Democracy in the digital age Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Democracy in the digital age - Essay Example As Balkin (2004) argues, digital technologies increase opportunities for widespread cultural participation and social interaction at scales previously unimaginable. For instance, the internet allows individuals to access global audiences and sources of information with considerable ease and convenience. Almost anyone with access to the internet can publish a blog, interact with individuals from all corners of the earth and share experiences. According to Shane et al (2009), digital technology promotes democracy as a core individual and community need, with those able to access digital tools and skills acquiring social, economic and political advantage over those without. Democracy arising from the advent of the Digital Age is further exemplified by the impact of the internet in development of informed communities driven by the values of openness, empowerment, inclusion, participation and the pursuit of truth. A stark reminder of the power of digital communication is in its recent rol e in organizing entire populations across North Africa in a series of coups against undemocratic governance (ICG 2011). However, the digital revolution has also created opportunities for increased limiting and control of cultural participation and interaction. Balkin (2004) discusses how conflict arises due to the advent of the digital age. First, it has to be appreciated that the digital revolution is both an economic and a technological phenomenon. The same features that empower ordinary individuals including cheaper distribution of information and easy reproduction and transfer also attract commercial interests. Here, DVDs, compact discs and streaming forms of media are the perfect examples in terms of low cost production and distribution. The observed democratization by digital technology is thus in conflict with commercial interests as it leads to issues of intellectual

The Literary analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Literary analysis - Essay Example Some of the things that the soldiers from the platoon Alpha Company carried with them from the war were material things while others were mental. The mental issues such as fear and guilt that they carried from the actions that they did during the war are the focus of the book with a keen eye being on the death and life. Most stories in the book are not definite as having a resolution except only when a character dies inclining that the anecdotes used to not help in illustrating closure for either of the platoon Alpha Company. The only true representation is that the death of a soldier at the war had a significant impact on the life of those that survived making it to be a worthy war story. With this overview, this essay will delve into the literary analysis of this text by making a personal claim about the impact of the book and its relevance to readers by highlighting what is either valuable or not within the same. Additionally, the essay will also suggest the context that readers should consider as they read it and explain about the place of O’Brien’s book in modern literature. According to O’Brien, it is not easy to narrate a war story but fictional writing can be used to immortalize the dead, which can be valuable to the readers as it helps in understanding the narratorâ₠¬â„¢s past, present and future if they were involved in war. In the initial pages of the book, the narrator starts by explaining some of the material things that the soldiers came with from Vietnam that they considered them to be what used to make life bearable for them there. Some of these physical things included lighters, cigarettes, chewing gum, bible, Kool-Aid, condoms, while another carried pond cake and peaches among a list of other items (O’Brien 2). The emotions of the narrator are triggered from time to time through the thoughts of death of fellow officer Lavender, which