You will be required to create a single poster that chooses a specific invention or technological innovation and traces its development life cycle.
It is most likely that the innovation you choose will use the Winston template.
Your chosen innovation may be something local, such as the Australian pacemaker or the multi-channel Cochlear implant, or an international one like Netflix or Facebook. The ‘innovation model’ that you choose will necessarily depend on the innovation you want to trace.
For example, if the innovation met a pre-existing need in society then you might choose Brian Winstons model (2002, pp. 3-15). If you chose a ‘disruptive’ type of innovation, then you might choose Clayton Christensen’s model (2016). Please watch the lecture from week 1 if you are unsure, and do the following readings:
Winston, Brian (1998). Modelling Change in Media, Technology, and Society: a History $CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$/file_ref/g6e7d8a9397a5f0a17f97120e47739ccb?wrap=1 Download $CANVAS_COURSE_REFERENCE$/file_ref/g6e7d8a9397a5f0a17f97120e47739ccb?wrap=1
The Disruption Machine (on Disruptive Innovation) http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/23/the-disruption-machine (Links to an external site.)
Make sure you choose an innovation where you can clearly determine the different steps.
Once you have identified the different steps in the development of your innovation, you can create the flow chart in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, or in any software program you have at hand. You will not be marked on your ‘design’ abilities but the flow of the innovation should be clear. You can also use this template. Download this template.
You will be assessed on your ability to identify the correct steps in the innovation life cycle, your understanding of the history of your specific innovation, and the historical accuracy of those steps.
It is not necessary to include more detail than is contained within an annotated model, but if you find that you require more room to expand on the innovation you’ve chosen, you should limit yourself to no more than 200 words. Please include a bibliography on a second page to identify your sources.
Criteria:
A clear schematic representation of the innovation life cycle
Steps within the diagram are historically accurate
Evidence that you understand the ‘innovation life cycle’ you have chosen, the innovation’s social impact or the social necessity to which it responds, and that the model is appropriate to the innovation
Evidence of research to support your schematic representation and chosen model.
