The Technological Advancement In Communication And Society Media Essay

The Technological Advancement In Communication And Society Media Essay Human beings are social beings. Communicating and passing information and understanding one another are of vital importance if we are to survive in society. Earliest types of communications included vocal (language) communication, signals or even pigeons, in a more civilized society, before technology took its turn. Communication is not a choice, it is a necessity. And so, technological advancement in the field of communication has been achieved over time to make it more efficient. One of the earliest technology feats in the communication sector were achieved by Alexander Graham Bell by the invention of the first telephone in the 19th century. With the birth of the telephone, people can just pick up the phone and talk to anyone, from their neighbor to a person half way around the world. Distance could not stop people from getting closer anymore. Phone helped international trades and businesses by making the process of negotiation easier and even possible. (Ferderer, 2008). During the 19th and early 20th century, the radio and television were also developed and in the late 20th century, finally, the World Wide Web (WWW), internet, was developed which changed the way of communication once and for all. Internet was developed by the US government to improve their military communication methods. Today internet is public and it is the most widely used means of communication than any other means. Cyber communication gives people valued learning and independence. Communication via the internet has dramatically expanded the social circle. Online networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter have become the most popular means of instant communication. These websites allow users to communicate with friends, family and clients from moment to moment. Users can add images, update their status (telling everyone what they are doing), start a fan page for your business, send personal messages, and more. The idea behind these websites is to give users the opportunity to connect with people, even if they are thousands of miles apart. Websites like these are bringing people together irrespective of their race, culture, geographic location or their physical appearance. Young people geographically remote, disabled, or housebound due to illness may find online chat an important form of communication (Wakefield, M. A., Rice, C. J., 2008). Cyber communication has been proved to be helpful in children to overcome shyness and improving their social interaction skills by using the online interactive tools like Facebook, Twitter and other like those. Internet allows people to express themselves who otherwise would feel uncomfortable doing so in person. Internet has made communication cheaper, faster and available to everyone from an individual to businesses. Internet is being used for communication in the educational field, for example, online forums, online books etc. Websites like YouTube allows people to communicate via posting videos or music files on the platform. YouTube has eased communication in various fields. Pe ople can watch anything from educational videos to participating in political discussions. Internet is a necessity in todays world. Tourists use the internet to find direction for popular hot spots, students use it for communicating educational ideas for schoolwork, shoppers use it to stay connected to distant friend and relatives by e-mail, instant messaging or chat. Internet both expands and changes the communities in subtle ways. With the technology advancing at such a pace, phones could not stay in their current state either. Today, we have mobile phones which can be taken with us anywhere in the world. Development of smart mobile phones has made communication possible on a device merely half the size of our palm. Smartphones enable users to use normal phones functions on the go, which are calling another mobile phone or landline. But it also allows you to use internet and e-mail functions to keep up to date with your social activities. Text messaging through mobile phones is increasingly becoming the way to communicate quick thoughts to friends, family and clients. Technology is described in the dictionary as the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, and applied science. The rate at which technology is evolving, is unbelievable. Who knew that the hard-wired telephone invented by Graham Bell in the 19th century would soon transform into a device which you can keep in your pocket and take with you wherever, whenever. Technological advances in communication have changed the face and the pace of the world. But none of these benefits come without a flip side. As much as technological communication has improved our way of life and business, these advances do have their downside which may outweigh their positive effects. The state of the art communication technology poses a lot of risks and negative effects in our daily lives. For instance, whilst mobile phones have been proved to be tremendously beneficial for communication purposes, they are responsible for a lot of negative effects.. Mobile phones are quite renowned as the single biggest contributor to hazardous driving. Drivers frequently use their mobiles phones to text, call or chat while driving which poses a major threat to the oncoming traffic and pedestrians. Use of mobile phones while driving has been linked to many car crashes also. Research has clearly shown an increased risk of traffic accidents, some 3-4 times greater chance of an accident, when mobile phones (either handheld or with a hands-free kit) are used while driving (World Health Organization, 2005). Mobile phones pose a threat to our health and social environment. Behavioural scientists and researchers have pointed out that a high usage of mobile phones leads to loss of concentration on immediate tasks at hand. According to a research conducted by Gaby Badre, M.D, of Sahlgren Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden, on effects of mobile phone usage on sleep patterns. Teenagers that use excessive mobile phones experience chronic restlessness, difficulty falling asleep at night with disrupted sleep and they also experience fatigue and stress (Heath). According to a 2007 American Academy of Otolaryngology study, people using their mobile phones for more than an hour per day are at an increased risk for hearing loss. (ehow.com, 2012) Mobile phones pose greater negative effects on teenagers and pre-teenagers. Frequent use of mobile phones and chatting applications affect sleep patterns, mentioned before, but even behavioural instincts and patterns. The use of mobile phones for texting and chatting has been found to have an impact on students writing and grammar. The use of abbreviations, utilised in chatting, has been frequently used in essays and English writing in schools. Edutopia.org conducted a poll and found that 50% teachers feel texting is harming students writing and grammar (Blake, 2011). Introduction of the internet and e-mail opened new doors for communication to our society. We can now talk, chat, video chat and socialize via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, educational forums etc. Things that once were thought to be of magic or folklore are now achieved through advancement in communication technology. But even these advances present a variety of negative impacts on society. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter are used by millions of youngsters, young adults to socialise. Teenagers waste time on these websites which is reflected in their poor grades, incompletion of schoolwork and most of all, procrastination. As easy it is to find information on the internet, is it very easy to go wrong in the internet too. Teenagers are susceptible to spam and junk mails and even pornographic material. As internet is a free tool, there is no training given to anyone on the correct procedure of using the internet and quite frankly, teenagers today are stumbling upon pop-ups and restr icted material on the internet quite frequently. While online networking promotes socialising, it also promotes online stalking and bullying, in conjunction with smartphones. It is very easy to make an anonymous account on Facebook or Twitter and change your identity to talk to someone. Research reveals that one in five youth ages 10 to 17 received unwanted sexual advances online (Wakefield, M. A., Rice, C. J., 2008). Cases of murder and rape have been reported relating to murderers and pedophiles using different identities to communicate with unknown people and then arranging to meet in person where they inflict harm on them. Also, smartphones can encourage bullying. Students who encourage and enjoy bullying want to show what they have done to students. As smartphones come equipped with video cameras, bullies upload these videos online, on websites such as YouTube for the whole world to see and ridicule their targeted person. Cyber Bullying is also done via the creation of false Facebook/Twitter accounts to inflict emotional dama ge to the targeted person and also via text messaging. The internet and phones can be used to violate our privacy. In 2006, reporters at the tabloid, News of the World, illegally hacked into the voicemail messages of phones of people of interest to the newspaper. The court hearings for the News of the World phone hacking scandal continue to this very date. Also, hundreds of viruses are sent in spam and junk mails to people. Only a click is required in order for important data and files in our computer or mobile to be visible to the hackers. Morality has changed with the technology. In earlier times, it was not moral to flaunt ones private photos and private life to the public. Today, websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and various blogging sites are functioning on the basis of sharing personal information with the world in order to be social. The factors influencing decision making have shifted from moral, etiquette, conscience to materialistic forms such as profitability and aesthetics. Technological advancement in communication is being closely followed by its negative effects. Technological advancements need to be weighed in terms of their need, their benefit to society and their negative effects to the society. It is fair to say that technology helps in easing our lives. However, not all technological advancements are required; some may do more harm to society than good. It is not right to be a neutralist and say that technology is neither good nor bad; it depends on how we use it. While it can be agreed to some degree, it cannot be given a hundred percent approval. Invention of the telephone was a great benefit to humanity. It saved people from travelling long distances for personal visits and businesses. Today smartphones have become a part of our lives. But comparing it to the first invention of the phone in terms of its benefits and drawbacks, the smartphones have more drawbacks as mentioned before. Technology is surely changing the world for the faster and easier but it is not necessarily changing it for the better. The fact is that with the new technology people do not communicate on the personal level with each other as often as they once used to. Technology has made communication so easy and effective and cheap that it has created a barrier in personal, face-to-face communication amongst people. People do not feel the need to go meet someone or wish someone on their success when they can just send a text or post them a message on Facebook. This ease of communication has in turn created isolation from one another. As a result, people are becoming lazy and they do not feel the need to go outside of their home to find entertainment and activities such as team sports with friends or going out for shopping, instead, ordering stuff through the internet. As communication is getting better and better, we are becoming totally dependent and attached to the new technology. People have lost skills and confidence in themselves and theyve started trusting technology over themselves. Technology is a privilege but it is not a substitute for interaction with other people. One needs to be responsible for ones own actions and not blaming technology for it. People need to start acting more responsible. Higher values which give better moral beliefs need to be adopted. People need to start making decisions which will help the society and the environment and not the opposite. One needs to understand that not every technological advancement in communication is a beneficial one. Development of communication through technology needs to have more moralistic reasons than profitability and fiscal reasons. Only then might the society benefit from the technology.

Janis Groupthink

Have you ever thought about speaking up in a meeting and then decided against it because you did not want to appear unsupportive of the group's efforts? If so, you have probably been a victim of â€Å"Groupthink†. Irving Lester Janis (26 May 1918 – 15 November 1990) was a research psychologist at Yale University and most famous for his theory of â€Å"groupthink† which described the systematic errors made by groups when taking collective decisions(Wikipedia). Janis described â€Å"groupthink† as â€Å"a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group. When the members’ striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action†(Janis,1972,p. 8). Janis identified eight symptoms(features) of groupthink. They were- 1)Illusion of Invulnerability-This leads the group to excessive optimism, over confidence leading them to take extraordinary risks. It may also lead them to ignore clear signs of risks. 2)Collective Rationalization-Victims of groupthink construct rationalizations and discount and discredit negative feedback and advice from the oppositions. )Illusion of morality-Group members often tend to ignore the ethical and moral consequences of their decisions. 4)Stereotyped views of others-Victims of Groupthink have a stereotyped view towards opponents who give different opinions. They consider them to be too stupid or weak to handle the problem. 5)Pressure on Dissent-Group members apply direct pressure on anyone who opposes the idea or validity supporting a decision or opini on favored by the majority. Example-Body language,Voice tone. 6)Self-censorship-They tend to censor themselves when they have opinions opposing the majority of the group. This minimizes the members doubts and opinions to themselves and not to the group. They withhold dissenting views and counter arguments. Example-Keeping quiet and not giving an opinion due to opposing views. 7)Illusion of unanimity-Victims of groupthink have an illusion that the whole group is in unanimity. This symptom is caused by the preceding symptom. This is due to the false assumption that anybody who doesn’t give an opinion is in unanimity with the group’s decision. Silence is taken as consent. )Mindguarding-A few group members take up the role of mind-guards so as to protect the other members of the group from excessive information and facts that might destroy the majority decision. They stand up to prove the information wrong and label them stupid(stereotyped). This type of dysfunctional operation of an organization has many opportunities for failure. The basic fundamentals of this process are the beginnings of failure as groups seeks conformity and unity as th ey sacrifice everything in order to maintain peace within the group. These eight symptoms of groupthink identified by Janis leads to defective decision making. Victims of grouthink never consider all the alternatives,they do not re-examine the alternatives,they reject negative information and have no contingency plans. The above are due to the stereotyped view of the victims and they act in this way to not disrupt the idea of the majority. This is what the organizations should be careful of. A real life example of â€Å"groupthink† leading to a defective decision making is Challenger Space Shuttle disaster. This occurred on January 28,1986 launched from John F. Kennedy space centre. It was considered to be the most tragic event after John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The presidential commission that investigated the accident showed that defective decision making was the main cause. MTI engineers presented that the mission would fail as the shuttle would not succeed in such cold temperatures. But,the flight officials put forward technical rationalizations faulting MTI’s analysis. One of these rationalizations was that the data was incohensive showing their stereotyped view. The officials also forced Thiokol officials to change their recommendation from avoiding delay to the launch. This shows pressure on dissent. Hence,as expected the mission failed after 73 seconds of the launch killing 7 astronauts aboard. This example shows us how the officials had symptoms of groupthink and how it lead them to a defective decision making process. The challenge for any team or group leader is to create a working environment in which Groupthink is unlikely to happen. Hence we could avoid groupthink by exploring objectives,exploring alternatives,encouraging ideas to be challenged without reprisal,examining the risks if the preferred choice is chosen,testing assumptions,gathering relevant information from outside sources,processing this information objectively,have at least one contingency plan. References: 1)Moorhead,Gregory,Ference,Richard and Neck,Chris P. 1991 ‘Group decision fiascos continue:Shuttle challenger and a revised groupthink framework’. Human Relations 44/6: 539-550. 2)Wikipedia.

Octane Service Station Essay

On March 15, Julio Trevino signed a lease agreement to operate a gasoline service station that was owned by the Octane Oil Company (here after, simply â€Å"Octane†). Trevino had contacted the regional sales manager of Octane in response to an advertisement that solicited applicants â€Å"with $25,000 to invest† to lease and operate a newly erected Octane gasoline service station. Trevino had been able to accumulate approximately $32,000 for investment purposes as a result of a $25,000 inheritance and savings on the salary of $865 per week he earned as manager of a service station operated as a separate department of a J.C. Penney store. Most of this $32,000 was held in government bonds. The regional sales manager for Octane was impressed with Trevino’s personal and financial qualifications, and after several interviews, a lease agreement was signed. During one of these meetings the sales manager informed Trevino that the new station would be ready for occupancy on May 1st at a total investment cost of $300,000. Of this amount, $100,000 had already been paid for land, and a total of $200,000 would be spent for a building that would be â€Å"good for about 40 years†. In discussing profit potential, the sales manager pointed out that Octane’s national advertising program and the consumer appeal generated by the attractive station â€Å"will be worth at least $30,000 a year to you in consumer goodwill.† The lease agreement stipulated that Trevino pay a rental of $1,250 per month for the station plus $0.04 for each gallon of gasoline delivered t the station by Octane1. A separate agreement was also signed whereby Octane agreed to sell and Trevino agreed to buy a certain minimum quantities of gasoline and other automotive products for the service station operation. As both evidence of good faith and as a prepayment on certain obligations that he would shortly incur to Octane, Trevino was required to deposit $20,000 with Octane at the time the lease was signed. Trevino raised the cash for this deposit by liquidating government bonds. Octane used most of this money to defray certain obligations incurred by Trevino to  the oil company prior to the opening of the new station. The deductions from the $20,000 deposits were applied as follow: 1 The lease, which covered a period of one year beginning May 1, was automatically renewable unless notice of cancellation was given by either party at lease 30 days prior to an anniversary date. The regional sales manager of the Octane Oil Company estimated that approximately 150,000 gallons of gasoline would be delivered to Trevino’s Service Station during the first 12 months of operations. Subsequently, Trevino’s records revealed that 27,000 gallons (including the initial inventory) were actually delivered during the first two months of operation. The equipment, including floor and hydraulic jacks, a battery charger, tune-up sets, and oil and grease guns, became Trevino’s property. A representative of the oil company stated that this equipment would last about five years. The unpaid, non-interest bearing balance of $10,300 Trevino owed Octane for equipment was to be paid in five semi-annual installments of $2,060 each. The first such payment was due November 1. The $2,755 remaining from the $20,000 originally deposited with Octane was returned to Trevino on April 30. He deposited this money in a special checking account he had set up for his service station venture. Just before opening for business on May 1, Trevino converted some additional government bonds into $7,000 cash which he also placed in the service station account. Prior to May 1, he wrote the following checks: $1,650 for office furniture that had an expected life of 10 years, and $900 for a fire and casualty insurance policy providing coverage for a one year period beginning May 1. On April 30, Trevino transferred $200 from the service station checking account to the cash drawer at the service station. It was Trevino’s intention to deposit in the bank all but $200 of the cash on hand at the close of each business day. The balance in the service station checking account at the start of business was, therefore, $7,005. In addition, Trevino had $2,700 in a savings account. On May 1, the service station was opened for business. In his effort to build up clientele, Trevino worked approximately 60 hours per week compared with 40 in his previous job. In addition, three other people were employed on either a full or part-time basis. Trevino was reasonably satisfied with the patronage he was able to build up during the first two months the station was open. At the end of June, however, he felt it would be desirable to take a more careful look at how he was making out in his new business venture. Trevino felt that he should record his progress and present position in a form that would be useful not only at the present time but also for comparative purposes in the future, perhaps a six months intervals ending on June 30 and December 31. Trevino maintained a simple record keeping system in which cash receipts and cash payments were itemized daily in a loose-leaf notebook. Separate pages were reserved for specific items in this notebook. During the months of May and June, the following cash receipts and payments had been recorded: The $500 listed in cash receipts as rental from parking area had been receive from an adjacent business establishment that used one portion of the service station site as a parking space for certain of its employees. The rental received covered a period extending from May 15 to July 15. In addition to the record of cash receipts and payments, a detailed listing was kept of the amounts of money that were due from, or owed to, other individuals or companies. An analysis of these records revealed that $143 was due the business for gas, oil, and car servicing from a wealthy  widow friend of the Trevino family who preferred to deal on a credit basis. Also, on the evening of June 30, one of the employees completed waxing a car for a regular customer who was out of town and would be unable to call for his car until July 3. Trevino had quoted a price of $56 for this job. Trevino recalled that when he once worked at an automobile agency, he had heard that setting up a reserve for bad debts equal to two percent of all outstanding accounts was a good idea. Trevino had also jotted down the fact that he and his family had used gas and oil from the service station worth $101 at retail prices, for which no payment had been made. Approximately $79 had been paid to Octane Oil Company for this merchandise. A further summary of his records revealed the following unpaid bills resulting from operations in June: The service station’s employees had last been paid on Saturday, June 28, for services rendered through Saturday evening. Wages earned on June 29 and 30 would amount to $232 in the following Saturday’s payroll. Trevino took a physical inventory on the evening of June 20, and he found gasoline, motor oil, grease, tires, batteries, and accessories on hand that had cost $10,018. While Trevino was figuring his inventory position, he compared his recorded gallonage sales of gasoline on hand at the end of  the period against the volume of gasoline at the beginning inventory plus deliveries. In this manner, Trevino ascertained that shrinkage due to evaporation, temperature changes, waste and other causes amounted to 302 gallons of gasoline that he estimated had cost $360. Late in June, Trevino’s married son realized that he would be unable, because of prolonged illness to make payment of $192 for interest expense and $800 for principal repayment on a $2,400 bank loan. Trevino, who had acted as co-signer on the note, would be obligated to meet this payment on July 1.

Personally Identifiable Information (Pii) and Ethics Use...

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Ethics: Use of Cookies Cookie Trails In today’s era of technology, many people are concerned about internet privacy. Most concerns are usually sparked by misinformation. One piece of technology that is most misunderstood is the cookie and its uses. Many people believe that cookies are programs that can transfer viruses onto their computers. This is absolutely false. Cookies are typically harmless. Cookies are little text files left on your hard disk by some websites you visit (Williams amp; Stacy C. Sawyer, 2013, p.105). These text files store information about the user like preferences, log-in name, and password. Cookies can be very beneficial for users who frequent many†¦show more content†¦After public outcry and a class-action suit (which was settled in 2002), DoubleClick did an about-face and said it had made a huge mistake (Peneberg, 2005). When cookies are used in this manner it definitely brings ethical issues to the forefront. It is an invasion of privacy to take, use and potentially sell information that was not knowingly shared. It is an abuse of privileges users innocently extend to websites. If this invasion of privacy is allowed to continue, one could only wonder what will await the unsuspecting user in future. It is quite plausible for large marketing and advertising firms to start tampering with cookies, eventually creating more evasive ways of snooping on users, and in the process obtaining more crucial information like social security numbers. Marketers dont fear that the government will ban or restrict cookies someday. After heavy lobbying they managed to secure an amendment to the Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act that would exempt cookies from any spyware legislation that passes in the House (Peneberg, 2005). The people could rally together to band cookies, but that would make browsing the web difficult for all. 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