Thanks for putting together this presentation on GMOs—I definitely learned a lot about the history surrounding genetic enhancement and artificial selection. I particularly enjoyed your introduction of socio-technical factors into the conversation and your emphasis on how GMOs reproduce familiar narratives surrounding a fear of technology. Last, I thought it was great that you brought up how GMOs are often positioned as a technology that can ‘save the world,’ which, as you aptly point out, is an adage that has never proved true.
Unfortunately, there were some technical glitches throughout the presentation. In particular, two voice-over recordings play during the clip at 4:01. In addition, the presentation seems to cut off just as you begin to delve into another point—so maybe this wasn’t the full version? While the technical difficulties definitely took away from your presentation, as a whole, you still managed to communicate several nuanced points about GMOs.
Thanks Emma! there were overlapping narrations hiding on that slide and the last slide had a 5 second delay for some reason. I just uploaded a new version
Lindee, Susan. (2018). Evolution Made to Order: Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth-Century America. Journal of American History, 104(4), 1060–1061. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/jah/article/104/4/1060/4932691
U.S. National Laboratory of Medicine. (2018, May 8). DNA is a double helix formed by base pairs attached to a sugar-phosphate backbone [Digital image]. Retrieved from https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/basics/dna
I think you did a great job dividing up your points to follow that PEST model you had a picture of. It allowed for a very easy to follow pathway that you stuck to pretty well and built up a nice foundation for your topic.
You mentioned Kranzberg’s First Law later on but did not really delve into it specifically. I think it would have been a good idea to state what groups are trying to use GMO’s and how they differentiate instead of just saying it is important to think about the groups instead of the technology itself.
Overall, really solid slidecast. I really like the way you narrated it; your enthusiasm really helped me capture the main details and follow along your timeline. Similarly, I felt it was very impactful how you outlined your slidecast in terms of the PEST analysis, as it ensured that you covered all factors that explain where we are today in terms of GMOs’ impact on society. For me, it was very helpful that you notified the viewer about which aspects you’ve already talked about and introduce what you will be discussing next (the slide with the PEST acronym). You really covered this topic from multiple viewpoints in a very efficient way.
I also liked your many connections to class, especially the trend that we have scene in studying technological advancements throughout the semester, that there is that “fear of the unknown” societal aspect. This is especially prevalent in the case of GMOs, since it is such a controversial issue and not many people are well educated on its implications. This leads into your discussion of the benefits of GMOs and how golden rice provides nutrition in undeveloped countries. However, you balance this out when explaining the “fallacy of the technological fix,” which is an example of how we always search for a full-view analysis of a technology, highlighting its benefits and shortcomings.
The only area of improvement I would suggest is that you could have expanded more on the application of Kranzberg’s First Law when talking about how people respond to technological advancements differently. What are the current trends in terms of GMOs? I feel like you could’ve used one more slide to discuss that at the end to add more depth, but overall your slidecast was very impressive and knowledgable, I truly enjoyed it.
Thank you for your insightful contributions to class throughout the semester and I hope you have a wonderful summer Trent!
Hey Trent!
Thanks for putting together this presentation on GMOs—I definitely learned a lot about the history surrounding genetic enhancement and artificial selection. I particularly enjoyed your introduction of socio-technical factors into the conversation and your emphasis on how GMOs reproduce familiar narratives surrounding a fear of technology. Last, I thought it was great that you brought up how GMOs are often positioned as a technology that can ‘save the world,’ which, as you aptly point out, is an adage that has never proved true.
Unfortunately, there were some technical glitches throughout the presentation. In particular, two voice-over recordings play during the clip at 4:01. In addition, the presentation seems to cut off just as you begin to delve into another point—so maybe this wasn’t the full version? While the technical difficulties definitely took away from your presentation, as a whole, you still managed to communicate several nuanced points about GMOs.
Thanks Emma! there were overlapping narrations hiding on that slide and the last slide had a 5 second delay for some reason. I just uploaded a new version
Bibliography
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Lindee, Susan. (2018). Evolution Made to Order: Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth-Century America. Journal of American History, 104(4), 1060–1061. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/jah/article/104/4/1060/4932691
Rangel, G. (2015). From Corgis to Corn: A Brief Look at the Long History of GMO Technology. Retrieved from http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/from-corgis-to-corn-a-brief-look-at-the-long-history-of-gmo-technology/
Roy, Devparna. (2012). Europe’s Green Revolution and Others Since: The Rise and Fall of Peasant-Friendly Plant Breeding. Asian Biotechnology & Development Review, 14(3), 99-105. Retrieved from http://www.ris.org.in/images/RIS_images/pdf/ABDR%20November%202012.pdf
Small, S. (2016, November 22). How to Leave Industrial Agriculture Behind – Food Tank. Retrieved from https://foodtank.com/news/2016/06/how-to-leave-industrial-agriculture-behind/
Stokes, Elen. (2010) EU Regulation of GMOs: Law and Decision Making for a New Technology. Journal of Environmental Law, 22 (1), 163–166. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/jel/article/22/1/163/555740
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Nice job Trent!
I think you did a great job dividing up your points to follow that PEST model you had a picture of. It allowed for a very easy to follow pathway that you stuck to pretty well and built up a nice foundation for your topic.
You mentioned Kranzberg’s First Law later on but did not really delve into it specifically. I think it would have been a good idea to state what groups are trying to use GMO’s and how they differentiate instead of just saying it is important to think about the groups instead of the technology itself.
Other than that, it was a good watch!
Hi Trent!
Overall, really solid slidecast. I really like the way you narrated it; your enthusiasm really helped me capture the main details and follow along your timeline. Similarly, I felt it was very impactful how you outlined your slidecast in terms of the PEST analysis, as it ensured that you covered all factors that explain where we are today in terms of GMOs’ impact on society. For me, it was very helpful that you notified the viewer about which aspects you’ve already talked about and introduce what you will be discussing next (the slide with the PEST acronym). You really covered this topic from multiple viewpoints in a very efficient way.
I also liked your many connections to class, especially the trend that we have scene in studying technological advancements throughout the semester, that there is that “fear of the unknown” societal aspect. This is especially prevalent in the case of GMOs, since it is such a controversial issue and not many people are well educated on its implications. This leads into your discussion of the benefits of GMOs and how golden rice provides nutrition in undeveloped countries. However, you balance this out when explaining the “fallacy of the technological fix,” which is an example of how we always search for a full-view analysis of a technology, highlighting its benefits and shortcomings.
The only area of improvement I would suggest is that you could have expanded more on the application of Kranzberg’s First Law when talking about how people respond to technological advancements differently. What are the current trends in terms of GMOs? I feel like you could’ve used one more slide to discuss that at the end to add more depth, but overall your slidecast was very impressive and knowledgable, I truly enjoyed it.
Thank you for your insightful contributions to class throughout the semester and I hope you have a wonderful summer Trent!