Understanding The Difference Between Technological Unemployment And Applied Science
Technology is the collective term for a number of human activities and accomplishments, including scientific discovery, technological innovations, and the application of scientific principles in business or in other contexts. Technologists can be found in all areas of human activity – from manufacturing science to engineering science, from computer science to medicine. Technologists are involved in a wide range of tasks, from determining how computers or other systems work to designing new systems. The emerging field of technology studies seeks to define, describe, and explain the impact of technology on society, economy, culture, and government.
The term technology has various meanings, most of which are cultural, political, and technological. Cultural meaning is determined by the dominant culture in a society, and technology is often considered a part of that culture. Political meaning is determined by power structures in a country or state, for example, and technological change is sometimes associated with social change. Technological change can also refer to the development of a particular body of knowledge, like the field of applied science or the discipline of computer science. Applied science and computer science, in particular, are defined by the use of technological means to achieve a specific end, while computer science is usually a descriptive term that refers to the field of computer technology.
Technological change is an increasing concern for those who are engaged in applied science and other forms of scientific research. In applied sciences, technological innovations are used to achieve a certain end, such as in biology or chemistry; in other disciplines, technological innovations are used to achieve a different end, for instance, in art, engineering, or the visual arts. These technological innovations can be described in economic terms as capital, knowledge, labor or materials. Technological innovations can create value chains, increase productivity, provide increased access to resources, reduce costs, or increase market competition. Applied scientists frequently use the term technology in their research to describe the process by which technological innovations create and improve systems that serve economic, social, and political needs. For instance, changes in transportation systems have led to improvements in health and safety, accessibility to higher-quality education, and changes in the distribution of wealth.
In German, a similar term, schatzmittl, has been used to describe the same phenomena, although the two phrases do not mean the same thing. Schatzmittl refers to twentieth century industrial arts. This term was first used by Arnold Schatzberg to describe art produced between the years 1890 and 1950. The focus of the term is on the industrialized form of art, which tended toward commercialism, mass production, and rationalist, aesthetic theories. It differs from the term technology in that it emphasizes the role of human creativity in generating technological forms and ideas.
In his book, Manufacturing Society, Industrial Revolution, and the Social Order, Arnold Schatzberg distinguished between two forms of technological change, based on the material means available to producers. The first was “technological unemployment,” based on the fact that technological innovations created new markets for workers and enabled them to receive a share of the profits created by new technology. The second was “technological ascendancy” that occurred when new technologies allowed individuals to climb the organizational rung of the corporate ladder. Both terms are used to refer to the increasing control possessed by managers over their work environments.
Applied science and applied economics distinguish between the knowledge generated by humans as such and the knowledge necessary to help produce practical effect. According to Aristotle, the concepts of theoretical knowledge and practical intelligence were independent of human existence. Thus, classical economists held that practical intelligence and knowledge of the practical world were independent of socio-economic class and gender, while conceptual understanding was independent of personal existence. The modern scientific revolution removed the belief that practical reasoning was independent of individual existence, replacing it with the assumption that knowledge was a social construction from which experience was a product. Accordingly, according to Thomas Nagy, the concepts of technical and social sciences are not to be regarded as merely distinguished categories, but as intimately connected concepts.