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8/14/2019 Importance of Connecting Between Work and Technology
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better in any absolute sense support large population who live diverse, highly
specialized lives.
The Lenskis also explain that the more technological information a society
has,
the faster it changes. In short, new technology sends ripples of change throughout a
societys way of life. When our ancestors first discovered how to harness the power
of
the wind using a sail, they set the stage for building sailing ship, which took them to
new
lands, stimulated trade, and increased their military might. Consider, as a morerecent
example, in how many ways our lives are being changed by the spread of computer
technology. Now we will describe five general types of societies distinguished by
their
technology.
1. Hunting and Gathering societies
The most basic human societies live by hunting and gathering, simple
technology
for hunting animals and gathering vegetation. With little control over their
environment,
hunters and gatherers continually search for game and collect edible plants. During
this
century, technologically complex societies have slowly closed in on the few
remaining
hunters and gatherers, reducing their landholdings and depleting game and
vegetation.
Because of the limited technology in Hunting and Gathering societies, people live
depend
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on nature. They neither produced nor preserved food. They used simple weapon
the
spear, the bow and arrow, and stone knife to search for food and shared with
other
members of the band. They often fall victim to force nature, and there is little they
can
do.
2. Horticultural and Pastoral societies
Ten to twelve thousand years ago, a new technology changed the lives of
human
being. People discovered horticulture, the technology of using hand tools to cultivate
plants. Using a hoe to work the soil and a digging stick to punch holes in the ground
for
seeds may seem simple and obvious. They combined this new technology with
traditional
Hunting and Gathering. For the first time, human being became food producers. A
more
stable food supply enabled people to settle down in permanent or semi permanentvillage.
In especially arid regions, societies turned not to raising crops but to pastoral, the
domestication of animals.
With the greater productivity that come from domesticating plant and
animals,
these societies expand to 100 of members. There, the material surplus frees some
people
from food production to make crafts, engage in trade, or serve as full-time priests.
Compared to hunters and gatherers, pastoral and horticultural societies are also
hierarchical, with wealth concentrated among few families who operate as a ruling
group.
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This is because of the technology development.
3. Agrarian societies
Five thousand years ago, further technological advances led to agriculture,large-
scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources.
Agrarian technology first appeared in the Middle East and gradually spread
throughout
the world. So important to human culture was the invention of the animal-drawn
plow as
well as the wheel, writing, numbers, and the expanding use of metalsall appearingat
roughly the same time that historians regard this era as the dawn of
civilization (
Lenski, Nolan and Lenski 1995.175).
Farmer with animal-drawn plows can cultivate field vastly larger than the
garden-
sized plots worked by horticulturalists. They can produced 10 times yield of huntingand
gathering. Plows have the additional advantage of turning, and thereby aerating the
soil to
increase fertility. As a result, farmers work the same land for generation, which in
turn,
encourage permanent settlements. Large food surpluses, transported on animal-
powered
wagons, allow agrarian societies to expand their land area and population. As
always,
increasing production means greater specialization. Task once performed by
everyone,
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such as clearing land and securing food, become distinct occupation. Agrarian
technology
also afford a greater rage of possibilities as to how to live, which is why agrarian
societies differ more from one another than horticultural and pastoral societies do.
4. Industrial Societies
By the mid-eighteen century, a second technological revolution was under
way,
first in England and, soon afterward elsewhere in Europe and North America.
Industrialization occurred as societies replaced the muscle power of animals
and
humans with advanced sources of energy. Formally, industry refers to the
production of
goods using sophisticated fuels and machinery. Task once performed by humans are
now
performed by machines, on assembly lines, at a much faster speed and lower cost.
With
industrial technology, societies began to change faster. Industrial societies
transformed
themselves more in a century than they had in thousands of years before. Industry
made
the world seem smaller. During 19th
century, railroads and steamships
revolutionized
transportation, moving people farther and faster than ever before. During 20th
century,
additional waves of change followed the invention of automobile, radio, television,and
so on.
Work, too, has changed. In agrarian societies, most men and women work in
the
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home. Industrialization, however, create factories near centralized machinery and
energy
sources. Thus people started to work in the new work sites under supervision of
strangers.
Before the industrial revolution, most work involved growing and gathering raw
materials such as grain, wood and wool. The industrial economy shifted that focus
so that
most people worked in factories to turn raw materials into a wide range of salable
products. Industrial technology has raised living standards and extended lives. In
the
process, extensive schooling also become common, because industrial production
demand a literate and skilled labor force.
5. Postindustrial Society (Information Technology)
By the middle of this century, the nature of production itself was changing
once
again. Many industrial societies, including the United States have now entered a
postindustrial phase of economic development based on new informationtechnology.
While production in industrial nations center on factories and machinery generating
material goods, postindustrial production focuses on computers and other electronic
device the create, process, store, and apply information. Automated machinery
(and,
more recently, robotics) reduced the role of human labor in factory production,
while
simultaneously expanding the ranks of clerical workers and mangers. Today, service
industriessuch as public relations, health care, advertising, banking, and sales
employ
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most working people in this country. Distinguishing the postindustrial era, then, is a
shift
from industrial work to service jobs. Driving this economic change is a third
technological transformation: the development of the computer. The information
revolution is generating new kinds of information, new means of communication,
and
changing the character of work just as factories did two centuries ago. The
information
revolution has unleashed three major trends:
A. From tangible products to ideas. The industrial era was defined by the
production of goods; in the postindustrial era, work involves creating and
manipulating
symbols. Computer programmers, writers, financial analysts, advertising
executives,
architects, editors, and all sorts of consultants make up the labor of the Information
Age.
B. From mechanical skills to literacy skills. Just as the Industrial revolution
required mechanical skills, the Information revolution requires literacy skills
speaking
and writing well, and, of course, using computers. People able to communicate
effectively enjoy new opportunities; people with limited skills face declining
prospects.
C. The centralization of work away from factories. Industrial technology drew
workers into factories containing the machines and energy sources, but computer
technology allows workers to be virtually anywhere. Indeed, laptop computers, cell
phones, and portable facsimile (fax) machines now turn the home, car, or even an
airplane into a virtual office. New information technology, in short, blurs the lines
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between work and home life, bringing about a return of cottage industries in the
form of
home-based offices and small businesses.
As part if a shift toward postindustrial societies linked within a globaleconomy,
telecommuting can even cross national boundaries, oceans, and continents.
Telecommuting clearly facilitates communication between a companys employees
who
work in different locations, including some who work at home. This offers many
important benefits for individual employees and for the company as a whole, yet it is
still
important to encourage face-to-face communication in staff meetings and social
settings.
To sum up, technology is extremely important with work and it gives lots of
benefit to people as the whole society because as we described above, technology:
- In the early societies, with technology development, the productivity was
increasing very fast.
- It eliminates the demand for some types of workers, while increasing the
demand for others.
- It makes some jobs easier.
- It increases centralized control through new technologies of management.
- Presents new challenges.
- It offers exciting new possibilities for sharing information and
communication.