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New
material for media and teaching modules
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Use contents links below to connect
to specific material, posted chronologically. Boxed modules can be used for class
discussion and paper ideas or by reporters investigating
technology's impact on society. For modules posted between
August 2004 and May 2005, click here.
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| Note: Whenever possible, the most stable links have been selected for the postings below. As Interpersonal Divide explains, links vanish over time on the Internet, a dynamic but unstable medium. |
2006-06 Postings
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| "Addicted to Internet" Title: Scientists Study Internet Addiction Author: United Press International Citation: New Scientist Tech, 18 October 2006 URL: http://www.newscientisttech.com/ article/dn10322-us-internet-addicts-as-ill-as-alcoholics.html Description: This news release documents a comprehensive study whose results show that Internet addiction is widespread. Here is an excerpt: "Stanford University School of Medicine researchers, in what's described as a first-of-its-kind, telephone-based study, found more than 1-in-8 Americans exhibit at least one possible sign of problematic Internet use." Tip Sheet: Many passages in Interpersonal Divide predict outcomes of the above study. Here's a sample passage out of several in the book: "Indeed, children weaned on the high-tech commercialism of the 21st Century will have to overcome digital addictions, which threaten perception of community as never before. ..." Reporters and teachers should continue to monitor the usual outcomes of addiction, including rising divorce rates, accidents, child pornography, online gambling, compulsive shopping and the like. This study creates another empirical occasion to remind us about media and technology consumption, whose statistics keep rising. A report by the Middletown Media Studies at Ball State University found that media consumption is the number one life activity, with the average American spending more time with television, radio, music players and cell phones than doing anything else. Television remains the dominant medium with computer use a significant second. Americans are spending more than nine hours per day consuming some sort of medium or combination of media. Nielsen Media Research reports that television viewing in the U.S. has increased to 8 hours per day despite growing competition from technology. This new study at Stanford University’s School of Medicine reports that Internet users regularly remain online longer than they intended with many concealing their addictions from family, friends and employers. The digital cabaret of Internet provided refuge for 8.2% of respondents who went online to escape problems or bad moods. Other studies have documented symptoms of addiction that include sleep deprivation and decreased levels of physical activity and social interaction. |
2005-06 Postings
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| "Distracted Driving" Title: "Distracted Driving Main Crash Course" Author: Ken Thomas, The Associated Press Citation: Post-Gazette, April 21, 2006 URL: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06111/683964-147.stm Description: This article recounts data from a study showing that nearly 8 of 10 collisions of near-crashes involve a lack of attention while driving. The lead paragraph of this wire report acknowledges what Interpersonal Divide has been stating since 2004: "Distractions for
drivers are everywhere these days with the explosion of new
technologies. [Drivers] talk on their cell phones, check their e-mail
or send text messages. They get directions from their GPS system, pop a
CD into the stereo or change stations on satellite radio. They help
their kids with the backseat DVD player. ..."
The data also confirm Michael Bugeja's theory of the "expansion of the routine," the idea that access to technology gives consumers the false notion that there is something more interesting to do in virtual habitat than in real habitat. Dr. Bugeja notes that in Fall 2005 in Story County, Iowa, where he lives, emergency vehicles responding to tornado damage had to navigate through stopped cars whose drivers were taking cell phone photos of approaching cyclones. A source quoted in this AP news report states, "We see people on the roadways talking on the phone, checking their stocks, checking scores, fussing with their MP3 players, reading e-mails, all while driving 40, 50, 60, 70 miles per hour and sometimes even faster." Tip Sheet: Many passages in Interpersonal Divide predict outcomes of the above study. Here's a sample passage: In the 1990s, the news
media hyped cell phone safety, publicizing stories of car drivers
surviving natural and man-made ordeals because of the phone in their
pockets. Of course, as more and more drivers purchased cell phones for
safety reasons, increasing numbers of drivers became distracted using
them. ... More than any other technology, the cell phone epitomizes the
key concern of this book: Juxtaposed to the 9/11 use of the cell phone,
our typical use to order pizza while driving on the freeway seems,
well, frivolous. Granted, such use may quell appetites quicker--and
imperil us and others in the process. We bought mobile phones for
safety reasons and then use them for trivial reasons, putting lives at
risk. ... [p. 139]
This study creates another empirical occasion to remind the public
about driver inattentiveness caused by new technologies. An especially
powerful enterprise story or news package can use photojournalism or
video to capture drivers on the freeway using an array of devices. A
local story can chart the rise of driver inattentiveness fatalities or
accidents in records kept by the state patrol. For instance, the report
above notes that in 1996 only about 25 percent of crashes were due to
inattentiveness; now the percentage has skyrocketed to 80. The mindless
expansion of the routine is yet another story idea showcasing parents
who buy cell phones for children so that they will know their
whereabouts if they ever are abducted, a rare occurrence; but then use
cell phones in rainstorms while entertaining children in the backseats
of vans equipped with DVDs. Driving, of course, is one of the most
risky activities in which we engage with the likelihood of 1 in 100 of
each person being involved in a serious accident in the course of one's
life. Technology somehow undermines common sense because it touts
convenience over consciousness, reminding us of Interpersonal Divide's
cardinal rule: Ask why we bought a device in the first place, and
then assess how we are using it. If we do not ask and answer that
question, marketing will. Note: The above story ideas for reporters also are excellent discussion starters for classroom use. |
| "Virtual Visitation" Title: “'Virtual' Visitation Pushed in Several States” Author: Ann Sanner, The Associated Press Citation: USA Today, February 28, 2006 URL: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2006-02-28-virtual-visitation _x.htm?POE=TECISVA Description: This widely distributed wire report discusses the pros and cons of "virtual visitation," or an evolving set of laws that allow non-custodial divorced parents to keep in touch with their children via e-mail, video conferences, and instant messaging. The lead source in the story is a father who reportedly said of his child: "When she gets off the plane, I know what she had for dinner last night. She'll run right up to me and jump in my arms because I know exactly what she's all about." Among other benefits, advocates of virtual visitation state that non-custodial parents are more apt to pay child support if they have virtual visitation rights, which were passed in Utah in 2004 and are pending in such states as Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Virginia. Virtual visitation has skeptics, too. David L. Levy, director of the Children's Rights Council, states, "Real parents need real time. Real kids need real time. It can be a wonderful accessory, but the danger is that it will be used as a substitute for real visitation." The topic illustrates what virtual communication does best--encourage interpersonal contact--and what it does worst: substitute rather than supplement. When the digital world substitutes for the real world, a host of legal and ethical complications typically occur. There are other concerns about virtual visitation that need to be addressed before the courts follow Utah's example and write this into law. Tip Sheet: The above AP article assumes that young children benefit by virtual visitation and that older children, especially teenagers, are not engaging in this already by virtue of cell phone, e-mail and instant messageing. See USA Today reporter Sharon Jayson's story on the Pew Internet Research study that reported 42 percent of adults interviewed disclosed that they have daily contact with parents. (That study purportedly documents stronger family bonds, primarily noting an increase in cell phone and other digital contact with parents compared with 1989 statistics.) However, the study also states that 42 percent of the 18- to 29-year-old demographic reported an argument with a parent. These two data, involving quality of contact with potential for argumentation, are significant with respect to virtual visitation. Point one: quality of contact. Interpersonal Divide notes that since the Internet revolution parenting seems to have moved from "family time, to quality time, to media time," with custodial caregivers apt to occupy their children through virtual rather than interpersonal contact. To its credit, the Pew study mentioned earlier cited statistics pertaining to divorce, with 82 percent of married respondents satisified with family life as opposed to 61 percent of unmarrieds. Although no statistic is provided on page 7 of the report, the study stated: "Among unmarrieds, those who are divorced or separated are less satifistied with family life than are widowed or never married." Divorce, in itself, implies dissatisfaction with family life, and that can lead to increased levels of argumentation, which digital technology can document or record, leading to an array of interpersonal complications. Point two: potential for argumentation. Those who have questioned virtual visitation, which include David L. Levy above and state Rep. Ruth Munson of Illinois, do not cite argumentation and legal ramifications of that as a complication of non-custodial agreements. As Interpersonal Divide points out, particularly in the section on "the Seven Habits of Highly Mediated People" (pp. 66-70), relying on the virtual world to fulfill real-world needs comes with specific risks that may lead to legal entanglements in divorce decrees. There will be a digital record especially in e-mail and chat concerning falsehoods, losses, desires, motives, and blame. Video conferences can be digitally recorded. As such, the ultimate risk of virtual visitation, depending on the scope of infraction, will be the loss of (a) interpersonal visitation for the non-custodial parent and (b) custodial rights for the primary caregiver. Questions: 1. Risks vs. rewards. What are worst-case risks concerning quality of contact and potential for argumentation that use of computer and other digital technologies may inadvertently trigger among divorced parents and children? What factors of discretion and other values discussed in Interpersonal Divide must be spelled out in decrees and/or practiced by all parties in the divorced or separated family? 2. Unintended judicial consequences. Are the courts prepared to handle an increase in caseloads in addition to other legal complications associated with virtual visitation? (The Utah court system needs to assess the impact of its current law in this regard.) From experience judges know that interpersonal visitation by itself can result in complications requiring legal attention. Thus, the addition of virtual as well as real habitat to a decree is only going to increase the frequency of such complications, one of which is "there is no 'there there'" in the digital world, making unclear what jurisdiction would be responsible in disputes involving two or more states, especially with the mobility of omnipresent communication technology. 3. Ethical considerations. Is law the best remedy for lack of discretion in cases where virtual infractions occur? The corporate world, which now vends cell phones to children and has saturated the teen market, already has created the technological environment for contact among children and non-custodial parents. How will virtual visitation as a matter of law rather than as a matter of discretion address the myriad moral and character issues that are bound to arise among divorced and estranged parents and their offspring? 4. Social class considerations. Prominent Des Moines, Iowa, attorney and educator Barbara Mack questions whether the concept of virtual visitation presumes wealth. "What is the impact on parents who are not wealthy enough to have high-speed Internet access and web cams?" Mack notes that relatively few advocates and skeptics have discussed this social-class aspect of virtual visitation, "the fact that this is very expensive technology that is not available to many (perhaps a majority) of divorced parents." She adds, "This could be one place where technology has again outrun the law and justice--two very different concepts." These questions and others are pertinent as we investigate new laws that treat the digital world as an extension of the real world. (A case can be made that the real world is an extension now of the digital one, but that is a topic for another occasion.) The lesson here, as stated throughout Interpersonal Divide, pertains to marketing. Again, as is usually the case with Internet innovations, those promoting virtual visitation are painting a rosy, best-case picture to advance an option that hitherto relied on real-world contact and is as likely to cause complications as resolutions. |
| "Syracuse
Facebook Fiasco" Title: “Facebook Face Off ” Author: Rob Capriccioso Citation: Inside Higher Ed, February 14, 2006 URL: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/02/14/facebook Description: This article recounts an online incident at Syracuse's Facebook social network in which students had harsh comments about a writing teacher. Here is an excerpt: "“Clearly Rachel doesn’t know what she’s doing, ever ... and neither does Syracuse’s Writing 105 program for hiring this loser grad student who loves to pronounce her Ws obnoxiously. Rachel, I’m sorry, you really suck.” That is tame compared to other comments on the site, a digital photo of which Inside Higher Ed shares on a link in the above piece. The students were expelled from the writing class and put on academic notice. Sources in the piece debate whether the students enjoyed due process and whether this is a First Amendment and/or ethics issue. Tip Sheet: The Facebook phenomenon in this piece and in ones found on this site in the "latest news" link (Jan.-Feb. 2006) also probe free speech vs. ethics. Discussion, a paper or news story can focus on these issues: 1. Does a university have the right to punish students for online speech? 2. If so, are those punishments clearly spelled out in the Student Handbook? 3. Should students know better about posting unethical material on Facebook or other social networks? 4. Do they believe there are no consequences to free speech? Finally, discuss this and other Facebook issues in context with Interpersonal Divide, especially "The Seven Habits of Highly Mediated People" (pp. 66-70) and the value of discretion in Chapter Eight's Journal Exercise (pp. 175-76). |
| "Study: Cell Phone Stress" Title: “Cell Phones Tied to Family Tension ” Author: Amy Norton Citation: Reuters, January 6, 2006 URL: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=1473582 Description: This wire report cites a study that affirms what Interpersonal Divide has been documenting all along. The report states that with cell phone and other round-the-clock mobile technologies, "the line between work and home begins to blur. Work life may invade home life — when a parent is taking job-related calls at home, for instance — or household issues may start to take up work time." Compare that study's assessment with this statement from the text (Chapter One, "Displacement in the Global Village," pp. 16-17): Far from making life more convenient and
work easier, media and technology have blurred the boundaries between
home and
work so that work intrudes on family and family on work to such extent
that
many of us no longer know where we are—literally. Employers use email,
voice
mail, and mobile phones to interrupt activities from sex to camping on
weekdays
and holidays, in the name of productivity. Conversely, children and
spouses
interrupt business meetings with inquiries about when to order pizza
and what
to put on it, in the name of convenience. Productivity and convenience
are
banes, not benefits, for typical consumers. Machines that promise them
obscure interpersonal
boundaries, placing individuals in virtual habitats at odds with
physical
circumstances.
The study was done by Noelle Chesley, an assistant professor
of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who states in
the Reuters report that a child may call mom at work, not to say that
he aced his English test but that the "microwave exploded." Her
findings are published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.
Tip Sheet: Cell phones not only blur the line between home and work but, for students, blur the boundaries of home-work, work-school, school-home, etc. The following exercise can be done by students or a select group of sources that reports results to the reporter: Teachers might ask each member of the class to keep a weekly journal of the place he or she is when they receive a cell-phone call and the activity that they are engaged in--for instance, listening to a lecture in class when a housemate calls about the Cingular bill or driving home for the weekend on the Interstate when a supervisor calls to request that she return for additional work hours. Ask students (a) why they accepted the call, (b) where they felt they were at the moment the virtual contact was made, (c) how they handled the displacement and (d) what consequences ensued because of the displacement. Collect anecdotes each time you do this exercise and share them with the entire class to showcase the frequency and ramifications of digital displacement. |
| "Marketing Communities" Title: “EchoStar Gets Town to Change Name to Its Ticker: DISH ” Author: None listed Citation: Bloomberg News, November 16, 2005 URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=av4xhwU7xgeI&refer=us Description: This short article reports that a Texas town, Clark, changed its name to DISH in exchange for 10 years of free satellite television. The marketing ploy occurred in part because of competition. As the article states: "EchoStar is using the contest to publicize its Dish Network as it is confronted with greater competition from DirecTV Group Inc., the biggest satellite-TV provider, as well as cable and telephone companies. Residents of Clark, located north of Dallas, don't have access to cable and most subscribe to satellite TV." The article also notes that other towns have changed names before as part of a marketing strategy, including Half.com, Oregon, and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The mayor of Dish, Texas, states that the town is proud if its new name, which will provide a heritage for the community. Tip Sheet: This story not only illustrates the extent of the interpersonal divide but also the ultimate search for community in a technological age: a town that changes its name as part of a marketing plan in exchange for television on demand. Note as well that other towns that changed their names did so in association with Internet (Half.com) and TV (Truth or Consequences). Students and/or sources can discuss how far we have come in so short a time from the research names that Tannis MacBeth Williams gave Canadian communities in her watershed study on television (pp.93-94)--Notel, Unitel, Multitel. Also consider the difference between DISH Network's soliciting towns in a promotional campaign to rename communities, as part of a revenue initiative, and the newspapers that routinely adopt the names of the communities that they cover, such as The Anniston Star, because they chronicle the historical records of those towns. Also note that U.S. towns historically were named after principles in our charter documents, such as Independence, Missouri, or Liberty, Kansas, or the statesmen that stood for those principles, such as Jefferson City, Missouri; Madison, Wis.; or Washington, D.C. |
| "Skewed College Admissions" Title: “Efficiency or Mediocrity?” Author: Scott Jaschik Citation: Inside Higher Ed, November 2, 2005 URL: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/11/02/online Description: At a College Board meeting Theodore A. O’Neill, dean of admissions at the University of Chicago, spoke out strongly against online applications which, he said, trigger “generic” and “boring” essays because the medium favors a cookie-cutter approach. O’Neill predicted that overuse of technology would result in a national centralized system of college placement, removing interpersonal factors that traditionally had been used to match students with institutions. O’Neill also spoke against Common Application, which can be used to apply to any of 276 colleges. Colleges who use this online vehicle also can earn extra points for their U.S. News ranking. O'Neill's take on technology is consistent with Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in a Technological Age. O'Neill fears the end of the face-to-face interview in college placement. He notes that technology prompted colleges to cut staff positions, requiring the need for more technology because the remaining staff have no time to do what their former colleagues did. This situation results in eliminating everything that technology cannot do and that people can. Tip Sheet: College is supposed to be an "interpersonal" experience, meeting new people from different backgrounds at residential institutions and feeling at home away from home. If that is the case, does it make sense to select a college online? Also consider these in-class discussions with students or a select group of sources:
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| "Cell Phone Monitoring" Title: “Missouri May Track Cell Phones for Traffic Data” Author: David A. Lieb Citation: Associated Press, October 15, 2005 URL: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1215441 Description: The Missouri Department of Transportation plans to track cell phones during traffic on its 5,500 miles of road to detect congested areas so that text messages can be sent to drivers, informing them about delays. Traffic monitoring can be done in a number of different ways, the article notes, using sensing devices; but those devices, located in physical rather than virtual habitat, need to be maintained. Thus, as we have seen elsewhere in Interpersonal Divide, especially with telemedicine (see pages 117-18), technology is being used for cost-effectiveness rather than social utility. The article also states: "The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) suggests that someone should notify cell phone owners that their phones are being monitored for traffic data. Privacy experts also worry that the traffic monitoring could later evolve into other uses perhaps to catch speeders or fugitives." The article also explains why cell phones have tracking device capability--so one mobile user can locate another mobile user to place a call; however, the ability to pinpoint people moving across real terrain has a variety of other uses, in which the government might take interest. Tip Sheet: Sources or students can discuss the nature of the cell phone's tracking ability, explained in the last sentence above. What military or government surveillance issues are associated with this device, especially since it has assimilated most other wireless technologies? While Missouri officials maintain there is no Big Brother approach, concerning their project, with respect to privacy--an issue throughout Interpersonal Divide--students and sources also might discuss these topics:
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| "Reality Programming" Title: “JetBlue passengers watched their own ordeal on live TV” Author: Roger Yu Citation: USA Today, Sept. 22, 2005 URL: http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztravel/2005-09-22-jetblue-passengers_x.htm Description: As this news story reports, passengers on JetBlue Flight 292 watched television coverage of their emergency landing on seatback TVs. Unlike reality programming, which allows viewers to live vicariously through characters on television in dangerous situations, such as "Cops" or "Fear Factor," these passengers were watching themselves in real danger. The plane's front wheel was turned at a 90-degree angle, causing the pilot to burn off fuel for several hours before making a successful landing at Los Angeles International Airport. Some passengers described the experience as "surreal." Others said anxiety levels increased as soon as the passengers began watching themselves on television. JetBlue markets its airline not by meals or perks but by seatback TVs offering an array of channels. The strange case references 9/11 victims using cell phones to contact loved ones, as mentioned in Interpersonal Divide, in addition to new plans to allow Internet connections on airlines. One airline captain states, "Pilots will have to communicate more. But there's also an increase in passenger responsibility. They're responsible for their own state of panic." Tip Sheet:: The above episode can inspire dialogue on Chapter Seven's discussion of reality programming and the concept of "consubstaniality" or vicarious involvement (pp. 143-44). Here is an excerpt from that section: Reality
shows play upon conscience and consciousness in a unique way, according
to the
rhetorical concept of “consubstantiality,” or vicarious involvement.
That
concept helps explain the public’s appetite for reality programming, a
two-dimensional but nevertheless powerful depiction of the world. When
we watch
a police chase, anticipating the imminent crash, we can put ourselves
in the
speeder’s car and simultaneously participate in and survive the
accident. Such
shows bore many viewers, but usually not ones who have been in chases,
namely
officers or speeders. For them, consubstantiality kicks in, and viewer
involvement intensifies.
Ask students or sources:
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| "Paper Mill
Infringement" Title: “New Tack Against Term Paper Providers” Author: Doug Lederman Citation: Inside Higher Ed, Sept. 2, 2005 URL: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/09/02/papers Description: This news story notes how Internet has popularized paper mill sites, comparing the proliferation with illegal spam and music filesharing. While laws have been passed to restrict the sale of term papers, the article states, "they’ve made relatively little headway in cracking down on the companies that sell term papers." Now this development: A graduate student named Blue Macellari filed a lawsuit in federal court against three Web sites, alleging that the sites and their Internet service provider violated copyright, committed consumer fraud and invaded privacy. The plaintiff also alleges that her reputation has been damaged because selling her work to a paper mill is a potential violation of the honor codes at universities she has attended or currently is attending. Tip Sheet: Students and sources can discuss how lawsuits like the one above have made an impact in filesharing of music, which also can violate copyright. (See this post concerning parents who bought computers for educational reasons being sued now because their children reportedly violated music copyrights.) Also discuss "proxy plagiarism," or the intentional creation of an essay for use by another, which can happen interpersonally as well as online, with the only difference being that the online version can be sold multiple times through various the paper mills. Also discuss how Macellari's essay above made its way into the databank of paper mill. (She posted the paper on her Web site, a friend googled her last name, and the links to the paper mills were discovered.) Ask students or sources:
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| "Virtual
Camping" Title: “Digital Life: Connected Camping” Author: Kate Shatzkin Citation: Baltimore Sun, August 14, 2005 URL: http://startribune.com/stories/535/5551525.html Description: This article reports about children bringing gaming gear, videos and other electronic gadgets to camping trips, often spurred by their parents' and grandparents' use of technology, even while on vacations in the so-called "wild." Additionally, the report cites camp officials who are succumbing to the techno trend in order to maintain their numbers of annual visitors to state parks. One such official is quoted as saying, "My first reaction was: never. ... These places are meant to be a getaway. But then it's, 'Come on, Rick, people have cell phones. People have gadgets. People have motor homes. They have TV." Attendance at state parks has fallen sharply in recent years. As this article states, such outings dropped 28 percent between 1998 and 2004. Ironically, given its name, the Outdoor Industry Foundation is searching for ways for outdoor lovers to use technology while on family "outings." It should be noted that the article does quote parents who do not allow technology on camping trips, exploring the woods with their children. Tip Sheet: Invite to class (or interview) professors and staff members from your local recreation department or rangers from a nearby state park to discuss the challenges of engaging children on camping trips and in outdoor settings. Also, while the above article discusses digital devices on camping trips, the car ride to the state park also is wired for entertainment, if not with DVDs then with laptops. See how Microsoft recommends breaking the road trip monotony in this essay. To facilitate discussion, then, chart how our virtual devices follow us from the family media center, to the family van, and to the family vacation. Ask your class or sources, "Have we moved from family time to quality time to media time?" Finally, what is the impact on engaging children in future environmental causes if their initial introduction to outdoor environs is substantially virtual? |
| "Internet's Impact" Title: “Professors Give Mixed Reviews of Internet's Educational Impact” Author: Jeffrey R. Young Citation: Chronicle of Higher Education, August 12, 2005 URL: http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=qk1rc0mpt87ghoazwwvaxf1rsvn4llu Description: This article summarizes results of a study that show that many professors believe Internet hampers the educational experience at colleges and universities. The article and the study itself are more extensive than summarized in this teaching module, and results also show some positive uses of Internet, including increased communication between faculty and students. However, results of the study also show that when asked whether the Internet altered the quality of student work, 42 percent of professors responded that they had seen a decline, "while only 22 percent said they had seen improvement." The study by Steve Jones at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Camille Johnson-Yale at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign surveyed 2,316 faculty members in May 2004. Dr. Jones is quoted in the article, noting that Internet has "increased the amount of communication and in some ways it's improved the quality of communication. But that, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily translate into increases or improvements in learning." The study also showed that student plagiarism was a top concern of professors, with some 44 percent stating that plagiarism "had increased in their students' work since the Internet has emerged, while 23 percent disagreed and 33 percent were undecided." Also, an overwhelming 83 percent said they spent less time in the library because of Internet, relying on digital databases and online journals and materials, and 94 percent allowed students to cite Internet sources in their papers. Tip Sheet: This study documents several suspicions in Interpersonal Divide, which was researched between 2001-03. This includes plagiarism concerns in mainstream journalism (Chapter Five, "The Disembodied Self"); the disengagement of students involved in online learning (Chapter Five, "Endangered Habitats"); the deserted library (Chapter Six, "McLuhan Revisited), and the half-life of Internet footnotes (Preface), among others. Concerning footnotes, Interpersonal Divide makes a connection between the half-life of Internet footnotes and the role of the library in community, a rich discussion topic: "Online citations have been accessed during a period between 2001-2003, and copies of each site have been provided to the editors. Links associated with some citations may cease to work in the future because domains lapse or Web page formats change—issues associated with the very subject of this book, a medium that endures in libraries, once the intellectual hub of American communities." For more on the halflife of Internet footnotes, click here. |
| "Grand
Theft Sex" Title: “Clinton seeks video game sex scene probe” Author: None listed Citation: Reuters, July 16, 2005 URL: http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/15/senate.videogame.reut/index.html Description: This article focuses on a request by New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the Federal Trade Commission to begin a probe into a modified version of the popular video game "Grand Theft Auto," which depicts graphic sex acts. According to the Reuters dispatch, Clinton wrote that sexually explicit video games was "spiraling out of control." She will be introducing legislation that would police sales of violent and sex-laden games to minors, imposing $5,000 penalties on retailers who sell such digital entertainment to underage children. The report also notes that the PlayStation2 version of this particular game sold more than 5 million copies last year, making it the No. 1 game of its type. The game's producer, upset that Sen. Clinton does not recognize the importance of creative expression, claims the sexually explicit modication to the program was caused in part by hackers. Tip Sheet:: For an update on other modules associated with this one, visit: http://www.interpersonal-divide.org/postings/200405postings.html#Violent_games about the psychological impact of violent video games or this one http://www.interpersonal-divide.org/postings/200405postings.html#Insinuate about advertisements being inserted into video games. The three modules, taken together, raise questions not only about appropriateness and social consequences of video games, but also about the converged media world--in this case, entertainment, sex, violence, hacking and government control--raising these questions: 1. Should marketing of Grand Theft Auto allow for more stringent ratings of "Mature" or "Adults Only" if the company allows hackers to modify the program? 2. Who is responsible for the online sexual content--and, just as important--for policing it? 3. Should the government intervene because of social consequences, or should it be prohibited from doing so because of "creative expression"? |
| "iPOD
Killing in NYC" Description: This news story is about the theft of an iPOD that led to the stabbing death of 15-year-old Christopher Rose in Brooklyn, New York. The reporters note: "The incident is part of a recent wave of iPod thefts, sometimes violent, that have swept the city. Police in April said that 50 iPods had been stolen since Jan. 1, compared with none over the same period last year." Tip Sheet: This development relates to material in Chapter Seven concerning a crime wave that swept New York City and other areas in 1990, when several youths were killed for their running shoes. (See "Icons and Idols," page 143.) The running shoes were associated with a sports celebrity, Michael Jordan. The iPODS are associated with music downloads. In that sense, both are generational symbols linked with entertainment. Beyond that, though, discuss how running shoes--symbols of physical mobility concerning health and the outdoors--contrast with iPODS, symbols of digital mobility. What does that tell you about the current generation and changing social mores? |
| "The
New Texting Wave" Description:
This article discusses the use of cell phones for texting, which it
defines as
“trading written messages over cell phones and other devices.” Why text
messaging is popular, what text messaging is used for, and some advice
and
instructions on text messaging are all included in the article. Janet
Kornblum
states that “text messaging combines the portability of cell phones
with the
convenience of e-mail and instant messaging” and that is why the use of
text messaging
is on the rise. In this article, various ways of using text messaging
are
discussed and quotes are included from individuals who use text
messaging in
those ways. Examples:
interactive entertainment, flirting and dating, instant
messaging, and political organizing. Kornblum discusses how businessman
Steven
Chan, who was interviewed for this article, uses text messaging. The
article
states that Chan asks people to text rather than call him. Chan uses
text in
such places as bars, class, in his car, and “on dates with his
girlfriend (she
doesn’t like it but tells him texting is better than talking).”
Tip Sheet: This article contains
information
pertaining to several chapters in Interpersonal Divide.
It discusses a digital
communication tool – text messaging – which requires no interpersonal
interaction between the participants. The article states that text
messaging is
becoming popular because of the convenience it offers. Interpersonal
Divide posits that the greater the convenience, the
greater the interpersonal consequences and ethical concerns.
Another
aspect of this article
that would generate relevant discussion pertaining to Interpersonal
Divide is how people are using text messaging. The
two uses described in this article that really demonstrate
interpersonal divide
are the use of texting for political organization and for flirting and
dating.
The topic of using texting for flirting and dating could spur a lengthy
Interpersonal Divide discussion on its
own. How has something as interpersonal as flirting and dating, an
activity
where subtlety and body language are essential, become technological?
Questions:
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| "Wireless
Woes" Title: “Wireless web puts personal data at risk” Citation: CNN, posted URL: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/06/21/hotspot.hacking/index.html Description: CNN reporter Daniel Sieberg investigates public “hot spots,” made up of almost 30,000 parks or cafes where wireless Internet access can be obtained. His work describes a frightening new type of hacking—one in which hackers piggyback onto another’s wireless Internet connection in these locations, enabling them to steal confidential information. Computer security technician Richard Rushing elaborates by saying, “It’s great to be able to sit somewhere and work without having any wires attached, no nothing attached, but you have that risk that it comes back to.” Sieberg also describes wireless theft: “There may be no wires attached, but the convenience still comes with strings.” Tip Sheet: This article complements the core concept of the interpersonal divide, noting, once again, that the greater the convenience, the greater the interpersonal consequences and ethical concerns. While technology creates an interpersonal divide, the loopholes that allow cyber hackers access only serve to widen this already wide chasm. This is the technological equivalent of the community pickpocket. Only, in the virtual environment, there is no touching of the victim. The crime becomes personless. The social more of mobile communication technology is—someone somewhere else, is more important than the person next to me. This mindset establishes a crime-ready zone in which the victim is unaware of the crimes about to happen next to him or her. Questions:
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| "Misdirected
Brain Cells" Title: “Study: Cell phones take up driver attention” Citation: CNN, posted URL: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/06/21/drivers.cell.phones.reut/index.html Description: New research
regarding cell phone use while driving indicates that drivers cannot
effectively handle these tasks simultaneously. Imaging tests of the
brain
conducted at
Tip Sheet: People
believe that the brain can handle visual and auditory tasks
simultaneously, but
the research shows: “When attention is deployed to one modality . . .
it
necessarily extracts a cost on another modality.” People using the
cell-phone
technology while driving are either not paying close attention to their
environment, their visual modality, or to the person to whom they are
speaking,
the auditory modality.
In
discussing the above article, make reference to the concept of split
consciousness found in Chapter 6 of Interpersonal
Divide, challenging Marshall McLuhan’s biological model and
replacing it
with a physical model to explain the consequences of multitasking. One
cannot
be in two places at the same time (and this applies to virtual and
physical
habitats).
Questions: Dr. Steven Yantis, the professor who led the study, states that people change “the volume on visual input and auditory input depending on where they were supposed to be directing attention.”
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| "CVSecurity" Title: “CVS pulls web service after data leak” Citation: MSNBC.com, posted URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8305849/print/1/displaymode/1098/ Description: CVS
Corporation, a drugstore chain, experienced a security hole that
allowed anyone
with the corporation’s loyalty credit card to access lists of the
purchases of
their 50 million card holders. Access to an emailed list of purchases,
sometimes embarrassing purchases such as condoms, could be easily
obtained.
Tip Sheet: This
story relates strongly to the concept of the interpersonal divide not
only
because the technological advances
serve to be damaging, but also because CVS has been able to amass much
personal
information about its customers. Katherine Albrecht, director of
Consumers
Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN), stated:
“This
underscores the amount of data—the very sensitive data—about us that
CVS has
been collecting.” Keep in mind that these cards were marketed for
customers to
receive discounts on purchases. Interpersonal
Divide notes that this is “the best case market scenario.” A bad
case
scenario would be if CVS had collected this information about
consumers,
violating their privacy. The worst case scenario is that these data
could be
stolen.
Questions:
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| "Overheard Online" Teaching module designed by Denise Gorsline Title: “Overheard Conversations and Jungle Guides” Author: Lisa Napoli Citation: New York Times, URL: http://tech2.nytimes.com/mem/technology/techreview.html Description:
Morgan Friedman was in a café in
Tip Sheet: Michael Bugeja’s Interpersonal
Divide has reminded us that we can misperceive reality because of
an
overuse of technology. We know we should
be concerned about the privacy of any information shared over the
Internet, but
now we have to consider what we say in face-to-face conversations, and
the
potential of their posting.
Questions:
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| "RFID:
Mark of Satan" Title: “An
Internet of Things: Is RFID the mark of Satan, a tool for Big Brother,
or just
a technology that could someday connect a billion inanimate objects to
the Web?”
Author: none
listedCitation: Newsweek Web Exclusive, posted URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3068871/site/newsweek Description: This
article discusses the technology of radio frequency identification
chips
(RFID). An RFID chip is a tiny silicon chip that can be placed in
objects or implanted
in people. This chip carries information that can be read by a device
called an
RFID reader. When objects or people pass by the reader, the information
contained on the RFID chip can be accessed. The first proposed use for
this
technology is placing the chip in merchandise in retail stores. A
reader would
be placed on every shelf to keep track of merchandise that is running
low and place
a restock order. Readers would also be placed at the check-out to
reduce the
amount of shop-lifting and allow consumers to walk by the check-out
with their
merchandise and have the total cost withdrawn from their account.
There are opposing sides to the use of
the RFID chip. Groups
for the use of the chips say they could be placed in money to reduce
counterfeiting.
Chips that contain a complete medical history could be implanted under
people’s
skin so hospitals could access someone’s medical records even if they
are
unconscious. Groups that are against the use of the chips are concerned
about
privacy. “Already civil libertarians are raising the issue that RFID
chips in
clothing–to take just one example–could be used to track individuals.”
Currently, there is a way to “kill” the RFID chips at the
point-of-purchase,
but the “killing” of these chips is a controversial topic, since “many
dreamers
envision exotic post-purchase uses for the tiny chip…A reader-equipped
washing
machine could properly adjust itself for the clothes that have been
loaded.”
Tip Sheet: This article contains information
pertaining to Chapter 5: The Blurring
of
Identity and Place in Interpersonal
Divide. More specifically, it ties in with the section “Mapping the
Consumer Genome” (pages 105-109), which discusses issues of privacy and
mentions
RFID technology. The article discusses the use of the RFID technology
to
simplify tasks and collect information. Retailers would no longer need
people
for inventory, ordering of merchandise, or point-of-sale transactions.
Consumers would no longer need to think about how to wash their clothes
or what
they were running out of in their fridge. All for the sake of
convenience,
which, as discussed in Interpersonal
Divide, has interpersonal and ethical ramifications. Such as,
consumers
could be tracked and information collected through RFID chips located
in
clothing purchased or even implanted in the body.
Questions:
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| "Wiki Gone Awry" Teaching module designed by Cindy Larson-Casselton, North Dakota State University Title: Descriptions:
This
article discusses how the
Tip Sheet: Developers offer that the Wiki is evolving in such an open way that they allow for a small number of people to make an impact as a collective community. Wikis seem to be best suited for factual information where the content can become accurate because of the contributions made by a group. This concept of the importance of community is connected to Chapter Eight in the Interpersonal Divide. Wikis seem to be a way of democratizing the news process. Questions:
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| "Virtual
Commencement" Title: “ Citation: PRNewswire, posted URL: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050620/clm040.html?.v=13 Description: In a recent news release,
Tip Sheet: Do our academic ceremonies, such as
commencement, create a sense of
identification with the university as physical place? At this juncture,
the instructor
may try to tease out from the students their thoughts on commencement:
do the
students plan on participating in commencement? If so, why? If not, why
not? Is
it important for them for their family and loved ones to attend and
participate
in such rituals with them? Do they foster a sense of shared community?
In
Chapter Five, “The Blurring of Identity and Place,” of Interpersonal
Divide, Bugeja warns of the potential psychic
consequences of how technology places us in two places at once.
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|
"Burglars and Web Tours" Title: "Web tours a boon for burglars" Author: David Lazarus Citation: The San Francisco Chronicle, posted 3 Junel 2005 URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/06/03/BUGF9D2MK51.DTL Description: This article investigates a largely unexplored phenomenon concerning virtual reality facilitating crime in physical reality: Web tours of homes for sale that allow burglars to case a residence without being on the scene themselves. Journalist David Lazarus not only quotes sources on the phenomenon but also describes the experience: "In houses selling for millions of dollars, I saw a wide variety of art objects and attractive furnishings. I saw the places in people's bedrooms where jewelry or other valuables likely would be kept. And I saw front entrances that clearly didn't have alarm panels. Side windows that could be opened easily by breaking a single pane. Kitchen doors that didn't look very formidable." Lazarus also notes that Web tours, while convenient, also are convenient for potential burglars. Tip Sheet: This column is appropriate for Interpersonal Divide for several theoretical reasons associated with convenience, marketing and privacy concerns. Concerning convenience, a core principle of the text is found on pages 16-17: "Machines that promise convenience obscure interpersonal boundaries, placing individuals at odds with physical circumstances. That defines displacement. That creates the interpersonal divide." Computer-assisted marketing often creates such complications, another core principle of the book. This is covered in several sections, including the history of technology, in chapter four, where it is expressed as a rule: "The greater the convenience, the greater the impulse to misuse the technology" (page 87). Class discussion can also center on privacy concerns. See page 144: "Homes have several virtual ports of entry. Safety is not assured. Privacy is at risk--not only in what we transmit but also in what we surveil inside our domiciles. Surveillance technology has combined with computer software, adding new meaning to the word 'monitor.'” Questions:
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