Abstract This paper analyzes the influence of mass media on the everyday diet of Americans. The author discusses the inconsistencies of food and nutrition news reported by the media that confuse and frustrate consumers and lead to poor diet and lifestyle choices.
From the Paper "Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but you may need a scorecard to decide what to eat. Will knocking back a few cups of java (a) raise your risk of pancreatic cancer, (b) lead to arthritis, or (c) protect you from Parkinson's disease? Is it butter or margarine that is healthier on your toast? Are eggs OK or did you get the message scrambled? One has good reason to be confused and not just at breakfast. Americans get the bulk of their nutrition news from TV, magazines, and newspapers where the latest findings are proclaimed by just about anyone in a lab coat (Kulman 1). These findings are sometimes contradictory to established research conclusions and leave consumers unsure of what to really think."
Abstract A paper which explores how the media contributes to the bad eating habits of the American people. It examines issues such as advertising, projection of the "cool" or perfect image, targeting of children, dental problems and health issues. The paper also discusses ways in which the media can be used to deliver positive and educational messages.
From the Paper "Children are an easy and promising market. According to MediaQuotient research, an American child watches TV for 25 hours a week; some of the children have television set in their bedroom, where they can spend time relaxing in bed watching their favorite cartoon with an ice cream gallon in hand. Families also often have their television on during meals, as 18% of the participants say always, 22% say often, and 26% do it sometimes, showing that much of the time they are exposed to TV shows and commercials."
Abstract This paper presents a description of both Italian and American cuisines and shows what is at the root between those differences and between the people who live on each diet. It defines American food as fast, convenience foods, while Italian meals are slower prepared and more nutritious. The health benefits and risks of each form of diet is discussed.
From the Paper "There are noticeable differences in the diets of people from different countries, even between those of a similar geographic area. One has only to compare Italian to French cuisine to see that though both share parts of the same landmass, both nations have very differently evolved diets, cooking styles, and kitchen staples. The European attitude toward food, however, is quite unified. Europeans generally enjoy their food for the visceral effects, the beauty and simplicity (or complexity) of the food, and treat it with respect. Americans, on the other hand, have a very different attitude toward food. American culture is based upon speed and convenience. Where once home-cooks prepared complex, multi-course meals for the entire family to savor and enjoy together, now the American household dinner is more often than not divided between the separate eating times of the family members, prepared with a minimum of from-scratch ingredients, and relies heavily upon pre-prepared frozen, canned, and other food items. Because of this, speed and efficiency are the hallmark of the American diet."
Abstract This paper discusses some interesting research findings with respect to the impact and influence of media on teen values and behavior. The paper discusses mediainfluences on violent and aggressive behavior, its influence on sexual attitude and behavior, and its influence on health, racial perceptions, and religious beliefs. The paper then discusses the measures that can be taken to minimize the negative impact of media on teen attitudes, values, and behavior.
Some Interesting Statistics
Influence on Violent and Aggressive Behavior
Influence on Sexual Attitude and Behavior
Influence on Health
Influence on Racial Perceptions
Influence on Religious Beliefs
Controlling the Negative Impact of Media on Teen Values/Behavior
From the Paper Clearly, teenagers have ample amount of violence to see, observe and adopt. The negative influence of this violent behavior not only affects the teenager's attitude towards handling conflicts, but also has an impact on how he feels about others. Teens under high influence become less caring and less sensitive towards others. They become disrespectful towards their parents as well as teachers and develop an attitude of being right and of being master of their own life. "Being bad is cool," says fourteen-year-old Rayelyn Rodriguez, when asked about the impact of so much violence freely available on common media."
Tags: watching, television, learning, classroom, teenager, view, prime, time, family, hour, sexual, interactions, movies, video, computer, games
A review of a study, "Semen Quality of Fertile U.S. Males in Relation to Their Mothers' Beef Consumption During Pregnancy," by S.H. Swan, F. Liu, J.W. Overstreet, C. Brazil and N.E. Skakkebaek, on the effect of diet on pregnancy.
Abstract The paper is a review of a study on the effect of diet on pregnancy and discusses the relation of men's semen parameters to their mothers' intake of beef during their pregnancies. The study, "Semen Quality of Fertile U.S. Males in Relation to Their Mothers' Beef Consumption During Pregnancy," by S.H. Swan, F. Liu, J.W. Overstreet, C. Brazil and N.E. Skakkebaek, which is included with this paper, is well-documented with references and tables. The paper relates that partners of pregnant women took part in the study and recorded whether the male's mother had consumed beef or not and whether or not the consumption of beef during pregnancy had any effect on their son's fertility.
Outline:
Methodological Aspects
Research Design
Methods
Interpretive Aspects
Ethical Aspects
From the Paper "How were issues of reliability and validity of the measures adequately addressed? The deciding variables for the subjects were analyzed statistically, and the mother's beef consumption was compared with their son's recorded sperm concentration. Sub fertile men's sperm concentration was examined in relation to the amount of beef their mothers consumed during pregnancy, and all men's sperm count was transformed with a logarithmic base 10 in order to distribute the parameter more evenly. Other factors taken into consideration in the analysis were the men's age, smoking, alcohol, body mass index (BMI), history of STD, abstinence time, and their own meat consumption. The mother's age, whether or not she smoked, whether or not she nursed her son and her meat consumption were initially examined in the model. This selection of variants was based on their proven importance in past studies, biological plausibility, sufficient numbers and evidence of the effect on the strength of the association with beef consumption."
Abstract The paper scrutinizes how mass media affects the public perception of heroes and heroism. The paper first describes immense power of mass media through the example of the American television being regarded as a powerful force strengthening the presidential system. The paper argues that mass media enables public opinion to spread over wider geographic area. The paper demonstrates the popularity of sports heroes and explains the correlation the entertainment media has with fictional heroes in literature.
From the Paper "What is a hero? And what has one got to do with television? The answer to that question ? which is really the question of how the mass media influence popular perceptions of the heroic and the Hero ? is a complex one as are any significant questions that examine the relationship between mass media and the culture that produces, absorbs, reflects and reifies them."
Abstract This paper examines terrorism and argues that media coverage of terrorist acts inevitably leads to more terrorism, for global media coverage of terrorist attacks wins worldwide attention for terrorists, and this attention motivates them to launch more attacks. The paper argues that terrorism thrives on media coverage, and fades in influence and significance when media attention is diverted elsewhere. Subsequently, terrorist tactics and strategy are very media-oriented, for the mass media is seen by terrorists as a long-range weapon that can strike fear into their enemies, regardless of where they live.
Abstract This paper analyzes the historical contribution of the role of media by looking at the theories of Noam Chomsky and Marshall McLuhan. The author covers several different topics in this paper, including the role that the internet and television have contributed to the globalization of news and how the world is viewed by the masses. The author details the theories of Chomsky and McLuhan on mass media and its affect on the new world order. The author feels that both of these men feel that it is the role that mass media has changed the world in the last half of the twentieth century and in many cases, for the worse. In Chomsky's case, he feels that the media is manipulating society and for McLuhan, it was the nature of mass media itself that he felt was so dangerous.
From the Paper "The theories of Marshall Mcluhan and Noam Chomsky provide an in-depth view of the role of media in our lives; Marshall Mcluhan was a media guru who developed theories about the role of media in mass popular culture. Mcluhan became famous and fascinated the scholarly world through two of his renowned books on media "Understanding Media" (1964) and "The Medium is the Message" in which he developed his critique of media and provided some fruitful analysis in understanding the role of media. Noam Chomsky is a well-known scholar, who has been very critical about the US policies; his theories concentrate on how government uses media to control the masses, diverting their attention from real issues and concerns."
Abstract The paper discusses various newspaper articles on the influence of violent videos and movies. The paper discusses comments by various authors and researchers who recommend that reseachers study violent people, not the media, to understand them. The paper concludes that the researchers expect that the debate about whether or not media exposure constitutes a significant risk factor for violent behavior, will continue to claim a number of audiences in the future.
Outline:
The Ongoing Debate
Media's Power
Distorted and Troubling Images
Myths and Facts
Gaps in Answers
News Media's Coverage
Portrayal from the Past
Positive Media Impact Potential
From the Paper "Anderson argues that according to a historical assessment of the research, debate regarding whether media exposure constitutes a significant risk factor for aggressive and violent behavior should have been dismissed years ago. (Bushman & Anderson, 2001, cited by Anderson) "After 40+ years of research," Anderson stresses, "one might think that debate about media violence effects would be over. Four types of media violence studies [nevertheless] provide converging evidence of such effects: laboratory experiments, field experiments, cross-sectional correlation studies, and longitudinal studies." Whether the media's power is frail, as noted by Aquino (cited by Simpson) in this paper's introductory quote, or whether the media contributes to challenging concerns regarding criminal/violent behaviour, the question, as noted by Anderson, along with Danl and Vigna in the following excerpt, still merits debate."
Abstract Summary: This paper introduces a variety of published work pertaining to subjects of the Canadian mass media. A tendency that is noted, in different places, is that of Canadians assuming that their media are free in comparison with the mass mediainfluences of the United States, or the United Kingdom, for example. However, as is mentioned, the Canadian media seem to be shaped by their environment, and the environment beyond Canada to a significant degree.
Abstract This paper examines bias in the media. The paper investigates media ownership, the content of news and entertainment broadcasts, and the relationship between mediainfluence and public opinion, in order to assess the extent of the ideological bias in the media. The paper then analyzes which factors have contributed to media bias in the United States and its effects.
From the Paper "Ideological Bias in the Media: An Analysis Accurately assessing the extent of ideological bias in the media requires investigating media ownership, the content of news and entertainment broadcasts, and the relationship between media influence and public opinion. In recent years, corporate media conglomeration, deregulation, and declining journalistic standards have significantly increased ideological media bias in the United States, which has had a devastating effect on participatory democracy. Media ownership is more concentrated than ever before and serious coverage and debate of public issues such as war, taxes, corporate crime, education, political corruption, and pollution is disappearing right before our eyes."
A discussion of the the black experience in American culture as percieved by the authors Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes and James Baldwin.
Abstract This paper examines how African-American authors have influencedAmerican culture as they have come forward to present issues that the society would rather have forgotten. It shows how authors such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes and James Baldwin have come under fire as they have written about the racial and biased experiences throughout their lives and through their narratives they have forged a link between the past, the present (themselves) and their future (the unborn generation).
From the Paper "These literary works are an effort on their part to prove to their nations that regardless of the perceived realities their existence and lives have valuable. The slave past some of these authors have had created a void in their lives that at times left then feeling ashamed and wary of their life experiences. These works were then an effort to wipe out shame and abashment associated with a part of their life that they could not control. By presenting the true essence of their potentials as an industry, as folks with rich traditions and high values they made themselves a ?productive citizen.? Thus, it can be said that African-American culture has been dominated by the struggle from isolated individuals towards the creation of a self-confident social figure. [Okafur-Newsum, 1998]."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the so called Mediterranean diet. According to the paper, this term refers to more than just people living in the Mediterranean region. The paper discusses how factors such as climate, geography, socioeconomic, culture and history influence the nutritional value of the diets of Mediterranean countries.
From the Paper "According to one study, people afflicted by metabolic syndrome who followed a Mediterranean diet lost more weight than those on a low-fat diet, a total difference of nine pounds in two years (Collins). An earlier study revealed that participants who followed a Mediterranean-style diet of moderate fat content lost the same amount of weight at first as a low-fat diet group, yet the Mediterranean group kept the weight off better, while only one-fifth of the low-fat group could were able to stay on their diet (Collins). A recent study published in Nutrition & Metabolism, revealed that rheumatoid arthritis patients who adopted a modified Mediterranean diet, obtained a reduction in disease activity and also showed an improvement in physical function and vitality (Mediterranean1)."
Abstract Acts of anti-American terrorism are becoming increasingly common and more and more are occurring on American soil, according to Columbia political scientist Brigitte L. Nacos. According to Nacos, the rise in terrorism is not a matter of flawed national security. It has more to do with the success that terrorists have enjoyed in exploiting the relationships among the media, public opinion and political decision-making. This paper addresses the effects of the media on terrorism. It shows that according to Nacos, government policy is often shaped by terrorist action, even in cases where a conflict of interest between the safety of hostages and the interests of the nation exists. This paper examines the media's influence on terrorism, to determine whether or not the media should provide less coverage of terrorism or if they should continue to report the news.
From the Paper "While the democratic nature of the U.S. obviously offers more freedom and choices, it also places a great deal of pressure on the government to please the people. For example, President Jimmy Carter's failure to resolve the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979-80 contributed to his loss when he ran for re-election in 1980 (Morgan, 2002). Many Americans had watched him on television during coverage of the terrorist event and decided that he was an ineffective negotiator and leader.
However, many researchers argue that it was media coverage that pressured Carter into launching a poorly planned rescue mission, despite the fact that the military estimated only a 65 percent success rate. This shows the effect of the media on terrorism, and how terrorists use the media to influence the public and decision-makers (Nacos, 1994, pp.140-41)."
Abstract This paper discusses the social problems that erupt in response to images portrayed in the media. The paper explores the extent to which the public is affected by what the media presents as beautiful. Trends and fads initiated and perpetuated by advertising and television are discussed. The paper covers the issues of weight problems, diets, and plastic surgery.
From the Paper "Whether opening a magazine, turning on the TV, surfing the internet or simply driving down the street, people are bombarded with media and advertising portraying the image of beauty. In recent years, media and advertising have defined what is beautiful and what is not. People magazine even has a yearly issue featuring the most beautiful people. According to the media, a beautiful woman is defined as extremely thin with large breasts, full lips, perfectly defined abs, slender lean legs and a round derriere. Men must be tall, muscular, have straight teeth, and display a washboard stomach. So is this really beautiful? According to recent trends, the American public is sucking up this image of beauty and doing whatever it takes to be amongst the beautiful. Everyone wants to be desirable and, due to this unrealistic image of beauty created by the media and TV ads, new trends have swept the nation in people's quest to become ?beautiful.?"
