DIGC Field Notes Journal

E Waste

Technology is advancing at such a rapid rate, with everything becoming accessible on the internet, from buying concert tickets to buying groceries to reading books and watching the latest movie to connecting to all your friends, family aquaintances and friends of friends of friends.

I along with 400 million other people am a user of Facebook. Facebook for me is a way of communication between friends and family and people that i have not seen in a while or dont know all too well. Using this digital commuication device it allows people to talk to people they know and dont know on a range of topics and interests of which would not normally happen if based on face-to-face communication.

Of my 446 friends there is  65876 links between them and myself. Some of my friends have no links with other people whilst others (those I went to school with mainly) have around 200 links with my friends.

Above is my unique Facebook Friend Wheel, a application available if a Facebook account is held. I discovered this at http://group8020.com/social-media/facebook-visualization-2034/, called Tools to Visualise Your Facebook Network it has five different ways to graph this visual biography of the connections and interconnections between you and your friends.

The wheel above shows in blue the largest connections and red for the smallest connections or no connections.

Although this visualiser shows who i am connected to and who they are connected to within my friend list, it it does not show why, such as through family or similar interests or through school. Showing this would add depth to my digital biography.

Final Final Version

Finding legitamate writtings on the exploitation of the workers in E-dumps is proving to be move difficult than first thought as not much research and study has gone into this topic, however the environmental and health impacts on these people is a more accessible topic. Whilst it is very similar the amount of content vastly increases.

Therefore, I am now researching the environmental and health impacts of the dumping from electronic waste in China.

The journal, Environmental Impact Assessment Review features an entire volume dedigated to various aspects of E-Waste. 
Hicks.C, Dietmar.R, Eugster.M, (2005), ‘The recycling and disposal of electronical and electronic waste in China – legislative and market responses’, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, http://www.sciencedirect.com/

This increasing discussed and debated issue has attracted both Green Peace and the UN to begin research

Evidence proving that pro-annorexia and euthanasia materials should be available for access if one choses to.

- blocking subject will not deter those who have a desire for the subject – a desire to learn and accumulate knowledge and an informed opinion

Quote:  ”Other forms of speech may well be truly offensive but the only way a society can deal with them is by being exposed to them and combating them.”

-          Free speech-people deserve the right to decide
The government plans to require ID thus being able to track and hold accountable for the users of the internet. This is in direct opposition to freedom of speech, which requires anonymity and being able to express opinions and views without being scared that it will be held against you.

Quote: “True freedom of speech requires anonymity in some cases to protect the author, the governments who have introduced ID requirements for Internet use also deny many basic rights to their citizens. The Internet allows citizens to criticise their government and distribute news and information without reprisal from the state, such a system clearly could not survive with ID requirements”

-         creates public debate-ability to discuss and find info

-          if user generated content sites like YouTube, which are unrelated in general to the blacklisted topics, refused classification content uploaded , would the specific URL be removed, or the entire site? if the entire site is blocked, this takes away the freedom and the right choice and introduces the issue- where is the line?

-           Euthanasia – Who categorises if it is negative or positive

The Government in censoring all information and data related to Euthanasia have undoubtedly placed it in the same category as terrorism, murder, and other heinous violent acts. Why? Philip Nitschke the “first doctor in the world to administer a legal, lethal voluntary injection under Australia’s short-lived Rights of the Terminally Ill Act (find). This pro Eustanasia doctor said, “it seems we demand humans to live with indignity, pain and anguish whereas we are kinder to our pets when their suffering becomes too much. It simply is not logical or mature. Trouble is, we have had too many centuries of religious claptrap”

The Government in placing this ‘filtter’ on the internet is making a mockery of the Australian public and also its education system, in assuming that one cannot read, interpret and decide on what they are searching for, but mearly reading and believing everything that is written. For example, they believe that one would read an article about Euthanasia or about annorexia and think that it is meant litterally and true and act upon this information by euthanasing someone or thinking that annorexia is good this distorting their perception of truth and logic.

The concept I am undertaking  is the exploitation of labouors in the dumping of e waste in 3rd world countries.

There are several current affair style and you tube videos on this issue but little in the way of academic journals. However the E-Waste Think Tank (2008) by Elizabeth Noble introduces a couple of writings on the subject that in many ways seems like a taboo subject.

Some of the interesting videos i have uncovered are from CBS aired on 06/11/08 and a You Tube video, made by Green Peace and uploaded in 22/02/2008. They visually introduce the subject and sensor it little so that people can see the problem and do something about it.

I found out that electronic companies such as Apple and Nokia are agreeing to use less hazardous chemicals in the making of their goods. This means that communities in India, China and Africa could be better off health wise as they strip and recycle these obsolete electronics but it does not introduce a solution to better recycling or discarding of them. Also the You Tube video, entitled Where does waste end up?  discussed the differences in prices in recycling, with it costing $20 US to recycle in America and just $2 US to recycle in India, showing the attraction to the cheaper option.

This is just some of the stuff that I am finding out about this increasingly aggravating topic.

Noble. E, 2008, E-Waste Think Tank – Review and Synthesis, Canberra Environment and Sustainability Resource Centre

The concept of whether Google is good or evil is highly subjective and heavily based on the societal and cultural influences of the individual asking the question.

The People’s Republic of China is in a bitter conflict with Google over their ideal to uphold their nation’s interests and keep their society stable and safe. Google is trying to uphold their mission to allow access to all information from a specific point.

 China wishes for the Google corporation to comply and respect its censorship laws to protect “the health of our underage young people” (BBC accessed 12/03/10). Similar issues have been and continue to be raised in other countries including Iran and Pakistan with Google and the internet in general. This is done in fear that people will develop a worldly opinion of issues that the governments in these countries cannot control and influence.

The China issue has caused a re-think over the Australian Government’s proposed internet censorship with Electronic Frontiers Australia spokesperson Geordie Guy saying, “We’re concerned that Australia is following the sorts of precedents set down by countries like China and Iran that have maintained internet censorship.” (SMH, accessed 12/03/10)

In Allison Head’s “Beyond Google – How do students conduct academic research”  she expresses that students whilst perhaps beginning to research an assignment through Google, they have enough intelligence and common sense to determine the credibility of a source and sort between what is fact or fiction. The Chinese government is saying in this respect that the Chinese people cannot differentiate between this and so it is their duty to shield us from it.

Although the justifications behind both issues are vastly different the outcome is very similar.
In my opinion Google has allowed users access to the vast expanse of the internet and it is the individual’s decision as to what information they search for and consume not the right of the government to filter and decide what is best for the individual and the nation collectively.

Good or Evil? Well that is up to each individual, for me it is generally good and useful.

Head, Alison J 2007 Beyond Google: How do students conduct academic research? First Monday, vol. 12, no.8-6, [available: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1998/1873%20 ] accessed 12/03/2010

Zappone.C, 2010, “Google’s China move puts focus on local censorship plans”, Sydney Morning Herald, January 15, http://www.smh.com.au/business/googles-china-move-puts-focus-on-local-censorship-plans-20100115-mb5y.html, accessed 12/03/2010

Hi, my name is laura,
im in my first year at uni after taking a year off, im in BCM and
doing DC and Marketing and Advert.
i want to get into football marketing in England or Spain or Hotel
Marketing, which ever makes the most money

 I’m into photography and digital editing of it. One of my
inspirational photographers, Jerry Uelsmann www.uelsmann.net and
noted fashion photographer Nigal Barker (http://www.studionb.com)
i love reading especially forensic crime books such as Patricia
Cornwell or any books that has an unconventional twist and are usually
morbid in nature.
my life also revolves around facebook

Thats me, looking forward to getting into this and meeting you all.

Laura