It was fascinating to search terms and see how Google is actively constructing our perceptions of occupational and gender roles. All of the terms were closely related to perceived cultural norms and biases within my geographic region. This reminds me of a theory that I learnt from my technology class from my undergrad called technological determinism. This theory makes the assumption that the technology in society ultimately determines cultural values and subsequently is the driver of social change. Both the technology and economy of a society create its unique cultural practices and perceptions. I found this to be particularly evident while I was Googling various terms including doctor, professor, nurse, boy, and girl. Without realizing it, every time we Google something, technology is impacting our cultural values, perceptions, and social relations below our threshold for conscious perception. Evidently, technology is affecting us at the subliminal level.
While searching for a leadership article, I tried to incorporate the recommendations that Warner suggested in his article. I searched in Google Scholar “related: leadership site:CA.” This helped refine my search to Canadian scholarly-acclaimed journals on the topic of leadership.
In order to find an article that is related to my industry, I searched “interior design + business + marketing” in which I found an exceptionally useful article:
Again, I used Warner’s recommendations to find a local podcast called The Surrey Experience by searching “podcast + Surrey”:
This was a useful activity because it will be a foundational skill to have while seeking reputable articles as I work to complete the MA of Leadership.
Christina