Unintended consequences of technological development

Elizabeth Carew

215917081

Science and Technology

Annotated Bibliography

Theme: Unintended Consequences of Technological development

Thesis: Technology has had great benefits for people due to its advancement. However, these advancements also have negative consequences in our society and affects the environment and also individuals both physically and psychologically

Article 1; Haughton, N., Yeh, K., Nworie, J., & Romero, L. (2013). Digital Disturbances, Disorders, and Pathologies: A Discussion of Some Unintended Consequences of Technology in Higher Education. Educational Technology, 53(4), 3-16.

In this article written by Haughton, Yeh, Nworie and Romero these authors are writing about the disadvantages of having information technologies in colleges and universities. Colleges and universities continue to invest in information technology infrastructure not knowing that these technologies have some unintended consequences in the learning space of students. These consequences include distraction, disturbance, addiction, academic dishonesty and cyberbullying. In this article, the author argues that each elements affects negatively the learning ability of the students and the presence of digital technologies in the lecture rooms leads to internet addiction, the unlimited access to digital technologies and internet leads students to be more vulnerable to technological addiction, academic dishonesty and gives more opportunities to the students to engage in cyberbullying. Students already spend a lot of hours on the Internet outside school premises, so the fact that they can also access internet in school could affect their ability to learn, understand and remember.

This article would be useful because even if technology is useful and an imperative in colleges and universities, these technologies makes students to depend more and more on them in order to do several things. This affects the learning ability of the students and their academic growth. The excessive use of technology could also lead to several pathologies.

Article 2: Levin A. Beene R. Johnsson J (2019): FAA says the Boeing 737 Max is ‘airworthy’ despite second crash” Time. March 11,2019

This newspaper article is about the Ethiopian airline crash incident that killed all 157 passengers on board. This plane was en route to Nairobi from Addis Abeba Ethiopia before it crashed some minutes after it took off. Due to the fact that this is the second time Boeing 737 Max plane crash, investigations were done and it was found that there is actually a problem with the anti-stall system. Which is a new feature of the jet. This newspaper article is useful because it shows the effects and consequences of advanced technology. The Max 8 is the latest iteration of the 737 line, and the anti-stall system was made to keep the plane from stalling but unfortunately there was a problem with this advancement and the pilots were not able to handle it because it was too advanced

This article is useful because it shows the consequences of wanting to advance certain technologies. In this case, the new development of Boeing was the anti-stall system which was made in 2017. This development was not well made and it had a specific which lead to not only one deadly plane crash but two which was in Indonesia. In our society, we always try to develop technologies not knowing that some technologies are not well made or way too advanced that cannot be handled by humans. But, even after the plane crash the FAA still considers Boeing 737 Max as airworthy.

Article 3: Swing, E. L., & Anderson, C. A. (2007). The unintended negative consequences of exposure to violent video games. Cognitive Technology, 12(1), 3-13.

In our society, computer technology has highly expanded and it is now used for various things. From communication, to scientific calculation, computer technology is now used for education and entertainment. Video games which is a means of entertainment for both children, adolescents and young adults has been misused which has unintended consequences in our society. Video games are used as teaching instruments; Volvo uses an online computer game to test financial and regulatory information to car sales employees and even the US Army use video games for training and simulation purposes. Video games are becoming more and more violent which could affect those who are playing it negatively especially children and adolescents. According to research, it could provoke anger, aggressive thoughts and even lead to aggressive behaviour whenever children are exposed to these types of video games. It is said that through visual and auditory stimuli, it captures the attention of the players which makes the game easier to learn and to remember. When playing, different parts of the brain is activated when the game players are engaging in virtual violence. The internal reaction to an event is mostly based on our immediate and automatic appraisal of the situation. Repeated encounter with aggression may produce long term changes. So, when we are put in certain situation we would have the tendency to react with violence and aggression because we are used to seeing that. Violent video games increase cognitive and emotional factors known to increase likelihood of aggression.

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