globalization and technology: connections and communications
TRANSCRIPT
Think:
How do technology and globalization relate?
Why is this connection important?Who are the main players? Who
benefits most? Who is harmed the most?
What is America’s role? (Orange County’s role)
Everyday technologies—the fun part!
First off, technology requires an audience…
It serves no practical purpose if there is no one using it!
Example: perhaps you could talk about how wonderful it would be to give everyone in the world solar panels to generate free electricity from the sun. But then there would be certain groups of people that would have no such need for that technology--people living in areas with minimal sun exposure, or who would be better equipped with other energy supplying technologies.
Technology requires specific audiences. The global landscape provides nearly an infinite array of unique audiences.
Technology also requires human capital…
That means that we need people who are “experts” with different technologies
and are able to bring it to the rest of us
Technology does not just appear out of air. It requires some kind of thoughtfulness, some kind of contemplation. It involves understanding that there are perhaps easier or better ways of doing certain things than other ways.
Human experience provides numerous examples whereby certain thoughtful groups of people come to realize that some activities were more fruitful and beneficial than others. Experts emerge.
In addition technology also needs constant refinement
With improvements in the sciences, communication,
transportation, etc. technology must always
“keep up”
Because there are infinite audiences out there, there are also infinite chances for improvement.
With new knowledge over time and with new experiences and empirical evidence the global context will always provide technology with possibilities.
But how do technology and globalization relate?
AudienceHuman capital
Constant refinementThese three components make
technology and globalization a perfect fit for each other—globalization supplies new ideas, workers, creativity, and unique contexts for technology to flourish!
Audience is provided by the global community.
Human capital is provided by having access to the means of technology production (wealth, resources, higher education).
Constant refinement is the process through which technology is being made more and more efficient over time.
Unique situations
Caribbean—there was a hurricane late in 2004 that caused severe damage. A major tech firm provided Internet connectivity in a truck, which drove around the islands to give people who were stranded from the hurricane a chance to get in touch with loved ones to let them know they were alive and okay.
Unique situations
Think about remote villages or cultures that have their own unique problems and goals that technology could solve.
Maybe they don’t know about the benefits of crop rotation or even how nutrition works. Technology gives people new tools with which to improve life in some way.
Why it’s important…
Some countries are developing (or have developed) at a much faster rate than others
This means that some are embracing technologies faster than others, and some are embracing certain technologies before basic needs are met—i.e. using mobile phones before treating basic illnesses and diseases
Why it’s important…
Technology is most notably associated with Western and developed nations:United StatesParts of EuropeJapan
Why it’s important…
Those that embrace more complex technologies have more power.
War technologies (weaponry, intelligence, etc.) give certain countries more military power over others.
Why it’s important…
Those with more power are able to influence whose voice is heard and whose is silenced. This can be done through the use of weapons and war, through which movies and television are aired (and not aired). Dominant cultures have the ability to suppress less powerful ones.
Imagine you are the ruler of a country. Your neighbor country still relies on sending mail by using manpower, animals, and highly dependent upon weather conditions. You, however, possess the newest and fastest technology—you can send emails and instant messages to anyone you want.
Scenario
Scenario
Suppose you find out that there will be a very devastating earthquake in four days in your part of the world. All you have to do is send an email and broadcast a news alert on the TV to all of your citizens to warn them, but your neighbor must rely the postal system and manpower to notify its citizens. Who has more power?
Why it’s important…
There is the risk of “technological colonization” of the developing world
Developed countries have better access to technology. Richer countries have better access to technology. Countries with better colleges and universities have better access to technology.
Main Players
The website www.socialtechnologies.com identifies three tiers of technological influence in the world.
World 1World 1
World 2World 2
World 3World 3
Western EuropeWestern Europe
USAUSA
JapanJapan
RussiaRussia
ChinaChina
BrazilBrazil
IndiaIndia
IndonesiaIndonesia
HaitiHaiti
African countriesAfrican countries
AfghanistanAfghanistan
Computers and the Internet
Personal computers as we know it did not become feasible or popular until the 1990s—only 10 to 15 years ago!
IBM
American companyBasic statistics: 330,000+
employees, $96 billion (2004 revenue), largest IT company in the world
Headquarters: Armonk, New York
Computers and the Internet
Since the 1990s computing technology has become smaller, more powerful, and more efficient. Laptop computers with wireless Internet access are the fastest selling niche in the personal computer market.
Portability and connectivity!
Computers and the Internet
Technically the Internet dates back to the late 1960s with the Department of Defense in the United States in 1969. The Internet started resembling what we know today in 1991 with the advent of the World Wide Web (WWW) by Tim Berners-Lee of London, England.
Implications for technological colonization. English is the dominant language of the Web. What kind of impact could this have on the emergent technologies of developing nations?
56.40%
7.70%
5.60%
4.90%
25.40%
EnglishGermanFrenchJapaneseOther
The Languages of the WWW