Development in the Sphere of Communications - Essay Example

The main feature of the XXI century that differentiates it from the other ones is an impetuous development of technologies and in particular the development in the sphere of communications. It is obvious that in contemporary society access to information and communication appears to be one of the most necessary conditions while getting an education, employment and working as well as the complete opening of an individuals’ potentiality in general. Information and communication mostly may be accessed with the help of mass media. Mass media is a term used to denote, as a class, that section of the media specifically conceived and designed to reach a very large audience (typically at least as large as the whole population of a nation state). It was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks and of mass-circulation newspapers and magazines1. Unfortunately individuals with disabilities to a great extend are limited by not being able to make use of such opportunities. Access to communications and information can be available through many sources such as: newspapers, magazines, television programs, and movies, Internet etc. Depending on the type of disability i.e. deafness, blindness, and so on the individuals with disabilities are limited having no access to appropriate source of the information. So the question of vital importance for the international community today is an all-round fostering and promoting approaches and technologies that will allow everyone including individuals with disabilities to get, to utilize, to exchange and to create information and knowledge. Here let me introduce a data folio folder with the newspaper and magazine articles, television programs and movies related to the individuals with disabilities issue. Newspaper articles Miami Herald. State considers upping share parents pay for kids early autism. The article touches upon the budget issue. The parents of children with autism and other developmental disabilities become anxious of the state proposal that would make them pay more for early intervention services. New Jerseys budget for the program has tightened, however, as the number of children referred to the program doubled over six years to 13,788 in fiscal 2005-2006. Surely parents should participate and they will, but it is very important not to up share parents pay to a rational mark in order not to bankrupt them. Available at http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15767534.htm The Los Angeles Times. UPS Ban on Deaf Drivers Is Rejected. The main issue of the article is that an appeals court ruling could lead employers to consider disabled workers for more jobs. The ruling could prompt employers to review their hiring policies and job requirements to make sure none of them exclude broad groups of people without a justifiable reason. Companies that fail to take such steps could find themselves vulnerable to similar suits from disabled employees. Available at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-deaf11oct11,1,6139623.story?ctrack=1&cset=true USA Today. Incoming leader gives WSF new legs. The article tells about the strong women Aimee Mullins who is disabled. Her disability would be an afterthought if overcoming it werent such a big part of Mullins life. Born without a fibula in either leg, Mullins has never known life with her own legs. On her first birthday, both of her legs were amputated below the knee. In this wonderful example of her life, Mullins, 30, is an athlete, model, actress, motivational speaker and president-elect of the Womens Sports Foundation. Available at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2006-10-12-brennan-mullins_x.htm San Francisco Chronicle. Classes resume at university for the deaf, protests continue. Classes resumed Monday at Gallaudet University, the nations premiere school for the deaf, as faculty members voted overwhelmingly in support of students calling for the resignation of incoming president Jane K. Fernandes.The demonstrations against Fernandes and the presidential search process have garnered national attention, with deaf communities from Fremont, Calif., to Denmark rallying their support for Gallaudet protesters. Available at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/16/state/n185557D54.DTL&hw=Classes+resume+at+university+for+the+deaf+protests+continue&sn=001&sc=1000 New York Daily News. Healing arts. Blind, once-homeless Larry Neals paints himself a new life. The article is about a person who “couldnt let anyone know I couldnt see because theyd take advantage of you, and worse”. Neals wasnt born blind. By the time his diseases were fully treated, he had lost most of his sight, his job, his place to live — and hope. Today, Neals has his own apartment in the Bronx; uses a cane to guide him through the citys busy streets; can sew buttons on his clothes, cook meals and more. Available at http://www.nydailynews.com/07-15-2002/city_life/big_town/story/460744p-387641c.html The Baltimore Sun. Illness led to more poetry, not a eulogy. In this article tells a story of Georgia Beyard who “expected to die; instead, she made a book of her poems and published it”. She started to write poems while her studying in writing class in 1994. In 2000 she was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. When doctors have already given her three days to live Georgia invited her close friends and family in order to say tearful goodbyes; she got ready to go. But suddenly there comes a miracle and she got better. She continued to write and finally published her poems. Available at http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/booksmags/bal-ae.spotlight15oct15,1,5547888.story?ctrack=1&cset=true The Dallas Morning News. A place where miracles and dreams come true The article narrate us about The Miracle League that is a national charitable organization designed to give children with mental and/or physical challenges an opportunity to play baseball and interact with other children as team members and part of an organized league. Available at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/frisco/stories/DN-frleague_30cco.ART.North.Edition2.25abd9e.html Magazine articles Inc. Magazine. The Disability Advantage. The article is about employment among people with disabilities. The author notices that even if the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all parts of society, was improved, employment among people with disabilities has declined. Whatever the cause is individuals with disabilities constitute a growing share of the available work force. Available at http://www.inc.com/magazine/20051001/priority-employees.html The American Spectator .The New Eugenics Article covers the issue of eugenic abortion. The author claims that “without much scrutiny or debate, a eugenics designed to weed out the disabled has become commonplace”. He is sure that intellectual arguments in favor of eugenic abortion often generate great public outcry. The most horrible thing is that in some cases the aborted children arent disabled at all but are mere carriers of a disease or stand a chance of getting one later in life. Prenatal screening has made it possible to abort children on guesses and probabilities. Available at http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=8418 The Nation. Killed by Prejudice. There is a discussion based on the Terri Schiavo case, who died on March 31, 2005. The author says that virtually every individual with a significant disability, regardless of type, has faced hardships, prejudices and denials. And in spite of it most of them choose to live. The real problem arises when someone cannot make that choice known, and must rely on the assumptions of nondisabled others--who, studies show, consistently underrate the life satisfaction of people with disabilities. Available at http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050502/hershey Christianity Today. Fear Not the Disabled. The article states that contemporary society very often sees the disability as a “fate worse than death”. Unfortunately many people have a real fear for disabilities. It is noticeable that Christians are ready to stand up for the rights and dignity of embryo, but are not always ready to support the people with disabilities – people who already exist. It is the Church that should take a great care of disabled people as “disabled need the Church – almost as much as the Church needs the disabled”. Available at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/november/16.28.html Popular Science. Waiting For an Arm and a Leg The main issue of the article is that the next generation of artificial limbs—fused directly to human bone and commanded by the brain—promises effortless, natural motion and It can’t come soon enough for the newest group of prosthetics wearers: U.S. soldiers. The author tell the story of two women bonded in frustration. Stockwell, 26, received the microprocessor-enhanced C-Leg but struggled for months to walk free of pain, wishing that the large silicone socket holding what she calls her “little leg” wouldn’t chafe or thrust to the side, broadcasting her limp. Halfaker was the lone female soldier with what’s bloodlessly called a shoulder disarticulation, her right side barren like a sheer cliff. Available at http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/34f7cd8e5620c010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html Sports Illustrated. Deaf advocates sue Redskins. The article covers the National Association of the Deaf filling the class-action lawsuit Aug. 31 in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on behalf of three fans from Maryland who regularly attend home games. The thing is that the lawsuit contends the team is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide captioning for the deaf and hearing-impaired. It is very important to make everything possible to let individuals with disabilities to have all the opportunities of a game-watcher as everybody has. Available at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/09/20/bc.fbn.redskins.deaflaw.ap/index.html The Progressive. Include people with disabilities in work force. The author of the article notices that United Nations should be commended for embarking on a global civil rights effort to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Unfortunately there were long five years of negotiations. Finally countries of Untied Nations can begin signing and ratifying a new resolution, known as the Treaty to Ban Discrimination Against People Who Have Disabilities. But it is very important to realize that people with disabilities are not people whose rights need to be simply protected, but they can be a social force -- key contributors to a community-based economy. Available at http://www.progressive.org/media_mpchristy091206 National Review. Teaching Disabled. The article covers the issues of educating disabled children so that they can live independent and satisfying lives appeals to our sense of fairness and shared responsibility. But it should be taken into account that special education may inflict harm by keeping children from an opportunity to reach their full and all-round potential. Unfortunately there are cases when instead of giving these children an extra hand, the special-education just isolates them while passing them from one grade level to the next, “irrespective of how well theyve mastered material”. The result is a system that creates in these students a crippling sense of helplessness and entitlement. Available at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTBkODE5YzMzNDg2ODdhYTM3YjY2OWUwNjc4NDk0Yjg= Movies Radio, released October 2003, is a film directed by Mike Tollin that is based on the true story of a T.L. Hanna High School football coach (Ed Harris) and a mentally-challenged young man nicknamed Radio (Cuba Gooding, Jr.). Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ed Harris, Debra Winger, and Alfre Woodard, it was based on the December 16, 1996 Sports Illustrated Article "Someone to Lean On" by Gary Smith about real men James Robert Kennedy (Radio) and Harold Jones. Touch the Sound, released 2004, is a film that takes us on a remarkable journey with Evelyn Glennie, one of the worlds foremost musicians, a Grammy-winning classical percussionist whose solo work is unrivalled. While still a student, Evelyn Glennie learned that she was going deaf. Rather than abandon her study of music, in which she had shown such talent, she instead turned her focus toward percussion instruments and developed her ability to feel the sound through her body. This documentary follows her as she performs in New York, Germany and Tokyo, sharing her insights into the nature of music and the ways in which we experience it. Zatoichi, released 2003, is a film about 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. But behind his humble facade, Zatoichi is a master swordsman, gifted with lightning-fast draw and strokes of breathtaking precisionHe discovers a small, remote mountain town that has been overtaken by a bullying gang who are extorting money out of them. As Zatoichi seeks to liberate the town, he encounters two geisha who are seeking to avenge the murder of their parents, but he soon discovers they are not what they seem to be. The film also showcases an unexpected tap-dancing finale. Be with Me, released 2005. "Be with me" consists of three stories of love vs. solitude: 1) An aging, lonesome shopkeeper doesnt believe in life any more since his wife died. But he is saved from desperation by reading an autobiographical book and meeting its author, a deaf and dumb lady of his own age. 2) Fatty, a security guard in his fifties, lives for two things: good food and love for a pretty executive living in his block of flats. But, if it is easy to satisfy his first need winning the heart of the distant belle is a horse of another color. 3) Two teenage schoolgirls get to know each other on the Internet. Soon they fall in love. Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a poor thirty-one year old waitress from the very lower classes and with a dysfunctional loser family, decides to make a difference through boxing. She convinces the experienced hardened boxing trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to coach her and be her manager, with the support of his old partner Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who sees her potential as a boxer. Frankie has a problematical relationship with his daughter, and practically adopts Maggie along her career. But the carrier has stop due to Maggie’s becoming disabled. TV Programs 1. ABC News. Good Morning America. Disabled Children Confined and Abused in Romania In this program ABC News Previews a Report Detailing Abuses of Handicapped Children. The report represents horrific images of abused children living in deplorable conditions in state-run Romanian orphanages. Many of the children in Romanian orphanages had cerebral palsy and had been abandoned by parents, some of whom had been told their children were "biological garbage."  Available at http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1941485&page=1 2. NBC News. The Early Show. Catering To The Disabled Maxs Positive Vibe Cafe is a place where everyone is welcome and anyone can work. Garth Larcen discusses the restaurant he created specifically for people with disabilities. Melinda Murphy reports. Available at http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=698218n 3. NBC News. Nightly News. Lifting the disabled, one wheelchair at a time. Under one mans guidance, New York City fifth graders assemble wheelchairs to be sent to Ghana where the disabled often crawl and beg. NBCs Anne Thompson reports on how this effort is making a difference. The story of Yeboah, just 29 years old, attracted world leaders, a documentary team and many honors, enabling him to set up a scholarship fund for the disabled in Ghana. Available at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14626567/ 4. NBC News. Today. There’s no place like (an office at) home. Companies and workers are recognizing the benefits of providing opportunities for certain employees to skip the commute to the office and work from home. "Today" financial editor Jean Chatzky reports that National Telecommuting Institute, a nonprofit organization that places disabled workers with at-home employment, uses Internet technology to enable call center work to be done at home. Available at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7254610/ Read More