How Young People Represented in Eastenders and Hollyoaks Essay Example for Free

How Young People Represented in Eastenders and Hollyoaks Essay Eastenders is a British Soap Opera, first broadcast in the UK on BBC1. It’s about people who works and live in the frictional London Borough of Walford in the East End of London. The scenes usually around the Albert Square. This soap originally played in the TV as two half-hour episodes per week since 2001, for episodes are broadcast each week. It is one of the UK’s highest rated programmes. It’s created by two person called Julia Smith and Tony Holland. Hollyoaks is a long running British Soap Opera firs broadcasted on Channel 4 in 1995. It’s created by Phil Redmond and Directed by Ross Knowles and Robert Duffey. This programme is set in a fictional suburb of Chester called Hollyoaks. Scenes usually around the education college called Hollyoaks Community College. The characters are people who are in their late teens or early twenties. The series are filmed at Lime Pictures. There are many conventions in the soaps. Cliff hangers are is a practice of ending of an episode which leaves the character in a seemingly impossible situation or something really exciting happens. The purpose of this that it makes the story so interesting which makes people want to watch the next episode of the soap. Moralistic storylines are usually main theme of the story; the lesson the main character learns. Usually people who watching the soap learns from that storyline. For example for a moral storyline is could be that: a girl steals another girl’s roller-skate, the moral in this that stealing is wrong. Multiple storylines are means in a soap that lots of different lines going on. For example that a lady has a baby, someone had a car crash, while the school burnt down. Realism is also important for a soap opera because who watching it has to believe in that it’s ‘real’. For example people can’t sell a pen which cost 50p for  £20.000 because it’s not realistic. Soaps are passing on social messages such as: drunk driving, young pregnancy, taking drugs and so on. The writers passing these messages to do not do any of these by showing their consequences. If people see that 5 people dies because the driver was drunk they might not going the drive when they drinking. Characters from Eastenders I’ve chosen are Stacey Slater and Bradley Branning. Stacey had arrived in Watford at the age of 15 and she stayed with her uncle Charlie. She had been causes troubles with her behavior. She had been thrown out because of her behavior. She falls in love with Bradley BranningStacey represented like a bad teenage girl with lots of boyfriends. She also had taken drugs in the past. She not very educated. She worked at a stall. She was pregnant but had an abortion. Bradley represented as a quite clever teenage boy. He has a good job at the bank. Was in a relationship with Stacey. He sexually harassed by his boss. He flirted with lots of girls/women. He flirted with her colleague as well. I’ve chosen these characters because I thought they are exciting to me. Characters from Hollyoaks are Ste Hay, He has some wicked ways. It hasnt all been plain sailing for him. A job at chez brought him into the flight path of one Brendan Brady and so began the twisted love/hate/love/hate/love romance that is Stendan. All sorts of obstacles have come between them pregnant girlfriends, fitness instructors, angry wives and long lost sons; however it was Brendans issues with his sexuality and his propensity for violence that stopped them truly being together. Leanne Holiday is a blonde, petite, button-nosed; Leanne looks all sweetness and light. She first came to the village as fiancà ©e to Lee Hunter, who was returning to the village after a five year absence. Hardcore fans will have followed their engagement in the online drama Fresher’s. Wandering eyes from both parties soon caused trouble in their relationship, Leanne snagging Doug and Lee falling for Amy. She always chases boys. Young people in Eastenders represented more badly, in there are young pregnancies and other bad stuff going around the young characters. In Hollyoaks the young people are mostly represented as a studying respectful teenager. So the young people in Eastenders represented most likely as bad, while in Hollyoaks they are represented as goods. I think in Eastenders and Hollyoaks young people are represented in the way how the young people act or behave in the real life. Some young people having in trouble some of them are behaving well and doing their work and just being normal.

Airports Are Perfect For Green Roofs Environmental Sciences Essay

Airports Are Perfect For Green Roofs Environmental Sciences Essay Because they occupy large amounts of space with huge expanses of pavement for parking, runways, and storage, and because they have many flat-roofed buildings, airports are natural choice for green roofs. Many major European airports have a tapestry of green roofs over terminals, concourses, parking buildings, maintenance buildings, and others structures. (Cantor, 2008). These green roofs provide benefits and respond to all of the environmental problems without jeopardizing airport security and passenger safety. Despite the network of green space that comes with these installations, there has been no increase in problematic bird populations or other animals that might interfere with aircraft operations or personnel. This achievement is due to careful initial selection of the plant materials, monitoring of the results, and adequate maintenance. Airport feature unique site design challenges that affect animal populations. Typically, airport surroundings include large areas of undeveloped lands. These areas, if not carefully managed, can come semi-natural and attract large birds, which can be sucked into jet engines with potentially disastrous results. Land use policies over many years have been developed to discourage animal populations from settling in these buffer areas. For examples, plants are selected that do not produce flowers, berries, fruits, or seeds that attract animals. Grass height is carefully regulated, as tall grass attracts rodents, which, in turn, attract birds of prey. Grass cut too low attracts birds such a geese. Furthermore, animal populations are dynamic, no static, and in the last several decades species such sea gulls and pigeons have increase dramatically, so that measures must be taken to discourage them. The design of green roofs at the airports must respond to all these concerns. Opinions in Europe regarding the implementation of green roofs at airport are not unanimous. Some experts are cautions, worrying , for examples, about the impact of large populations of sea gulls, as has occurred in urban areas of London. Some are concerned that plants species over a certain height are too welcoming to birds. A greenroofed building recently opened at the Copenhagen airport. Roofs spread with gravel seen to be more attractive to birds, particularly large species as gulls, than green roofs with low to medium-height vegetation. In the United States, more than 75% of recorded bird strikes causing damage to civil aircraft are waterfowl (32 percent), gulls (28 percent) and raptors (28 percents). One area of current research in London is focused on determining the minimum gravel size that can be used as substrate, but is too heavy for gulls to pick up. Carefully designed green roofs at airports present opportunities for mitigating many environmental problems without increasing the risk of bird collision. The Schiphol International Airport from Amsterdam have three buildings with extensive green roofs and two buildings with intensive green roofs. This network of green roofs has responded to the environmental challenges in differences ways, even with specially trained teams of dogs, which are used to chase away the birds (Cantor, 2008). Accidents: Birds are often sucked into jet aircraft engines, something that causes aircraft accidents resulting [in waste of economic resources and, sometimes,] in deaths (Hawthorne, 1980; Shaw, 1985). Similar to any airport landscaping, green roofs on buildings in the airport environment might attract wildlife hazardous to aviation and could increase the risk of birds-aircraft collisions. The OHare International Airport consisted of Sedum spp. for vegetation and birds were observed using the green roof itself. However, bird use of the green roof was minimal and appeared to be similar to use of adjacent buildings with traditional roofs. Although green roofs with vegetation types that offer forage and/or cover to birds might be attractive, the Sedum spp.-vegetated green roof in this study did not attract wildlife hazardous to aviation or increase the risk of bird strikes (Swearingin et al., 2008).[5] Large-scale green roofs are currently being planned and implemented at OHare International Airport (Chicago). [5] One of the largest green roofs in Spain, 54.000 m2, covers the parking area at Barajas Airport in Madrid. http://www.triton-chemicals.co.uk/prode1.php At the airport in Frankfurt (Germany), a 10-cm-deep green roof reduced noise levels by 5 dB (Dunnet and Kingsbury, 2004). (Velazquez, 2005): Airports occupy and consume huge areas of land mass, destroying ecosystems and creating massive urban heat islands of impermeable, hot surfaces. The resulting loss of natural greenspace greatly impacts stormwater management, loss of habitat and biodiversity, creates noise, air and water pollution, and on a large scale, contributes to global warming. Numerous ecological advantages of extensive greenroofs could help to mitigate each and every one of these environmental problems. [security and safe concerns]. The recreated and natural areas of runways and surrounding fields are designed to avoid attraction of birds, which many times get drawn into jet engines creating a potentially hazardous and life threatening situation. To date, airport authorities outside of Europe have been hesitant to consider vegetated roofs mainly for fear of attracting birds. However, many airports in Europe have successfully constructed greenrooffs atop parking garages, hangers, and even ter minal building, without increasing their yearly number of bird strikes. This paper attempts to address some of the potential barriers to greenroofs, in particular the real dangers of attracting birds. International airports having greenroofs: Schipho (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Frankfurt (Germany), and Kloten (ZÃ ¼rich, Switherland). *** Most public-use airports have large tracts of open, unimproved land that are desirable for added margins of safety ad noise mitigation. Birds use airfields as a biotope for habitat, nesting and finding food and different species will dictate different habitat preferences. Bird strikes on airfields may only be minimized by identifying the ecological conditions that attract birds to an airfield and then using habitat deterrence methods to make the airfield less attractive for species relevant to flight safety. Even given greenroofs ability to reduce stormwater infrastructure and other concerns, to date airport authorities outside of Europe have been hesitant to consider vegetated roofs mainly for fear of attracting birds. However, many airports in Europe have successfully constructed green roofs atop parking garages, hangers, and even terminal buildings, without increasing their yearly number of bird strikes. In Germany there are thousand of square meter of green roofs on airport buildings. Within Germany are various airport greenroofs at Stutgart the new airport of MÃ ¼nich, Bremen, and DÃ ¼sseldorf. France has greenroofs at Charles De Gaulle in Paris, Paris Orly International Airport and Bordeaux. I have also seen and airport terminal greenroof in Milan, Italy and more exist. [more] After security issues, noise abatement, air quality, and preservation of greenspace are the top environmental concerns of area residents and airports management. Schiphol IA, Amsterdam: Total airport area greenroofed at AMS and Schipholrijk neighbourhodd: 93,730 m2. Number/area of extensive greenroofs: 3/13,330 m2. Because airports occupy large quantity of space with huge expanse of pavement for parking, runways, and storage, and because they have many flat-roofed buildings, this installations are natural choice for green roofs (Cantor, 2008). Many major European airports have a tapestry of green roofs over terminals, concourses, parking buildings, maintenance buildings, and others structures. (Cantor, 2008).

Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken - The Ambiguous Road Essay -- Road N

The Very Ambiguous Road Not Taken  Ã‚     Ã‚   Donald J. Greiner states, "In the years since his death, biographical revelations and critical appraisals have torn off the mask to expose a Frost the public never knew: a flawed man with more than his share of personal tragedy, a major poet with more than his share of fear"(95). Many people consider Robert Frost to be a great poet with many accomplishments. His work is well known throughout Europe and the United States; however, most people do not know the kind of life Frost led. On the surface, Frost seems to be a skilled writer filled with ambition and determination, yet, on the inside, he is a man constantly tormented by a haunting past and many unknown tragedies. Frost often conveys his feelings in his poetry; thus, just as Frost's life has an underlying meaning, so do many of his poems. Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is a poem that is often studied on its obvious surface level; however, the poem is actually very ambiguous in its underlying meaning. Because the speaker in Frost's work can only take one path, he will never know what the other path holds for him. In the beginning of the work, the speaker states, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, /And sorry I could not travel both" (1-2). This statement supports the fact that the speaker realizes he can not take both paths; therefore, he can never know what each path has to offer him. The speaker often refers to the fact that he wishes to be able to explore both paths. When the traveler says he "kept the first for another day!" (13), he means that one day he intends to come back to the road he did not take and see what he missed. Supporting this fact, the speaker also declares that "knowing how way leads to way, /[he] doubted ... ... way this experience has affected his life. Like a faà §ade, sometimes the surface structure of a poem can be very misleading, and, periodically, one must look deeper into the work in order to grasp its true meaning. Often simple words and phrases are the key to understanding a poem so traditionally studied with one meaning attached to it. As stated before, Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is a poem frequently studied with a traditional insight; however, analyzed and critiqued at a different level this work is actually very ambiguous. Works Cited Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." The North Introduction To Literature. 6th ed. Eds. Carl E.Bain, Jerome Beaty, and J. Paul Hunter. New York: W.W Norton, 1995. 1097. Greiner, Donald J. "Robert Frost." Dictionary of Literary Biography. 3rd ed. Ed. Peter Quartermain. Vol.54. Detroit: Gale, 1987. 93-121.      

Personal Information in a modern, Digital Age :: Internet Privacy Essays

Personal Information in a Modern, Digital Age In the past when you wanted to purchase goods you could go to the store, pick up your items, pay and leave. While these activities are still possible, more and more today we find ourselves pressured to get â€Å"savers cards.† Modern businesses, like never before, track who you are and what you are burying in an effort to be able to better serve you and become more efficient. While great for the companies implementing these policies, what does it mean for your privacy, and your wallet? Now more than ever our lives are electronically based. People can access their banking information over the Internet, setup all kinds of funds transfers, as well as purchase and sell items. Our consumer lives are being tracked, and that information sold to other businesses. Business communicate and sell their consumer lists with each other. Data is one of the most important corporate assets of companies, governments and research institutions. It is now possible to have fast access, to correlate information stored in independent and distant databases, to analyse and visualise data on-line and use data mining tools for automatic and semi-automatic exploration and pattern discovery. (acs) This opens the door for a new kind of scam for a new age, identity theft. If someone were able to pass themselves off as you, they could effectively become you, for the purposes of getting credit, making large purchases, or even committing crimes. After collecting this data it is entered into what is called a data warehouse. Companies and governments store all of their accumulated in their data warehouses. Data warehousing is defined as A collection of data designed to support management decision making. Data warehouses contain a wide variety of data that present a coherent picture of business conditions at a single point in time. Development of a data warehouse includes development of systems to extract data from operating systems plus installation of a warehouse database system that provides managers flexible access to the data. The term data warehousing generally refers to the combination of many different databases across an entire enterprise. (webopidia) Today businesses accumulate all the data they can gather into a data warehouse, from which they can do data mining. This means that when you go to the grocery store and use your saver card, to get the tiny percent off, that store tracks what you buy and enters it into their data warehouse.

Can The United States Justify The Civil War :: essays research papers

Can the United States Justify the Civil War The definition of Manifest Destiny reads as: "The belief in the 1840's in the inevitable territorial expansion of the United States, especially as advocated by southern slaveholders who wished to extend slavery into new territories." This explanation was transcribed from the World Book Encyclopedia's dictionary. It is directly evident that from this unbiased statement we can trace the first uprising of a separate group of people yearning to break the newly formed bond of the great United States. Before and during the Mexican War, the people who were pushing for the claimed land once owned by innocent native americans, were always looking for a scapegoat. They needed one way or another, a way to squirm out of taking the blame for the enslaved and murdered Mexican causalities. There was one man, though, who would not let this happen, David Wilmot. David Wilmot was a democrat from Pennsylvania, who was willing to revise the President's bill. In this revision, Wilmot proposed "...neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of the territory...". This was not well liked by the South and eventhough it was given thumbs up many times in the senate, our newly formed country was now bordered by fresh land. The Wilmot Proviso underwent quite a bit of pressure so that compromises could satisfy each side. The Compromise of 1850 was soon to follow but the real catch of the same year was the Fugitive Slave Act. This act was invented so that the slaves of slaveowners, who took them to a slave-free state on a vacation or something, could not escape. In this act, the hardest part to understand, was that the courts were to try to give a fair trial to any runaway slaves. This enfuriated many of the Northern abolitionists who now were going to expand the tracks of the underground railroad to help extend their efforts in the rescue of the runaways. The point of no return, where many people knew for sure that the country would be devided between the north and the south was the ruling on the Kansas Nebraska Act. This act was majorly contributed into by Stephen A. Douglas and probably would never have passed without his consent. The whole idea behind the act that really got to the south was Popular Sovereignty. This so called "specific" rule was none to specific in stating when a territory could decide when they were pro or anti slavverry. The abolitionists were flooding the new territory with their own kind where as the southerners were just moving

Research on the Impact of Economic Growth: Case Study of Malaysia

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE POLICIES SHAPE THE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MALAYSIA Public Expenditure/Public Spending can be defined as any expenses made by government particularly to improve certain areas and discipline. For instance, improving public goods and services, welfare and well-being of the people, government defense forces and civil servants, maintaining our economic stability, reducing inequality of income and reallocation of resources. Bose,Haque,Osborn (2003) where I do believe in their arguments that public expenditure made by the government will surely shape the economic growth of the country.It can be seen in the policies made by Tun Razak which initiated in 1970 known as NEP or New Economic Policy that have bring the country to be one of developing country that is progressive in their economic activities. Problem statement This research will identified whether the public expenditure introduced by the government really put into action and produce outcome from it to boost our economi c growth. It is important to see not only in the economic side directly but also to see at different variables that could contribute to the economic as a whole. ObjectivesTo see the impact from public expenditure policies towards Malaysia economic growth To identify public expenditure variables particularly education that helps in economic growth. Research Methodology This research focusing more on the secondary data which involve past research from other researchers, documents, reports made by government sectors such as Economic Transformation Program (ETP) Annual Report 2011 under Performance and Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU), Department of statistic. Government Intervention Government Intervention Conceptual Framework Intervening VariablesPublic Expenditure Policies Public Expenditure Policies Economic Growth Economic Growth Sectorial Level: Education Sectorial Level: Education Dependent Variables Independent Variables Figure 1 Independent Variables in this research cons ist of two variables; Public Expenditure Policies whereby the research focusing on the Economic Transformation Program (ETP) under the New Economic Model to determine whether there is a significant effect towards the Economic Growth. While in sectorial level, the research focuses on education sector to identify the contribution towards Malaysia Economic growth.Government intervening in this research explains the independent variable which is Public Expenditure Policies will succeed when the government intervened in the process in order to improve our economic growth. Findings. Impact from Public Expenditure Policies towards Malaysia Economic Growth It is quite difficult to see theoretical framework on how private sector can contribute to economic growth (Diamond,1989) where this research found out that Malaysia have boost their economic growth by tackling the private sector where market failure occurred.ETP is one of the policies made by the government where government intervened in order to improve the private sector as whole where 92% outcome will produce by the private sector according to ETP Annual Report 2011. The government initiatives come into a successful result where it achieve most of the National Key Result Areas which the indicator to ensure the economic condition to be in the right track. According to Department of Statistic, Private Investments amounted to rm94 billion was the highest in five years period (between 2007 and 2011) hich surpassing the target of rm83bil. Our Gross National Income (GNI) exceed the target value of rm797 billion where it achieve rm830 billion or 104% achievement. â€Å"Most of the conclusions drawn recently regarding the growth effects of public spending are based either on the experiences of a set of developed countries or on the basis of large samples consisting of a mixture of developed and developing countries. † Bose,Haque,Osborn (2003).The statement were proved based on the ETP initiated by Government basi cally the foundation of the National Key Results Areas (NKEA) made from various research on identifying the areas that can be developed in Malaysia by looking at developed countries. In order to make sure everything succeed by boost up our economic growth, Government need to do spending whereby rm1. 4 trillion in investment to generate a GNI of rm1. 7 trillion. Public Expenditure Variables particularly Education that helps in Economic Growth.Education sector can be related to our economic growth by seeing on the setup of education center in Malaysia. In order to boost our economic growth into its target, it is important to determine that Malaysia need to have knowledge worker that have skilled workforce for a big result fast outcome. It will help in terms of productivity and at the same time efficient production can be materialized. Under the Education NKEA, Malaysia aims to be a regional hub in the global education network with the success of the creation of [email  protected] wh ere eight world-class university and colleges with investment up to rm581. million. Apart from that, there are four discipline cluster have been developed in 2011 according to ETP Annual Report 2011 where Government focus in the areas of Hospitality and Tourism, Islamic Finance and Business, Health Sciences and Advanced Engineering, and Science and Innovation. It is important since the areas had been identified as crucial areas that need local skilled workforce or knowledge worker that will help us to reduce hiring experts from other countries. ConclusionFrom the research, both objectives have positively correlation towards shaping the economic growth in Malaysia. This only can be possible by looking at how the government spend and know which one to prioritize so that it can be use efficiently. Malaysia moving forward to be a high income nation by 2020, the research found that by looking at the policies made by the government such as Government Transformation Program ensure that Mal aysia is moving forward and already at the right track. Works Cited (PEMANDU), P. a. (2011).Economic Transformation Programme Annual Reprot 2011. Kuala Lumpur: Minister in Prime Minister Department. ASCHAUER, D. A. (1989). IS PUBLIC EXPENDITURE PRODUCTIVE? *. Journal of Monetary Economics 23. Ibrahim, M. H. (2000). PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CAPITAL FORMATION . ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MALAYSIA, 1961-1995. Niloy Bose, M. E. (2003). A Disaggregated Analysis for Developing Countries. Public Expenditure and Economic Growth, 2-6. Shnatayanan Devarajan, V. S. -F. (1996). The Composition of Public Expenditure and Economic Growth. Journal of Monetary Economics 37 .

Disconnection in the Midst of Connectivity

The revolutions in the area of information and communications technology have brought the world closer. Literally, the world has shrunk because people from Europe can readily communicate with people from Asia; a daughter in the United States can easily contact her parents in South America. The mobile phone networks, the chat rooms and instant messengers in the internet, together with e-mail have significantly lowered the cost of inter-continental communications and have literally transcended space and time.In addition to this revolution, there is also a great deal of developments in the technologies available to humans in doing their chores and conducting their businesses. Even the simplest task can be automated and would require only a touch of a button for it to function. Washing machines, refrigerators and all sorts of electronic gadgets and equipments have indeed made life easier. This is especially true in the case of developed countries where these technologies are readily avai lable.Life has no hassles and lifestyles have become as easy as pushing another button on the remote control of the television. In less developed countries, however, this is not the case. The tendency is for them to rely on traditional means of doing things and conducting their business. Most of these countries in Asia, Africa, and South America doe not have access to most of these new technologies. As a result, they still tend to use their own bodily strength in conducting their businesses and going about their daily lives.For example, in farming, people from less developed countries use their own muscles and animals to till the soil and harvest their agricultural products later on. On the other hand, those in the developed countries tend to use heavy machinery to conduct the same set of activities. Has the use of technology led people and society to become lazy, apathetic and disconnected to the rest of the world? What about individuality? Has it been enhanced or is it being chall enged by these new technologies? As the world is shaped by these technologies, will individualism be melted into a smorgasbord of collectivity?Connectivity, Individuality, and the â€Å"Global Village† Marshall Mcluhan (41a) declared that the world has become a â€Å"Global Village†. He said this statement back when the use of the internet is not yet as widespread as it is now. This global village will come about as humans become increasingly dependent on electronic media and other forms of electronic technologies. Through this â€Å"electronic interdependence, the visual culture created by the coming of the printing press and the publication of books, humans will come to use electronic media more and more.Through the increasing popularity and acceptance of electronic media and the culture it develops, a new age will come in which humans will develop a collective consciousness and identity and individualism will be integrated into this collective consciousness. McLuha n declared his thesis in the early 1960s, back when the Internet revolution has not yet started climbing its ascent. This is due to the utilization and because of the message propagated by media since according to him â€Å"the medium is the message† (McLuhan, 20b).He also gave warnings that this global village, if its citizens were not aware of the impact of media and its effects on them as persons, then terror, totalitarianism or anarchy will reign in this village. Technology is, in itself, free of normative standards. When it is used towards certain ends, then it becomes an important tool in shaping the concept of the individual about himself, the relationship of other people to him, and how he stands in relation to the society that he lives in.McLuhan assumed that print technology is the bastion of individualism and that if it were rendered in electronic format, its effects on individualism would also change. (McLuhan, 158a). How do these new technologies increase the con nectivity of people around the world? According to Alstyne and Brynjolfsson (4), the speed of the transmission of data and communications has become very quick. In addition, millions of people have access to them, thus increasing the connectivity between and among people all over the world.Although this is the case, the capacity of individuals in absorbing and interacting with so much information is limited. The creation of a more or less uniform social consciousness based on connectivity is simply impossible. There are around 33 million articles and web pages in the Internet in May 1996 according to AlaVista (Alstyne & Brynjolfsson, 4). Transcending the Nation: Emergence of New Imagined Communities Benedict Anderson (6) in his book that sought to describe the nation and why people were so attached to it described the nation as an imagined community.This community was conceived in the minds of people with powerful bonds and relationships that are usually defined by religion, race, o r language. Anderson traced the development of the nation as an imagined community and pointed out that the printing of books in the people’s vernacular and the industry of publication or â€Å"print-capitalism† is instrumental in the emergence of this imagined community. The result of the diffusion of this medium of communication is that people across geographical areas bound by common languages started to drew together and conceptualize themselves as members of a community, albeit an imagined one.It should also be remembered that during the period of the rise of nationalism, the divine right of monarchs to their thrones were being challenged. Later, colonized people were also revolting against their colonial masters in a bid for independence and autonomy. As such, the common struggles, common language, and other commonalities brought these people together through the print media (Anderson, 7). Although it could be surmised that the people in the nations described by Anderson were still individuals, they were bound by a collective consciousness that led to the development of the nation.From the explanation of Anderson regarding the role of print media in developing imagined communities; as well as the discourse of McLuhan regarding the effects of the changes in the print media, it can be concluded that print media and more recently, electronic media have a huge impact in creating a collective consciousness. The problem of today’s electronic media, especially the internet, is that the message is diverse and there is no single coherent message that is being promoted.Rather there is a hodgepodge of messages and millions of files, most of them are unrelated (Alstyne & Brynjolfsson, 5). Given the bulk and diversity of topics in the World Wide Web, Alstyne & Brynjolfsson (5) have argued that what is happening is that there is a â€Å"cyber-balkanization† and fragmentation of internet and technology users according to their interest. As s uch, there are various cliques and groupings of individuals that keep out others who do not share the same interest with them.On the other hand, Pack (16) conjectured that the television is very powerful in shaping the perceptions and understanding of people about the world. Since most of the people of the world are exposed to the television, the advertisements, the shows and even the news reports among others are instrumental in the development of new imagined communities based on interest. Communication and Disconnection As people learn to communicate better in the setting of information and other communication technologies, there is a tendency for people to lose their non-verbal and non-linguistic communication skills.Because of the large amount of time spent by individuals in communicating online or using various information and communication technologies, they spend less time interacting with others, and thus might lose other non-verbal communication skills. This will be a sign ificant loss for society if information and communication technologies hamper the traditional means of communication of individuals in the society. Conclusion Information and communication technologies, as most products of science and innovation, have contributed to an easier lifestyle.However, there are tradeoffs to this. The traditional means of communication are being undermined by the excessive use of these technologies. In addition, the internet, the television and similar technologies are giving rise to new kinds of imagined communities based on common interest and pursuit. These imagined communities, however, lack a single coherent message in comparison to the â€Å"print-capitalism† discourse of Anderson (7) that gave rise to nations as imagined communities.Instead, what is present are a lot of several seemingly disconnected messages that bind certain groups of people across geographies through the process of â€Å"cyber-balkanization† as described by Alstyne & Brynjolfsson (4). In certain aspects, there is also an empowerment of individuality in information technology, especially in the Web 2. 0 technologies that seek to give more preference to the way that individuals conduct their computing and extend their presence online (O’Reilly, n. p. ).In the ending of Big Brother (Orwell, n.p. ) the characters in the novel were subjected to extensive brainwashing through the media—visual, print and even coercion. The novel also showed the potent power of media in propagating a message, even a wrong one at that. Such a scenario, however, is unlikely to happen with the current information technologies available since there is no centralized group or person controlling these technologies. Technologies may have had negative effects on the communication skills of people yet individualism is here to stay.