SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND

ITS SIGNIFICANCE TO SOCIETY

IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD
PREPARED BY:
RHONA R.SAMSON,RN,LPT
A. Science, technology and society (STS)
Referred as the science and technology studies, is the study of how social, political, and
cultural values affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn
affect society.

The field of STS is related to history and philosophy of science although with a much broader
emphasis on social aspects of science and technology.

Refers to the interaction between science and technology and social cultural, political and
economic contexts which shape and are shaped by them.; specific examples throughout
human history of scientific and technological developments.
B. Science
Is a systematized body of knowledge

Is an organized and dynamic inquiry (following scientific method)

Is knowledge gained through observation and experimentation

Is a human activity; scientist

Is a social enterprise: people,knowledge,skills,facilities,apparatuses and technologies

Leads formation of concepts, methods, principle, theories, law and procedures which seek to describe and
explain nature and phenomena
Technology
As a material products; results
of scientific inquiry; hardware
produce by scientist
As human cultural activities
and endeavors
As the application of
knowledge in solving scientific
and practical problems that
will help humans to survive
and improve his life.
As a social enterprise –
Technology is a complex
system of knowledge, skills,
people, methods, tools,
materials and resources
applied and allocated to the
development ,operation and
production of a new or
improved product, process or
services. ,
Some of notable success in
the field of science and
technology

 THE WHEEL
 the concept of inventing the wheel came during
3500BC.Humans were severely limited in how much stuff they
could transport overland, and how far.
 The idea came to connect a non-moving platform to a rolling
cylinder. People then invented the wheel and axle which is the
concept of making wheels.
 The holes at the center of the wheels and at the end of a fixed
axles had to be nearly perfectly round and smooth for the
wheels to work.
 Wheeled carts facilitated agriculture and commerce by
enabling the transportation of gods to and from markets, as
well as easing the burden of people travelling great distances.
 THE COMPASS
 Before, mariners navigate with the star,
but that method didn’t work during the
day or on cloudy nights.
 The Chinese invented the first compass
sometime between the 9th and 11th
century;it was made of lodestone , a
naturally-magnetized iron core, the
attractive properties of which they had
been studying for centuries.
 Soon after, the technology passed on to
Europeans and Arabs through nautical
contact. The contact enabled the
mariners to navigate safely far from
land, increasing the sea trade and
contributing to the Age of Discovery
The Printing Press
• Johannes Gutenberg, a German who
invented the printing press around
1440. The first to have created a
mechanized process that transferred
the ink (which he made from linseed oil
and soot) from the movable type of
paper.

• Printing press exponentially increased

the speed with which book copies could
be made, and thus led to the rapid and
widespread dissemination of
knowledge for the first time in history.
THE INTERNAL
COMBUSTION ENGINE

• In these engines, the combustion of fuel releases a

high temperature gas, which, as it expands, applies
force to a piston, moving it.
• The combustion engines convert chemical energy
into mechanical work.
• The engine steered in theIndustrial Age which
enabled the invention of a huge variety of
machines, including cars and aircraft.
THE TELEPHONE

• ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL –

• He was the first to be
• awarded a patent for the electric
in 1876
• The invention quickly took off
and revolutionized global
business and communication.
PENICILLIN
• - ALEXANDER FLEMING - 1928, Scottish scientist
noticed a bacteria-filled Petri dish in his
laboratory, sample had been contaminated by a
mold, and everywhere the mold was, the
bacteria was dead.
• The antibiotic mold turned out to be the Fungus
Penicillium, and over the next two decades,
chemist purified it and developed the drug
Penicillin, which fights a huge number of
bacterial infections in human without harming
the humans themselves. It was being mass
produced and advertised by 1944.
THE INTERNET
• The global system of interconnected
computer networks used by the
billions of people worldwide.
• In 1960s the team of computer
scientist working for U.S. Defense
Departments ARPA( Advanced
Research Projects Agency)
• Built a communications network to
connect the computers in the agency,
called ARPANET – the method of data
transmission called ‘packet switching’.
It is the predecessor of the Internet
that eventually emerged to become
the “Information superhighway”
ECO- FRIENDLY
TECHNOLOGIE
S/ ADVANTAGES

• SOLAR ENERGY –
use of solar panel
to provide
electricity
• GEOTHERMAL
ENERGY
• WIND POWER –
wind mills as a
source of energy.
Disadvantages and
Ethical dilemmas of
Science and
Technology

• 1. Threats to human survival.

Ex. Nuclear Bomb
 • Exploitation of advanced scientific
knowledge and technological devices
2. Ethical and systems gave rise to situation in
delimmas which advances seem to have turned
against their beneficiaries, creating
ethical dilemma.
DISPARITIES IN HUMAN WELL BEING

• there are advanced countries enjoying science and

technology based successes and hold high steem in
contemporary society (Economic strength) versus
millions of people in less developed countries who
have not partaken in these benefits.
 • Military power is vital for
SOCIAL AND national security of many
governments; Superior and
CULTURAL highly technical weapons
CONFLICTS dictated the outcomes of some
recent wars.
INNOVATING TECHNOLOGIES CAN
HAVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
FOR CERTAIN SECTORS OR
CONTITUENCIES
Include pollution associated
with production processes
 Increased unemployment from labor
saving new technologies
Conversion of
agricultural land
into urban areas.
 Effects on human
psychologically and
emotionally- the usage and
addiction of new gadgets.
Effects of overused technologies in medical industry that can cause
fatal births and diseases.
• Global warming
•Thank You!!
Activity 1
1. Choose 1 topic below
2. Answer with back up theories and concepts of science and technology.
3. Give possible suggestions on how to deal or treat the given situations.

TOPICS:
a. Use of social media
b. Conversion of agricultural land to industrial land
c. Use of robots/machines in industrial facilities
d. Emergence of the different brands and models of cars.
e. Deadline of submission: sept 9, 2022