April 2008 Archives

Part One:

The communication technology I chose is OnStar.  OnStar was invented for the purpose of being helpful to drivers while on the road.  If you lock your keys in the car, OnStar can help unlock it or if you get into a car accident OnStar can notify for help.  While all these things are beneficial to our lives and could help us out in a crisis, OnStar is overall a negative communication technology.  It could lead to a dystopian society.  OnStar has the ability to know where you are at all times.  With OnStar in your car, you are always track able.  This is dangerous because if the government wanted to find someone they could.  It is not fair that the government, or let alone people who work for OnStar can find out where you are at any time.  This is an invasion of privacy and personal information. 

Part Two:

This communication technology is very similar to the communication technology, the telescreen, used in 1984.  The telescreen is similar to the modern television we all know today.  Everyone in the novel has one in their living rooms and they are also placed on street corners.  The telescreen differs from the television because the telescreen is capable of seeing what people do in their own homes.  At any time, the thought police could be watching you and listening to what you say.  At the end of part two, Winston and Julia are eventually caught by the thoughtpolice because of a hidden telescreen.  The telescreen was hidden by a picture, but was able to catch the two of them in their disobedience to the party (p, 227-230).  The telescreen controls its citizens through surveillance.  It is on at all times and is used to communicate with all people in their homes.  Different government officials come on at different times to speak, or music will play.  It can even be used as an alarm clock to wake up workers. 

Part Three:

Overall I think there are no communication technologies that are completely used for dystopian purposes.  I think that plenty of technologies can have dystopian or negative uses, but for the most part they all provide more benefits.  OnStar is a good technology because it can save lives when someone gets in an accident.  Surveillance or security cameras have the same idea to them as the telescreen.  While this could be viewed as an invasion of privacy and the government gaining too much control, the safety and security these appliances provide us outweigh those negatives.  Almost all communication technologies could have some dystopian uses, but it is up to society to make sure they are used for their positive benefits and not their negative ones.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Plume, 2003.

In our lives today, we have numerous communication technologies available to us.  Each of these technologies has been created to serve a different purpose, most of them advancing us and making our lives easier. However, with the creation of new technologies our lives are not always made simpler and less complex.  Along with these new communication technologies have come new worries.  Some of these worries include privacy and conformity.  With inventions such as the internet, and all that comes along with that communication technology, comes concerns about identity theft, privacy settings and loss of interpersonal communication.  These issues and worries we have today are some of the very same issues George Orwell discusses in his book 1984. 

1984's central character is a man named Winston.  He is living in London during a time where everything is controlled by the government and everything is equally rationed out.  Not only does the government control what everyone does and when, but it can also know who and when people are disagreeing with or plotting against the government.  One particular section of the book I really liked was in part one, section eight.  In this section, Winston begins to question the life he is living and how things may have been different in the past.  He has learned his whole life of one thing, and he is beginning to believe that he may not have been taught the whole truth. 

            Winston meets an old man in a pub one night and presses him to answer questions about the old days.  He is curious to know if things were better now or then, and if capitalism really was that wrong.  The old man is quite drunk during their conversation, but even if he was sober, he still would have had a difficult time answering Winston's questions.  The old man does not remember much and seems to be annoyed by the assumption that Winston wants him to automatically say things were better when the old man was a boy, and there was more freedom and individuality.  Winston goes on about what he believes the old days used to be like, and on page 93 uses the word lackeys when talking to the old man.  This brought back memories to the old man, memories of how things used to be a long time ago.  When Winston and the old man part, Winston is left thinking over their conversation.  He realizes that survivors of that era don't remember anything, at least anything of importance or value (95).  All people are now forced to believe in Big Brother and all personal freedom of thought has been erased.  There is no such thing as individuality in Oceania. 

            I find this observation to be very similar to our society today.  While today's loss of individuality is different from that of 1984's, there is still an important loss in our society.  People on the internet can be whoever they want to be.  People lie about their age, gender, and personal information.  Not knowing who people are on the internet can cause serious problems with stalking or obsession.  In this sense, I think 1984 pertains just as well to today's society as it did in 1949.  The communication technology we have today curtails our individuality just as the Big Brother curtailed individuality in 1984.  

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Plume, 2003.

Part 1: The role of communication technology in maintaining/creating an identity

Part 2: The game Civilization 4 simulates the real world very well.  When you first begin your civilization, you pick your leader and country.  This is an example of choosing your identity.  I chose to be the leader for the Egyptian Empire.  I chose this because this leader is a woman.  Chapter 13 in Culture and Technology discusses how gender plays an important role in creating identity.  Lots of communication technology forces one to choose between genders.  In playing this game as a woman I felt I was creating a different identity than when I had played it as Roosevelt.  This influenced my decision making and interactions with other rulers.  For example, I chose to adopt universal suffrage very early on in my game.  If I did not identify as a female, this may not have occurred.  I also think the communication technologies I chose to build in my society helped create its identity.  Early on I chose to build a broadcast tower.  This then brought me to other communication technologies such as the internet and library.  Having these technologies allowed my culture to then become educated and powerful.  Also, I chose the grocer application which allowed my nation to make more money and therefore make stronger deals.  When discussing how technology affects identity, I remembered the beginning of Chapter 13.  Technology is unequally distributed and often times separates nations into the haves and have nots.  My identity for this game was a strong, powerful nation.  I needed this identity in order to obtain all the technological advances I did. 

Part 3: I think this game does a really good job at simulating identity and its regard for communication technology.  Having both female and male rulers helps players pick an identity.  This also makes player maintain a certain identity when they are playing because who they are as a ruler effects how they work with other rulers.  If I want to be a caring, sympathetic female ruler I will keep to myself.  If I want to be a dominating, strong male leader I could use force and take over other empires.  This game also does a good job at challenging identity.  If I want to be a strong powerful female who takes over the entire world I can do that as well.

My screen shot here shows me building the broadcast tower.  This communication technology was extremely helpful in helping to maintain the identity I wanted and gain more technology. 

Part One:
I chose the Oxford University component.  This component creates a university in your culture.  Oxford University is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the English speaking world.  Civilization IV describes the university as having thirty nine colleges and seven private halls.  It is heavily associated with religious organizations.  A large number of world leaders, including prime ministers, presidents, kings and Nobel Prize winners have attended Oxford.  The game's simulation of Oxford University is very accurate and detailed.  In the real world, England as looked at in a higher light because of this college.  This same effect occurred for me in my society.

Part Two:
In the game, Oxford University helped my culture to expand enormously.  I was referred to as "Roosevelt the Pathetic" at the beginning of the game.  Once I added Oxford University to my culture, my land and power grew a great deal.  As you can see from the graph below, my culture is greatly succeeding compared to the other cultures in the game. 

Once my culture began to expand greatly due to Oxford University, I was also able to succeed in other areas of the game as well.  Other leaders looked to cooperate with me, as well as try to trade or become a friend.  Oxford University gave me a lot of power in this game because not only did it allow my borders to expand, it allowed me to expand as a leader. 

Part Three: 
I found adding the Oxford University component to be very effective.  In comparison to adding the University versus adding a library or Rock and Roll, I found that the University helped my culture immensely.  I think this is because education is valued greatly.  Almost all cultures value education on the highest scale, and usually leaders of cultures are highly educated.  Intelligent leaders are better able to expand their cultures and borders through cultural imperialism.  This is exemplified in class during the movie The Tailenders.  The missionaries are very educated people.  They translate their preachings into several different languages and dialects.  In addition they use their wealth and influence to convert people's religions.  The missionaries would not be as successful at this process if they were not educated.  Therefore, this supports the effectiveness of adding Oxford to your culture during this game.  In order to expand and impose my culture on other cultures I needed to be educated.  The Oxford University application allowed my citizens and myself to be better educated.  .