COMM 125
PROJECT 2
There are many ways to get news. Television, internet and newspapers are among the most famous. This essay focuses on the way in which each of these media represents the same topic.
I have chosen a subject that concerns a lot the country the last two days, although it is not very important or unusual. I’m referring of course to the heat wave which affects the country and the daily life of people, creating problems and difficulties. According to the National Meteorological Service (EMY), high temperatures will prevail the next days throughout the country with the thermometer to show 40 and 41 degrees Celsius.
The reason that makes the heat a very important fact is that creates many problems in the health and the daily life of people. For this reason, the health authorities of the country are on alert and recommendations to the citizens, because of bad weather and high temperatures,
also issued by the Ministry of Environment. For this reason, it recommends, to the citizens some guidelines for preventing the effects of heat, according to which is recommended to avoid exposure to sunlight, avoid heavy physical work, especially in places that exist high temperature with humidity and the sun and a special attention to the nutrition.
Comparing these three media we can see that they use a different way to cover this subject. Starting the analysis with the newspaper (TA NEA), we can see that the presentation is simple, brief and concise, without too much detail. There is a one-page update that contains maps with temperatures by region and a very short description per day. The report style is straight, listing the most important information, with as few words as possible. The newspaper has limited space and that’s why it includes only a short analysis of the situation. What makes impress is that in the bottom of the page there are several websites to which they refer the reader for further information.
On the other hand, the TV offers a more detailed and comprehensive information. The last two days in the News (ANT1) are dedicated three-minute videos detailing in the issue of heat. The broadcaster starts with a brief reference to the basic information and then the reporter with his stand up, gives emphasis to the details. The reportage takes place in some of the beaches of the country and also in the center of the city where the situation is even more intolerable, helping the viewer to have a picture of the situation. Then the reporter gets some statements from citizens, who explain the situation showing also their emotions. Then, a specialist analyzes the temperature and its effects, giving some advices to the public in order to help them to avoid bad circumstances.
The spoken language used is simple, in order to be understood to all the people regardless of age and educational level. The television presents the reportage built around video and interviews and includes images and good speaking voices, making the information more attractive to the viewer. That makes TV a source of news which is a necessary part of people’s daily life.
The same topic on the website (IN.GR) has a completely different structure from the previous two media, leaving to the reader the choice of brief (as the newspaper) and also detailed information (like television). In the first page there are headlines and a brief description with the most important information. In our case there is the following article: “Heat wave sweeping the country, suffocating atmosphere, similar conditions also on Tuesday”. Within these 2 lines, the reader takes the main info and then, if he is interested he goes to the next page with the further analysis, which includes an analytical article, photos and links with videos. The Internet is the quickest and most direct way of information as within just a few seconds, the readers can learn about everything they are interested of, whenever they want, without waiting the publication of the newspaper or the next News. So if we compare these three media we can easily understand that internet has an incredible speed and development.
People usually use television, newspaper and the internet. These three kinds of communicating media are the most often people use in the world as they provide actual news and reports everyday from around the world. Comparing them we reach the following conclusions.
TV, help people to understand more easily the situation than reading it on a newspaper, as it offers a visual image of what is happening producing emotions to the viewer, making the newspaper to seem somehow boring. On the other hand, the Internet is a better source of finding out the news, as the delivery of news is a lot faster and the audience has the choice of reading, watching and also listening at the same time. That is the reason for which newspapers and TV stations have created their own websites on the internet, which are updated with latest news and details.
PHOTOS
VIDEO ANT1-WEBSITE
SOC 430
The Changing American Family and its Global Aspect.
Once upon a time in America there were strong family values. Family was the main expression of love between the couple and their passion to have children. The traditional form was the nuclear family, which was composed by mother, father and kids. There was also the extreme family which contained all the relatives of the couple. In these types of family, every member had a very specific role. The husband was the protector and was responsible to bring money at home and to create an atmosphere of security. The role of the wife was to stay at home and her basic responsibility was to care about children and deal with housework.
People used to enter into marriage in order to become parents with the dream to create an ideal family. The model of the ideal American family consists of mom, dad, kids, dog, a beautiful house with garden and a lot of happiness.
Every morning, the wife would prepare the breakfast for the husband who would go to work and the children who would go to school. Then she would prepare the house and the launch waiting all the members to return at home. After all these, she would help her kids with their homework, leaving the dad relax reading his newspaper. Then she would prepare the dinner and after that she would sleep her children. Finally she could pass some time resting with her husband until the day comes to an end.
Nowadays, this remains just a dream. The term “traditional family” faces a great crisis in the modern society. There is a big change in the way Americans think about this term. Society is an organization that is constantly evolving and this has as a result the adjustment of the institutions into new conditions. One of the main factors that family relationships have deteriorated is that women have escaped from the role of housewife and they are looking for financial independence. In the past, husband and wife were materially dependent from each other but in the modern society the pursuit of material eudemonism made people look more for the material happiness. Today, people believe in gender equality, and as both genders have the anxiety of a successful career,
they have put the wedding on the back burner. Children, even if they have biological parents, physically they don’t meet them easily. For that reason there is the phenomenon of “turn key kids” who because both of their parents work, they do everything alone, having the TV as their babysitter.
People don’t get married easily. They prefer to make the wedding later in order to be sure of a good financial situation. They say that they test their relationship in this way, but the truth is that their first priority is to build a career. The result is an increase number of single people living together.
The revolution of women has also caused a gender nonconformity phenomenon known as SAHD (Stay at Home Dads). If the wife earns more money, then the husband takes the role of the main caregiver for the children. This concept has a cost for both working mothers and SAHD and of course for the kids. Even if the husband gives his everything for the proper upbringing of his kids, he often faces an identity crisis, as this is not his natural role. In this case, the man has a feeling of inferiority that could lead the couple into serious problems. Children need their mother and nothing can replace this need. On the other hand, women know the truth and they often experience guilt and stress, but they are so much addicted to their busy lives and they prefer to pay this cost.
This is one of the reasons that divorces have increased rapidly with the result of the existence of many Single Parent Families. The truth is that a single parent is not only a result of a failed marriage but also a choice. A lot of people choose to have a baby with the help of a donor. Sperm and egg banks have replaced the traditional way of childbirth. The problem of this method is that we don’t know who the other parent is and we have no idea about his identity and his DNA. A man can be the donor of many children, who won’t know that somehow are brothers and this is a cycle with never ending reflections.
Another modern family issue which has caused many reactions is the phenomenon of gay marriage. People of the same sex have claimed equal right on family creation, invalidating completely the traditional family concept. There are also many cases of adoptions by homosexual couples.
Talking about adoption is very important to mention the enormous changes in this field. In the past, adoption was the solution for married couples who could not have children of their own. It was a very serious decision and that's why the couples were going through a long process to prove their qualification. Then they were dealing with the process to grow the baby up, with all their love as if it was their own. Nowadays things have changed somehow since the institution of adoption tends to become a trend. A lot of Hollywood stars like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Madonna and Meg Ryan adopt like crazy, children from the Third World and Asia promoting that as the model of the celebrity family. The result of this action is that in many cases, people adopt children in an irresponsible way, just to look like their idols, turning this serious term into a trend. Adoptions from other countries have also the result of the creation of multicultural and multiracial families.
Another type of modern families is the blended family. In this case there is a remarried couple who lives with their children from their previous marriages. This type of family is a little complex as it has to face different feelings from each member and needs a daily effort for being harmonious.
As we can understand, morality and the new family values are weaker and very different from what had been in the past. Nowadays, a typical American family is multiracial because of immigration and adoptions from other countries, it consists of single parents, both working parents with other priorities, same sex couples and blended members, and the traditional nuclear family tends to disappear. These new values have changed the American family and the new trends have impacted the world.
That happens because the US is a strong country which always had the power to influence other countries. American culture tends to be received by the rest of the world in many ways, as the term “Americanization” characterizes the majority of the population worldwide. ll
ART 480
What We Learn About Ancient Olympic Games from the Museum Visit to Benaki and Cycladic Museums.
The first Olympic Games were held in Greece in 776 BC. In the museums of Greece there are a lot of information about this athletic competition in ancient times, the enviable culture of the country, the importance of the Olympic Game, the protocol and all the procedures.
In Athens the most important museums that have a great material are the Benaki museum and the Cycladic museum. Below in detail all the information contained in these two archaeological sites.
The tour began with a visit to the Benaki Museum in which there are 2 rooms dedicated to ancient times. Unfortunately there is no dedicated room for the Olympic Games but there are some relics kept from ancient times that refer to sport activities. The most of them are jewels as on the jewellery of the archaic period, in gold, silver or bronze, granulation and filigree techniques were exploited to the full. In the exhibition there is a bronze bossed bowls that intended for athletes prizes. There is also a gold ring with intaglio representation of a kneeling archer stretching a bow. There is a wreath in the field that symbolizes the victory. In the past Benaki museum had published an album with pictures of the Olympic Games in Antiquity, but unfortunately is no longer available.
The tour continues to the Cycladic museum which gives a more detailed analysis of the Olympic Games. The museum hosts an amazing exhibition about the life in ancient times, informing visitors also for the athletic events, moving them back to the past. The beginning of the sport events and happened through religious festivals as an honor to the gods and then became an independent athletic competition.
There were a great preparation and for that reason the male youths had a very hard training in the Gymnasion and the Palaestra and very rarely they used some schools. The palaestra was a very symmetric building centered on a large courtyard where the training took place. It also contained changing rooms, bath and teaching hall. For the ancient people the physical exercise was very important because together with the mental exercise created healthy and virtuous people able to protect their city. The Gymnasion was another training facility but It was also used for social meetings. The difference is that in Gymnasion the athletes made their practice nude, and that’s why they gave the name gymnasion (in Greek gymnos means naked).
In palaestra athletes like wrestlers, boxers and jumbers trained in sandpits in the court. Runners, discus and javelin throwers the gymnasion .During their practice, athletes wanted to hear the flute because it helped them relax and find their rhythm.
To achieve a better distance, jumpers used stone, which they threw backwards before landing in the pit. There was always an instructor to watch them and they violated any rule he used on them a forked staff.
During their training, the athletes used very specific equipment. The basic were oil flasks, striglis and sponges. In the changing room they used aryballos (perfumed oil) in order to avoid body smell and to control the sweating.
After their practice they scraped dust and sweat using the strigil and washed themselves with the sponge.
The Olympic games were the greatest event in ancient Greece and the Olympic Contests were held between the end of July and the beginning of September and lasted 5 days. The first and last days were devoted to official ceremonies.The oldest event was the stadion race whose length according to Hercules was 192,28m. “The most spectacular contest was the equestrian events held in the hippodrome in which the participants were horse owners.
Riders and charioteers aimed to drive the horses into the inside lane of the track and so make the turn first but sometimes this led often to accidents.
Stadion runners had their knees high and their arms extended. The winner gave his name to the entire four year Olympiad.”
“The winged goddess Nike personified the victorious outcome of either an athletic or military competition”. The winners were given crowns of olive branches. Each wreath varied, depending on where the games were held.
The goddess Nike, was also found to fly down to the winner and give him ribbon. Because Nike means Victory, that, was a great honor.
The winner made his triumph tour while the crowd of spectators clapped for him and then he received his olive wreath and his ribbon. After all that ,a poet synthesized a hymn dedicated to the winner in order to preserve his reputation for ever.
Olympic Games are a very important part of our culture and this tour in museums was really useful as gave us all these detailed information about an athletic competition that started in ancient Greece and it is still part of our lives.
LINKS:
- Museum Benaki. (http://www.benaki.gr/)
- Museuof Cycladic Art. (http://www.cycladic.gr/)
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου