Module 5

Tourism and Indigenous Culture

Case Study: Fiordland Monorail

New Zealand is justly famous for its indigenous Maori culture. Increasingly, travellers to New Zealand are seeking out more "authentic" experiences than those provided by the packaged tours.(Organic Explorer, n.d.)

Many indigenous people throughout the world are using tourism as a way to make money for their people. However, tourism now is a high cost venture requiring much in the way of resources, although the salaries and wages received by the people (individual operators and staff) are low (McLaren, 1999).

Tourist operations, region and indeed countries compete for the tourism dollar. Tourist operators, regions and countries must decide on the market segments they seek to attract and must consider what makes a good tourism experience for such people. Although international flights have opened up the market and made distant countries far most accessible, tourist visits even for long-haul flights are typically of short duration 1-2 weeks.  (Tourism New Zealand, 2013)

So the question is, “How do you provide tourist experiences to such a mass market, that provide the experiences that they want”?

A good model could be to look at that provided by the indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada. They provide a combination of arts and culture, indigenous hospitality and outdoor adventure (Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC, 2013).

Source: Fiordland Monorail

Part of the argument for the monorail is that New Zealand is lacking in tourism infrastructure (Fiordland Monorail, n.d.).

If we consider many indigenous people such as the Maori in NZ, a tourist may want to be able to see the scenery (the thing New Zealand is considered to have in natural abundance) in a comfortable operation that combines the scenery and native culture and experiences. Aside from the main cities such as Auckland, many of the scenic experiences are often in remote regions, requiring one day to travel to them and another day to take in the excursion. One such remote area is Milford Fiord. Even a short excursion in this place takes most of the day in the round trip from a tourist hub such as Queenstown on Lake Whakatipu.  It has been proposed that either a tunnel or a monorail starting from Lake Whakatipu could cut down the journey considerably and make it much more pleasurable than a long round trip in a bus.

Source: Fiordland Monorail Route

The monorail project will have unique benefits. Monorails are very safe. They have a low operating cost, minimise noise, and provide fantastic viewing opportunities to the passengers. The monorail will low environmental impact once constructed (and the construction road will be used for additional tourism opportunity, mountain biking). It uses a renewable energy source, electricity generated by hydroelectric power. This considerably cuts carbon emissions in comparison with the 580km round trip coach to Milford.

The project would employ 140 people during its development and 100 jobs during the peak of the tourist season. It is estimated to create another 300-400 jobs in other businesses supplying services and materials, as well as other tourism opportunities that could spin off the monorail experience. The marketing campaign for the operation will enhance visitor numbers to New Zealand. The operation will also enable more people to visit Milford Sound (the arrival times compresed at present to allow for the long trip).

Unfortunately there are few comparable experiences elsewhere. The nearest monorail tourist operation is in Sydney, Australia but it is to be dismantled.

One proposal is to take it to Darwin where it would be used to transport tourists around a cultural center for their indigenous people, the Australian aborigine as part of revitalizing the area.

Source: Northern Territory News (Artist’s impression).

Likewise the monorail project in Sentosa Island, Singapore is being dismantled to make space for other exhibits on the island. This is Singapore’s main ethnocultural ‘ experience (Sentosa, 2011).

Source: Centosa.com

A similar operation is in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, where the Skyrail Forest Cableway runs through tropical rainforest for 7.4km. Like Fiordland, this area is World Heritage listed.  Surveys indicated that the Skyrail visitor experience had improved the knowledge and understanding of the biodiversity of the tropical rainforest and its World Heritage valued status. 

Source: Skyrail (2013)

Fiordland Monorail expects similar visitor reactions to their project, enlightened maoriotanga and kaitiakitanga (Fiordland Monorail, n.d.).

Tourism offers threats and opportunities to indigenous people. The abundance of relatively cheap air travel means that the world can be viewed as a single market. Each country and each tourism operation must be able to provide a unique experience to capture the tourist dollar. Indigenous tourism is a way used in many countries to do this. Here we provide examples from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore of what might be achieved. Technology can assist the delivery of such experiences in many ways from marketing, to providing audiovisual material, to providing infrastructure for such tourist opportunities. We looked at one example where such an advanced transportation technology, monorail, may promote the tourism experience. We looked for some examples elsewhere in the world where similar effort had been used or could potentially be used to offer tourism infrastructure in a sustainable way.

References

9 News (2013, 30 June) Big Crowds for Sydney Monorail’s last run. Retrieved 25 October 2013 from:

 http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/06/30/18/03/big-crowds-for-sydney-monorail-s-final-run

Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC (2013). We invite you on a journey. Retrieved 25 October 2013 from: http://www.aboriginalbc.com/

Fiordland Monorail (n.d.) The Fiordland Monorail. Retrieved 25 October 2013 from: http://fiordlandmonorail.com/

McLaren, D. (1999) The History of Indigenous Peoples and Tourism. Cultural Survival Retrieved 25 October 2013 from: http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/the-history-indigenous-peoples-and-tourism

NT NEWS (2012 March 29th) Darwin 'wants' Sydney monorail. Retrieved 25 October 2013 from: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/03/29/296371_ntnews.html

Organic Explorer (n.d.) Indigenous Maori Cultural Tourism Experiences in New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2013 from: http://www.organicexplorer.co.nz/Maori-old-directory.html#listings

Sentosa (2011) Sentosa Asia’s favourite playground. Retrieved 27 October 2013 from: http://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/

Skyrail (2013) Skyrail Rainforest Cableway -The world’s most beautiful rainforest experience. Retrieved 27 October 2013 from:http://www.skyrail.com.au/

Tourism New Zealand (2013) newzealand.com – smarter, more effective, more targeted. Retrieved 26 October 2013 from: http://www.tourismnewzealand.com/tourism-news-and-insights/tourism-insights/newzealandcom-%E2%80%93-smarter-more-effective-more-targeted/

Module 4

Harvesting the wind

Traditional fuels are running out in many parts of the world. For example, the size of the desert regions is increasing in areas such as the Sahara Desert. There is less vegetation for fuel. In other parts of the world, fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) are the mainstay of modern societies. They too are being rapidly depleted. Burning of plants, oil, gas and coal creates carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This also contributes to pollution and to global warming (Oram, 2013). 

As a consequence countries and people are looking for sustainable low cost resources. Some countries such as New Zealand have abundant natural resources in the form of water and geothermal energy. However, building large scale industrial power generation plants is expensive, requires much resources (e.g. steel, concrete) and energy intensive activity to build. Such systems are often controversial. For instance damming natural waterways disrupts aquatic life and the life of other animals such as migratory birds that rely on the natural environment for a habitat and breeding and / or feeding area. It also prevents the use of recreational activities such as kayaking, bush walking and white water rafting (Martin, 2012).

 Although the space taken up by geothermal plants is typically smaller, they too have environmental consequences. For instance, geothermal fields produce large amounts of poisonous metals, such as Arsenic. They also deplete the ground water and are often are at the expense of the spectacular display of natural phenomena such as geysers (Stewart, 2012). Tidal plants may be either on the surface (disrupting the flow of ships and recreational vessels or submarine but the latter still affects marine animals as well (EECA, 2008; Ministry of the Environment, n.d).

As mentioned above, many places do not have such natural resources. Many do not have geothermal reserves nor abundant fresh water with the necessary change in water levels due to the mountainous and hilly terrain and may be landlocked with no tidal flow. Solar (EECA, n.d.) and wind (EECA, 2010) energy represent potential technologies in such regions.

 Both technologies too have limitations. The sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow. So batteries are usually required to store surplus generation for dark/cloudy periods or still days. I am going to concentrate on wind energy in this report (Ministry of the Environment, n.d.). 5% of New Zealand’s current energy needs are generated from wind energy with the potential for further development. On still days when the wind does not blow enough to generate electricity in wind plants New Zealand has enough stored hydro power in dams to quickly generate additional power needed (EECA, 2010).

 There are concerns though with the environmental impact of wind generation. These impacts include visual and noise pollution (Standards New Zealand 2010).

There are wind plants in places close to human habitation such as Wellington. The picture shows one such large scale wind farm above the Makara Coast in Wellington. This location is very windy and is exposed to salt spray from the Tasman Sea (New Zealand Wind Energy Association, n.d).

Source: West Wind Makara Wind Farm

Other large wind farms may be located from some distance from their customers. For instance Meridiam Energy’s Te Ari wind farm in the Waikato has 28 large wind turbines (pictured below being transported to the location) generates up to 64.4 MW, sufficient energy to power 28,000 homes (Meridian, n.d.).

Source: Te Uku Media Gallery

The value of wind energy can be seen in the world’s most southerly wind farm. The use of wind turbines at Scott Station has reduced the need for oil fueled generators and the possibility of diesel spills in a fragile environment (One News, 2010).

Antarctic wind farm. Source: - ONE News

Video: Antarctic wind farm blows into life at Scott Base

Small power wind plants also have the potential to generate power for small communities (<20kW) and individual dwellings  (5kW). Small wind turbines are most suited to rural settings exposed to strong and consistent wind, and where there is no connection to the electricity network. The cost of such turbines is typically between $10,000 and $15,000 per kW of rated capacity but it may be economical to install them as connecting to the grid can cost as much as $25,000 per kilometre (EECA, 2010). Most such turbines are usually mounted on towers but there are alternatives that are integrated into the roof of the building (EECA, 2010).

Such small scale wind generators have been used in New Zealand for many years. They have to be tested to operate and to be maintained in New Zealand’s harsh windy, often salty environment (Independent Power, n.d).

 Source: Independent Power

Windmills have been used for many centuries for tasks such as drawing water out of the ground and milling flour. 21^st Century technology has improved the designs to allow modern wind turbine generators to operate in many conditions, including windy and marine environments. There is a large range of options to which they may be put. These include wind farms owned and operated by energy companies such as Meridian Energy. They can be used as sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel and can be alternative sources of power generation to their main hydro electric stations. Wind turbines can also be used in remote locations where they provide an economically feasible alternative to building expensive power lines to small communities and individual dwellings. Such installations typically need battery storage to store generated power that is in excess of current needs. The batteries can then be used when there is no wind or the wind speed is too low to allow the turbines to operated to generate electricity. In places connected to the grid grid-connected wind power generators can be used to power homes and businesses and to feed surplus power back into the grid.

 References

EECA (2008) Development of Marine Energy in New Zealand. Retrieved on 15 October 20, 2013 from http://www.eeca.govt.nz/node/6123.

EECA (2010) Wind Energy. Retrieved on 15 October 20, 2013 from http://www.eeca.govt.nz/efficient-and-renewable-energy/renewable-energy/wind-energy-in-nz

EECA (n.d.) Solar Energy. Retrieved on 15 October 20, 2013 from http://www.eeca.govt.nz/efficient-and-renewable-energy/renewable-energy/solar-energy-in-nz

(Independent Power, n.d). Wind Turbines. Retrieved on 19 October 20, 2013 http://www.indepower.co.nz/wind.html

Martin, J (2012). Hydroelectricity - Hydro, 21st century. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Retrieved on 15 October 20, 2013 from http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/hydroelectricity

Meridian (n.d.) Te Uku Retrieved on 19 October 2013 from http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/about-us/generating-energy/wind/te-uku/

(Ministry of the Environment, n.d.). Case study 3: Issues and barriers in the development of a wave and tidal energy industry. Retrieved on 15 October 20, 2013 from http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/oceans/government-interventions-ocean-resources-may06/html/page7.html

New Zealand Wind Energy Association (n.d) West Wind Makara Wind Farm. Retrieved on 19 October 20 http://windenergy.org.nz/nz-wind-farms/operating-wind-farms/project-west-wind

One News (2010) Antarctic wind farm blows into life at Scott Base (January 16 2010). Retrieved on 19 October 20 from http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/antarctic-wind-farm-blows-into-life-scott-base-3330985

 

Oram, R. (2013). Digging deeper on coal. Sunday Star Times, D24, October 20 2013.

Standards New Zealand (2010) NZS 6808:2010 Acoustics - Wind farm noise. Retrieved on 19 October 20, 2013 from http://shop.standards.co.nz/catalog/6808%3A2010%28NZS%29/view

Stewart, C (2009 ) Geothermal Energy. Te Ara - the Dictionary of New Zealand. Retrieved on 15 October 20, 2013 from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/geothermal-energy

Module 3

The Ethics of Exploitation vs. Preservation of the Polar Regions.

The polar regions, the Arctic and Antarctic, represent the last relatively unspoilt  regions on earth. However, all kinds of resources elsewhere have been exploited and depleted. The Polar regions have the potential to be tapped for their natural resources. Others argue though that they should be preserved and saved.

Antarctica; untouched and preserved for millions of years, it is now under threat from the exploitation of man. It is a continent almost completely covered by ice, making it one of the most hostile environments on Earth.  Antarctica is home to many organisms, closely linked together in the marine food chains, but there are no humans in permanent residence. However, Antarctica plays an important role in the high demand for resources like oil, minerals and food.  Furthermore, there is a growing interest of Tourism in Antarctica. Yet all of which will come at a high cost to polar region inhabitants, the animals and, in the case of the Arctic, the indigenous people. This leads us to ask ourselves whether the benefits outweigh the consequences of saving Polar Regions from the exploitation of man. Nevertheless many countries have laid claims to parts of Antarctica, although for the most part they are not at present using their territories to extract minerals etc from their environment.

A similar situation exists in the Arctic, although it has no land mass as such. However, like Antarctica, it has mineral resources, namely undersea oil and gas. There is an environmental protection agreement between the eight Arctic nations (Canada, Greenland/Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States). Concern for the Arctic environment, lead to the formation of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. This was in response to issues with the dumping of radioactive waste and the build up of pollutants (organic pollutants and heavy metals) in the region (Arctic Council, 2012).

Unlike Antarctica the Arctic region contains indigenous peoples. One of the concerns is about the food chain,

 where they are the top predator. Their food sources are endangered by pollutants borne in the air, water and transported on ice sheets. 

Source: Artic Centre

It is estimated that about 4.5 Million of the 13.5 Million people living in the arctic region are indigenous people. They comprise about 40 different ethnic groups, the best know of which is the Inuit. There way of life is under threat by global warming and the melting of the ice cap, pollutants and the exploitation of the Arctic’s mineral resources. Many immigrants have come into some of these territories to exploit the resources. The distinct features of these groups, for example their distinct languages, cultures and traditional livelihoods, such as reindeer herding, fishing and hunting, are under threat (Arctic Center, n.d.). 

The Antarctic Region too is covered by a Treaty, the Antarctic Treaty, first signed in 1959. Its basis is that no one country has rights to the region; that it should be only used for peaceful purposes, such as scientific investigation, the results of which should be exchanged and made freely available (Secretariat of the Antarctica Treaty, n.d.)

Antarctic tourist numbers peaked at more than 45,000, during the 2007-2008 seasons.

Photo Source: Cool Antarctica

 There is a true sense of adventure that Antarctica presents, with its remote and pristine environment and record cold climate; it has attracted hundreds of thousands of travellers since Commercial Antarctic tourism began in the 1950’s. Antarctica can only be accessed by ship or plane, yet it continues to grow as a popular destination for tourists. However, there are many consequences for the environment and the Antarctic animals. Commercial tourism in Antarctica has both a positive and negative effect, depending on your perspective. The positive side comes from an economic point of view, whereas tourism has a negative effect on the environment and causes disruption among the animals that live there. (University of Canterbury,n.d.)

Antarctica is perhaps one of the most fascinating and extreme environments in the world for people, to visit. Tourist numbers have been on a rise since tourism was launched in 1956 with a plane trip for 66 passengers that landed in McMurdo Sound.  Ship cruising is the most popular activity for tourists followed by small boat landing and cruising, which accounted for more than 80% of tourism activity in 2010-11. This activity is said to be worth more than $5 million to New Zealand, but this number has a realised potential to grow to surpass $20 million, estimated to be what the toothfish fisheries are worth to New Zealand. To minimise man’s impact on Antarctica, there are tight regulations that tourism operators must follow. This includes following the Antarctica treaty signed by 12 countries in 1961, including New Zealand. The IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) makes sure that these companies comply by these rules and are run in a sustainable manner, and insures the safety of the environment, Antarctic wildlife and the tourists. (Cool Geography, n.d. /Davison, I, January 14, 2013)

Tourism can threaten Antarctica from an ecological perspective for, Antarctica is one of the most environmentally and biologically delicate areas on Earth. Almost all Antarctic animals rely on krill populations, as it is the primary source of food for many animals,(whales, penguins, small fish, squid) who in turn, fall prey to top predators (leopard seals, killer whales). Moreover, its temperatures which plummet to an all time low of -89.2, means that rubbish can take hundreds of years to break down, and decompose. This problem is further established through the consequences of commercial tourism. Most tourists will usually spend only 6-30 days on their trip to Antarctica, but this effect can really add up when you take into account that more than 34,000 people toured Antarctica between 2012-13 tourist seasons, alone. Numerous problems for the Antarctic environment have occurred including disturbance of the wildlife, mainly penguins, and even more concerning, diesel and oil spills causing water pollution. (Cool Geography, n.d. / Cool Antarctica, n.d.)

 Let us look at some of the specific resources that can or are being exploited. One of the most controversial is that of fishing in the Antarctic waters.

Patagonian Toothfish, Dissostichus eleginoides.

Photo source : Alexander Colhoun - National Science Foundation

The waters surrounding Antarctica has a diverse range of marine animals from mammals, such as seals and whales, to crustaceans, namely krill, and fish, the most recently exploited being toothfish, all interdependent of each other in the Antarctic Ocean Food web.  Fishing is now the main source of exploitation in Antarctica.  The Southern Ocean is one of the least actively fished areas on Earth, due to the costs and risks that fisheries face. Despite this, Antarctic animals are still under threat from socially irresponsible fisheries that do not abide by the fishing catch limits and regulations. Of great concern are the populations of toothfish and krill, both of which play a critical role in the Antarctic food web, and if they were to go extinct, it would have dire consequences for animals both in and outside of Antarctica. (ASOC, n.d.; Cool Antarctica, n.d.)    

The Antarctic and Patagonian toothfish are called “white gold” by toothfish pirates, and have been illegally fished up for hundreds of millions of dollars since the mid 1990s, and the fish sell for around NZ$95 per/kg. The Antarctic and Patagonia toothfish fisheries already appear to be in trouble due to overfishing, (Sydney Morning Herald 2013, Field, 2012).

The same could also be said about the small crustaceans, krill who plays a vital role for life in Antarctica (ASOC, n.d.).

Antarctica has many mineral resources but as the continent is mostly covered by a thick shelf of ice they cannot be exploited with current technology. Any such mining would be uneconomic. However, the prospect of mining in the region has been discussed from time to time. For example, when the issues were raised in the 1980s an addition to the treaty, the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, was added. The signatories to the Antarctic Treaty signed the Madrid Protocol in 1991 banning mining. This is to be reviewed after 50 years, in 2041.

southern ocean fisheries- ANTARCTIC and southern ocean coalition

Photo Source: Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (n.d).

However, the same natural protection is not the case in the Arctic, where the oil and gas is at relatively shallow depths under the ice (and some not covered in ice as the ice sheet continues to shrink due to global warming.

 Summary:

The Polar Regions are harsh and few people live there, none at all in the Antarctic Polar Region. However, they have the potential to provide resources, such as food and minerals, to a world hungry for such natural resources. They also have the potential to provide sustainable resources, such as tourism, but that too can have its costs. It is important that these regions continue to be protected by treaties and by being respected by the people of all nations.

References

Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (n.d). Southern Ocean Fisheries. Retrieved on Oct 2 2013 from

http://www.asoc.org/issues-and-advocacy/antarctic-wildlife-conservation/southern-ocean-fisheries 

Arctic Center (n.d.). Arctic Indigenous Peoples Retrieved on Oct 1 2013 from http://www.arcticcentre.org/InEnglish/SCIENCE-COMMUNICATIONS/Arctic-region/Arctic-Indigenous-Peoples 

Arctic Council (2012). Emergency Prevention Preparedness and Response. Retrieved on Oct 2 2013 from http://www.arctic-council.org/eppr/reports/ministerial-direction/ 

Cool Antarctica (n.d.). Human Impacts on Antarctica and Threats to the Environment - Fishing. Retrieved on September 30 from

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/threats_fishing_hunting.htm 

Cool Geography (n.d.) Impact of tourism on extreme environments. Retrieved on Oct 2 2013 from

http://coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/AQA/Tourism/Extreme%20Environments/Extreme%20Impacts.htm 

Darby, A (2013). Ocean pursuit leaves toothfish pirates with nowhere to run.  Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on October 3 3013 from
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/ocean-pursuit-leaves-toothfish-pirates-with-nowhere-to-run-20130503-2iyl1.html#ixzz2gjuM6MhX 

Davison, I (2013) Tourists drawn to wonders of Antarctic. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved on Oct 4 2013 fromhttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10858934 

Field, M (2012) McMurdo Sound's toothfish population at risk. Fairfax NZ News. Retrieved on September 30 2013 from

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/6595293/McMurdo-Sounds-toothfish-population-at-risk 

(Secretariat of the Antarctica Treaty, (n.d.) The Antarctic Treaty. Retrieved on Oct 1 2013 from http://www.ats.aq/e/ats.htm 

Module 2

The technology of message sending and how it impacts society.

“THE DESIRE to communicate with one another has been a driving creative force throughout our time on earth. As the medium of expression evolved our message went mobile and traveled through worlds both physical and digital.” (Washington, 2010)

Over time communication has become richer, more detailed and faster, although one can argue that the current evolution sacrifices richness for speed and ease of use.

Back in the day, when we were simple hominids, we communicated hunting tactics by grunting at each other. Then with the physical and cultural evolution of man, people developed spoken and written language. Paintings on walls from cavemen 37,000 years ago National Geographic (n.d).

World’s oldest cave art. Source: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/549/overrides/spain-cave-art-dated-oldest_54922_600x450.jpg

This further developed into scripts written by scribes such as Egyptian hieroglyphs etched onto papyrus (Omniglot, n.d.).

Egyptian hieroglyphic Symbols. Source:  

https://www.google.co.nz/search?client=firefox-a&hs=WDN&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&q=egyptian+hieroglyphic+symbols&revid=1925677697&biw=1280&bih=661

Other cultures developed their own languages and symbolic codes.

Arabic Alphabet. Source:

http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Arabic_script_evolution.svg/250px-Arabic_script_evolution.svg.png&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet&h=281&w=250&sz=32&tbnid=fH3uSBnyCIKCRM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=80&zoom=1&usg=__0BRSEwhYmE7BMRAYm1m4tcffWLA=&docid=ZIjXxyVVxBdTDM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FzQwUp3GKKi6iQfEgYHICg&ved=0CD0Q9QEwAg&dur=4990

Some messages, such as cave art and Egyptian hieroglyphs carved onto temples were not designed to be transported to convey information and instructions. The ancient Greeks would shave the heads of slaves and tattoo messages onto their scalp and send them off to carry the (secret) message once their hair grew back (WatermarkingWorld, 2002). This was the earliest known form of stenography that has given rise to new forms of message coding in the digital age.

 Animals have also been used to transport messages. Homing pigeons have been used since 1150 for both sport racing and carrying messages. Starting in 1897, in New Zealand pigeons were used to transport messages to and from Great Barrier Island and Auckland, over 90 km away. The pigeon postal service ended in 1907 when the telegraph cable being laid (The Encyclopedia of New Zealand n.d.).

Great Barrier Island Pigeon Postal Stamps. Source:  http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/postage-stamp/16070/pigeon-post

Pigeons were used in the wars, most notably World War I and World War II to deliver (usually coded) messages, which were put in a tube attached to the bird’s leg.

“History: Historians believe the message, (left) which was written by a Sergeant W. Stott, will provide unique insight into the war. It was discovered rolled up in the red capsule attached to the pigeon (right) “ Source: MailOnline (2012)

32 pigeons received the Dickens Medal for their brewery, which is the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross (MailOnline, 2012).

Pigeons in war. Source: Colquhoun, R. (2012). http://loveundefiled.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/pigeons-in-war.html

The development of the printing press allowed communication to become one to many instead of one to one. It began theassembly line model for the proliferation of information.

Gutenberg’s Printing Press. Source: http://matadornetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/informationtech-printing.jpg

As the world was explored and conquered, people kept in touch with each other by sending letters. Letters took ages to arrive, because they got transported by ships, and ships are slow. In the 19^th century it took 76-100 days to sail from England to New Zealand (Cossar, n.d.). So messages from the colonial office would be written and sent almost one year before they got a reply from the New Colony.

SS Dunedin. Source: http://nzpost-stamps.mycdn.co.nz/sites/default/files/issue/2961/2.40-Content-Image.jpg

The SS Dunedin was a clipper ship launched to bring immigrants to New Zealand. It is also important historically as it was later converted to carry frozen cargo. It carried the first frozen meat shipment from New Zealand to England (NZ Post, n.d.)

This improved throughout the 10^th century. To get to New Zealand from England in 1908 via steamer ship took up to 50 days (RootsWeb, n,d.).  

Then airplanes were invented, developed, became more sophisticated resulting in them becoming faster and more economic than ships, but messages still took a while to arrive.

 An early transport plane. Source: Pioneers of large Aircraft. (2012). http://www.engrailhistory.info/e030.html

The first airmail services between New Zealand and England commenced in 1931 (NZ Post, n.d.)

Airmail Stamps. Source:

http://nzpost-stamps.mycdn.co.nz/sites/default/files/issue_historic/978/1931---airmail2222.jpg?1298245045

The electric telegraph was invented in 1792. It was used to send electronic messages to people. It replaced the pigeon postal service because it was faster.

Early Telegraph. Source: Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited. (2011). Telecom Museum. http://www.btcl.gov.bd/museum/museum.htm \

The Southern Cross Cable is part of a network of undersea cables that connect New Zealand to the rest of the world (Submarine Networks World, n.d).

Southern Cross Cable. Source: http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://knowit.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/southern-cross-01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid%3D49%26topicid%3D111627%26page_no%3D2&h=260&w=402&sz=17&tbnid=wQIiKur5BNEMAM:&tbnh=80&tbnw=124&zoom=1&usg=__QpmHYg6ORyVrkYcULS5bo1AGZm8=&docid=SotQO-essv1O4M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PT8wUtyzOumtiQee0IA4&ved=0CEkQ9QEwBA&dur=1863

But the development of computers and the internet (Internet Society, n.d.) really changed social media.

Modern Computers. Source: The Interpretation of Dreams. (2013). Computer. http://eofdreams.com/computer.html

The Internet as a Party. Source: FizX. (2013). http://fiz-x.com/internet-as-a-party/

People sent emails via sites such as hotmail and gmail, but it took a couple of seconds for mail to be sent. Then instant messengers, mainly facebook but also MSN evolved, and there are others such as twitter and bebo (extinct).

Top 10 Free email service Providers. (2013). http://blog.superheromail.com/top-10-free-email-service-providers/

You can send and receive messages in a second. Now people are too lazy to even type messages, so they send pictures, either of themselves (instagram) or fandoms (tumblr). The advent of social media is changing the way that members of society interact (WebTrends, n.d.). We can not only access information using the Internet, we can create it using Wikis. We can post videos that can range from social interactions to instructional learning via YouTube. These and other social networking tools can change the way that products are marketed and we learn about them (Wilson, 2012).

Viral Marketing Model. Source: http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://sirfmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/viral-marketing-model.jpg&imgrefurl=http://sirfmarketing.com/2013/07/16/viral-marketing/&h=1600&w=1600&sz=201&tbnid=YOGZbcuj-4_IoM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=90&zoom=1&usg=__9JU6dY40KYjLPhykSbTyuPDVX3I=&docid=4a-Etk7MpsqMHM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BUQwUpbXIoWViAfLkYHgBw&ved=0CD4Q9QEwAg&dur=5444

The world has become ubiquitous. We can send anything to anyone anytime and anywhere. We can even send messages that embed the instructions for 3D printers to create real 3D objects (Shapeways, n.d.). 

For instance, the following YouTube link shows how 3D models may be created and printed. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qJuTM0Y7U1k#t=69

New forms of communication will continue to shape the way we communicate, live and interact with others. This will bring opportunities, as well as challenges. Whilst what seemed impossible a few years ago is now possible, we will suffer from more information overload and more obsolescence in what we know faster than every before (JamesRobertson.com, n.d.). Other, potentially socially undesirable implications include the ability to spy on people’s everyday lives using electronic surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2013).

References

Colquhoun, R. (2012). Pigeons in war. Retrieved from http://loveundefiled.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/pigeons-in-war.html

Cossar, B. (n.d). History, Clipper Ships and Naval History. Retrieved from http://www.cossar.co.nz/c-index.htm

Electronic Frontier Foundation, (2013). The Patriot Act. Retrieved from https://www.eff.org/issues/patriot-act

Internet Society, (n.d.) A Brief History of the Internet & Related Networks. Retrieved from http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet-related-networks

JamesCRobertson.com (n.d.) Information obsolescence and information half-life. Retrieved from http://www.jamescrobertson.com/infosci/obsolescence.html

MailOnline (2012) Skeleton of hero World War II carrier pigeon found in chimney with a secret message still attached to its leg (and now Bletchley Park are trying to crack the code). Retrieved from

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2226203/Skeleton-hero-World-War-II-carrier-pigeon-chimney-secret-coded-message-attached-leg.html#ixzz2eZhQQCTw

National Geographic (n.d).  World's Oldest Cave Art Found—Made by Neanderthals? Retrieved from

 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120614-neanderthal-cave-paintings-spain-science-pike/

NZ Post (n.d.) Airmail. Retrieved from http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/new-zealand/1931/airmail

NZ Post (n.d.) Great Voyages of New Zealand. Retrieved from

http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/new-zealand/2012/great-voyages

Omniglot, (n.d.) Ancient Egyptian scripts

Retrieved from http://www.omniglot.com/writing/egyptian.htm

RootsWeb, (n,d.). England to New Zealand 1908 by Steamer. Retrieved from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzbound/eng_nz.htm

Shapeways (n.d.) Make, buy, and sell products with 3D Printing. How it works. Retrieved from http://www.shapeways.com/

Submarine Networks World, (n.d). The Southern Cross Cable. Retrieved from http://submarinenetworks.com/systems/trans-pacific/southern-cross/southern-cross-cable-system-overview

Te Ara. (2012). Auckland places - Barrier islands. Retrieved from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/postage-stamp/16070/pigeon-post

The Encyclopedia of New Zealand (n.d.) Pigeon Post (http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/postage-stamp/16070/pigeon-post).

Washington, J. (2010). Cave paintings to the Internet: 50,000 years of IT. Retrieved from http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/from-cave-paintings-to-the-internet-50000-years-of-information-technology/

WatermarkingWorld, (2002). Stenanography. Retrieved from http://www.watermarkingworld.com/steganography_cyber_security_hide_hiding

WebTrends, (n.d.). What is social media? Retrieved from http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/social-media.htm

Wilson, R. (2012). The Six Simple Principles of Viral Marketing. Retrieved from http://webmarketingtoday.com/articles/viral-principles/