chapter 1 Flashcards
to memorize a majority of this stuff (39 cards)
INFO AGE
what’s a catalyst?
Low-cost computers
High-speed communication networks
INFO AGE
what new technologies continued to emerge?
– Smartphones
– Video streaming services
– Voice-activated digital assistants
– Low-cost drones
– Self-driving cars
what is the information age?
Unprecedented access to information in modern era
Impact of Modern Computing and
Communications Systems
what was the world like in 1950?
– Only a handful of electronic digital computers
– Internet did not exist
Impact of Modern Computing and
Communications Systems
whats the contemporary world?
– Networked devices containing embedded
microprocessors surround us
– We engage with these devices for hours each day
Our Relationship with Technology
whats the Dynamic between people, technology
- People create, adopt technology
- Once adopted, technology changes society
Our Relationship with Technology
how can using technology change people?
– Experiences cause physical changes in brains (e.g.,
London taxi drivers)
– Getting information releases dopamine in brain,
producing a desire to seek out additional information
– Experiences with technology can have psychological
effects, too (e.g., dependency on cell phones)
what group selectively adopted new technologies?
Amish
Our Relationship with Technology
Technologies solve problems, but may create new problems what are those problems?
– Automobiles
▪ Greater mobility
▪ Traffic jams
– Web
▪ Supports valuable information retrieval tools
▪ Children may be exposed to inappropriate content
– Low-cost international communication
▪ Global access to news, entertainment
▪ Jobs outsourced to less expensive labor markets
what where the themes of social technological cycles?
- Social conditions can lead to creation and adoption of new
information technologies - Adopting new information technologies can change social
conditions
Aids to Manual Calculating
what type of tablets were used to record numbers?
– Clay, wax tablets (ancient times)
– Slates (late Middle Ages)
– Paper tablets (19th century to present)
Aids to Manual Calculating
how did the abacus preform arithmetic?
– Rods or wires in rectangular frame
– Lines drawn on a counting board
Aids to Manual Calculating
what type of mathematical tables came along?
– Tables of logarithms (17th century)
– Income tax tables (today)
Early Mechanical Calculators
what were the pros and cons of Calculators of Pascal and Leibniz (17th century)
– Worked with whole numbers
– Unreliable
Early Mechanical Calculators
what did Arithmometer of de Colmar (19th century) do?
– Took advantage of advances in machine tools
– Adopted by insurance companies
Early Mechanical Calculators
what did Printing calculator of Scheutzes (19th century) do?
– Used method of differences pioneered by Babbage
– Adopted by Dudley Observatory in New York
– Completed astronomical calculations
Social Change → Market for Calculators
what was the Gilded Age (late 19th century America)
– Rapid industrialization
– Economic expansion
– Concentration of corporate power
Social Change → Market for Calculators
what did new larger corporations do/need?
– Multiple layers of management
– Multiple locations
– Needed up-to-date, comprehensive, reliable, and
affordable information
Calculator Adoptions → Social Change
what did a Fierce market do?
– Continuous improvements in size, speed, ease of use
– Sales increased rapidly
Calculator Adoptions → Social Change
“Deskilling” and feminization of bookkeeping what does it mean?
– People of average ability quite productive
– Calculators 6 faster than adding by hand
– Wages dropped
– Women replaced men
Cash Register
what did smaller stores evolve into in the 1800’s
In late 1800s smaller stores evolved into “department
stores” with multiple departments
Cash Register
what did department store owners face that were challenging?
– Keeping accurate sales records
– Preventing embezzlement from clerks
Cash Register
Response to problems: cash register
how did cash registers help?
– Created printed, itemized receipts
– Maintained printed log of transactions
– Rang bell every time drawer was opened
Punched Card Tabulation
what were punch cards(late 19th century)?
– One record per card
– Cards could be sorted into groups, allowing
computation of subtotals by categories
