Final answers

Relation between technology and social change

There is a close relationship between technology and society. It leads to the rise in the power of computing. There is a beginning of the digital networks globally. In the 21st century, we observe a change in the technology and society. Our present generation needs to adapt in the world of advanced technology. The world is becoming highly competitive. The education plays a critical role in our orientation. It helps us in the adaption with the ever changing world of technology. There are social forces which influence the organizational change. The landscape is predetermined for the adaptation. The young people are prepared through education. There are certain trends in technology and society. The political science, arts, religion are intimately related to society and they influence the technological growth (Facer, 2011).

There is a revolution in the technological world starting from big data to artificial intelligence. We are getting answers with the help of technology. The information flows empower industry, technology, and discipline. There is a good access of data to a wide range of audience. An excellent example of info empowerment is Wikipedia. The food security has been enhanced by a firm based on technology in Ghana named Esoko (fastcompany.com).

Impact of personal computer, cellular phones and the Internet on society

There is a significant change in the time line of technology. There are three inventions, which are quite significant. They are the internet, cell phone, and personal computer. About 25% of the population got personal computer within 16 years. But the time taken by the personal computer to reach the public is 13 years. Within 7 years, we observe the popularity of the internet had spread virally. Our life is completely changed by one or two inventions. The internet is an important invention. The inventions regarded as a landmark are electricity, steam engine, and the wheel. It revolutionized the lives of people. The impact is quite far reaching. The invention of the internet is quite critical. According to a reliable source, every minute shows a website launch. The resource of the internet is quite intellectual to people. There is an unlimited opportunity for growth on the Internet (Froehlich, 2001). The development of De Forest in the expansion of communication through radio started in 1906 and it started with a vacuum tube. The radio signals became amplified. The cellular system became successful with Nordic Mobile Telephone in Europe. The process of calling became automated. It permitted roaming worldwide. In Sweden, there is an establishment of the system in the beginning of 1980s along with Finland, Norway, and Denmark. There is a trend of commercialization which includes local area networks and handsets. Sound and photographs were exchanged. The mobile telephony became popular due to text and voice messages (Ling, 2004).

Equilibrium Model, digital divide, and cultural lag on Technology and Social Change

The social change follows the Equilibrium Model. Accommodation dynamic is followed in a mid way for making the interaction stable between the elements of society. It includes bureaucratization and oligarchic tendencies, which is the restriction of the continuum in the social order. There is suddenness in social change. The action is directed towards the goal and begun personally. It happens in the societies of liberating nature. Simmel followed the individualistic side of the continuum. Mead is normatively-guided. Durkheim worked on the coerced aspects. The associations, organizations, groups, and individuals will be found within the grid. There is a limited boundary within the members of the society. (DeWitt, 2000). In 2000, there is an announcement on behalf of G8 as it concentrated on digital divide and technology. The project was started by the government of Japan. The evaluation of the project was made by the United States government. Various representatives from different fields were summoned. The initiatives of the digital divide were funded by the corporate sector. (Peizer, 2005). We observe a cultural lag in one of the two parts of a culture. It indicates the prior correlated changes or something more than the other section The adjustment is quite less among the two sections, which were available before. A significant amount of time is required for the nonmaterial aspects of culture as per the opinion of Ogburn. This transition is identified as cultural lag (Ritzer & Ryan, 2010).

Influence of social epidemiology, health and the environment on society and technology

There are four principles created on the theory of social ecology of Stokols. The individual has multiple aspects like psychological traits and predisposition of genes. It includes technology, architecture, geography in the physical environment. The social networks are found in the social environment. There is a dynamic impact of social environment for creating a holistic effect. We discover different dimensions of environment, which consists of social and physical features, subjective qualities along with a scale for the groups. Perceived predictability influences the physical aspects. Environment influences people and vice versa (Greenhalgh, 2013). There is significant effort on behalf of planners and practitioners to understand the work patterns. The planners should know the residence, travel, behavior. The vacationing and consumption are studied by the practitioners. A sound idea in social epidemiology is essential for all (McCracken & Phillips, 2012).

Emerging Form of Technology and benefits to the society

The modern world is changing because of technological growth. The solutions are innovative due to the technological discovery. In 2015, we observed new inventions, like vehicles having a fuel cell, advanced robotics, plastics of thermoset which are recyclable, additive manufacturing, accurate techniques of genetic engineering, distributed manufacturing, digital genome and neuromorphic technology. In fuel cell vehicles, we observe a tank can help the vehicle to run 650 km. The refill is made by hydrogen fuel, which can be recharged within 3 minutes. In an advanced form of robotics, we find a close collaboration of machine and mankind. The sensors are advanced in quality. There is flexibility in the bodies of the robots. Agriculture is carried out precisely with the help of robots using GPS technology. The nursing work is carried out by the robots in Japan. The robots help mankind avoid the dangerous jobs and those works which are quite repetitive in nature. The thermoset plastics are recyclable, which can be used for reducing landfill waste. We discover the application of thermoset plastics in circuit boards and mobile phones. The techniques of genetic engineering have become quite precise. The nutritious value of plants is increased by genetic engineering. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a bacterium that transfers the right DNA within the actual genome. It is a reliable and proven technique. In additive manufacturing, a loose form of material, which might be powder or liquid in form can be turned into a three-dimensional form with the help of a digital template. The computer imaging is used by a company on 3D product development named Invisalign. The teeth of the customers are made computer imaging for creating braces, which are nearly invisible. These braces can fit inside the mouth of the customers. 3D printing is an important application in the medical world. The human cells are printed directly. The living tissues can be created, which can be used for screening on drug safety and regeneration and repair of the tissues. There is a significant advancement in the field of artificial intelligence. Smart phones can identify the speech of an individual. The technology of image-recognition can be used in the queue of airport immigration. In the tasks of memory and learning, humans exceed the machines. Carnegie Mellon University has launched an innovative computer system project named NELL or Never-Ending Language Learning. The facts are crawled by the program through the web pages in the search engine for increasing the level of understanding (Meyerson, 2015).

Conclusion

Social change and technology are closely interrelated. We observe the global expansion of digital network. The internet, cell phone and personal computer have revolutionized the society. The social epidemiology, environment and health have significantly influenced the society. The recent trends in technology have highly benefited the society.

References:

Facer, K., (2011). Learning Futures: Education, Technology and Social Change, Taylor & Francis

6 ways technology is breaking barriers to social change, fastcompany.com, Retrieved from:

https://www.fastcompany.com/3043761/6-ways-technology-is-breaking-barriers-to-social-change

Froehlich, B., (2001). Where the Money Is: How to Spot Key Trends to Make Investment Profits, John Wiley & Sons

Ling, R. (2004). The Mobile Connection: The Cell Phone's Impact on Society, Morgan Kaufmann

DeWitt, M.R., (2000). Beyond Equilibrium Theory: Theories of Social Action and Social Change Applied to a Study of Power Sharing in Transition, University Press of America

Peizer, J., (2005). The Dynamics of Technology for Social Change: Understanding the Factors That Influence Results: Lessons Learned from the Field, iUniverse

Ritzer, G., & Ryan, J.M., (2010). The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology, John Wiley & Sons

Greenhalgh, T., (2013). Primary Health Care: Theory and Practice, John Wiley & Sons

Meyerson, B., (2015). Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2015, weforum.org, Retrieved from:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/03/top-10-emerging-technologies-of-2015-2/