Work Place Learning Among Successful Professionals: A Case Study of Selected Television Producers in a Public Television Station

The study describes the learning experiences of successful Television Producers in A Public Television Station (PTS). Specifically the study sought to determine how these professionals acquire knowledge and expertise at their workplace. Professionals are people with knowledge who offer special services for the orderly functioning of the society. TV producers are professionals in the television industry. These professionals need to continually learn to develop their expertise. How they learn, especially in the context of their ever changing busy workplace, is important to continuing professional education. The study is guided by the following research questions. 1) How do successful TV producers learn and acquire expertise at their workplace? 2) What contextual factors shape learning among successful TV producers? 3) How do personal characteristics and attributes facilitate learning among successful TV producers? Data were collected mainly through interviews using a semi structured question guide, observation and document analysis. Nine producers were selected purposively using criteria-based selection. Copies of documents such as program reports, annual reports and minutes of meetings were gathered to corroborate information provided by the respondents. The researcher was guided by the constant comparative analysis method. Three aspects of learning at the workplace emerged from the study. Successful producers acquire knowledge and expertise by, 1) The professional learning processes of formal and informal learning strategies. All respondents agreed to the importance of formal in-service training that they had to undergo when they are inducted into their profession. Benefits of such training are limited by resources, it is pertinent for producers to continuously seek learning opportunities on their own. 2) Learning through the understanding of broadcasting contexts, a distinct learning area emerging with the changing forms of broadcasting. Broadcasting contexts basically constitute the various stakeholders who occupy meaningful roles and even exert substantial influence on producers creating complex workplace procedures. 3) Learning through the development of personal characteristics and qualities imperative to learning among successful TV producers. These producers acquire the necessary attributes to learn from the workplace. Workplace learning emphasizes procedural knowledge of techniques and skills, and academic knowledge of facts and concepts. But learning has often overlooked dispositional knowledge of attitudes, values and interest that help professionals make well thought out decisions

Innovations to Broadcasting Curriculum to Meet Workplace Expectations

AbstractWorkplace ready or professional preparedness and the development of generic workplace competencies are the common factors emanating from the university education system that will launch a student for future employment. Talents for the broadcasting industry are increasingly being trained while they are undergoing tertiary level education. The highly esteemed way of creating these generic competencies is to have an effective curriculum. Having one is considered to be crucial not only in determining the achievement of an educational institution, but also the future and success of students following that program. Keeping these in mind this study aims to (i) assess current practices and future training needs in the Malaysian broadcasting industry; (ii) discuss the expectations of practitioners and the academia on developing evolving curricula that accommodate changes in the industry

Internet use among urban Malaysians: Network diversity effects

This study examines social network diversity in urban areas relative to residents’ usage of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Individual-level variation in social network diversity was measured using position generator data collected as part of a survey conducted in Malaysia’s Klang Valley (N = 808). Regression analyses were performed to assess the extent to which network diversity is related to ICTs. We find that most ICTs have a negative effect on diversity. Only frequent use of the Internet at work, mobile access to the Internet, and reading online news or blogs contribute positively to diversity. Findings support both a tendency toward ‘networked individualism’ and the more recent ‘glocalization’ thesis that some ICTs may also afford participation within local space rather than only across distant space

Asian broadcasters telling compelling stories using technology: a case study from Malaysia.

Stories are significant on their own when they are given meaning as a consequence of the process by which they are constructed. Technology enables new forms of storytelling among broadcasters, eventually getting the message out impacting larger audiences. Audiences understand reality in a way that is congruent with the constructions of meaning either directly or through mediated socialization. Today, the media has become a powerful tool in this socialization process that audiences tend to refer to reality as portrayed in media. A collaborative research with the Asian-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) elicited and received feedback from 28 of their member countries. The study enquired how Asian broadcasters perceived their challenges in storytelling and crafted their opportunities for broadcasting. It became evident that broadcasters tell ‘big stories’ in quick succession to be relevant by using strategic enablers in particular ways. The transition from traditional media platforms to social media platforms was reported to reinforce storytelling skills. This finding was triangulated empirically at a mass celebration and storytelling event. The technological disruption experienced throughout this study shall be the future challenge to engage ‘a streamlined world of shared platforms that will empower broadcasters’

The people we know: Social network diversity among urban Malaysians

Social networks are an important source for individual social actors to access critical resources (e.g., information and support) and can be variably associated with tolerance, social harmony and nation building, also under conditions of rapid urbanisation. The purpose of this paper is to provide much-needed factual and quantitative details regarding the social networks of urban Malaysians. The approach includes self-report questionnaire data obtained in the first half of 2014 from a representative sample of 808 respondents, aged 31 to 55, living in five major cities/towns across the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Findings show that urban Malaysians function within social networks that are racially, culturally and socio-economically heterogeneous, interacting with all major groups in Malaysian society, including neighbours. For the vast majority, however, the observed degree of network diversity is medium to low. The analysis also suggests that social network diversity is no indication of the closeness or importance accorded to the social relationships involved. A final finding is that social network diversity weakly correlates with respondents’ sex, race and religion but not with their age or employment status. Overall, this study seems to point to the existence, among urban Malaysians, of a dual social network system: a more closely knit homogeneous network based on family ties versus a looser and more heterogeneous network of non-family contacts. Among the non-family contacts, the observed diversity can be hypothesised to be a diversity of necessity rather than one by choice. Potential political and social implications will be discussed

Social media issues embedded in broadcasting: Malaysian experience

This article provides an overview of the broadcasting industry in Malaysia. Next, it explores the social media environment and the different issues experienced by young social media users as opposed to issues found in web broadcasting, as mainstream broadcasters’ attempt to host social media generated content to achieve greater audience reach and popularity. Then the chapter discusses how broadcasters are managing these issues. The issues are analysed using the business analysis tool PESTEL and are presented in two folds. One as they are experienced by social media users and the other as experienced by conventional broadcasters who also broadcast their content through the web. The significance of the issues here is in the Malaysian context as it seems to be related to the nature of social media users, their lack of affinity to hard copy books, periodicals or printed materials, their affection to the possibilities the web and social media offers. How broadcasters are managing the issues at their end takes into consideration the cultural, legal and social context of the Malaysian society