Evaluate the Extent to Which Science and Technology Have Brought $\bullet$

question 38

Essay

Evaluate the extent to which science and technology have brought change in the period from 1900 to the present.
Directions: The Document-Based Question is based on the accompanying documents. The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise.
In your response you should do the following:
$\bullet$ Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that establishes a line of reasoning.
$\bullet$ Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
$\bullet$ Support an argument in response to the prompt using at least six documents.
$\bullet$ Use at least one additional piece of specific historical evidence (beyond that found in the documents) relevant to an argument about the prompt.
$\bullet$ For at least three documents, explain how or why the document's point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument.
$\bullet$ Use evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses the prompt.
Document 1
"Mutual Deterrence" speech by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in an address to the editors and publishers of the United Press International (a news-gathering organization that supplied news and information to newspapers and news agencies around the world), San Francisco, September 18, 1967
"Man has lived now for more than twenty years in what we have come to call the Atomic Age. What we sometimes overlook is that every future age of man will be an atomic age, and if man is to have a future at all, it will have to be one overshadowed with the permanent possibility of thermonuclear holocaust. About that fact there is no longer any doubt. Our freedom in this question consists only in facing the matter rationally and realistically and discussing actions to minimize the danger.
No sane citizen, political leader or nation wants thermonuclear war. But merely not wanting it is not enough. We must understand the differences among actions which increase its risks, those which reduce them and those which, while costly, have little influence one way or another. But there is a great difficulty in the way of constructive and profitable debate over the issues, and that is the exceptional complexity of nuclear strategy. Unless these complexities are well understood rational discussion and decision-making are impossible.
It is important to understand that assured destruction is the very essence of the whole deterrence concept. We must possess an actual assured-destruction capability, and that capability also must be credible. The point is that a potential aggressor must believe that our assured-destruction capability is in fact actual, and that our will to use it in retaliation to an attack is in fact unwavering. The conclusion, then, is clear: if the United States is to deter a nuclear attack in itself or its allies, it must possess an actual and a credible assured-destruction capability."
Document 2
Dr. Norman Borlaug, United States agricultural scientist involved in Green Revolution research, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nobel Lecture, 1970.
"In the developing countries . . . the land is tired, worn out, depleted of plant nutrients, and often eroded; crop yields have been low, near starvation level, and stagnant for centuries. Hunger prevails, and survival depends largely upon the annual success or failure of the cereal crops.
For the underprivileged billions in the forgotten world, hunger has been a constant companion, and starvation has all too often lurked in the nearby shadows. To millions of these unfortunates, who have long lived in despair, the Green Revolution seems like a miracle that has generated new hope for the future.
The Green Revolution has won a temporary success in man's war against hunger and deprivation; it has given man a breathing space. If fully implemented, the revolution can provide sufficient food for sustenance during the next three decades. But the frightening power of human reproduction must also be curbed; otherwise the success of the Green Revolution will be ephemeral only."
Document 3
Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, "Imperative of Science and Technology in Accelerating African Development" Compton Lecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, September 15, 2008
"[The] mobile phone sector . . . has become a critical player not only in spinning off small and medium retail businesses, but also in a spreading wealth via stock ownership in local market and capital markets. In addition, the mobile phone has played a leading role in narrowing the digital divide. Thanks to the internet infrastructure built by these mobile phone companies, the number of internet users in Africa is . . . growing more than three times as fast as the rest of the world.
[T]he mobile phone together with the internet, have transformed ways of doing business generally rendering other sectors more efficient and effective. . . . It is necessary to look briefly at their impact on various fields.
One such example is the story of micro-entrepreneurs in Rwanda. . . . [A] study found that customers are now able to call in orders and entrepreneurs can reach their suppliers easily and are able to stay in touch with their employees.
Most importantly, some of these businesses can respond to orders outside their neighborhood, sometimes nationally, something that was unthinkable before the mobile phone. The MIT study showed how the mobile phone had facilitated the upward social mobility of micro entrepreneurs. One example was a baker in Kigali whose business grew by an estimated 30%, enabling his family to move into a larger and more comfortable home.
Similar accounts abound in other parts of Africa. Within the East African region, for example, the Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange has reduced barriers between farmers, traders, and consumers. Central to this commodity exchange service seeing over the 5 million subscribers are information kiosks located in rural markets that relay timely market information to computer services or other computer servers. . . .
. . . It is important that this agriculture exchange has improved the lives of farmers and their families by up to 25% in terms of income, health, and education.
Currently, there are other important uses of mobile telephones in Africa, including retrieving savings, transferring funds, making payments, or accessing student exam results.
Document 4
Professor Daniel Headrick, Technology: A World History, Oxford University Press, 2009
But more research was to come in the form of genetically modified crops. Research on plant DNA, started in the 1960s by large agrochemical companies, began yielding impressive results by the 1980s. They produced seeds containing DNA from several different organisms. For example, through gene splicing, DNA from bacteria could make crops resistant to frost or to insect pests. By 1998, 15 percent of the corn, 30 percent of the soybeans, and more than 50 percent of the cotton grown in the USA were genetically modified.
The benefits were immediate and obvious: less need for insecticides, fewer crop losses, and more attractive products. Yet genetically modified organisms raised fears. Would the genetic manipulation cause diseases or genetic mutations among humans in the future? Would the alien genes spread to other organisms they were never intended for, such as wild plants? Would genes designed to kill pests also wipe out butterflies and honeybees?
Document 5
The global decline of the fertility rate since 1950 Document 6
Twenty-four hours of global air traffic 2016 Document 7
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Combating Antibiotic Resistance, Oct 29, 2019
Antibiotics are drugs used for treating infections caused by bacteria. Also known as antimicrobial drugs, antibiotics have saved countless lives. Misuse and overuse of these drugs, however, have contributed to a phenomenon known as antibiotic resistance. This resistance develops when potentially harmful bacteria change in a way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of antibiotics.
Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health concern worldwide. When a person is infected with an antibiotic-resistant bacterium, not only is treatment of that patient more difficult, but the antibiotic-resistant bacterium may spread to other people.
Examples of the types of bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics include those that cause skin infections, urinary tract infections, meningitis, sexually transmitted diseases and respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia.
Antibiotics are meant to be used against bacterial infections. For example, they are used to treat strep throat, which is caused by streptococcal bacteria, and skin infections caused by staphylococcal bacteria.
Although antibiotics kill bacteria, they are not effective against viruses. Therefore, they will not be effective against viral infections such as colds, most coughs, many types of sore throat, and influenza (flu).

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Definitions:

Positioning Studies

Research activities designed to understand how a brand, product, or company is perceived in the marketplace relative to competitors, aiding in marketing strategy development.

Tracking Reports

Documents that provide detailed information on the progress, performance, or status of a project, campaign, or activity over time.

Marketing Program

A comprehensive plan that integrates all marketing efforts and strategies, including advertising, promotions, pricing, and distribution, to achieve business objectives.

Long-Range Marketing Plans

Strategic plans that outline marketing goals and actions to be taken over an extended period, usually several years.