scholarly journals Lessons from Theranos: Changing Narratives of Individual Ethics in Science and Engineering

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 306
Author(s):  
Melanie Jeske
Keyword(s):  
Popular Media ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
The Media ◽  
Scientists And Engineers ◽  
Ethics In Science ◽  
Individual Ethics ◽  
University Spaces ◽  
Dramatic Fall

The meteoric ascent and equally dramatic fall of Theranos has been covered prolifically in the media. Presented as an ambitious inventor gone rogue, the discursive construction of the Theranos scandal in popular media and in the biomedical community reifies tired narratives of the role of ethics in science and engineering fields more generally: narratives that emphasizes individual integrity and common sense rather than the structures and norms that leave scientists and engineers vulnerable to ethical quandaries. In this short critical engagement, I argue that the ways Theranos has been captured obscures important conversations about ethics in bioscience and biotechnology, both in the private sector and in university spaces. I call for STS scholars to engage with scientists and engineers to imagine ways to structurally embed ethics and justice in future technoscientific endeavors.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Everyday ICT Use: The Discursive Construction of Old Age in German Media

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Köttl ◽  
Verena C Tatzer ◽  
Liat Ayalon
Keyword(s):  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Active Lifestyles ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Discourses ◽  
Design And Methods ◽  
German Newspapers

Abstract Background and Objectives Media discourses have the power to construct and perpetuate positive and negative aging images and influence public and individuals’ attitudes. This study aims to critically examine the media portrayal of older persons’ everyday information and communication technology (EICT) usage during the first and second waves of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Research Design and Methods A total of 51 articles published in 3 leading German newspapers between March 2020 and November 2020 were identified from the LexisNexis Academic database. Data were analyzed employing critical discourse and thematic analysis. Results EICT use was associated with youthful, consumption-orientated, and active lifestyles, while nonuse was constructed as failures on the policy or individual level. The pandemic seemed to have acted as an amplifier, further exacerbating and perpetuating stereotypical, dichotomous, but also empowering aging images. Discussion and Implications Neoliberal rational and binary distinctions of active users and nonusers opened and encouraged critical discussions on positive aging trends, the concept of the third and fourth ages, and aging-and-innovation discourses. Moreover, the crucial educative role of the media in raising awareness about power imbalances and reducing EICT-related ageism is stressed.

scholarly journals Putting a Face to a Name: Visualising Human Rights

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Mackie
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Narrative Strategies ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Global Institutions ◽  
Discursive Positioning ◽  
The Face ◽  
Human Rights Advocacy ◽  
The Media

In this essay, I focus on a text which attempts to deal with human rights issues in an accessible media format, Kälin, Müller and Wyttenbach’s book, The Face of Human Rights. I am interested in this text as an attempt to translate between different modes of communicating about human rights, which we might call the academic mode, the bureaucratic mode, the activist mode and the popular media mode. There are significant gaps between the academic debates on human rights, the actual language and protocols of the bodies devoted to ensuring the achievement of basic human rights, the language of activists, and the ways in which these issues are discussed in the media. These issues are compounded in a transnational frame where people must find ways of communicating across differences of language and culture. These problems of communicating across difference are inherent to the contemporary machinery of the international human rights system, where global institutions of governance are implicated in the claims of individuals who are located in diverse national contexts. Several commentators have noted the importance of narrative in human rights advocacy, while others have explored the role of art. I am interested in analysing narrative and representational strategies, from a consciousness that texts work not only through vocabulary and propositional content, but also through discursive positioning. It is necessary to look at the structure of texts, the contents of texts, and the narrative strategies and discursive frameworks which inform them. Similar points can be made about photography, which must be analysed in terms of the specific representational possibilities of visual culture.

What does ‘we’ mean?

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pille Petersoo
Keyword(s):  
Interesting Case ◽  
National Identities ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Personal Pronoun ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Media

The contextual nature of deictic expressions, including the personal pronoun ‘we’, is a given to linguists, but has only recently caught the interest of social scientists. The following article, firmly grounded in sociology, attempts to introduce some linguistic concepts while looking at the role of the personal pronoun ‘we’ in the discursive construction of national identities in the media. Focusing on Scotland, and looking at media language in the context of constitutional change in the United Kingdom, the article shows how different category relations are created through the ambiguous and under-specified use of deictic expressions. Scotland provides an interesting case study for such analysis, as references to the ‘nation’ during the 20th century have been ambiguous, sometimes referring to Scotland, sometimes to Britain. Consequently, the media/nation relationship has been contested, and this is reflected in media language. The paper introduces the concept of a wandering ‘we’ to describe the shifting reference point of the deictic expressions and situates this phenomenon in the wider nationalism literature. By doing this, the article revisits some of the notions introduced by Billig in his Banal Nationalism.

MEDIA SOCIALIZATION OF PERSONALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF INMUTATION IN THE MASS MEDIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 104-109
Author(s):  
Chernysh O.O.
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Effective Interaction ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Media Culture ◽  
Active Growth ◽  
Media Space ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Individual

The urgency of the researched problem is connected with the growing role of mass media in modern conditions leads to change of values and transformation of identity of the person. The active growth of the role of the media, their influence on the formation and development of personality leads to the concept of “media socialization” and immutation in the media. The aim of the study is to outline the possibilities of the process of media socialization in the context of immutation in the media. The methods of our research are: analysis of pedagogical, psychological, literature, synthesis, comparison, generalization. The article analyzes the views of domestic and foreign scientists on the problem of immutation in the media and the transformation of the information space. In the context of the mass nature of the immutation of society, the concept of “media socialization” becomes relevant, which is the basis for reducing the negative impact of the media on the individual.The author identifies the lack of a thorough study of the concept of “media socialization” in modern scientific thought. Thus, media socialization is associated with the transformation of traditional means of socialization, and is to assimilate and reproduce the social experience of mankind with the help of new media.The article analyzes the essence of the concepts “media space”, “mass media” and “immutation”. The influence of mass media on the formation and development of the modern personality is described in detail.The study concluded that it is necessary to form a media culture of the individual, to establish safe and effective interaction of young people with the modern media system, the formation of media awareness, media literacy and media competence in accordance with age and individual characteristics for successful media socialization. The role of state bodies in solving the problem of media socialization of the individual was also determined. It is determined that the process of formation of media culture in youth should take place at the level of traditional institutions of socialization of the individual.The author sees the prospect of further research in a detailed analysis and study of the potential of educational institutions as an institution and a means of counteracting the mass nature of the immutation of society.Key words: immutation, media socialization, mass media, media space, information.

Cartesian Fingerprints in Beckett's Imagination Dead Imagine

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-243
Author(s):  
Irit Degani-Raz
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Levels Of Abstraction ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Limiting Case

The idea that Beckett investigates in his works the limits of the media he uses has been widely discussed. In this article I examine the fiction Imagination Dead Imagine as a limiting case in Beckett's exploration of limits at large and the limits of the media he uses in particular. Imagination Dead Imagine is shown to be the self-reflexive act of an artist who imaginatively explores the limits of that ultimate medium – the artist's imagination itself. My central aim is to show that various types of structural homologies (at several levels of abstraction) can be discerned between this poetic exploration of the limits of imagination and Cartesian thought. The homologies indicated here transcend what might be termed as ‘Cartesian typical topics’ (such as the mind-body dualism, the cogito, rationalism versus empiricism, etc.). The most important homologies that are indicated here are those existing between the role of imagination in Descartes' thought - an issue that until only a few decades ago was quite neglected, even by Cartesian scholars - and Beckett's perception of imagination. I suggest the use of these homologies as a tool for tracing possible sources of inspiration for Beckett's Imagination Dead Imagine.

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