I overheard two men talking on the train on the 23 of March while I was traveling from Central to Warnervale. One of the men was a train driver and was telling the other that not long ago some guy had jumped out out in-front of the train he was driving and it was too close for him to stop. About half an hour later the body was removed from the tracks and his boss told him that he was expected to continue the train journey. He protested, his hands were still shaking, but his boss was adamant.
Davenport writes that using social informatics as an approach to studying ICTs in the workplace, we can see how "technology is humanized, in contrast to how humans may be systematized" (Davenport 2005, p. 17). It now seems that the efficiency of technology is being valued over human emotion and people are expected to be as emotionless even after a traumatic event. Here we see a lack of consideration that has grown from expectations set by technologies standard.
Sunday, 6 April 2014
Monarch Of The Glen
MonarchOfTheGlenTV 2013, Monarch Of The Glen s03e03, video recording, YouTube, viewed online 5 April 2014, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Qz07MpNpo>.
This episode made me realise, as Sawyer and Tyworth mention, how individual intentions and attitudes affect how we use information technologies (Sawyer & Tyworth 2006) .A camera can be used to take family photos, record funny moments, or they can be used to invade privacy and acquire evidence of criminal activity. It is the intentions behind how we use technology that determine if they have negative or positive effects. This episode bring up the question of whether a person is or should be believed over technologies evidence, which can not capture the full story. Which can lead not only to misunderstandings but ruin a persons reputation.
IT Crowd: The Internet Is Coming
IT Crowd: The Internet Is Coming 2013, DVD, FremantleMedia, UK.
This episode helped me to understand the idea of social actors and how people can use technology in original ways that they were not intended for. In this episode Moss wears female trousers to increase his confidence, similarly humans use information technologies to benefit themselves in a number of ways. Several events in this episode show how pervasive technology has become, leading to a lack of privacy which has both good and bad effects. This can help when it comes to investigating into the corrupt, individuals who once got away with criminal activity because of their wealth can now be exposed online. While it is said 'you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide' it also becomes clear through this episode that the Internet can lead to misunderstandings and misjudgement of a situation because technology does not capture context.
This episode helped me to understand the idea of social actors and how people can use technology in original ways that they were not intended for. In this episode Moss wears female trousers to increase his confidence, similarly humans use information technologies to benefit themselves in a number of ways. Several events in this episode show how pervasive technology has become, leading to a lack of privacy which has both good and bad effects. This can help when it comes to investigating into the corrupt, individuals who once got away with criminal activity because of their wealth can now be exposed online. While it is said 'you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide' it also becomes clear through this episode that the Internet can lead to misunderstandings and misjudgement of a situation because technology does not capture context.
YouTube Abuse Recovery
The abuse mentioned in YouTube Abuse Recovery show
that ICTs have created new power relationships. As Kling mentions, ICTs tend to
benefit certain groups more than others, in this case we see how the
creator/fan relationship that YouTube has brought about, can be manipulated to
the harm of the fan (Kling 1999). YouTube was previously perceived to be unlike
any other media, with an absence of negative effects. These events clearly show
how individuals use ICTs for their own purposes, while YouTube in neutral,
people are not. It also raises the question of wether the benefits of such ICTs
out-wiegh the potential they have for harm.
Nerd girl meme
Source:
quickmeme n.d., Idiot Nerd Girl, viewed online 25 March 2014, < http://www.quickmeme.com/Idiot-Nerd-Girl/page/43/>.
Welcome to Pine Point
Shoebridge, P. & Simons, M. 2011, Welcome to Pine Point, viewed online 1 April 2014, <http://interactive.nfb.ca/#/pinepoint>.
Online Documentaries are a perfect example of technological hybridity, technologies are constantly evolving and combining to make new mediums. While most technology is assumed to make people feel disconnected and impersonal, immersive online documentaries help to make a story feel more personal, and the user connected to the issue. As Lally writes, the Internet and various other ICTs gives information an extended life, opening it up to the public (Lally 2005). Pine Point would have otherwise most likely been lost forever once the generation who lived there were no longer alive, highlighting one of the ways ICTs help keep information and personal stories alive.
Saturday, 5 April 2014
My Hope
Molly Lewis 2008, MyHope (original song), video recording, YouTube, viewed 26 March 2014, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avxpn_MsPYs>.
As this song states people use social media as an extension of society and self, posting personal information online in what they perceive to be a safe environment surrounded by friends. However doing so raises important issues. Lally writes about the negatives and positives of placing information online. On the one hand it "expands our capacity to store and preserve for the future", on the other it is difficult to then say who owns the information now it is in a public space (Lally 2005, p. 158). My Hope points out some of the "unintended consequences" of ICTs, information stays online forever and can be damaging, such as embarrassing comments or compromising photos (Davenport 2005, p. 20).
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