Custom Essaythe impact of technology on and its relationship with society Custm Essay

The purpose of the essay is to critically examine (assess and evaluate the impact of the medium/technology on and its relationship with society) a medium or technology using themes and concepts from research.

Choose either a medium or technology (examples are listed below) and critically examine it using themes and concepts from research. The objective is to assess and evaluate the impact of the medium/technology on and its relationship with society.

Examples of medium or technology include:

– Media content: audio, audiovisual, visual, news, text, film;

– Online services: online news, eBooks, user-generated content sites such as YouTube, social networking sites, streaming sites of music (e.g Pandora) and audiovisual content (e.g. Hulu, NetFlix);

– Platforms/devices: smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, radio, TV, newspapers, books, cinema, cameras.

For example, you might choose to examine the introduction & use of smartphones. Or you could examine the move away from purchasing music on CDs to purchasing online. You could examine the introduction & development of gaming consoles and compare/contrast that with online gaming. You could examine the advent of eBooks and the impact on printed books. Or you could examine the production and distribution of online news and the relationships with printed and mobile news platforms. You could look at a social networking site and, depending on your focus, you could examine its actual use compared with its ‘ideal’ use &/or you could examine the economics of user-generated content and how this does/does not influence the ongoing development of the site.

For your chosen medium/technology, critically examine (assess and evaluate the impact of the medium/technology on and its relationship with society) it using themes and concepts from research.

The following questions* are provided as starting points for your analysis. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER ALL OF THEM. You should choose which are the most appropriate for your chosen medium/technology as well as developing your own in the context of themes and concepts from this course:

– Histories:
When and how did the medium/technology appear? Who and what was involved in its invention and development? What did people imagine would its main use and significance? How was it actually adopted, resisted or ignored? Was the medium/technology used differently by different groups or people or in different parts of the world? Who were the early/late adopters of the medium/technology and what impacts did this have?

– Discourses and ideologies:
What are the ideas or discourses associated with the medium/technology? What do people think they do with the medium/technology? What are the affects and emotions associated with the medium/technology? How is the medium/technology represented/portrayed and written and spoken about in the media? How are ideas about what media is and what it does changed by this medium/technology?

– Existing media:
How did/does the medium/technology fit into or disrupt existing media? Are there new companies and organisations responsible for delivering new kinds of media associated with the medium/technology? What are the features and characteristics of these new companies/organisations? What are the economics of production, distribution, exhibition, consumption and business models of these companies/organisations? Who are the audiences and publics that come into being or realign with the medium/technology?

– Cultural and social:
How do/did people use the medium/technology? What is their actual experience of it, independent of the marketing/promotion of the intended experience of the medium/technology? What do they do with it and with whom? What are the particular cultures associated with the medium/technology? How does the medium/technology affect the larger culture and society? How are relations among different groups of people, and groups of things, altered, or believed to be altered, through the introduction of the medium/technology? Have there been ‘moral panics’ associated with the medium/technology? What are the ethical issues/implications of the medium/technology?

2,000 word essay (+/- 10%), not including long quotes (>40 words in APA), list of References.

At least 10 academically credible sources cited.

Essays will be marked on the following criteria which are weighted equally:

1. Analysis of medium/technology using key ideas/concepts from the course.
2. Research on medium/technology and presentation of appropriate academically credible evidence.
3. Analysis of the academically credible evidence and the wider implications of it for the medium/technology and the wider society.
4. Clear, concise and comprehensible written expression appropriate for university level and an academic audience.
5. Adherence to APA referencing, number and strength of References and word count met.