Page 182 - Introduction To Sociology

174 Chapter 8 | Media and Technology
8.3 Global Implications of Media and Technology
Technology drives globalization, but what that means can be hard to decipher. While some economists see technological advances leading to a more level playing field where anyone anywhere can be a global contender, the reality is that opportunity still clusters in geographically advantaged areas. Still, technological diffusion has led to the spread of more and more technology across borders into peripheral and semi-peripheral nations. However, true technological global equality is a long way off.
8.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Media and Technology
There are myriad theories about how society, technology, and media will progress. Functionalism sees the contribution that technology and media provide to the stability of society, from facilitating leisure time to increasing productivity. Conflict theorists are more concerned with how technology reinforces inequalities among communities, both within and among countries. They also look at how media typically give voice to the most powerful, and how new media might offer tools to help those who are disenfranchised. Symbolic interactionists see the symbolic uses of technology as signs of everything from a sterile futuristic world to a successful professional life.
Section Quiz
8.1 Technology Today
1. Jerome is able to use the Internet to select reliable sources for his research paper, but Charlie just copies large pieces of web pages and pastes them into his paper. Jerome has _____________ while Charlie does not.
a. a functional perspective
b. the knowledge gap
c. e-readiness
d. a digital divide
2. The ________ can be directly attributed to the digital divide, because differential ability to access the internet leads directly to a differential ability to use the knowledge found on the Internet.
a. digital divide
b. knowledge gap
c. feminist perspective
d. e-gap
3. The fact that your cell phone is using outdated technology within a year or two of purchase is an example of ____________.
a. the conflict perspective
b. conspicuous consumption
c. media
d. planned obsolescence
4. The history of technology began _________.
a. in the early stages of human societies
b. with the invention of the computer
c. during the Renaissance
d. during the nineteenth century
8.2 Media and Technology in Society
5. When it comes to technology, media, and society, which of the following is true?
a. Media can influence technology, but not society.
b. Technology created media, but society has nothing to do with these.
c. Technology, media, and society are bound and cannot be separated.
d. Society influences media but is not connected to technology.
6. If the U.S. Patent Office were to issue a patent for a new type of tomato that tastes like a jellybean, it would be issuing a _________ patent?
a. utility patent
b. plant patent
c. design patent
d. The U.S. Patent Office does not issue a patent for plants.
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