I feel that there is progress happening everywhere in the world today. Not all progress is from new advancements in science and technology but a lot of it is. There is so much knowledge held amongst people to allow such advancements to occur. Having knowledge is a great tool because without it, there would be no progress of any sort. People need to learn that they should study as much as possible so maybe one day they can contribute to making more progress happen. Achieving progress is a helpful way of improving our standard way of living. Even though progress is a good thing, I also feel that it can cause problems too. People just need to realize that in order to produce new and better things we might have to go through some rough times on the way. New advancements will continually be arising in the future and hopefully somebody one day will find away to make it so these new advancements will not contain new problems.

Machinery today keeps on getting better and better. New discoveries in technology allow us to improve the quality of our machinery so their performance level is better than some might have expected. These new technologies also make it a lot easier on people in the workforce. New technologies have a huge affect on society. Farmers, for example, have it a lot easier now than they did in the early 1900's. More advanced farm equipment is the reason for this. Aside from all the good things that arise from new machinery, there is also a few down falls. Many people loose their jobs because of all the new high-tech machinery. For this reason, I am sure some believe that progress is not always for the better. What if in the future, machinery started dominating everyone's job, what would we do then? Also at certain times, new advancements are used in the wrong way. For example, it was stated in Leo Marx's article that because of these new technology advancements, "Hiroshima and the nuclear threat; pollution and other kinds of damage inflicted upon the environment by advanced industrial societies; spectacular accidents like B-mile Island, Bhepal, the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger..." all happened. I believe that some are afraid of progress and new advancements for the main reason that they are not educated on how the progress will help us. Maybe if they became educated they will not be so opposed to new ideas.

 Progress is going to continue as long as modern technology and science keep growing. Outcomes from progress can usually be foreseen as positive, but negative aspects also might occur. Progress can help make the path into the future a better one to travel on. Like I said before, I believe knowledge is the key to progress. The more people know the more they can contribute to society as a whole.

Progress It started with pureness, then became sin. It didn’t matter to people, they didn’t follow. Ignorance, immorality, we just got worse. Until, one day He made a rainbow. It started all over again. Now people had to care. If they kept up their bad habits, they knew their future. So onward we went, our intelligence grew. Aristotle to Copernicus, I thought we were the center!? Then Kepler wrote Harmony of the Spheres. I didn’t read it. Did you? But Newton it was who discovered Kepler’s three laws. How are things put in orbit? No one really cares. We keep getting smarter but does anyone notice? It’s taken for granted, I think I’ll live. Einstein arrived with his crazy ideas. I forgot, what are they again? Humans progressed to things they could never imagine. We landed on the moon, but do your remember when? Now we’re here with electronics and computers. Everything is digital. No one seems to care. Not many appreciate the progress that has led us here. But when will it start all over again? -James Hanson (Please use this poem only as a reference. Thanks.)

The successful company will be driven to increase stakeholder value andprofitability while creating a working environment that encourages and nurturesthe growth of personal creativity and development as well as nurturing a senseof well-being for all members of the organization. When dealing with the forcesthat drive industry competition, a company can devise a strategy that takes theoffensive. This posture is designed to do more than merely cope with the forcesthemselves; it is meant to alter their causes. The IT professional's role in

competitive market intelligence The IT professional is increasingly being calledupon to be a sleuth in the quest for the competitive market intelligence that isso necessary to support the enterprise's overall business strategy. In today'sfast-changing marketplace, it is essential to monitor the techniques of similarbusinesses, and IT is being called upon to fulfill that functional need. IT mustprovide marketing with answers to

The Internet is a method of communication and a source of information that is becoming more popular among those who are interested in, and have the time to surf the information superhighway. The problem with much information being accessible to this many people is that some of it is deemed inappropriate for minors. The government wants censorship, but a segment of the population does not. Within this examination of the topic of, Government Intervention of the Internet, I will attempt to express both side s of this issue.      During the past decade, our society has become based solely on the ability to move large amounts of information across large distances quickly. Computerization has influenced everyone's life. The natural evolution of computers and this need for ultra-fas t communications has caused a global network of interconnected computers to develop. This global net allows a person to send E-mail across the world in mere fractions of a ...

The technology which surrounds almost everyone in the modern society, affects both work and leisure activities. Technology contains information that many would rather it did not have. It influences minds in good and bad ways, and it allows people to share information which they would otherwise not be able to attain. Even if a person does not own a computer or have credit cards, there is information on a computer somewhere about everyone. The technology which is just now beginning to be manipulated and harnessed is affecting the minds of small children and adolescents in ways that could be harmful. It is affecting our immediate future. It also gives another form of communication and exchange of information which was not available before, information that is both good and bad.

Technology is one of the principal driving forces of the future; it is transforming our lives and shaping our future at rates unprecedented in history, with profound implications which we can't even begin to see or understand. Many different elements affect how satisfied we are with our lives. The impact of technology on these elements can change how safe, healthy and happy people feel.

Wireless technology was little more than just a distant idea for the majority of ordinary consumers ten years ago. However, it has exploded over recent years with the use of 3G phones and wireless home computing increasingly commonplace.

It would be foolish to suggest that wireless communication has reached its peak. Whilst mobile phones and home computing will continue to be the major focus in the quest for ever increasing sophistication within the technology, new applications are emerging daily.

One company, Securecom Technologies, based in Ireland, have been at the forefront of harnessing wireless technologies in the area of personal safety. They already have a number of products in the marketplace designed to enable users to activate an alarm signal to a remote emergency centre wirelessly. Their Benefon range of applications are used by vulnerable elderly people, lone workers and VIPs to increase their sense of security and ability to effortlessly get in touch with help at the touch of the button.

They are now in the process of developing PERUSE1, which stands for 'Personal Safety System Utilising Satellite combined with Emerging Technologies'. The Peruse project will develop a Wireless Personal Alarm (WPA) solution which will be carried by or worn on a person and will allow the user to summon help at the touch of a button. When the alarm has been activated, the WPA will transmit a low power signal to a satellite communications headset which will forward a message to an authorised number. This will include the identity of the person in distress, as well as their current location. However, the ingenuity of the technology goes further as it will also have the potential to transmit the user's current state of health and local environmental parameters.

It is envisaged that the recipient of the users SOS signal will be a fully equipped Emergency Monitoring Centre to whom the user will have previously given full instructions as to the steps they would wish to have the Centre take on their behalf in the event of an emergency.

There are two core components that are in the development phase. The wireless personal alarm (WPA) and a 'dongle' which provides the handset for satellite communication use which will have a low power wireless link to the WPA.

The important issues here are that the two components will need to take into account size, cost, accuracy of location and battery autonomy. The main benefits will be that the device will be able to be worn or carried on a person discreetly. This makes it ideal for professions such as personal security, where the ability to communicate a message quickly and without fuss can often be of paramount importance. It will herald a new era in satellite communication. No longer will the user have to tap a keypad to enter a number nor will they have to move the handset for optimal signal strength prior to sending an emergence message. This technology will be invaluable to professions such as mountain rescue and will also be a tremendous benefit to those who enjoy hiking and climbing in the course of their leisure pursuits where conventional mobile phone technology can often be rendered useless.

There are currently no known competitors for this potentially life saving technology for which Securecom has filed for both Irish and European Patent Applications. Prototypes have already been manufactured and pilot programmes and laboratory tests are well under way.

UWB (Ultra Wide Band)2 is another example of emerging wireless technology. Alongside traditional wireless uses, UWB can also detect images through solid objects, such as people on the opposite side of a wall. This has led to an equal number of supporters and opponents.

Although UWB can be used for consumer applications in a similar fashion to Bluetooth technology such as cable elimination between a PC and its peripheral equipment, the more interesting applications focus on its 'radar 'like imagery. These applications could be used to find people trapped in a burning building, locating hostages and captors behind a thick wall and finding objects such as those that might be buried in the ground. Heightened security at airports and other public buildings can use UWB technology to detect weapons on people and bombs in luggage and packages. In this age of heightened security, post 9/11, the benefits of this emerging technology should not be understated.

A few companies have started to develop UWB products, including XtremeSpectrum, Time Domain and Aether Wire. XtremeSpectrum is developing products to enable the sending and receiving of multiple streams of digital audio and video for both battery powered and other consumer devices such as digital cameras, DVDs, DVRs, camcorders, MP3 players and set top boxes. Time Domain has developed a UWB chip set targeting three core technologies: wireless communication, precision location and tracking, and high definition portable radar whilst Aether Wire is working on miniature, distributed-position location and low data-rate communication devices. One of its goals is to develop coin

sized devices that are capable of localisation to centimetre accuracy over kilometre distances.

However, privacy violation is one of the major concerns of the technology's opponents. Any technology that can 'see' through solid objects can be used for illegal purposes as well as legitimate ones. In theory, a UWB-enabled system could 'look through' the walls of a house to locate valuable objects and could detect when the occupants are not at home. Supporters, however, could rightly point out that this is a dilemma shared by many technologies that are used to enhance public safety - the juggling act between increased security versus decreased personal freedom. It could be argued that baggage searches at airports via x-ray and metal detection are common examples of us giving up privacy for better security, a price most people are willing to pay.

No other area is more at the forefront of the emergence of innovation in wireless technology than space exploration. Future missions to nearby planets like Mars will require space communication technologies that can provide an interplanetary satellite and navigation infrastructure via space systems that are far more compact and efficient than seen ever before. A longer term commitment will be necessary to resolve the challenges of efficient planetary communication due to the increase in distances involved as space exploration ventures further out into the solar system. To support planetary exploration, techniques developed for Earth-bound usage will be transferred to other planets as well. Exploration of Mars, for example, will require a high accuracy positioning capability such as a 'Martian GPS' as an aid to exploratory roving vehicles.

This very day, the 'Mars Spirit' space rover continues to send data back to Earth, almost 18 months after it touched down on the red planet, surviving more than 4 times its expected mission length. One day it is highly likely that we may see astronauts walking on Mars carting around wi-fi enabled PCs. In a remote Arizona meteor crater, NASA has already begun testing a mobile wi-fi system that could enable those on a Mars mission to easily deploy wireless data connectivity at a transmission rate of just more than a megabit per second over a 2 square mile area, and then change that coverage area at will through the use of mobile access points, making it entirely feasible to explore different terrain on any given day.

Tropos Networks3 developed the technology which NASA has adopted whereby the astronauts could have inter-connectivity via a three node mesh network. They would first establish a base communications station near their spacecraft and then set up an Ethernet connection between that base and a main access point. Then each node in the network would pick up its wireless connectivity from the access point.

Testing is still in its infancy and there is some way to go before astronauts would be strutting their stuff on Mars and communicating wirelessly with one and other and with mission control in this way.

However, the Mars Spirit space rover is still sending back images and data from the red planet today, relying heavily on wireless technology to do so. It may appear that these vehicles have been designed solely for the purpose of space exploration but closer scrutiny reveals applications that could also be modified and used on Earth. Unlike, say, a car manufacturing robot which knows where and when the engine or body appears on the assembly line, the Mars rovers are working in an unstructured and unknown environment. As a result, the rovers have had to learn about their new home through their own sensors, including a set of nine cameras on each rover. The rovers have two navigation cameras for a 3D view of their surroundings, two hazard avoidance cameras for a 3D view of nearby terrain and panoramic cameras to capture the images of the planet's surface. However, the rovers cannot just look around them, process the images and know where to go. Neither can the mission controllers on Earth grab a joystick and start steering the rovers whilst watching images being beamed back from thousands of miles away. A key reason is processing power. The central processor in each rover has a top speed of 20

MHz. Instead, during the Martian night, while a rover is 'asleep', a team on Earth with much more powerful computers programs its activities for the day ahead, and then sends basic instructions on where to go and how to get there. Along with taking pictures, each rover is examining the planet with several instruments on a robotic arm. The arms have 'shoulder', 'elbow' and 'wrist' joints for manoeuvrability and are equipped with four sensors: a microscopic camera for close up pictures of rocks, an alpha particle x ray spectrometer for determining the mineral content of rocks, another spectrometer for detecting iron and a rock abrasion tool for cutting through the layer of oxidation that forms on the surfaces of Martian rocks. As with the movement of the rovers, the arms are controlled mostly via prepared commands from mission control.

Some observers have noted that some of these applications may prove useful here on Earth. For example, a robotic arm that doesn't require real time human control might be good for disabled people who use wheelchairs and can't control a joystick with their hands. Using its own sensors, it could reach out and get things for the person in the wheelchair, for example.

In addition, a robot that can deal with new and unknown environments might save manufacturers money. In current factories with 'robotic' workers, when the company shifts to making a new product, the whole factory floor has to be reconfigured and the robots reprogrammed to deal with the new arrangement. A robot that could use feedback from sensors to figure out where things are could adapt to changes by itself, saving the company the time and effort of building a new structured environment and reprogramming the robots.With all the emerging technologies around and, inevitably, with more to come, the inevitable hurdle will be one of convergence and integration as the IT industry seeks to develop the tools that will be most sought after. Inevitably, there will be winners and losers.

However, there is no doubt that the wireless phenomenon is reshaping enterprise connectivity worldwide and is definitely here to stay. Business needs information mobility for better customer interaction. Employees will be even more equipped to perform their job functions from their workplace of choice and, though this sounds like utopia, a societal change from office based to 'wherever they feel like being' based might conjure up an horrific vision of the future for company leaders who have enjoyed the traditions of having all their employees working from under the same roof.

Another major issue has to be one of security. There are many issues when it comes to security over wireless networks. Wireless networks do not follow the rules of traditional wired networks. Many times, the signals are carried far beyond the physical parameters they are meant to be controlled within making it easier to intercept signals and capture information.

There will also be the question posed of what happens to the have nots? - Those people and developing countries in particular that don't have the resources to wirelessly interact with others. The same thing could be said about the Internet itself but satellites could alleviate that problem far more quickly than the ability to put broadband connections in every office and home throughout the world.

Another major hurdle has to be that business and society can only adapt at a certain pace. Technology evolves far more quickly and there may be many a product developed for which the demand is not yet there. But the mobile phone and PC market driven by what the consumer wants will determine what the future of wireless holds.But there is no question that wireless communication is here to stay and will grow even more.

Signs of the new wireless technologies abound. Consumers are setting up wireless local area networks (WLANS) in their homes. These allow multiple computers to hook up to one fast internet connection or laptop users to connect from the comfort of their sofa or back garden patio. Away from home, 'Hotspots' that permit wireless connection to the internet are popping up everywhere, in

book stores, coffee shops, airports and even pubs. Within the next year, airlines are expected to announce the availability of wi-fi during flights. However, until there is increased competition in the market place, this new epoch will be there for the privileged few as opposed to the mass market who will still be relying solely on their mobile phones for wireless connectivity on the move. It remains to be seen whether the new generation of 3G phones has arrived too late to push aside wi-fi and it's even conceivable that mobile phone companies could one day find themselves obsolete unless they look for new ways to attract and retain customers.

But issues like security, along with the problems of cost, intrusion on privacy and identifying such things as hotspot locations is not going to hold wireless communication and technology back. In the end, there will always be solutions to problems and wi-fi is no different in this respect.

David Reed, an adjunct professor at MIT's Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts has been studying the future of wireless communications. He draws a comparison with the new wi-fi revolution with that of the 'paperless society' which was often mooted in offices and homes all over the world with the advent of the PC. He said, The market will push us towards a wireless future. People love paper but I can't find a single person who can say that about wires.4

As more wi-fi systems are developed which will, in turn, drive the cost down it will become an increasingly less disruptive way to communicate in the future and it will become very difficult for anything else out there to compete with that.

The decade of the 1980's saw an explosion in computer technology and computer usage that deeply changed society.  Today computers are a part of everyday life, they are in their simplest form a digital watch or more complexly computers manage power grids, telephone networks, and the money of the world. Henry Grunwald, former US ambassador to Austria best describes the computer's functions, “It enables the mind to ask questions, find answers, stockpile knowledge, and devise plans to move mountains, if not worlds.”   Society has embraced the computer and accepted it for its many powers which can be used for business, education, research, and warfare.      The first mechanical calculator, a system of moving beads called the abacus, was invented in Babylonia around 500 BC. The abacus provided the fastest method of calculating until 1642, when the French scientist Pascal invented a calculator made of wheels and cogs.  The concept of the modern computer was...

he Internet in a vast computer-based medium for communication and information, transmitted through a modular phone line, that is available to everyone. The Internet allows access to millions of pages of information. This “world of information” is also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW).It was developed in 1989 by English computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee to enable information to be shared among internationally dispersed teams of researchers at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics near Geneva. I doubt he had any idea of the magnitude of his invention or the impact it would make on daily living. Now the Web is involved through hundreds of systems. These systems enable computer users to view and interact with a variety of information, including articles, library access, world news, business, and downloadable software. It has become a valid tool in technology advancement, and

...technology is all around us. Every where you go you run into some type of technology, whether you know it or not. Advancement in technology makes everyday things easier than they have ever been before. But as an evolving society, new technologies are what drive the world today: 3G mobile communications, Voice over Internet Protocol, Bluetooth, and connecting your home to the internet are the new driving forces, but where will they take us?3G mobile communications3G is one of the latest technologies in mobile communication networks. You might ask yourself, what is "3G". Well, 3G means third generation. Analog phones are considered first generation, digital phones are second generation, and third generation is basically really fast digital phones. According to phonescoop.com, 3G offers high data speeds, always-on data access, and greater voice capacity.3G technology is primarily being used in mobile devices such as cell phones and laptops. With more bandwidth, 3G offers many new services. One of which is video conferencing and video messaging. Another is the ability to email large attachments including video email. One company has already jumped on board with 3G. Verizon with its V-Cast offers services such as, streaming music videos, 3D video games, and news and entertainment videos. V-Cast is also going to offer TV shows exclusively for your 3G phone. Another use of 3G technology is for your laptop. Using a 3G PC card, you can connect to the internet and use applications that require broadband speeds.The 3G technology standards are dependentupon the country. Different countries use different standards but all the standards are compliant to the International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) initiative from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). In general there are only a few standards that represent Europe, Japan and North America,...

..Evidence in support of each is plentiful; however, it is the opinion of this author that evidence in support of regionalisation has greater merit, at least at the present time.   This work will seek to critically analyse the article written by Richard Stubbs entitled Regionalization and Globalization where the author makes compelling arguments for the case of regionalisation.   There are several points on which this work is to focus – the source of regionalism and globalisation following the Cold War, how regionalisation is seen in respect of globalisation and the effect both have on national culture and economic policy, and whether regionalisation can be perceived as a step towards globalisation.Following the end of the Cold War period, international relations became more complicated once the predictability of the period was removed.   This coincided with the rapid expansion of telecommunication technology that led to the effect of a much more open and social world.   The new methods of communication and social interaction overcame the constraints of space and time and thus creating new opportunities in the marketplace; for example, in cases of global production networks. However, it is yet to be seen which method of a ‘wider world' is preferable – globalists suggest that globalisation is to be favoured due to the benefits generated for the economy; the sceptics to globalisation however, favour regionalisation stating that globalisation erodes national identity and culture, and that it is possible to preserve the benefits without having to globalise . Richard Stubbs comments that regionalisation is regarded by some governments as a defence to globalisation; a way to take advantage of some of the benefits of globalisation while retaining a semblance of control.   Regions can gather collective bargaining power through organisations such as the EU, NAFTA, AFTA,...

...illegal trespass into the computer system or database of another, manipulation or theft of stored or on-line data, or sabotage of equipment and data."2.   This includes both crimes using computers and crimes against computers.

Cyber-criminals can generally be put into the following categories:

· Crackers: These individuals are intent on causing loss to satisfy some antisocial motives or just for fun.   Many computer virus creators and distributors fall into this category.

· Hackers: These individuals explore others' computer systems for education, out of curiosity, or to compete with their peers.   They may be attempting to gain the use of a more powerful computer, gain respect from fellow hackers, build a reputation, or gain acceptance as an expert without formal education.

· Pranksters: These individuals perpetrate tricks on others.   They generally do not intend any particular or long-lasting harm.   A large portion is juvenile.

· Career criminals: These individuals earn part or all of their income from crime, although they do not necessarily engage in crime as a full-time occupation.   Some have a job, earn a little and steal a little, then move on to another job to repeat the process.   In some cases they conspire with others or work within organized gangs such as the Mafia.   The greatest organized crime threat comes from groups in Russia, Italy, and Asia.   "The FBI reported in 1995 that there were more than 30 Russian gangs operating in the United States. According to the FBI, many of these unsavory alliances use advanced information technology and encrypted communications to elude capture."4.

· Malcontents, addicts, and irrational and incompetent people: "These individuals extend from the mentally ill to those addicted to drugs, alcohol, competition, or attention from others, to the criminally negligent. In general, they are the most difficult...

Business Strategy

What role does strategic management play in the 21st century where environmental analysis expects an element of stability, competencies take time to develop, and competition requires flexibility that would make strategic planning an everyday task?

Type the words “corporate strategy” or “business strategy” into any search engine or embark on a book search in a library and you become confronted with a vast array of opinion, definitions, business solutions and business strategies currently or previously used by organisations.

Usually when researching a topic this would wonderfully helpful however, in this case due to the broadness of the term and the unclear meaning and necessity of corporate strategy all the information does not lead to any definitive answer as to whether business strategy has played and important role in business of previous years or has a role to play in the 21st Century.

...that the human race exists on earth about 200,000 years, first originating in Africa, but now they inhabit every continent, with a total population of over 6.5 billion people as of 2007. In addition, with the humans occupying the planet, natural resources extinct, pollution increases, technology grows. In today's fast paced world, technological progress, changes, and advances are happening everyday. Occasionally, the technological progress, changes, and advances are both good and bad. Furthermore, human race faces extinction threats and issues, which pulls out a question if we can save the world or not. The planet Earth is a massive place; one person cannot possibly make a difference. However, if many people work at making their town safer and healthier the planet as a whole can become safer and better place to live. Since technology has occupied the world and our way of life, there is no chance to get rid of it, and make the world more simple. However, there is a hope for saving ourselves and our planet, if we accept the modern technological progress, use the most of it, and prevent global destruction.

With the entrance in the 21st century, technology is developing even more rapidly, and marked progress in almost all fields of science and technology, which has led to massive improvements to the technology we currently possess. The rate of development in computers is only one example at which the speed of progress continues forward, leading to the speculation of a technological spectacle occurring within this century. It can be foreseen that technological progress is going to be the primary factor driving the development of human civilization. When it comes to technology, it is thought as communications, writing systems,

telecommunications and   mobile phones, animations, broadcasting, radio, radar, satellites, printing, cinema, TV, and finally...

Online communication can be defined as communication online using communication technologies.   Communication technologies can be used to supplement and enhance delivery of education.   There are many forms of communication technologies such as (1) email; (2) telephone; (3) facsimile; (4) audiographs; (5) video teleconferencing; (6) two-way interactive television; (7) bulletin boards; (8) discussion boards; (9) asynchronous forums [threaded discussion]; and (10) synchronous chat [real time].

Online communication allows for communication anywhere and anytime at any place.   It can decrease isolation and facilitate the learning process.   A sense of community can be achieved via asynchronous and synchronous communication.   Asynchronous forums allow for a history or thread of discussions on a topic be recorded.   Replies and new postings can be made within discussion threads.   Within one forum a series of conferences or forum topics can be started.   However, synchronous chat allows two or more logged in users to have a real-time online conversation with all users logging onto the same computer or via a network.

Most of online learners hold another responsibility towards their job and families.   Online learners usually have difficulties in dividing their time and commitment between their study, job and families.   Most of them tend to spend more time with their job and families rather than their study.   As a result, the probability for them to get involve actively in communicating online such as forum, online tutorial and discussion board are very low.   This is true as online learners tend to give an excuses of lack of time is the main difficulties they faced when being asked the reason behind their absent during online tutorial.

Online learning is a way of learning that focus on releasing learners from constraints of time and place whilst offering flexible learning opportunities.   Therefore, all the learning process depends on the students itself.   It is hard for...

The Internet as Mass Medium

(by Merrill Morris and Christine Ogan, Indiana University.Merrill Morris is a doctoral candidate in the School of Journalism at Indiana University, Bloomington, and Christine Ogan is a professor, School of Journalism, Indiana University. The authors would like to thank John Newhagen, Carolyn Punitha, and Lisbeth Lipari for their help with this paper.)

The Internet has become impossible to ignore in the past two years. Even people who do not own a computer and have no opportunity to "surf the net" could not have missed the news stories about the Internet, many of which speculate about its effects on the ever-increasing number of people who are on line. Why, then, have communications researchers, historically concerned with exploring the effects of mass media, nearly ignored the Internet? With 25 million people estimated to be communicating on the Internet, should communication researchers now consider this network of networks[1] a mass medium? Until recently, mass communications researchers have overlooked not only the Internet but the entire field of computer-mediated communication, staying instead with the traditional forms of broadcast and print media that fit much more conveniently into models for appropriate research topics and theories of mass communication.

However, this paper argues that if mass communications researchers continue to largely disregard the research potential of the Internet, their theories about communication will become less useful. Not only will the discipline be left behind, it will also miss an opportunity to explore and rethink answers to some of the central questions of mass communications research, questions that go to the heart of the model of source-message-receiver with which the field has struggled. This paper proposes a conceptualization of the Internet as a mass medium, based on revised ideas of what constitutes a mass audience and a mediating technology. The computer as a new communication...

he internet

The Internet: its effects and its future

Essay written by Eva Kotsi

Internet, its effects in our lives and the future of the Internet:

The Internet is, quite literally, a network of networks. It is comprised of ten thousands of interconnected networks spanning the globe. The computers that form the Internet range from huge mainframes in research establishments to modest PCs in people's homes and offices. Despite the recent hype, the Internet is not a new phenomenon. Its roots lie in a collection of computers that were linked together in the 1970s to form the US Department of Defense's communications systems. Fearing the consequences of nuclear attack, there was no central computer holding vast amounts of data, rather the information was dispersed across thousands of machines. A set of rules, of protocols, known as TCP/IP was developed to allow disparate devices to work together. The original network has long since been upgraded and expanded and TCP/IP...

Birth Of Communication

Outline I.     It is important to reflect one’s own national and cultural identity to understand what is different among people of different nations.  History teaches us that culture always changes because of internal or external influences, even our own cultures and values change over time.  Our world today is a world in which people from different nations and cultures are getting closer and closer because of economical and political reasons.  Because cultures are becoming closer, communication is the most important quality for anyone to work on if they want to work in the international society.  The history of communication and the relationships that were formed in the early part of worldwide communication still reflect the relationships held between nations today. The question is how have cultural differences evolved as technology increased?   Although many things have indeed changed in individual cultures and values, the knowledge of how communications work ...

...to make decisions that are most beneficial for the company by looking at the company’s current state and showing where the company may be X years from today.   The gap analysis approach recommends that top management view IT as a strategic implementation that requires a vision of the future organization. This is a three-step process: evaluating the current state of the organization, proposing a vision of the future, and conducting an analysis of the steps necessary to achieve the future vision. From this, management can develop and implement action plans that encompass all aspects of the organization. Some experts recommend adding a fourth step before embarking upon implementation: assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the vision to minimize unwanted side effects.   (Thach & Woodman, 1994, 17)

Companies that opt not to perform a gap analysis may make decisions that later prove to be disastrous.   The daily newspaper provides startling information relating to the layoff being implemented by Global Communication.   Could a gap analysis have prevented such an event from occurring?   The information presented below will reveal the results of a gap analysis recently performed for Global Communications.   Situation AnalysisIssue and Opportunity IdentificationThree years ago, Global Communication’s stock traded at nearly $28 per share.   As of today, their stock has depreciated by nearly

60% and now trades at $11 per share.   One of the reasons for the decline in shares is due to increased competition stemming from Cable Company’s partnership with telecommunication companies. While most telecommunication companies offered packages and features relating to telephone services such as local and long distance plans, the cable company enticed consumers and businesses with their bundled offer of   internet service, television programming, calling plans that include...

...in Business presents an overview of the five basic areas of information systems knowledge needed by business professionals, including the conceptual system components and major types of information systems.

Telecommunications Trends - Organizations are becoming internetworked enterprises that use the Internet, intranets, and other telecommunications networks to support e-business operations and collaboration within the enterprise, and with their customers, suppliers, and other business partners.   Telecommunications has entered a deregulated and fiercely competitive environment with many vendors, carriers, and services.   Telecommunications technology is moving toward open, internetworked digital networks for voice, data, video, and multimedia.   A major trend is the pervasive use of the Internet and its technologies to build interconnected enterprises and global networks, like intranets and extranets, to support enterprise collaboration, electronic commerce, and other e-business applications.

The Internet Revolution – The explosive growth of the Internet and the use of its enabling technologies have revolutionized computing a telecommunications.   The Internet has become the key platform for a rapidly expanding list of information and entertainment services and business applications, including enterprise collaboration and electronic commerce systems.   Open systems with unrestricted connectivity using Internet technologies are the primary telecommunications technology drivers in e-business systems.   Their primary goal is to promote easy and secure access by business professionals and consumers to the resources of the Internet, enterprise intranets, and interorganizational extranets.

The Business Value of the Internet - Companies are deriving strategic business value from the Internet, which enables them to disseminate information globally,...

...Common symbols, signs, and behavioral rules determine the effectiveness of communication, that is, the transference of intended meaning. Communication is an essential inherent feature of any organization, as it mediates knowledge management, contributes to decision-making, and establishes coordinated teamwork at tasks (McShane & Von Glinow 2004).       Importantly, as human beings, communication within a company serves relatedness needs. The psychological experience of connection with others, belongingness and identity with an organization mediate employee motivation and personal well-being. In turn organizational values, roles and norms are established that directly impact on the company's level and quality of productivity, services and customer focus (McShane & Von Glinow 2004).         Throughout the communication process noise is inevitable; factors exist that constrain and distort an intended message. Noise may be in the form of a psychological, social or environmental barrier. A psychological barrier such as information overload is due to the processing capability of the human cognitive system. Advancing technologies both assist and hinder human information management at the cognitive level. From a cross-cultural perspective prejudice and stereotyping are examples of psychological barriers to communication. Also at the cognitive level, encoding of the symbols of communication takes place, as cultural differences shape the interpretation of a message, they can also at times distort the intended meaning (McShane & Von Glinow 2004).         A social barrier is evident with current technology services that decrease inter-personal distance, and retain users'

anonymity, yet negate actual face-to-face experiences. Social barriers also exist when prejudice and stereotype about another's nationality or ethnic heritage exist. Alternatively,...

Artificial Intelligence

Perhaps one of the most complex pieces to the human puzzle is our sense ofhumor. A sense of humor not only involves intelligence and comprehension butalso an array of emotions. It is not enough to just understand somethinghumorous, but it is also necessary that an emotional and physiological responsebe able to occur for a person to have a sense of humor. However, though there ismuch involved in ‘‘getting’’ a joke, there are even more factorsinvolved in telling a joke (Ziv 27). This is, unfortunately, an oversimplifiedexplanation of what a sense of humor entails, as many people have their ownopinion about what a sense of humor is. It is possible that we may be able tomeasure the level of humor a joke has. It would seem that the greater thepositive reaction a joke can evoke and the larger the amount of people iteffects, the funnier a joke is. Conceivably then, it can be said that though itmay not be all too difficult to create a joke, creating a reall...