Chapter 16 - Media & Technology Flashcards
Why is technology an important area of study within sociology?
We increasingly rely on technology and media
What is technology defined as?
Complex, multifaceted concept
Who defined technology as a system involving organization, procedures, symbols, new worlds and a mindset?
Franklin
Who said that technology is an assemblage of material things that embodies and reflects societal elements shaped to serve various purposes?
Quan-Haase
Who argued that technological determinism ignores the social context?
Raymond Williams
What are two key perspectives in the analysis of media?
Political economy & cultural studies
What does the political economy perspective of media focus on?
Issues of ownership, policy and globalization
What do the cultural studies analyze in the media?
Media messages and content
What are the different forms of media ownership?
Private or public
What are the different types of private media ownership?
1) horizontal integration
2) vertical integration
3) cross-ownership
4) conglomerate ownership
What is horizontal integration?
One company owns media organizations engaged in similar production but different locations
What type of private media ownerships is owning media operations linking production, circulations and exhibition/retails?
Vertical integration
What type of private ownership is one company owns media enterprises involved in different types of media content?
Cross-ownership
What is conglomerate ownership?
Company holds both media and non-media enterprises
What are possible implications of private ownership?
May lead to ownership concentration and reducing competition and diversity of content
What sets rules for media companies in Canada?
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
What does the Marxist theory say about Canadian media?
State in Canada serves the interest of private media companies with deregulation and privatization
How does cultural globalization effect media?
Global diffusion of media (Hollywood)
How does economic globalization impact media?
International division of labor coordinated by multinational media companies, outsourcing and offshoring
What is the popular media people encounter every day?
Mainstream media
What do critics argue about representation in media?
Represent dominant ideology
What are different representations of less-dominant groups in society?
Under-representation and misrepresentation
Who argued that the working class is under-represented in family sitcoms in the US?
Butsch
Who argued that female cop films represent women as having different kinds of masculine power?
Dole
In later films, how did the representation of women change?
Intellectual rather than physical power
What are contradictory messages about the representation of women in media?
Women have some power but still misrepresented and stereotypes as incapable without help
What ethnic groups do Canadian studies show underrepresentation of?
Francophones, blacks, indigenous
How did Hall explain how dominant ideology is woven into media texts through a complex process of encoding?
Meanings or factors are embedded in media content
What are the 3 possible ways of decoding media texts according to Hall?
1) Dominant-hegemonic reading - taking preferred reading
2) oppositional reading - rejecting message by interpreting it through alternative ideological framework
3) negotiated reading - mixture of dominant-hegemonic and oppositional readings and is contradictory
Who argued that the process of decoding is affected by the social position of the viewer?
Morley
What are forms of communication used by subordinate groups or social movements?
Alternative media
What are criticisms of the political economy perspective of media?
Development of internet linked to US department of defense, access to internet linked to private companies and internet contributes to globalization
What is the Criticism of cultural studies in media?
Internet extends mainstream media and circulates it worldwide, and facilitates alternative media
What two sociological approaches examine the close link between technology and society?
Conflict theory and feminism
What theory helps us consider how technology is linked to inequalities in society?
Conflict theory
What refers to systematic differences in terms of access to and use of information and communications technologies?
Digital divide
What group of students has been most disadvantaged with current COVID conditions?
First Nations and new immigrants
What approach provides insight into the ways technology affects men and women differently and how it might lead to social change?
Feminism
What are the two views on the relation between women and technology?
1) Women’s liberation view - technology can liberate women by supporting different choices
2) women’s oppression view - technology can enslave women as they rely on it more and more
What are the two feminist views of reproductive technologies?
1) Women’s liberation view - offer women more options and control over their bodies
2) women’s oppression view - enable male domination
What are feminist scholars interested in media wise?
Media images in terms of relation to their feminist and masculinity
What are the two women’s views on social media?
1) women’s liberation view - enables both genders to craft an online self
2) perpetuates gender stereotypes and pressure to conform to an ideal body type
