Did somebody say Neoliberalism? On the uses and limitations of a critical concept in media and communication studies

This paper explores the political-economic basis and ideological effects of talk about neoliberalism with respect to media and communication studies. In response to the supposed ascendancy of the neoliberal order since the 1980s, many media and communication scholars have redirected their critical attentions from capitalism to neoliberalism. This paper tries to clarify the significance of the relatively new emphasis on neoliberalism in the discourse of media and communication studies, with particular reference to the 2011 phone hacking scandal at The News of the World. Questioning whether the discursive substitution of ‘neoliberalism’ for ‘capitalism’ offers any advances in critical purchase or explanatory power to critics of capitalist society and its media, the paper proposes that critics substitute a Marxist class analysis in place of the neoliberalism-versus-democracy framework that currently dominates in the field

The subject of madness : insanity, individuals and society in late-medieval English literature

Chapter Three discusses the dream vision of Book I of the Vox Clamantis; it shows how Gower repeats the commonplaces of medieval didactic writers, regarding the peasant insurrection of 1381 as an outbreak of demonic derangement. It is seen that Gower makes use of the 'organic analogy' of society to show this madness as an infection of the entire social body. The sufferings of the nobility at the hands of the rioting mobs are described sympathetically in terms of 'grief-madness'. Thus Gower presents two very different, class-based, attitudes towards insanity. The discussion of Chaucer's Miller's and Summoner's tales in the following chapter continues the investigation of the link between madness and social class. Here it is seen how Chaucer undermines the traditional theological interpretation of madness as a punishment for sin by encouraging comparison and contrast of the many allegations of insanity in the texts. A rather different approach is taken in Chapter Five, which examines the major works of the civil servant Thomas Hoccleve. Far from regarding madness as essentially spectacular, the apparently insane narrator of Hoccleve's major poems stresses that insanity is a hidden and undetectable affliction. This conclusion, it is argued, contradicts the standard view of psychiatric history regarding madness in the Middle Ages. The relationship between madness, expressions of interiority and medieval autobiography is considered. The final chapter explores the association of madness, female unruliness and mystical rapture in The Book of Margery Kempe. It argues that the Book displays two contradictory attitudes towards madness. Kempe is eager to present madness as a moral abomination and she frequently invokes ecclesiastical authority to do so. Nevertheless, she herself is held mad by many of her contemporaries on account of her controversial devotional behaviour; this explains why madness is presented positively elsewhere in the Book, as a blessed condition of increased spiritual insight. In this sense the Book contains a craftily double-edged attempt by Kempe to vindicate her conduct

Small Scale Hydropower-Appropriate Technology for Rural Development in Lesser Developed Countries

Less Developed Countries (LDC\u27s) now have a total of about 2.8 billion people, or approximately 70 percent of the total world population. World populations and current energy consumption are such that is all the world\u27s countries came up to the U.S. per capita energy use, the world\u27s consumption would multiply by a factor of seven. For the LDC\u27s, energy development will be an increasingly important issue. Hydropower technology is on the shelf, and available now, of proven feasibility both technically and economically, and presents a sound and rational energy solution from the environmental viewpoint. It is a technology which could be useful to the Less Developed Countries for the long term, irrespective of the shift from abundant low-cost fossil fuel options or the development of more exotic alternate energy technologies. With its continuing replenishment and nondepleting characteristics, it remains one of the most attractive sources of energy. The nature of water resources includes a distributive element which makes it ideal for rural development. The apparent shift in development policy, from the traditional top-down industrialization approach to the bottoms-up reach the village approach, requires decentralized applications of energy resources attainable through development of hydropower in many regions of the world. Distributed Small Scale Hydropower (SSH) systems offer excellent opportunities to augment energy supplies to many rural areas. Also, in a modest way the development of a community infrastructure, training of operating and maintenance personnel, and initiation of small scale agribusiness enterprises may be undertaken. Each of these activities could result in relatively major contributions to the improvement of quality of life. SSH sites are found in abundancy in most mountainous regions and offer sensible possibilities for decentralized applications in LDC\u27s

Counting the Costs of a Global Anglophonic Hegemony: Examining the Impact of U.S. Language Education Policy on Linguistic Minorities Worldwide

As the need for efficient communication between global participants in academia, business, and politics has grown in recent decades, English has quickly become the dominant universal language in these arenas. Language policy scholars have noted, however, that the rapid spread of English could present a substantial threat to the linguistic diversity of the world, as some scholars have estimated that as many as fifty percent of the world\u27s languages will be extinct by the end of the twenty-first century. This Note argues that the United States\u27 current stance in the area of language education will contribute to this global language decline by reinforcing an already strong Anglophonic hegemony. Additionally, the Note argues that the neoliberal tendency to rely on market-driven decisions is ill-advised in the context of language policy, as the seemingly rational decisions of individuals and nations to invest in developing English-language skills will collectively result in drastic language loss that will not be fully accounted for in the market

Working together in New England

Much can be learned from community-based environmental protection efforts in New England. The region\u27s rural character, mixed ownerships, and resource-dependent communities provide a wealth of innovative examples of merging diverse interests toward a common goal. In many cases the key to success is listening to local constituents and interests and fostering local trust and mutual respect. In Vermont, this has most often been realized through public/ partnerships on the local level

Counting the Costs of a Global Anglophonic Hegemony: Examining the Impact of U.S. Language Education Policy on Linguistic Minorities Worldwide

As the need for efficient communication between global participants in academia, business, and politics has grown in recent decades, English has quickly become the dominant universal language in these arenas. Language policy scholars have noted, however, that the rapid spread of English could present a substantial threat to the linguistic diversity of the world, as some scholars have estimated that as many as fifty percent of the world\u27s languages will be extinct by the end of the twenty-first century. This Note argues that the United States\u27 current stance in the area of language education will contribute to this global language decline by reinforcing an already strong Anglophonic hegemony. Additionally, the Note argues that the neoliberal tendency to rely on market-driven decisions is ill-advised in the context of language policy, as the seemingly rational decisions of individuals and nations to invest in developing English-language skills will collectively result in drastic language loss that will not be fully accounted for in the market