Media and Communication

This article examines how Žižek’s analysis of “subjective” violence can be used to explore the ways in which media coverage of a terrorist attack is contoured and shaped by less noticeable forms of “objective” (symbolic and systemic) violence. Drawing upon newspaper coverage of the 2017 London Bridge attack, it is noted how examples of “subjective” violence were grounded in the externalization of a clearly identifiable “other”, which symbolically framed the terrorists and the attack as tied to and representative of the UK Muslim community. Examples of “systematic” violence were most notable in the ideological edifice that underpinned this framing but also in the ways in which newspaper reports served to draw upon British values in the aftermath of the attack. This directed attention away from the contradictions within the UK, towards narratives that sought to “fix” these contradictions through eradicating the problem of “the other” and/or by violently protecting the British values “they” seek to undermine. As a consequence, newspaper coverage worked to uphold the illusion that “peace” could be achieved by eradicating terrorism through further forms of objective violence, including, internment without trial; the “ripping up” of human rights; and, closer surveillance of Muslim communities. Indeed, it was this unacknowledged violence that worked to maintain British values in the press’ coverage.

The purpose of this project was to develop an e-learning profile for a group of media and communication students enrolled in a Jamaican tertiary-level institution in order to make informed decisions most the appropriate [online] learning complement for these students. The objectives sought to determine the e-learning profile of media and communication students but more specifically, the profile examined students’ demographic data, their technology access, usage, proficiency and comfort levels as well as their learning styles, preferences, behaviours, strategies and their preferences for specific teaching styles.
The research utilised a survey research design and the participants involved in the research were ninety-eight students from all year groups in the programme. Findings reveal that the “typical” media and communication student is a young Jamaican adult with limited technology access, usage and proficiency, who stays connected with others largely by phone texts, phone calls, emails, instant messages and posts via the Facebook social network, who has a visual-learning orientation, is a sequential learner who is extrinsically motivated and who readily employs surface learning strategies.

Debates around authenticity within photographic discourse are persistent. Some have revolved around documentary photography, while other discussions focus on the ethical validity of digitally edited news photographs and indeed the photographic medium itself. This article proposes that discussions around ‘authenticity’ should be focused instead towards contextualising photography more appropriately within the creative practice of ‘making strange’. It acknowledges existing debates around photography and authenticity, before locating the discussion within creative practice. It then moves to a discussion, using Robert Capa’s ‘Falling Soldier’ (Capa, 1936) as a starting point, before drawing on examples from the author’s own creative and professional practice. In the process, the article argues that visual researchers embrace the challenges of making the familiar strange within photographic creative practices.

The author of this book, Hiwot Teffera, is among the vibrant politers of the then generation called "YaTiwulid'. This period extends from 1972-1992 1 , and many of them were young and involved in different political factions of the time. She and some of her friends are destined to share their experience, knowledge and reading; however, many could bear fruit because of Red and White Terrors of the time. She is a social anthropologist by profession and has worked as a caregiver for a long time. She is known by many by her first book "Tower in the Sky". The book is about the Ethiopian People"s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and imparts the Ethiopian Revolution in a well-articulated manner. "Mine to Win" is the second book by the author. The book can be classified as creative nonfiction. The book consists 204 pages, and eleven chapters. It includes a glossary and reference sections. The aims of this book review are therefore to overview the unique quality of the work and discuss what the main themes she tries to convey. Besides, we were motivated to review the book to recommend the book to readers and enable them to research and investigate further. The setting of the story takes us back to a century and recounts church education in the midera of Aste Yohannis IV and the beginning of Emperor Minilik II"s. The main character, Tewanay, had spent a lot of time attending church education in Gojjam and Gondar, where many famous zema (rhyme), qene (Poetry) and tiriguame (interpretation/ commentary) schools are found. He is the incarnation of the theological debate held in the famed place, Wello, Boru-meda, where the two sects called the tewahido and qibat of Ethiopian religious liturgy contested on the divine nature of God during Aste Yohannis IV. Undoubtedly, the selection of the setting has made the story striking and breathtaking. The author of the book tries to build the stories in the life of the major character, Tewanay. He aspired to become a Qeneliq (poetry intellectual) and became successful in the end. He later became a chronicler of emperor Minilik II. The author is successful in conveying several themes by depicting a few characters. She mainly talks about the life of "Ye KoloTemari'-a student at a traditional Christian school. In addition, the traditional education system, the distinctive bodies of knowledge in Ethiopia, history, philosophy and the culture of its folks are embedded in the very story. We can understand that the writer is an admirable researcher that she has brought themes that are among the overlooked areas of investigation, and shows them from the broad and depth. The story depicts the divergence between living a life of a herder and a scholar in the church. The young Tewune in the story is passionate about following his uncle"s (Awoke ZeMotta) footsteps, yet thwarted by his parents" desire to keep their son near and married. Children in rural Ethiopia are destined to become part of their parent"s lives and relive it; usually, the life has a lot to do with agriculture. On the contrary, studying zema, qene and metsehaf bêt equals leaving one"s family behind and not providing for them. To be precise, one fails to meet parents" expectations. The arguments between the illiterate father and the learned uncle of Tewune reminds us of the many folks of the time who were God-fearing and believed in fate and the scholars in the church who struggled to overwhelm these unscientific 1 It may be the period existing prior to this time or to continue after this period.