GCSE Electronic Products

electronics

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Environmental, Social, Cultural and Moral Issues

And here is a link to a good example

Relevant Social, Cultural, Moral and Environmental issues.

We live in the age of electronics and communications. Although electronics has existed for about 150 years most of the advances have occurred in the last 50 years. The rate of the advances is more than likely to increase in the coming years as new techniques, materials and systems become available.

As electronic systems become more sophisticated and cheaper to purchase than ever before, they will interact more and more upon society. Many of these interactions will benefit society greatly. Sadly, some will not and will cause massive disruptions to society and individuals

The world of electronics has already impinged upon the emergency services, the home, medical services, industry, commerce, leisure, entertainment, education, scientific research, shops, offices, transport and weather forecasting.

Society’s every increasing reliance on electronic systems which become out of date very quickly is leading to a throw away society. Rapid changes in equipment and software design lead to early obsolescence for many computers, televisions, telephones and hand help computer game systems. The rapid changes to equipment results in many workers having to be re-trained on a regular basis. Unfortunately, not all workers can be re-trained and therefore become unemployed. Employment prospects in manufacturing has been greatly reduced by the use of Robotics on production lines. The number of people employed in the banking sector has fallen significantly over the last 20 years due to the introduction of electronic banking and the development of the internet system.

The individual’s right to privacy is considered by some to be under threat by the rapid exchange of computer data between government agencies, companies and other bodies. It is now almost impossible to walk down the main street of a small town and not have your movements recorded on closed circuit television. House and car alarms go off unintentionally at all hours of the day and night. To people living nearby these alarms, the unwanted noise is a pollutant to the environment.

Half of the population of great Britain now owns a mobile telephone even though there is a theory that using these systems can cause damage to health. With the ever increasing number of mobile phones comes the problem of where to erect the transmitting telephone masts. Many towns and cities have banned the erection of these masts on public land and buildings. Again, there is a suggestion that these masts can cause long term health problems to people living near to them. Although many people appreciate the convenience of the mobile phone, they are not prepared to have unsightly masts erected in their neighbourhood.

AQA says..

Candidates should be able to describe the possible implications for society, including advantages and disadvantages of the interaction with the electronic age. Much of the information will come from newspapers, magazines, internet, television reports, class videos and teacher handouts.