**5. The facets of technology: Myths and realities**

40 Multivariate Analysis in Management, Engineering and the Sciences

themselves ahead of technological development.

quest for sustainability.

**2. Research problem** 

**3. Research goals** 

**studies** 

Thus, considering that the man, inserted in a society, conceives creates or enhances technologies, in this paper we will present hypotheses, futilely transformed in models that these social interactions also influence the conception that the individual has about the technology and these require different attitudes facing the technological development in the

Considering the aspects mentioned in the introduction, here is formulated the research problem to be developed in this work: how the undergraduate students in the State of São Paulo perceive the relationship between technology and society and how they position

The main goal of this research is to analyze and test, using Structural Equations Modeling (SEM), the adhesion of different models that relate the interactions among man, society, environment and technology (conceptions and expectations and/or attitudes). To do so, we conducted a survey of the main aspects (or dimensions) of technological activities, such as: indicators of production and technology diffusion, the perception of the current model of society in our day by people from various sectors of our society and indicators of technological challenges in today's contemporary world scene. It will also be developed a scale capable of generate models that allow a better understanding of how individuals understand the technology and what they expect from it nowadays, taking into account the influence of social factors such as antecedent. Finally, we will present a theoretical hypothesis and the development of its respective model able to relate the points covered in previous sections.

**4. Science, technology and society: Historical bases and sociological** 

consequences and show disastrous prospects for the future of humanity. [14].

The advancement of science and technology, often overblown, raised a concern to integrate science and technology for the welfare of society, especially since mankind, in the last century, felt a mixture of hope and fear when seeing realized man's dream to reach the space, at the same time that the world feared for their end because of major advances in nuclear weapons. The apathy of society regarding the decisions in science and technology at the beginning of last century was changing while new discoveries began to bring unpopular

Especially in English-speaking countries, the economic crises turned on social alarms about some ecological aspects, such as, for example, the side effects of some bactericides and the war in Vietnam. These were some of the factors that led to the first anti-establishment actions, giving rise in the international arena to new positions and attitudes towards irrational advance of modern society. Due to strong political and economic crises that plagued the world, step by step, the belief in the neutrality of science and the naive view of technological development, which once dominated the social scene, was fading. A The diversity of ways in which technology was and is developed and studied over the years that man inhabits and modifies the world makes us realize that it is structured in its own field of knowledge, involving other aspects such as the culture of the society where it has been developed and its organization. In [19] it is shown that technology requires from their agents a deep knowledge of how and why your goals are achieved also are requiring a reformulation of structures and goals of the society where it is installed. Thus, technology can be seen as a set of human activities associated to an intricate system of symbols, machinery and instruments, always aiming the construction of works and artifacts, according methods and processes from modern science. Through the bibliographical survey presented, it is possible to see the diversity of opinions and studies that exist to try to better understand technology. Table 1 shows a summary of these conceptions.



Technology and Society Public Perception: A Structural Equation

Modeling Study of the Brazilian Undergraduate Students' Opinions and Attitudes from Sao Paulo State 43

This work is characterized as a quantitative research. This option is based on the assertion in [90] that the structural equation model provides a direct method to simultaneously handle with multiple dependency relationships with statistical efficiency, exploring them in depth, generating confirmatory analysis, and allowing the representation of unobservable concepts in these relationships, verifying even possible measurement errors that occurred during the statistical process. By establishing an alternative to analyzing the relationship between society and its influence on conceptions and attitudes of undergraduate students facing the technological development, the structural equation modeling and the procedures for descriptive and multivariate analysis denote a precondition to the application of the technique.

In this way, evidences were pointed out that the literature, on numerous occasions, provides broad considerations that indicate that society generates demand for new technologies and these, in turn, change habits, relationships and forms of consumption of the individuals who

We created a master model that relates the conceptions (CON) that individuals have about technology, their attitudes and expectations facing the technological development (ATI) and the influences of the social aspect (DSO). Due to the theoretical recommendations of the adopted method, four models were tested in the study. However, to simplify and make the research more objective, this paper will present only the original model, related to the null hypothesis of the research. Thus, starting from this model, the relations among the constructs with the lowest number of causal pathways will be defined, taking as fundamental change the antecedent factor (also treated as an independent variable or exogenous) in the causal relationships ([90, 91]). Initially, DSO1 model was chosen, which is characterized by having the social dimension (DSO) as an antecedent to the factors conception (CON) and attitude (ATI). Thus, the graphical representation of causal

relationships among the constructs, known as path diagram, is shown in Diagram 1.

**DSO**: independent variable (exogenous). **CON e ATI**: dependent variables (endogenous).

**Diagram 1.** Structural relationship Model - DSO1: Influence of Society.

**7. Methodological procedures of the research** 

**7.1. Theoretical models and research hypotheses** 

make use thereof.

Source: [10]

**7.2. Introducing the model** 

Source: [10]

**Table 1.** Referenced overview of the different conceptions of technology.
