Technology, Communication, and Culture Critical Essay Requirements
Technology, Communication, and Culture Written Assignment
Learning Outcomes Assessed
- Interpret and evaluate the cultural change brought by technology in a global context, but specifically in Australia and the Asia Pacific.
- Critically analyse the argument that the shape of a culture is largely due to technology, specifically communication and information technology.
- Evaluate the impact of the relatively recently developed digital communication and information technology on cultures.
Graduate Attributes
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross-Cultural Competence
For Internal students, FIVE in-class seminar submissions are required and are worth FOUR points each. Your lecturer/tutor may assign you weeks in which you will lead the discussion. You MUST also submit all your postings to Moodle (Assessment item #1) in a single document by the end of week 12.
Your submissions need to demonstrate explicitly that you have engaged with the topic and readings for that week. They are to be 100-200 words. You are to use references where appropriate (which are not included in the word count) and your grammar and punctuation are expected to be precise.
Solution
How Did The Telephone And Telegraph Technology Change Business Practice?
Today my seminar topic is about how the telephone and the telegraph changed business practice. Before the invention of the semaphore (optical telegraph), arbitrage was a common business practice. People would buy goods from one market and sell them to another market at a profit. The telegraph enabled communication between various market places thereby synchronising market prices. Arbitrage was effectively eliminated because traders and consumers now had perfect knowledge of the market (Carey, 2011, pp. 125-131).
First, specialisation was shifted from space to time. With the elimination of arbitrage, future product specialisation became the basis of trade. Secondly, goods could be sold without actual physical transportation because people simply exchanged warehouse receipts. Finally, a grading system was established. Goods no longer had to be transported in separate units, instead they were mixed, standardised and diluted to come up with specific grades. In Australia, the telegraph enhanced specialisation and growth in the mining industry (Moyal, 1984, p. 61)
Radio or Television
The invention of the radio had significant impacts in the corporate world and social life. It revolutionised advertising, entertainment and news broadcasting (Crowley & Heyer, 2011, p. 184) . Before television, radio broadcasted live music which meant that radio studios had to have their own orchestras and production crews. They also broadcasted half-hour stories called serials which were parts of a longer series.
When television was invented in the 1950’s many people spelled doom for radio broadcasting. However, some radical changes such as the use of records and the invention of the transistor saw to the ultimate survival of radio broadcasting. Radio also had an impact on television by incorporating voices on television shows.
How Does Media Technology and Society Influence Media Practices?
The invention of the telegraph was necessitated by the strong need and desire for rapid communication over long distances. It is important to note that it is the need for a certain ability or requirement that ultimately drives the development of technology that can fulfil these needs in society. Advancement in telecommunication systems is therefore influenced by cultural demands.
The same can be observed in the development of radio broadcasting. After the invention of the television radio studios had to change their broadcasting style in order to compete with television. They began to use records and no longer needed to have an orchestra or a production crew. All they needed was a microphone and a transmitter. Music was also used for demographic advertising purposes which development of the ‘teenager’ concept (Veith, 2001, pp. 80-81)
How Does The New Media Technology Impact On The Old?
When the optical telegraph was invited in the 1970’s there was a need for specialised people to interpret the messages that were send via the semaphore. This was also the case when the electrical telegraph was invented where telegraph operators had to be both literate and conversant with Morse code in order to interpret messages (Hossell, 2002, p. 39); this requirement discouraged the use of the telegraph in households and limited it to corporate and military applications.
Invention of the telephone marked a shift from Morse code to verbal communication which was simpler and more convenient because it allowed for immediate feedback. The skill set required to operate a telephone was totally different from that required to operate a telegraph. Workers who had specialised in interpretation of messages using Morse code were replaced by telephone operators after the advent of the switch board. In the initial stages the use the telephone was confined to business and government but it soon spread to households and phased out the telegraph. The invention of new media is therefore usually an improvement of the old media and also results in the replacement of former media workers.
References
Carey, J W 2011, “Time, Space and the Telegraph”. In D. Crowley, & P. Heyer, Communication (pp. 125-131). Sydney: Pearson. https://monash.rl.talis.com/items/1D9B0C17-64F8-450A-86BB-D11EFFD6A7DE.html
Crowley, D & Heyer, P 2011, Communication in history. Sydney: Pearson. https://www.amazon.com/Communication-History-Cases-David-Crowley/dp/0205693091
Hossell, K. P 2002, Morse code. Chicago: Heinnemann Library. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Morse_Code.html?id=J8__UlbNE20C&redir_esc=y
Moyal, A 1984, Clear across Australia: a history of telecommunications. Melbourne: Nelson. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Clear_Across_Australia.html?id=eRW4AAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y
Veith, E 2001, Screening science: contexts, texts and science in fifties science fiction film. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4712644
