Chapter 12 Notes

 

Introduction:

 

·        Relationship between technological developments and evolution of political, economical, & social organizations

·        Agricultural revolution: combined mechanics, cropping techniques, and changes in landholding practices created a increase in food production in the 18th century

·        Industrial revolution: farming jobs turned into manufacturing jobs; altered the character of society

·        Green Revolution: stimulated by mechanism of agriculture & development of new fertilizers, pesticides, & seeds; had global impact due to increased food production and increased population

·        Nikolai Kondratieff: long waves in world economy last 50-60 years long; each cycle started with surge in economic growth & productivity

·        Joe Schumpeter: waves explained by innovation & diffusion (spread of new stuff)

·        New cycle began 1980s due to information revolution

o       Info & data management now fastest growing area of economic activity

§         Industrial world heading to post-industrialized society; 

§         Military applications could change politics

§         Networked economies prevent war & make humans dependent on powerful info networks

 

Technology & World Economy

 

·        Southern States find themselves as technologically dependant as opposed to the technological innovators of the North

·        Convergence theory by socialists: the opportunities and demands presented by modern technology promote the convergence of all societies toward a single set of social patterns and individual behaviours

·        Globalization through technological standardization

·        Distaste for western society leads to assertion of anti-western political change

·        Technological advances are jealously guarded in a world of competitive states

·        Critical nature leads to restrictions, sanctions, thievery, & espionage, all of which prohibit free flow of ideas

·        Technology is a potential source of liberation from manual labour but also a potential cause of great economic displacement & cultural conflict

 

Impact of Computers 

·        ENIAC: electronic numerical integrator & calculator; 

o       Started the evolution of the modern computer in 1946

o       Could execute 5000 calculations per second

o       3m high, 30m long, weighed 30, 000kg.

o       Used 18 000 vacuum tubes and consumed 150 000 watts of power

·        Advances in miniaturization, processing power, & cost effectiveness made PC practical and economically viable, placing unprecedented processing power in hands of individuals

·        As number of PCs increase, computer industry becomes more important in world economy

·        Technology has major impact in everyone’s lives, becoming highly reliant on technology and increasingly connected to world economy & global communications systems

·        Computers and communication technologies have increased individual productivity and proliferated workplace

·        Massive shift in employment away from agriculture and manufacturing

·        Post-industrial society will lead to increased dislocation, unemployment, & economic hardship

·        Unemployment levels remain high despite economic growth & expanding global trade

·        Increasing international competition leads to downsizing to shift production to low-wage countries

o       Widening gap between rich and poor

·        Due to increasing pace of technological change: employment, income, & standard of living still increases

·        New info technologies affect every economic sector, new industries created old ones destroyed

·        Infrastructure of info revolution makes fewer demands on natural resources and pollutes less

·        All technology results in demand for electricity which results in serious environmental consequences, and renewable sources are being ignored

·        Innovation means painful labour market adjustments will occur, as there will be a shift, key is that positions are in new industries not traditional ones

 

From Event to living Room: The Global Media and How They Work
 
Global Media: Information about wars, politics, political events, natural
disasters, cultural and sporting events from around the world
-impacts knowledge/attitudes of individuals and policies of governments
-source of much of the information ppl receive about their world
-if things are not exposed by the media, we are usually unaware of them
GREATEST POLITICAL IMPACT: Radio & T.V
               -Global Media = everything is connected
               -homogenization of global media: same footage and stories transmitted around
the world
               -global media has been concentrated into a shrinking number of large
corporations (about 20, which dominate global gathering, processing and
programming )
               -the industrialized, rich world dominates the global media and information
content
               -is the developing worlds voice being heard? How can it? Are cultures and
values being bulldozed and ignored, creating a subtle form of enforcing
dependence of the less wealthy on the wealthy?
The Media & Political Agenda Setting:
Media® public opinion® government policy
               Agenda Setting: Media brings issues to public attention, influencing the
agendas of decision makers
               - influencing perceptions on what issues are a priority
               - without public awareness, government might not have to respond
Shaping Perceptions:
-media may blame certain individuals or groups and suggest possible courses of
action/ possible target for government policy
-also provide public with a sense of how individuals feelings are shared/not
shared by society (coverage of protests, etc)
-may cause the government problems if they try a solution other than what was
put fourth by the media
-government must respond to various proposals for action put fwd from a wide
variety of individuals
Influencing Decision Makers:
               -government officials watch T.V/radio/newspapers ® directly affected by media
portrayals of certain issues (they are often the first indication that an event
has occurred
- many involved in politics monitor media coverage of their own actions to see
what kind of responses government policies are receiving from the public

 

Transnational Communication and The Dissemination of Technology, Information, and Ideas

 

q       People are able to communicate and exchange information frequently and at a much lower cost

q       In the past, the time took it took for a message/news to travel was the same speed as the transportation…can take days, weeks, months, even years

q       100 years ago, instantaneous global communication was an unrealistic dream

q       “Death of Distance” will happen

q       Costs of everything has decreased dramatically

o       Used to cost US $244.65 for a 3 minute phone call between New York and London… now (1998) $0.35

o       Email is very cheap

q       In 18th century, a trip around world took several years by sailing

o       Now it takes less than a day in a jet

q       What will happen in next 50 years? 50 years ago, never heard of satellite, computers, digital telephones

q       Everything is now wireless

o       Radio waves to transmit messages and data through air and/or space

q       Telephones now use satellite communications

q       Internet

o       Made for military communications project in the 1960s

o       No central computer runs the Internet, system of linked computers

o       Late 1980’s when the World Wide Web was created by Tim Berners-Lee in Switzerland

§         Established the common user protocol for addresses, languages, file transfers and browsers

o       Over 250 million people use the Internet every year

o       Bringing humanity closer together in a global village/cyber world where national borders become irrelevant and shared human identity will take shape?

 

q       Use of Internet is dominated in industrialized world

o       Vast majority of people on earth have little or no access to Internet

o       Half of world has not even made a telephone call before

o       Privacy and copyright issues arise

o       Hacking and piracy concerns

 

q       Tons of information is available to us

o       And can be stored on a simple CD-ROM  (images, and books)

q       Eventually be able to make scientific discoveries and innovation

q       In the past innovations disseminated slowly, only went as fast as messages and people could travel

o       Therefore took a long time for news of discoveries, etc to come to the attention of those who could use them

o       Internet provides quick availability and discoveries daily

o       So, scientific advances and technical progress is extraordinary

q       Industrial espionage increasing

o       The use of human or electronic means to covertly acquire industrial secrets

q       Personal information about financial situation, medical history, family records are accessible

o       Growing problem for privacy

 

The Information Age and Global Politics: The Erosion of the State?

~    The information age may be the final blow to the supremacy of the state in international relations

o       Also due in part to globalization and development in weapons technology

~    The info age promises a free flow of ideas, transactions, communications across the world

~    The state is losing its capacity to control or influence the flow of information.

~    Governments must contend with the power of images

o       Example: Vietnam coverage promoted anti-war sentiment

o       Gulf War footage was tightly managed

~    The free flow of information can be a dangerous threat to the power, even survival, of a regime

o       It can expose lies, abuses, and the controversial nature of ideological claims

 

The Information Age and the Power of the State: A World Divided?

~    Negotiating, bargaining, and conflict management efforts are helped by instantaneous communication

~    Telephones and diplomacy go hand-in-hand

~    States broadcast information through the media

~    Governments can spread disinformation (Spreading of false propaganda or forged documents to confuse counterintelligence or create political confusion, unrest, and scandal. Some would argue that governments do this with their own citizens as well.)

~    Technology increases the power of the state with respect to the individual

~    States that are technological leaders will be the most powerful in the global system

o       USA

~    Power in the info age will depend on: technological leadership, political, economic, and social flexibility, and education.

~    “Information warfare” will create a great advantage on the battlefield and in crisis situations

~    May widen the gap between rich & poor

~    Convergence theme: the expanded capacity of humankind to communicate as a primary factor in the shrinking world

 

A Global Culture?

~    The planet is shrinking thanks to transnational communication, technology, and global media

~    Global culture is taking form as individuals everywhere are being exposed to the same media & products

o       Most of the planet (undeveloped) will miss out

~    Cultural integration, or homogenization.

~    Sporting events have become internationalized. They promote ethnic nationalism and blur national boundaries

~    Advertising can carry certain cultural values and messages and can encourage Western-style consumerism and materialism

~    The language barrier will soon be overcome

o       80% of info stored on computers is in English

o       Translators widely available on Internet

~    “Global culture” could be a misnomer; could be more of an imposition of Western, especially American, culture.

o       Cultural imperialism

~    This dominance gives the US a lead in soft power

 

Conclusion

~    The info age will accelerate the erosion of the state, enhance global interdependence

~    May enhance the power of some states, make individuals more vulnerable to observation and crime