Download CHAPTER 3: RESOURCES OF TECHNOLOGY/PEOPLE

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CHAPTER 3: RESOURCES OF TECHNOLOGY/PEOPLE
Resources
pg. 43
--All the things needed to accomplish a goal or to get a job
done
--7 resources
1. people
3. tools and machines
5. money
7. time
2. information 4. materials
6. energy
--all are required to consume, create, and govern technology
--no one is more important than the other but the most critical
is people
People Are Consumers of Technology
--consume: to use up
--consumers: people use up goods and services of technology
--we create a market for these products but any product we don’t
like or doesn’t
meet our needs is left on the shelf
--competition is the foundation for our economy
--job market researchers determine what new products consumers
want and are
willing to purchase
--consumer demand keeps a constant flow of new technologies
coming out
--through purchasing, consumers contribute to the strength of
our nation’s economy
--consumers create demand for these items and companies increase
production an d
hire additional employees
--economist study the production of goods and services and use
this information to
determine the health of a nation’s economy
--Gross Domestic Product (GDP): measure of the value of all
goods and services
produced in the nation
--large GDP means consumers are buying more and using more;
leads to more
jobs and higher wages
--declining GDP means consumers are buying less and using
less; leads to layoffs,
factories closing, higher unemployment
--also negatively affected when Americans buy products made
in foreign countries
People Create Technology
pg. 45
--begins when a need or want is identified
--engineers, architects, scientists develop technical ideas and
create specific plans for
making them
--technicians and skilled workers work from the plans to produce
the product or provide
the service
--Entrepreneur: person who forms or starts his/her own business
--Innovation: modifications to products that already exist
--Ergonomics: type of designing in which the designer studies
how to match the
product to the human user
People Govern Technology
pg. 47
--people are responsible for governing and regulating changes
brought about through
technology within in the community and the workplace
--regulations are designed to protect workers, consumers, and
the environment from
the negative effects of technology
--Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): federal
office to protect the
health and welfare of workers
--employees wearing proper protective clothing
--machines are safe
--companies are following all regulations or employers can
be fined
--minimum wage laws and worker’s compensation if hurt on
the job
--product safety laws are designed to protect consumers from
products that might we
unsafe (recalls)
--Underwriters Laboratory: tests products to ensure that they
work properly (UL)
--local towns and cities use building codes to set standards for
construction, electrical,
and plumbing
--Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): office of the federal
government that
creates regulations to protect our air, land, and water
--also regulates dumping of industrial waste into our
waters and land
--many of the impacts of technology are unforeseen or not
realized when the technology
is first developed
--other federal agencies:
 Equal Employment Opportunity Agency: prevent
discrimination in workplace
 Federal Communication Commission: regulate radio, TV,
internet
 Federal Trade Commission: equality of commerce
 Food and Drug Administration: regulations of
medications, food, cosmetics