Description
The ETS module has explored the sociotechnical perspective on innovation and society. This assignmentprovides an opportunity for students to apply knowledge learned from the module to an area of sociotechnical innovation of their choice.
Select a particular innovation of your choice. This can be an historical or current innovation or an emerging technology. As well as ‘physical technologies’, your choice could focus on a social innovation (e.g. car sharing, park run, alternative currency).
You can choose to consider it in relation to a particular country or context if you wish. You can also compare two technologies, or the same technology in two different contexts.
Write a 2500 (max, not including references) word essay about how this particular technology developed (or could develop).
The question to be addressed is therefore:
“What explains the development of [X] and what implications does it have for society?” or
“What is likely to influence the development of [X] and what are the likely implications for society?”
Please include the above as your title, replacing the X with your chosen innovation, whether that is a specific product or service, or a wider field of innovation, such as biotechnology in healthcare. The question is intentionally broad to provide you with an opportunity to focus on an innovation and issue that interests you. Consequently, you should use your introduction to explain how you move from the broad question in the title to your chosen focus, i.e. what aspect(s) of how the innovation has been developed will you explore (using which concepts from the sociotechnical perspective); what types of implications will you discuss.
The essay should mobilise and reflect upon appropriate theories and themes from the course (please take the recommended readings in the course outline as starting point). It is important that you cite and reference key articles relating to the approaches that you decide to use for your essay.
Keep in mind the definition of innovation as a sociotechnical system: that it is not just technological but also social and organisational. Pick a technology to enable you to explore these dimensions. Try to choose an interesting innovation to study, or if you pick something that has been written about a lot, please read relevant articles, cite them and try to develop an original argument.
Below is a suggestion about how to articulate the essay. When you introduce the case consider it in light of the sociotechnical perspective on innovation. You may want to discuss:
– the potential role of entrepreneurs, firms and networks in producing the innovation
– the wider set of actors involved in shaping the innovation
– the institutional environments that shaped the development of the innovation
– how the innovation diffused through a population and became absorbed in the everyday lives of users
– geographical features of the innovation (e.g.comparing countries or cities)
– what scale of innovation you are focusing on
– and, if you choose an emerging future innovation, what sort of expectations, visions and imaginaries are mobilised by which actors and for what purpose
You will NOT be able to explore all of these issues. This means you will need to decide on which theme(s) you want to focus on. Focus will lead to a stronger argument. Think carefully about the structure of your essay. Start with a clear introduction that explains the case that you will focus on and the issues that you will explore. Discuss your case clearly, drawing on (and clearly referencing) ideas from the ETS module. Close with a strong conclusion that summarises your analysis and makes clear your views about the case. You may choose to critique or advocate how the innovation was (or is being) developed. You can discuss recommendations for policy, management and action. Who should be doing what in relation to the innovation and why?
