Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Technology, industry and innovation – Revision Notes

For the full explanations and worked paragraphs, read the Technology, industry and innovation study guide first.

These notes follow the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). They draw on section 2 (assessment objectives), section 3 (topic list and key terms) and section 4 (details of the assessment). The topic can be used in Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project.

Remember: the syllabus says “knowledge of content is not assessed”. These notes show how to use this topic to practise the assessed skills: research, analysis and evaluation (AO1), reflection (AO2), and communication and collaboration (AO3). Test yourself with the practice questions. See the 0457 course hub and 0457 checklist.

The assessment in one table

Component	What the syllabus says	Marks and weighting
1 Written Exam	Four compulsory questions on sources about a global issue; 1 hour 25 minutes	70 marks, 35%
2 Individual Report	Your own global research question; 1500-2000 words; local and/or national and global perspectives	60 marks, 30%
3 Team Project	Teams of two to five; a local issue; Explanation of Research and Planning (300-400 words), Evidence of Action, and a Reflective Paper (750-1000 words) each	70 marks, 35%

Component 1 question types (from section 4): Question 1 analyses information, arguments and perspectives in several sources (18 marks); Question 2 evaluates research or evidence and suggests how to test a claim (16 marks); Question 3 evaluates arguments and makes a reasoned judgement (16 marks); Question 4 assesses actions using all sources (20 marks).

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Issue (syllabus)	An important subject or problem for discussion
Perspective (syllabus)	A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning
Evidence (syllabus)	Information that helps develop understanding or prove something true or false
Argument (syllabus)	Statements with reasons and evidence that support a claim
Invention	A new idea, device or process
Innovation	Putting a new idea into use so it changes how things are done
Patent	A legal right to stop others using an invention for a set period
Intellectual property	Legal rights over creations of the mind, such as patents
Industrialisation	A shift from farming towards manufacturing
R&D	Research and development: spending on new products or processes
Technology transfer	Sharing technology or know-how between firms or countries
Subsidy	Government money to lower costs or encourage an activity
Planned obsolescence	A claim that products are designed to fail or date early

Source-analysis terms listed in the syllabus: bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value, vested interest.

Real examples at a glance

You will not be marked on knowing these. Use them to practise evaluation, and check any you cite in the Individual Report.

Example	What happened	Perspectives	One evaluation point
WTO COVID-19 vaccine decision	India and South Africa proposed a waiver in October 2020; in June 2022 the WTO agreed a narrower decision for vaccines, for five years	Waiver supporters vs many drug firms and some high-income governments	Each side’s claim about what limited supply (patents or factories) is hard to test
US CHIPS and Science Act	Signed 9 August 2022; $52.7 billion for chip research, manufacturing and workforce	Supporters: jobs and security. Critics: subsidies to profitable firms	Benefits are predictions, not yet facts
Rwanda drone deliveries	Launched 14 October 2016 with Zipline, delivering blood to clinics	Government and partners vs those asking about cost and transfer to other places	Early reports came from partners with a vested interest
EU right-to-repair directive	Adopted 13 June 2024; member states apply it by 31 July 2026	Consumer and environment groups vs some manufacturers	Too new for strong evidence of effects
Repair Café	First held in Amsterdam, 18 October 2009, organised by Martine Postma	Local volunteers and residents	Good model for a measurable Team Project action

Must-know distinctions

• Invention vs innovation: an invention is the new idea; innovation is putting it into use.
• Fact vs prediction: “The plant employs 900 people” can be checked; “the plant will create 1,200 jobs” cannot yet.
• Claim vs evidence: a claim states something is true; evidence is what backs it.
• Vested interest vs bias: a vested interest is a reason someone might gain; bias is a one-sided presentation. A source can have one without the other.
• Correlation vs cause: wages rising after a factory opened does not prove the factory caused the rise.
• Global vs local issue: the Individual Report needs a global issue; the Team Project needs a local one.
• Course of action vs consequence: an action is what someone does; a consequence is what results.
• Perspective vs opinion: in this syllabus a perspective rests on evidence and reasoning; an opinion may not.

Language to watch in sources

Words such as “revolutionary”, “game-changing”, “always” and “never” are persuasive or sweeping. Ask what evidence sits behind them, who wrote them, and who gains if you believe them. A company’s press release and a campaign group’s blog can both use loaded language.

Mini essay plan: assessing actions (Component 1 Question 4 style)

Question type: “Which action would be most effective in responding to a planned high-technology factory near a town?”

1. Name the criteria. Effectiveness (does it tackle a cause?), feasibility, who gains and who loses, sustainability.
2. Action 1: approve with conditions. Use source details (jobs, water use). Strength: keeps jobs and limits harm. Weakness: needs enforcement.
3. Action 2: reject the factory. Strength: protects river and nature. Weakness: loses jobs; demand for the product does not disappear.
4. Action 3: delay for a full independent assessment. Strength: better evidence. Weakness: the firm may go elsewhere.
5. Judge the evidence behind each. Who wrote the source? Any vested interest? Is the data a prediction?
6. Reach a judgement. Choose one action, say why it beats the others, and state a condition that would change your mind.

Mini plan: Individual Report on this topic

• Question: for example, “Should manufacturers be required to make products repairable?”
• Global perspective: international bodies, global firms, environmental groups.
• National perspective: a government or national consumer group.
• Local perspective: a repair shop owner, residents, your school.
• Causes and consequences: product design, costs, waste, jobs.
• Courses of action: voluntary schemes, laws, community repair. Choose one and explain how it would be implemented.
• Source evaluation: who funded each source; fact or prediction.
• Reflection: how your view changed, and why.

See the Individual Report revision notes for structure.

Quick self-test

1. What does the syllabus say about knowledge of topic content?
2. Give the syllabus definition of a perspective.
3. What is the difference between invention and innovation?
4. Is “the factory will create 1,200 jobs” a fact or a prediction?
5. Name two of the eight source-analysis terms the syllabus lists for Component 1.
6. What does Component 1 Question 2 ask you to do?
7. A phone maker pays for a study saying repair is unsafe. Which term applies?
8. Which component needs a local issue?
9. What must the Individual Report end with?
10. How long is the Explanation of Research and Planning?
11. Give one criterion for judging a course of action.

Answers

1. It is not assessed; topics are contexts for practising skills.
2. A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning.
3. Invention is the new idea; innovation is putting it into use.
4. A prediction: it cannot be checked yet.
5. Any two of: bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value, vested interest.
6. Evaluate research or evidence, and suggest ways to research or test a claim.
7. Vested interest.
8. Component 3, the Team Project.
9. Your own view on the whole issue, reflecting on findings, learning and others’ perspectives, and an answer to your own question.
10. 300-400 words.
11. Any one: tackles a cause, feasibility, who gains and loses, sustainability, evidence it has worked.

Where marks are usually lost

• Explaining how a technology works instead of analysing the issue in the sources.
• Copying a company’s forecast as if it were fact.
• Calling a source “biased” without naming who gains or which words are loaded.
• Treating new technology as simply good or simply bad, without saying who gains and who loses.
• Saying a factory “caused” a change when the source only shows two things happened together.
• Listing perspectives without explaining why each group holds its view.
• In Question 4 style answers, describing actions but not reaching a judgement.
• In the Individual Report, choosing an issue that does not divide opinion.
• In the Team Project, an action whose success cannot be measured.

Next steps

• Practice questions for this topic
• Written Exam guide and Team Project guide
• Related topics: Employment and Digital world

Official syllabus

These notes are based on the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). Your teacher will confirm which topics your class uses.