The intended audience for this image is people who have or have had problems with bed bugs, as well as the rest of us who are terrified of having a bed bug problem. The purpose is to instill fear of bed bugs in order to get people to use Orkin’s services. The initial effect is through the (very) emphasized message “bed bugs suck,” with “suck” made of bed bugs for extra emphasis and to make people uncomfortable by thinking about a bunch of bed bugs crawling all over the place in formation. The second most emphasized part of the image is the rather more comforting message “we can help,” which plays on the audience’s fear by offering salvation. All of this draws attention down the image to the box of text, which isn’t emphasized much at all but still stands out and continues creating fear. The red Orkin logo, while small, stands out from the blue on the rest of the image, drawing attention to it.
ICT: Information and Communications Technology. Modern technology that allows for fast and easy communication, such as cell phones and the Internet.
Equality of outcome: As a policy goal, seeks to intervene with both the rich and the poor to reduce the income gap via direct intervention with taxes and welfare.
Equality of opportunity: As a policy goal, targets the poor and tries to give them the means to help themselves, in principle giving everyone a shot at striking it rich.
Digital divide: A gap between those who can access ICTs and use them effectively and those who cannot.
Information society: one where access to and manipulation of information becomes the key determinant of one’s place in society.
Meritocracy: a “fairer” society where an individual’s social status is determined on the basis of merit. Complex and varying definitions of “merit” complicate things, and a true meritocracy is not really feasible.
Summary
Worldwide and within countries, there is a huge gap in wealth. As a result of this, there is also a huge gap in the availability of Information and Communications Technology, and many governments are trying to close this gap by providing access to ICTs in public places like libraries. Ideally, by closing this digital divide, societies can reduce inequality by allowing everyone to participate equally, creating a meritocracy. In this ideal, meritocratic information society, an individual’s power depends on “access to knowledge and the skills to select and manipulate that knowledge” (204). In principle, someone with little or no education but who has knowledge and access to the Internet can compete with large corporations. However, simply increasing access to ICTs will not necessarily lead to a reduction of inequality, and the idea that it will rests on two major arguments, which Lax rejects.
The first is the assumption that technology itself is mainly responsible for driving social change. However, even with ready access to ICTs, many people may not know how to use them (or use them effectively) and so cannot take advantage of them. Lax argues that technology does not drive social change, citing studies showing that access to ICTs doesn’t impact people’s participation in politics or education, for example; only people already interested in these areas take advantage of ICTs to aid in their participation, so the availability of the technology is not causing social change to get more people involved. Rather, society drives technological growth, as new technologies must have some kind of potential market in place before they are developed.
The flaw of meritocracy is that it relies on a truly level playing field, which is nearly impossible to achieve in practice. Image credit DuneyBlues, wrongplanet.net.
The second argument is, as Lax sees it, an overstatement of the social change to begin with. Some authors argue that in an information society, boundaries between different sections of society can be dissolved, putting everyone on a level playing field so that everyone can be judged on their merits. Lax points out that even in industries unique to information societies, old distinctions persist, for example between labor and management in a call center. He also reveals the flaw intrinsic to meritocracy: even if it starts off as egalitarian, it quickly becomes stratified. Those at the top conclude that they deserve to be there based on merit, that those at the bottom deserve to be there based on merit, and, consequently, that those at the bottom do not deserve assistance.
Lax concludes that providing access to ICTs to create equality of opportunity is not sufficient to actually reduce inequality, and that if reducing inequality is the goal, it requires a closer look at the basic ways in which society is divided.
Discussion
The following video describes “The Myth of Meritocracy” as it applies to Canadian society. Does it also apply to American society? I think it does. In fact, I think in some ways it is even more relevant to American society, considering the argument Lax cites in his essay that the wealthy often believe the poor are not worthy of assistance. There is a long history in America of demonizing welfare programs and blaming the poor for being poor. American society holds individual liberty as a very important principle, even if it comes at the expense of others. This is why there is such opposition to any perceived imposition by the government into people’s choices. Most of us believe, at some level, that everyone should be given some baseline from which to navigate society. The problem is that we can’t agree on where that baseline actually is. Some, for example, believe that healthcare is a basic human right, and others believe it is a privilege. This specific issue, at least, is settled in Canada, where healthcare is socialized. American society is still divided on the issue. Maharaj’s point about inherited advantages also applies to America, as many of our country’s wealthy people have inherited at least a major part of that wealth from their parents.
Immediacy: direct, instant experience of something, without realizing there is a medium through which it is experienced—immersion.
Hypermediacy: experience of something, with recognition of the medium through which it is being experienced.
Remediation: the representation of one medium in another.
GUI: Graphical User Interface. A modern computer screen, as opposed to old entirely text-based operating systems.
Summary
Video games incorporate multiple other media, including images, text, and video, to create immediacy around imaginary worlds. Some elements, such as the “Achievement Unlocked” notification here, draw attention to the game as a medium, creating hypermediacy. Image credit Sicarius, mobygames.com.
The “double logic of remediation” is that our culture seeks to erase media by multiplying them. That is, we seek to have so many ways of experiencing something that we forget we’re not actually there experiencing it ourselves firsthand. This goal is called immediacy. Different media seek to achieve immediacy by borrowing from one another. Media oscillate between immediacy and hypermediacy, especially new media, because the experience of immediacy calls attention to the novelty of the medium it uses. This is often made explicit as new media are marketed as improved versions of old media. The book traces the history of computers, starting out as giant machines and moving to command-line interfaces, GUIs introducing the metaphor of the desktop, and modern high-definition computer graphics, and mentions experimental computer interfaces that seek to operate without the user perceiving the presence of the interface. The authors also present the history of images, from perspective drawing to photography to computer graphics. They point out that the idea was (and is) to create an image that does not call attention to the fact that it is artificial, creating immediacy. Again, however, the realization of this immediacy brings the medium (and the artist/photographer/graphic designer) into focus, making the medium oscillate between immediacy and hypermediacy.
After a few similar examples, the authors comment on remediation, which involves recycling and building upon old media (both its techniques and its content). They argue that no medium exists in isolation; all media comment on, build upon, or replace other media. New media tends to style itself as reformation or improvement of older media, but both old and new media adapt and change one another. They also mention that remediation has a significant commercial dimension. A product markets itself as an improvement to entice customers, and a concept or franchise moves from one medium into multiple others in order to appeal to other markets.
New Media in Bolter-Grusin
Bolter and Grusin define “new media” as new relative to other, pre-existing media. While they’re discussing perspective painting versus photography, for example, photographs are considered the “new medium,” as indeed they were at the time. Their argument is that “introducing new media technology does not mean simply inventing new hardware and software, but rather fashioning (or refashioning) such a network.” So when video becomes a new medium, it isn’t just a technology that can take several photographs in rapid succession, it is also the way video is used: everything from feature films to home movies to documentaries. Television isn’t just broadcasting and receiving audio and video, it’s also a platform for advertisement, news distribution, and entertainment. Each new medium in some way incorporates older media, and older media in turn adopt from new media.
Play–the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem solving.
Performance–the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery.
Simulation–the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes.
Appropriation–the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content.
Engagement–being actively involved and interested in an activity. With regard to play, individual parts of an activity, like a grind or a homework assignment, may not be fun in themselves, but a player is still motivated by a fun goal (like new skills or knowledge) and so continues the activity despite this.
Projective identity–the fusion between game players and their in-game avatars. This is a play on the word “project,” as it refers both to projecting one’s identity onto the avatar, and to thinking of the avatar as a project to be developed.
Procedural literacy–the “capacity to restructure and reconfigure knowledge to look at problems through multiple vantage points” (27). This develops a greater understanding of the rules and procedures that shape our experience.
Brief(ish) Summary:
SimCity is a game that helps players learn to read maps and graphs while they play.
Play: Games help learning by allowing people to engage with material directly and with related subjects by extension. An interest in baseball cards, for example, can help a student engage with math, reading, and conversational skills among other things. Play makes it fun to develop different sets of skills, even if it doesn’t appear fun to an outsider or if developing the skills outside the context of play would not be fun. It also lowers the risk of learning through trial and error, allowing players to take more risks as they learn. Play can be integrated in a classroom setting through free-form experimentation (unstructured problem solving) and open-ended speculation (historical “what-if” scenarios).
Performance: Projecting one’s own identity onto a character creates immersion into different scenarios. Easy-to-use digital media like blogs make it easy for young people to explore social interaction and create their identities. With anonymous blogs, one person can create and explore multiple personas. In an academic context, taking on a role can demonstrate one’s understanding of that role—it is difficult to perform a role well without understanding the character and their situation. Because performance of this kind is a form of play, it can motivate students to learn more about something in a fun and interesting way. In a simulation game, it can encourage students to form a projective identity around real-world circumstances.
Simulation:Close approximation of real-world processes. Simulations require an understanding of different variables to create, and can assist students in developing that understanding by allowing them to see a process at work. They allow easy manipulation of variables given what is already known, which aids in understanding each variable’s significance. Simulations can be a form of play and often take the form of games, such as SimCity. This makes them easy to engage with. They encourage mentally modeling processes intuitively because a simulation is experienced rather than simply read. They can also require learning other skills, such as reading graphs. All of this involves procedural literacy, made easy through play. It is important to note, however, that simulations cannot be taken at face value; there are limitations and assumptions underlying the construction of simulations that must be taken into account.
Appropriation: Taking samples from old works and using them to create something new. New work almost universally builds on work that has come before it, but our culture emphasizes the idea of independent creation and has an aversion to borrowing ideas. Appropriation involves analysis and commentary on old works simply in choosing what to appropriate. It also helps identify parallels between different works, allowing students to recognize a common theme. Furthermore, remaking something in a different context but keeping the pieces recognizable creates a deeper understanding of the original work, through analysis of characters and cultures, for example.
Discussion Question:
Most of these concepts involve discussions of video games. Are different kinds of video games more or less conducive to learning than others? How?
It depends on the sort of skills one seeks to teach; a fighting game, for example, will not help a student learn about economics, while a role-playing game with a trade system can. Virtually every game teaches some sort of skill. The trick is to find those games that require skills that also apply outside the game. Simulation games or games with simulation elements are the best likely candidates for this, as they tend to model the real world.
Other resources:
Embrace the Remix: Kirby Ferguson argues that all creative work builds on previous work, and that our patent system which treats ideas as property hinders creative production.
Digital writing is any writing in a digital space, like the internet or possibly an office intranet. Things like blogs, websites, wikis, and social media. I only use social media a little, mostly in the form of comments, which can turn into larger discussions depending on the environment in which they’re written. I’ve also made small contributions to wikis, and done a little blogging for a few classes.
I have some very limited experience in image editing, I’ve touched on video production, but didn’t go in depth with it.
The intended audience for this image is people who have or have had problems with bed bugs, as well as the rest of us who are terrified of having a bed bug problem. The purpose is to instill fear of bed bugs in order to get people to use Orkin’s services. The initial effect is through the (very) emphasized message “bed bugs suck,” with “suck” made of bed bugs for extra emphasis and to make people uncomfortable by thinking about a bunch of bed bugs crawling all over the place in formation. The second most emphasized part of the image is the rather more comforting message “we can help,” which plays on the audience’s fear by offering salvation. All of this draws attention down the image to the box of text, which isn’t emphasized much at all but still stands out and continues creating fear. The red Orkin logo, while small, stands out from the blue on the rest of the image, drawing attention to it.
