Commercial Media As A Hegemonic Ideology

Commercial Media As A Hegemonic Ideology In this capitalistic twentieth-century, we cannot ignore the role established by the mass media as a principal and crucial tool in shaping the cultural sphere of our society. Pubic information, intercommunication and exchange of the social knowledge in society now solely depends upon mass media (Hall, 1977:340). Its role rests on the information that it provides which stimulates political ideas, social action, public policy agenda and priorities and further more (Khuori, 1999). Hence, what media imparts as information to the public becomes very important, for as mentioned earlier, this information is what produces the values in cultural sphere that drives the world today. In order to understand the mass cultural process one needs to examine how media industries function (Gottdiener, 1985: 980). So, in this essay we examine and dissect mass media through the concept of hegemony, to understand its role. How hegemony exists in the media system, in corporate decision making process and h ow ideological hegemony is deep-seated in the very intellectuals responsible for providing information to the general public will be discussed. We firstly will understand the concept of hegemony before analysing the media system and also talk about counter-hegemony to shed light on how media can sometimes go against the existing dominant hegemonic ideology in a society. Lastly we will talk about the limitations of hegemony in arriving at an understanding of the role media plays with in the society. Theoretical Background: Hegemony is a concept that was first posed by an Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) in his notebooks; while he was imprisoned. He was attempting to understand why after World War I, there was no working class uprising over fascism in Northern Italy during the regime of Mussolini (Gitlin, 2003: 252). An ardent follower of Marxism he witnessed the failure of the Marxist theory the process by which masses (proletariats) should overthrow oppressive capitalist bourgeoisie systems, to move towards a less oppressive economic system (Marx and Engels, 2002: 10-12). Gramsci built upon Marxism to conceptualize hegemony focusing more on the ideological independence and human subjectivity rather than economy (Daniel, 2000). One of the limitations of Marxist theory was the fact that superstructure .i.e. cultural and political institutions were seen as being dependent on the economic base; Gramsci tried to highlight the autonomy of such superstructure away from the base (Stevenson , 1995:15). Hegemony according to Gramsci centres on cultural and ideological means through which the dominant or the ruling class retain their dominance on subordinate classes by building spontaneous mass consent (Strinati, 1995: 165; Gitlin 2003: 253). Stevenson (1995:16), suggests that hegemony is a continuous battleground where the bourgeoisie and the working class construct economic, political and cultural alliances with other social groups and that ideology is represented as the social cement that binds together different class alliances. He further adds that the ideology works only when it is able to relate to the common sense of the people and influence them for change. Hence, Gramscis hegemonic ideology is based on the fact that the dominant social group in a society have the capacity to exercise intellectual and moral direction over society at large and to build a new system of social alliances to support its aims (Thussu, 2000:68). Military force might not always be the best possible way to gain power; in fact it is achieved not with legal and legitimate compulsion but by winning active consent of the subordinate class (Hall, 1982: 85). The dominant class develops and upholds its hegemony in civil society, i.e. by generating cultural and political consensus through unions, political parties, schools, media, the church, and other voluntary associations which is where hegemony is exercised by the dominant class over allied classes and social groups (Thussu, 2000:68). There is still a question as to why people would indisputably consent to let the dominant class control them, why would they agree to cultural and political consensus. Gramsci answers this by suggesting that the subordinate group is not ideologically indoctrinated but accepts the values and leadership of the dominant class since it also reflects their own interests (Strinati, 1995: 166; Hall, 1982:85; Gitlin, 2003: 253). As Strinati suggests (1995: 167), if we accept that hegemony is also about the battle for ideas, and the consent to dominant ideas, then it might be argued that it also includes concessions to the ideas and values of subordinate groups. However, we can also disagree by saying that perhaps it is merely a false consciousness created by gradually shifting the public interests and perception towards the dominant class without the public consciously realizing it (Stevenson, 1995:16). Regardless, Gramsci is able to explain precisely what the earlier Marxist were not able t o that is the free consent of the governed to the leadership of the governing classes under capitalism (Hall, 1982:85). Hegemony and the media: Gramsci highlights the importance of certain institutions in particular mass media, as the subject to production, reproduction and transformation of hegemony (Strinati, 1995: 168). Gramsci therefore points out the fact that it is important to analyse the role of media in the context of hegemony (Strinati, 1995: 169). Media is no doubt a powerful tool that affects not only individuals, but other institutions including society and culture (McQuail, 1997: 90). In Halls word (1982: 86) media are the institutions that not only reflected and sustained the consensus but helped produce consensus and manufactured consent, acting as an important tool to establish hegemony. Hall analyses the media through a hegemonic framework, he starts by saying that public trust media because ideologically they projects independence and impartiality from the political or economic interests of the state. However, media existing within a state are obliged to follow the formal protocols of broadcasting and depe nd on the form of state and political system which licenses them (Hall, 1982: 86-87). Hence the question of their operation being state driven is very likely. Hall (1982: 88) mentions media as being an ideological state apparatus used to mediate social conflicts. An interesting example of this state driven hegemonic ideology is the one given by Curran who compares the modern media with the medieval church showing how media is still used for social control by different dominant players. According to Curran (1982: 227) like the medieval churches media bind different people together by promoting collective values and social solidarity; back then it was the Christian faith while now it is consumerism and nationalism through international sporting contests and consumer features. He specially focuses on British media and how they promote collective identity through monarchy just like the Church. Cannadine (1983) gives an example of how the BBC in 1932 helped create a fascination for British royal family and helped project an image of British as one whole by broadcasting an image of the fatherly figure of George V (cited in Stevenson, 1995:17). Here we can easily see the BBC supporting the British regime in other words the state to build a common co nsensus while supporting hegemonic ideology. Curran (1982: 227) also adds that just like the medieval churches, media now also gives attention to the outsiders, earlier it was witches and warlords now its youth gangs, terrorist, drug addicts, militants etc. The role of mass media says Curran (1982: 227) is interpreting and making sense of the world to the mass public; and while doing that they tend to reproduce the hegemonic ideology. Production of hegemonic ideology can best be explained in regard to the professional communicators, like journalists, who are very important to amplify systems of representation that legitimize the social system (ibid). Journalists can be termed as intellectuals, who according to Gramsci are responsible for production and dissemination of ideas and knowledge (Strinati, 1995:171). We also need to understand that Journalists though thought to be autonomous are bounded by the hegemonic system, they unconsciously frame the news that is in keeping with the institutional arrangement of the society (Gitlin, 2003: 269), or in other words the hegemonic ideology and though they do not do it intentionally, it stems from the way they make news decisions, the way they have been trained and socialized from childhood (Gitlin, 2003: 257). They unknowingly have a tendency to promote the ideology of the political and economic elite by simply doing their job. According to Ben Bagdikian, there are three stages of selection for the news. First the editor decides that a certain site or event needs to be investigated for news; second a reporter decides what to look for at the site and lastly the editors decide on how to pitch the story to public (cited in Gitlin, 2003: 258). However, these are just the three processes; behind this there are various other aspects governing what news to cover and why. There is the institutional structure of the media, managers who set the corporate policy, then the budget. Further, the owners of the media who fall into the elite class want to respect the political economic system in order to gain their own political and economic advantages (Gitlin, 2003: 258). Since legitimacy in media organisations is what attracts audience, the top media managers make sure that their news operations are carried out in the way that this is projected, their forms of social control must be indirect, subtle, and not at all necess arily conscious (Gitlin, 2003: 259). We see here that there are lot of ideological forces that shape the news. Media that acts as a window to the world and a provider of social knowledge are in reality controlled by corporate and political elites who, by controlling ideological space, are making the public think what the dominant class want them to so that they remain in power. So, basically hegemony is enclosed in the news or programs, which helps maintain the dominant ideology. Commercial media as a hegemonic ideology: While discussing about hegemony in respect to media, we also need to talk about the commercial media. According to Gitlin (2000) commercial media have slowly through format and formula influenced people to think and behave in a certain way (cited in Murphy, 2003:59). Today people who are not consumers they might be regarded as an outsiders, such is the trend created by the media. It has instilled a feeling that each one of us must become a consumer or aspire to be one in order to be in the norm of the society. With the help of media and through the expansion of consent, slow but powerful ideological process began to shape both moral order and common sense, aligning the cultural practice of consumption with freedom, individuality, civil liberties, etc (ibid). Stevenson, (1995:146) gives an example of a Levi jeans advertisement and how by watching just the advertisement a consumer is addressed with a unique sense of craving, the ideology has an effect on the consciousness of the consum er without him/her realising that they are in reality a social class exploited by a hegemonic ideological process. The way media operates now is exactly what Gramsci proclaimed about hegemony, it is about one classs struggle over another by creating values that the dominated class must follow. Counter hegemony: Gitlin argues that by controlling what the media feeds the public (the dominated class), the ruling elites are infusing a false consciousness among them, which limits them in acting for change. However, Williams who follows in the footsteps of Gramsci differs by suggesting that there can be room for change with counter-hegemony (Stevenson, 1995:17). According to him hegemony is not constant and is always changing by challenging, resisting and reaffirming the dominant hegemony (ibid). William states that traditions, institutions and formations are the three cultural processes for hegemony, where in the traditions are always invented and reinvented by the national state and these newly formed traditions rely on institutions such as mass media and education for transmission in order to establish a dominant consensus in contemporary society (ibid). For example media can be said to promote counter-hegemonic ideology if it shows a program or a report that questions the government involveme nt in war. We all know about the invasion of Afghanistan by the USA on 2001 after the 9-11 attack. During that period, the USA media was more concentrated on sending messages about the war on terror and Al-Qaeda, hence no one questioned the invasion of Afghanistan and as a result the elite group in this case Bush received consensus from the public for the invasion (Rall, 2002). If the war on Afghanistan by the USA had been questioned at the point when the war was beginning then the media would have acted against the hegemonic ideology of the US government led by Bush. Hence according to Williams, the concept of hegemony does provide space for critical reasoning, so that a new class may challenge the existing ideology and resist change from the hegemonic ideology (Stevenson, 1995:181). Another example of counter-hegemonic ideology could be the 30 November, 1999, Battle of Seattle, where tens of thousands people took to the streets to protest at the launch of new millennial round of t rade negotiations at the World Trade Organizations Ministerial Meeting. This can be said to be against an existing hegemonic ideology, consequently a counter hegemonic approach. However, we have to understand as recognised by Schiller (2003) the importance of informational and cultural power as being a key factor in governance and that these are no less important than the army and the police, to achieve social control (cited in Stevenson, 1995: 5). Also it is difficult to challenge the elite hegemonic ideology reinforced by the media because it collides head on with the fundamental interest of the dominant class and since they are the ones who have control over the informational apparatus and the cultural institutions that influence, if not determine, social thinking, the idea of challenging them becomes hard (ibid). Limitations: Hegemony cannot always explain the role played by the media in a society. According to Gottdiener (1985: 982), since hegemony suggests that the dominant class controls the class consciousness in a society, it neglects the fact that people are different and people have a different reflective thought capacity and that there are no homogeneous human subjects. Further, when hegemonisst talk about false consciousness they neglect the fact that consciousness and ideology are two separate entities for ideology is not consciousness it is the representation of imaginary (Gottdiener, 1985: 983). That is why he suggests a semiotic analysis of mass culture in the society because the users of mass culture are more active and more creative than previously thought (Gottdiener, 1985: 978). He thereby modifies the concept of hegemony one step further through a semiotic approach because it is a fact that ideology cannot be controlled fully and that the struggle to control it will always continues (Got tdiener, 1985: 978). Another research done by Johnstone et al. (1976) on the background, orientation, and ideology of journalists found that homogeneity in background or orientation is not the rule. For example, those who had a journalism education tended to think it was not necessary, while those who lacked it thought it would be worthwhile. There were important regional differences in regard to prestige, reliability, and whether a journalist would use stories from other media in his/her own reports (cited in Altheide, 1984:481) Thereby concluding that news or information selection in mass media might not necessarily be inflicted by hegemonic ideology and that journalists are not always socialized to dominant ideology. Conclusion: Though the concept of hegemony has its own limitations it has proved worthwhile in understanding the media organisation and the information they impart against a broader background (Altheide, 1984:486); which helps create a mass culture that in turn influences attitude and behaviour in the society. It has equally contributed to an understanding of the relationship between media and power. By using the hegemony concept and analysing how the media industry functions we were able to understand the role that the media plays in mass culture, and how this role reinforces hegemony. This essay tries to cover the concept of hegemony drawing arguments from various researchers and at the same time also sheds light on its limitations. We discussed how media itself works in a hegemonic framework and how managers try hard to project impartiality. We also briefly discussed the relationship between the political elite and media owners and how intellectuals working for the media,http://palv.files.wor dpress.com/2011/01/man.jpg?w=640are conditioned to bolster hegemony in the society. As a result, an important institution such as the media that plays a vital role in the society if, in itself, is influenced by hegemony, the role that it might play in the society is unquestionably influenced by hegemonic ideology.

Mrs. Hamilton

Gender and Development Gender-role development is one of the most important areas of human development. The moment a women finds out she is pregnant she is often anxious to find out the sex of her child. The definitions of the terms â€Å"sex† and â€Å"gender† need to be understood. The term â€Å"sex† denotes the actual physical makeup of individuals that define them as male or female. Sex is determined by genetic makeup, internal reproductive organs, the organization of the brain, and external genitalia.The behavior of individuals as males or females, the types of roles they assume, and their personality characteristics, may be just as important as a person's biological framework. In order to differentiate between biological features one may take into consideration behaviors and social roles to establish â€Å"gender. † Sex and gender are often intertwined, and certain social expectations can be attributed to one’s biological sex. The sex of a ne wborn sets the agenda for a whole array of developmental experiences that will influence the person throughout his or her life.Overall, the sex differences between boys and girls in the first year of life are minimal. Boys may be a bit more active or fussier and girls more physically mature and less prone to physical problems, but that may be the extent of the significant differences. Mothers have a tendency to ignore more of their son's emotional outbursts in comparison to their daughters' outbursts. Boys may be rough-housed or played with in a more aggressive manor as well. This goes in line with stereotyping males as more hardy or tough and girls as gentle and soft. A parent can influence their child into these gender roles by the way they discipline.They may be harder on a boy than a girl for the exact same behavior. â€Å"Children see what their parents do. Children learn when they try to imitate their parents (Putnam, Myers-Walis; Love, p. 1). † For example, a boy may g row up seeing his father fix things around the house and his mother being the one who always cooks dinner. Parents may also assign specific chores to the children according to sex, thus reinforcing gender roles in their development. Another way a parent influences gender development is by what they say to their children. Making comments about girls do this or boys do that supports the gender stereotypes.Gender roles development is crucial around ages 2-6 years when children are becoming aware of their gender, where play styles and behaviors begin to crystallize around that core identify of â€Å"I am a girl† or â€Å"I am a boy. † Typically males have been thought to be more aggressive than males; however, in a study reported by the American Psychological Association, Inc. , reveals â€Å"our interpretation of these results emphasizes that aggression sex difference are a function of perceived consequences of aggression that are learned as aspects of gender roles and o ther social roles (Eagly; Steffen, 1986). How a parent teaches the child and role models aggression, play, chores, and toys may have more of a factor of gender roles than being biologically male or female. The areas of gender differences include brain development where there are fewer connections between hemispheres, right brain reliance on space/movement, single focus, sexual response, and emotional response. Males hear less at higher decibels then females and tend to hear better in one ear than the other.Testosterone levels are different as well including a correlation between the amount of testosterone and higher energy and aggression, sex drive, and higher amounts throughout the teenaged years. â€Å"Male babies, on average, are born slightly longer and heavier than female babies. Newborn girls, on the other hand, have slightly more mature skeletons and are a bit more responsive to touch (Craig; Dunn, 2010, p. 188). † By age 2 ? , most children can readily distinguish bet ween male and female, and accurately answer the question of whether they are a boy or a girl. Gender-role stereotypes are fixed ideas about appropriate male and female behavior (Craig; Dunn, 2010, p. 189). † Distinguishing between feminine and masculine appears to be shared in almost every culture, although cultures may differ in their definitions of what masculinity and femininity entail. Children's concepts of gender depend in part on the child's cognitive development. A 3-year-old boy might put on a dress and now believe he has turned into a girl, whereas a 5-year-old boy now may understand that his sex is not going to change, which is referred to as gender constancy (Craig; Dunn, 2010, p. 89). Developing gender identity is partly a result of models and rewards. Again, what a child sees and hears growing up about male and female appropriateness will shape their gender personality and roles for the future. In William Pollack's book Real Boys, he talks about boys in America b eing in crisis and teen-aged girls losing their voice, mostly as a result of society's stereotypes about girls and boys. Pollack talks about boys and men wearing masks of masculinity to hide their true inner feelings.Boys are being taught, at a young age, to be tough, act like a man, and if you display feelings you are considered weak or other assorted names given to men who show vulnerability. These stereotypes are limiting and are hindering the development of children. As a society, we push boys into grown-up roles faster than their female counterparts. Moms and dads on the whole begin pushing their boys away by less hugs and kisses at an earlier age than girls (Pollack, 1999). In a study done on drawings of grade-school aged children, there were vast differences in the subject matter the participants drew.Boys' drawings contained a profusion of violence, of villainy, and of vehicles; girls' drawings were full of benign animals, bugs and flowers. In the drawings, boys seem more in fluenced at this age by the media in drawings of superheroes, whereas the girls depicted more domestic-type scenes (McClure-Vollrath, 2006). During the feminist movement, there was a theme that men were â€Å"the problem† and women were â€Å"the oppressed. † By characterizing gender this way, development can fail to address effectively the issues of equity and empowerment that are crucial in bringing about positive change.Gender bias's and roles are ultimately power relations (Cornwall, 1997, p. 8). Through the feminist movement, many people changed their ways of thinking surrounding men and women, but there is still room for re-thinking when it comes to boys. Boys get mixed messages, â€Å"to be manly but empathetic, cool but open, strong yet vulnerable. † Society has come a long way in liberating girls and women from the gender straightjacket. There is still room for improvement to break down the roles our boys are forced into by letting them own their feelin gs and communicating with them in a way that allows them to express their fears and distress.Gender identity normally develops in children by about age 3, when they most often are able to identify themselves as boys or girls. People with gender identity disorder or â€Å"gender dysphoria† can remember as early as age 5 as having feelings of being born in the wrong body or wanting to be the opposite of their biological bodies reveal. â€Å"Children who deviate from the socially prescribed behavioral norms for boy or girl children are quickly pushed back in line by parental figures. Behaviors, mannerisms, and play that appears to be gender nonconforming to a parent may feel perfectly normal to the child (Mallon; DeCrescenzo, 2006). Western society continues to reward parents for conforming their children into their gender roles by buying Barbie's for girls and dump trucks for boys, even if they have asked for something different. Sexual orientation is different from, and not d etermined by, one's gender identity. In most cases, the onset of gender identity disorder can be traced back to childhood. In an interview with a 46-year-old male who struggled with gender dysphoria all of his life, he reports as early as 5-years-old he was dressing up in women's clothing and wished he did not have a penis.After years of therapy and insight into his disorder, he has been able to attribute his confusion to some things that were said in his home at an early age. He remembers his mother saying that she was convinced when he was in her womb that he was a girl, and she would often tell him that he should have been a girl. He remembers people telling him how â€Å"pretty† he was and that he would have made a beautiful girl. All of these things contributed to his confusion about his gender at a very young age. He never felt â€Å"attached† to his mother, and later he would find out that his mother would just let him lie in his crib and cry as an infant.He rep orted that his mother had his 1-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister to look after, and she was too busy to take care of a fussy baby. He said he spent most of his life trying to establish masculinity as society and family would see it, so that nobody would know the terror and confusion he lived with on a daily basis. Eventually, he would decide that his only way out would be suicide, he thought then the pain would finally end. God did not allow him to take his life and instead he found his value in Christ and was set free from his pain and found acceptance of who he was in Christ.He started going to therapy and completely turning his life around, living as a man, and finally finding gender acceptance rather than dysphoria (Robbins, 2011). Roles of home environment, peers, and teachers in the acquisition of gender difference in behavior and attitudes play a role in gender socialization (Lau, 1996). Gender role socialization according to a study done cross-culturally found that it could be narrowly defined by the type of sex-typed behaviors such as play activities and toys.In summary, gender identity is a learned behavior that starts at a very young age and can hinder or enhance a child's development. Gender plays a role in how a person defines themselves and grows as a person depending on their safety and security in being male or female and what that means to them and what they are taught at a young age. Bottom line is that men and women are different, and as a society and as parents being a boy or girl does not meet we have to fit into a certain box, as people are unique in of themselves, and that is what we can enhance and nurture to develop.

CRIT THINK 3 MTH 410 Quantitative Business Analysis

Sky Hospital Consortium Managerial Report Bryan Rogel MTH 410 – Quantitative Business Analysis Colorado State University – Global Campus Dr. Jose Romero February 19, 2015 Sky Hospital Consortium Managerial Report The Sky Hospital Consortium has 40 hospitals in various parts of the United States. In these hospitals once a patient is discharged they are given a survey to determine if they are satisfied with the overall service. In this report we will be showing dissatisfied patients and complaints for the total of discharges to try and help the management staff try and improve patients overall experience. 1. The probability of a patient responding â€Å"Dissatisfied† in each of the three different regions. In Sky Hospital Consortium there†¦show more content†¦The probability of a patient filing a formal complaint for each hospital. In this chart below you will see all the patients who have filed a formal complaint broken down by probability as well as rank per region on which hospital is the best and worst and everywhere in between. P(Complaint) Rank by P(C) 0.01885 11 Regional Hospital 0.00776 2 Bell County 0.05245 16 Danville 0.03239 15 Eden Medical 0.02683 14 Elton 0.01015 6 Farr County 0.00995 5 Fresno 0.01717 10 Glendale 0.01494 8 Heber Valley 0.01047 7 Lakeview 0.00940 3 La Paz 0.00951 4 Main 0.00389 1 Mountain View 0.02421 13 Roosevelt 0.02017 12 Ross General 0.01642 9 Salem 0.01477 South General Total 0.01478 4 0.01367 3 Adams General 0.00576 1 Columbus 0.00815 2 Mercy Hospital 0.01058 South Point Total 0.00632 3 0.01573 13 Atlantic 0.02652 16 Branden 0.01777 15 Carson General 0.00782 5 Clifton General 0.06013 20 Columbia 0.00238 1 District Central 0.03013 18 Drexel 0.01589 14 Dubois Regional 0.00926 6 Easton 0.01238 11 Kent 0.01219 10 Lake Shore 0.00712 4 Medina 0.00959 7 Monroe 0.01152 8 Nathan Smith 0.01189 9 Oconnor 0.01279 12 Rye 0.02754 17 Southern Ocean 0.03329 19 Trenton 0.00583 2 Spring Harbor 0.01249 Sun Coast Total 6. The probability of a patient filing a formal complaint given a patient

Noise Pollution Essay - 5677 Words

Noise Pollution Abstract No one on earth can escape the sounds of noise- an unwanted, disturbing sound that causes a nuisance in the eye of the beholder. Noise is a disturbance to the human environment that is escalating at such a high rate that it will become a major threat to the quality of human lives. In the past thirty years, noise in all areas, especially in urban areas, have been increasing rapidly. There are numerous effects on the human environment due to the increase in noise pollution. In the following paper, the cause and effects of noise pollution will be presented in some detail. Slowly, insensibly, we seem to accept noise and the physiological and psychological deterioration that accompanies it as an inevitable†¦show more content†¦This type of exposure to noise does not have to be as loud as a gun being fired; it can be as simple as a person shouting across the room. The type of hearing loss is any degree from partial to complete hearing loss. This loss, usually, is permanen t and is not satisfactorily corrected by any devices such as, hearing aids. The loss is caused by the destruction of the delicate hair cells and their auditory nerve connections in the Organ of Corti, which is contained in the cochlea (Bugliarello, et al., 1976). Every exposure to loud noise destroys some cells, but prolonged exposure damages a larger amount of cells, and ultimately collapses the Organ of Corti, which causes deafness. Most of society is now aware that noise can damage hearing. However, short of a threat that disaster would overtake the human race if nothing is done about noise, it is unlikely that many people today would become strongly motivated to do something about the problem. Yet, the evidence about the ill effects of noise does not allow for complacency or neglect. For instance, researchers working with children with hearing disorders are constantly reminded of the crucial importance of hearing to children. 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Noise pollution is the act of creating noise. Noise is measured in decibels: 0 decibels is silent, 0 to 70 decibels is moderate, 70 to 80 decibels is the volume where noise can start becoming problematic. 80 to 120 decibels is considered loud noise and exposure at these levels for extended periods can cause permeant hearing loss. Therefore it is important to reduce noise pollution and your exposure to