COMM 2377 - MODERN ASIA MAJOR ESSAY

Topic: What roles have technology and the internet played in modernizing Asia?

Lecturer: Terry Hartney Name: Doan Thi Thu Thuy s3220864

At the end of ninetieth century and early the twentieth century, the technological revolution broke out strongly including the outstanding development of information which made a lot of changes in society of many countries in the world. At the end of twentieth century, a technological revolution began to reshape and concentrate on information technologies with accelerated pace and the material basis of society (Castells 1996: 1). This revolution affected broadly and deeply in economy, politic, culture and changes in the thinking of people, lead to the phenomenon of globalization in every country in general and Asia in particular. The essay will focus on the role of technology and the internet in modernizing Asia or the importance of technology to the modernization of Asia, in particular the Internet. The development of Internet as a global technology, which is considered helping to cross out the boundaries in economy and culture between Asia countries with Western countries in modernizing period. Asian modernity is engaged in globalization on the basis of a strong combination of internal and international factors. So, what is Globalization? As Ronald Robertson (1992, p.8) defined concept of globalizations as referring Globalisation has been defined as a process of social change which refers both to the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole. According to Appadurai (1996), he offers a new frame of modernity to examination globalization so the world is growing smaller gradually. Internet is considered as global communication and information technology, a network society. Whether developments in information and communications technology are leading to a global network society, it is an issue having considerable debate. In the book Understanding Cultural Globalization, the author presents the point that networks are distinct from other forms of social organization and have become the dominant organizational mode. The dominant economy and political influence of multinational company into the role of government, as well as the essence of globalization in 20th century is the raise of economic group breaking out barriers for the international economic integration. Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have ensured the rapid circulation of increased information flows not only in one country but around the world in integration global, and it changed the relationship between the time and space in network society. Having the same point with the book Understanding Cultural Globalization, Thomas L. Friedman in the book The World is Flat displays his point about the role of technology as well as importance of Internet and its interrelationship with Globalization in the

development of Asia countries. He also realizes the changes in society and even in the thinking of people in network society which making the modernizing in Asia. In his book, Friedman emphasizes the grow of globalization 3.0 in the early of 21th century when the influence of 10 elements relating to the economy, technology and science in the world interactively, which make society and politic of many countries change and the world become flat ever than before when the contact of individual becomes easily and more closer particularly developing country in Asia. The book discuss about the elements making the world become flat, blurring the boundaries between Western country and Asia country. Technology and the internet are the tools to help the globalization remarkable increase. Globalization 3.0 the thing that gives its unique character is the new found power for individual to collaborate and compete globally. Friedman considers the role of technology and internet in flat world through the events such as the collapse of Berlin Wall in 11/9/1989 had created the new view of countries, it changed the thinking of the world to the whole global. In addition, due to the power of Windows went up and the invention of World Flow Software in 1991, which made the improving of globalization and brought the innovative of technology like PC, it created a good change for the revolution globalization generally and modernizing Asia in particular. In addition, due to the technology and internet, it aided interpersonal relationship closer. And the information technology revolution in 1970s in economic areas and entertainment, which make personal can approach digital products easily and inter-economic with others in the global. At last, he takes out a judgment that flat world system is a product of convergence between personal computer (people become the author of digital product) with cable (people can approach free digital product) and work processing software (allowing individual in the world cooperate in the same digital databases). Based on the elements of globalization, the author explores the changes in India and Dalian City (China) to show how Internet has affected their development and their culture. India was colonized by British and gained independence in 1947. After 1947, India had an economic growth but it still lower than other countries, had to cope with the destitution and quickly populations growth rate. However, throughout the social and economic reforms and policies that helped India developed and became outstanding as one of the thriving economy in 1990s. This thriving accompanied to the decrease of poor and education also overcome remarkably. Nowadays, India has taken advantage of crowded population who has high education and fluently English to become an important position about outsourcing, customer service and supporting technical program of global company. India also is a top exported

country about high human resources in area services such as finance, software and manufacture software. On the other hand, besides quickly changes of India in economy have influenced to the changes about the culture as well as in thinking of people. Bangalore is a typical economic city of India, it is called Silicon Valley of India a place concentrates the large number of multinational company in high technology trade. Bangalore city is considered a ground zero of the Indian outsourcing industry, and there are many companies in outsourcing service. For example, Rao - a native of Mumbai, formerly Bombay, whose Indian firm, MphasiS, has pioneered a work flow software program with a standardized format that makes the outsourcing of tax returns cheap and easy. He also has a team of Indian accountants able to do outsourced accounting work from any state in America and the federal government. Today, whatever jobs people have from doctor, lawyer or accountant, people have to know the way sharing work into different parts because anything that can be digitized can be outsourced to either the smartest or the cheapest producer, or both. Due to the jobs ask working through computer and network or just simply answer telephone or offer buying credit card. In US view, these do not have high salary or respected but in India it completely different. Because of these jobs, the large number of population in India not only the officer but woman who have pregnant or retired, also can be hired and this has solved almost financial difficulty and destitution of crowded population country as India. Glocer CEO of Reuters, said "India is an unbelievably rich place for recruiting people, not only with technical skills but also financial skills, Therefore, globalization help people in every position have a chance to catch up the internet and changes in technology to modernize in life-style. Do not please with they got, people continually go to study work at night (opposite time with USA) and study in day, so they have more chances to strive a better life. In India, the Youth are encouraged to study until 20 years old to get jobs in outsourcing centre. According to Asia values, Asian has hard work spirit because they want to have a comfortable life and escape the destitution. In addition, based on internet, people have their personal freedom to do whatever they like, expressing their self-identity. In the past, Indian is colonized by British and had to stand a lot of miserable so in the thinking of people, escaping from the poor and miserable and rise to a better life is their objective. "This is a high-stress environment," said Nilekani, the CEO of Infosys, which also runs a big call centre. "It is twenty-four by seven. You work in the day, and then the night, and then the next morning." But the working environment, he insisted, "is not the tension of alienation. It is

the tension of success. They are dealing with the challenges of success, of high-pressure living. It is not the challenge of worrying about whether they would have a challenge . That was certainly the sense I got from talking to a lot of the call center operators on the floor. Like any explosion of modernity, outsourcing is challenging traditional norms and ways of life. But educated Indians have been held back so many years by both poverty and a socialist bureaucracy that many of them seem more than ready to put up with the hours. The author claims. Friedman presents another example about the outsourcing service to affirm the importance role of internet and technology in this issue will be exanimate in his book the world is flat. However, in this case, to get the development as well as become modernity to integration with tendency globalization, people accepted to forget the conflicts in the past and cooperate to contribute a strong country. This is one of the typical proofs to prove that throughout social changes, Asian become modernity in their thinking firstly, after that changes in their daily life. When people look back, they may feel surprise about this chance. Dalian City (China) a Bangalore of China, it looks like Silicon Valley of American, is a symbol for the modern cities in China in development progress into knowledge centre than manufactured centres. Dalian to Japan is the same as Bangalore to American or the other countries speaking English: outsourcing centre. "The recruiting is quite easy," said Kenichi Ohmae, the legendary former McKinsey & Company consultant in Japan in early 2004. "About one third of the people in this region [around Dalian] have taken Japanese as a second language in high school. So all of these Japanese companies are coming in". The author also shows that Because of its proximity to Japan and Korea, each only about an hour away by air, its large number of Japanese speakers, its abundance of Internet bandwidth, and many parks and a world-class golf course (all of hich appeal to knowledge workers), Dalian has become an attractive locus for Japanese outsourcing. Japanese firms can hire three Chinese software engineers for the price of one in Japan and still have change to pay a roomful of call center operators ($90 a month starting salary). "I've taken a lot of American people to Dalian, and they are amazed at how fast the China economy is growing in this high-tech area," said Win Liu, director of U.S./EU projects for DHC, one of Dalian's biggest homegrown software firms. The question may be raised here: didnt Japanese once colonize China, and they had left a very bad taste to China. So, whether Dalian residents accept to work for the Japanese, whose

government has still never formally apologized for what the wartime Japanese government did to China? To explain about this issue, Dalian residents never forget that a historical war occurred between the two nations but when it comes to the field of economy, people only want to focus on the economic problems-especially if residents talk about the software outsourcing business. Friedman also raised the judgment about this problem: .Chinese doing computer drawings for Japanese homes, nearly seventy years after a rapacious Japanese army occupied China, razing many homes in the process. Maybe there is hope for this flat world From this point, people can realize that technology and the internet have played an important role in globalization particularly in outsourcing service. In the perception of Western, they considered Asian is un-developing countries in both economy and technology but through outsourcing services and hard working and self-sacrificed values in studying and apply technology in economy, these make Asia changing in Asia way and Western will surprise when they look back this development of Asia . it can be said that the internet has affected development of Asia country throughout globalization. According to suggestion of Appadurai about the changes Here & Now in modernity, he said the modern is global and global is modern, he confirms the unity of technology and network society in global. In his book Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, Appadurai also defines the impact of globalization which make the world become smaller, he explores boundaries between countries and suggests between how we imagine the world and how that imagination influences our self-understanding, between social institutions and their effects on the people who participate in them, between nations and peoples that seem to be ever more homogeneous and yet ever more filled with differences. Vital role imagination plays in our construction of the world. Asia becomes modernity in their thinking firstly. Asia countries are still developing process and in the first period of modernity. Therefore, the impact of internet has affected into their development not only benefit. According to J. Macgregor Wise in his book Cultural Globalization, he presents two different views on globalization: one more sanguine, one more dire. He has the same point with Friedman in this issue, based on the rise of internet and technology as well as the impact of globalization, the market in the world is smoother. The flat world permit people can connect all global knowledge centres into a one system opening a new sight between company, community and individual from man, angry woman, indignation and be humiliated.

Nevertheless, the misuse of high technology makes security information leak out, and individual can distort facts about information. The crimes, extreme Moslem and terrorist had exploited these technologies to provoke the conflict between religion and race. Besides that, there are many people who left in this race because they are not able to approach technology in the world. The poor countries are lagged behind in the integration. In addition, when world merges closer, the contact with many cultures and conflict in ethic group are inevitable. In this network society, million individual do not know their face each other can simultaneously provide and destroy information of the others, and these will create the conflicts relate to religion, ethic or culture. In conclusion, Modernity is inherently globalizing and globalization makes countries having integration about economy and culture. According to Giddens in book The consequences of Modernity, he states that the process in social change marks an overall movement toward one world, although they are continually fractured by war, all of these things because of modernity in globalization. The rise of internet also makes individual define their position and interconnection, this is completely different in comparison to the past. Goods move, People move. Ideas move. Culture change, the internet and technology affect Asian to change their thinking about culture and in everyday life-style due to the globalization in modernizing tendency. Word count: 2482 words.

References:
Appadurai, A. 1996, Here and Now , Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, pp. 1-23 Giddens, A., 1990, The globalizing of Modernity , the consequences of Modernity , Stanford University Press, California, p.64 -66 Hopper, P., 2007, chapter 3 Global Communication, Media and Technology , Understanding Cultural Globalization , Polity Press, USA, p.69,79 Gaonkar, DP 1999, On Alternative Modernities , Public Culture, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1 18. Paper reproduced in Gaonkar, DP, On Alternative Modernities, The New School for Social Research, viewed 12 February 2007. Friedman, T., the world is flat a brief history of the twenty-first century ,

published second, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007, p.1 -22 Wise, J., 2008, Cultural Globalization , Blackwell publishing, USA, p.29 Robertson, R.(1992), Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture , Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.