Question 1

When critically looking at the history of media ownership in Australia,sociologists note:&#10;A)Media companies receive special provisions as capitalist enterprises being forced by government to put the public good above individual profits&#10;B)In contrast with Europe and North America,Australia has a low concentration of media ownership as an industrialised nation&#10;C)Politicians rarely take an interest in media events due to their individual power and status in contemporary Australian society&#10;D)Media ownership in Australia can be described as an acute oligopoly

Accepted Answer

Media ownership in Australia can be described as an acute oligopoly. This means that a small number of media corporations have a significant amount of power and control over the mass media. The concentration of media ownership in Australia is one of the highest in the world, meaning that a small number of corporations control a large proportion of the media market. This can lead to a lack of diversity in opinions and perspectives presented in the media, and potentially limit the public's access to information.

Question 2

Consumers know that buying a popular label will cost a lot more but they purchase it anyway for its social and cultural significance.

Accepted Answer

This is a common consumer behavior known as "prestige pricing" where consumers are willing to pay more for products with popular and recognizable labels as a way to signify their social status and cultural values.

Question 3

Which of the following completes the circuit of value which Adorno and Horkheimer pose is set up by the culture industry?&#10;A)Audiences pay for the product which is being advertised to them on the media&#10;B)The discrimination of minority groups in advertising&#10;C)The field of semiotics&#10;D)The problem that anyone can produce their own weblog

Accepted Answer

Adorno and Horkheimer argue that the culture industry creates a circuit of value where the audience pays for the products that are being advertised to them through the media. This completes the cycle of production and consumption that sustains the culture industry. Options B and D are not related, while option C is only tangentially related to the concept of the circuit of value.

Question 4

Which of the following ideologies identified by Marx as circulating in the mass media is INCORRECTLY described?&#10;A)The ideology of consumerism maintains individuals can buy happiness and freedom&#10;B)The ideology of individualism states autonomous individuals are all that exist in society so there is no such thing as class difference&#10;C)The ideology of possessive individualism assumes individuals try to get the most out of society by putting in the least amount of effort&#10;D)The ideology of racism works to create two classes: the bourgeoisie and proletariat which are divided by race and capital

Accepted Answer

Marx did not describe the ideology of racism as creating two classes based on race and capital. Rather, Marx believed that racism was a tool used by the bourgeoisie to divide the working class and prevent them from coming together to challenge the ruling class. The other three ideologies listed (consumerism, individualism, and possessive individualism) are all concepts that Marx described as perpetuated by the mass media to maintain the capitalist system.

Question 5

What is a key feature of online social networking sites such as Facebook in regard to social interaction with others?&#10;A)It enables people to set up blogs&#10;B)It enables the efficient control of a large volume of relationships&#10;C)It reaffirms the place of consumption in the media&#10;D)It helps individuals to communicate better publically

Accepted Answer

Online social networking sites such as Facebook enable the efficient control of a large volume of relationships. Users can easily add or remove friends, manage privacy settings, and communicate with multiple people at once through features like messaging, posting, and commenting. This allows for a high level of social interaction with others, which is a key feature of these platforms. The other choices (A, C, and D) are not accurate descriptions of key features of online social networking sites.

Question 6

Theories of mass media have found:&#10;A)In modern social life the media is now occupying a reduced status&#10;B)American functionalists saw mass communication as reinforcing social solidarity and shared history&#10;C)Robert Merton and Talcott Parsons saw the media as socially destructive to communities,weakening social ties&#10;D)Conservatives support the rise of mass culture because of the higher moral standards it enables

Accepted Answer

American functionalists viewed mass communication as a means of reinforcing social solidarity and shared history. They believed that the media could create a common culture that would bind diverse individuals together by sharing common experiences and values. This view of mass media as a means of promoting social cohesion has been a widely accepted theory in the sociology of media.

Answer: C
 Robert Merton and Talcott Parsons were critical of the media and believed that it could be socially destructive, weakening social ties and undermining traditional community values. They argued that the media could lead to a breakdown of traditional social norms and values, leading to social disintegration and breakdown. This view of the media as a negative force in society has been influential in shaping public policy related to media regulation and censorship.

Answers A and D are both incorrect. There is no evidence to suggest that the media is occupying a reduced status in modern social life, and conservatives are not generally supporters of the rise of mass culture.

Question 7

The world is in mourning because Nelson Mandela has just died.For media theorist McLuhan,the importance and power of this statement lies in:&#10;A)The historical fact that Nelson Mandela is dead&#10;B)The mediation by media of masses of individuals simultaneously receiving the news&#10;C)The direct interaction that occurs between viewer/listener and the media&#10;D)The capitalist profit that will be generated from audiences and media ratings

Accepted Answer

McLuhan's theory focused on the impact of media on society, and the simultaneous transmission of news about Mandela's death to the masses through different media platforms is a clear example of this impact.

Question 8

Drawing on the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies' (CCCS)approach that 'in order to analyse society,products need to be understood in relation to social reality' choose one media product as an example and apply this idea.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Drawing on the Centre for Contemporary Cultural...

Question 9

The network society differs from pre-network societies in each of the following ways EXCEPT:&#10;A)Democratisation of communications previously impossible in the broadcast era&#10;B)The potential of individuals to achieve meaningful interaction via global connections&#10;C)A significant increase in internet availability and usage&#10;D)A significant decline in TV usage

Accepted Answer

The other options - A, B, and C - all describe ways in which the network society differs from pre-network societies, but option D does not. In fact, option D seems to be incorrect, as there has not been a significant decline in TV usage in the network society. TV is still a dominant medium, but it coexists with other forms of media that were not available in pre-network societies.

Question 10

To what does Baudrillard's 'simulcra' refer?&#10;A)The way every consumer knows buying a popular label will cost more&#10;B)The difference between dominant and sub-cultural meaning&#10;C)The cultural construction of meaning in texts&#10;D)The way image-based media seems more real than reality

Accepted Answer

Baudrillard's 'simulcra' refers to the way image-based media (such as television or advertising) can create a hyper-real representation of reality that is more 'real' than actual reality itself. This can lead to a blurring of the boundaries between reality and simulation, and a difficulty in distinguishing between them.

Question 11

Write a list of statements that explain the extent and limits the internet offers as a virtual community.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Write a list of statements that explain...

Question 12

Which sociologists were the first to analyse the media as a culture industry?&#10;A)Adorno and Horkheimer&#10;B)Gramsci and Althusser&#10;C)Marx and Engels&#10;D)Althusser and Horkheimer

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which sociologists were the first to analyse...

Question 13

What is created when groups of people interacting socially on the internet do so to the extent that they form a network of personal relationships?&#10;A)A media pack&#10;B)A virtual community&#10;C)Cyberspace&#10;D)Avatars

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is created when groups of people...

Question 14

When analysing the ideologies of the mass media,contemporary Marxists argue that individuals are:&#10;A)Brainwashed by ideologies&#10;B)Living under a delusion&#10;C)Constrained by ways of speaking and thinking&#10;D)Ignorant

Accepted Answer

The answer of When analysing the ideologies of the mass...

Question 15

In what way does contemporary interactive media such as the internet differ from traditional media?&#10;A)Dialogical&#10;B)Few senders&#10;C)Few receivers&#10;D)Central source

Accepted Answer

The answer of In what way does contemporary interactive media...

Question 16

Which of the following refers to a cyber-society whereby interactive technologies extend social relations and communications causing technologies to become their own reality?&#10;A)Second media age&#10;B)First media age&#10;C)Virtual community&#10;D)Cyberspace

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following refers to a...

Question 17

The case example of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)reveals:&#10;A)Accusations of concentrated media ownership are largely false&#10;B)Media policies fail to attract academic criticism&#10;C)The ABC is open to politicisation by governments&#10;D)The Australian government strongly enforces guidelines for the regulation of both public and commercial broadcasters

Accepted Answer

The answer of The case example of the Australian Broadcasting...

Question 18

Critical analysis of the regulation of media in Australia demonstrates:&#10;A)Economic realities have permitted American programming to dominate Australia&#10;B)Commercial broadcasters reject US television in favour of Australian products&#10;C)It is much cheaper to make programs locally than purchase Hollywood's products&#10;D)Australia has the highest volume of advertising per hour in the Western world

Accepted Answer

The answer of Critical analysis of the regulation of media...

Question 19

Locate a television broadcast schedule from the print media or online which shows one day of television programming.Consider pages 333 and 334 in the textbook under the heading 'Public and community broadcasting' and examine whether the topics and programs on the schedule demonstrate these ideas.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Locate a television broadcast schedule from the...

Question 20

The experience of mass media in Australia shows all of the following EXCEPT:&#10;A)In an average lifespan,Australians spend nine years watching television&#10;B)Print media includes literature from libraries and bookstores as well as newspapers and magazines&#10;C)Broadcast media involves a two-way relationship between senders and receivers&#10;D)Television and radio dominate as forms of electronic media

Accepted Answer

The answer of The experience of mass media in Australia...

Question 21

What is the most popular social media site in Australia?&#10;A)YouTube&#10;B)LinkedIn&#10;C)Twitter&#10;D)Facebook

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the most popular social media...

Question 22

Australians have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.Discuss.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Australians have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.Discuss....

Question 23

Ritual theorists argue that the media provides:&#10;A)A forum for debate&#10;B)High quality education&#10;C)A sense of connection&#10;D)Constant entertainment

Accepted Answer

The answer of Ritual theorists argue that the media provides:&#10;A)A...

Question 24

All forms of media are central to contemporary processes of identity.Discuss.

Accepted Answer

The answer of All forms of media are central to...

Question 25

Explain,in less than 500 words,the ways in which online social networking sites enable people to control their personal relationships.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain,in less than 500 words,the ways in...

Deck 14: From Mass Media to Social Media