Truth And Rumors

Author : Bill Brioux
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 0313084785
Total Pages : 213 pages
Book Rating : 4.82/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Truth and Rumors written by Bill Brioux and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2007-12-30 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When you first heard it, you couldn't believe it: Jerry Mathers, from TV's Leave It To Beaver, had been killed in Vietnam. Then word came that Abe Vigoda, the actor who played the curmudgeonly cop Fish on Barney Miller, was dead; and that Mikey, who would eat anything as the Life Cereal tyke, had eaten too many Pop Rocks and exploded. Besides exposing us to things we couldn't otherwise believe, television can convince us of things that never actually happened. But how did these outrageous TV legends get started? How did they spread from classrooms to boardrooms across North America and beyond? And, most important, what do these rumors, so quickly transformed into facts and common knowledge, reveal about our relationship to reality through the medium of television? Put in other words, what exactly is it that were doing when were dealing in these fabulous rumors—are we chasing after surprising truths or simply more incredible entertainment? To take one telling example: Jerry Mathers was not actually killed in Vietnam—but the basic sense of this lie wasn't far removed from the emotions factually expressed in the two-page spread of the faces of the dead in Time magazine. In the course of this compelling work—which is supplemented with interviews with many of the people implicated in these rumors—author Bill Brioux exposes the reality behind the many stories that currently circulate in our culture. Through these stories (both true and false), he sheds a revealing light on just what role these rumors play in contemporary society—and what role our society plays in regard to these rumors as well.

Author : Jean-Noel Kapferer
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351492489
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.85/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Rumors written by Jean-Noel Kapferer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rumors may be the oldest medium of mass communication of information or ideas. Even before there were newspapers, radio, or television, rumors communicated by word-of-mouth made and shattered reputations, and set off riots and wars. Yet contrary to predictions, rumors continue to thrive, in spite of and parallel to mass media. What accounts for the puzzling persistence and continuing significance of this little-studied social phenomenon? Jean-No;el Kapferer examines the theory and practice of rumors, focusing on specific areas such as entertainment, criminal behavior, business and finance, and politics. He describes the kinds of conditions that give birth to rumors, why we believe them, and the hidden messages they convey. Kapferer points out that rumors frequently serve useful social purposes and present rich examples. He speculates about how rumors can be controlled, changed, and prevented. Drawing upon contributions of disciplines ranging from psychology to history, and integrating the insights of Europeans with the latest work of American researchers, this is the most comprehensive examination of rumors, gossip, and urban legends yet published. Translated into nine languages, this edition was updated with advances in theory and research since the book's original French publication in 1987. Its brisk, accessible style makes the book of interest to psychologists, economists, political scientists, sociologists, and folklore analysts, as well as the general reader who is curious about the origins of this fascinating social phenomenon.

Author : Cass R. Sunstein
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 140085122X
Total Pages : 123 pages
Book Rating : 4.25/5 ( download)

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Download or read book On Rumors written by Cass R. Sunstein and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-09 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of us are being misled. Claiming to know dark secrets about public officials, hidden causes of the current economic situation, and nefarious plans and plots, those who spread rumors know precisely what they are doing. And in the era of social media and the Internet, they know a lot about how to manipulate the mechanics of false rumors—social cascades, group polarization, and biased assimilation. They also know that the presumed correctives—publishing balanced information, issuing corrections, and trusting the marketplace of ideas—do not always work. All of us are vulnerable. In On Rumors, Cass Sunstein uses examples from the real world and from behavioral studies to explain why certain rumors spread like wildfire, what their consequences are, and what we can do to avoid being misled. In a new afterword, he revisits his arguments in light of his time working in the Obama administration.

Author : Johan Farkas
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000507289
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.87/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy written by Johan Farkas and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-08-23 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western societies are under siege, as fake news, post-truth and alternative facts are undermining the very core of democracy. This dystopian narrative is currently circulated by intellectuals, journalists and policy makers worldwide. In this book, Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou deliver a comprehensive study of post-truth discourses. They critically map the normative ideas contained in these and present a forceful call for deepening democracy. The dominant narrative of our time is that democracy is in a state of emergency caused by social media, changes to journalism and misinformed masses. This crisis needs to be resolved by reinstating truth at the heart of democracy, even if this means curtailing civic participation and popular sovereignty. Engaging with critical political philosophy, Farkas and Schou argue that these solutions neglect the fact that democracy has never been about truth alone: it is equally about the voice of the democratic people. Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy delivers a sobering diagnosis of our times. It maps contemporary discourses on truth and democracy, foregrounds their normative foundations and connects these to historical changes within liberal democracies. The book will be of interest to students and scholars studying the current state and future of democracy, as well as to a politically informed readership.

Author : Pamela J. Stewart
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521004732
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.3X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rumors and Gossip written by Pamela J. Stewart and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book combines two classic topics in social anthropology in a new synthesis: the study of witchcraft and sorcery and the study of rumors and gossip. First, it shows how rumor and gossip are invariably important as catalysts for accusations of witchcraft and sorcery. Second, it demonstrates the role of rumor and gossip in the genesis of social and political violence, as in the case of both peasant rebellions and witch-hunts. Examples supporting the argument are drawn from Africa, Europe, India, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

Author : Ksenija Bilbija
Publisher : Univ of Wisconsin Press
ISBN 13 : 9780299209049
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Art of Truth-telling about Authoritarian Rule written by Ksenija Bilbija and published by Univ of Wisconsin Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People who have lived through authoritarian rule have stories to tell, truths that have been silenced. But how do individuals begin to speak about a political past that was too horrible for words? How is truth best voiced in a society moving out of authoritarianism? This generously illustrated volume examines the creation of stories, accounts, images, songs, street theater, paintings, and ideas that pay witness to authoritarian pasts in Nigeria, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia. This theme is explored with contributions by scholars, activists, and artists. By examining the past, they hope to teach us to avoid repeating these atrocities.

Author : Greg Dalziel
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135044414
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.11/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Rumor and Communication in Asia in the Internet Age written by Greg Dalziel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-18 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New communication technology has transformed the way in which news about key events is communicated. For example, in the immediate aftermath of catastrophic events such as the Mumbai attacks or the Japanese tsunami, partial accounts, accurate and inaccurate facts, rumour and speculation are now very rapidly disseminated across the globe, often ahead of official announcements and formal news reporting. Often in such situations rumours take hold, and continue to characterise events even after a more complete, more accurate picture eventually emerges. This book explores how such rumours are created, disseminated and absorbed in the age of the internet and mobile communications. It includes a wide range of examples and, besides considering the overall processes involved, engages with scholarly debates in the field of media and communication studies.

Author : Veronique Campion-Vincent
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351492519
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.15/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Rumor Mills written by Veronique Campion-Vincent and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The goal of this volume is to explore the social and political dynamics of rumor and the related concept of urban or contemporary legend. These forms of communication often appear in tandem with social problems, including riots, racial or political violence, and social and economic upheavals. The volume emphasizes the connection of rumor to a set of social concerns from government corruption and corporate scandal, to racial, religious, and other prejudices. Central to the dialogue are issues of truth, belief, history, public policy, and evidence.Rumor has been recognized as one of the most important contributing factors to violence and discrimination. Yet, despite its significance in exacerbating social discord and mistrust, little systematic scholarly attention has been paid to the political origins and consequences of rumor. Rumor is defined as a proposition for belief that is not backed by secure standards of evidence. Rumor can be traditional or not, and can be expressed as a simple claim of fact. In both instances groups of claim-makers, operating out of their own interests and with a set of resources, attempt to depict reality, and if possible, impact the future.The need for this book is underscored by changing patterns of technology. What in the past was grounded in face- to-face interaction is now often found on the Internet, which is a major source of rumor. An appreciation of how new electronic forms of communication affect communal belief is essential for explicating rumor dynamics. The volume is comprehensive. Essays cover race and ethnicity, migration and globalization, corporate malfeasance, and state and government corruption. While editors and contributors well appreciate the dynamic nature of rumors and legends, the high quality of the effort make it evident that the issues that are raised and reoccur will serve to channel and inspire research in this major field of communications research for years to come.

Author : Kathleen O'Dell
Publisher : Yearling
ISBN 13 : 0375852263
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Aviary written by Kathleen O'Dell and published by Yearling. This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelve-year-old Clara Dooley has spent her whole life in the crumbling Glendoveer mansion, home to a magician's widow, a cage full of exotic birds, and a decades-old mystery. Clara loves old Mrs. Glendoveer, but the birds in the aviary frighten her—they always seem to screech and squall whenever she's near. And then one day, the mynah bird speaks, and a mystery starts to unravel. Clara discovers dark secrets about the family, and about her own past. Somehow the birds in the aviary seem to be at the center of it all, and Clara can't shake the feeling that they are trying to tell her something. . . .

Author : George A. Barnett
Publisher : SAGE Publications
ISBN 13 : 1506338259
Total Pages : 1112 pages
Book Rating : 4.55/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Encyclopedia of Social Networks written by George A. Barnett and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2011-09-07 with total page 1112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Request a FREE 30-day online trial to this title at www.sagepub.com/freetrial This two-volume encyclopedia provides a thorough introduction to the wide-ranging, fast-developing field of social networking, a much-needed resource at a time when new social networks or "communities" seem to spring up on the internet every day. Social networks, or groupings of individuals tied by one or more specific types of interests or interdependencies ranging from likes and dislikes, or disease transmission to the "old boy" network or overlapping circles of friends, have been in existence for longer than services such as Facebook or YouTube; analysis of these networks emphasizes the relationships within the network . This reference resource offers comprehensive coverage of the theory and research within the social sciences that has sprung from the analysis of such groupings, with accompanying definitions, measures, and research. Featuring approximately 350 signed entries, along with approximately 40 media clips, organized alphabetically and offering cross-references and suggestions for further readings, this encyclopedia opens with a thematic Reader's Guide in the front that groups related entries by topics. A Chronology offers the reader historical perspective on the study of social networks. This two-volume reference work is a must-have resource for libraries serving researchers interested in the various fields related to social networks.