1. TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
CODE: BPT 3613
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
Ahmad bin Othman, PhD
BPT3613
5 December 2018

2. TOPICS TO BE COVERED TODAY (17/1/11) Scope of technology
Issues in using Technology
Issues in technology assessment
Discussions
BPT3613
5 December 2018

3. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Identify the scope of technology, as you see it.
Identify and discuss issues concerning the use of technology and technology assessment.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

4. The Scope of Technology
It seems that more and more, the term "technology" is used to refer only to computer technology. For our class, examples of computer technology are very appropriate, but please feel free to expand that notion of technology to include a wider variety, such as: medical technologies; military technologies; agricultural technologies; historical and futuristic (even science-fiction) technologies; material processing technologies; and household technologies (just to name a few.)
BPT3613
5 December 2018

5. Levels of Technology
There is a personal level, which is distinct from, say, a corporate level, a national level, or a global level. But they are related; how a nation uses petroleum is clearly related to how an individual uses petroleum, but different strategies are often required to both study and effect changes at these levels.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

6. MODELING TECHNOLOGY
There are many other ways to divide up technological actions. For twenty years the International Technology Education Association promoted dividing it into Manufacturing, Construction, Communication, and Transportation. Or we could look at technology as a type of processing, dividing into Information Processing, Energy Processing, and Material Processing.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

7. But one problem common to traditional views of technology is a lack of attention to the interconnectedness within and extending outside of a system. For example, one typical model that is used to represent any dynamic system has sometimes been called the Universal Systems Model. It involves Input, Process, and Output (IPO), with feedback that flows in the opposite direction. But there is no connection to other systems, and the IPO model is linear, with starting and ending points. That just doesn't seem realistic.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

8. For example, to build a guitar, we need 3 board feet of Brazilian Rosewood, among other things. Typical processes are sawing, gluing, and finishing. The outputs include the guitar and wood chips. But this model has no way to look at where the rosewood came from, or if it should have been harvested in the first place. It doesn't look at the history the precedes inputs, nor the consequences that may be distant.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

9. But typically, we are more concerned with process than with implications or impacts.  Learning a process might be a short-term need, and we may not have the guts to take a broader view.
Stephen Petrina, at the University of British Columbia, adapted a catch phrase on his web site related to technology: "Think globally, act locally" was the phrase, adapted to "Think globally, act globally, think locally, act locally."
BPT3613
5 December 2018

10. Issues Concerning the Use of Technology
The content of our class is divided into the study of technological use and the study of technology assessment. The two are closely related
BPT3613
5 December 2018

11. The study of "using technology" includes historical methods, clinical experiments, surveys of users or potential users, the usability testing of products, the design of environments and devices to promote "user-friendliness," and a host of other areas.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

12. Typical questions one might raise concerning use are:
Is this the best product for the task?
How do we help people learn how to use this technology?
Does it fit the human body?
Should we use this technology?
What technologies can be used to meet special needs?
How durable is the technology?
How can this item be redesigned to improve usability?
Is the technology supported sufficiently (by technical backing, not by cast iron legs)?
Is the technology cost effective?
What is the break even period for this technological adoption?
What are user's beliefs about this technology?
What are the psychological factors involved in the human interface?
What are the assumptions and implications of this technological adoption?
BPT3613
5 December 2018

13. Our look at "Using Technology"
Our class will involve looking at many aspects of "using technology." (Individual Assignment)
However, your first major assignment, which will be presented at a later time, will involve your own usability research.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

14. Issues related to Technology Assessment
Whenever anyone makes a judgment about a technology, that may be called a technology assessment. In the literature, especially that generated by the US Office of Technology Assessment, the term relates to a group of types of studies that look at technological options and policy issues.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

15. Typically, a formal technology assessment is commissioned prior to a government's or corporation's decision to choose one technological path over another. Thus, it is the aim of the team of specialists preparing the technology assessment to objectively present a short list of realistic options or alternate decisions, and to spell out their best predictions about the consequences of each option.
An environmental impact statement may be a type of technology assessment, but there are many other types as well. Technology assessments can use a variety of tools, including benefit/cost analysis, trend extrapolation, opinion measurement, simulation models, and many others.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

16. But even the most informal technology assessment may well be concerned with collecting information, analyzing the information, developing a list of possible scenarios, forecasting, and weighing technological tradeoffs.
A company that uses pneumatic and hydraulic robot may wish to commission a technology assessment or feasibility study on the upgrade to servo robots. Before lawmakers enact legislation, they often use the report of a technology assessment. On the personal level, a car buyer carefully scrutinizes a variety of choices, and often uses the same decision-making as in formal technology assessments.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

17. So.. To summarise
The purpose of technology assessment is to objectively inform a technological decision so as to minimize unwanted outcomes and maximize desired outcomes.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

18. A Brief History of Technology Assessment (TA)
Began to develop in 2nd half of 20th century.
Born as cultural criticism and early warning system
To signal unintended and negative side effects of using
technology
Mankind faced problems on environmental issues,
medicine, and military
BPT3613
5 December 2018

19. Understanding of Technology Assessment (TA)
What is Technology Assessment?
“A systematic attempt to foresee the consequences of introducing a particular technology in all spheres it is likely to interact with.” (Braun, 1998)
BPT3613
5 December 2018

20. Understanding of Technology Assessment (TA)
What is Technology Assessment?
“Technology assessment is the process of making a purposeful look at the consequences of technological change. It includes the primary cost benefit of short term localised market economies, but particularly goes beyond these to identify affected parties and unanticipated impacts in as broad and long range fashion as possible. It is neutral and objective, seeking to enrich the information for management decisions. Both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ side effects are investigated.” (Hetman, 1973)
BPT3613
5 December 2018

21. Understanding of Technology Assessment (TA) What is Technology Audit?
“Technology audit is an analysis performed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the technological assets on an organisation. It aims to assess the firm’s position in technology in relation to its competitors and the state of the art.” (Tarek Khalil, 2000)
BPT3613
5 December 2018

22. Understanding of Technology Assessment (TA)
The essential meaning of TA is that making technological choices should be preceded by a thorough analysis of all the consequences the choice might have.
BPT3613
5 December 2018

23. Understanding of Technology Assessment (TA)
Purpose of TA
Public domain – as a source of information or input for policy making process, technology policy – support for technology and control of technology
Private domain – as a source of information or input for obtaining the right technology
BPT3613
5 December 2018

24. Humans and Technology
We will look at the relationship between humans and technology - what it is and what it should be.  (Additional)
BPT3613
5 December 2018

25. THANK YOU
BPT3613
5 December 2018