This is a blog about my teaching, research and service with some occasional personal comments thrown in. These are my notes on a variety of topics. If you want to follow my blog posts on a specific topic, then see the Table of Contents in the right-hand column. While I try to work in the realm of facts, logic and moral absolutes, if there are any opinions expressed here, they are my own. -WilliamHartPhD
First, you may, depending on where you are and what you are covering, be physically harmed or killed. See Anderson Cooper clip below, for just one example.
And, if you are curious, check out some recent news about about foreign journalists being hurt or killed in the past several months.
It is also not easy being a foreign journalist because you may misread/misunderstand what you are covering in that foreign land. It is a challenge.
“Journalist coverage of foreign places increasingly influences the governance of those places.” (e.g., CNN effect.)
“The emergence of international governance based on foreign news-driven mediated realities has inherent dangers."
“Double Misreadings”?
“Relying on the news media to understand distant places inherently produces a double misreading because…”
Journalist can misread the news event and
We (the audience) can misread what the journalist is saying.
“journalists generally are not equipped to read distant contexts, and neither are their audiences."
Journalist misread for several reasons.
“First, journalists arriving in a new context are foreigners [who don’t know the history, the religions, etc.]
“Misreadings also occur because journalists carry their cultural biases with them when reporting in a foreign context.”
e.g. American values/ways of doing things being seen as normal. Seeing foreign ways as “incomprehensible” or “despicable”.
“…the journalistic practice of deploying simplistic labels.”
Taking a complex, sometimes chaotic situation/place and putting into 20 words or less and putting it in a way that U.S. audience will relate to. “ethnic cleansing” label “white supremacy” label used in coverage of S.A.
“…journalists routinely use binary oppositions when describing foreign contexts” Related to #3
Common characters in a news story: “good guys” vs. “bad guys” Other characters? Common plot? Again, oversimplification.
“…when sent to report on foreign contexts, journalists tend to (subconsciously) select contacts with whom they feel comfortable working…”
“…foreign issues are read in terms of ‘home’ understandings and agendas.”
e.g., S.A. anti-apartheid struggle = U.S. civil rights struggle. Similar to # 3
In his book, Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends, Thomas McPhail defines the CNN effect as "the process by which the coverage of a foreign event by CNN causes that event to be a primary concern for its audience, which in turn forces the federal government to act." One could add to the U.S. government, then as part of its foreign policy, may influence foreign governments/peoples through direct action (e.g., war) or through sanctions. See video clip below.
Does CNN still have this influence on foreign policy? Any other news networks, U.S. or otherwise, have this influence? Any other form of media now has this influence? Think: Arab Spring (see first 2 minutes). Think: Kony2012 (see short clip). What role does social media play in shaping foreign policy? How's that process work?
The "social media effect" is defined here as the process by which the coverage of an event on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. causes that event to be a primary concern for its audiences around the world, which in turn forces foreign governments to act, thus further influencing the event.
See clip below for more the idea of social media effect.
When I was little I wanted to be an astronomer. My family lived out in the country. So, the sky was clear and beautiful, filled with stars. I was fascinated, full of questions.
As a grew up and got into college and grad school, my research interests changed, but I still have a fondness for the night sky and astronomers.
Carl Sagan is an astronomer-hero of mine. More recently Neil deGrasse Tyson fills Sagan's shoes. What these astronomers have to say goes beyond the stars. As scientists, what they teach is a way of thinking. They teach critical thinking.
The Thinker's Way by John Chaffee is a good place to start a journey into critical thinking. Some of what follows is inspired by this book.
Try this little exercise:
Think of a topic that you know something about.
Write down five things that you know about that topic.
Don't write down definitions. Write down claims. Two options: (1) Write that one thing has an effect on another or (2) one group is different from another. For example, video games cause violence in players or Americans are more individualistic than Chinese.
Now, questions to ponder:
What does it mean to say “I know something”?
What can we know? How well?
How do we know it?
How would you go about testing these claims?
One of my favorite television programs is Myth Busters. The key reason that I like the program is because it uses critical thinking and tests claims. Check out the video below.
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So, dehumanization of the enemy was done in the past all over the world. Does it still happen in the 21st century? That's the question that my co-author and I asked in our study of editorial cartoons of bin Laden and the Taliban after the events of 9/11.
The study began with the observation of the way that President Bush talked about the enemy and how editorial cartoonists subsequently depicted the Taliban and bin Laden.
In short, our study found that people (U.S. leaders and editorial cartoonist, in this case) continued to use the dehumanizing visual metaphors identified by Keen -- enemy-as-animal, enemy-as-barbarian, enemy-as-criminal, etc.
We closed our book chapter with the following important note.
Does this process of dehumanization continue?
President Jimmy Carter interview from April 9, 2013. Korea = "Axis of Evil"?
Why is it that during times of war people see the enemy of as animals, as monsters, as barbarians, as devil or death? Put differently, why do people dehumanize the enemy? What purpose does it serve?
Social psychologist Sam Keen offers some answers in his book and a doc based on the book. Here's the beginning of the doc. I'd encourage you to see the rest.
How do we dehumanize? Why do we dehumanize? Why do we make the enemy less than human?
According to Keen, there are a dozen or so common ways that the enemy is seen.
Enemy-as-Animal,
Enemy-as-Barbarian,
Enemy-as-Death,
Enemy-as-Enemy-of-God,
Enemy-as-Criminal,
Enemy-as-All-the-Same
etc.
Keen argues that the enemy is dehumanized because it justifies the killing of the enemy. If the enemy is not a civilized human like us, then, according to Keen, the guilt associated with killing then enemy is greatly lessened and killing is easier.
During World War II the Nazis dehumanized Jewish people. Notice the dehumanization of Jewish people in the Nazi propaganda film called the "Eternal Jews". Watch at least the first five minutes of the film. What was the purpose of this dehumanization of Jewish people?
Just in a 5 minute clip from about 13:45 to 18:37, what dehumanizing metaphors are used?
If you are interested, for more a detailed study of the dehumanizing metaphors used in The Eternal Jew, see:
Hassencahl F. & Hart, W. B. (March, 2013).A fantasy-theme analysis of Der Ewige Jude(The Eternal Jew): From WWII Nazi propaganda to YouTube today.A paper presented at the national Popular Culture Association convention, Washington, DC.
Note: See in relationship between dehumanizing an enemy in war time andracism?
Spot any dehumanization in the following U.S. training film from World War II?
The following is a 1945 World War II propaganda film released by the U.S. War Department entitled "Know Your Enemy: Japan" Who watched this film? What was the purpose of the film?
We've discussed previously experiments and surveys as research methods. Here's a third research method, a third way to answer some research questions. In experiments you study subjects. In surveys you study respondents. What do you study in textual analysis?
What is textual analysis?
“A research method that uses measurement techniques to classify and evaluate the characteristics of spoken, written, artistic, and electronic documents”(FBFK).
What are the various types of texts analyzed in textual analysis? What is a text?
Written --letters, diaries, transcriptions, books, tweets, newspaper articles, etc.
Audio -- conversations, lyrics, etc.
Visual -- paintings, photographs, architecture, etc.
Broadcasts -- film scripts, news casts, etc.
Texts are the communication media which carry meaning.
Question: What is not a text?
Two important types of textual analysis: rhetorical criticism and content analysis relevant to mass media.
Steps in using this method…
1. Select text(s)
2. Unit of Analysis (what specifically are you going to study? Example: specific words, parts of an image, etc.
3. Categories… put into nominal categories
4. Coding … analyze text
5. Summarize
NOTE: If for some reason your browser does not show the above news stories, then see the stories on Dr. Hart's Storify account at http://storify.com/WilliamHartPhD#stories. You may also want to consider updating your browser (Explorer or Chrome).
NOTE: If for some reason your browser does not show the above news stories, then see the stories on Dr. Hart's Storify account at http://storify.com/WilliamHartPhD#stories. You may also want to consider updating your browser (Explorer or Chrome).
What does Friedman mean when he says the world is flat?
What are the 3 eras of globalization according to Friedman?
How does this connect with our earlier coverage of globalization?
Is Friedman right? Pankaj Ghemawat: Actually, the world isn't flat.
Key terms: globalization, social media, anti-globalization movement, What is globaloney? How is Ghemawat using the term?
In the past this term referred to an unrealistic foreign policy or global outlook. That fits Ghemawat's usage, but Ghemawat is more specific. How? See 'globaloney' definitions below.
Other than helping individuals to communicate, what grander social role does the Internet play?
For example, the Internet can be used to speak to power and cause social change. In the quote below McPhail notes the role blogs played in challenging power in 2002.
Quote originally taken from 2nd edition of Global Communication.
So, in the United States the Internet can be used to speak to power, but what about in other countries. For the Internet to play a strong role, there would need to be a substantial amount of Internet users in a country. What sort of growth is there for Internet use around the world? According to McPhail (2nd edition),
Quote originally taken from 2nd edition of Global Communication.
The 3rd edition of McPhail has some interesting, updated numbers. What changes do you note?
So, Internet use is certainly on the rise around the world, more so in some countries than in others.
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On the world stage, the Internet, specifically social media, has been credited with building revolutions in countries and bringing down dictators.
Take for example, protests in the former-Soviet republic of Moldova in 2009. It was called "Moldova’s Twitter Revolution."
More recently though, when one thinks of social media and revolution, one thinks of the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring is "a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010."
A Map of Arab Spring Countries
(Image used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, image created by Kwamikagami)
Countries highlighted in black are countries in which the government was overthrown. From left to right the countries are Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. Countries highlighted in other colors are countries in which some protesting occurred.
For a sense of the role social media played in Tunisia, see the following news clip.
What exactly did social media do Tunisia? What was the role of social media?
Let's move from a specific example to a broader discussion about the role of social media has played in the Arab Spring. Some say that social media is insignificant and others say social media play a few important roles in revolution. What are both sides of the argument and what are the arguments on both sides. Why, for example, would some say "no, social media doesn't play a role"? To help answer these questions see the Zuckerman video below.
See specifically the presentation from 4:45 to 8:45 and the remainder if interested.
Note: Zuckerman is co-founded international blogging community Global Voices. Check it out of you are interested.
Think of the Internet as the hardware and the World Wide Web as the software that runs on the Internet. The Web is not the hardware. It is collection of interconnected web pages that exist on the Internet.
Now, how did the Internet evolve as a medium of communication from email in the late '60 and early '70s to the web-based communication tools that we have today?
Update to Zuckerman video:
If we can think of the 1990s as the decade of the World Wide Web (web pages, blogs, etc.), we can think of 2000-2010 as the decade of social media. The decade got off to a slow start, but by...
2004: Facebook founded.
2005: YouTube founded. Note the strong social/sharing aspect of YT.
2006: Twitter founded.
etc.
Now, with an explanation of how the Internet works and how it evolved as a communication tool (e.g. social media), let's look how the Internet plays an important role in global communication (see next post).
A survey usually begins with some demographic questions or "items". Since there are sometimes no questions marks, it would be best to refer to them as items.
Demographics questions/items:
“survey questions that inquire about respondents’ personal characteristics, such as name, age, gender, education”(FBFK).
What demographic questions do you ask?
Only ask demographics that will help you interpret results. Careful with long surveys. Why?
Once you are finished with your demographic questions, next you need to ask questions that help you answer your specific research question(s). You need to ask questions that measure your independent and dependent variables.
What are the general types of questions (or “items”) that can appear on a survey?
With a survey you are usually measuring what a respondent knows, their likes or dislikes or some aspect of their past behaviors.
If you were writing a survey on social media use, what would be some examples questions/items you may put on your survey? Knowledge? Attitude? Behavior?
Do you just have your respondents choose among some predetermined choices or do you leave them some space to respond in whatever why they choose? Put another way, what are close-ended and open-ended survey questions?
Closed-ended items
Scales-- e.g., Likert scale
Use stats to analyze responses to each item and stats to summarize findings
Open-ended items
Words-- Transcribe responses and use textual analysis to summarize findings
Once you have finished a draft of your survey questions, you'll need to go back and proof-read. As you are checking spelling and grammar, also keep the following in mind.
What are some tips on wording survey items?
Keep items short.
Avoid loading or leading questions.
“Don’t you think rich professors should be denied a pay raise?”
A research method in which respondents representing a specific population are asked questions concerning their knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors (based on FBFK).
What are the general steps in constructing and giving a survey?
Identify the purpose of the survey
What is the ultimate purpose of a survey in a research study?
Determine who to ask and what to ask.
Write survey
Give survey
Let participants know if there are any risks.
Let participants know their rights.
Right to not participate, to stop participating, etc.
Thank the participants.
Tally results
Report results
What information should be included on a survey (excluding survey questions)?
Title: A Study of Social Media Use by College Students
Who: Dr. Hart, Department of Mass Communications & Journalism
Where: Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA
Any Questions: Send to Dr. Hart
Statement of Purpose:
This study seeks your opinion about methods courses for a research study. Your responses are anonymous. Thank You.
Rights: In addition, if for whatever reason you do not feel comfortable responding to any or all items, please leave it(them) blank.
NOTE: If for some reason your browser does not show the above news stories, then see the stories on Dr. Hart's Storify account at http://storify.com/WilliamHartPhD#stories. You may also want to consider updating your browser (Explorer or Chrome).
NOTE: If for some reason your browser does not show the above news stories, then see the stories on Dr. Hart's Storify account at http://storify.com/WilliamHartPhD#stories. You may also want to consider updating your browser (Explorer or Chrome).
NOTE: If for some reason your browser does not show the above news stories, then see the stories on Dr. Hart's Storify account at http://storify.com/WilliamHartPhD#stories. You may also want to consider updating your browser (Explorer or Chrome).
A case study is a method of teaching in which students are presented with a problematic scenario or case. A case is an example or illustration of a problem or challenge.
Case studies are some times used in law classes and some times in public relations classes, for example.
After an international case is presented there is a common method used in PR courses.
Define/describe the PR problem.
Give ways for addressing or solving this problem.
List resources needed for implementing solution(s).
Give a timetable for implementation.
State expected impact of solution.
How did you use intercultural skills?
Intercultural skills to keep in mind when working through the international P.R. case
Be mindful
Be thoughtful, aware of differences
Be patience
It may be difficult at first
Be open-minded
Consider other ways of doing things, other views
Be tolerance of ambiguity
Things may not make sense. Be comfortable with uncertainty
Now, let's do a case or three.
Check out the following news videos about three back-to-back incidents between the U.S. military and the people of Afghanistan in early 2012. As you are watching these, starting thinking about the above info. What would you do to build a better relationship between the U.S. military and the people of Afghanistan?
Afghan Massacre: Video From Shooting Scene (ABC Evening News - Mar. 2012)
What would you do to build a better relationship between the U.S. military and the people of Afghanistan?
Also, now go through the method given above (i.e., 1. Define/describe the P.R. problem, etc.). Also don't forget to think about how you'd use your intercultural skills in doing this P.R. work.
Let's pretend that we are doing some public relations/advertising work for the U.S. State Department. They want us to (1) promote a good image of the U.S. abroad and (2) promote tourism to the U.S.
What could we do? How would we do that?
Where would we do that? Let's say we focus on places where people first have contact with the U.S., in airports and in U.S embassies abroad.
As for the what, how about we put together a short video to be shown in the airports and embassies.
Think very carefully about what you would be in that video and why.
No, no. Don't read on. Seriously, think about what you'd put in the video and why.
O.K., now read on.
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This above scenario actually played out few years back. It actually happened. Let's see how your ideas match up with those actually carried out. Let's look at a series of videos.
A CNN News Report
The Actual Video Shown in Airports and Embassies
(See at least the first minute and the last minute to get a good feel for the video.)
The Making of the Portraits of America Video
Do you think this "Portraits of America" video was effective, based upon what you've see above?
Would you have done anything differently?
, Thomas McPhail defines the CNN effect as "the process by which the coverage of a foreign event by CNN causes that event to be a primary concern for its audience, which in turn forces the federal government to act." One could add to the U.S. government, then as part of its foreign policy, may influence foreign governments/peoples through direct action (e.g., war) or through sanctions. See video clip below.
by John Chaffee is a good place to start a journey into critical thinking. Some of what follows is inspired by this book.
(pp. 137-155). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
by Sam Keen
)
by Ghemawat
