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第６８回　WORKSHOP報告（９月２１日） / 参加者７９名

（１：前半マテリアル作成者のYさんからご挨拶です）

 

（２：ディスカッションが始まりました）

 

（３：６人ほどのグループに分かれてディスカッションします）

 

（４：後半マテリアル作成者のTさんです）

 

（５：皆さん真剣に議論されておられますね）

 

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《　今回のworkshop　》

 

○workshop参加人数：７９名（うち新人の方：６名）

 

○【前半】：”変わった建物（周囲の景観との調和）”についてディスカッション

 

○【後半】：”Big data—big business and privacy”というテーマでディスカッション

 

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＜英語サークル　E’s club　第６８回workshopのご案内＞

 

みなさまこんにちは、E’s club幹事のKです。第６８回workshopの詳細をお送りいたします。

 

[今週のマテリアル]

＜FIRST HALF＞

みなさんこんにちは、Yと申します。

前半のテーマは、変わった建物についてです。

テーマとして取り上げる建物は、Czech publicの首都・PragueにあるTV towerです。

写真を添付しましたので、それを見てから下記の質問に答えて下さい。

（picture 1, picture 2は同じ建物で、1はその場所の景色全体、2は建物のアップです。）

人の目を引くデザインの建物は話題性がありますが、周囲の景観との調和がうまくいかないケースもあります。今回はその点も踏まえてディスカッションをして下さい。

 

Q1: Do you like this building?  Please answer with Yes/No.

 

Q2: Why did you choose the answer in Q1?

 

Q3: If you choose “No” in Q1, what type of TV tower should be build there instead? Or do you think anything larger than other historical buildings nearby never should be built in this area?

Please think of an alternative plan to having the TV tower.

If you choose “Yes” in Q1, please evaluate other members’ alternative plans.

 

Q4: Do you know any buildings which spoil the entire view?  If you do, please tell us.

 

<Extra>

Q5: Please discuss other unique buildings in below website.

They are such as “Elephant Building in Thailand”, “The Fang Yuan Building in China”, and etc.

http://list25.com/25-ugliest-buildings-in-the-world/

 

【Reference】(The Japan Times Weekly – March 30, 2013)

Reason why the TV tower is controversial

Prague is sometimes called the city of 100 churches, but the tower stands out in the picturesque cityscape of centuries-old churches and other historic sites.

 

Characteristic of the TV tower

Besides having antennas on the top, the TV tower has a one-room luxurious hotel(six-star rating), a restaurant, and a cafe bar looking out on the city from 70 meters above ground.

It is largest building in the city. Visitors can look out from the observation deck at 7.60USD.

 

 

＜LATTER HALF＞

Recently, I sometimes see and hear the word, ‘big data’.

Media says that it will produce a huge amount of money for companies.

I wanted to know more about it and read the book,’ ビッグデータの衝撃’ written by 城田真琴.

The book shows the successful examples of companies in Japan and abroad.

 

‘Big data’ seems to boost economy.

On the other hand, I wonder if our privacy is secured.

I feel a little uncomfortable when I think my data is being used without my consent.

I would like you to think about ‘big data’, businesses and our privacy.

 

<Agenda>

 

Big data—big business and privacy

 

<Question>

 

1. Does your company have ‘big data’?

How does your company utilize it?

 

2. Do you know any other business models using ‘big data’ in Japan or overseas?

 

3. How do we get benefits from ‘big data’ in our dairy life?

(e.g.  weather forecasts)

 

4. The last 2 paragraphs of the article talk about problems related to privacy.

Have you ever thought that ‘big data’ is intimidating your privacy?

5. The last paragraph says that the government should consider passing a law prohibits the commodification of data.

Do you agree with it?

(If you have time, please read the attached article about ‘acxiom’.)

 

6. What do companies do to secure their consumers’ privacy?

 

 

EDITORIALS

‘Big data’ becoming big business

(The Japan Times / Aug 19, 2013)

 

The phrase “big data” often appears in newspapers and magazines these days. It refers to extremely large amounts of data that are being sent from personal computers, smartphones, car navigation systems, IC cards, etc., and then stored in massive data centers.

 

The progress of information technology has made it possible to both store and analyze huge amounts of data and the costs of doing so is steadily dropping as technology advances. As a result, companies are increasingly utilizing big data to expand their sales. For example, it is possible to identify the gender and age of people and what they buy using electronic money via their smartphones, debit cards, etc. Analyzed data provide corporations with significant clues regarding the needs and tastes of consumers. They can then develop new products and services to meet these needs and increase their business profits.

 

It is also expected that such data can be used for medicine and agriculture. Information-technology companies believe that the use of big data will bring great changes to various industries. But a major problem is the thorny issue of how to utilize this data while protecting people’s privacy.

 

Analysis of statements made in social media, for example, make it possible to find out what kinds of opinions people have about particular issues and what kinds of things interest them. The results of such analyses can be used for business purposes as well as election campaigns.

 

In weather forecasts, weather changes are predicted by analyzing a large amount of numeric data sent from weather satellites and other sources. Some weather information companies are trying to improve their forecast accuracy by utilizing information sent from their associate members’ mobile phones.

 

The white paper on information and communication, made public in July by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, estimates that if big data accumulated in the nation were fully utilized, it would create economic benefits worth \7.7 trillion a year through business cost reductions, increased sales, and a reduction of traffic congestion. The ministry analyzed the situation for the retail industry, manufacturing industry, agriculture, and the infrastructure industry, including expressways.

 

Use of big data has the potential to cause serious social problems. Storing and analyzing a large amount of information raises the very real possibility that people’s privacy could be infringed upon. Data containing not only people’s shopping history, but their financial status and even health history as well could be exploited by entities in both the private and public sector.

 

Recently East Japan Railway (JR Higashi Nihon) admitted that it had sold records of its prepaid Suica e-money and train-pass cards to business firms. It is imperative that rules be established to ensure that the companies concerned will properly handle personal information stored in their computer systems. The government should consider passing a law prohibits the commodification of data derived from e-money transactions without consumers’ knowledge and consent.

 

(related article)

Why big companies buy, sell your data

CNN, August 23, 2012

○　http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/23/tech/web/big-data-acxiom/index.html

 

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