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9. Child Marriage
• Thirty-seven percent of
girls in Nepal marry
before age 18 and 10
percent are married by
age 15
• Minimum age of
marriage under Nepali
law is 20 years of age
Source: thehimalayantimes.com
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10. Several social crimes
• In 2018, WOREC
documented and analyzed
1,751 cases of violence
against women in its
publication Anbeshi 2018
• Among which there are 1140
cases of domestic violence,
295 cases of social violence,
130 cases of rape, 37 cases of
attempt to rape, 13 cases of
murder, 6 cases of attempt to
murder, 11cases of
trafficking,72 cases of sexual
Source: http://www.worecnepal.org
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11. • Mass Media
• Reporters
• Surveillance
camera
• YouTube
channels
• Social
network
• Social
Problems
• Government
• NGOs
• INGOs
• International
agencies
(WHO,FAO,IL
O,UNICEF)
Unmasking process of Social
problems
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12. Society’s Control of Technology
• Adaptive technology
Implementation
• Supplement overall
development in
sustainable way
• Technology that does not
help society in any way is
phased out of society
Source: https://www.facebook.com/memeNEPALofficial/
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13. • Have proper steps in place
to control the effects of
technology on its people
• Guard any negative
consequences such as
excessive pornography,
promotion of violence etc.
• Data privacy
Source: https://www.npr.org
Cont..
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14. 1.9 Impact Of Technology On Culture,
Tradition And Social Values
Source: khairunysarts.blogspot.com
• Culture &
traditions: way of
life
• Technological
advancements
and respective
changes in
culture, traditions
and social values
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15. Globalization
• Economical social and cultural interaction between
different parts of the world.
• Consequence of technological advancement
• Affects culture, tradition and social values
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16. Positive impacts
• Use of technologies in preserving culture and traditions
• Use of technology through globalization to strengthen
economy for better way of life
• Use of technology to minimize efforts and maximize
production
• Cultural empowerment and maintenance of cultural
diversity through global communication
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17. Negative impacts
• Globalization causing influence of other’s culture
modifying or replacing existing culture.
• Competitiveness leading to isolation and eventually
deteriorating social values and beliefs.
• Unplanned globalization leading to destruction and
extinction of cultural values and norms.
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19. Irreversibility of technology
• 18th century; agricultural age
• 19th century; industrial age
• 20th century; information age
• 21st century; conceptual age
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20. Aspects of technologies
• Transportation
• Construction
• Communication
• Energy generation
• Product invention and manufacture
• Engineering applications
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26. Basic definitions
• Reversibility: A to B as well as B to A is possible.
• Irreversibility: A to B is possible but B to A isn’t possible.
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27. Technological change over time
Agricultura
l
• 18th century
• Rake, Hay fork
Industrial
• 19th century
• Assembly line, automobiles, machines
Informatio
n
• 20th century
• Internet, Software, Multimedia
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29. Causes of change
• Development of human civilization
• Culture, lifestyle, norms and societal values
• Human’s curiosity
• Human’s desire for improvement
• Changing needs
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30. Technology adds up
The foundation for new technology is old technology.
The underlying concept in a new technology is often the
same as in an old technology. Example : Horse
carriages evolved into automobiles.
Automobiles
Horse carriages
Source:giphy.com
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32. Why is technological change
irreversible?
• There is always a need for technological improvement
New needs
New demands
• Myriad possibilities
There is always something new to explore
This is further enhanced by human curiosity
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34. Contd…
• Lack of foregone knowledge
Resources might still be abundant
But the knowledge required for ancient technologies
might already have rendered obsolete
• Reverting back simply doesn’t make sense
New technologies are far better
They provide more value
They reduce human effort
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37. Impacts
Positive:
• Simplicity
• Comfort
• Effortless experience
• Longevity
• Efficiency
• Problem solving potential
Negative:
• Procrastination
• Laziness
• Misuse
• Possibility of cyber crimes
• Over dependence
• Loss of creativity
• Overdependence
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38. Factors that might hinder irreversible
march of technology
• When the laws of nature will have fully been exploited
and it is no longer possible to do so
An example of such unexploitable natural law is the
speed of light. Since it is impossible to travel faster
than light, time travelling machine is an impossible
technology.
• If human curiosity ever dies out
• If the existing technology presents unacceptable risks
e.g. CFCs and HCFCs have been replaced by FCs
and HFCs.
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40. THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONS
18TH
CENTURY
19TH
CENTURY
21ST
CENTURY
20TH
CENTURY
AGRICULTURAL
AGE
Farmers
INDUSTRIAL
AGE
Factory
Workers
INFORMATION
AGE
Knowledge
Workers
CONCEPTUAL
AGE
Conceptual
Workers
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41. Agriculture age
• Agriculture is the science and art of
cultivating plants and livestock.
• Development of agriculture enabled the
human population to grow many times
larger than could be sustained by hunting
and gathering.
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42. Agricultural revolution may refer to:
• First Agricultural Revolution (circa 10,000 BC)
The prehistoric transition from hunting and gathering to
settled agriculture (also known as the Neolithic
Revolution)
• Arab Agricultural Revolution (8th–13th century)
The spread of new crops and advanced techniques in
the Muslim world
• British Agricultural Revolution (17th–19th century)
An unprecedented increase in agricultural productivity in
Great Britain (also known as the Second Agricultural
Revolution)
42
43. Contd …
• Scottish Agricultural Revolution (17th–
19th century)
• The transformation into a modern and
productive system
• Third Agricultural Revolution (1930s–
1960s)
• An increase in agricultural production,
especially in the developing world (also
known as the Green Revolution)
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44. British revolution
• Increase in food supply results in rapid
growth of population in U.K.
• Rise in productivity accelerated the decline
in labor force in agriculture , adding urban
workforce on which industrialization
depended.
• Agriculture revolution has therefore been
cited as cause of industrial revolution.
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45. Source: aminoapps.com
Major Development and
Innovation
• Crop rotation
• Development of national market
• Transportation infrastructure
• Land conversion
• Rise of domestic farmers
• Selective breeding of livestock
• Enclosure
• The Dutch and Rotherham swing
plough
45
46. Scottish Agriculture Revolution
• Transformation of Scottish agricultural system from the
least modernized to one of the most modernized &
productive system in Europe
• Improvements & innovations such as crops rotation,
improvements in drainage systems, introduction of
reaping machine etc.
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47. In addition to new technology, the introduction of
potatoes and the fencing off of pasture both
dramatically changed Scottish agriculture.
47
48. Green Revolution
• Initiations focused on increasing the
farming production in India and other
developing countries through research,
development & technology
• Involves advanced irrigation infrastructure,
herbicides & pesticides, high-yielding
crops, synthesized fertilizers, etc.
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50. Industrial Age
• Huge changes in agricultural methods made the
Industrial Revolution possible.
• Transition was made to new process of
manufacture of products
• Replacements of hand tools with machinery, rise of
factory systems, increase in use of steam engines,
etc.
• This age has great financial and cultural impact on
people especially in field of employment and living
styles
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51. Contd…
•The mechanization of the farm and invention of the
steam engines marks the start of the industrial age.
•People began to migrate from the farm to cities for jobs.
•Mass production in factories first occurred.
Contd.
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52. Characteristics Of industrial age
•Industrial age marked mass production & distribution
of products
•Quality of human life, along with standard living,
improved radically throughout industrial age
•It was the transition to new manufacturing processes
in the period from about 1760 to sometime between
1820 and 1840.
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53. This transition included going from:
Hand production methods to machines
New chemical manufacturing and iron production
The increasing use of steam power
The development of machine tools
The rise of the factory system.
•As majority of resources were controlled by only a small
percentage of population, it can be argued that standard of
living improved for only a small percentage of people
Contd...
53
54. Source: Wikipedia.org
Steam Engine
In 1712 Thomas Newcomen produced first successful steam
engine
In 1769 James watt patented the modern steam engine
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55. The Textile Industry
Fig b : Power loom by Edmund CartwrightFig a : Spinning jenny by Jarry Hargreaves
Source : pininterest.com
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56. Information Age
• It is characterized by
conversion of traditional
industries into economy based
on information technology.
• Also known as Computer age ,
Digital age or New media age
Fig: 1st gen computer
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57. Characteristics of information age
•Creates a knowledge based society surrounded by
high tech global economy
•Influenced by how the manufacturing process and
the devices sector operate in effective way
•Focus is to create an information driven society
accompanied by high tech global economy
•Evolution of technology influenced modernization of
information and communication process
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60. Twenty-five years after the introduction of the World
Wide Web, the Information Age is coming to an end.
Thanks to mobile screens and Internet everywhere,
we’re now entering what I call the “Experience Age.”
It’s been reported that original status updates by
Facebook’s 1.6 billion users are down 21% .
Experience Age
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61. Age of Reckoning
In the Industrial Age and the Information Age, there
was widespread optimism that technology would
eventually solve all of our problems—poverty,
disease, violence, and others.
In the last 5 years or so, it’s been slowly dawning
on us that more technology, by itself, cannot be the
solution.
• In fact, the systems we currently have in place,
while they solve some problems, create other
problems that may be equally severe.
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62. • Despite the fact that we are supposed to be more
connected than ever before, many people are
lonely and starved of genuine positive human
attention.
• We are not weaker or stupider than our ancestors.
• It’s obvious that we can’t rely on technology to be
our savior.
• This is what we should reckon.
Contd...
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65. Liuzhou Forest City will be completed in 2020. It
will contain more than 40,000 trees and
approximately one million plants of over 100
different species
Source : lifegate.com
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69. 1.12 Characteristics of Information
Society
• Information Empowerment
• Information Consciousness
• Use of information as economic resource
• Development of an information sector & emergence of
Information Industry
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70. Information Empowerment
• Process of empowering the society through the
development of information system.
• People are provided with different information
resources on the countless subject matters that they
can access and upgrade their knowledge.
• Way of empowering people politically by keeping
them updated with the activities of the governing
authorities.
• Well informed people make better decisions when it
is needed.
• Prevents brainwashing of people and helps to steer
them towards productive activities.
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72. Information Consciousness
• Presence of awareness and interest in people to
gain information about any particular topic before
acting on it or taking any decision.
• It is the stage that comes after successful
empowerment of people through information.
• This causes the wide spread of information in the
formation of messages and news.
• It also helps people be careful while selecting
different information sources as those news may be
false and targeted to fulfill certain kind of
propaganda to benefit a group of people rather than
society.
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74. Use of information as economic source
• Information has now evolved into a sellable
commodity over time.
• Sellable information is not only the news but all
kinds of expertise and knowledge than can be
taught and learned.
• This has led to the widespread commercialization of
education, publication and media.
• People are able to earn their livelihoods by teaching
others the skills they have learned and publish them
as books and articles.
• From sharing the information on agricultural
practices and history to teaching sciences, we have
now reached the stage where we can share ideas
with people all around the globe about everything
we can imagine.
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77. Development of an information sector &
emergence of Information Industry
• Development of information as an economic resource led
to the growth of information sectors and industry.
• First of these sectors is the journalism. It has developed
into a widespread field of professional study and has many
branches of its own.
• Newspaper is the first organized form of information
industry and it is still one of the most reliable sources of
information.
• Newspaper was followed by radio technology which was
faster and more convenient. Television media then
appeared and provided even more widespread coverage of
visual information.
• Internet is the latest form of information industry. It involves
written, audio, visual as well as graphic interaction. It is
rapidly taking over all other forms of media due to its
flexibility, accessibility and versatile forms.
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80. Knowledge is power. Information is
liberating. Education is the premise of
progress, in every society, in every
family.
-Kofi Annan
80
81. In his book entitled “Powershift”, the futurist Alvin
Toffler described three types of power:
● Force (Physical Power)
● Wealth (Economic Power)
● Knowledge (The Power of Information)
Introduction
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82. ● Force and wealth come as very obvious sources of
power
● During the age of war, the Power of Force reigned
supreme
● During the industrial revolution, the power shifted from
Force to wealth as the new and preferred means to
exert power
● The present, also known as the “Age of Information”
has quickly revealed the versatility of information as
power
Source:www.atomi
cheritage.org
Source: Stock Photos Source: Medium.com
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83. Information as power has some
unique qualities:
● Unlike wealth which is based on ownership of finite
resources, information is virtually inexhaustible
● Information, unlike goods, cost nothing to move
around
● Information can be shared and then used over and
over again without exhaustion
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84. ● Information may become valueless due to new
information that invalidates it. This doesn’t happen
with wealth
● Right information gives power to win in many
debates and conflicts
● Information can be used to influence elections,
topple governments, expose criminals and is thus
an absolute form of power
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85. Information as wealth
● Publication of millions of pages of scientific journals
and technical literature every year
● Billions of websites in the internet to provide
information
● Information can be bought and transferred very
easily through the internet
● In an information economy, value is increased by
knowledge
● Increase in scientific works
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