Analysis of a Media Artefact – Audio books (on cassette and CD)

Whilst audio books have been around since the early twentieth century (Joseph, 2009), recordings on cassettes and CD is still relatively new, despite it often being seen as old technology in this digital age. Cassettes began to be used in the 1960s, largely as part of collections in libraries but were not popular until the 80s, where “the audio publishing business grew to several billion dollars a year” (Anon, 2006). Although CD audio books were available as early as the late 1980s, they were not initially successful (Markovic, 2011). This is often thought to be because early CD technology was unable to remember where in the story you left off, unlike tapes which would be at the same place you left it the next time it was used.

Originally, audio books were developed for the blind and vision impaired to be able to ‘read’ books (Philips, 2007). The market then expanded into read-along books where those learning to read can hear the story as they read the book as well as books for commuters to listen to whilst on the train or home-makers whilst cleaning and so on. Of course, commuters were unable to listen on the train until the development of portable CD and cassette players so before this, audio books would be played in living rooms and perhaps bedrooms for all in the room to hear, tying them to a physical location and meaning that they needed to be suitable for anyone who might be able to hear, from young children to the elderly. This could also lead to differences in interpretation of the stories, as the situation surrounding the listener could alter their perspective.

In the 80s, when this technology first became popular, though many were unemployed, more people were going to work, particularly in professional sectors, and society became more focused on making money than family (Hicks, J and Allen, G, 1999). This can be linked to the way in which this medium was consumed and its rise in popularity. With more people, particularly executives with disposable income, commuting and working longer hours, people had less spare time in which to read. Audio books were practical ways of consuming literature whilst on the move, either in car cassette or CD players or on the train on Walkmans or similar devices. Read-along books could also have gained popularity around this time as parents had less time to spend with children and these would provide both entertainment and education.

From a technological determinist perspective, this would suggest that the format of audio books developed as technology improved. For example, as the technology became available for them to consume texts whilst on the move, they began using this and it became the norm. However, using Whig theory, you could suggest that people wanted their audio books to be more portable and durable. Compact Disks are less likely to get damaged than cassettes and are easily portable and the development of CD players and tape decks meant that both became equally portable. This was desired by the public as they spent less and less time at home.

Market theory could also be shown as a factor as the audio book industry realised that tape recorders meant that people could record copies or their own versions of book and so using CDs could combat this. This also meant that they could charge more for their product as CDs would last longer than tapes and therefore companies could make more profit. It would also suggest that the desire for portable audio books for commuters came as a way for companies to expand their market and therefore achieve greater profits.

Each of these perspectives have their own merits when looking at the progression and development of the audio book industry, with no particular argument seeming any more plausible than the other. However, what can be seen is that the technology, particularly in the audio book’s format, has been a natural progression through the improvement of technology. CDs surpassed cassettes as they could fit more content on them and were much more durable; they are less likely to deteriorate or be damaged than cassettes and are equally as portable.

Since then, downloads have become a popular medium for audio books amongst commuters; now you can fit hundreds of books onto your mp3 player, iPod or phone which can my played on headphones or through the speaker system of most modern cars. However, CD and cassette audio books still remain popular (Philips, 2007) and even vinyl audio books have made a comeback in recent years, in much the same way they have in the music world.

Sources:

Anon. (2005). Audio Publishers Association (APA) Fact Sheet. Available: http://www.audiopub.org/LinkedFiles/APA_Fact_Sheet.pdf. Last accessed 25th Feb 2012.

Anon. (2006). Evolution of Audio Books and Media Players. Available: http://booksalley.com/bAMain/bAlleyT02_Museum.php. Last accessed 25th Feb 2012.

Donalds, R. Ph.D. (200). Media and youth: access, exposure, and privatization. Journal of Adolescent Health. 27 (2), 8-14.

Francis, D. (2005). Changing Work Behavior of Married Women. Available: http://www.nber.org/digest/nov05/w11230.html. Last accessed 28th Feb 2012.

Hicks, J and Allen, G. (1999). A Century of Change: Trends in UK statistics since 1900. Social and General Statistics Section. Hous of Commons Library. p10-26.

Joseph, L . (2009). Cylinder Recordings. Available: http://www.cyberbee.com/edison/cylinder.html. Last accessed 26th Feb 2012

Kozloff, S. (1995). Audio Books in a Visual Culture. Journal of American Culture. 18 (4), p83-95.

Markovic, P. (2011). Audiobook CD. Available: http://audioforbooks.com/2011/01/cd-audio-books/. Last accessed 27th Feb 2012.

Philips, D. (2007). Talking Books : The Encounter of Literature and Technology in the Audio Book. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 13 (3), p293-306.

Whitten, R. (2002). Growth of the audio publishing industry . Publishing Research Quarterly. 18 (3), p3-10.

HCJ – Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto

“The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.”

– Karl Marx

Born in 1818 in Germany to Jewish parents, Karl Marx studied law but went on to study philosophy then revolution instead. In 1844 he met Fredrich Engles in Paris and together they wrote the communist manifesto in 1848. Marx was also a journalist and editor of a radical newspaper in Europe. He later fled to London until his death in 1883.

Marx believed that you could learn anything about a society by analysing the way its economic forces shaped social, religious, legal and political processes. He was a technological determinist and took a teleological approach to history (i.e. that everything is moving towards and end point).

Marxism fuses Hegelian philosophy, British empiricism and French revolutionary politics and tried to use scientific method to prove points, showing Darwin’s influence at the time. It centers on the idea of dialectic materialism – where two opposing ideas or things clash:

Thesis + Antithesis => Synthesis

In the case of the lead up to communism, the thesis would be the Bourgeoisie, the antithesis – the proletariats and the synthesis (or resolution) would be socialism.

Karl Marx thought that capitalism was not sustainable (as commodities cost more than wages due to profit margins) and that society was moving towards communism. In his eyes, social and political history was structured as such:

1.       Communal living (such as prehistory when everyone worked together)

2.       Slave society (where one group or individual took over)

3.       Monarchy (where one person was in charge and this power was hereditary)

4.       Capitalism (where everything is driven by profit; where we are today)

5.       Socialism (where everyone works for equal wage and all wealth is divided equally)

6.       Communism (where everything is shared equally via the state – “to each according to his need, from each according to his ability”)

 (I.e. social conflict drives history)

To ‘achieve’ communism though, proletariats would have to ‘over through’ capitalism. However, proletariats do not do this due to alienation, meaning that people are seen as commodities. Whilst those lower in the social/economic order have less to lose by rising up against capitalism, they do not. Many will argue that this is because they aspire to be like or become one of the bourgeoisie. Marxism argues that this is not possible as, although the media depicts some proletariats ‘swapping class’ this is not the case; the media provides part of the ‘infrastructure’ capitalism is built upon and can portray people in ways which support this. For example, whilst Alan Sugar can be seen as part of the bourgeoisie, he is still a proletariat as his wealth and power can be taken from him and he will, therefore, lose this status whereas this is not possible for the bourgeoisie.

Of course, if society developed into socialism, there would not be these divides. However, socialism or communism does not look like concepts that can be achieved (take Russia or China as examples). Perhaps this because we are too used to capitalist concepts or maybe we are all in essence lazy, but the idea that a heart surgeon would be paid or given equal amounts of things as a cleaner becomes just an incentive not to try and achieve highly as there is no reward and therefore, we would all just become cleaners.

Easy as Pie

Before I begin, yes I do realise that, technically, I’ve totally failed my lent thing already but I’ve decided this week to swap Friday and Sunday round because, as an ‘adult’ and a student, my life’s rather hectic and unfortunately I don’t have the ability to decide not to do my work just to fullfil a promise I half-heartedly made very late at night after consuming a stupid amount of pizza and pancakes. So there.

Anyway, sticking on the theme of food, I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of students getting a reputation for not eating properly when the large percentage of us do. If you’re one of the few that doesn’t, Dude! You’re letting the side down! Don’t tell me it’s hard work or that you can’t afford it. What’s wrong with you? Learn to budget, jeez…

Prove it? Fine! Here’s a recipe (and Nigela Lawson spoof) for leftover pie. It goes great with vegetables (mixed, frozen, fresh or otherwise) and will totally impress your friends and family of a Sunday lunch time.

Equipment:

·         Oven-proof dish

·         Mixing bowl

·         Spoon (preferably wooden)

·         Sieve

·         Weighing Scales

Ingredients:

Pastry: (amounts may need to be changed, depending on size of pie)

·         4oz (120g) flour

·         2oz (60g) butter

·         1 or 2 tbsp water

Filling:

·         Leftover meats, stuffing, vegetables or vegetarian substitutes*

·         Gravy

·         Herbs and/or spices (optional)

* Note that these don’t have to be leftovers, often I’ll cook Quorn chicken, sausages and anything else that might as well go in there specifically for it. So long as it’s all cooked and it’s still okay to eat, it’s all good.

Yeah, see, half of that you have scattered around your kitchen anyway, don’t you? …Don’t lie.

Method:

Preheat the oven to about 200°C/400 Fahrenheit/Gas mark 6

Pastry:

·         Put small lumps or cubes of the butter in a  mixing bowl

·         Seive flower on top of this

·         Use your fingertips to rub the fat into the flour until it becomes a breadcrumb-like mixture

·         Add water a little at a time, stirring between additions until most/all the ‘breadcrumbs’ are stuck together in one big ball.

·         Mix and knead the pastry with your hands

·         Roll out to desired thickness

Most recipes say to put the dough in a bag and chill in the fridge for about half an hour but I’ve never bothered. It also says roll the pastry above... I don’t own a rolling pin here, so I kind of just stretch it out with my hands… Don’t question it; it works.

Now, if you’re making a proper pie, you’ll need to roll it out thick enough to line the inside of you dish before putting the filling in it. Usually I don’t do this and just make a top to the pie, so the filling just goes straight in the dish.

Filling:

·         Make gravy, adding in any herbs or spices to taste (I normally use rosemary, thyme, coarse ground pepper and sometimes a little paprika)

·         Cut up meat, vegetables, etc. into bite-size pieces

·         Place meats, etc. in dish and cover with the gravy

It’s up to you how thick you want your gravy, but remember it will get thicker as you cook it in the oven.

Now, you simply put your pie lid over the top and place in the oven. Depending on the size of your pie, depends on how long it will take to cook. Generally speaking, it’s ready when the pastry is a golden brown colour but if the dish I particularly deep or big, you may need to cover it in foil part way through to insure the middle is cooked through properly without burning the top.

Take it out the oven & check the pie is piping hot all the way to the middle and serve. Boom!

The real test, of course, is if everyone goes quiet when they eat it (or, alternatively, how easy it is to persuade them to do the washing up afterwards).

Leftover pastry? No problems!

·         Grate a little cheese and knead into the pastry.

·         Roll it out and cut into strips.

·         Place on baking tray and in oven until golden brown

·         Voila! Cheese straws!

Now, tell me students can’t cook. I dare you.

Radio News - County Council Lobby

Local trade unions are lobbying the County Council today where local budget cuts are being discussed. It is thought that the council will be cutting £100million over the next two years.

One of the protestors, who also works for the council, had this to say:

Lent

Google define states that Lent is “The period of 40 weekdays that in the Christian Church is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence.” It is traditional in this time that you give something up for the period from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday, even if you’re not religious.

The vast majority of people will give up something they like in order to be healthier with bread, smoking, alcohol, chocolate and crisps being some of the most common. Others chose things to try and make them better people and give up swearing or teasing their siblings.

The first lent I remember is one where, aged 7, I gave up tomato ketchup; strange, I know, but I was a little bit addicted. It didn’t work very well because I just substituted it with other sauces instead. The same sort of thing happened when I gave up bread both last year and the year before and crisps and chocolate on other occasions.

This year, instead of going for the hat-trick of bread I had been planning since last year, I thought I might do something different…

Remember a few months back I challenged myself to write a blog a day? Well, I did. Anyway, following on from the (sort of) success of that, my promise for Lent this year is not to give something up but to repeat this. No, it’s not cheating because, if you think about it, I’m giving up being lazy and procrastinating (see, clever, no?)

Besides, it’s better than most of today’s lent promises on 3 points

1)      It’s possible – so unlike most, I won’t give up after about 4 days

2)      It’s not selfish – which I suppose is debatable, but if you think about it, promising to be nice is something you should do anyway and giving up crisps or whatever is usually to aid your own diet and isn’t helping anyone or making the world better which, if you think about it, is kind of the point of all this.

3)      It’s positive – because I could have done something similar to what I do for my New Year’s resolution and give up giving up things, which is both pathetic and unfulfilling, plus, it’ll be helping with my degree, which can only be a good thing

I realise they’re fairly weak points, but you can’t deny there’s something behind my bizarre process of thought.

Also, for those of you who will remind me I gave up after about a week and a half of the whole a-blog-a-day she-bang, Lent is only Monday through Saturday, so I can get Sunday off to recover so, who knows, maybe I might even stick at it for longer than the 40 days.

I doubt it though.

(Also, I’m totally counting this as Wednesday’s blog post, even if I did finish writing it at half eleven on the Tuesday)

Radio Journalism

With a little bit of luck, underneath should (in theory) be a short Radio News piece (in a style of a relatively local station aimed at an aged 25-34 ABC1C2 demographic) and a monologue-like-thing which I'm meant to upload as part of my course. I will put the scripting underneath each one too.

Enjoy.

http://snd.sc/wCBfuy

"Former Energy Secretary Chris Huhne is expected to make his first appearance in court later today.

It’s alleged his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce, took his penalty points for a speeding offence in two thousand and three. He denies the charge.

Huhne resigned from the cabinet earlier this month to focus on the case. He remains a Lib Dem MP for Eastleigh."

http://snd.sc/xZw23D

"It’s fair to say that, from time to time at least, everyone is inspired by something. Whether this inspiration has any impact on your life or the lives of others depends on what inspires you and what it inspires you to do. I don’t know if this applies to you, but for me, inspiration can come from anything or nothing, and strike at any moment. Often, this moment isn’t a particularly good one in which to be inspired. For example: in the middle of lectures; in the shower; at the cinema or other times and places where it’s impractical or inappropriate to whip out a note book and write things down. I hope it’s not just me that suffers from this impractical gift or beautiful curse, depending on how you like to look at the world.

A lot of this inspiration is for things to write: stories, poems, articles. I’m a writer at heart. The issue is that by the time I have a pen and some paper to write with, the idea has gone and the spark has faded to a mere ember. This isn’t helpful for me or my goal in life, which has been to be a writer since I was about six years old. After all, do we not all aim to be paid for what we enjoy doing?

Though the dream has always been the same for me, the style of writing I have wanted to work with has continually changed over time. It started with fiction; short stories about Princesses and unicorns or servant girls being whisked away by handsome Princes. I think it’s safe to say that Disney films and fairy tales were a major source of inspiration for my six year old self. So too were the Barbie dolls and Lego that my sister and I would spend hours playing with.

I still enjoy writing fiction. As I’ve gotten older, my plots have become more complicated with thought provoking meanings. Apparently. I don’t think they’re that good, but then, I suppose I never think any of my work’s very good. Including this. Anyway, I digress; as I have gotten older, my inspirations have changed. This is not to say that I don’t still draw upon the time I spent playing with dolls in front of films because, subconsciously, we are all inspired by everything we’ve ever experienced. However, as I have grown-up, so have my thoughts and feeling and the things that influence and inspire have therefore become more mature. For example, I have a great love for the works of William Shakespeare and I draw upon his plays and poems as a source of inspiration for my own narratives. I also love the style of The Independent’s Robert Fisk. The way he can weave opinion with fact to portray an emotional yet factual account of events astounds me, and so he also forms part of my inspiration in writing.

Another inspiration is my family, particularly my mum. Not for my style of writing really, but for my life. She inspires me to always try my best and to stick at things and all those clichés mums love to use. Even if she does annoy me as she does it.

I suppose you could argue that these examples are more influences than inspirations. Inspiration tends to come as more of a surprise which these don’t. So, if these aren’t inspirations, what are? I suppose I would have to conclude that nothing and everything and that this is what inspires me. After all, an idea can strike you anywhere at any time. Like lightning."

Top Tips for a Tip-top Valentine's Day (AKA I forgot [again] - Help!)

If you have arrived here from google, you’ve forgotten today is Valentine’s Day. Congratulations. Though I’m sure you’re not the only one.

Here’s  five quick, last minute, relatively cheap ideas to surprise your other half with (and if, like me, you don’t have an ‘other half’, don’t worry, there’s some pointers on having a great singleton’s Valentine’s Day further down, plus you get to know this bit for later):

1)      Picnic it – Assuming it doesn’t snow yet again this month, a nice picnic somewhere scenic is both romantic and cheap. Just make a few sandwiches, grab a bottle of wine, a blanket to sit on and a candle if you think you’ll be allowed and whisk your beloved down to the park or countryside or area of beauty and if it’s cold, great; what better excuse is there to snuggle up?

2)      Film fun – No! Not in a kinky way! Gosh, what is wrong with you... my parents read this! Anyway, take them to see a film either at the cinema or curled up on the sofa at home with a few snacks, like a nice box of chocs or popcorn or whatever. And it doesn’t have to be a rom-com. Choose something you both like. Personally, I’d like to watch a Die Hard marathon with some ice cream. And definitely do that cheesy yawn-cuddle thing guys, clichés exist for a reason (same applies to gifts: flowers + chocolates = win)

3)      Dinner date – dinner out is ALWAYS an option. Always. It’s not very cheap, but it’s a good last resort, so long as you don’t make it look like you’ve only just come up with the idea.

4)      Theme Park – I know it’s not cheap, but it’s fun (if you like that kind of thing, of course) and if you get scared or cold whilst queuing or whatever, more excuses for snuggling!

5)      Pamper day – this only works if you’re buying for a girl (or a very effeminate guy): quickly run to somewhere like Lush or The Body Shop, buy up some body butter, face masks and other bits and bobs and tell your girl to treat herself to a selfish day then take her out for dinner or order in later. Maybe get her some pretty clothes/lingerie too (but be careful to get her sizing right or you’re doomed) I suppose, alternatively, if you’re shopping for a guy, get him sports things or something? I don’t know…

And there you go! I hope that helps at least a little.

Feeling lonely this Valentine’s Day? Don’t fret! Here are some ideas to make you feel glad you are… not lonely necessarily, but single… you know what I mean. Anyway, here they are:

1)      Girls’/Guys’ night out – who needs a man/woman when you’ve got your friends, some booze, music and the whole night ahead of you?

2)      Girls’/Guys’ night in – great to bitch about the opposite sex whilst you eat sugary things, watch films, sing along to random songs and just generally have a bit of a laugh (this is my plan this year, it’s going to be immense)

3)      Pamper day – spend the whole day making yourself look and feel amazing, either by yourself or with some friends. Works really well with a girls’ night in. Or, if you’re not into that kind of thing spend the day watching films you love or shopping or something

4)      Get ahead – catch up on all your work or get ahead of where you should be; it might not be fun but it means you’ll be able to relax another day!

5)      Sleep – because sometimes it’s good to be well rested/lazy

So, there you have it. Have fun today people!