May 10, 2022

You will complete a?1000-1250 word?to compare your autobiographical story of technology to the biographical information about technology you lear

You will complete a 1000-1250 word to compare your autobiographical story of technology to the biographical information about technology you learned from the person you interviewed, which you will stage 1 and stage 2 attached to help complete this assignment.

The The Inner Life of Devices article is attached to use for question #2.

This is due tomorrow by 7pm EST. Please follow the instructions step by step and remember you use what was given to help.

Stage 3 – Comparison Paper

In stage 3, you will write a 1000-1250 word reflective paper to compare your autobiographical story of technology to the biographical information about technology you learned from the person you interviewed.

Be sure to include the following in your paper:

1. An introduction the describes the generational and demographical differences between you and the person you interviewed.

2. Select one of your experiences with technology and one of your interviewees experiences that resemble the experiences in the assigned chapters from The Inner Life of Devices for week 8, or any of the other chapters in that book. Identify which chapter from the book you are using and describe similarities and differences between your experience and your interviewee’s.

3. Select one of your experiences with technology and one of your interviewees experiences that resemble the experiences in the assigned chapters from From Curlers to Chainsaws for week 8, or any chapters from that book. Identify which chapter from the book you are using and compare how technology informed your and your interviewee’s generational (Gen X, Gen Z, Boomer etc.), regional, gender, racial, religious, ethnic, familial, class or cultural identity.

4. In your comparisons for #1 and #2, be sure to identify a specific technology and cover any positive or negative impacts of the technology.

5. Note: The experiences you choose for this paper do not necessarily have to appear in your work from stage 1 and stage 2.

6. Conclude your paper with a paragraph about about 5-7 sentences that conveying your general thoughts about how technology and human experiences can shape each other.

7. Make sure to cite your interview and any other resources you have used, including course learning materials, in MLA format at the end of your paper.

(sample interview citation)

McCarthy, Robert. Interview. Conducted by Iashira Cortez, 20 July 2019.

Format

Submit this as a Word document. Your completed paper should be 4-5 pages (1000-1250 words) in length and be based on the work you did for stages 1-2. The text of the essay should be typed, double-spaced, and use a common 12 pt. font like Times New Roman or Calibri.

TIMELINE

Technology Timelines

Screenless Hammer Mill – 1995, 15 Years Old

This machine is like a hammer mill and it is used to pound grain. It uses the airflow to separate the minute particles from larger particles (Schoenmakers and Geert 1052). It was invented by MIT professor and engineer Amy B. Smith in 1995. I used the machine to pound maize and get floor for the family.

Bait car – 1996, 16 Years Old

It is a vehicle by law enforcers to catch car thieves or people who steal cars that was invented by Jason Cecchettini (Arts and Reinhild 54). The invention helped the police track and recover my father’s lost car. The device used GPS tracking abilities to achieve its goals.

iBOT, 1999 – 19 Years Old

iBOT is a powered wheelchair that balances six wheels. It can climb the stairs and help the user see individual close to them (Schoenmakers and Geert 1052). It was invented by Dean Kamen in 1999. Used the iBOT in 2003 when I was injured in a car accident.

iPod – 2001, 21 Years Old

It is a portable media player which also act as a multi-purpose computer. It was designed and released by Apple Inc. in 2001(Schoenmakers and Geert 1052). I used iPod in college to play music during my free times.

iPhone – 2007, 26 Years Old

It is a smartphone that was developed by Apple Inc. and released in 2007. It uses iOS operating system software (Arts and Reinhild 54). I am currently using iPhone for all my communication needs.

Indeed, inventions in technology and other field that influenced life have been imperative to human life since prehistorical time. Many will think that technological inventions began recently but this is not true because even a hoe is a technological tool. The above identified tools have influenced my life positively (Schoenmakers and Geert 1052). For instance, the iPhone has made communication very easy, the iBOT has enabled injured and disable people move freely without help, and Bait car has enhanced law enforcement effectiveness.

References

Arts, Sam, and Reinhilde Veugelers. "The technological origins and novelty of breakthrough inventions." FEB Research Report-MSI_1302 (2013).

Schoenmakers, Wilfred, and Geert Duysters. "The technological origins of radical inventions." Research Policy 39.8 (2010): 1051-1059.

Interview and Field Report

Technology Interview

Introduction

I interviewed my aunt’s 40-year-old best friend who is a migrant from Africa. She was born in 1981 and lived on a farm where her father owned 5 hectares of land. In her own words, “people in the area were neither poor nor rich. They owned land, fed, and educated their children, and lived normal lives, no big economic things.” She is a diploma holder from one of the best colleges in her country. She is saddened that though she was a bright student, she lacked the meaning to pursing education the day her father died. Her mother still educated them. She worked for fifteen years before marrying her husband who is an American national and is currently advancing her career in the hope of getting better employment opportunities. Maxine Russell invited me to her home in Maryland where we held the interview on Monday 5th, 2022, which commenced at 11.00 am.

About the Interview

Growing up, Maxine’s society did not have digital technology until much later when she was in high school. She first saw a computer when she was 13 years old but interacted with one at 15 years. This was her first year in high school when the institution introduced computer lessons as a compulsory subject. The process was not as enjoyable as teaching began with understanding computer software and hardware, which did not impress many. Thus, the subject was mas made optional and she dropped it. However, she enjoyed using the internet to play games during her breaks. However, after finishing high school, she had to study computer packages before joining college. This was better because it did not involve much about the parts of the gadget.

A significant time when Maxine appreciates technology was in the same year when her father fell ill and was hospitalized in a private hospital in the capital city, which was a six-hour drive from her home. Her elder sister who was living and working in the capital was the only source of connection to her father at the time. She and her two younger siblings refused to return to school until their father returned home because they would not have a means of communicating with him as school boarders. Their mother complied. The challenge, however, was that they did not own a telephone. A close family friend who lived on a farm about 20 minutes away told them they could use hers. Therefore, her mother and elder sister agreed they would communicate every evening from 5:00 pm, which was the only convenient plan.

Whenever there was an urgent message, their sister who used a telephone booth would call the lady’s house and leave a message detailing what time she would be at the booth to receive or make the call. The lady would then send her son to deliver to Maxine’s mother. In both cases, their mother would take them in turns for each to have the opportunity to talk with their father. This went on until he passed on. In the two months he had been hospitalized, they had visited him thrice but talked many times. She appreciates how the technology kept them connected.

Before moving to the U.S., Maxine still used her non-digital television, though she used a digital box to view channels. She had a personal connection to it because it was the first house gift among others her mother gave her the day, she got her first job. That does not mean she does not appreciate technology. She had bought several gadgets, which she says made life easier. She appreciated (still does) the power of the internet and cannot live without Wi-Fi. She thinks the internet has helped transform how she sees the world. At the touch of a button, she can view almost anything from news to locations, to connecting with her distant family, to e-learning, and much more. She does not need to wait for the news as she can follow it at her leisure. The best part is being able to access study materials over the net.

Maxine observes how the U.S. is fast-paced and reliant on digital technology. She has digital gadgets in almost every part of her house. From cooking to lighting to cleaning to beds and couches to home security and tracking her kids, among others, she notes how she relies on it. Maxine is studying game design and development and has been testing her limited skills to push herself by learning and creating games through YouTube. All the same, she is committed to following her curriculum. This has been her dream career and she is thankful that technology will change her life.

Though Maxine loves the changes technology has brought, she is wary of the cyber insecurity it has dragged along with it. For example, she cites how easy it is for hackers to infiltrate a gadget and control it. This makes her fear for her privacy and wonders if she needs some of these gadgets. She loves the invention the Internet Of Things (IoT) brings, but is concerned about people’s safety and security. Even so, she knows that there is no turning back, but believes the field will attract more minds that would love to counter cyber insecurity by inventing dependable security software. Maxine believes in the future; digital technology will be safe and reliable.

Regardless of her fears, Maxine agrees that technology will not only improve people’s lives but will also create more jobs. In the beginning, she feared that robotics and AI would render people jobless. However, she argues that these will only create more opportunities for people who will choose to venture into the field. She says that there will be so many good-paying jobs that will be born from it. When my interview with Maxine ended, I felt encouraged to learn that there is hope for employment for the younger generations. I also learned that cyber security is a very important part of technology, and there is a need for one to stay updated on the topic. In addition, I learned that the future is going to be a digitalized space that might require little physical movement and more intellectual labor.

Conclusion

Maxine has an active relationship with technology. She helped me see how it has changed from non-digital to a digital one, and how this has improved her life. Once she completes her degree in video design and development, she will be able to live her career dream. She is also knowledgeable about digital technology, which she updates herself by learning through the internet. Technology is indeed, a part of who she is.