News Stories

We looked at the issue of privacy in the news in today's class.  Paparazzi spend countless hours following famous people around in an effort to get photos of the subjects in an unguarded moment.  They wouldn't do this unless they felt sure that they would receive a lot of cash for getting a sensational photo.

In the end, will the photos they take lead to news stories of much value to society?  In the vast majority of cases, the answer to this question is likely to be "No".  Watch the TED talk at the following link:

http://www.ted.com/talks/kirk_citron_and_now_the_real_news.html

Watch with English subtitles please (only use the Japanese translation if absolutely necessary, after you've tried it with English).

For your next blog post, write about which one of the stories the speaker mentioned interested you most.  Why is it important/ interesting?  (If possible, see if you can find any more information about that topic on the Internet).

Mango Street

As I said in the last class, your latest blog post should be about either:


a) A "quiet war", or period of rebellion, that you or a friend went through at some time in your lives against parents, teachers, acquaintances etc. How did your behavior change? What were you rebeling against? Did anything change?                  OR

b) A "special place" you had when you were a child. Where was it? Why did you go there? What did you do there? Why did you stop going there? etc

Four Principles for the Open World

A new genaration is reaching maturity around the world now (you guys!) which is the first to grow up with the Internet as part of their lives. This generation is so comfortable with using the Internet that it is finding powerful ways to use it for change.  At the same time, we have seen that the old institutions, such as Wall Street, are not serving us well anymore (having caused the recent GFC), and people are dissatisfied with the situation. The Internet is a huge tool that allows humans to create new ideas and share knowledge like never before.  As a result, the world is starting to become more open and full of possibilities.  This is happening in four ways:

1. Collaboration- The boundaries of institutions are becoming more porous and fluid.  As an example, the speaker mentioned a manager of a gold mine who created an online contest (1st prize $500,000) to help him find gold, when his own team of geologists couldn't.  He published the geological data, and after many interesting suggestions were received, one from a company in a different field provided the necessary breakthrough.  He made a huge profit as a result, even after paying the $500,000.  In other words, social media can mean social production- not just chatting.
2. Transparency- We've all heard of scandals such as Enron, but now with more public scrutiny possible (similar to what Wikileaks did, but many people are capable of doing the same), companies have to be careful about how they behave.  They are being forced to behave ethically. 
3. Sharing- Companies are going to have to get used to giving up assets (intellectual property) to create good for all, not just themselves.  The example given about pharmaceutical companies showed how they will soon be in financial trouble when a number of their patents become out of date.  Only through sharing research data etc can they hope to build up large profits again (and help humanity with new medicines in the process).
4. Empowerment- There's an old saying that knowledge is power.  Dictators have been able to keep their populations suppressed by blocking their access to information.  Social media now allow the wider distribution of information to the average person, so power is becoming decentralized. The Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia, is an example of this happening recently. Vital information in dangerous situations in cities in revolt can be shared quickly, thereby making the overthrow of cruel governments more possible.




The speaker sees the history of the world as a continuous positive progression towards more freedom and openness, from the time feudal societies were liberated by the development of the printing press, to now, when the Internet is creating an "Age of Networked Intelligence".  This era gives humans the chance to work together, and form a shared global consciousness that will enable us to tackle the many problems humanity faces.

The Internet

We've started to look at media in the textbook. As the book was published at the beginning of the century, it doesn't give as much attention to the Internet as it would if it were re-published today. A 2009 survey of American adults found that 70% of them get their news from the Internet. Obviously, it's importance has grown rapidly.


As we are in the computer lab, let's investigate the role of the Internet in our world a little more closely from here. As with anything, there are positive and negative sides to the Internet, but let's start on a positive note with today's TED Talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/don_tapscott_four_principles_for_the_open_world_1.html

Please follow the talk as well as you can, using the translation as well. As I did last week, I'll post a summary later. After you check the summary, please post your own reaction to the video, and add any general comments you can think of about the Internet, or related issues you think are worth talking about.

Endangered Cultures

The main point of Wade's TED talk is that we are rapidly losing many of the world's smaller cultures, and that this a tragedy for all of us.  More than 50% of known cultures are on the brink of extinction.

He says that the world we live in is just one model of reality, and other cultures teach us that there are other ways of thinking, being, and looking at our world.  He says the world's cultures form a so-called "ethnosphere", an invisible web of all the thoughts, dreams, myths, and ideas that have ever been produced by the human imagination.

He points out that the model of reality we all accept now (which grew out of the Industrial Revolution) has been around for such a short period of time (compared to all human history) that there is no reason to be confident it has all the necessary answers for the huge challenges humanity faces today.  Peoples from minor cultures have knowledge about the natural world that we don't, and we can't even understand how they came to know it.

His message is that we need to stop pushing traditional cultures out of their homelands, so that we can live in a truly multicultural world- a world where collective wisdom can contribute to everyone's well-being.

Writing topic: What do you think of his idea?  It seems to be in opposition to how the world is actually going.  We are becoming more mono-cultural.  For example, it's hard to go to any city in the world and not find a Starbucks or MacDonalds.  What do you think about our current model of reality (a globalized world focused on business, and economic growth)? 

Anthropologist, Wade Davis

You may have heard of "TED Talks", which are given by noted speakers on a range of topics and uploaded to the Internet at some point.  As we have the computer lab today, let's make use of it to listen to a speaker.

http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html

You will find it impossible to catch everything he says, but I think you will be able to understand his main point.   The first 5 minutes or so are where the main idea is expressed (listen carefully to that), followed by lots of examples afterwards.  Skip over some of the later part if you like, but listen to the final 3-4 minutes for the summary of his main idea.

Afterwards, compare (discuss) your impression with your classmates.  What was the main idea? In case you find it too difficult, I will post a brief summary of the main idea soon.  That post will contain the topic for your next post.

Fitting In

The theme of the most recent section of Mango Street concerns "fitting in" with the surrounding culture.  Many of the characters in the book have trouble of this sort.  It's something that occurs in all cultures, to some degree or other.

In Japan, the saying about "the nail that sticks up" is widely recognized.  Therefore, you probably have some experience of seeing a child bullied during your school days.  Why did that person not fit in?  Please describe such a case, including details about the victim's character, and why he/she was bullied.

Also, as bullying is such a serious problem in Japan, please add your thoughts on why it is so widespread, and what can be done to reduce the number of incidents.

Equality in the Home

In the last class we looked at the trouble of balancing work and home life, especially the way existing tensions between men and women over dividing housework duties can be exacerbated.

As I said, Taiwan has already introduced a system whereby wives can be paid for doing housework.  How do you feel about this?  Do you think such an idea could work in Japan?

How do your parents divide the housework?  Is that a successful system? 

When you get married someday, how do you expect to deal with the issue of housework?