Final Paper

The evolution of technology in the global community throughout the past fifty years has brought about the most exponential advancement in communication people have seen in centuries. The invention of cellular telephones and the global connection forged by the creation of the Internet have collaborated to provide the world with nearly unlimited possibilities for communicating with incomparable efficiency. According to the organizationInternet World Statistics (Usage and Population Stats), over twenty-five percent of the World’s population is communicating over the Internet daily. This percentage is five times larger than the previous five percent discovered in December of 2000. Coupled with this statistic, it is forecasted that the World’s mobile telecommunication population is soon to involve over fifty percent of the population (ITU). It is apparent that technology has blossomed in the past few decades, and has enhanced the way we as a global community communicate.

The International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) prediction of fifty percent population cell phone use was a fairly conservative outlook in 2006. The ITU’s most recent data shows that nearly sixty-five percent of the global community actually uses cell phones as a vehicle to enhance their communication abilities. They also discovered that the demographics of cell phones vastly outnumber those of fixed landlines in every country in the World. In densely populated countries, such as the United States, the ratio of cell phones to fixed landlines is roughly 2:1. However, this ratio is far more drastic in remote countries where the population density is far less. For example, in Iraq the ratio is roughly 16:1, while in Afghanistan it is nearly 78:1.

The ability to span thousands of miles with communication is not the basis of this discussion, it is the ability to do so wirelessly and with mobility that makes this so revolutionary. In 1969, the first cell phone was made available to the public. This institution has quickly developed in the most widely used communication medium used today. It allows us to rapidly share information through text, picture, and voice messages almost at an instantaneous rate. Not to mention, the ability to have a direct and clear conversation at any location or time. People no longer have to be sitting in their living rooms to receive a phone call from their distant relative who lives hundreds of miles away. This outlet to the World travels with us, and constantly connects us to society, and exponentially increases the amount of communication billions of people partake in. “As technology advances and different forms of wireless communication unify into a single piece of equipment, the blending of public work and personal privacy also occurs. The technology of new cell phones seemingly increases personal freedom and mobility. (Javadi)”

With the influx of wireless communication, our society has reached new levels of potential that before couldn’t be comprehended. Each generation seems to have breakthroughs in technology that keep the world moving forward in intellectual progression. Our generation’s creation of the cell phone was, in fact, revolutionary. However, when communication seemed to be at the highest potential it could possibly reach, the introduction of the Internet amplified the previously established mobile technology present in our lives and added more intensive personable interaction through the World Wide Web. Hundreds of millions of people are socially interacting with friends, family, employees, business partners, and institutions instantly and with minimal amounts of effort. The Internet can provide its users with countless opportunities to communicate impersonally or directly.

E-mail is perhaps the most important means of communication manufactured through the institution and creation of the Internet. Electronic mail has basically taken the place of previous form of mail delivery, post. E-mail purposes countless privileges as apposed to manual post delivery. Messages can be sent in a matter of seconds rather than days, messages can be attached to unlimited contacts rather that only one, and messages can be sent free of any charge as apposed to postage fees. E-mailing from the comfort of your own home, office, or classroom has rendered postage almost obsolete in our society today.

Social networking websites have seemed to be the modern “powder-keg” of social communication today. Everyday we hear about some high profile celebrity posting a controversial, hilarious, or completely dim-witted twitter/facebook/myspace update that catches the public’s attention. This means of communicating branches even more profoundly into the average person’s life. As a college student people use these socially connected sites constantly to share information about their lives or seek information about others. These sites are also home to the previously popular instant messaging systems that we experienced in the 1990’s. Over seventy-one million people are connected through Facebook in the United States (Corbett). This statistic alone portrays the saturation these socially networking sites present in our society. People need to communicate. It is a basic need, and this is a very basic medium to achieve it.

Technology involving the Internet has progressed from impersonal messages merely incorporating text to the ability to maintain video and voice direct communication. The introduction of hardware such as web cams and software programs such as iChat, Skype, and MSN Messenger have provided people with opportunities to have direct vocal connection to others with video display as well. People can contact and see family members separated by great distances, while companies in the global economy can hold videoconferences with CEO’s who reside in different countries. To think of technology that our global society has and how well we can communicate wirelessly is absolutely mind-blowing.

Communication is one of the most basic and essential aspects we have in our lives. It is imperative that the progression and improvement of our communication techniques continues to improve and break down barriers. The past few decades have perhaps been the most influential years in our World’s recent history in regards to global unification and cohesion. Communicating will only continue to become more and more efficient as modern technology improves and as time moves along. It is very clear that the World is driven by communication, deriving from it the foundation for quite literally everything our global society strives for. And being as technology is a huge collective World process, these two components of our lives will continue to grow simultaneously and strengthen one another. However, technology cannot account for the importance of face-to-face direct communication.

No matter how easy and affective our means of communication become, we will never disregard the importance of such direct communicating techniques such as public speaking, counseling, or teaching. Therefore it is essential to maintain a highly intensified academic curriculum involving the instruction and improvement of our direct interaction with other people. No matter which profession or situation presents it self in the workplace, academic, or social scenario people will always revert back to the basics of communication; personal interaction.

Bibliography

Corbett, Peter. “Facebook Demographics.” Social Network Analysis. July 6, 2009. Researched December 8, 2009.

http://www.istrategylabs.com/2009/07/2009-facebook-demographics-and-statistics-report-513-growth-in-55-year-old-users-college-high-school-drop-20/

“Half the World will use a Cell Phone by 2009.” Mobiledia. Posted January 20, 2006. Researched December 5, 2009.

http://www.mobiledia.com/news/43104.html

“ITU Statistical Database.” International Telecommunication Union. ITU 2009. Researched December 5, 2009.

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/Indicators/Indicators.aspx

Javadi, Kia. “Cell Phones.” The Impact of Wireless Technology on Society…

Developed 2005. Researched December 8, 2009.

http://www.askkia.com/articles/societal-impact-of-wireless-technology-on-society.html

“The Internet is the Place.” Social Networking, “The Third Place, The Evolution of Communication.” Posted November 29, 2007. Researched December 5, 2009. http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Food and Culture

Introduction:

focus on three different area: asia europe and america
explain basic difference between these, ex: how they cook it, how they prepare it, how and where they eat the food.

Body:

Asia
1. materials, cooking styles, details during eating
2. short history and traditions behind those
3. role of food in people's life: celebration, decoration, social gathering, meaning of different food.
4. how food has changed and why. how food affect local people's life and behaviors.

Europe

1. materials, cooking styles, details during eating
2. short history and traditions behind those
3. role of food in people's life: celebration, decoration, social gathering, meaning of different food.
4. how food has changed and why. how food affect local people's life and behaviors.

America

1. materials, cooking styles, details during eating(ex: eating tools, manners)
2. short history and traditions behind those
3. role of food in people's life: celebration, decoration, social gathering, meaning of different food.
ex: what food means during different holidays and festivals. why
4. how food has changed and why. how food affect local people's life and behaviors.
ex: fast food become worldwide popular, why? flavors? no time to cook? culture aspect behind this
food mentioned in language, life style,

Conclusion:
traditions and culture effects on food in different areas
culture and food affects each other
food become globally in nowdays

Interview #2

Preparations
To prepare for the interview I made a list of ten open ended questions to ask the interviewee. With these questions I wish to gather as much information as I can about this persons country and culture. Along with the questions, I also constructed a set of objectives to follow during my interview. I found this to be much more difficult than making my list of questions. I used the help of my classmates objectives posted on their blogs to strengthen my own set of objectives. After this I began to look for an interviewee. I found this part to be quite easy; I just asked an international student in our class if she knew anyone that I could interview. She said yes her roommate could do it.

Interview
We met on November 2nd in the library at around 7:30 PM. We met on the third floor because that is where she was doing her homework. We then proceeded to the basement to find a place to do the interview. We found a nice secluded place perfect for two people to do an interview. The felt that the entire went very well I started it by asking her if I could record the interview and she said sure. I started the recorder and began the interview with a couple questions about her country and her background. I feel that the entire interview went well, at first I was nervous and I could tell she was nervous, but by the end of it we were both comfortable.

Biography
My interviewee’s name was Miranda. She is from South Korea and she has no family here with her. I also learned that she has been in the United States for about a year and a half. She is a sophomore here at SCSU and is working on her English so she can go back home and get a good job.

Interview Process
The interview process from my point of view was a success. We started the interview well; she was very friendly and willing to do the interview. We were kind of nervous at the start but progressively became more and more comfortable with each other. The interview process was first me preparing a list of questions and with those questions I made a list of objectives to follow so I could keep myself on track. I found that by the time the interview was over I had finished all of my questions, but did not just end the interview because it became more than an interview, it was just a normal conversation. This surprised me because I figured once I was done with my list of questions I would just end the interview. I was also surprised that she asked me a few questions or would just ask me the same question that I asked her. This made me feel more comfortable with the interview because I knew she was also interested in our conversation .

South Korea
South Korea is a small country, but it is the third densely populated country in the world with almost 50 million people, only following Bangladesh and Taiwan. South Korea is in East Asia and is neighbored by China, Japan and obviously North Korea. Seoul is the capital of South Korea. “The fifth largest city in the world, the Seoul metropolis has a population of about 10.3 million and is the center for economy, finance, the arts and culture.” (Asianinfo.com)
The typical landscape or geography in South Korea is mountainous. The Korean Peninsula, located in Northeast Asia, is bordered on the north by China and Russia and juts toward Japan to the southeast. The northernmost point is Yup'ojin in Onsong-gun, Hamgyongbuk-do Province, and the southernmost point is Marado island, Cheju-do Province according to Asianinfo.com
There are a couple ethnic groups that live in South Korea, they are Korean and Chinese. South Korean people do have their own language, but I learned in my interview that children are taught English and that English is very important to get a successful job. “Korea's population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous in the world. Except for a small Chinese community (about 20,000), virtually all Koreans share a common cultural and linguistic heritage. With 48.5 million people, South Korea has one of the world's highest population densities. Major population centers are located in the northwest, southeast, and in the plains south of the Seoul-Incheon area.” (CIA World Fact Book)
“South Korea shares its traditional culture with North Korea, but the two Koreas have developed distinct contemporary forms of culture since the peninsula was divided in 1945. Historically, while the culture of Korea has been heavily influenced by that of neighboring China, it has nevertheless managed to develop a unique and distinct cultural identity from its larger neighbor” (Wikipedia) Also I learned in my interview that the United States has a couple of differences, these including religion. South Korea has about half of it’s’ population is Christian and the other half is Buddhism. I also learned in my interview that people my age in South Korea like to go to the bars and drink just like people do in the United States.
CIA. "The World Fact." Central Intelligence Agency. September 30, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html (accessed October 20, 2009).
Asian info.org (2009, November 3). Seoul, South Korea. Retrieved 2000, From Asian info.org: http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/seoul/seoul.htm

Interview #2 Transcript

Interview Transcript
Kevin Harty
Miranda
Me- Alright, is it ok if I record this?
Miranda- yes, sure
Me-alright I have a couple questions prepared; the first one is where are you from?
Miranda- I’m from South Korea in Seoul, Do you know where Seoul is? It is the capital of South Korea.
Me- Where is that located?
Miranda- In the middle of South Korea. I was born in Seoul.
Me- did you grow up there?
Miranda- yes I grew up there in Seoul.
Me- Kaye had told me before this that South Korea is very densely populated.
Miranda- yes, it has a huge population.
Me- what made you come here?Miranda- Actually I came here to study English, at first I was an international student, but I got a chance to go to a university, so that is why I am studying.
Me- Is it a rare thing for someone from South Korea to go to a university outside of your country?
Miranda- yes it can be a big deal because if you can speak good English you can get a good job.
Me- Do you have any family here?
Miranda- No, I don’t have any family.
Me- Its just you.
Miranda- yeah, just living alone with no family, well I’m used to it.
Me- your used to it now.
Miranda- yes, but I do live with a few other people that are from Korea. One of my roommates has an aunt here.
Me-Do you plan on staying here after school?
Miranda- maybe, I don’t think so, I’ll maybe go back to Korea to get a job
Me- Do you plan on staying here long enough to get your degree?
Miranda- No, I usually don’t like St. Cloud.
Me- Oh really
Miranda- Yeah its too cold and I can’t find anything to do here because I’m used to live in big city
Me- like a really big city.
Miranda- yeah
Me- yeah I bet there is always something to go do.
Miranda- yeah
Me- yeah it can get kind of boring around here sometimes.
Miranda- and I don’t have a car yet, so yeah
Me- have to ride the bus or something.
Miranda- yes just bus
Me- do you like the school aspect of SCSU, like the classes
Miranda- yes I do like this environment. How about you do you like it here
Me- yes I like it here, but this is what I’m used to.
Miranda- Were you born here
Me- no I was born in Waseca.
Miranda- where is that
Me- it is about two hours south of here
Miranda- oh, ok
Miranda- are you a sophomore
Me- nope, I’m a junior. What are you?
Miranda- I am a sophomore.
Me- so this is your second year here
Miranda- yes it is my second year, I lived in the dorms last year, but now I am living with Kaye in apartments, yeah and with two other girls.
Me- that’s cool, so do you miss home?
Miranda- yes I do, especially my friends.
Me- how long has it been since you have been home?
Miranda- one and a half year, I think, I went home last winter and I will maybe go to Korea this summer and I’ll probably stay there.
Me- are you planning on finishing school back home?
Miranda- Maybe I’ll just look for a job. It think, yeah.
Me- well you had said that you like the schooling part of SCSU, but what don’t you like?
Miranda- do you mean just the university?
Me- yeah
Miranda- actually I think we have so much differences in Korea, I think that in Korea we think like do things all together not individual things.
Me- do you mean things like homework?
Miranda- yeah like, its very important especially in Korea. Korea is very conservative so we need to respect our superior.
Me- like elders
Miranda- yes exactly, so since you are a junior I have to respect you.
Me- really
Miranda- yeah
Me- well I guess we have to respect our elders here also, or at least some aspect of it. Kind of like a seniority rule.
Miranda- I think that in the united states individualism i think that it is very important, but in Korea we don’t think like that we like to work in groups.
Me- where else do you see differences?
Miranda- um, I don’t know I think just like the individualism.
Me- how about like food?
Miranda- food?
Do you miss food from back home?
Miranda- sure, it is very different, usually Korean food is so spicy and we don’t like grease like oily, like hamburger pizza, you know like cheese, but we do like spicy food.
Me- do you hamburger and pizza back home.
Miranda- it is there if you want it.
Me- alright what made you choose SCSU?
Miranda- why
Me- yes why did you come to this school?
Miranda- the Korean university and SCSU have relationship with each other.
Me- oh really I didn’t know that.
Miranda- yeah, so I could choose this school. they introduced me to this school, SCSU, so that is why I came here.
Me- do they have any other relations to other schools, like other universities that you could have chosen?
Miranda- I’m not sure, but the first time I paid for tuition it was in Korea.
Me- I bet that made it a lot easier to come to the United States when you have a university there taking care of everything before you get here.
Miranda- yes, that made it very easy to come here.
Me- do you have anything else
Miranda- no, not really about that.
Me- can you describe to me what a normal day would be like back home?
Miranda- like when I want to go home?
Me- yes when you are back home what would it be like?
Miranda- well it would be very similar, you would get up and just do the things you have to do.
Me- Do you have a job back home?
Miranda- no, no job.
Me- have you ever had a job?
Miranda- no, I always use my parents money.
Me- what is the weather like in Korea?
Miranda- we have four seasons just like here fall winter spring summer, but it is very much warmer than here.
Me- is it?
Miranda- yeah, it’s a lot warmer. Especially in the summer it is a lot warmer in Korea than here. It also has a warm winter.
Me- so I take it you don’t like Minnesota winters.
Miranda- no, when I first came here I was really surprised when I saw big piles of snow.
Me- ya I bet you aren’t used to snow.
Miranda- actually we do have snow, but I didn’t expect the great amount of snow that is here.
Me- that would be a weird transition to come from somewhere where there is not much snow.
Miranda- Have you ever been to any other countries?
Me- yes, I have been to Canada, Aruba, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Miranda- so you’ve never been to like Asia?
Me- no I have never been to Europe or Asia, but I want to. Where have you all been?
Miranda- I lived in Vietnam for about four months, but I have never been to anywhere in Europe I really want to go though.
Me- How far is it to somewhere like France from Korea.
Miranda- I think it is very far. How about from here how far it is?
Me- I’m actually not to sure I bet it would be at least 10 hours.
Me- what were your feeling about leaving your country to go to school here?
Miranda- nervous, the language is very hard for me, I’m actually still learning English, especially in Korea if I can speak English very well I can work any jobs.
Me- really, like in Korea
Miranda- especially in Korea, they think that English is very important than other things. A lot of people are trying to study English to get a good job.
Me- I wonder why they think so highly of the English language?
Miranda- I’m not sure, but they start children very young so they can speak English.
Me- when did you start learning English?
Miranda- maybe, I thknk in middle school, but we just learned grammer and reading so they can’t speak English.
Me- oh so they can’t even speak it.
Miranda- yeah
Me- Do you know any other languages?
Miranda- I know Japanese a little bit.
Me- have you ever been there?
Miranda- No, maybe I will go next summer.
Me- japan isn’t very far from Korea is it?
Miranda- Japan, no it’s not very far, I think it takes one and a half hour flight to get there.
Me- oh really, that is close.
Miranda- yes you can even take a ship.
Me- do people dress similar to people here?
Miranda- no really different, they like to dress cooler I think. It’s different from people here that are trying to stay warm. They don’t wear anything fancy.
Me- what did you guys do for fun back home, you had mentioned big city life?
Miranda- Drink
Me- what the drinking age there?
Miranda- 20 I think no 19, actually I think that the st. cloud bar closes at like two, but in Korea the bars never close so you can come out of there at like seven in the morning if you want to. Stores in Korea are also different we have much more 24 hour places back home. It’s very usual to see a 24 hour.
Me- alright well I think that about finishes our interview, I want to thank you for doing this with me?
Miranda- oh, no problem.

Revised Country

China has the largest population at more than a billion people. “China has the largest population in the world with more than 1.3 billion residents.” (1)

“After World War II, the Communists took control and established a socialist system.” (1) They limit how many children you have. They have tropic areas and arctic areas within the same country . They have a large market economy that produces a lot of textiles. China is located in “Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea. Is the fourth largest country in the world.” (1) China has the Largest army in the world. China hosted the Olympics. China interests me because of how much different Chinese culture is from American culture. Mandarin is one of the main languages in china.

Works Cited

1. CIA. "The World Fact." Central Intelligence Agency. September 30, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html (accessed October 20, 2009).

Interview 1

Kevin Harty
Hao Tseng
China
English 191
October 26, 2009


Preparations

To prepare for the interview I made a list of ten open ended questions to ask the interviewee. With these questions I wish to gather as much information as I can about this persons country and culture. Along with the questions, I also constructed a set of objectives to follow during my interview. I found this to be much more difficult than making my list of questions. I used the help of my classmates objectives posted on their blogs to strengthen my own set of objectives. After this I began to look for an interviewee. This was fairly easy to do, I knew a couple international students from class, I just asked one of them if they would be willing to do an interview. He was happy to do an interview with me. We planned to meet on Monday after break in the library.

Interview

We met Monday October 26 in the library at seven. We met on the second floor at one of the tables. The environment of the library was quiet and would work well for a conversation for two people. The initial interview went well, I asked him if it was ok to record the interview and he said it would be fine. I started the recorder and begun the interview with a couple questions about his country and his background. Everything was going fine until his phone rang and he answered I couldn’t understand what he was saying he was speaking in Chinese and after he was finished talking on the phone, he told me that he had to go and he was sorry and said maybe we can try again tomorrow. So my interviewee was gone and I had recorded an interview that was 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Not a very successful interview. I am hoping on my next two interviews lasting a little longer. This is why I did not provide a transcript of the interview because I am counting on this to be the one that I won’t have graded.

Biography

Hao Tseng is the name of my first interviewee. I did not learn much about my interviewee because of their having to leave early, but what I did learn was that he is from China and that he has been in the u.s. for about a year. He also told me that he has no family here with him.

Interview Process

There wasn’t much of a process to my interview. There was really only a greeting and a couple quick questions.

Country and Culture

China stood as a leading civilization compared to the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was going through major problems, such as war and famine. After World War II, the Communists established a socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
Geography- Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea. Is the fourth largest country in the world. The difference in climate between parts of this country can be extreme, for example in the south it is tropical and in the north it is sub-arctic. The terrain in the country of China is made up of mostly mountains.
People of China- China has the largest population in the world with more than 1.3 billion residents. China also has a very diverse ethnic backgrounds such as Han Chinese, Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean. China also has four different religions that it people call their own and they are Daoist, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim. China's people also speak nine different languages they are Mandarin, Putonghua, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Minbei, Minnan, Xiang, Gan, Hakka.

Works Cited

CIA. "The World Fact." Central Intelligence Agency. September 30, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html (accessed October 20, 2009).

China

(CIA 2009)

 

China stood as a leading civilization compared to the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was going through major problems, such as war and famine. After World War II, the Communists established a socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.

 

Geography- Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea. Is the fourth largest country in the world. The difference in climate between parts of this country can be extreme, for example in the south it is tropical and in the north it is sub-arctic. The terrain in the country of China is made up of mostly mountains. 

 

People of China- China has the largest population in the world with more than 1.3 billion residents. China also has a very diverse ethnic backgrounds such as Han Chinese, Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean. China also has four different religions that its people call their own and they are Daoist, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim. China's people also speak nine different languages they are Mandarin, Putonghua, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Minbei, Minnan, Xiang, Gan, Hakka.

 

Works Cited

CIA. "The World Fact." Central Intelligence Agency. September 30, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html (accessed October 20, 2009).

 

 

Revised Objectives

1. Prepare a clear list of educated questions.
2. Listen carefully and learn as much as you can about their culture and home.
3. Find somewhere to do the interview, somewhere common for both.
4. Allow them to add additional information.
5. Allow them to ask questions as well.
6. Record the entire video.
7. Create well organized transcript

Presentation 580-586

Kevin L H, Vishal, Kaye

Choosing a documnetation style

• MLA- Modern language association (English papers)
• APA- American psychological association (Social Sciences
• Chicago

Select the appropriate ciataion for what you are citing.

MLA and APA are similar because the citations refer to a list at the end of the paper. There are also a few differences between the two, author's name, date of publication, page numbers, and verb tense in signal phrases can differ between the two.

Chicago style is the style you should use when you are dealing with a large number of citations. Instead of the author's name after the citation there is just a number, which then you can refer to the work cited to see the source information.

If not positive on which to use consult a style manual.

Objectives

1. Learn more about them
.2. Find out something interesting about them.
3. Learn where about where they come from.
4. Learn some history of their culture.

Questions for International Students

 Kevin L H

1. 1.    Where are you from?
   
2. 2.    What made you come here?
   
3. 3.    Do you have family here?
   
4. 4.    Are you planning on staying here after school?
   
5. 5.    Do you like it here?
   
6. 6.    Do you miss home?
   
7. 7.    What do you think should be different about campus?
   
8. 8.    Do you live on or off campus?
   
9. 9.    What’s your intended major?
   
10. 1. Why did you choose SCSU?