What is Information Society Free Essays

INTRODUCTION These days, like the headway in a personal computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, and communication technology, the noteworthiness of data is frequently growing. The sharing and move of information in the all-inclusive scale are getting far more straightforward and the relationship among individuals is getting rather expanded in light of the fact that the reliably developing of new correspondence advancements. In an information society, particularly the information advancement, the techniques for media transmission and other electronic contraptions as said are used broadly. We will write a custom essay sample on What is Information Society? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Also, the alterations in correspondence advances expect a gigantic part in social life and make new open entryways in the field of preparing. Data and correspondence innovation or known as ICT has transformed into a central bit of the general day by day presence of youths and grown-ups (Lydia, 2014). Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatApps, and YouTube are the sorts of social media that go about as a most recent device for a quick and successful medium in appropriating and getting data (Manoj, 2017). The procedure of correspondence, for example, sharing data or learning knowledge should be possible effectively inside a couple of moments with the rise of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and so on (Trisha, 2012). Consequently, social media can interface individuals around the globe independent of contrasts and topographical limits. In Malaysia, the procedure of globalization has prompted the improvement of correspondence innovation quickly. This development will bring many changes to an individual, society, organization, and country. Recently, a statistic demonstrates that the number of social network users in Malaysia has increased from 2014 to 2022. In 2022, it is estimated that there will be around 20.42 million social network users in the country, up from 18.62 million in 2017 (Statista, 2018). BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY According to MCMC (2017), there were around 21.9 million social media users in 2016, of that 97.3% guaranteed that they claimed a Facebook account. Ownership of Instagram account (56.1%), YouTube (45.3%), Twitter (26.6%), LinkedIn (9.1%) and Tumblr (4.8%) saw an increase when contrasted with earlier year. Unexpectedly, YouTube has ranked at second as social media with the most user viewing website in Malaysia. YouTube is a video sharing service that enables users to watch recordings posted by other users and upload video of their own. The administration was begun as an autonomous site in 2005 and was procured by Google in 2006. The video that have been transferred to YouTube may show up on the YouTube website and can likewise be posted on other websites, however, the documents are facilitated on the YouTube server (TechTerms, 2009). One of the reasons why YouTube is so widely used is that YouTube included User Generated Content (UGC) features. According to Jose (2016), User Generated Content (UGC) is defined as any type of content that has been created and put out there by unpaid contributor or using a better term, fans. It is able to refer to photos, video, testimonials, tweets, blog post, and everything’s in between and is the act of customers selling an emblem rather than the logo itself. People are actually capable of creating their own content material and take part in all types of applications together with WeBlogs, social networking, and online journalism. A few customers create online content on each day basis. They proportion their reviews and evaluations approximately everything; from product reviews, services and infant recommendation to boyfriend issues, homework, makeup and game tutorials. Frequently beginning as an interest, developing online content on a personal WeBlog or channel can become a fulltime process. By way of developing content material on a day by day basis, large communities are built up with lots of unswerving fans. New fans and subscribers are gained every day. YouTube is one of the most famous structures on which creators share their content. With one single video, it’s miles possible to attain millions of people. Based on the research by Wilma (2016), the impact YouTubers have on the behavior of young adults is increasingly unparalleled. They are seen as function fashions and frequently recognized in the streets with the aid of their lovers. But, out of doors this online global, YouTubers are simply as normal as most of the people. Parents regularly do not recognize approximately the net behavior of their youngsters and the YouTubers that youngsters suggest. This results in puzzling moments when fans enthusiastically apprehend their favored YouTuber even as other humans do no longer understand who this unique YouTuber is. PROBLEM STATEMENT In today’s society, the lives of young people are indispensable to the Internet. It is the information and communications channel used. In the past, the use of the Internet only relied on a computer, now the Internet can be accessed using a smartphone that only has wireless Internet software. According to Muhamad (2017), Internet users in Malaysia are increasing every year from 24.2 million people in 2015 to 24.5 million people in 2016 and the figure is expected to jump further in 2017. The increase in usage statistics was derived from Internet Users Review conducted by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia where people were able to use the internet for four hours a day and 15.5% of consumers were teenagers under the age of 19 years. According to Bassridja (2009), teenager level is from 12-18 years old. According to Minderjeet (2016), Malaysians invest twofold the energy viewing YouTube than some other country on earth. The study completed a year ago demonstrated 92 for each penny of Malaysians effectively peruse their smartphones while staring at the television. â€Å"It likewise demonstrates they cherish YouTube,† said Sajith amid board talks on â€Å"So who watches YouTube in Malaysia ?†, here today. Malaysians matured somewhere in the range of 16 and 34 years of age watch the most YouTube recordings on a month premise. The review met 1,000 Malaysians matured 16 to 64 years on their YouTube seeing propensities crosswise over portable and work area gadgets; thinking about their favored survey times, session lengths, content classes and sharing propensities. (Minderjeet, 2016). According to Raja (2011), in the era of globalization, the use of the Internet can often change the patterns and lifestyles of teens. The use of long online media over the hours creates an addiction to users. Users are more fun, complacent, and negligent in their own world. They will be angry and being mad when they cannot serve online social media. This symptom will be felt to users who are too addicted to online media especially on YouTube. In a study commissioned by Defy Media, 63% of respondents matured between 13-24 said that they would attempt a brand or an item suggested by a YouTube content maker, though just 48% specified the same about a motion picture or TV star. In 2014, Variety charged a study asking U.S. adolescents matured 13-18 to decide the greatest influencers. In particular, they were requested to rank 20 prevalent identities in light of agreeability, credibility and other criteria, which the respondents regarded as parts of their general impact. In the last positioning, prevalent YouTubers possessed the main five spots with customary famous people like Jennifer Lawrence and Katy Perry agreeing to bring down positions. In 2015, the magazine appointed this examination once more. However, the outcomes have ended up being the same as the best six spots going to famous YouTube stars (Andrew, 2017). Hence, the many facilities available on the Internet provide many side effects to teenagers today. Obsessed teens with the use of online media are less focused on the lessons because their lessons are disrupted because there is no time to review. Additionally, the addiction to online media use also affects personal health and education, and even the country has also had a huge impact due to the unhealthy symptoms of app addiction that exists today. (Muhamad, 2017). In view of that, researchers have conducted a study to identify what influence YouTubers have on the teenager. The examination explores what changes in conduct happen, how young people relate to YouTubers and how YouTubers think about their impact on youngsters. Also, the meetings explore whether the life of a YouTuber truly is as excellent as it looks in their recordings and whether young people know how genuine everything in their recordings is. Along these lines, the examination question of this exploration is as following: â€Å"What job do YouTubers play in the life of their high school watchers and how do YouTubers evaluate their own particular impacts and encounters?† RESEARCH QUESTION To carry out the research on the impact of YouTubers in the lives of young viewers and how the YouTubers assess their impact and experience among the teenagers in Johor Bahru. There are several questions that formed to use as the guideline of the research. What role do YouTubers play in the life of their teenager’s view? How do YouTubers assess their own influences and experiences? OBJECTIVE In this study, there are some objectives to carry out on the roles of YouTubers and the influences of them among the teenagers in Johor Bahru. To identify YouTuber’s role in the life of their teenager’s view. To understand how YouTubers assess their own influences and experience. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS This study aims to see the phenomenon of the influences of YouTubers around teenagers in Johor Bahru. The study is focusing on teenagers who are studying, working and married that from 13 to 20 years old. This study also focusing on the teenagers who are specifically from Johor Bahru. They are multiracial teenagers with different lifestyles and backgrounds. Examples, the teenagers that selected for this study is 12 people where 3 of them are studying in secondary school, 3 of them are studying in high schools, 3 of them is from university or college, 1 of them is already working after SPM examination and another 2 informants is housewife. Besides, this study also focusing on the importance of the role of YouTubers in today’s youth society. To make clear about teenagers view’s on YouTuber. Consequently, the main focus of this study is on the influences of YouTubers among teenagers. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY In conducting this study, there are some goals and preferred lines that are intended to benefit the purpose and to be a source of reference to society as well as to future studies. In general, this study is intended to study the influence of YouTubers among teenagers especially the age range is between 13 to 20 years old in Johor Bahru. The study also aims to examine today’s issue for teenagers who are affected by YouTubers can be contained. In addition, the findings of this study have also brings benefited to parents. Through this study, the parents could know more about the behavior of their teenagers which influence by YouTubers and have a lot of information to advise the teenagers who are especially trapped in the influence of YouTubers on social media. The findings of this study are also expected to assist academicians to further explore factors and methods to address job status destabilization in society as well as to assist the school in particular to take appropriate action regarding this phenomenon. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION In this study, some terms in the appropriate context will be used for interpretation. YOUTUBERS Researchers have used the term YouTubers where the word YouTubers is familiar with among teenagers. In this research, the term YouTubers is referred to a person who uploads, produces, or appears in videos on the video-sharing website YouTube. Besides, YouTubers also know as someone who uploads YouTube videos, particularly someone who has somewhat of a fan base. Although it can mean anyone on YouTube, in this research, it specifically means someone who makes videos and already has their own channel or company. TEENAGERS In addition, the term teenagers are also frequently used by researchers in this study. Teenagers are the transitions between children beginning with physical and mental maturity, between 13 and 20 years of age, as young adulthood. The teenagers at this stage will experience changes in their own bodies, they will develop their minds more openly, quickly attracted and easily emotionally aroused. Teenagers used in this context are teens who are involved in addicted to watching YouTube as well as teenagers who fall in admiration of Youtubers especially teenager secondary school, high school, university students and teenagers that is working after taking SPM examination. SOCIAL MEDIA Social media is a computer program that provides the function for people to communicate and exchange information on the Internet. It is also an Internet-based application group that builds on the basis of ideology and technology. Social media serves as a medium to connect through applications such as Facebook, Wechat, Whatapps and so on. Social media such as Youtube help teens to access YouTubers videos without restrictions. To understand more easily, it is necessary to know the media’s intentions first. Media is one of the means of communication, for example, magazines, newspapers, and even radio. Generally, social media is an online medium with the use of the Internet and make people feel easy and convenient to communicate through social networks. How to cite What is Information Society?, Papers

Hudson River School free essay sample

While both works prominently feature New England landscapes, there are a few key differences that result from vast differences in artistic style. O’Keeffe, staying true to her modernist roots, depicts her landscape in a simplified or abstracted form by omitting major details from her scene, and also through non-representational color choices. Contrasting this, Bierstadt gives his scene intense detailing while simultaneously idealizing the scene and presenting nature in its most romantic form, thus offering a picturesque representation of the landscape with obvious omissions of human presence or natural flaws, which serves to enhance his scene. It is immediately clear that both landscapes, in their simplest form, depict a very similar subject: New England mountains and water. Bierstadt presents a majestic take on his landscape, which uses sunlight to emphasize a mist hovering above the lake in the foreground. This misting highlighted by the sun gives the landscape an overwhelmingly divine feeling to it. Contrasting this divine feeling, O’Keeffe’s work evokes more of a sense of calmness. With a full pink moon displayed in the background, its reflection in the water, and a series of green mountains in the foreground, the landscape moves in a more mystical yet tranquil way than the other work. Her ocean stays relatively still, with only slight movement evoked by visible brush strokes, as opposed to the active transformation from water to mist in Bierstadt’s lake. Also, where his mountains serve as fixed objects in the landscape, O’Keeffe’s mountains seem to be rolling in a more literal sense. The fading of colors gives them an undulating feel that starkly contrasts the Franconia Mountains depicted. Pink Moon Over Water, although similar in style to most of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work, differs in that it depicts a scene from Maine (O’Keefee). Most of her work was inspired from living in Arizona, where she spent most of her life (Biography). In a similar manner, although most of Albert Bierstadt’s work depicted the American West, this landscape differs in that it represents a setting in New Hampshire that is much closer to his hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts (Henderson). Echo Lake, Franconia Mountains, New Hampshire, belongs to the artistic movement that classifies all off Albert Bierstadt’s work: The Hudson River School—a mid-nineteenth century American art movement that embodied elements of realism and romanticism (Henderson). Both of these criteria are met; the landscape is extremely detailed, making it seem for the viewer as if they are standing and witnessing it in person, while at the same time it is idealized by being stripped of any human presence which likely would have existed at the time of the works creation (Curator’s). Another romanticized element in play is the depiction of the light as it perfectly spotlights the ominous misting from the lake. From this it is clear that the work remains within the bounds of the Hudson River School movement of which Bierstadt pioneered, because such a spontaneous set of circumstances would not likely have occurred during the creation of the work. Very different in style, Pink Moon Over Water belongs to the American modernist movement. Characteristics which can attribute it to the movement include abstraction for the sake of aesthetic pleasure and the rejection of realism. Much like many of Georgia O’Keeffe’s other paintings, Pink Moon attempts to escape reality purposefully in an attempt to increase its visual appeal. Rather than a rigid or earthly form, O’Keeffe gives her mountains a smoothness that does not exist in nature. She reshapes the environment and fashions it in a way that happily and eagerly attempts to agree with the human eye. Major compositional elements in Pink Moon Over Water, include mountains, ocean, and a pink full moon. In this sense, the piece is simplistic because it does not have any minor elements like trees or clouds. Although the rolling foreground mountains make the landscape asymmetrical, it is very close to being a symmetrical piece. Color distribution is very even and the moon is a perfect circle centered in the background, and because of this the work effectively tip-toes the line between symmetry and asymmetry. Contrasting this is Echo Lake, which is clearly asymmetrical: on the right is a lake and distant mountains, and on the left a shore and closer mountain with trees. Because of its intricate detailing, the New Hampshire landscape possesses many elements which were thoughtfully excluded from the Pink Moon Over Water landscape. These elements include trees, shrubs and vegetation, clouds, rocks, and mist. Although it’s likely all of these details would have been present at the location of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work, she chooses not to display them for the sake of smoothness and aesthetic indulgence that is characteristic of her artistic style. There are huge differences in the application of color between the two works. Albert Bierstadt uses color in his landscape with one purpose in mind: accurately depicting the subject matter in its ideal state. Earthly tones are used for the dirt and mountains, lush green shades for the vegetation, and soft blue tones for the sky and its reflection on the lake’s surface. Although slightly idealized, the colors reflect something that can unquestionably be found in nature. Georgia O’Keeffe contrastingly takes her work in the opposite direction. It’s clear at first glance that the colors she uses, although beautiful and calming, could never be found in nature. She applies greens that range from whitish and sea foam green colored to a pine green color at the tops of the mountains. Most notably of all, the moon is a light shade of pink that serves as a perfect complement to the greens used in the mountain. Light is another element used very differently in both landscapes. In Echo Lake, dark storm clouds dominate the top of the landscape, but a gap exists that allows a radiant beam of sunlight to penetrate, which serves to showcase the mist coming up from the lake. This effectively gives the mist a divine feel that elevates the landscape to something more powerful than just a simple mountain scene. O’Keeffe’s painting uses light much differently. The source of light is the reflection of the moon. Aside from its reflection on the water, it is unclear how the moonlight affects the rest of the piece. Irrationally, mountain peaks which have more exposure to the moonlight are darker, while the lower parts of the rolling hills that are tucked away from the moonlight are brightly colored. Because of this it is clear that O’Keeffe intended to use light for a different purpose. The fading from light to dark in the mountains gives them a strange sort of movement while viewing it. Starting from the bottom, the viewer’s eyes can almost roll over each individual hill and then finally into the water off in the distance. Spatially, both landscapes are ordered very logically. It is not hard to discern what elements come in front of or behind other elements. It is clear in Pink Moon Over Water that closest to the viewer is three distinct hills that lead into a distant ocean and horizon. Similarly, Echo Lake presents little challenge. In the foreground is a lake and shoreline, which leads to a mountain farther back, and finally a distant mountain and clouds. Brushstrokes are easily seen in Pink Moon Over Water, while they are challenging to spot in Echo Lake, Franconia Mountains, NH. Albert Bierstadt did well to conceal the appearance of any brushstrokes. His attention to detail and high level of skill attempts to minimize the appearance of brushstrokes, most likely to avoid reminding the viewer that this is indeed a painting, and not a photograph. O’Keefe on the other hand used visible brushwork to give her mountains and water horizontal motion. When I look at Bierstadt’s Echo Lake and the powerful natural environment it depicts, I simply feel as if it immediately takes me to New Hampshire, and quietness envelops my mind. It reminds me of the peaceful serenity that’s characteristic of the natural environment. In addition, the transformation from water to mist feels symbolically representative of the physical laws that govern us. It reminds me that we as humans simply populate a natural world that possesses infinitely more power than we do. Although I both admire and respect the scene portrayed by Bierstadt, I prefer O’Keeffe’s work because I connect better to it emotionally. The abstraction and unique color choices allow for an escape from reality that is not possible in Bierstadt’s work. Even though it does not depict a realistic landscape, it still manages to convey a kind of surreal tranquility ordinarily evoked from the most beautiful and monumental landscapes. Even though both landscapes discussed are set in New England, the similarities end there. Echo Lake, Franconia Mountains, NH offers a straight forward and accurately detailed look at a mountain landscape, which opposes the abstracted view of a landscape presented in Pink Moon Over Water, which makes use of non-representational color and simplified natural forms. Rather than idealizing her scene like Bierstadt, Georgia O’Keeffe simplifies it. Both convey powerful emotions and go in very different directions to do so.

Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture Essay Example

Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture Essay Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams have made key contributions to our understanding of media and its relationship to society and culture. McLuhan, in particular, has been an influential thinker on the subject and his ideas continue to be debated to this day. McLuhan’s work laid emphasis on how media is not an exclusive domain, but a space for the intermingling of politics, commerce and culture. One of the founding fathers of the field of media ecology, McLuhan introduced his core ideas in the 1950s and 60s. This was a period of rapid growth in telecommunication technology. The project McLuhan undertook is no less than to explain how â€Å"the nuances and great sweeps of human history are made possible by media of communication–how media determine the thoughts and actions of people and society.† (Strate, 2004) Raymond Williams’ career as a media analyst succeeded that of McLuhan. Consequently, he was able to see the flaws in several of McLuhanâ€⠄¢s theories and rectify them to a large extent. Where Williams differed from his predecessor was on his ability to place media in the larger socio-cultural and economic dimensions rather than merely the technological dimension. This essay will argue that while McLuhan laid out many fundamental concepts governing media studies, it is Williams who offers a more robust and veritable framework of understanding for studying media. Their arguments are weighed in the cases of digital media such as the television and the Internet. And finally, where either scholar’s concepts fall short, the Propaganda Model proposed by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman is referred to present a more comprehensive understanding of media and its functionality. One of McLuhan’s interesting ideas is that media is much more than the communications technology. It includes all â€Å"human inventions and innovations†. In this view, the constituent components of mass media includes â€Å"the spoken word, roads, numbers, clothing, housing, money, clocks, the automobile, games, and weapons, in addition to the major mass media and communication technologies.† (Driedger Redekop, 1998) Hence, media is effectively an extension of human beings and their perceptory faculties and capabilities. While there is efficiency and expedition in the dissemination of information in this setup, the concerns are the attendant negative consequences. For example, an outcome of this pervasive media space is the numbing of our critical faculties under the overload of information processing. In this cultural order where ‘the medium is the message’, there is danger in media technology’s role in â€Å"how and what we communicat e, how we think, feel, and use our senses, and in our social organization, way of life, and world view.† (Driedger Redekop, 1998) I concur with McLuhan’s apprehensive about the power of media technology in determining and dictating culture. McLuhan further argued that We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer â€Å"the sensory organization, and the relationship between sensory organization and the nature of thought were shaped by a person’s direct experience with a medium. He saw television as a high-involvement medium, which leads viewers to crave the same level of involvement in all of their experiences. This was based on his designation of television as a â€Å"cool† medium, drawing on the distinction between â€Å"hot† jazz which was highly structured, and â€Å"cool† jazz, which was more unstructured, generating more listener involvement.† (Driedger Redekop, 1998) It is fair to claim that this theory is now proven to be inaccurate, for television actually only requires passive consumption as opposed to active engagement. Indeed, television has thus acquired the derogatory terms ‘idiot box’ and ‘the tube’. This is one of several instances where McLuhan’s grasp of the nature of a medium was off the mark. But some of his other theories pertaining to media’s influence on culture generally hold true. He first articulated his theories on media in his debut work The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man. First published in 1951, this book focussed on media content as opposed to his later ruminations on the nature of media and the enabling technology. McLuhan identifies ways in which â€Å"popular culture reflects and promotes the attitudes, beliefs, and values of technological society†. (Strate, 2004) In this milieu, human beings are conditioned in certain ways that promote the technocratic so cial order. McLuhan refers to the ‘technological man’, who is a super specialist in his professional field, but is limited in his ability to critically engaging with the system he is a part of. While McLuhan doesn’t fully articulate the repercussions of this limitation, Raymond Williams’ fulfils this scholarly void. He elaborates that the ‘technological woman’ is mass produced as in an assembly line. She is a product of consumption of commodities such as soaps, cosmetics, household appliances, etc. With greater mechanization, some of her traditional roles are shifted to an automatic machine like, say, a washing machine. The vast sweep and penetration of mass media is such that children are especially hostage to its effects. Whereby, technological children grow up feeding on baby formula instead of mother’s breast milk. The resultant unfulfilled neo-natal urge leads them to carry an oral fixation in later life. This manifests in t he form of addictions to cigarettes and alcohol – even Coca-Cola is a source of satiating this fixation. But beyond these physical entrapments that keep them entrenched in the consumerist cycle, the more significant effects are on the faculties of mind. Even McLuhan concurs with Williams on the above point, as he notes: what passes for education is usually technical training that â€Å"will allow them to fit into the machine-like organizations of corporate America. Even in death, we are ruled by technology through the sale of coffins that are weather-resistant.† (Strate, 2004) Through these insights McLuhan introduced the concept of ‘technique’ or ‘technopoly’ that is the dominant method of indoctrination of human beings in modern technological societies. McLuhan and Williams were thus able to foresee the unsavoury and detrimental effects – so far as general human progress is concerned – of the confluence of media technology and consumerism on culture. Of the two, it is Williams who disapproved of these tendencies more vehemently and lamented the abuse of media. He expressed disappointment over the fact that the enabling and emancipating potential of technological media is usurped by business and political interests for perpetuating their own narrow goals. Through the mere fact of exposing this reality, Williams is pitching for critical thinking and corrective remedial action on part of civil society. One of Raymond Williams’ key ideas is how culture â€Å"is a whole way of life, and everyone adopts a certain way of life or wants to have a changed way of life†. (Murray, Roscoe, Morris, Lumby, al-, 2002) This aspiration takes a whole set of connotations in the era of globalization. Under this global economic paradigm, the primary concern is how local or indigenous culture would be impacted by â€Å"the global flows of capital, information, ideology, values, and technology.† (Fengzhen Xie, 2003) Consequently, Williams identifies a general anxiety permeating all cultural discourse. There are fears that globalization might challenge and eventually quell several historically developed local linguistic, ethnic or national cultures. Several social critics, including Williams, have pondered if globalization is synonymous with â€Å"unification or Americanization of the world culture†. (Fengzhen Xie, 2003) Others insist that â€Å"globalization is not nec essarily the story of cultural homogenization or Americanization; instead it encourages and creates cultural diversity and protean difference.† (Fengzhen Xie, 2003) It is important to remember that the process of globalization happened on the back of an equally rapid growth in telecommunication technology. Hence, Williams’ observations on globalization are fully applicable to its iconic technological symbol – the Internet. In the debate surrounding Internet’s effect on indigenous cultures, a third position has emerged â€Å"that attempts to reconcile the global and the local–it argues that globalization is a two-fold process which brings the universalization of particularism and the particularization of universalism at the same time.† (Fengzhen Xie, 2003) Bringing in the viewpoint of Chomsky-Herman to this debate, it is fairly clear that their view of globalization and attendant media consolidation is negative. Chomsky, for example, has ci ted the failure of NAFTA to create prosperity for a majority of Mexicans, thereby exposing its rhetoric as propaganda of half-truths. Coming back to McLuhan, in his later work, ‘The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man’, he performs media analysis at the level of ‘system’ or ‘ecology’. Of the various observations and insights offered in the book, many pertain to the role of media (mainly the television) to the formation of culture. He identifies oral communication at the level of tribes as the earliest media developed by human civilization. The invention of the printing press at the beginning of the modern age thus brought a radical shift to the manufacture and assimilation of culture. There is even the contention that it was print technology which precipitated the beginning of the modern age, breaking away from the feudalistic and culturally stagnant medieval times. In this view, the invention of the alphabet is a watershed event in the evolution of human culture. According to McLuhan, the electronic culture (standing for both television and the Internet) is the ‘fourth culture’ which is ‘paradise regained’. Developing from â€Å"the invention of telegraphy to television and the computer, this culture promises to short-circuit that of mechanical print and we regain the conditions of an oral culture in acoustic space. We return to a state of sensory grace; to a culture marked by qualities of simultaneity, indivisibility and sensory plenitude. The haptic or tactile senses again come into play, and McLuhan strives hard to show how television is a tactile medium.† (New Media, p.81) Undertaking the study of the evolution of media in the last five centuries, McLuhan considers the dominant contemporary media forms in great detail and depth. It is in the context of modern electronic media and the conditions of globalization that the term ‘global village’ is introduced. One of McLuhan’s most enduring quotations in this regard is how â€Å"the new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village†. (Murray, Roscoe, Morris, Lumby, al-, 2002) There is truth to this view as the stupendous success of Hollywood and other American cultural products across the world prove. But McLuhan’s articulation is incomplete as it does not mention the commercial backbone of the electronic/digital culture. For example, in studying the film industry one can see how there is an â€Å"intersection of political economy and cultural studies†. (Druick, 2004) In the current set up where local cultural sensibilities are challenged by Hollywood, Raymond Williams’ argument rings true. He noted that

Top Workplace Trends of 2016 so Far

Top Workplace Trends of 2016 so Far It’s always important to stay on top of the most current and exciting trends in the workplace, no matter what your field. Here are the top 10  biggest trends for this year, according to the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology. 1. Big DataThis has been on top of the short list for the past few years- and was also number one last year. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to analyze the mounting piles of data they accrue and find ways to maximize what they learn from that data to improve their business. Businesses need to keep strategizing how to get the best analysis and make the best interpretations in order to make their best decisions.2. TechnologyTechnology continues to evolve faster than we can keep ahead of it. And we are relying on it more and more. Businesses need to focus on figuring out how that reliance, plus the increased prevalence of automation, might affect their hiring and staffing decisions- not to mention training emphases for current and new employees.3.  Working RemotelyMore and more people are getting the opportunity to manage their own schedules and work remotely. Businesses need to keep an open mind as to how to best manage teams who are not all working from the same physical location- and how to keep productivity as high as possible.4. More Frequent ReviewsGone are the days of performance reviews only happening once or twice a year. The evaluation process will become more like an ongoing conversation between employees, supervisors, and management. This focus on continually improving will help employees develop faster and better- and help companies help them to improve.5. Employee EngagementEngaged employees are better employees. So much research confirms this. They go the extra mile so much more often. Businesses should constantly be thinking how to raise employee engagement, which will help boost productivity and set a constructive and positive office culture.6. Wellness for EmployeesBusinesses are under mu ch more pressure these days to provide health and wellness incentives for employees. The healthier the workers, the better the work!7. FlexibilityBusinesses are required to be more and more agile and flexible in their business practices. The willingness to take risks and innovate is proving to pay off more and more often. This will need to be incorporated into organizational principles and missions, including flexibility with work schedules.8. Work/Life BalanceThere’s more and more focus these days on offering better work/life balance for employees. And more and more employees are demanding such a focus. Businesses will have to figure out which strategies work best, and which are less effective, in order to compete.9. DiversityHiring practices will hopefully adapt to include more diversity in the workforce, and also more diversity-oriented thinkers in positions of authority. This is an important one, and is required to matching the ethos of the future.10. Social MediaSocial m edia sites like Facebook and LinkedIn will be used much more for hiring and recruitment- not just for networking. There are legal issues to keep in mind on both sides, for both workers and employers.

Critically analyse the assertion that the benefits of globalization Essay

Critically analyse the assertion that the benefits of globalization have been unequal and have led to widening global inequality - Essay Example These are just a few of the advantages that human societies and business activities enjoy from globalisation and its related activities. Globalisation is a term used to describe various macro-economic regulations and policies that influence various cross-border transactions and other systems that lead to increased interdependence in the citizens of many countries globally (McGregor 2008, 13). It is believed that globalisation activities in the world started in the 1990s. However, it is important to understand that trends in globalisation had began a few years before the 1990s (Ghauri & Powell, 2008, 54). Globalisation is said to have led to increased quality, efficiency and effectiveness in the quality of goods and services that were being produced by countries. Many companies began to improve in the supply management and distribution of goods and services, something that led to their growth and development, with expansions to other regions and countries. Globalization played a big role in economic integration, something that led to the economic growth and development in these countries. Currently, many countries are involved in various integration something that some people say has led to increased economic inequalities in different economies. This paper examines the effects of globalization and perceived inequalities that have results from it in various countries. The process of economic integration describes the rising economic integration as well as the interdependence witnesses in the national, regional and the local economies in many parts of the world. This process is often experienced in the intensification of the cross-border movements and transfers of products and services, capital and other important technologies used in economic activities. In as much as globalisation is described as a set of various processes that happen in the economic networks, cultural interchange as well as the in political circles, the rapidly

Religion and Ecology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Religion and Ecology - Essay Example This book guides its reader through everyday life with an eco-friendly and animal -friendly outlook. It advises its readers on how to raise children in an environmentally sound way of life as well. The application of religion could potentially be applied to this type of lifestyle but the conflict arises in the arena of commitment to God. Particularly in Christianity, one’s devotion to God is of the utmost importance. This means that one should be concerned about one’s spiritual life and the promise of the eternal afterlife more so than the physical realm of this earth and its inhabitants and recourses. In the Old Testament, routine sacrificing of animals was imperative in keeping one’s God happy. This was a ritual that rid an individual of sin and evil deeds, before the eyes of God. Certainly, this made for a good disciple of God but was not an animal friendly approach to life by any means. One of the key aspects to environmentally friendly living, is respecting the creatures that live on this planet. That means humans as well as all animals. Through a religious perspective, God gave Adam and Eve dominion over all of the animals. This is often interpreted by Christians to mean that humans should feel free to eat animals, wear their skin and sacrifice them as burnt offerings if need be. There is a more eco-friendly interpretation of this that states that having dominion over animals just means that humans are to watch out for and care for the animals of the earth. But, as the Bible goes from Old Testament to New Testament, readers of the Bible are told that Jesus was the ult imate sacrifice and that animal sacrifices were no longer necessary. Most Christians though today, will freely eat meat and concern themselves with spirituality as opposed to the physical condition of the earth. The concept of Christianity is ultimately that one

Asian American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Asian American History - Essay Example The paper explores Southeast Asian migration to the US in the wake of the Southeast Asian crisis and their subsequent experiences in the alien land and how they coped up in a given situation. Early Migrations Takaki dates Asian migration back to 1835 when a sugar mill owner began his sugar business in Hawaii. Local workers were not efficient enough to carry on his sugar mill operations. When he replaced them with Chinese workers, he found them more efficient. Perhaps, that was the first time when Chinese or Asian workers got its due recognition so much so that during laying of transcontinental railroads in 1834, it was decided to employ Chinese workers. By 1867, there were more than twelve thousand Chinese workers employed at the Central Pacific Railroad Soon stories of Hawaii were reaching to other shores. Between 1903 and 1920, in their bid to escape from the clutches of Japanese, more than eight thousand Koreans migrated to the US. The migration to the U.S. from other Asian countr ies such as Korea, Philippines, and India continued unabated (Takaki 21, 53). The Global Cold War and Hot Wars of Southeast Asia The end of World War II marked a new beginning of Asian migrations in the US. The global cold war between the Soviet Union and the US intensified after the end of World War II and Asia became a battleground in a process to leave an imprint on many underdeveloped and poor Asian countries by the two diametrically opposite economic and political ideologies – namely the USSR and the US. Cambodia which was a French colony until 1953 had a major political upheaval thereafter. Chandler mentions the radical thinking of Pol Pot: â€Å"We all carry vestiges of our old class character, deep-rooted for generations† (44). He believed in destroying these things in order to achieve socialism. The fight between Lon Nol's Khmer Republic supported by the U.S. and the Khmer Rouge supported by communists from North Vietnam brought an extraordinary turmoil within the country. Communism was exported to Cambodia via Vietnam during the time when both were under French rule. The Civil war in 1970-75 took the toll of more than 500,000 people and displaced more than three million people from its place. Khmer Rouge's ideology had several facets. As Chan puts it, "Fearing pollution or contamination, they savagely went about eradicating all those whom they deemed impure" ("Cambodia’s Darkest Hour" 14). Khmer Rouge believed more in the concept of race overthrowing the concept of class. It was neither a peasant revolution nor a revolution meant for working class. That is why Khmer Rouge began evacuating Phnom Penh on the same day after capturing it. In a most pathetic incident, the patients from the largest civilian hospital from the Phnom Penh were evacuated first. In a few days, the city's entire population was asked to move on the plea that Americans might bomb. In a bizarre and well-thought out move, approximately 2.5 million people were as ked to leave their houses and places. Some of the Khmer leaders, such as Hou Yuon who opposed the evacuation, were removed from the scene. The citizens were completely baffled and wandering without shelter and food. Thousands of them died of illness, thirst, and starvation. The former military officers and government officials who were called to take specific instructions never returned.