Stopping by Woods On A Snowy Evening

 

Stopping by Woods on a Snow... by Julia Garces

MID - Mass Media and Communication BA Semester 2

Unit 1. Media and Culture 

via GIPHY

The evolution of media has transformed society through various roles, including entertainment, education, public discourse, and government oversight. Media provides escape, information, and a platform for discussion on important issues, influencing societal values and perceptions. Technological innovations, from the printing press to the Internet, have shaped media industries and communication patterns, reflecting and shaping cultural norms and behaviors.

American households are immersed in a vast sea of media content, from traditional newspapers and television to online streaming and social media platforms. The ubiquity of media, in various forms, has redefined how information is accessed, consumed, and shared, with the average person interacting with an immense amount of data daily.

Media plays essential roles, such as entertainment, education, public discourse facilitation, and governmental oversight, impacting societal values, beliefs, and behaviors. Through storytelling and information dissemination, media shapes narratives and influences public opinion, serving as a mirror reflecting society's cultural norms and values.

The advent of new technologies, such as the printing press, radio, television, and the Internet, has revolutionized how information is disseminated, with each innovation leading to societal shifts and cultural changes. These advancements have both influenced and been influenced by evolving social values, reshaping communication landscapes and individual behaviors.

Free speech, a cornerstone of the American mass media landscape, is protected by the First Amendment, although limits exist based on social values. Definitions of obscenity and copyright laws are examples of legal constraints on free speech that have evolved over time, reflecting changing societal attitudes towards what is considered acceptable in media content.

Propaganda, a tool used to influence public opinion for ideological, political, or commercial purposes, can distort truths, selectively present facts, or appeal to emotions. The use of propaganda in media messaging highlights the power of communication in shaping beliefs and perceptions, illustrating how social values can be manipulated to serve specific agendas.

Gatekeepers in the media industry play a crucial role in curating and controlling the flow of information to the public. These individuals or entities decide which stories are shared, emphasizing certain narratives while potentially omitting others. Gatekeepers hold significant influence over the content we consume, shaping societal conversations and reinforcing dominant cultural norms.

Overall, the evolution of media, driven by technological advancements and societal values, has transformed how information is created, distributed, and consumed. From traditional newspapers to digital platforms, media continues to play a central role in shaping cultural narratives, reflecting and influencing the values and beliefs of society at large.

- Gatekeepers in the media, such as editors and reporters, impact what news is considered important, thus shaping societal values and beliefs through their biases.

- The lack of media coverage on events like the Rwandan genocide in 1994 due to gatekeeping potentially led to political inaction and countless deaths.

- Traditional media, with limited space and time, heavily relied on gatekeepers, while the internet allows for more diverse content and minimizes the gatekeeper function.

- The digital age has shifted gatekeeping roles to platforms like Twitter and YouTube, with less transparency on decision-making processes.

- Different cultures and subcultures present stories differently, showcasing their distinct social values and perspectives on media messages.

- Media literacy is vital in today's society to decode and analyze the vast amount of information transmitted through various media channels.

- Media literacy enables individuals to assess messages critically, understand biases, and evaluate the credibility and purpose behind media content.

- Understanding the creator, format, audience, content, and purpose of media messages helps individuals navigate through the vast and often conflicting information available.

- Considerations for evaluating media messages include the message’s author, format, audience, content, and purpose.

- Media literacy is crucial as individuals decode messages from various sources like individuals, companies, governments, or organizations.

- Analyzing current events online involves identifying the author, format, audience, content, and purpose of the chosen subject.

- Responses to critical questions should be a minimum of one paragraph each regarding changes in information perception, practicing media literacy, and public responsibility.

- End-of-chapter assessment questions cover topics like mass communication vs mass media, the role of media in society, historical events shaping mass communication, and the impact of convergence in the digital age.

- Critical thinking questions explore the history of media technology, the necessity of gatekeepers and tastemakers in mass media, changing cultural periods in the digital age, and the influence of cultural values on U.S. media law.

- Media literacy curriculum in schools and the need for it are considered, along with the role of consultants in helping organizations navigate the media landscape.

- Merlin Mann's work as a writer, speaker, and consultant is explored through his website, projects, fees, and opinions on social networking and public relations.

- Recommendations are provided for consultants to enhance organizations' media presence and reach their goals effectively

National Seminar on 'Convergence of AI, DH and English Studies

The Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University organized a One-day Nation Seminar on 'Convergence of AI, DH and English Studies on 29th of March 2024 in hybrid mode.

The seminar started at 10:30 a.m. with the key person of the day Prof. (Dr.) Nigam Dave PDEU, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Sir addressed his point of view or observations rather than as an expert on "Value Neutrality of Deepfakes and its Positive Implications." The Keynote Speaker session was chaired by Dr. Parul Mishra Professor at Amity University, Jaipur Rajasthan, and the Moderator of the session was Ms. Kavisha Alagiya.

The speaker focuses on how we can revisit the word and a falsified assumption behind the 'Deepfackes' or synthetic media. Sir stressed the line behind the word by analyzing by using archetypes such as Chyavan Rishi(the story of Chyavan Rishi and Sukanya), Aklavya (he learned by the imaginative idol of Drauna )Greek Mythology (before the story of Helen's birth), some interesting memes that can be related in the present scenario, either of politics or of education. The key line sir said, "....synthetic media can be used as malicious, and potential intent." The speaker also demonstrated the concept of Voice Banking, Synthetic Literature by AI, Hologram, Microsoft HoloLens, etc. At the end of the session, sir addressed particular points about how synthetic media can be taken as neutrally. It can be used as a cognitive association with the loved one, and it can be emotionally linked with near and dear ones and that is why we are living or rather co-existing with synthetic media. And it could encourage us to think critically. Sir deconstructed the word 'DeepFake' and also threw light on why we should reframe the concern behind this notion by giving live examples from the disciplines of Medicine, Film, and Education, we can use it to promote more activity efficiently with the value of neutrality of using such AI tools.

Learning Outcome: The resistance to technology always comes with a new start of how and why to learn. We are living in the coexisting world of AI where we can fit ourselves with AI and it can be helpful to us. We should cultivate creative, cognitive insight beyond our only one perception. Ex. As Sir mentioned, a knife can be used for killing and can be used for cutting fruits.

In the first session,(11:45 AM to 12:45 PM) the plenary session was chaired by Dr. Valiur Rahaman Associate Professor at LPU, Punjab. The moderator of the session was Ms. Megha Trivedi.

The session was about Engaging with "Digital Humanities: Tools, Techniques and Scope" by Dr. Richa Mishra (Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat). Ma'am addressed the origin of the area of Digital Humanities and from its roots to the possible research areas in this field. As the speaker mentioned, "...we can not undo the things, Data is the Soil." Then she talked about language, multiple languages, and gender biases on the internet. For example, the reaction to a particular message on social media might be different from both genders' sides and she addressed the gender linguistic aspects on the internet or on social media. She also suggested some linguistics tools for exercising or researching a particular area. Also gave some real-life experiments and research work in this area.

Learning Outcome: Digital Humanities is still a new emerging era. The new concepts and ideas will keep coming by practicing. There are many stereotypes regarding Gender and Language. We also keep focusing on how to rethink and redefine particular stereotypes as we stand side by the technology.

In the second session, the plenary session was chaired by Dr. Sunita Nimavat Principal, Government Arts College, Vallabhipur, Bhavnagar and the moderator of the session was Ms. Prakruti Bhatt. "The session was about The Role of AI in the Creative Process: Rethinking Authorship" by Dr. Richa Srishti (CHRIST University, Pune, Maharashtra.)

The speaker asked the question first about what we call Creativity(values, consciousness, emotion) while we are expecting any creative work from AI. What do we mean by creativity? Ma'am addressed that AI is learning what we can do, so AI can follow our command while we make mistakes. It starts learning from that if we address it that it is a mistake. Ma'am also mentioned Einstein (thought experiment), Ada Lovelace (first lady and world's first computer programmer) and claimed that AI can be considered as a true author. She also recommended some online AI tools for collaborative writing (Human+AI). The speaker addressed the term Scriptor which was coined by Ronald Barths. As Barths mentioned, "Scriptor whose only power is to combine pre-existing text in new ways' ' Some of the books like, 'There is No I in AI' by Jeo Fansler, 'The Inevitable 'by Kevin Kelly. Ma'am displayed various poems and engaged listeners by asking which poem and image was written and drawn by humans and AI. Verse by Verse, Chat GPT, AI Dungeon, etc for image, poetry, and prose-generating online AI tools she recommended. She also highlights Human Creativity versus Capability and Credibility by Technology. She also threw light upon Ethical concerns from writing to publishing work whether it is by AI or Human and by Collaboratively done work.

Learning Outcome: The question about authorship, and copyright law will be in the particular frame but we can now rethink this new style of writing and publishing the work. We can now effectively work with AI as we can be considered as thinking assistants who can help us to think critically and systematically in a particular form of art. Then we can rethink the work of art.

In the third session, the plenary session was chaired by Dr. Mansukh Gaijan (Incharge Principal, Shamaldas Arts College, Bhavnagar) and the moderator was Ms. Kavisha Alagiya. The session was about "AI for Teaching and Learning" by Dr. Shoba K. N. NITTTR, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The speaker first addressed the evolution of technology in teaching, from the printing press to the World Wide Web. She claimed that AI is not new, it has been built for a long time. The evolution of technology in teaching started from the first invention of computers to machine learning to Deep Learning. Ma'am gave quite an interesting example that as in sports, players could practice as per the requirements and equipment. Now times have changed and as evolution is the concern, players have more opportunities to set new records from the previous records. It is applicable in the teaching process as well. Ma'am drafted three educators parallel, Benjamin Bloom and Bloom's Taxonomy, Sal Khan and Khan Academy, (non-profit educational organization), Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI company), and how these three people provide a kind of framework for teaching with AI either for mathematics or for literature. She also suggested some courses for teacher training with AI that are available on the Coursera platform. She also highlighted that we as a teacher have to require the knowledge of AI and then we are teaching with AI in the classroom. She also recommended various AI tools for lesson planning for the teachers, such as Pictory, InvideoAI, Tome, SlideAI, Gamma, Eduaideai, Twee, Magicschool.Ai, Alayna.Ai, Preplexity, Curipod, autoclassmate etc. 

Learning Outcome: This session was based on teaching. I personally believe that in Teaching Aptitude it is mentioned that Teachers always should be Learners first. So whenever it is required we should learn how to operate a particular site or application then we can introduce it to the students.

 

As a Research Scholar, it was the first National Seminar that I have attended. I express my sincere gratitude to all the renowned speakers, Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad Sir, the head of the Department of English, and scholar's team Vaidehi Ma'am, Megha Ma'am, Prakruti Ma'am, and Kavisha Ma'am. Thank you for organizing the Department of English, MKBU for such an insightful, interactive, enriching, and powerful Seminar.

 

Workshop on 'The Imagination'

On 28th February, the Department of English organized a one-day offline workshop on 'The Imagination' by I.A. Richards. The resource person of the day was Dr. Vishal Pandya Sir. Sir is currently working as Assistant Professor and the Head of the Department of English at Government Arts College, Vallbhipur. The session was anchored by Himanshi Parmamr ma'am. Principal of the college Dr.J.B.Gohil sir addressed the speaker. Further, the verbal welcome of the guest by Aamena Rangwala ma'am. As per the late news we received, we had to shift our program to the class rather than in the conference room. But in the end, we received a amount number of insights from the speaker. 

As per the part of the syllabus of the third-year student, the essay 'The Imagination' by I.A.Richards was dealt with by the speaker but it is more about the deep root of the concept. Sir talked about philosophy and questioned the students what we meant by the word Philosophy. The students also enthusiastically participated and answered the questions as well. As the speaker said, Philosophy is not talking about any great thing or idea, but it is about the base and fundamental thing, in short philosophy is wisdom. Sir talked about the evolution of species and as time passed, the particular species were free from hands then another group of species learned that they could afford food from the land so they did not have to need for food from place to place. In conclusion, humans have time to think, you could imagine if you are mentally free. That is the base we can say why humans can imagine. For thinking, freedom to think is necessary. If we are pressured to not think in our own imagination or in our own way, our mind automatically feels depressed from the external aspects and we try to detach ourselves from the external world. Because the root of imagination as per our way of thinking is different from person to person. So what one person thinks about the sky is his or her speculation but another might think differently. The speaker also mentioned how Socretics and other great philosophers had their truth, they spoke and the world neglected them. Sir also mentioned that the WORD created the WORLD. Sir also mentioned the difference between Fancy and Imagination. In imagination, there are outputs through Language. Without language, we are not able to think.  Another quite interesting point the speaker raised is that there is nothing perfect in Imagination. It is not necessary to think in a straight way and to express what we think in any kind of perfection. At the same time, the process of imagination is quite important. Sir also talked about the concept of Overstanding instead we say that we just Understand the topic or subject. The fundamental thing in Imagination is that it starts with WHY rather than WHAT. Sir also gave some examples from philosophers like Socrates to Aristotle and Galileo to Einstein. 

At the end of the session, the learning outcome from the talk was given by the student from F.Y.B.A Monti Bhill. Prof.Brijedrasinh Jadeja Sir gave verbal thanks to the speaker.