Affordances - Essay Sample

Affordances are the properties of a certain material which will determine how one interacts with the object. Affordance was coined by psychologist James Gibson in 1977. He puts forward that certain action will always be determined by the physical ability of the action executer.

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Affordances are divided into high-level and low-level affordances (Vyas, Chisalita, & Dix,2016). High-level performance is the conditions supported by technological changes in the society; these conditions in the society are shaped by scalability, persistence, and replicability.

Contrary to high-level affordances, low-level affordances are related to the materiality of the medium, with specific features. Affordances are different depending on the person who is subjected to the situation, and they can be interpreted to suit the context in place.

Perceptible affordance. It this affordance, the physical characteristic of an object dictates an action be taken.

False affordance. In this kind of affordance, one has the freedom to execute a certain action even if it does not yield any results. An example is pressing power on button in your phone, but it fails to turn on. Even if it doesn't turn on you have a freedom to press it as much as you can.

Hidden affordance. In this case, it is evident that looking into a certain thing does not necessarily depict what that product is capable of doing, for example, when you have a bottle of soda, it is not a necessity that you can use that bottle to open another (Vyas et al, 2016). Hence, in this case, assumptions are not encouraged since the results aren't the same daily.

In our society, it is evident that the action to be executed at a certain level will always be determined by our abilities to do it. It is advisable that we should always consider our abilities before indulging in any activity. Affordances are designed to assist one to execute a certain action; it is evident that an affordance cannot exist by itself; that is; a user has to be present for the affordance to be executed.

Affordance has hurt our society since its execution requires that one has a certain set physical feature. This has made people to force themselves and pretend that they have a set qualification, this, in turn, will lead to negative impact since the personality of an individual will have been altered with the aim of satisfying an affordance and being able to execute it.

From the study, it is prudent to note that affordance will always be executed by people with certain physical capabilities; this, therefore, means that there is an existing difference as it was in the case of the platform. That is, people have been segregated depending on their capabilities thus bringing the sense of difference and that some people will tend to see themselves as more superior than others.

Circuit of culture

This is a method in which the different artifacts, behaviors, and living style of a group of people are studied and subjected to five scrutiny level to categorize them. In this case, the meaning deducted from each artifact is connected to give meaningful information. During this analysis, it is worth to note that each case to be studied must pass through a specific stage.

Identity. In this case, we examine our behaviors and how we live in comparison with others. How do we interact and live with others? It is worth to note that our identity tends to change with time; this change is brought about by the change in the environment and those who live around us (McLennan, 2019).

Signification. After examining the nature of artifacts, go interpret them to find their meaning and its importance and categorize them. The artifacts will then be assigned a meaning and importance.

Consumption. The acquired information is then utilized to be part of the individual. This information will give a cultural identity, and people are sharing them will have a sense of belonging.

Production. This is the process of making things and attaching meaning to each observable artifact. This is a great step since what has been examined is put into use to make it productive. The manufactured products will be put into use.

Regulation. This is the process of putting limits on how to use certain things or activities. This regulation can be made by the authority with the powers bestowed on it to control the use and practice of culture. It is prudent to have measures to control culture since what is perceived to be good to one person might not be the case with the other person.

In our society, it is evident that the culture has always been used to categorize people, it is worth to note that people who share the same cultural background are always free with each other and they interact freely (McLennan, (2019). Culture has been used as a media of promoting national unity; this has been achieved because people inhabiting a country have a common culture which makes them have a sense of belonging thus fostering national unity.

In some cases, the circuit of culture has hurt society. Some people who are associated with a certain culture tend to view the culture of their counterparts as inferior compared to them; this always leads to disunity. An example of this is racism; this menace has been cancer in the world; people from a certain race views other as inferior compared to them thus sparking hatred and disunity (Nell, 2015).

From the study, it can be deduced that culture has both positive and negative impact in our society. If culture is treated with care and learn to accommodate the culture of others, then the culture will be beneficial. If we view the culture of others as inferior compared to ours, then it will lead to a negative impact. It is worth to note that culture is dynamic, the culture which existed a decade ago is not the same as the present culture; this change has been brought about by the advancement in technology. As technology sweeps away the old culture, it establishes its own culture.

Digital technology

Digital technology is a system which is used to share information between two machines. The information is broken into binary numbers 1s and 0s. This system enables the transfer of information from one machine to another which can be interpreted to have a meaning. Technology has been divided into sign systems, production, technologies of the self, and power.

In the technologies of sign systems, we are allowed to convey information using signs which has an attached meaning (McLennan, 2019). This kind of communication system is utilized by people with hearing impairment and a place with a lot of noise. Production technology, this is the type of technology where there is the production of different goods and services which are later transferred from producer to consumer. Power, this is a part of technology which takes information of an individual or a particular action and conveys it to the relevant personnel.

In our daily life, there are several occasions where we have seen the use of technology. An example of this is the utilization of CCTV cameras. This technology is under power technology; the introduction of CCTV have bolstered security in many towns and security of products in shops. CCTV has been utilized in supermarkets to curb the incidences of shoplifting; this had enabled the shops to keep track of their customers while shopping.

Importance of Digital technology

Ease of communication. With the introduction of a cellphone, communication has been erased. It is easy to convey information within a short time and to a distant person by making a call. Technology has made the world to be seen as a global village.

Improved security. With the adoption of CCTV surveillance, several cases of insecurity have been curbed before execution. Through the use of this technology, it has been easy to trace whereabouts of the criminals when they orchestrate a crime and go to hiding. With technology, they are easily found.

As a result of the emergence and development of technology, there has been ease in performing various tasks. With the assistance of technology, statistical computation has been eased, and statistical information can easily be established by utilizing appropriate software.

Despite the benefits which technology has brought, it also has its negative side;

Moral decay. With the advancement of technology, our society has been subjected to morals which are uncalled thus leading to moral decay.

With the introduction of the phone, there have been many situations when the phone has been misused. With the introduction of selfies, image comparison which portrays other people as inferior compared to them has been in rise thus sparking a negative feeling. More so when the image is shared in a public platform where people from different backgrounds interact, an example of the platform is Facebook, and it has been known to spread information so fast and make it viral (Sert, & Boynuegri, 2016).

From the study, it is worth to note that technology has brought several changes in society. Some of the changes are positive and some negative. With the impact of technology in our society, the world has been made a global village.

Platform

The platform is a stage in which one is given a chance to express him/herself. Through this, an individual is always bestowed with the freedom to express what deems right or articulate any point of concern he or she has. It is worth to note that a platform I used to enhance social acts in society. This is because when one is given a platform, he or she has a chance to speak out what he or she has in mind.

The platform can be disassembled into, socio-economic platform, network platform, and economical platform (Cennamo,&Santalo, 2013). The socio-economic platform has enhanced the interaction of business people with the society, through this platform, a business person can get to know the expectation of the client and at the same time client can register his or her complaints to the business person. Network platform, this is a business platform, the business premise should always strive to ensure that they develop a good connection or network with its customers, the existence of this network and in its good working state depicts a business success and losing of the platform means business failure. The economic platform, in this case, a business creates interactive sessions with its clients; through this, they will ensure that there is a good relationship between customers and the business.

Example, during the political forums, leaders are always given a chance to convey their information to the society. Through this politician will have a humble time to articulate the plans to the public. In the same forum, a member of the community can have a chance to convey their grievances to the political leader, thus utilizing the given platform.

It is worth to note that the effective utilization of different platforms is beneficial to the stakeholders of the platform in different ways according to the nature of the platform (Cennamo et al, 2013). A platform tends to give more power to those who have been the platform to convey information.

Good utilization of socio-economic platform will enable prosumer to supply the surplus produce to other consumers. Thus the financial status of the business will grow and get established.

Form a good ground to convey grievances in society. With the government ensuring that there is a good platform for interactions with its citizens, the government will be able to know the challenges which its citizens are facing and with that they will act appropriately to ensure that the citizens are contented with service delivery hence peaceful nation.