A recent YouTube lurking of mine brought me to a string of true crime documentary viewing late at night. Among those documentaries, I was introduced to a heinous crime – honour killing. For those who don’t know, an honour killing is when a family member – usually a female – is murdered or assaulted by her own relatives as a result of bringing dishonour to her household.

As with all murders, you wonder about the motives behind the killer and what they were thinking in the days leading to the crime. In the case of honour killings, whole generations of families come to the defence of the perpetrator and in fact, will aid them in escaping from retribution.

Now you start to wonder about how the families surrounding the killer thinks, how they bond over the deaths of their own family members who were slaughtered in the name of honour. What’s more, those who intend to unravel the truth essentially put their own lives at risk as the killer’s networks run deep and no one is willing to give information, only threats.

If the victims, who were fully aware of the dangers around them and their own impending death, could not save their own lives, who can?

The last week’s reading is by Howard Garder, a trained psychologist with a background in cognitive and neuro science, and for the purpose of this article he also draws on history, anthropology, and other ‘humanistic’ studies.

Through his writing, he aims to speculate 5 different minds that will be crucial and necessary to develop for the future and these are the following:

• the disciplined mind: one who has ‘mastered’ a way of thinking, specific to scholarly disciplines, crafts, or professions
• the synthesizing mind: consumes information from various, disparate sources, and makes meaning of their findings
• the creating mind: poses new ideas, questions, fresh ways of thinking
• the respectful mind: welcomes diversity on the level of individuals as well as human groups, seeks to work effectively with them
• the ethical mind: thinks about how one’s work can benefit society and “the lot of all”

One of the main reasons why Garder has chosen these particular types of minds to present is because they possess not only ‘computational’ capabilities but also interpersonal, humanistic intelligence such as respect. Additionally, he reveals that these minds are the ones that are important for policy-makers.

This week’s reading talks about some ways of approaching work. There are two mindsets introduced: the craftsman mindset and the passion mindset. The craftsman mindset is about honing your skills to the point of obsession every day, and really practicing whatever it is that you do until you’re so good at it that people can’t ignore you. The craftsman mindset is then a focus on what value you’re producing for your career, and the world in which you aspire. On the other hand, the passion mindset focuses on what the world you’re aspiring to has to offer to you. That is, what kind of fulfilment and joy does the line of work you’re doing/want to do have to offer to you. Is that job the ultimate profession that can satisfy your needs and desires?

The author dismisses this second mindset because he believes the world doesn’t “owe you a great career… you need to earn it – and the process won’t be easy”. I agree and and disagree with him. I think it’s important to work on skills and whatnot, but at the same time you want to be working for a career that is fulfilling to you. He counters arguments claiming the artists were already passionate about their careers and then adopted his craftsman mindset by saying Tice and Martin had anxiety and felt insecure about their lives, and that the passion mindset were not on their radar and that they started honing their skills before they were sure they wanted to. This is something I don’t buy. I don’t see how anyone obsess over something if they’re not smitten by it. They’ve kept at it for the umpteen years so they are obviously passionate enough to continue with their job despite their concerns.

The ‘formal-informal’ work model of many media workplaces tend to be glamorised as many media workers suffer from low pay, unpaid overtime, insecurity, and even exploitation. Such working conditions are especially severe for freelancers as the line between flexible and exploitation diminishes.

One may think that this only happens in small, informal businesses however even larger companies employ informal ways of sourcing and treating labour. For instance, a large enterprise who owns a subsidiary site that essentially works, content-wise, off of unpaid or low-paid associates or contributors is one such example. They house the content and make their revenue of the ads or whatnot, while the content is paid with one-off payment, or not at all.

Considering the above, freelancing and working in the media industry appears to be a difficult and taxing field to get into and find sustainable work due to the informal nature of employment, so why do people still go for such jobs? The reading argues that this is because people enjoy working in less structured and formalized ways than before, even the most in-demand employees of today. Another reason is because freelancers have nothing to lose by contributing, it can help build their resume, make connections, lead to something greater etc.

The reading suggests that in order for media industries to minimize exploitation and maximise decent work, there needs to be a formalisation of the recruitment practices, guaranteed basic income, unionisation, policy intervention and so forth. There is much we ask for it seems. “we want the stability of the industrial model as well as the seductive informality of the art, fashion and dotcom worlds; we want state support for workers without paternalistic bureaucracy; 9-5 wages without 9-5 drudgery…”.

Media 6 Week 2

Despite 5.5% growth of E&M companies, it appears the industry will continue to struggle and grow due to factors such as the trend toward free media and disinflation. However an closer examination of E&M spending against GDP of 36 different countries highlighted the rapid growth of E&M spending. E&M spending is even expected to outpace the growth of the GDP in more populated countries such as Brazil and Pakistan.

A mapping of 54 countries’ under 35 demographic and their projected E&M growth indicated an almost direct correlation. In countries such as India or Pakistan where much of the 35 and under bracket makes up their demographic, spending is projected to rise more rapidly. Conversely, in wealthier countries such as Germany and Japan whose demographic of 35s and under is among the lowest proportions in the world, a meagre expansion is expected. Therefore it can be said E&M spending is more impacted by the age of a country’s population rather than by their wealth.

It is reasoned that this is because younger consumers are more open to change and trying new technologies as their consumption habits are not as ingrained compared to the older generation.

Findings also suggest that audience’s preference in content remains local and this can be observed in countries such as the UK and China. In 2017, it is expected that China will overtake the US in box office revenue reinforcing this point. Some countries have also put into place legislation and restrictions on the amount of foreign content circulation.

4th industrial revolution clusters: physical, biological, digital.

Physical manifestations of technological megatrends include autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, advanced robots, and new materials.

Biological innovations have advanced to produce more efficient ways of genetic sequencing and activating or editing genes. The many health problems influenced by genetic components will benefit greatly from innovations such as genetic testing and manipulation as well as precision medicine and treatment therapies.

“The internet of things (IoT can be described as a relationship between things and people that is made possible by connected technologies and various platforms.” Increasingly, sensors and other means of physical-to-virtual connectivity will radically change the way industries are managed; think GPS tracking of a package; Bitcoin, a blockchain application; or the enabling of on-demand model of supplying goods and services (Uber, AirBnb).

In regard to how this effects our everyday life, the most obvious influence digitization has in the community is the emergence of the “me-centred” society. “Belonging” is now more defined by individuals’ values and interests rather than by a physical space, work, or family.

Not only is online media helpful in providing information, it also enables users a voice and therefore participation, however this can also be dangerous. Seeing as access is so readily available to anyone with an internet, there are understandable concerns over what content is being distributed and what audiences are receiving it. For example, the instance of propaganda being consumed by a vulnerable audience poses obvious threats to the community. Another potential danger is that technologies can be used by bodies such as governments to suppress activities by groups or individuals that seek transparency, want to promote change, or want independence.

By Rakka 

Some notes from this week’s second reading:

• media ARE. medium is
• success of media may depend on ‘inattention’ or ‘blindness’ to the technology itself, focussing on phenomena, the content, enjoyment, what people get out of it
• broadcasts disappear, whereas inscriptions won’t (Gitelman, page 6)

” Just as science enjoys an authority by virtue of its separation from politics and the larger social sphere, media become authoritative as the social processes of their definition and dissemination are separated out or forgotten “

• context of usage changes behaviour of user, eg. telephoning – changes what people say and how

“I define media as socially realized structures ofcommunication, where structures include both technological forms and their associated protocols, and where communication is a cultural practice, a ritualized collocation of different people on the same mental map, sharing or engaged with popular ontologies of representation. As such, media are unique and complicated historical subjects” (pg. 7).

“Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin (1999, 15) write that new media present themselves as refashioned and improved versions ofother media. Digital media can best be understood through the ways in which they honor, rival, and revise linear-perspective painting, photography, film, television, and print. No medium . . . seems to do its cultural work in isolation from other media, any more than it works in isolation from other social and economic forces. What is new about new media comes from the particular ways in which they refashion older media and the ways in which older media refashion themselves to answer the challenges of new media” (pg. 9)

– author has a problem about the syntax of above statement, how it implies media are ‘natural as they are’ with no mention of human agents

And lastly a nice photo

https://www.flickr.com/photos/33255628@N00/3634491365/in/photolist-6xaHEe-br5x86-7hDpFP-6AX2Qo-3KwKHD-avc1Np-e5CAgW-7arjd6-5hEfQt-efAEMs-774ALV-74TVTz-bTi9xa-75gDP3-8CwN8z-6oLfr-4rXnaH-8onC9R-p2ggs2-4UC6M7-5d7vbP-9hMa2d-aQt1AB-dyz1Ae-e5wZ3t-99Wjs1-bVw8Z6-8ddFEZ-9hM9XQ-47h3YK-paDrgP-8VPUQK-7arjd2-8d9dGt-bSgFL4-bSgFwR-7arjcT-7i3mTV-6sARCS-8FSH1y-nPRxQ8-8FKZT1-dy5Vv7-bxRCG5-7vkfQs-5LXRC7-eQwvzT-8YJ536-9arafo-98eeX6-d41HES

Some notes from Galloway’s ‘How Control Exists After Decentralization‘

Protocol:

• are recommendations/rules/standards that govern the way technologies are used, implemented, adopted…etc
• contain information inside a ‘technically define wrapper’, and is somewhat impartial to the content
• it allows for control to emerge amongst diverse environment
• critics describe internet as being an unorderly and variable mass of information.

– one reason for this TCP/IP protocol’s ability for transmission of data from any computer to another; thus there is no hierarchical relationship.

– DNS is a database that locates website addresses (IPs) to a physical place. Since all DNS information is structured in a hierarchical fashion, it follows that most of the web must obey this structure in order to access the internet.

• Translation process example for www.rhizome.org:

  Root server receives request for access into www.rhizome.org and directs user to .org domain machine -> rhizome section -> www. machine

• Since root servers are at the top of the process, they have the control over existence of each branch
• Distributed network: each point isn’t connected to a central hub/node, it can establish communication with another node but they ‘must speak the same language’ ie. Protocol? – this is what defines connectivity
• No shared protocol = no network
• ‘Life becomes resistance to power when power takes life as its object’

Adrian very firmly held that databases are merely lists. Even though we can make a story from a list of things, a list is still a list. Betty on the other hand argued that there were parallels between databases and narratives. I forgot to write them down, but I think her argument is also valid. Not all stories have causal relationships or linear. The film ‘Playtime’ screened in Cinema Studies followed an older man and his interactions with modern technology, it felt like an observation of several difficulties/gags and somewhat random.

There was also discussion about ‘interaction design’ and it was the first time I had heard of that phrase, something I probably shouldn’t be proud about….. Betty talked about the difference between linking and embedding media, and finds embedding to be more ‘inviting’ since viewers would be given a snapshot of that content. While I understand that, I think people find linking the safer option because it’s not something hosted on your site, it’s just a link for people to navigate there, whereas if you embed it, copyright issues may arise.

Adrian also started talking about difference, though I can’t exactly remember why. He said something along the lines of ‘difference is neither negative or positive, its just a difference’. However I’d like to disagree with that. Difference is a positive thing because the world would be so boring if there was no diversity.