How does the technology empower men and women to meet the needs of individuals and families.

Irons meet the needs of individuals when it comes to self identity and self actualisation. When an individuals clothes is being ironed, it makes them feel nice and tidy and shows a clean representation of themselves when going out.

As mentioned before, irons make clothes look presentable. It will make a good impression in the work force or when applying for a job which meets the persons financial needs especially if they have a family. By having these financial needs,bit will help them in getting food, shelter, more clothes, etc which therefore meets there physical and socio-emotional needs. This caters when it comes to meeting the needs of a family as the individual will he support the family with everything they need.
It also meets there social needs when it comes to meeting new people at wherever it may be.

Examine the contribution the piece of technology has made towards promoting individual and family wellbeing.

The contribution an iron has towards individuals and families include household appliances. It helps make household chores and lot easier and quicker. Contributes to their wellbeing as there is a less labour intensive work, therefore affecting their physical wellbeing.

Describe the historical development of the chosen technology.

An iron, also called a clothes iron or flatiron is a small household appliance. It’s a flat, with a triangular surface that when is heated, is used to press clothes to remove creases.

It is said that the Chinese were using hot metal for ironing before anyone else was. Before, pans were filled with hot coals which were pressed over stretched cloth.

Image of the Chinese ladies using hot metal.

It was about a thousand years ago that this method was well-established.

In Northern Europe, they were using stones, glass and wood for smoothing. These continued in use for "ironing" in some places into the mid-19th century, long after Western blacksmiths started to forge smoothing irons in the late Middle Ages.

The first electric clothes iron that was invented was in 1882 in France. The inventor was named Henry W. Seely who lived in New York. Other electric irons were invented in 1882 but however it used a carbon arc to heat the iron which was a method that was dangerous.

Historically, irons have had several different variations and have therefore have had different names along with it.

Flatiron or smoothing iron

The general name for a hand-held iron which consists of a handle and a solid, flat, metal base.

Sad iron or sadiron

This means "solid" or heavy iron, where the base is a solid block of metal which is sometimes used to refer irons with heavier bases than a typical "flatiron".

Box iron, ironing box, charcoal iron, ox-tongue iron or slug iron

The base is a container which you can insert hot coals or a metal brick to keep the iron heated. The ox-tongue iron is named for the particular shape of the insert, referred to as an ox-tongue slug.

Gusing iron

A type of flat iron or sad iron named for the goose-like curve in its neck.

Goffering iron

This type of iron, now obsolete, consists of a metal cylinder oriented horizontally on a stand.

In the 1^st century BC, Metal pans filled with hot coals were used for smoothing fabrics in China. From the 17th century, sadirons or sad irons (from an old word meaning solid) began to be used. They were a thick slab of cast iron which was delta-shaped with a handle, heated in a fire. These were also called flat irons.

Later on, a design consisted of an iron box which could be filled with hot coals.

In India, burning coconut shells were used instead of charcoal since they have a similar heating capacity. This method is still used but only as a backup device since power outages are frequent. Other box irons had heated metal inserts instead of hot coals.

In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, there were many irons which were heated by fuels such as kerosene, ethanol, whale oil, natural gas, carbide gas or gasoline. Some houses were equipped with a system of pipes for distributing natural gas or carbide gas to different rooms so it was able to operate appliances such as irons. 

The first controlled electric iron appeared in the 1920s. Later on, steam was used to iron clothing as well. Thomas Sears was the one who created steam as a way of ironing. 

The first vailable electric steam iron was introduced in 1926 by a drying & cleaning company in New York but was unfortunately not a success. However, there was a The $10 Steam-O-Matic in 1938 which was the first steam iron to achieve popularity which then led the way to a more widespread use of the electric steam iron during the 1940s and 1950s.

Discuss the impact of the technology on families, communities and the workplace.

An iron has a huge impact on not only families, but also communities and the workplace.

An iron has an impact on the workplace as it helps show the individual in a well presented manner, as their clothes are washed and ironed to perfect, making them look professional. This has an impact on their wellbeing and employment as well.

As for families, it has an impact on the way they dress as well. It also helps as a part of the chore for kids in a family to do.

An iron doesn’t have an impact on communities.

Politically: Irons could be used as a weapon domestically in the case of breaking in an entry but however an iron is also not applicable politically. It also has a political impact when it comes to being sexist. It is seen that its a womans job to iron when men should and can be able to do it too. 

Economically: It may be a positive or negative thing on families, depending on how their financial state is and how much the iron they are purchasing costs.

Socially: An iron has a huge social impact on families and workplaces. It shows people that you clean up nice and have yourself together, meaning they would wanna get to know you. As sad as it is, society judges you by your appearance  before getting to you know, therefore looking tidy and clean, will have a positive impact on ones social life.

This is a photo of a well ironed business suit. Shows that it has an impact on the way someone represents themselves in how they appear for work and so on.