What is the primary debate, controversies, or questions scholars/public policy experts/governmental officials/NGOs address around the debate? How is the discussion framed?
The Present and Future of …(a technology of your choice) Reflection Paper For this assignment, first pick a form of technology that you use or you have used or are interested in, such as social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat), fitness tracker (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch), voice assistant (e.g., google home, Amazon Alexa), new forms of technology (e.g., Kindle, virtual reality, Internet of Things), teleworking software (Slack, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Team), and telehealth applications. Based on what we have covered about the mutual shaping of society and technology and the role of technology in society: 1. Review of scholarly discourse around your technology: You will review and synthesize ONE of the significant intellectual debates around your technology in your chosen context and thematic area. What is the primary debate, controversies, or questions scholars/public policy experts/governmental officials/NGOs address around the debate? How is the discussion framed? Why is the discussion important? ● For example, some of the major debates around social media is its relationship with the spread of fake news and democracy, mental health, or romantic relationships. Debates around fitness trackers involve privacy concerns, and whether or not it should be classified as medical devices, etc. Debates around telework and telehealth applications include whether they are as effective as face-to-face meetings or in-person visits. Debates around streaming platforms like Netflix include whether they are good or bad news for the media industry. You can also identify other debates that are of interest to you. ● Please consult library databases such as Communication and Mass Media Complete, as well as Google Scholar 2. After reviewing the intellectual debate, please reflect on the current industry and user practice in terms of developing/using the technology and propose your solution(s) to the discussion or make predictions regarding where the debate or the technology itself is going. 1. ● This is where you will present your original argument. To do this you should critique the literature; rather than just summarizing and reporting the literature, you should synthesize and evaluate the main arguments, look for gaps that you can fill, identify any assumptions or biases, and develop an original response. Please support your arguments with (mostly) empirical evidence throughout. This means that you may draw on scholarly (e.g. peer-reviewed articles) and/or popular writings(e.g.newspaperormagazinearticles)tosupportyouressay.Thepapershould strictly adhere to APA Guidelines (7th ed.). To help you get started, you could follow the instructions below. 1. Choose one item from each column below: one from A (type of technology), one from B (context), and one from C (major theme). 2. Second, construct a search with these keywords that will help you identify the related scholarly discourse. 3. This debate should look at the relationship between digital technology and society, focusing on the areas you have chosen (for example, music streaming services + personal relationships + privacy OR video games + education + race). Example: How do Islamic beliefs and values (B – Religion) influence gender expressions (C) on social networking sites (A)? Column A: Technology (choose one) Column B: Context (Choose one) Column C: Major theme (choose one) Mobile phones Politics, government, policy, and/or law Power and oppression Social media (including social networking sites, music streaming services, microblogging, video sharing/streaming, etc.) Business and industry Gender and/or sexuality Internet of things or smart devices Family and personal relationships Race and/or ethnicity Artificial intelligence Education and learning Freedom, democracy, and/or rights Big data, algorithms, machine learning Health and medicine Social support Video games Arts and entertainment (including popular culture) Social capital Virtual reality Fitness trackers Software e-books News media and journalism Religion and spiritual life Privacy Security Labor/work Economics Computers Choose something else Interpersonal interaction Choose something else Choose something else
