Invention & Innovation (MPU 3252) Chapter 4: Impacts of Invention & Innovation.

Invention & Innovation (MPU 3252)Chapter 4: Impacts of Invention & Innovation

Contents

• Invention & innovation affect society• Invention & innovation affect humans• Technology and the environment• Using data to make informed decisions

Invention & Innovation Affect Society

• Every objects & device we use every day life and take for granted such as computer and telephone.

• Inventions have a strong impact on the way society are structured and functioned

• Many of technology’s effects on society are widely regarded as desirable

Invention & Innovation Affect Society

• Advances in medicine & public health have enabled people to live longer, healthier lives while eradicating disease that once prevented many children from living to adulthood

• Public water & sewer systems have provided water to remote areas and remove contaminants

Invention & Innovation Affect Society

• In transportation, the invention had a serious effect on man’s work habits & leisure

• It made the travelling between cities faster and cheaper

Invention & Innovation Affect Society

• In education, the invention of typography brought a revolution on how book & small journals were produced

• Books become cheaper & more available to the public, contributing to the rising literacy rate

• The inventions of teaching aid such as projectors made classroom presentation easier

Invention & Innovation Affect Society

• In communication, the internet invention have made it possible for people to communicate from any points of the globe

• The invention of electricity, light bulb & machines were the main factors of behind an abrupt rise in productivity from the 19th century onwards

Invention & Innovation Affect Human

Invention & Innovation Affect Human (Positive)

• The invention provide more convenient life to human

• The progress of science and technology enhances directly the productivity of industry & agriculture, thus increasing the total value of national production & income.

• The living standard of the people in 1990 is double that of 1950

Invention & Innovation Affect Human (Negative)

• Inventions is dominating human life and controlling any comprehensive development of humanity

• With the technology aid, human become lazier

• Some people will lose the original treasure in human beings, like diligence and sociability

Invention & Innovation Affect Human (Negative)

• Communication disease – vector borne disease (e.g. malaria), sanitary hygiene disease, risk associated with handling of infectious waste

• Injury – risk of accidents from traffic, explosions, falls, heat stress, operation machinery, handling of physically hazardous wastes & resources, lost of hearing

Invention & Innovation Affect Human (Negative)

• Exposure to hazardous chemicals – inhalation (e.g. air pollution), dermal contact, ingestion of contaminated food and water (e.g. pesticide residue) of hazardous chemicals and of radioactive material

Technology & The Environment(Impacts on the local environment)

• The use of technology effects the environment in good and bad ways

• Waste must be appropriately recycled or disposed of to prevent unnecessary harm to the environment

• Technologies can be used to repair damage caused by natural disasters and to breakdown waste from the use of various products & system

Technology & The Environment(Impacts on the local environment)

• Habitat loss or alteration thru land clearance (e.g. as a consequence of raw material demand or development of a site)

• Physical disruption of habitat, for example the construction of pipelines that inhibit the migration of animals

• The chemical contamination of the environment thru the release of wastes that have direct toxic effect on flora & fauna

Technology & The Environment(Global environment impact)

• Enhances global warming (i.e. greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides)

• Deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, for example chlorofluorocarbons

• Some technology might also reduce the effectiveness of carbon sinks, such as thru the clearing of tree

Technology & The Environment(Non-renewable resources impact)

• Living resources – consumption or destruction of flora & fauna resources such as crops, forests (e.g. tropical rainforests) and fisheries

• Non living resources – mineral & chemical resources such as the fossil fuels used in energy generation or the materials used in production, and also the consumption or contamination of water resources

Technology & The Environment(Non-renewable resources impact)

• Land resources – the land required by the industrial site, wastes and by supporting infrastructures & services which may reduce its potential for later use

Using Data to Make Informed Decisions

• Data are the valuable assets• The reliable data can help us address

problems, improve public services, support business, increase productivity and much more

Using Data to Make Informed Decisions

• Decisions are more likely to be effective and efficient when they are based on data.

• The quality of decision-making depends most on the first step (defining the problem to be solved)

Using Data to Make Informed Decisions

• Data help us ask the right questions…they do not provide the answers

• Use data to:– Identify problems– Refine problems– Define the questions that lead to solutions

Conclusions

• Technology, by itself, is neither good nor bad, but decisions about the use of products and systems can result in desirable or undesirable consequences

• Economic, political & cultural issues are influenced by the development and use of technology

• Ethical considerations are important in the development, selection and use of technology

• Data can assist us to identify problems, refine problems & lead to solutions

References• PRESIDENT'S SPEECH IN THE SPACE SUMMIT OF 90th SESSION OF

THE INDIAN SCIENCE CONGRESS (2003), http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2003/rjan2003/04012003/r040120032.html