Technology & Life
2006
John McCann
Professor Emeritus
Fuqua School of Business
Duke University
Course Description
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Technology and Life delves into the impacts of
technology on the way we live, including our work,
shopping, media use, leisure activities and our mobility.
Broad topics such as globalization and postmodernism will
be addressed when they impact the way we live.
Discussions of older technologies such as the telephone and
television will be used as benchmarks against which we can
better understand current and upcoming technologies.
We will consider technologies such as computers, Internet,
MP3, peer-to-peer networks, HDTV, WiFi, WiMax, etc.
Example
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Stirrup
• “Few inventions have been so simple as the
stirrup, but few have had so catalytic an
influence on history. The requirements of the
new mode of warfare which it made possible
found expression in a new form of western
European society dominated by an aristocracy
of warriors endowed with land so that they
might fight in a new and highly specialized
way. … The Man on Horseback, as we have
known him during the past millennium, was
made possible by the stirrup...”
Lynn White Jr, Medieval Technology and Social Change, Oxford Univ Press, New York , 1966
Example
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Telephone and women’s rights
• In the 1900s, “proper” girls did not talk
to a man without a proper introduction.
• But what happens when that girl
answers the phone?
Example
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Air conditioning
• The American South became livable and
thus flourished
• Large migration from the North to the
South since air conditioning became
common
Rise of Home Life
Television
Cocooning
Air conditioning
Me
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Education
• BS in Engineering, U of Kentucky, 1962
• MBA, U of Kentucky
• PhD, Purdue University
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Real Jobs
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GE, Space Vehicles
GE, Nuclear Power
IBM, Office Products
Data Resources Inc, Consulting
Consulting
• Consulted with dozens of Fortune 500
companies on Technology & Marketing
Professor
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Taught at
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Purdue
Cornell
UC Berkeley
Duke (24 years)
Topics (20 different courses)
• Marketing, Statistics, Strategy
• Technology
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MIS
Expert Systems
Marketing and the Internet
Technology, Competition and Globalization
Technology and …
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Sputnik
Apple II
IBM PC
Engineering major
My job
MBA curriculum
• “Electronic Business School”
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UPC Scanner
CPG marketing
• Marketing Workbench Laboratory
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Internet
Global education
• Global Executive MBA Program
You
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Name
Technology Background
Technology Interests
Do you own or use a …
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Car?
Electric or gas range?
Telephone?
Television?
Do you …
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Own a cell phone?
Use the Internet?
• To send Email?
• To Google?
• To make reservations?
• Do online banking/pay bills?
• Shop on eBay?
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Have a web page?
Blog?
Topics
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Digital Dawn
Technologies: Microcosm & Telecosm
Segmentation and Adoption & Diffusion
Order Effects Model
Death of Distance
Participation Age
Media Evolution
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Life
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If a new technology allows us to fulfill our needs,
desires, wants, etc., it will likely be successful.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
http://www.lifeworktransitions.com/images/maslow.gif
Electricity Impacts My Life
Better Living
Through Electricity
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House: Lighting, gas furnace, hot water heater, security system,
air conditioning
Bedroom/bathroom: Clock, clock radio, TV, remote control,
electric toothbrush, telephone
Kitchen: stove, refrigerator, microwave, electric coffee maker
with timer, coffee grinder, blender, toaster, can opener,
dishwasher, telephone
Study: PC, Mac, wifi, TV tuner, iPod, cell phone, PDA, digital
camera, external hard drive, Tivo-like device, wifi antenna, VCR,
tape deck, turntable, pencil sharpener
Wife’s study: Telephone, answering machine, PC, paper
shredder, printer, scanner, cell phone, sewing machine, wifi
Family room: TV, A/V receiver, DVD player, CD player, VCR
Media room: PC, printer, A/V receiver, projector, DVD player, settop box, CD burner
Other: vacuum cleaners, washer, dryer, hair dryer, doorbell,
garage door opener, electric drill, leaf blower, grass trimmer, shop
vac, attic fan, Internet router, WIFI access point, night lights
Van: microwave, electric pop-top, refrigerator, radio, CD player,
coffee pot, flushing porta-potti, electric heater, electric skillet
Tech Enables Need Satisfaction
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Each technology allows us to better
meet our needs at each level of the
hierarchy
• Physiological: stove
• Safety: home alarm
• Belonging: telephone, PC
• Esteem: stove, refrig, vacuum cleaner
• Self actualization: computer
Today’s Tech Focus
Participation
Age