Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies to the present
which strengthened its background and which serves as a guide for the completion of
this subject.
Conceptual Literature
The books, journals, articles and other studies used gave the researchers
background knowledge and guide in the section and inclusion of content in the study.
The following reviews include concepts on: (1) Gadgets, and (2) Technology.
Gadgets. Goes almost as far back as the existence of humanity, when hominids began
to make tools for making life easier. The humans always made gadgets and appliances
in mind. These gadgets we're thought as novelties in the beginning because of the
unfamiliarity with the gadgets; people we're willing to accept this new technology.
Although mechanical gadgets we're being made since a long time, it was the advent of
electricity we're found. Initial examples of electronic gadgets we're TV's, radio and
quartz watches. After that inventors went or discover microprocessors which brought
the days of programmable devices such as computers, MP3 players and now the
iPhone. Other application gadgets such as Microsoft Office and iTunes are also
available now. Such of these devices have become functional necessities of the
modern society. gadgets spans as far back as humanity itself - since hominids began
creating tools to make their lives easier. Humans have always created devices and
appliances with specific practical purposes that were initially thought of as novelties,
due to unfamiliarity with and initial unwillingness to accept the technology. Today,
industry has augmented the creation of new gadgets, while certain retailers, including
Brookstone and Richard Thalheimer's RichardSolo.com, specialize in popularizing
them.
What famous inventors Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell
and Leonardo da Vinci, among others, had in common was foresight. They understood
that a lifetime spent playing with what others viewed as toys and senseless gadgets
would eventually result in indispensable technology. From just that small group, the
groundwork for electricity, communications, film, and flight was laid because of their
gadgets, which obviously possessed more value than novelty.
Perhaps one of the earliest, most well known gadgets created is the wheel, many
millennia ago. Take a ride in your car and witness how truly revolutionary such a
gadget became and how much we now rely on it for transportation. A more recent
gadget, the Apple iPhone, appears to be the beginning stages of yet another
gadget-turned-necessity that will reshape communications.
"The iPhone may someday be looked upon as the device that started a second
revolution in computing. Desktop computing was the first revolution. Hand-held
computing will someday be regarded as the second revolution, and the iPhone is the
product that started it."
-Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.com
All gadgets were not created equal. In fact most inventions are built on the newest
technology. The world of gadgets is tiered; devices fall into one of four categories:
mechanical, electronic, programmable, and application. Mechanical gadgets include
the wheel, as well as later developments such as the pulley, the bicycle, the sail boat,
the thermometer and the sort. Following the advent of electricity, gadgets were taken
to a new level as inventors began to discover different uses for the newly harnessed
energy. The television, radio and quartz watch are examples of electronic gadgets.
After electricity, inventors toyed around with electronic information via
microprocessor, beginning an age of programmable devices such as computers, and
later, MP3 players and the iPhone. Application gadgets include iTunes, Microsoft
Office and other computer applications that customize our experience with
programmable devices.
Richard Thalheimer, the President and founder of online gadget vendor
RichardSolo.com, and founder and former CEO of gadget giant The Sharper Image,
understands, maybe better than anyone, that there's much more to gadgets than
novelty.
"Certainly most people enjoy the novelty of a gadget that introduces new convenience
to their lifestyle. What they forget is that solving these everyday problems is not just
entertainment, but some of these devices become functional necessities. In my
personal life, I rely on my iPhone, my garage door opener, my nose hair trimmer, my
electric toothbrush, and other gadgets that were once regarded as novel gadgets. "
- Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.com
Both his former brainchild and his current venture sell quirky, useful and fun gadgets
of all types, from mechanical to programmable and application. He has seen some
devices, such as the Ionic Breeze air purifier, spur sensational and lasting trends based
on a realization of utility value, while others collected dust on the shelves after their
novelty wore out. Specialty stores like The Sharper Image and Richard Thalheimer's
RichardSolo.com serve a greater purpose: spread new ideas, and give credit to the
Franklins and Edisons of the world.(Anton, 2008)
Earlier days a gadget used to mean a device, which was meant to do something
amazing. Today there are so many devices of this kind that it's impossible to explain,
where the edge between a gadget and a device lies. For example, a digital camera is
mainly called a device (or just a camera), though a new and a stylish mobile phone
with many modern applications and functions would be called a gadget. The line
between the two expressions became really unclear.
The word 'gadget' could be defined as a new, strange device, mostly used for
amusement; yet also for household and security. Whereas a 'device' means any tool or
instrument used during a particular job to achieve the desired result.
In some ways the only difference between these two words could be defined as they
have almost the same sense, though a gadget is always a device, but a device is not
only a gadget.
Gadgets USB related. The main and the most numerous is the category of USB
gadgets. The USB-based gadgets are so numerous these days that the diversity of their
usage is actually a matter of individual desire.
First of all, What for USB? This is quite simple. After the Universal Serial Bus Port
became available on computers, the computer geeks have felt there were people, who
think about them. The USB enables the users attaching various devices to their
computer without having to shut it down or reboot. This is a great benefit of this port.
All they had to do is plug the device in and wait until the Operating System finds and
installs the necessary drivers. Additionally, the power usage of USB-based gadgets is
very low. This way developing and afterwards manufacturing USB-based devices has
become a priority for many companies.
Today there are lists of best, weirdest or stupidest USB gadgets. This fashion of
producing this variety of gadgets is determined by those young public, who are
motivated to look unusual and to have unusual things neighboring them. Thus the
series of these gadgets begins with a simple USB Flash Card (as a portable device for
copying files from one computer to another) and to USB Heating Gloves, Flower Pot
Speaker or a USB Self-Destruction Button.
As a matter of fact, the most usual USB Flash Cards are now being reconceived,
because even designers are trying to personalize these devices. It becomes something
every person familiar with computers should have.
is developed by Mr.Jayaprakash Reddy Vangala. He is M.Com., B.Ed., He is working
for last one and half decade in a Public Limited Company. Where he worked in
different locations/offices and departments. Prior to joining in this company he also
worked in Educational institutions in both teaching and non teaching departments.
Now he would like to share his rich experience various topics with the world.
(Vangala ,2011)
Technology. Invention of tools and techniques and is similar to other sides of the
history of humanity. Technology can refer to methods ranging from as simple as
language and stone tools to the complex genetic engineering and information
technology that has emerged since the 1980s.
New knowledge has enabled people to create new things, and conversely, many
scientific endeavors are made possible by technologies which assist humans in
travelling to places they could not previously reach, and by scientific instruments by
which we study nature in more detail than our natural senses allow.
Since much of technology is applied science, technical history is connected to the
history of science. Since technology uses resources, technical history is tightly
connected to economic history. From those resources, technology produces other
resources, including technological artifacts used in everyday life.
Technology change affects, and is affected by, a society’s cultural traditions. It is a
force for economic growth and a means to develop and project economic, political
and military power. “Technology is messy and complex. It is difficult to define and to
understand. In its variety, it is full of contradictions, laden with human folly, saved by
occasional benign deeds, and rich with unintended consequences.” (p. 1) “Defining
technology in its complexity,” he continued, “is as difficult as grasping the essence of
politics.” (p.2) So true! Nonetheless, Hughes went on to offer his own definition of
technology as:
“a creativity process involving human ingenuity.” (p. 3)
Interestingly, in another book, American Genesis: A Century of Invention and
Technological Enthusiasm, 1870-1970, he offered a somewhat different definition:
“Technology is the effort to organize the world for problem solving so that goods and
services can be invented, developed, produced, and used.” (Hughes, 2004).
Mobile phone or cell phone is a device that can make and receive telephone calls over
a radio link while moving around a wide geographical area. Besides telephony it can
also provide a variety of other services like text messaging, playing music, e-mail,
internet access, infrared, Bluetooth, business applications, gaming and photography
etc. It was first introduced in 1973 and in 1983 the first mobile phone was
commercially available (Heeks, 2008). From 1990 to 2011, the number of world-wide
mobile phone users grew from 12.4 million to over 6 billion, covering about 87% of
the global population (Saylor, 2012). Computer/laptop Computer is a general purpose
device that can be programmed to carry out a finite set of erythematic and logical
operations. Computer can solve more than one kind of problem at a particular time as
a sequence of operations can be readily changed. A laptop is a type of computer that
can be folded and easily carried out due to its’ small size and battery support for
energy, required to run it. The first laptop was invented in 1979 by British Designer
Bill Maggridge. For the laptop producers the year 1989 was quite successful. Now the
laptops are generally used for making programs, storing data, entertainment (music,
videos), accessing net etc. Currently the number of computer users in the world is 900
million to 1 billion i.e. around 80% of the world population are using or having
computers (Woyke, 2012). Smart Phone A smartphone, or smart phone, is a type of
mobile phone built on a mobile operating system with more advanced computing
capability and connectivity than a feature phone. In early 2013 worldwide sales of
smart phones exceeded those of feature phones. As of July 18, 2013, 6 90 percent of
global handset sales are attributed to the purchase of I-Phone and Android smart
phones (The Gurdian, 22 Dec, 2013). Services: Internet The internet is a huge
network that links computers together all over the world using a range of wires and
wireless technologies. The World Wide Web is the collection of linked pages those are
accessed using the internet and a web browser. The purposes of using internet are
online shopping, social networking, games, news, travel information, business,
advertising and much more. One of the best common ways of finding information on
the web is through the search engines like Google, Bing. Currently the most popular
search engine is Google which is receiving hundreds of millions of search queries in a
day. In the years 2005, 2010, 2013 the percentage of the world population using
internet is 16%, 30% & 39% respectively. In the developing world it is 8%, 21% &
31% and in the developed world it is 51%, 67% & 77% (ITU, 2013). A social
networking service is a platform to build social networks or social relations among
people who, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life
connections. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, pictures, posts,
activities, events, and interests with people in their network (Boyd & Nicole, 2008).
Some of the popular social networking sites used currently is such as Face book,
Google+, Orkut, Twitter etc. Face book was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in February
2004 (Carlson, 2010). As of September 2012, Face book has over one billion active
users, of which 8.7% are fakes. May 2011 Consumer Reports survey reveals that,
there are 7.5 million children under 13 with accounts and 5 million under 10, violating
the site's terms of service (Thompson, 2012). Twitter was created in March 2006 by
Jack Dorsey and by July, the social networking site was launched. The service rapidly
gained worldwide popularity, with over 500 million 7 registered users as of 2012. It is
generating over 340 million tweets daily and handling over 1.6 billion search queries
per day. Twitter has become one of the ten most visited websites on the Internet after
its launch (Twitter.com, march21, 2012)
It is the study of how students affect by using gadgets. It is the study of what is a
gadgets possibility that may impact to students; it is the study of what is the advantage
and disadvantage of using gadgets; it is also the study of why most of the students are
distracted in many ways by using gadgets.
Research Literature
The researchers have decided to conduct a study entitled “Factors that Affect of
Using Gadgets of STEM Student in STI Batangas”. The research used as a tool to
answer the question of the students who are using gadgets. There is also a large body
of research that supports the factors that the Senior High Students affect using gadgets.
Some of them are as follow:
The cellular phones affect the academic performance of students. This study indicates
that cellular phone is s huge distraction to one’s attention especially on school hours.
Thus, some schools prohibit the use and bringing their cell phones at school. Some of
them use phones to call examiners and other students who may have access to
examination papers. This is common during national, regional and district
examination. This causes panic and confusion among students because they get
varying information from different sources and on many occasions, focus on revising
the wrong way, thus failing(Kanaabi&Wandawa,2010).
The researchers tested students using mobile devices in class to respond to
messages that were relevant to classroom material; additionally, the researchers varied
the form of the messages (responding to another message or composing an original
one) and the frequency of the texts. Their results are compiled in "Mobile Phones in
the Classroom: Examining the Effects of Texting, Twitter, and Message Content on
Student Learning."
Students who replied to messages relevant to class material scored higher on multiple
choice tests than students who replied to messages that were unrelated to the class.
The study authors conclude from this that "sending or receiving relevant messages
may allow students to engage in similar processes as those that occur during
note-taking. Specifically, relevant messages may allow students to encode lecture
content in a manner similar to the processes that occur during note-taking (Peverly
et.al. 2013)." The frequency of messaging was also found to be a factor in the
interruption of learning: students who tweeted with higher frequency on content not
related to the class took lower quality notes than those who tweeted less frequently on
non-classroom related subjects, and
scored up to 17 percent lower than the control
group on multiple-choice tests.
While many instructors assume that mobile devices interrupt learning processes in the
classroom—even when they are related to material being studied—this research points
to the value that such devices may impart. That said, the study suggests that texting
about content external to the lesson, or texting at a very high frequency, can, indeed,
interrupt learning. In addition to helping guide campus and classroom mobile device
policies, this research contributes to the growing body of research on how the brain
processes information when confronted with multiple, simultaneous sources of input
(J.H. Kuzennekoff, et. al.,2015).
Agricultural science teachers are not immune to the need of integrating technology
into the classroom and see their roles expanding to include technology integration
(Anderson & Williams, 2012). Integrating technology into the educational process
allows the instructor to think outside the classroom and develop new experiences to
meet learning goals (Williams, 2006). One way that technology can be integrated into
the educational process is through the implementation of 1:1 computing devices. A
number of studies have shown that 1:1 implementations have had a positive effect on
student learning outcomes, though findings are inconsistent in regards to student
achievement (Bebell & Kay, 2010; Lei & Zhao, 2008; Penuel, 2006). Implementation
of 1:1 devices in an agriscience classroom has the potential to have a positive impact
on student posttest performance due to easier access to information and increased
student motivation. This review of literature examines studies that explore the effects
of 1:1 implementations and their impact on student achievement, instructional
practices, student engagement, and access(Carter,2014).
Synthesis
The above mentioned writers and authors of conceptual literature deived on the
different subjects matters about gadgets and technology which were found to confirm
and supplement the information and importance.
The topic of the research literature has direct relevance on the factors that affect
the students would get from the study wherein the researches aimed to determine the
effect of using gadgets. Likewise, the above demonstrated studies reported the
negative implication of these those avenues of gadgets in terms of using. However,
the differences of the aforementioned research literature to the present study is that the
present study focused on the impact of gadgets which provides the researches an
insightful ideas on how to determine the factors that may affect to the students as
regards of using gadgets, the very purpose of this study.
Conceptual Framework
Below is the paradigm of the conceptual framework of the study using
Input-Process-Output Model as Framework of Evaluation.
Process
Input
• Types of gadgets and
by they used.
•Perception
on
the
Output
•Conducting a survey
• Determined the effect
that deals about the
of
factors that affect using
regards to the used of
gadgets.
gadgets.
the
students
impact of using gadgets
of STEM students.
Figure 2.1 Paradigm of the Conceptual Framework
The first frame in the paradigm reflects the input of the study. This includes
(1)types of gadgets and by they used, (2)perceptions of STEM students with regards
to the impact of using gadgets.
The second frame shows the process needed in the research. This includes
conducting a survey that deals about the factors that affect using gadgets.
The third frame shows the output which includes the expected outcome after
conducting the study. This includes determined the effect of the students as regards to
the used of gadgets.
Definition of Terms
Technology. “Technologies are best seen as systems that combine technique and
as
activities with implements and artifacts, within a social context of organization in
which the technologies are developed, employed, and administered. They alter
patterns of human activity and institutions by making worlds that shape our culture
and our environment. If technology consists of not only tools, implements, and
artifacts, but also whole networks of social relations that structure, limit, and enable
social life, then we can say that a circle exists between humanity and technology, each
shaping and affecting the other. Technologies are fashioned to reflect and extend
human interests, activities, and social arrangements, which are, in turn, conditioned,
structured, and transformed by technological systems.” (Kaplan,D.,2003)
“practical implementations of intelligence” (with the caveat that “‘Practical’ requires
that they not be wholly ends in themselves; ‘implementations’ entails that a
technology be somehow concretely embodied, normally in implements or artifacts,
sometimes simply in social organization…”)
Importantly, Ferré arrived at this definition by carefully detailing what should and
should not be considered “technological.” In an attempt to avoid excessive breadth
when defining the term, Ferré made four important stipulations:
Technology is implemented, not ’empty-handed’: “It would be wise to resist a
definition of technology that includes empty hands as technological implements. The
totally naked human body, interacting face-to-face with the environment, unmediated
by any artifact, contrivance, invention, or tool, would seem to stand as a paradigm
case of the non-technological.”
Technology is practical, not ‘for its own sake’: Where “the notion of the ‘practical’. . .
[means] supporting such ends as survival, health, comfort, and material well-being.”
Technology is embodied, non ‘in the head’ alone: “It would be wise to guard against
the absorption of all methods and techniques, including wholly mental ones, into the
concept of technology.” He uses the examples of natural language and mathematics.
Technology is intelligent, not ‘blind’: “The concept of technology will not usefully be
extended to behavior that, among humans, is merely accidental or, among other
species, is entirely instinctive. . . . Put positively, it suggests our definition will need
to stipulate that technology involves (i) implements used as (ii) means to practical
ends that are somehow (iii) manifested in the material world as (iv) expressions of
intelligence.”( Ferré’s,F.,1988).
“Technology may be defined as the application of organized knowledge to practical
tasks by ordered systems of people and machines.” (p. 3) “There are several
advantages to such a broad definition. ‘Organized knowledge’ allows us to include
technologies based on practical experience and invention as well as those based on
scientific theories. The ‘practical tasks’ can include both the production of material
goods (in industry and agriculture, for instance) and the provision of services (by
computers, communications media, and biotechnologies, among others). Reference to
‘ordered systems of people and machines’ directs attention to social institutions as
well as to the hardware of technology. The breadth of the definition also reminds us
that there are major differences among technologies.”(Barbour,I.,1993).
1)
“The first and most basic one is a technology is a means to fulfill a human
purpose. … As a means, a technology may be a method or process or device… Or it
may be complicated… Or it may be material… Or it may be nonmaterial. Whichever
it is, it is always a means to carry out a human purpose.”
2)
“The second definition is a plural one: technology as an assemblage of practices and
components.”
3)
“I will also allow a third meaning. This technology as the entire collection of
devices and engineering practices available to a culture.” (p. 28, emphasis in
original.) (Arthur,W.,2009).
Gadgets. The gadgets extension A gadget is a small technological object (such as
a device or an appliance) that has a particular function, but is often thought of as
a novelty. Gadgets are invariably considered to be more unusually or cleverly
designed than normal technological objects at the time of their invention. Gadgets are
sometimes also referred to as gizmos.
MECHANICAL GADGETS
Clocks, bicycles, and thermometers are amongst the very large number of gadgets that
are mechanical and also very popular. The invention of mechanical gadgets though is
based more on innovation from the inventor rather than his education.
ELECTRONIC GADGETS
Electronic gadgets are based on transistors and integrated circuits. Unlike the
mechanical gadgets one needs a source of electric powerto use it. The most common
electronic gadgets include transistor radio, television, cell phones and the quartz
watch
PSP (PlayStation )
PROGRAMMABLE GADGETS
Most of the modern gadgets belong to this category.
APPLICATION GADGETS
Computer programs that provide services without needing an independent application
to be launched for each one, but instead run in an environment that manages multiple
gadgets. There are several implementations based on existing software development
techniques, like JavaScript, form input, and various image formats.
Further
information: Google
Desktop, Google
Gadgets, Microsoft
Gadgets,
and Dashboard software Apple Widgets
The earliest documented use of the term gadget in context of software engineering
was in 1985 by the developers of AmigaOS, the operating syste
m
of
the
Amiga
computers
Intuition
Amiga|intuition.library and
also
later gadtools.library'. It denotes what other technological traditions call GUI
widget—a control element in graphical user interface. This naming convention
remains in continuing use (as of 2008) since then.
It is not known whether other software companies are explicitly drawing on that
inspiration when featuring the word in names of their technologies or simply referring
to the generic meaning. The word widget is older in this context.
EXAMPLES OF ELECTRONIC GADGETS
Useful gadgets: Advanced mobile phones eg. iPhone, GPS navigation device
Novelty gadgets: USB toys, toy grade radio control.(POWER SYSTEM,2009).