The United States has been accused of exporting its culture and values through films and television. Sometimes referred to as “Coca-Colonization,” the mass exportation of American culture is expected to increase as more and more people have access to the Internet. But is digital distribution a one-way street? In this assignment your task is to identify and discuss the importation of cultures to the United States in the context of Information Technology. You may discuss your own experiences, but make sure to also include real-world examples from the news, research articles, and /or credible online sources.
The long- and short-term impacts of the identified IT-related culture on individuals, organizations, communities, and/or the society as a whole.
How technologies (for example, Internet, YouTube, Facebook, and so on) aid or discourage such cross-cultural interchanges.
Use the MS Word skills you learned in this module and write a four-page paper (cover page and reference page plus 2 pages of your findings). Make sure you cite specific examples and offer your ideas on and include a list of references on a separate page. Use the American Psychological Association (APA) style (6th edition) for writing your assignment.
Notes from module
Computers started out as monolithic devices that people could walk through, and now they can be worn like jewelry. The shrinking of computer size has led to many new and interesting uses.
Based on the topics you learned about in this module about digital devices and the MS Word skills you learned, write a short research paper discussing your findings about the latest developments of niche devices. You can search the Internet to identify the latest technologies, or a group of related technologies, and discuss their development. Your paper needs to be at least five pages long, including a cover page containing the title, an abstract page, and a reference page. You need to write up your paper by answering the following questions:
What is the technology you identified and what are the purposes and uses of this technology?
What are the problems of existing technologies and how will the new technologies solve the problems?
How will the new technologies change, support, or extend current ways of doing things?
Which group of people will benefit most from this new technology?
What is your opinion of using this new technology? Do you think this new technology will succeed? Or do you think it is just a passing fad, waiting to die off? Can you imagine a scenario where you are using the technology? What do you think is the main assumption of this technology? (For example, an assumption for a 3D TV is that people would not mind wearing 3D glasses while watching TV; an assumption for a smart watch is that people will use the watch while exercising or sleeping, and people will be comfortable using the small touch screen). Do you agree with these assumptions?
Please support your selections by using research papers or credible online sources, and include a list of references on a separate page. Don’t forget to use the APA formatting checklist (Links to an external site.). Please see the Excelsior College APA Style (Links to an external site.) page for more information about formatting your paper.
References
Excelsior College. (n.d.). APA Checklist (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://owl.excelsior.edu/posts/view/457
Excelsior College. (n.d.). APA Style (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://owl.excelsior.edu/posts/view/70
Compose your work in a .doc or .docx file type using a word processor (such as Microsoft Word, etc.) and save it frequently to your computer. For those assignments that are not written essays and require uploading images or PowerPoint slides, please follow uploading guidelines provided by your instructor.
Check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Upload Submission.” Enter the submission title and then click on “Select a file to upload.” Browse your computer, and select your file. Click “Open” and verify the correct file name has appeared next to Submission File. Click on “Continue.” Confirm submission is correct and then click on “Accept Submission & Save.”
Module Notes: Digital Revolution
Mankind has advanced through many ages from the Stone Age to the Industrial Age. Today, we live in the Information Age, a period in history when information is easy to access and affects many aspects of everyday life. The primary factors driving us forward are the digital devices we use in business and our everyday lives.
This digital revolution is an ongoing process of social, political, and economic change brought about by digital technology, such as microchips, computers, and the Internet. It has affected our daily lives in many ways, from the way we communicate (e.g., telepresence (Links to an external site.) [Video file] [01 min 02 sec]) to the way we entertain (e.g., Amazon Echo (Links to an external site.) [Video file] [03 min 54 sec]), and to the way we travel and commute (e.g., driverless automobiles (Links to an external site.) [Video file] [02 min 52 sec]). The digital revolution requires us to modify and adjust our ways of looking at and dealing with some of the most basic functions in our work and personal interactions.
Let us now review the different phases of digital revolution.
Data Processing Phase
Early computers were large monolithic machines used by large companies and operated by trained technicians for business applications, such as payroll and inventory management. Data was stored on reels of magnetic tape and data processing required input via punched cards and data was stored on magnetic tape. Centralized computing is the main technology model used during this phase.
As technology progressed, personal computers replaced centralized computers and the end-user could now use a keyboard to enter data or display data on the terminal’s screen.
Personal Computing Phase
The second phase of the digital revolution is personal computing. As computer became smaller and faster, their prices dropped as well. This allowed individuals who couldn’t afford them previously to own a personal computer.
This phase is characterized by standalone computers (with no network connectivity) powered by local software (software that is installed on the computer’s storage device). Data and software were often stored on floppy disks. More and more computer programs and games became available every day during this phase.
Network Computing Phase
The Network Computing phase of the digital revolution was defined by the ability to have computers interface with each other. Public access to the Internet and WWW are diving forces of this digital revolution phase.
Through the Internet, computers are able to link to each other and share data and resources. The creation of the World Wide Web further led to an exponential growth of networked computers as more and more businesses and individuals realized the value of being “online” and using tools to interact with their friends and customers virtually. Without the Web, the Internet would be like a library without any books or a railroad without any trains.
Cloud Computing Phase
The use of the Internet to access information, applications, communications, and storage is called cloud computing. Before the cloud computing phase, most computers ran local software and data—documents, photos, and music—was stored locally. Cloud computing relieved digital devices of the need to have all the data, apps, and processing power located on the device. However, the fact that our data is not under your direct control is a potential privacy and security concern.
This movement to the cloud computing phase is in part driven by convergence. Convergence is a process that brings distinct technologies with different functionalities together into a single product. As an example of technological convergence, smartphones are digital devices that contain many features that were previously only found in separate devices such as cameras, GPS, game consoles, alarm clocks, and computers.
The IoT Phase
We believe that the next phase of the digital revolution will be the Internet of Things (IoT). At the age of the IoT, everything—refrigerators (Links to an external site.) [Video file] [02 min 49 sec], strollers (Links to an external site.), spoons and forks (Links to an external site.) [Video file] [02 min 05 sec], baby pacifiers (Links to an external site.) [Video file] [01 min 29 sec], light bulb (Links to an external site.) [Video file] [01 min 40 sec]—are equipped with a computer chip and transmitter and are communicating with each other.
