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the effects of technology on humanity
the effects of technology on humanity
impacts of technology on culture
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Cultural Evolution vs. Technological Innovation
Historically, in the relationship between human culture and technology, cultural evolution has lagged behind the pace of technological innovation. Technology is the human solution to fulfilling human needs. As these needs change, new technologies will supplement the old ones; inevitably changing the culture which created it, resulting in a co-evolution of technology and culture; and impacting the future of their culture. The disparate rate of cultural vs. technological evolution has consequences which cloud the prospect of the future of the human race unless we change the historical blueprint and try to thwart our disposition towards ignoring the responsibility we have today for the world we will live in tomorrow.
Cultural evolution is the nature of human interaction, their relationship with the environment and the immediate and long term trajectory of these interactions as influenced by inherited knowledge, lifestyle and customs is how a culture adapts itself to the progress within and around it. Morgan "saw the history of human cultures as a progression from savagery, through barbarism to civilization" (Chant 54). This progression was inevitably caused by technology.
Technological innovation is increasing human mastery over resources and sources of energy. Technology has developed because of humans' "fear of death that our consciousness keeps lurking in the background". Technology historically has given solutions to the problems of survival by creating more efficient ways to get food and energy. However, after humans establish themselves at the top of the food chain, although the threshold between survival and comfort is unclear; human focus shifts from brute survival...
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...chnologies than to change the cultures. The earth has reached the threshold, of human life that can be supported; in order to survive, humans need to take a two fold approach- the industrialized world needs to put into practice green energies; and all human cultures need to anticipate the macroevolutionary consequences of the daily culture and lifestyle. Choices need to be made, keeping sustainability in mind. History has shown that human law, religion, government and policy greatly influence cultural macroevolution.
Sources
Chant, Colin. Pre-industrial Cities & Technology. London: Routledge. 1999.
Cipolla, C. M. Epilog from “Guns, Sails, and Empires: Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400-1700.” Sunflower Univ. Press, 1996.
Ehrlich, Paul R., in Human Natures: Genes Cultures, and the Human Prospect, Island Press, 2000.
There are virtually an unlimited amount of aspects about police work that places them in harm’s way every day. The debate still continues over whether policing is a craft or profession. As stated in Law Enforcement in the United States by James A. Conser, “A craft usually involves the development of skills that are generally learned through experience, not in a classroom (Conser, 2011, p.216). Conser also states, “the following are the typical characteristic identified criteria of profession: extensive preparation through education and training, a specific and specialized body of knowledge, a code of ethics (Conser, 2011, p.215).
o The occupational background of the police officer, while quite diverse, composed of a large portion of agricultural laborers (48). This is due to industrialization and mechanization of agriculture during the Victorian Era; fewer rural laborers were needed.
Cipolla, Carlo M. Guns, sails and empires; technological innovation and the early phases of European expansion, 1400-1700. Manhattan, Kan. : Sunflower University Press, 1985.
National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund – NLEMF (2010). Research Bulletin: Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: Preliminary. Retrieved November 5, 2013, from http://www.nleomf.org/assests/pdfs/reports/2010_Law Enforcement_Fatilities_Report.pdf.
Cipolla, Carlo M., Epilog from "Guns, Sails, and Empires: Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400-1700" Sunflower Univ. Press, 1996, pp. 132-148.
“The New York City Auxiliary Police Program is the largest in the country. Currently the program consists of over 4,500 dedicated men and women who perform volunteer services for their community. Auxiliaries represent a cross of section of the ethnic and racial composition of each of the City’s seventy-six Patrol Precincts, nine Housing Police Service Areas and twelve Transit Districts. Collectively, they contribute over one million hours of service each year. The duty they perform is voluntary; however, a minimum of 144 hours of duty per fiscal years is required.”(2) This system of surveillance main goal is to decrease the levels of crimes in all areas. In this unit, police, and the regular citizen work together.
American policing originated from early English law and is profoundly influenced by its history. Early law enforcement in England took on two forms of policing, one of which heavily influenced modern policing and it is known as the watch (Potter, 2013). The watch consisted, at first, of volunteers which had to patrol the streets for any kind of disorder including crime and fire. After men attempted to get out of volunteering by paying others, it became a paid professional position (Walker & Katz, 2012). The three eras of policing in America are shaped by these early ideas and practices of law enforcement. Throughout time, sufficient improvements and advancements have been made from the political era to the professional era and finally the community era which attempts to eliminate corruption, hire qualified officers and create an overall effective law enforcement system.
Culture can be described as a set of ideas along with a pattern of behaviors that are taught, learned and passed through generations of people. The culture of a society or group has its own non-genetic traits that govern how individuals interact with others and the environment. Just as genetic traits evolve so can a culture, a shift or change in the environment can prompt a transformation on many different levels (Park, p.33,406). For instance, when the Spanish introduced horses to Native Americans it set off a chain of cultural events that changed Native Americans culture drastically. Although Native American tribes language, customs, and traditions varied greatly they all shared very semitrailer hunting techniques, and the prized game during
Human culture and technology are continually co-evolving in a dynamic relationship. All technologies (See Note 1) develop in a particular cultural context as the result of changing needs or constraints. But once developed, a technology changes the culture that gave it birth. When a technology spreads to another culture, the cultural context affects the speed or way in which the technology is adopted and how it is used. The diffusion of technologies to other cultures changes those other cultures as well. The changes in culture that one technology creates may then influence the development of another or different technology.
Throughout all of history, humans have been evolving not only genetically, but also culturally. Of the two evolutionary processes, cultural evolution happens more quickly, and has had a more noticeable effect on the environment compared to genetic evolution. Early hunter/gatherer societies evolved to agrarian society, which then had technological changes that affected the culture of the society. Unfortunately, while humans have been culturally evolving towards what is perceived to be progress, the environment has been compromised, marginalized, and degraded as it is continually exploited for human benefit and consumption.
Culture and technology are in a constantly expanding positive feedback loop. The greatest changes in human culture are almost always the result of a technological innovation. However, a technology capable of a cultural shift can only have come from the culture itself. Without the culture's choice to refine the technology, the practical applications would have been left as only fleeting ideas; technology will only be developed if the culture has some immediate and apparent use for it. Although a culture will develop a technology based on its inherent valence towards a particular application, that culture cannot possibly fathom the ultimate repercussions of its collective decision. The inherent multiplier effect in the feedback loop along with unforeseen applications of the technology will guide the "trajectories of cultural evolution" (Ehrlich 255) in completely unexpected ways. Even though cultures can and do have an effect on their course through history, it is only slight when compared to the monstrous effect that their technologies have on them.
"The science of human sustenance is inherently a social science. Neither physics nor chemistry nor even biology is adequate to understand how it has been possible for one species to reshape both its own future and the destiny of an entire planet."(Overpopulation Is Not the Problem By Erle C. Ellis Sept. 13, 2013) Modern technology gives us the opportunity to start an Environmental Revolution. This revolution consists of innovative green technology. Humanity has already taken a step toward this change implementation of solar powered energy and smart cars are only a few examples. The goal that plans to be reached are more efficient advancements of technology, smarter planning both in urban and regional areas as well as policies that support industrial
If you decide to become a Police officer you must be available for shift work at any time of day and any day of the week, including holidays. Some Shifts can be longer than the standard eight-hour office day. The routine of the job can also be dangerous, as well as physically and e...
Police force has always been an indispensible appendage of the state organization in almost all the civil societies of the world. Of late the duties of
Modern humans owe the success and the continuous growth of their way of living, culture, technology, medicine, language and vast knowledge to their ancestors who had thrived hard to help themselves overcome the difficulty of life without having the advance technology that twenty-first century humans have. The accomplishments, wisdom and knowledge they have