UNIT III – SPECIFIC ISSUES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

OVERVIEW:
In 2005, The Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Kiozumi, during the STS forum said
“Environmental protection and economic development are mutually achievable and sustainable.
It is science and technology that holds the key to achieving the dual goals. This statement served
as challenge to the people of Science and Technology, to protect not only the economy but most
especially the environment. Science and Technology should be used appropriately for the future
of our planet earth, with all the living species and mankind. Though we can see the advancements
of S&T, especially in the field of genetic engineering, nanotechnology, robotics, yet we still have
to our best to come up with different sources of energy, to address the challenges of climate
change through environmental awareness.
This unit will walk us through the different issues concerning Science, Technology and
Society and some mandated topics. The goal is to make us aware of the conditions and impacts
of these technological developments to our society, and maybe to come up with possible solutions
or answers to the issues directly concerning the students or the community.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

After the successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Link learned concepts to the development of the information age and its impact on
society
2. Illustrate how the social media and the information age have impacted our lives
3. Determine the interrelatedness of society, environment and health
4. Discuss the ethics and implications of GMO’s and potential future impacts
5. Discuss the impacts of nanotechnology (both potentials and realized) on society
6. Analyze the issue through the conceptual STS lenses
7. Critique the issue on its cost and benefit to society
8. Describe gene therapy and its various forms
9. Assess the issues potential benefits and detriments to global health
10. Identify the causes of climate change
11. Assess the various impacts of climate change including economic, geopolitical,
biological, meteorological, etc.
12. Apply STS concepts to the issue of climate change
13. Research, present and make a stand on S&T issues that currently affect the Philippine
society
14. Identify renewable sources of energy

Lesson 8: The Information Age

COURSE MATERIALS

Information is knowledge communicated or obtained concerning a specific fact or

circumstance (Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary). The information age is the period
when information became effortlessly accessible through publications and through the
management of information by computer and computer networks. (Vocabulary.com, n.d.). It is
also called the Digital Age and the New Media Age starting the last quarter of 20th century. It’s a
true new age based upon interconnection of computers via telecommunications with these
information systems operating on both real- time and as needed basis.” (by James R. Messenger,
The Theory of Information Age in 1982)
Timeline of the Information Age

105 AD – woodblock printing and paper was invented by the Chinese

1455 – Johannes Gutenberg invented the Printing Press using movable metal type
1755 – Samuel Johnson’s dictionary standardized English Spelling
1802 – the Library of Congress was established
1824 – research on persistence of vision published
1830s – first visible design for a digital computer Augusta Lady Byron writes the world’s
first computer program
1837 – Invention of the telegraph in Great Britain and US
1861 – Motion pictures were projected onto a screen
1876 – Dewey Decimal System was introduced
1877 – Eadward Muybridge demonstrated high speed Photography
1899 – First Magnetic Recordings were released
1902 – Motion Picture special effects were used
1906 – Lee deforest invented the electric amplifying tube (triode)
1923 – Television camera tube was invented by Zvorkyn
1926 – First practical sound movie
1939 – Regularly scheduled television broadcasting began in the US
1940s – Beginnings of information Science as a discipline
1945 – Vannevar Bush foresaw the invention of hypertext
1946 – ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) was developed
1948 – Birth of field-of-Information theory by Claude E. Shannon
1957 – Planar Transistor was developed by Jean Hoerni
1958 – First Integrated Circuit
1960s – Library of Congress developed LC MARC (Machine Readable Code)
1969 – UNIX operating System was developed, which could handle multitasking
1971 – Intel introduced the first Microprocessor chip
1972 – Optical Laser Disc was developed by Philips and MCA
1974 – MCA and Philips agreed on a standard videodisc encoding format
1975 – Altair Microcomputer Kit was released: first personal computer for public
1977 – RadioShack introduced the first complete personal computer
1984 – Apple Macintosh computer was introduced
Mid 1980s – Artificial Intelligence was separated from information Science
1987 – Hypercard was developed by Bill Atkinson recipe box metaphor
1988 – Digital camera; Transatlantic telephone
1989 – World Wide Web
1991 – Four hundred fifty complete works of literature on one CD-ROM was released
1992 – first Smartphone
1995- Internet explorer
1998- Google
2001 - Wikipedia
2002 – Friendster
2003 – Skype; Word press
2004 - Facebook
2005 – You Tube
2006 – Twitter
2010 – Instagram; Pinterest
The Computer
Is an electronic device that stores and processes data (information). It runs on programs
that solve a problem. It can apply to virtually any device that has microprocessor in it. Computer
maybe Personal, Desktop, Laptop, Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs, Server, Mainframes or
Wearables.

Type of Computers
1. PERSONAL COMPUTER – single user instrument
2. DESKTOP COMPUTER – “workstation” has a more powerful processor, additional
memory and enhanced capabilities for performing special group of tasks
3. LAPTOPS – portable computers that integrate the essentials of a desktop
computer in battery-powered package
4. PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS (PDAs) – highly integrated computers that
usually have no keyboards but rely on a touch screen for user input.
5. SERVER – provide network services to other computers
6. MAINFRAMES – huge computer systems that can fill an entire room; process millions
of transactions everyday
7. WEARABLE COMPUTERS – usually integrated into cell phones, watches, and other
small objects that perform common computer applications such as databases, email,
multimedia.

The World Wide Web

CLAUDE E. SHANNON, an American Mathematician considered the “Father of

Information Theory.” He proposed that information can be quantitatively encoded as a
sequence of ones and zeroes.
INTERNET – a worldwide system of interconnected networks that facilitate data
transmission among innumerable computers
SERGEY BRIN and LARY PAGE, built search engine GOOGLE in 1998
Bill Gates – Microsoft
Steve Jobs – Apple
Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook

The World Wide Web opened the society to up-to-date information as fresh as while it is
happening or what we call live. Aside from news and information, it also served as gateway of
individuals to express their feelings, share their messages, photos, videos, ideas, success,
achievements, opportunities, and many others. There are different social media platforms
developed and are used to connect with friends, family, different audiences and random people.
Social media are also used by many people to earn money and popularity. There are so many
success stories you can find in social media, but there are also tragic experiences other have
occurred because of social media. Cyber bullying happens every day in every part of the world.
Too much exposure to social media may lead one to depression, stress, and other psychological
problems. Though we can say that society benefits from the development of the World Wide Web
and the internet, we face challenges to go with this kind of technology.

Guidelines that can help us check the reliability of web sources;

1. Who is the Author of the article/site?

Does the author provide his/her credentials?

What type of expertise does he/she have on the subject he or she is writing about?
 What type of experience does he/she have? Should you trust his/her knowledge on the
subject?

2. Who published the Site?

Look for the domain name of the website that will tell you who is hosting the site.
Search the domain name at http://www.whois.sc/. The site provides information about the
owners of registered domain names.
Do not ignore the suffix on the domain. The suffix is usually (but not always) descriptive
of what type of entity hosts the website. ex. .org = non profit; .gov = government; .edu =
educational; .com = commercial; .mil = military

3. What is main purpose of the site?

To sell products?
As a personal hobby?
As public service?
To further scholarship on a topic?
To provide general information on a topic?
To persuade you of a particular profession or with specific training?

4. Who is the intended audience?

Scholars or the general public

Which age group is it written for?
Is it aimed at people from particular geographic area?
Is it aimed at members of a particular profession or with specific training?

5. What is the quality of information provided on the website?

Timeliness: When was the website first published? Is it regularly updated?

Does the author cite sources?
What other sites does the website link to? Are they reputable sites?
Is the website being cited by others?

Examples of Useful and Reliable Web Sources

* AFA e-Newsletter (Alzheimer’s Foundation of America newsletter)

* American Memory – the library of congress historical digital collection Bartleby.com
Great * Books Online – a collection of free e-books including fictions, nonfictions,
references, and verses.
* Project Gutenberg – the first and largest single collection of free electronic books with
currently over 20,000 e-books available
* Internet Archives – a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital
form
* Virtual Reference – selected web resources compiled by the Library of Congress
* Nation Master – a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare
nations
Drug information websites:
* National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus
* Drugs.com
 * PDRhealth
Nursing sites:
AHRQ (www.ahrq.gov) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
* National Guidelines Clearinghouse
* PubMed (www.nlm.nih.gov)

Application of Computers in Science and Research

Bioinformatics is the application of information technology to store, organize, and analyze vast
amount of biological data which is available in the form of sequences and structures of proteins,
and this is achieved with the help of computers. One of the great achievement in bioinformatics
is accomplishment of the human genome project. It began in 1990 and was completed in 2003.
This project allowed researchers to understand the blueprint for building a person. This knowledge
will have a major impact in the field of medicine, biotechnology and the life sciences. For
pharmaceutical companies, bioinformatics is the key to rational drug discovery. In plant
biotechnology, bioinformatics is useful in identifying diseases resistant genes and designing
plants with high nutrition value.

Digital Technological Drawbacks

We have not thought through what AI, IoT, big data, social media, cloud, ICT, genome editing,
could possibly do. Ron Immink, a renowned writer, compares our present trend in technology to
the invention of the atomic bomb. He pointed out that we are dealing with a digital nuclear bomb,
and it might explode before we realise what we have gotten ourselves into. Exponential technology
could soon trigger a chain of “A-bomb challenges” or “digital Hiroshimas”. In his book, he included
some digital technological drawbacks:

Dependency — Leaving our thinking to software and algorithms because it’s just so much more
convenient and fast.
Confusion — Being not sure who performed the tasks; Not knowing if it was the intended human
who replied to my emails, or her AI assistant
Loss of control — Not having a way of knowing if the AI’s anticipation was correct or not, as we
could not possibly track the system’s logic or even comprehend the workings of a quantum
computing-fueled, machine-learning system. In other words, we would need to either trust it
completely or not at all, similar to the dilemma that some airplane pilots are already facing with
their autopilot systems.
Abdication — Being tempted to leave more tasks to systems that would handle them for us,
whether it is coordinating personal schedules, making appointments, or answering simple emails.
Then, of course, it would be very likely that we would simply blame the cloud/bot/AI if something
went wrong.
Social autism — we love our screen more than we love people.
Addiction to technology — “mobile devices are the new cigarettes”.
Digital obesity. Every consumer in developed countries unwittingly ingests an estimated 150
pounds of additives — mostly sugar, yeast, and antioxidants, as well as truly nasty stuff such as
MSG. The food industry actually calls this cravability or crave-ability. In the world of technology,
people are obsess with social networking sites and marketers call it magic, stickiness,
indispensability, or more benignly, user engagement. Craving and addiction as tech’s business
model. Think 2020 and imagine billions of hyperconnected consumers becoming digitally obese,
hooked on a constant drip of information, media, and data — and their own feedback loops.
ETHICAL IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY

The use of computers has brought about environmental, ethical and legal issues and concerns.
These increasingly affect people's daily lives. Some of them are as follow:

Ethical issues
Ethics are moral principles, or rules, that govern a person's attitudes and behaviour. Ethics
apply to the use of computers as much as they do to other things in life. Ethical issues that may
arise in engaging in digital technology are as follow:

Privacy
Once data is put into a computer it can easily be copied or transmitted. This puts personal
private data at risk. Organisations that hold private data should do their best to ensure that such
data remains private. Many smartphone apps ask for permission to access data held on the
device. Once accessed, this data is usually sent to the app producer, who is often in another
country and not always subject to the privacy laws that exist in the Philippines.

Ensuring public safety

Ensuring public safety is vital. As new technologies are introduced, they bring safety
concerns. For example, driverless cars may soon be on the roads. The designers of driverless
cars have not only had to ensure the safety of passengers but also of other drivers and
pedestrians. An ethical issue applies here, as a situation may occur where the car's software has
to decide who has safety priority. Should it be the passengers inside the car, or other road users?

Digital divide
The digital divide is the difference between those who have access to computers and the
internet and those who do not. The difference between them continuous to rise, establishing
societal gaps. This may be due to wealth, location, age or the ability to use new technology.
Somebody who has a visual impairment may have difficulties using a touchscreen. Apps that are
designed to be used on a smartphone may exclude such people from using their services.The
elderly generation have not grown up with technology and might feel nervous of the steep learning
curve required to gain confidence with using the internet. This could mean that they miss out on
opportunities, such as online shopping offers that are not available on the high street.

Working conditions
Since industries of all types depend mainly on technology for their production, working
conditions in one way or another will be affected. The industries will always consider the
technology they are using in designing the workplace and the work systems sometimes at the
expense of the workers. Workers will always be at risk on the side effects brought by technology.

Professional standards
To meet the fast growing demands of computer science and information technology areas.
Professionals should continue to improve their overall competencies to fit the requirements
needed by the industries. Furthermore, these professionals are also expected to follow new set
of policies and guidelines imposed by the industry guided by the harm the digital technology can
cause. Example: internet security policy, Data Privacy Act, Cybersecurity Act etc.
READINGS
Evaluating Websites as Reliable Resources https://www.csmd.edu/student-services/library-
services/resources/evaluating-websites-as-reliable-resources/

WATCH THIS VIDEO

Evaluating Sources for Credibility https://www.youtube.com/watch/PLTOVoHbH5c

ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT
Think of a device with special features that you can develop to help improve the health of people
in our society. Illustrate your device in a short bond paper, and write the description of your
creative device. Take a photo and paste it in a word document together with its description.

References:

https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/technology-vs-humanity-the-coming-clash-between-
man-and-machine-da074eee067f by Ron Immink
https://www.techvshuman.com/read-preview/

Lesson 9 Biodiversity and the Healthy Society

COURSE MATERIALS

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem
or the vast variety of life forms in the entire earth. The variability among living things from all
sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes
of which they are part. Biodiversity is the source of essential goods and ecological services that
constitute the source of life for all. Sustainability of the ecosystem ensures a better survival rate
against natural disaster. Disappearance of species in a certain environment causes imbalance in
the ecosystem. Human activities are the major cause of wildlife decline. WWF projected 67%
decline on wildlife by 2020 (Marco Lambertini, Gen. Dir. WWF International). Conservation efforts
are necessary to preserve biodiversity and protect endangered species and their habitats.

Threats to Biodiversity
1. Habitat loss and destruction.
2. Alterations in ecosystem composition
3. Over-exploitation
4. Pollution and contamination
5. Global climate change

Nutritional Impact of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is a major factor that contributes to sustainable food production for human
beings. The society must have access to a sufficient variety of nutritious food as its determinant
of their health. There must be intensified and enhanced food production through irrigation, use of
fertilizers, plant protection, or the introduction of crop varieties or cropping patterns affect
biodiversity and thus impact global nutritional status and human health.
Health, Biology and Biodiversity

Basic needs of living things such as air, water, food, and habitat are provided by its
environment. Advances in agriculture, sanitation, water treatment, and hygiene have had a far
greater impact on human health. Environmental hazards increase the risk of cancer, heart
disease, asthma, and many other illnesses. Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation and
hygiene are responsible for a variety of infectious diseases. Environmental hazards increase the
risk of asthma and other respiratory disease, skin diseases, waterborne illness and many others.
Activities that promote health and extend human life could have adverse environmental
effects. Ex. Waste produced by livestock, carbon emission from food manufacturing and
transportation, medical waste from hospitals. Climate change could deteriorate farming system
and reduce nutrients in some foods. Energy production and use, help sustain human life, but it
can also pose hazards to human health and the environment, such as air pollution, water pollution,
oil spills, and destruction of habitats. Activities that promote health and extend human life could
have adverse environmental effect such as: food production causes environmental damage from
pesticides and fertilizers, soil salinization, waste produced by livestock, carbon emission from
food manufacturing and transportation, deforestation and overfishing. In terms of health care,
hospitals use large quantities of electricity and produce medical and hazardous wastes. Good
health care results to reduced mortality, this can lead to overpopulation, which results to
environmental stresses, these includes clearing of land, generating pollution waste, and others.
A mitigating plan and a workable plan of action should be studied in order not to
compromise biodiversity, while at the same time, promote good health among the society.
We must recognize the value of organisms which we share the planet with.

READINGS

Biodiversity. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/biodiversity/

WATCH THIS VIDEO

Why is Biodiversity so Important? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK_vRtHJZu4

ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT

Write a ten-sentence essay about preserving biodiversity.