Can the Study of Politics Be Scientific? 7 страница

I'm not criticizing television for that. I'm saying that's what television does; that is the nature of the medium; that's why the word vision is in the word television. And there are some wonderful uses of that feature. Television, after all, does have a valuable capacity to involve people emotionally in its pictures. Certainly, there are instances when television presents drama in its fullest and richest and the most complex expression.

XXIII. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Is television a good or bad influence on the way children
learn?

2. Is television more pervasive in a child's world than
school?

3. Why is it called the «first curriculum»?

4. How does TV hurt a child's linguistic ability?

5. Television molds intelligence and character of youth,
doesn't it?

6. Is watching TV a passive and active experience?

7. What positive influence can TV exert on children?


           
 
   
   
 
 


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XXIV. FIND IN THE ARTICLE THE FOLLOWING
WORD-COMBINATIONS:

To damage ability; to shorten attention span; an enter­tainment medium; cognitive habits; to be doomed to fail­ure; to convey ideas; to mold intelligence and character; a valuable capacity.

REPRODUCE IDEAS WHERE THESE WORD-COM­BINATIONS MAY BE USED. MAKE UP YOUR OWN SENTENCES WITH THE SAME WORD-COMBINATIONS.

XXV. DIVIDE THE ARTICLE INTO LOGICAL PARTS.

XXVI. REVIEW THE ARTICLE.

XXVII. EXPRESS YOUR OWN POINT OF VIEW ON
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF TELEVISION IN
GENERAL.

XXVIII. DEVELOP THE FOLLOWING SITUATIONS:
1. You are conducting an interview with an internation­
ally known child psychologist who is sure that TV stereo­
types are devastating to young minds.

Ask him:

2. TV has become an integral part of our lives. It is means of information, entertainment and education. You are conducting an interview in one family. Ask family members:


— if it is possible to become addicted to TV like to
drugs or alcohol;

— what role parents must play in monitoring TV pro­
grams;

— what influence TV exerts on developing mind;

— what shows are the most dramatic for children;

— what recommendations he gives for children;

— why violent episodes are dangerous for children.


 

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— if they watch TV regularly or occasionally;

— what programs they like particularly;

— whose commentary they find most informative and
interesting;

— if TV stopped them from reading or stimulated to
read more;

— if they watch the same programs;

— what is their attitude towards news programs.

3. You are talking with a sociologist who has conducted
a survey in order to find out how harmful TV violence is
for the children's psychic development.

Ask him:

— how many families have been polled;

— if there is a correlation between TV violence viewing
and troublemaking behaviour;

— what programs should be excluded from viewing;

— how violent films influence academic background;

— if cartoons with incidents of physical force are harm­
ful;

— what it is necessary to do within the television in­
dustry.

4. Your friend is much interested in seeing films about
exotic animals. He is sure that TV programs about animals
teach us to love animals and protect them.

Ask him:

— what is his favourite program on animals;

— what mostly attracts him in such shows;

— how long he has been watching such programs;

— if these programs give our children a sense of love to
animals;

— what he feels when he watches shows on gradual ex­
tinction of some rare animals;

— if these programs are a means of enlightenment and
education.


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TEXT VI

I. READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT:

THE MEDIA (by Gary Althen)

In some ways it seems pointless to talk here about the American media. American television programs, motion pictures, records, and tapes are available in all but the most remote parts of the world. American actors, actresses, and singers are familiar figures almost everywhere. The Ameri­can public's appetite for glamorous and exciting movies and TV shows seems to be widely shared.

But there are some points about the American media (referring mainly to television and motion pictures) that might help foreign visitors have a more accurate under­standing of them. Three general topics may be discussed here: the question of what makes the American media «Ameri­can,» Americans' own views of their media, and misconcep­tions about America the media promote in other countries.

There is no authoritative answer to the question of what makes the American media distinctively American. Differ­ent people will have different opinions on the matter. A few brief opinions are offered here.

Many movie and TV stories mirror the values and as­sumptions to which most Americans adhere. Among them: admiration for the individual who disregards other people's opinions and does what he wants to do; admiration for the individual who somehow outwits or bests the «establishment» or the «authorities»; a faith that good will triumph over evil; glorification of people who are young and physically attractive; glorification of people who earn large amounts of money or who have acquired impressive quantities of material goods; and a fixation on the action-filled life, as opposed to the contemplative one.

Characteristics of contemporary American life that many foreigners find objectionable are also conveyed - perhaps in


an exaggerated form - through movies and television pro­grams: a lack of intellectual depth; a larger concern for ap­pearance than for substance; a fixation on sex, as manifested by the men and women who populate many popular films and TV programs; an almost morbid interest in violence, as mani­fested by the large number and variety of ways in which tele­vision and motion picture performers do harm to other people; and a fascination with 'Gadgets', with new technolo­gical devices that enable people to do things with less effort.

The American media are driven by competition for money. In that sense they epitomize the American economic system. They are always looking for new ways to attract viewers and buyers. They experiment, trying new things and dropping old ones. Trends and fads in television programs and motion pictures come and go with striking rapidity. Stars are in heavy demand one day and are forgotten the next.

The media are leaders in the search for popular applica­tions of new technologies. Satellite television is one example of the presumably beneficial outcomes of competition for audience attention and loyalty. Other examples are satellite transmission of material to be printed, better and less expen­sive video cameras, computer graphics on television, and modern public-opinion sampling techniques, such as those television and radio use to determine audience interests and responses.

II. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Are American media so popular all over the world?

2. What do American movie and TV stories mirror?

3. What admires Americans in their TV programs?

4. What do these shows glorify?

5. In what way are characteristics of contemporary
American life exaggerated?

6.What is the basic motive for competition in the Ameri­can media?

7.What new technologies do they apply to attract viewers' attention?


 




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III. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING WORD-COMBINA­
TIONS INTO RUSSIAN:

To promote misconceptions; to mirror values and as­sumptions; to disregard people's opinions; to convey charac­teristics; a large concern for appearance; to be driven by competition for money; trends and fads; to be in heavy demand; to determine interests and responses.

IV. REPRODUCE SITUATIONS WHERE THESE WORD-
COMBINATIONS MAY BE USED.

V. CHARACTERIZE VALUES TO WHICH MOST
AMERICANS ADHERE.

VI. SPEAK ON THE TEXT. USE WORD-COMBINA­
TIONS FROM EXERCISE 3.

VII. READ THE TEXT AND CHARACTERIZE THE
INFLUENCE OF TV ON AMERICANS' VIEWS:

AMERICANS' VIEWS OF THEIR MEDIA In America, as elsewhere, consumers vote with their dol­lars. If a motion picture producer makes a science fiction movie featuring creatures that visit the earth from outer space and the movie attracts large audiences, then there will be more movies with a similar theme. If a newspaper sells larger numbers of copies when it begins carrying more articles about the sex lives of well-known actresses or politicians, the newspaper will carry more such articles.

American consumers also vote by responding to surveys. Radio and television stations regularly «poll» audiences to find out what people are listening to or watching, and to find out what potential audiences want to see and hear. A program with a low «audience rating» soon goes off the air. Thus, American audiences can be said to get what they want from their media. The fact that American movies and television programs and performers are so popular else-


 

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where suggests that what American public wants does not differ dramatically from what audiences elsewhere want.

Some Americans praise radio and television for provid­ing huge amounts of free or inexpensive entertainment for the American people and for giving Americans common experiences that create bonds of understanding among them.

Some also laud television for raising the aspirations of lower-class Americans. Seeing the material well-being middle­and upper-class Americans enjoy might induce members of the lower class to work harder and save more, so they can improve their own position.

This is not to say that all Americans are satisfied with the quality of their television, radio, and newspapers. They are not. Professional media critics, other thoughtful people argue that there is a larger audience for quality programming than the media decision-makers, especially those in tele­vision, recognize or admit. They believe television and many newspapers «pander» to unsophisticated tastes and should try to elevate the intellectual level of their products.

On the other hand, there are those who argue that many high-quality programs do in fact appear on commercial tele­vision, even if they are difficult to find amidst the more trivial broadcasters.

Foreign visitors wanting assistance in identifying tele­vision programs that might interest them can refer to the television review pages of major newspapers and magazines.

Some Americans criticize their media, especially televi­sion, for being racist (by showing only white people as responsible, important individuals), sexist (by portraying women as «sex objects» rather than as whole human beings), violent, and inadequately concerned with realizing their potential for educating the public.

They criticize the media for providing only superficial treatment of complex topics and events and for distracting Americans from important issues. They applaud the non­commercial «public» radio and television networks for at


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least attempting to provide in-depth analysis of current issues and «serious» entertainment programs. They also recognize that some newspapers and magazines provide sub­stantive coverage and commentary on current affairs.

VIII. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
l.How do motion picture producers satisfy consumers'

interests?

2.What do some Americans praise their radio and tele­vision for?

3. Are professional media critics satisfied with the
quality of television?

4. Are there racist and sexist programs on TV?

5. Some programs distract Americans from important
issues, don't they?

6. What public networks do they laud?

IX. READ THE ARTICLE AND GIVE ITS MAIN IDEA:
MISCONCEPTIONS THE MEDIA PROMOTE

A Middle Eastern graduate student at the University of Pittsburg was very unhappy about his housing arrange­ment. He had come to Pittsburg with the idea that he would live in an apartment such as one he had seen portrayed in a recently-popular American movie. In that movie the main male actor' had taken a job as a manager of a small apart­ment complex. The apartments were modest, clean and at­tractive. There was a swimming pool on the grounds.

The student did not find such a place to live in Pitts­burg. Nor would he have found one anywhere else in the States. The movie had misled him into some false concep­tions about the people and life in the country.

The movie was not intended to mislead foreigners. Its purpose was to earn money, which means it had to attract audiences in America. American audiences are attracted by novelty, glamour and action. Americans view their movies and television programs in the context of their own real-life


experiences, so they have information on the basis of which to interpret them more or less accurately. Most Americans will know, for example, that apartment complexes like the one the graduate student sought exist «only in the movies.»

People abroad who see American films and television programs and who read American publications do not have the same context for understanding what they see and read. They inevitably relate American media products to their own experiences in their own countries, and the result is often misunderstanding and misconception.

The main misconceptions TV and movies convey abroad include these:

Most American women are beautiful (according to con­temporary Western standards) and most American men are handsome (according to the same standards). Those who are not beautiful or handsome are criminals, deceitful people, and members of the lower class.

Violent crime is an ever-present threat in all parts of the country.

Average Americans are rich and usually do not have to work to get money.

Average Americans live in large, modern, shiny houses or apartments.

X. EXPRESS YOUR PERSONAL OPINION OF THE MESSAGE OF THE AMERICAN MOVIES AND TV. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE AS MISLEADING AS IT IS GIVEN IN THE ARTICLE? GIVE YOUR ARGUMENTS.

TEXT VII

I. READ AND TRANSLATE THE ARTICLE:

FEAR OF LIVING (by Anna Kovalenko)

Escapism, the desire to avoid contact with other people, down to subjecting oneself to complete isolation, is not rare. Doctors have known about it for a long time, but it was


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only in the past few years that it was identified as a disease called sociophobia, and serious studies of this phenomenon were carried out.

When lecturing, the great scientist Kliment Timiryazev always made a point of having lecture synopses with him, even though he never looked at them. Under no circum­stances would he start a lecture without the notes. On one occasion, he left them at home and when he realized it, he kept the audience waiting until the driver he had sent for the papers delivered them.

What was this, mere eccentricity, or a disease? Today, doctors find such behavioural patterns worth studying, since quite often they turn out to be symptoms of a disease.

Great Britain's Prof. Stewart A. Montgomery said at a recent international conference in Moscow, where he repre­sented the World Psychiatric Association, that sociophobia had been overlooked by doctors, including Russian ones, for too long.

Social fear is not easy to detect, mainly because it is not a fear of something tangible like loneliness, or losing one's job. Its symptoms resemble mere shyness. Prof. Montgomery believes that people tend to develop the first symptoms of sociophobia early on in life, when they are still in school, and this impairs their academic performance. These children always choose a desk in the back row, not because they want to play pranks, but because they want to attract as little attention as possible.

The progression of this pathological condition is also difficult to detect in shy older adolescents who don't drink or take drugs. And the longer it is left untreated, the worse the condition gets. As children, they tend to develop com­plexes, and when older, sociophobics will usually choose a profession that doesn't involve public contact, and will voluntarily deprive themselves of careers. They feel uncom­fortable and awkward around people. Anatoly Smulevich, head of the department of borderline conditions at the Cen-


 

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tre for Mental Health, uses a graphic description to charac­terize the disease — «tears that are invisible to the world.»

These quiet introverts rarely go to see doctors, and rarely do doctors pay much attention to them either. Meanwhile, the condition continues to worsen. Fearing criticism, nega­tive comments, derogatory words and mean looks from other people, sociophobics begin to panic. They begin by fussing with their clothes and their hair, and looking around all the time. This gives way to a constant fear of disaster, for instance when talking to one's boss, reading a lecture and even when meeting with friends. This is typical behaviour for sociophobics. A teacher at a Moscow institute always felt terrified before an audience. This neurosis would cause him to jump on a train after the lecture and travel to any other city (for some reason it was usually Vologda), just to unwind. The following day he would return to Moscow in a relatively normal state.

Prof. Montgomery maintains that five to six percent of the population suffers from sociophobia. This constant fear of social contact is often accompanied by many other symptoms like heart palpitations, tense muscles, dryness of the mouth, headaches and other unpleasant feelings. The symptoms are deeply rooted in the essence of a social introvert. Such people have trouble asserting their opinions and standing up for their rights, which is why they are often looked upon as undesirable workers. Their patholo­gical shyness prevents them from evaluating their abilities positively, and causes them to be constantly self-absorbed in their own thoughts and to agonize over the most trivial matters.

Considering that 95 percent of such diseases tend to develop before the age of 20, treatment should be started as early as possible. Prof. Montgomery believes that if therapy is not started on time, five to seven years later sociophobics begin resorting to alcohol and drugs to cope with their problems. This gives rise to a special stratum of people who


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have a unique relationship with society. They are lonely and are usually poorly educated, they experience money problems and bounce from job to job. At times they contemplate suicide.

But even if the condition is left untreated for a long time, therapy often helps a person restore contact with so­ciety. And although remedial treatment for sociophobics may be expensive, treating alcoholics costs the state even more, as does financing the unemployed. Igor Sergeyev, head of the department of Psychiatry at the Russian State Medical University, believes that diagnosis and treatment of such diseases should be provided free of charge at special polyclinics.

Although scientists have already developed medication for this disease, it's still too early to talk about any results. In Great Britain, for instance, only 25 percent of all socio­phobics are receiving help, and in Canada, only 15 percent are undergoing treatment.

Russia's health minister Tatyana Dmitriyeva calls so­ciophobia one of the most widespread psychological dis­orders. According to various data, in Russia, up to 16 per­cent of citizens suffer from this disease, and two-thirds of these people also suffer from other psychological disorders.

A special office has been opened at the Moscow City Psycho-Neurological Centre where sociophobics can now go for help.

II. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Why is the article headlined as fear of living?

2. What is meant by escapism?

3. Is it a disease or a phenomenon?

4. What are the major symptoms of sociophobia?

5. Is social fear easily detected?

6. What kind of profession do sociopnobics prefer to
choose?

7. How do they feel around people?


 

8. Are sociophobics introverted or extroverted?

9. Do they easily begin to panic? Under what circum­
stances?

 

10. How does their pathological shyness interfere with
social contacts?

11. How is it possible to treat this condition?

12. Where can sociophobics apply for help?

III. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1. The desire to avoid contact with other people is called

2. Sociophobia symptoms resemble ....

3. A. Smulevich characterized this disease as ... .

4. Sociophobics as children tend to develop ....

5. Their fear impairs academic ....

6. Constant fear of social contact is accompanied by
such physiological symptoms as ... .

7. Very often sociophobics resort to ... to cope with the
problems.

8. They are lonely and experience.....

9. Therapy often helps a person restore ....

10. Diagnosis and treatment of such diseases should be
provided free ....

IV. GIVE STATISTICAL DATA ENUMERATED IN THE
ARTICLE.

V. DESCRIBE EPISODES ILLUSTRATING TYPICAL
CASES OF SOCIOPHOBIA.

VI. SUGGEST POSSIBLE SITUATIONS IN WHICH SO­
CIOPHOBICS EXPERIENCE EITHER SHYNESS OR FEAR.

VII. CHARACTERIZE ESCAPISM AS:

a) a psychological disorder;

b) a social phenomenon.


Учебное пособие для философов и политологов ' VIII. REVIEW THE ARTICLE.

IX. THINK OF ALL POSSIBLE SITUATIONS IN WHICH YOU HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED PANIC, FEAR OR UNCERTAINTY AND SHYNESS.

- X. IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO INTERVIEW A SO-CIOPHOBIC, WHAT QUESTIONS WOULD YOU ASK HIM? (ABOUT HIS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, A CHOICE OF PROFESSION, SOCIAL CONTACTS, FRIENDS, CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND SO ON)

WORD STUDY

I. GIVE RUSSIAN EQUIVALENTS FOR:

To modify psychoanalysis; the unconscious; at a sub­conscious level; orphan; personal impressions; human inequa­lity; addiction; vulnerability; means to survive; spiritual freedom; lack of restraint; devastation; physical destruction; revelation; healthy morals.

II. GIVE ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS FOR:

Страх жить; избегать контакты; одиночество; зас­тенчивость; состояние; сущность интроверта; типичное поведение; паниковать; отстаивать свои права; оцени­вать свои способности; прибегать к алкоголю или нар­котикам; размышлять о самоубийстве; проходить ле­чение; широко распространённое психологическое рас­стройство.

III. USE THE ABOVE WORD-COMBINATIONS IN DE­
SCRIBING:

a) psychoanalysis;

b) sociophobic behaviour;

c) consequences of sociophobia.


 

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TEXT VIII

I. READ AND TRANSLATE THE ARTICLE: BRAIN DRAIN: A NATURAL PHENOMENON?

Nowadays we are hearing less and less about how detri­mental brain drain is to Russia. Have we, like the rest of the world, begun to see it as something natural?

The consolation is that these days, leaving the country does not necessarily mean saying good-bye forever. Indeed, in recent years, for every scientist who emigrates for good, there are four who are working on a contract basis. Their lifestyle is like a watchman's job — one shift returns, and another leaves. They usually receive temporary grants, and travel from country to country.

Often they simply go because they can't continue their research at a contemporary level in Russia, due to the lack of equipment, reactants, or the fact that they just can't get the information they need. In the meantime, the level of this «internal scientific emigration» is at least twice as high as its «external» counterpart.

According to the official emigration statistics, most of our emigre scientists and pedagogical workers ended up in Germany, although those who emigrate to Germany usually end up changing their professions. So, in fact, three quarters of the people who actively work in the field of fundamen­tal sciences are currently employed in the United States and Canada. Others go to Israel and Australia, while re­cently they've also started heading out to Latin American countries like Panama, Columbia and Mexico. There are also more exotic destinations like Trinidad, Namibia and Jamaica. They comprise the Russian scientific diaspora.

The term diaspora, or «dispersal», has historically been used to characterize people who are drawn to one another across a distance. The ethnic-Russian scientific diaspora, which is scattered throughout the entire world, was able to


 




Учебное пособие для философов и политологов

become «glued together» very quickly with the help of com­puter communication systems.

First the Russian scientists had mailing lists; now they also have Web sites. One of the most popular mailing lists is the INFO-RUSS project, which links over 1,200 subscrib­ers. This form of correspondence is open to everybody. Ac­cording to recent calculations, approximately 14,000 — 18,000 scientists from Russia have been working abroad in the field of fundamental sciences.

Lately, the processes of intellectual migration have be­come more stable and have taken on more civilized forms. Today, the West is buying out Russian young program­mers. Fourth-year students studying at faculties of compu­tational mathematics and cybernetics can now receive sti­pends from foreign organizations. There are representa­tives of firms recruiting students to work abroad standing by at the famous technical schools.

A big-name professor may choose the specific universi­ties he would like to work in, but his students are willing to take any job, even one that has nothing to do with major science. They are being hired to create virtual casinos, and to develop banking services and new telecommunication tech­nologies.

But science schools can't exist without students. And Russia needs to hang on for about another 10 years, until it gets some fresh blood. The only people to count on are the kids who are currently in third and fourth grades.

II. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What problem is the article devoted to?