Thursday, January 30, 2020

Political Economy Theory Essay Example for Free

Political Economy Theory Essay The political economy in mass media theory argues that the structure of the industry influences content. _(Andrejevic M, 2007)._ This theory will be demonstrated by analysing an article entitled _'Skys the limit for MySpace_, published on _News.com.au_ on August 10th 2007. The presumption of the theory is that media content is influenced by a combination of the media owners (individuals or corporations), advertisers, competitors/other media, government regulations and viewers or readers. In the case of media ownership, Private individuals decide what information should be provided to the public based on what earns them the most money. _(Andrejevic M, 2007)_ The _News.com.au_ article on _MySpace_ appears in the National News section and describes the firm grasp and incredible influence the social networking site, established in 2003, has on the internet and throughout the business world. The article is saturated with references to the innovations and stunning success of _MySpace_. For example the opening sentence reads Social networking website _MySpace_ has more than 115 million members around the world and already plays a key role in launching music careers, political campaigns and the way people communicate in general. _(Gadd M, 2007)_ At this point a discerning reader should recall that _News Corp_ bought _MySpace_ from its co founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe in July 2005. _(Malick O, 2006)_ The propaganda model developed by Edwards S Herman and Noam Chomsky asserts that information presented to the general public via mainstream media outlets will be biased in relation to the interests of the multinational organisations or media conglomerates that own them. _(Herman Chomsky, 1988)_ By publishing an article promoting the dominant discourse that _MySpace_ is a popular, thriving production with unlimited potential, _News Limited_ are encouraging awareness of the website, which in turn provides it with traffic and publicity. Since _News Corp_ owns _MySpace_ and is a holding company for _News Limited_, this is a chief example of the  propaganda model and reinforces the political economy theory that media content is affected by media owners. The positive language used in the article demonstrates the power of linguistic controls in promoting a discourse. The writers of the article use phrases such as its just the tip of the ice berg _(Gadd M, 2007)_ to imply there is a wealth of possibilities for _MySpace_ to accomplish. The website is described as a platform for individuals to express themselves and socialise. _(Gadd M, 2007)_ This quote is relevant to todays society as ideas of non-conformity, individuality and creativity are attractive to todays youth. Of all the quotes available from the interviews with the co founders, there is a deliberate choice on behalf of _News.com.au_ to feature words such as emerging, prominent, innovate, and evolve that connote ideas of positive change and progression. This gives the impression that _MySpace_ is at the forefront of the online social networking phenomenon with millions of individuals flocking to be involved. These terms are deliberately chosen by _News Limited_ to appeal to advertisers who wish for their products to be seen and purchased by the trend-setters in society, and this will consequently benefit its parent, _News Corp_. The article also suggests the potential power MySpace has for advertisers in the future. Mr DeWolfe said mobile advertising would be a lucrative fund source and video would take a more prominent place in the way people communicated and shared their art. _(Gadd M, 2007)_ It should be noted that _News Corp.,_ along with other media conglomerates, is ultimately a commercial organisation. By using _News Limited_s article to draw attention to the incredible infiltration ratio of _MySpace_ (four million unique accounts in Australia, and 50% of all internet users in America) _News Corp_ is securing advertisers interest in _MySpace_. The statement by Walt Disney Corporation CEO, Michael Eisner, is particularly powerful in demonstrating the reality of what drives media conglomerates: We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective. _(Andrejevic M, 2007)_ Newspapers, TV networks and magazines rely on advertisers to finance their business, so to encourage advertisers to buy space in their publication they commodify and promote their audiences. According to Dallas Smythe audiences are bought by advertisers on the basis on income, age, sex, ethnic and class specifications. _(Stevenson N, 2002:10-11)_ Rupert Murdoch outlined his plans for the future of _MySpace_ in a 2006 interview at the Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference. He revealed that an instant messenger client with voice capabilities, increased worldwide penetration, and free video downloads were in the works. (The free video downloads have been successfully incorporated into the website since the interview.) Following this, Mr Murdoch said Weve got the biggest mass of unsold inventory. We have the third most page views of the Internet in America, and explained that _News Corp_ had met with advertising networks to judge whether they can sell it better than we can. _(Burns E, 2006)_ In conclusion, the political economy theory, which highlights the a link between ownership and †¦ content of media production _(Stevenson N, 2002: 41)_, can be applied to the _News.com.au_ article about _MySpace_ to reveal how much ownership, among other things, can affect the information the public receives from mass media outlets. As demonstrated in the way that _News Limited_ portrayed _MySpace_ in a positive light for the economic benefit of its parent firm _News Corp,_ it is important for audiences to be aware of the political economy theory, and to detect not only bias but the possible reasons behind such bias in media texts they consume. BIBLIOGRAPHY Andrejevic M (2007) _The Mass Media: A Political Economic Approach._ Lecture slides for JOUR2211 Week 2. Available from https://my.uq.edu.au/blackboard_frame.html Accessed on 12/08/07 Burns E (2006) _Murdoch discusses future of MySpace.com._ Available from Accessed on 10/08/07 Gadd M (2007) _Skys the limit for MySpace._ Available from Accessed on 10/08/07 Herman E S and Chomsky, Noam. (1988) _Manufacturing Consent: the Political Economy of the Mass Media_. New York: Pantheon Books Malick O (2006) _Why Murdoch Really Bought MySpace._ Available Accessed on 11/02/03 McQuail D (2002) _McQuails Reader in Mass Communication Theory._ Sage publications. Stevenson N (2002) Understanding Media Cultures: Social Theory and Mass Communication. Sage publications. pp10-11

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Summary of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Essay -- essays research paper

The Jungle The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is about a Lithuanian family living in Chicago in the 1900’s. They had faith in the American dream, hoping to start a new and successful life. Unfortunately they were deprived of they hopes and dreams. They were placed in the middle of a society where only the strongest and richest survived. The rich keep getting richer and the poor get even poorer. Jurgis and his family went to extreme lengths just in hopes of finding a job, they were forced to travel in heavy rain, strong winds, and thick snow, even when they were sick, in fear of losing their jobs. The Jungle pointed out many flaws in society such as filthy meat and sickening work conditions. When Jurgis and his family arrived in Chicago they thought that they would find life a lot easier. T...

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Trends and Issues in Education

Future Needs Change Current Issues and Trends in Education Historically education has changed over the years to meet the needs of children, and their ever changing mold. Society and governance has changed over history to save children from abuse, starvation, and provide educational opportunities but has not completely succeeded in these areas within minority classes. The educational gap between whites, blacks, and Hispanics is astoundingly large. This gap extends to healthcare, gun violence, criminal activity, and poverty. Since 1979, gun violence has ended the lives of 110,645 children and teens in America† (â€Å"State of america's,† 2011). Gun violence is not a new issue to the United States. It can be dated back to the first presidential assassinations and the â€Å"old west†. Gun violence has escalated into religious and political assassinations up to school massacres starting with the Columbine shootings. The United States’ is not successfully helping our youth with gun prevention. In 1994 the federal government passed The Youth Handgun Safety Act which prevents juveniles from possessing firearms or ammunition.That same year they passed The Gun-Free Schools Act which prevents firearms on school campuses and requires LEA’s to a referral service of those students caught with a firearm (1996). Although the government has enacted these laws gun violence has escalated. According to The State of Americas Children â€Å"3,042 deaths of children and teens from gunfire in 2007 alone nearly equaled the total number of U. S. combat deaths in Iraq through July 2011 (3,480)† (â€Å"State of america's,† 2011 ). Their data also shows that 11 children or teens die daily from gun related problems.It also states that even though there are fewer black boys in America they are more likely to come into a fatal blow with a firearm. African American males are more likely to die from a gunshot blow than any natural cause of death ( 1996). The sad issue here is that most of these minorities are the product of poor communities. The need to feel important can be a huge determining factor for these young males, and their need to be accepted into a group. Intervention programs need to be more readily available for these poverty areas. Every 34 seconds a child is born into poverty† (â€Å"State of america's,† 2011). America has made significant advancements in technology, civility, and postmodernism but is still stuck in a time warp from the ‘70s when it comes to poverty. Today’s youth still face the poverty epidemic they faced 40 years ago. The demographic of poverty has changed due to the changing face of America, but the epidemic remains the same. Poverty affects a child’s educational performance and opportunities as well. The schools funds are rooted in property taxes.Most students of poverty live in areas with low property taxes and therefore school funding is low. Instead of th e government making sufficient shifts in funding to give intervention opportunities and professional development, the time warp remains. Teachers come into education unaware of the issues poverty throws on its children. The government has â€Å"tried† to solve the educational poverty issue with No Child Left Behind. This act hides behind the blanket of all children are equal, but the truth is they are not.If they were then all children would have the same opportunities. There would be programs in place for summer enrichment to help stop the loss of information they experience during the summer. Poverty also shows itself in the minority groups and their graduation success rate. In 2006–07, 7. 7 million students attended poverty schools 33 percent African American and 35 percent Latino (â€Å"Child poverty in,† 2006). Only half of the African American male population actually graduates high school. Poverty is the root that bears down to hold on to generation after generation.If society does not change its ways of informing families and students then our society is going to keep falling behind. In order to make minority groups more successful in education, we are going to have to inform them on the statics of graduation, what is needed to graduate, be able to identify at-risk students, and show them the next step, college. If students have a vision of what is next, they can envision themselves on that path. My personal experiences help me and inhibit me in my understanding of the future of our youth. The fact that I grew up in poverty helps me see the need for intervention.If I was not exposed to the interventions that my school had in place then I would not have had the visions for what I needed to be successful. The downfalls to the interventions were that they were only for those A students. I was exposed to the next step because I did well in school. My mother and father were not high school graduates but pushed and showed that education was important. Though I grew up in poverty, I lived in the suburbs. This inhibits me with gun violence to a certain sense. The only gun violence I was exposed to was the untimely death of a classmate because he was playing with a handgun.I am not familiar with street gun violence, the need to be in a gang or the readily available hand guns. This kept me from seeing the issue of inequality until I reached the classroom as a teacher. I became a teacher in ’07 in an inner city school. My familiarity with growing up in poverty helped me connect with my all black classes. I knew when they first saw this â€Å"white lady† they would feel no connection but that quickly changed. They figured out that we had more in common than they thought. I used my experiences of the unknown to keep them from having the same unknowns.I may have no idea of the fear they live in with constant gunfire in their streets at night, I do understand the long, dark path that they see in front of them with no light to guide them through the goals they have rooted in them. I try to provide a spark in the beginning that will eventually lead to an ever burning light that shows them there is no dark place, that success is theirs. They can do and be anything they strive to be. Diligence and will are the keys to success. As an educator I have to stay educated on the adverse society we live in and the proven strategies that will help me be successful to keep my students successful.Our future needs a change in education, in poverty, and in thought. Technology is a beautiful tool, but our country has its hands in the wrong pocket. Taking from education is only hindering our future economic success by filling our prisons and emptying our school desks. Gun violence is being used by our youth as a tool for change but this change is a life altering change in the wrong the direction. Having politicians without educational background guiding our educational realm will continue to lead it into a hurricane of destruction.References (2009). African americans and education. Retrieved from http://naacp. 3cdn. net/e5524b7d7cf40a3578_2rm6bn7vr. pdf Aldridge, J. , & Goldman, R. (2007). Current issues and trends in education. (2nd ed). Boston: Pearson Education. (2006). Child poverty in america. Retrieved from http://www. fightpoverty. mmbrico. com/facts/america. html (1996). Reducing Youth Gun Violence:, Retrieved from https://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles/redyouth. pdf (2011). State of america's children. Retrieved from www. childrensdefense. org

Monday, January 6, 2020

Sherman Alexie s The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time...

The American Library Association s rundown of the ten most challenged books each year since 2010 incorporates Sherman Alexie s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Last year, the Association listed the book as the second most banned and challenged book while in 2014, the Association listed the book as the number one most banned and challenged book. Recently, many parents of 9th grade students have sought to ban the book because of it s offensive language, racism, and sexually explicit language. What guardians don t know about is that different things such as, social media incorporates much more dreadful issues than in this book. Nonetheless, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should be allowed in the ninth†¦show more content†¦According to the story, Did you know that Indians are living proof that n****** f*** buffalo? (Alexie 64). This shows an example of the racist jokes and the sort of harassing a ninth grader might encounter where in this quote, white children are tormenting Arnold in his new school. Arnold shows how how he manages to ignore the bullying and how he changes his life from being a fearful, somewhat immature teenager to becoming more self-confident and mature by standing up to his fears, no matter the risk. The second reason as to why The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should be allowed in the ninth grade curriculum is because it is filled with positive, life affirming messages that students in the ninth grade could relate back to. I m fourteen years old and I ve been to forty-two funerals, (Alexie 199) says Junior after losing three loved ones in alcohol incidents. Though Arnold Spirit, is only fourteen years old, he is confronted with death of his loved ones over and over again and despite all of this, Arnold must learn to carry on and he does this by focusing on life and the joy it brings. Arnold states, I made a list of my favorite books:1. The Grapes of Wrath 2. Catcher in the Rye 3. Fat Kid Rules the World...9. Jar of Fools (Alexie 177). In this chapter, Arnold tries to comfort himself by making a list of his favorite things and Arnold later carries out his journey by learning to ignore poverty and alcoholism, the two primaryShow MoreRelatedSherman Alexie s The Absol utely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian 986 Words   |  4 PagesSherman Alexie is a Native American author who wrote The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.... This story depicts a young Native American boy named Arnold spirit who grows up on the Spokane Indian Reservation face with poverty and alcoholism. After living on the reservation for 14 years, Arnold decides to leave the reservation in attending an all white school off the reservation named Reardan. Well at Reardan what makes a few friends named Gordy and Penelope who have made a good impactRead MoreAnalysis Of Sherman Alexie s The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian 1576 Words   |  7 Pagesor psychological ways. Sherman Alexie s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian raises awareness about this common social issue, bullying, through his story about a boy growing up on an impoverished Native American reservation. The novel shows how bullying can leave deep emotional scars that last a lifetime. It s important to take bullying seriously and not just brush it off as something that kids have to tough out. 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In order to achieve this better life, Junior decides to move to another school in order to have hope for his futureRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian By Sherman Alexie895 Words   |  4 PagesDouble-consciousness in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian   Double-consciousness this sense of always looking at one s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity (Dubois, 8). W.E.B. Du Bois had a perfect definition of double-consciousness. The action of viewing one s self through the eyes of others and measuring one s soul. Looking at all of the thoughts good or bad coming from others. This is presentRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of The Part Time Indian By Sherman Alexie2068 Words   |  9 Pagesinappropriate behavior based on the age of the reader. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is one of those books, and in the opinions of many the novel actually consists of nearly all of these reasons why most books are banned. The book is actually one, if not the most, challenged book in the United States. Sherman Alexie s 2007 novel The Absolutely True Diary of the Part-Time Indian is considered a controversial novel because of it s demeaning references to alcoholism, poverty, bullyingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian `` By Sherman Alexie1403 Words   |  6 Pagesbillions of people out there in the world. Every single person out there longs to be part of something bigger than themselves. They don’t want to be alone in such a big place as the earth we live on. They want to feel like they belong. This is exactly how Arnold Spirit Junior (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; Sherman Alexie) feels. He has spent his entire life feeling like an outsider. He longs to be a part of something bigger than himself, to be accepted. There are many aspects in lifeRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of The Part Time Indian1932 Words   |  8 Pagessituations, violence, and inappropriate behavior for the age it s been given to. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is one of those books and actually almost consists of all of the reasons most books are banned. The book is actually one, if not the most, challenged book in the United States. Sherman Alexie s 2007 novel The Absolutely True Diary of the Part-Time Indian is considered a controversial novel because of it s demeaning references to alcohol, poverty, bullying, violence, andRead MoreIn Sherman Alexie’S The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time1311 Words   |  6 Pages In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the protagonist struggles throughout the novel by having two different selves: Junior, the outcast from the Reservation and Arnold, from the white high school at Reardan. As a result of being two oppo sites, Junior’s behavior and personality drastically changes, affecting both himself and others around him. Living in Wellpinit, Arnold Spirit gets nicknamed Junior from his fellow Spokane Tribal members, is an outsider, and only hasRead MoreAnalysis of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie805 Words   |  4 PagesThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian which was written by Sherman Alexie, combines humor and tragedy to tell a first-person narrative story of Arnold Spirit Jr., a 14-year-old Native American teenager, and the events in his life about pursuing his dreams. This book is a semi-autobiographical novel and it has won the 2007 U.S. National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature and the Odyssey Award as best 2008 audiobook for young people. The language in this book is simple, humorous andRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian By Sherman Alexie1136 Words   |  5 PagesCritical analysis of The Absolutely True Dia ry of a Part Time Indian The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, investigates the hidden facts about Indians. Alexie displays amiability, sorrow, and reality through his primary character, Junior, to influence the reader to comprehend how much the Native Americans are suffering. In present-day society, desperate Indians that reside in these reservations endure incurable poverty that keeps on prevailing. This dim world loaded