Communications and Media

The advancements in technology have transformed the social, economic and political aspects of life all over the world. The internet is the backbone of this technological transformation linking societies all across the globe, thereby making it possible for cultural and political transfusion. Due to this influence, many countries in Southeast Asia have been keen to curb the access of the internet by its populace. This discourse zeros in on the causes and nature of these regulations and also their impact on the political and economic aspects of these countries, both individually and internationally.

The Internet in Southeast Asia
The internet is one of the most outstanding features of globalization as it is known today, largely due to the fact that it has helped to connect the world, integrating political ideologies, economic pursuits and various cultural aspects. Hindley (2009) acknowledges that the internet is indeed a global market, especially when considering the various commercial activities that are carried out through the internet. The size of this market has expanded in recent times and this growth has brought with it various gains to the overall economy of nations. Subsequently, some countries, for example in Southeast Asia, have switched their attention to regulations aimed at restricting business transactions and curtailing the freedom of information based services that are found online. Such measures consist of mainly blocking the access to particular websites.

The connectivity of the internet in Asia is of both extremes the continent boast of places that are both densely connected and others that are sparsely connected.  In 2008, both Thailand and Vietnam, countries found in the sub-continent of Southeast Asia, achieved a penetration that reached a quarter of their population. In the same year, 298 million of Chinas population was reported to have used the internet for communication, research or business making it the country with the greatest number of internet users in the world, yet its connectivity was still at 22.6 percent. Malaysia on the other hand, trailed behind Singapore, with a penetration of 61 percent ( HYPERLINK httpopennet.net httpopennet.net).

The internet has increased in its appeal to the populace in Southeast Asia particularly due to its interactive web-sites and social media forums, for instance, the web portals, blogs, discussion forums, and video sharing sites. These online social media have provided a crucial channel for the dissemination of news, information and divergent ideas, especially where the mainstream media outlets are controlled by the state, thereby pledging their allegiance to the ruling elite. In fact, bloggers have been referred to as members of the fifth estate in countries whose governments have a strong hold over media outlets, including China, Vietnam and Thailand ( HYPERLINK httpopennet.net httpopennet.net).

The Causes of Regulations of Online Forums in Southeast Asia
The countries in Southeast Asia have grown in leap and bound on the economic front, courtesy of the productive role they play in the global economy. Worth noting is the so called Asian Tigers found in Southeast Asia have heavily relied on the internet to market themselves to the world and conduct other crucial business transaction. The paradox is that these same countries have been at the forefront in restricting its citizens from freely using the internet. They have shown reservation in allowing their citizens to share ideas and information through the internet, a phenomenon they fear could upset their political and social ideologies.

Hindley (2009) notes that the problem stems from the fact that the internet does not respect national boundaries, with easy access to online services provided from any point of the globe. Therefore, governments who prefer that particular information should not be accessed by the public, find themselves helpless in trying to use traditional means.

As a result, Hindley (2009) points out, the political motivation to control critical ideas against regimes and opposing views is behind the regulation of the internet in Southeast Asia. Besides, in countries like China, North Korea and Vietnam, there are ethnic thematic concerns that also bring about internet censorship. In China, the information about Falung Gong, Tiananmen Square, the Tibetan Independence Movement and Taiwan are systematically blocked on the internet whereas inn South Korea, any information about North Korea is routinely censored.

This restriction on political ground has not been without cause In Malaysia, the independent news sites and blogs played a crucial role in providing the opposition parties with a platform to mobilize the populace during the general election of March 2008, in which Barasin Nasional (BN) coalition performed poorly and five bloggers were elected to seats for opposition parties. Even though the internet penetration had lagged behind in rural areas, alternative messages and information that were available only on the internet reached all the sectors of the society through Short Message Services, VCD made from online television programming and printed fliers (Hindley, 2009, p.4).

In Burma, the Military Junta considers the netizens in the country as the state of the enemy. Consequently, there is always a massive filtering of websites and extensive slowdowns, particularly at times when there are civil unrests in the country. Alternatively, the legislations governing internet use, otherwise referred to as the Electronic Act, is touted as one of the most liberticidal laws in the world (Reporters without Borders for Press Freedom, 2009).

Additionally, the internet is the only channel that the opposition in Singapore uses to air its campaign agenda to the public. As reported in Asia Times Online in April 2006, even by that time, the new media had helped to expand the political space for opposition parties in the country, with which they used to promote their alternative economic policies and demonstrate themselves as being the most transparent and accountable political option. Their main target in this case was the young voters who were considered as being techno-savvy voters.

In this way, the opposition employed the internet to hurdle over Singapores state-owned media, whose reportage was flagrantly leaning towards the ruling party. With the internet at their disposal, the opposition could now get a chance to present their case to the electorate. However, the vigilance by the Singaporean government saw to it that the availability of the internet did not translate into more political and social freedoms. In fact, the Singaporean government soon set out to force all bloggers to register their online identities, therefore stripping online writers their anonymous status. This was aimed at subjecting them to possible defamation suits for publishing what was considered as objectionable by the government.

The Nature of Internet Censorship
In most instances the methods used by Southeast Asian countries to curb the access of the internet by its populace is by blocking particular websites that are to be deemed offensive or subversive to the regimes, most of which originate from overseas countries. This blocking is implemented in two ways by centralizing all the exit points of internet communications in a country and then subjecting then ensuring that they are supervised by the authorities. The other way of blocking is by forbidding the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the respective country to allow the access by the public to any sites that are officially banned.

As mentioned by Hindley (2009), China is a good example of a Southeast Asian country where blocking has been used to censor internet access. Indeed internet censorship in China, is one of the most pervasive and developed system. Seemingly, cautious of the tremendous changes the internet could introduce to her social and political structure, China has closely monitored the development of the internet within its borders, even long before the internet became widely available and they began to enforce censorship in the mid 90s.

A 2008 report by the Committee to Protect Journalists reveals that the Chinese government has thousands of personnel who are monitoring internet activity on a daily basis. It based this assertion from another 2007 report released by the official Xinhua News Agency, which announced that the Ministry of Public Security will be dispatching virtual cops to Chinese major websites and also monitor all major portals and online forums. By February 2008, the Xinhua then reported that the National Office for Cleaning-up Pornography and Fighting Illegal Publications had succeeded to expunge over 200 million harmful online items in the previous year. This invariably translated into danger posed to online journalists, particularly those based in China. Currently, eighteen such journalists are in China prisons, accounting for about two-third of the journalists imprisoned in the country.

By 2009 it was reported that the Chinese government had blocked the sites of organizations like the Falun Gong those belonging to pro-Tibetan non-governmental organizations and also those of foreign news media for instance, the BBC and New York Times, which are popular amongst a section of Chinese. Besides, some other user-general content sites like Flickr, Blogger, You Tube, and Word Press have also faced similar stiff blocking from the Chinese government.

Apart from blocking, the other methods used to restrict internet access include legal restrictions. In Singapore, for instance, any internet site that carries political and religious issues regarding the country is deemed illegal unless it is authorized under the Broadcasting Class License Notification. Besides, according to the Film Act, any set of motion pictures, including those in You Tube and those uploaded in blogs are outlawed unless they have been certified by the Board of Film Censors. Subsequently, the providers of internet services are required by the law to ban any online speech that is not politically correct in regards to the ideologies of the regimes.

In Burma the government invokes the Electronic Act of 1996 to defend its political ideology and quell opposing views. The Electronic Act is a suppressive legislation in regards to the internet, television and radio, to curtail the access by the public to sites that are politically opposed to their policies. Amongst other things, this law prohibits the importation, possession and use of a modem without official permission. And anyone found guilty of breaching this law is subject to a fifteen-year jail term, for endangering the security of the state, national unity, culture, national economy and the law and order.

Consequently, various online journalists have fallen victim to this Act. In 2008, Nay Latt was imprisoned for fifteen years for possessing a subversive film. Under the same Act, Zarganar, a famous comedian got a 35 year sentence for disseminating on the internet some articles that criticized the way the Burmese government had handled the humanitarian aid after the Cyclone Nargis. Besides, in December 2009, Hla Hla Win, a video journalist was found guilty of working with a Norwegian based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) Television Network and was given a 20 years jail term (Reporters without Borders for Press Freedom, 2009).

Arguably, these laws are by no means in the interest of the public in the countries that they exist. As the Open Net Initiative report states, in the rush to curb the supposedly harmful effects of the social media, user-generated content and the ever increasing numbers of online commentary, the Southeast Asian governments have come up with cyber-crime laws that purport to discourage online defamation and vigilantism when in real sense they are only effective in stifling nitizen journalism.

Filtering is the other effective means used by governments in Southeast Asia to regulate the access of the internet. A report by Open Net Initiative shows that with its diversity, Southeast Asia is a stronghold for a number of organically grown models used in internet filtering. Alongside China, Singapore began its experiments of internet filtering in the mid 90s. During that period, the users of the internet were imputed to access the web through proxy servers that filtered sites, which were banned by the Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA). These servers were reported to have contained a database of approved material that was frequently accessed and then refused access for having appeared on an SBA list of banned web sites.

Whereas China has not made formal its filtering policy, it diverged from Singapore in aggressive filtering practices in concert to a growing internal market for internet services and content, which resulted to the public-private localized filtering. Apart from the variety of content filtered at the international gateways and through the blocking of key words, Chinese domestic providers who intend to maintain their regulatory compliance are required by law to install internal filtering mechanisms. They are also required to channel staff resources to monitor the content on their websites, without which they invariably face either civil or criminal liability.

The Impact of Internet Censorship
One of the effects of these internet censorships is continued strained relations between some of the nations of Southeast Asia and those, which sees in these restrictions as a threat of the freedom of the press. Currently, there has been a diplomatic row between China and the United States, over Chinas stringent measures in regulating the internet. This came up when the U.S Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton urged China in an online speech, to lift their restrictions on the internet to investigate cyber intrusions that had led to pull out of Google search engine out of the country and, she challenged China to publish their findings. But in a swift rejoinder appearing in the Chinese Communist Partys official newspaper, People Daily, China denounced Clintons assertion as a form of information imperialism. The paper claimed that unlike other advanced Western countries, the Chinese society is still vulnerable to the effects of multifarious inflow of ideas, particularly those aimed at creating disorder in China (Bodeen, 2010).

Google had threatened in January 2010, to withdraw from China if the government did not relent its rules on censorship of content, which the Communist Party had considered subversive. This ultimatum was a result of a discovery that Google had made, in which through a computer attack the Chinese government had tried to plunder its software coding and also destroy e-mail accounts of human rights advocating against some of the Chinese policies.

The censorship of the internet has also had a negative impact on the economy, both at the local and international level. As demonstrated by Hindley (2009), the aspect of internet censorship that affects international commerce stems from the fact that the vast majority of the internet services are normally provided as business services, thereby having a direct commercial effect on the people who have invested in that sector. And due to the fact that the internet censors and the internet service providers are mostly from different countries, the reduction in profits gains is of an international scope because it has affected business in one country, due to the internet regulations by another country.

Conclusion
The curbing of internet access by Southeast Asian state is a retrogressive act that should not be happening in this age and time. This only goes a long way into demonstrating that the governments of these countries are afraid of being accountable to their citizens and are also wary of a change in their political order. A society that is starved of information and is denied the freedom to communicate is at the brink of collapse, its economic prosperity notwithstanding.

The year 2009 could have ended favorably for the Filipinos when on November 14, popular boxer Manny Pacquiao knocked down Miguel Cotto and reigned the headlines around the world. Fifteen days later while the world celebrated with the Filipinos for Pacquiaos victory, media men readied their camcorders again for another big scoop. It was indeed big, but horrifying. That fateful day in November 29 changed not only the fate of Philippine mass media but more significantly, the international mass media forever.

The Maguindanao massacre killed 57 people including 30 journalists were confirmed dead. This event replaced Iraq and made the Philippines as the deadliest country for journalists. It also highlighted the world as a more dangerous place for journalists. What possible conditions prompted the massacre to happen How did the government respond on the issue How did the media community react
November 29, 2009 was a doomsday for media people in the Philippines and around the world. Journalists were killed in a gruesome attack tagged as the Maguindanao massacre in a small town of Ampatuan, located in the province of Maguindanao, one of the poorest in the Philippines. The convoy of Ampatuan Vice Governor Ismael Mangudadatus wife, including relatives and media personnel, was cut and brutally fired at by armed men on its way to an election office to file Mangudadatus certificate of candidacy. Women members of the convoy were raped before they were killed and some were buried alive because of the murderers fear that the authorities would soon discover the crime. The provinces governor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of the ruling Ampatuan clan was held as the primary suspect for the mass killing. There was much speculation that Ampatuan Jr. tried to keep his rival Mangudadatu off his way to the gubernatorial race in the coming May 2010 elections.

Swiftly the news broke out in almost all networks here and abroad, even in websites. The perpetrators tried to stage a news blackout. Witnesses said the target was just the vice governors wife. However, there were allegations that it was the media whom they wanted to silence. The volatile situation in Southern Philippines prompted the declaration of a state of emergency in the area.

As a citizen, I know that in a democratic country, freedom of speech is a constitutional right. It is the primary defense of the people as protection for unlawful acts inflicted against them. On a broader note, mass media serves as an avenue to the practice of this right. Therefore, in a free society, the mass media is always given auspicious attention for reforms to strengthen and empower its voice of public service. Such is not a case in many countries like the Philippines. Being a democratic country, supposedly it has a free media but the government has displayed a record of tongue-tying it. Media personnel are silenced when they speak something unfavorable to those in power  by imprisonment, or worse, by death.

According to the Philippines former Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Leila De Lima, it was the face of corruption and impunity that has prospered in the Philippine government for years. Politicians bargained with the central government for votes in exchange for protection thus strengthening their private armies using state reserves.

The international media expressed outrage over the killings especially because the media workers were murdered in the line of duty. The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (2009) condemned the brutal act and called on the Philippine government to clear its environment of impunity which has killed hundreds of lives including the journalists. According to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the attack in Maguindanao represents the shameless record of violence in the Philippines and calls for the strongest demand for the immediate apprehension, trial and punishment of those responsible. The Catholic Media Network Radio Veritas said the killings were Godless acts and call on our colleagues to be brave and still do our job of fearless reporting. The director of US global press watchdog Reporters Without Borders Clothilde Le Coz sympathized with the victims families and said never in the history of journalism have the news media suffered such a heavy loss of life in one day (2010). The Southeast Asia Press Alliance based in Thailand said the killing is the highest among the heinous episode of barbarism.

The brutal killing in the Philippines reinforced the sacrifices and dangers that media people face in the name of truth. The Maguindanao massacre cautioned the media that a corrupt government such as the Philippines can threaten media workers jobs and their lives. The law in this land is toothless, especially to the high-ranks. It may seem very timely that the election is coming near, the trials and the issue regarding this crime may have been covered or hidden. Veteran broadcast journalist Mr. Daniel Razon of Philippine TV network UNTV commented on the plight of slain UNTV workers, We believe that everything that happens in this world has a purpose, even if we dont fully understand it This is not the end rather this is the start of our fight for justice and to continue the cry of freedom (2009).  Four of UNTV media personnel were among those buried alive in the massacre.

Mass media is the peoples voice so the government may know what they want and what they need, and in return the government by its constitutional mandate will provide for them. In a corrupt government,  the media and the people must work side by side and be vigilant. The massacre may not be the last brutal act. But I believe that the international media has become more vigilant for their rights and has become more united in their advocacy.

Mickey Mouse and Walter Elias Disney (Walt Disney) are equally famous and inseparable figures one being the worlds most famous animated character and the other being the man behind this animation. Mickey first appeared as a new actor at the New York based Colony Theatre in 1928 and through the movie Steamboat Willie, he became the first cartoon that was ever created with sound. The mouses physical appearance was rather striking and according to Smoodin, He had ears bigger than Clark Gables, legs like rubber hose, a grin wider than Joe E. Browns and a heart of gold (48). Beginning from that first theatre night, Mickey Mouse and the man behind his creation both became icons of fun worldwide and they have never lost this grip ever since. The movie was hailed as inventive and sensational by the New York Times and Weekly Film Review respectively. From this time henceforth, Mickey was to stand out as the most significant mouse in history. Through Mickeys creation and sudden popularity, animation began to be developed as a new art and became a tool for exploration into the animal world as well distant people, their geography and adventures. Over the years, Mickey has remarkably moved from one level of success to another and in the process carried the name of Walt Disney to different parts of the world (Smoodin 48). The Disney Companys logo has become recognized in every nation in the world and as Levine states, It was once estimated that Mickey Mouse was the most recognized figure anywhere on Earth, more than the president of the United States, more than Tom Cruise, actually more than Santa Claus (who is famous in only about one-third of the worlds countries (23).

Different names have been used to refer to Mickey mouse depending on the geographical location and popular language. In Mexico, Mickey is known as Raton in Italy he is Topolino Mickey Maus in Germany and Mik-Kii Ma-u-su in Japan to name just a few of the scores of nations where Mickey has been received with much love and admiration. Mickey is a multi-talented fellow and has appeared in different characters ranging from fire chief and magician to great lover and farmer. He has been in the world of astronomy directing comets and planets along their paths and has defied gravity, space and time to always push his way towards success. During WWII, Mickey Mouse found his way into battles as the symbol on hundreds of war planes and ships and his name was also used to label diagrams that described convoy movements directed towards Normandys D-day beaches. Thailands King Bhumiphol is said to have honored Walt Disney with a medal and admitted that he had, as a young child, grown up on Disneys cartoons. American President Franklin Roosevelt made demands to have Mickey in the White House and Britains Queen Mary enjoyed finding Mickey Mouse on the bill every time she made a visit to the movies. By the year 1998, Mickey had been featured in books and comic strips in fifteen different languages. A year later, Disney had become Americas mythmaker, national-babysitter as well as the nations re-creator of history.  This animal character had also become a television star and subsequently led to the founding of the Disneyland Magic Kingdom (Smoodin 48 Watts 219). In the following decades, Disney moved beyond American boarders to exert a dominant influence in both America and abroad on such diverse themes as child rearing, technology, animals and commodities. Over the years, Mickey the mouse and Walt Disney, the man behind this animation have no doubt created a very lasting impact on humankind.

Disneys first corporate success came about in 1931 and out of the twenty-five cartoons that the company produced each year, about half of them appeared under the Mickey Mouse banner. By 1932, Mickey had somehow become a star of the toy department when he was assembled as a large supporting mold for other toys and dolls. At the Kresges Christmas festivities in December of the same year, Mickey Mouse acted as the master of ceremonies for a show held in the Mickey Mouse Barn and also passed out several presents to participants. He also introduced Santa and Mrs. Claus who visited the show in the Mickey Mouse department of the toy section. Yet, even if Mickey had become a sensational very soon after his appearance, the toy business during this time was very seasonal and sales were quite low for most of the year until about one month before Christmas. To develop Mickey, the toy industry in conjunction with Disney made several efforts to organize other events during the year that would help market their toys. Such events were mainly the Childrens Day that was held in June and Mickeys birthday held in the month of October. Stores were encouraged to arrange for these birthday parties as well as to cooperate with movie theatres within their localities in such way that the stores would offer to decorate theatre lobbies with displays of Mickey Mouse toys. In due process, the theatre industry became an extension of these stores.

Right from the word go, Mickey Mouse had become an object of widespread economic activities ranging from entertainment to entrepreneurship. Through the activities of the department stores, Mickey Mouse films enjoyed tremendous advertisement while theatre activities in turn advertised various department stores and popularized Mickey Mouse toys. These toys were supplied by Disney and affiliate companies or by individual department stores and through this scheme stores formed a network of Mickey Mouse Clubs (Watts 153 Smoodin 208). These clubs organized various activities for children such as drama and dance, local music festivities and various other stage shows organized for the display of children talents. With time, these clubs had received Disneys full permission to use Mickeys image in newspaper advertisements and on their store windows. During club activities, a few lucky children would be given the latest Mickey Mouse toys. When other children in attendance desired these toys, they would certainly return to the stores and buy their own. These clubs would also liaise with theatre management for discounted tickets as a way of drawing young moviegoers to the industry. Between 1930 and 1932, membership in these Mickey Mouse Clubs had spread throughout the U.S and numbers had risen to a staggering 1 million members. By the 1950s, the Mickey Mouse Clubs and their variety of activities had reached an exceptional level of business consolidation. Through the clubs, Mickey Mouse toys, hats and scores of other childrens products were all over the market. These clubs enjoyed co-corporate sponsorship from such companies as Coca-Cola Bottling Co., the Wharton, Texasunit, R.B System, Peoples Cotton Oil Company and F.I Moore among others. Disney and Mickey were growing together not only in fame but in business as well. Clever merchandising moves had led to the growth of a Disney enterprise.

In the early 1930s, Universal Pictures introduced Disney to the world of commercial promotion and Mickey Mouse was licensed to various companies for commercial use. Scores of manufacturers began promoting their goods through Mickey Mouse and within the duration of three years since this famous cartoon appeared on the public scene Mickey Mouse had become a common feature in dolls, childrens clothes, linen, soap, jewelry, all types of toys and earthenware among other products. By mid-1930s, Mickey reigned top among other Disney characters that had been licensed to about seventy-five manufacturers with their operations in the U.S. Also licensed to Mickey were forty-five companies in Britain, twenty in Canada, as well as six in both Portugal and Spain respectively. Within a very short time, Mickey Mouse and Disney had gone abroad. For all the sales made between mid-1933 and mid-1934, the fast growing Disney Company was receiving 2.5-10  in commissions.

Some of Mickeys popular affiliates included Hickok Manufacturing, RCA Victor, International Silver Company, Emerson Radio Corporation, General Foods and National Dairy Products. By 1937, Mickey Mouse had become the hottest item in Americas merchandising sector with over four hundred items displaying the Disney trademark. By 1947, these figures had skyrocketed and through Mickeys influence, the Disney name was making annual sales to the tune of  100 million worth of goods. Out of these, the Disney Studio took home between  500,000 and  800,000. Indeed the Disney name had become so influential that it helped some companies threatened by bankruptcy to regain their foothold in business. As Watts states, such titles as  Mickey Mouse Goes into Business, Mickey Mouse and the Bankers and Mickey Mouse Salesman articles uniformly praised the business acumen of the Disney operation in terms of salesmanship, clever merchandising, and market maneuvering (153).  A Mickey Mouse watch manufactured by Ingersol-Waterburry in the mid-1930s sold out so tremendously that within a short time, the company had recovered from serious financial constraints and its economic future was now secured. Other companies saved from bankruptcy by Mickey Mouse included the Lionel Corporation which was licensed by the Disney Company to make an electric-train toy with Mickey Mouse and his female counterpart Minnie pumping the trains handle. The toy sold out tremendously.

In film and television Mickey Mouse was equally creating an awesome impact. By the time Treasure Island was released in 1950, Mickey led other animated features such as Minnie and Donald Duck in representing the Disney Company in live-action films. These films which were first produced in England earned the company a considerable amount of income. Between 1950 and 1961, the Disney Studio had supplemented about twenty-four live action features. Together with NBC, Disney produced Walt Disneys World of Color in 1961 and together with such other films as Snow White and Pinocchio, Mickeys name was rapidly establishing itself in the film industry.  Mickey then plunged into the world of television production through NBCs One Hour in Wonderland which was sponsored by the Coca-Cola Co., at a remarkable cost of  125,000. It was a high season for Mickey in Television and he appeared in such other shows as Song of the South and Bambi. One year down the line, Johnson and Johnson joined the club of Disney sponsors by financing the production of The Walt Disney Christmas Show at an even more remarkable cost of  250,000 (Watts 215-219, 286, 346-347). Half-way into the 1950s, the broad and kindly face of Mickey Mouse with his twinkling eyes, combed-back hair and pencil mustache had also become a common feature in American popular journalism. Within a period of two years between late 1953 and mid 1955, Mickey Mouse represented Disney on the covers of such popular and well-established magazines as Newsweek, Time, Look, TV Guide and Saturday Evening Post. In this era of Cold War, Disney had become some sort of screen for the projection of Americas self-definition amid the growing resentment of her enemies like Russia who denounced Mickey as a warmonger and prevented the viewing of Disney productions within its territories. Yet, such defamation did not affect Mickeys fame and he continued to reign as Disneys most popular symbol.

Nothing would have popularized Mickey and promoted Disneys zeal in entertainment than the companys venture into the world of tourism. Since 1955 when Walt Disney bought a 160-acre plot in Anaheim where he constructed Disneyland, an amusement park that opened its doors in the summer of 1955 amid much fanfare, the Disney company has embarked in the establishment of Disney Theme Parks not only in the U.S but also in other parts of the world such as Europe and Japan. Over the years, these theme parks have risen to the top to become the worlds most popular tourist destinations attracting an estimated 60 million people every year. Besides the Disneyland amusement park in Orange County, California Disney also established the Walt Disney World Complex in Orlando, Florida in 1971, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983 and the EuroDisney Park in Paris, France which opened its doors in 1992. Disneyland offers a variety of attractions situated in a clean, safe and orderly environment. Several themes used in the creation of Disneyland as well as the imposing image of Mickey have contributed to its striking success in the amusement industry. For the original Disneyland, Walt created such themes as Adventureland, Frontierland and Tomorrowland all of which have created an interesting aura around Disneyland.

Through the establishment of amusement parks, Mickey Mouse and his creator Walt Disney have made tremendous contributions to the worlds of amusement and tourism that have transformed such places as the southern town of Orlando into a great tourist destination. Since the Walt Disney World was opened in this town back in 1971, life in Orlando has taken a completely new direction. Orlando has gradually evolved to become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and each year, approximately 48 million people visit this city from other parts of the world to witness its famous, diverse and unique activities as well as have an experience with Mickey in his homeland. As Miller states, Those of us who continue to return year after year can count on each new visit to provide a host of new experiences and magical memories (5). Fashioned after Californias Disneyland, Orlandos Walt Disney World remains the most spectacular theme park in the world today and exposes Mickey to more visitors than any other place in the world. Over 95 attractions make Walt Disney World such an attraction that visitors keep going back (Miller 5, 85). The arrival of Mickey Mouse in Orlando completely changed the general appearance of the city as well as its peoples lifestyle. A variety of fast-food joints and five-star restaurants invaded the town and the city is now renowned for its more than 5000 types of dining options although the main chain and theme restaurants have given it more international recognition. All these developments have come up in response to the huge number of families who flock into the city to see Mickey Mouse. Through Mickey and Disney, Orlando has become the undisputed American king of restaurants and family destinations.

In general, Mickey and Disneyland have not only benefited from booming business in Orlando but have also contributed to the growth of the city and its environs. Ever since Mickey Mouse created glamour by escorting the first visitor to the Magic Kingdom in 1971 with scores of celebrities gracing the opening ceremonies, Walt Disney World has over the years continued to enjoy a unique level of success in its operations and subsequent expansion. During the first two years, this exemplary attraction created jobs for 13,000 people and attracted 20 million visitors into Orlando. According to Miller, The sleepy citrus-growing town of Orlando had become the Action Center of Florida and the fastest-growing city in the State (385). Every ear, Walt Disneyland sells out such a huge number of Mickey Mouse Disney T-shirts that they could cover the chest of every person living in Chicago. Out of the more than 500,000 character watches sold every year, majority are Mickeys. Kodak has also estimated that approximately 4 of all amateur photographs taken in the U.S are taken in this famous amusement park. Although Disney has encountered growing competition from its main competitor the Universal Orlando, Mickey has since 1999, continued to ride high above other popular symbols to make Disney the King in the world of theme parks (Miller 252, 256, 385). By the early 1990s, approximately 70 of the American population had made a visit to one or both of Disneys vacation spots in the U.S. In 1998 the 600,000,000th visitor stepped into Walt Disney World making the park the most popular entertainment center worldwide. Disney had attracted a universal kind of love and according to Jones  Wills, Mickey had become so popular that Dying children made it the last wish to see Mickey Mouse in his home Park (107).

Tokyos Disneyland was the first of its kind built outside the U.S and resembles California Disneyland. Opening its doors on August 13, 1983, the 1.4 billion park owned by the Oriental Land Corporation hosted so many visitors that it broke the original one day record that the company had anticipated. Disney Company designed this park and benefits from a 45-year management agreement. A licensing agreement enables it to collect royalties on its profits. The Tokyo DisneySea which neighbors the park opened its doors in 2001 and features a number of islands and seas. Tokyo Disneyland has recorded smashing success (Browne 236). Yet the sailing has not been smooth all the way for Disney. When for example the company expressed interest in establishing a Disney project in France in the early 1980s, a lot of mixed reactions began to pour in from the rest of the world. A very ambitious project, the theme park covered approximately one hundred acres of prime agricultural land on the east side of Paris. The French government supported this project and from the very initial stages, EuroDisney was a real state matter. Disney used the promise of job creation as bait to gain the French consent besides threatening to shift the investment to Spain if its demands were not met. Disneys demands were not only met, but the company also enjoyed some special favors from the French government such as tax breaks, handouts and grants. This type of government involvement however attracted a lot of criticism from various opponents such as environmentalists and political groups. An unpleasant background had been created for Disney in France and even after EuroDisney opened in 1992, the fear of American invasion of French culture was enormous. Workers were discontented with unfavorable working conditions and low pay and strikes and protests were very common. Turn-out was low since the initial stages but gradually rose to about 12.5 million visitors by the year 1998. Disneyland in Paris has been a source of great controversy and a fierce battle of words has been fought over the issue. Several demonstrations have been organized by the communists and their supporters to defame American culture and yet, the French remain the best consumers of Disney products after the U.S.A. Disney products have attracted a rare kind of omnipresence in Paris and the variety of Disney products on the French market has been one cause of fear that the French could be getting Americanized.

The expansion of Disneys amusement parks has been a source of growing concern for environmentalists. Modern machinery and rollercoasters have replaced the foliage and trees in the parks and artificial nature has become the main theme in these parks. As a result most of the resident flora and fauna has subsequently been uprooted. The major items in such parks are robots and cartoon figures which are used to bombard the visitors with fantasy and escapism. Natural forces in these parks are so artificially controlled that agency and independence are finally lost. Animals features are not real and are simply human beings who appear in animal costumes that they will shed at meal time. Disney has drastically reduced nature to mere plastics and has become its premier artist. In other parts of the world like Tokyo ad Paris, Disney is no longer an icon of American culture and a lot of exotic influence has taken place in the theme parks. Walt Disney Corporation is simply riding on the wings of its own economic success in the name of Americanization. Disney has also faced opposition at home a good example being its 1993 proposal to build a history-based theme park on American soil. Many people especially the Natives did not embrace the idea and due to growing criticism, Disneys America was finally abandoned. Yet, these hitches have done little to affect the massive expansion of the Disney empire.

Disneys growth has been exemplary, giving it a striking presence both at home and abroad. The company continues to offer a variety of products to its clients ranging from television programs and movies which are produced under the Walt Disney Company name as well as various types of entertainment which are produced under the Hollywood and Touchstone Pictures banners. Disney owns the television network ABC and the Disney Channel and ABC Family through which cable TV programming is availed to various clients. The conglomerate also owns real estate, publishing and video distribution companies, retail stores as well as ESPN. Most famous of all its business investments are the theme parks that Disney has established in Florida, California, Paris and Tokyo. The Disney logos have become popular features on various recordings, respected fashion designs, furniture, timepieces, electronics, as well as the famous souvenir Mickeys ears among other products. In the world of corporate labels, the Mickey ears have wielded an immeasurable kind of power to become a worldwide phenomenon that has continued to rise with no rival. Even the Coca-Cola bottle has not been able to catch up with Disneys Mickey Mouse. The mere sight of this pair of ears speaks for Walt Disney and no message is necessary to introduce the company.

Conclusion
Since the Walt Disney Company ventured into the world of entertainment as a cartoon company in the early decades of the 20th Century, it has gradually evolved into a major corporation that is devoted to the provision of quality entertainment as well as a world of magic for entire families. Walt Disney has created an entertainment empire that has impressed many people in the world. The talking mouse, Mickey has especially contributed to this fame and growing popularity since appearing as an animated character in the Disney Studio in the 1920s. Mickey Mouse has since become the most famous carton character in history and continues to ride high on the wings of Disney fame. Despite the wide range of business investments that Disney has ventured into, the company has become one of the most famous and successful conglomerates in the world today and has consistently maintained its customers since it began its operations. Through high quality production, a high dedication to the family as well as zealous customer service, Disney has outdone others in the same field to remain on the top.

The concept of public and counter spheres is changing since digital media came into the picture. Elements that constitute the public and counter public spheres are loosing meaning as the digital era gains momentum.

By definition the public sphere is an arena for individuals to come together with the common interest of communicating about specific issues. Through this interaction they expect to find solutions, give ideas, information and also try to influence powers that control the society.

There are factors that govern who qualify to be in a certain public sphere. First, all participants must have something in common. It can be a norm or even a political belief. Once these participants come together they can actively discuss matters. The participants are networked in such a way that information can be readily passed to and fro and the decisions arrived at amicably.

The other sphere is the rise of a different kind of social arena. It results from discontented individuals who feel the current status quo in public spheres is working against them. They are known as the counter-publics.

Their aim is to propagate their views which have not been prioritized by the public spheres. In most cases the counter publics consist of people who think they are a minority in relation to the objectives of the public spheres. It can also represent a group of participants who feel that the public sphere is not strong enough as they would expect. They feel like the system is working against them and there is no opportunity for them to be heard unless they come together. This can also be as a result of individuals who feel they are in a position to lead others but cannot get that chance in the public spheres. These are some of the traditional notions of the public and counter public spheres.

When the digital age comes into perspective, all the previous concepts about public and counter public networks many not hold much water. For instance, for individuals to work together in the hope of influencing the political state of a country or region it means they have accepted to pool their resources together. It is all for the common good. But with the rise of social networks the society has been broken down into segments. You might be using one network to reach the group that shares similar values with what you are propagating only to find they jumped to another network. It is therefore not possible to get the back up of a bigger portion of the population.

What this has led to is erosion of the social capital. (Robert Putnam, Social capital makes Democracy work). We need to understand the ability of the society to use its resources of trust, social strength to transform the political scene. If the society does not pull together it is pulling apart thanks to the fragmentation of the public sphere.

Lately most people do not actively participate in politics or even the elections. This might have been brought about by discontentment and feeling that their contribution will not change things for the better or worse. They opt to take the back sit and watch things happen. The number of people championing for democracy is therefore reduced resulting into political authorities that people did not expect. All this because people did not work together share ideas in order to come up with solutions.
The lack of social capital has also yielded the rise of counter publics. These have been instigated by individuals who think they have the solution and do not want outside influence. They may take advantage of the lack of unity in the community or public sphere to gain social mileage. Counter publics shed light on issues that have been done away with or have not yet been focused before.
In the process one of the key objectives of public spheres, to influence the political power in a region will not be achieved.

Instead of building on the need to increase togetherness, technology then leads to networked individualism (Barry Wellman). It is now possible for people in inaccessible areas to send and receive information.  They only participate in the arenas they want to and which must also possess the same networks. Some of the methods that have led to networked individualism include teleconferencing and instant messages, Skype. People using these methods are linked using a telecommunication system which has to be controlled by either of the parties. This has reduced financial costs especially for companies and people who are on different parts of the world but it has considerably shrunk the social capital. Unity of people is quickly fading out.

With this rise in networked individualism we can only conclude that digital technology has given rise to a new breed of people who solely depend on the internet to make a social impact. (Danah Boyd, Super Publics).We are giving rise to a generation that has lost touch with the need for direct human interaction and is instead preferring to use a medium, create a new person and then communicate to the world.

According to Face books Press room, more than 35 million users update their status daily. This is statistical information from one social site and does not signify what happens in other sites. The figures may go higher or lower than that in other social networks. The bottom line is a big potion of the society is online. This wave of online networking has been fueled by the ability to condense distance and time. For example, A Ugandan correspondence student in New York can still know what is happening in the country of origin by reading the updates and feeds posted by friends. The student can also communicate despite the difference in time zones. The student only needs to open an account and create a user profile, instantly a digital equivalent of the student is created. It is as if a replica of the student is alive but this time, living in a social network. The student is now in a position to control what other users in the network can view about herhim.

Despite the fact that public spheres were meant to foster discussions and deliberations some participants are using social networks as a monitoring tool. (Burns, Alex, Eltham, Ben (2009). Organisations have realized that since social networks are taking priority in human life it would be best to try and target these people on the social sites in with the aim of marketing their products.
This is not what public spheres were intended for. (Wikipedia-Fraser 1990) They are not marketing spheres rather they should be used by people with the aim of focusing on development of the political and social front. When marketing and research is conducted on the social networks it gives a leeway to biased opinions because of the fear of reproach or punishment because the walls that protected the individuals ideas from non partisans in that public sphere have been tampered with. It is due to this reason that people who rise against political strong holds are easily tracked down.

In addition to that, social networks have been turned into a medium to dispatch news. People are rushing to what is expected to act as the social arena to get news making stories (Hope, Christopher (2007). Out of curiosity and not the desire to actively participate in the discussions there, these individuals click in and out of websites and social sites. Once their hunger is satisfied they hop to another section. This hoping business sometimes brings in new participants in the public spheres online (Matthew Goodwin, Activism in contemporary Extreme Right Parties). The new comers are probably not comfortable in the social sphere they adhered to. Their stay is not guaranteed. If their needs are not amicably met in the current group they will move out. The availability of these online public spheres also gives people a chance to learn more about them before joining them. They can get in or out without disturbing the function ability of the group. For example on Face book you can decide to become a member of any group and if you do not wish to continue with your membership, its just a click away.

Digital media has taken counter publics to a whole new level. (Burns, Alex, Eltham, Ben (2009).
The fight for public diplomacy is taking a bit of diplomacy in itself. Instead of seeing bloody protests on the streets they have been replaced by a substantially powerful social network voice. Because most of the social sites are available beyond the boundaries of the country in conflict it is possible to have a mass following all championing for democracy.

The counter public spheres have also acted as help groups for people facing a similar problem. For instance, The Alcoholics Anonymous. These support groups help individuals conquer problems with the right information in mind. They can also act as debate opportunities for people undergoing the same predicament to come up with possible solutions and influence the public policy making to their favour.

The political strong holds of a country can be stirred by widespread coverage of the internal crisis. This has led to restrictions of some social networks ability in some countries.  With the recent rise in political uncertainties during election periods the social networks have become a popular site to air grievances and views in relation to what is happening in any country of the world.

If the average person spends more than 35 minutes per day on Face book and has an average of 130 friends it shows that social life has moved to the internet (Face book Press room statistics). The conversations that would previously be held in the mall or at a coffee house are now taking place with a big audience present but they are not party to the discussion (Danah Boyd, Super Publics). This has shrunk the number of people who can participate in a social arena.

Doubts have also been raised about most of the content on social networks. Since most of the sites are being used in the place of other human interaction activities, there has been a rise in irrelevant material that is being highlighted in some of the social networks.  Pear Analytics conducted a research using 2000 tweets which had been obtained in the United States of America (U.S) and England. They were collected over a 2 week period. The results were analysed in 6 categories. The biggest percentage was indicated as pointless babble.

That is what people are doing on the social networks, being social.  The length to which a person goes socially is different. Some individuals act like the public watch dogs exposing others shortcomings with the aim of tarnishing their public image. This is not an element of public spheres. A public sphere consists of people with common interests trying to iron out issues that affect the society (whole or part).

Confidentiality of information in the social networks has also become a concern. The strong urge to pass information sometimes overrides the need to observe confidentiality. In a public sphere the information leaving the group should be amicably arrived at by the team of participants. If there is a leakage of information it means the arena should be ready to face prejudice or outside interference.

In essence, the presence of social networks has altered the perception of public and counter public spheres.

Digital media has opened up inaccessible parts of the world and given people an opportunity to discuss issues and make decisions without the hindrances of time, space or distance. We cannot continue holding onto concepts that may not work in this digital age. We should accept that the public sphere has changed. Offline networks are being reconstructed on line through new user profiles. They can be changed, stored and replicated.

An interview is a formal face to face communication with a  person with the intention of gathering some information from him. There are many types of interview. Information gathering, employment and performance appraisal are the three important types of interview that come under the category of employment related interviews.

Information Gathering Interview  This kind of interview can be considered a good step in terms of career exploration. According to Munkley, The purpose behind the information gathering interview is that long before you commit to years of study, or a specific career path, you take an in depth look at people doing what you think youd like to be doing. (para.4) In comparison to employment and performance appraisal interview, information gathering interview is not a very popular concept. Before joining any job, people keep on thinking about many aspects of the job like, what are the chances of career advancement in the company one is planning to join, whether one might be expected to work in shifts etc. Hence the goal is to find detailed information about the job that one is going to get committed to.

The information gathering interview also helps in checking the validity of information that one has gathered through net surfing or reading books and articles. It helps in gathering more subjective, personal, area specific information. This is also an excellent way of networking with people in ones area of work. Since information gathering encompasses contacting people who are more experienced with the job or people who are in high level positions, it will naturally help in ones future career. Information gathering interview is not a very common concept as many job seekers are hesitant regarding it.

Employment Interview  An employment interview is an interview between an employer and a prospective employee. Through it the employer gets a chance to judge whether the interviewee is suitable for the role or not and the interviewee gets a chance to introspect whether the job suits, his requirements, aspirations and goals or not. The employment interview is based around ones curriculum vitae. Through the interview a candidate gets an opportunity to stress his strengths and explain the loopholes in the curriculum vitae if any.
The employment interview can either be taken by a single person or by a panel of interviewers. If there is a panel then there are strong chances that there will be a psychologist amongst them. His job would not be to weigh the answer of the candidate. Rather his job would be to judge how effectively one is able to handle different questions.

The job interview is mostly conducted in the premises of the company. But if a person is about to finish a professional degree then the interviewers go to the educational institutions and select the candidates by interviewing the students one by one as well as conducting group discussion amongst them to choose the best from the lot. In some cases interview can also be conducted over the telephone. But there should be exceptional reasons of conducting interview over the phone. One very legitimate reason could be that the interviewer and the interviewee are staying in two different countries.

The best employment interview should not be one way flow of information. Though the maximum number of questions is from the interviewer to the interviewee, there should be the other way flow of questions as well. In small organizations the managing director or the chief operating officer conducts the interview but in large organizations there is a separate HR department to look into matters related to recruitment.

Performance Appraisal  As the name signifies, the aim of this exercise is to review the performance of the employees. In most of the companies, performance appraisal is done once a year to evaluate and diagnose the weakness and strength of the employees. Based on the appraisal, necessary actions are taken to increase the productivity level of the staff. Appraisal is also done to ascertain whether an employee has accomplished what was expected of him. This is an exercise that normally proceeds before salary increments. According to Naukri hub.com, The latest mantra being followed by organizations across the world being  get paid according to what you contribute  the focus of the organizations is turning to performance management and specifically to individual performance. (para.4)

There are different methods of performance appraisal. Some organizations deal in performance appraisal of employees by the superiors only. While some other organizations deal in three different kinds of appraisals. They get an employee evaluated by the superiors, by the peers and by the subordinates. This is the best way of appraising an employee as his capabilities and achievements are evaluated from all angles through this method. The employees are expected to answer a standard set of questions which are laid out in a form. Performance appraisal helps the employee to understand his responsibilities and roles in more detail. It is an excellent way of gathering insight about oneself and setting fresh goals in life.
Questions for the Employment Interview

Primary Questions
How would you describe yourself
How would a good friend of yours describe you
Why are you interested in this job
What are your short term goals
What are you long term goals
What are your remuneration expectations
 What are your strengths
What are your weaknesses
Why should we hire you
What makes you qualified for this position
What do you do in your spare time
Are you willing to work in some other city
Do you consider yourself a leader
What is your most important accomplishment
What is your biggest mistake

Secondary Questions
On the basis of how you described yourself, do you think there is any scope of improvement in your personality
Do you think your friends know you completely and have the right opinions about you
Do you think this job will help you in achieving your goals
Other than your career related goals what other goals have you established for yourself
How will you accomplish your short term goals
How will accomplish your long term goals
What measures will you take to enhance your strengths
What measures would you take to reduce your weaknesses
What do you think takes to be successful in this company
Why are you not willing to relocate
How does your hobby enhance your personality
What is one leadership quality in you that you admire the most
Would you be interested in advancing your education to be more successful in this company
What have you learnt from your accomplishments
What have learnt from your mistakes

Types of listening required
Informative Interview  In the informative interview the job seeker aims to gather information about the field he wants to work in. The interviewee in this case is an experienced person and he needs to listen to each and every point raised by the interviewer as his answer would prove to be very critical in the decision making process of the interviewer. His answers can make or mar the career of the person so he needs a very attentive listening capability.

Evaluative Interview  In this type of interview, the interviewer has to make a decision regarding an increment or promotion of the interviewee. Thus he has the responsibility of not only listening but also analyzing what he has heard, in order to come to a concrete conclusion. He should be an excellent observer of body language. This means he should know the art of reading gestures, facial expressions, and hand movements etc. to judge the authenticity of statements of the interviewee.

Listening to help  In this type of listening the listener has the responsibility of providing emotional support to the person on the other end. The person who is speaking expects help and empathetic listening from the listener. Hence the listener should use lots of friendly words and gestures so that the speaker opens up all the more and states his problems without any inhibitions.

All the types of listening require different body language of the listener. In the informative interview the listener should look very authoritative, knowledgeable and confident. The interviewee will then feel like believing what he is being told. In the evaluative interview the listener should be neutral towards the speaker. His job at that time is to grasp the real picture rather than being against or for the speaker. In the empathetic listening the listener cannot be stiff. Through his body language he should display his concern for the speakers problems.

Romantic love is one of the key themes of the musical genre. As Lucy Fischer (1989) points out, the handling of romantic love by the musical genre is done in one of two ways, comically for example in A Swing Time (1936), or tragically as in Moulin Rouge (2001). However, one of the key difficulties of the musical form is the battle between imagination and upholding a realistic societal order. One of the beauties of the musical genre is that is allows the expression of the hyper real, situations and circumstances which are removed from the realms of possibility, highlighting the notion of utopia which creates a desire for something more and outside of normality. Whilst some producers have taken the life is music strategy, seamlessly incorporating numbers into the narrative, others embrace this more artificial, theoretical context, using it as a means by which to create productions on screen which would not work as successfully in the traditional melodrama or romance genre and emphasize creativity and originality.

One example of this use of numbers to explore the hyper real is Baz Lurhmanms Moulin Rouge. Here Lurhmann fully embraces the disordered and out of the ordinary world of the Moulin Rouge which is communicated both visually through the grandeur of the sets and costumes, musically through the rich and varied pastiche of modern songs he uses to enhance the narrative and through editing with the fast pace of cuts, rapid pans and frantic movement in the frame. However, Lurhmann also cleverly juxtaposes this spectacle with the touching love story between protagonists Satine and Christian. By incorporating slow, extreme close ups and lingering shots at specific points, for example at the end of the Elephant Love Medley where the protagonists realise and cement their love for one another with a kiss, it is one of the first times that a static shot is held in extreme close up of the couple as they embrace.

As Kinder (2002) points out, such cinematography humanizes the love story and prevents the film from becoming more of a visual spectacle and the emphasis being solely on aesthetic appeal. Through such interplay of fast paced spectacle and lingering romance the contrast between the two is highlighted, momentarily pausing for the audience to absorb the emotions of the actors and communicating emotional power, whilst simultaneously hooking and entertaining with the large scale dance routines with hundreds of performers, bright colours and rapidly moving shots.

A problem which has faced producers when attempting to turn a musical intended for production on stage into a film is the notion of realism and being able to not lose the audience through being too un naturalistic. As Terry Teachout (2008) has suggested, on stage and in a theatre the actor is human and three dimensional, giving him a certain gravitas and reality which causes him bursting into song to be all the more believable, however, on screen this is not the case. The screen is primarily a story telling medium, and we see evidence of this even in farfetched science fiction texts where the narrative presents events in a way which attempts to cause us to believe that they are real. In order to overcome this it is often the case that when a musical was translated into a film the number of songs was cut and were more likely to be performed in a context which justified their position in the narrative, which characters being singers or dancers themselves, for example, Fame, High School Musical, Hairspray and indeed Moulin Rouge.

By justifying the inclusion of musical number in such a way in Moulin Rouge, it allows the narrative to become all the more believable. Given the excess of the Moulin Rouge it is a concept which may well become too farfetched for the audience to engage with. By incorporating numbers into more justified positions within the narrative, for example when Satine is first presented to the audience she is on stage, her singing and dancing is more ingrained within the text so it functions to make her characterization more believable and real. Lurhmanns decision to present Satine as such and to introduce the love story of the film in such a manner, whereby as Hutchins points out, the camera reflects the feeling of Christian who has been drinking absinthe as he instantly falls in love at first sight with Satine, presents the notion of love as an intoxicating and all consuming emotion, communicating Christians feelings in a highly stylized manner.

As long unsteady pans are using of Satine gliding over the heads of the audience it mimics the drunken euphoria Christian is in, and as she is physically placed above everyone else in the frame, with the audience all looking up at her it places her in a both physically and metaphorically higher position, almost being worshipped by the audience and Christian himself as she is also a higher class to Christian who is an out of work writer. This causes the viewer to understand his falling instantly in love with her in the context of the chaotic environment of the Moulin Rouge.

It is a convention of the musical genre that song is used to communicate emotional intensity. As Thomas Elsaaesser points out, It is precisely when . . . emotional intensity becomes too strong to bear that the performers have to dance and sing in order to give free play to the emotions that possess them (16). This notion of the song being a metaphor for emotions which are too strong to merely communicate through dialogue is something which is seen in a variety of musicals, and the intensity is often heightened through filmic technique. For example, if we think of Sandy and Danny in Grease (1978) in an iconic split screen of the two of them gazing into the distance thinking of one another, it is clear to see that the true emotions the two of them are feeling are strong as it is only when they are both alone, away from the gaze of their peers that their feelings towards one another are able to show through.

Particularly for Danny, who is constantly seen as living up to the male bravado he portrays himself as having in front of his peers, when he is metaphorically placed with Sandy in the same shot, although not physically together, we see a different side of him which suggests that he does have stronger feelings for her than in the remainder of the song, where sex seems to be the main priority as he sings of, Well she was good, you know what I mean in a display of maleness. Through this shot a clear comment on teen culture is made, whereby Danny displays a different side to his character when away from the influence of his male friends. Through such a comment the musical genre, particularly in relation to teen cinema, can be seen as a means by which a social commentary can be made, in effect holding up a mirror to teen society during the 1970s. The comment we see here may well be that whilst friendships can be based on bravado and show, this may not be reflective of the feelings of the teens under the surface, and ultimately the emotion of love is able to break Danny of his strong image and masculine persona, as he is willing to compromise this in order to be with Sandy, although only away from the judging eyes of his peers. This also functions to reassure the audience, who at the time of release of Grease were suffering the effects of a moral panic surrounding the influence of rock music on teen culture, that in fact teenagers did still have emotions beneath their often rebellious behavior with friends.

Also within Grease notions of gender stereotypes are very apparent and this is something which is common to the musical genre. Particularly at the climax of the film, where Sandy adopts a highly fetishistic outfit in order to secure her romance with Danny, evidence of the objectification of the female form can be seen. Further evidence of this notion of females being used as decorative or erotic objects in the musical genre can be seen in the voyeuristic presentation of Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. As we see Sandy give a highly fetishistic performance set in the fun fair as she sings You are the one I want with lingering shots of her skin tight, leather clad legs panning up her body, with Dannys reactions as well as him being placed physically beneath her we see evidence of both female empowerment as Danny obediently follows her through the fairground ride, as well as female objectification, as it is only when she adopts this sexualized persona that Danny seems willing to commit to their relationship. Such a representation of romantic love through performance seems to communicate the message that Sandy is only empowered through Dannys reaction to her, which represents subservience to males and gives the impression that she is only satisfied through her finding a romantic relationship, which emphasizes the notion of love which the musical genre has always seemed to prioritize.

Morley, D. (1995). Introduction. Spaces of Identity Global Media, Electronic Landscapes and Cultural Boundaries (The International Library of Sociology) (1 ed., p. 1). New York Routledge.
--This introductory paragraph defines the purpose of the book as an investigation into the role of contemporary cultural identities in communications media.  The author sets the scene by explaining how transformations in the global media environment are impacting communications networks and how peoples perceptions of time and space are altering in reaction to this environment.

Cresswell, T. (2006). The Production of Mobilties An Interpretive Framework. On the Move Mobility in the Modern Western World (1 ed., pp. 1-4). New York Routledge.
--This article describes the intangible nature of mobility and how its nature makes it a difficult area to study.  It explores the various meanings of mobility and retraces how it has developed from a concept of moving from A-B to what it encompasses today.

Mains, S. P. (2004). Imaging the border and southern spaces Cinematic explorations of race and gender. GeoJournal, 59(4), 253-264.
--This paper discusses the US-Mexico border and explores how cinema has been used to portray discourses related to undocumented immigration.  It postulates that otherwise intangible threats to US space and security are controlled via the displacement of fear onto images that are symbolic of a threat to US security.

Morley, D. (2000). Postmodern and virtual geographies. Home Territories Media, Mobility and Identity (Comedia) (1 ed., pp. 199-200). New York Routledge.
--David Morelys discussion of virtual geographies discusses various interpretations of what a virtual geography constitutes and builds an argument about how conceptions of such have been established over a period of time.

Brah, A. (2002). Global mobilities, local predicaments Globalization and the critical imagination. Feminist Review, 70, 30-26.
--Analyses the role of gender within key discourses of globalization.  The essay explores how the media reacted to the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers and addresses the importance of intersectionality.

Wonders, N. A. (2007). Globalization, border reconstruction projects and transnational crime. Social Justice, 34(2), 33-37.
--Article explores the relationship between globalization, border reconstruction projects, and the growth and changing character of transnational crime. It argues that border reconstruction projects have inherent contradictions, the likes of which are the source of transnational crimes.

Andrew V. Papachristos, Gang World, Foreign Policy, MarApr 2005. pp. 48-55
--Addresses the proliferation of gang culture and postulates that the United States have assisted and supported this phenomenon through the deportation of thousands of immigrants.

Paul Virilio, The Information Bomb, (London Verso. 2005,) pp. 122-123.
--Considers the concept that the imperative to compress time means that  here no longer exists.  He explores the impact that time has and explores of the relationship between technology, speed, war and information technology.

William F. Connolly, Speed, concentric cultures and cosmopolitanism, Political Theory, vol, 28. No.5. 2000. pp. 596-618 (pp.596-598)
--Addresses the work of Paul Virilio and asserts its importance in understanding the danger of speed.  The author develops Virilios theory and enhances them to address what he believes to be shortfalls in Virilios work.

Steve Redhead, Introduction, Paul Virilio Theorist for an Accelerated Culture. (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press. 2004). Pp.2-5
--The introduction to this book explains how the book intends to analyze Virilios work in terms of his theories and when and how they were construed.  It discloses the intention to explore these theories in the context of present day culture and social networks.

Steve Redhead, Those absent from the stadium are always right  Accelerated culture, sport media, and theory at the speed of light,  Journal of Sport and Social Issues, vol.31 no.3, 2007, pp 226-241, (pp.226-227).
--This essay explores the concept of Virilios theory at the speed of light within the context of sports and sports media.  The author sets out to incorporate Virilios ideas into sociological studies of sport and explore how information is perceived differently according to whether or not you witness a sports event live.

Multiple Choice
1.The Public Relations Society of America
a. boycotted against a government-imposed code of ethics.
b. is affiliated with the federal government.
c. designed a code of ethics for public relations professionals.
d. counteracts negative foreign publicity about the United States.
e. all of the above

2.An example of well-managed crisis public relations occurred during
a. the Nixon administrations effort to distance itself from the Watergate break-in.
b. the introduction of Cabbage Patch dolls in 1983.
c. the Johnson and Johnson Companys effort after Tylenol was connected to poisoning deaths.
d. the placement of a two-and-a-half story pair of tennis shoes on hotels.
e. the Alaska oil spill of 1989.

3.Which of the following is not recommended by public relations experts if a company has a public relations crisis
a. Avoid telling the whole truth to the media.
b. Admit the mistake.
c. Apologize to the public.
d. Put the chairman or CEO on television to say the mistake wont happen again.
e. Place newspaper ads thanking customers for their support.

4.Many firms attempt to use PR to get favorable media coverage of their products because
a. the firm can get its message across without any noise.
b. it is easier to get a publicity release published than it is an ad.
c. although publicity is more expensive to produce, it is usually more effective.
d. it is cheaper to get a publicity release published than to purchase an ad.
e. all of the above

5.A study of news stories carried in The Wall Street Journal found that
a. virtually all originated with the papers reporters.
b. nearly half the stories came from press releases.
c. most of the stories came from the wire services.
d. less than 5 percent were based on press releases.
e. all of the above

6.Todays best public relations people are
a. sophisticated, low-key communicators.
b. people closely following orders from their clients or employers.
c. generally only high school graduates.
d. bereft of moral conviction.
e. people who have no news media experience.

7.Getting a newspaper to write stories about a new toy is an example of
a. product public relations.
b. financial public relations
c. crisis public relations.
d. advertising.
e. governmental public relations.

8.Which of the following is not true of the relationship of the Internet to the practice of public relations
a. The Internet has created new opportunities for complaints and criticisms about corporate performance to spread.
b. Monitoring the World Wide Web for negative publicity is good public relations practice.
c. Companies and public relations agencies are spending large amounts of money and time to monitor the World Wide Web for negative publicity.
d. Public relations problems can develop on chat rooms, online forums, and Usenet groups, as well as on Web sites.
e. The Internet provides opportunities to globalize public relations practice.

10.The former newspaper reporter who organized the Committee on Public Information for the U.S. Government during World War I was
a. Ivy Lee
b. Edward L. Bernays
c. Elmer Davis
d. George Creel
e. Carl Byoir

9. Which of the following is a major difference between the practice of public relations and the practice of advertising
a. Advertising is involved in persuasion, and public relations are not.
b. Advertising representatives work directly with the media, while public relations representatives do not.
c. Shifting demographic patterns affect the work of advertising people but not the work of public relations people.
d. Advertising people are usually not involved in corporate policy decisions, and public relations people usually are.
e. Advertising is considered a mass medium, while public relations is not.


TrueFalse

1. Business executives agree that in a crisis such as the Odwalla E.coli outbreak, the best person to represent the company is the head of its public relations office.

2. Because of their distinctly different functions, PR firms and advertising agencies are almost never combined.  False.

3. The Utah Mine Disaster of 2007 is considered a model of public relations management. True

4. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1961 that a public relations firm could exercise its First Amendment rights to present false information on behalf of its client. False

5. Media placement people in a PR firm contact news media, hoping to persuade them to publish or broadcast stories about their clients. True

6. The term press agentry often means upholding the highest ethical public relations standards. False

7. Public relations people are often involved in policy decisions in their companies. True

8. Anne Williams Wheaton, an early public relations pioneer, later worked for President Dwight D. Eisenhower as his associate press secretary. True

9. Modern public relations emerged at the beginning of the 20th century as a way for business to respond to the muckrakers and to Theodore Roosevelts antitrust campaign.  True.

10. During World War II, the Office of War Information was created to protest the United States participation in the war. False

11. Public relations involves creating an understanding for or goodwill toward, a company, a person or a product.
True

12. The first publicity firm, called The Council on Public Information, opened in Boston in 1900 to head off the growing public criticism of the railroad companies. False

13. Public relations people are responsible for organizing open houses and other special events, testing message concepts and writing press releases. True

14. Public relations for nonprofit groups is one of the fastest growing areas of the industry. True

15. Editors use very little of the information submitted as press releases by public relations people. False

16. A public relations practitioner rarely contributes to decisions about how a company will deal with the public. False

17.The U. S. Governments Office of War Information during World War II was led by former newscaster Elmer Davis. True

18. Before 1900, business worked successfully with the media in promoting a positive image by having company officials hold frequent press conferences with reporters.
False.

Google is indubitably the most popular and most exciting company in the world today. According to its corporate website, its mission is to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful (Google, 2010). Google ranked first place in Fortune Magazines annual Best Companies to Work For, besting other top companies for two consecutive years, in 2007 and 2008. The most cited reason its performance as a top employer is because of its internal company culture. Google is the ultimate global company and is described as high-energy, fast paced work environment (Google, 2010). On its website, its policy of favoring ability over experience rings true as the employees of Google are all college degree holders at the very least. Because Google is oriented toward its youthful internet-savvy market, the average age of its employees is noticeably lower than most companies. The median age at Google is 30 years old and the gender distribution is 65 male and 35 female (Linkedin, 2010). The dress code is casual and laid-back because the company values ability and hard work, not appearance. Google has a very engaging company culture. Its headquarters at Google Mountain View, CA  called Googleplex is designed to be have a campus-like feel attuned to its predominantly young college-level fresh recruits (Google, 2010).

There are several facilities in Googleplex such as a caf, snack rooms that are well-stocked, and a caf.  There is also a great degree of independence for Google engineers because of the so-called 20 program. Engineers can devote 20 of the total number of work hours on projects that truly interest them . This policy reduces the level of stress as well as promotes creative thinking. Despite being a global business, Google executives say they try to maintain a small company feel and treat everyone equally (Google, 2010). During lunches, everyone eats at the office caf, we still maintain a small company feel. At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office caf and the environment is kept casual in order to allow Googlers to interact and share ideas with other teams.  There are plenty of perks available for employees. Google have shared cubicles, laptops for everybody, bicyclesscooters for inter-office travels during meetings, massage chairs, dogs, inflatable balls and dogs. There are also assorted recreational activities and facilities such as pool tables, foosball, ping pong tables, video games, pianos, and even yoga classes. Employee groups devoted to all sorts of interests are also encouraged. Nutrition is emphasized with healthy lunches offered at the caf.

Company Profile
Google has expanded from a two-man team in 1998. Although based in Mountain View, California, Google has over 20,000 employees offices in 57 countries all over the world (Linkedin, 2010). In the US alone, Google offices are located in almost all major cities. Google specializes in Internet-based products and services and derives most of its revenue from advertising profits via the Adwords application. It is most famous for its search engine Google, ranked by Alexa as the Internets most visited website (Alexa, 2009). Its products include email software Gmail, social networking tools like ORKUT and Buzz, desktop applications, web browser Google Chrome, photo editing software, Googletalk instant messaging, and the Android mobile phone (Google, 2010). Googles main competitors are the topnotch tech companies that are competing for the most innovative products to introduce to the world market Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Facebook, Twitter, Mozilla, Yahoo, Cisco, IBM, and Nokia (Global Thoughtz, 2010). Recruitment at Google is famous for being a tough process. Acceptance of applications are based on interviews and college grades. There are also allegations that the company recruits only those below 30 (Logan, 2009). Candidates undergo multiple face interviews and are judged mainly on college academic performance. Google has an unlimited sick leave policy and requires employees to work hard only 70 percent of the time (Google, 2010).
Place your name here

CAMPUS                                PERMANENT
Line 1 Address                            Line 1 Address
Line 2 Address                            Line 2 Address
Phone number                                Phone number
Email address                                Email address

OBJECTIVE    Software Developer position
SUMMARY   
Software engineering internship with IBM.
Graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS degree in Computer Science.
Proficient in Java, C, C, Unix, HTML, and Linux.

EDUCATION   
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, May 2009
Name of School, Address of School
Graduated Magna Cum Laude incurring a GPA of 3.6 within a scale of 4.0
Courses taken
Software Engineering Design   
Operating Systems Design   
Java Development   
CC Design and Programming
Network Programming

EXPERIENCE   
Software Engineering Internship, April 2007 to July 2007
International Business Machines, Armonk, New York
Tested enhancements toward A software.
Designed a prototype of a new product enhancement for A written in C and Java.

ACTIVITIES   
President, Computer Engineering Association, 2008-2009
   
Place your name here
Line 1 Address
Line 2 Address

March 28, 2010

Mr. Jeff Barr
Manager, Human Resources
Google, Inc.
Northview Mountain, CA

Dear Mr. Barr

I am responding to the job fair your company conducted here in (your university and state). I am more than willing to become a part of the innovative and high-energy team at Google, Inc. I understand that you are seeking fresh graduates who have proven academic excellence and motivation to contribute to your ever-expanding global company. I am one who qualifies for the position of Software Developer. I earned my B.S. in Computer Science from (your university) and I have tested as well as designed software during my internship at International Business Machines (IBM) in New York.

My academic and personality profile fits your companys needs. I graduated Magna Cum Laude incurring a GPA of 3.6 out of a 4.0 scale. I have been a member and  leader of the Student Chapter of the Computer Engineering Association, a student chapter of software engineering students and computer enthusiasts in my university.

Would you like to meet to learn more about me and my qualifications for this job I would enjoy speaking with you in person. You can reach me on my cell phone (cellphone number). I shall be more than willing to meet you for an interview at your convenience. Thank you for considering my application and for perusing my resume and cover letter.

Sincerely,

Place your name here

Enc resume and cover letter

Possible Interview Questions
What interests you about Google Of all the promising technology companies, why did you apply here
What products and services does Google have that you feel places us above out competitors
If accepted, what do you think you will be doing
During your internship at IBM, what did you do
How will this aid the growth of Google Inc.

There was one instance where I performed a leadership role, and also learned from a good leader, that I still remember very clearly. It was almost 4 years ago, on August 2006 to be exact the setting was in Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia and the problem was that I had a very urgent project at work. It was for an office building, it was only one floor but it was sizeable and it was an open space to be used for storage. My role at the time was the project manager, and this means that I was to direct and support the specific project all the way through to its finishing stages. It was an important role and a decently sized project so of course like anybody would, I did not want anything to go wrong with anything related to the project, down to the smallest detail. In this instance, though there were many other in more superior positions than me, I had a leadership role as there were just as many, even more, who were directly under me such as the workers and labourers.

The problem, actually, appeared in the form of floor tiles. As I had said, the project area, though a single floor, was rather sizeable so in order to do the flooring of the building, we required 2000 square meters of floor tiles. The problem did not present itself right away, it was not exactly a direct logistics problem once the amount of tiles needed was calculated, we ordered that much quantity from Italy. So, at the time all that we thought we needed to do was finish everything else that needed to be done before the tiles arrived and move on to that rather large part of the project, the flooring, once they did. But when the shipment from Italy finally arrived, we found that the company had only sent us 700 square meters of floor tiles, definitely an extremely far cry from the 2000 square meters that we needed and ordered. Of course once this was discovered we immediately contacted the company to find the reason for what we were hoping was just a grievous mistake, or at the very least maybe a misunderstanding. I suppose that some of us, me at the very least, were hoping that this could just be an initial shipment and there were more on the way. Once contacted though, what slivers of hope we had were shattered, as they explained that it was because the production line at the factory in Italy could not cover the whole amount of tiles at that moment. In a way, it was both a misunderstanding and an initial shipment as they said that due to the explained fault they were just able to only send the amount that they sent us, and that the rest of the required number of tiles would in fact be sent, but only after two months. You can imagine the semi-panic that ensued at the prospect of having to postpone a large project for two whole months just because some off-shore company could not deliver what had been promised us.

As a project manager, I was of course required to finish the project on time, and so this problem was serious because we were not in a position to wait for two months. Like for any project, there was a dateline attached to this one, and the budget for the entire thing was tied very closely to that deadline. There were also the wages of the workers to consider, and whether we could keep them if we postponed for two months or let them go during the hiatus contracts had to be brought up and perused through. These people were directly under me, and I was liable for their work and welfare, at least while they worked on this project. On top of all of that, there was nothing else we could do to keep working for two months because we had already done all the other unrelated parts of the project, and all the other finishing works depended on the flooring phase such as plastering the walls, painting, putting up the wall paper, et cetera.

I thought long and hard about this problem, there were so many things on the line over a single detail gone amiss. The solution that I finally came up with was to replace the material. It seems like such a simple answer to a big problem, and not much to fuss over, but one has to remember that the original material was part of the plans that had already been drawn up and finalized, and part of the order had already been fulfilled and delivered. So changing the material at this point was by no means a simple task. Like I said, I thought long and hard for this, and it was the only solution I could come up with that allowed us to finish the project by the deadline, and actually save money in the long run when compared to all the monetary and logistic consequences of waiting for two months. I came up against a wall though, when I asked my senior project manager to approve the change and he did not. My senior project manager denied my proposal because it turns out that he did not have power enough to change the order.

At this point, I decided to bite the bullet and go to someone who did have that power, so I went to the project director to discuss the problem with him. He turned out to be a rather flexible and undoubtedly intelligent person. The direct manager listened to and understood the point of view I presented that if we did not finish the project on time, we would not only face a fine but our company would lose its good reputation and, with that, future business. He finally approved the replacement of material and we ordered the replacement from a local company. We told them to send us the required quantity and of course, required the same quality. We received the new tiles promptly and we were able to finish the project on time.

Essentially, I have learned that flexibility is a vital quality of a good leader, as in cases like this where it can save companies from big losses. I also learned that with that flexibility, one must also learn to take calculated chances for both the welfare of your followers and for the bigger picture, the project and the company.