Revised Artifact Project: Just the Facts.
Here is a recommended guide to assembling this project.
- A detailed paragraph describing the artifact. How much information
can you pack into a paragraph?
- Where was it produced?
- How many components? What kinds? Who produced them, where?
- With what machines and processes?
- How many companies are involved?
- What kinds of agreements do they have?
- Countries? Labor?
- Distribution
- What is between production and final point of consumption
(you)?
- Means of transportation, distribution, oversight, inventory?
- Companies, labor?
- International distribution?
- Regulations, patents, etc.
- Regs on production?
- Regs on sales and distribution?
- Who oversees this artifact? (and go beyond/inside of the FCC,
FDA, FTC)
- Standards? How decided? How measured? How do consumers find
out?
- Marketing, How is it a commodity?
- Who is it marketed to? (everyone? Targeted to certain groups?
Countries?)
- By whom? (companies involved in marketing?)
- How else is the artifact discovered? (what/who else functions
to get the artifact to you and others like you?)
- Consumption (not a big section, okay)
- How does the company keep making a profit?
- How are you kept buying the product, or ones like it?
- How are your values, identity, way of life supporting it?
- Political Economy (Support)
- Who is supported by supporting you directly?
- What professionals/experts depend on this product for their
jobs?
- How large are these supporting industries?
- What other parasitic industries depend in part on this artifact?
- History
- What different inventors of it are there?
- How international is its invention?
- What industry is it a part of? What is its history within
that industry?
You will probably want to do a little research. Some librarians
and information experts are into this kind of research. Make it
interesting: speculate on the above questions and allow your curiosity
to guide you. And keep a record of your search strategies.
Feel free to add questions. And please proofread your analysis
before handing it in (or trade and have someone else do it).