Reflection

There are a total of 10 posts regarding blog design, media and publishing issues that have been discussed in this blog. Several researches have been carried out to assist myself in completing all the relevant postings in my blog. I understand that to be a good and ethical blogger, I am fully aware of the implications of defamation and copyright issues that I cannot simply copy others' work as the creator remains the control power of their original works (UKCS 2009).

Besides, document design plays a vital role because it is crucial to combine all the images, designs and texts in writing the blog as readers might easily get bored by merely reading the text. According to Reep (2006, p.134), readers will also need to read the design and visual that stated in the document instead of just reading the text itself, as visual images can attract the attention of the readers.

In order to have a good and attractive blog, I have to be ethical in obtaining the document, design skills and finding different academic resources to post good and reliable blog postings.

Reference:

Reep, D. C. 2006, 'Technical Writing: Document Design', 6th edn, Pearson, New York, p.p133-172. Viewed 9th June 2012.

UKCS 2009, 'Fact Sheet P-01: UK Copyright Law', The UK Copyright Service, Copyright Witness Ltd., UK. Viewed 9th June 2012,

<http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law>. 

Power of Cyberactivism and Viral Communication

This is a new era for the internet and social sites in which messages, news and information can spread very rapidly and swiftly. With the invention of internet, there is a new trend and term derived from the cyber world called 'cyberactivism'. Cyberactivism is used to communicate with huge amount of audiences through the technology communication and information that using e-mail and internet sites like Facebook, Youtube and others (Networked Publics 2005).

(Source From: 2011, http://orecomm.net/2011/reminder-conference-copenhagen-9-may-2011/)

The video regarding the terrorism activities produced by Kony in Uganda was posted by Invisible Children on the internet site which had successfully raised huge concerns by the public. This video discussed about how the warlord-Kony tortured the children army by treating them as slaves. The Kony's video had been spread at an implausible speed as more than 55 million viewers had viewed and shared the video in just few days. Although there are some doubtful voices in connection with the truth of the video; however, due to the viral power of internet communication, the spreading of terror video is far more than the questioning posts (Cherubini 2012). The aggrieved voices toward Kony are increased day-by-day as a result of the power of cyberactivism. 

(Source From: Higgins, A. 2012, http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/03/18/kony-2012-screenings-halted-uganda-falsehoods-99491/)

Viral communication is like virus which spreads in a speedy and uncontrollable rate. When one has posted a particular topic that successfully raised the public concern, it is expected that the post will be shared and spread out during a relatively short time. For example, people can share their latest post or news via Twitter by just clicking a button which required less than a minute. As illustrated by the video of Kony case, public will normally feel angry about it as the news will spread out even faster and no one is able to stop it.

It is evident to us that the use of internet has changed the world. In particular, cyberactivism and viral communication bring huge impact in spreading the news and information to us.

(324words)

Reference:

Cherubini, F. 2012, 'Kony 2012: Once Information Goes Viral, There's No Stopping It', WAN-IFRA-World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. Viewed 9th June 2012,

<http://www.editorsweblog.org/2012/03/09/kony2012-once-information-goes-viral-theres-no-stopping-it>. 

Networked Publics 2005, 'Cyberactivism', University of Southern California, US. Viewed 9th June 2012,

<http://networkedpublics.org/cyberactivism>. 

Copyright for Hard Work and the Exception for It (the Fair Use)

Everyone is entitled to be paid for the hard work that they had done. Musicians, artists, editors, and others who have come out with their new inventions should get the pay that they deserve as no one should get others' hard work by free. This is due to the fact that creators retain the copyright for their own works. Copyright is defined as the creators has the rights to control their works and decide how the works are going to be (is4profit 2004).

(Source From: Leal, R.M. 2012, http://lightingmods.blogspot.com/2012/03/copyright-in-europe-protecting-your.html)

According to My Malaysia News (2012), UK government has implemented the regulations and ordered five internet firms like Virgin Media and others to stop from using the Pirate Bay, the website that enable public to download music, videos, pictures and dramas for free. The news stated that this action of Pirate Bay has violated the copyright of the creators as those creators for music and drama did not get any pay for their original inventions. This is clearly unfair to them as they retain the rights to possess their original works. Hence, they should get paid by those who wish to use those particular music or videos. According to the UK Copyright Law- the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the Act covered several areas of works like music, books, movie, broadcasts, written materials and others. It is an automatic right for the creator that created the original works (UKCS 2009).

(Source From: Balcsida http://balcsida.deviantart.com/art/Banned-Pirate-Bay-143907619)

On the other hand, there is an exception called 'Fair Use' that enable people to use the creator's works without infringe the original works. However, it only covers the materials like news, leisure speech and those for research and academic purposes (Crews & Buttler 2000, p.39). The Fair Use offers an exception to the copyright that can bring the social benefits to the public.

(Source From: McClure, I. 2009, http://www.ipprospective.com/copyright-caucus/copyright-fair-use-empirical-study-by-barton-beebe/ )

We should respect the original works of the creators as they have put many efforts to come out with their invention. Therefore, public should not steal other people’s works by infringed the copyright unless such works are excluded under the fair use category which should be used wisely.

(346words)

Reference:

Crews, K.D. & Buttler, D.K. 2000, 'Copyright Law For Librarians and Educators: Creative Strategies and Pratical Solutions', 2nd edn, Library of Congress, United States. Viewed 8th June 2012,

<http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_s_e_YhjQsQC&pg=PA39&dq=copyright+regulations+and+fair+use&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1SbST7XSOMPwmAWh7ayTAw&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=copyright%20regulations%20and%20fair%20use&f=false>. 

Is4profit 2004, 'Copyright-Basic Facts About Copyright', Crown Copyright, Llyods TSB. Viewed 8th June 2012,

<http://www.is4profit.com/business-advice/general-advice/copyright-basic-facts.html?gclid=CMyHn_mMv7ACFWFV4godzhz7oA>. 

My Malaysia News 2012, 'British Internet Firms Ordered To Block Pirate Bay', [My Malaysia News Online], (Updated May 2012), London. Viewed 8th June 2012,

<http://www.mymalaysianews.com/technology/2693-british-internet-firms-ordered-to-block-pirate-bay>. 

UKCS 2009, 'Fact Sheet P-01: UK Copyright Law', The UK Copyright Service, Copyright Witness Ltd., UK. Viewed 8th June 2012,

<http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law>. 

Book being Banned in Malaysia?

All printed media in Malaysia are regulated by The Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984 which was implemented by the government. Hence, the government has the rights to ban those books that they consider will harm the nations and demolish moral issues (Malaysia Printers Association 2012). The Act has been posed to the book 'Where Did I Come From?' as this book was regarded as breaking the moral ethics and peace of nations. The government of Malaysia viewed this book as an obscene and banned it.

(Source From: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-Did-I-Come-From/dp/0230015492)

According to a recent news article posted by BBC, it stated that the government has banned the sex education book that was written by Peter Mayle in Malaysia due to the sexual contents that were discussed in the book (BBC 2012). This book is aimed at the children aged between 4 and 8 by introducing primary sex education to them using cute pictures and simple explanations (Associated Press 2012). This book was written by the author about 40 years ago. Recently, it was claimed by the Muslims that such book is obscene , so it should be banned in Malaysia. Those who are selling and distributing the books will also be penalised. 

(Source From: Napalan, R. 2009, http://libr267blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/chronicles-of-narnia-lion-witch-and.html)

According to Green and Karolides (2005, p.339), those books that contained sensitive contents like political, religious, and sexual issues will be banned. Malaysia is an Islamic country in which more than half of the nations are Muslims. So, the Muslim activists are incredibly concerned about the sexual issue and always prohibited it to being promoted in the country. In compliance with the content codes of Malaysia, all sexual images of adults and children to be banned from publishing due to the country's regulations (CMCF No Date).

From my point of view, I believe that banning books is not really a wise choice. The contents of sexuality should be censored but it should not strictly be banned due to the curiosity of youngsters nowadays. The sex education book like 'Where Did I Come From?' is intended to provide brief sexual education to the children instead of promoting sex.

(345 words)

Reference:

Associated Press 2012, 'Decades Old Sex-Ed Book Banned In Malaysia', [CBC News], (Updated February 2012). Viewed 7th June 2012,

<http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/02/22/peter-mayle-book-ban-malaysia.html>. 

BBC News 2012, 'Malaysia 'Bans' Peter Mayle Book Where Did I Come From?: Malaysian officials have ordered book shops to stop selling a sex education book by British author Peter Mayle.', [BBC News UK], (Updated February 2012). Viewed 7th June 2012,

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17112635>. 

CMCF, No Date, 'The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Content Code', The Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia, Version 6, Malaysia. Viewed 8th June 2012, 

<http://www.cmcf.my/download/CONTENT_CODE_(V6-Final).pdf>.

Green, J. & Karolides, N.J. 2005, 'Encyclopedia of Censorship', New Edition, Facts On File, Inc., NY. Viewed 7th June 2012,

<http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bunHURgi7FcC&pg=PA339&dq=content+regulation+malaysia+sex&hl=en&sa=X&ei=A8zQT_LqFI3xrQfn2tnqDQ&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=content%20regulation%20malaysia%20sex&f=false>. 

Malaysia Printers Association 2012, 'The Printing and Publications Act in Malaysia', Malaysia Printers Association, Malaysia. Viewed 7th June 2012,

<http://www.malaysiaprinters.com/printing.php>.

XIX 2006, 'Malaysia: 18 Books Banned For Disrupting Peace and Harmony', Article 19, Global Campaign For Free Expression, UK. Viewed 7th June 2012,

<http://www.article19.org/data/files/pdfs/press/malaysia-18-books-banned.pdf>. 

Ethical Issue Derives From Doctoring Picture like Photoshop

News can be defined as the report and information that was published by the publishers to make the public aware of the current and real issues happening around the world without doing any untruthful report. According to The National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics, a set of rules have been implemented by the government to govern the ethical codes of publication. In particular, the primary goal for photojournalist is to publish faithful and reliable news (cited in Bersak 2006). It is incredibly unethical for the news agency to conceal the truth from the public by manipulating sham news and photos that were posted in any media. However, in today's world, doctoring images like photoshop is very easy which can be carried out by anyone. This has clearly contributed to the rise of violation in the publication ethical codes day by day. According to Steward (2011), image can be used to interpret the message to be delivered by the advertisers. Therefore, publishers should not alter or modify the real feature of the image as this could be regarded as an act of manipulating that breaches the principle of ethics.

(Source From: Bracht, F. 2011, http://www.gizmodo.com.br/aprenda-o-basico-de-photoshop-em-menos-de-25-minutos/)

For example, the pictures of Kim Jong-II's funeral that were reported by the North Korea's states news agency have been verified by the New York Times that those funeral pictures were photoshop by the publisher so as to make their military line to look more defined. Such action has clearly violated the ethics of publishing and the ethic codes of media. Furthermore, this media ethic issue has been widely criticized by the world-wide news agency and the European Pressphoto Agency as it has ruined the code of ethics of EPA. According to Ward (2011, p.194), manipulating images can cause the issue that violate the ethics code, as it would convey fictitious story to the readers/viewers by misleading them. 

(Source: Fenton, R.2012, http://news92fm.com/80102/north-korea-restored-order-to-kim-funeral-with-photoshop/)

Conclusion, it is crucial for media to publish true news and images to the viewers. Ethic is highly regarded by the press and media agency. Hence, doctoring photo is considered as unethical by hiding the truth from the public and misleading the viewers.

(350 words)

Reference:

Cited in- Bersak, D.R. 2006, 'Ethics in Photojournalism: Past, Present, Future', S.B. Comparative Media Studies & Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Viewed 5th June 2012,

<http://web.mit.edu/drb/Public/PhotoThesis/>. 

Steward, C.N. 2011, 'Research Ethics for Scientists: A Comparison for Students', John Wiley & Sons, UK. Viewed 4th June 2012,

<http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yGutW84TGRgC&pg=PT123&dq=Photoshop+ethical+publishing+principles;&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1YzQT--sBIvzrQfK5oyDDQ&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false>. 

Ward, S.J.A. 2011, 'Ethics and the Media: An Introduction', Cambridge University Press, UK. Viewed 5th June 2012,

<http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mZS9fQPw93AC&pg=PA194&dq=Photoshop+ethical+publishing+principles;&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1YzQT--sBIvzrQfK5oyDDQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Photoshop%20ethical%20publishing%20principles%3B&f=false>.