Reflection Paper

you can not use Ai or copy and paste from online, you will write your own paper, after you done with paper, send me for the report of the turnitin and ai turnitin for both, it will be checked by turnitin and ai turnitin so pls be aware of these two things, thank you

Course Description and Requisites


Second course in a two-course sequence to support the integration of General Education Area S and Area V into the engineering major. Case study approach to the relationship of engineering to social, ethical and cultural aspects of the broader community both in the U. S. and worldwide.

Reflection Paper 1

THEME: artifacts at the level of technology are not simply tools used for purpose – instrumental aids on a task. Rather, they have the potential to exert profound influence on perspectives and practices in science, follow-on technology, and social organization.

Some general notes on artifactual time and its influence on society follow the prompt.

Readings (on Canvas)

  • Assigned Readings and Lecture Slides (lectures 1 – 3)

Primary Conditions

  • 100 points
  • 750 words
  • Introduction and conclusion
  • MLA formatting
  • At least 2 references
  • AI technology may be used, but only as a “thought partner,” not for content creation. See syllabus for precise details.

Prompt (see notes at end for summary of the concept of “Artifactual Time”)

[1] Describe the historical and cultural processes that led to the invention of the fully mechanical geared clock in Europe in the Middle Ages. (We are not interested here in earlier developments in other areas). A complete discussion will address:

a) highlights of the story of the geared clock’s development – key conditions leading to important new understandings, practices, and ultimately, technology

b) key actors in the process, and their roles in society

c) the evolution of interests of those key actors, and European society more broadly, in this historical process – i.e., what was wanted, or valuable, as things unfolded

[2] Show how this invention enabled the transformation of European and British culture from being organized around “organic” notions of time (bodily, daily, seasonal, and annual rhythms) to being organized around the notion of quantified and quantifiable time that we call “clock time” or artifactual time. A complete discussion will address:

a) the progressive organization of social activity, from Benedict’s influence up to the mid-1800s

b) advances in scientific conceptualization and in allied technology innovations

[3] Describe the influence of artifactual time on the development of U.S. culture. A complete discussion will address:

a) how large numbers traveled westward across the continent (organized over a larger scale) and how artifactual time was instrumental in the process b) whether this rapid migration could have happened without artifactual time – include your reasons why or why not.

Sources

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://monoskop.org/images/f/fa/Mumford_Lewis_Tec… this is the link, use this book one source or 2 but highly recommend, but if you fond source outside of the class then use the primary sources, use google scholar, wikipedia such things as source can not allowed .

  • You should have at least 2 citations. One may be the required reading from Lewis Mumford, “Technics and Civilization” Sec. 1-3 – “The Monastery and the Clock.”
  • You should use primary sources, not other articles written by other students on this topic. E.g., you may not use: “The Invention of the Mechanical Clock and Perceptions of Time in the 13th–15th Centuries”, by Mehitabel Glenhaber (2014), from The Concord Review.

Grading

Write an essay that addresses the questions above. When you respond to these questions, you should be specific and cite specific details from the readings, class lectures, and your own research. You may provide references from your own research, but only in addition to material provided by the course. Also, you MUST make sure to cite your sources in your response and include a reference list at the end of your essay. Citations must be from reputable sources. Sites like Wikipedia, about.com, etc. are NOT considered acceptable sources. Include an introductory and concluding paragraph.

Higher credit will be given for responses that show evidence of a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the topics involved.

You are encouraged to review the rubric for this assignment and make sure that you answer each question in detail and with specifics.

Correct use of English is a fundamental requirement for your papers to be graded. If errors in English make it difficult for a grader to understand your sentences, or excessively slow down the grader to mark your technical errors, your paper will be returned to you for further work on its English, and your grade for the paper will be deferred until it is resubmitted with corrected English. If your assignment is returned for an excessive number of grammatical errors, you will be allowed to rewrite and resubmit it within two weeks of the original return date. If not resubmitted by the date set by your instructor, you will receive a zero (0) for the writing assignment.

See the syllabus for the treatment of plagiarism, as based on your TurnItIn similarity score. Note any score of 24% or higher will be deemed plagiarism and the paper will receive a zero (0) and a notice may be filed with the University,

AI technology may be used, but only as an aid in improving your own thinking. You may not submit the prompt to an AI application. Also, you may not submit any AI-generated content as your own – not even if you submit it and quote and cite it. All content must be yours. See the syllabus for precise rules and guidance regarding the use of AI. If it is determined that you have violated these rules, you will receive a zero (0), and rewriting is not guaranteed.

Formatting
Standard font, 11pt or 12pt.
MLA, APA, or any other format is acceptable provided that it is consistent through the entire paper. No cover sheets.

Notes on Artifactual Time

The mechanical clock is a dual invention – a perfect example of the proposition that technology is shaped by and a shaper of culture, not simply a tool used for certain instrumental ends. It is a precise timekeeping technology, and so serves its utilitarian purpose. At the same time, it ushered in a new conception of temporality – so called artifactual time. Rather than time being interior to the experience of how things unfold, and cyclic as seen in bodily rhythms and the cycles of the seasons, “time” came to be an independent object (or, construct) that could be partitioned arbitrarily and assigned (as in “we’ll meet at 3pm”).

We identify 3 senses of “artifactual time” as associated with each configuration within what we have called the “Artifactual System.”

For the conceptualizing configuration, it is mathematical time (time based on the Real numbers). We can imagine a mathematically inclined person, observing smaller and more precise gears as these clocks improved, seeing through to the natural generalization: for ever-smaller and more alike gears, and so intervals or ‘chunks’ of time, we have at the limit the idea that time is infinitely divisible and uniform/alike/congruent at every scale.

Extending this, “artifactual time” for the innovating configuration is the way time is thought of by engineers and other innovators, seeking to measure and/or regulate a device or process according to units of time. It is a variable in whatever dynamics are at work in a technology.

Finally, “artifactual time” for the spanning societal configuration is a shared understanding and agreement, within society broadly, of seeing all human activity as happening in reference to the time on the (universal) clock. Early on labor was reconceived, not as just setting workers to tasks, but of assigning units of people, and units of time, to tasks. In the present, almost any project we can think of has a schedule, or at least an ordering of events, that we all grasp in the same way in relation to a timeline. This is also how we establish time across the glove, so that a reference to time always has a single meaning, wherever we are.

These various notions of time, which we collect together as artifactual time, have led to a vast reorganization of human activity (labor, entertainment, collective events, …) as well as scientific exploration, and technology development. This notion enables synchronization and coordination of arbitrary activity, which is at the heart of shared engagement, efficiency, and reasonable plans and expectations. Because of the invention of the fully-mechanical geared clock, “we” are different. Society operates in a way that was not possible before the geared clock; we understand ourselves and one another, associate with one another, and engage our environments according to our shared agreement about time.

It is interesting to note that it is not necessary to understand artifactual time, to be productive and inhabit its effects on the world. Very few users of clocks understood time as a kind of mathematical object – i.e., very few had an abstract understanding. In fact, few today see a clock and think of the real numbers! Rather, the clock enabled new kinds of useful practices to form, so that a time of day could act as a shared reference people could use to manage activity. Consider the regular and precise ringing of the monastery bells as we studied in class – the outlying regions within range of the monastery, though they had no clocks themselves, were able to radically improve their ability to organize trade and other interactions – and they didn’t need a conceptual understanding to do this. The ability to reference actions to a precise and shared marking of time transforms cultural practices and relationships, even if only the rare few ‘understand what’s happening.’

The clock is just one example of this type of phenomenon. Laptops, cell phones, social media, personal activity trackers, generative AI, and numerous other technologies serve an instrumental purpose – uses whose meaning, purpose, and value depend on relationships with present culture. At the same, time, each is a powerful shaper of modern culture because each, like the ringing of the bells, can make highly valuable new forms of understanding and interchange possible – so that culture evolves as the new practices, processes, arrangements, and associations take hold. These effects – looking beyond instrumental purposes, to influences that lead society to evolve – are important for you as engineers to consider as you begin your careers.

Rubric

Reflection Paper 1

 

Reflection Paper 1

Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction, Conclusion, and ThesisHas an intro, conclusion, and thesis that encapsulates the unfolding story of “time”
20 ptsExcellent intro and thesis, and conclusion

Introduction and thesis set up the paper, and the conclusion sums up effectively

17 ptsVery good intro and thesis, conclusion

All elements in place, thesis is not fully coherent, or is not carried through in the paper

14 ptsAcceptable intro and thesis, conclusion

each of intro, thesis, and conclusion are in place, but they are minimal or one is notably flawed

10 ptsBelow average intro and thesis, conclusion

Multiple elements are missing or very flawed

0 ptsNo observable effort

Intro and conclusion missing, thesis if present is not coherent

20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeHistory of the Mechanical Clock
20 ptsExcellent and comprehensive history

History of the mechanical clock and influences upon its development are clear and relevant — reviews the history, mentions key actors and their roles, and indicates the evolution of interests (what is seen to matter) in the monasteries, their surrounds, and Europe more generally

17 ptsVery good history

History of the mechanical clock and influences upon its development are clear and relevant, but there are small deficits in the review of history, mention of key actors and their roles, and/or indications of the evolution of interests (what is seen to matter) in the monasteries, their surrounds, and Europe more generally

14 ptsAcceptable history

History of the mechanical clock and influences upon its development are all in place but minimal, or an element is missing or flawed among: review of the history, key actors and their roles, or the evolution of interests (what is seen to matter) in the monasteries, their surrounds, and Europe more generally

10 ptsBelow average history

Elements of the history of the mechanical clock and influences upon its development are missing, and/or one or more of the following are very flawed: review of the history, key actors and their roles, or the evolution of interests (what is seen to matter) in the monasteries, their surrounds, and Europe more generally

0 ptsNo observable effort

The history is absent or deeply flawed

20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeTransformation of European and British CultureAs the geared clock was invented, and thereafter, describe progressive societal organization of Europe and Britain, as well as scientific and technological advances
20 ptsExcellent discussion of social transformations as “time” was clarified

Excellent reprise showing that as the geared clock was invented, and thereafter, monasteries, their immediate surrounds, and then Europe and Britain became more organized; science advanced; and other technologies were invented

17 ptsVery good discussion of social transformations as “time” was clarified

Very good reprise showing that as the geared clock was invented, and thereafter, monasteries, their immediate surrounds, and then Europe and Britain became more organized; science advanced; and other technologies were invented … but missing minor elements

14 ptsAcceptable discussion of social transformations as “time” was clarified

Acceptable reprise showing that as the geared clock was invented, and thereafter, monasteries, their immediate surrounds, and then Europe and Britain became more organized; science advanced; and other technologies were invented … but missing multiple elements, or with all elements but the discussion in places is flawed

10 ptsBelow average discussion of the transformation

Below average reprise showing that as the geared clock was invented, and thereafter, monasteries, their immediate surrounds, and then Europe and Britain became more organized; science advanced; and other technologies were invented … an attempt is made but missing multiple elements plus flawed discussion on multiple topics

0 ptsNo observable effort

Discussion of the transformation is absent or deeply flawed

20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeImplications and Innovations in the U.S.How clock-based (artifactual) time enabled societal organization and progress in the U.S., and how the U.S. contributed to the concept of “time”
20 ptsExcellent analysis of the U.S. Case

Excellent discussion of important elements of U.S. culture becoming far more effective and valuable as artifactual time was embraced, and contributions to the concept

17 ptsVery good analysis of the U.S. Case

Very good discussion of important elements of U.S. culture becoming far more effective and valuable as artifactual time was embraced, and contributions to the concept … but missing minor elements or overly-minimal discussion

14 ptsAcceptable analysis of the U.S. Case

Acceptable discussion of important elements of U.S. culture becoming far more effective and valuable as artifactual time was embraced, and contributions to the concept … but missing elements or some flawed discussion

10 ptsBelow average analysis of the U.S. Case

Below average discussion of important elements of U.S. culture becoming far more effective and valuable as artifactual time was embraced, and contributions to the concept … an attempt is made but missing elements and very flawed discussion

0 ptsNo observable effort

Discussion of the U.S. case is missing or deeply flawed

20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEssay Mechanics
20 ptsExecutes on spelling, grammar, and paragraph structure perfectly. 17 ptsExecutes on spelling, grammar, and paragraph structure nearly perfectly. 14 ptsExecutes on spelling, grammar, and paragraph structure intelligibly. 10 ptsPervasive problems in spelling, grammar, sentence and/or paragraph structure. 0 ptsNo observable effort in essay mechanics.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGE V ALO2Examine how creative works of human expression [as defined in GE #1] outside the United States have influenced the United States’ cultures

threshold: 3.0 pts

5 ptsExceeds Expectations 3 ptsMeets Expectations 0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations
Total Points: 100