Traditional Folk Media For Rural Development In India Media Essay

Traditional Folk Media For Rural Development In India Media Essay In the introduction to his essay titled Traditional Folk Media for Rural Development D. K. Sujan writes Whenever you and I think of India, we visualize a vast land spread from the lofty Himalayas in the north to the green belt of Nilgiri in the south, from the Indian granary of Punjab to the paddy fields of eastern deltas, with rugged mountains and plateus in between. This land of ours lies in the tropical belt where climatic conditions vary from place to place and time to time. The variety of climate and topographic situations give birth to different cultures, traditions, and philosophies, affecting every mode of life and behaviour of the people One of the key challenges in spreading the message of rural development in India is the diversity that is witnessed when one travels the area of the country. Folk forms from different places show striking similarities to each other but they vary depending on region. This variation results in an inconsistency of rules under which these forms are created or presented. It would be useful to hear to clearly define the terms that are going to be judiciously used within the scope of this paper. The word folk is synonymous with people or society. According to Sujan, the word folk itself connotes the harmonious coexistence of man with nature, his rearing of nature and being reared by it (Sujan, 172).  In the words of C.S. Sreekumar, folklore originated when the weary agricultural labourer was in the habit of singing songs to overcome the weariness of work. In his words Folklore is a medium through which the soul of a people expresses itself colourfully (ww.sikhspectrum.com). Now when artistically folklore is combined with dance or music or art, resulting in artistic fulfilment and entertainment, the end result is called Folk arts. Unlike its predecessor primitive art, folk art possesses a very interesting and different outlook and character. Folk art comes into being after a culture begins to sophisticate, It is languid and very informal and does not require any formal training or license to practice. Another characteristic of it is that folk arts are ingrained into the fabric of the social culture of rural India. It is perhaps the worlds most original art form as they were part and parcel of the earliest civilizations themselves. Sujan claims that all fine arts have their roots in the folk age. Village children pick up the songs and dances when they begin to pick up the language itself (Sreekumar, www.sikhspectrum.com) folk art often performs a specific function or possesses a specific purpose, the needs and peculiar problems of the village people find expression in folk art. Village life is routinely full of religious customs and ceremonies. Folk arts is very closely associated to religion and myth. Most of the stories are based on an mythological framework and often the specific purpose of the folk form becomes to illustrate the Myths and legends in a manner that is interesting and convincing. Folk media is a term that seems oddly, redundant as one is prompted to ask, but isnt all media folk? Another characteristic of it is that it is not static. The folk medium of a village is affected by the standard of life and developments in that village. In short, folk arts reflect the changing tastes of the rural population as their encounters with urbanity become more frequent and intense. While satisfying these needs, it also holds the responsibility of attaining a certain aesthetic level, owing to its status as an art form. There is no doubt that Folk art forms possess their own individuality and character. Their existence is dependent on its intrinsic merit i.e., flight of fancy of the artist, its symmetrical form, its tonal quality etc. To define the word tradition, they are the outcome of the mode, philosophy, ways, and behavioural pattern of a society. Tradition exists in every span of time. Even today we have traditions. Thus, the challenge is that they are easily replaceable. For example, normative patterns in communication often become traditions. Regarding the stereotyping that rural folk media is subjected to, especially the masses Sujan has this to say Whenever we speak of traditional folk media we aptly visualize a rural open-stage theatre with performance of puppetry in its various forms like kathas, gatha, bhajan mandlies, etc. The man of yesteryears praised gods and goddesses with hymns and bhajans, thus giving birth to the earliest musical expression. Music is the basic fine arts element in folk performances. Early man carved his gods out of stone or sculpted him out of mud. This shows that another important element of fine arts was sculpture. The caveman painted pictures of his gods and his own deeds in order to communicate his message to future generations, In this way, the third pillar of fine arts, after music an sculpture came to be painting. Man performed various rituals before the gods and deities to appease them. This was abhinayam or acting, the fourth strong pillar of fine arts. The fifth pillar, of course, i s poetry, which often enhances other fine arts. This elucidates how folk arts and folk media came into being. Whenever there is a folk bhajan mandali to communicate pious feelings and sing the greatness of god, it makes use of music. This music may include both naad and vaad. One can easily see that whenever we refer to folk media such as puppets, nautanki, or gatha, we find that some combinations of the five aspects of fine arts, that is,music, sculpture, painting, acting, and poetry, is present. Incidentally, puppets have the privilege of using all of these five basic elements. It is the urgent need for development of the country which compels us to find ways and means for better, faster, and clearer communication. There are merits and demerits of folk media in development contexts. It was utilized during the conception and inception of the First Five year Plan, having been considered even earlier by economists, social scientists, and communication experts. Both leaders and researches in social and communications sciences are making ceaseless efforts to find more effective communication media for faster development. Incorporating folk media is an important aspect of these efforts. Mass Media and Traditonal Folk Media Let us consider the existing and fast-developing mass media and also the traditional folk media, looking at the advantages and drawbacks of both. This actually means that we should scrutinize the antecedents of both traditional folk media and mass media before merging them together. However, the marriage and amalgamation of these two traditions-modern and historical is a must. Whenever we say Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, we simply scan the cultural and religious background of the people. While uttering the above names we clearly visualise various cultural patters related to these religious orientations. On the other hand, when we say Indian we again visualize a cultural pattern which is Indian. At this juncture the cultural pattern which is related to Hindus, Muslims, etc., disappears. In the same way, when we talk of puppetry, lila, harikatha, folk songs, nautankis, we clearly visualizw the cultural and traditional background of each of the traditona folk media separately. One the other hand, whenever we say modern media we clearly visualize radio, TV, etc. Finally, instead of saying traditional folk media or modern media, we say mass media or mass communication. We naturally visualize all the media together. There are separate cultures and backgrounds for Hindus, Muslims, tribals and city dwellers, but together they are termed Indian. Puppetry, kawwali, nautanki, television, and radio are separate entities, but all of them when taken together constitute mass media. All have a certain power to communicate development messages. Instead of involving ourselves in research to find out the effectiveness and impact of folk media separately, would it not better to integrate traditonal folk media and modern media. The writer suggests that the modern media of South India should adopt regional folklore and communicate to the masses through an amalgamated technique including both traditional and modern entities. People like their traditions and their ways of communication. We should not disturb them in this respect and should adopt the traditional ways into electronic waves. For example, a nautanki of Uttar Pradesh can be telecast through regional television centres. In the same way, a string puppet tamasha may be telecast on TV in Rajasthan. Experimenting with this integration of modern and traditional media will require much study and planning. Putting together such media presentations may be done separately for various traditional folk media with the help of indigenous expertise. Both traditional folk media and modern media are needed for developmental programs, especially for rural development. In this way, the audience for these media include both the beneficiaries and the functionaries. The functionaries help design the developmental programs and the beneficiaries accept and adopt the outcome of developmental programs. Each media should include some of the basic pillars of fine arts along with the intended message. Let us examine the comparative strength and effectiveness of traditional folk media and modern media. Traditional Media Forms Modern Media Forms Cannot be universalised Can be universalised Express deep cultural roots Not culturally specific in any expression Variety of interest patterns Universal interest Cultural barriers Cultural freedom Mechanization is possible Mechanization is a must Training intensive Training extensive Limited area covered Wider area covered May be converted to electronics Totally electronic Direct rapport with the audience Rapport through field studies only By examining these comparisons one can discover that both have their merits. No doubt the nature of the development problem, if analyzed, can provide insights as to which forms may best accomplish a specific communication objective. Media choices require careful consideration of specific information needs and of the limitations of available message-delivery and message-development resources. To sum up, traditional folk media and modern media should be integrated for use in development contexts. This may help interfusing interest patterns of various regional entities. It may also be regions and places, enhancing the feeling of oneness in the country. It could be a force to generate respect between various cultural groups. Finally, this media combination could facilitate fulfilment of specific development objectives. Conclusion It is proposed that instead of being much involved in analysis and counter-analysis of traditional folk media, we should encourage further development of traditional media in itself and then make full use of these media in combination with modern media. We may call it interadaptation of media. Interadaptation of media, inturn, will help depolarize the interest patterns of a nation. By fusing some aspects of subcultures, different groups will come to know each other, understand each other, and come nearer to each other. For example, if we telecast a Rajasthani story (traditional form of communication) on television network, it will not only help to create an interest in the puppets of Rajasthan but also in the people who create them. Folk media, when broadcast or telecast, could increase an understanding of the life of tribal people as well. It could be used to inculcate a feeling that these far-off tribals are also citizens of India, paving the way for a national feeling and national integration of these groups. Apart from fulfilling the specific objectives of communication, the interfused approach using traditional folk media and modern media will help in creating reciprocal respect for each other. All these prospects make folk media, in combination with electronic media, a viable communication form to use in making effective messages for development. Traditonal Folk Media for Rural Development, D.K. Sujan, Perspectives on Development Communication, Editors K Sadanandan Nair, Shirley A White

Management Policy & Strategy Essay

Management Policy and Strategies course was very interesting and at the same time important for my career goal. I really wasn’t sure what I was going into when I signed up for this course, however I was able to learn much from it, thanks to Professor Dennis Strouble and all of my wonderful classmates. The position that I hold currently at my place of employment is Program Coordinator, however the duties that I am responsible for fall under a manager’s position, therefore I am able to bring information that I have learned in this class to my work place. SWOT analysis section of this course was also very interesting. Even though I had heard of the SWOT analysis before, I really didn’t pay too much mind to it, but now that I took this course I am more knowledgeable about it. Because I can implement SWOT analysis into not only at my workplace but in my personal life, as well, therefore I consider it very important to know. SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Oppo rtunities, and Threats. Knowing this information and the meaning to it will make me able to input analysis into what I currently do now and in the future. Performing internal and external analysis is an important factor to when managing a business or even a department. Since job plays a manager role, I will be able to perform duties and really look at the department policies and tasks processes and analyze the internal and external areas within the program organization. I deal with low-income families, monthly and quarterly reporting, day-to-day administration, finance, etc. and learning everything I learned in this course will make a positive input to the program, to the organization and most importantly to the federal fund institution that is funding our program. Understanding implementation is an important key to my job. Implementing new ideas and processes is part of my job daily. Therefore, with all the information that I learned which I have not mentioned all, these are some i mportant factors that I will be able to utilize in the business that I am currently in moving forward. Having a professor that actually cares and enjoys teaching (and does a great job at it) really helped me understand the material. I do appreciate the time and effort that you have provided for my classmates and me.

Performance Management Essay

1. Summarize the seven (7) components of the framework for coaching and performances management, and identify which ones you require development in and why. The seven components of the frame work for coaching and performance management are the coaching relationship, insight, motivation, capabilities, real-world practice, accountability, and organizational context. The first and most important step in the performance management process is to communicate what is expected. The should also be identifications of any job related learning needs and possible ways to address these needs. There also needs to be a performance review periodically to make sure that job expectations are relevant and appropriate and revise them if needed. Managers are encouraged to do this jointly with their employees which observing and documenting their performance. Throughout the performance management cycle, you should observe your employees’ performance and identify instances of both good and poor performance. Specific events and details are important for employees to clearly understand the impact, results, and consequences of their performance. Thorough documentation will enable you to recognize good performance and help you to correct poor performance. Provide feedback you should provide frequent feedback and coaching to your employees regarding performance throughout the year. This is especially important for the employee who is performing poorly. To be effective, feedback needs to be immediate, specific, and expressed in relation to a particular outcome and expectation. Deal With Performance That Does Not Meet Expectations. You may wish to enlist the support of your manager. He/she can give you the benefit of his or her experience and provide input and support before proceeding. Also, you can use the services of your Human Resources or Labor Relations Components especially if you are contemplating disciplinary action. They will provide the procedural and regulatory guidance as well as assistance in looking at alternatives and providing resources, intervention strategies, and other support.† (Public service commission) 2. Evaluate the validity of each of the reasons provided for failure in performance management. The reasons provided for failure in performance management versus performance appraisal discipline gap, accountability, measurement scarcity or overload, lack of balance and failure to assess impact. â€Å"There are two primary purposes of performance appraisal: evaluative and developmental. The evaluative purpose is intended to inform people of their performance standing. The collected performance data are frequently used to reward high performance and to punish poor performance.† (Smither, 2009) The developmental purpose is intended to identify problems in employees performing the assigned task. The collected performance data are used to provide necessary skill training or professional development. â€Å"The purpose of performance appraisal must be clearly communicated both to raters and rates, because their reactions to the appraisal process are significantly different depending on the intended purpose. Failure to inform about the purpose or misleading information about the purpose may result in inaccurate and biased appraisal reports.† (Cascio, 1998) 3. Identify two (2) of the barriers of success that are evident in preventing successful execution of performance management in a company you know well and recommend a solution to the problems. If you have not worked with or for a company that evaluates employee performance through performance management, imagine what the problems would be based on your knowledge of the company. Be sure to provide your rationale. Future scenarios allow organizations to explore multiple potential futures and generate robust strategies and early warning signs to understand how the future is unfolding. Where a vision articulates a â€Å"preferred future,† future scenarios describe how an organization might achieve its mission in different circumstances or environments. Organizations identify a focal issue or major decision the organization faces and the critical uncertainties in the macro environment, such as social, economic, political, environmental, and technical forces. Scenarios are developed based on combinations of these forces and robust strategies are identified to address multiple futures. Finally, indicators are identified to help understand how the future is affecting the organization’s decisions. In-order to fully understand the rationale past, present, and future analysis would have to be done on different work environments in-order to generally process the full computation of how and HR performance management society would work to stay in constant communication with the employee’s skill set.

The War Of The World War II - 1347 Words

The powerful question still haunts people 70 years after the war’s end: could Adolf Hitler have been deterred from launching the Second World War? Only two decades after the Great War, the greats of the globe were launched once more into a world war. As Germany’s primary opponent, France and Great Britain felt the brunt of casualties of the deadliest war the world had seen by far. They were weakened economically, politically and militarily and unable to stop the nihilistic, yet charismatic, leader of Nazi Germany. With the end of the First World War, German people expected the armistice to be based on President Woodrow Wilson’s lenient Fourteen Points, but instead they received the flawed, cruel Treaty of Versailles. (Road to Conflict, Hickman). â€Å"Political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) Party† (World War II History, History.com Staff). Burdensome reparation costs demanded from Germany after the Great War, paired with â€Å"a general inflationary period in Europe in the 1920s† caused hyperinflation in Germany (World War I: Aftermath). Economic chaos increased with â€Å"the beginning of the worldwide Great Depression† (Schomp 8). This pandemonium soon gave way to the social unrest that destabilized the Weimar Republic and allowed for many radical right-wing parties to find their way into Germany. Among them was Hitler’sShow MoreRelatedThe War Of The World War II1408 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent levels of the educational system most everyone has talked about the Second World War in great detail. The European and Pacific Theaters were the main focus of many historians and their writing, because war pertained to the audience of the time. WWII revolved around the idea of freedom and liberating the fascist governments of Europe, the homefront back in th e states was the war machine that kept the war churning. Millions of pages have been written about the experiences and battles duringRead MoreThe War Of The World War II1496 Words   |  6 PagesWorld War II was one of the most powerful wars the world has ever had. It was also one of the largest conflicts there has ever been. It was known as a â€Å"world war† because nearly every country in the world was involved. There were many tragic and chilling events throughout the war that were very significant. The war was known as one of the most disastrous wars of all time because of what the nations put each other through. Many innocent lives were taken during this mournful war. About 50 million troopsRead MoreThe War Of The World War II846 Words   |  4 Pageseffected the world is World War II. It is an event that will never be forgotten because of how many different countries were involved and how it affected the Jews as well. During the war, the United States started to put up posters to get people to join the army and there were other countries that convinced the people to invest money into the war. Without the propaganda and the use of artwork on posters and flyers that they used to influence people in the U.S. they may have never won the war. One of theRead MoreThe War Of The World War II864 Words   |  4 Pagesgreat global conflict, the Second World War was the most extensive and lethal war in history, which involved more than 30 countries. It marked more than 50 million military and civilian deaths. Though dumbfounded by the events of December 7, Americans were also determined. President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war against Japan On December 8. The declaration passed with just one rebel vote. After three days, Germany and Italy, connected with Japan, declared war on the United States. America wasRead MoreThe War Of The World War II1463 Words   |  6 PagesIn the early parts of the twentieth century the world was turned upside down in the wakes of the deadliest war it had ever seen in 1914. For the first time, science was playing a large part in the makings of the war, with the invention poison gasses being thrown into the war field. And then, to make matters worse, in 1939, Germany invaded Poland to spark the second of the World Wars. Germany was on a seemingly unstoppable track to take over Europe, and countries such as France and England were alwaysRead MoreThe War Of World War II Essay1323 Words   |  6 PagesSince its end, World War II has been talked about extensively by historians. The lead up to the war, the war itself, and the events after the war have contributed to why the war has been so popular among historians. The unique way the war was fought and the way the war altered the course of history has intrigued historians. Up until World War II, civilians had generally been off limits in war. While you could cause as much carnage as you wished on the battlefield against soldiers, killing civiliansRead MoreThe War Of The World War II1387 Words   |  6 Pagesevents that could bring so many people together while simultaneously tearing them apart-- World War II is one of those events. While the beginning is not set in stone, many will argue that the war all started with the unwarranted German attack on Poland in September of 1939. As tensions rose between countries, conflict began to swell. Over 20 countries were involved, and alliances were established. The war was fought between two major alliances; the Allied powers and the Axis powers. The Allied powersRead MoreThe War Of World War II1640 Words   |  7 Pages After becoming Reich Chancellor in 1933, Hitler swiftly consolidated power, anointing himself Fà ¼hrer (supreme leader) in 1934. Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the â€Å"pure† German race, which he called â€Å"Aryan,† Hitler believed that war was the only way to gain the necessary â€Å"Lebensraum,† or living space, for that race to expand. In the mid-1930s, he began the rearmament of Germany, secretly and in violation of the Versailles Treaty. After signing alliances with Italy and Japan againstRead MoreThe War Of The World War II1240 Words   |  5 Pageslost loved ones. One of the bloodiest battles in World War II was on June 6, 1944 on Omaha , Juno, Gold,    Sword, and Utah beaches to free France from the Nazis and make them surrender.(D-Day by Martha Brack Martin) People have been told that the cause of the war was because Hitler believed in the perfect race. This may be  true, but  others have different reasons. Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the war to help plan for D-Day and lead them into the war. He was responsible for the whole thing. Franklin  RooseveltRead MoreThe War Of World War II1638 Words   |  7 PagesWorld War II was the most widespread war in history and it directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. This war lasted from 1939 to 1945. The war pinned the Axis nations which were Germany, Italy, Japan versus the Allied nations which were led by Britain and its Commonwealth nation, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States. The Allies were victorious in the War. It was one of the most significant periods of time in the 20th century. The war resulted