Textbook

A fascinating student introduction to the popular subject of how the media influence young people. Covering all the key topics and full of international case studies, it will be adopted on courses on youth media and youth culture across media studies, cultural studies and sociology.

What does it mean to be a woman in the 21st century? The feminist movement has a long and rich history, but is its time now passed? This edited collection is driven by the question, why is feminism viewed by some (we would add a majority) as outdated, no longer necessary and having achieved its goals, and what role have the media played in this?

Provides an interdisciplinary overview and critical examination of how individuals are affected by mass media There are few areas of modern social science that are as fiercely debated as media psychology. Written by one of the foremost experts on the topic, this is a concise overview of what is knownóand not knownóabout how individuals are affected by and interact with various forms of mass media. The book critically examines research from cognitive, social, developmental, biological, and evolutionary approaches to psychology and addresses the interplay between media consumption and viewer behavior in such realms as advertising, body image, sex, and violence. Distinguished by its examination of research from a scientifically objective position, the book offers students not only current knowledge of media psychology but also the tools to challenge commonly held assumptions from popular advocacy and ideology. This text cuts across different psychological approaches to studying how individuals are affected by mass media and includes research from criminal justice and sociology. It considers critical debates in media psychology and how debates in science themselves can be influenced by processes such as ìmoral panic.î Written in a lively, accessible manner, the book draws upon engaging examples such as Photoshopped model controversies, dubious advertising practices, and attempts to blame violent crimes on media to illustrate scholarly principles. Throughout, data from research studies is related back toreal-world phenomena such as violence rates, advertising dollars spent, or changes in the news media. Written for upper level undergraduate and graduate students studying media psychology, the text will also be of value to professionals in psychology, sociology and criminal justice as well as individuals involved in public policy as it relates to media effects. Key Features: Offers an objective, interdisciplinary approach to understanding media and behavior Draws from cognitive, social, developmental, and biological psychology, as well as criminal justice research and sociology Challenges the conclusions drawn from research to foster critical thinking Written in a lively, accessible writing style with engaging examples grounded in research About the Author Christopher J. Ferguson, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and department chair of psychology at Stetson University in DeLand, FL. He has done extensive research on the effects of media in realms ranging from video game and television violence effects, to body image to advertising effects. He has also examined how methodological issues, researcher expectancies and questionable researcher practices, and societal pressures and incentives can create false positives in media psychology. Clinically, he has done extensive work with criminal justice populations including juvenile offenders, adult inmates and child protective services. Aside from his academic work, Chris is the author of a mystery novel, Suicide Kings, which follows a young woman in Renaissance Florence investigating her motherís death. He has also published a number of short stories, mainly in speculative fiction. He lives near Orlando with his wife and young son.

This work explores the growing convergence between youth culture and digital communication technologies and the corresponding challenges posed to policymakers, examining the current governance debate on online child safety.

In our media-saturated environment, how can we teach students to distinguish true statements from those that are false, misleading, or manipulative? How can we help them develop the skills needed to identify biases and stereotypes, determine credibility of sources, and analyze their own thinking and its effect on their perceptions? In Teaching Students to Decode the World, authors Chris Sperry and Cyndy Scheibe tackle these questions as they introduce readers to constructivist media decoding (CMD), a specific way to lead students through a question-based analysis of media materials—including print and digital documents, videos and films, social media posts, advertisements, and other formats—with an emphasis on critical thinking and collaboration. Drawing from their decades of experience as teachers, consultants, and media literacy advocates, the authors explain how to * Develop and facilitate CMD activities in the classroom and in virtual teaching environments; * Implement CMD across the curriculum, at all grade levels; * Connect CMD with educational approaches such as project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and antiracist education; * Incorporate CMD into assessments; and * Promote CMD as a districtwide initiative. This comprehensive guide explains the theoretical foundations for CMD and offers dozens of real-life examples of its implementation and its powerful impact on students and teachers. Equipped with CMD skills, students will be better able to navigate a complex media landscape, participate in a democratic society, and become productive citizens of the world.

• "TV unleashes the imagination and feeds intelligence." • "A child deprived of TV risks social isolation." • "TV dumbs you down." • "TV makes you obese." It seems that everything—and its opposite—has already been said about TV. But what is it really? How can we distinguish between the radical "No TV" of some and the supposedly entertaining virtues touted by others? Michel Desmurget, a doctor in neuroscience, has sifted through and synthesized thousands of research articles published over the last fifty years in the most rigorous international journals. The conclusion is unequivocal—we must stop watching television for good, whatever the program. All content, even that meant to teach, can never come close to any other learning method. The data is clear—television viewing is detrimental to school performance. For a child in elementary school, for example, every hour spent daily watching television increases the likelihood that he or she will one day leave the school system without any qualifications. For specialists, there is no doubt that television has a negative influence, not only on intellectual development but also on behavior. Thus, certain eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia) are related to a frantic consumption of—television programs! In short, watching television has an impact on our life expectancy. However, the harmful impact of this risk is largely underestimated, because of the large sector of the public exposed to television (more than 85% of Western households have at least one television set), and because of a debate on the subject that has become inaudible and confused. Moreover, the results of the research initiated by the big media groups on the subject remain "proprietary," i.e., closed to the general public. Believing that we is facing a real public health problem, Michel Desmurget wants to act as a responsible scientist—with a clear, concise and rigorously referenced book, the message cannot go unnoticed. Michel Desmurget is a doctor of neuropsychology. He attended several major American universities (MIT, Emory, UCSF) and is now a research director at INSERM in cognitive neuroscience. He is particularly interested in the problems of brain organization and plasticity. He is the author of the book TV Lobotomy (Max Milo, 2022), which is based in part on his personal history. Exasperated by having to constantly justify the choice not to have television at home—and to prevent his children from having access to it—and not to be seen as a sociopath in the eyes of those around him, he has done a massive job to argue his point.

Privilege Through the Looking-Glass is a collection of original essays that explore privilege and status characteristics in daily life. This collection seeks to make visible that which is often invisible. It seeks to sensitize us to things we have been taught not to see. Privilege, power, oppression, and domination operate in complex and insidious ways, impacting groups and individuals. And yet, these forces that affect our lives so deeply seem to at once operate in plain sight and lurk in the shadows, making them difficult to discern. Like water to a fish, environments are nearly impossible to perceive when we are immersed in them. This book attempts to expose our environments. With engaging and powerful writing, the contributors share their personal stories as a means of connecting the personal and the public. This volume applies an intersectional perspective to explore how race, class, gender, sexuality, education, and ableness converge, creating the basis for privilege and oppression. Privilege Through the Looking-Glass encourages readers to engage in self and social reflection, and can be used in a range of courses in sociology, social work, communication, education, gender studies, and African American studies. Each chapter includes discussion questions and/or activities for further engagement. “Privilege Through the Looking-Glass offers a varied and profound examination of how privilege functions as the underside of power. This is a powerful and important book about inequality, identity, agency, and the challenge of addressing difference as part of a democratic ethos in a time of growing authoritarianism all over the world. Every educator should read this book.” – Henry A. Giroux, Professor, McMaster University “A courageous volume that blends theory, personal experiences, and reflections on contemporary debates over identity. This is a book that is more about the politics of identity than identity politics. It is a powerful testament to the urgency of understanding privilege and deserves to be read widely.” – Peter McLaren, Distinguished Professor, Chapman University “Privilege Through the Looking-Glass unmasks the casual ‘isms’ that suppress the best aspects of our humanity, by assembling a powerful and honest collection of parables. Poignant and unflinching, the contributors eschew to the cloak of objectivism to give the hard truth about privilege as a social ill, and the collective responsibility of the conscious community to confront all forms of oppression... this book has lessons for anyone with the spirit to explore better ways to be themselves and relate to others.” – Ivory A. Toldson, Professor, Howard University, and Editor-in-Chief for The Journal of Negro Education Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is an award-winning independent sociologist and best-selling author.

From social networking sites to game design, from blogs to game play, and from fan fiction to commercial web sites, Girl Wide Web 2.0 offers a complex portrait of millennial girls online. Grounded in an understanding of the ongoing evolution in computer and internet technology and in the ways in which girls themselves use that technology, the book privileges studies of girls as active producers of computer/Internet content, and incorporates an international/intercultural perspective so as to extend our understanding of girls, the Internet, and the negotiation of identity.

The narrowing of English language education curriculum in many contexts has negatively impacted classroom teaching and learning. High-stakes standardized testing, scripted curricula, and the commodification of English have converged to challenge socially meaningful classroom literacy instruction that promotes holistic development. Although in different ways, these factors have shaped the teaching of English as both first and second language. How can English educators respond? This book argues that the first step is to take account of the broader policy, political and cultural landscape and to identify the key constraints affecting teachers, students and parents. These will set the broad parameters for developing local pedagogic approaches, while still recognizing the constraints that actively push against them. Using Singapore English language teaching as a case study, this book illustrates how this process can unfold, and how media literacy principles were vernacularized to design English classroom pedagogies that stretched the bounds of what is acceptable and possible in the local context.