New Technologies and Society: An Overview

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New Technologies and SocietyAn Overview

• Bcst 470

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Why New Tech? The Practical Side

• Competition-
• New technologies are creating competition for
  existing media
• Need to know how competition will impact both
  existing and developing media
• Convergence-
• New techs affect how content is delivered
• Electronic delivery systems converging
• Role of multipurposing content, media

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Why does technology matter?

• Increasingly rapid changes in technology
• Technology drives convergence
• Convergence drives competition
• Competition drives media behavior
• Technology also directly changing media
  operations, by impacting costs
• The media business is being transformedand media
  impacts on society
• The Vision Thing- Information Society

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Information Society?

• Thereve been numerous visions of a future,
  shaped by the development of a world-wide
  information/computer/telecommunications network,
  and an increased emphasis on the role and value
  of information and communication
• Some are utopian - an Information Society of
  freedom and prosperity
• Some are dystopian - a dismal world of
  authoritarian control and repression

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The Net and Visions of the Future

• Most visions share the idea of a global
  computer/telecommunications network, even concur
  on its basic structure
• Visions differ in impact of that net, in how they
  see the Net being used
• The emerging Net is potential, shaped by
  technological, economic, political forces

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Why does Comm matter?Theoretical Perspectives

• Social sciences say that communication is what
  makes us human, what makes society possible.
• Structural functionalism suggests that the form
  and structure of communication media shape use,
  impact of media (socialization)
• Marxist/criticalists argue media central to
  maintaining power/control in society
• Social psychologists argue behavior based on
  messages received, (directly and through media)

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From Socio-Cultural Theories

• The social impact of communication
  communication (information) systems shaped by
• Technology/ Physical Infrastructure
• Organizational / Social Structure
• How it is used

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The medium is the message. -Marshall McLuhan
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Theoretical Perspectives

• Several approaches to how to look at media and
  society, or technology and society

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Conceptual Road Map for Technology Impact
(Pavlik)

• Map by primary technical function
• production
• distribution
• display
• storage

• Map by consequences of technologies
• on how professionals work
• on nature of content
• on structure of industries
• on nature of audiences and impact on society

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Theoretical Perspectives-Innis

• The technology of medium have biases, which
  influence how it is used for comm.
• Each society evolves a central comm.
  system/media, and patterns of use
• Patterns of use impact on type of society
• New technologies, with new biases, lead to new
  media, and with adoption/use, new types of
  society

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Theoretical Perspectives-Bates

• Media and societies integrally linked, influence
  each other
• Media impact through how they are used, use
  shaped by technology and society
• Framework for looking at influence-
• Access
• Bias
• Control

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Theoretical Perspectives-Grant

• Factors
• Social System
• Organizational Infrastructure
• Hardware/Software
• Individual User
• Each of which may be enabling, limiting,
  motivating, and/or inhibiting

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Theoretical Perspectives-Dependency Theory
(Ball-Rokeach DeFleur)
Media system(number and centrality
ofinformation functions varies)
Social System(degree of stability varies)
Audiences(degree of dependency onmedia
information varies)
Effects- Cognitive, Affective, Behavioral
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Theoretical Perspectives -Other views

• Structural Functionalism
• Technological Determinism
• Cultural / Technological Imperialism
• Technology shaped by culture
• Marxist/criticalist - mechanisms for control

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In conclusion . . .

• There is a complex, dynamic interrelationship
  between society, media, and audiences.
• While technology may bias, impacts governed more
  by the actual patterns of use that evolve
• Policy can shape that evolution

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Communication ModelsInformation Theory (Shannon)
ReceiverMessage
Sender Message
Decoder
Encoder
Channel
Noise
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Communication ModelsDiffusion Theory (Rogers)
Individual Characteristics
Knowledge
Social Characteristics
Persuasion
Comm/Media
Perceived Characteristics
Decision
Adoption/Rejection
Confirmation
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Communication ModelsDiffusion of Innovations