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COMM-302-Uses-and-Gratifications-Theory-Essay
Uses and Gratification TheoryInsert Name
COMM 302Insert Date
Insert ProfUses and Gratification TheoryUses and Gratification Theory is an approach used to understand the reason and how people actively seek out some given media to satisfy their special needs. Mainly, this is an approach which is audience-centered for mass communication. This method shows how and why people have adopted some specific media in order to satisfy their needs (Rubin & Windahl, 1986). It pays attention on the on how the media has a limited effect on their audiences due to the audiences’ ability to control media. Uses and Gratification Theory deals with what people do with media.
Content may be useful in obtaining gratifications for a certain medium (Ruggiero, 2000). For instance, being familiar with some given genre in a certain media can be useful. For instance, watching soap operas can help in obtaining gratification. Also, gratification can be obtained from general exposure to the medium such as watching TV. In addition to this, social context in which media is used can be used for obtaining gratification. One of such contexts is watching Television with family.
A single program of Television can gratify different needs of different people. This depends on people’s personalities, age, background and social responsibilities.
Throughout my past life, I have had gratification from various programs. This has been as a result of my development from a young cartoon lover to the person who I am now. Animation still fascinates me but not as much as it did at my younger age.
It is true that I favor device that gives me access to information and programming that gives me satisfaction of my needs. Mostly, I watch the program to help me in understanding the surrounding, society and the world as a whole. In recent years, I have been following a program on the global health. Health is a very big issue for many in the world and I have been trying to get as much information on the information which tackles the statistics of how different diseases and various health issues have been affecting different areas of the world. My main reason for this is just curiosity (Pearce, n.d.). I am always into searching for general knowledge and self-education. Through this knowledge, I gain important insight on how different areas are hit by health issues. This program has been airing AIDS statistics and other information on some other chronic diseases which have been affecting most of the societies in the whole world.
This program has been very helpful for me to obtain much information in the field of health because I have general interest in this area. I am not particularly following a career path in the health sector but I find this information very good for my consumption.
Health information has been of interest so much to me because health is one of the most important things for every human being. All people are concerned about their health. The quality of life is determined by the health of the individuals and that is why I have some special interest in this field and any program touching on the health of people in the world.
I have a brother who is in the medical profession. Although he may follow this program for general knowledge and for the obtaining of information about health of different area, I think his own reasons for loving this program are dictated by the career path. He likes what he does and needs some much information about the emerging issues in the health sector and some complications in human health. He has always followed news on health for advice on his career and matters surrounding or opinions and decision choices. Health information is important for him in making decisions on how he will be making better decisions concerning his career path. Getting better ways of how decisions regarding different health issues are among the things he values.
Recently, I was following a program which aired for some time and it focused on Ebola outbreak and issues surrounding this disease and how it has affected many people in West Africa. It is a disease which has been spreading at a very fast rate. At some point, I noted that my brother was following the program keenly and I concluded that the interest he had was because he wanted to develop practices which can be used in controlling the epidemic in other areas of the world. The reason we have different uses of this program is because we are following different career paths.
When I am under stress, I turn to this program less because it is like a documentary. It is more educative than entertaining. It does not help in reducing my stress and I cannot even concentrate on it well when I am under stress.
I have followed the issues of Ebola and in most cases I think the program has been portraying the Africans as less hygienic because it is spread mainly by lack of observation of best hygiene practices.
In the past, I was a lover of animations and cartoons as a young girl. It was important in helping me to identify with others of my age and it gave me a sense of belonging. As a young girl and a teenager, it was an important program because it offered me companionship when I became lonely and also it enabled me to connect with my friends because we had some similar things to discuss. Today in some instances, I find myself resorting to going back to animation when I find myself lonely.
References
Rubin, A. M., & Windahl, S. (1986). The uses and dependency model of mass communication. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 3, 184–199.
Ruggiero, T. E. (2000). Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass communication & society, 3(1), 3-37.
Pearce, K. J., (n.d.). Uses, gratification and dependency. Retrieved from: https://teddykw2.files.wordpress.com on: 15th February, 2015
Negotiation with Terrorists
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Negotiation with Terrorists
Negotiation with terrorists entails conferring with them over the issue under conflict in order to arrive at a mutual agreement (Faure, 2003). This implies that the conflicting parties meet and talk about the bone of contention. In some cases, the process is foreseen by an external party while in other instances, the warring parties handle the situation single handedly. The second party is not compelled to agree to the prepositions of the terrorists, rather they are expected to consult and come up with a position that can be accommodated by both parties.
In most instances, the main actors in such a negotiation are terrorist groups, the public and the respective government. Various controversies have surrounded this process as it is believed that this accredits the activities of the terrorists. Over time, it has been argued that this empowers the terrorists by encouraging them to pursue relative activities in future. Although most governments ascertain that the process indeed compromises democracy, MacWilson (1992) indicate that they secretly negotiate with the terrorists to prevent massive deaths and injuries. In this respect, it is certain that the public and government would suffer devastating effects.
However, it should be appreciated that negotiation with terrorists is better than facing the huge implications of refusal. Although not viable, it can be considered an effective way of addressing the concerns of the minority groups. In this regard, Thomson (2001) argues that it is a form of enforcing justice as the concerns of the minority can be addressed. Generally, it can be ascertained that compared to facing the implications of terrorist activities, negotiation requires fewer resources and may address the conflict in a sustainable manner.
References
Faure, G. (2003). Negotiating with Terrorists. International Negotiation, 8 (3), 270-95.
MacWilson, A. (1992). Hostage Taking Terrorism. USA: St. Martin’s Press.
Thomson, L. (2001). Hostage Rescue Manual. UK: Greenhill Books.
COMM-302-Net-Neutrality-Researched-Argument-Paper
Net NeutralityInsert Name
Comm 302Insert Date
Insert ProfNet NeutralityNet neutrality can simply be defined as internet freedom or an open internet in which the consumers have the freedom to make their own choice on which internet service provider to subscribe to, what amount of data to upload or download or what kind of application to use. In other words it is the principals which guide the use of internet. It protects our rights when using internet and gives us the freedom to use whatever internet service providers we may wish to use online. The internet service providers should provide an open network and should not in any way discriminate against any content, application or changing service providers. For instance, Time Warner, Comcast, Verizon, and others should treat all your data packets in the same way regardless of their content, source or importance.
Let’s say, for example, you use Netflix and Hulu, and in most cases you switch between the two. Supporters of net neutrality demand that your broadband Internet service provider should not be able to charge either Hulu or Netflix, or any other company that relies on the Internet, for a faster connection to you and any other customer. Nor should the internet service provider be able to charge you more to access certain services. In the United States the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is based in Washington Dc is the agency responsible for formulating laws which are related to net neutrality (Hahn & Wallsten, 2006). Without the application of net neutrality, providers of network can block or slow down the access to those sites they somehow don’t like. They can as well determine what equipment and services users can be able to access, decline or allow user to visit popular chat rooms and as well assign higher charges for those downloads on demand.
In solving this issue the law must balance between protecting the rights of Internet service providers in order for them to manage their business and as well protect the interest of the public. It should not favour either of the side. As long as the rights of consumers need to be protected, without the service providers the services won’t be available hence both parties should be given the same weight by the law.The internet can be analysed as inter-connection of wires which are connected to central hubs which are referred to as as routers. The routers get data from servers or individuals, sort and redistribute this data appropriately. When the demand is a bit low, the routers don’t experience any problem in redistributing the data. However the problem comes in when a lot of data, which is than the router can handle pops in and the router is forced to start a queuing system. This queuing system is source of the problem of net neutrality. At this point, internet service providers would be tempted to interfere with the system by acting on what they feel is more important. Since the bandwidth is limited someone has to suffer for another one to benefit.
Applying net neutrality, the data packets should be distributed in the order of first in first out. In this system all packets are treated in the same way regardless of their source, content, origin or size .The system makes effort to deliver data depending on their arrival, which is regarded as the right way to handle data redistribution in an overwhelming situation. However the worry is that packets will be dropped based on the decisions of the internet service providers. A good example is the case where the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) has filed a case to stop the Comcast company from setting its routers to slow down the transfer of packets from peer-to-peer programs of its customers. Comcast and other internet service providers of like minds disagree with the issue of net neutrality saying that, this is an issue which does not even exist.
Although there is a lot of debate going on about net neutrality, one outstanding thing is that internet services providers are not up to accepting this .However despite all the issues raised by the internet service providers the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created a policy to promote the nature of the public Interest. According to this policy consumers have freedom entitled to them by the law to access any content of their choice from the internet. More to that, they are also entitled to subject to the needs of law enforcement, run application and services of their own choice (Musacchio, Schwartz & Walrand, 2009). Also they have the freedom to choose and connect to their choice of legal devices, as long as they do not harm the network. This provides equal opportunities to competition in all aspects.
With all the confusion and issues concerning net neutrality my take is that it should be supported. I strongly support the government through FCC for coming up with policies to guide the internet service providers. The advantages are many and among them includes;
There is no throttling:
Throttling is the intentional slowing of internet services by internet service providers due to congestion on the system. The bandwidth provided is always limited and during such peak moments the service providers can easy be tempted to alter the system operation. Slowing down internet services to some clients while boosting others ends up as the only solution. However one party enjoys in the expense of the other and this is where the problem is. Currently the internet service providers cannot slow the down load or upload rates of transfer depending upon what people are accessing.
Monitoring:
Currently there is a lot of monitoring in the internet by the internet service providers. This means that they can access all the information being redistributed in the internet. Without net neutrality however, the internet service providers would use this information for their own gain. This could violate the rights of people to privacy.
Ant-competition tactile
Competition is one thing everyone can avoid given the opportunity to do so. Without net neutrality, internet service providers would block away the product ,services and any connection which would allow their competitors channel their products are services to their customers,
There are no restrictions:
Internet users have the freedom to choose on what part of the internet to access as long as it’s within the government jurisdiction. For instance there are no restrictions over file sharing, video conferencing, blogs, and voice over IP, etc.
No Censorship:
One can download or upload any amount of data besides the rates of connection.
Internet charges
Most internet service providers feel that charges should increase with more access to the internet and therefore the more you access the internet the more you should pay.However net neutrality doesn’t allow this.
Capitalism:
Net neutrality can be equated to free market. Competing companies are given the same chance and opportunity to compete. Also it allows easier access to start-ups to access potential customers
In conclusion net neutrality should be supported as it protects the rights of individuals and ensures that internet service provider perform their duties as per the law for the benefit of both parties. Every person has a right to privacy and a right to be served fairly. Without net neutrality, internet providers would for sure try to maximise their gain by channelling their resources where there is much gain. In this case Throttling would be a common case hence defiling the rights of consumers. Also consumers should always freedom of choice and should be allowed to make their own choice on which service provide to go with. Without net neutrality this would not be possible as most of the service providers, as in the case before, would try to restrict the consumer on particular choices.
References
Hahn, R. W., & Wallsten, S. (2006). The economics of net neutrality. The Economists’ Voice, 3(6).
Musacchio, J., Schwartz, G., & Walrand, J. (2009). A two-sided market analysis of provider investment incentives with an application to the net-neutrality issue. Review of Network Economics, 8(1).
Rutkin, A. (2014). What the net neutrality ruling means for you and me. New Scientist, 221(2954), 24. doi:10.1016/s0262-4079(14)60229-3
Thesocietypages.org,. (2015). (Almost) Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Net Neutrality » Cyborgology. Retrieved 8 March 2015, from http://thesocietypages.org/