How has the study of media and communications developed over the last Essay - 1

How has the study of media and communications developed over the last century - Essay Example To some theorists, however, it is a field that encompasses various media, not just mass media. According to McLuhan’s aphorism, for example, media is anything that mediates interaction (Genosko, 2005). Whether it is human artifacts or technologies, so long as they can provide that channel for interaction, they are media. This paper looks at the history of the study of media and communications over the last century, and the theoretical approaches that have been employed to explain this development. Most people have an implicit understanding of how humans have always interacted with each other and the world. Nevertheless, very few people recognize the fact that the development of communication has been a process. It is something that has taken place within periods, and effected by different events. For instance, before the development of the printing press, media studies and communications were quite slow. With the invention, however, there was a robust into the formal studies of these disciplines. Over the last century, media has played a major role in the political sphere. For example, over the Kosovo atrocities, the media played a significant focus for the revolution. In Eastern Europe, the media has been the major weapon in the transition to liberal politics. In the postmodern world, the social media networking has completely broken down the conventional forms of communications. These developments have however taken place in stages and subjected to different theoretical app roaches. Marxism is a theory hypothesized by Karl Marx to describe mainly the interaction between the superstructure and the economic base. Marx maintained that the dominant class controlled the means of production (Strinati, 2004). For this reason, he believed that the media served no other purpose other than the ideological interests of the capitalists. Because they are the dominant class, it only follows

Application of Tecnology in Nursing and Patient Eduation Research Paper

Application of Tecnology in Nursing and Patient Eduation - Research Paper Example Internet has been identified as an important resource in the breast cancer education program (Muhamad, Afshari and Mohamed, 2011). Ryhanen et al. (2010) carried a literature review to analyze the use of technology particularly; internet or interactive computer-based in patient education for breast cancer patients. This is because education programs for breast cancer patient are critical in intervention by empowering the patients. Although application of technology in education is considered as a popular alternative compared to the traditional methods, more research needs to be carried out to assess its effectiveness (Ryhanen et al., 2010). This paper will describe use of internet in breast cancer education program and explore situations when its use proves to be advantageous and disadvantageous. It will also explore the professional standards that must be adhered whenever using internet technology. Use of Computer-Based Education It is theorized that people remember 10 percent of wha t they see, 20 percent of what they hear and 50 percent of what they see and hear. However, people have an ability of retaining 80 percent of what they hear, see and do (Heiskell, 2010). Consequently, computer-based patient education program is considered as an approach which may help enhance health care. Despite its role in empowering the patients with the required information to take care of their health, patient education programs are usually time-consuming with physicians taking more than 25 percent of their time in giving patient instructions and counseling (Heiskell, 2010). Computer-based patient education programs are recommended given that they are patient focused, inexpensive, fast and effective (Muhamad, Afshari and Mohamed, 2011). Internet is one method used in breast cancer computer-based patient education given that it is considered as largest medical library and having over 1.5 billion users worldwide (Muhamad, Afshari and Mohamed, 2011). Internet is considered as an a ppropriate method of disseminating health information as it provides patients with immediacy, privacy, and a wide variety of information (Muhamad, Afshari and Mohamed, 2011). One of the most common diseases searched by patient and their families from the internet is cancer. According to Heiskell (2010), access of wide variety of information on breast cancer from the internet helps breast cancer patients to interact effectively and productively with their patients. Internet can help enhance the patient’s awareness on various conditions of the disease, understand how to diagnosis breast cancer and get information on its treatment. Moreover, internet helps patients to learn on living with cancer and allow patients to form social connections with others living with cancer. Internet use in disseminating information about breast cancer would only be advantageous in educating literate women and particularly those having access to internet. However, the procedure would not be effecti ve in educating illiterate women and those who do not have access to internet. According to Heiskell (2010), computer-based patient education supports the principle of just-in-time where learning happens only when a patient is willing to learn. He describes video-on-demand (VOD) as a computer-based patient education which incorporates computerized access system with the patients’ in-room television. The patient gives requests to the computer through the telephone for particular educational video to be displayed