Majority of the students from the beginning of their high school begin drawing their aspirations, albeit vaguely. Not everyone has a step by step plan of what to do next, but at least by that age students are able to figure out which subject they like and which, they dread. Although Science and Mathematics for ages have been able to make it to the hate list of subjects in schools, surprisingly there always seems to be a huge turn out in the Science stream during the intermediate level.
Every one who has sat for SLC examinations in the past few years are well aware of how fun SLC examinations are because of all the "lenient" practices inside the examination halls. Therefore, SLC result shouldn't and can never be the parameter to judge students' abilities to pursue higher studies. However, with growing number of distinction and first division holders in the SLC examination, parents have begun nurturing their dreams of seeing their children as doctors, engineers and nothing else. No wonder Science faculty is flooded during admissions.
Even in the under graduate level, parents continue having their upper hand in the selection of further courses for their children. Students from Science background almost never miss out on entrance preparation classes for MBBS and engineering. My friends who finally got through grade twelve's Science papers after two failed attempts have joined similar MBBS preparation classes yet again upon their parents' decision.
Parents' are in denial about their children's capabilities academically. They turn blind eye to the red marked mark sheet of their children. And instead of counseling them about further favorable academic choices, they only pressurize the children further to meet their (parents') aspirations and hopes. Children can do nothing but succumb to their parents' decisions.
Majority of the parents are engulfed with we know it all attitude and fail to pay heed to their own children's aspirations. Year after year as parents make academic choices for their children, it is the children who have to bear the brunt in the years to come. For their parents' sake, hundreds of young people with high spirits are compelled to shove away their dreams and aspirations.
Our notion of social prestige that is associated with only certain professions is warped. It is high time that parents and teachers re orient themselves and their children about striving for excellence rather than for distinction marks. Only then will they be able to play their part as support pillars in the truest sense and guide their children to explore avenues that have other wise been looked down upon.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
climate change
There is no denial about the planet’s changing climate. Over the past hundred years, the earth’s average temperature has increased by 0.74degrees Celsius. Scientists predict that the global average temperature in 2100 AD is likely to increase by 1 degree Celsius to 6.3 degree Celsius. The increase in earth temperature, mostly prompted by the emission of greenhouse gases, has led to frequent events like drought, floods and other adverse climatic situations, and poor countries like Nepal are likely to be affected the most.
Almost 67 percent of the glaciers in our Himalayas have retreated, as rapid as 10 meters a year. Scientists believe that most of the glaciers in the Himalayan region will vanish within 40 years as a result of global warming, increasing the mass in glacier lakes and ultimately increasing the risks of catastrophic Glacier Lake Outburst Flood. Equally threatened by climate change is our traditional agricultural pattern. Due to dependency on rain for agriculture, production has been severely affected by unwanted rain and prolonged drought. This in turn has further hiked the already prevalent food shortage in the far western regions of Nepal.
Nepal is ranked sixth in the Climate Risk Index (CRI) though our contribution on global carbon emission is only 0.025 percent. Developed countries along with the big emerging economies like China, India, Russia, and Brazil have large and growing emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There are therefore responsible for the climate change threatening the planet Earth. Unfortunately, the impact of climate change has already taken its toll on the poor and vulnerable majority of the developing countries. With no safety nets, they are left helpless at every strike of nature year after year. More than anyone, it is the big economies that thrive on industries, which need to get their act together to alleviate climate change. They also need to help the developing countries with greater financial and technical means to cope with the climate change and its consequences.
Climate change is here and its impact on our lives is going to be a part of the whole environmental picture. Challenges have increased alarmingly in matters of food security, water supply, outbreak of diseases and bio-diversity. As long as big and emerging economies of the world are reluctant to commit to reduce their emissions, countries like Nepal will continue to live at the mercy of the Mother Nature.
Almost 67 percent of the glaciers in our Himalayas have retreated, as rapid as 10 meters a year. Scientists believe that most of the glaciers in the Himalayan region will vanish within 40 years as a result of global warming, increasing the mass in glacier lakes and ultimately increasing the risks of catastrophic Glacier Lake Outburst Flood. Equally threatened by climate change is our traditional agricultural pattern. Due to dependency on rain for agriculture, production has been severely affected by unwanted rain and prolonged drought. This in turn has further hiked the already prevalent food shortage in the far western regions of Nepal.
Nepal is ranked sixth in the Climate Risk Index (CRI) though our contribution on global carbon emission is only 0.025 percent. Developed countries along with the big emerging economies like China, India, Russia, and Brazil have large and growing emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There are therefore responsible for the climate change threatening the planet Earth. Unfortunately, the impact of climate change has already taken its toll on the poor and vulnerable majority of the developing countries. With no safety nets, they are left helpless at every strike of nature year after year. More than anyone, it is the big economies that thrive on industries, which need to get their act together to alleviate climate change. They also need to help the developing countries with greater financial and technical means to cope with the climate change and its consequences.
Climate change is here and its impact on our lives is going to be a part of the whole environmental picture. Challenges have increased alarmingly in matters of food security, water supply, outbreak of diseases and bio-diversity. As long as big and emerging economies of the world are reluctant to commit to reduce their emissions, countries like Nepal will continue to live at the mercy of the Mother Nature.
Monday, December 7, 2009
London Dreams come to life
Skyscrapers give way to lush green hills that slowly seems to fade as the jet plane inches closer to the haphazard settlement of Kathmandu. Soaring above 11000 feet, the urban settlement in Kathmandu looks like chunks of matchboxes thrown blindly in all directions. As the plane descends, stupas, rivers and the buildings become more vivid. Arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport is announced but the passengers seem to be in no hurry to release their seat belts.
Amongst the economy class passengers is a tired face that looks around discreetly, flashing a half smile to the fellow passengers. The tired face belongs to Sunita Rai who has come all the way from London. Travelling in jet planes across countries isn’t new to her, thanks to her marriage to a British Gurkha sergeant courtesy whom she has been to almost all the East Asian countries. However this journey she made from Heathrow to Delhi to finally Kathmandu has been etched onto her heart. It is the time she flew across the borders, alone.
Kathmandu looks all the same to her. After all it is her second trip to Kathmandu in two months. When she left for London after a relaxing vacation with her children last September, she knew she had to wait for another few years to make a trip like this one. Merely the thought of the long working hours at the factory she worked in London made her cringe. Fortunately unfortunately, her mother’s death brought her back to Nepal and allowed her body to switch to a relax mode that she was yearning for.
The British Government’s decision to allow Gurkhas to settle in the United Kingdom in the year 2004 was applauded by the British Gurkha families in Nepal. And in no time hundreds of British Gurkha ex-servicemen along with their eligible dependents made preparations to head to the United Kingdom. Sunita like many lahureni, British Gurkha’s soldiers’ wives, was elated at the prospect of residing in London. She had been to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and a host of other Asian countries before her husband’s retirement. But had only heard of how wonderful the United Kingdom was. She had always wanted to step on the land that people sang praises of. Finally, she felt her dream was coming true.
“It was chaotic when we were making preparations to leave for London”, she recalls. “Since my husband was working for a cruise line back then, legal procedures were hassles for me”, she adds. Apart from the legal hassles it was her changed routine that dampened her spirit to go London. On her friends’ and husband’s suggestion to brush up her English she joined a language institute. And the when some of her friends joined beauty parlor trainings she couldn’t resist doing the same. “Everyone told it was the need of the hour to learn some skills so I joined the herd”, she says. “But it was really frustrating at times since I was so used to doing only household chores. I had to go to the classes on time, complete assignments and then come back home and feed my children”, she says in a single breath. Although she spent months brushing up her skills she feels it all went away in vain. “Neither did the training get me a job nor did the English I learnt help me find my lost baggage at the airport”, she says in a matter-of –fact tone. However the training period in Nepal did teach her a thing or two about time management she says.
The lazy afternoons she spends in Kathmandu gossiping with her sisters almost seems surreal to her at times. Climbing the stairs to go to the kitchen from her bedroom at her sister’s place, reminds her of the dingy apartment at London that only allows few footsteps of walking around from one end to the another. Having maids prepare the food, bring it on to the table and being addressed as didi with respect in her sister’s house makes her feel no less than a queen. The load shedding hours and the dirty roads of Kathmandu do remind her of London’s subways and her centrally heated apartment. But the very thought of London takes her back to the monotonous life that she is compelled to live. Working 8 hours each day standing, six times in week has taken a toll on her once manicured feet. “The area near the ankle gets swollen”, she complains.
Sunita spent most of her married life as a spend thrift laureni. But now that she lives in one of the most sought after shopping destinations in the world, she cannot afford to shop like in her heydays in Nepal. Yes London is the capital of high end shopping, but not for migrants like Sunita. “Going to the high end fashion stores needs a lot of courage and deep pockets”, informs Sunita. “First of all the stuff there is way beyond our reach and second of all our broken English give us a complex in such stores. So it is better for us to stick to down town shops with plenty of sales”, she adds. However, once in Nepal she goes on shopping sprees without any hesitance. She shows her sister the list of things she needs to take back to London. The list has things like beaten rice, dalle khursaani, wai wai, jhoos -home made body scrubs, sel rotis etc. Most of the things on the list needn’t be purchased her sister says.
Ironically her spirits are high as she looks forward to the 45th day ritual of her mother’s death. With a cup of tea in her hand she basks in the sun at the balcony of her sister’s house. Looking over at the Shivapuri hills from the balcony she can’t help feeling nostalgic about their home that was almost as fancy and huge like her sister’s. She recalls her eight year old daughter complaining how she disliked living in matchbox like apartments in South London and missed her bungalow like home back in Nepal that they recently sold. It is only three in the afternoon and the wafting smell of matar paneer fills the balcony signaling her snack time. Making her way to the kitchen downstairs, she is carried away by the thought of doing the same in the new house her husband promised to buy in North Hall by the next Christmas.
Amongst the economy class passengers is a tired face that looks around discreetly, flashing a half smile to the fellow passengers. The tired face belongs to Sunita Rai who has come all the way from London. Travelling in jet planes across countries isn’t new to her, thanks to her marriage to a British Gurkha sergeant courtesy whom she has been to almost all the East Asian countries. However this journey she made from Heathrow to Delhi to finally Kathmandu has been etched onto her heart. It is the time she flew across the borders, alone.
Kathmandu looks all the same to her. After all it is her second trip to Kathmandu in two months. When she left for London after a relaxing vacation with her children last September, she knew she had to wait for another few years to make a trip like this one. Merely the thought of the long working hours at the factory she worked in London made her cringe. Fortunately unfortunately, her mother’s death brought her back to Nepal and allowed her body to switch to a relax mode that she was yearning for.
The British Government’s decision to allow Gurkhas to settle in the United Kingdom in the year 2004 was applauded by the British Gurkha families in Nepal. And in no time hundreds of British Gurkha ex-servicemen along with their eligible dependents made preparations to head to the United Kingdom. Sunita like many lahureni, British Gurkha’s soldiers’ wives, was elated at the prospect of residing in London. She had been to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and a host of other Asian countries before her husband’s retirement. But had only heard of how wonderful the United Kingdom was. She had always wanted to step on the land that people sang praises of. Finally, she felt her dream was coming true.
“It was chaotic when we were making preparations to leave for London”, she recalls. “Since my husband was working for a cruise line back then, legal procedures were hassles for me”, she adds. Apart from the legal hassles it was her changed routine that dampened her spirit to go London. On her friends’ and husband’s suggestion to brush up her English she joined a language institute. And the when some of her friends joined beauty parlor trainings she couldn’t resist doing the same. “Everyone told it was the need of the hour to learn some skills so I joined the herd”, she says. “But it was really frustrating at times since I was so used to doing only household chores. I had to go to the classes on time, complete assignments and then come back home and feed my children”, she says in a single breath. Although she spent months brushing up her skills she feels it all went away in vain. “Neither did the training get me a job nor did the English I learnt help me find my lost baggage at the airport”, she says in a matter-of –fact tone. However the training period in Nepal did teach her a thing or two about time management she says.
The lazy afternoons she spends in Kathmandu gossiping with her sisters almost seems surreal to her at times. Climbing the stairs to go to the kitchen from her bedroom at her sister’s place, reminds her of the dingy apartment at London that only allows few footsteps of walking around from one end to the another. Having maids prepare the food, bring it on to the table and being addressed as didi with respect in her sister’s house makes her feel no less than a queen. The load shedding hours and the dirty roads of Kathmandu do remind her of London’s subways and her centrally heated apartment. But the very thought of London takes her back to the monotonous life that she is compelled to live. Working 8 hours each day standing, six times in week has taken a toll on her once manicured feet. “The area near the ankle gets swollen”, she complains.
Sunita spent most of her married life as a spend thrift laureni. But now that she lives in one of the most sought after shopping destinations in the world, she cannot afford to shop like in her heydays in Nepal. Yes London is the capital of high end shopping, but not for migrants like Sunita. “Going to the high end fashion stores needs a lot of courage and deep pockets”, informs Sunita. “First of all the stuff there is way beyond our reach and second of all our broken English give us a complex in such stores. So it is better for us to stick to down town shops with plenty of sales”, she adds. However, once in Nepal she goes on shopping sprees without any hesitance. She shows her sister the list of things she needs to take back to London. The list has things like beaten rice, dalle khursaani, wai wai, jhoos -home made body scrubs, sel rotis etc. Most of the things on the list needn’t be purchased her sister says.
Ironically her spirits are high as she looks forward to the 45th day ritual of her mother’s death. With a cup of tea in her hand she basks in the sun at the balcony of her sister’s house. Looking over at the Shivapuri hills from the balcony she can’t help feeling nostalgic about their home that was almost as fancy and huge like her sister’s. She recalls her eight year old daughter complaining how she disliked living in matchbox like apartments in South London and missed her bungalow like home back in Nepal that they recently sold. It is only three in the afternoon and the wafting smell of matar paneer fills the balcony signaling her snack time. Making her way to the kitchen downstairs, she is carried away by the thought of doing the same in the new house her husband promised to buy in North Hall by the next Christmas.
Dream driven
I weave the same dream each day
But I am awoken the next moment
Fulfilled unfulfilled my dreams may remain
Yet I continue weaving the same dream
The dream tempts me
And I chase the dream
Running past the obstacles,
I inch closer to the dream
Lost in the thoughts of my dream
I fear what if…
Stretching my rusted limbs,
I step closer to my dream
Crying and screaming
I shout at the top of my lungs
And then I calm down
Striving for my dream to come true
Mind starts racing and feet quiver
Yet I don’t deter from the path
Sharing my dream with the world
I dream of living the dream
Frail eyesight have taken its toll
Yet I dream of this dream so old
Same eyes revisit our past so glorious
Same eyes dream of reviving the lost glory
Every breath resonates my dream’s tune
Wish the tune echoed far and wide
In the smoke like life that goes up in air
I pray to go in ashes with my dream
I am a common Nepali
And I dream of PEACE
Devoting my life for it
I continue dreaming about peace
But I am awoken the next moment
Fulfilled unfulfilled my dreams may remain
Yet I continue weaving the same dream
The dream tempts me
And I chase the dream
Running past the obstacles,
I inch closer to the dream
Lost in the thoughts of my dream
I fear what if…
Stretching my rusted limbs,
I step closer to my dream
Crying and screaming
I shout at the top of my lungs
And then I calm down
Striving for my dream to come true
Mind starts racing and feet quiver
Yet I don’t deter from the path
Sharing my dream with the world
I dream of living the dream
Frail eyesight have taken its toll
Yet I dream of this dream so old
Same eyes revisit our past so glorious
Same eyes dream of reviving the lost glory
Every breath resonates my dream’s tune
Wish the tune echoed far and wide
In the smoke like life that goes up in air
I pray to go in ashes with my dream
I am a common Nepali
And I dream of PEACE
Devoting my life for it
I continue dreaming about peace
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Significance of mass media research
Research may evoke pictures of scientists working in a laboratory. So the very meaning of research needs to be clarified before proceeding to the significance of mass media research.
Research refers to scientific method of investigation. Research uses concepts like objectivity of approach and the acceptability of the results hence it is called as science. Objectivity indicates to observe things as they are and Acceptability is judged in terms of the degree to which observations and experiments can be reproduced. The findings should not be altered by the mere alteration of the investigator, and then only it is termed as objective. Research is also called as science because it is less prone to errors.
There are two major types of research:
1. Natural science research
2. Social science research
All the academic field of study needs research and a media study is not an exception. Media research is a part of communication research and falls under social science research. Media research does the scientific study of mass communication and media and its interaction with the people as individual and as group.Survey conducted to investigate what segment of consumers read which periodicals and/or listen to or watch which radio or television programs is Media Research. Media research mainly concerns media content and activities of media professionals, media owners and audiences. Media research may be media centric or society centric.
Every time “who, what, when, where, or why” question when using the mass media arises, you have raised a question that can be investigated.
For instance, why is a certain magazine popular amongst youngsters and why more people tune into the eight o’clock news of only certain television channel? How has the use of internet shaped the traditional media viewing practices, why are some television soaps more popular than the other? All such questions raised can be answered through media research. Therefore, mass media research is all about trying to find answers to mass media questions.
Different types of media form use varying research techniques to investigate. Some of them have been discussed here below.
Print Media: In print media, these 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 of songs.
Advertising testing: respondents provide reactions to audio, video, and print advertising.
Broadcast media: Ratings and non ratings research is used in broadcast 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.
Out-of-home media: They are also known as place-based media. This includes billboards, outdoor boards, transit posters, theater and video ads, product placements in movies, aerial advertising. Research helps in coming up with effective placement of ads in this form media.
Mass media research in the contemporary society
Mass media industry has grown by leaps and bounds and is now considered as big bucks churning industry. At the end of the business is what matters to the people who own media houses. Therefore it all boils down to numbers be it the audience size, profits or unit sales. In order to extract such statistics, researches have become inevitable.
On the other hand, the proliferation of new media technologies and devices is empowering people in more than just one way. These changes create an increasingly challenging environment for capturing a greater share of market and monetizing your audience effectively.
To extract more value from the content and optimize ad sales yield. To measure the quality of the audience, not just the quantity and to adapt to the dynamically changing marketplace in advance of the competitors. To help understand viewers or listeners - and the industry - in new and more profitable ways. To understand consumers so that their next move can be anticipated, mass media researches are significant.
Research refers to scientific method of investigation. Research uses concepts like objectivity of approach and the acceptability of the results hence it is called as science. Objectivity indicates to observe things as they are and Acceptability is judged in terms of the degree to which observations and experiments can be reproduced. The findings should not be altered by the mere alteration of the investigator, and then only it is termed as objective. Research is also called as science because it is less prone to errors.
There are two major types of research:
1. Natural science research
2. Social science research
All the academic field of study needs research and a media study is not an exception. Media research is a part of communication research and falls under social science research. Media research does the scientific study of mass communication and media and its interaction with the people as individual and as group.Survey conducted to investigate what segment of consumers read which periodicals and/or listen to or watch which radio or television programs is Media Research. Media research mainly concerns media content and activities of media professionals, media owners and audiences. Media research may be media centric or society centric.
Every time “who, what, when, where, or why” question when using the mass media arises, you have raised a question that can be investigated.
For instance, why is a certain magazine popular amongst youngsters and why more people tune into the eight o’clock news of only certain television channel? How has the use of internet shaped the traditional media viewing practices, why are some television soaps more popular than the other? All such questions raised can be answered through media research. Therefore, mass media research is all about trying to find answers to mass media questions.
Different types of media form use varying research techniques to investigate. Some of them have been discussed here below.
Print Media: In print media, these 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 of songs.
Advertising testing: respondents provide reactions to audio, video, and print advertising.
Broadcast media: Ratings and non ratings research is used in broadcast 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.
Out-of-home media: They are also known as place-based media. This includes billboards, outdoor boards, transit posters, theater and video ads, product placements in movies, aerial advertising. Research helps in coming up with effective placement of ads in this form media.
Mass media research in the contemporary society
Mass media industry has grown by leaps and bounds and is now considered as big bucks churning industry. At the end of the business is what matters to the people who own media houses. Therefore it all boils down to numbers be it the audience size, profits or unit sales. In order to extract such statistics, researches have become inevitable.
On the other hand, the proliferation of new media technologies and devices is empowering people in more than just one way. These changes create an increasingly challenging environment for capturing a greater share of market and monetizing your audience effectively.
To extract more value from the content and optimize ad sales yield. To measure the quality of the audience, not just the quantity and to adapt to the dynamically changing marketplace in advance of the competitors. To help understand viewers or listeners - and the industry - in new and more profitable ways. To understand consumers so that their next move can be anticipated, mass media researches are significant.
Monday, August 3, 2009
love Aaj Kaal
No matter how good a movie is, it lingers only for a while. Rarely do I sit down to write about the after effects of any movie. But after watching the recent Bollywood flick Love Aaj Kal, I couldn’t help pondering and wincing at the state of romance of Gen Y.
The movie has beautifully blended the love stories of couples of yester years and the couples of today. Couples back then chose to love their beaus trusting their gut feeling. But the present lot of romantic couples let “rational” thinking override most of the time. While trying to think and act too rationally, so that our lives don’t get messed up, the essence of love in lost in most couples. Gone are the days when love stories began with chasing the girls, stealing loving glances every possible time, meeting secretly, making vows to stick through thick and thin, so on and so forth. That was how love bloomed. However, things have changed 180 degrees today. I’d like call our generation the “making out” generation. We go out on dates, do the deed and after few months or so we realize we aren’t compatible enough and start running in opposite directions. If that’s not the case, citing our career goals and the most widely sought after reason; distance factor, we choose to part ways.
We call ourselves practical like the young couple in the movie does. We are yet to reach the state of throwing break up parties like them, but we sure have become pro at getting through with one relationship and moving on to the next ones. My mind is racing with examples of so many couples who have gone through similar break ups citing distance factor. A friend of mine fixed a final date with her then boyfriend to part ways. Wishing each other all the best they stepped out as single individuals who were more than ready to mingle with the probable crowd of singles in the city. As of now, my friend is in a ‘steady’ relationship.
Unlike the elderly couple in the movie who represent the forever kind of love, we are far from reaching even the first year mark. For many of us, the whole idea of being in a relationship for more than a year or so with the same person is in it self is very boring. To curb this boredom issue, my friend suggested us to date the seniors at college. That way, she says, we’ll have high chances of reaching the one year mark and when the guys graduate breaking up will probably remain the only option. Win- win situation, I guess. Therefore, it comes as no surprise when even the seemingly most compatible and adorable couples of the college decide to part their ways once they are done with their convocation ceremony.
The scene in the movie where the young couple decides to break up citing long distance relationships and the stress baggage it brings along with is very apt for people of today’s generation. The reasons are same. Long distance relationship equalizes to higher probability of misunderstandings. Granted we live in the era of communication, but when the person in question is physically absent, no means of communication seem to help the relationship work. Eventually people in long distance relationship give up and walk around like a free bird.
I am the kind of person who appreciates people moving swiftly from one relationship to another sans the emotional baggage. However, the whole idea of high school and college sweethearts getting married always appeals to my old fashioned romantic heart. But it seems the forever kind of love is hard to find these days. The best example is that of my friend who broke up with her boyfriend of two years citing stress and miscommunication due to the distance factor. The distance: 28 kilometers from Kathmandu to Dhulikhel.
The movie has beautifully blended the love stories of couples of yester years and the couples of today. Couples back then chose to love their beaus trusting their gut feeling. But the present lot of romantic couples let “rational” thinking override most of the time. While trying to think and act too rationally, so that our lives don’t get messed up, the essence of love in lost in most couples. Gone are the days when love stories began with chasing the girls, stealing loving glances every possible time, meeting secretly, making vows to stick through thick and thin, so on and so forth. That was how love bloomed. However, things have changed 180 degrees today. I’d like call our generation the “making out” generation. We go out on dates, do the deed and after few months or so we realize we aren’t compatible enough and start running in opposite directions. If that’s not the case, citing our career goals and the most widely sought after reason; distance factor, we choose to part ways.
We call ourselves practical like the young couple in the movie does. We are yet to reach the state of throwing break up parties like them, but we sure have become pro at getting through with one relationship and moving on to the next ones. My mind is racing with examples of so many couples who have gone through similar break ups citing distance factor. A friend of mine fixed a final date with her then boyfriend to part ways. Wishing each other all the best they stepped out as single individuals who were more than ready to mingle with the probable crowd of singles in the city. As of now, my friend is in a ‘steady’ relationship.
Unlike the elderly couple in the movie who represent the forever kind of love, we are far from reaching even the first year mark. For many of us, the whole idea of being in a relationship for more than a year or so with the same person is in it self is very boring. To curb this boredom issue, my friend suggested us to date the seniors at college. That way, she says, we’ll have high chances of reaching the one year mark and when the guys graduate breaking up will probably remain the only option. Win- win situation, I guess. Therefore, it comes as no surprise when even the seemingly most compatible and adorable couples of the college decide to part their ways once they are done with their convocation ceremony.
The scene in the movie where the young couple decides to break up citing long distance relationships and the stress baggage it brings along with is very apt for people of today’s generation. The reasons are same. Long distance relationship equalizes to higher probability of misunderstandings. Granted we live in the era of communication, but when the person in question is physically absent, no means of communication seem to help the relationship work. Eventually people in long distance relationship give up and walk around like a free bird.
I am the kind of person who appreciates people moving swiftly from one relationship to another sans the emotional baggage. However, the whole idea of high school and college sweethearts getting married always appeals to my old fashioned romantic heart. But it seems the forever kind of love is hard to find these days. The best example is that of my friend who broke up with her boyfriend of two years citing stress and miscommunication due to the distance factor. The distance: 28 kilometers from Kathmandu to Dhulikhel.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Development Journalism
The term development journalism first appeared around 1967 to define a notion of journalism according to which reporting events of national and international significance should be constructive in a sense that it contributes positively to development of the country concerned. Its main focus should not be on day to day m news but on long-term development processes. The term “development journalism” emerged in Asia, more specifically in the Philippines, through the efforts of journalists such as Juan Mercado and Alan Chakley.
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. The other 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.
The first type of development journalism 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. Ultimately, the journalist may come up with proposed solutions and actions in the piece, suggesting ways in which they might be implemented. Often, this type of development journalism encourages a cooperative effort between citizens of the nation and the outside world.
The second type of development 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.
As a tool for social justice, development journalism can be very valuable. By speaking for those who cannot, a development journalist can inform the rest of the world about important issues within developing nations. Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of a country may also help identify ways in which the nation can be helped. This style of development journalism is a tool for empowerment.
The term development journalism first appeared around 1967 to define a notion of journalism according to which reporting events of national and international significance should be constructive in a sense that it contributes positively to development of the country concerned. Its main focus should not be on day to day m news but on long-term development processes. The term “development journalism” emerged in Asia, more specifically in the Philippines, through the efforts of journalists such as Juan Mercado and Alan Chakley.
Development communication is understood as the communication strategy related to an entire society, respectively a comprehensive national development plan. In ideal case development journalism is to be oriented to the needs of the population. It neither aims in endangering the manageability of a state nor being able to be misused to legitimize obviously unjust structures of rule. This notion of development journalism proceeds from the normative assumption that the people affected must be actively involved in the decision- making, planning and implementation of development projects. With that, apart from dissemination of information, two functions of development journalism are particularly emphasized; the motivation to active co operation of the people affected and the active advocacy of their interests Vis a Vis the planners, respectively the government.
Thus development journalism is imbedded in the context of a general management concept of the planning and implementation of development programs, that is, it is ascribed a quite instrumental, socio-technological character. The journalists working within these prescribed norms will become comparable in aspects of one’s profession with the on-site leader of development projects. Development journalism is the synonymous with a “grass root approach”, that is, it is decentralized and participatory. It must not limit itself to the communication channels of the mass media alone but also use the traditional communication media. This development journalism is primarily “local journalism” in the sense that the journalist should be rooted in the local culture concerned.
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. The other 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.
The first type of development journalism 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. Ultimately, the journalist may come up with proposed solutions and actions in the piece, suggesting ways in which they might be implemented. Often, this type of development journalism encourages a cooperative effort between citizens of the nation and the outside world.
The second type of development 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.
As a tool for social justice, development journalism can be very valuable. By speaking for those who cannot, a development journalist can inform the rest of the world about important issues within developing nations. Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of a country may also help identify ways in which the nation can be helped. This style of development journalism is a tool for empowerment.
The term development journalism first appeared around 1967 to define a notion of journalism according to which reporting events of national and international significance should be constructive in a sense that it contributes positively to development of the country concerned. Its main focus should not be on day to day m news but on long-term development processes. The term “development journalism” emerged in Asia, more specifically in the Philippines, through the efforts of journalists such as Juan Mercado and Alan Chakley.
Development communication is understood as the communication strategy related to an entire society, respectively a comprehensive national development plan. In ideal case development journalism is to be oriented to the needs of the population. It neither aims in endangering the manageability of a state nor being able to be misused to legitimize obviously unjust structures of rule. This notion of development journalism proceeds from the normative assumption that the people affected must be actively involved in the decision- making, planning and implementation of development projects. With that, apart from dissemination of information, two functions of development journalism are particularly emphasized; the motivation to active co operation of the people affected and the active advocacy of their interests Vis a Vis the planners, respectively the government.
Thus development journalism is imbedded in the context of a general management concept of the planning and implementation of development programs, that is, it is ascribed a quite instrumental, socio-technological character. The journalists working within these prescribed norms will become comparable in aspects of one’s profession with the on-site leader of development projects. Development journalism is the synonymous with a “grass root approach”, that is, it is decentralized and participatory. It must not limit itself to the communication channels of the mass media alone but also use the traditional communication media. This development journalism is primarily “local journalism” in the sense that the journalist should be rooted in the local culture concerned.
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