Globalization and Technology: Connections and Communications

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Globalization and Technology Connections and
Communications
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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 Americas role? (Orange Countys role)
• Everyday technologiesthe fun part!

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How do technology and globalization relate?
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First off, technology requires an audience

• It serves no practical purpose if there is no one
  using it!

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• 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.

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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

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• 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.

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In addition technology also needs constant
refinement

• With improvements in the sciences, communication,
  transportation, etc. technology must always keep
  up

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• 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.

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Needs and solutions
Globalization
Technology
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But how do technology and globalization relate?

• Audience
• Human capital
• Constant refinement
• These three components make technology and
  globalization a perfect fit for each
  otherglobalization supplies new ideas, workers,
  creativity, and unique contexts for technology to
  flourish!

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• 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.

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Globalization opens up countless doors of
opportunity for technology!
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Unique situations

• Caribbeanthere 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.

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Unique situations

• Think about remote villages or cultures that have
  their own unique problems and goals that
  technology could solve.
• Maybe they dont 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.

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Why is knowing about the globalization of
technology important?
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Why its 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
  meti.e. using mobile phones before treating
  basic illnesses and diseases

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Why its important

• Technology is most notably associated with
  Western and developed nations
• United States
• Parts of Europe
• Japan

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Why its important

• Those that embrace more complex technologies have
  more power.
• War technologies (weaponry, intelligence, etc.)
  give certain countries more military power over
  others.

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Why its 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.

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Scenario
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Scenario

• 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 technologyyou can send
  emails and instant messages to anyone you want.

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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?

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Why its 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.

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Who are the main players? Who benefits most?
Who is harmed the most?
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Main Players

• The website www.socialtechnologies.com identifies
  three tiers of technological influence in the
  world.

World 2
World 1
World 3
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World 1

• asd

• The wealthiest European nations (Western Europe)
• United States
• Japan

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World 2the vast middlei

• asd

• China
• India
• Russia
• Brazil
• Indonesia
• plus several small countries

World 2
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World 3 - The worlds poorer nations

• asd

• Many African countries
• Haiti
• Afghanistan

World 3
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World 1
Western Europe USA Japan
World 2
Russia China Brazil India Indonesia
Haiti African countries Afghanistan
World 3
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Americas Role

• America in your own back yard

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Everyday Technologies
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Computers and the Internet
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Computers and the Internet

• Personal computers as we know it did not become
  feasible or popular until the 1990sonly 10 to 15
  years ago!

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1981 IBM Personal Computer
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IBM

• American company
• Basic statistics 330,000 employees, 96 billion
  (2004 revenue), largest IT company in the world
• Headquarters Armonk, New York

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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!

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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.

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The Languages of the WWW
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?
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Take home message

• Technology has made living conditions and way of
  life much better for people around the world.
• BUT, not everyone has access to the newest or
  best technology.
• It is important to identify the haves and have
  nots
• Do you think technology gives people more freedom?