Positives of CCTV in the Workplace – by Maria Weiss, CDM 535

CCTV can feel like “big brother is watching you”from George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Employers may install CCTV in the workplace to protect their property or catch employees in a forbidden act. CCTV may also be used to safety and ergonomic evaluations to implement improvements for the employees’ routine tasks.

In the movie, The Good Girl, a cctv is recording the stockroom activity. Therefore the store management knows that two of their employees were have sexual relations. This is relevant to the story when the store is robbed. The stockroom footage is reviewed to revile the theft. Management then asks the other half of the couple where the thief is. In this case the store has utilized the cctv to protect its assets and catch employees in criminal acts.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279113/ The Good Girl – example of store employees being caught on tape having sexual relations.

In the movie, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, cctv is monitoring the subway system in New York City. This subway train, with its passengers, is taken hostage in order to steal money. From the central control room, all the activites are being watched. CCTV has limited views, but in this case they have been installed for safety and maintenance of the train system.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1111422/ The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 – example of cctv in public transportation on the basis of safety and maintenance.

The legalities of using cctv in the workplace needs to uphold privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms. The site also has to notify the employees that cctv is being used, however the locations (hidden or not) does not have to be disclosed. The positive reasons behind using cctv can benefit both the employer and employee. The employer will be able to terminate an employee who’s behaving against policies and laws. The employer will also be able to determine how damage or quality issues occurred and find root causes during investigation. The employee benefits from cctv when performing a job safety analysis or ergonomic study to improve the work flow. This reduces stress on the employee and identifies additional improvements, which would improve the work flow.

EMPLOYEE SURVEILLANCE - NEGATIVE

Employees are becoming increasingly concerned about their privacy at work as their employers are monitoring them closely with electronic surveillance. Certain states have tried to prevent employee electronic monitoring but these efforts have not been successful so far.

Employers have some valid reasons for doing this but from their perspective they are also concerned in regards to what impact this will have on the employer-employee relationship. Despite the concern employers have for jeopardizing the relationship with their employees, more than 75% of companies said that monitoring helps them to combat personal use of Internet during business hours and making sure employees do not divulge company trade secrets or intellectual property.

This makes the employee feel that he is not trusted to be honest and responsible. The gaze is viewing them with suspicion and distrust and yet it’s an inevitable result of the new digital technologies in a postmodern society especially after 9/11. The ways that subjects regulate their own behavior, the panopticism, would involve employees using company time to only do their work assignments and employers being watchful of employees behavior without violating the respect each employee deserves. Employers should develop effective business equipment policies with the help of legal council to carry out their responsibilities without jeopardizing the workplace relationship. Employees would benefit from such a policy because they would know in advance how their employers monitor them.

The federal statute in this area is the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA). The ECPA bars the intentional interception of any wire, oral or electronic communication, or the unauthorized access of stored communication.
The ECPA has three exceptions that include allowing employers to monitor business related phone calls, to monitor communications when there has been employee consent, and to retrieve and access stored email. Employers sharing this information will help avoid the negative aspect of this process. It will be viewed as a win-win situation for both the employer and employee.

FINAL EXAM- Traffic Light cameras-NEGITIVE VIEW

I will be talking about Traffic Light Cameras and shine on the negative part of them.

I think that this is part of the post modernism because they are trying to advance technology and this is one more way to get money from the starving government.

It is not so much a problem in the smaller cities like Saginaw, MI. They have Traffic Light Cameras all over the United States and even the Country. You will see them driving through the bigger cities or booming states such as; Ohio, Georgia, Florida, California…etc. Driving down South 75 I see them a lot. I do not think that they are a good idea for a few reasons, 1) What if you are not driving the car, 2) They have no proof of what you did and 3) There is no way of explaining what you were doing.

The Traffic Light Camera is a system that takes pictures of people speeding or running through red lights. What they do is take a picture of your license plate and send a ticket to the person whose plate is registered in that vehicle. The camera does not warn you, does not give you footage or proof.

The negative side of this whole concept is that what if you receive a ticket in the mail for something you never did? A lot of people drive cars that are registered under another person’s name. For example what if your daughter borrowed your car and a few days later you received in the mail a ticket for something you never did? I personally do not think that is right.

Another reason why I think this is negative because they take pictures of your license plate but they have no proof if you really were speeding or if you ran that red light. It is just pictures of your plate. You could have sped through the yellow light and slowed down after you were through and the camera could have taken the back of your plate after. There is no way of showing what you truly did and no proof.

My last reason for having this be a negative thing is you cannot talk your way out of the ticket. What if your wife was in labor and you were speeding because you had to get to the hospital? What if you were rushing because of some emergency? What if your car was stolen? These situations have happened in the past to someone at some point in time.

I think the cameras on the Traffic lights are not good. I think that it can cause a lot more of a mess then to actually have a real cop there to talk to.
One last negative thing about traffic cameras is that it is taking jobs away from police officers cutting budgets and real peoples income. I think that they need to have more police out there to help protect us citizens. With the cut back on police and the addition to traffic cameras, it seems like more crime will be out there due to the numerous lay- offs.

This is my negative side of Traffic Light Cameras.

http://www.speedingticketcentral.com/red-light-camera.html

by: Alicia Gwizdala

Global Flow of Visual Culture

Cultural Imperialism - Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports is allowing America to view a soccer event for the purpose of promoting interest in soccer in the United States which still does not have a professional soccer team. They want to interest sports promoters and investors in this country in the hope of opening a new market for this sport. Television viewed globally is primarily US programs that are dubbed. This is promoting American culture.

Global Niche Markets - A niche market appeals to a select group within a population. An example of this would be the Smart Phone. This phone provides technical services that not everyone would consider important or necessary when selecting a phone. Chanel is another example. The products which include jewelry, purses, shoes and cloths are distributed worldwide to a select group of customers who have the financial resources and interest in owning such expensive products.

Global Brands - Ford Motor Company is a global company that still remains family owned. The image is known worldwide and the small vehicles are very popular in the global market. Ford began making major investments overseas over fifteen years ago. Their global perspective was very innovative. They were the only one of the Big Three that did not require government assistance. BEEP! BEEP!

The Digital Body

http://dezignus.com/retouch/

The link above are examples of different magazines showing the before and after pictures of the models. It is amazing how photoshop has become a basic step in the process of advertising and publication. Nobody is aware of what the real body is anymore. Everything seems to become the digital touch.

The pictures in the link show you some of the things people touch up; face, cellulite, chest, blemishes, complexion and more.

In todays world it is almost impossible to print a picture before being Photoshopped.

Digital cameras these days have a program that can "touch up" your photo right away. You do not even have to be a professional anymore to use any of these programs.

Cultural expectations are creating a huge market for people to quickly fix and hide things rather then actually exercising and getting in shape. Example: AB Flex, shake weight, AB cruncher... They are creating easy fast fix to get in shape using images of those people to help promote the product. Most likely the person using that one item did more then just use that product.

Visualizing Pharmaceuticals

Visualizing Pharmaceuticals

Advertisements by drug companies are selling a product to a common consumer who does not have the medical knowledge to make a decision on their own. The advertisement may provide only the most common side effects, but not the most serious. A solid relationship with your healthcare provider is required to make an intelligent decision. Sometimes the healthcare provider is working with the pharmacy company more than the patients' interest.

Latisse was selected as our example because the Food and Drug Administration sent an official warning letter to Allegan in September 2009 for its "misleading" claims which did not include or minimized the drug's possible side effects.

Are the advertisements ethical? The companies have bought a 30 second to 60 second commercial spot. They are going to trim their content in order to have any marketing value. It really is up to the consumer to do their own research.

Post Modernism Film

"I put the grrr in swinger, baby!" Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me, and if the imagination of Austin creator Mike Myerss is a film that is an example of Post Modernism. Austin Powers heads back to the '60s to keep perennial nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers again) from blowing up the world--and, more importantly, to get back his mojo, that man-juice that turns Austin into irresistible catnip for women. Alot of Filmmaking these days are post modernism. Since postmodernism has been absorbed into the contemporary lexicon of filmmakers, it has become just another way to explore themes and characters. Austin Powers is an awesome movie that is hilarious and a way to look at the 60's in a whole new view.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/

Contact (starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey) is a postmodern movie trying to discover alien life form. It challenges the Christian belief system in God by placing Jodie's character in the scientific role of proving other life forms are out there. Life forms that are not represented in the bible. At the same time she finds attraction with a former pastor, who's beliefs are still very Christian. The film also has a political undertone to depicts that those who's belief systems are not "mainstream" will not be promoted and selected for highly publicized events.

The ideas are postmodern to bring attention to the mass American/Christian audience, that their view on how the universe was made might not be the only idea.

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is a quirky tribute to old Hollywood crime dramas and "Pulp" magazines. I selected it as an example of a postmodern movie because it is filled with numerous pop culture references and juicy dialogue. It reignited the career of John Travolta and cemented Uma Thurman as a star. Writer-director Quentin Tarantino was the winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Matrix/Postmodern

The Matrix series of films explores a postmodern view of religion and government. The plot makes every attempt to explain to the character Neo the flaw of his denial in the Matrix. The Matrix is symbolism for the "why are we here" question of existence. While touching on various religions and cultural beliefs, the film explores a good versus evil battle in Neo's quest for the truth. In the end it is his own beliefs that were holding him back, and his newly opened mind allows him to succeed in his quest.
This is a postmodern view, because it encourages us to be open to new ideas, rather than going with the flow of society. If this story were done in the 1930's it would have quickly been shelved as communist and anti-American.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/

PostModerism CH 8

"A master narrative is a framework that purports to explain society, if not the world, in comprehensive terms. Religion, science, Marxism, psychoanalysis, Enlightenment myths of progress, and other theories that each set out to explain all facets of life are master theories or master narratives."

We choose to focus on both Pro Life and Pro Choice because these are both important issues in Todays world. They cause a lot of controversy around the world. It's been discussed for years.

The billboard for Pro Life is a baby that was "born to ride". It states that after 28 days of conception the baby already has arms... it is powerful to the person that sees this because it is a reminder that after conception the baby already has body parts and a heart beating. This appeals to the sensitivity of motherhood that most women feel.

The advertisement for Pro Choice is powerful because only 23% of the anti abortion leaders in the world are women. 77% are men and they make the decision. It is our choice and we should be able to make it.

Women need to think for themselves because 100% of men out there will never have to make that type of decision. If they do not want to be involved then they do not have to be.

The Commodity Self, Culture Jamming and Marketing Coolness

1. What is the commodity self and commodity culture? Find an example of the commodity self or commodity culture used in a movie, a television ad or an internet ad. Explain the commodity culture that the ad/movie targets.



The term "commodity self" implies an awareness that we are the sum of the products we employ. The commodity culture is when we have a brand and are impacted by a certain product... we have a relationship between the brand names, identity and ownership of the item.

Commodity self and commodity culture can be found in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI58wj4b4g0

Dos Equis is a beer. The guy in the commercials is the "official" Dos Equis guy. When people drink this beer they feel like they are the most interesting guy in the world like the "Dos Equis guy. He travels the world, plays all different sports, he's very cultured, knows different languages.. he is the most interesting guy in the world. His playground is the world... and he does not always drink beer but when he does he drinks Dos Equis.
These commercials with this guy shows that if you are interesting and full of life you will drink Dos Equis. This guy has become the symbol for this beer.


2. Marketing Coolness? Find an example of an ad that uses a counterculture or anti-consumerism to sell it's product. Explain the approach of the example.

Marketing Coolness is when the consumer brands their product with out letting people know they are branding it. For example Sprite. They say "Obey Your Thirst". They have commercials that are out there. People do not realize that they are subliminal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1latJ7K8zc

Another ad we found would be the "I am a PC". This campaign was part of the PC marketing 2 years ago. They were trying to let you know everyday people and free thinking while still advertising.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V7NoRjI0H0


3. What is an Anti-Ad? What is Culture Jamming? Find an example and explain the strategy of the ad.


Anti-ad is when you are advertising different things all in one ad.. you are delivering mixed messages. Example the Bottled Water ad below. This is advertising that bottled water is bad. Culture Jamming is when something is added in the picture with some type of text to change the message. Example: the diamond picture.

Media Time Line

Alicia Gwizdala- Midterm

1. CBSNEWS.COM
2. Brett Favre Scandle Probe: Will Quarter Back be punished?
3. This is a news site where anything that is big news going on around the world can be found here.
4. This site is unique because it actually has alot of interesting articles that can effect us in todays world. Something that is a big story can be found on this website. If you would like to know what is going on in the world today, I would reccomend this website. Alot of the members that go on cbsnews.com look at the daily articles to catch up on the world.
5. CBSNEWS.com is very effective because it helps keep us to date with articles nation-wide. We can go on there and see what is the top story for the day and learn about it in a click. It beats waiting around to watch the news to find out about it. This is a easy way to be kept up to date with out waiting around for commercials.

1. wordpress.com
2. Debate on politics and grant money.
   
3. This is a site that is opened to the public. Anybody can sign up and create their own web blog page. It is great to go on and look around when you want to read topics on certain things. You can follow somebody if you like what they write about.
   
4. This site is unique because it actually has alot of interesting articles. It has pretty much anything you are looking for on reading. You can search a topic and articles pop up that are in common with what you typed in. This website is great if you want to write articles for yourself and keep a diary as well. People can comment on your page even if they do not know you.
5. wordpress.com can be effective depending on the topic. Some things can be found interesting and other topics not so much. It all depends on the person reading the article. One thing about this website is that if you want to complain about something- you are free to do so. It is your page and you can blog whatever you would like. This is a world wide page too.

1. Youtube.com
   
2. Alamaba Rapist Video/News story.
   
3. YouTube is a website that anyone can post videos on here... some are serious and some are for laughter. A lot of the videos that are put up on here can cause a huge debate and become world wide known. Like this news story above. This was just about a Alabama Rapist in a small town in Alabama. The girl said some things that was being raped and her brother said some things on the news too. When they played this on the news someone saw it and recorded it because it was funny at how it was being said. Someone on you tube made it into a music video remix. This became nation wide and was talked about for a little bit.
   
4. This site is popular and is pretty well-known. You can find a lot of interesting videos.
   
5. youtube.com can be effective depending on the video you are looking for. It is easy to find and you can look up almost anything. It is easy to spend hours on this website looking at other peoples videos.
   

Electric cars save money, as they can be scraped off the highway by one person rather than being towed.

Saving Private Ryan

Opening with the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, members of the 2nd Ranger Battalion under Cpt. Miller fight ashore to secure a beachhead. Amidst the fighting, two brothers are killed in action. Earlier in New Guinea, a third brother is KIA. Their mother, Mrs. Ryan, is to receive all three of the grave telegrams on the same day. The United States Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, is given an opportunity to alleviate some of her grief when he learns of a fourth brother, Private James Ryan, and decides to send out 8 men (Cpt. Miller and select members from 2nd Rangers) to find him and bring him back home to his mother... Written by J.Zelman

SPR was filmed on location, and according to accounts from actual participants in the battles. Although the dialog was fictional, and the plot took some liberties with events, it was heralded as a historic account of these events.

The opening scene is shot with hand held cameras to include the viewer as an actual member of the landing force. The audio effects were also taken into account. When shots were fired for example, the surround sound was set up as an actual bullet would sound passing the soldier. Explosions went off followed by the deafening of audio, as an actual sonic effect would occur. In a dark theater the viewer is placed in the middle of the action.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120815/

Titanic

84 years later a 100-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukator tells the story to her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine, Bobby Buell, and Anatoly Mikailavich on the Keldysh about her life set in April 10th 1912, on a ship called Titanic when young Rose boards the departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and her fiancé, Caledon Cal Hockley. Meanwhile, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets to the ship in a game. And she explains the whole story from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last voyage April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 in the morning. Written by Anthony Pereyra


The perspective of this movie is that it provided a historical recap of the "unsinkable" ship called the Titanic which sailed in 1912. It sunk in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg. There were not enough life boats for everyone on the ship. They were in such a state of panic that not all of the life boats were filled prior to launching them. The life boats were filled with women and children. The first class passengers had priority. There was another boat only twelve miles away. The Titanic sent several distress signals to them. If that boat had responded they could have saved the lives of so many people that night. There is only speculation as to why they did not receive the distress signals sent.

There was a Love recap with this movie. Jack and Rose were fictional characters that played on the Titanic. They were both from different classes and from different backgrounds. Jack was considered "poor" and Rose was from a wealthy background about to marry someone who could secure her future. Rose fell in love with Jack on the boat because he showed her a new world. The end of the movie showed what true love is. Rose risked her life to save Jack on the ship. Jack did the same for Rose.


Film makers created this production toward women. They created an amazing love story for the background to get more people involved with the historical part of the film. You are not sure what part of the actual history of it is true. They had to add a twist to get people interacted with the film. The film makers made sure to have you experience this film. When the rough waves hit the actual camera moves like you are on the ship itself. They created this to have the audience feel like they are on the Titanic and experiencing it first hand.







http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/