Sustainability in the text Balser, E (2008) 'Capital Accumulation, Sustainability & Hamilton Ontario'is defined as being an ‘inter and intra-generational equity in the social, environmental, economic, moral and political spheres of society’. (Meadows 7) It is also stated that ideologically it is a communal concept, however in reality environmentally conscious decisions have largely fallen to the individual and through technology. It is said that sustainability is a concept that only the rich can afford.
The characteristics and tendencies of Capitalism are that it is constantly looking for things to commodify; it thrives on creating and is constantly expanding. It subsumes non-capital markets and intensifies internal markets. Capitalism is not a linear system but a diverse web that continuously expands and traps.
The natural world is a necessary pre condition of any profitable business and therefore a crisis of capitalism would be the loss of natural conditions needed for production.
Solutions that have been offered are –
Radically increase the productivity of resource use.
Shift to biologically inspired production with closed loop, no waste, and no toxicity.
Shift the business model away from the making and selling of things to providing the service that the thing delivers.
Reinvest in natural and human capital.
An example of a solution is the BIOX Corporation in Canada, which was built to provide ‘high quality, accessible and affordable bio-diesel for environmentally concerned consumers’. However this plan is flawed due to a sacrifice of social equality. The local community have seen their quality of life diminish and residents of the area are exposed to potentially harmful chemicals and pollutants. Bio-fuel is also expensive and therefore can only be afforded by the rich, at the expense of the poor. The plant was built on community green space and constant tremors have caused damage to the nearby resident’s houses, this is also an example of ‘crisis of Capitalism’.
I think the lines between the concepts of sustainability being compatible with Capitalism are quite blurred due to the contradictions it makes. It states that ecological integrity and economic prosperity are important for sustainability, however this is at cost to the local environment and at the sacrifice of the poor. In theory sustainability is supposed to be a communal concept but in practice it is down to the individual and technology, this creates a class divide in the population. It blames capitalism for the environmental problems we face but also asks for its help to rectify them. The ideology of sustainability is not compatible with capitalism, however in practice the reality of sustainability is that it is compatible.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Portfolio task 5 – Lefebvre and space
Social space in Leeds - Woodhouse Moor Park
Map of Woodhouse Moor
Woodhouse Moor 1906
Woodhouse moor, sometimes called Hyde Park, was the first public park in Leeds. The council purchased it in 1857 for use as a recreational space for the growing population of the area. It was formally designed and landscaped in the 1870’s with a vision of it being ‘the most healthy open space in the township of Leeds’. It consisted of open green spaces with diagonal tree lined paths leading to the centre, where stood a bandstand and a fountain with clock turret. It was used by hundreds of people who would stroll around the paths of the park and sit listening to bands and concerts at the bandstand. Although it was extensively used by the local people, it was apparent due to the lack of lighting that it could only be used during the daylight hours and so in 1902 it was enhanced with iron archways and gas lights to ‘facilitate evening promenading’ extending it’s use even further. It was the epitome of the Victorian’s ideology of a social recreational space.
In the present day it is also still used as a public park and boasts it is the most intensively used green space in Leeds. It is large, open grassland, multi recreational family friendly space. 26 hectares in size it contains, among other things, a children’s play area, Skateboard Park, multi use games area, tennis courts and bowling greens.
However the location of the park and its layout mean it is not always used as intended. Based in a heavily populated student area of the city it attracts a lot of young people who use the park as a place to hang out, often drinking alcohol, creating noise and leaving litter. There are also many disputes with local residents concerned with the amount of fires and barbecues on the park.
When the paths were laid out over 100 years ago they were intended for people to stroll around the park at their leisure, they were a way of controlling where peopled walked to keep order and preserve the grass. Now the paths are in a bad state of repair and due to the way people use the park, are not always followed. The park has become more of a cut through to other areas and often people veer away from the allocated pathways and find their own way across the grass, taking shortcuts to their destination. This is apparent in the areas of bald, muddy paths where the grass has died through heavy footfall.
The park was intended to be a family friendly space but due to anti social behaviour and concerns regarding health and safety this is not altogether true. Poor visibility and lighting are contributing factors towards the high rate of crime in the area.
There are ornamental gardens and statues in the park for people to enjoy, however these are often vandalised and fall into a state of disrepair due to lack of general upkeep.
The vision of the way the park is intended to be used in the present day is one of a family friendly, easily accessible, multi use sports and general recreational space intended to bring the community together. However in reality it is actually an untidy, unsafe and non-family friendly place, which is prone to vandalism and crime.
Map of Woodhouse Moor
Woodhouse Moor 1906
Woodhouse moor, sometimes called Hyde Park, was the first public park in Leeds. The council purchased it in 1857 for use as a recreational space for the growing population of the area. It was formally designed and landscaped in the 1870’s with a vision of it being ‘the most healthy open space in the township of Leeds’. It consisted of open green spaces with diagonal tree lined paths leading to the centre, where stood a bandstand and a fountain with clock turret. It was used by hundreds of people who would stroll around the paths of the park and sit listening to bands and concerts at the bandstand. Although it was extensively used by the local people, it was apparent due to the lack of lighting that it could only be used during the daylight hours and so in 1902 it was enhanced with iron archways and gas lights to ‘facilitate evening promenading’ extending it’s use even further. It was the epitome of the Victorian’s ideology of a social recreational space.
In the present day it is also still used as a public park and boasts it is the most intensively used green space in Leeds. It is large, open grassland, multi recreational family friendly space. 26 hectares in size it contains, among other things, a children’s play area, Skateboard Park, multi use games area, tennis courts and bowling greens.
However the location of the park and its layout mean it is not always used as intended. Based in a heavily populated student area of the city it attracts a lot of young people who use the park as a place to hang out, often drinking alcohol, creating noise and leaving litter. There are also many disputes with local residents concerned with the amount of fires and barbecues on the park.
When the paths were laid out over 100 years ago they were intended for people to stroll around the park at their leisure, they were a way of controlling where peopled walked to keep order and preserve the grass. Now the paths are in a bad state of repair and due to the way people use the park, are not always followed. The park has become more of a cut through to other areas and often people veer away from the allocated pathways and find their own way across the grass, taking shortcuts to their destination. This is apparent in the areas of bald, muddy paths where the grass has died through heavy footfall.
The park was intended to be a family friendly space but due to anti social behaviour and concerns regarding health and safety this is not altogether true. Poor visibility and lighting are contributing factors towards the high rate of crime in the area.
There are ornamental gardens and statues in the park for people to enjoy, however these are often vandalised and fall into a state of disrepair due to lack of general upkeep.
The vision of the way the park is intended to be used in the present day is one of a family friendly, easily accessible, multi use sports and general recreational space intended to bring the community together. However in reality it is actually an untidy, unsafe and non-family friendly place, which is prone to vandalism and crime.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Contextual studies task 4 – Essay ideas
Hannah Montana Video Game TV Advert
I have chosen this short TV advert which is advertising a product associated with the children’s TV icon Hannah Monatana. I think it sums up what I am going to investigate in this essay. It promotes the idea that if you play this video game you too can lead a life like a famous rock star.
Contextual studies task 4 – Essay ideas
Title – Could children’s TV advertising be thought of as negative or harmful?
The main thrust of my argument;
• Advertising and how it affects society.
• The history of advertising children’s products, medium used, who it was aimed at, who it was for etc.
• The advent of Television and Consumerism, and how it affected children’s advertising.
• How advertisers target children. Age, gender, race etc.
• How adverts affect children.
I will do this by looking in to advertising in general, the history, type’s aims and how it affects society. I will then research advertising and children focusing on gender, age and race differentiation, and the effects advertising have on children.
I will look into how advertisers communicate to children and how they market products designed for them.
I will focus on a particular advert and analyse it in relation to my findings.
Finally I will construct a conclusion based on my findings that answers my question.
Bibliography
Berger, J. (1972) Ways of Seeing. Penguin: London.
Fennis, B. Stroebe, W. (2010) The Psychology of Advertising. Psychology press: Hove.
Gunter, B. Furnham, A. (1998) Children as consumers; A Psychological analysis of the young people’s market. Routledge: London.
Kenway, J. & Bullen, E. (2001) Consuming Children. Open University Press: Berkshire.
Strasburger, V., Wilson, B. & Jordan A. (2009) Children, Adolescents and the Media. (second ed.) Sage publications inc: California.
All of the above should give me a good insight into advertising, marketing to children and the psychology behind it.
The main thrust of my argument;
• Advertising and how it affects society.
• The history of advertising children’s products, medium used, who it was aimed at, who it was for etc.
• The advent of Television and Consumerism, and how it affected children’s advertising.
• How advertisers target children. Age, gender, race etc.
• How adverts affect children.
I will do this by looking in to advertising in general, the history, type’s aims and how it affects society. I will then research advertising and children focusing on gender, age and race differentiation, and the effects advertising have on children.
I will look into how advertisers communicate to children and how they market products designed for them.
I will focus on a particular advert and analyse it in relation to my findings.
Finally I will construct a conclusion based on my findings that answers my question.
Bibliography
Berger, J. (1972) Ways of Seeing. Penguin: London.
Fennis, B. Stroebe, W. (2010) The Psychology of Advertising. Psychology press: Hove.
Gunter, B. Furnham, A. (1998) Children as consumers; A Psychological analysis of the young people’s market. Routledge: London.
Kenway, J. & Bullen, E. (2001) Consuming Children. Open University Press: Berkshire.
Strasburger, V., Wilson, B. & Jordan A. (2009) Children, Adolescents and the Media. (second ed.) Sage publications inc: California.
All of the above should give me a good insight into advertising, marketing to children and the psychology behind it.
Contextual studies task 3 – Semiotic Analysis
The first signifier in this image that draws your attention is the bold headline. It occupies a quarter of the page and is written in upper case, bold, black letters aiming to catch the attention of the viewer and causing them to be curious as to what the article is about. The word GOTCHA is a simple, straight to the point, one word headline that appears confident across the page. Gotcha is a slang term for the words ‘got you’ and is often used in an informal way. This is a term that would often be used when playing a game, or swatting a fly for instance, a very informal and playful word used to signify a very a very formal and serious subject such as war, which makes this a very tasteless headline.
The Sun newspaper is a red top pro-war newspaper whose political stance at the time of this article was towards the Conservative party. It is one of the highest selling newspapers in the country and is aimed at young, working class men who thrive on reading about shocking news. The use of slang and informal words throughout the piece connotes that this is the audience they are trying to communicate to.
After reading the headline your eyes automatically move to the left of the page where underneath the headline sits two images of ships, these are key signifiers as to what the article regards. One is an image of a boat similar to the one sunk which is accompanied by text underneath it. The word ‘sunk’ is written in white, bold, upper case, italic letters on a black banner denoting news about the war in a very ‘matter of fact’ way. This is continued under the second image, which is of the Belgrano, and reads ‘crippled’.
Next to these images your eyes lead you to the subheading which is also written in bold, black lettering and is underlined. Under this is the name of the writer which also states he is aboard the HMS Invincible, denoting that the news is coming right from the heart of the action and therefore must be true, promoting confidence within the reader that the information provided is fact.
The Argentinians are often referred to as ‘Argies’ in this text giving connotations of a cultural prejudice towards the opposing side. Connotations of conflict are also present with the use of words such as on their knees, double punch, wallop and asking for trouble all day. These are all part of a cultural code aimed to make the reader feel they can relate to the story. The words ‘our lads’ are also part of this cultural code designed to make the reader feel like one of them and evoke patriotic feelings among the readers of pride and national unity.
To the right of the article is a logo which reads ‘battle for the islands’ and contains an image of a soldier ready for battle, this denotes the information is about the war and is also a key signifier.
After reading the article your eyes move to another article also about the War; however in this article the enemy is the Union. The Sun sees the Unions opinion as a boycott and this is denoted in the bold, upper case, black, and italic heading ‘Union boycotts war’. This connotes that The Sun sees the Union as being ‘party poopers’ within this ‘game’ of war and this promotes a negative feeling towards the Union. This also connotes that this is a pro-war newspaper.
From this article your eyes avert to a small piece in the top right hand corner, here The Sun claim in quite a childish, playground manner that they know everything that is happening in the War first hand, reinforcing the idea that their newspaper is the one to buy if you want to the latest War news. The article states that the QE2 is also poised and ready for battle, denoting strength and dominance. This is a key signifier of confidence in defeating the opposition.
There are a few examples of myth within this piece, such as mis-information about the damage done to the Belgrano, quoting that the Belgrano was ‘not sunk’ and ‘left a useless wreck’ when in actual fact it had sunk. Also there is wrong information within the article about the type of torpedoes fired at the Belgrano.
The ideologies throughout this piece are ones of a superior, united, strong and unbeatable nation, giving the reader confidence that this is just a small problem and they shouldn’t worry about it as ‘the lads’ will sort it out. The general consensus of the article is that it is almost laughable that the Argentinians should think they can attack the British with a narrative that basically says ‘Stupid Argies, don’t you know who we are?!’
Contextual studies task 2 – Adorno’s ideas on pop music
Spice Girls - Wannabe
This song epiotmises Adorno's sentiments by having a very standardised structure and rhythm to it. It also has a melodic harmony and is very catchy. When it was released it was heavily plugged by repetition and also by the spice girls brand. It has memorable lyrics, is recognisable, stimulating and also has an element of novelty to it. Each member of the band has their own 'character' based on stereotypes of women, making each one appear an individual but belonging to the same group, all variations of the same, creating pseudo-individualisation. Their slogan is 'Girl power' and yet they dress in provocative and revealing clothing.
Contextual studies task 2 – Adorno’s ideas on pop music
In this piece of writing Adorno states that there are many differences between serious music and popular music. His main point being that popular music is very standardised. He explains that the structure of these types of songs consist of simple melodic harmonies which are easy to listen to and understand by those who are not ‘musically experienced’. Adorno writes about how pop music falls into the category of natural music and is not dissimilar to nursery rhymes and hymns sung as children; therefore this type of music is recognisable as the listener feels they can relate to it in a personal way.
Adorno states that the music industry is very competitive and that they are always churning out pop songs which, due to the fact they are heavily standardised, are very similar. In order to make a pop song successful Adorno explains about ‘plugging’ and how constant advertising, mentioning and playing a song can make it successful. He goes on to explain about how repetition leads to recognition and how recognition is the key to success. He also writes about the plugging of personalities associated with the song such as the band leader, contributing the work to that person as opposed to the composer of the music, this creates a brand preference effect amongst the listeners.
Adorno writes about the effects of popular music on the listener, stating that in his opinion there are several components involved in the act of listening to a pop song, these are:
Vague remembrance; standardisation of pop songs promotes a feeling of vague remembrance.
Actual identification; when the listener remembers they have heard it before (due to it being played incessantly)
Connection by label; the listener associates it with the song title, memorable lyrics or the record label.
Self-reflection on the act of recognition; the listener feels proud of their ability to recognise the song.
The psychological transfer of recognition; the listener feels a sense of authority to the object and feels flattered to own something everyone owns creating an illusion of value.
He also writes about the reasons why people listen to pop music stating that popular music offers a stimulant and novelty for which the public crave. He explains about how people wish to be distracted from the demands of reality by entertainment that doesn’t demand attention and induces relaxation. Popular music can easily create this due to the fact it is patterned and pre-digested. He also states that popular music creates pseudo-individulisation among people, causing them to think they are an individual by liking a certain genre of music, when in actual fact they are just conforming to their stereotypes.
Adorno states that the music industry is very competitive and that they are always churning out pop songs which, due to the fact they are heavily standardised, are very similar. In order to make a pop song successful Adorno explains about ‘plugging’ and how constant advertising, mentioning and playing a song can make it successful. He goes on to explain about how repetition leads to recognition and how recognition is the key to success. He also writes about the plugging of personalities associated with the song such as the band leader, contributing the work to that person as opposed to the composer of the music, this creates a brand preference effect amongst the listeners.
Adorno writes about the effects of popular music on the listener, stating that in his opinion there are several components involved in the act of listening to a pop song, these are:
Vague remembrance; standardisation of pop songs promotes a feeling of vague remembrance.
Actual identification; when the listener remembers they have heard it before (due to it being played incessantly)
Connection by label; the listener associates it with the song title, memorable lyrics or the record label.
Self-reflection on the act of recognition; the listener feels proud of their ability to recognise the song.
The psychological transfer of recognition; the listener feels a sense of authority to the object and feels flattered to own something everyone owns creating an illusion of value.
He also writes about the reasons why people listen to pop music stating that popular music offers a stimulant and novelty for which the public crave. He explains about how people wish to be distracted from the demands of reality by entertainment that doesn’t demand attention and induces relaxation. Popular music can easily create this due to the fact it is patterned and pre-digested. He also states that popular music creates pseudo-individulisation among people, causing them to think they are an individual by liking a certain genre of music, when in actual fact they are just conforming to their stereotypes.
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