Battle Of Symbols Global Dynamics Of Advertising Media Entertainment

With a focus on the three-month period following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, marketing consultant Fraim explains how American symbols are created, communicated, managed, and understood. He discusses the emergence of symbols from their traditional residence in religion, art, dreams, and particular cultures to a new ubiquitous global status and argues that future wars will be increasingly fought over and won through the use of symbols. Distributed by Continuum. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The television programme American Idol provides a stage where the politics of national, regional, ethnic, and religious identity are performed for millions of viewers. Meizel demonstrates that commercial music and the music industry are not simply forces to be criticised or resisted, but critical sites for redefining American culture.

The symbolic value of targets is what differentiates terrorism from other forms of extreme violence. Terrorism is designed to inflict deep psychological wounds on an enemy rather than demolish its material ability to fight. The September 11, 2001 attacks, for example, demonstrated the power of symbolism. The World Trade Center was targeted by Al Qaeda because the Twin Towers epitomized Western civilization, U.S. imperialism, financial success, modernity, and freedom. The symbolic character of terrorism is the focus of this textbook. A comprehensive analysis, it incorporates descriptions, definitions, case studies, and theories. Each chapter focuses on a specific dimension of symbolism in terrorism and explains the contexts and processes that involve the main actors as well as the symbolism of both the purposes and targets of terrorism. Also discussed are new religious movements, which represent another important aspect of terrorism, such as Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese cult that used sarin gas in the Tokyo subway in 1995. Over forty areas of symbolism are covered throughout the chapters, including physical and non-physical symbolism, linguistic symbolism, the social construction of reality, rituals, myths, performative violence, iconoclasm, brand management, logos, semiotics, new media, and the global village. This allows for an in-depth examination of many issues, such as anti-globalization, honor killing, religious terrorism, suicide terrorism, martyrdom, weapons, female terrorism, public communication, visual motifs, and cyberspace. Main concepts are clearly defined, and followed by theory illustrated by international case studies. Chapter summaries, key points, review questions, research and practice suggestions are recurring components as well. This groundbreaking text encompasses all major aspects of symbolism in terrorism and will be an essential resource for anyone studying terrorism.

Older employees are often seen as an obstacle and not as an opportunity for companies, especially regarding the transfer of knowledge and experience. Effective development and utilization of older professional and managerial employees is an important issue as most organizations are not prepared to tailor their training methods to the needs and preferences of these employees due to negative stereotypes. Managing a rapidly aging workforce and sustaining economic dynamism calls for systematic research to prevent age discrimination due to an incomplete knowledge of older workers and politically challenging policy choices that require strong political commitments, robust management leadership, and social consensus. International Perspectives and Strategies for Managing an Aging Workforce examines the differences in stereotypes of older employees compared to younger employees in companies; analyzes the impact of the aging workforce on retention, productivity, and well-being; and investigates organizational systems, processes, and practices for managing older workers. Covering a range of topics such as retention and retirement, this reference work is ideal for researchers, academicians, practitioners, business owners, managers, human resource workers, instructors, and students.

In this book, Suzanne Preston Blier examines the intersection of art, risk and creativity in early African arts from the Yoruba center of Ife and the striking ways that ancient Ife artworks inform society, politics, history and religion. Yoruba art offers a unique lens into one of Africa's most important and least understood early civilizations, one whose historic arts have long been of interest to local residents and Westerners alike because of their tour-de-force visual power and technical complexity. Among the complementary subjects explored are questions of art making, art viewing and aesthetics in the famed ancient Nigerian city-state, as well as the attendant risks and danger assumed by artists, patrons and viewers alike in certain forms of subject matter and modes of portrayal, including unique genres of body marking, portraiture, animal symbolism and regalia. This volume celebrates art, history and the shared passion and skill with which the remarkable artists of early Ife sought to define their past for generations of viewers.

"Lance Strate takes the reader on a journey through the interdisciplinary, communication-centered field of media ecology, the study of media as environments, a field that encompasses the study of technology, symbol systems, and aesthetic form, in addition to traditional conceptions of media and mediation. Strate presents media ecology as an open-ended intellectual tradition, a network of great books and independent thinkers. Echoes and Reflections: On Media Ecology as a Field of Study is a unique book that provides the first comprehensive overview of the field, followed by a case study concerning the relationship between modes of communication and constructions of the self."--BOOK JACKET.

When first published, Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media made history with its radical view of the effects of electronic communications upon man and life in the twentieth century.