TECHNOLOGY AND THE SCES
Technology and the SCES:
Learning Objectives
 Review the SCES.
 List the primary agents of societal influence.
 List and explain characteristics of the State as an Influence
Agent.
 Classify and explain Major Technological Themes in the
Law.
 An Example: Transportation.
 List and explain the Barriers to a Proper TechnologyGovernment Relationship.
General SCES Influences in
IDUAR
 IDUAR
 Societal-Cultural
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Ideas—views, beliefs, values, tastes, styles, attitudes.
Structure—institutions, groups, organizations, classes,
roles, status, processes.
Material—technics, technologies, “built” environments.
Behavior—child-rearing, dating, diet, speech, in school,
on road, on Internet,
 Environmental—natural physical features
Primary Agents of Influence
(from McGinn, CTS Ch. 16)
 Government—through federal, state, and local
representatives and bureaucrats;
 Private Sector—through place of business or
profession;
 Public-at-large—through the process of voting; and
 Culture—through your cultural and social contacts
and institutions that represent your ideas and
values.
Discussion Case
The continual extraction and use of natural resources
does not result in their being completely “used up,” but
eventually the costs of extracting a diminishing resource
exceeds the value of the resource; barring improvements
in extraction technologies, the resource is as good as
gone. This may not happen for a long time, perhaps not
until we as individuals are long departed from this earth.
Is their anything immoral or unethical about using large
quantities of the earth’s resources for our own benefit?
Do we do anything to future generations? If so, by how
much should we restrict our use of resources? How
should these restrictions be mandated?
Let’s Focus on
Government and Technology
 As an Instrument of God:
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To establish authority,
To protect,
To met out justice,
To provide power.
 Its Roles Related to Technology
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Subsidizer
Consumer
Regulator
The Major Technological
Themes in Law
 Liability Shift
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“Strict” liability–non-intentional & non-negligent wrongs
Consumer Protection
Malpractice
 Environmental Responsibility Shift
 Land Use Control
 Technological Assessment (from harm-based to
risk-based assessment)
The Major Technological
Themes in Law
 “New” Laws for Movements
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The Movement of Goods
The Movement of People
The Movement of Ideas
 Professional Expertise Defined
 Life and Death Issues and Definitions
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Genetic Engineering
Abortion vs Euthanasia vs Right to Die vs Capital
Punishment
Discussion Questions on
Environmental Responsibility
 The long-term environmental consequences of CO2
emissions cannot be known for sure; computer
models and a few empirical studies are the source
of current projections. Are we justified in enacting
laws to enforce significant reductions in the use of
fossil fuels on the basis of imperfect scientific
information? At what point can we decide that the
assessment of risk is exact enough to warrant taking
firm action?
Types of Technologies Under
Governmental Control:
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Pollution,
Energy Consumption,
Communication,
Food and Drugs,
Uniform Commercial
Code,
 Trade,
 Housing and Urban
Development,
 Occupational Health
and Safety,
 Labor Laws,
 Land Use,
 Intellectual Properties
A Special Look at:
Governmental Control
of
Transportation Technology
The Scope of Transportation of
People & Goods
 The U.S. Transportation system consists of the following:
over 4.6 trillion passenger miles of travel and 3.7 trillion
ton miles of domestic freight generated by about 270
million people, 6.7 million business establishments, and
88 thousand units of government. 3.9 million miles of
public roads, 1.5 million miles of oil and natural gas
pipelines, and 120 thousand miles of major railroads,
over 25 thousand miles of commercially navigable
waterways, more than 300 ports on the coasts, Great
Lakes, and inland waterways, over 5 thousand public-use
airports, and over 500 major urban public transit
operators.
Major Legislative History
 Interstate Commerce regulation–1887–the first US
regulatory agency
 Office of Road Inquiry (later Bureau of Public
Roads, later Federal Highway Administration)–
1916
 Motor Carrier Regulations–1930s
 Civil Aeronautics Board–1938
 St. Lawrence Seaway Development–1954
 Federal Highway Trust Fund–1956
 Federal Aviation Act–1958
Major Legislative History
 Federal Housing Act (provided Transit
Authority)–1961
 National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety
Act–1966
 DOT Authorization–1966
Department of Transportation
Agencies
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FAA–Federal Aviation Administration
FRA–Federal Railroad Administration
NHTSA–National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
FTA–Federal Transit Administration
SLSDC–Saint Lawrence Seaway Development
Corporation
 MARAD–Maritime Administration
 BTS–Bureau of Transportation Statistics
 FMCSA–Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Outstanding Issues
 Transportation related deaths and injuries
 Transportation related delays to users and
goods
 Expense of transportation services
 Transportation related effects on natural and
human environments
 Universal access to transportation
A Transportation Discussion
Question
 A considerable improvement in the fuel economy of
automobiles has been the result of “downsizing.”
Yet all the things being equal, small cars are not as
safe as larger ones. Can a substantial savings in
fuel justify the likelihood of more traffic related
injuries and fatalities? At the same time, more fuel
efficient automobiles also produced fewer
pollutants, leading to fewer pollution induced
deaths and illnesses. Is it possible to construct a
balance sheet that takes into account all of these
factors in order to determine its smaller cars
improve or threatened our physical health?
Barriers to a Proper TechnologyGovernment Relationship
 Inherent Weakness
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Sin
Self-interest
 Common Societal Roots
 Dependence on Technological Elite
 Technology Co-opted Governmental
Structures