ENGG Communication– Impact of a Technology on Society – Assignment 3
Due Date: Monday March 22, 9:00 am
Introduction
You will research and write on an assigned topic related to technology and its impact(s) on society. Your submission, on Turnitin, will be a short paper (8-10 pages in length, not including references and the abstract pages, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, one inch margins).
Your objective is to illustrate and discuss, in your own words, how a single technology, or type of technology, can have a significant impact on society and transform the way society functions economically, socially, and/or politically. Additionally, these significant impacts may be related to the health and welfare of the society or the environment. The impacts should be far-reaching, and not local in nature. Examples of significant achievements can be found on the National Academy of Engineering website (www.greatachievements.org). You may use this website as a starting point for your assigned topic, but you must incorporate at least three other reputable (credible) sources in your report.
You must choose a specific title from the list of general topics below. Please select one (1) topic that is within your category.
- Automobile
- Telephone
- Electrification (Electricity)
- Household Appliances
Sources
Use appropriate academic sources. This is a research paper, and not an opinion-based paper. Thus, you must use references to support your points, and the references must be properly incorporated into the body of your paper. You are required to employ the APA citation and referencing system prescribed for this class as presented on the Purdue Owl Writing Lab website
Instructions
The result of this assignment, which you will submit through the Turnitin system, will be a short but formal research paper. It is expected that you will use the tools you have learned in class that are related to: proofreading, referencing, writing style, organization, and academic writing expectations. This is an argumentative paper – not simply an expository presentation of information. You are making a case – how and why a particular technological development has been significant. You are expected to demonstrate your ability to critically think when analyzing the technology as it relates to society. Therefore, you MUST provide a problem statement in the form of a research question(s) or probationary hypothesis early in your introduction. The body of the paper should be 8-10 pages in length, double-spaced. This length is for the content (from Introduction to Conclusion) and does not include the abstract and references. The font should be 12 points, Times New Roman. The margins should be one inch (or 2.54 cm) on the top, bottom and both sides.
Content of your paper
Your paper should be structured according to the APA style and formal paper model presented in this class.
The list of ideas and questions provided below should be considered when researching for your report. Due to the limited nature of this assignment, there may not be enough room to cover all the topics listed below. Thus, you might choose only to briefly mention some topics, while going into more detail in other areas. It is recommended that you support your analysis with examples, in order to justify your statements. The specific ideas you choose to expand on will depend on which ones you can get detailed information about and which you feel will make the strongest examples to support your points. Below is a list of some ideas and questions:
What is the technology? How does it work? (This should be only a brief description due to the limited number of pages allowed in this report)
How did society function prior to the wide-spread use of the technology or its first use or introduction of it?
You may consider how society functioned politically, socially, and economically
You may consider people’s health and welfare, as well as the state of the environment
How did society function after the wide-spread implementation of the technology?
Again, you may consider what changed regarding how society functioned politically, socially, and economically
Consider the impacts on people’s health and welfare You should try to provide a balanced discussion Include both positive and negative impacts
Following your analysis of the technology’s impact on people’s health and welfare, you may wish to evaluate the balance of positive and negative impacts
Do the positive impacts outweigh the negative ones (or vice versa)? How did you arrive at that conclusion? Be sure that you have carefully considered the impacts on society if the technology were no longer available, Briefly discuss alternatives
Be sure to explain your reasons for your opinion – they should be based on the facts that you have already presented
Consider the impacts on the environment You should try to provide a balanced discussion Include both positive and negative impacts
Following your analysis of the technology’s impact on the environment, you may wish to evaluate the balance of positive and negative impacts.
Do the positive impacts outweigh the negative ones (or vice versa)? How did you arrive at that conclusion?
Be sure that you have carefully considered the impacts on society if the technology were no longer available
Briefly discuss alternatives
Be sure to explain your reasons for your opinion – they should be based on the facts that you have already presented
What does this example of the impact of technology on society suggest about how engineering should be practiced?
Demonstrate your critical thinking skills in assessing and evaluating the technology’s impact. You will often find evidence in the literature to support both the negative and positive impacts, so it is likely that through your analysis, you will choose to support and emphasize one side. Be sure that you include evidence to support your claims.
Grading
You will be graded as below. These criteria will be applied to the three thematic areas used to assess written work for this course
1) Outstanding performance XXXXXXXXXX%)
2) Very Good performance (80-89%)
3) Above Average performance (70-79%)
4) Satisfactory and Adequate performance (60-69%)
5) Barely Acceptable performance (50-59%)
6) Unacceptable performance (0-49%)
In brie, the three thematic areas are as follows: 30% structure and format 30% critical thinking 40% writing