Here are some final thoughts about the course.
While it is certainly interesting to know about the various different communication theories that we have learnt, one can't help but feel that some of these theories range from feeling slightly dated (mass communication theories circa '67) to downright bewildering (postmodern theorizing, i had to pause and stop to re-read many portions because it just didn't make much sense the first time round).
Nevertheless there were a few theories that were quite relevant such as the theories about communication communities, we live in many different communities throughout our lives and how we communicate between them certainly seems applicable and relevant.
I must applaud the efforts of professor Robert M Armstrong for doing his best to make his classes engaging and interesting with his many intersting anecdotes while delivering the lecture. I was going to complain about the workload whereby there seemed to be a new project to work on every week when it dawned on me that professor armstrong is going to be one getting the short end of the stick! (6 assignments multiplied by the whole class... maybe 40-60 of us.... and movie reviews to grade....gee I wouldn't want to be him).
It is admirable of him to be such a hard worker.... although i think he could take it easy from time to time... Singapore is already a stressful enough place to live in as it is!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Much ado about technological determination [Comm blog entry #3]
Having lived through the... birth, no that's not quite right, the infancy of internet rather, i was wondering if the theory of technological determination would apply to the internet, as compared to television which it was originally designed for it in mind. Furthermore, the theory was developed by MacLuhan in about 1967, I wonder if the theory still has any relevance today, let's see...
The medium is the message/massage? The medium here in question would be the computer in which is how one accesses the internet. So the act of using the internet shape how we think and act, well... that would be a resounding "no!"
The internet now is highly personalised, one can choose what to consume and not be as hapless as television viewers who have no control on what programming the television networks choose to screen. Everything online is now effectively "on-demand"; whatever content we choose; whenever we choose to consume it. So obviously one would have to think about what choice he or she might want to consume online first before consumption and not the other way round!
New technologies bring new expectations of immediacy. Oh hell yes! This immediacy was not so pronounced at first, one could get regular updates on news and stories on numerous news websites and blogs by the hour if one wanted to. Now we have certain online tools that let us update (or be updated) to the very second!! What are those tools? I have just two words for you, "facebook" and "twitter", and not to mention "youtube" which allows one to watch anything instantaneously! 'Nuff said!!!
One of the more disturbing trends of this theory is that prolonged use of "hot" media would affect attention through unequal stimulation of the brain lobes. Use of the internet and related modern technologies only stimulate the visual and spatial right side of the brain. As a result, the more analytical and abstract left side of the brain doesn't get a workout, so to speak.
It would not be rare to see young children now absorbed in the use of the internet, videogames, handphones and whatnot. I wonder if they would be able to get enough "exericse" in the left brain to think about things rationally and carefully. They would find it difficult to engage in deep thought about certain issues if that is the case and it seems to be cause for worry.
42 years on, MacLuhan's theory of techonlogical determination still has a relative applicability in this day and age.
Here's a little video to feed you a little food for thought...
The medium is the message/massage? The medium here in question would be the computer in which is how one accesses the internet. So the act of using the internet shape how we think and act, well... that would be a resounding "no!"
The internet now is highly personalised, one can choose what to consume and not be as hapless as television viewers who have no control on what programming the television networks choose to screen. Everything online is now effectively "on-demand"; whatever content we choose; whenever we choose to consume it. So obviously one would have to think about what choice he or she might want to consume online first before consumption and not the other way round!
New technologies bring new expectations of immediacy. Oh hell yes! This immediacy was not so pronounced at first, one could get regular updates on news and stories on numerous news websites and blogs by the hour if one wanted to. Now we have certain online tools that let us update (or be updated) to the very second!! What are those tools? I have just two words for you, "facebook" and "twitter", and not to mention "youtube" which allows one to watch anything instantaneously! 'Nuff said!!!
One of the more disturbing trends of this theory is that prolonged use of "hot" media would affect attention through unequal stimulation of the brain lobes. Use of the internet and related modern technologies only stimulate the visual and spatial right side of the brain. As a result, the more analytical and abstract left side of the brain doesn't get a workout, so to speak.
It would not be rare to see young children now absorbed in the use of the internet, videogames, handphones and whatnot. I wonder if they would be able to get enough "exericse" in the left brain to think about things rationally and carefully. They would find it difficult to engage in deep thought about certain issues if that is the case and it seems to be cause for worry.
42 years on, MacLuhan's theory of techonlogical determination still has a relative applicability in this day and age.
Here's a little video to feed you a little food for thought...
Comm blog entry #2 (Behind the scenes - doing research for Org Comm project)
One day, yet another assignment landed on our laps. It required us to find and interview and/or observe an organization for their culture. After some discussion, Lydia came up with the idea of going to her parent's firm for the project, and i was like, "what?? your parents actually OWN a firm?"
And then i realised... hey this is SIM we are talking about, almost everyone here has to have some kind of wealth to begin with, that's why we're here... (i don't consider myself to be obscenely wealthy, just enough to get by, i.e. pay the fees).
Anyway, enough about the wealth have and have nots, it was decided that i was to interview a manager of the firm at their premises. Rode down on a thursday into the outskirts of the Central Business District at North Canal Road (Somewhere in between chinatown and clarke quay stations) to discover that the firm was housed in a nice cozy shophouse along a row of them.
I entered and introduced myself and sat at the reception area waiting for my "target" to arrive. Just my luck, the night before the workers were up late in the office rushing for a submission deadline and hence they were all entitled to report late for work on the following day.
I was sitting there for a whole half hour when i realised i had forgotten to remove my cashcard form my bike... oboy. Hurried to the bike and flipped open the card unit and............ empty........ some greasy fingers had already swiped it ........ curses!! Bloody thieves... only a whole half hour elapsed and its stolen.
I returned to the office with a black face and had to wait another hour before the manager arrived. Needless to say, i wasn't in the best of moods but still managed to force a smile through my scowl.
Due to the fairly long amount of time i spent there, i managed to observe a little into how their office culture operated. Since it was a small firm compared to huge super corporation, the office had a more "village" feel to it; everyone that came in was cheery (partly because it was payday) and knew everyone else. They also discussed work matters informally at the reception counter and the pantry. The whole place had a laid back atmosphere and yet buzzing with activity at the same time.
I wouldn't claim it to be an eye opening experience... its just a nice variation from the norm of the office culture that one would see here in Singapore.
And then i realised... hey this is SIM we are talking about, almost everyone here has to have some kind of wealth to begin with, that's why we're here... (i don't consider myself to be obscenely wealthy, just enough to get by, i.e. pay the fees).
Anyway, enough about the wealth have and have nots, it was decided that i was to interview a manager of the firm at their premises. Rode down on a thursday into the outskirts of the Central Business District at North Canal Road (Somewhere in between chinatown and clarke quay stations) to discover that the firm was housed in a nice cozy shophouse along a row of them.
I entered and introduced myself and sat at the reception area waiting for my "target" to arrive. Just my luck, the night before the workers were up late in the office rushing for a submission deadline and hence they were all entitled to report late for work on the following day.
I was sitting there for a whole half hour when i realised i had forgotten to remove my cashcard form my bike... oboy. Hurried to the bike and flipped open the card unit and............ empty........ some greasy fingers had already swiped it ........ curses!! Bloody thieves... only a whole half hour elapsed and its stolen.
I returned to the office with a black face and had to wait another hour before the manager arrived. Needless to say, i wasn't in the best of moods but still managed to force a smile through my scowl.
Due to the fairly long amount of time i spent there, i managed to observe a little into how their office culture operated. Since it was a small firm compared to huge super corporation, the office had a more "village" feel to it; everyone that came in was cheery (partly because it was payday) and knew everyone else. They also discussed work matters informally at the reception counter and the pantry. The whole place had a laid back atmosphere and yet buzzing with activity at the same time.
I wouldn't claim it to be an eye opening experience... its just a nice variation from the norm of the office culture that one would see here in Singapore.
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