Science,

Technology
and
Society
Renzo D. Romero
Department of Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
Our Lady of Fatima University
Course Description
COLLEGE ARTS AND SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT BIOLOGY

COURSE CODE STAS111

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
SOCIETY

PREREQUISITE/S NONE

CREDIT UNIT/S 3 UNITS

CONTACT HOURS PER SESSION LECTURE: 3 HOURS

AVERAGE FINAL GRADE
Grading System
100-98 1.00

97-95 1.25 GRADE PERCENTAGE

94-92 1.50 PRELIM 20%

MIDTERM 20%
91-89 1.75

88-86 2.00 FINALS 20%

85-83 2.25 PERFORMANCE TASK 40%

82-80 2.50 TOTAL 100%

79-76 2.75

75 3.00

74-BELOW 5.00
Technology and Science

Science and technology have had both a positive and negative

impact on society, especially in the following areas:

Community
Life Communication

Work

Health
Community Life

The nineteenth century witnessed the Industrial Revolution.

• Invention of textile
manufacturing machines
• Division of labor
• Increase in production
• Crowded cities
• Unsafe and unhealthy
Some of the negative aspects working conditions
of the Industrial Revolution
included poor working
conditions and long hours.
Community Life

The twentieth century saw the birth of suburbs.

• Invention of the trolley

car and automobile
• Status symbol
• Alternative to harsh,
crowded city conditions Many planned communities,
sprang up around cities during the
first half of the twentieth century.
Work

Technical innovations saved physical energy and lessened people’s

workload.

Vacuum cleaner

Tractor
Refrigerator
Washing machine
Work

The concept of leisure developed from labor-saving technology.

People use the money they earn to take advantage of leisure time.

Sporting
Television Events

Movies
Social Activities
Health

The greatest innovation of technology was longevity.

Estimated Life Expectancy of People in
the United States, 1900 - 2000

Life Expectancy (in years) 90

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

900 920 940 960 980 000

1 1 1 1 1 2
Year
Health

A large part of technology has been dedicated to the advancement

of medical science.

Sir Alexander Fleming

discovered penicillin, the
first antibiotic, in 1928.
Dr. William Thomas Green
In 1796, Edward Jenner Morton (c. 1846) was one of the
paved the way for modern first medical practitioners to use
immunology by discovering a anesthesia on a patient before
vaccine for smallpox. performing surgery.
Health

Some current innovations could have a drastic impact on society.

In 1997, scientists at the Roslin Institute Embryonic stem cell research is

in Edinburgh, Scotland, introduced Dolly
the sheep, the first mammal ever to have
been cloned. Dolly quickly became the
symbol of the controversy over the ethics
of cloning.
another area that is at the center of
controversy. While stem cells might be
able to be used to generate new organs
for transplant, the use of them has many
ethical considerations.
Communication

Inventions and innovations in communication have had a major

influence on society.
• Egypt: papyrus and hieroglyphics
• Ancient Babylonia: cuneiform
• Ancient Greece: public speaking, persuasive
rhetoric, drama, and philosophy
• Ancient Rome: Roman alphabet
• Modern Europe: printing press
• World today: World Wide Web
Progress

Series of improvements in human life marked

by inventions and discoveries.

• Positive attributes of
technology must be
greater than negative
attributes
• Negative consequences:
destruction of The Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of
Alaska in 1989 impacted 1,300 miles of
environment and loss of shoreline and killed an enormous amount
what it means to be of wildlife.

human