week ten-Does internet democracy will influence the government decision?

Nowadays, governments try to listen to citizen’s voice from the internet. For example, American government set up Whitehouse website for the netizens to present their view. It allows citizens to start and spread petitions, promising that any entreaties that get a certain signatures would receive an ‘official response’.

Democratic refers to the institutionalization of democracy, it become self-sustaining and secure from the threat of authoritarian regression and considered as “the only game in town”. (Linz & Stepan, 1996)Although it do like this, the problem cannot be solve follow the netizens voice. The internet makes some political activity easier. But it does do the real effect. In actual, Whitehouse website is more like a public relation platform. They selective answering and long response time for the Westboro petition, having long passed its ‘merits a response’ threshold had not got the replay.The petition to reduce gun violence only gets boilerplate answer. (Garber, 2013) No matter good or bad, White House's digital petitions represent a republican democracy.

Groshek’s (2009) cross-national analysis of relationship between progressive internet penetration and democratizen between 1994 and 2003 suggests the internet democratization is decided by the level of democracy of countries. The network of globalization also gets advantage and disadvantage. The information can be more widely spread, it increase the difficult of government to deal with the problem. More network power makes pressure to them. In order to stop the widely spread of serious even, government try to blockade the information. It is hard to say it is good or bad. The different county situation decides the result of digital democracy.  

The internet democracy influence the government decision is not certainly. However, the power of digital democracy cannot ignore.

References:

Linz, J., & Stepan, S. (1996). Towards consolidated democracies. Journal of Democracy.

Garber, M. (2013) The White House Petition Site Is a Joke (and Also the Future of

Democracy) The Atlantic. Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/the-white-house-petition-site-is-a-joke-and-also-the-future-of-democracy/267238/

 

Groshek, J. (2009). The democratic effects of the Internet, 1994–2003: A cross-national inquiry of 152 countries. The International Communication Gazette

week nine- Videogames object for more players

The computer games need overcome the gaming challenge no matter what kinds of it is. Players get what they want from the effort in the games. (Karhulahti, 2013) To know more about games need to know the different demand that players want to get from the games. The different demand for player also results in different game situations. The different experiences meet users’ requirements. The concept of automatic-play tries to use the game character to achieve the goal they want to get. In the role-playing games, socializing and exploring the virtual world is not the only thing. Leveling might be also a big attraction for users. (Paoli, 2013) Even just for wasting time, videogame is also a nice choice.

The attraction of game is the most important condition. For example, the simulation game, the game looks real will help players have better experience on it. The behaviors in the simulation games get interaction with each other. In this game player not in one time action, in fact, their participation is long lasting, continuous and intense.

The unique characteristic for a videogame have great value. Video game is a interact activity, players do the controlling, the result show in the game world. Just like the marketing knowledge, find the target market, service for the customers. The research and development of a game follow the different groups of players. It is a key point to keep good balance between work and play. The most important for player is to enjoy the reality that games take for them.        

References:

Karhulahti, V. M. (2013) A Kinesthetic Theory of Videogames: Time-Critical Challenge and Aporetic Rhematic. Game studies.13 (1)

Paoli, S. D. (2013) Automatic-Play and Player Deskilling in MMORPGs. Game studies.13 (1)

week eight-technological progress will decrease the creativity of people.

The development of technology brings a lot of convenience. And many of us are addicted to mobile, laptop or social network. The global internet users use average 16 hours per month online. Google and facebook is the first and second most visited web. (Vidyarthi, 2012) More time spend online means less used in the real life. The communication mode from the face to face talking to online talking. The reliable of the internet make internet become more and more important for user. Some original communication mode has change.

 Does technology progress will bring down the creativity? People relay on the electronic product will influence some skills. For example, the calculator has big influence of people’s calculation skill. From this aspect, the technology products reduce the capacity. As Mishra & Koehler (2008) said, “Creative solutions often go beyond mere novelty and functionality to a strong aesthetic quality. (Mishra & Koehler, 2008) However, our focus on creativity may in the physical objects, concept, ideas or theories. The visual result is the best showing of creativity. Technology could not decrease creativity. Especially in the electronic product market, the creativity function is a big attraction to customer. The history of apple products is a good example for this. It is still progress with the technology and attract customer. No improving of product is serious, but technologies have not too much obstruction.

The change of technology may cause people more relay on it. It is hard to say, in some functions, the machine is more reliable than brain. In my own opinion, I think creativity is endless.   

Reference:

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M.J. (2008). Introducing technological pedagogical content

knowledge. Paper presented the Annual Meeting of the American Educational

Research Association

Vidyarthi, N. (2012) How people Spend Their Time Online. Social Times. Retrieved from: http://socialtimes.com/how-people-spend-their-time-online-infographic_b97103

week seven-Free labour

Free labour is an underrate force in capitalist society. Free labour on the internet includes building web sites, modifying software packages, reading and participating in mailing lists and building virtual spaces without wage, and voluntarily given. Cultural and technical work is the central of internet. Free labours change the relationship between work as ‘servitude’ to self-fashioning and communal liberation. (Terranova, 2003)

The voluntarily work like internship is based on the people who want get something they need except for salary. For example, the purpose of internship is to be found in a lifetime paid employment, it is practice for uncertain career paths, and they can enjoy the flexibility. Internship gives us a chance to experience the ‘real’ work. No one would like to do an unpaid work that has no meaning for them. In fact, the free labour earn something that is valuable to them not only money. For the organization that using free labour could save money for them.

With the developed world, the world would lay on the commoditization of information, money do not stay the first status. For the mostly user, net is somewhere to work, play and learn with each other that do not strict by the physical distance. The free labour is an important part of create value in the digital economic. Free labour come from the current capitalist focus on the knowledge adding. Free labor is the knowledgeable consumption of culture into productive activities.(Terranova, 2003) In the internet world, free labours contribute a lot of information.  

In both of the actual and virtual world, free labors have its own special value.

Terranova, T. (2003) Free Labor: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy. Electronic book review. Retrieved from:

http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/technocapitalism/voluntary

week six-Scientific

We can easily see what the scientific and technological bring for us. The automatic production makes the produce more efficient. One side people enjoy the high technology bring for us. On the other side, more efficient working equipment replace people’s work. In this reason, efficient machine need less employee than before. People rely on the scientific, also meet problems with it.

Some people cannot leave computer. The computer have widely use, record the data base, deal with some information, social network and so on. All of these using show the important of the computer. This is also the technologies bring for us. Digital social make an electronic commerce become a new trading pattern. New patterns change the different life style.     

Marx thought the scientific and technological progress and the improvement of productivity result in the reduction of the demand of labour, cause unemployment. On the other hand, the use of scientific and technological progress and machine promote the production, it increased the need of labour. (Marx, 1992) In the short-tern, scientific will bring unemployment. However, technology increase the productivity, cause the need of materials and relevant departments, it raise the need of labour. The industry revolution is the product of science and technology. In the eighteen century, the high wages of British economy result the use, invent of saving technology like spinning jenny. (Allen, 2011) The changes usually have some reasons in certain time.  

Technology is the product of social development. It is also change the world. Scientific and technologies progress will bring persona, social, economic progress.

Reference:

Marx, K. (1992) Marx's Capital: a student edition / Karl Marx, edited and introduced by C. J. Arthur. London: Lawrence &Wishart.

Allen, R. C. (2011) Why the industrial revolution was British: commerce, induced invention, and the scientificrevolution. Economic history review. 64(2). P357-385. Database:Business source Premier.