The Fourth Estate - Media

“We are being controlled. We are being force-fed lies. We don't even know it. I can't present truth, they don't allow truth, and they hide it well enough that I can't find it.” Chomsky’s words.

Media we call it! The sources that keep us updated with the events happening around the globe and spread ‘information’ everywhere. They reach to almost every single soul on the planet. We are impressed by the fact that media reaches almost everywhere in no time, and that they show us the ‘inside stories’ which seem otherwise impossible to get revealed. This, in short, gives them power to secretly herd us anywhere they want to.

And, the history bears witness, power corrupts.

Are we sure all media are true? When we witness that we are being literally flooded with information from all sides through media, shouldn’t we try to cast a critical look on news items or other snippets we are thrown at – question their authenticity?

Answers to both the questions are ‘No’ and ‘Yes’, respectively. The reason is that media influences us the most and, hence, we should not buy each and everything from them. You may ask: How to decide between what is true and what is false? Well, it merits a detailed answer and you can check it on Media-Awareness.ca – the site which has much to offer to judge objectivity in news.

This website maintains for you, along with their analysis, news, research, educational games and a body of different interesting assignments to enable you see the difference between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. For instance, the website operates on the word ‘cool’, which, I think, is the second most manipulated word after ‘terrorist’. The site gives a planned activity and a lesson-type discussion to do with the children and asks to “[R]einforce the idea that we tend to think of cool as an external thing, but the best kind of cool comes from inside.” That’s a wrap-up for you; details are on the site. I would also recommend ‘Junk for Jungle’.

It also offers you a set of activities, e.g. The Anatomy of Cool, Be a Tobacco Buster, etc. along with resources to carry out with your family and children so as to understand what actually lies underneath otherwise innocuous media messages. You can browse such activities and resources by clicking either For Teachers or For Parents, according to your respective status.

The section for teachers has a pack of information which will familiarise them with media studies, provide them developmental resources, and telling them how to handle on-campus net facilities. The last of which provides teachers to help youngsters realise importance of surfing safe. Besides, the section has a feature which is a bit more teaching related comparatively: the Lesson Library. It provides teachers option to find a lesson related to media divided in grade- and subject-wise. This would definitely be proved to be a good asset for teachers to let their students be aware of media issues.

Media means not only news and current affairs programs. Advertising, video games and movies can also be considered parts of media. And when it comes to video games and movies, the site argues, also inculcate in youth violent and deviant behaviours. Parents should move to stop their children from getting content which is violent, stereotyping and, the unfortunate of all, adult rated. We should worry because they are not only a span of a couple of hours; it’s a matter of what they’d grow up to be.

Well, a separate section has also been ‘reserved’ for girls in the site. It will provide almost the same information but with a girl-specific perspective. For example, you’ll find a small article on video games where they encourage parents to make it possible for females to buy games which either have no men and women stereotyping or are in line with their very nature – it may include, the site has it, the ones requiring problem solving or strategic skills, and involving interaction.

Although the site’s focus seems to be on youth, the site has a lot to give to adults in its researches and discussion section where they can have material suitable for their ager level. For example, they must be tempted to know ‘How to Detect Bias in the News’. Well, for all the aforementioned stuff, log on to http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/index.cfm.

How about this?

Perhaps it was Aristotle who said that people’s intelligence cannot be understood by their answers, but by the questions they ask. And if it comes to asking questions, we tend to think about Rudyard Kipling’s ‘six honest serving-men’ who help us get complete information.

However, the last of them, that is ‘How’, is what many of us are very familiar with. Let’s see how:

Many of us often complain against being unable to lose fat. How many actually know how to? Many of us have a lot to share with the people. But, how many of us know how to write? Teachers complain about students being not interested in their lectures, but do they know that they can make their lectures interesting by introducing innovations?

So, as these questions reveal, there are many things which we want to do in our life but, unfortunately, do not know how to. But, folks, rest easy now. You can all avail this opportunity of knowing ‘How to’ at a website that offers hundreds of topics — problems, processes, etc. — and tells us how to do them. Allusions are to the site eHow.com.

Along with being ‘light’ in terms of loading, this quite orderly designed website greets visitors with clear reference to all the sections at the outset. You have boxes with quick links such as How to of the day, Top how to, etc. These will let you know what the others have been looking for.

The function of the website is quite clear: it tells how to do things; and lays a listing of categories of articles from which you will have to pick the one you want to go for. For example, one may choose from the categories related to education, career, business, entertainment, fashion and personal care, home decoration, health, etc. You also have a section of internet and computers where you would be able to locate articles explaining how to, for example, add music to word documents, calendar to Excel spreadsheet, etc. Yet, there are more advanced topics as well.

The same goes for other sections like relationships and family, personal finance, parenting, etc. What gives the website a feeling of relief is that you can expect almost all the topics related to just about everything – from simple tree planting to how to deal with difficult people at workplace. So, you have anything in mind, just go ahead and chances are that you would find it here.

However, seeing is believing, as the saying goes. Many may not be able to get things which are told to them in black and white; they need to actually witness the processes. For such people, the videos section will be of a great help. Although this sections works independently from the articles section and has not as many topics enlisted as in the earlier, you will find videos which will show you how to do things such as make fried rice. Likewise, you will get videos related to different categories.

This website is also a platform where you may write short essays (of almost 500 words) for the website and you will be paid. However, the essays have to be written on some ‘How to …’ topic, which will, then, be added to the articles on the site.

In short, the eHow will prove to be a very good resource for people who want some easy tips on how to do things at home, office, etc., and get effective results. What you need to do is to type in the address bar www.ehow.com  and hit Enter.

Sleep tight!

Let’s face it: a tight sleep is only a fantasy for many of us! Insomnia (which includes both, inability to get to sleep and to stay asleep), restless legs, recurring nightmares and hallucinations, sleep terrors, etc all seem to have joined hands in ruining our rest. Or how many of us have not noticed people who complain about being unable to sleep because their bed (or even pillow) has been changed? Or the ones who get to sleep in no time at anywhere – be it office, restaurants, even inside a car – after closing their eyes? Isn’t speaking, walking, sleeping, grinding teeth, snoring or groaning during sleep commonplace? Yes, such things happen in the strange realm of sleep.

But, wait a minute; do we know much about such phenomena?

Whether you answer is ‘Yes’ or a big ‘No’, in either case, you would surely be interested in knowing about the strange facts about the problems mentioned in the first paragraph of this write-up besides many others which we encounter in everyday life. Sleepeducation.com is the website which opens the doors of knowledge and information about Sleep to everyone. With an easy left aligned menu, the site is packed with authentic knowledge about studies, disorders, and case studies all related to sleep.

The homepage of the site has shortcuts in form of boxes to different sections of the site. How sleep affects children, women and men, respectively, and what the connection between growing old has with sleep are the first thing which the navigation offers. The section gives some tips on how to make your child have a sound sleep and, as a result, have a 'smiling face, happy nature and natural energy'. It also gives a brief text on how to solve problems faced by children.

A short account informs us that women tend to sleep early and their sleep is more likely to be disturbed easily than men’s. What surprised me a bit is the fact that, according to this site, women are more likely to feel ‘unrefreshed’ even after a full night of sleep. Of course, many factors are responsible for that, for example, depression, some illness, bad sleep habits, or physical or hormonal changes occurring in their body. Following is a brief description of some common sleep disorders found in women and the medical issues related to them.

When it comes to men, work, work and work seems to outshine everything in the list of priorities. We often hear women complaining about their men that they spend more time doing office work. The remaining small fraction of clock they spend thinking, well, again about ‘work’, they nag. The underlying fact is not that they’re only underestimating wives and home, but they are also damaging their health by not sleeping sufficient. They think sleep is kind of a hurdle in doing work and being productive for their company. In their case as well, factors like work demands, tight schedules, etc are working in the background. Having stated the sleep disorders found in men the site explains how men can sleep better.

The subsequent section contains different ‘tools’ to evaluate your sleep and whether your sleep habits are normal. Sleepiness scale shows, for example, how many times you actually need to sleep or doze off when you feel you’re tired. What type of problems you are actually having in your sleep patterns will be analyzed by Sleep Evaluation which is actually a questionnaire. With another evaluation form, specifically for teens, the site also gives you a format of how to maintain sleep diary.

The Sleep Studies section, which is a technical section, will inform you about how sleep disorders are detected by the doctors. It will let you know about methods like Overnight Sleep Study, CPAP Study, Home Sleep Test, Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) and Nap Study. This section is in line with what the disclaimer by site states, i.e. we should make any decision in the light of any information found on this site; rather, we should go for a ‘sound medical advice’ by a reliable doctor.

Next is the section which I enjoyed reading. Titled Sleep Disorders it gives you information about around 70 disorders – some of which are common as air, while some are quite rare – divided into primary and secondary disorders. Including the disorders I mentioned in the first paragraph, you can find information about from Jet Lag, Shift Work, Idiopathic Insomnia, OSA, and Insufficient Sleep Syndrome to bedwetting, confusional arousals, leg cramps, long sleep, short sleep and (notorious) snoring. This section helped me find out why our driver dozes off even while driving, why I’m unable to get to sleep before 4am, how my uncle can manage to work even after having only 2 hours’ sleep round the clock, and many other things. The level of our fear alleviates when we know causes behind certain happenings, doesn’t it? The section also has tells us about common treatments for the disorders in shape of medication to therapies.

Sleep Hygiene will explain to you how to keep sleep hygiene in order to ‘stay healthy by keeping your mind and body rested and strong’. Taking the essence of the word ‘hygiene’, the page has 16 tips on how to sleep better and, consequently, feel better. It guides us to avoid taking naps which many people are fond of, and to avoid sleeping pills as much as possible. The site also contains a type of dictionary containing brief definitions of the terms related to sleep and treatment of sleep disorders.

Albeit persons like me who like to have knowledge intended for a layman would not be happy with the technical sections, this site will increase your awareness about seemingly innocuous sleep disorders and how to control them. Well, the rest I leave to you, folks. Type www.sleepeducation.com and there you are! (Yawns)