Media Magazine: Globalisation case study
Media Magazine archive - click on MM47 - the case study issue, page 31 - the Google Glass feature: a case study in Globalisation.
1) Why was Google Glass controversial?
Google Glass is the highly-anticipated hardware that’s a pair of glasses, which, in effect, acts as your mobile phone and provides you with all the functions that you’d expect, and more. However, concerns have emerged which claim that, through the headset, Google will be able to see what the wearer sees, and commentary around this highlights some of the negative consequences this may bring. For example, if we were to walk into a supermarket and begin looking through the choices available for a certain product, what products did we look at first? What products didn’t we look at? This kind of information is very valuable to certain marketers, companies and organisations; and it’s common knowledge that Google have a history of selling their customer data and statistics to other interested parties. This isn’t helped by reports that Glass can record all the sound that it picks up, and will also come with facial recognition software – meaning that individuals could be picked out from a crowd of faces with ease. Dialogue around these concerns has led to the coining of the term ‘Google agent’ to embody the panic that all we say and do may soon be being recorded by anyone nearby wearing a headset.
2) What are the positive elements to Globalisation that the article highlights?
In a sense, it does make the world become more accessible, and people are enriched by getting to know and understand it better. Increased choice and opportunities empower people, while access to information can enhance not only the ability to make informed decisions but even the democratic process.
3) What are potential negatives to Globalisation?
If we consider that all of these benefits are provided by one of just a small number corporations, this leads to a discussion about the concentration of ownership, and the possibility that smaller companies have little or no hope of staking a claim on the global market as they won’t be able to compete. This means that the previously mentioned ‘choice’ we talked about so positively is in effect provided by a limited number of companies who dominate the global market, and, in the main, only distribute the majority of the world’s wealth amongst themselves. This links into Lin & Webster's, who said "the top 5% of all websites accounted for almost 75% of user volume."
4) What is a techno-panic? How does it link to moral panics?
Techno-panic, coined by Marwick, is a moral panic that centres around fears regarding a specific contemporary technology. By extension, a techno-panic is therefore a moral panic that centres on fears regarding specific contemporary technology or technological activity. Some of the dialogue regarding Glass and its release could be viewed as both moral and techno-panics.
5) What is your opinion on the privacy debate and major corporations being able to access large quantities of personal data?
I feel that these major corporations being able to access large quantities of personal data is not a huge issue. Personally, I feel that it is a small price to pay considering the immense availability of information and opportunities the internet provides us. It is unlikely that an individual with other to hide will be affected by these questions over data/ privacy. However, these questions can be entirely drawn out as long as users realise their actions can still be used against them regardless of if they're online or not.
Media Factsheet: Globalisation and capitalism
Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 92: Globalisation. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets
1) Who coined the phrase 'a global village' and what multinational companies illustrate this?
‘A global village’ which was coined by McLuhan, refers to when countries become interconnected or more interdependent, especially in economic terms. Selling globally is big business and companies such as Coca-Cola are no longer national firms but multinational corporations with subsidiaries in many countries. This process has been taking place for hundreds of years but has speeded up enormously over the last half-century. The world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange. This process has been called globalisation.
2)What are the major reasons for globalisation?
• Improvements in transportation - larger cargo ships means the cost of transporting goods between countries has decreased.
• Freedom of trade - organisations like the World Trade Organisation promote free trade between countries, which helps to remove barriers between countries.
• Improvements of communications - the internet and mobile technology has allowed greater communication between people in different countries.
• Labour availability and skills - countries such as India have lower labour costs (about a third of that of the UK). Labour intensive industries such as clothing manufacture can take advantage of cheaper labour costs and reduced legal restrictions in less economically developed countries).
Out of all of these factors it is perhaps the increase in communications that is the defining aspect of globalisation in our time. This has led to what some critics suggest is the Western world’s dominance of the global market
2) What role does Slavoj Zizek suggest the media plays in global capitalism?
Critics such as Zizek argue that the media masks the way in which western institutions ‘do business’. Zizek looks at recent changes in the methods of marketing used by multinational corporations and businesses who are intent upon developing, while also exploiting, the increased desire among the liberal classes in the West to ‘do something’ about saving the endangered planet and helping the world’s poor. He argues that the media reinforces and naturalises the ideology that making money is the right way of conducting businesses, but at the same time allows people to feel less guilty about how these goods are produced.
3) What does 'capitalism with a conscience' mean?
Zizek claims: ‘When you buy something, your anti-capitalist duty – the desire to do something for others and for the environment – is already included in your purchase.’ Many companies, of which Starbucks is a prime example, now give a percentage of their product’s cost to a recognised world charity or an organisation working in the third world. As the campaign for Starbucks states: ‘It’s not just what you’re buying, it’s what you’re buying into. When you buy Starbucks, you are buying into something bigger than a cup of coffee: you are buying into coffee ethics - i.e fair-trade. This links to Marxism as it is a prime example of how the more powerful institutions are manipulating their consumers.
4) What is the (PRODUCT) RED campaign?
(PRODUCT)RED, was founded in 2006 by U2 frontman and activist Bono to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a recipient of (RED) money but
(PRODUCT)RED not a product in itself, rather it is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express (UK), Apple Inc, Starbucks, Converse, Penguin Classics, Gap and Dell. Each partner company creates a product with the (PRODUCT)RED logo and, in return for the opportunity to increase its own revenue through the (PRODUCT)RED branding, a percentage of the company’s profit is given to the Global Fund. Since (PRODUCT)RED is a private company, a portion of the contributions received from the third party brands is taken as profit. This incorporation of humanitarian aid and for profit businesses is one example of "ethical consumerism".
5) Based on what you've read in the Factsheet, what is your opinion of the (PRODUCT) RED brand
Although it appears very charitable, it is likely that it could have been created with other intentions as well as simply just for a good cause. We are not aware of exactly how much from the company sales is going towards treating HIV - so we cannot see the campaign as fully legitimate.
Apple has apologised to customers for deliberately slowing the performance of older iPhone models without users’ consent. Apple has admitted to slowing down the iPhone 6, 6S, 7 and SE when their batteries are either old, cold or have a low charge to prevent abrupt shutdowns. Two separate class-action lawsuits were filed Thursday, brought by plaintiffs in California and Illinois, arguing that Apple did not have consent to slow down their iPhones.
