Walter Benjamin's media theory and the tradition of the media diaphana

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-26
Author(s):  
Antonio Somaini
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Experience ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Spatially Extended ◽  
The Media ◽  
Aristotelian Tradition

"The article presents an in-depth analysis of Benjamin’s use of the German term Medium, in order to show how his entire media theory may be interpreted as centered on the interaction between the historically changing realm of the technical and material Apparate, and what he calls in the artwork essay the »Medium of perception«: the spatially extended environment, the atmosphere, the milieu, the Umwelt in which sensory experience occurs. This notion of »Medium of perception« is then located within the long, post-Aristotelian tradition of the media diaphana, whose traces can be found in the 1920s and 1930s in the writings of authors such as Béla Balázs, Fritz Heider, and László Moholy-Nagy. </br></br>Der Artikel präsentiert eine eingehende Analyse von Benjamins Gebrauch des deutschen Begriffs »Medium«, um zu zeigen, dass seine gesamte Medientheorie fokussiert ist auf die Interaktion zwischen dem historisch veränderlichen Bereich der technischen und materiellen Apparate einerseits und dem, was er in dem Kunstwerkaufsatz das »Medium der Wahrnehmung« nennt: die räumlich ausgedehnte Umgebung, die Atmosphäre, das Milieu, die Umwelt, in der sinnliche Wahrnehmung erfolgt. Dieser Begriff des »Mediums der Wahrnehmung« wird dann innerhalb der langen, nacharistotelischen Tradition der media diaphana verortet, deren Spuren in den 1920er und 1930er Jahren in den Schriften von Autoren wie Béla Balázs, Fritz Heider und László Moholy-Nagy zu finden sind."

scholarly journals Detectivity optimization to detect of ultraweak light fluxes with an EM-CCD as binary photon counter array

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibtissame Khaoua ◽  
Guillaume Graciani ◽  
Andrey Kim ◽  
François Amblard
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Photon Counting ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Strong Nonlinearity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Spatially Extended ◽  
Extended Sources ◽  
Photon Counting Mode

AbstractFor a wide range of purposes, one faces the challenge to detect light from extremely faint and spatially extended sources. In such cases, detector noises dominate over the photon noise of the source, and quantum detectors in photon counting mode are generally the best option. Here, we combine a statistical model with an in-depth analysis of detector noises and calibration experiments, and we show that visible light can be detected with an electron-multiplying charge-coupled devices (EM-CCD) with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 3 for fluxes less than $$30\,{\text{photon}}\,{\text{s}}^{ - 1} \,{\text{cm}}^{ - 2}$$ 30 photon s - 1 cm - 2 . For green photons, this corresponds to 12 aW $${\text{cm}}^{ - 2}$$ cm - 2 ≈ $$9{ } \times 10^{ - 11}$$ 9 × 10 - 11 lux, i.e. 15 orders of magnitude less than typical daylight. The strong nonlinearity of the SNR with the sampling time leads to a dynamic range of detection of 4 orders of magnitude. To detect possibly varying light fluxes, we operate in conditions of maximal detectivity $${\mathcal{D}}$$ D rather than maximal SNR. Given the quantum efficiency $$QE\left( \lambda \right)$$ Q E λ of the detector, we find $${ \mathcal{D}} = 0.015\,{\text{photon}}^{ - 1} \,{\text{s}}^{1/2} \,{\text{cm}}$$ D = 0.015 photon - 1 s 1 / 2 cm , and a non-negligible sensitivity to blackbody radiation for T > 50 °C. This work should help design highly sensitive luminescence detection methods and develop experiments to explore dynamic phenomena involving ultra-weak luminescence in biology, chemistry, and material sciences.

scholarly journals “Fraudonomics”: Cartooning against Structural Adjustment in Togo

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (S29) ◽  
pp. 139-160
Author(s):  
Robin Frisch
Keyword(s):  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Crucial Element ◽  
The Third ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Local Politicians ◽  
The Media ◽  
Repertoire Of Contention ◽  
Printing Techniques

AbstractThis article offers a sensitive reading of oppositional political cartoons in Togo in the early 1990s, during the period of structural adjustment, which was accompanied by the swift reversal of democratizing trends and the restoration of authoritarian rule. Togolese satirists perceived this moment as a moment of “fraudonomics”, thus contesting rampant corruption and clientelism in politics. They poked fun at the president, local politicians, businesspeople, and bureaucrats of the international institutions. The article begins by examining the making of satirical newspapers with a focus on the biographies of the satirists. As students, they started out on the adventure of publication with their own money and learned most of their drawing and printing techniques as work progressed. Secondly, an analysis of the readership shows that, although the satirical newspapers were a crucial element of the media in the early 1990s, it was mostly an elitist and urban phenomenon. The third section analyses the changing visual repertoire of contention through in-depth analysis of four selected caricatures.

scholarly journals The Linguistic Features of Acronyms in Arabic

SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401774671
Author(s):  
Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh
Keyword(s):  
Formation Process ◽  
Relevance Theory ◽  
Contextual Effects ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Radio Stations ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Media ◽  
Processing Effort ◽  
Over Time

This study investigates the phonological, semantic, and pragmatic features of acronyms in Arabic. Acronyms in Arabic have appeared quite recently as a result of globalization and exposure to or contact with, mainly, English via radio stations and TV channels, which are broadcasting in English and in some countries, for example, Morocco in both English and French. Through in-depth analysis, it has been observed that acronyms in Arabic are subject to different restrictions: (a) The phonological combinations are formed on the basis of Arabic templates; hence, should be compatible with Arabic phonotactics, for example, consonant clusters should be broken up by vowels; (b) the connotation of the acronyms should not be negative; and (c) in conformity with relevance theory, when the acronyms are homophonous to existing words, the former maximize contextual effects with minimum processing effort. The fact that they appear in certain contexts also reduces the processing effort. It has also become evident that the period between the establishment of the movement or party and the first use of the acronym decreases over time, provided that the acronyms are frequently mentioned in the media. The examination of acronyms in different languages shows that acronymization is quite pervasive cross-linguistically; this may suggest that not any word-formation process can easily spread; it needs to be prevalent and potentially universal.

scholarly journals Cultural Techniques of Cognitive Capitalism: Metaprogramming and the Labour of Code

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jussi Parikka
Keyword(s):  
Media Theory ◽  
Value Appropriation ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Media

This article addresses cultural techniques of cognitive capitalism. The author argues that to understand the full implications of the notion of cognitive capitalism we need to address the media and cultural techniques which conditions its range and applications. The article offers an expanded understanding of the labour of code and programming through a case study of 'metaprogramming', a software related organisation practice that offered a way to think of software creativity and programming in organisations. The ideas from the 1970s that are discussed offer a different way to approach creativity and collaborative and post-Fordist capitalism. The author brings together different theoretical perspectives, including German media theory and Yann Moulier Boutang’s thesis about cognitive capitalism. The wider argument is that we should pay more attention to the media archaeological conditions of practices of labour and value appropriation of contemporary technological capitalism as well as the cultural techniques which include 'ontological and aesthetic operations' that produce cultural, material situations.

The disappearance of literature: Friedrich Kittler’s path to media theory

Thesis Eleven ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-52
Author(s):  
Niels Werber
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
The Two Cultures ◽  
The Media ◽  
Recurrent Theme

This article follows the recurrent theme in Friedrich Kittler’s 40 years of prolific academic writing, which is of course the media-related production of discourse. Five heuristic principles are identified in his work: enabling, reduction, historization, the abolishment of the ‘two cultures', and post-hermeneutics. The paper closes with criticism of the intrinsic limits of Kittler’s point of view.

scholarly journals Writing, experience, and literary experience in Montaigne’s Essays and Sartre’s Nausea

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad Córdova
Keyword(s):  
Media Theory ◽  
Modern Literature ◽  
Modern Concept ◽  
Modern Theory ◽  
Printed Books ◽  
Schooling Experience ◽  
The Media ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Literary Writing ◽  
Literary Experience

Abstract This article begins with an analysis of the semantic, tropological, and metaphysical associations of our modern concept of “experience,” which distinguish its form and contents from other opposing concepts. These not only include such general notions as Reason, Education, and Science, they also point to how “experience” has been thought, and lived, in opposition to the verbal and representational media of texts, printed books, and writing in general. Deconstruction (Derrida) and media theory (McLuhan) provide us with ways of understanding how the emergence of our concept of “experience” relied on, as much as it opposed, the media of writing and books, and their surrounding practices and institutions (like reading and schooling). “Experience” per se is perhaps unthinkable without such media and their institutionalized practices. More than modern theory, however, it is one of the major functions of modern literature to display this relation of conflict and dependence, and, even, to embody it in its very form in literary writing. Beyond the opposition of writing and “experience” is thus posed the question of the nature of the equivocal concept of “literary experience.” What would such a thing entail? This article explores this concept through two texts that attempt to bring “experience” into their very form: Montaigne’s Essays and Sartre’s Nausea.

scholarly journals PELATIHAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS ANDROID BAGI TUTOR PENDIDIKAN KESETARAAN PADA PKBM DI KECAMATAN SUKAMAKMUR KABUPATEN BOGOR JAWA BARAT

Sarwahita ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 18 (02) ◽  
pp. 146-156
Author(s):  
Anan Sutisna ◽  
Ahmad Tijari ◽  
Adi Irvansyah
Keyword(s):  
Community Service ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Community Learning ◽  
Training Activity ◽  
Community Learning Center ◽  
Real Work ◽  
The Media

Abstract Based on the analysis of the situation and conditions of the community in Sukamakmur Sub-District, Bogor District of West Java, especially in the field of education, it is necessary to have an Android-based learning media development training activity to support the improvement of Tutor and Manager Competencies so that the learning process in Community Learning Center is of higher quality. The specific objectives of community service activities integrated with real work lectures are as follows: (1) Improving the ability of tutors and managers in planning learning using Android-based learning media, (2) Improving the ability of tutors and managers in using Android-based learning media and (3) Guide tutors and managers in implementing learning using Android-based learning media. The results show learning in Community Learning Center by using Andoid-based learning media as an effort to strengthen students' understanding of the material presented, and students can access it wherever they are to overcome the problems of students whose homes are far from Community Learning Center. Teaching using Android-based media is also able to emphasize the practice of digital literacy directly which still refers to the concept of learning media theory for equality education. Learning using Android-based media can be used wherever students are located, and therefore the independence of students will increase because without the presence of educators, students are able to operate it. The presentation provided is able to attract students 'interest, because it contains a material that is presented via video, so that students do not feel bored and fed up, because the media can stimulate students' ability to see and hear. Abstrak Berdasarkan hasil analisis siatuasi dan kondisi masyarakat di Kecamatan Sukamakmur Kecamatan Kabupaten Bogor Jawa Barat khususnya dalam bidang pendidikan, maka diperlukan adanya kegiatan pelatihan pengembangan media pembelajaran berbasis Android untuk mendukung peningkatan Kompetensi Tutor dan Pengelola agar proses pembelajaran di PKBM lebih berkualitas. Adapun tujuan secara khusus kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat yang terintegrasi kuliah kerja nyata adalah sebagai berikut: (1) Meningkatan kemampuan tutor dan pengelola dalam merencanakan pembelajaran dengan menggunakan media pembelajaran berbasis Android, (2) Meningkatkan kemampuan tutor dan pengelola dalam menggunakan media pembelajaran berbasis Android dan (3) Memandu tutor dan pengelola dalam melaksanakan pembelajaran menggunakan media pembelajaran berbasis Android. Hasil menunjukkan pembelajaran di PKBM dengan menggunakan media pembelajaran berbasis Andoid sebagai upaya menguatkan pemahaman peserta didik terhadap materi yang disajikan, dan peserta didikpun dapat mengaksesnya dimanapun ia berada untuk mengatasi persoalan peserta didik yang tempat tinggalnya jauh dari PKBM. Pengajaran menggunakan media berbasis android ini juga mampu menekankan pada praktik literasi digital secara langsung yang  tetap mengacu pada konsep teori media pembelajaran untuk pendidikan kesetaraan. Pembelajaran menggunakan media berbasis Android mampu digunakan dimana saja peserta didik itu berada, maka dari itu kemandirian peserta didik akan meningkat karena tanpa kehadiran pendidikpun, peserta didik mampu mengoperasikannya. Penyajian yang disediakanpun mampu menarik minat peserta didik, karena berisi sebuah materi yang disajikan melalui video, sehingga peserta didik tidak merasa bosan dan jenuh, karena media tersebut dapat merangsang kemampuan melihat dan mendengar peserta didik.

scholarly journals Digital Subscription Systems in the Face of COVID-19 Crisis: The Case of ‘El Mundo’

Tripodos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (47) ◽  
pp. 87-102
Author(s):  
Enrique Canovaca de la Fuente
Keyword(s):  
Economic Recession ◽  
Know How ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Media ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Revenue Models ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this article is to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on the income models of the Spanish general inter­est press through an in-depth analysis of the case of ‘El Mundo’. This article shows data about the decline in adver­tising, both in printed and digital for­mats, during the first quarter of 2020 and, more specifically, during March. It also reveals that the media platforms with a previously implemented sub­scription system have gained a signif­icant number of new registrations. Not only is ‘El Mundo’ an example of this trend, but also other newspapers such as ‘Eldiario.es’, ‘Ara’, ‘La Razón’ or ‘La Voz de Galicia’. The reader becomes an alternative to lessen advertising losses at a time of global transformation of the industry towards reader-revenue models. Long-term consequences of a probable economic recession once the pandemic effects are reduced are also considered in the analysis. The article also outlines some key points to ensure the viability of newspaper publishers, such as investing in journalists with relevant sources or profiles that know how to manage new digital businesses. Keywords: COVID-19, press, business, subscriptions and advertising.

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