Module 3: Specific Issues in Science,
Technology and Society
Paulinian Essential Elements
Dedicated Transformative Supporters and Stewards of All Creation who
● promote and actively participate in initiatives that benefit and directly support the right of all
creatures to exist and flourish,
● devise and carry out program and strategies that drive society toward consciously preserving and
improving the viability of our planet’s eco- and social support systems,
● devote their time, talents, and resources to improving and maintaining the health and well-being of
peoples, the less privileged and underserved,
● mobilize others in advocating and implementing public policies and programs that foster peace,
justice, solidarity, and respect for life and cultures, and
● act decisively to inform and lead others to ways of tangibly reducing environmental problems and
improving the quality of life in their local and larger communities.
Paulinian Affirmation
“As a Christ-centered Paulinian, I am dedicated, transformative supporter, and steward of all creation,
impelled by compassion and charity for all.”
Topic 12: The Information Age
Learning Outcomes
During the learning engagement, you should be able to:
● understand the importance of technology,
● compare living with technology and living without technology, and
● link learned concepts to the development of the information age and its impact on society.
Module 3: Specific Issues in Science, Technology, and Society
Learning Activities
Processing and Formation
The Information Age
Highly modernized, automated, data-driven, and technologically advanced – these best describe our
society nowadays, as evidenced by how information could be transferred or shared quickly. The different
areas of society have been influenced tremendously such as communication, economics, industry, health,
and the environment. Despite our gains due to the growing development of information technology, the
rapid upgrade of information also has disadvantages.
Life is accompanied by endless transmission of information that takes place within and outside the human
body. According to Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary, information is “knowledge
communicated or obtained concerning a specific fact or circumstance.” Hence, information is a very
important tool for survival.
The information Age is defined as a “period starting in the last quarter of the 20 th century when
information became effortlessly accessible through publications and the management of information by
computers and computer networks. The means of conveying symbolic information among humans has
evolved with increasing speed. The Information Age is also called the Digital Age and the New Media Age
because it was associated with the development of computers.
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Module 3: Specific Issues in Science, Technology, and Society
Evolution of Man and Information
Figure _. Evolution of Man and Information
As man evolved, information and its dissemination has also evolved in many ways. Eventually, we no
longer kept them to ourselves; instead, we share them and manage them in different means. Information
got ahead of us. It started to grow at a rate we were unprepared to handle. Because of the abundance of
information, it was difficult to collect and manage them starting in the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s,
real angst set in. Richard Wurman called it “Information Anxiety”. In the 1990s, information became the
currency in the business world. Information was the preferred medium of exchange and the information
managers served as information officers. In the present generation, there is no doubt that information has
turned out to be a commodity, an overdeveloped product, mass-produced, and unspecialized. Soon, we
become overloaded with it.
Different authors have diverse, contrasting ideas on the evolution of the Information Age. In spite of this,
we can still say that information is a very important tool that helps improve our way of life. One thing is
for sure, the Information Age will continue to move forward and far greater than our minds could imagine.
Facts about Information Age
Information must compete. There is a need for information to stand out and be recognized in the
increasing clutter.
Newer is equated with truer. We forgot the truth that any fact or value can endure.
Selection is a viewpoint. Choose multiple sources for your information if you want to receive a
more balanced view of reality.
The media sells what the culture buys. In other words, information is driven by cultural priorities.
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Module 3: Specific Issues in Science, Technology, and Society
The early word gets the perm. The first media channel to expose an issue often defines the context,
terms, and attitudes surrounding it.
You are what you eat and so is your brain. Do not draw conclusions unless all ideas and
information are presented to you.
Anything in great demand will be counterfeited. The demand for incredible knowledge, scandals,
and secrets is ever-present; hence, many events are fabricated by tabloids, publicists, or other
agents of information fraud.
Ideas are seen as controversial. It is almost certainly impossible to make any assertion that will
not find some supporters and some detractors.
Undead information walks ever on. Rumors, lies, disinformation, and gossips never truly die
down. They persist and continue to circulate.
Media presence creates the story. People behave much differently from the way they would if
being filmed when the media are present, especially film news or television media.
The medium selects the message. Television is mainly pictorial, partially aural, and slightly
textual, so visual stories are emphasized: fires, chases, and disasters.
The whole truth is a pursuit. The information that reaches us is usually selected, verbally charged,
filtered, slanted, and sometimes, fabricated. What is neglected is often even more important than
what is included.
The World Wide Web (Internet)
Several historians trace the origin of the Internet to Claude E. Shannon, an American Mathematician who
was considered as the “Father of Information Theory”. He worked at Bell Laboratories and at age 32, he
published a paper proposing that information can be quantitatively encoded as a sequence of ones and
zeroes.
The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected networks that facilitate data transmission among
innumerable computers. It was developed during the 1970s by the Department of Defense. In case of an
attack, military advisers suggested the advantage of being able to operate on one computer from another
terminal. In the early days, the Internet was used mainly by scientists to communicate with other scientists.
The Internet remained under government control until 1984(Rouse, 2014).
One early problem faced by Internet users was speed. Phone lines could only transmit information at a
limited rate. The development of fiber-optic cables allowed for billions of bits of information to be
received every minute. Companies like Intel developed faster microprocessors so personal computers
could process the incoming signals at a more rapid rate.
Back then, new forms of communication were also introduced. Electronic mail or e-mail, was a suitable
way to send a message to fellow workers, business partners, or friends. Messages could be sent and
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Module 3: Specific Issues in Science, Technology, and Society
received at the convenience of the individual. A letter that took several days to arrive could be read in
minutes. Internet service providers like America Online and CompuServe set up electronic chat rooms.
These were open areas of cyberspace where interested parties could join in a conversation with perfect
strangers.
Consequently, companies whose businesses are built on digitized information have become valuable and
powerful in a relatively short period of time; the current Information Age has spawned its own breed of
wealthy influential brokers, from Microsoft’s Bill Gates to Apple’s Steve Jobs to Facebook’s Mark
Zuckerberg.
Critics charged that the Internet created a technological divide that increased the gap between the members
of the higher class and lower class of society. Those who could not afford a computer or a monthly access
fee were denied these possibilities. Many decried the impersonal nature of electronic communication
compared to a telephone call or a handwritten letter.
On one hand, the unregulated and loose nature of the Internet allowed pornography to be broadcast to
millions of homes. Protecting children from these influences or even from meeting violent predators would
prove to be difficult. Nowadays, crimes in various forms are rampant because of the use of social media.
Cyber bullying is an issue that poses alarm worldwide. Consequently, we need to be aware of the possible
harm and damage due to abuse of these advances in the Information Age.
Applications of Computers in Science and Research
One of the significant applications of computers for science and research is evident in the field of
bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is the application of information technology to store, organize, and analyze
vast amount of biological data which is available in the form of sequences and structures of proteins – the
building blocks of organisms and nucleic acids – the information carrier.
Early interest in bioinformatics was established because of a need to create databases of biological
sequences. The human brain cannot store all the genetic sequences of organisms and this huge amount of
data can only be stored, analyzed, and be used efficiently with the use of computers.
Computers and software tools are widely used for generating these databases and to identify the function
of proteins, model the structure of proteins, determine the coding regions of nucleic acid sequences. Find
suitable drug compounds from a large pool, and optimize the drug development process by predicting
possible targets.
Moreover, from the pharmaceutical industry’s point of view, bioinformatics is the key to rational drug
recovery. It reduces the number of trials in the screening of drug compounds and in identifying potential
drug targets for a particular disease using high-power computing workstations and software. The profound
application of bioinformatics in genome sequence has led to a new area of pharmacology. Molecular
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Module 3: Specific Issues in Science, Technology, and Society
modeling, which requires a lot of calculations, has become faster due to the advances in computer
processors and its architecture.
In plant biotechnology, bioinformatics is found to be useful in the areas of identifying diseases resistance
genes and designing plants with high nutrition value.
Activity 1: Interview Output Presentation 60 minutes
The class will be divided into 6 groups. Each member will share his/her output with the group.
Each group will write their consolidated outputs in a 1 whole cartolina or manila paper and a
representative will present their final output in 5-10 minutes.
Materials
● Manila paper or cartolina
● Pentel pen
Activity 2: Creative Work 60 minutes
Think of a device with special features that you can develop to help improve lives of people in
our society. It could be something that you can develop to help in communication, transportation,
health, and the like. Illustrate your device in a short bond paper. Show your output in class and explain.
Materials
● Bond paper (short)
● Art materials
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Module 3: Specific Issues in Science, Technology, and Society
Process Questions
1. Who are the contributors of the technological advances of the Information Age?
2. Aside from communication, what other aspect of society is/are being influenced in the Information
Age?
3. What other technological advancements can possibly be developed in the future?
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Module 3: Specific Issues in Science, Technology, and Society
Synthesis
Nowadays, information could be shared or transferred quickly. People are becoming more interested in
sharing information about them. Various aspects of our society are also being influenced by the
Information Age especially communication, economics, industry, health, and the environment. The rapid
upgrade of information poses both positive and negative impacts to our society. Therefore, we need to
carefully check our motives before disseminating information and we also need to verify information
before believing them and using and sharing them. We should share information that could help improve
our lives and others.
Assessments
Activity Report (Technology and Past) – Interview Output with Elders (Rubrics will be provided)
Creative Work (Individual Output) – Rubrics will be provided
Assignments
1. Prepare the logistics for the plenary session for the next meeting.
Reflection Guide
1. What have I LEARNED this day that has helped me do all aspects of this better?
2. What have I DONE this week that has made me better at doing all aspects of this?
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Module 3: Specific Issues in Science, Technology, and Society
3. How can I IMPROVE at doing all aspects of this is?
Expanded Opportunity
1. The teacher will provide video clip links discussing the information age.
2. The students will evaluate the pros and cons of the recent developments of information technology as
discussed in the video clips.
3. The students will make a list of their identified pros and cons.
4. The list will be uploaded in the digital classroom and a group discussion will follow.
References
Bautista, D.H., et. al.. Science, Technology and Society. Quezon City: MaxCor Publishing, 2018.
McNamara, D., Valverde, V.M., and Beleno, R. Science, Technology, and Society. Quezon City: C and
E Publishing. 2018.
Ramos, C.M.L. and Rojas, N.R.L. Stellar Origins, Human Ways: Readings in Science, Technology and
Society. Quezon City. Ateneo de Manila University Press. 2011
Rouse, M. Information Age. Accessed July 10, 2020.
[Link]
Serafica, J.P., et. al. Science, Technology, and Society. Manila: Rex Book Store. 2018
