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Prompt: For this assignment, reflect on what you consider to be some of the most significant developments covered in Modules Five and Six (for example,discoveries, changes in thinking, or research advances), and address the following: Identify the developments and how they impact individuals or larger groups/cultures. Describe how the developments changed society’s understanding. How is the development applicable outside of the social sciences? This assignment can be completed through a “micro-presentation” format (1 to 2 slides) or a short-answer response (1 to 2 paragraphs).If you are choosing to submit your final reflection as a presentation, please complete the micro-presentation for this assignment (a presentation with 1 to 2 slides and accompanying notes). You may use a presentation platform of your choice (Microsoft PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.) to complete this assignment. For more information on accessing and using either PowerPoint or Prezi, view the Project 3 Supporting Resources document.If you are choosing to submit your final reflection as a short paper, please complete the short-answer response for this assignment (a written response of 1 to 2 paragraphs). Both assignments will be graded using the same criteria.Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Submit your reflection in a Microsoft Word document.Module OverviewIn his 2013 TED Talk “The Pursuit of Ignorance,” Stuart Firestein discusses the importance of the unknown in science. You were introduced to the scientific method earlier in the course, which is important in informing and organizing the way we ask questions. Firestein argues that it is the acknowledgment of all that data do not tell us that really drives scientific discovery. The focus then turns to the new questions we form after we answer our first question. Social scientific inquiry is no longer a stepwise process in which you are finished when you reach the final step. Scientific inquiry turns into a cycle and—one could argue—even a never-ending spiral in which knowledge gained is continuously informing the next question asked.Firestein (2013) quotes George Bernard Shaw, a playwright born in the mid-nineteenth century, in saying, “Science is always wrong. It never solves a problem without creating 10 more.” This is the true scientific method. Instead of thinking about scientific inquiry like finding pieces of a puzzle, one must think of scientific inquiry like ripples in the ocean, because in a puzzle there is a set number of pieces, while in the ocean, there is no limit to the ripples.Firestein (2013) states, “The purpose of knowing lots of stuff is not just to know it, because that just makes you a geek, it’s to be able to ask interesting questions.” Even though there is an acknowledgment that we will never know all the answers, by asking questions and finding answers, social scientists strive to improve quality of life and move in an upward spiral of knowledge.ReferenceFirestein, S. (2013). The pursuit of ignorance [Video file]. TED. Retrieved from londonessays.com…Globalization and TechnologyHow we study the world around us has changed with the introduction of new technology and the trend toward greater worldwide communication.GlobalizationGlobalization can be defined as “the notion that people around the globe are more connected than ever before, from the flow of information to the exchange of goods and services” (Carter, 2004, p. 251). Social scientific study has naturally changed as the world has become more connected.Social science research used to be divided into first world, second world, and third world studies, with first-world studies producing the majority of the findings and third-world studies lagging far behind (Garneau, 1985). With most of the findings coming from Westernized, white college students, findings were often biased toward these groups. What might be true for white college students in the United Kingdom may not be true or all that applicable to a middle-aged factory worker from Japan. The trend is now toward globalization and unification of social science research, pulling data from

all parts of the world so research findings can reflect multiple cultures and different societies (Mosbah-Natanson & Gingras, 2014).Think about how your life may be impacted by globalization. When you need to buy something, you now can go online and your product may be shipped from countries on the other side of the world. Globalization means we travel more and trade goods and information more and that people and money are increasingly mobile between countries. Because of this, globalization can have a great impact on countries and cultures.Technological AdvancesTechnology and globalization go hand in hand. Globalization is made possible due to technological advancements that make it easier to connect remote parts of the world. Technology is a broad term with various definitions. In the TED video “Technology’s Epic Story,” Kevin Kelly (2010) describes technology as “anything useful that a human mind makes.” Using this definition, you can see how technology is ever-changing because humans are constantly creating and refining useful tools.One technological advancement that is closely tied to globalization is widespread access to the internet and social media. People and societies with internet access now have the ability to interact with people from all over the world. The internet and social media have given a voice to those who may have never been able to share their story on such a large scale. Examples include the Occupy Wall Street movement, which spread across the country largely through social media, and the unfair treatment of women in Pakistan as shown in the article “Malala: The Girl Who Was Shot for Going to School” (Husain, 2013), which people all over the world learned about thanks to access to news via the internet.For social scientists, technology advancements have also dramatically impacted how we study individuals, groups, and cultures. The discovery of neuroimaging, for example, enables scientists to study the function and structure of the brain. This discovery has allowed researchers to identify the biological component of mental illness, which has drastically reduced stigma associated with mental health diagnoses. Advancements in identifying structures of the brain associated with perception, love, altruism, and aggression have changed the way we relate to others and led to a greater understanding of the neuroscience of concepts such as racism and group behavior. The field of social neuroscience began to emerge in the 1990s, studying how social forces affect physiology as well as how physiology influences social interactions (Association for Psychological Science, 2013). New technological advancements in observational tools have also allowed anthropologists to immediately capture video and images to enhance their understanding of various cultures.Technology has also changed the way social scientists collect data (Juster & Miller, 1984). Instead of relying on pen-and-paper measures and requiring participants to come to the laboratory, researchers can now collect data from afar, and large data sets can be analyzed with the click of a button.ReferencesAssociation for Psychological Science. (2013). What we know now: How psychological science has changed over a quarter century. Psychological Science. Retrieved from londonessays.com…Carter, A. (2004). Globalization. In J. Geer (Ed.), Public opinion and polling around the world: A historical encyclopedia (pp. 251–254). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.Garneau, F. (1985). The multinational version of social science. Current Sociology, 33(3), 1–169.Husain, M. (2013). Malala: The girl who was shot for going to school. BBC News. Retrieved from londonessays.com, F. T., & Miller, R. B. (1984). Technological change and social science research. Society, 21(4), 90–91.Kelly, K. (2010). Technology’s epic story [Video file]. TED. Retrieved from londonessays.com…Mosbah-Natanson, S., & Gingras, Y. (2014). The globalization of social sciences? Evidence from a quantitative analysis of 30 years of production, collaboration, and citations in the social sciences (1980–2009). Current Sociology, 62(5), 626–646.