Political Communication Strategies

Political Communication Strategies Political Culture in Comparative Perspective DERYA CIHAN Core Topics and Findings of the Research on Political Cultures Introduction In today’s world when we refer the term political culture which has recently become a very popular concept in political science, has remarkable constructs and theories in terms of political science. In fact, it is hard to reach a consensus in the sense of definitions, theories, methods and paradigms of political culture. Political culture of a society needs to take place within the political community, as well as other political formations such as the state, the parliament, political parties, the government, associations, public administrations trade unions, political power, democracy, election, constitution and etc. In the modern era, debates on culture role in politics have an incontrovertible significance in different states that has been discussed by many scholars. In this paper, I will try to clarify one of the core topics of political culture in political communication, and make an attempt the importance of the major changes of political culture in different societies. We will see the importance of one of the core topics of political culture and how it effects the political communication. Political Communication First of all, when we handle the term ‘communication’, we should say that during the last decades it is the basis of social relations through the developments of technologies of communication. Actually, the basis of the term political communication refers to the methods of communication which are put forth by political actors or organisational structures and convey to the mass through media systems. Franklin gives one of the broadest definitions of political communication in these words; ‘The field of political communication studies the interactions between media and political systems, locally, nationally, and internationally’’ (Gibson and Rà ¶mmele, 2008; p.475). As we sketchy see that the definitions of political communication, which is not only related with media and political systems, but also mostly the impact and the role of political systems to media and the meaning of media in terms of political communication, has indisputable importance in t erms of the fundamental interactions between governments, media and societies in general terms. Actually political communication is defined in terms of comparative politics that political communication is related with society, media and politicians through its interdependency and connection. In fact, the actors of political communication are seen in the central with the following phases; voters, the media and politics. It should be clearly remarked that these actors induce each other and if something changes or develops in one of these actors, the others are affected by nature (Ibid, p.475). We should need to indicate that the role of the media at governmental processes is one of the most attracting parts within the relationships among main actors of political communication. On the other side, Street refers that the modern political communications is related with the political marketing and it is different kind of business, show-business. It is seen that it is all related with how politicians make much of their appearance and their voices, because of that politicians are associated with celebrity and fame. In the article of ‘Political Style and Popular Culture’, Street emphasizes that political communication should be comprehended as ‘marketing’ moreover it is kind of buying reputations and power, selling performances and policies. Two criticisms are constructed for stressing on political communication. The first one is correlated with venturing political marketing and the second criticism is importance on political communication. Street emphasizes two analyses under the conception of selling performances and buying reputations (Street, 2003; pp. 86-91). It should be taken into consideration that political marketing as we know, is made before the electoral campaign in order to increase the chance to stand for election of candidates. In these circumstances, political marketing is creating a certain kind of political actors. Research on Communication in Four Phases Research on communication in politics has significant occurrences in term of how media influences public opinion, voters. Research on communication is a very broad topic in order to comprehend in detail. In the article of Gibson and Rà ¶mmele, the research on communication is distinguished in four stages and it is brought with historical perspective. The first phase covers 19th and 20th centuries till the 1930s, and in this stage, the media has a significant effect (direct and decisive) on citizens. Moreover, the media was used to form habits of life, belief and thought of societies. It was used as propaganda by the World War I propagandists and dictatorial states between the years of World War I and World War II. Besides that it was also used by the new revolutionary regime of Russia in order to promote its new political systems. It should be taken into consideration that in the conception of media, political actors have a great impact and a kind of powerful event at governmental p rocesses. As we see above that public opinion is formed by the mass media which has a direct and decisive effect upon choices of voting. In the second phase, the time period consists from the 1930s to the 1960s, which has rather sophisticated empirical studies. In this period, interpersonal communication has the greatest impact and investigations of empirical studies were about media effects and content in different classifications, having minimal effects in terms of the media is another point of this time period. The research results about the above mentioned investigations proposed a much more modest function for media in term of effecting unintended and planned effects. Joseph Klapper put in an appearance a useful summarization of research phase in these words; â€Å"mass communication does not ordinarily serve as a necessary or sufficient cause of audience effects, but rather functions through a nexus of mediating factors†(Gibson and Rà ¶mmele, 2008; p.477) Following thi s, Lang and Lang debate about conclusion of ‘minimal effect’ with this perspective; â€Å"The evidence available by the end of the 1950s, even when balanced against some of the negative findings, gives no justification for an overall verdict of â€Å"media impotence†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(Ibid, p.477). Media effects in the third phase, built actually around the emergence of television in the period of 1950s and 1960s. The third period has the greatest importance around the appreciated influence of television. It should be mentioned that the third phase of media effects was the most powerful period which affected social life more than any other type of media systems. The fourth phase of media effects based on agenda setting and priming. It is different than above-mentioned phases and it is generally related with long-term changes, revolving around cognitions and collective phenomena, for instance; delimitations of social reality and ideologies, climates of thoughts and structures of belief. It should be taken into consideration that agenda setting is the basis of this phase. It is not only related about ‘what to think’, but also saying ‘what to think about’ to direct public opinion; hereby it is seen that agenda setting is for society and the theory concent rates on the quantity of coverage not actually its content or tone (Ibid, pp.477-478). It should be taken into account in these circumstances that, media effects in four phases have different influence in each other, but mostly when we consider today’s media effects, television still has significance in terms of affecting social life, besides that social media has obtained much more importance when we compare it with its emerging period. Political Parties, Electoral Campaigns and Communication As we see above that how media influences public opinion in terms of research on communication in four different periods. In this part, we will see the relationship between political parties and communication. Political communication is inquired into from a party research perspective without any doubt. It should be taken into account that political parties make suitable for the demands of change of the society and media, due to this reason party headquarters have been reinforced in order to be able to match new demands. In the paper of Gibson and Rà ¶mmele, the new campaign process influences the parties as well as the character of the parties in the new campaign process. Empirical research evidences illustrate that there are many distinctions within party systems in the course of time and on the step of their professionalization level at political communication in general and professionalized campaigning in particular. For the sake of example, in the US, the Republicans were profes sionalized their campaign functioning approximately a decade before the Democrats and they used political communication techniques more than before. On the other side, in the UK, Conservatives sustained it before Labour with the new style of campaigning in the late 1970s. In Germany, a new kind of professionalized campaigning appeared although the 1998 campaign occur by the Social Democratic Party (SPD). In the process of professionalizing, political communication can be more active when considering above-mentioned arguments (Ibid, pp.478-479). Actually, in the USA, before the presidential elections, the internet is used intensively at the electoral campaigns. In the USA, it should be taken into consideration that innovations and improvements related with actors of political communication play an important role. Because of that reason, it can be said that the USA stays one step ahead of other countries. On the other hand, it can be said that under favour of the research findings of political party, the party headquarters’ significance would be increased day by day in such a way that the candidate acquires more significance, due to the increasing appropriateness of television. Political parties make suitable their organizational dynamics besides that their strategies of communication. On the other hand, John Street remarks about party issue that a party’s conduct could be influenced by the particular orientations of the part. Two different-based parties are mentioned, these are; product-oriented party and sales-oriented party. The aim of a sales-oriented party is; persuading. Utilizing ‘the latest advertising and communication techniques to persuade voters that it is right’, whereas a product-oriented party occurs its ideas and its product; whatsoever happens to its electoral results, a product-oriented party would not be adapted or sacrificed. It is specif ied in the paper ‘The Celebrity Politician’ by John Street that political marketing in these circumstances not only describing viewpoint of the party practice but also it interprets how parties perform (Street, 2003; p.90). When we turn to the paper, ‘Political Communication’, scholars identify two different steps for the political campaigns which are comparative and historical perspectives. Firstly, in the new campaign communication, there are three phases which are measured by scholars. These historical phases are; the pre-modern campaign consists between mid-nineteenth century and 1950s, and the modern phase consists between early 1960s and late 1980s, lastly professionalized campaign phase occurs after 1990s. The third phase of campaign communication-professionalized- is defined by many scholars as modernization and Americanization. It is described as a US campaign model and is claimed that campaigning in most democracies change more Americanized. On th e other hand, when handling modernization term in terms of third phase of communication; it is quiet broader perspective and there is a reduction in party identification and an increase in electoral campaigns, therefore there are two models in these circumstances; an adoption model and a shopping model. For the example of US election campaigns could be shopping model which is related with accepted techniques in the campaigns (Gibson and Rà ¶mmele, 2008; pp. 480-483). On the other side, according to the scholars the two general phases in political campaigning are; in the pre-modern era, the strength of the local organization and face-to-face contact was significant in terms of political communication which is based on these factors. In the second phase of campaigning, party organization and face-to-face contact changed with mass media communication between citizens-voters- and parties in the second general phase of political campaigning. Citizens do not obtain information about part y programs from rallies and party meetings in the second phase. They certainly receive information through the mass media. Besides that the message of the party makes an overwhelmingly impression through the mass media. On the other hand, there is a new campaign era which is mentioned early 1990s and new challenges have the significance in terms of Americanized style of campaigning and it is called like a professionalized campaigning, a post-modern phase 3 or a post-Fordism. It has the historical and developmental characteristics besides that, parties enlarge the efforts of this phase in order to reach out individual citizens-voters- through telemarketing, direct mail or internet (Ibid, pp.480-481). However, referring the media systems, there are different styles in political communication which are mentioned by Hallin and Mancini. Three key models of media systems are pluralist or Mediterranean model, the democratic corporatist model and lastly liberal or the North Atlantic model. In the pluralist model which is most effective in Southern Europe, electronic media has the higher impress rather than newspaper spread. In the democratic corporatist model, commercial media and the relationships between civil, political groups and media can be seen very strong. Lastly the liberal model of media system has a greatest occurrence in commercial broadcasting. Furthermore, the media is independent from social groups and political parties (Ibid, pp.481-483). In these circumstances, the relationship among political parties- electoral campaigns and voters with the perspective of political communication, I want to mention about the case of Turkey. The ruling party in Turkey applies the methods and practises of political communication not only from one election, they fasten political communication practises every day and it can be seen that among the other parties in Turkey, AKP (the party in power) manipulates the practises of political communication effectively that is seen in the last electoral campaign which is resulted by 44.19 %[1] in AKP votes. On the other hand, when we compare it with other parties- vote rate- after AKP in electoral campaigns, it can be seen that these parties attach importance to political communication in recent years and they receive support from professionals in this field. However, when we consider the close relationship between political communication and democracies, it should be taken into consideration that , although AKP takes cognizance of practices of political communication mostly, democracy issue is still one of the most disputable arguments in Turkey. Based on this, how we could be of one mind about the effectiveness of the practises of political communication which is put account by ruling party in Turkey. On the other hand, when we consider the relationship between voters and electoral campaigns in Turkey that the results of elections in Turkey shows that the large part of the voters do not have the consciousness of political culture. For instance, Cem Uzan, who is the founder of The Young Party (Genà § Parti), gained 7.25%[2] vote rate in 2002, in a short time period while wandering from town to town with some concerts and dinner, the party reached different groups of masses through incompatible practices and techniques of political communication, discourses and techniques of political culture, however the success of the GP could not be maintained. It should be taken into con sideration in these circumstances that the success of political communication directly contributes to the political success. Conclusion As we see above that political communication is a very broad topic which is defined in the first years of the term as a relationship between governmental processes and its citizens which we mean here voters. We familiarized with the main actors of political communication which are media, political actors and voters. It should be taken into consideration that these political actors influence each other and in order to make the political communication effectively and successfully, the relationship among these actors is very significant issue. On the other hand, we referred integrity of both political communication and political culture. We saw the relationship among the actors of political communication such as political parties, governments, local governments, pressure groups, non-governmental organizations, the voters, the media, and etc. Furthermore, we clarified how media effects to the political communication referring to the comparative and historical perspectives of media systems. Furthermore, we saw that the practises of political communication contribute freewill, right of election and political information which voters need. The relationship between media and political parties has an incontrovertible impact in terms of political communication, as we remarked. It should be said that, in order to make political communication more effective in near future, it has to be sprawled more and should not be restricted with electoral campaigns, lastly applying the practises of political communication in everyday life will bring a new dimension to political communication. Bibliography 1-Gibson K. Rachel, Rà ¶mmele, 2008: â€Å"Political Communication†, within â€Å"Comparative Politics†, edited by Caramani D.Oxford Publications, 2-Street, J. , 2003: â€Å"Political Style and Popular Culture†, within â€Å"Media and the Restyling of Politics†, edited by Corner J. and Pels D. Online-accessed http://arsiv.ntvmsnbc.com/modules/secim2007/secim2002/genel.asp http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yerel-secim-2014/ 1 [1] http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yerel-secim-2014/ [2] http://arsiv.ntvmsnbc.com/modules/secim2007/secim2002/genel.asp

Romance in Shakespeares Comedy of Errors Essay -- Shakespeare Comedy

Comedy of Errors - Romance What is so interesting about Shakespeare's first play, The Comedy of Errors, are the elements it shares with his last plays. The romances of his final period (Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest) all borrowed from the romantic tradition, particularly the Plautine romances. So here, as in the later plays, we have reunions of lost children and parents, husbands and wives; we have adventures and wanderings, and the danger of death (which in this play is not as real to us as it is in the romances). Yet, for all these similarities, the plot of The Comedy of Errors is as simple as the plots of the later plays are complex. It is as though Shakespeare's odyssey through the human psyche in tragedy and comedy brought him back to his beginnings with a sharper sense of yearning, poignancy, and the feeling of loss. But to dismiss this play as merely a simplistic romp through a complicated set of maneuvers is to miss the pure theatrical feast it offers on the stage - the wit and hu mor of a master wordsmith, the improbability of a plot that sweeps...

Aristophanes Account of Love in Plato’s Symposium Essay

Plato’s Symposium contains several intriguing accounts of the nature of love. Describe in detail either the account of love offered by Aristophanes or Socrates/Diotima. What arguments could be given for thinking that this is the correct conception of love? DO you find this account compelling? Be sure to explain you reasons for taking the position that you do. The Symposium, written by Plato, is an account of the different speeches given during a dinner party. Each speech given is by a different person and each speech is the speaker’s own theory on love. An intriguing speech given is the one by Aristophanes, the comedian. In Aristophanes’ speech he starts out by saying that he has a thought of plan for how humans might have come to be the way they are now. His speech is based completely on a madeup idea that he came up with. He describes the natural form of humans as two technically connected humans that together form a perfect sphere. The humans in this form had three genders. The genders were either made up of male-male, male-female, or female-female. The male-male gender was superior, as coinciding with this time, and was the offspring of the sun; the sun often referred to as a god. The androgynous gender, or male-female, was the offspring of the moon. The moon shares both the sun and the earth. The female-female then were offspring of the earth. The earth was not highly thought of, just being where humans lived and so quite used and abused [190b]. These humans all made an attempt to attack the gods which then caused the gods to take retaliatory action back. The gods decided that the human race could not be wiped out completely because that would eliminate the worship and sacrifices the gods receive. Zeus, instead, decided to cut the beings in two [190d]. â€Å"Now, since their natural form had been cut in two each one longed for its own other half† [191b]. This is where Aristophanes’ theory on love comes to. He believed each person has another half, or soul mate, they are in search of. â€Å"Love is born into every human being; [191d] it calls back the halves of our original nature together. Aristophanes suggests that one is in constant search of their other half that matches, then once found the desire they had felt because of having been separated is now healed. â€Å"The two are struck from their senses†¦don’t want to be separated from one another, not even for a moment† [192c]. In one way I find Aristophanes’ argument correct. People do seem to be in constant search for whom they want, or som etimes feel they are meant to be with. It is very interesting, however, that Aristophanes relates one’s longing and desire as a form of punishment. In the tory the longing and desire came as a punishment from the gods; the only cure for this was when the two halves were reunited. Aristophanes makes it clear two halves are meant to be together but he also contradicts his own statement, â€Å"whenever one of the halves died and one was left, the one that was left still sought another and wove itself together with that†[191b-191c]. If two halves have a certain match that they are always in constant search of, and are meant to be with, wouldn’t it only make sense that there would then not be another being that one could simply find and then weave itself with. As I previously stated, I agree with Aristophanes in one way. I think that the idea of two people being meant to be together is plausible. People are always in constant search for a soul mate. Not necessarily the â€Å"one† per say, but a person they can spend the rest of their life with. There are billions of people in the world are I think it is very possible to have multiple compatible people who can fall in love. Thus, I agree more with Aristophanes own contradiction of himself; there are multiple people who match up together and get woven together in the right way.

Homelessness And The Homeless Community Essay - 1822 Words

RUNNING HEADER: CHILDREN IN THE HOMELESS COMMUNITY 1 The Effects of Children in the Homeless Community Christina Sanchez Research Paper Hobo, beggar, and bum are just a few terms used in society today to describe the homeless community. Today, more and more individuals and families are becoming homeless and majority of them never imagined being homeless. This tragic event could happen to anyone. There is not a guide created to overcome the barriers of homelessness or a how to manual when an individual or family is faced with homelessness. Homelessness occurs when people or households are unable to acquire and/or maintain housing (End Homelessness, 2016). According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness; families experiencing homelessness are generally similar to other housed families living in poverty (End Homelessness, 2016). These are just some of the issues that can cause homelessness. This paper will discuss how school aged students are affected by homelessness and the available interventions that are available to those in the homeless community. In January 2015, 564, 708 people were homeless (Henry, Shivji, De Sousa, Cohen, 2015). It is reported 69 percent of the 564, 708 were residing in a residential program for homelessness and 31 percent were found in unsheltered locations. Accoring to the U.S. Deprtment of Housing, nearly one-quarter of all the homeless people were children, under the age of 18. NineShow MoreRelatedHomelessness And The Homeless Community1855 Words   |  8 PagesWe are aware of homelessness, almost too aware and yet we go on with our lives without further regard. Homelessness has become such an epidemic in the United States that it is normal and practically expected to be seen in our urban streets. Homelessness is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, â€Å"Having no home or permanent residence.† While that is true, there are many other dynamics that come into play with this social problem. Without proper housing, the homeless community is more susceptibleRead MoreThe Effects of Home lessness on Children1654 Words   |  7 PagesIndividuals who are homeless are faced with physical, emotional, and psychological challenges each day. It is common for people who are homeless to have had a life riddled with traumatic experiences like physical and mental abuse and drug use. Homelessness gained public attention in the late 1970s because homelessness became more visible when it began to include women and children. Today homelessness can be linked to various other problems. It is estimated that 200,000 thousand Canadians have livedRead MoreHomelessness : A Community Health Issue967 Words   |  4 Pages One major community health issue that is prominent in society is homelessness. According to Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (2012), homelessness describes the situation of an individual or family who are unstable and cannot afford appropriate and permanent housing. They are unable to acquire suitable shelter due to possible reasons, such as financial issues, mental or physical challenges and discrimination. Most people do not choose to be homeless; however, when individuals are set to liveRead MoreHomeless Strategy Essay1295 Words   |  6 PagesHomeless Family Strategy: A Policy Evaluation Modern Public Administration Professor W. H. Roberts The case at hand addresses the crisis of homelessness in Seattle. Mayor Schell attempts to tackle the problem and makes a pledge to end the epidemic that he may or may not be able to keep. Specifically, the mayor pledges in June that by Christmas 1998 there will not be homeless women or children living on the streets of his cities (Electronic Hallway). This pledge garneredRead More Homes for the Homeless1436 Words   |  6 PagesHomelessness is a major health issue around the world that needs to be addressed. Many individuals in a community often misinterpret the cause of homelessness. Comments towards homeless people such as â€Å"get a job† or â€Å"go to school† often are used freely by members of soci-ety because they fail to look at the comprehensive of this oppressing issue. Homelessness has a strong link to the determinants of health (DOH), most notably income and social status (Fingfeld, 2010). The article, â€Å"No FundingRead MoreA Sociological Perspecti ve On Homelessness1587 Words   |  7 PagesCurrently, the rates of homelessness in America continue to drastically increase. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2012) depicted how many people are homeless in a single night in America. The findings revealed that there were approximately 633,782 people who are homeless in America or 20 out of every 10,000. Approximately 394,379 are single individuals and 239,403 are people in families with 77,157 homeless families in a single night, and approximately 162, 246 are childrenRead MoreEssay on Solving Homelessness1416 Words   |  6 PagesSolving Homelessness Nationwide homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways an individual can become homeless, for the most part it is poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of environments, such as urban or suburban areas. Last, there is the ever-growing homeless population, and how much money it costs us for others to live in poverty. A way we can help find the solution to this problem, is to know the facts about this lingeringRead MoreHomelessness And Poverty And Homelessness1699 Words   |  7 Pagesludicrous. But, for homeless people across America, these circumstances are an ordinary part of life. (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty 7) While a portion of today’s society turns a blind eye to the subject of the criminalization of homelessness, an even larger quantity of people are not aware of the situation that is happening in every major city of America. For those living an affluent lifestyle, it can be difficult to discuss the amount of poverty and homelessness that is constantlyRead MoreHomelessness : The Homeless Population Essay1703 Words   |  7 PagesHomelessness affects millions of people every year. Homelessness is an endless epidemic that continues to grow. There isn’t one specific causal factor to this every increasing population. Individuals experiencing homelessness come from various backgrounds and cultures physically, financially, and emotionally. They could be considered the melting pot for diversity. Often times individuals experiencing homeless are judged by their outer appearance with no regard for the contributing factors to theRead MoreHomelessness : The Problem Of Homelessness 1350 Words   |  6 PagesHomelessness There are many parts to the subject of homelessness, of course people talk about the solutions to it like The Ten Year Plan, then there is the history of it starting from the 1640’s. Also there is discussions about Homeless Shelters and more recently Anti-homeless Legislation. Then there are always the staggering statistics. The homeless is a very one minded topic for most. Most people think that the homeless should be helped, cared for, and educated for success. This is true (at least