The Death of Democracy

In my pervious blogs I was talking about the different ways in which the digital media world has helped inform us about democracy and also how it has shaped our concept of democracy. In this blog I will also be focusing on democracy but not on how we are informed about it through the media but more about democracy as a whole and the ways in which it is represented to us.  I will also be discussing abit about habermases theory and its influence towards democracy.

Direct democracy - One category of democratic system is direct democracy; direct democracy is basically when the right of every citizen who is over the age limit is allowed to attend political gatherings/congregations and  is also allowed to partake and vote on important issues being raised and discussed at political meetings. One major section of direct democracy is that everyone involved has the right to hold political responsibility if they wish to do so. This type of democracy also accepts that everyone who has the power to should with great force take part in the organization so that the representation of the people can have a serious impact on any law that is passed on as it will have many votes from the majority.

Representative Democracy - An additional type of democracy is representative democracy; before I go on to explain exactly what representative democracy is it is made apparent and clearly obvious to us from the first word which is ‘representative’ often when this word is mentioned it can mean one of two things which can either be seen in a positive and negative light. One which is when you are representing a country or a group of individuals for example prime minister, president, mayor, council etc, all of these are considered as representatives for the general public. However on the other hand every so often through the media and politics false representations are given out about a political party or Mp which influence and help mould people’s opinions and views about them, this is a fine example of a negative representation and outlook.

a good example of representative democracy would have to be great Britain as it is one of the few countries where citizens which are 18 and over gather to vote and elect a representative for their country this chosen representative will be held responsible for making important decisions about various topics such as travel fares/ school fees/ and other economic issues and changes. These elections take place every 5 years and the winning Mp becomes a representative for the general public in parliament. All the Mp’s assemble together in the House of Commons with the main intention to discuss important matters and pass on laws.

As part of my other assignments for journalism I was assigned to do an essay about Jurgen Habermas and his theory about the well speculated public sphere when doing my research I found that the public sphere and democracy slightly correspond in a way, because in the public sphere people would gather in various locations of coffee shops to discuss important and political issues and vote amongst themselves. This can be seen as a form of direct and representative democracy.

References http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/direct_democracy.htm

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/representative_democracy.htm

      The commercialization of The Internet

We live in a generation where most of us use the internet and are influenced  by the web on a daily basis  we all use the internet for various purposes for education, work , social networking etc   within this blog I will be looking at and analyzing the commercialization  of the internet along with its development.

The internet alone has reformed the digital and interaction world tremendously.  As many inventions such as that of the telegraph telephone, radio and computer prepare for this exceptional combination of ability. As the internet is becoming more up to date and modern  we are all beginning to notice the internet as a mechanism for information dissemination, and a common place for  association and intercommunication between social groups and their computers without the need for any geographic location.

The internet/ the worldwide web is often seen as a widespread information base, the primary example of what is often referred to as the National Information foundation.  It has a complex history which includes a variety of features these many aspects could be either one of the following examples technological, organizational, and community

The Internet was commercialized in 1995 when NSFNET was decommissioned, removing the last restrictions on the use of the Internet to carry commercial traffic. Since the mid-1990s, the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on culture and commerce, including the rise of near-instant communication by electronic mail, instant messaging, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) "phone calls", two-way interactive video calls, and the World Wide Web with its discussion forums, blogs, social networking, and online shopping sites

Reference

http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet

GAMES CULTURE ‘2

In my previous blog I was looking at and discussing about how the formation of various types of games have started to play a serious part in our culture. I was also paying close attention to the art of video gaming and its history also looking at how it has been reshaped throughout the years, as more and more video games are becoming more modernized not only in the way in which it is played but also considering all aspects of the games and what it includes.

Whilst analyzing gaming in its different forms you begin to ask various question such as ‘what makes games fun?’ most games that are played on online sites or at home on a consel often involve interaction between 2 players as they communicate with each other using control pads and headphone this can excitement and be considered as fun by both the players also characters and narratives within the game can also make them more enthusiastic to play. They will also be able to pick up a few skills and techniques along the way on how to play. There are also different strategies of playing games along with actions, methods, etc.

 Game Theory

Set of concepts aimed at decision making in situations of competition and conflict (as well as of cooperation and interdependence) under specified rules. Game theory employs games of strategy (such as chess) but not of chance (such as rolling a dice). A strategic game represents a situation where two or more participants are faced with choices of action, by which each may gain or lose, depending on what others choose to do or not to do. The final outcome of a game, therefore, is determined jointly by the strategies chosen by all participants.

Reference

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/game-theory.html

Games culture

The way in which we theorise, look at and even play games has changed tremendously throughout the years as more and more of us are finding new ways and traditions of playing games the most common form of playing games is through technological devises and through the digital media. In this blog I will be going through the different forms of gaming culture and how us as individuals view games and whether we think it is or isn’t a significant part of our generation/ history.

There are many different types of games played through the media and digital software one of them commonly known as ‘social network games’, social network games are easy to access through various social networking sites but more through facebook. These particular types of online gaming consist of a few multiplayers’ that verse each other through online gaming. More than often games that are played through social networking are also referred to as browser games.

The history of gaming

The history of the computer game is, in parts, a history of technology. The computer game requires technology capable of handling large amounts of data and of representing this data. The relationship between a technological phenomenon such as the computer and the less formally based culture is not a simple one: some theories will claim that technology determines culture; some will claim that culture determines technology. It may be most reasonable to see this as a history of mutual influences, where technology can inspire (or enable) cultural developments and cultural developments can inspire new technology. To quote an obvious example, the computer game was originally developed on equipment designed for military and academic purposes. But today the computer game is the driving force in the development of much hardware such as 3d graphics accelerators.

References

http://www.jesperjuul.net/thesis/2-historyofthecomputergame.html

Globalization, Technicity and the Digital Divide

The term globalization is often used when referring to or talking about the spread and correspondence between production, communication, and technologies across the globe. As a phrase globalization accommodates a variety of profitable changes these changes can range from being social to political along with economic changes. With all that being said globalization also increases and even speeds up the trade of ideas and commodities over immense space. The impacts of globalization are often best understood at the local level many cases of globalization explore the various manifestations of interconnectedness in the world, nothing about how globalization affects real people and places.

Globalization repeatedly becomes known as being a force of the natural world, an experience that takes place and avoids limits or substitutes. However the association of individuals has revealed that globalization is neither unchangeable nor predictable. Societies from in and around  the world normal people from the global north and south can work together to form alternate futures, to build a globalization of cooperation, solidarity and respect for our common planetary environment.

Cultural globalization.

Another type of globalization is ‘cultural globalization’ which communicates the transmission of ideas, meanings and values universally. This course of action is evident by the common utilization of traditions that are beginning to be circulated by the internet, fashionable culture and global travel. This particular circulation of various cultures and traditions allows individuals to participate in extensive social affairs outside without having any limitations. The formation and growth of these social relations are not observed on any material level.

Digital divide - A term used to describe the discrepancy between people who have access to and the resources to use new information and communication tools, such as the Internet, and people who do not have the resources and access to the technology. The term also describes the discrepancy between those who have the skills, knowledge and abilities to use the technologies and those who do not. The digital divide can exist between those living in rural areas and those living in urban areas, between the educated and uneducated, between economic classes, and on a global scale between more and less industrially developed nations.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/digital_divide.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_globalization

          

                  CYBERWARFARE

In terms of action cyber warfare usually occurs when individuals take it upon them elves to abuse computers, electronics and technological devices in a desperate attempt and also with the intention of  to gain access and hack into the oppositions information system.

Cyber warfare corresponds well with information warfare as they can somehow relate to each other for instance information warfare is the transportation of communication through the usage of electronics and the internet to suspend. Telecommunication, power supply and transport in a particular region.

With regards to modern day social media and networking I would say that, in recent years popular social networking sites such as facebook and twitter have gained a lot of users as it is one of many diverse ways in which distant, close, and long lost friends, associates, family etc can keep in touch all because of the use of technology and the internet. With that being said I would also add that when starting up facebook/twitter etc you share a lot of personal information about yourself which automatically gets saved on to the facebook database and is available to be viewed by many.

This makes social media and networking an easy target for hacking which is considered as cyber warfare in view of the fact that it is common knowledge that a lot of private/ personal information, pictures messages are all being distributed through facebook so therefore hackers will gain a lot of informative profiles on individuals by just abusing and hacking there account.

Cyber warfare is Internet-based conflict involving politically motivated attacks on information and information systems. Cyber warfare attacks can disable official websites and networks, disrupt or disable essential services, steal or alter classified data, and cripple financial systems -- among many other possibilities.
References
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/cyberwarfare

    How the Media Informs Us about Democracy

 The media plays a huge role in most societies, and is considered to be a very significant tool as it is the main reason behind us finding out what’s going on in and around where we live as well as in different parts of the world.

There are various forms of the media which all do pretty much the same thing just in different ways. For example newspapers and tabloids inform us to a great extent as most individuals buy the times, the sun, the daily mirror etc on their way to work or even on the go and through these various forms of media we are able to gain valuable information and also enhance our knowledge about current affairs and government issues when it comes to to democracy.

Media democracy is a set of ideas advocating reforming the mass media, strengthening public service broadcasting, and developing and participating in alternative media and citizen journalism. The stated purpose for doing so is to create a mass media system that informs and empowers all members of society, and enhances democratic values. It is a liberal-democratic approach to media studies that advocates the reformation of the mass media with an emphasis on public service broadcasting and audience participation, through the use of citizen journalism and alternative media channels. A media democracy focuses on using information technologies to both empower individual citizens and promote democratic ideals through the spread of information

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_democracy