The treatment of the term “technology” has underwent drastic change over two centuries.
Prior to 20th century, the term was uncommon in English which either meant study of the art & skill (Henry George & Robert, 1980) that is useful in some manner or education which is technical, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Loretta & Adams, 2005). The term “technology” gained momentum in the 20th century in connection with the Industrial Revolution-II and the meaning of term technology changed in the first quarter of 20th century. The efforts of American social scientists including Thorstein Veblen (Technological determinism, as cited by Bruce, 1990) culminated in translations of the German notion of Technik into “technology.” By the 1930s, “technology” was recognized as an art in itself and not just portrayal of art. Technology has two main types-physical technology and social technology. That is to say that technology can be seen in both physical and social form. In its physical form it is “organized inorganic matter” (Stiegler, 1998) which includes all tools, machines, utensils, weapons, instruments, housing, clothing, communicating and transporting devices and the skills and knowledge are required in order to produce and use them. And in its social form it is more or less a practice, the way we do things around here (Franklin, 1999) and outlined as the pursuit of life by means other than life. In the very recent past the concept of technology was further extended to various facets of instrumental reason (Foucault’s ‘technologies of the self’ as cited by Schrift, 2006). Social Technology can be seen as an activity that changes culture.
Complementarity is a situation where improved production of one good or service builds up demand for the second good or service. There is a complementarity between physical technology and social technology because the production of better physical technology will build up demand for better social technology. Modern physical technology, which is becoming more and more multifaceted and therefore complex, requires the backup of an innovative and forward-looking social technology. Furthermore, there is bi-way granger causality between physical technology and social technology. That is to say that physical technology causes social technology and social technology causes physical technology. Development which is all inclusive and sustainable will lead to creation of both physical technology and social technology because in modern times, both physical technology and social technology are equally dominant. In other words, in the contemporary times, physical technology is social technology driven and social technology is physical technology driven, implying that physical technology development spreads as and when social technology development takes place and social technology development spreads as and when physical technology development takes place. Physical technology facilitates social technology, and in turn social technology ensures the furtherance and maintenance of physical technology. Social technology covers all developments and advancements in skills acquired by people individually as well as collectively. All the well-known advances and developments in physical technology would perhaps have not even taken place if they were not headed by related social novelties and innovations. The social technology nurtured the birth of future developments in physical technologies, and harbored them to maturity. It is high time to realize the importance of complementarity and a good mix of physical technology and social technology so as to promote innovations which are drivers of economic growth and development.
Education in general and higher education in particular is a great store house of learning, a great source of standards, great workshop of knowledge, a great laboratory for the training of men of thought and action. It is the instrument through which a state not only generates but, conserves its knowledge. Education is believed to encourage independence and creativity, both of which are valuable knowledgeable resources for the generation and dissemination of knowledge in society. Empirical research findings in almost all the countries, including India, established positive high relationship between poverty and illiteracy, a negative high relationship between human resource development and business advancements and entrepreneurial growth, negative correlation between female literacy and gross reproductive rate, total fertility rate, birth rate and a positive correlation between years of schooling and net increase in agricultural output. All macroeconomic shocks and disturbances as well as economic problems are both causes and consequences of deficiencies in human development. Investments in various aspects of human development is more likely to have a significant impact on poverty and unemployment reduction and, at the same time, bring improvements in human development.
Education can play an important role in bringing good interface of physical technology and social technology thereby creating ‘‘physio-socio-techno-sound economy.’’ Higher education must recognize complementarities in physical technology and social technology because such interdependence and complementarity is essential to understand the importance of society in technological advancements and innovations. The understanding and realization of complementarity between physical technology and social technology will help us to find out whether technology overpowers society or society overpowers technology? Moreover, such sound understanding between the two technologies will find out ways and means through which we can manage the two in order to grow the infrastructure – both physical infrastructure as well as social infrastructure which provides key to modern technology in almost all sectors of the economy.
