The Strings of Communication of the World - Essay Example

JOURNALISM, MASS AND MEDIA COMMUNICATION Oral History Introduction The depth of our present age revolving around science and technology is so attractively unfathomable that the more a person tries to go within the more it pulls him in. Nothing is ever considered absolute; rather everything needs refinement and further innovations. Yet the man’s lust for knowledge never gives up, his addiction for improvements can never be cured. So he wonders off lost in his fantasy for a better tomorrow, where everything is known, all answers are provided and every luxury is just a swipe away. Why is man a global animal? For progress and development it is important to stay up to date with the current affairs from around the world not only to have a strong footing but to remain in the growing competition. The authenticity of this statement doesn’t need any more strengthening than the fact that the life of today’s man is centered on the pros and cons of the day. That too, if only he is cognizant enough to begin with. Every single individual has the right to rise to their destiny in their own inimitable style, to embrace the uncertainty of life appreciating the miracle of being alive by giving importance to small things because however small they may be, they can be a hurdle in his quest to become the person he wants to be. How to know what thorns to avoid? Which tumors to kill? Which memories to devour? This is where conceptive approach comes into play. The world today has all of us webbed together by the strings of communication. A global village, it is being called. In order to survive here SAYS Rebecca (2007), being with-it is crucial. Cellular devices, televisions, World Wide Web every single device is targeting at maximum acquisition of knowledge and information. Ethics, virtues and morality make life live-able but to thrive, a proper hold of tactics gives an upper hand. Sitting in a third-world country but knowing the prevailing circumstances in developed countries and infected countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan gives a certain amount of enthusiastic self-confidence. Not only that but the ability to adapt to a foreign land without feeling vulnerable. Political, diplomatic and monetary consciousness solidifies our roots. Our customs, culture and every day technological improvements have transformed us into something that we believe is us based on the set standards of the society. We fail to perceive ourselves for what we really are and instead bank on the fact that if the society accepts us we have accomplished the mission. But we cannot be blamed; it is the need of the day to be in touch with the world and create the necessary modifications. (Icke 2007) Where ever you work, whatever your plans for the future are, establishment requires a conceptive approach. A sound utilization of even trinkets of information enhances your personality and those of the people around you. Therefore being up to date with the current affairs from around the globe is an important tool for survival. Knowledge is an innate part of a human. He strives to know, whether he realizes it or not; Instincts, maybe, but a man is always keen to hear the gossip of the day. With the present deteriorating conditions of the world, inflation, poverty, destabilizing economy, epidemics, terrorism and retaliation wars, probability of mishaps is ever more increasing. It is therefore important to be aware of minute to minute proceedings both nationally and internationally says Icke (2007). The present globalization that we see today has evolved from smaller across border trade which produced versatility in products and eventually a greater demand for them. Trade in handicrafts, food items and even black marketing led to the expansion of influential circle relating to various cottage industries and small home businesses. Slowly and steadily it gave rise to global markets, these global markets continued their expansion by employing various strategies of both management and marketing genres. How are Oral History and Journalism related? Today better communication methods, technologies and better transportation facilities enable easy spread of this process which was otherwise not performed with as much efficiency says Icke (2007). It is met with a wide range of criticism, such as giving a certain freedom to industries which often exploit their too many resources. Moreover it increases disparity among people by making the rich, richer while further deteriorating the labor class. Not all companies operate with careful measures and are often blamed with mismanagement, unfair propagation and other illegal involvements. They forget to understand that with power comes a great responsibility. Moreover there is an increase in human trafficking and therefore an easy spread of various lethal diseases to distant parts of the world by utilizing human- based transport means. Information and communication technology has knitted the world together so closely that it is now called a global village. Everything is just a click away. Doel (2003) says that eople from far ranging islands and across seven seas are better communicated than ever in history. As far as globalization from the paradigm of business and custom studies is viewed then it has remarkably strengthened the process and aided in its pollination. It is the vector which carries vital information across borders and across waters. Journalism is pollinated and strengthened by globalization. It is considered the most strong and motivated among all the professions of today. The availability of information and sizeable technological innovations has added to its utility. The Significant Role Played by ICT: ICT has merged communication with information. New technologies such as Skype and other social media have helped in dealing important cross cultural business pacts utilizing the acumen from all over the world; this process of globalization is propagated. The economic markets are set and stronger trade is brought to life. Even if critics think otherwise, globalization has or at least is trying to unify the masses by setting common standards and common goals. Oral history utilizes technological as well as memory based tools to hit records deeply imbedded in a human mind. It is a technique of retrieving valuable memory or recollections that should be kept in record; by interviewing and recording. The data collected is then saved as tapes for better education of generations to come. It must be noted that the people who are interviewed have gone through these experiences or events at some points in their lives or have lived their whole lives in remarkable ways that need to be highlighted and studied in some ways. Oral history is now picking up pace as many countries have acknowledged its extreme utility. Books and journals do give detailed knowledge about why something happened and when but an audio recollection allows one to live it through, to feel every emotion felt by the experienced person. The process: According to Richie (2011) there are however strict directive principles for conducting the interviews and transferring them to the paper: People conducting the interviews for research or other purposes need to make sure that they are duty bound to these minimum obligations. Among these obligations is asking unbiased open ended questions that do not impose any coercion on the person speaking so that he may freely and comfortably narrate every single detail his memory allows him to. The interviewer is duty bound to obtain consent, from his department as well as the speaker. No questions should be asked says Patricia (2011) that may be in the slightest bit repugnant to the narrator. All details from pre- interview details to post interview should be monitored and recorded. The narrator should be well aware of his rights. Moreover after conclusion of the interview, care should be taken to ensure complete safety and preservation of the record. No information or bits of knowledge should be allowed to go to waste if it can be helped in any way. Annotated Examples Scenes from a Revolution by Mark Harris is a relevant example in this field of study says Ronald (1991). Mark Harris (2009) utilized his keen cognizant eye to create a product that analyzed all the nominations for the films chosen in Best Picture Academy Award 1967. It also gave a thorough recognition of the prevalent culture at the time along with valuable connotations of how life moved on and how it transformed to the vast diversity that we observe today. (Harris 2009) His work hooks the reader onto finding out more and more about that particular time frame, this book also includes a amusing element. So the reader travels back in time and entertains himself all the while. The talent of framing an oral history is not centered around mere recording and interviews rather it is an art of creating something that motivates a reader to think, to figure out answers pertaining to how and why. Ultimately helping him to grasp the gist of the event and inculcating strong inquisitive attitudes as well an inclination towards healthy discussion says Ronald (1991)  Presently oral history is made more appealing by using different space age devices. As has been previously stated, technology and digitization is improving every day, providing better service and easy handling to the common man. For all sorts of organizations and departments utilization of this new technology makes the execution of everyday tasks easier and risk free. Internal data handling is thorough with the information being just a click away. All sorts of communication are possible and made quick with zero effort. Television, tape recorders, computers, Tablet computers, PDAs and even museums; all are working for the propagation of oral history techniques this enabling memory storage. The cold war era was marked with indirect struggle and strives, the super powers weren’t generally put to a greater loss but the loss faced by their allegiance was enormous. Their stance of building their sub-ordinates was wronged because these were the states that got the worse of it and were further deteriorated both economically and socially. Till now explains Patricia (2011), after the declaration of the sole super power, both the rivals are engaged in covert tensions across various countries of either the Asian subcontinent or the smaller countries throughout the world. Recollection of such incidents by the people victimized can be a valuable treasure for analyzing and hence figuring out history along with building its connections with the present day political scenario on a global level. Similarly families afflicted by various natural disasters and a pedigree of lethal diseases can be an asset too. In biological researches the technique of oral history is keenly utilized especially to find out whether a particular disease is inherited as a genotype or as an environmental repercussion. For example people working in factories utilizing lead make use of inorganic lead in their operations. This lead enters their body via inhalation or ingestion swallowing and gets trap in the respiratory tract at different sites depending on the size of the particles inhaled. According to Richie (2011) the levels of lead in the blood differ on the basis of exposure. Lead poisoning ranges with a half life of twenty- five to forty days and can be easily prevented by adopting the requisite hygienic measures and observing a routine checkup for workers who are continuously exposed to it. Lead is stored in the body; small amounts can be significant to cause sufficient poisoning even if continuous exposure is not observed. (Patrick 2013) An original document is created by incorporating all the details disclosed by the speaker and revealed to the general public as per allowed by the speaker. Same is the case with various art historians abiding Europe which is considered as the hub of art and architecture in the modern world. They go door to door visiting many art apprentices of renowned artists/ architects who narrate them a magical description of their master’s unique lifestyle and addiction to beauty. How did the world get to know Dante? Da Vinci? And Borticelli? How did the world know what intensity of volcanic eruption hit Pompeii? Oral history is a source to get all the information as spoken by the narrator and then being able to relive it in the mind, diagnose it, explain it and later participate in propagating it. The root cause of hate crimes is based on the psychology of perpetrators, of what they assume rules to be, of how they think the nature should work. Their way of Catharsis is vandalism. To root out vandalism, psychology should be confronted with psychology. Before they start to move this road, they should be prevented. They should be protected against stimulants that drive them to these vices. Psychology researchers says Richie (2011) interview the people victimized by the perpetrators as well as the people close to them. After conducting different interviews at different afflicted localities they are in a better position to abet the situation and figure out a possible line of action. Individual therapy might work but would they give way to such notions when all they think about is how to hate the other society. Strong rules and laws should be enacted. Therapies, seminars and lectures work but are not always effective. Crime need not always have a materialistic end involved in its execution; it mostly has psychological grounds on which it operates on which it blooms. If a plague isn’t treated it spreads and wilts the entire field. Every crop in that field is a valuable experience for the nest generation. This is what Graham Smith emphasizes on when discussing oral history; he lays down the key aspects for devising an effective plan and later incorporating it in various strategic study policies. Smith also gives due importance to the utilization of information technology and all the recent innovations in order to efficiently conduct research. Retrieving information from an audio tape while jotting it down on a book, is easier than sifting through pages. My paper is concerned with the same agenda of delivering vital information via the technique of oral history, it is efficiently framed on the policy as per mentioned and all the information deliverance has been consented upon. In a series of three interviews conducted with the creators of T- Mobile television commercials at Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency, a lot of raw data pertaining to the task was obtained and then this narration was incorporated on a paper, copied and made available for public use, while the original tape and the document have been preserved. Questions basically involved some open ended general type but later some critical questions relating to the advertising agency as well their motivations behind the versatility of ideas for commercials following the technology genre. REFERENCES: Charlton, Thomas L.; Myers, Lois E.; Sharpless, Rebecca, eds. (2007). History of Oral History: Foundations and Methodology. AltaMira Press Icke, D. (2007). The David Icke Guide to the Global Conspiracy (And How to End It). Body, mind and spirit. Davide Icke Books. 2007. Print Doel, R. E. (2003). "Oral History of American Science: a Forty-year Review." History of Science. Richie, A. D. (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Oral History. Oxford University Press. Ronald J. G. (1991) Envelopes of Sound: The Art of Oral History Praeger Publishers, Harris, M. (2009). Scenes from a Revolution: the birth of the new Hollywood. Cannongate Books. Patricia, L. (2011). Oral History: Understanding Qualitative Research. Internet Resource. Read More