Module 5 : Cultures and Technology

For the last and final module of this subject, the topic was about indigenous societies : The Maori society in particular, and another indigenous society of our choice.

First of all, who are the Maori?Maori's are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. They originated with settlers from Eastern Polynesia, who arrived sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE. Due to the fact they were isolated for 7 centuries, they developed an extraordinary culture which is known today as the Maori culture, with their very own language, rich mythology, performing arts and distinctive craft. Early settlers formed tribal groups, and later a warrior culture emerged.

(Untitled photo of an early traditional Maori family, n.d). Retrieved October 31, 2013

A lot of things changed for the Maori's when Europeans started arriving in New Zealand at the start of the 17th century, the Maori's gradually adopted many aspects of the Western society and culture. At the start, Europeans and the Maori had quite an amicable relationship, and it was further improved by the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 between the 2 parties, but sometime in the 1860's, disputed land sales led to a rise in tension and conflict. Apart from that, social ills, disease, and the long time conflict took a devastating toll on the Maori population, which dwindled in numbers in the following years. By the start of the 20th century though, the population numbers began to revive, and more efforts were made to increase their standing in the New Zealand society.

The 2006 New Zealand census reported an estimated 620,000 Maori in New Zealand, which made up about 15% of the national population. They are the 2nd largest population in New Zealand after the European New Zealanders, and there are also about 120,000 Maori in Australia.

Some numbers of Maori face quite significant economic and social obstacles, like lower life expectancies and incomes when compared to other groups in New Zealand, and also higher crime rates, health issues, and under achievement in education. (Wikipedia, 2013)

What are indigenous people? Indigenous people are also known by different names : Tribal people, first people and native people. They make up about 5% of the world's population, it is estimated there are about 370 million of them in the world, belonging to 5000 different groups, in 90 countries around the world. It is reported that about 70% of them are living in Asia.

There is no definite explanation for the term 'indigenous people', but there are common threads which appear to run through all of them:

a.) They have relatively small populations compared to the dominant culture of the country they live in

b.) They have/had their own language

c.) They have their own distinctive cultural practices that are still practiced until today

d.) They usually have their own land and territory, to which they are attached to in a variety of ways

e.) They self identify as Indigenous
(Cultural Survival, 2013)

Some examples of indigenous people are :

- Bushmen (South Africa)
- Pygmy people (Central Africa)
- Aboriginal people of Canada
- Alaska natives (Alaska)
- Assyrians (Iraq)
- Naimans (Inner Mongolia)
- Yamato ( Japan)
- Adivasi (India)
- Andamanese (Andaman Islands and India)
- Orang Asli (Malaysia)
- Pribumi (Indonesia)
- Australian Aborogines (Australia)
- Fijian (Fiji)
- Maori (New Zealand)
- Cook Islanders (Cook Islands)
- Samoan (Samoa)
- Tongan (Tonga)
 (Wikipedia, 2013)


With regards to technology and innovation, indigenous people have historically been referred to as 'laggards', or slow to adopt new technologies. While usually accepted as originators of certain acceptable quaint traditions, the Maori like other native people are usually labeled as passive adopters of new and beneficial innovations. Maori culture has had a significant impact on the modern New Zealand society, the names of most native flora & fauna are from the Maori language, the national rugby team, the All Blacks perform a ceremonial haka before matches, the traditional welcome ceremony which is the Powhiri is performed at the start of most formal ceremonies, the crest of New Zealand feature a white woman and a Maori man, and the national army incorporates a taiaha (traditional Maori weapon) in their insignia.

(All Blacks perform the Haka, n.d) Retrieved from www.hakashows.com

(Sacred Maori Taiaha spear, n.d) Retrieved 02 Nov, 2013

Indigenous or tribal people have been affected by the introduction of new technology from other cultures for many many years. Some of these introductions have not made a big impact on their lifestyles, whereas others have completely changed societies, identities and world views. Modern technologies especially computing and telecommunication technologies have totally revolutionised the way of living and participation of the indigenous societies with the other societies and within the economy.

One area we can look at is at the impact technology had on the Maori culture. One example is the Poi, which is a performance art which involves swinging tethered weights through a variety of rhythimical and geometrical patterns. Poi is the Maori word for 'ball' on a cord. In the olden days the poi used to be made of flax, whereas after the European influence started to seep into the Maori culture, now plastic and yarn are used to make the poi instead. Maori songs are now frequently accompanied by a guitar in addition to traditional instruments.

Retrieved from http://www.thepoiroom.co.nz/image/cache/data/Children/Poi%20Boys%20full-500x500.jpg

The Maori are famous for their traditional tattoos, called the Ta Moko (permanent body and face marking), which are different from traditional tattoos in the way that the tattoos are carved by uhi(chisels) rather than punctured. Nowadays, tattoos are done using Western tattoo techniques, such as using tattoo machines.

(Artist rendition of traditional Ta Moko technique. Retrieved 02 November 2013)

Apart from that, when the Maori first came to New Zealand, they had to adapt to a colder climate, with much more well defined seasons (spring,summer,autumn,winter). They realised that the clothes that they traditionally wore were and they had to design new and warmer clothes to suit the cold. 

Food also could not be readily cultivated and produced all year around, and new techniques to produce food were developed as well as the need to store food. A lot of the food was collected in the warm months, and they were then needed to be preserved for winter. Some of the techniques included drying fish in the sun, birds were cooked and placed in sealed gourds, with the birds own fat inside it. 

In the early days, one of the first examples of modernization within the Maori was the introduction of muskets (smoothbore firearm) to the Maori people by the Europeans, or pakeha as they are called by the Maori.

(Example of Maori used musket, n.d.) Retrieved 01 Nov 2013

(Untitled photo of Maori brandishing muskets, n.d). Retrieved 01 Nov 2013

Unfortunately, the introduction of these muskets were to tragic effect. Thousands of Maori died in the inter-tribal Musket Wars of the 1810's, 1820's and 1830's. Many other Maori's were enslaved or in the process became refugees, whereas some tribes were decimated, and territorial boundaries of others were drastically changed. Due to this, by the 1830's, thousands of Maori had fled the traditional lands, which then freed up many areas for Pakeha (European) settlements, and thus complicating ownership disputes and claims.

In the past, the reputation of the Maori people for splendid physiques has placed them on very much what can be called a pedestal of perfection. According to a report by the NZ Herald in 2012, Maori were once the most physically perfect race on the planet. Their physical perfection is backed by the first sketch of Maori by a man called Isaac Gilsemans who was Abel Tasman's cartographer, who shows young and old warriors in a canoe, every single one of them in superb physical condition.

The physical perfection of Maori startled Europeans arriving in New Zealand. NZ Herald, 2012

What about after modernization and technology though? Now, 41% of Maori are officially obese, which is a rate 37% higher than Americans who are popularly known as the fattest people on the planet.

Captain Cook in 1769 observed that "they are exceedingly vigorous and active. Their teeth are extremely regular and as white as ivory... they seem to enjoy high health and we saw many who appeared to be of a great age." Before contact with the white man, Maori enjoyed very good dental health, and a study performed showed only one tooth in 2000 teeth attacked by dental caries with almost 100% normally formed dental arches. (Isolated and modernized NZ Maori, n.d).

Now though? A study performed on 535 individuals in 22 school districts showed that from 15,332 teeth, 3420 had been attacked by dental caries (22.3%). In the most modern groups, about 31-40% had dental caries. The incidence of deformed dental arches ranged from 40-100%.
 Why the big difference? The breakdown of these physical perfect capabilities came from the departation from native foods to modern food, consisting of white flour, sweetened stuff, syrup and goods in cans. The results are similar to other races after using so called 'modern foods'.

Maori are quite outnumbered by their colonial countrymen, or pakeha, and their existence is quite different. Currently, Maori only make up around 15% of the New Zealand population, and studies show that they are lagging far behind their European fellow countrymen in terms of unemployment rates, health and literacy. 

According to Statistics New Zealand, 

Among the full-time employed, a higher proportion of Māori than non-Māori were employed in occupations with lower median incomes, for example, as sales and service workers, plant and machinery operators and in elementary occupations. In contrast, a lower proportion of Māori were employed as legislators, administrators and managers, professionals or technicians and associate professionals, occupations with higher median incomes. Māori were one and a half times more likely than non-Māori to be employed as trades workers and plant and machinery operators than legislators, administrators and managers.

This can be partially attributed to the low literacy rates. A survey done by Statistics New Zealand show that almost 3/4ths of Maori were under the literacy skill level necessary to handle the "complex demands of everyday life and work". Because of this, more than 30% of Maori are in the lowest quarter ranking of income totals.

Another less desirable fact is the representation of Maori in the prisons of New Zealand. Close to 50% of incarcerated prisoners are Maori, according to the Department of Corrections.

Now, moving on to another indigenous group : the Orang Asli of Malaysia

Malaysia is a part of Asia, and is well known all over the world for the multi cultural society its people live in. With an estimated population of 40 million people, it's one of the rapidly developing countries, and consists of Muslims (61.3%), Buddhist's (19.5%), Hindu's (6.3%), other religions (1.4%) and no classified religion (0.7%). 

Photo courtesy of National Geographic Travel

In the year 2000 the number of orang asli's living in Malaysia were estimated to be around 148,000 which makes up roughly 0.5% of the population. (Wikipedia, 2013)

Most orang asli still live a nomadic life, hunting and gathering lifestyle. Their settlements are mostly along rivers, along forest trails, and on mountains. They were the primary suppliers of forest products like rattan,bamboo,ivory, and other animal parts in the maritime trade that linked Southeast Asia to markets in China, India and the Middle East in the first millenium AD. 

(Orang Asli Aborigine Village, n.d)

During the development of the country in the late nineteenth century and the early 20th century, forests were cleared at an alarming rate, and transformed into plantations and tin mines. The move towards economic development further created the need for forests to be converted into plantations, land developments, and mines. The construction of roads and dams destroyed large areas of forest, and with them, the lifestyle and livelihoods of the orang asli. 

Front page of a national daily highlighting the worry of the natives, 2008

From the 1960's, the Malaysian government started an "integration" policy which essentially meant they tried to take steps to modernize the orang asli by introducing cash-crop agriculture (which meant discouraging nomadic activities and traditional hunter-gathering), and replacing tribal and traditional leaders of community with headmen appointed by the government. After the 1980's, the government started stepping up religious efforts in concerns to the orang asli. Mostly, efforts were made by the Department of Orang Asli Affairs to carry out spiritual development of the orang asli.

Malaysia's economy started to flourish with the arrival of the 1980's and the 1990's, but with this it has increased pressure on the orang asli, especially in terms of land rights. As stated above, a lot of their land was lost to plantations, factories and other developments in the name of progress, and most of the time without any form of compensation at all.

The legislation which pertains to Orang Asli, the 1954 Aboriginal Peoples Act, has been long said as too weak to protect the rights of the Orang Asli, especially when coming to matters regarding land ownership and usage. Very few of them actually own their lands, and the Act only provides for 'certain rights' to use land and the resources. As a result, most of them are essentially tenants on their own traditional lands.

According to a February 2007 study carried out by the Malaysia National Human Rights Commission, everywhere in Malaysia the Orang Asli indigenous communities are facing a very bleak future marked by official neglect and the greed of private enterprise. (World Directory of Minorities, n.d).

One main thing in common that can be seen when comparing these 2 indigenous societies, are that modernization and colonization is drastically affecting native people. The world might be improving and moving forward due to improvements in technology and the economy, but i'm afraid the indigenous people aren't sharing the fruits of these developments like we are. 

One of the common traits that the Maori and the Orang Asli have in common are land matters. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed by representatives of the British crown and the five northern Maori tribes, and the copies were disseminated throughout the island for review and agreement by others. But before all the signed copies were returned, Captain William Hobson claimed New Zealand for Britain on the basis that Maori ceded the North Island in the treaty and that Captain Cook had discovered the South Island and claimed it for the British despite the fact there were a large amount of Maori living there. With the orang Asli, most of them are very far removed for any extensive recognition of their ancestral land ownership rights, while development and modernization projects carry on threatening their livelihood and homes.

Technologically the Maori may fare better off than the orang asli, as the Maori are generally educated people, as compared to the Orang Asli who mostly still live in forests and hills as mentioned above, and 

the literacy rate is only about 43% compared to the national standard of 86%, and compared to about 60% literacy for the Maori and 99% for the NZ National Standard.

Healthwise,  the Maori fare slightly better as the life expetancy of the Orang Asli is only about 53 years, and a very high infant mortality rate with 51.7 deaths per 1000 births, and for the Maori about 70.4 years, and with an infant mortality rate of 6.8 per 1000 births.



References:

Barish, M. (01 April, 2009). In the Corner of the World. Retrieved November 4,2013 from http://www.gadling.com/2009/04/21/in-the-corner-of-the-world-bay-of-islands/

Barish, M. (01 April, 2009). Struggles of the Modern Maori. Retrieved November 4,2013 from http://www.gadling.com/2009/04/28/in-the-corner-of-the-world-struggles-of-the-modern-maori/

Hide, R. (01 July, 2012). Modernisation has ruined health of Maori. Retrieved 08 November 2013 from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10816556

Isolated and Modernized New Zealand Maori.(n.d). Retrieved November 07, 2013 from http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/price/price12.html

Wikipedia. (2013). Orang Asli. Retrieved 06 November, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orang_Asli

World Directory of Minorities.(n.d). Retrieved October 31,2013 from http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=4538&tmpl=printpage

Module 4: Emerging Technology

MODULE 4: EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

So for this module, we were asked to talk about an emerging technology, recognise its potential and talk about its future impacts on society. Although in this time and age most breakthrough innovations are quite rare, there are a lot of technological breakthroughs in existing technology, and some of them can be classified as new and emerging technology.

One such technology that i would like to talk about is holographic technology. So                    what is holography? Holography is, in simple terms, a photographic technique for producing 3-D images. It involves usage of lasers, diffraction, interference, recording of light intensity and proper illumination of the recording.

The hologram was made possible by the development of the laser, which is one of the key items in making a hologram.

Source: http://science.howstuffworks.com/hologram1.htm

 Holograms were first used in the field of art by artists, and is still used today by some artists and art schools around the world as a medium. Apart from that, holographic technology is also used in data storage, wherein holographic technology can store data at very high density inside photopolymers or certain crystals.

Holographic technology is also being used in security applications such as on different currencies, ATM cards, credit cards, different forms of photo ID, DVDs, and even books and certain sports equipment. Holographic scanners are also in use big companies, post offices, and some automated conveyor systems to use 3D imaging to determine a size of a package.                  

Source: http://www.securityhologram.com/    

In the famous movie Star Trek, the crew of the Starship Enterprise could go to a special room to live out any fantasies they had, called the holodeck. It was essentially a big holographic projection room which enabled the crew to touch and interact with projections, similar to being in a big video game. As such, there is technology being developed today which will similarly enable people and their friends or family to interact in an environment similar to this one despite being hundreds or thousands of kilometers apart. 

In the same way, there are many companies out there in the IT and computing industry which are starting to look at holographic technology as a soon to be replacement for the current 3D industry in many applications such as for mobile phones and laptops, televisions, holographic teleconferencing and holographic meetings between staff in a same company working in different locations. 

Where can we see examples of this technology being used? What are some scenarios that we can see practical applications of this?

One such place we can see an application for this technology is in the workplace. Employees who work from home would not even need to move out from their room at home to be able to attend a meeting, or display a presentation to a board of directors or the bosses. All the employee would need to do is to install the necessary hardware and software, and the people at work would then see a live 3D hologram of the employee actually sitting there in the meeting room or board room, and they would actually be able to interact and speak to him/her as if there were a live person there.

For example: 

Taken from http://www.starviewint.vn/uploads/category/3D%20SONY%20telepresent%20structure-12.jpg

Other scenes where we could possibly see holographic technology making an entry? In social communications media : phones, laptops, desktops, watches, IPod's, IPad's and other electronic devices: 

Souce: http://www.flickr.com/photos/metropolismusic/4257545615/

They would allow people to interact with 3D holograms of friends and family in real time, and video chat will be improved to become holography chat where people would be able to virtually see and talk to each other as if they were together in real life. Imagine what this could do for people who have family members living thousands of kilometers away, and are unable to see them except through video chat.

 With this technology, they would be able to literally 'walk' into the homes of their family members, 'sit' with them, enjoy a cup of coffee with them, and join them for dinner once in a while. This goes the same for old people who are unable to travel to visit their kids or their grandchildren, again using holograms they would be virtually able to see, react and talk to 3D holograms of their children or grandchildren : all in real time. 

Apple devices such as iPhones, iPod's and iPad's have a lot of potential when it comes to these futuristic technologies. Some people and market analysts believe that the new upcoming iPod's will have a few variations, such as a wristwatch with a voice activated feature, and become a hologram entertainment center and comms device. It will possibly be able to display whole conferences and training sessions by just laying it on the table and switching on the hologram device. 

An illustrated example of what i am talking about : 

                                          Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89KxxpmMhi4

References:

 Bonsor, K. (n.d.). How Holographic Environments Will Work. Retrieved May 2, 2013, from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/holographic-environment.htm

Bourzac, K. (2013). New 3D Display Could Let Phones and Tablets Produce Holograms. Retrieved May 15, 2013, from http://www.technologyreview.com/news/512716/new-3-d-display-could-let-phones-and-tablets-produce-holograms/

Onural, L. (2010). Research Trends in Holographic 3DTV Displays. Retrieved April 30, 2013 from http://www.digitalholography.eu/varasto/O2009c.pdf

Winslow, L. (2007). Holographic Projection Technologies of the Future. Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/Gilbertaubin/holographic-technologies

Module 3 : Ethics

Retrieved October 4, 2013 from http://www.whyislam.org/social-values-in-islam/morality-ethics-in-islam/

So, for module 3 we were supposed to 'showcase our ability to identify the tensions that exist between the need for economic survival and the desire to behave ethically'. Basically, talk about an ethical issue which needs consideration in today's world. So, what are ethics? 

According to the Oxford Online Dictionary, the definition of ethics is "moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity". A general meaning by Wikipedia is "rational, optimal and appropriate decision brought on the basis of common sense.(Wikipedia, October 2013).

The UN Declaration of Human Rights defined Privacy as this:

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone had the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.   (retrieved October 5, 2013 from http://www.craigbellamy.net/2006/04/24/privacy/ )

So basically ethics is just a way of doing a certain thing, based on moral principles and simple common sense, which should be pretty easy. But why then is ethics such a talked about and debated about topic in the general media and on the internet and by the public?

Some years ago, in a study done by Santa Clara University in 2010, a sociologist called Raymond Baumhart asked business people, "What does ethics mean to you?". Among some of the replies given were:

"Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong."

"Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs."

"Being ethical is doing what the law requires."

"Ethics consists of the standards of behavior our society accepts."

"I don't know what the word means."

(Retrieved October 5,2013 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html. What is Ethics.)

As seen by the above, there was no concrete answer for what actually ethics means. It is an abstract concept which differs in definition from person to person, and the views that people offer about the meaning of ethics are usually quite shaky.

The study done by Santa Clara University also went on to say that many people, just like the ones interviewed by Baumhart, tend to equate ethics with their feelings. But being ethical is not just a matter of following one's feelings, as a person's feelings might tend to deviate from doing what is right.

So what is an example of an ethical issue?

One of the main ethical issues talked about nowadays are privacy issues and concerns. Privacy is the ability of a group or an individual to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively. The degree to which private information is exposed therefore depends on how well the public will receive this information, which differs between place and time.  (Wikipedia, 2012)

In simple words, privacy is simply the right to be left alone, and is a fundamental human right which everyone deserves. Unfortunately with the development of the Internet age, internet privacy or information privacy is becoming a widely talked about and debated issue by communities worldwide.

There are many ways in which a person can be affected negatively by the disclosure of personal information, some of which are deemed sensitive. Court records, financial records, medical records, social media accounts, internet site visits, and many other sources hold a lot of details about a person's life. Thus, the disclosure of all this information can potentially be subjecting people to harm and abuse.

We might argue that information is needed to make a decision at times, and good information will help lead to good decisions. But the outstanding issue is this : sometimes, or a lot of times, that information is misused. For example, in 2010 in Philadelphia (U.S.A), one school districts gave out laptops to its students, then used it secretly to spy on them, both at school and at home.The laptops were issued to 1800 students at 3 high schools in the district, each with a built in webcam which according to law enforcement, administrators could activate covertly and remotely. A case was filed after the son of one Blake J. Robbins was disciplined by one of the school's vice principals for "improper behaviour in his home". (Source: http://www.newser.com/story/81237/school-gives-kids-laptops-spies-on-them-via-webcam.html)

The comments from the readers and viewers blasted the school administration and the district administrators for even thinking of such an idea, much less endorsing it. One reader, codenamed RWT711 commented "you know... in this same scenario... if the laptop were on a hard wired network the administrator could also turn the power of the laptop on whenever he/she wanted to "do maintenance" giving them the freedom to turn on the webcam whenever they wanted and not just when the student was logged in. This is very disturbing.."  Yet another reader, codenamed concernedaboutHHS commented "I'm looking through my daughter's laptop for evidence of this crime when she comes home from Harriton High School today. As for the city of Philadelphia having huge deficits and how did they get the money for 1800 laptops: this has nothing to do with Philadelphia; this is Harriton High School in the rich (very rich) suburb of Lower Merion. I agree that the school has the right to monitor use of the computer at school, but not with webcams and not personal emails (apart from the school's official email system). Further, there should be no active monitoring outside the school campus property. If this is true, and it's still an if, heads should roll. If monitoring continued after those in charge knew it was happening, criminal charges would be apropriate."


The March/April 1999 issue of Consumers Digest had a good article on medical records privacy. The article was titled Protecting Your Medical Privacy by John F. Wasik, and claims that employers can easily gain medical records information about employees. Some of the statistics given by Wasik are :

• One study indicates that 21 percent of workers were fired or laid off after their work-related injury according to the Texas Research and Oversight Council on Workers' Compensation.
• According to the AFL/CIO, employers commonly use information about an individual's medical condition on (making) decisions about hiring, firing or promotions.
• Medical information is available from insurers through state workers' compensation programs and industry databases on insurance claims known as the "Index" system.
• Workers' compensation claim information is easily bought from employment-screening firms for as little as $12.
• Employers can pull even more medical information from credit records (health-care billing), bankruptcy records and even handwriting analysis (some medical and mental states) (pg. 60). (Source: http://education.illinois.edu/wp/privacy/persprivacy.html) 

On an employers perspective, this may seem like a proper thing to do in order to maintain certain standards in offices and companies, and to ensure quality of the staffing and the service they provide. But for the public, this is a genuine privacy concern, and the release of such information has caused a lot of damage for many of the people involved.

There are pros when it comes to the releasing of some aspects of our personal details. For example, doctors can pull up our health records in a matter of minutes, or even seconds. Doctors can do consultation for surgeries from thousands of miles away, securing a loan only takes a day or 2 as compared to weeks in the past, and it is much easier to curb crime and theft. Technology nowadays has helped speed up the access we have to records and other information.

Another aspect of privacy concerns are to do with social media. The current generation grew up with the Internet, and most if not all youngsters are Internet and technologically savvy, and spend a vast amount of time surfing the Net, downloading movies, chatting, and video calling.

Facebook had come under fire in the recent few years on a wide range of issues, namely treatment of its users, online privacy, child safety, and hate speech, among others. In the year 2010, the Electronic Frontier Foundation identified 2 personal information aggregation techniques called 'connections' and 'instant personalization', which demonstrated that anyone could get access to information saved to a particular Facebook profile, even if it was not intended for public viewing. The connection is created when a user hits the 'like' button for a product or service, either on Facebook itself or an external site and the user information may be displayed on the Facebook page of the product or service. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook#Widening_exposure_of_member_information_2011.E2.80.9312)

Due to these issues, it was recently discovered that about 11 million users dropped Facebook, and almost half of them were reported to have left due to privacy concerns. Even though according to Facebook there are privacy laws and regulations which have been put in place, the recent mass numbers leaving the social media site say otherwise, and people have genuine concerns over their privacy, as more and more of people's personal information is being used by social media sites and other sites for marketing and advertisement purposes, and the amount of information available on the Internet nowadays about a person is just staggering.

Some people may argue that most of the information which is being accessed by advertising and marketing companies are useless, but do most of them know the scale of information being shared about them?

       Privacy Issues on Facebook are here to stay. (22 March, 2012). Retrieved October 9, 2013                                          from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPaHMtkfFSA

Shown above is a video talking about the privacy issues of one of the most famous social networking sites, Facebook. The quote by Eric Menhart, the attorney tells it all : "if you put it on Facebook, you should expect that it is 100%, inequivocally public".

It may be true, but my personal opinion is this: our own Facebook page is a personal page, much like a blog, and we have the freedom to post up whatever we want there. Using the information there to judge people, like what some employers are doing nowadays to judge potential employees, is a blatant abuse of a persons privacy and i would liken it to peeping through someone's house windows to see how their personal life is, which is an abuse of privacy, and against the law as well. While Facebook peeping Toms aren't yet legally liable for their actions, it is a hope by many against privacy abuse that one day there will be legal implications in doing this.

And with that, i end my post :)

References:




Craig. (24 April 2006). What is privacy and why is it important. Retrieved October 1, 2013 from http://www.craigbellamy.net/2006/04/24/privacy/

J Meyer, M. (2010). What is Ethics. Retrieved September 25, 2013 fromhttp://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html

McFarland, M. (June 2012). Ethical Implications of Data Aggregation. Retrieved October 8, 2013 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/technology/internet/privacy/data-aggregation.html

Personal Pricavy. (n.d). Retrieved September 26, 2013 from http://education.illinois.edu/wp/privacy/persprivacy.html

Raicu, I. (June 2012). Loss of Online Privacy - Whats the harm?. Retrieved October 6, 2013 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics-center/privacy/harm/index.cfm

Wikipedia (October 2013). Criticism of Facebook. Retrieved October 05, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook#Widening_exposure_of_member_information_2011.E2.80.9312

Societal Trends

For module 2 we were asked to choose one of societies trends and analyse its impact upon society itself. At this moment there are many areas that are of concern not only to people in a certain area or state, these issues are recognised nationally and internationally as real concerns to be studied and dealt with.

One such societal trend we can talk about is corruption. What is corruption? According to Wikipedia, corruption is "spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal. Corruption may include many activities including bribery and embezzlement.Government, or 'political', corruption occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts in an official capacity for personal gain." ( Wikipedia, 2013). 

                                      Untitled photo of corruption, definition. (August 30,2012) Retrieved September 10                                                                          from http://procentus.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/the-cost-of-corruption-in-                                                                                     developing-countries/


When talking about this on a national scale, New Zealand is ranked one of the least corrupt countries in the world. A non-governmental organisation called Transparency International uses a Corruption Perception Index(CPI) to compare levels of economic crime in different countries and has consistently ranked New Zealand as one of the least corrupt countries in the world. (Transparency International (2011). "Corruption Perceptions Index". Transparency International. Transparency International. Retrieved 1 September 2013.)

The picture below shows the CPI done by Transparency International for the year 2012: 

Screenshot of Transparency International's PCI brochure. (n.d). Retrieved August 31 2013 from www.transparency.org

But Transparency International themselves say that their rankings are based on opinion surveys rather than proper evidence, as corruption is "to a great extent a hidden activity that is difficult to measure". 

Regardless of the scale of corruption in any given country, the fact is that corruption does remain, and more widespread in some countries than in other and it poses a global threat to the economics and peoples lives worldwide. 

Although the scale of corruption differs from country to country, the fact remains that each and every country has some level of corruption happening, and New Zealand is one of those countries. Though ranked 3rd on Transparency's list of corruption scale, it is still occurring, and a report was published by Transparency International's New Zealand partner, TINZ on internal corruption within New Zealand. A summarised version of the report is as follows : 

Global Corruption Barometer 2013

3% of Kiwi’s Report Paying a Bribe in Global Survey 9 July, 2013 - Transparency International today released the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, and its key finding from the global survey of 114,000 respondents in 107 countries: bribery is widespread with 27 per cent of those surveyed globally reporting they have paid a bribe in the last 12 months when interacting with public institutions and services. The New Zealand component of the survey involved 1000 New Zealanders and was undertaken by Colmar Brunton in January and February this year and found: 3% of New Zealanders surveyed reported paying a bribe Of those who reported paying a bribe their reasons for doing so were because: It was the only way to obtain a service (35%) To get a cheaper service (29%) To speed things up (21%) As a gift/gratitude (15%) 65% of those surveyed thought the level of corruption in New Zealand has increased over the past two years

Taken from www.transparencynz.org.nz. (10 July 2013).


So what actually causes corruption? According to a paper done by World Bank, one of the main reasons of corruption are bad systems of governance. The paper also goes on to say that there are many personal motivators within this cause. It says people offer bribes because they want an unfair advantage over others. Some seek bribes for reasons special to them, such as : 

a.) Politicians look for bribes as "insurance" in case they happen to lose their office, as they will not be qualifying for a monthly pension
b.) Government officials need the extra money to maintain a quality standard of living for themselves and their families, especially if salaries have not been raised to match inflation, so they can meet commitments
c.) Employees are not satisfied with bad management or unfair pay levels.This causes them to justify making false expenses claims and/or taking bribes
d.) Some see it as doing the public 'a favour' by reducing the amount of fines they have to pay and reducing the legal implications of certain wrongdoings by just paying a bribe to 'settle' the case.

All these reasons and more are used by people worldwide to justify taking, and giving bribes, and it is a tough cycle to break as to eliminate corruption, both the giver and taker has to be eliminated.

What are some of the implications of corruption on society?

The impacts of corruption are widespread, related to political, economic, social and environmental effects. But the one we will be looking at in this module is the social impact from corruption. 

The degree to which corruption makes a difference in common peoples lives and causes poverty to increase is direct proportional to the level of this social ill and how widespread it is in society. The development of a country or a state also depends on the amount of resources are lost to corruption. In developed countries like New Zealand, corruption is limited to a small group of projects and where the common man does not really encounter it on a daily basis, the impact of corruption is minimal and does not endanger the welfare of the public. Whereas in developing and poor countries such as Pakistan, where each dollar is counted towards the development of the country, corruption hampers the country's development quite badly. In fact one recent report by the World Bank lists corruption and lack of transparency as the core reasons for Pakistan's failure to develop. ( Source: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/16-Aug-2011/Impact-of-corruption-on-our-society. Retrieved September 5,2013)

It has been further proven that corruption increases the poverty level by reducing the level of social services to the poor, which then creates incentives for higher investment in capital-intensive projects and lower investment in labor-intensive projects. This deprives the poor of income-generating opportunities. Government officers also might use their authority for private gain in designing and/or implementing public policies. This will lead to enrichment of these officers in question as well as private individuals who stand to gain a larger share of public benefits. Thus the benefits of corruption will likely be enjoyed by the better connected individuals in society who are mostly higher income earners, and this also leads to affecting income distribution. ( Gupta, S. (September 20, 2001). Does Corruption affect income inequality and poverty. )

According to another paper done by one Brima Karl Samura, corruption also discourages people to work together for a common good. Frustation and general apathy permeates the public, which then results in a weak civil society. It then becomes a norm to ask for and receive bribes. He also goes on to report that it increases social inequality, widens the gap between the poor and rich, increases poverty and increases lack of basic needs like water, food, medicines, causes jealousy, hatred and insecurities. (Retrieved September 11, 2013 from http://gnpai.org/researchlibrary/corruption/THE%20EFFECTS%20OF%20CORRUPTION.pdf )

The table below, taken from one such research paper done on the impacts of corruption, shows the data collected from 20 respondents who were given questionnares about the effects of corruption on their social lives:

Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/kpbnepal/the-impacts-of-corruption-on-the-social-and-environmental-sustainability-in-nepal-13083411

                           



According to that survey done, most of the problems suffered in their jobs by these respondents was because of corrupt practices. Because of this they are forced to suffer from poverty, low salary/profit, gender discrimination, and lack of access to natural resources. (Nepal Labour Foundation, January 2011)

From the above it is clear that corruption has many adverse impacts on society, and that each and every country has to work hard towards eradicating corruption as much as they can in order to develop. As a conclusion, here is a quote from a famous leader, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam: 

Source : http://izquotes.com/quote/98305

Hopefully this module was useful in explaining on what corruption is, and also some of the social effects of corruption.With this I conclude Module 2.

Dheenesh





References :

Corruption. (n.d). Retrieved 10 September 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption

Corruption Perceptions Index. (2012). Retrieved September 11, 2013 from http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results

Combating bribery and corruption. Ministry of Justice. (n.d). Retrieved September 5, 2013 from http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy/criminal-justice/bribery-and-corruption

Global Corruption Barometer. (2013). Retrieved September 6, 2013 from http://transparencynz.org.nz/index.php/indices-reports/global-reports/161-global-corruption-barometer-2013

The Effects of Corruption. (n.d). Retrieved September 01, 2013 from http://gnpai.org/researchlibrary/corruption/THE%20EFFECTS%20OF%20CORRUPTION.pdf

Industrial Revolution : Steam engines

Untitled photo of the Industrial Revolution. [n.d]. Retrieved August 14, 2013 from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/82864876/Industrial-Revolution---PowerPoint

So, steam engines. What are they? Steam engines are basically external combustion engines, as opposed to internal combustion engines, where the working fluid is separated from the combustion products.  These engines use boiling water to produce steam, which is pressurised and then used to produce mechanical power/rotational motion to power machinery, tools and/or vehicles. The usage of these engines date back as early as 2000 years ago, when they were used to remove water from coal mines and diamond mines.

Untitled picture of the Watt steam engine [n.d.]. Retrieved August 15, 2013 from  http://www.humanthermodynamics.com/ht-history.html

Shown above is one of the earliest and most popular examples of the steam engine, the Watt engine, made famous by its designer James Watt. A steam engine basically works in this way : Water is boiled to make steam in a boiler until it reaches extremely high pressures. The high pressured steam is then forced through pipes to pistons inside cylinders or turbines, where the high pressure drives the piston or turbine, thus converting heat and pressure into  mechanical work. The excess steam is then either released into the air, or condensed and pumped back into the boiler.

Steam engines were one of the main drivers of the Industrial Revolution as it was used in almost all industrial applications such as driving large machinery, locomotives, pumps, ships and farmyard vehicles.

One of the types of steam engines which are in use are called beam engines. Beam engines basically use a beam to transfer force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. These engines were mainly used to pump water out of mines or into canals, but in New Zealand they were used to pump fresh, clean water to reservoirs. One such example of a beam engine was first assembled in Western Springs, Auckland, and used to pump water to Mt Eden, Ponsonby and Khyber Pass.

As seen in the photo, the engine was built by John Key and Son, Engineers and Shipbuilders, in the year 1877. In the year 1879 it started its work pumping water and was officially decommissioned in the year 1928. When running at maximum capacity, it used to pump about 2 million gallons of water from Western Springs each day, until the water dam at Waitakere took over as the main water supply for the supply areas.
In the year 2008, the restoration project was completed and the engine was brought back to life where it now regularly runs at MOTAT, as a feature show for visitors and a reminder of the immense working history it once had. Below is a video of the actual running of the restored engine at the pump house :

No doubt these works of engineering are a marvel, and they were a boon to those who lived during the time of the Industrial Revolution, but what were some of the actual societal impacts of the development of this technology?

The development of this technology had a massive impact on society in many ways, ranging from transport, shipping, mining, farming, politics, economics and etc.

One of the main impacts was that production was hugely improved, and the development of these powerful engines in industrial use paved the way for mass production. Goods could now be produced cheaper and in mass quantities, and also with better quality.

Transportation costs were also improved, and people could travel cheaper with the improvement of locomotives and ships/boats. Goods also could be transported over long distances in shorter times, resulting in better and faster supply to meet demands, and increased input of work. Roads and canals were built, resulting in shorter travelling times and increased network of travellers and road users.

Before the steam engine was developed, there were factories and manufacturing plants, but those were slow and cumbersome as most of the work was done by humans or beasts of burden such as horses, mules, and buffaloes (in farming). More and more factories were built as a result of the usage of steam power, as a result more and more jobs were offered, and cities became more populated and popular as the quality of life improved. Coal also replaced wood as the fuel of choice.

The impact of this led to the first automobile, and sometime after that also led to the invention of the first airplane.

There are negative impacts which resulted from the advancement in technology, such as pollution, the depletion of fossil fuels, global warming, child labor and division of the different social classes, but it cannot be denied that the positives outweighed the negatives, and the advancement of the technology developed in those times are directly responsible for the technologically advanced and modern world we have today.

:)


References :

All Sands. (n.d.). Retrieved August 16, 2013 from
http://www.allsands.com/potluck1/potluck1/steamenginehi_uvb_gn.htm


NZ Herald. (2008). Beam Engine Springs to Life. Retrieved August 15, 2013 from
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/auckland-city-harbour-news/325451/Beam-engine-springs-to-life

Wikipedia. (2007). Steam Engine. Retrieved August 15, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine

Whipps, H. (June 16, 2008). Retrieved August 14, 2013 from
http://www.livescience.com/2612-steam-engine-changed-world.html