COM 3840 Midterm
What are the social effects of telegraph and telephone that has been suggested by scholars?
Some scholars argue that telephone development of suburbia because the middle and upper managers could move away from city centers to less polluted, more comfortable suburbs. They were always in touch with what was happening in the factory with telephone connections. Those who chose to live close to city centers opted to live in skyscrapers away from the dust and fumes of the factory.
Explain how the development of speech and later writing affected the human ability to collaborate and build larger organizations.
Spoken language allowed humans to pass on collective knowledge, experiences, and beliefs from one generation to the next, leading to an age of oral tradition and the emergence of what we call culture. Written communication made the message more permanent and reliable, unlike the spoken word.
How do technologies become essential for the management of businesses?
A new market needs a constant reaction and a continuous adaptation. It is one of the competitive indices.
What is technology? What is its purpose?
Technology is derived from the Greek word tekni, meaning a manner of accomplishing a task using specialized technical processes, methods, or knowledge.
Virtual team
Internal organizational use of the virtual concept has generated virtual teams ina variety of organizations. In most cases these teams come from a specific functional,process or strategic business unit within a larger organization. The organizational useof the virtual concept in this instance is in virtual tasks and virtual teams.
How did writing strengthen the hierarchical social structure and social classes?
With written communication, communities became nations, the rulers became more distant from the people, and the administration of society became more hierarchical.
How did the invention of the printing press contribute to the emergence of Protestantism?
The mass production of the Bible brought copies of the Bible to anyone interested to read it. And people read the Bible themselves. Some of them felt that the clergy's interpretation of the biblical teachings was contrary to what was written in the Bible.
Explain McLuhan's perspective of technologies as extensions of our body and senses.
Clothing is an extension of the skin, the wheel is an extension of the foot, books/TV/film are extensions of the eye, telephone/radio are extensions of the ear, and computer is an extension of the central nervous system. Communication technology extends the natural ability of humans to communicate - faster, farther, and over more extended periods.
