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Unit 1 Foundations and Trends in Family and Consumer Sciences
continue to be genetically modified to offer bet-
ter nutrition, including lower-fat alternatives. In
the area of human biology, questions regarding
cloning, parental rights, and reproduction tech-
niques are in the forefront. Many genetic engi-
neering techniques are already available, raising
ethical, moral, and medical decisions that indi-
viduals and families will have to make.
Digital technologies will continue to revo-
lutionize and transform society at a fast rate.
Although the advancement of technology on the
industrial and personal level has been astounding
during just the past decade, the rate of increase in
technological development in the coming years is
predicted to speed up. New ways of living, work-
ing, and learning will recreate life as we know it.
We have already seen great changes in education
where coursework has moved outside traditional
classroom walls and is delivered in various elec-
tronic forms. Expectations in work life and culture
have been revolutionized through telecommuni-
cations such as the Internet and wireless devices.
Even expectations in personal and home technol-
ogy have completely changed. Upcoming changes
will force individuals to consider how to balance or
perhaps integrate human contact with technology.
High-touch environments—that is, places where rela-
tionships are esteemed and a sense of community
prevails—will be desired. Although, initially, some
believed that more technology would lead to more
leisure, this has not been true for most people.
Increased technology has subsequently increased
expectations for being connected and generating
greater output. Telecommunications has had a pos-
itive effect on families, resulting in more frequent
contact and leading to strengthening relationships.
On the other hand, technology has also made it
possible to extend bullying from the school yard
into the home and to easily trade child pornogra-
phy around the world.
Cross-Cutting Theme: Global
Interdependence
In the past few decades, we have seen com-
munication increase around the world. We have
also seen that what happens in one country or
region quickly influences another. In the next
few decades, it is predicted that the world will
seem smaller as more people travel internation-
ally and see media images of cultures around
the world. Communication is instantaneous.
Global crises and skirmishes will continue to
divide and separate people. However, people
will also be more interested in developing a
sense of community around them.
How will basic human needs be met around
the world? How will choices made by one person
affect someone in another part of the world? An
apparel designer may choose to have clothing he
or she designed produced in another country to
reduce labor costs. A family and consumer sci-
ences specialist is trained to consider this deci-
sion, not just from his or her own perspective,
but from the perspective of the manufacturing
company and the people whom the decision
could harm or benefit. Some considerations may
include employee work conditions and pay. For
example, the decision to produce a sweater in a
country with very low labor costs could affect
employment in the United States as jobs are lost
in the sweater production industry. On the other
hand, moving the sweater production to a low-
wage country would provide employment for
its workers, putting food on the table for many
families.
Cross-Cutting Theme: Resource
Development and Sustainability
The current interest in protecting the
environment will continue to increase while
accommodating building growth. Designing
affordable, self-sustaining communities will be a
challenge. Sustainability means meeting today’s
needs without endangering future generations.
As the world becomes further digitized and
physically separated in the work environment,
a need for community at home and in neighbor-
hoods may grow. This will open up new issues
and questions. How can we provide affordable
housing to a growing population while not
depleting the land of natural resources? How
should natural resources be used? Who should