Media Competence as a Category of Public Value
Understanding Mediality as a Concept of Social Practice
Universidade Caspar Libero São Paulo 31.8. 2010
Thomas A. Bauer, Dr. Univ. Prof.
Department of Communication
Faculty of Social Sciences
University Vienna / Austria
Constructivism Perspective: Media Society
Societies organize themselves increasingly
in the model (communication version) of media:
Media aesthetics: construction of sense and meaning through nws
awareness, public presence, visibility, attention, obliviousness,
dissipativiness, favourableness
Media Mechanism: construction of reality through technology,
standardisation, general connectivity, general accessability, public
control, social mechanism of trust (industrial professionalism)
Media Usability: ubiquity, mobility, casuality, individualization (nextto-next-society)
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer
Cultural Theory Perspective: Media Enviroment
In a media- and knowledge society context:
understanding the reality needs to understand media:
Medialization of social construction of knowledge and meaning:
All what we know, we know from media (Luhmann):
media discourse dominates every-day-discourse, as well the milieudiscourse: medialization
Mediatization of social life and social exchange:
There is no media-free existence: any experience of self and any
organization of self is connected to the symbolic environment
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer
Cultural Studies Perspective : Media Use
The question is not: what does media with people?
The question is: what does people with media?
Use of media is a part of life style: cultural awareness of
life
Frankfurt School /CS : Adorno,Horkheimer, Brecht, Enzensberger
Restrictive / Repressive Use of Media
socialized use of media: media use in the interest of media system :
(conscious industry) : affirmation of hierarchical discourse and
dominating system
Emancipative Use of Media:
social use of media: media as a means of realizing personal/individual
interests of life: self-realization, self-competence, autonomy,
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emancipation,
Knowledge Theory Perspective: Communication
Construction of sense as the unification of difference
through distribution of sociability (sharing of meaning)
Consens and Congruence:
In hierarchically constituted societies: interest of unity, exclusion of
difference according to characters of majority, organization of truth in
the interest of affirmation of the status quo. Burden of proof lies at
distinguishable news.
Difference and Diversity:
In heterarchically organized societies: interest of diversity, inclusion of
difference as a challenge of contingence, contingence as the specimen
of what is not impossible, even if not necessary (Luhmann). Burden of
proof lies at status quo.
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer
System Theory Perspective : Sociability
Society, Communication, and Culture: 3 Perspectives for
one Principle: the experience of sociability:
Society is a construct of observation of sociability: how we are
thinking and talking about, a communicative constructed model of
sociability (normative, empirical, pragmatic)
Analyzing society is analyzing its communication and its culture et
vice verse
The anthropological perspective of sociability:
it is the destination of human being to be undefined (contingence),
communication is the way to define the meaning of experience for
social commitment
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Methodological Perspective: Understanding
IDEA OF MEDIA COMMUNICATION
normative hermeneutical
approach
critical
hermeneutical
approach
constructivism & cultural studies
MEDIA THEORY----------------------------------MEDIA PRACTICE
structural-functional analysis: funtionalism
empirical
interpretation
pragmatic
analysis
MEDIA COMMUNICATION REALITY
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Hermeneutical Approach Understanding Media
Use media as a living environment of cognitive, affective and
active participation in construction of sociability of life: be part of
public discourse and in societal conversation in order to get
connected and synchronized with differently based interpretations
of meaning of events and decisions that are publicly supposed to be
meaningful for personal and public management of life
- Distributive Media: Based on professionalism and
industrialism (institutional and organizational mechanism of trust)
- Connective / Social media: Based on authenticity Use Media as
an open source space of taking and giving contributions to the
generalized interpretation of experience in order to multiply your
and other’s view of world - thus becoming your own actor in
constructing the reality (situative mechanism of trust: authenticity)
Functionalism Approach Understanding Media
Media: a structural system in the interest of societal functions:
An organizational system in the interest of satisfying needs and
desire (entertainment, advertisement, marketing, public relations)
A transfer agency of information, knowledge and meaning in the
interest of organization of society (journalism, public relations)
A source of effects influencing mind, habitus and behaviour in
between of power and accommodation/assimilation
- as a source of experience, of inspiration, of setting agenda
- as an organized frame of reference for public knowledge
and public opinion
- as a mechanism of trust on professionalism, technology and
satisfaction of need
Understanding Competence
Competence Models in general
 Competence - a normative term:
is directed to social agreements of social and individual values
 Competence - a critical term:
is directed to distinguish between systems demands and
Lebenswelt-consciousness
 Competence – a pragmatic term:
is directed to the possibility of learning and of development.
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PERSPECTIVES OF PROBLEMATIZATION
Media - Ecology :
How to save/preserve the „nature“ of interpersonal communication
before technical alienation?
Media Competence:
How to use media as an agency of realizing individuality under
conditions of a media organized society?
Media Culture:
What does say the culture of relation between people - mutually to each
other mediated by technology - about the (communicational/cultural) status
of the society ?
Media Learning:
What attitudes are we able to develop, in order to create an societal
learning process out of it?
CONCEPTUALIZING GOALS OF MEDIA EDUCATION
Preservation
Media-pedagogical concept an a normative philosophical level
Critics: Connecting to a linear model of media effects
Analysis:
Media educational concept (Consciuousnes building) by making (own) experiences
Critics: cultural- pessimististic subtext
Self-reflection:
Competence educational concept by refelcting (own) meaning making
Critics: Individualization and personalization of a societal dilemma
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Media Competence in Functionalism Approach
The Concept of Refusal of Acceptance: Competence as a concept
of protection against the effects of a second world (early media
education concepts)
Denying media use keeps related and connected to the (traditional)
institutions and their dogmata: church, school, family, dominating
cultures
In that interest millions of research works on effects of media
during the “process of socialisation”, on personality, identity,
dependences –
Always following the two-world-theory: the “real life” and the
“media life” , while media reality intervenes (destroy) the real life
reality
Media Competence in Functionalism Approach
The Concept of Media Literacy: Competence as Compensation
the critical and rational use of media, being aware of technology,
media aesthetics, media economy, media technology knowing that
being immune against media effects:
Read many newspapers and use all media-sources in order to get
best informed (overnewsed, but underinformed) and to get aware of
the difference (weakness) in news making in order to build your
own opinion
Learn to produce your own media or be part of media production in
order to look through the mechanisms of media production (time
stress, interview strategies, creating effects, meachanism of writing,
camera, cutting, montage or psychological effects)
Media Competence in Functionalism Approach
The Concept of Media Critics: Competence as Emancipation
(the concept of critical media education)
the critical and rational use of media, being aware of bad effects
and getting free from them through critical habitus or to repair
socialized effects through consciousness industry
(Bewusstseinsindustrie)
Critical analysis of the content of media
Critical analysis of the immanent interests of power and influence
Critical analysis of mechanism of production
Critical analysis of mechanism in politics, economy in relation to
media (public relation)
Media Competence in Culturalist Approach
Where does the concept come from?
Competence is not a natural quality, but is a category of the cultural
interpretation of human attitude in relation to the natural, cultural, social,
technical and symbolic environment. It supposes that mankind is able
and capable to organize its position in relation to the environment in a
cultural manner - thus forming personality and individuality in order to
become an identifiable part of it.
-
cultural-anthropological interpretation
psychological interpretation
educational interpretation
Media Competence in Culturalist Approach
The Concept of Anthropology:
The Competence term represents an anthropological interpretation
of risks and chances of surviving by means that are only given to
mankind: making decision by free will and by reflection - using
means of intelligence, notion, cognition and consciousness.
Within that tradition
Competence is a dimension of human performance of life
that has to be supposed to be anyone’s own.
Competence values in that frame above all others is: “Vorsprung”
privilege.
Media Competence in Culturalist Approach
The Concept of Psychology:
Competence of personal life depends to certain extent from
different pre-conditions of socialisation: family structure,
personality structure, culture of relationship. Media Competence is
not a special competence, but more the reflection of understanding
one’s personal life styling under socio-cultural frame conditions
and social climate.
Values of Competence : authenticity, open mindedness, distinctiveness, reflexivity,
critical distance against yourself and critical closeness to others
Development of competence needs a socio-hygienic climate – in individual but
also in societal dimensions (Family). Non-hygienic climates lead to strategies of
simulation and compensative inscenation of performing one’s own life – maybe in
dependeces (Web 2.0 fear)
Media Competence in Culturalist Approach
The Concept of Education and Pedagogy:
Competence always has been a goal for education and pedagogy
insofar educational and learning programs aims to bring young
people to the state of ability, capacity and responsibility in all
socially relevant fields of habit (Bourdieu: generative grammar)
and behaviour.
Education works theoretically and practically in the direction of an
idealtypical assumption of an individual and tries to challenge the
learning capacity of individuals according to a system of
socialisation.
Concepts behind the Concept of Media Competence
 Models of identity are not sacrosanct and could change (cf:
J.Habermas)
 Models of social order are constructions and could be
deconstructed (cf: M. Foucault)
 Models of education of intelligence are often focused on
cognitive capacities (cf: J. Piaget)
 Models of socialisation are often too mechanistic: To
compensate the dilemmata of the society on shoulders of
individuals of the upcoming generation might be a cynical
way to demand competence from youngsters within a
social environment with weak competence culture.
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer
MEDIACOMPETENCE
a Societal / Public Value
 The Media environment is a complex environment: Mediality is the
program and the protocol of a media society
 technical, cultural, political, social, behavioural and economic
structures are mixed and organized to a system for its own quality.
 Living with and in media environment challenges skills of distinction,
of differentiation and of decision of individuals.
 Insofar the society needs a Mediality Concept of social managament:
identity, cohesion, social trust, inclusion, integration, equality of
chances, diversity managament
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer
MEDIACOMPETENCE
a Societal / Public Value
The society needs to trust in itself – which is done through
its (media) communication competence aspects
(professionalism and media awareness as public values in
use of media
 Ability (to know what operations and how to do them in case
of – technical skills)
 Capacity (to have the cognitive, affective and active means and
preparedness: soft skills)
 Responsibility (to be conscious of what it means for the
constitution of sociability: consequences and possible effects
 Morality (to be aware of the implicated values when making
decisions)
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer
MEDIACOMPETENCE
a Societal / Public Value
Public Media Reflection:
enhancing the research on media away from its professional use
enhancing public support for media arts
 Coordination between academic programs, institutional
programs and media company training programs, life long
learning for journalists
 Systems of recruiting
 Changes of understanding the professions:
 New Interpretations of journalism:
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer
MEDIACOMPETENCE
a Societal / Public Value
Public Media Practice:
enhancing community media
and medialized participation models in politics, education,
culture,
enhancing educational programs for migrants – also in
resepct to their use of media
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer
BUILDING COMMUNICATION
in different society systems
 The systems are to a certain extent different
 The challenges are the same:
the society lives from
communication
and communication lives from society
both need literacy as a cultural tool for a
socio-human behaviour
see more:
www.thomasbauer.at
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ucl/sp 2010 thomas a. bauer