Sampola Monday 15 April

Here is the first part of the topic for our class on Monday April 15. This is another topic which might need a bit of research in order to talk about. There is a second part which I will put up soon.


What´s happening in Britain today?


1. Who is Mick Philpott?
What did you find out about his personality?
Did you find some details that help to give an impression of his character?
What did he do?
Why did he do it?
What was the result?
What was thought to be the first explanation and how was the truth finally discovered?
What is his present situation?


2. How and why has the Philpott case taken on political significance?
What reaction has there been to the case from the media?
How has George Osborne (Chancellor of the Exchequer = Minister of Finance) been involved in the case?
How has David Cameron reacted to Osborne´s involvement?
Why are these issues especially sensitive just now?


3. What is the so-called `bedroom tax´?
How will the new regulations be applied?
Who will it affect?
What controversial change to income taxation was made by the Government in 2012?
What arguments have ministers put forward to justify these changes?
How does the Philpott case fit into these political discussions?
How has the media reacted to this debate?


4. Who is Boris Johnson?
What position does he currently occupy?
What is his background?
What accusations have been made against him?
Would he like to be the Prime Minister one day?


Here´s the second part of Monday´s topic:


Media Issues

For each of the following, explain what the issue is, describe how it affects people, give some examples of each and finally decide how serious you believe the issue to be.

1 Presentation of violence
2 Presentation of women
3 Stereotyping
4 Online Hate and hate campaigns
5 Privacy : And privacy of information
6 Censorship
7 Trivial nature of content and creating a story from very little
8 Bias and misrepresentation
9 Creating panics
10 Dumbing down and loss of concentration
11 Isolation and loneliness
12 Emotional manipulation of audiences
13 Exploitation of audiences
14 Tastelessness
15 Dishonesty
16 Scientific ignorance and cultural ignorance
17 Health and obesity
18 Addiction
19 Crime
20 Access of inappropriate material by the young and easily influenced
Task: Give examples of each issue. Can you add any other issues to the list?