Technology refers to the development of materials, tools, and machines used for human life. This includes materials used to manipulate the environment and to generate energy. Topics of interest include energy conversion, petroleum production, and refining. Technology is also related to agriculture. These activities include beekeeping, cereal farming, commercial fishing, and food preservation.
Technological action
Technological action has a number of dimensions. First, it may involve the active production of knowledge and material solutions. Second, it may involve the participation of individuals with different social, political, and ethical orientations. Third, it may involve advocacy for social change. The process of technological action is often shaped by a shared vision and self-empowering narrative.
Lastly, it may be an attempt to change existing norms, including those that undermine democracy and sustainability. This is often done through the development of a maker culture. The maker person stands at the intersection of social, political, and cultural norms.
Design science
The first steps in the design process are awareness and analysis of a problem. Then, the first suggestions for a solution are drawn from existing knowledge and theories. These theories are often based on pragmatism and phenomenology. The next step is implementation, or actualizing the change. This process may not bring about the desired outcome.
Design science involves multidisciplinary research. It also includes consideration of socially constructed realities. Its typical outputs include models, constructs, and instantiations. For example, the LCC model produced all four outputs: models, constructs, methods, and instantiations. The research is conducted iteratively and is often conducted collaboratively among disciplines.
Synergistic relationship between technology and society
Technological advancement and social change are inseparable. One cannot imagine one without the other. Technological advances are shaped by society and drive its evolution. As a result, technological decisions must be carefully considered, including their costs and benefits, as well as tradeoffs between competing priorities. Often, unintended consequences of a technology may only be revealed over time. Fortunately, there are a number of technological solutions available that can help us make the best decisions possible for our society and environment.
This article explains that the relationship between radical innovation and tacit synergy is related to the level of technological diversity within firms. Moreover, it finds that the presence of explicit synergy promotes the rate of radical innovation. In contrast, low levels of interfirm technological diversity do not seem to support the relationship between radical innovation and tacit synergy.
Epistemological status of technological statements
Technological statements are often regarded as having a different epistemological status than scientific statements. Nonetheless, these two fields are intertwined. Moreover, experimental science depends on technology for research set-up and data collection. Without these technologies, modern science would be impossible to study phenomena.
Before the Renaissance, technological statements were considered to be merely replicas of nature. Alchemy, which emerged in the Latin West in the mid-twelfth century, challenged this assumption by claiming that human art could both reproduce and surpass natural products.