Fina Exam-Jason Guan

Mobile phone surveillance technology-Negative

https://ssd.eff.org/tech/mobile

Cell phone being an essential device have owned by the most of people in postmodern social life. However, cell phone surveillance technology have been using by government, which as a negative issue has been claimed, injurious to the public interest and infringe people’s privacy information are not acceptable.

First of all, by using cell phone tracking technology, the government can easily locate where the cell phone is in real-time. Technically, cell phones communicate with signal towers. When the strength of signal is sent to those phone towers, the location of the cell phone is possibly determined by the technology known Multilateration. The US government uses people’s cell phone to track their physical location without any warrant, which seriously against people’s privacy. From same party’s reports, the US government inspected cell phone user’s location 8 million times in a given year.

Also the government can acquire any private recorded information which you undergone. Two major telecommunications preparations AT&T and Verizon have contrasts with government the government demands them hand over customer’s information. In the past few years, the US government sent more than 140,000 “national security letters” for requiring cell phone records.

Cell phone surveillance technology embodies the concept of panopticism. As the monitor surveillance technology with which we familiar is used in corporations, in the States federal government enforcedly uses cell phone tracking technology to lactate people and monitors information from corporations’ database to keep watch on everyone’s behavior without a warrant. In the postmodern society, people look forward to reach as more freedom as they can. The call phone surveillance technology against this concept is counted as a negative inventive technology. However, most people use cell phone every day for business, relationship, or entertainment. So avoiding tracking is nearly impossible. Cell phone is very widespread in postmodern life.

Final Exam - Online hotel reservation in Globe

Online hotel reservation in Globe

    

                                                                                                                         

     I think online hotel reservation is a good example to discuss globe positioning systems. It is a useful tool to help traveler books rooms from home by using online security to protect their privacy and financial information and by using several online travel agents to compare prices and facilities at different hotels. Sometimes the online hotel reservation through GDS is just the provisional reservation, means that you do not need to pay at the time of reservation, instead pay at the time of check in or check out.

     The online hotel reservation is based on Internet Booking Engine. IBE’s are installed on the home page of an airline to enable easy access for customers. When shoppers enter their travel preferences the IBE contacts the GDS or Computer Reservations System to receive the relevant information which is then shown to the user in an appropriate interface. The real value of an IBE is in the business rules and processes that package the content and provide the capability to shop and purchase. This includes packaging and pricing rules, customized displays for different customers and channels, business rules and check out and payment processes.

      Nowadays, online travel agents have pictures of hotels and rooms, information on prices and deals, and even information on local resorts. Many also allow reviews of the traveler to be recorded with the online travel agent.

     Online hotel reservations are also helpful for making last minute travel arrangements. Hotels may drop the price of a room if some rooms are still available. There are several websites that specialize in searches for deals on rooms.

     People can book directly on an individual hotel's website. An increasing number of hotels are building their own websites to allow them to market their hotels directly to consumers. Non-franchise chain hotels require a "booking engine" application to be attached to their website to permit people to book rooms in real time. One advantage of booking with the hotel directly is the use of the hotel's full cancellation policy as well as not needing a deposit in most situations.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Advantages_and_disadvantages_online_booking

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



                                                                                                                  Cecilia Yang   20101213

Thin Client and the management program

Fig. 1 the structure of the thin client environment

Thin clients are managed at the server, located within the data center. Thin clients connect to servers via web browsers or remote desktop software. Depending on the functionality the user needs, client desktops can be very simple single-application kiosks or a flexible and familiar Windows environment. Because thin clients are computing devices that function as an access device on a network, these solid-state devices connect over a network to a server. In fact, keystrokes, mouse events and screen images are all that is sent between the client and server. This makes the device much more secure than a standard desktop or notebook computer.

To control all thin clients on the server, the server have to install management software. This kind of software can simplify remote troubleshooting. Remote support is greatly simplified. The devices can be shadowed (remotely displayed) with full keyboard and mouse control. In other words, the IT staff can monitor the client desktop without letting user notice that their desktops have been monitored. The purpose of this function is that company wants to take control of all devices to avoid virus attack and easy to maintain.

The management program relates to the concept of panopticism because employees know they might be monitored by the IT or their boss in anytime but they do not know when. They will be aware of their behavior while they are using thin client at work.

I was once working with thin client for two years. In my opinion, this kind of program truly increase the work efficient and employees can concentrate on their work easily. However, employees lost their privacy at the same time.

For more information about thin client : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_client

Final Exam - Wan-Jui Ju (Rachel Ju)

IP Cam Surveillance - Negative




http://www.bikal.co.uk/network-webcam/ip-cameras.html

Nowadays, people reinforce life safety consciousness; for this reason, safety system is becoming wisdom application in this society. The function is no longer just safety protection, but also increases surveillance application and provides entire automatic monitoring. This kind of vision of global gaze became public surveillance system.

IP Cam is one of the webcam for surveillance systems. Generally, IP Cam can connect with IP router directly; don’t need to connect a computer or set a router. IP Cam can send images or video directly by internet, therefore, monitoring can easily and conveniently use internet to browser images or video in order to track and monitor.

Many people use IP Cam to monitor children, elder or servants’ behavior at home. Others may use IP Cam to monitor employees’ behavior in work place. People who have been monitor may feel lose their right of privacy. These kinds of monitor infringe upon peoples’ privacy and freedom. For example, manager monitor employees’ working behavior in behalf of monitor employees use computer/ Internet to do something irrelevant their work, or do they divulge company commercial secrets and so on. Even if, parent wants to monitor their children or manager wants to monitor the employees; people still should not be monitor. People have the right to keep their privacy. Monitor makes people feel uncomfortable and distrust. However, undeniable, some monitoring may be a good way to improve employees’ efficiency during the business hours. Nevertheless, in my opinion; employee trusts his company and willing to work hard for his work; on the contrary, manager should trust the employee who he has hired, and be honest to his employees.

As for now, the postmodern society, people became more careful to meet a new person because there are many terrorists around the world. Thus, surveillance system has become a necessary equipment in this environment, but it does not mean all of the people do not deserve being trust. In addition, take panoticism as example; this indicates monitoring cannot monitor everything just through a surveillance system. In other words, outside the system that monitoring cannot monitor anything at all. A surveillance system should defend the villain. As a result, I believe, an honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor and honesty. Not enough to deter serous criminals.

The Global Flow of Visual Culture

1.Cultural Imperialism:

Example: American Series

Take the American Series as an example, the media products of the America that represent some parts of America culture. It has been influencing lots of young people who have different culture background around the world. For most America series, when we are watching, we not only get entertainment, but also absorb the concept unconsciously of two sides of gender in current America culture. At the same time, most of us probably have already forgotten to concern the concept of our original culture background. This is a cultural Imperialism in our generation.

Not only the entertainments such as movies and cartoon influence other cultures but also language is the most important element. We may say it is a powerful imperialism; McDonald’s would be a good example.

Moreover, American popular culture is not also effect teenager, but also effect adult. More and more women agree with the sex concepts of the American Series “Sex and the City”. Therefore, to sum up, it’s important that American is a capitalism society and contains lots of media information.

2. Global Niche Markets

Example: eReader

Niche marketing is a process of finding small but potential profitable market segments and designing custom-made products for them. A niche market is a focused, targetable portion of a market. Any company wants to be a member in Niche market, need to face on worldwide for developing his business.

eReader is one of a niche market products; it likes Barnes & Noble Nook . If it compares with ipad or other tablets, it is easy to discover that its only has reading and browsing function. The main advantage is that it is easy to carry on. Even if the price is superiorities than tablets, how marketing this nonfunctional item and attracting customers’ sight, it would be a big issue for sellers. Definitely there are many people love it as a useful tool for reading, so that it has its own market shares in desktops.

3.Global Brands

Example: Apple computer Inc.

Recently “Apple” is famous because “Apple” has good reputation of their brand image. They design a clean and simple user interface for the appearance of the computer. It also has its own operating system, which is more stable comparing with other software cooperation. You can set more than twenty different languages on the apple products. For desktop, when you buy it from different countries, you can get different kinds of languages system where you are. That make the brand becomes globalization and leads to “Apple” become one of the global brands in the world.

Scientific Looking in Cultural Contexts

Topic 1: The Digital Body

http://www.hemmy.net/2007/09/09/amusing-natan-jewelry-advertisement/

These two Ads are from famous jewelry company Natan. They put a quirk on the before and after handing someone a piece of jewelry. The photos show that even ugly men can become good looking when women accept their rings.

This Ad uses same people’s face and changes their features for main idea indication. It shows the jewelry too important to effects woman’s imagination for a man. Some digital photo edit soft wares can help to complete this purpose as we saw.

This Ad exhibiting objective phenomenon focuses on a society fact between man and woman. It is a good issue to discuss the value of looking, especially in sexual relationship. Meanwhile it discovers the role of jewelry in women’s life, stresses the main point.

Topic 2: Visualizing Pharmaceuticals

Example: Relacore

Relacore is a weight loss aid that has been engineered around the theory that increased stress equals the increased storage of fat, specifically the harmful fat around your midsection. A pharmaceutical company creates this product and claims that the Relacore with cortisol fights and shrinks belly fat, reduce stress, reduce mild anxiety, and reduce certain types of depression while increasing energy.



Relacore doesn’t give us a comprehensive list of ingredients and with so much already against it we feel that this product should be avoided. There are plenty of products available on the current market that contain proven ingredients and that will give you the weight loss edge you are looking for. You suggest you find something else and leave Relacore to rot on shelf.


People usually watch advertisements and knowing the information from media rather than from medical personnel. Therefore, the way the pharmaceutical company promotes their product directly to the consumers. The consumers could buy the medicine without a prescription.

It is not ethical because the way the advertisement only show to the customers the effectiveness. Those aggressive loosed-weight people would be attracted easily by the exaggerate advertisements.

PO MO movie

Trainspotting movie trailer

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose a three piece suit on hire purchased in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose a future. Choose life . . . But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose something else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?

Renton, Trainspotting

The movie, Trainspotting, is a typical post modern movie. It describes the common subculture of British teens in the 90s. The teens in the movie use drugs to escape from their regular living and to avoid social rules and responsibilities. As much as it may seem abnormal to many, the teens are satisfied with the lifestyle and do not wish to change.

Subcultures are the minority cultures in the society. They are usually deemed irregular by the predominating culture as they many times disagree with the social norms. The subcultures exist because the world around them is open to interpretations. An interpretation can be as valid as any dominating cultures to some if they found it justified. This movie is showing an ostensible image of a fragile society.