News of the future

Yesterday, I came across this article from the Greenslade blog. It seems like journalists are now aiming for new media coverage rather than just the usual newspapers. This is easily an example of the globalisation of new media. Maybe since the internet is a great tool at allowing others to see news from overseas much easier, but personally, I still feel it is better to read it on paper rather than the computer screen. The eyes would not have that much strain from looking at the computer screen for so long. Besides, even though anyone can access news articles through the Net, if there is no known list of news websites from different countries for us to choose from, it may be hard to read about the articles posted there.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2009/oct/23/us-press-publishing-digital-media

Calling for couples?

I found this article from Strait Times Saturday Edition - Oct 17
The online version can only be read if you are a member though.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_443367.html

The matchmaking agency that cobined last year (SDU-SDS) had been given a new name as of now. It caught my eye since my latest Communication lecture had gone through the chapters on Mass Media. Though it may have been a while since we heard anything about our local matchmaking agencies, I'm sure there are some who remembered about this, and the emphasis placed on couples. Mentioned in the National Day Rally, and now news of such had made the headlines. Couples seem to be the must-be status nowadays.

The issue of encouraging more couples seem to follow the Agenda Setting Theory of mass media.
This refers to the medias ability through repeated news coverage, to raise the importance of an issue in the public's mind. It might have worked since the agency is no longer members-only, and this had let other singles previously not allowed to take part in the events organized. However, no matter how frequent such news can encourage the use of such dating services, it still depends on our own decisions. For some, we may think that it is deemed 'desperate' if we attend, while others may see it as a way to enlarge their social cirlces. There might even be some who feel that it depends on our own efforts rather than using dating agencies.

All in all, with the media bringing up such news repeatedly, it seems to be that it is normal for singles to try out and attend more gatherings and events from dating agencies, be it to find the other half or just to make friends. You never know, you might find the right one just around the corner.

Culture

Culture has always been a part of us, either the core beliefs of religion or a more general culture such as male and female cultures.

This news article on Time.com has shown how deeply culture can influence us. Not only was it the Islamic culture, it is also on the spreading culture of women having equal opportunities worldwide.

One characteristic of culture is that it is learned and passed through generations. That is apparent in Saudi Arabia, where Islamic teachings are prominent. Culture has a strong base for our own identity, and it takes a long time to change any behaviors that we have adhered to for so long.

Of course, culture can also be changed, and it is mentioned in the article as well. 'The age for women in Saudi Arabia is nearing'. Culture is definitely shaped by people, and as long as there is time, new cultures can appear provided that people accept them.

Here's the first 2 paragraphs of the article:

Like those of its competitors in New York or London, the sleek glass and steel offices of media company Rotana are filled with preening attitude and fashion-conscious staffers: assistants teeter in shoes that might have absorbed much of their monthly paycheck; executives parade the halls in power suits and pencil skirts. But Rotana isn't in New York or London; it's in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, a country in which women normally adhere to a strict dress code in public — a black cloak called an abaya, a headscarf and a veil, the niqab, which covers everything but their eyes.

There's another reason many Saudis would find Rotana shocking: men and women working side by side. The sight unnerves enough men who come looking for a job that human-resources manager Sultana al-Rowaili has developed a trick to see if a male applicant can handle working in a mixed-gender office. She arranges for a female colleague to interrupt the initial interview, and watches to see if the man loses concentration or stares too much. Sometimes even that isn't necessary. Many men are undone by the very idea of being interviewed by a woman. "They are in a state of shock to see a woman in a position of authority and to have to ask her for a job," al-Rowaili says.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1929152-1,00.html

Relationships, Who says manga or anime are useless in giving life lessons.

Hi everyone,
Recently I've came across a manga (comic if you prefer) that is based dominantly on interpersonal relationship. Friendships, love or mere acquiantances. It's Boyfriend, by Yamada Daisy. It's a story of a high school student, Hijiki, who just transfered to a new school. There, she met new friends and found a crush.
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/boyfriend_yamada_daisy/

Now, before you pass it off as a usual plot for a meaningless manga, think about it as something that brings to light seemingly overlooked moments in life. In the first chapter, it reminds us of the anxiety from going to a new school without knowing anyone. This shows that interpersonal relationship has become an important aspect of our lives. After all, when you need mental support or companionship, the other choice other than family are friends and lovers.

When it comes to choosing friends, usually one would feel more comfortable with people one shares at least a common ground with. The communication studies term for this is Similarity. It gives us a sense of familarity with each other and hence, enforce the relationship with each other as well. Of course, there are also relationship with those who may be significantly different than oneself. As in the example of the manga, the main characters, Hijiki and Hourai, have seemingly opposite personalities. Rather than saying differences cause conflicts, it is more of complementary differences. For example, one can be an optimistic and very cheerful and full of life, while the other can be very practical and down-to-earth. Such a couple can help each other understand and learn to see things from each other's perspective. They give each other support in their own way, and for romantics (like me), it just makes the relationship more loving. The 'Opposites Attract' plot is pretty common in many storylines. Another more well-known manga between manga readers that uses theories like complementary differences are 'Fruit Basket' and 'Cardcaptor Sakura', for movies, the 'Chipmunks', for books, 'Harry Potter'. Naturally, there are also a lot of other examples.

In 'Boyfriend', chapter 4 reminds us again that relationships can be brittle. There are different types of conflicts that can break a relationship. For example, jealousy as used in the manga. In order to maintain relationships with anyone, be it family, friends or couples, it is important to develop good communication skills such as talking about matters when one feels uncomfortable. This is called Self-Disclosure, which is to share information of oneself that the other party did not notice.

However, there are some concerns from reading mangas too much. For parents, considering that manga usually use high school students for romance stories often, they may say that students of secondary schools may be influenced by the stories in having boy-girl- relationships. To this matter, I feel that falling in love is not something that one can control,  but what we can control is how we deal with it. After all, the relationships are at the mercy of personal decisions, with external influences of family and friends of course.

Truthfully, I find that manga and anime are more open in using relational communication,especially those under the 'slice-of-life' genre. There can be times when one can learn some tips in handling relationships from them, especially if one does not have the experience in, let's say, a commited relationship like being a couple (dating or married).  Of course, the settings used in the stories may be a far cry from reality, and real-life situations are also better for us to learn from, but they do let us see how to behave in general in relationships. Not to mention, reading mangas and watching anime can serve as a way to relax from day-to-day life.

Entry 3: Nonverbal cues I've seen

 

Enter a lecture hall or a classroom, the usual scene of groups huddling together, some alone, in the different areas of the room is the first to be seen. Once the lesson starts, the mind starts to pick up on little actions around you. People can be twirling their pens, crossing their legs, playing with their hair, glancing at their watches and so on.

People themselves may not notice since such actions can be done unconsciously, being used to calm themselves down. These are some common examples of what we can notice students doing. Twirling of pens and physical actions , are called adapters, a form of Kinesics (study of body movement). Glancing at the watches or looking around are of Oculesics (study of nonverbal cues associated with eyes). There are other types of nonverbal cues as well, be it for a speech or normal conversation between people, but let's stick to the nonverbal cues of students.

Since the exam weeks are approaching, be it for mid-terms, final year projects or even a whole pile of quizzes the next day, do nonverbal cues have a certain pattern or group?

First off, there is what we may call the well-prepared ones. These may be the people you usually see working on their work, revising everyday. Nonverbal cues on the start of the exams may be that they are just as usual. Walking calmly, going straight to the classrooms (for some), and who knows, they may be the ones that are comforting those who are panicking. From these, one can infer that they revise work regularly so as not to have any troubles with their studies.

The second group may be those who make preparations just for the exams. The nonverbal cues should be noticeable (though they may be exaggerated). Dark 'panda eyes', shorter temper fuse, heavier bag than usual for the notes and textbooks. If one visits the library during such times, one may see a fully packed study room even. During these times, it can be seen that they are set on concentrating on preparations. It may be a good idea to keep any invitation for fun and games at bay for the time being.

From all the studying, either one keeps up with the hectic schedules, or they may end up leaving it to fate. This is hard to know until the time for the exams. And to tell the truth, I have not seen any cues for such, unless cartoons count. All I can say to students having exams is: Good Luck!

These are the nonverbal cues I usually see, and there is the possibility that I misinterpret them as well. But, that is what makes people-watching fun. You get to imagine what all those nonverbal cues mean. Maybe when you have the time, try paying attention to your surroundings, who knows what interesting nonverbal cues you can notice.

Entry 2: DELL Laptop Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ijH3cRJ1BY

Just on Wednesday, I saw this television ad on TvMobile on bus 154 on the way to school. It is the latest Dell Laptop commercial, which is a clip of workers in a futuristic factory, working on producing the new laptops, along with the edited version of the song 'Lollipop' by Chordettes in 1958 (which I only found out after some searching)

I remembered this commercial when I had my COM101 lecture on Thursday, which is on Perception (the process by which we make sense of the world around us. The things we learn or see around us are stimuli, a form of information to our brain. Before we interpret what we have seen, we go through the process of Selection (How we select information in our environment for processing.

This ad makes use of Novel stimuli (which is originality), that is one factor of Selection. After all, there are not much ads that make use of the type of scene we may see from the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". And of course, the jingle they played is very catchy and hard to forget. This interesting way of compilation is what made me pay attention to the ad.

At first I had misinterpreted the advertisement as a sweets promotion, since the very first word to register in me was 'Lollipop' at the start of the commercial. This type of perceptual error (mistake) has also been talked about in the lecture. The exact term used is "Figure and Ground", whereby one perceives a message only by focusing on a specific factor, regardless of any additional information. Naturally some people may be able to understand straightaway that it is an advertisement for Dell since they may be more perceptive.

All in all, this ad captures my attention, and in my opinion, though it may not influence me to get a laptop since I do not need one, it is definitely an interesting commercial.

Entry 1: 'Be as One' national Security Ad

I came across this printed advertisement in this week's edition of Weekend Today, while its telecasted sibling had been appearing since a while back. I believe one would have seen either types of this advertisement.

Being a printed advertisement, it is a form of linear model, where the message is sent to the audience, the public, in a one-way communication. Concerning the straightforward message itself, with it being to be careful for our individual and country's well-being, using the linear model is more suitable than the interactive (two-way communication) or the transactional model (process of mutual influence & simultaneous exchange).

As to why I feel the linear model is the most suitable, I'll tell you now. All three types of models usually make use of the psychological perspective in communication, with which an individual understands the given message due to similar mindsets. There is no serious worry for miscommunication happening, since the words of the sentences have a relatively fixed meaning in this context. 'Vigilant', to be alert, and 'Resilient', recover readily from shock. These two words are ways for us to stand against 'Terrorism'. This advertisement shows clearly what our National Security hope for us to keep in mind. Interactive and transactional models requires communication between two groups of people (sender and receiver), which is not as suitable for an advertisement.

Another matter that caught my eye, though it may be just my personal interpretation, is which I feel that there is another perspective at work in this ad. From the sentence 'Be as One', I see a cultural studies perspective. This perspective looks beneath the surface for any underlying messages, if any is present. For me, this underlying message seems to be for us Singaporeans to stand together, regardless of race, language or religion. After all, our government has always place great emphasis on racial harmony for years. This message had been broadcasted through other national educational programmes, advertisements, specially mentioned in the 'National Day Rally', through Racial Harmony Day and for this advertisement, through the photos where different races are smiling together.

All in all, this advertisement brought its message across to me. Of which my interpretation is to be prepared for any danger, and most importantly, cherish the friendships I have with my friends, regardless of their race and religion.

Greetings

Hi. Siling here
This is my COM101 blog and whoever comes across this, I just like to say 'Thanks for dropping by.' ('',)