Generations
- Generation X – born between 1960s and 1982 – again, dates vary
- Generation Y – born between 1982 and 1994 (according to BL & JISC 2010) – dates vary from context to context.
- Generation Z – born after early 1990s (also called Generation I or Internet Generation or Google Generation) – and referred to as ‘digital natives’ Prensky 2001)
Gutenberg Galaxy, The
‘The Making of Typographic Man is a book by Marshall McLuhan [written in 1962], in which he analyzes the effects of mass media, especially the printing press, on European culture and human consciousness. It popularized the term global village,[1] which refers to the idea that mass communication allows a village-like mindset to apply to the entire world; and Gutenberg Galaxy,[2] which we may regard today to refer to the accumulated body of recorded works of human art and knowledge, especially books.’ Wikipedia (nd)
Kranzberg’s six laws of technology
- Technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral (Kranzberg 1986 cited in Kranzberg 1991)
- Invention is the mother of necessity.
- Technology comes in packages, big and small.
- Although technology might be a prime element in many public issues, nontechnical factors take precedence in technology-policy decisions.
- All history is relevant, but the history of technology is the most relevant.
- Technology is a very human activity – and so is the history of technology.
Original source: Kranzberg, M. (1986) Technology and History: “Kranzberg’s Laws”, Technology and Culture, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 544-560.
References
BL and JISC (2010) Researchers of Tomorrow: Annual Report 2009-2010, British Library / JISC Study, [online] Available from: http://explorationforchange.net/attachments/056_RoT%20Year%201%20report%20final%20100622.pdf
(Accessed 30 January 2011).
Wikipedia (n.d.) ‘The Gutenberg Galaxy’, Wikipedia, [online] Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gutenberg_Galaxy (Accessed 30 January 2011).
Kranzberg, M. (1991) ‘Science-Technology-Society: it’s as easy as XYZ!’, Theory into Practice, 30(4), pp. 234-242, [online] EBSCOHOST, Available from: http://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=5199651&site=eds-live&scope=site (Accessed 30 January 2011).
Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’, On the Horizon, 9(5), [online] Available from: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf (Accessed 30 January 2011).