Information Society

Information Society

Technology can be socially constructed and can determine human action Using the evolution of the Internet as an example , discuss this statement

The evolution of technology has escorted to shape many emergent systems . Internet being a revolutionary technology has resulted in a very large social transformation and form a compact information society Boundaries between technology and societies are the product of social negotiations , thus it is job of social cultures to develop understanding of these technologies and to incorporate them in the social lives Social construction of technology

(SCOT ) has contributed much in revealing technological development . It was first anticipated by Trevor Pinch and Wiebe Bijker

Social construction of technology (SCOT ) demonstrated how social factors shape technology . It rejects technological determinism and claims that technology is constructed socially by social groups such as a company organization or consumers (users ) who analyze and solves the problems that arise during the development of technology . RSGs or Relevant Social Groups is the term that defines such active groups . The development of technologies is dependent on the interpretative and communicational works amongst RSGs to prosper . However , it is important to note that the authority of these RSG 's do not just encircle the engineers but also by marketing departments , managers , anti-technology action groups and users and from various other backgrounds

Interpretive Flexibility is the term that defines the differential bounds of RSGs regarding technology . When this flexibility is high , the developmental path of the technology is vague while when it is reduced the developmental path is stabilized at social level . And this stabilized form of developmental path is called Closure . Though a closure is a way between certainty and uncertainty of developmental trail but it can be considered as a dominant solution (especially when alternatives are absent . So a closure can be defined as a reached agreement about which technological path is likely to be followed (Williams , 1999

The origin of the Internet can be traced back to RAND Corporation in the early 1960s . This network was developed to enhance "survivability " from an enemy 's attack (Barran , 1964 . It is interesting , given the degree of uncertainty , that U .S . Department of Defense accepted his keenness . One of the key factors in the course of the development was said to be demonstrations , one in 1972 , at the International Conference on Computer Communications , and the another in 1977 (Cerf , 1993 Hafner Lyon 1996 . The impact of these events suggests that there was a dimension of perception and persuasion involved in the process of technological development

The Department of Defense authorized TCP /IP protocol as an official network standard in 1980 and it became the sole protocol on ARPANET in 1983 . This modified the closure from normal to crucial . This made a very wide change for the users and all were transited from NCP (Network Control Protocol ) or hybrid to only TCP /IP . To enforce the new `law ARPANET stopped the carriage of NCP based traffic first temporarily and then permanently after 1983 (Hafner Lyon...