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People, Capital, Time, and Information

Benchmarks for Learning Vocabulary Reading Strategy

• Every system involves the use consumers Outlining How are people, capital,
of seven basic resources. capital time, and information used in tech-
• Capital is needed to create stock nology? Con-
products and systems. sider this I. Resources for
dividends question as you Technology
• Time is an increasingly impor- A. People
tant resource in our informa- interest read through the 1. Technology
tion age. data section, and out- is a response
line your to the needs
• Processing data into informa- nanoseconds response. and wants of
tion is key to the operation of people.
systems. 2.

People

People are at the very heart of technology, which can be
defined as the application of human knowledge to solve
practical problems. For this reason, technology should be
considered a response to the needs and wants of people.
Companies use people as a resource to design and create
products that maximize resources for our use. People are
Figure 5.1 Apollo 11 astro-
naut Edwin Aldrin stands facing also the consumers (those who buy products or services) of
the U.S. flag on the moon. technology.
Advances in technology are generated by people’s needs,
Summarizing Why did the
United States feel the need to send as well. For example, the Soviet Union sent the first satel-
astronauts into space? lite, Sputnik I, into space in 1957. The United States govern-
ment decided to match this achievement. In 1958, NASA
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was cre-
ated to direct the space program. In 1969, astronauts from
the United States landed on the moon (Figure 5.1).
Technologists are constantly designing and developing
new technology to meet ever-changing needs. For instance,
for the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, NASA scientists had to
combine their knowledge from earlier moon landings with
new ideas to develop a lunar roving vehicle (LRV), as well as
a way to get it to the moon and back safely.
People are hired by companies as a resource for their
ideas and expertise. Of course, people provide the labor on
which technology depends. Many workers are needed to cre-
ate the products and services we use every day.
All of the seven resources you will learn about are impor-
tant, but it is human knowledge that turns resources into
goods and services.

102 Chapter 5