...environment, with himself and others. This evolution is characterized by biotechnology that, applied to communication, creates a new interaction among people, thanks to web connections. Thus, technology provokes a change in terms of thought, language and education.1)The impact of digital era in the cultural sphere could be viewed in a pessimistic light because it promotes the phenomenon of globalization, typically associated with the destruction of cultural identities, victims of the accelerating encroachment of a homogenized, consumer culture. This view tends to interpret globalization as an extension of western cultural imperialism and to consider it as a marginalizing practice. A central issue concerns the relationship between power, media and news media. News media offer innovative modalities of communication and they can become tools of cultural and political, economical domination. For instance, Western nations impose their cultural values on popular culture. Critics of globalization call this "cultural imperialism," because the West promotes its culture as having more worth, or being more correct, than other regions' cultural values. The domination of news media and Internet services by Western companies, helps maintain this influence over local views. For example, today human society is strongly influenced by consumerism. This concept states that economic and social cultures are based on the purchasing of commodities and services and that social functioning and behavior is...
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...Salonga, Karlo 3ca2 Globalization of media products has been considered a figure of cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism takes place when a country dominates others through its media exports, including advertising messages, films, and television and radio programming. America's dominance in the entertainment industries made it difficult for other cultures to produce and distribute their own cultural products. Supporters of American popular culture argue that the universal reputation of American media products promotes a global media system that allows communication to cross national boundaries. American admired culture in addition challenges authority and outmoded traditions. Critics of American culture argue that cultural imperialism prevents the development of native cultures and has a negative impact on teenagers. Teenagers in other nations have rejected their own cultural music and dress. Instead, they want to wear American jeans and listen to American recording artists. Rock groups from other countries will even sing in English rather than use their native tongue. Media corporations are attempting to begin operations in nations around the world, some countries want to protect their domestic media and culture industries. Some nations, including Norway, Denmark, Spain, Mexico, and South Korea, have established government subsidies to preserve their own domestic film industries. The British government proposed a voluntary levy on the revenues from domestic film...
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...The internet has drastically altered the conduct of the more economically developed countries of the world in the last twenty years. A rather modern and unprecedented tool for social organisation, the internet has prompted western governments to reach new grounds in term of surveillance, citizenship, communication and democratic state control. The entirely new and ever-developing concept of the internet, and the place is holds in modern society, has become a center for ethical and political dilemmas; dilemmas fuelled primarily by the weaponization of the internet as a tool to fight authority, shown by the utilisation of the internet by ‘Hacktivist’ pressure groups such as Anonymous and Occupy, the historical leaking of classified surveillance information by computer professional Edward Snowden and, most recently, the utilisation of the internet as tool for the work of Islamic Extremists. It is obvious that the internet, if left unregulated, can become a very dangerous place for its users, and it is this fear that has prompted UK government, and primarily Home Secretary Theresa May, to begin a battle for more state control over the internet. For some, the idea of British state-control to promote the safety of individuals is undeniably correct, we are a nation that can pride ourselves on promoting the safety and contentment of our citizens; from Lloyd-George’s development of the welfare state to the quick and direct tackling of gun-laws after the tragic events of the Dunblane massacre...
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...Com 1020 Assignment 2 Introduction Mass communication is the variety of all the media mediums together, and is aimed at a large audience. A ritual view is directed not towards the addition of messages in space but the maintenance of society in time, not the act of imparting information or influence but the creation, representation, and celebration of shared even if illusory beliefs, James,(1988: 43). This essay will discuss how mass communications has transformed the temporal and spatial foundations of the social-sphere. This essay will start by defining the key terms which are communication, mass communication, and the para-social. The separation of social space from the physical place by mass communications, time and space and mass communications will also be discussed in the essay. The para-social interactions, how mass communications transformed the temporal and spatial foundations of the social sphere will then follow. The ritual dimensions of communication will also be discussed, the essay will then sum up the essay and give the researcher’s opinion. Definition of key terms Communication refers to the transmission of meaningful messages; these messages are conveyed in images, language, gestures, or other symbols. Thompson. (1997:30) Anthony R, (2004), defines mass communication as the process in which professional communicators design and use media to disseminate messages widely, rapidly, and continuously in order to arouse intended meanings in large...
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...The Wealth of Networks The Wealth of Networks How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom Yochai Benkler Yale University Press New Haven and London Copyright _ 2006 by Yochai Benkler. All rights reserved. Subject to the exception immediately following, this book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. The author has made an online version of the book available under a Creative Commons Noncommercial Sharealike license; it can be accessed through the author’s website at http://www.benkler.org. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Benkler, Yochai. The wealth of networks : how social production transforms markets and freedom / Yochai Benkler. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-300-11056-2 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-300-11056-1 (alk. paper) 1. Information society. 2. Information networks. 3. Computer networks—Social aspects. 4. Computer networks—Economic aspects. I. Title. HM851.B457 2006 303.48'33—dc22 2005028316 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1...
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...structure owing to the external economic, social and political factors and also technological advancements. Ownership of the media forces to a great extent amounts to a huge control over the global economy and also means greater political and cultural power. Hesmondhalgh, in his book, The Cultural Industries, points out that there has been an "interweaving of change and continuity" in the cultural industry since the 1970s (Hesmondhalgh, 2007). However, this hasn’t ever been a smooth process for the older and established companies who had to face challenges from the new market players. The music industry had to grow from the sheet music days to the ipod culture. Also, with the music composer having direct access to the consumers via the internet, the existence of the music companies seems endangered. Same fate befalls the film industry where the established names are getting haunted by the emergence of newer distribution ways and the advent of small scale innovative filmmakers and distributors into the field of...
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...Paper to be presented at Oxford Internet Institute’s “A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society” on September 22, 2011. Social Privacy in Networked Publics: Teens’ Attitudes, Practices, and Strategies danah boyd and Alice Marwick Microsoft Research dmb@microsoft.com and amarwick@microsoft.com Waffles, 17, NC1: Every teenager wants privacy. Every single last one of them, whether they tell you or not, wants privacy. Just because an adult thinks they know the person doesn’t mean they know the person. And just because teenagers use internet sites to connect to other people doesn’t mean they don’t care about their privacy. We don’t tell everybody every single thing about our lives. We tell them general information - names, places, what we like to do - but that’s general knowledge. That’s not something you like to keep private-- “Oh, I...
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...Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 15, 2004)713-729 713 INTRODUCING e-GOV: HISTORY, DEFINITIONS, AND ISSUES Åke Grönlund Örebro University, ake.gronlund@esi.oru.se Thomas A. Horan Claremont Graduate University, ABSTRACT The e-Gov field (also called Electronic Government, Digital Government, Electronic Governance, and similar names) emerged in the late 1990´s. Since then it spurred several scientific conferences and journals. Because the field grew considerably in size, both its contents and position with respect to other research fields and disciplines need to be explained and discussed. What is e-Gov? What is e-Gov research? What does it mean for the field of Information Systems? This paper briefly sketches the short eGov history and current status, and discusses the content of the field as it appears in current research. We conclude with a discussion of e-Gov as a research field of interest both as a new application area for IS theories and methods and as a source of new insight. Keywords: electronic government, governance I. INTRODUCTION The e-Gov (Electronic Government or Electronic Governance) field1 emerged in the late 1990´s as a context within which to share experiences among practitioners. Over the past few years eGov gave rise to several conferences with more and more scientific content. Some specialized journals now appear. Because the field grew to considerable size, both its contents and position with respect to other research fields...
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...Digital Bangladesh for Good governance Prepared for Bangladesh Development Forum 2010 Venue: Bangabandhu International Conference Centre Date: 15 -16 February, 2010 Presented by Md. Abdul Karim Principal Secretary Prime Minister s Office The Government of the People s Republic of Bangladesh Digital Bangladesh for Good governance 1. The Pledge for a Digital Bangladesh by 2021 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) were recognized by the world leaders as a key development enabler in World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in 2003 and in Tunis in 2005 (Tunis Commitment). In the Poverty Reduction Strategy of the country called National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (NSAPR) 2009, ICTs were similarly identified and given due importance. The current government s Digital Bangladesh by 2021 vision proposes to mainstream ICTs as a pro-poor tool to eradicate poverty, establish good governance, ensure social equity through quality education, healthcare and law enforcement for all, and prepare the people for climate change. Remarkable to mention is the fact that over 50 Secretaries of the government, a similar number of eGovernance Focal Points who are senior policy makers one in each Ministry, all 64 Deputy Commissioners who are heads of district administration, and all 483 Upazila Nirbahi Officers who are heads of sub-district (upazila) administration have attended multi-day long orientation workshops on Digital Bangladesh. These intensive workshops...
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...disembodiment of the human being, Katherine N. Hayles’ theory of the posthuman / 14 3. Chapter 2 – Google Glass, Individuation and the Black Box / 21 3.1. Introduction to Google Glass / 21 3.2. Google Glass and Gregory Bateson’s theory of self-corrective systems / 24 3.3. Industrialization of memory through Google Glass and Bernard Stiegler’s theory of the exterior milieu / 26 3.4. Google Glass as a black box and W. Ross Ashby’s theory of the black boxing / 29 3.5. Experience Design, Olia Lialina and the disappearing user / 30 3.6. Miniaturization of technology, Google Glass as a ubiquitous computer through Mark Weiser’s theory / 32 4. Chapter 3 – Google Glass as an Extension of the Human Being: MediumSpecificity and Becoming Posthuman / 34 4.1 Media ecology through Marshall McLuhan and Google Glass as an extension of the human being / 34 4.2 Perceptual and behaviour change through Google Glass / 39 4.3 Change of time and space perception, McLuhan and the global village / 41 4.4 Human being’s freedom to ideological change through Donna Haraway’s cyborg theory / 42 5. Conclusion / 44 6. Bibliography 2 INTRODUCTION Google Glass is a technological device designed and created by the media giant Google. The device is an upcoming...
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...something wrong? You have just been a victim of employee surveillance. As long as the software and video equipment has been around, employers have monitored their employees. Employee surveillance is not illegal, but there is a thin line between wrong and right that deserves more analysis: An analysis of employee surveillance in the workplace reveals an ethical issue of spying on employees or protecting employees and the company. When most people think of the word privacy, they are thinking about their personal space and having some time to themselves without someone or something looking in on them. A further definition is required. “A right to privacy can be understood as a right to maintain a certain level of control over the inner spheres of personal information and access to one’s body, capacities, and powers” (Moore, 2008, p.420). Privacy in the workplace might be a restroom break or even sitting alone in a lunchroom. When it comes to doing work, privacy cannot be assumed by employees. Someone could be watching you at any time. Webster’s dictionary defines privacy as, “the quality or state of being apart from company or observation; freedom from unauthorized intrusion” (D. Nord, McCubbins, & J. Nord, 2006, p. 73). Who is under surveillance? According to the American Management Association,...
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...consolidated the power of ruling Sabah family against merchant clans that dominated before. More, the ruler made sure that his autocratic reign could go beyond his descendants after his death. In the reign of Emir Abdullah al-Salim, policies, which strengthened social forces in Kuwait, were emphasized. In as much as women enjoy similar social and civil rights as men, they are deprived of several political rights that men enjoy. Whereas they are entitled to take part as voters as well as candidates in the administration of local cooperatives stores, they are offered with the chance to run for national legislature/vote for its members. In the month of May, 1999, the emir of Kuwait promulgated a decree that offered women with the right to vote and for public office in municipal and parliamentary elections. The decree was overturned by parliament thus the numerous protests that were witnessed in different parts of the country. The move prompted mass protests by civic activists during which many women stormed registration offices (Tetreault 204). The paper seeks to discuss the role of women on politics of Kuwait since it has elicited a heated debate. Freedom of people in Kuwait...
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...DIGITAL BANGLADESH- CAN IT PREVENT CORRUPTION INTRODUCTION : The present fever to launch an extensive digitalization program is sweeping the Bangladesh political, business, and elitist minds. In the face of an overarching outlook of sustainable development the Bangladesh digitalization program runs into some grave questions. The paper points out that ethics as a strongly endogenous force in development is indispensable to keep in view the simultaneity of attaining growth and social justice. These targets are variously manifested in different sectors and quarters of the beneficiaries of growth and development. In this perspective, various comparative works in the literature are invoked toward establishing the essential national wellbeing for alleviating poverty. Wellbeing is established by participative complementarities between economic growth and social justice and their disaggregate manifestations. The digital good must therefore be understood as a socially inclusive empowering good, not as an element of traditional economic theory wherein only efficiency, and thus globalization and maximization behavior, turn out to be of sole attention. The paper introduces a new model upholding participative complementary synergy, learning, and unification by an epistemic guidance of development ethics. Such a model invokes a system and cybernetic approach that combines in an innovative way the analytical with the system and cybernetic view of development. Various facts and figures relating...
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...International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2008, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 49-65. The Internet in developing countries: a medium of economic, cultural and political domination Abdulkafi Albirini University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA ABSTRACT The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented diffusion of network technologies into developing countries. The technological discourse attending this diffusion has presented the new media as a utopian, egalitarian and empowering tool with the potential of ushering in a new era of development, democracy, and positive cultural change. This paper examines the economic, cultural, and political effects of the Internet within the historical context of developing countries. The paper traces the politically-inspired evolution of the Internet, its transfer into developing countries, and the economic, cultural, and political consequences of this transfer. Existing data indicate that the implementation of the Internet in most developing countries has served as a drain to the local resources, thus exacerbating their economic dependency on foreign nations. On a cultural level, the Internet’s predominantly Western design, content, and language have facilitated the proliferation of alien cultural patterns at the expense of the social experiences of the local cultures. Lastly, the Internet’s build-in tracking capabilities and its current manipulation for political purposes on international...
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...beginning of modern technology, creating fruitful moments in history that paved the groundwork for the Information Age. The advancement of computer chip technology allowed us to create the modern day cell phones, revolutionizing the concept of communication. Today our lives depend on these mobile phones, which have advanced into mobile-computers. Despite the beneficial uses and entertaining characteristics of the mobile phone, the devices are highly debated over their potential health risks. As the device becomes pervasive in modern society, it is important to more fully understand the potential health hazards that growing evidence suggests, and to ultimately reevaluate the information that industry funded and tailored studies supply for the public in the United States. Are cell phones the pinnacle of wireless communication, or what if these contemporary devices increase the risk of life-threatening illnesses for billions of people worldwide? The rapid development of communication technology has created extraordinary conveniences for our everyday lives. George Zysman provides an excellent explanation, “This is especially impressive when we consider that the early phones were little more than radios, while the modern ones are essentially sophisticated computers capable of hundreds of millions of calculations per second” (109). Today, cell phones are devices many people cannot live without,...
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