S.c.o.t.
No, S.C.O.T. is not the name of my dog in the header photo, it is an acronym that stands for the Social Construction of Technology, a theory that changed my life and gave me hope for a better tomorrow. Now, more than ever, technology has become the hot topic for all of its users, especially in the field of social media and the effect it is has on our society. News stations, bloggers, and even friends have an opinion and are usually using the same technologies that they are criticizing to voice that opinion. I was that same obnoxious criticizer, professing my woes of a pop culture driven society that follows and numbs their minds with the next fad. What a mistake. I knew that technology and its uses were slowly and seemingly "disconnecting" people from each other by connecting them to a virtual realm, where most forms of communication could now take place and flourish, but I didn't know why some of us, myself included, continued to feed into the machine while remaining strong opponents. My immediate conclusion was that technology was forcing us to consume it, like an addiction that took all of my attention and glued my eyes to an LCD screen. Hope, came in the form of a Comm 309 lecture. Social Construction of Technology states that human beings are the agent of change and that technologies arise from social processes, not itself. Hearing this, and later reading more, was like a punch to the throat. Of course it was my fault for wasting my time and not utilizing technology to its potential! Soon after the punch, there was a breath of fresh air. If it was I who was the master of how I use and shape technology, than it is I who can succeed from it. This gave me hope for a better future. My basic understanding was that we control what we put into ourselves and what we give into and that these new technologies should not be chastised for our behaviors. Oh dear reader, there is so much more to learn about S.C.O.T. and his wicked ways. I'm kidding of course, but let me tell you about some of the aspects of this social construction theory. http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~hk28/Klein02-SciTechHumanVal.pdf is an amazing site where I found a paper written on S.C.O.T. and its structural considerations. Hans K. Klein and Daniel Lee Kleinman gathered information from a plethora of sources and researchers that defined, experimented with, and explained the concepts of S.C.O.T. They state that the social construction's concept framework shares four related components: interpretive flexibility, relevant social groups, closure and stabilization, and the wide context. Their paper explains the process of the development of "technological artifacts" is based on society's needs and uses of that technology. Interpretive flexibility sates that technology design is an open process that can produce different outcomes depending on the social circumstances of the development of technological artifacts. These artifacts are the product of intergroup negotiations. In the course text book Personal Connecitons in the Digital Age, Nancy Baum quotes Leah Lievrouw, a professor at UCLA, stating that intergroups "are interrelated nodes in constantly changing sociotechnical networks which constitute the forms and use of technologies [all during] different times and places for different groups." All technologies are developed and fine tuned by these groups of people develop which relates to the second component of S.C.O.T. The second component explains that these intergroups are "relevant social groups" or "agents in this agency-centered approach whose actions manifest the meaning they impart to artifacts," as defined by Klein and Kleinman. This means that these groups take a technological artifact, share an interpretation of it, and then negotiate over its design with different social groups and together, see and construct different objects. I love music so I chose the example of the phonograph. Invented by Thomas Edison in some time not relevant to us. The phonograph used tinfoil sheets to record and reproduce sound. Relevant social groups, like that of Emile Berliner's, then took the technological artifact (the phonograph), shared an interpretation of it (better forms to deliver the sound), and along with other social groups, produced different designs and applications of Edison's phonograph. Today, iPods, cellphones, record players, and the speakers of a computer are just extremely improved productions of Edison's phonograph. The third component is closure and stabilization, or the eventual cessation of improvements to a technological artifact. This is the shortest component because it is the most self explanatory. Closure and stabilization occur when the "multigoup achieves closure," and the technological artifact "stabllizes in its final form." Though I don't think something like the phonograph will ever stabilize in a final form, I do believe that the concept of an invention that produces sound has and will not improve further. The fourth and final component receives the most criticism because of its ambiguity. The wider context refers to the socioeconomical and political factors that develop a technological artifact, and the "background conditions of group interactions, such as their relation to each other, the rules ordering their interactions, and the factors contributing to differences in their power," like if a social or relationship status holds significance in the group and what that status is. These factors, background information, and interactions remain largely invisible and therefore are contested, or at lest I've read, by many researchers of S.C.O.T. You may not know this future comm student but this assignment required an explanation of only one concept learned during this class, but being the pretentious guy that I am (and to fulfill the assignment requirements of linking two sources), I wanted to touch on the subject of social shaping, which a study can be found here http://www.researchgate.net/publication/222482133_The_social_shaping_of_technology where Robin Alun Williams examines the "content of technology and the particular process of innovation." Without going in depth, the social shaping of technology goes hand-in-hand with S.C.O.T. Unlike its better half that states technology is solely shaped by society and its interactions, the social shaping of technology proclaims that the content of technology, which is developed by societal interactions, shares with society the effect it has on technological development. Confusing, I know, so in my words, the social shaping of technology provides the possibility of a balance between society and technology and that both factors shape each other. This is where I end. For too long I blamed technology for my brutal love of watching funny, incoherent videos of bad animation and updating my statuses on social networks to improve my social identity to my friends. I hated what I became, and I grew apathetic towards the whole idea of social media. I failed to understand the beautiful capabilities of connecting with friends and family who I cannot interact with on a day to day basis. I also never realized the platform that social media and other technologies allows to express myself. With the concepts of S.C.O.T. and the social shaping of technology theories that I learned, this communications class has helped me realize that I was only harming myself. My teenage angst seemed to have come back and my attitude was detrimental to my activity on the internet. Now I choose to positively utilize this awesome creation of the web, "for it is our choices Harry that make us who we are." I hope this has shed some insight on how much power you truly hold as a user of the internet and more importantly as a human being alone. We are misguided and mistreated and lied to about the power that we hold in our hands. Surveillance and the attempt to influence internet activities is an important topic that my society faces today and I'm choosing to fight against it and to develop a less oppressive State for myself and those around me. I think I sound stupid when I say things like this and thinking that anything I do will change anything, but I gain positivity that at least I am trying and speaking to others about the possibility of creating something new. But don't get me wrong, there is always time for funny pictures http://i.imgur.com/ia9oR.gif
7 Comments
6/16/2015 07:49:46 am
Hey Dominic, (or Dominique as Dr. Popescu would say.)
Reply
dominique
6/17/2015 05:59:03 am
Thanks Shane. I definitely have an issue showing my personality in a written piece and have been told that before. Thanks for being constructive
Reply
Daniel DeMarco
6/18/2015 02:35:34 pm
Your blog has got a personal feel to it, despite what Shane says. It reads like you’re speaking, while still being a well presented piece of text. Your structure is appealing to readers as well; you start off with the positivity you received from what you’re about to tell them all about. It sparks interest in the reader and then you follow it up with material of substance. It’s a great concept to present to a fresh pair of eyes because you are giving them a sense of control and power. It garners interest from that alone. On a personal level I enjoy that concept as well for similar reasons. In the overall picture, it does seem that the power is in our hands. We just need to abandon mediocrity and not pay it any mind; if we give the right things attention, the right things will flourish.
Reply
6/18/2015 06:35:56 pm
Hi Dominic, I am Seungkyung Baek(Sophia). I realized and reviewed about social construction of technology from your explanation on your post. The more technology develops, the more there are both advantages and disadvantages we go through. I knew perfectly about four components for social construction of technology.I enjoy your post even if it is pretty long. Thank you for sharing:D
Reply
Mark Dilley
6/19/2015 12:38:33 pm
Hey Dominic,
Reply
Greg
6/20/2015 03:28:17 am
I enjoyed reading your blog because of all the information that was presented. The blog speaks to so many different things going on in today's world, but it all makes sense. I agree with Mr. Daniel about how the content is rich with helpful information that you have gathered. Also on a side note the picture of the dog at the top is a nice touch
Reply
Mihaela Popescu
6/23/2015 05:31:40 am
Too bad that you are only using 2 links, but I enjoyed your entry and the articles you linked to. I particularly liked the fact that you attempted to explain the articles, not just link to them.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
|