UNSW Arts1090: Group 5 Blog

SEMIOTICS AND MEANING

z3289396 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:48:07 +0000

The reading “Signs and Meanings” main emphasis was the construction of language and the interpretive nature intrinsic in conversation and dialogue. Tony Schirato and Susan Yell discuss the various linguists throughout history in terms of their appropriateness and validity in the context of today. The first linguist that they explore was the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. I personally found Sassure’s theorisation to be interesting and provoking. Sassure work suggests that meaning is relational rather than substantive, meaning there is no innate meaning attached to a languages terms, only differences. When talking about linguistic signs, Sassure describes a dual or parallel interaction between a signifier (which is the physical form and configuration of sounds) and a signified (the concept that is evoked). Basically saying signage only exists within the combination of a concept and a sound pattern.
One other linguist that the authors look at is V.N. Volosinov whom recognises the alignment between country and culture in the formation of meaning and the different elucidation of words. The three points that Volosinov makes are 1. Signs are adaptable and changeable, 2. Words have a history of meanings, and 3. The meanings that are read into signifiers, the meanings that are activated from a variety of potential meanings, depend on the specific concept. An example from the chapter examines the issue of whether or not Australia was “invaded” or “settled”. Of course, this depends on perspective. As the chapter rightly concludes, “These conflicts produce realities rather than mirror them”. This claim centres itself on the subjective nature of language.
In conclusion I think that the statement “There are no natural concepts that automatically attach themselves to signifiers” illustrates ones understanding of signs. Regardless of the historical references embedded in language, individuals will continue to have different words for different meanings and sounds.

MEDIA AUDIENCES

z3289396 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:46:16 +0000

Nick Couldry wants to convince people about extending the focus of audience research beyond traditional features like watching and listening. He discusses how the typical consideration in terms of an interactive audience member is presently a different experience due to the nature of audiences being transformed. For example contemporary audiences, members must be doing more things in more places. This is because audience research faces three main issues. These being: Technological, social/spatial and experimental types. Couldry also argues that media audience has become dispersed spatially.
When referring to the study of audiences, Couldry makes the point that this “theoretical shift, inevitably, has methodological implications.” Basically the audience has been subject to an expansion in conceptual boundaries and delivery and therefore the methods of evaluating and studying must change too.
Couldry refers to three different ways of thinking about audiences that were proposed by Abercrombie and Longhurst- the simple audience, the mass audience and the diffused audience. However, Couldry does not agree entirely with Abercrombie and Longhurst. He prefers the term “extended” to “diffused”. Our society is in the last stage where the scope of the audience has widened to such a degree that it no longer makes sense to study the “direct interactions of audience with a text…but something much bigger: the whole ‘media culture’.

NETWORKS

z3289396 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:44:39 +0000

Castells’ main argument refers to the inevitable change from an information/ knowledge society to a network based society due to institutional, organizational and social actors improving both locally and globally. He credits his argument in describing an information society as imperative, “The economic and social development of a country would depend on”. For example the essentialism of installing computers within a domestic setting and recognising information as being only as valuable as what one can accomplish with it. Conversely, the network society would “shift the emphasis to organizational transformation and to the emergence of a globally interdependent social structure”. Castelle also addresses how the reliance on networks with new technology has transformed the way society operates today.
Throughout the reading, it was comforting to see some previous concepts being discussed like time and space, which helped me further understand and identify the notion of networks as some connections were made.
When Castelle states that the three major features of networks are flexibility, scalability, and survivability, I instantaneously related this to facebook in terms of networking and marketing oneself as a product of consumption. Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. It is flexible in that it is often changing and updating in order to improve itself, yet not to the point where the users are too confused; it employs scalability in that your ‘friends’ can be added or deleted with relatively little disruption, as well as the total amount of users expanding exponentially everyday; and it definitely has survivability (namely due to the networks flexibility). Also with keeping facebook in mind, when Castelle connects or likens networks to power, I initially considered the hierarchal nature of facebook in social terms with the collection of friends one exhibits on their profile page. The more friends you have the greater weight and respect you have within the realms of facebook.

CONVERGENCE

z3289396 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:42:06 +0000

In the reading New Media Worlds, convergence is seen as the emergence of multiple media platforms according to the changing technological, industrial, cultural, and social conditions within a digitised world. Convergence is understood as a shift or migration from old to new, as media becomes aligned with logic of the digital, where media content flows fluidly across a series of media systems (the convergence of what were once separate and distinct media delivery platforms). The digitisation and convergence of media processes has resulted in the expansion and diversification of contemporary mediascapes. Audiences today experience the world of media through the complex and interconnected networks of television, newspapers, internet etc. In almost all of these cases there is a profound shift in the organisation of media and its means of distribution.

This new digitised media has a disruptive affect for the newspaper industry. Newspapers are now dismantling and reformulating their traditional business structure of print advertising in order to compete with classified online advertising. Online advertising has simultaneously allowed for greater reach and richness of information, whist operating at a lower cost. Similarly television also faces a combination of disintermediation and deconstruction in terms of the increased competition from internet TV, subscription TV services, movie download services and mobile TV. Speaking for myself, I am constantly streaming TV shows online rather than having to sit on the couch and watch a limited choice of programs within a scheduled time frame. Instead, I can watch whatever I want, whenever I want using the internet. To combat this, television has “attempted to hold onto fickle youth audiences” (such as myself) by employing enhancement strategies i.e. internetisation. However the scale of change predicted for the broadcast television industry is shadowed by the lack of ability to significantly compensate for the ongoing loss of viewers. Ultimately, the threat of the internet has prompted traditional media to redefine their activities in order to compete for audience numbers and successfully meet the raised expectations for richness and reach of information. It is the changing character of content and audience formations within the digital media world that impact the convergence process and future media trends.

RESEARCHING MEDIA AND EVERYDAY LIFE

z3289396 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:40:34 +0000

When I have collected research in the past I would ordinarily approach it either in two ways (quantitative and qualitative). Firstly I would begin with a plan or preconceived perception that would dictate and guide my research, a controlling eye over the variables and factors that would favour or reinforce my chosen theoretical concepts. I suppose in a way tweak or manipulate the experiment and results. This also lends to the integrity and validity of the work. Ultimately, I apply a linear order of steps that structure my research and proposal. Otherwise, I would consider research in an unanticipated or ‘unruly’ manner, “planning for certain broad contingencies without, however, indicating what will happen.” I then develop a focus or direction according to the data collected and analysed.

Lindlof and Taylor’s ‘Design 1: Planning’ refers to qualitative research and the design and deployment of a research plan. This reading is particularly relevant to our research assignment in terms of adopting a similar layout or structure for our proposal. The reading discusses the flexibility of qualitative research and the ability to sensitizing theory in relation to what is relevant and what is not. The reading also encourages to ask questions and challenge methodologies, what is significant and intriguing to me?

MOBILE MEDIA AND SPACE

z3289396 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:39:09 +0000

Clara Volker highlights the current media practices in the 21sst century and the changing nature of space as a product of digital technologies. Mediatic spaces where once thought to be a realm contrary to physical space, a cyberspace in which humans can immerse themselves. Volker considers digitally created media spaces to have allowed for the intertwining or merging of virtual information spaces with the physical. Digital technologies have enabled an increasing level of mobility in and between the ‘artificial’ and ‘authentic’ spheres. Mobile media technologies such as the cell phone, walkman or ipod open the possibility of physical and informational spaces existing and intersecting within a wireless network at any time or any place. With these technologies as spatial nodes, geographical place and digitally generated virtual space become simultaneously accessible; it becomes possible to move within these media spaces concurrently.

Volker also introduces us to new age software semapedia and social light that allows users to access and build virtual information spaces that attached to real geographical space. They also provide an extension to social networks where individuals can interact with distanced others and connect to a virtual world. This thereby links people by allowing interpersonal messages to be communicated via a temporary and non visual space whilst located in a real place. I believe software and applications like semapedia and social light will become increasingly normalised in the lives of the contemporary consumer.

Volker’s final sentence encapsulates the growing presence of digital media in this era and reiterates the interconnectivity of the virtual and physical world via a digitised media platform. “Through the spatial practices enabled by applications for and with mobile digital media such as semapedia and soicalight, digital forms of virtual space are being embedded in physical spaces and in the process of their actualisation they augment and reconstruct one another while becoming omnipresent.”

THE DOUBLING OF PLACE

z3289396 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:36:23 +0000

In this extract Shaun Moore introduces us to this idea of pluralised place. He suggested that we are not marginalised or limited to a single setting, that we are permitted to experience multiple ‘possibilities of being’. Electronic media and broadcasting has allowed individuals to experience a double reality where one is not purely restricted by a physical time and place. Through television, radio, internet and phones information is transmitted almost instantaneously across spacial distances. This makes for an overwhelming sense of connectedness and a feeling of immediacy which Moore terms as ‘trans-localised’ spaces and encounters. Moore breaks up his argument into three sections; public events and the interpretation of routine, the internet as part of everyday life and two ‘theres’ there in mobile phone use… I will attempt to discuss these concepts in the following paragraphs.

Moore describes major occurrences in society as an interruption or suspension of routine. An eventful or unexpected happening is a disruption in ones daily schedule in contrast to the predictabilities of the everyday. Moore provides us with the example of Princess Diana’s funeral. As a global audience we experience a shared sense of despair and grief, a mutual commonalty amongst the general public. “Attendance takes place in small groups congregated around the television set… keenly aware that myriad other groups are doing likewise… a ceremony is created to encapsulate the experience of not being there.” This common unity can be attributed to the structure and construction of celebrity within a media forum, making the individual accepted, normalized, experienced as familiar. Evidently we are presented with the globalisation or domestication of such public events which illustrates the idea of doubling of place (the place of the event itself and that in which it is watched and heard).

In antithesis to the disruptive nature of public events is the familiarizing of the internet as part of everyday life. Moore clearly identifies the distinction between seeing the internet as continuous with other social spaces (an extension of everyday life) as opposed to the internet being an exclusive entity (separate to everyday life). Place is again pluralised as the internet user (me) exists in a virtual world whilst simultaneously located in a physical setting. Moore then goes on to discuss Turkles assessment of virtual identities and alias’ and concludes the social importance of ‘combining data that is drawn both from electronically mediated and physically co-present communication.’ Ultimately there is a blurring of some description of online and offline realities that affect our everyday life. Moore finally refers to the mobile phone and how it serves as an illustration of the doubling of place as an extension of space; the example of the passenger on a train having a conversation with someone on the other end of the phone (a dual mode of communication).

In conclusion Moore reaffirms that media coverage has expanded our sense of place and has allowed for the potential pluralising of social relationships. The opportunities in late ‘modern life’ have provide us access to a ‘wide range of spatially remote others’ and proximate others. We therefore experience multiple social realities and a limitless interaction with others due to electronically mediated communication.

Ultimately, this is the end (My 1st Midnight Blog)

andy1904 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:29:04 +0000

Sadly, as we hand in our assignment, it is the end. So to end it I suppose I’ll make myself useful and talk about identity.

Today’s reading is a relatively short piece, it’s called “Debating Identity” and it’s written by Simon During, a New Zealander who is an academic living in a bourgeois society and an ectomorph as well as having a star sign of Aquarius. What he mentions here is quite interesting since it mentions that identity is different across many cultures and continents and into many different societies. As a result, there is this debate about who you really are. But before moving on further let’s take a look at a clip from a UK documentary series, entitled, Who Do You Think You Are?

Here in the 1st clip, the person whose being interviewed, Ian Hislop tells his life story of where his ancestors come from. So his father is Scottish, his mother is English although she was born on the Channel Islands and he was born in Wales. He then mentions that he lived in Wales for a while, but then he moved to Nigeria, then Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and then finally back to England again for school. He finally settled in Kent where he saids it’s where he’s belong. The interesting thing he mentions though was that he’s from everywhere but nowhere in particular, but he sees himself as a person in Kent. But what’s his identity? He can’t be Arab or Chinese but he has lived in those places before. Referring back to that article, Simon During mentions that identity is partial and as a result, “they leave spaces outside of themselves” (page 147).

He thens mentions about Identity Politics. Identity Politics is, according to http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-identity-politics.htm, “When members of a specific subgroup unite in order to affect political or social change”. Here During asked the question here: “In terms of modern Identity Politics: did African Americans, women, gays and lesbians, and the disabled form political associations on the basis of their autonomous will for liberation, or did they organise themselves politically because they were enabled to do so by circumstances? (page 148)” It’s an interesting question to ask since it is here identity politics plays a major part in our society at that time.

It is here he then moves on to talk about Hybridity. He believes that instead of discussing about Identity politics, “Hybridity” should be the new form of Identity. He mentions the reasons of hybridity as something on the lines of ‘subaltern’. The second reason is something much easier. Like Ian Hislop, everyone has multiple identities, so as a result hybridity is something that we all got whereas identity is something that is one.

So that is the end of my blog believe it or not. It’s nothing much, but hey I’m doing this just to cap off a week of extreme pain and suffering. Anyways I will say farewell by the following picture:

The Last Blog :(

erin66 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:14:40 +0000

Hey guys,

The last blog- This is sad. I hate endings, except the ending of Spiderman 3 that took its time. ANYWAYS this week is all about Identity. I have decided to look at the readings of Simon During entitled “Debating Identity”. Not any easy discussion trying to analyze a person and their sense of identity. It is interesting to see the factors that contribute to a persons sense of self and what external factors contribute.

“Identity is won at the price of reducing individuality” , In saying that one cannot have a single thing that defines them. When one uses the term individuality they are arguing that a single characteristic makes up a person and how they behave, what During suggests is that we cannot try and single out one aspect of a person but should rather take a broader approach. During argues that one cannot establish a sense of identity without looking at all three elements which make up someone’s social characteristics these are, “Societies, Individuals and Identity”. They cannot function without the other and we must look at all three when trying to analyze a persons sense of being. He continues to establish that an identity does not exist but rather the plural identities as no one person can have a single characteristic that defines them. It is a process of de-constructing many influences that will help shape who a person is and how they behave.

During argues that while the are many different facets that make up a persons identity not all of those aspects carry equal weight in society. For example gender, while being a man in some countries translates to authority in other cultures being a woman means having a superiority. Particularly in religious aspects being either gender means different things and often has different consequences. This I think is the whole tree of During’s argument that one cannot define Identity in the same respect one cannot define what aspects of their identity are the most important or the most valid. He continues to explain that different groups and different ways of describing that particular group or person can add to the identity of all involved. He uses the example of saying “African American” and how other variations of that word can often lead to social and racial stereotyping and discrimination. He concludes that one should not solely place themselves in a particular group or status because even that can be manipulated and changed by those who perceive it differently. We should not let things define us but rather we control the aspects of society that have an impact on us and that we choose to include in our own identities.

While we may have all these things that are influencing us and adding to our form During states that there are some things that slip through the cracks and are not in fact possible to define are fit into a category. He again uses the analogy of gender and says that while he may be a man and that may carry some social weight their are still aspects that are his own, he refers to them as “interiority” things that are his alone and cannot be defined or analyzed. He means things like emotions, desires, fears and thoughts, things that he himself owns and do not necessarily add to his identity but are there for himself. His argument continues on to look at political identity and how a movement can speak against or for a certain element of your identity. For example the woman’s liberation and the beginning of feminism looked at gender stereotyping in America, while being a woman is not all you are it is a large part of your identity and it is because of this that movements such a feminism are able to gain power because it is such a large part of any woman’s identity. He refers to this as Identity politics, wanting a particular aspect of ones identity to be perceived in a different way. However During notes some problems with Identity politics:

“Identity politics tends to erase internal differences”
” Identity politics assumes that an identity is an essence”
” Identity politics tends to work by the principal of exclusion”

These are only some of the points made by During but it is clear that it is impossible to try and manage or control a certain aspect of Identity. It cannot be tamed or manipulated and it means different things to different people, cultures and societies. One cannot define their individuality and they cannot expect others to do it for them.

Well this has been fun. I hope you guys and Scott have enjoyed my Blogs, I hope I found the forest (sometimes? even a little?)

I shall be seeing you guys soon- If we don’t have anymore classes together I sure enjoyed spending an hour with you on Thursdays.

Lots of Love

Erin x

Say I wanted to write a Research paper….

erin66 — Wed, 26 May 2010 12:16:25 +0000

Hey!!!

How is everyone? Sorry it is late- Rain makes everything including myself move slower.

So I decided my blog would outline the reading by Liamputtong because I figured we all had to write a report so why not follow the outline of someone who has done it and successfully at that. The video that Scott uploaded a lot with this reading and the lecture slides as well are great to reference, but I found the reading great in terms of structure and how one should outline their argument and theory. Firstly a qualitative paper “must be a convincing argument systematically presenting data to support the researcher’s case and to refute alternative explanations” (page 317). So it should have a sequence and argument and a flow. It should definatley not be a representation of just results and facts but rather an analysis and connection between the information gathered and the argument at hand. Liamputtong suggests 5 different characteristics that a report should have:

” Qualitative data contains words, not numbers, and include many quotes and extended case examples”, So basically have an argument and a proper representation of the information. Explain why the facts are important rather than just representing them.
“Detailed descriptions of the research sites and the population under study”, Give your argument context.
“Researchers need to explain what, and why, they did what they did at greater length”, this is because the paper does not use standardized forms of representing data, so instead of a graph explain what is being said and how it relates to the argument.
“The goals of Qualitative studies is to explore new settings and construct new theories”, So reference the concepts we have discussed in the course but draw your own arguments and conclusions.
“Freedom to use Literary devices”, It is not a science paper so keep the reader interested and involved.

From a structural point of view Liamputtong references Stapleton and suggests that one should first represent the finds unbiased and unanalyzed (word?), then the second phase would be to add some interpretation of the information gathered and lastly the researcher should put the information and the analyse together and ensure that it is sequential and argues the theory. Scott suggested that we also draw one the main goals of the course and how it relates to the information gathered. The paper does not need to be as formal as a quantitative paper and Liamputtong suggests that the researcher can you use first person and have a rhythm to the paper.

The paper needs to be constructed to appeal to a certain audience, Liamputtong quotes Fetterman who ” argues that the formats, langugages and levels of abrstraction of qualitative writing needs to be constructed according to the needs and concerns of the audience”. So we would have to look at the media, culture and everyday life aspect of it and argue how our findings fit into that, what are we trying to say about society through our paper? has it changed the culture? does it construct our everyday life? (yes?). The actual information is meant to be used as a basis for our argument, Liamputtong looks at Richardson’s theory of “wet clay” and how the information found should be moulded and fit into the argument of the paper. Liamputtong continues to outline the different structures of a qualitative paper and 3 examples:

Report: A structured paper which ” tends to focus on policy issues”
Article: a number of different pieces from different perspectives
Books and monograms: write a book

Liamputtong then discusses how one should have an argument and structure how to use the information to reinforce the argument.So when we write our papers we should define the argument and the concepts that emphasize the argument. Well according to Liamputtong anyways lol

So I know this blog hasnt been very long but I sure hope it helps

See you tomorrow

Erin x