The topic is Self-Driving Cars

Analysis of Impact Draft
 

This week, you will submit your Analysis of Impact draft (roughly four pages, using APA format).

This portion of the Course Project provides an analysis of the chosen  technology’s influence on society considering all of the following  components: 

• Social
   
  • How has this technology been received, accepted, or rejected? Why?  Is it feared or favored? What is the attitude toward change? How are the  developers trying to sell the technology to the general public? Look at  attitudes, feelings (emotions), behaviors, personality, and the ways  humans change as a result of this technology. What is being thought, and  why? Is the human mind impacted? How? Are interactions between people  changing as a result? Who is included or excluded, and why? Use Maslow’s  hierarchy of needs, Piaget, or some other theorist. What psychological  needs are met by the technology (e.g., cell phones once granted status  and now promote a sense of belonging or connectedness) or created by the  technology? Consumerism?
  • Look at groups and organizations that have arisen and prospered  because of this technology. Are these groups supportive or antagonistic,  and why? (An example is genetically modified foods [GMOs] and the  backlash against the Monsanto corporation. Another is cochlear implants  that allow the deaf to hear yet reduce the deaf population that calls  itself a community.) How does the technology change society, or how does  society change in response to the technology? What factors in society  led to the development in the first place? What do class, gender roles,  race, norms, and the like mean in this context? Who will benefit from  the technology, and who might be harmed (this might also belong in the  ethics and morals section)? For example, prosthetics enable people to  participate more fully and actively in society (some people compete in  triathlons and marathons), and war has brought about the need for  advances in prosthetic technology as casualties with missing limbs  return home to the United States. Look at the workplace, new companies,  and/or jobs created, jobs lost (or save this for the economics section,  perhaps). Look at roles—subgroups, people’s interpersonal and  intrapersonal relationships. Consider crime, healthcare, and schools.  Surveillance cameras, for example, have recently been installed in New  York City, and the result has been a decrease in the amount of crime,  purse-snatching, pickpocketing, and so forth. Yet some fear the  big-brother effect of always being watched and tracked, as well as  concerns over “who will guard the guards.”
• Cultural
   
  • This is a really important section. Consider the elements that  comprise the culture and subcultures. Compare the United States’ use of  the technology with that of other nations around the world. What is it  about Americans that brings about innovation, or has America declined in  terms of technical innovation, scientific research, and development?  Look at advertising for the technology, the use of celebrities or stars  or heroes, the applications (e.g., sports and nanotechnology), and the  values represented by the culture. What has priority, and why? An  example: IBM was spelled out in xenon atoms. Why were these letters  chosen instead of something else? What new words have been added to our  vocabulary from this technology? Horseless carriage was used long before the term automobile. Wireless preceded Wi-Fi, and webcasting preceded podcasting. Broadcast was a term adapted from agriculture long before it was used for radio and television.
  • How do musicians and artists react to, use, or incorporate the  technology in their artistic productions? For example, fiber optic  lighting has been used on the stage and in parades (Disney) for  costuming. The drama term in the limelight, for example, was  derived from a lens and lighting system used in lighthouses. Look at  literature—perhaps science fiction or fantasy stories—that predate the  technology (Jules Verne, for example, wrote about submarines before they  were actually invented and used—though Leonardo da Vinci had sketched  the idea centuries before Verne). Are there any songs, short stories,  poems, plays, TV shows, or films that directly make reference to the  technology? Are there any related literary works that apply? Is the  artifact in a museum or will it be? Why? How does the technology relate  to concepts of beauty and novelty and human creativity? How can people  express their humanity through this technology? An example: Scientists  experimenting with nano made a nano guitar that actually played a tune,  though it was subthreshold to human hearing.
• Political
   
  • Look at government policy, government intervention, government  involvement (support or lack of support, funding), both nationally and  internationally. Consider Congress, the president, the Supreme Court  (decisions), the rate of change, liberalism, conservatism, legislation,  litigation, and so forth. What political factors are at work in the  progression or regression of the technology (e.g. lobbyists, special  interest groups, partisan views, vocal advocates, or spokespersons)? For  example: The Americans with Disabilities Act was designed to prevent  discrimination and encourage accessibility to public facilities; it  impacted architects, companies, organizations, and persons with  disabilities through the installation of ramps (wider doors, lower knobs  and handles, larger restroom stalls), the use of assistive devices in  schools and in the workplace, hiring practices, and lawsuits against  employers, among other things.
• Economic
   
  • Consider production, consumption, costs, variables of supply-demand,  corporations, private enterprise, and impact on the nation’s economy  (employment, displacement, outsourcing). Are certain industries impacted  more than others? Look up financial projections—expectations for  growth, startup companies, the stock exchange, and so forth—anything  related to business and the United States and global economy. Who are  the chief players in the business environment, and what is their role?  How much has been invested in research and development? How will the  price fluctuate? What economic trends are to be observed? Who will make  money from the technology? Who is funding the research and development?  Who controls the purse strings, and why? Look at foundations and  charitable organizations, the outcomes and the nature of consumers. Be  sure to use charts and tables and quantitative data in this section.  Tables, figures, and data and statistics must be current, valid, and  used appropriately.
• And the Environmental Impact  
  • Consider such things as dangers to humans, the depletion of  resources, air and water pollution, discovery before inventions, impact  on wildlife and humans (health and safety), long-term and short-term  effects, waste disposal, and aesthetic considerations (how the  technology changes the landscape). Look also at the positive effects  (savings of raw materials or fossil fuels, low environmental impact,  enhancement to the environment). For example, some thought the Alaskan  Pipeline would impact the caribou population and its ability to migrate;  the scientists discovered that the population actually increased and  was healthier because they had “shade” from the above-the-ground pipe,  fewer biting flies, and less physically stressed females.
    Other  negative examples: The spotted owl and deforestation in Washington  State; the snail darter and the dam, endangered species and loss of  habitats, extinction, over-mining, overproduction, pollution of ground  water, landfills, toxic wastes, stripping the soil of nutrients, over  fishing, over hunting, and over harvesting.

This section should include the following items.

• All of the required sections listed above
• At least two statistical graphs or visual aids that support different sections of the analysis
• In-text, APA-formatted citations with a reference page

The assessment should be well written and incorporate proper grammar  and no spelling errors. It should incorporate an introduction, body, and  a conclusion paragraph.