Sunday, April 28, 2013

chapter 15 Science and mass media



                Information is an important aspect of society because it gives insights of the advances and problems of society. One of the most rapid growing means to discover information of the world is science. The history of science that leads to multiple changes of social structures and relations is fundamental to understand the present science. With these new systems and during the renaissance the mass media grew in an exponential form. The only negative are the terrible side effects like the jealousy and inequality.
Science started in Greece with math, physics, astronomy, and biology/medicine. After the fall of Rome the Catholic Church and the economy silenced the scientific research.  the renaissances began a resurgence of science with  the scientific method and gained power after the 1800s with the industrialization. Modern science has multiple branches and specialty, norms are expected to be followed and has a scientific community to ensure norms were followed during experiment before being accepted. These norms are the judgments based on creating equality ,Organized skepticism: All scientist discoveries can be questioned and re-test, Communalism: the discovery belongs to the scientist society and will be shared in the scientist society, Disinterestedness: scientist must look for the truth not individual gain, Counter norms: if the research has a controversial or not well defined the research will be judged by mental state.
                                                
Mass media: method to communicate that reaches multiple individuals. Writing and paper: Sumerians with writing, Egyptians with papyrus. The printing press in Europe in 1400ad. The industrial age: the industrial age multiplied the speed of the printing press and soon after the news paper, radios, and movies. Computer and information society: the invention of the internet caused the creation of digital society that exchanges information and social economic activities. The mass media of the usa is Print media: news papers books and magazines, Audio: sound records, and radio, Visual media: movies, television, CD’s, and videocassettes, Online media: anything that is found. Convergence: areas with “media convergence” that is where to areas of media colliding and combines.
The problems of science are Fraud: researchers fake or tamper their results, Competition: the desire to obtain fame and money causes scientists to block their information that way no one can copy their experiment, This causes rushed research. Matthew effect: the credit of the experiment goes to the most famous member instead of the group. Conflictive views: different theories on reality are used in some experiments that alter the method and ideas. The perspectives of mass media are Functionalist: society runs smoother because individuals know what is happening, and Conflict: distract individuals with merchandise reducing the possibility that individuals notice and do something about the inequality. Which cause a knowledge-gap: caused by the economic difference this is known as digital divide. The mass media is known for children having access to violence, less contact with others, and a decrease in social capital. It also makes a spiral of silence: were a group silences those with different opinion and allows Gatekeepers to select only a part of the information to be.
                                 
Science and information are the reason for social change and improvement. The problems come from all directions because none of these areas are perfect. From the conflict that are neutralize create a greater revolution because eventually a very one is able to communicate. Even with the errors science overcomes they as well as those that depend on the mass media.

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