(RASANE VA FARHANG)
Year:2014 | Volume:4 | Issue:1|Papers Count:6

Technology, which has primarily been formed as a means of man's control on nature, plays a focal role in our lives, considering different areas of science. However, the dominance of technology (the term is still used with caution in academia) on man’s life has been long begun and has progressed as our needs changed thorough time. Those who support the idea of dominance and those who don’t, have analyzed the effects of it on our lives and due to widespread changes that technology has brought with itself, the debate is still in the center of attention. The current study is an attempt to review the researches on this subject in the light of critical theories and interdisciplinary frameworks.

Attracting and influencing the audience is one of the objectives of programmers in various media. The aim of the current paper is to analyze and compare the models of media effects. Four models of media effects, namely direct effects, conditional effects, accumulative effects and cognitive effects will be studied along with their variables. The significance of these models lay in their different focus on content and audience. Since these models are not comprehensive per se, they cannot be used individually for the analysis of data. Therefore, these models are compared by applying Fuzzy Topsis method and then they are ranked according to their effectiveness. Details about the priority of each model are discussed fully.

Abbas Kiarostami's cinematic works could potentially be analyzed in the realm of philosophy. French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy in his book, ‘The Evidence of Film', discovers the philosophical world of Kiarostami's works. The Evidence of Film demonstrates Nancy's own cinematic viewpoints and by discussing seven films of Kiarostami portraits the interaction between his own thoughts and Kiarostami's views. It contains some critical elements for the modern aesthetics advancement as well. However, as the book is an artistic work rather than an academic endeavor, more effort is needed to identify the significance of its logical comparison to film theory. It contains three sections: an article on Kiarostami's films- "Where is the Friend's Home" to "The Wind Will Carry Us"-a viewpoint on "Life and Nothing More…" and a conversation between Nancy and Kiarostami. The current paper is an attempt to analyze Kiarostami's works based on Nancy’s philosophical views which have their basis in notions of "evidentio", "true essence", "sight and image” and “the meaning of life".

The current study inquires about the model of characterization in screenplays on the subject of "The Prophet and Infallible Imams". Classical movies often follow the Aristotle’s Model of characterization, which is not appropriate for sacred characters as Infallible Imams. Firstly because these characters cannot be shown and secondly because they have static characters that is against Aristotle’s Model, according to which the characters are dynamic and subject to change. The current study solely focuses on characterization (and not on theme, conflict or dialogues) in screenplays and tries to evaluate the functionality of Aristotle’s model in representing sacred characters. The hypothesis underlying the research states that Aristotle model for writing screenplays is proper for secular characters rather than sacred ones. Therefore, new models should be adapted for characterization, since otherwise these characters would be belittled.

The current paper tries to evaluate new media system and identify its functional roles in an ideal society. Considering radio stations, their effectiveness mostly rely on their interaction with the society and on marketing. Therefore, the researcher has tried to analyze the literature on media studies with a focus on radio to map its roles and analyze its functions in the following criteria:1. Cultural Punctuation (the role of radio in cultural identification)2. Social Computation (radio as an agent for public service efficacy)3. Language Gardening (radio as a reference of language standardization)Promoting these three major roles will lead to the formation of a media culture, which by propagating will enhance the role of media in our lives. At macro level, the current study tries to trace how radio stations affect our social lives by introducing six major methods of effectiveness. At micro level, it is aimed at identifying operational goals by introducing 12 sub-roles for radio stations, which could be done by studying previous researches and carrying out field studies.

Radio is used for educational purposes in many countries all over the world. However, its significance, for both formal and informal learning, has been overlooked in Iran, regarding the data driven from multiple researches on this subject. The current study is aimed at outlining the significance of starting an educational radio station in Iran, considering the social, cultural and economic settings of the country, and it tries to introduce patterns for educational programming. The underlying theoretical framework of this study is based on Lasswell & Lerner’s theories. The data will be driven from the semi-structured interviews with eight experts on the field.Upon data analysis, it will become apparent that an educational radio station is greatly needed in a country like Iran with a large number of rural societies, multiplicity of cultures, and problems like inaccessibility to educational services. Radio, as it is easily accessible for all, can be used as a teaching assistant tool for formal learning. Moreover, concerning informal learning, radio can have an effective role in increasing public knowledge, accelerating social development and generating educational justice.