Exclusion and communication in the information age
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by Sohail Inayatullah and Ivana Milojevic
Many say that with the advent of the web and internet, the future has arrived. The dream of an interconnected world in the physical work becomes important and least knowledge creation becomes the source of value and wealth appears to be here. For cyber-enthusiasts, the new information and communication technologies increase our options. Bill Gates believes that "will affect the world seismically, rocking us in the same way as the discovery of the scientific method, the invention of printing, and the advent of information age did. "[1] Author of Being Digital, Nicholas Negroponte writes that" while politicians struggle with the baggage of history, a new generation is emerging in the digital landscape free of many of the old prejudices. These children are freed from the constraint of geographical proximity as the sole basis of friendship, collaboration, play, and the neighborhood. Digital technology can be a natural force drawing people into the harmony of the world's largest. "[2] Douglas Rushkoff believes that computers are creating a generation gap between the" screenagers "and others, that is screenagers most important skill of all multi--task, select and do many things at once (of course, not forgetting that women have always had to do many things at the same time taking care of home and children, as well as other types formal and informal work). [3] In any case, ICTs are creating a new world, a truly interactive world democratic.
For advocates, the new technologies reduce the power of big business and big government, creating a vast frontier for creative individuals to explore. "Cyberspace has the potential to be egalitarian, to bring everyone into an array of the network. It has the ability to create community offer countless opportunities for communication, exchange and keep in touch. A "[4] cybertechnologies allow greater interaction between the creation of a global ecumene. They create wealth, in fact, a jump in wealth. New technologies promise to transform a society where the future is always attractive, a new discovery is annual. [5]
Critics, however, argue that there is a world of communication to transpire but a world of people downloading the emotional turmoil of others. Write Zia Sardar, "Far from creating a community based on consensus, information technology could easily create states of atomized and alienated individuals, glued to his computer terminal, terrorizing and being terrorized by those whose values \u200b\u200bconflict with their own. "[6]
social Kevin Robbins Scientific is not convinced that our life will be changed significantly by the information revolution, but believes that information and communication technology (ICT) simply replaces the hype classical opium of religion and the modern idea of \u200b\u200bprogress. In fact, Robbins, new technology impoverish our imagination of alternative futures, especially the geographical imagination. Focusing on the distance, citing Robbins Heidegger reminds us that the final distance is not the creation of closeness, intimacy, community. "We are happy to live in a world of distancelessness` uniform ', ie in an information space rather than a place of vitality and experience. "[7] It is the illusion of the community in which we can build communities Virtual far and away, but still mistreat our neighbors, partners and children.
But, writes Robbins, rather than destroy the beauty of the geography, the techno-optimists, such as Bill Gates, Nicholas Negroponte and others remove space for critical commentary (customizing the speech to see critics as a mere negativity permeated much well), that is, to create futures that are different. critical commentary, however, is not simply to be pessimistic or optimistic, but a matter of survival. As Paul Virilio writes: "The work on the` 'resistance, because there are too many "collaborators", once again tells us salvation through the advancement and empowerment, about man (sic) that is released of all restrictions. I "[8]
Formerly Comte positive science that would solve all the problems of religion, difference and now with the end of the Cold War, which liberal democracy is. Michael Tracey in his essay "Twilight: illusion and decline in the communications revolution," writes that it is no coincidence that just at the moment "the planet is being built on the powerful, omnipresent throughout the logic of market consumption, there is a second-order language, a fairy tale ... which suggests in Utopian terms new possibilities, in particular, which presents the new alchemy of "network." [9] What was the progress is now singing the song of cyberspace-the love of democracy, the evil of poverty, everything will be delivered, all will be redeemed, virtuality is "here".
Thus, while the Internet helps connect many people (especially the North) and supplies much needed information (especially important in the south) also represents a specific form of cultural violence. While intended to create a worldwide community of peers, so the identification based on age, appearance, race, (dis) ability, class or gender less relevant, too, by promoting, improving and consolidating the existing forms of communication, billions of people rests.
Exclusion
Some of the excluded are non-English speaking countries, the nations 'irrelevant' and peoples, national, religious and ideological minorities, poor and poor countries poor in rich countries, most women, most aged and disabled, and almost all children (though certainly not Western screenagers). In the 21 st century most of the world population will remain muted. The fact will remain that of the strongest and most powerful. The new communication technologies will further enhance the differences between rich and poor, between men and women and between the world and its most closely defined as "the West." And once the poor, if the world and women to catch up with the dominant forces will be on their terms and will be in your language.
Women and global conversations
Before mourn for our lost cause, they (women, people who do not speak English, not as individuals technically oriented) can begin to think in terms of what exactly is muted, and what we can do about it. How can we participate in global conversations without losing our identity, our own understanding of reality, our speech, or our own language? How can we use the network without being used by it?
Women and others do not necessarily have to be disabled. Women have proven they can speak the language of their "enemy" (just like the North South). After all, that's what women learn in school, gather from books and all print media: the story of someone else, someone else's perspective and knowledge to someone else. Most feminists agree that to achieve this, women had both become bilingual (some successful and many through the process of destruction of otherness themselves) or leave their own traditional language. While it is not so clear what the traditional language that is, the obvious differences between women and men in ways of speaking are found to exist. Research generally shows that women ask questions whereas men make statements, that women talk about people and their feelings while men talk about things that women use more adjectives, more modal forms as perhaps "," a "," may ", and more questions and beginners labels carefully.
often emphasized that the language not only reflects but also perpetuates and contributes to gender inequality, and through the hierarchy of language between the genders is "usually established and maintained." Feminist researchers found that men are more likely than women to control the conversation as women do "work support" a kind of "cooperation talks" to express common concern of the other participants in the conversation. The main solution for the transformation of the current division of work conversation between the sexes can not be only in the area of \u200b\u200blanguage, because even most of the terms "neutral" can always be appropriated by the dominant culture (as the meaning of the word "no" can be built upon the sense of "maybe" or "wait a bit.") Susan Ehrlich and Ruth King writes: "Because the linguistic meaning are largely determined by social values \u200b\u200band attitudes dominant culture, the term was originally introduced as a non-sexist and neutral may lose its neutrality the "mouth" of a patriarchal discourse of the community and / or culture. " The organization of words and ideas into knowledge is done similarly in the context of male power, where women were made invisible, their existence is denied or distorted forms of knowledge and issues of interest marked irrelevant. While many feminist linguists are trying to reinvent the emancipation of women and support language through linguistic interventions, it is clear that this must be done simultaneously with the political, economic and cultural rights in the areas of knowledge, language and the written word. The question is: Can
While it is obvious that women can and should use the dominant language, is also said that women prefer "softer", more intuitive and face to face approaches. In a future controlled women, the oral tradition, body language, sounds, dreams, intuitive and psychic forms of communication, possibly, would be equal to the written text, or at least not suppressed. Perhaps in a society where women in all levels and in all those areas that would be required "dress Barbie" video games so that more girls interested in new information technologies. Maybe the new software would be more interactive and more user (female / other) friendly communication technologies and new might be completely different. Might not be as individualized, and perhaps would take Netweaving place in a context of community groups or environment and not in a context of alienated individuals. Priorities clearly lie elsewhere: in the quality of life for most people with the highest value.
Therefore, there is and can be even more progressive dimensions of new technologies. As Fatma Aloo of
What is needed then is the creation of a progressive information society. It would be a global system that was very different in how they view knowledge, appreciating the genre in different ways and to the civilization of the real. Do not just be technical, but emotional and spiritual and, finally, that knowledge to create better human conditions, to reduce dukha (suffering) and realize moksha (spiritual liberation from the bonds action and reaction). The challenge is not only to increase our capacity to produce and understand information but to increase the capacity of the deeper layers of the mind, particularly in the development of what is called Tantric philosophy vijinanamaya kosa (where it touches the knowledge of what is eternal and temporal). Indeed, although the web is less rigid than a library, not the information technology to free up some take-spiritual energies and shamanistic dissenting spaces are not allowed. Of course, underlying an alternative vision of an information society is a commitment to PRAM or a dynamic equilibrium in which internal and external "Man / woman" are balanced spiritual and material.
global conversation with a Gaia of Civilizations
So imagine and help create social spaces for new technologies and participate in permit arrival of a truly global civilization, a pram, gaia of cultures, one where there are deep multiculturalism, where not only political representation and economic wealth have been improved, but the foundation of civilization: the epistemologies of varied cultures, women and men who see me and the other flourish. To begin to realize this, we need first a critical review of information policy. We must ask ourselves if the information we received is true, if it's important, what are its implications, and we are sending information. We must also determine whether you can participate in a conversation with the information sent to the question, reveal their cultural identity and gender context, to discern if the information is about dialogue, for communication. Thus the need to seek ways of transforming information to communication (going far beyond "interactivity" promises the website), the creation is not a knowledge economy (which mutes the differences in wealth), but a communicative economy (where differences are explored, revealed some, others went to).
This, plus the critical participation of the assumptions beyond the discourse of information, we also need to expand the limited rationalist discourse in which "information" resides. What can we learn from other indigenous cultures such as the Indian Tantric is that new electronic technologies are just one of the technologies of the possible creation of a global space. In fact just act in the most superficial level of materialism. As important as cyberspace is a space microvita [10] or the noosphere being created through the imagination of our world through our collective consciousness more and more shared.
Indeed, while the reality of the information age is one of exclusion, the potential for future joint communication, remains. To do this will require much more communication means sharing what we have known and levels much greater, in light of the many ways we know and learn from each other. Although highlighted the power structures that create the settlement, we must also recognize the personal action, which particularly need to be much more sensitive to how we project our individual dark side of civilization and others . The information was further magnify our assumptions of innocence and other free-as-guilty unless we begin to reveal our complicitness soliloquy in passing conversation.
If the information can transform communication, the web, then maybe they can participate in the historical process of decolonization to give communities and individuals in the general context of the universal global human, economic, environmental and cultural negotiation.
References
Ibid., 199. Cited by Gates, Bill (1995) The Road Ahead, Viking, London, p. 273.
Ibid., 200. Quoted from Negroponte, Nicholas (1995), Being Digital, Hodder and Stoughton, London, p. 230.
Rushkoff, Douglas (1997) Children of Chaos, HarperCollins, New York.
Spender, Dale quoted in Caramel Shute (1996) "Women with Byte 'Association Review Women
Serageldin, Ismail (1996) "Islam, science and values," International Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 9, No. 2, Spring, pp 100-114 compiles an impressive array of statistics. " elements
Sardar, Zia (1996) "The future of democracy and human rights, 'Futures, vol. 28, No. 9, November, p. 847.
Robbins, Kevin ( 1997) "The geography of political communication and optimism in Danielle Cliche, ed. Cultural Ecology: the changing nature of communications, International Institute of Communications, London, p. 208.
Ibid., 210. Quoted from Virilio, Paul (1996) Cybermonde,
Tracey, Michael, 'Twilight: illusion and decline of the communication revolution in Danielle Cliche, ed. Cultural Ecology: the changing nature of communications, International Institute of Communications, London, p. 50.
For example, as mystical PR Sarkar reminds us that behind our actions is intentional microvita agency, the basic substance of existence, which is both mental and physical, mind and body. Microvita can be used for the minds (the image of monks in the Himalayas is sending positive thoughts organizing metaphor here, as is the Muslim prayer in unison around the world with the direction and focus) to change the vibration levels in humans, making them more sensitive to others, nature and the divine. And as Rupert Sheldrake and Elise Boulding remember, such as images and beliefs of a diverse world become more common, it is easier to imagine a world and live as a world, as a universal family happy. See Sheldrake, R. (1981) A New Science of
is the associate editor of New Renaissance and the research currently principal investigator in the Communication Centre, Queensland University of Technology. Box 2434, Brisbane 4001, Australia. Tel: 61-7-3864-2192. Fax: 61-7-3864-1813. Email: s.inayatullah @ qut.edu.au
Ivana Milojevic, previously Assistant / Associate Professor of
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