Sociological Aspects of Science and Technology

SOCIAL
"Although often assumed to be separate from the rest of society,scientific knowledge and
practice share much in common with other forms of culture, and can profitably be studied
as a sociological enterprise. A critical and nuanced understanding ofthe ways scientists
work and of how technologies are developed and used allows us to make informed
decisions and take responsible actions on the social, political and ethical aspects of scientific
and technological progress."
And if we review what we read and discussed about science as culture and practice we can
see that our goal has been to understand howsocial interactions and cultural
values influence how scientists work, how scientific knowledge is produced, how
technologies are developed and how technologies are used.
So rather than looking for the effects of science and technology on society - which implies
that they are somehow separate from society - our objective has been to see how our social
and cultural lives simultaneously shape, and are shaped by, science and technology.
This involves questioning some of the traditional barriers between science, philosophy,
politics, economics, ethics, sociology and anthropology. Rather than accepting these
boundaries as 'normal' or 'natural' we have focussed on how the boundaries are made - and
changed - in our daily lives. In this way science and technology can be understood in terms
of processes with particular interests and values, instead of as neutral or objective products.
Not only does this impact our understanding of science and technology, but it asks us to
critically evaluate our knowledge of sociology and anthropology as well.
Political
Technology is enabling communication between politicians and the people,

as well as supporting conversations between people who might have never
been connected otherwise. Comment sections are the new water cooler, and
we can learn more about our friend’s political views from their Facebook
feeds than we can from years of casual lunches and nights out. Unfortunately,
all this communication has left the door wide open for misinformation to seep
into the public consciousness, clouding what was already complicated and
leaving many unsure of where to look for the truth…or what the truth even
looks like.
Organizing Has Never Been Easier
When Senator Bernie Sanders was a political activist during the

civil rights movement of the 1960s, he and his fellow organizers
relied on word-of-mouth to spread their message and a 15-day sit-in
to illustrate their dissent. Today, messages spread at the speed of
wifi, and hashtags are the building blocks of political movements —
just look to #BlackLivesMatter for proof of that. “The thing about
[Martin Luther] King or Ella Baker is that they could not just wake
up and sit at the breakfast table and talk to a million people,” activist
DeRay Mckesson told Wired. “The tools that we have to organize
and to resist are fundamentally different than anything that’s existed
before in black struggle.”
People have found plenty to protest about since President Trump’s
election, and they have been quick to use all of the tech-enabled
tools at their disposal to do so. Approximately 2.6 million women
and those who support their causes took to the streets of
Washington, D.C. and in sister cities after a grandmother in Hawaii
wrote a Facebook post expressing her unease on election
night. When frustrated scientists felt a need to talk about President
Trump’s anti-science policies, they started a conversation on Reddit,
organized, built a website, and then announced their own March on
Washington via Twitter. It wasn’t long after word spread of
Trump’s reported White House dress code that the hashtag
#DressLikeAWoman began trending, with women from across the
globe coming together virtually to show that there is no one way for
a woman to dress.
People no longer need to wait for an issue to bubble over before
taking action — the minute something doesn’t sit right, they can
take to the internet and start working together with other like-
minded citizens to make change happen.
Social Changes:
The role of technology on social change can be examined in
the following ways:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(i) Technological change sometimes socially uproot the population and

people drift about in search of new centres of employment.
Sometimes, this drafting may result in a new geographical distribution
of population.
(ii) Technology directly changes the pattern of the social life.

Technological advancement tends to remove social differences, the
differences between sexes and between parents and children.
(iii) Technology flows to less developed countries mainly through

MNCs. With vast resources at their common. MNCs have carved
places and images for themselves distinct from local companies.
People who are associated with the MNCs are better paid than the
people working with the local companies. These people behave like a
class apart by themselves.
(iv) In the last, our day to day life is affected by the technology. Even
the language we use is changing. New terms continue to emerge. It is
correctly said that words are the budges of social change. When our
language changes, behaviour will not be far behind.
d. Complexity of System:
Technology has made the system more complex. Though the modern
machines work faster and better. But they fail often because of their
complexity. Eventually technology might lead to simplicity and small
independent operational units, who work to fulfill of dreams of a
common man.
ECONIMIC
The definition of OECD and Eurostat is that an innovation is the implementation of a new or
significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new
organisational method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations. The
minimum requirement for an innovation is that the product, process, marketing method or
organisational method must be new (or significantly improved)to the firm. This includes
products, processes and methods that firms are the first to develop and those that have been
adopted from other firms or organisations [1]. OECD definition enlarge by the time, new
innovation types arise. The Oslo Manual third edition distinguishes innovation in four areas:
product, process, marketing and organisational, these innovation definitions are [1] : A product
innovation is the introduction of a good or service that is new or significantly improved with
respect to its characteristics or intended uses. This includes significant improvements in technical
specifications, components and materials, incorporated software, user friendliness or other
functional characteristics. A process innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly
improved production or delivery method. This includes significant changes in techniques,
equipment and/or software. A marketing innovation is the implementation of a new marketing
method involving significant changes in product design or packaging, product placement,
product promotion or pricing. An organisational innovation is the implementation of a new
organisational method in the firm’s business practices, workplace organisation or external
relations.
a. Qualitative and Quantitative Increase in Productivity:

The most significant impact of technology is greater productivity. The
example of quantitative increase is more production at less cost. In a
hospital, the effect may be qualitative such as maintaining electronic
monitoring equipment regardless of its cost.
As a result of increase in productivity, real wages of employees

increase and prices of some products decline. Thus the benefit of
technology spreads throughout the whole social system. This results in
the demand for more technological advancement.
More Intellectual and Upgraded Jobs:

A job which was earlier handled by an unskilled worker, now requires
the services of an educated and competent worker. Office jobs now
demand the services of computer experts. Thus the technological
development has made the jobs more intellectual and upgraded.
Some workers will be dislocated unless they are well equipped to work
on new machines. This makes it the duty of the businessman to retain
the employees. For those, who pickup and acquaint themselves with
new technology, the job opportunity should be given in priority basis.

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SOCIAL

Technology is enabling communication between politicians and the people,

Organizing Has Never Been Easier

When Senator Bernie Sanders was a political activist during the

(i) Technological change sometimes socially uproot the population and

(ii) Technology directly changes the pattern of the social life.

(iii) Technology flows to less developed countries mainly through

a. Qualitative and Quantitative Increase in Productivity:

As a result of increase in productivity, real wages of employees

More Intellectual and Upgraded Jobs:

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