ICT and World Change is probably a topic close to our hearts, or at least for me, because it’s a topic that deeply interests me. Thus I chose to present my oral presentation during this week, and the topic I chose was on E-books. One other reason why I chose this topic (and I didn’t mention this during my presentation; I was too shy) is that I love books. My heart beats faster each time I step into a library and see the huge number of books waiting for me. So it saddens me to think that with the advancements of technology, printed books might become a thing of the past. In my opinion, although e-books and printed books are both still books, I find printed books more appealing. The rustle when you flip the pages gives me a different emotion as when I swipe at my electronic device to “flip” the page of the e-book. Other cons of e-books were mentioned during my presentation and so I shan’t be long-winded as to repeat it again.

Dr. Shahi started the lesson with a video which was amazingly fascinating - Project Natal Milo Demo from E3. Milo was very interactive, and that he had such human instincts was fascinating to me.

Dr. Shahi stated this one line which I agreed with. “It is very easy for us to create emotional relationships with inanimate objects.” I am a very emotional person, and I agree that it’s indeed easy for me to create emotional relationships with inanimate object. Also, while I feel that at the rapid pace technology is advancing at today, it is possible that characters like Milo might be a norm one day. However, I do not think it is advisable that such characters become the norm. We are already having problems with maintaining relationships today, with the pervasiveness of the internet and social media. By adding Milo and similar characters into the picture, we might become more detached from our personal human relationships.

People might start spending more time with these interactive characters instead of their human friends, which would adversely impact their social skills in the long run. Human relationships are already strained because of the social media, and we continue to worsen them by continuously developing newer technology, which more often than not bring us away from our human relationships instead of mending them.

This question was asked during the lesson: What will it take to capture the full potential of the ICT/ Knowledge Revolution. This question spurred me into thinking. What is the main problem right now? What is hindering us from capturing the full potential? Then it struck me. We should learn how to manage the new forms of technology. Before we even learnt how to effectively manage a certain technology, new technologies are pouring into the market. Developments are occurring at a much faster pace than we are adapting. Perhaps what we can do is to effectively manage the current technologies we have, before trying to embrace the new technologies. If we simultaneously try to manage too much at one time, we find that we are not able to effectively cope with everything.

Furthermore, during the lesson, Dr. Shahi also talked about the potential dangers of ICT, which just goes to tell us that not all technologies are beneficial, especially in terms of ICT. For ICT, we tend to touch on the positive and negative impacts it has on us in terms of our human relationships etc. But we tend to overlook the fact that ICT is not as secure as we believe it to be. While we may think that our facebook profile is locked and very secure, there is still the chance that someone is able to hack into your account. Or, while your personal profile may be locked (good for you), your friend’s profile may not be locked and hence strangers are still able to access information about you through your friends’ profiles.

Also, there is the exposure to corrupting influences, which is going to be a negative influence on the younger generation as they are more widely exposed to such corruption (pornography, cyber bullying). This further emphasizes my point that we should learn how to manage technology so that we can teach the younger generation how to adapt and manage such technology effectively as well.
In general, I would rate this lesson a 9/10 because I thoroughly enjoyed myself during this lesson, and I learnt many key points about ICT, and how we should be coping with it. (Also because this was a very interesting topic in my opinion (: )

Individual Topical Paper Review Outline

Individual Topical Paper Review Outline

1. Specific Innovation of Interest: The increased use of social media has started to affect news and broadcasting organizations. News organizations are rethinking their strategies as a result of the social media revolution.

2. Rationale for Choosing this Revolution: People today are not like people in the past. They do not merely accept the news as told by the news agencies or government organizations. Instead, with the rise of the social media, people have greater access to different viewpoints and are forced to filter and critically think about the issues reported, instead of merely accepting the perspective of the news media. Social media has in this way, caused a large extent of change in the face of journalism.

3. Proposed Approach to Development of Paper:

a) Executive Summary
 How the social media revolution has led to the rise of citizen journalism, and has caused readers to be more involved in the distribution of news

b) Background/Introduction
 Social media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue (Defined by Wikipedia)
 Comes in many different forms – Social networking sites, blogs, forums etc.
 Only in recent years has social media caused traditional journalism to take a back seat
 Caused by the onslaught and increased popularity of social media

c) Historical Perspective
 Journalism is the gathering and development of news
 Journalists were sent out to gather news, then report their findings, which would then be sent to their editors before the reports are published in newspapers or magazines
 Readers merely read and accepted these news reports

d) Current Situation
 Influx of citizen journalists
 People are posting news via social media outlets faster than news agencies
 Real-time reporting more common
 People are not merely reading and accepting the reports; They are questioning and voicing out their viewpoints via social media outlets
 Journalists are also turning to social media outlets for their source of news

e) Future Considerations
 In the short-term, print news (newspapers, magazines) are not expected to die off
 Continued rampant citizen journalism will be observed
 In the long-term, we might see the demise of print news and news agencies
 Journalists may mainly be freelance and not under a particular company
 News would be dependent on citizen journalism

f) Conclusions
 Technology is developing at such a rapid rate that it is difficult to catch up
 Social media revolution is not leading to the death of journalism
 Merely leading to the death of print news
 Citizen journalism will become widespread
 People have more avenues for news and are better able to filter and respond to different perspectives

g) References
 Ruth A. Harper. Published 11 March 2010. The Social Media Revolution: Exploring the Impact on Journalism and News Media Organizations. Retrieved 8 September 2011 from http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/202/the-social-media-revolution-exploring-the-impact-on-journalism-and-news-media-organizations
 Woody Lewis. Published 7 April 2009. Social Journalism: Past, Present, and Future. Retrieved 8 September 2011 from http://mashable.com/2009/04/07/social-journalism/

Week 4

Dr. Shahi started the lesson today with this quote by Charles Robert Darvin: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one the one that is most adaptable to change”

I was struck by this quote, because I never taught of change in this way. I have always assumed that the ones who survive are always the fittest and the smartest. But this quote set me thinking. I realized that even if you are the strongest and smartest, if you are rigid and not adaptable to change, you will not be able to survive in this ever-changing world. As the world continues to develop and we continue to come up with new forms of technology, we should be able to adapt the changes brought about by technology. If we insist on sticking to our traditional ways, we will never be able to progress.

I find that this point is linked to another point made in the second half of the lesson, with the quote by Robert F Kennedy: “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly”

This is highly true because if we dare not fail we will not dare to take risks. As the world progresses and new technology is developed, our ways of living change, and hence the way we lead our lives should also change. We should not be sticking to the old mindset of thinking, but instead we should embrace the changes that come along with the new developments to our society. To effectively embrace these changes, we should think deeper and be willing to take risks in order to achieve greater things.

While this might be easy to say, I understand that it is not easy to carry out. Many of us, including myself, are not particularly delighted about change. I find that change disrupts my life, and I personally would like to continue living my life the way I am used to. However, I know that this mindset is not ideal, and I am working on changing my mindset to one that is able to effectively embrace change.

One other major issue that Dr. Shahi touched on in today’s lesson was the two kinds of change – evolutionary and revolutionary. Evolutionary change is change which occurs in small steps, it is the continuous improvement in our lives. On the other hand, revolutionary change is sudden and can be seen as disruptive innovation. I like how the word ‘disruptive’ is used in this context, because it perfectly explains how I feel towards change. I feel that change is disruptive to my life, and if I had the choice, I would like to avoid chance. However, change cannot be avoided. It is everywhere in our lives and is happening all the time.

As much as I dislike change, I concede that certain change can be beneficial to us, and if we are able to manage the change, we would be able to make full use of the change.

This lesson was thought provoking and I would rate it 8/10.

P.S. I would have liked to elaborate more on the issue of journalism and the social media, but as I am doing it for my individual written report, I shall leave my thoughts for the report. 

Week 3

During the course of the 3rd lesson, Dr. Shahi mentioned the US Love Canal. It sounded pretty interesting, so I did a bit of research on it.

The Love Canal was actually a kilometer-long pit meant to be part of the canal. However, after it was purchased by the City of Niagara Falls, it was decided that this pit was an ideal location for a chemical-dumping site. For protection, the canal was lined with clay and covered with dirt. However, the effects of the chemical substances were soon felt and in 1978, the areas around the Love Canal were declared hazardous.

This example perfectly illustrates how industrial development is not necessarily beneficial. Thus we have to be mindful of the consequences of our actions. As Dr. Shahi mentioned, for sustainable industrial development, we have to maximise value creation without reducing options for future generations.

In the case of the Love Canal, due to the misuse of the pit for dumping of chemicals, much of the place today has been sectioned off, preventing the land from being put to good use.

During Indra's presentation, his question for discussion caught my attention: Sustainable development, is it a 'pernicious fad' or a real prospect?

In my opinion, it is currently, in today's time, a fad. This can be seen from the actions of corporations, which aim to promote sustainable development, and claim to eco-friendly, in their bid to appeal to consumers.

Sustainable development is a much talked about topic nowadays, but how many are genuinely concerned about meeting our needs now without diminishing the capacity of future generations to meet theirs? I doubt many are genuinely interested about ensuring that future generations are looked out for.

In the second half of the lesson, we talked about Technology and Innovation Management.

Dr. Shahi brought up an interesting point: In general, the people who have access to technology do not require them. On the other hand, the people who require these technologies have no access to them.

So the problem comes. How do you get the technology to reach those who really need it?

This issue stuck in my mind, and made me ponder over it. This issue is linked to the issue we first talked about in Week 1, when Yali asked "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?"

Of course, I thought about the issue closer at hand, such as the rural areas in China, where many people are still living in poverty, despite the more developed cities such as Shanghai acheiving great economic growth. Is no one going to help these rural areas develop as well?

While we are moving from PCs to laptops to iPads, the people in these rural areas are still suffering from illiteracy. While we worry about whether our vegetables are organic, the people in the rural areas worry about whether they have enough food to go round.

While we continue developing new technology, who is going to help the less developed areas catch up? The gap between the developed and less developed areas is just going to get wider as a result. What we should do is to introduce technology to the less developed areas, so that they get an opportunity to catch up with us.

Although I gained new knowledge from this lesson and was made to ponder over several issues, I felt that this topic was a tad bit dry, and hence I would rate it 6/10. However, I'm looking forward to the next lesson tomorrow! :)

Week 2

I never really knew about the effects technology has on the world at large, I merely accepted the fact that technology is progressing at an extremely fast rate. However, I brought away several new ideas from the lesson on Tuesday.

One of the main points of discussion was on whether China would be overtaking US in the future. Personally, I do think that China has the capabilities to overtake the US. It seems that China is progressing in the right direction, in terms of economic output. However, detractors argue that China will not overtake US because of the large percentage of its population living in poverty. Furthermore, China has not caught up with the US in terms of military power, innovation and technology. Thus, it would take China much longer before she overtakes US.

In my opinion, I feel that China has seen great economic growth in the past few years, and this has translated to higher standards of living for the people and greater opportunities for employment/trade/investment etc. Also, China has a large manufacturing industry which many countries, including the US, depend on. As this manufacturing industry flourishes, China's economy will boom.

Yet, at the same time, while I agree that China will overtake the US, this is not my main concern. What I am concerned about is how the people in China will benefit from this. Despite China's economy currently experiencing a boom, it remains a fact that the majority of the people in China are still living in poverty. High GDP figures are calculated using the incomes of the people living in the more developed areas in China such as Shanghai and Hongkong. What about those living in the rural areas and still depending on agriculture for a living? They do not seem to be benefitting from China's progress. Instead, it may seem that they may end up suffering as China continues to advance, as the cost of living rises but their income levels remain stagnant.

Thus, I feel that more attention should be given to these peasants living in the rural areas; More aid should be provided for them to make a better transition from their lives as peasants to lives that are more up-to-date with the progress of China.

One other point that struck me most during the lesson was the video Dr. Shahi showed us towards the end of the lesson, "The Joy of Stats".

It was amazing, watching Hans Rosling use augmented reality animation to show how the countries developed over the years. It left a deep impression on me, how some countries such as Italy and Shanghai developed so much. It goes to show how much development is related to world change. As the world develops, with the numerous advances in innovation, technology, the development of cultures etc, the world changes greatly as well. We should be more aware of the developments that have brought us to the world which we live in today.

Some examples of the developments the world has gone through which Dr. Shahi brought up include industrial development (how machines have lessened our workload), cultural development (the preservation of traditional cultures and the evolution of new cultures) and economic development (the creation of jobs and the increase in income and cost of living).

Without such developments, would the world have been able to evolve to the state it is in today? I doubt.

The second lesson of TWC was just as captivating as the first lesson, perhaps even more, because I was able to learn more from this second lesson. However, because the lesson seemed a bit rushed, I would rate it 6/10. I would have preferred more time for Dr. Shahi to expand on his topics.

Week 1

The first Technology and World Change lesson was indeed insightful, considering that I came into the Seminar Room not knowing what to expect. When we had to give a brief introduction of ourselves and include what we knew about Technology and World Change, I was stumped. I had no idea what this whole course was about.

Yet, as the lesson progressed, my interest in the subject grew. I have to say that videos catch my attention more than anything else, and hence, I was most enthralled by the various videos Professor showed, including “Did You Know” and “Guns, Germs and Steel”.

These two videos were most thought-invoking for me, and I was amazed by the progression of information technology as shown by the video “Did You Know”. Throughout the years, we have indeed progressed tremendously. But yet at the same time, with such rapid progression, we have started to become overly dependent on technology. This brings me to a point which was brought up briefly during lesson time. Are we becoming too connected such that we are no longer connected? I do think so. Perhaps 5 years ago, our parents would have complained about us being glued to our mobile phones 24/, and not leaving any time for proper communication with them. Today, even our parents are becoming our friends on Facebook, and posting status updates every hour. It is not merely the younger generation who is becoming more dependent on the new forms of information technology. Even the older generation is starting to catch up with these advances.

Well, if this is the case now, what about 5 or 10 years later? What would the world be like when technology continues to advance even more? Would our emotional relationships fail? How different would we be from robots then, if we continue to distant ourselves from emotional relationships, choosing to merely depend on the social media or technology to build our relationships and expect them to last?

To add on, “Guns, Germs and Steel” addressed an issue which I feel should be a point of greater concern in today’s world.

"Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?" –Yali, 1974

While we continue developing at such a fast pace, what about the other parts of the world? The less developed areas? Who is helping them to keep up with times? Few people actually take an interest in the development of these less developed areas, and hence, as we continue to progress so rapidly, the people living in the rural areas are left behind in the wake of our progress. Wouldn’t this result in greater global inequality? Instead of spending all our resources on finding new and faster ways to develop our information technology, why not put aside some resources to aid the people in the less developed areas to advance, such that they might be able to live more comfortably, instead of having to work twice as hard as us. Considering the amount of work they have to do compared to us (we have machines to help us, they depend on manual labour), who are we to complain that we are burned/stressed out?

All in all, I learnt a great deal during this first lesson. It was intriguing and I am already looking forward to the next lesson. I would rate this lesson 7/10.