Mass media helps make a nation real and tangible through depictions of images, symbols, and events. Information from within China, which had been cut off during the Mao regime from 1949-1976, is more open but still subject to government censorship. Without adequate or accurate sources, western media creates and disperses images of China based on journalistic interpretations of out-dated stereotypes and some outright errors. Confounding objective representation is the fact that China is geographically distant and diametrically different from the United States in her culture, language, history, politics and economics and nearly every frame of reference that might facilitate Western understanding. The physical and cultural distance, combined with the current political climate, makes China an easy target for stereotyping and “othering” in news and political rhetoric. Stone and Xiao (2007) show that since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the American popular press has focused on … [Read more...]
Parental Controls, Fear, and Media Safety
Americans seem to worry about lots of things. In his book American Fear (1999), Peter Stearns makes some interesting arguments about the level and manifestation of fear in American society. His main thesis is how America has become fixated on controlling fear which makes them vulnerable to the manipulation of fear and anxiety by politicians, media, and terrorists. This reiterates many of the themes of the book by Barry Glassner (2000) Culture of Fear, although Glassner is less kind to the media. What struck me as particularly interesting was Stearns' discussion on how the baby boomers have turned into control-freak parents after a relatively unencumbered childhood. I don't know about you, but my parents never asked where I was going when they told us to 'go outside and play.' I did not have a bike helmet, an RFID chip in my backpack (or a backpack for that matter), and you could meet visiting relatives at the gate when they got off the airplane. Times have changed, I know, … [Read more...]
The Brain is a Muscle, too: Lifting too Little Isn’t Effective or Interesting
A recent report says that while cardiovascular strength adds up, lifting weights that are too light doesn't do much to build muscle. It is important to tax the muscles to get them to respond. The same is true in learning. If you don't have to try, you won't get much result. Setting and measuring progress toward goals and targets--in life, education, and fitness training--are the way to build strength and ability. We all know that to achieve learning you must have engagement. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced chick-sent-me-high), the architect of the concept of flow and one of the fathers of Positive Psychology, studies engagement as an element of flow. People (of all ages) enter a flow state when they are fully absorbed in an activity which challenges their abilities so that they are using their skills to the utmost (i.e. building brain muscles). The result is complete involvement, optimal performance and achievement, and great satisfaction. The next time you see your kid fully … [Read more...]
