Impact of Technology on Society
Introduction
You will research and report on an assigned topic related to technology and its
impact(s) on society. You submission, on turnitin, will be a short paper (6-8 pages in
length, not counting references, double-spaced, 12-point TNR 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 two other reputable (credible) sources
(references) in your report.
You must choose a topic from the list below, based on your LAST (family) NAME.
Please select one (1) topic that is within your category. You may not ‘trade’ topics with
another student. You must select one of the topics in your category.
1. Students whose family names begin with the letter A, B, C, D, or E:
– Automobile
– Telephone
– Electrification (Electricity)
– Household Appliances
2. Students whose family names begin with the letter F, G, H, I, or J:
– Airplane
– Computers
– Potable Water Supply, Treatment, or Distribution
– High-performance Materials
July 15 at 6AM on Turnitin
3. Students whose family names begin with the letter K, L, M, N, or O:
– Highways,
– Electronics
– Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
– Imaging
4. Students whose family names begin with the letter P, Q, R, S, or T:
– Spacecraft
– Internet
– Nuclear Technologies
– Laser and Fibre Optics
5. Students whose family names begin with the letter U, V, W, X, Y, or Z:
– Agricultural Mechanization
– Radio and Television
– Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies
– Health Technologies
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.
Instructions
The result of this assignment, which you will submit through www.turnitin.com, 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: outlining, referencing, writing style, organization, and
academic writing expectations.
This paper is a research report, and not an essay. You are expected to demonstrate
your ability to critically think when analyzing the technology as it relates to society.
The body of the paper should be 6-8 pages in length, double-spaced. This length is for
the content (from Introduction to Conclusion) and does not include the abstract or
references. The font should be 12 point, Times New Roman. The margins should be
one inch (or 2.54 cm) on the top, bottom and both sides.
In this paper, you MUST state your objective(s) AND scope. These items, however, do
not need their own separate sections for this length of paper. They should be
discussed/stated in the Introduction section. Following the Introduction, use relevant
content sections as well as a Conclusion section and Reference section.
In this paper, you are NOT required to include a title page or table of contents (or list
of tables, figures or appendices). You are, however, required to include an Abstract and
Reference section. The Abstract and Reference section do not count towards your 6-8
pages.
Content of your paper
The following list of ideas and questions should be considered when researching for
your report. Due to the limited number of pages allowed in 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.
– 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?
o
You may consider how society functioned politically, socially, and
economically
o
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?
o
Again, you may consider what changed regarding how society functioned
politically, socially, and economically
– Consider the impacts on
people’s health and welfare
o
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
o
Do the positive impacts outweigh the negative ones (or vice versa)? How
did you arrive at that conclusion?
o
Be sure that you have carefully considered the impacts on society if the
technology were no longer available
o
Briefly discuss alternatives
o
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
o
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
o
Do the positive impacts outweigh the negative ones (or vice versa)? How
did you arrive at that conclusion?
o
Be sure that you have carefully considered the impacts on society if the
technology were no longer available
o
Briefly discuss alternatives
o
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 evid
ence 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 based on the following:
– content
– thoroughness of analysis
– writing quality and style
– use of language and communication: clarity, grammar, spelling, etc.
– formatting
– originality
– appropriate use of references in the text (in-text citations) and reference list
– correct formatting of references
– quality of references (are they credible?)
You may wish to consult the University of Regina Undergraduate Calendar section on
Grading Descriptions for more information about performance criteria in each of the
following categories.
1) Outstanding performance (90-100%)
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%)
A separate document containing the grading scheme for this assignment is posted on
UR Courses. Please review it to determine where marks are allocated and to assist you
in preparing for this assignment.