DOlker's Blog

The rise and fall of the Tibetan Carpet Industry

2011-07-11T00:20:00.000-07:00

What started as a handicraft project for Tibetan refugees and grew into the mainstay of

Nepal

's economy is now on the verge of collapse

TSERING DOLKER GURUNG

Once the pioneer of Nepal's Tibetan carpet industry, the Jawalakhel Handicraft Centre (JHC) is today eerily quiet. There are few customers and the workers, some of whom have been with the company for decades, fear for their jobs.

It is the same story at carpet centres across the Valley. An industry that during the 1980s brought in one-third of Nepal's foreign currency earnings is nearly finished. At its peak, there were 3,000 carpet weaving centres employing 1.2 million people. Only 600 firms remain, providing jobs to less than 100,000 people.

"It has been a story of decline and decay," says despondent general manager of the JHC, Chime Dorjee, "export orders have dropped and we depend only on meagre retail sales."

The rise and fall of Nepal's carpet industry is the same old story of everyone getting into the act, the production glut leading to lowered prices just as Chinese carpets became cheaper. There were other problems: the child labour and environmental controversies, government indifference and interference, inflation and labour issues.

"It has got so bad that unless the government acts in regulating the industry, we soon won't have any carpets to export," laments Tenzin Choegyal, chairman of Nepal Carpet Enterprise.

The industry is exactly 50 years old, and has its roots in the weaving skills brought to Nepal by Tibetan refugees fleeing the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959. The Swiss Red Cross along with Swiss Agency for Technical Assistance set up the Jawalakhel Handicraft Centre in 1960 so the refugees would have jobs. Carpet centres were also set up in Pokhara, Dhorpatan and Solu Khumbu.

Encouraged by sales, the Swiss helped in marketing carpets in Switzerland and Tibetan carpets from Nepal became the rage in the rest of Europe and America. With the upheavals in Iran and Afghanistan, European importers turned in the late 1970s to carpets from Nepal.

Tibetans working for the JHC weaved at home during their free hours, and they slowly started training local Nepali helpers spreading the technique to Nepalis. At its peak in 1993 the carpet industry brought in more than Rs 10.4 billion, but by 2009 it had shrunk by half.

Choegyal, who has been in the business for 30 years, says the biggest problem now are politicised unions. "Labour is our major concern now," he says, "every now and then labour unions backed by political parties come up with unreasonable demands that we cannot fulfil and this hinders production." The best weavers have moved to the Gulf and there is a shortage of skilled workers.

The fierce competition from Indian and Chinese rugs isn't making it easier. "Although, we cannot compete with India and China in terms of price, we are unbeatable in terms of quality especially in America," explains Cheogyal.

If the government stepped in to save the carpet industry, it still has a great potential for growth. The Made in Nepal brand is strong and the added "Tibetan" label gives Nepali rugs an edge that could translate into premium prices.

But carpet traders say the lack of incentives for an industry that has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs is keeping it hamstrung. Successive governments since the mid-1990s have been interested only in extracting either taxes or bribes from the industry. The government also has an important role in depoliticising union activity, and the competition between politically-affiliated unions that have wrecked the industry, they add.

Left alone

Karma Choenzom, 64 lives in the Tibetan refugee centre at Ekantakuna and fondly remembers the times when things were a lot better. "We used to get lots of export orders and worked overtime, but that is all gone, and the tourists don't come anymore," she says. Born in the Kyirong region of Tibet, Choenzom came to Nepal 25 years ago. Since then she has been working for the centre, first as a carpet weaver and now a wool spinner. The stagnation in the carpet industry worries her. "My future is uncertain," she says with a distant look. Her three daughters have all moved out, and she lives alone in her one room quarter provided by the centre. During the heydays of the carpet industry in the 1990s she earned Rs 4,000 a month, today she barely makes half that.

Significance of Mass Media Research

2009-09-13T02:54:00.000-07:00

Before we talk about the significance of Mass Media Research, it is important to discuss the meaning of Mass Media and Research. Mass Media are defined as media which have their proper program and constitute their own audience. (Heiner Meulemann and Jörg Hagenah). Media can be defined as technologies designed to store and disseminate information. Among media in general, mass media can be singled out regarding the information disseminated and the audience receiving them. Mass Media Research, accordingly, deals with the production of programs and the consumption of the audience. In the 7^th edition of the book, Mass Media Research: An Introduction, Joe Dominick and Roger Wimmer define research as: an attempt to discover something (Wimmer & Dominick, 2003). That’s all there is to Research—an attempt to discover something. Research is different from other investigation in the sense it is a scientific investigation. When we look at the definition, we will see why research is so important in Mass Media.

There isn’t any area in Mass media that doesn’t conduct or use research. Research is the only area in mass media that relates it to everything. Every time we raise a “who, what, when, where, why, how questions we have developed an investigative question. For example why do people choose to watch one television program over another, how internet affected readership of newspapers, what type of articles are most popular in magazines, when is the best time to broadcast a youth related programme. Research helps provide answer to these questions. Most importantly, it is a valid way of attaining accurate information. Research is scientific therefore it is verifiable, objective, empirical, systematic, cumulative and logical.

As mentioned earlier there isn’t any area in Mass Media which doesn’t use research, we shall further discuss about the use of research in different media forms:

Electronic Media: Electronic media research studies today fall into two main categories: ratings and non ratings research. The data for ratings surveys are currently gathered by two methods: diaries and electronic meters (commonly called people meters). There are many types of no ratings research used by the electronic media. This type of research provides information about what the audience likes and dislikes analyses of different types of programming, demographic and lifestyle information about the audience.

Print Media: While there are many types of research conducted by the print media, these are the types of research that have gained most attention in the past several years:

Readership: the most widely used of all print research procedures including research in areas such as reader profiles, item-selection studies, reader-nonreader studies, editor-reader comparisons, and psychographic and lifestyle segmentation studies.
Circulation: research about who reads the newspaper or magazine, how can circulation be increased, and what the readers want to have included in their newspaper or magazine.
Management: research concerning goal setting by management, employee job satisfaction, and effects of competition and ownership on newspaper content and quality.
Readability: research on all the elements and their interactions that affect the success of a piece of printed material.
On-line media usage: research concerning the Internet and how it affects newspaper and magazine reading.

Advertising and Public Relations: Just as with the other media, research in advertising and public relations includes a variety of topic, some of which include:

Copy Testing: research on the effectiveness of advertising.
Reach and frequency: how many people are exposed to advertising?
Internet-related: research on how the Internet affects advertising and public relations.
Campaign assessment: research on the success of an advertising campaign.
Public relations: applied, basic, and introspective research to examine specific practical issues.
Public relations audit: a comprehensive study of the public relations position of an organization.
Social audit: a small-scale monitoring program to measure how well a company is living up to its public responsibilities.

Internet: The Internet has quickly become a mass medium, and it is changing every day. However, one thing is certain about the Internet, and that is it will provide a countless number of research possibilities for mass media researchers. Consider some of the possibilities:

On-line research: respondents answer questions using Internet-based questionnaires.
Web site research: what makes a good web site? How can more people be attracted to a web site?
Music testing: radio stations and music companies test short segments (hooks) of songs.
Advertising testing: respondents provide reactions to audio, video, and print advertising.

Mass Media is a commercial industry. Like any other business, its primary motive is to get the highest numbers. The numbers may refer to sales, profit or audience. Therefore, one important factor of media research is it helps them attain the goal. It involves a 3 step process. Firstly, find what the people want and then give it to them. Lastly, let them know that you gave it to them. Researches help find what people want, also they find out what is the best way to give it to them and also they find the best means for advertising the program. Thus, research is included in every step of the process.

Research thus aids decision making. Regardless of the area that we are involved in mass media, we will be involved in mass media research. There is no area of mass media that hasn’t been affected by research. Research is an integral part of mass media because it results in better and accurate reporting which ultimately results in better decisions.

References:

Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2003). Mass media research: An introduction (7^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Adhikary Nirmala Mani (2006) Understanding Mass Media Research (1^st ed.) Prashanti Pustak Bhandar

A Visit to Radio Nepal

2009-06-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

As a part of our field study, our class was taken on a tour to Radio Nepal which is located inside the Singha Durbar. Since it was my first visit to a radio station, I was excited beyond words and filled with new found energy. But the long wait outside the premises drained all my energy. Finally, after about an hour we were granted the permission to enter. It was not an easy task to locate Radio Nepal inside the spacious Singha Durbar. After wandering here and there for quite some time, at last we somehow reached our destination.

Radio Nepal was established on 1st April 1951. Initially, the transmission covered duration of 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt SW transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical efficiency and coverage. Radio Nepal airs programmes on Short Wave, Medium Wave and FM frequencies. FM Kathmandu, the first FM-Channel covering Kathmandu valley and adjoining areas was started in 1995 from its premises at Singh Durbar, Kathmandu. The short Wave transmission of Radio Nepal is estimated to reach listeners throughout the kingdom. Medium Wave transmission covers 70% to 80% of the population.

The Broadcasting Headquarters at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu has two broadcasting houses consisting of one drama studio, two music studios, one reporting studio, three continuity studios, one news studio and seven programme production studios. We visited the music studio first which was equipped with a 24 track recording facility. The most interesting feature of this studio was a Vibrophone, a unique musical instrument found only in Radio Nepal. This studio as told to us is open for hiring purposes for anyone desirous of recording music digitally. The attractive part: Studio charges here are relatively reasonable compared to other private studios. Foreign broadcasting Stations also make use of Radio Nepal’s Studio facilities and transmitters for live and other broadcasts on a rental basis which clears any doubt about inefficiency of its facilities.

Our next stop was one of the programme production studios. It felt great to see the working mechanism of a radio station in practical. After the production studio, we were taken to the recording studio. All of us were so enthralled by the fancy gadgets and couldn’t help but give it a shot. Putting on the head sets and recording our voice we did feel like a pros. But, while some failed miserably others proved that their knack for the work. We also got to see a Radio Jockey busy at work interacting with his callers. Meera Rana, the veteran Nepali singer added some glamour to our trip. Currently, she looks after the tape department of the station. The music library at Radio Nepal can boast of a collection of about 40,000 songs.

In the age where everything is headed towards technology, Radio Nepal is also making some modest effort to cope with the technological advancement. It uses the latest development in computer and digital radio. Also, it has initiated the task of digitizing old songs and mastering on digital format due to its large storage capacity, high fidelity and low cost. The old songs of yester years are getting a new life in the form of CDs.

The complex also has one open air live theatre facility for functions and musical performances. Like other transmitting stations, the Head quarters also has a 100 KVA stand by diesel generator to cope with occasional power failure.

All in all , the visit to Radio Nepal was informative, enthralling and fun at the same time.

Situation of Development Journalism in Nepal

2009-06-03T00:09:00.000-07:00

The term “development journalism” is used to refer to two different types of journalism. The first is a new school of journalism which began to appear in the 1960s. The idea behind this type of development journalism is similar to investigative reporting, but it focuses on conditions in developing nations and ways to improve them. It attempts to document the conditions within a country so that the larger world can understand them. Journalists are encouraged to travel to remote areas, interact with the citizens of the country, and report back. This type of development journalism also looks at proposed government projects to improve conditions in the country, and analyzes whether or not they will be effective.

The second type of development journalism involves heavy influence from the government of the nation involved. While this type of development journalism can be a powerful tool for local education and empowerment, it can also be a means of suppressing information and restricting journalists. This type of journalism can walk a thin line. On the one hand, government participation in mass media can help get important information spread throughout the nation. Governments can help to educate their citizens and enlist cooperation on major development projects. However, a government can also use the idea of “development” to restrict freedom of speech, for journalists. Journalists are told not to report on certain issues because it will impact the “development” of the nation in question, and therefore citizens are not actually being given access to the whole picture.

Development these days is understood only in the terms of construction and infrastructure. There are 2 perspectives through which we can understand development. One is through Infrastructure Agenda which means economic development. It refers to advancement in physical structures such as roads, schools, health, and education sector. The second perspective is Individual Independence which means human development. It is related to human rights.

As a tool for social development, development journalism can be very valuable especially for a developing country like Nepal. It is important to communicate in development in order to understand the problem and also to draw the solution. However, the case of Nepal is far from perfect. The state of communication sector is still humble which prevents social advancement. Media plays an important role in accelerating the pace of development process.But, mainstream media do not give coverage to developmental issue. Media is dominated by politics and hence, developmental news fails to stand out. Glamour factor is still absent in the reporting of developmental issues. Although such issues are covered by few newspapers and magazines, the quality of reporting is weak which fails to attract readers' interest.

Media in Nepal are killing the essence of development journalism. Rather than critically analyzing the issues, they merely report on what is happening. Instead of studying the issue, they just present it as it is. For e.g. Most of the newspapers will write about what the Prime Minister said in a speech rather than why did he/she say it or whether the things said is accurate or not. Merely, reporting issues related to poverty, corruption, hunger and illiteracy is not only depressing but a repetition. Journalists committed to development should look at the situation beyond just reporting it. Lack of professionalism can be the cause for ineffective reporting. People still view journalism as a hobby rather than profession. In Nepal, there are no standard requirements to become a journalist and neither there is availability of specialization courses in the discipline of journalism. Among the universities in Nepal, only Purbanchal University offers a Master’s Degree in Journalism. Global issues are present in abundance but what is lacking is the critical analysis of such issues.

Moreover, developmental issues are not of concern to the investors because they do not care about the service motive of journalism. To earn money is what matters to them and therefore, they cover only those issues which sell. This is the reason why we never see a news story based on developmental issue on the first page of a newspaper. Media in Nepal is not yet developed as an industry. Legally and technically it is an industry but the distribution system is still weak. Pre-planning is not done resulting in unmanaged media. Also, most of the investors do not have much idea about media management and therefore they focus only on the commercial aspect of it. Furthermore, there are no restrictions in investment proportion. However, it is seen that the journalistic and editorial approach towards development journalism is improving. In Nepal's context the performance of state owned media is comparatively better than other media in coverage of developmental issues.

Development reporting in Nepal has become more of donor based. The reporters are willing to go anywhere to cover any issue when the donor wants. For e.g. If UNICEF is organizing a programme in Dang and they want media coverage, they will take with them few media personnel and pay for their trip. Reporters will cover the event but there will be no follow up because the donor’s interest doesn’t lie in the follow up story. Donors have limited interest. They use the media till the interest is served.

At present, there has been a meager improvement in the field of development journalism. Developmental issues are reported but their presentation style needs to be changed. Neutral advocacy is still absent in reporting issues due to lack of study. Many of the journalists are not professionally committed due to the lack of professional security. Hence, it becomes the role of government to create an environment in which the people from the media and citizen sector can do their work freely without the fear of repercussion. Lastly, development journalism needs to adopt an action-oriented approach which will help bring about a change in the society.

13th Nepal Educational and Book Fair: A Letdown

2009-05-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

The 13th Education and Book Fair held at Bhrikuti Mandap Exhibition Hall in Kathmandu didn’t see as much glamour, visitors and media coverage compared to its previous year. Last year, the event had kicked off with a bang, with Dev Anand, the evergreen Indian actor inaugurating the event and later signing his autobiography “Romancing with Life”. The presence of this Bollywood sensation had drawn both media and public in bulk. But this year nothing of the sort happened. Although the event was inaugurated by poet Durga Lal Shrestha and noted Nepali writers Karna Shakya and Jagdish Ghimire spoke at the ceremony, it was not enough to create the buzz which last year’s fair had created. The opening ceremony itself was a fiasco; generating little media coverage.

To add further to its disappointment, the event collided with the examinations of students who are one of the prospective visitors of the fair. Also, with politics taking the centre stage at the moment, the fair couldn’t generate as much interest and attention from people. Worse, the global economy meltdown and inflation didn’t help either. Last year, the fair saw a mammoth of people visiting the event. The number had been confirmed to be over 300,000 but this year it downed by half.

Anjan Shrestha, Educational Book House says that “the business has gone down to 1/4th.” He believes it is the lack of promotion that resulted in the event receiving a lukewarm response. “The fair as a whole hasn’t been able to cater to the ever growing needs of the readers. All the book stalls are offering the same thing and there is no diversity of content.” he adds further. Shrestha’s views are also supported by Kavita of Penguin Books. She says this year’s fair didn’t get much media coverage and also blames the political situation of the country for putting prospective buyers at bay.

Last year, attractive discount offers had pulled the buyers. Palpasa Café was placed at Rs.100 ; naturally people thronged to the stall to buy it making it the bestseller. But this year such offers also failed to gather sizeable audience. Also, most publishers and sellers didn’t have a wide range of books. Penguin books’ stall wore a deserted look and had put up only those books which were already bestsellers. Some complained of their grievances because their order had not reached in time owing to the Terai strike.

The exhibitors wore a disappointed look and held the organizers responsible for not putting much effort into the fair. All in all this year’s book fair was a disappointment for many including me.

Life as it is now

2009-05-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

Life, people say is a mysterious journey filled with happiness and sorrow. I guess everyone will agree with me on this one.After all, all of us have been through our share of joy and misery.Earlier, I had lots of complaints about my life. My body, my grades, my relationships all distressed me easily. But now I have learned to accept life as it comes. I have learnt not to be bothered by small, tiny things which are main cause for one's sorrow. I have learnt to work on my weaknesses and flaunt my strength. We see many people give up on life so easily with occurrence of certain mishaps. I don't want to be one of those person neither I want to be someone who just complains and doesn't work on it. we have one life after all and it depends on one's self to shape it.People envy others who have good life thinking I wish I had that person's fortune . But rather than wishing what we should be doing is creating such life for our self. Good life doesn't come easily neither does happiness. One should always work for it. I am applying this theory to my day-day life and believe me, the result is great. I am more satisfied with myself then ever before and above all I am happy. I guess that's what counts at the end of the day....

Be skeptical

2009-05-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

It is not uncommon for us to hear that we are living in a world of competition. Survival of the fittest, first cum first serve are phrases explaining this very theory. As kids parents often tell us to be careful and not to interact with strangers outside because they believe it’s a jungle out there. It sure is according to my experience of the world. As we grow up we gradually figure out the workings of the world and I tell you it’s all a bitter sweet experience. Bitter if you fail to work accordingly and sweet when you get your steps right.

A philosopher- Rene Descartes had once said “one should always be skeptical about everything in the world except for one’s own existence”. If I had read his philosophy few years back I would be thinking Descartes was a screw up but today I totally agree with him. People may say being doubtful makes you negative but isn’t it better to be a little negative rather than to be fooled by others at the expense of your own success.

A friend of mine was recently duped by his friends to not give exams while they themselves went forward and gave the examination. Call my friend stupid or his friends evil; that doesn’t matter. This is just an example of many such instances happening in the world especially in workplace and educational institutions. The contemporary-industrialized world of today has created such a high level of competition among people (especially youth) that they inevitably feel insecure unless they pull someone four steps behind.

It has also made people selfish, ruthless and narcissist. People of today live in constant fear of being over taken. I have seen people go from being best friends to giving each other ‘I can’t stand you’ looks, from sharing their feelings to sharing forced smiles. Someone once told me you cannot make friends in college and to some extent I now find truth in the statement. When in college we are constantly competing for higher grades and good remarks from teachers. In the process we fail to maintain our friendship. Sometimes the trust is broken and at times the friendship in an un-mend able way.

Living in a capitalist age people tend to become materialistic and hence due to that part of us become shallow. We are always on the get go ready to bring people down in order to take their position. Competition is good and is required in every walk of life. It is due to competition that the human civilization has been able to come this far. But, what is needed is a healthy competition and not an immoral one.

So, be careful the next time you decide to entrust someone. Don’t forget that the Gandhian philosophy of offering your left cheek to someone who just slapped your right one doesn’t work anymore in this world of ever growing competition. Be skeptical and be realistic.

P.D.A at G.O.D

2009-05-07T05:02:00.001-07:00

One of my friends who had just returned from Canada asked me to take her around the most happening places in Kathmandu. Naturally, the first place that came to my mind was Thamel. With its colourful ambience and foreigners setting the place abuzz, this place is definitely hard to ignore by. So, I took her around and finally after stopovers at different local shops, we settled for Garden Of Dreams. Garden of Dreams is located in Thamel chowk. Originally, it belonged to the Ranas who ruled the country for 104 years. About six years ago, it was opened to public.

The moment a person steps into this garden, it is difficult not to get enthralled by its beauty. From the magnificent fountains to the colourful floras to the exquisite sculptures, this garden truly stands by its name for it indeed is a dream garden. Apart from its beauty, the thing that caught my eye was the number of lovers drooling in the garden. The place was filled with young teenage lovers to old married couples, all trying to get their share of privacy. What amazed me was not the number of such couples but their willingness to display P.D.A.

Many of the people may not be familiar with the term P.D.A which stands for Public Display of Affection but most of us have seen it either on T.V or other mass media. Basically, in a country like Nepal it is rare to see P.D.A being displayed at all (and no, we don’t count the foreigners’ snogging in open). It may be due to our culture or our respect for others, Nepalese have always been hesitant in displaying affection in public. Small things such as holding hands, sharing a kiss or just a hug is looked down by the society. But this was clearly not the case in Garden of Dreams.

In every nook and corner of the place, some sort of affection was being shared. The onlookers didn’t pass any strange gazes neither gave a second look. This was so not the society I was used to living in. A part of me felt glad that our society was becoming more open minded but a part of me also felt that we may be heading toward the road to indecency which bothered me. It is not only in garden of dreams but many secluded areas where couples often forget their virtues and put the by-stander in an awkward position. I am not against P.D.A at all. Believe me, I’d be the last person to oppose it but I strictly believe there is a thin line between cute affection and raunchy P.D.A.

Journalism1- Assigment1

2009-04-09T03:54:00.000-07:00

Why journalism and democracy are considered interdependent? Discuss with suitable examples.

Journalism and democracy are closely related. It is only in the presence of democracy that journalism can achieve its goal of communicating news freely and objectively.Also, journalism has in many cases helped bring about democracy to countries and it has also helped in sustaining democracy.

When we look into the history of our country Nepal we find that the first newspaper in Nepal, the Gorkhapatra was established in 1901 which acted as the mouthpiece of the government. After the introduction of democracy in 1951 there was growth of newspapers including vernacular weeklies, which expressed different political views and ideologies. But this growth came to halt when King Mahendra dissolved the elected parliament and Panchayat system came into being. This system which lasted for 30 years is well known for its hindrance towards press freedom and restrictions on media in private sector. Therefore, it is considered the darkest period in the history of Nepali media. Although Nepali press started to enjoy some liberties in 1979 after the nationwide pro-democracy movement, it was only after the re-introduction of democracy in 1990 that it was guaranteed its freedom. This led to a revolution in the media scenario of Nepal which has seen a massive growth since 1990.

In the democratic equation there are three types of identities: the politicians, the public and the publication. These three p’s of the democratic process which, through their correlation with each other , make modern democracy unique compared to other political philosophies. The relationship between the politician and the public, through the media and journalism particularly is distinctive in a democracy and has a very special connection with the electoral process, which separates true democracy from imitations. We can take the example of USSR which also had elections but that certainly didn’t make them a democracy. Liberated media is fundamentally crucial in genuine democratic societies because it practices the theory of including the public in governmental affairs, and commemorates the democratic idea that reality can only be relative and truth and facts are to be deemed authentic by individuals, not administrators.

Journalism is necessary because direct democracy is obsolete. People do not really have a say in modern democracy except for their vote. Journalism serves as a mirror to socio-political reality. It informs people about what really is going on and involves them in decision-making processes. In a democracy most of the times an average person is gone unnoticed and it is through journalism that average people are able to have a say and influence on things. The only real reason there is journalism in democracy is to make people aware. Had it not been for newspapers and media we wouldn’t be aware of the events taking place in the world. We wouldn’t be informed and cautious as we are now. Due to journalism we know about elections and candidates and we vote accordingly to what we hear and see through T.V, newspapers.

The main difference between a democratic and non-democratic country is not determined by elections, but by how free their journalists are. Journalism fails to serve its purpose in the absence of freedom. The essence of journalism is lost when it faces barriers and pressure from authorities. Democracy guarantees journalists that freedom and encourages them to have and publish their own opinions. In the absence of democracy journalism becomes futile and tools of propaganda or rather the mouthpiece of the authority in power.

Journalism is an anarchist dimension where individuals choose to relay the truth, or make their own. Government don’t need free press, but free journalism needs democracy. Free journalism is simply impossible without one. A democracy would be unattainable without attempting to include the public into government affairs. Free press can be good or bad but without freedom the press will most certainly be bad. Journalism for better or worse is the best example of the freedom of individuals and the importance of free thought in a democracy.

We can take the example of china where there is no democracy and hence no free journalism. The Chinese government has the full authority over the media there. They are known for censoring those media which are inappropriate to them and endanger their prestige among the Chinese people. The Chinese television channels and newspapers always broadcast and print newspapers in the favour of their government. During the 2008 Olympic Games which was held in Beijing, China; the government didn’t broadcast any news about the protests happening world wide against it. When questioned by foreign media about it to the people there, they were unaware and didn’t have any idea about it. This is one of the few instances where the Chinese government has violated the citizens’ right to freedom and expression.

In modern, democratic societies the press is considered the fourth state. Although democracy ensures press freedom but it also makes sure that the freedom given is not unlimited. Therefore, the government drafts law and acts regarding press freedom. This is done in order to assure that the freedom given is not misused in the field of journalism.

Journalism provides a forum of public debate about different issues and articulates public opinion. It forces government to take into consideration the opinion of people. It also provides an independent channel of communication between different groups in the society. Thus. It becomes an agent of private citizens being reconstituted as a public body exercising informal supervision of the state.

The inter-relationship between Journalism and democracy is undeniable. One cannot function properly in the absence of other. Journalism makes sure that democracy is being exercised in the proper way. Journalism ensures that people become public and they have a say in politics. It is through journalism that the people gain power and journalism becomes a voice through which people speak. Likewise, journalism also advocates for the importance of democracy. It speaks against injustice, inequality and authoritarian rule. Similarly, democracy facilitates journalism. It gives them the freedom to do their work without interference from any parties.

Hear Us Out

2008-12-30T21:11:00.000-08:00

"Yesterday you owned the sun

But today it is mine"

The above two lines are taken from a Tibetan poem titled “We the six million Tibetans.” The poem describes the Tibetan spirit and speaks of the love they have for their nation. Until few days back I was living a normal teenage life. With a “who cares” attitude I didn’t really think much about the independence of Tibet. All I cared about was I. An average college student; I spent my days attending lectures, hanging out with friends or simply reading a book.

Since I was always surrounded by Nepalese I felt I belonged with them. But deep down I knew I was different. Unlike them I had my roots entrenched in Tibetan soil and my link to the country was inevitable. Despite not having visited the country even once I shared a strong bond with it. It maybe because of the language I speak, the culture that I follow or because of my typical Tibetan family.

After reading and watching the ongoing Tibetan protests I felt deeply saddened and glad at the same time. Sad because I wasn’t being able to be a part of it and glad because finally Tibetans were speaking out. Since I stay in a University hostel I couldn’t take part in the demonstrations but I wasn’t going to sit idly either. I thought to myself at least I could write about it and let people know what actually is happening in Tibet.

It has been more than 6 decades that china took over Tibet and destroyed its independence. During 1950s the Chinese began their invasion and in the process killed, abused and injured thousands. Tibet with a meager population of 6 million was not able to resist to the Chinese power. Hundreds of children orphaned and many others displaced. Monks and nuns were tortured and all monasteries demolished. The Chinese not only took our land but also our freedom: freedom to live freely.

As Chinese became more and more brutal, Tibetans had no other choice but to flee their homes.Many sought shelter in the neighboring countries. I am so appreciative of all the host states that welcomed and provided us roof over our heads. But as we all know how much ever luxurious a hotel may be we would always prefer returning back home.

Tibet is my home and I cannot stand Chinese destroy it. The Chinese have time and again tried different tactics to defame Tibetans. The recent news about Tibetans planning suicide attacks is yet another Chinese tactic of showing Tibetans as violent and dangerous. It is indeed sad to read that such inhuman act is being linked to the Dalai Lama who stands for peace and non violence.

Tibetans have suffered enough from the hands of Chinese and the world needs to listen to our unheard voices. It is time we stand up and stop the Chinese from hurting more of our fellow Tibetans.

Do you Bunk?

2008-12-30T21:08:00.000-08:00

Students in uniform hanging out in the public during the school/ college time are not an unfamiliar sight to us. No, it’s not a sign of increasing educational excursion by academic institutions but the growing trend of bunking. So, what do we exactly mean by bunking? To bunk is basically to skip the classes and go someplace other than school. In fact this trend has become so common we rarely find any student who hasn’t bunked his/her school or college at least once. Likewise, I too have bunked my classes. In my case it was more like hiding within the school compound. I and my friends would basically conceal ourselves in the bathroom or the basketball court.

There are many reasons why students choose to bunk school. To some following the same routine everyday gets tedious whereas some may feel that attending classes is worthless. The endless assignments, teachers’ complaints and a desire to break free from all these often leads a student towards the path of bunking. Earlier it was more common among the college students but now it is equally prevalent in the middle schools as well.

The trend of bunking has reached a height where the students often organize mass bunking. This new form of bunking requires everybody in the class to be absent thus showing the mass participation of students. It is organized in cases where the students want pre-holiday or post-holiday.

So, where do the students go if not to school. Well there are lots of hubs set up for this very purpose. From the early morning movie shows to early breakfast in restaurants or simply lingering the town the students have found different ways of indulging themselves to pass the time which actually was meant for school. Many of you might be astonished to know this but the horizon of bunking is very broad. It merely doesn’t mean few naughty pupils not attending classes but the whole class or even the college may be a part of it. Personally, I have seen the largest group of students of a particular college occupying the whole accommodation of a movie hall during college hours.

When the students get bored doing all the above mentioned stuff they choose to go partying. Different dance clubs have even shifted their opening time for students to enjoy the pleasure of clubbing early morning. But all these pleasure is not attainable without an amount of risk involved. There is always fear of being caught either by the parents or the school.

The immense increase in the rate of bunkers has called for firm action from school/college officials. They are obliged to impose strict rules and take bunking more seriously. It is not a bad thing to take break from studies once in a while. After all we are humans and we need rest. But when that rest exceeds too much and for too long then a person often fails to do his prime job as in the case of students –they fail to educate themselves.

GLAMOUR TAKING THE WORLD BY STORM

2008-12-30T20:03:00.000-08:00

As the times have changed so have the people, their ideas and priorities. What I am talking about is the strong impact that glamour has in people's life. I am here not to criticize glamour based industries and neither to show any ill effects of it. But just to talk about the amount that people are wasting in wrong ways of glamorizing themselves. Being a teenager, I would like to write this article from the viewpoint of a teenager. Anybody would be ignorant not to have noticed the impact that glamour seems to have in today's world. It surely seems to have taken the world by storm. People's activities are all based for the purpose of beautifying and ultimately getting the tag of a glam doll or that of a stud. To speak of the entire world my article would be very long so I stick only to the Nepali context.

As I walk the roads of thamel, new road, durbar marg I see a lot of youngsters dressed trying to look like their favorite celebrity. From their hair to their clothes to the attitude they carry everything resembles the foreign celebs. They are constantly trying their hardest to keep up with the changing style statement. I do not think it is wrong to try and look good but I know it can be pretty harmful when you spend your whole time planning what to wear next. I have seen and personally know some people who keep doing that.

It is sad to see that people have become more shallow and materialistic. I strongly believe clothes do not make a person beautiful but it is the person who is capable of beautifying the clothes. But most people especially youngsters seem to have forgotten this and they take it vice-versa. Especially in high schools and colleges fashion is brain storming the youngsters in all wrong ways. This is visible through the kind of uniform that students prefer wearing these days. From the very short and close fitting skirts of girls to guys baggy and choose pants, misfit uniform has become one new trend. It is understandable that young boys and girls prefer looking smart and their best but it should not be done at the cost of spoiling the decency of a uniform. One should always respect one's uniform because it gives a certain identity.

Also, I would like to extend my thoughts to the growing consciousness in girls and women as a whole about their appearance. It may be due to the negative effect of entertainment world that people have become so very conscious. I feel like it has become some sort of law to be thin and look fabulous all the time. Otherwise you end up being the girl with the bad body and terrible sense of fashion. I have seen that my friends too have been infected by this growing disease of looking perfect.

What I am trying to say is we are not models and therefore we don't need to have a perfect10. We are just ordinary people and wearing the latest Chanel boots or carrying a Loui Vuitton bag is not going to make us extraordinary. Instead it will just leave a hole in our pockets.

Street Life

2008-12-29T00:35:00.000-08:00

Food anyone????????

My friend

Let's dig in!!!

I smell Something!!!

My belongings

Home Sweet Home

This way please!!!!

Media, Culture and Society

2008-12-23T07:07:00.000-08:00

Introduction to Culture

Some of the definitions given by the students in the class:

Culture is a way of living. It is something that connects us with the previous generation. It is a mirror of life. It is a set of values that gives someone a certain identity. It is a reflection of society in terms of norms, values, tradition and development. It is an invisible regulatory mechanism varying from one society to another that has brought human civilization thus far. It guides our behaviour and shapes our lifestyle.

Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that is passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, games, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as the art.
Culture is manifested in human artifacts and activities such as music, literature, lifestyle, food, painting and sculpture, theater and film. Although some scholars identify culture in terms of consumption and consumer goods (as in high culture, low culture, folk culture, or popular culture),anthropologists understand "culture" to refer not only to consumption goods, but to the general processes which produce such goods and give them meaning, and to the social relationships and practices in which such objects and processes become embedded. For them, culture thus includes art, science, as well as moral systems.

Characteristics:
• Choir
• Social but not individual
• Idealistic
• Total social heritage
• An integrated system
• Language as its chief vehicle
• Transferred from old generation to new generation and has tendency to go further

Society:
It can be defined as a combination of several communities.

Community:
It can be defined as a group of people sharing the same language and ethnicity. It cannot be multi-cultural. It is an extended form of family.

Association:
It is an organization or union having certain objective, strategy, course of action and written rule. There is a body of people governing it and media is used by association to gain publicity.

Factors of social change:
• Technology
• Education
• Media and communication
• Information communication technology
• Globalization
• Politics
• Mobility
• Industrialization
• Assimilation
• Human nature

2. Role of Media in defining and representing culture

Media Representation:
It refers to the combination of aspect of reality (people, events, places, cultural identity) in the media. The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors. Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?

Conspiracy Theory:
A conspiracy theory is a hypothesis that alleges a coordinated group is or was secretly working to commit illegal or wrongful actions, including attempting to hide the existence of the group and its activities. In notable cases the hypothesis contradicts what was, or is, represented as the mainstream explanation for historical or current events. The phrase "conspiracy theory" is also sometimes used dismissively in an attempt to portray hypothetical speculation as being untrue or outlandish.

Gaze theory:
The concept of gaze theory describes how men view women or how women view other women and how women view themselves. Marxists believe that female bodies are representation of commodity. There is a debate about the representation of women in media. Some view it as exploitation whereas others believe it to be independence.

Queer theory:
It explores the representation of homosexuals as well as sexual orientation. Queer theory's main project is exploring the contestations of the categorization of gender and sexuality.

3. Media as a Cultural Institution
Cultural institutions are elements within a culture/sub-culture that are perceived to be important to, or traditionally valued among, its members for their own identity. Examples of cultural institutions in modern Western society are museums and the print media.The five cultural institutions as needed (at least in some way) in any society in order to survive: education, economic system, government, family, and religion.

Digital Divide

2008-12-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Introduction
The term digital divide refers to the gap between those people with effective access to digital and information technology and those without. It includes the imbalances in physical access to technology as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. In other words, it’s the unequal access by some members of the society to information and communications technology, and the unequal acquisition of related skills. Groups often discussed in the context of a digital divide include gender, income, race and location. The term global digital divide refers to differences in technology access between countries.

Origins of the term
The term initially referred to gaps in ownership of computers between groups, during which time the increase of ownership was limited to certain ethnic groups. The term came into regular usage in the mid-1990s, though the term had previously appeared in several news articles and political speeches as early as 1995. President of the United States Bill Clinton and his Vice President Al Gore used the term in a 1996 speech in Knoxville, Tennessee. Larry Irving, a former United States head of the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and technology adviser to the Clinton Administration, noted that a series of NTIA surveys; were “catalysts for the popularity, ubiquity, and redefinition” of the term, and he used the term in a series of later reports. Since the start of the George W. Bush Administration, the NTIA reports have tended to focus less on gaps and divides and more on the steady growth of broadband access, especially amongst groups formerly believed to be on the wrong side of the digital divide.
It should be noted that there is a considerable literature on information and digital inequality that predates this current label. The concept of a digital divide is more of a new label and less of a unique concept.
Current usage
There are various definitions of the term "digital divide". Bharat Mehra defines it simply as “the troubling gap between those who use computers and the internet and those who do not”. The term initially referred to gaps in the ownership of, or regular access to, a computer. As Internet access came to be seen as a central aspect of computing, the term's usage shifted to encompass gaps in not just computers but also access to the Internet. Recently, some have used the term to refer to gaps in broadband network access. The term can mean not only unequal access to computer hardware, but also inequalities between groups of people in the ability to use information technology fully.
Due to the range of criteria which can be used to assess the imbalance, and the lack of detailed data on some aspects of technology usage, the exact nature of the digital divide is both contextual and debatable. Criteria often used to distinguish between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' of the digital divide tend to focus on access to hardware, access to the internet, and details relating to both categories. Some scholars fear that these discussions might be discouraging the creation of Internet content that addresses the needs of minority groups that make up the "have nots," as they are portrayed to be technophobic charity cases that lack the desire to adopt new technologies on their own.
The discussions on digital divide often are tied with other concepts. Lisa Servon argued in 2002 that the digital divide "is a symptom of a larger and more complex problem -- the problem of persistent poverty and inequality". As described by Mehra (2004), the four major components that contribute to digital divide are “socioeconomic status, with income, educational level, and race among other factors associated with technological attainment”.
Recognition of digital divide as an immense problem has led scholars, policy makers, and the public to understand the “potential of the internet to improve everyday life for those on the margins of society and to achieve greater social equity and empowerment”.

Digital divide evolution
Typical measurements of inequality distribution used to describe the Digital Divide are the Lorenz Curve and Gini coefficient, however, the question of whether or not the digital divide is growing or closing is difficult to answer.
In Bridging the digital divide: An opportunity for growth for the 21st century, examples of these ways of measuring are illustrated. In the Lorenz curve, perfect equality of internet usage across nations is represented by a 45-degree diagonal line, which has a Gini coefficient of zero. Perfect inequality gives a Gini coefficient of one. Therefore if you look at figures 2.4 and 2.5 in the document, both graphs show a trend of growing equality from 1997 to 2005 with the Gini coefficient decreasing. However, these graphs don’t show the important, detailed analysis of specific income groups. The progress represented is predominantly of the middle-income groups when compared to the highest income groups. The lowest income groups continue to decrease their level of equality in comparison to the high income groups. Therefore, there is still a long way to go before the digital divide will be eliminated.

Digital divide and education
One area of significant focus was school computer access; in the 1990s, rich schools were much more likely to provide their students with regular computer access. In the late 1990s, rich schools were much more likely to have internet access. In the context of schools, which have consistently been involved in the discussion of the divide, current formulations of the divide focus more on how (and whether) computers are used by students, and less on whether there are computers or internet connections.
The E-Rate program (officially the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund), authorized in 1996 and implemented in 1997, directly addressed the technology gap between rich and poor schools by allocating money from telecommunications taxes to poor schools without technology resources. Though the program faced criticism and controversy in its methods of disbursement, E-Rate has been credited with increasing the overall number of public classrooms with Internet access from 14% in 1996 to 95% in 2005. Recently, discussions of a digital divide in school access have broadened to include technology related skills and training in addition to basic access to computers and internet access.
Technology offers a unique opportunity to extend learning support beyond the classroom, something that has been difficult to do until now. “The variety of functions that the internet can serve for the individual user makes it “unprecedentedly malleable” to the user’s current needs and purposes”.
Global digital divide
Another key dimension of the digital divide is the global digital divide, reflecting existing economic divisions in the world, which can clearly be seen in The Global Digital Divide image. This global digital divide widens the gap in economic divisions around the world. Countries with a wide availability of internet access can advance the economics of that country on a local and global scale. In today's society, jobs and education are directly related to the internet, in that the advantages that come from the internet are so significant that neglecting them would leave a company vulnerable in a changing market.“Andy Grove, the former chair of Intel, said that by the mid-2000s all companies will be Internet companies, or they won’t be companies at all.” In countries where the internet and other technologies are not accessible, education is suffering, and uneducated people and societies that are not benefiting from the information age, cannot be competitive in the global economy. This leads to these countries, which tend to be developing countries, suffering greater economic downfall and richer countries advancing their education and economy. However, when dealing with the global aspect of digital divide there are several factors that lead to digital divide. For example, country of residence, ethnicity, gender, age, educational attainment, and income levels are all factors of the global aspects of digital divide. In addition, a survey shows that in 15 Western European countries females, manual workers, elderly, and the less educated have less internet access than males, professional, the young, and the well educated”. The digital divide is a term used to refer to the gap between people who have access to the internet and those that do not. It can also refer to the skills people have – the divide between peoples who are at ease using technology to access and analyse information and those who are not.

Digital divide worldwide
Canada: According to a Fall 2007 Canadian Internet Use Survey, 73% of Canadians aged 16 and older went online in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared to 68% in 2005. In small towns and rural areas, only 65% of residences accessed the internet, compared to 76% in urban areas. The digital divide still exists between the rich and the poor; 91% of people making more than $91,000/year regularly used the internet, compared to 47% of people making less than $24,000. This gap has lowered slightly since 2005.
China: China is the largest developing country in the world and therefore saw their internet population grow by 20% in 2006. However, just over 10% of Chinese people have access to the internet and the digital divide is growing due to factors such as insufficient infrastructure and high online charges. See Digital divide in the People's Republic of China for more information.
Europe: A European Union study from 2005 conducted in 14 European countries and focused on the issue of digital divide found that within the EU, the digital divide is primarily a matter of age and education. Among the young or educated the proportion of computer or Internet users is much higher than with the old or uneducated. Digital divide is also higher in rural areas. The study found that the presence of children in a household increases the chance of having a computer or Internet access, and that small businesses are catching up with larger enterprises when it comes to Internet access. The study also notes that "Despite increasing levels of ICT usage in all sections of society, the divide is not being bridged."
United States: According to a July 2008 Pew Internet & American Life report, “55% of adult Americans have broadband internet connections at home, up from 47% who had high-speed access at home last year at this time [2007]”. This increase of 8% compared to the previous year’s increase of 5% suggests that the digital divide is decreasing. However, the findings go on to show that low-income Americans’ broadband connections decreased by 3%. Therefore as was explained in the Digital Divide Evolution section, the detailed income groups need to be considered. Digital divide is a common subject in US politics and various government policies

Digital divide, e-democracy and e-governance
The theoretical concepts of e-democracy are still in early development, but many scholars agree that blogs (web logs), wikis and mailing lists may have significant effects in broadening the way democracy operates. There is, as yet, no consensus among scholars about the possible outcomes of this revolution; it has so far shown promise in improving electoral administration and reducing fraud and disenfranchisement; particularly positive has been the reception of e-government services related to online delivery of government services, with portals (such as United States USA.gov in English and GobiernoUSA.gov in Spanish) used as intermediaries between the government and the citizen, replacing the need for people to queue in traditional offices.
One of the main problems associated with the digital divide as applied to a liberal democracy is the capacity to participate in the new public space, the cyberspace - as in the extreme case, exclusively computer-based democratic participation (deliberation forums, online voting, etc) could mean that no access meant no vote. Therefore, there is a risk that some social groups — those without adequate access to or knowledge of IT — will be under-represented (or others over-represented) in the policy formation processes and this would be incompatible with the equality principles of democracy.
Proponents of the open content, free software, and open access social movements believe that these movements help equalize access to digital tools and information.
North America is in general ahead of the UK in respect of both PC use and Internet connectivity. It is not therefore surprising that concern over a potential digital divide originated there. According to research conducted by Booz Allen & Hamilton (in a report sent to the Prime Minister) Britain’s Internet population, as for that of North America, exhibits clear demographic and socio-economic lines and in consequence faces a similar digital divide.

Consequences of the Digital Divide
The primary concern is exclusion; social and otherwise. Each year, being digitally connected becomes ever more critical to economic, educational, and social advancement. Those without the appropriate tools (in terms of PCs and Internet connectivity) and applicable skills will become increasingly disadvantaged.
In North America the Internet has been defined as no longer a luxury item but rather a resource used by many (see reference).
As ICT becomes ever more pervasive those elements of society without access will be further disenfranchised in terms of:
• Fewer employment opportunities
• Restricted access to information and support
• Increasingly basic facilities such as email, consumer services, financial services, etc.
Reasons behind the Digital Divide
At the most basic level the digital divide arises where individuals or groups of individuals have no or inadequate access to PCs connected to the Internet. It follows that addressing this problem by providing access should be a constructive measure in terms of reducing the divide. That being said the underlying causes of the divide are in all probability more complex. Research in the USA has identified the following issues:
• Income differences. There are wide disparities amongst income groups. The better off are far more likely to have PCs and Internet connections than others. Those with income in excess of $75K are 20 times more likely to have Internet access than those at the lowest income level.
• Education. The better educated are statistically more likely to have and use connected PCs. In particular those with college degrees or higher are ten times more likely to have access. Only 6.6% of people with an elementary school education or less use the Internet.
• Location. Rural areas relative to cities generally experience lower levels of connectivity. Rural areas in particular lag behind cities in terms of broadband access.
• Age. People over the age of 50 have been less likely to use PCs and the Internet. Less than 30% of this group were “connected” in 2000. Those over 50 and in employment are three times more likely to have access than individuals not in employment.
• Single parent families. Two parent families are more than twice as likely to have Internet access than single families. Further, the oportion in respect of female-headed single families in cities is significantly lower.
• Disabilities. Although 25% of the able bodied have never used a PC the proportion for the disabled rises to 60%. In general the disabled are half as likely to use PCs and have Internet access. Among those with a disability, people who have impaired vision and problems with manual dexterity have even lower rates of Internet access and are less likely to use a computer regularly than people with hearing and mobility problems. This difference holds in the aggregate, as well as across age groups.
• Race and ethnic groups. Large gaps exist regarding Internet penetration rates among households of different races and ethnic origins. Further, large gaps remain when measured against the National average for Internet penetration.
Differences in income and education do not fully account for this facet of the digital divide. Estimates of what Internet access rates for this group would be had they had income and education levels in line with the Nation as a whole show that these two factors account for approximately 50% of the differences.
Additional Factors
Home access
To the extent that the digital divide is a function of PC and Internet access it is appropriate to question the qualitative aspects of “access”. Internet kiosks for example may provide cheap Internet access and whilst appropriate for certain tasks they arguably provide a less satisfactory experience for other Web activities. The real question therefore becomes whether the type of access provided lends itself to the full range of activities available to “connected” users. It is possible that the divide will not be bridged unless home access becomes fully available. To the extent that this is impracticable an alternative would be to provide common access points capable of providing an “appropriate” experience.

Broadband
The digital divide is not just a function of access; speed of access is also important or is likely to become so. Until recently for most users the speed of access has been limited to traditional modems. Although modem technology has increased significantly over the last ten years and is now capable of offering data throughput of up to 56K bits per second that speed is a small fraction of what is likely to be required in the next few years. Unless this factor is recognised there is a danger that the current digital divide could be reduced merely to find that it re-opens due to a vast difference in speed available to some but not all users. In short the digital divide of the (not too distant) future may be one of access speed.

Closing the Gap
As indicated above, measures to provide appropriate access are likely to have a beneficial impact. Indeed US data from August 2000 claims that schools, libraries, and other public access points continue to serve those groups that do not have home access. The use of those facilities however is not uniform and they are more likely to be used by some groups than other.
Equally given the complex nature of the underlying problems it is unlikely that improved access will of itself provide the whole answer.
With respect to the UK it would be inappropriate to assume that the same underlying factors creating the divide in North America obtain albeit that there are likely to be strong similarities. Research is necessary (if it has not already been undertaken) to identify the true causes. Once identified targeted action can be taken by addressing the detailed needs of specific groups in particular locations.
If, following research, home access was found to be significant element of the divide new strategies would need to be formulated to address that requirement. For example "cut-down” or recycled PCs could be offered in conjunction with community based Internet access lines.
Summary
The digital divide is a serious issue confronting society. At the most basic level it arises from a lack of appropriate access for certain sections of society to PCs and Internet connectivity. The underlying causes however are more complex. Improving access is likely to help but it is possible that the beneficial effect would be greater if the causes were clearly identified and the required action appropriately customised

Overcoming the digital divide
Projects like One Laptop per Child and 50x15 offer a partial solution to the global digital divide; these projects tend to rely heavily upon open standards and free open source software. The OLPC XO-1 is an inexpensive laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries around the world, to provide them with access to knowledge. Programmer and free software advocate Richard Stallman has highlighted the importance of free software among groups concerned with the digital divide such as the World Summit on the Information Society.
Organizations such as Geekcorps, EduVision and Inveneo also help to overcome the digital divide. They often do so through the use of education systems that draw on information technology. The technology they employ often includes low-cost laptops/subnotebooks, handhelds (eg Simputer, E-slate, ...), tablet PCs, Mini-ITX PCs and low-cost WiFi-extending technology as cantennas and WokFis. In addition, other information technology material usable in the classroom can also be made diy to lower expenses, including projectors .
In Digital Nation, Anthony G. Wilhelm calls on politicians to develop a national ICT agenda.
Yet another solution is to try to better understand the lifestyle of a minority or marginalized community. In doing this, researchers can figure out “what is meaningful to them [minorities and marginalized users] and how they use (or do not use) different forms of the internet for meeting their objectives”. Furthermore, “a need for a re-examination of questions based on traditional ways of looking at people, their social dynamics, and their interactions with technology”. However, researchers still tend to “set a ‘method’ for studying the impact of internet use or assuming a golden rule for application that will function in all situations will not work”. Additionally, “One strategy is to transfer goal-setting, decision making, and choice-determining processes into the hands of the disadvantaged users in order that they ‘fit’ internet into their daily lives in ways that they themselves consider to be meaningful”.
International cooperation between governments have begun, aiming at dealing with the global digital divide. For example, in an attempt to bridge this digital divide, an agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Egyptian government emerged. The USAID funded state-of-the-art equipment for Egyptian education, their brilliance of knowledge in using such equipment caused such equipment to increase in use throughout the years. Now, Egyptian society is more computer literate and knowledgeable about computers than they used to be. Nonetheless it's a sign of progress that such attempts at bridging the digital divide are seriously being made. Additional participants in such endeavors include the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the Digital alliance Foundation.
Some experts and researchers consider the digital divide to be merely an economic problem that affects poor countries; although the greatest part of these technologies is manufactured in developing countries, those ones who can afford them lack the necessary literacy and knowledge of how to use them.
However, identifying the problem exclusively in the economic condition would result inappropriate: the digital divide expresses itself also in the impossibility to use digital technologies within a considerable percentage of the industrialized countries population. This means that even when people can afford buying a computer or a mobile phone, they are not automatically capable of using it.
Another aspect of the digital divide issue is the one that addresses empowerment, which is the ability to fully use the opportunities provided by digital technologies; even if those technologies were accessible and very easy to use, many people would still not be able to take full advantage of their potential.

First aspect: economy
The lack of opportunities for business and the low level of economic progress that characterizes most of the developing countries is certainly the primary reason of the digital divide. The governments of poor countries challenge themselves with more pressing concerns, such as food, health care and security, rather than technological improvements.
As a result, the population of these countries does not reach higher levels of education and is not provided with the knowledge that is necessary to utilize them. On March 14th 2005 the United Nations launched the Digital Solidarity Fund to finance projects that deal with “the distribution and use of new information and communication technologies” and “enable excluded people and countries to enter the new era of the information society”.
A very interesting article published by The Economist points out that the digital divide is not a problem in itself, but a symptom of deeper, more important gaps: of income, development and literacy. The author of the article says: “The debate over the digital divide seems to be founded on the belief that bringing the internet to the poor countries will help them to become rich rapidly. “
On the other hand, the diffusion of mobile phones might represent an important growth opportunity for developing countries and here is the reason: the benefits of mobile phone technologies lay on the fact that mobile devices do not need a permanent electricity supply and can be used by people who can neither read nor write.
New researches found out that mobile phones raise long-term growth rates and their impact is twice as big in developing nations as in developed ones. The real digital divide, then, is between those with access to a mobile network and those without. The UN has set a minimum goal of 50% access to mobile networks to be reached in developing countries by 2015, but a more recent report from the World Bank notes that 77% of the world's population already lives within range of a mobile network.
In areas like North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia's advanced countries, computer cost is no longer an issue, let alone the cost of mobile phones. The cheapest computer on the market costs less than $400. While it's true that a few people can't even afford $400, computers prices decrease almost every year and mobile prices decrease even faster.
It is worth mentioning the so called "One laptop per child" project, which aims at distributing flexible, ultra low-cost and power-efficient laptops to young individuals that live in developing countries. The computer will cost $100 and will be equipped with all the necessary devices to connect to the internet.
Second aspect: usability
Digital technologies are still far from being “simple” and “easy to use” for many people. This issue is valid both for educated and uneducated people and is transversal to any geographical locations. Many people would still be unable to use a computer even if they got it for free.
The level of literacy skills among the owners of a computer is very low: only 40%. Additionally, only few websites follow the guidelines for writing for low-literacy users and many institutional sites aimed at poorer citizens usually adopt a very complicated language.
Lower literacy, however, is different than illiteracy: people with lower literacy can read, but they encounter difficulties doing so. The most remarkable difference between lower- and higher-literacy users is that lower-literacy users can't understand a text by glancing at it. They must read word for word and often spend considerable time trying to understand multi-syllabic words. Senior users face the second-biggest accessibility problem, but again there is little interest in the guidelines for making websites easier for older users.
Third aspect: empowerment
Most of the people who use digital technologies are still devoted to a limited use of their capabilities and are not yet ready to make a step forward. Sometimes, users utilize them inappropriately or incompletely: a good example is the one related to web search engines.
People don’t understand the use of advanced search features or don’t know exactly which keywords to enter. Many of them uncritically select the search results and are unaware of the fact that search engines prioritize certain items because they are advertisements.
Another interesting issue that helps the digital divide grow is the so called “participation inequality”, which refers to the fact that in online communities and social networks that rely on users, most users don’t participate at all and prefer to stay in the background.
Because they lack the initiative and skills to participate and contribute to the growth of online communities, some users remain at the mercy of other people's decisions. For instance, people sometimes accept the default home page chosen by their computer vendor or ISP (search engines pay very well for that), rather than select one that suits to their needs.
The limited accessibility of digital technologies - also known as "digital divide" - is a problem that characterizes both developed and under-developed countries. In the industrialized areas of the world digital technologies are cheap, but there is still a great percentage of people that is unable to fully unveil their potential. On the other hand, developing countries are limited in their access to digital technologies both by economic and educational issues (although the largest part of digital technologies available nowadays are built in developing countries).
The digital divide must then be fought on at least two battlefields: economy and education. Regarding the possibility to allow more people to be able to afford a computer or a mobile phone, a good accomplishment is represented by the fact that the cost of digital technologies lowers year after year. The UN are currently helping eliminating the digital divide in developing countries by promoting international initiatives, and also private institutions are contributing with ideas such as the "One Laptop Per Child" project.
On the other hand, there is still a lot to do to make sure everyone can properly use digital technologies; for example, the Internet - which is the expression of the new media world - is still not completely accessible and interactive to most of its users. Starting with web design, a big accomplishment would represent a more distributed adoption of the W3C accessibility guidelines, let alone the use of a writing style that is based on simple grammar and makes content easily searchable and readable.
The major issue, however, remains the lack of education that influences many people and does not allow them to access certain information sources that are only reachable via digital technologies. In this case, the progressive spread of mobile phones and the expansion of mobile networks (as stated in a recent report by Word Bank) might certainly represent a significant improvement in the lives of all those individuals whose access to the digital era is still denied.
Information Society and digital divide by the light of cultural globalisation

The term digital divide appeared for the first time in 1996, in the United States. Since then it has been adopted to point out the gap – both quantitative and qualitative – in the use of Information and Communication Technologies, particularly Internet.
In a society where the access to information is the necessary condition (and pre-condition) for most exchange processes and transactions, digital divide is at the same time mirror and driving force of a cultural, social and economic gap. The distance between “info-poor” and “info-rich” boosts the overall effects of globalisation, with a “winner-takes-all”consequence.In his trilogy “The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture”, the sociologist Manuel Castells states that knowledge and cultural values are the effective tools of change. In this perspective, influencing cultural codes is the only real challenge to modify the status quo: “If you win the battle of minds, you win the battle of politics, the battle of economy, because people will decide what they want to buy or what they don’t want to buy, for instance.”
But is it possible to draw the frontiers of the digital divide? And does it really mark an overall process of globalisation? Although there are still a “North” and a “South” of development, the exchange model settled through Internet – and Information and Communication Technologies in general - is becoming headless and, in this sense, more democratic. The widely accepted categories of a “North” and a “South” are too restrictive: relational and socio-economic factors lead the game, much more than geographical distance or proximity. These elements give rise to the so-called “worldly techno-apartheid”(2), a two-speed social geography which excludes whole regions of the Globe and creates narrow ties between territories far from each other. The result is a polymorphous space, shaped by the dialectics between the hubs of knowledge – linked to specific backgrounds – and its spreading through the networks of communication. In this way, information society conciliates globalisation and localisation, strengthening somehow the need of physical interaction and nearness (a clear example is the concentration of IT labs, researchers and firms in the Sylicon Valley pole).
Compared with the over-simplified perspective of a world ruled by big groups and lobbies of economic power, information society allows freedom of expression of the niches, boosting the voice of ecologists, feminists, religious fundamentalisms and of all localisms.
Nowadays we can witness a twofold process of development: on one hand, the growth of global networks and massive economic interests; on the other, the attempt to oppose dominant values and to search for alternative sources of meaning. It’s a cultural revolution generated by the system itself, and carried out through the tools which originally exclude alternative voices and values.
Therefore, new technologies of communication can lead to different outcomes, according to different backgrounds: in the interview 'Identity and Change in the Network Society'Castells reverses the terms “think globally, act locally”, stating that actions always arise from tangible needs, which are then spread through global networks. In the on-going play between local and global the negotiable balance of the network systems is being constantly (re)shaped.
Telematic networks play with the complexity of contemporary society, by prompting the development of hybrid systems (the metissage, to quote the anthropologist Serge Gruzinski, where the appropriation and the re-appropriation of values and ideas is always an active process. The anthropologist Ulf Hannerz describes the new technologies of communication as “media of life”, highlighting their interactivity and the power to foster collective identities by strengthening long-distance bonds, through an ongoing process of reorganization of sense.
In this perspective communication and international communication are vehicles for the transmission of new cultural values. An example? The Sem Terra in South America, one of the first movement to have adopted Internet to spread their protest throughout the world
Attempts to Bridge the Divide
The issue of an “information” divide has been a matter for consideration since the 1970s. Developing countries argued for a New World Information and Communications Order (NWICO) through UNESCO and other UN agencies as an aspect of the New International Economic Order. While the main thrust of NWICO was in terms of the news media, telecommunications and information technologies were also involved with the hope expressed that international organisations would offer assistance in areas such as “technology transfers, aid for higher education in communications science within Third World countries, tariff reductions for communications flowing from developing countries, and research and development of new, inexpensive, and more user friendly technology. The New International Economic Order movement attempted to combine the notions of global equity and national sovereignty. However, Western governments, particularly the US, supported free market-based flows of information in which they had a dominant position and NWICO had very little impact.
The new initiatives on the digital divide take place in a very different environment of free market based globalisation. The attempt to create the Global Information Infrastructure and a Global Information Society linking the world have been largely dominated by the concerns to develop e-commerce.13 They take place in the context of a regulatory environment which emphasises competition and economic liberalisation.
Attempts to bridge the divide have taken place through variety of international forums such as the UN, international financial institutions, the OECD, the G8, the EU and other donor countries. A key development was the G8 summit at Kyushu-Okinawa in 2000 which adopted the Charter on the Global Information Society and agreed to establish a Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force), to integrate efforts to bridge the digital divide with the main aim of facilitating discussions with developing countries, international organisations and other stakeholders to promote international co-operation with a view to fostering policy, regulatory and network readiness; improving connectivity, increasing access and lowering cost; building human capacity; and encouraging participation in global e-commerce.

The Report suggested a number of initiatives including:
• National e-strategies: These would be encouraged and linked to national and international development goals. However, the main thrust would be a “procompetitive regulatory framework” including economic liberal- isation to foster local and foreign entrepreneurs.
• Participation in international regulatory efforts: Developing countries would be supported to participate in international regulatory efforts including global self regulation such as for Internet domain names.
• Improving connectivity, increasing access and lowering costs: There would be emphasis in targeted interventions on community-based access points. Backbone access would be promoted through the private sector, but there would be support for joint stakeholder initiatives such as the African Partnership and the Africa Connection.
• Building human capacity: There would be targeted training, education, knowledge creation and sharing initiatives, including in the use of ICT for health including HIV/AIDS.
• National and international effort to support local content and applications creation: This would include promoting local software communities and developing country relevant software and content encouraging both cheap commercial and non-commercial applications.
• Prioritising ICT in the G8 and other development assistance policies and programs and enhance coordination of multilateral Initiatives: Development policies including those of the G8 countries as well as of the international financial institutions and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) would prioritise ICT but in ways which integrate ICT consideration as part of wider programmes in areas such as health, education and poverty relief.
In principle, the DOT Report adheres to the global orthodoxy of an underlying belief in market competition as the best solution to the problem. This orthodoxy is especially apparent in developed country policies in relation to national digital divides. The OECD Report on the Digital Divide in 2001 considered that the main basis for promoting an information society.The delivery of new services on a highly cross-subsidised, uniform price basis reduces or eliminates the prospect of competitive entry and discourages theincumbent from further investment and service improvement in non- profitable or less profitable areas of the market.
The EU Universal Service Directive does not extend the concept of universal service to broadband Internet , but leaves it to member states to determine. This does not prohibit a member state from taking its own initiative to make broadband services publicly available in its own territory. But no compensation mechanism involving specific undertakings, operators or service providers may be imposed. Instead any support has to come out of general revenue. In the circumstances, only the Scandinavian countries which are the most advanced Internet users have provided funding support for backbone development which would provide universal broadband access. On the other hand, of the OECD countries, Korea has considered it important to provide state funding for backbone development as have other South East Asian countries with “development state” policies.
For the poorer countries, the advantage of the DOT Report is the development of a coordinated agenda. The UNDP, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and other donors have provided support for telecommunications development and project funding for specific ICT projects. While these are significant and have increasingly involved funding which goes beyond provision of equipment to interesting initiatives such as the Grameen phone, rural telecentres and support for school teachers, the funding is insufficient for more than pilot projects.
A major emphasis is on regulatory reform to promote economic liberal- isation. On the whole, while Wolfensohn and Annan see the consequences of the digital deprivation to be key to future development and poverty alleviation, there is realisation that insufficient funding is available to make a substantial difference. Thus we have innovative initiatives such as the UN Secretary General’s Digital Volunteer force as an ameliorative device.
Regulating the Globalisation of Technology Diffusion
Thus the underlying strategy of technology diffusion is the global information infrastructure “GII”, supporting a global information society “GIS”. This is based on the development of free market reforms with only minor obeisance to notions of amelioration of the digital divide. In this section, I suggest that the underlying thrust of wider policies on international trade be to promote a system of information technology diffusion which supports economic globalisation on terms advantageous to multi-national corporations based in developed countries.
The WTO has had a major impact in the development of this approach. Thus, the Basic Telecommunications Agreement annexed to GATS—the General Agreement on Trade in Services—provided a key regulatory thrust for dismantling the previous global telecoms structures which were dominated by state telecom monopolies. Henceforth, the state’s role is to regulate the market in the interest of transparent and fair competition.18 Some obeisance is made in the agreement to the special needs of a developing country which can place under its accession schedules: reasonable conditions on access to and use of public telecommunications . . . to strengthen its domestic telecommunications infrastructure and service capacity and to increase its participation in international trade in telecommunication services.
However, international agencies such as the IMF and the World Bank have promoted full liberalisation of the telecoms sector in developing countries as part of structural adjustment and, now, poverty relief programs. Similarly developed member countries are exhorted under the Tele- communications Agreement Article 6 to assist the efforts of international agencies such as the ITU, the UNDP and the World Bank in improving the telecommunications infrastructure in developing countries. While this has seen some improvements in telecommunications in developing countries, the results are far from impressive. In Africa, the promise of Africa One, the telecom ring around Africa largely developed through private enterprise, is continuing to miss deadlines.
The Information Technology Agreement provides for the abolition of all customs and other duties on information technology goods. The agreement was entered into only between a minority of countries but the underlying principle was that technology diffusion requires full competition with minimum of import duties. This would result in overall reduction in the costs of the GIS. Yet few developing countries other than newly industrialising countries (NICs) subscribed to this agreement, because the dilemma for most developing countries is that they are largely technology importing countries often with precarious balance of payments. Customs and excise duties often represent an important revenue resource and, secondly, eliminating tariff barriers for expensive products might exacerbate balance of payments difficulties. The issue is more neutral for NICs such as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia which export high-tech products. It is again more complicated for countries such as India which have historically attempted to develop their own import substitutes. The advent of competition can either kill off their home-grown feather-bedded industries or lead to sufficient reform for a thorough restructuring. The economic argument is that the social and economic costs of discontinuing uneconomic or poor quality local production of goods such as PCs have to be set off against the reduced costs and value throughout the information economy of cheaper and or more efficient imports.
A key thrust of the GII and GIS is e-commerce. A significant decision was made on e-commerce by the WTO in providing temporarily in 1998 that e-commerce transmissions should be free of customs duties. This was continued at Doha and a WTO work programme intends to consider aspects of e-commerce including implications for developing countries. Some argue that e-commerce provides possibilities for developing countries to leapfrog by not having to undergo the costs of earlier technology. Examples are occasionally cited of positive aspects of ecommerce for developing countries such as the purchase by a German woman of a bicycle from Sri Lanka on the Internet . A more important phenomenon is the growing development of trade in “back office” services such as data entry and call centres, which can make a strong contribution to the export trade of high-skilled developing countries such as India.21 On the other hand, significant participation in e-commerce is only possible if there is a sufficient infrastructure to enable ecommerce. This includes the availability at low cost of hardware and software, a suitable low cost communications system for linkage to Internet, including a reliable power supply and electronic transactions systems to enable payments by credit cards and foreign exchange transactions and an appropriate level of personnel to operate the system. In this respect, only the NICs, which have the capacity to invest in infrastructure, are capable of taking reasonable advantage of the potential of e-commerce. The other developing countries, particularly the poor ones, are likely to suffer in the absence of significant funding for infrastructure development.
A second issue is whether the type of e-commerce services in which developing countries have a comparative advantage are provided access by developed countries in their schedules under GATS. Until recently liberalisation commitments in relation to services have largely been in areas where developed countries are exporters and developing countries importers.22 In principle, the reformed regulatory regime may not enable the theoretical advantages of e-commerce to be obtained by any but a small group of developing countries. At the same time, it may expose their markets to services from developed countries, creating difficulties for customs revenue and balance of payments as well as leading to losses and decline of their own service sectors.
A similar argument about technology transfer can be made about the consequences of the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Hardware and software patents and software and information copyright have become crucial new forms of intellectual property in recent years. The agreement is an apparently protectionist measure entrenching intellectual property rights, which are claimed overwhelmingly by trans- national corporations, and denying access to technological knowledge and preventing innovation, especially by small players and by developing countries. However, TRIPS was justified by the WTO on the grounds it sought a balance between the “the short-term interests in maximizing access and the long-term interests in promoting creativity and innovation.”
Under Art. 7, its objectives are to promote technological innovation, transfer and dissemination, the mutual advantage of producers and users, social and economic welfare and a balance between rights and obligations. In the absence of protection, corporations would be unwilling to trade or transfer technology.24 As Trebilcock and Howse indicate, neoclassical trade theory does not support the case for a global increase in welfare as a consequence of strong intellectual property protection. This is because for some countries the comparative advantage may lie in innovation and for others in imitation and adaptation of others’ innovations. In the circumstances, strong protection will advantage the innovators but disadvantage the imitators both in developed and developing countries. Furthermore, stronger intellectual property rights will have a tendency to raise prices of goods and services using those rights. Overall they suggest, relying on Maskus, that global welfare would suffer through increased intellectual property protection.25 In the circumstances, US insistence on stronger protection was not so much calculated to promote global welfare as to protect the interests of major US firms, which were responsible, in collaboration with the USTR and the OECD, for developing and promoting TRIPS.26 The beneficial effects for US firms and the US economy of TRIPS and other developments in intellectual property can be observed in the positive correlation between the enactment of intellectual property protection in countries and the increase in US exports to those countries.
In an era of corporate globalisation, arguments about intellectual property protection go beyond simple issues of protection of innovation. The protection of intellectual property has always been about the trade- off between promoting innovation through remuneration of innovative development and promoting the spread of knowledge, research and development as a public good.
In essence TRIPS involves an attempt at global harmonisation of intellectual property in ways which make it difficult for any players other than global corporations to participate in effective use of innovations. This will either be because of the resources and effort required for obtaining patents on a worldwide basis or because of use of intellectual property laws to ensure that the limited monopoly they provide is made much more extensive by devices such as obtaining new patents as a result of slight changes in the patented product, complex combinations of a range of rights in a single innovative development in ways which make it difficult to involve others and which discourage reverse engineering through provision of insufficient information.
On the one hand, there are the advantages of global corporations as the most dynamic force in international economy. On the other is a new enclosure movement in which global commons in knowledge and innovative development are effectively monopolised by global corporations.28 A possible consequence for developing countries is that global corporations and small firms will spread research and development to them as part of their global operations in the new global division of labour, as is the case with the use of programmers in India and other countries.29 However, the extent to which there will be a real shift in research and developments is not clear. The involvement of developing countries in research and development activities until now has largely been in low level activities such as data input and low level programming.30 A more likely consequence is that developing countries are denied the path to development through imitative adaptation of technologies which enabled Japanese and South Korean acceleration of development. A further consequence may be that as the world of innovation is cast in the multi-national mould, all forms of innovative activity, such as small firm and alternative technology-based development, are undermined or taken over and substituted by the new multinational culture.
More significantly for developing countries and all those on the other side of the digital divide, they have put the cost of attaining the goods as well as the cost of developing or adapting technology-based products into a dimension which results in unequal and inequitable participation in the diffusion and development of information technology.

The Global Digital Divide and the Internet

As computers become more pervasive in the western world, it can be easy to forget that not every country has equal access to key digital resources and infrastructure. Broadband speed Internet is almost considered a necessity in many developed countries today, and yet many people in parts of the developing world do not have any ability to go online at all. This difference in ability of accessing digital and information technology is commonly referred to as the digital divide.

This gap between people exists for a number of reasons; some of them due to physical and resource imbalances and some of them based on an imbalance in knowledge and education standards. The divide can be illustrated within many different groups across the entire spectrum of the world's population. Socioeconomic and generational gaps definitely exist within countries, however when the digital dividing line is studied in the context of geographical and racial factors, a real global disparity rises to the surface.

The global digital divide in the context of the Internet is perhaps the most striking example, as countries that are well connected reap enormous benefits while leaving other parts of the world trailing behind. Developed nations who have the economic ability to invest into digital infrastructures are reaping rewards due to fast communication speeds and complex networking. The countries that can't afford to invest are not keeping up and are missing out, leaving the developed world to forge ahead at break neck speed.

Western Europe, North America, Australasia and a few parts of Asia like South Korea and Japan are those on the right side of the tracks, digitally speaking. While much of South America, Africa and South East Asia are the ones currently in the slow lane. The Internet and the nature of digital data in general promises much in terms of acting as a common global equaliser. The truth however is that this data is dependent on many other factors including material resources for transmission and language for comprehension . Data only travels at equal speeds through the exact same cables and can only be useful if it is understood by the person at the end of the line.

The global digital divide is a complex problem that is probably not going to be sorted out any time soon. There are many obstacles in the way of a genuine solution, and these obstacles are extremely entrenched within the global economies and political realities of the places involved. It is in the most basic of terms a problem of not enough money, developing countries require computers and they need ways of linking them together effectively. This is a problem of resources. People also need to be trained in order to access and be able to use digital information and to understand the default language of the Internet, English, this is a problem of education.

The digital divide is easy to see in the context of many different groupings, but between countries the effect is impossible to ignore. While this global divide can refer to any digital device or technology, it is the Internet where it is probably felt the most. For a variety of reasons developing nations are missing out on the many benefits of fast and reliable online activity, and it is crucial that effort is made both now and into the future to try and fill this gap.

NATION
Dailekh bridges the digital divide
Cost and language used to be barriers to computer use in Nepali schools. No longer.
SHRISTEE GURUNG
EARLY START: These children in schools in Lalitpur (top) and in Dailekh saw computers for the first time last month because of a new pilot project to provide cheaper networks with Nepali language commands.
The two factors restricting the spread of computers in Nepal are cost and language. But a pilot scheme to test a Linux-based LAN system in schools in Dailekh and Lalitpur have shown that accessibility and affordability needn't be a problem anymore.
The digital divide doesn't just exist between rich and poor countries, but also within countries like Nepal. More than 80 percent of the computers and internet connections in Nepal are located inside Kathmandu's Ring Road.
The challenge is to encourage computer usage in Nepali language and also equipment that would be cost-effective for the school management. Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya's Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) is trying to test initiative and see if it works. The idea is not to distribute laptops to every school child, but set up a computer lab so students can learn basic skills.
LTSP is a Linux add-on package where one powerful server is shared among dumb terminals (also known as 'thin clients'). The server is a high-end computer with a hard disk of 120 GB capacity, a powerful processor of 2.6 GHz and 512 MB RAM. Although the cost of the server is 20 percent higher than a standard computer, the cheaper thin clients cut down overall cost of the network. Because the dumb terminals don't need CD-ROMS and other accessories they are 40 percent cheaper than standard computers.
This is an excellent way, for example, to recycle used CPUs from companies and individuals in Kathmandu willing to donate them when they upgrade to more powerful equipment. It can be up to 25 percent cheaper to install four computers under LTSP compared to standard costs (see table).
At Dailekh's Kimugaon a pilot LTSP project was implemented at the Basanta Madyamik Bidayala which has 400 students, most of whom have never seen a computer before. So, the first computer they used had a Neplinux 2.0 operating system so everything on the screen was in Nepali.
Grade Four student Laxmi Kumari Thapa couldn't hide her excitement. "I hadn't even seen a television before this," she said, "I can't wait to tell my parents that I used a computer."
Installing the computers in the school was also an exhilarating experience for enginners Amit Aryal and Dayaram Budathoki who went to Dailekh to teach teachers and students basic concepts of mouse, keyboard, monitor, writing and saving files with Nepali text.
"It was my first encounter with the reality of Nepali schools in remote areas and I was really moved, it was very rewarding," says Dayaram.
Basanta Madhyamik was the first school in Dailekh to ever have computers, so there was excitement not just at the school but also among local government officials, political parties and parents.
Says Amit: "In Kathmandu we've become so blas? about computers, and to see the excitement in the faces of the students really made it worthwhile for me."
Teachers are planning to make computer class compulsory for students of grades two to eight. And since the desktop commands are all in Nepali there won't be any barrier to use.
The LTSP project is already running successfully in Phulchoki Primary School in Godavari south of Kathmandu, and Dailekh was the second pilot. Two more schools in Dang and Bhaktapur are getting LTSP networks with a grant from the Helap Nepal Network from the Nepali diaspora. Students from class one to five can now use computers to play educational games, learn to type text files, and send emails in Nepali.
More Nepali schools can benefit from this scheme because the computer applications are accessible and also within the budget of most schools in the country.
Cheaper and better
Unit Price Cost LTSP Normal cost
Server 1 33,300 33,300
Thin client 3 15,400 46,200
Normal cost 4 26,400 106,000
TOTAL 79,500 106,000
If a school were to install four computers under the prevailing costs, the bill for four computers would come to Rs 106,000. But if the hardware was networked through a server and three dumb terminals, it would be less than Rs 80,000, saving more than Rs 26,000. References
• Bargh, John A.; McKenna, Katelyn Y.A. (2004), "The Internet and Social Life", Annual Review of Psychology 55: 573-90
• Cheung, Charles (2004), "Identity construction and self-presentation on personal homepages: Emancipatory potentials and reality constraints", Web Studies (New York: Oxford: In D. Guantlett & R. Horsley (Eds.)): 53-68
• Compaine, Benjamin M. (ed.) (2001), The Digital Divide: Facing a Crisis or Creating a Myth?, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, ISBN 0262531933
• Fizz, Robyn; Mansur, Karla (2008-6-4), "Helping MIT neighbors cross the 'digital divide'", MIT Tech Talk (Cambridge: MIT): 3, http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/techtalk52-28.pdf
• Flew, Terry (2008), New Media: An Introduction, Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780195551495
• Horrigan, John B., "Home Broadband Adoption 2008 Report", Pew Internet & American Life, http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Broadband_2008.pdf, retrieved on 4 September 2008
• Mehra, Bharat; Merkel, Cecelia; Bishop, Ann P. (2004), "The internet for empowerment of minority and marginalized users", New Media and Society 6: 781-802
• Rice, Ronald (2002), Primary Issues in Internet Use: Access, Civic and Community Involvement, and Social Interaction and Expression, London: In L. Lievrouw & S. Livingstone (Eds.), pp. 105-129
• Servon, Lisa (2002), Bridging the Digital Divide: Technology, Community, and Public Policy, Malden, MA: Blackwell, ISBN 0-631-23242-7
• Stallman, Richard (06 October 2006), "Transcript of Richard Stallman's speech at World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS) on "Is Free/Open Source Software the Answer?"", Fellowship of Free Software Foundation Europe, http://fsfe.org/en/fellows/ciaran/ciaran_s_free_software_notes/transcript_of_rms_at_wsis_on_is_free_open_source_software_the_answer, retrieved on 27 October 2007
• Young, Jeffrey R. (November 9, 2001), "Does 'Digital Divide' Rhetoric Do More Harm Than Good?", The Chronicle of Higher Education 48: 1-5, http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i11/11a05101.htm, retrieved on 21 November 2007

Mass media in Russia

2008-12-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

Introduction

At 17,075,400 square kilometers (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 142 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 11 time zones and incorporating a great range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's greatest reserves of mineral and energy resources, and is considered an energy superpower. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's unfrozen fresh water. The population is primarily Russian; minorities include Tatars and Ukrainians. Languages: Russian (official), various Turkic and Uralic languages. Religions: Christianity (mostly Eastern Orthodox, also Protestant); also Islam. However, about one-third of the people are nonreligious or atheist. Currency: ruble.
Russia established worldwide power and influence from the times of the Russian Empire to being the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first and largest constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower. The nation can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts and sciences. The Russian Federation was founded following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but is recognized as the continuing legal personality of the Soviet Union. It has one of the world's fastest growing major economies and has the world's eleventh largest GDP by nominal GDP or seventh largest by purchasing power parity with the eighth largest military budget. Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8, APEC and the SCO, and is a leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the world's largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.

Population and Ethnic Groups
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has experienced a decline in population. This is due in part to the difficult economic conditions the nation has endured, especially in the 1990s, which has led to a low birth rate, and to a reduced male life expectancy. The population drop has been slowed somewhat by immigration consisting mainly of ethnic Russians from other areas of the former Soviet Union.
There are at least 60 different recognized ethnic groups in Russia, but the vast majority of the population is Russians (80%). There are also Ukrainians (2%) and such non-Slavic linguistic and ethnic groups as Tatars (4%), Bashkirs, Chuvash, Komi, Komi-Permyaks, Udmurts, Mari, Mordovians, Jews, Germans, Armenians, and numerous groups in the Far North and in the Caucasus. Russian is the official language

Religion and Education
The majority of Russia's population has no religious affiliation due to the antireligious ideology of the Soviet Union. The Russian Orthodox Church, headquartered in Moscow, has about 60 million adherents; the numbers have grown rapidly since the end of Soviet rule. There are also communities of Old Believers, a group that broke with the Orthodox Church in the 17th cent., as well as a large Muslim minority. Other religions include various Christian churches, Lamaist Buddhism, Judaism, and tribal religions. Partly in reaction to proselytizing by Protestant evangelicals, Mormons, and others, a 1997 Russian law granted superior status to the Russian Orthodox Church (and other older Russian religions).

Economy
Russian Federation inherited a Marxist-Leninist command economy from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Chief among the characteristics of the economy was an almost total absence of private productive capital. All enterprises were owned by the state, with each person receiving a salary for his or her efforts. Farmland was also almost entirely state-owned: 95% of all farmland was either state-owned or collectivized. All economic planning was done by government officials based in Moscow. Market forces played no part in their decision-making. The workforce was estimated at about 70 million persons in 1989.
The Soviet Union was officially disbanded at the end of 1991. The following year saw the introduction of stringent market reforms, which brought economic hardship to the general population. With a safety net no longer in place, beggars appeared on the streets. The countryside, in particular, suffered from insufficient food. Russia's economic problems were exacerbated by the crash of 1998, when the ruble lost two-thirds of its value. Still, the Russians are a resourceful people, and in the early twenty-first century the economy was back on its feet.

Government and Politics
The politics of Russia (or the Russian Federation) take place in a framework of a federal presidential republic. According to the Constitution of Russia, the President of Russia is head of state, and the Prime Minister is the head of the government. The Russian Federation is fundamentally structured as a representative democracy. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which serves as the country’s highest supreme legal document and as a social contract for the people of Russia Federation.
The federal government is composed of three branches:
• Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly, made up of the State Duma and the Federation Council adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has power of impeachment, by which it can remove the President.
• Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
• Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Arbitration and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.
According to the Constitution, constitutional justice in the court is based on the equality of all citizens, judges are independent and subject only to the law, trials are to be open and the accused is guaranteed a defense. Since 1996, Russia has instituted a moratorium on the death penalty in Russia, although capital punishment has not been abolished by law.
The president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term but constitutionally barred for a third consecutive term); election last held 2 March 2008. Ministries of the government are composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Prime Minister (whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State Duma). The national legislature is the Federal Assembly, which consists of two chambers; the 450-member State Duma and the 176-member Federation Council. Leading political parties in Russia include United Russia, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and Fair Russia.

Mass Media in Russia
Russia has close to ninety officially registered television companies, 25,000 newspapers, over 1,500 radio programmes and 400 news agencies—over half of them independent, the rest entitled to full or partial government financing.The Mass Media Act, passed in December 1991, regulates their activities.Judging by opinion polls, 82 per cent of the Russian public see television as the principal information source, and prefer it to the press. Radio comes next with 24 per cent.The total number of subscriptions to publications exceeded 61~5 million in 1994, with newspapers accounting for 43.8 million. 78 per cent of Russians are regular readers of local periodicals whose total circulation accounts for 25.2 million copies, while that of national papers is 18.1 million copies.
The weekly Argumenty i Fakty leads the national press, with 36 per cent of the polled readership, and is the most popular among people with college and university degrees and those in managerial occupations. Moskovsky Komsomolets, a Moscow daily, is second in popularity, with a huge number of subscribers and sells like hotcakes on the newsstands. The youth weekly AIDS-lnfo and the daily Trud (Labour), a favourite with trade union bosses and blue collar workers, come after these two.
The respectable daily Izvestia (News) is a pronounced preference in cultural, research and business circles, 35 out of a hundred political activist pollees are also its regular readers. Of the Russian dailies, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Commersant Daily, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Rossiiskaya Gazeta and Pravda are also popular among political leaders, as are the weeklies Finansovaya Gazeta and Moscow News.
Opinion polls highlight the most popular TV programmes-"Wonderfield Quiz," "Topic," with its social and political charge, news programmes, and foreign serials.The Mir (World) interstate television and radio company, established in the middle of 1992, is jointly sponsored by Russia, Armenia, Tajikistan, BelaNs, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and some other Commonwealth countries.
Mayak (Beam), a round-the-clock radio station, which broadcasts news every thirty minutes, is most popular. Private radio stations—Europe Plus, Radio 101, M Radio, Moscow Echo, Radio Nadezhda (Hope), Nostalgie and others also have huge audience. They broadcast information, the analysis of the most important events and music. The new radio station Auto-Radio telling the audience about the situation in the Moscow traffic and about everything connected with cars has rapidly gained popularity.
ITAR-TASS and RIA Novosti, the two national news agencies, are followed by private and joint-stock agencies: Interfax, Postfactum.systems.

Media System in Transition
There is transformation of the media system in Russia which is moving away from the classical “communist” model. The dominant political science tradition has discussed post-communism as part of a more general theory of “ transitology”, seeing the processes involved in these cases as examples of world-wide transition from dictatorial regimes towards western style democracy. An alternative is to see the shift away from communism as an example of “elite continuity” in which the former bureaucratic ruling class attempts to restructure itself as the owners of private capital. It is demonstrated that transitology gives very little insight into the prevailing situations and that the theory of elite continuity accounts much better for major features of the media.
Television
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, "All three major television networks are now in the hands of Kremlin loyalists."Indeed, while "Сhannel Russia" was state-owned since its foundation in 1991, major shareholders of ORT and NTV (Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky, respectively) sold their stocks to the government and Gazprom in 2000-2001. Moreover, TV6, a media outlet owned by Berezovsky, was closed in 2002 using a laws hole. In 2003 TVS channel which was formed mainly of former NTV and TV6 was closed due to financial problems.
Along with that, plenty of media outlets actively develop now while state participation in them is minimal ]. Private TV networks REN TV and TV Center which cover 80% and 64% of population respectively, broadcast independent analytical programms like "25th hour", "Week" with Marianna Maksimovskaya, "Postscriptum", "Moment of truth". REN TV remains perhaps the only major TV outlet with liberal views, easily unveiling themas of censorship or showing interviews with leaders of Other Russia.
In 2006 Putin commented that in the period of 1990s freedom of press in Russia "was indeed under threat, not from the former state ideology that once held a monopoly on expression, but from the dictates of oligarchic capital". Journalist Yevgeniya Albats has said: "Of course in the 1990s there were restrictions on freedom of expression but, due to the fact that the media belonged to different business structures, despite influence being exerted pluralism was preserved." When asked about media freedom in 2006 interview with NBC TV channel, Putin replied: "We have more than 3,500 television and radio companies here in Russia and state participation in them is decreasing with every passing year. As for print media, there are more than 40,000 publications and we could not control them all even if we wanted to."
As reported by Clifford J. Levy in New York Times article, all Putin's opponents are being made to vanish from Russian TV. They are blacklisted and not allowed to appear in TV shows. In one example, a presentation critical of Putin's policies has been digitally erased. As reported by Russian scientist Sergey L. Lopatnikov, information about "black lists" is nonsense; an argument was made that not less than 35-40% of participants of NTV-aired talk show "At a barrier" hosted by Vladimir Solovyov during the last two years represented the opposition (including Novodvorskaya, Ivanenko, Nemtsov, Hakamada); from January to May 2008, overt adversaries of Vladimir Putin participated in 9 of 16 (more than 50%) issues of the talk show.

Russia Television
Russian TV has come a long way. Many may expect Russian TV programming to be boring, but the fact is that many of the Russian TV stations are now broadcasting interesting talk shows covering a variety of topics. There are also channel s which offer international entertainment programs, series, comedies and so forth. Statistics show that 1 in every 2.7 persons in Russia has a television.
Television is actually recognized as Russia's most influential form of media. Interestingly
watching the Russian TV is greater value for money than purchasing a newspaper. Viewers do not pay for the national channels, only paying for power. During the Soviet period national programs were broadcast from the city of Moscow, hence Russian TV today has an excellent network for transmission.
The largest state involved Russian TV stations are ORT, All Russian TV and St. Petersburg TV. Public Russian Television or ORT reaches some 140 million viewers. ORT has 51% state involvement. On this channel you can view news from Russian reporters the world over and more. All Russian TV reaches about 50 million people and is completely state run. NTV is a private channel, but is still a designated national channel. NTV was originally owned by MOST Group, however, due to their extensive criticism of the Russian government they experienced many problems. The new owner provides programming which is both interesting and offers little criticism of the country's political situation. Journalists from NTV have gone on to form TV-tsentr and TVC. Culture or Kultura channel is designed to promote Russian culture and education. Russian TV entertainment channels include STS, TNT, Ren TV (with movies, series etc.), Muz TV (with Russian pop music) and MTV.
Russia also has access to satellite television.Kosmos TV and Divo TV broadcast via satellite from Moscow. Other satellite channels that can be viewed in Russia include CNN, BBC, Discovery, Euronews and Bloomberg.
There is a variety of free Russian Internet TV Channels. These include Internet-MOST, ATV, TDK, Music Box and TV Plus.

Russian Film Industry - Growing Progressively
The film industry in Russia was previously not given much support since it was seen merely as a form of art and the potential economical impact of it was dismissed. Because of this rather unsupportive view that Old Russia had taken to the Russian Film Industry, many Russian film directors were not interested in the consequences of their work and so few looked for ways to improve current standards or start new trends. Fortunately some years ago the economic benefits of the Russian film industry were finally recognized. With this came a renewed interest in films and the film industry from the Russian public. Today the film industry in Russia is producing globally recognized works of the highest standards.

The entire Russian film industry, including the Russian film actors and the Russian film directors, were previously restricted by the local government who, up until recently, was the sole investors in the Russian film industry. This gave the government complete control over the scriptwriting and other aspects of filmmaking and often Russian film directors were forced to change or omit certain parts of their movies as the government saw fit. In 1996 the privatization of financial investments in the Russian film industry brought about new laws for Russian cinema. This law stipulated that taxation of private investors and the allocations made by the government be strictly reviewed. Not long afterwards, Russian film directors saw a massive boom in the financial sector of the industry. The result was a trend towards privately financed film productions and more and more freedom of expression and creativity in Russian films.
The year 2000 saw renewed interest in the Russian cinema and ended a long economic crisis that was hampering the production of films and restricting film directors. Unfortunately, the 1996 law only provided taxation privileges up until the year 2001. Thus both Russian film directors and film actors saw a dramatic reduction in support from the private investment sector in 2002. Although the Russian actors do not get paid nearly as much as Hollywood stars do, they still deserve a paycheck. In order to pay those involved in the making of local movies, many film directors turn to Germany and France for financial assistance.
To encourage and publicize the Russian film industry and to bring well deserved notice to the Russian film actors and Russian film directors, Russian film festivals such as the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and the Sochi International Film Festival are a vital part of the filming industry. Without these Russian film festivals, actors, directors and film companies would go without recognition. Even today the various film companies involved in the industry endue a constant struggle with insufficient funding for their movie projects, as well as a lack of equipment and unqualified personnel. However despite these problems, Russia has still managed to bring to light world-class directors and noteworthy films.

Russian Newspapers
Newspapers are usually a great source of first hand information regarding the political and economic situation in a country. Russian Newspapers are no different. Not only do the newspapers in Russia keep you up to date with all the latest news, but they provide information on things such movie and theatre times and dates, interesting news snippets of a lighter nature and much, much more. Of course, most of the Russian newspapers are printed in Russian and so few foreign visitors will be able to read them. However you should be able to find something available in a few other languages if you look hard enough. Such a search would be worth it for Russian newspapers are many and informative. Below is a list of the local newspapers in circulation in Russia. Where possible, a link to their website has been included for your convenience.
Izvestia
Moscow, Russia
Features full-text of national news and includes politics, business/economics, technology, and sports sections.
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Moscow, Russia
Features full-text, national and world news updated daily. Includes politics, business/economics, sports, and searchable archive sections.
Moskovsky Komsomolets
Moscow, Russia
Features full-text, local and national news targeted toward young readers. Includes sports, police/crime, politics, and business/economics sections.
Novayagazeta
Moscow, Russia
Features full-text, local news from the capital and across Russia and also includes technology and sports sections

Nyezavisimaya Gazeta
Moscow, Russia
Features full-text, national and world news.
Trud
Moscow, Russia
Features full-text, local and national news with an emphasis on labor, industry, and unions.
Moskovskie Novosti
Moscow, Russia
Features full-text, national and world news.
Kommersant
Moscow, Russia
Features full-text, national and world news.
The Moscow Times
Moscow, Russia
Features full text, of national and worldwide news, that includes politics and business/economics sections.

Radio of Russia
Russian Radio is a very popular form of mass media. All the houses in Russia have a socket for radios. Because of the size of Russia, frequencies may vary in different cities. There are 2 378 radio stations in Russia, with music stations being the most popular.
Russia's main news stations are Radio Mayak (67.22FM and 549 AM); Radio of Russia and Echo of Moscow (91.2 FM in Moscow). The most popular music radio stations in Russia are Russkoe Radio (Russian pop); Maximum (international and Russian music); Europa-Plus (mostly pop); Dinamit FM (aimed at the youth); Radio Jazz (jazz and lounge music). Several international radio stations have been broadcasting in Russia via shortwaves band. These include Radio Liberty and Voice of America.
Below is a list of Russian radio stations along with frequencies and the cities in which they are broadcast:

MOSCOW
70.19 FM Radio ULTRA (alternative music)
91.2 FM Echo Moscow (news and talk shows)
103.7 FM MAXIMUM (rock music)
101.7 FM Nashe Radio (Russian rock music)
100.5 FM BEST FM (80's music)
105.7 FM Russian Radio (Russian pop)
106.2 FM Europa Plus (pop music)
1330 AM New Life Russian Radio (pop music, news and talk shows)
ST. PETERSBURG
105.9 FM North Capital Radio
104.0 FM Radio Modern
91.1 FM Radio Melodia
107.8 FM Super Radio
104.8 FM Radio Baltika
OTHER RADIO STATIONS
103.4 FM Radio Randevu (Novgorod)
102.3 FM Radio August (Toliatti)
104.5 FM Radio Rating (Obninsk)
104.0 FM Radio Volga FM (Kazan)
103.7 FM Radio C (Ekaterinburg)
102.7 FM Auto Radio (Perm)
104.3 Radio Samara-Maximum (Samara)
103.0 FM Radio MRC (Magnitogorsk)
101.7 FM Radio VBC (Vladivostok)
103.1 FM Radio Olimp (Khabarovsk)
101.9 FM Lider (Kiev)
107.3 FM Radio Mix (Dnepropetrovsk)
103.0 FM Radio Roks (Minsk)
105.0 FM Pyramid Radio (Bishkek)

Public Relations:
The practice of public relations increased in popularity during the 90s. The overall image
of the profession was influenced by public perception of electoral public relations and the
handling of the aforementioned political campaigns. The term public relations was widely
associated with the idiom “black PR,” a term that is still used today. Public relations
practitioners are most commonly enlisted for the planning and implementation of special
events. The profession is not as respected or specialized as it is in the United States, and
is generally less respected than advertising. Contributing to this is a lack of recognition
and esteem for the profession among journalists in Russia.
The emergence of public relations in Russia is usually associated with the collapse of the
Soviet Union. Globalization and the formation of business relationships between Russia
and the West helped spur the practice of public relations in the country. In addition, the
creation of international companies and brands has contributed to the development of
public relations.
The Moscow State Institute of International Relations became the first university to offer
public relations education. The public relations major, offered through the international
journalism department, was an effort to respond to the increasingly global marketplace.
Electoral public relations was an area of specialization that was developed rapidly. The
impetus were the presidential elections of 1991, and especially 1996. The elections of the
State Duma of Russian Federations in 1993, 1995 and 1999 also fueled this trend.
In 1991 the Russian Public Relations Society (RPRS) was founded as the pre-eminent
institution for public relations development in Russia. In 1994 the Declaration of
Professional and Ethical Principles for public relations practitioners was ratified by the
RPRS.
The introduction of democracy in Russia brought new business and greater diversity.
Technological advancements and opportunities also became more prevalent.

Advertising:
In 1914 the growth rate of Russian economy was higher than that of the United States. Russian industrialists and merchants were a good match to their foreign counterparts. And the Russian advertising of the day was fairly advanced. Browsing through the yellowed pages of old Russian newspapers and magazines one comes across some fantastic specimens. The Russian trade literature of the period carried good editorials on various aspects of advertising.After the Bolshevik revolution there was a short-lived renaissance of market economy in the 1920s, remembered by advertising historians for Vladimir Mayakovsky’s poster doggerels in his ragged style unreadable by barely literate post-revolutionary public.Some advertising lingered on for a while: then it vanished from Russian life for decades, to be regarded as one of the “villainies” of capitalist.
The only advertising agency in those days was Vneshtorgreklama (a Russian abbreviation for “foreign trade advertising”), an unwieldy and amateurish institution under the Ministry of Foreign Trade, which produced ads in foreign languages for the constellation of foreign-trade organizations.

Music
Russia's musical roots are buried in the distant past, but the few glimmers that emerge from the historical record paint an intriguing picture: a fresco of a dancing minstrel in one of Kiev's oldest churches, and 6th century Greek reports from of Slavic musicians strumming psalteries. Uniting Slavic tradition with influences from Byzantium, Scandinavia, the multiethnic Eurasian steppes, and the staggeringly diverse Caucasus, Russia's music has expanded from zithers, epics, and ritual songs to embrace the large number of instruments and genres still loved and played in the country today.
Much of what we know about Russia's traditional music was recorded by ethnographers and folklorists who began searching for Russian songs and folk tales in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The liberal children of noble families, these early ethnomusicologists sought expressions of the "Russian soul" and wrote down age-old lyrics and melodies. Their work inspired their contemporaries to incorporate traditional musical elements into their compositions, and composers like Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Tchaikovsky brought pieces of Russia's musical traditions to the word.
Soviet-era musicians took Russia's traditional music from the fields and streets into the conservatory, creating large orchestras of modified folk instruments designed to parallel Western classical ensembles. Wild new forms, such as a balalaika the size of a contrabass, were born, and Soviet arrangers and performers carefully excised religious and other politically taboo material from the repertoire. A canon of Russian politically correct folk songs emerged, performed by everyone from the Red Army Chorus to guitar-playing students hanging out in university dorms. Many of these songs live on today, around campfires and on the airwaves. In reaction to this conservatory style, several innovative post-Soviet folk ensembles have attempted to return to the complex sonic textures, striking dissonances, and unusual instrumentation culled from the Soviet vision of Russian ethnic music.
A new interest in local language pop music has also struck Russia's ethnic minorities since 1990.The main pop arena, however, is Russia's two cultural capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg, where clubs feature everything from avant-garde jazz to glossy pop to heavy metal. During Gorbachev's attempts to reform the Soviet system, these cities were incubators for innovative new groups drawing on everything from Asian mysticism to Soviet kitsch, Russian folk music, and Symbolist poetry, to the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Bohemian rock bands played concerts in cramped private apartments or small school auditoriums and criticized Russia's leaders and culture with a sly, lyrical wink. Passed informally from fan to fan on dubbed samizdat cassettes, these bands' songs became anthems for creative urban youth longing for new possibilities and social change.
When the change finally came, however, much of the rock scene's energy faded in the ensuing economic collapse of the early 1990s, though innovative music continues to spring from Russia's bohemian underground and diverse hinterlands. Russia's post-Soviet music industry has taken off as well, producing a number of high-quality commercial acts that have gained regional and international notoriety.

Internet
A System of Ensuring Investigative Activity, SORM, an amendment signed into law by Putin. SORM allowed law enforcement bodies to monitor Internet traffic and required ISPs to assist law enforcement in their investigations. In late 2000, Russian Supreme Court ruled that the law enforcement bodies are required to obtain a warrant and inform ISPs when law enforcement agents were using the system. Similar laws exist in most developed countries with large internet populations.

Censorship
The actual influence of Kremlin on the media space causes harsh debates between journalists of "liberal" (e.g. Shenderovich) and "patriotic" (e.g. Oleg Kashin) persuasions. According to journalist Maxim Kononenko, "People invent censorship for themselves, and what happens on some TV channels, some newspapers, happens not because Putin dials them and says: No, this mustn't go. But because their bosses are fools." However, political scientist Yevgenia Albats in interview with Eduard Steiner has disputed this assertion: "Today the directors of the television channels and the newspapers are invited every Thursday into the Kremlin office of the deputy head of administration, Vladislav Surkov to learn what news should be presented, and where. Journalists are bought with enormous salaries. In discussions they tell us then how horrible it is to work in the state television service."
According to 2005 research conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), the number of Russians who approve of censorship on TV has grown in a year from 63% to 82%; sociologists believe that Russians are not voting in favor of press freedom suppression, but rather for expulsion of ethically doubtful material (such as scenes of violence and sex: 57% for restricting of violence/ sex depiction on TV, 30% for ban of fraudelent businesses ads; and 24% for products for sex ads and 'criminal way of life propaganda' films).

Freedom of Press in Russia
The issue of the freedom of the press in Russia involves both the ability of directors of mass media outlets to carry out independent policy and the ability of journalists to access sources of information and to work without outer pressure. Mass media in Russia include television and radio channels, periodicals, and Internet media, which according to the laws of Russian Federation may be either a state or a private property. It may be difficult to evaluate the situation in general, as different aspects of media freedom are developed to a different extent in Russia, and the overall question of media freedom is highly politized.
In 1997 there were just over 21,000 registered periodicals, virtually no electronic media, and just under 100 television companies, more than half of which were owned by the state. As of 2006 there were more than 58,000 periodicals, 14,000 electronic media, and 5,500 broadcasting companies, and the states share in the newspaper and journal market is estimated to be less than 10%. Its share in electronic media is even smaller.
As stated by BBC, two of the three main federal channels Channel One and Russia TV are controlled by the government controls while state-controlled energy giant Gazprom owns NTV.
In 2007, a report by professor of politics Nicolai N. Petro reaffirmed that foreign companies owned shares in over half of all Russian broadcasting companies and not the state.[3] It was stated that critics concentrated solely on national television media, while "detailed statistics also demolish the myth that Putin dominates national television and allows no critical reporting". As reported, for the first time in modern Russian history independent media had become profitable.
Reporters Without Borders put Russia at 144th place in the World Press Freedom Index (from a list of 169 countries)

Assaults on journalists
Since the early 1990s, a number of Russian reporters who have covered the situation in Chechnya, contentious stories on organized crime, state and administrative officials, and large businesses have been killed. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, since 1992, 43 journalists have been killed in Russia for their professional activity (which makes it the third deadliest country for journalist in 1992-2006 period[4]): 30 while Boris Yeltsin was President, and 13 since Vladimir Putin became President, as of 2006.[5][6]
According to Glasnost Defence Foundation, there were 9 cases of suspicious deaths of journalists in 2006, as well as 59 assaults on journalists, and 12 attacks on editorial offices.[7] In 2005, the list of all cases included 7 deaths, 63 assaults, 12 attacks on editorial offices, 23 incidents of censorship, 42 criminal prosecutions, 11 illegal layoffs, 47 cases of detention by militsiya, 382 lawsuits, 233 cases of obstruction, 23 closings of editorial offices, 10 evictions, 28 confiscations of printed production, 23 cases of stopping broadcasting, 38 refusals to distribute or print production, 25 acts of intimidation, and 344 other violations of Russian journalist's rights.
On October 7, 2006, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, well known for her criticisms of Russia's actions in Chechnya and the pro-Russia Chechen government, was shot in the lobby of her apartment building. The death of this Russian journalist triggered an outcry of criticism of Russia in the Western media, with accusations that, at best, Putin has failed to protect the country's new independent media. [9][10]KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky believes that the murders of writers Yuri Shchekochikhin and Anna Politkovskaya show that the FSB has returned to the practice of political assassinations.

Journalist protection laws
A new law to be implemented at the beginning of 2009 will allow reporters investigating corruption in Russia to be protected. Under new legislation, they will be able to apply for special protection, like court witnesses. The new law is part of a grander national plan to fight corruption in Russia, an area that President Dmitry Medvedev has focused much of his attention on.

Police raids
On June 19, 2006, Russian police raided the Educated Media Foundation, a totally non-governmental organization that receives U.S. funding, seizing documents and equipment in a search its director said was likely linked to the government's growing distaste for Western-funded NGOs.

THE INFLUENCE OF MASS MEDIA ON THE LIFE OF RUSSIAN WOMEN
The problem under discussion is currently of such importance that it trivial. But the authority, strength of media influence grows together with the submission of people to mass media. It can be seen that the borders of mass media influence have already been erased. People see no other opportunity for dialogue except for that with TV or com¬puter. We can often find a mother communicating via the internet with her invisible «friends» and is cut off from the burdens of everyday problems. Children complain that mums do not prepare meals or pay any attention to them because of their living in a virtual world. Television plays a special role in media environment. It has become the Divine eye. All journalists' assumptions become true, everything is open for them, even if it is closed for others. People frequently trust almost everything. There are cooking lessons, lessons of domestic repair, design, and many other subjects concerning housekeeping on all Russian TV channels, instead of main vital problems such as the inflation, price growth, and increasing criminality. Instead of address¬ing the most ancient moral maxima, i.e., to respect one's parents and to take care of one's children, television replaces them with information on fast food preparation, and there is no need to learn anything from the adults.
The active penetration of mass media into our lives has another consequence: people stop to concern morally the events shown on the screen, and they often cause aesthetical response instead of ethical.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_the_press_in_Russia"
Categories: Freedom of expression | Journalism
excerpted from Glenn E. Curtis (ed.) (1998). "Russia: A Country Study: Kievan Rus' and Mongol Periods". Washington, DC: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress.

Mimamsa Philosophy

2008-12-23T06:51:00.000-08:00

Mimamsa is a Sanskrit word meaning "investigation, inquiry and discussion." In other words, Mimamsa signifies "esteemed or sacred inquiry", an exposition.
The term was applied to one of the six Hindu philosophical darsanas, viewpoints. In this context Mimamsa would have fully meant "the investigation of the proper interpretation of the Vedic texts." Mimamsa strongly concerned with textual exegesis, and consequently gave rise to the study of philology and the philosophy of language.

The main text is the Mimamsa Sutra of Jaimini, an ancient sage. Mimamsa deals at length with the ritual commands in the and Vedas and ignores the hymns and much else. The Mimamsa Sutra describes the different sacrifices and what they are for, and elaborates the theory of apurva, which is the mysterious, transcendent power produced by a correctly performed sacrificial ritual, not through the action of gods. The results of the sacrifice often come after the death of the person performing the ritual. The Vedas are eternal and uncreated, thus precluding their divine origin. They are the expression in sacred words of the eternal, ritual, and moral order of the world. As the world is eternal, the idea of God as the ultimate cause is superfluous. Jaimini also rejects a deity as the creator of the relation between word and meaning, saying that this relationship is innate.

Due to the rapid development in communication technology, this vast world has become constricted. The economy, culture, religion of one country directly or indirectly affects the whole world. This world comprises of people of different civilization who have their own culture and religion. All these religions have their own philosophies, morals and they follow certain principles for instance some put logic to everything especially in the matters of investigation of basic element whereas some investigate the basic element through Vedas like the Mimamsakas. Globalization has helped people as well as philosophers to know about others' culture and religion. This has led them to come to various conclusions regarding other religions. The mimamsakas believe that the idea of God as the ultimate cause is superfluous and moreover Isvara doesn't dispense the fruits of our actions because, according to them, the Vedic works we perform give rewards on their own. This philosophy doesn't believe in God and gives no credit to him. In most religions, above all stands God. It creates a chaotic environment by challenging the presence of almighty in society.

Mimamsakas like Kumarilabhatta criticized Buddhism because it did not favor Vedic rituals. The acarya was in sympathy with these views and believed that Vedic sacraments, considered all-important by the mimamsakas were essential to the cleansing of the mind and to the proper conduct of the affairs of the community.
In this global world, majority of the inhabitants are Buddhists. And these renowned mimamsakas are criticizing Buddhism.

Due to globalization people of different civilization are bound as a single unit. All these individuals have their own form of culture and religion. When custom and trend of different religions collide, it leads to dispute among different civilization disrupting the harmony of the world.
The developed western countries like US and some of the European countries are driving the world towards westernization making other nations loose their own identity. For instance if some company of US is going down then the world economy is going down ultimately leading to economy crisis. It seems the whole world is being driven by these powerful nations.

The Other Side of School

2008-12-23T06:32:00.000-08:00

I recently read the article “School is bad for children” by John Halt. In the article he discusses the hazards of sending a child to a school and why one should discontinue this form of education. Being a student myself I agreed with most of the points including some crucial ones which pointed that a school meant for enhancing knowledge actually destroys a child’s creativity and reasoning power.

To this day in the east we have more traditional patterns of learning where they still regard books and teachers as the sole source of education hence forcing them not to believe in their own intelligence but on somebody else’s knowledge. As kids we enter schools with so much zeal and energy to learn new things and meet new people. But all of these anticipation is shattered when they tell us what we have learnt to date is worthless.

School becomes an even more undesirable place to be due to the forced rules, compulsion of attendance and teacher’s ever swinging mood. All of these resulting in loss of freedom which we as kids had before enrolling in a school. The thousands of never ending rules that a school enforces on kids are a million pound worth of burden which they have to carry till their backs ache with pain of suppression.

Moreover, the continuous pressure from parents to excel in academics and succeed the son of the next door neighbour in the class ranking all for the sake of false prejudice. Little do parents realize that the pressure they are mounting on their children are beyond the child’s best of abilities except for some very brilliant kids who can mug the book in a day’s time.

And then there are the teachers with their biasness and mood swings. To be a good student rather than learning what we are suppose to, we have to first learn the different traits to impress the specific teacher. Some teachers like it when we repeat the exact same words from the book while others will say “answer it in your own words, be more analytical.” One has to be careful so as not to end up in the black book of the teachers for they sure are experts in avenging those students.

I have seen many of students suffer due to this very case. Sometimes an intelligent, deserving student would be sent home with a ‘D’ just because he/she chose not to bring tea to the teacher’s table. Not to forget the piles of assignments that a student is assigned never to be checked.

But still one cannot criticize it completely because not everything goes wrong in a school. With the passage of time many countries and schools are changing their system to more interactive and student friendly. Allowing them to do what they want but at the same time giving them guide lines is what a new form of education is all about. Gone are the days when a student would listen to a teacher just because of the fear of being spanked, we have moved forward with time to demand change and when everything else is in the path why should our education system still be the same.

A book review

2008-11-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a gripping tale about the power of friendship between two women. Beautifully crafted this novel places us in Afghanisthan with an open heart. It is the story of Mariam and Laila. Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship strikes between Mariam and Laila; a local teenager. Their bond becomes as strong as that of a mother and a daughter. When the Taliban takes over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet, it is love that leads them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with startling heroism. This novel is a heart-wrenching and inspiring tale focused on the women of Afghanisthan.

Hosseini is successful in making the story come alive and evoking the feeling of compassion and condemnation in the readers. It is a powerful portrait of female suffering and endurance under the Taliban. With his knack of story telling this novel is vivid and compelling. His narrative style portrays the terrible realities of war and suffering in a compelling manner. At the same time it also provides convincing glimpses of the possibility of redemption and salvation.

This book is universal in dealing with the issues of war and women. It is so captivating that you can feel the pain experienced by Mariam and Laila in the story.

Infatuation Not Love

2008-05-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

I never plan things ahead of time and therefore whatever happens it takes me by surprise. Like the breakup I am going through at the moment. People who have been in serious relationship and then broken up will know it is the most hurtful and perhaps the most frustrating time period in a relationship. So, I am writing this as a sort of therapy and to be able to pour out all my anger, hurt and pain.

It all started with sweet kisses and sweet notes. In fact everything was so sweet in the beginning I almost felt diabetic. But good things don’t always have a happy ending, do they? I guess I was blown by all his boyish charm, good looks that I failed to notice the things that really mattered. After constant fights, disappointments and hours of thinking have I realized that I was just living a fantasy. Maybe it was the influence of all these cute Korean movies or love stories I was so willing to make that relationship last.

Now, when I look back I laugh at myself and am like what was I thinking? I was just 16 then and had literally planned my whole life with him. It is crazy to see how we keep falling in and out of love. They say love happens once in a life time but if that’s the case why am I not with the person I once loved. Maybe because there are other feelings called infatuation which often haunts teens. We always end up confusing crushes and infatuations with love.

I am afraid that the world has changed and this new modernized world of ours does not have a thing called love or true love. If true love existed then why do we see so many wrecked relationships, shattered homes and broken hearts? Love is something that is supposed to bring joy to a person’s life but from what I have seen all it has brought is tears and messed one’s life.

Plus, these days I am so taken aback by the amount of people who say they are in love. I just want to tell them please don’t confuse love with infatuation because it is going to hurt if you can’t tell the difference between two. This is especially for young boys and girls. When we are young and we find someone attractive we rush into things. First starts the friendship then the relationship and then the problems. I guess all these within few months. That is why I believe it is always good to wait and see whether we will continue loving the person even after he becomes physically unattractive or financially weak.

True love is rare to find but when we do find it I bet we will feel delight like no other chocolate cookies can bring or even a shopping spree. So I suppose it is best we wait, wait for the right girl or the boy rather than going out with a bunch of wrong persons just for the sake of being in a relationship.

Lonely

2008-04-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

I never knew it would be so tough to spend my life alone. Without friends and a boyfriend life does seem a bit more challenging. I guess i always took them for granted and never valued people enough. Now when i am here in this strange new place, where i find everybody like an alien i miss all my friends a lot. I wish i could round back the clock and go back to the place where i really belonged. The place where i always laughed and had great fun. back then i wouldn't even be having a moment to be writing all this. Loneliness has become a part of my life and this part is kept totally aloof from all other parts of my life. No one knows exactly where it stays and where it goes or why is it there and when will it go????/