Assigment 9 in MIS

This essay talks about Information Environment, so I will discussed the following questions:

• What should be my role within this environment?

• How can the principles of information organization and representation help me in performing this role?

• What are the challenges I will face in performing the role? How can I get possible solution to address these challenges?

As a student we have a big role when we talk about information because in our studies we encounter different explorations to gather some information from the different sources in the environment. We communicate to the people surround us. We write journals and read some books, newspapers, etc. and share what we had read to the people.

I chose radio and television network or mass media network as my information environment. Nowadays, communication is easier, with the use of cell phone and other means of communication. I can relay information in some various media network. On that way I can give some information that you and I should know. Some media networks created some hotlines or communication hotlines that simple person can give an access to relay their information as fast as possible. They can help us to become more vigilant in our own little way.

Communications is the art and technique of using words effectively to impart information or ideas. The field of study concerned with the transmission of information by various means, such as print or broadcasting. Any of various professions involved with the transmission of information, such as advertising, broadcasting, or journalism. The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior. Interpersonal rapport.A system, such as mail, telephone, or television, for sending and receiving messages. A network of routes for sending messages and transporting troops and supplies.


Source: www.answers.com/topic/communication


MASS MEDIA

"Mass media" is a deceptively simple term encompassing a countless array of institutions and individuals who differ in purpose, scope, method, and cultural context. Mass media include all forms of information communicated to large groups of people, from a handmade sign to an international news network. There is no standard for how large the audience needs to be before communication becomes "mass" communication. There are also no constraints on the type of information being presented. A car advertisement and a U.N. resolution are both examples of mass media.

IMPORTANCE OF MASS MEDIA

Mass communicated media saturate the industrialized world. The television in the living room, the newspaper on the doorstep, the radio in the car, the computer at work, and the fliers in the mailbox are just a few of the media channels daily delivering advertisements, news, opinion, music, and other forms of mass communication.

Because the media are so prevalent in industrialized countries, they have a powerful impact on how those populations view the world. Nearly all of the news in the United States comes from a major network or newspaper. It is only the most local and personal events that are experienced first-hand. Events in the larger community, the state, the country, and the rest of the world are experienced through the eyes of a journalist.

Not only do the media report the news, they create the news by deciding what to report. The "top story" of the day has to be picked from the millions of things that happened that particular day. After something is deemed newsworthy, there are decisions on how much time or space to give it, whom to interview, what pictures to use, and how to frame it. Often considered by editors, but seldom discussed, is how the biases and interests of management will impact these determinations. All of these decisions add up to the audience's view of the world, and those who influence the decisions influence the audience.

Mass communicated media saturate the industrialized world. The television in the living room, the newspaper on the doorstep, the radio in the car, the computer at work, and the fliers in the mailbox are just a few of the media channels daily delivering advertisements, news, opinion, music, and other forms of mass communication.

Because the media are so prevalent in industrialized countries, they have a powerful impact on how those populations view the world. Nearly all of the news in the United States comes from a major network or newspaper. It is only the most local and personal events that are experienced first-hand. Events in the larger community, the state, the country, and the rest of the world are experienced through the eyes of a journalist.

Not only do the media report the news, they create the news by deciding what to report. The "top story" of the day has to be picked from the millions of things that happened that particular day. After something is deemed newsworthy, there are decisions on how much time or space to give it, whom to interview, what pictures to use, and how to frame it. Often considered by editors, but seldom discussed, is how the biases and interests of management will impact these determinations. All of these decisions add up to the audience's view of the world, and those who influence the decisions influence the audience.


• What are the challenges I will face in performing the role? How can I get possible solution to address these challenges?

They encourage the person to be more observant to the surroundings that could affect us, the challenges that I possibly encounter in this information environment is that we should relay only facts information without bases. And to other those challenges we should verify the information that I would give so that I could not give wrong information that will lead to the destruction of the said matter. On my research I discussed the definition of Mass Media, its imporatance, the positive and negative effects on it.

POSITIVES EFFECTS

Without the media, most people would know little of events beyond their immediate neighborhood. The further one goes outside of one's circle of friends and family, the more time-consuming and expensive it becomes to get information. Very few, if any, individuals have the resources to stay independently informed of world events. With the news, however, all one has to do is turn on a television or turn to the Internet. Even when it is biased or limited, it is a picture of what is happening around the world.

The more sources one compares, the more accurate the picture that can be put together. In addition to the media conglomerates, there are also a range of independent news outlets, though they have a much smaller audience. Some of these provide an alternative view of events and often strive to publish stories that cannot be found in the mainstream media. Technological advances in many industrialized (primarily Western) countries make it possible to read papers and watch broadcasts from around the globe. While language skills can be a barrier, it is possible to live in the United States and watch Arab-language broadcasts from the Middle East, or to get on the Internet and read scores of Chinese newspapers. Having access to these alternative voices limits the power of monopolies over information.

Another important benefit of a functioning mass news media is that information can be relayed quickly in times of crisis. Tornado and hurricane announcement can give large populations advance warning and allow them to take precautions and move out of harm's way. In a country suffering war, a radio broadcast outlining where the latest fighting is can alert people to areas to avoid. In quieter times, the media can publish other useful announcements, from traffic reports to how to avoid getting HIV. It is a stabilizing and civilizing force.

NEGATIVES EFFECTS

The news media thrive on conflict. The lead story for most news programs is typically the most recent and extreme crime or disaster. Conflict attracts viewers, listeners, and readers to the media; the greater the conflict the greater the audience, and large audiences are imperative to the financial success of media outlets. Therefore, it is often in the media's interest to not only report conflict, but to play it up, making it seem more intense than it really is. Long-term, on-going conflict-resolution processes such as mediation are not dramatic and are often difficult to understand and report, especially since the proceedings are almost always closed to the media. Thus conflict resolution stories are easily pushed aside in favor of the most recent, the most colorful, and the most shocking aspects of a conflict. Groups that understand this dynamic can cater to it in order to gain media attention. Common criteria for terrorist attacks include timing them to coincide with significant dates, targeting elites, choosing sites with easy media access, and aiming for large numbers of casualties.[1] Protesters will hoist their placards and start chanting when the television cameras come into view. It is not unusual for camera crews or reporters to encourage demonstrators into these actions so they can return to their studios with exciting footage. The resulting media coverage can bestow status and even legitimacy on marginal opposition groups, so television coverage naturally becomes one of their planned strategies and top priorities. The "30-second sound bite" has become a familiar phrase in television and radio news and alert public figures strategize to use it to their advantage.

INFLUENCE OF MASS MEDIA

The term mass media describes many forms of entertainment: television, film, music, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and advertising. For decades these resources have been available to people of all ages. Because this is where we receive most of our information, it is used by media organizations to target and impact America’s youth. Idealized beauty standards, irrelevant sexualization, and domestication are only some of the ways that young women in the media are portrayed today. This article provides a general overview of how many of the things we are used to seeing, are sending a negative image to young people everywhere.

Let’s be honest, the average person in this country does not look like Angelina Jolie, Halle Barry or Giselle Bundchen. So why is it that average women are not represented in mass media formats? It’s actually a simple answer. Idealized beauty standards are seen everywhere from commercials, to TV shows and movies.

The ideal of beauty has dramatically changed throughout the years, considering that Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 at the height of her career. In today’s media environment she would have been expected to be at least 5 inches taller and weigh at least 25 pounds less. This ideal puts pressure on young women to look like the people featured in music, magazines, film and many other mass media formats, even if the goal of being that thin is unattainable without harming your body’s health.

The film industry is one that has a major effect on how young women are viewed in society. Young women often have roles as passive and vulnerable characters who tend to leave the tough, strong and assertive roles to men. Women’s roles are written with irrelevant sexualization – their characters primary function is to please men. They ten display risqué and careless behavior. For example, wouldn’t it make sense that if two characters in a film are going to have sex that either one of them wears a condom? Especially if the target is a young audience since this is the population in which HIV has increased the most. Yet women in the movies rarely take steps to protect their sexual health.

The music industry just like the film industry exhibits the use of irrelevant sexualization to attract an audience of young people. Music videos showcase behavior that is just as promiscuous as what you see in film. Women’s bodies are constantly displayed in a sexual way, and this behavior is imitated by young girls across the country who idolize them. Another negative portrayal is domestication. The majority of commercials about house products or child care are still aimed at women. This reinforces the sexist and dated stereotype of women only working inside the home (and men never contributing to housework or child care).

It is clear that images of young women in the media have a tremendous impact on young people everywhere. Whether it is through film, music, or any other mass media format the public is constantly pressured to fit into today’s ideal of what beauty is. Young people are influenced to act like the characters they watch on TV. It seems that now more than ever in an industry obsessed with youth, there is no better way to describe what really matters than with the age old saying “sex sells”.

Source: http://www.mysistahs.org/features/media.htm


INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT DESIGN

For me, the web, websites, and the information contained within is a constantly growing and changing collection of data. Architecture by definition is based on the concept of physical structures. The concept we deal with on the web is often very different than simple architecture because we must design around the concept of an ever expanding information set.
For these reasons I prefer to call what we deal with in the web community as Information Environments, and their planning and construction, Information Environment Design or IED. From large to small, these are the web areas in which our data and information lives, growing and changing over time. In fact, with the growth of search and social media, the science of how web environments interact has become increasingly important. No longer does an Information Architecture stand alone, it is being shaped by its surrounding environments.
PageRank and the semantic web are just examples of how Information Environments co-exist and effect each other.
Our web is not dead, it is alive, and we must plan the use of our sites information accordingly.

The Importance of Information Environment Design

A well crafted Information Environment has repercussions on both usability and the optimization of a site for search.

CreativeGood.com once found that 56% of internal search queries on e-commerce sites ended in failure. This is an obvious results of poorly constructed data sets.

Poor Information Environment design will also lead to user abandonment, due to poor or counter intuitive navigation.

For search, the difficulty of search engine spiders to effectively crawl data, and then relate the data sets within a site to each other.

Source: http://www.searchandsocial.com/seo-blog/search-friendly-information-environment-design/

System flexibility is a key advantage in today's fast-moving marketplace. The right solution can help you asses, design, integrate, and manage your information technology (IT) environment. To keep pace with business needs as they change, you need to build an adaptive system, one where your business and IT solutions synchronize to capitalize on change.