El Mehdi Zeroual
Dr. Ibahrine
COM 2303
18 September 2007
Global Economy and International Telecommunications Networks
Premodern World
- In the 13th century, the world was very different from the world of today.
- The personal possessions of our predecessors were all made locally.
- Foreign products were rare, and foreign products were basically exotic.
Division of Labor
- One of the things that distinguished the modern world from the premodern world was the extent to which division of labor was used in the production process.
- Division of labor creates specialization that in turn increases efficiency.
- The interdependencies created by the division of labor require coordination and control to keep the production going smoothly.
- Coordination and control problems can be handled on a face-to-face level, but these problems become more severe when division of labor occurs across geographical space as companies seek to capitalize on the locational advantage of each place.
- When business owners started realizing that some components could be made more cheaply in other parts of the country, they moved away.
- The global division of labor is intricately tied to modern communication technologies.
- While telecommunications technologies allow for global coordination and control, transportation technologies move raw materials and products from one corner of the world to another.
Imperialism
- The world was interconnected but in a loosely coupled way.
- The picture changed dramatically with the emergence of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French and British empires in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Western powers transformed the multipolar world into a monopolar one.
- It was said that the sun never set on the British Empire.
- Britain alone controlled about a quarter of the world landmass.
- These new empires were not like earlier ones in history. First, they were far-flung and disjoined, unlike the old empires, which were created through the conquest of neighboring countries. Second, the economic relationship between the imperial powers and the subject territories changed in the age of imperialism.
- One of the main reasons the imperial powers were interested in acquiring colonies was to gain access to raw materials for their growing industries.
- People who are culturally closer to the mother country than their own native traditions are less likely to revolt.
- The network was totally London-centric such as telegraph.
- If people at any two points in the empire wanted to communicate with each other, they had to do so through London even if they were geographically adjacent to each other.
- Today, in the eyes of many scholars, we have moved from an era of imperialism to one of
electronic imperialism.
Electronic Imperialism
Global media flows
- The center of the world moved across the Atlantic to the United States.
- The main source of U.S power was its economic rather than its military strength, even though the importance of the latter should not be discounted.
- U.S projects its power not brazenly, but subtly through economic, and more lately, cultural means.
- The global political structures created during the age of imperialism remain in place. These structures create a relationship of dependency between the rich and the poor countries.
- The United States overwhelmingly dominates the cinema and TV screens all over the world.
- Developing nations consider the import of U.S film to be a new kind of invasion-cultural invasion-that is more subtle and insidious.
- When we look at global communication flows, we can easily see that they are disproportionately from U.S (center) to the rest of the world (periphery) (one-way-flow).
Transborder data flow
- With the improvement in transportation technologies, international trade progressively moved beyond lightweight, high-value items to heavier and bulkier commodities. However, services remained local for the most part.
- The service provider and the client need no longer be in the same place; technological developments finally made even services tradable.
- U.S favors both free trade and free flow of information.
- If one were to use the brain-brawn analogy, the industrialized countries remain the brains of the world system and the developing countries the brawn.
- U.S and industrialized countries view free flow of information as a normal commercial activity essential for coordination and control of business processes.
- What U.S exports are intangible products.
Emerging Network structures
- The high costs of program production and transmission make television a top-down mode of communication where the sources are few and the receivers are many.
- The cost of production equipment has dropped sharply.
- These days, an ordinary citizen can shoot video with a camcorder and make it accessible via the internet to anyone interested.
- Rich countries, with only 16 percent of the world’s population, have 97 percent of all Internet hosts.
- The global Internet exhibits a center-periphery relationship similar to that of the British imperial telegraph network and African telephone networks.
- Unlike the telephone system, in which the cost of the international circuit connecting two countries is evenly split between them, Internet service providers in other countries pay the entire cost of the circuit connecting them to the United States.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Drawing a Bead on Global Communication Theories
El Mehdi Zeroual
Dr. Ibahrine
COM 2303
11 September 2007
Drawing a Bead on Global Communication Theories
“Normative” theories
- the authors of “Four Theories of the Press” set out to create what is sometimes called a taxonomy which means dividing up all the various versions and aspects of a topic into systematic categories and sometimes subcategories as well.
- The taxonomy the authors proposed was that the world’s various media systems could be grouped into four categories: authoritarian, Soviet, liberal and social responsibility.
- Authoritarian effectively meant dictatorial, and the authors had especially in mind the nightmare fascist regimes of Hitler and Mussolini.
- Soviet referred to the communist dictatorships at that time in Russia and its surrounding ring of client regimes.
- By liberal, the authors meant not “left-wing,” as in current American parlance, but free market-based, which is the sense of the term in current continental European parlance.
- By social responsibility, the authors effectively meant a different order of reality again: namely, media operating within a capitalist dynamic but simultaneously committed to serving the public’s need.
- A strong underlying assumption in all in all four models was that news and information were the primary roles of media.
- The authors did not seek simply to explain or contrast comparative media systems but to define how those systems ought to operate according to certain guiding principles.
- The development model meant media that addressed issues of poverty, health care, literacy, and education.
- Participatory media typically designated local, small-scale, and more democratically organized media, such as community radio stations or public access video, with their staff and producers having considerable input into editorial decisions.
- Communist media in the former Soviet bloc claimed their purpose was to serve the general public, the industrial workers, and the farmers who made up the vast majority of the population.
Dr. Ibahrine
COM 2303
11 September 2007
Drawing a Bead on Global Communication Theories
“Normative” theories
- the authors of “Four Theories of the Press” set out to create what is sometimes called a taxonomy which means dividing up all the various versions and aspects of a topic into systematic categories and sometimes subcategories as well.
- The taxonomy the authors proposed was that the world’s various media systems could be grouped into four categories: authoritarian, Soviet, liberal and social responsibility.
- Authoritarian effectively meant dictatorial, and the authors had especially in mind the nightmare fascist regimes of Hitler and Mussolini.
- Soviet referred to the communist dictatorships at that time in Russia and its surrounding ring of client regimes.
- By liberal, the authors meant not “left-wing,” as in current American parlance, but free market-based, which is the sense of the term in current continental European parlance.
- By social responsibility, the authors effectively meant a different order of reality again: namely, media operating within a capitalist dynamic but simultaneously committed to serving the public’s need.
- A strong underlying assumption in all in all four models was that news and information were the primary roles of media.
- The authors did not seek simply to explain or contrast comparative media systems but to define how those systems ought to operate according to certain guiding principles.
- The development model meant media that addressed issues of poverty, health care, literacy, and education.
- Participatory media typically designated local, small-scale, and more democratically organized media, such as community radio stations or public access video, with their staff and producers having considerable input into editorial decisions.
- Communist media in the former Soviet bloc claimed their purpose was to serve the general public, the industrial workers, and the farmers who made up the vast majority of the population.
A different approach I: comparing and contrasting media
- Soviet media had a strong overlap with media under other dictatorships and with so-called development media.
- In the world at large, issues of extreme poverty, economic crisis, political instability even to the point of civil war, turbulent insurgent movements, military or other authoritarian regimes, and violent repression of political dissent are the central context of media.
Political power
- Communist media were seen as simple mirror-opposites of media in the West.
- Communism equaled repression and censorship.
- Soviet media were the favorite counterexample for proving what was right with Western media.
- When photocopy machines came into use, access to them was governed in microscopic detail.
- The media credibility dilemma is a significant one in any dictatorship. And perhaps the longer the dictatorship lasts, the worse the dilemma.
Economic crisis
- Economic crisis was a daily experience for the majority of Russians, especially from the time of the Soviet bloc’s collapse up to the time of writing this essay.
- Russian media, until the last few years of the old Soviet Union, were silent about this decline in living standards and stagnation in productivity, and asserted that the capitalist countries were suffering from acute and irremediable economic problems.
Dramatic social transitions
- World War I opened the way to the 1917 revolution and the three-year civil war that followed the revolution (Soviet Union).
- Colonial rule, invasion, war, vast social movements, civil war, entrenched ethnic conflicts, wrenching changes of government, and dictatorships were common experiences across the planet.
- Media in Russia also went through many transitions during the 20th century.
- In the decade that followed Stalin’s death, some Russian media professionals made cautious attempts to open up the media.
- Some other brave dissidents who tried to publish works critical of the regime were sentenced to long terms of hard labor in highly publicized trials meant to scare off any would-be imitators- another media transition.
- In the world at large, issues of extreme poverty, economic crisis, political instability even to the point of civil war, turbulent insurgent movements, military or other authoritarian regimes, and violent repression of political dissent are the central context of media.
Political power
- Communist media were seen as simple mirror-opposites of media in the West.
- Communism equaled repression and censorship.
- Soviet media were the favorite counterexample for proving what was right with Western media.
- When photocopy machines came into use, access to them was governed in microscopic detail.
- The media credibility dilemma is a significant one in any dictatorship. And perhaps the longer the dictatorship lasts, the worse the dilemma.
Economic crisis
- Economic crisis was a daily experience for the majority of Russians, especially from the time of the Soviet bloc’s collapse up to the time of writing this essay.
- Russian media, until the last few years of the old Soviet Union, were silent about this decline in living standards and stagnation in productivity, and asserted that the capitalist countries were suffering from acute and irremediable economic problems.
Dramatic social transitions
- World War I opened the way to the 1917 revolution and the three-year civil war that followed the revolution (Soviet Union).
- Colonial rule, invasion, war, vast social movements, civil war, entrenched ethnic conflicts, wrenching changes of government, and dictatorships were common experiences across the planet.
- Media in Russia also went through many transitions during the 20th century.
- In the decade that followed Stalin’s death, some Russian media professionals made cautious attempts to open up the media.
- Some other brave dissidents who tried to publish works critical of the regime were sentenced to long terms of hard labor in highly publicized trials meant to scare off any would-be imitators- another media transition.
A different approach II: globalization and media
- Comparing and contrasting media is then one way to get a clearer focus on what is that media actually do in our world.
- A second, complementary approach is to focus on the current trends toward the globalization of media and of other cultural processes.
- Globalization signifies structural economic changes, or it is applied as well to cultural and media processes.
- For some writers, globalization more or less means Americanization.
- Some analysts have sharply criticized the “imperialism” school, arguing that it falsely assumes global media audiences are more moldable plastic in the hands of global media firms and pointing to research that shows how differently varying audiences around the world react to U.S. media.
- Some from this claim that people’s cultural resistance is proof against cultural invasion, but more commonly, writers of this approach use the terms hybridization and hybridity to try to capture what they see happening.
- A problem with the hybridity approach is that it can become rather wooly and vague.
- A second, complementary approach is to focus on the current trends toward the globalization of media and of other cultural processes.
- Globalization signifies structural economic changes, or it is applied as well to cultural and media processes.
- For some writers, globalization more or less means Americanization.
- Some analysts have sharply criticized the “imperialism” school, arguing that it falsely assumes global media audiences are more moldable plastic in the hands of global media firms and pointing to research that shows how differently varying audiences around the world react to U.S. media.
- Some from this claim that people’s cultural resistance is proof against cultural invasion, but more commonly, writers of this approach use the terms hybridization and hybridity to try to capture what they see happening.
- A problem with the hybridity approach is that it can become rather wooly and vague.
A different approach III: small-scale alternative media
- The term refers to the hand-circulated pamphlets, poems, essays, plays short stories, novels, and, at a later stage, audio- and videocassettes (magnitizdat) that began to emerge in Soviet bloc countries from the 1960s onward. They contained material that was banned by the Soviet regimes.
- Samizdat contained widely varied messages- some religious, some nationalist, some ecological, some reformist, some revising the myths of official Soviet history, some attacking Soviet policies, some defending citizens victimized by arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.
- The term samizdat literally means “self-published,” in contradistinction to “state-published,” that is approved by the Soviet regime as “safe.”
- BBC World, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe would read samizdat texts over the air as part of their programming and thus amplified their message outside the major urban centers, which were normally the only places where samizdat were circulated.
- Samizdat contained widely varied messages- some religious, some nationalist, some ecological, some reformist, some revising the myths of official Soviet history, some attacking Soviet policies, some defending citizens victimized by arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.
- The term samizdat literally means “self-published,” in contradistinction to “state-published,” that is approved by the Soviet regime as “safe.”
- BBC World, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe would read samizdat texts over the air as part of their programming and thus amplified their message outside the major urban centers, which were normally the only places where samizdat were circulated.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Following the Historical Paths of Global Communication
El Mehdi Zeroual
COM 2303
Dr. Ibahrine
September 6, 2007
Following the Historical Paths of Global Communication
Geographical space: a barrier to communication
COM 2303
Dr. Ibahrine
September 6, 2007
Following the Historical Paths of Global Communication
Geographical space: a barrier to communication
- Geography is limiting communication.
- Even though historians have long been interested in oral and written language traditions and technologies the broader concept of communication is relatively new.
- Technologies are cultural metaphors for prevailing social and cultural conditions.
- Communication strategies and devices of many varieties were used to gain advantage in warfare and trade.
- Geography of space: We are in Ifrane, then in Meknes, Tafilalt, then in Morocco
The important thing here is time between now and the past.
The importance of communication is transformation of news.
- Geography of experience: your stories and history are limited because of space, but now it is not the case because the communication tools developed.
- Space of flow: the material and immaterial components of the global information networks.
It is the network of all networks.
Geography and the mythical world
- Ancient people certainly must have regarded the world with a sense of awe and wonder, struggling to control the unexplained events of their lives.
- Until relatively recently in history, perhaps within just the past century or two, most people knew life only as they saw it unfolding within a few square miles of their rural homes.
- Travel in most of the historical past was hazardous and unpractical.
Ancient encounters of societies and cultures
- When Greek and Arab scientists sought to rise above mythical beliefs and to construct rational models of knowledge, they saw the world as measurable, even suggesting the use of coordinate geographical space.
- The early Greeks regarded the remote islands to their west as the horizon of the known world.
- The early Greeks regarded the remote islands to their west as the horizon of the known world.
Global explorers: migrants, holy people, merchants
- Cairncross predicts that much of the work that can be done on a computer can be done from anywhere: the place has no importance nowadays.
- He also discusses 30 major changes likely to result from trends, including a diminishing need for countries to want emigration.
- In the past, they didn’t need international communication. There was global not international communication because there were no nations or countries.
- The technologies of international communication may be contemporary phenomenon.
- For ancient pre-agrarian societies in Europe, migration was a way of life.
- Improvements of farming techniques and implements allowed many nomadic groups to settle on fertile lands, unless they were by disease, invasion or war.
- The disappearance of Greek scholarship on geography left Europeans without many clues about the outside world.
- He also discusses 30 major changes likely to result from trends, including a diminishing need for countries to want emigration.
- In the past, they didn’t need international communication. There was global not international communication because there were no nations or countries.
- The technologies of international communication may be contemporary phenomenon.
- For ancient pre-agrarian societies in Europe, migration was a way of life.
- Improvements of farming techniques and implements allowed many nomadic groups to settle on fertile lands, unless they were by disease, invasion or war.
- The disappearance of Greek scholarship on geography left Europeans without many clues about the outside world.
Mapmakers in the medieval world
- Maps were closely guarded by European royalty and considered to be state secrets.
- Maps served many purposes in ancient times, including maritime navigation, religious pilgrimages and military and administrative uses.
- Mapmaking was an integral part of communication history.
- Maps were widely considered be valuable keys to unlocking unknown worlds.
Inventors: signals and semaphores
- The historical succession of technologies used for communication is lengthy.
- The telegraph made the transmission of information rapid and ensured secrecy and protection of codes.
- As usual, the business community was the 1st to make use of this technology.
- The rapid development of the telegraph was a crucial feature.
- The new technology had significant military implications.
- The telegraph made the transmission of information rapid and ensured secrecy and protection of codes.
- As usual, the business community was the 1st to make use of this technology.
- The rapid development of the telegraph was a crucial feature.
- The new technology had significant military implications.
The printing press, literacy, and the knowledge explosion
- Throughout the early Middle Ages, clerics were among the few literate people engaged in any task requiring writing.
- It was the Muslims who developed paper technology and brought it to Europe.
- The social consequences of the printing press were far-reaching, eventually encouraging the practice of reading among people.
- The world of printing was notorious for its piracy, incivility, plagiarism, unauthorized copying, false attributions, sedition and errors.
- In 1450, Gutenberg developed the printing machine.
- In “Imagined Communities,” Benidict Anderson gives a detailed analysis of nation building projects and their relationship to print media.
Scientists and international networks
- Technological innovations in travel and the changing role of international science in the mid-19th century brought far-reaching changes in relations between nations.
- Beginning with the railroad and the telegraph, towns and cities were brought closer together within a nation.
- One of the earliest significant steps toward globalizing the world was adoption of a global time system.
- Beginning with the railroad and the telegraph, towns and cities were brought closer together within a nation.
- One of the earliest significant steps toward globalizing the world was adoption of a global time system.
The international electric revolution
- The scientific innovations of the 19th century launched the world on a path to electrification of industry and commerce.
- Within 20 years of the general introduction of the telegraph in 1844, there were 150000 miles of telegraph lines throughout the world.
- The first transatlantic line did not work, and other attempts either broke or failed.
- The public showed little enthusiasm about telephone at the beginning.
- The telephone was a communication innovation that was adopted and managed differently in each nation.
- Unlike cable, radio equipment was comparatively cheap and could be sold mass scale.
- Governments used radio for political interests.
- Radio waves could travel anywhere, unrestrained by politics or geography.
- Radio was used for the international communication. Eg: De Gaulle used it from London and Germany for Nazist and also in Business. U.S also used it in Europe during the cold War. The example in the Arab world is radio SAWA.
- Within 20 years of the general introduction of the telegraph in 1844, there were 150000 miles of telegraph lines throughout the world.
- The first transatlantic line did not work, and other attempts either broke or failed.
- The public showed little enthusiasm about telephone at the beginning.
- The telephone was a communication innovation that was adopted and managed differently in each nation.
- Unlike cable, radio equipment was comparatively cheap and could be sold mass scale.
- Governments used radio for political interests.
- Radio waves could travel anywhere, unrestrained by politics or geography.
- Radio was used for the international communication. Eg: De Gaulle used it from London and Germany for Nazist and also in Business. U.S also used it in Europe during the cold War. The example in the Arab world is radio SAWA.
The era of news agencies
- The increasing demand among business clients for commercial information on business, stocks, currencies and commodities.
- Reuters tended to dominate.
- Its influence was due to the British Empire.
- British control of cable lines made London itself a universal center for world news.
- The flow of information was controlled by British but after 1987 New York became the center.
- CNN effect: if you are able to gather a lot of information, you can transform information to business.
- Reuters tended to dominate.
- Its influence was due to the British Empire.
- British control of cable lines made London itself a universal center for world news.
- The flow of information was controlled by British but after 1987 New York became the center.
- CNN effect: if you are able to gather a lot of information, you can transform information to business.
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