Comm 118 Midterm

Technology (Langdon Winner)

All of modern practical artifice

Technology (James R. Beniger)

That which can be done, excluding only those capabilities that occur naturally in living systems

Technology (Emmanuel Mesthene)

The organization of knowledge for practical purposes

Technology (Don MacKenzie/Judy Wajcman)

Physical objects... human activities... what people know as well as what they do

Technology (Neil Postman)

A set of assumptions of which we are barely conscious but which nonetheless directs our efforts to give shape and coherence to the world

Technological Determinism

Technological change causes social change

"Autonomous" Technology

Technology has an independent momentum or trajectory beyond human control (extreme version of technological determinism)

Technopoly (Neil Postman)

Technologies are gaining control over social processes in a self-perpetuating fashion (having trust and faith in technology is becoming the social norm)

Social Determinism

Social forces drive technological development

Social Constructivism (definition)

Human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others

Social Constructivism (cycle)

Interest groups and individuals have agendas and goals -\> The use of technologies --\> Technical modifications, advances, and developments --\> Form of technology

Criticisms of Social Constructivism

- Reliance on retrospective viewpoint
- Lack of predictive power

Technological "Affordances"

The capabilities of technologies, based on particular technological features, that can be exploited to achieve an outcome (ex. the features of a shovel are a handle to move the diggings and a pointed end made of metal that has the ability to pierce the ground\-- its affordances can be digging or hitting something)

1st level effects

- Planned effects
- Efficiency gains

2nd level effects

- Often unplanned consequences of the first level effects (due to different affordances ppl get from the technology)

- Social and organizational changes that result

Nomadic Society

People who travel throughout a given region to support themselves (no agriculture of their own)

Agricultural Society

People who farm their own stuff and raise domesticated animals

Industrial Society

A society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services (rural to urban; factories, railroads, telegraph, etc.)

Information Society

The majority of the labor force consists of information workers (ex. bankers, secretary, data analyst, etc.); rise in mass media; shift in control from producer to consumer

Karl Marx (1840s): Reaction to Industrialization

"Work is man's self confirming essence"; believed your job should align with who you are; thought industrialization alienated people from their work (paid for their time, not their product)

Toennies (1887): Reaction to Industrialization

1. Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft (society)

Community was replaced with society when the industrial revolution hit. People who cared about each other were split up and sent off.

Durkheim (1893): Reaction to Industrialization

"Anomie" book about suicide

He could accurately predict suicide rates based on a when you become disconnected; you experience "anomie", where you don't feel like you fit anymore (industrialization disconnected people from others)

Weber (1920): Reaction to Industrialization

"Iron Cage" of rationality. The Industrial Revolution makes things more predictable and thats a good thing.

BUT, taken too far it's a trap\-- the "iron cage" (production lines strip you of creativity and individuality)

Main Stages of Human Communication

1. Oral: Word of mouth (the world was made very small, and this was like a huge game of telephone where info would get skewed)

2. Written: Ideas can now last generations, and we can send info elsewhere via another person. Literacy was not a widespread skill, but growing

3. Print: We can now mass-produce works in multiple exact copies via printing press

4. Electronic: Telegraph allowed info to travel instantaneously (primarily the industrial and information stage of society)

Ong (1982)

- PRIMARY ORALITY: Have to communicate by verbalizing it to one another; a social experience that binds people together (oral stage of society)

- He hated literacy and thought it took away the intimacy of communication (written and print stage of society)

- SECONDARY ORALITY: Recaptured orality through technology/electronic stage of society (ex. radio)

Postman (1985)

- Not a fan of the "TELEVISUAL AGE"; it lacks intellectuality because the stimuli on television is immediate and doesn't require thinking

- Liked the "Age of Literacy" because it required critical thinking, imagination, filling in the blanks, etc.

Innis

- Concerned with ancient empires (Mesopotamia, Roman, etc.)

- TIME-BIASED MEDIA: Technology made to last a long time (ex. stone tablets used to write laws on)

- SPACE-BIASED MEDIA: Technology made to be easily transportable (ex. parchment was easy to carry, but would disseminate faster than a stone tablet)

McLuhan

- Believed the medium you use to convey a message is more important than the message itself

- ex. you can send a letter with the same content through two different delivery services, but one will be seen as more urgent because it was FedEx not USPS ($$)

Effects of Industrialization

- Productivity gains
- Markets are no longer isolated
- Expanded the distribution of goods and services

"Crisis of Control"

- CRISIS: generated by the industrial revolution in manufacturing, transportation, and communication technology

- The amount of coordination needed increased; supply chain (need more materials), railroads and trains, communicating with new employees, etc.

- CONTROL: needed in order to make society function smoothly and effectively again after all these changes

Max Webber & Control

To regain control, he believes in

- decreasing the amount of information being processed (rationalization, or preprocessing information)

- increasing capability to process information (formal organization\-- i.e., bureaucracy, making schedules and call sheets)

Characteristics of Bureaucracy

- Division of labor via hierarchy of authority
- Written, fixed, and learnable rules and regulations
- Management holds expert training

Societal responses to "Crisis of Control"

- New infrastructures (ex. new railroads, standardized time, etc.)
- System-wide communication via mass media (marketing products inter-city)
- New management techniques

Frederick Taylor (scientific management as control)

- Wanted to make people a part of the machine
- He studied workers in how and how long it took them to do tasks (Time and Motion study)
- Separated task planning and task execution (managers vs. line workers)
- Specific control mechanisms (incentivize or punish workers for their work)

The Control Revolution (Beniger)

Industrial revolution --\> crisis of control --\> information society

Revolution

Abrupt (often violent) societal change & return to previous state (control)

Control Revolution

Societal stability → industrial revolution → crisis of control → information society → societal stability

Control in the Workplace

- Simple: Power is exercised openly and personally (ex. Boss tells you to sweep the floor)

- Technical: Control over the worker is embedded in the technology (ex. Certain lighting, speeds of production lines, air conditioning)

- Bureaucratic: Control is embedded in the relations (social organization) at work (i.e., Supervisors enforce procedures and evaluate work)

- Concertive: People are committed to the ideals or mission of the workplace, and that is what controls their actions (ex. nonprofits, professors on tenure)

Workplace skill

Uncertainty - workplace skill variable, (ex. a plumber needs to know how to fix blockages, broken pipes, etc.)

Routines - A course of action that you follow consistently; you don't have to learn new things each time

Selection principles - You need to know what the right thing to do is at the right time (ex. Plumbers know which pipes to select for which application)

Skilled labor - Have to deal with different situations, lots of uncertainty, need a lot of routines to make things manageable (ex. A trained doctor knows enough to see a condition and pinpoint what to do about it)

Unskilled labor - Not a lot of uncertainty, don't need unique skills \= become replaceable (ex. A worker on an assembly line)

Skill

The capacity to routinize most of the activity that comes to a given work role in an uncertain environment

"Craft" Knowledge

Requires the capacity to perform all aspects of a job or task (requires a lot of understanding and knowledge) (ex. furniture makers)

Scientific management and "Fordism"

- Henry Ford in the Ford car factory created assembly lines
- Workers no longer needed to understanding entire processes
- "Craft" knowledge is no longer desirable

Deskilling

Reduction in the skill needed to do a job, due to technology taking away any uncertainty and need for selection principles (people started quitting because they preferred "craft" jobs)

"neo-Fordism"

The reemergence of scientific management and Fordism; technology does our jobs for us (ex. AI writes articles and we just proofread)

Negative Effects of Modern Workplace Technologies

- Deskilling (lack of critical thinking)
- High initial costs
- Work is more tedious
- Downsizing
- Technological breakdowns (profit loss until repaired)
- Suppression of new ideas
- Increased distance between managers and workers

Positive Effects of Modern Workplace Technologies

- Enhanced productivity and quality
- Increased profit
- Enhanced safety
- Reduced responsibility
- Reduced monotony (less boring repetitiveness)
- Reskilling (adapting your skills\-- ex. typewriter to computer)

Mechanization

The replacement of human power (physical) with technology or machines.

Automation

Procedures performed with minimal human mental or sensory assistance

Mechanization vs. Automation

- Human power (mechanization) vs. human judgment (automation)
- Physical labor (mechanization) vs. mental labor (automation)
- They are not entirely separate processes (ex. self-driving cars)

Automate

Technologies allow work practices to be performed with more continuity and control

"Informate"

Technology informs people about underlying work practices and processes, which can be leveraged by humans (technology and people work together)

Taylorism vs. Fordism

Taylorism: Separated managers and workers

Fordism: People became part of the machine

Taylorism (effects) White collar vs. Blue collar

Blue collar: Skill was diminished by Taylorism (creativity lessened/process simplified and compartmentalized/wages lower than managers)

White collar: Skill was elevated by Taylorism (creativity increased/process knowledge/wages were higher than their workers)
- Contemporary shifts: Jobs of managers that once involved skill and creativity are now becoming standardized and boring

Importance of Blue Collar Work

They require a lot more cognitive thinking than many managerial roles

Computer History

1. Pre-mechanical (ex. slide ruler)
2. Mechanical (mechanical components for calculations; e.g., levers & gears)
3. Electro-mechanical (carry out electrical operations by using moving parts/relays)
4. Electronic (electronic switches instead of electromechanical relays)

Computer storage

The amount of data a computer can hold

Computer power consumption

It used to take a small town to run a computer, but now it takes much less

Computer reliability

The ability of a computer system to deliver the functionality that it is required and expected to deliver over the period of time that it is expected to operate (ex. NASA, stock market)

Computer cost

Is decreasing

Computer processing speed

Moore's Law

- The capacity of computer processing (i.e., transistors/sq inch) doubles every 2/yrs

Evolution of Information Processing & Computer Use

1. Batch-processing: Expert users, not average people (corps/universities processed data in batches)
2. Time-sharing: Specially trained users (corps. and universities share a computer via time-slots)
3. Desktop: Individuals with some skills (Personal and professional use)
4. Network: Individuals with modest skill (Personal and professional use; the internet links ppl & data)

Batch-processing

Expert users, not average people (corps/universities processed data in batches)

Local Area Network (LAN)

Connects a group of computers in close proximity (e.g., in an office building, school, or home)

Internet

An interconnected network of networks

ARPANET

A computer communication NETWORK developed by the Advanced Research Project Agency as a means of communication between research laboratories and universities. ARPANET was the predecessor to the Internet.

NSFNET

A high-speed communication NETWORK created by the National Science Foundation that established connections to smaller regional networks, other agencies' networks, and ARPANET.

Digital Information

Information that has been digitized (encoded and stored on your device)

- Information broken down into small units (e.g., sounds or pixels)
- Data translated into numeric code (i.e., binary data)

Pros of Digital Information

- Accurate
- Doesn't degrade each time it's shared
- Easily transportable (i.e., email)

Formal (Positional) Networks

1. Formally prescribed (ex. CEO, VP... chain of command)

2. Explicitly defined

3. Interchangeable individuals in roles that stay the same.

\***but, people interact outside of these roles all the time....which is where "emergent networks" come into play.

Emergent Networks

- Individuals have connections outside of the formal network (ex. going over your boss' head)

- Structured by interaction rather than positions and roles (ex. friend groups)

Social Capital

Various benefits people derive from their relations with others

Strong Ties

- Frequent & direct communication with someone else
- Emotionally intense relations
- Mutual confidence
- Reciprocity

Weak Ties

- Not much time expended
- Low emotional intensity
- Mutual confidence not required
- No strong reciprocity

Strength of Weak Ties (Granovetter)

1. People (or orgs.) have limited energy, so you have to choose where (or with whom) to spend your time

2. Strong ties are important, but limited

3. Best strategy is to balance between your strong and weak ties

4. Weak ties provide access to "locally unavailable but important information" (ex: finding a job)

Collaboration

- Group process (small group vs. large group)
- Motivated by goals or constraints
- Purposive
- Structured
- Role differentiation

Contemporary Collaboration

- Increasing professional complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity
- Increasing specialization (ex. foot doctors, nose doctors, eye doctors, etc.)
- Increasing collaboration (ex. if a kid breaks a bone, his pediatrician and orthopedist work together)

Virtual Teams

Work teams whose members are geographically dispersed and that coordinate their work predominantly with electronic communication and information technology

Factors affecting virtual team performance

- Interpersonal characteristics (empathy, flexibility, etc.)
- Team member trust
- Communication technology (different situations call for different technologies; can't say one is better than another- i.e., zoom)
- Team dispersion
- Strength of leadership
- Cultural diversity

Information Openness (virtual teams)

- Information sharing beyond work-related tasks (opinion, personal and social info, etc.)

Virtual teams benefit more from this, however they exhibit low levels of doing it

Information Uniqueness (virtual teams)

- Work-related information a team member has that others don't have

FtF teams benefit more from this, but exhibit low levels of doing it

"Hybrid" Teams

They tend to work the best compared to only FtF or only online

Modality switching

Occurs when people who have previously communicated exclusively online begin to interact FtF (or vice versa)

As long as you switch early, relational intimacy and social attraction will still be good

Virtual vs. FtF

Virtual is a little bit worse, but it matters how long the members of the team have worked together

Dangers of Distance (virtual)

- Physical distance
- Operational distance (i.e., team size, amount of commitment, technical skills, etc.)
- Affinity distance (MATTERS THE MOST): Factors that make people close to each other (ex. cultural differences, rank, shared values, etc.)
- Outcomes: trust, satisfaction, & performance

Disadvantages of Collaboration

- Goal misalignment (You and your teammates have different goals)

- Communication problems (Unclear communication, lying, misrepresentation, etc.)

- Different values (Collectivistic vs. individualistic cultures)

- "Process Losses" (Inefficient problem solving)

- Conformity effects: People conform to what they think the group wants and don't speak up)

- Coordination difficulties (scheduling)

- Social loafing/free-riding (people don't contribute)

Understanding social loafing/free-riding

- Collective Effort Model: Collective evaluation will increase slacking (as opposed to individual grading)

- Personal Involvement (ex. if the project is about recycling and you don't care, you won't contribute)

- Strangers vs. Known (will contribute more if you know them or if you share a group identity)

- Expectations of others (expectation that others will carry your weight \= slacking)

- Redundancy: If you feel like you're doing the same thing as someone else, you're more likely to slack

- If you feel like you're being watched, you're less likely to slack

- People tend to slack on easier tasks, not harder tasks

- When you give people a task that they have a lot of expertise on (unique knowledge), they are less likely to slack

Punishment and Cooperation in High vs. Low Trust Societies

Punishment promotes cooperation in high trust societies

Justification for Free-riding/social loafing

- Slacking off occurs early in team development (no affinity yet)
- Difficulty in communication, expectations weren't clear
- People blame external factors instead of themselves
- When cultural differences are greater, it creates more communication problems