A Social Constructionist Approach to Technology and Its Meaning
“Technology transfer refers to the use of technology in order to advance and improve something” This statement comes directly from the US National Science Foundation (NSF). Technology transfer describes the process by which technology is transferred from one place to another. This can be done in many ways. Technology transfer can be done through the creation of new products, research and development, or even commercialization. In this article we will discuss some of the various ways that technology transfer takes place.
Applied sciences: The term applied science was first used in 1846 and it refers to a variety of natural sciences dealing with the physical aspect of things. In the twentieth century, applied science has come to include a range of social science topics, including psychology, anthropology, sociology, environmental science, geology, and physiology. Among these various topics, psychology is perhaps the richest area of applied science. It has therefore become one of the leading research areas in the world today.
Technological advances in applied sciences have largely encompassed the broad concept of technology. Applied sciences are those sciences that address specific technological issues, ranging from manufacturing and industrial processes, to healthcare and engineering. Applied technology is a subset of what is known as technology. Technological systems that fall under applied science generally comprise material objects, information systems, information technology, machine learning, and digital information systems. The broad concept of technology covers nearly all areas of human activity in society.
Technology in the industrial arts: The industrial arts, unlike applied science, encompasses a far wider range of topics. The industrial arts refers to the processes of creation, manipulation, design, and construction. The most obvious example of an industry within the industrial arts is music. Music has, for centuries, been an artistic medium, but it was not always this way.
The term, “techne” (from the German words tekno and geschock), was first used by influential thinker and philosopher Karl Schatzberg in his book, Dialectic Geometry. Schatzberg saw himself as a geometer, able to map complicated technological systems using basic geometric forms. In his work, he repeatedly demonstrates the fundamental tenets of technical Geometry, particularly the concepts of geometrical analogies and abstraction. The most famous example of a technical diagram is his sixteen-point model of the wing of an airplane.
The word technology was, according to Schatzberg, originally meant the practical application of art or armchair simulation, but through his studies, he came to see technology as the application of abstract principles. His later works on political economy, including his concept of the Analytical Class, support this view. For him, technology is the combination of the best of both the classical (Aristotelean) and the democratic (Participative) school of thought. According to him, there can be no definition of technology because it can be used to describe any and all phenomena.
According to the analytical category of social science, technology can be divided into three main fields: human institutions, natural sciences, and culture/religion. The scope of technology is thus highly diversified, encompassing a wide range of practices from different spheres of human activity. Among the three, the technology is most diversely discussed in terms of its impact on social institutions. Technology has a major role in shaping political organization, affecting the selection and structure of public administration, regulating and guaranteeing the functioning of markets and social organizations.
According to the social constructionist school, culture provides the major link between economic activity and the values and beliefs of the society in which it occurs. According to J.L. Plato, tradition forms the primary link between the forces that drive economic development and values, while schatzberg suggests that the middle path between technological change and the passage of classical traditions and the direction of progressive development depends largely on the power of the developed economy.