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International Conference on Media, Culture and Education Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Meknes, Kingdom of Morocco 23-25 November, 2010 Objectives and Themes of the Conference At the beginning of the third millennium, the mass media have been confirmed as one of the most influential institutions in society. They play key roles in shaping our identities, attitudes, behaviours and consciousness through their various functions ranging from entertainment, information, socialization, and education to commercials, ideological positions, construction of public opinion, and transmission of culture, the effects of which may go up to changing the fundamental value systems of some cultures or draining them into a spiral of silence. The focus of this International Conference on Media, Culture and Education is on how mass media impact our culture(s) today and how to make our culture(s) advance, with the technological and information revolution, through a free and responsible media. Besides, the conference addresses the major issue of new media technologies that set in motion a wide range of questions about cultural exchange and raise at the same time concerns about issues of identity, representation, hegemony and knowledge gap, and how to face these challenges. Education is also of prime importance in this regard; pedagogical approaches trigger questions about new media technologies: To what extent do media contribute to the effectiveness of course design? What is the proper role for teaching with media? How to match a specific medium to the learning environment? The main axes of the conference include the interaction between media and culture; media between culture, commerce and ideology; media ethics and effects; the cultural impact of new media technologies; the digital divide and the global communication orders; media and its pedagogical impact on teaching and learning processes, and ways and means to build up a free and responsible media to make our culture(s) keep pace with the increasing power of mass media and its rapidly expanding technology. Thematic Areas: I. The Interaction between Media and Culture Media and Popular Culture Media and Distortion of Cultural Reality Media Effects on Individuals and Society Media between Culture, Commerce and Ideology Media and Religion: Clash of Civilizations or Intercultural Dialogue? Influencing Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions: Public Relations, Power and Political Culture/Media, War, and Propaganda Media in the Marketplace/Commercialization of Culture Media Impact on Education Digital Media and Learning Efficiency Media and Multicultural Education Matching Media to the Learning Environment The Cultural Impact of New Media Technologies
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II.

III.

IV.

V.

Cultural Studies and Technology Global Communication Orders/The Digital Divide and the Knowledge Gap Cultural Globalization, Local Cultures and Identities Towards a Free and Responsible Media: Setting the Stage for Cultural Development Media Diversity and Media Discourse Democratic Media Governance: Rethinking the Democratic and Cultural Role of Mass Media Media Literacy

Partners: The conference is organized with the collaboration of the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Research Centre "Gabinete de Comunicacin y Educacin", Barcelona, Spain, and the Forum UNESCO-University and Heritage (FUUH). Participants: The conference gathers experts and specialists in the fields of media, communication, linguistics, culture and education, representing the five continents. Leading researchers and theorists will address salient issues of media, culture and education. Twelve (12) countries are represented in this conference, namely: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, France, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Spain, Turkey, United States and Morocco. The abstracts and bio-data of participants are included in this Book of Abstracts according to the themes of the conference, as they are scheduled in the program of the conference. Organizing Committee: Drissia CHOUIT, Professor of Comparative Linguistics and Media Studies Driss RIDOUANI, Professor of Literature and Cultural Studies Lamiae AZZOUZI, Professor of Linguistics Mahdia AIT DAOUD, Professor of Literature and Gender Studies Driss BEN ATTABOU, Professor of Applied Linguistics Mohamed LAROUZ, Professor of Applied Linguistics

Program of the Conference Venue: Large Lecture Theatre Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Meknes, Morocco 23rd November, 2010 08:00-09:30 Registration 09:30-10:30 Opening Ceremony 09:30-10:00 Welcome Addresses: - President of Moulay Ismail University, Dr. Mohamed Zaher BENABDALLAH - Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Dr. Abdallah MALKI - Organizing Committee, Dr. Drissia CHOUIT 10:00-10:30 Reception
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10:30-12:00 First Plenary Session Theme I: The Interaction between Media and Culture Chairperson: Dr. irin DILLI, University of Paris III, France & Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey Rapporteur: Dr. Drissia CHOUIT 10:30-10:50 Dr. Driss RIDOUANI Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,

Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Modern Moroccan Music Is a Westernized Version 10:50-11:10 Dr. Dobrinka PEICHEVA Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, South-West University, Bulgaria New Media and Culture 11:10-11:30 Dr. Abdelhamid NFISSI Associate Professor, Chairman of the Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Fes-Sais, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco Movies and Society 11:30-12:00 Discussion 12:30 Lunch 14:30-16:00 Second Plenary Session Theme II: Media between Culture, Commerce and Ideology II.1. Media and Religion Chairperson: Dr. Driss RIDOUANI, Moulay Ismail University, Morocco Rapporteur: Dr. Mahdia AIT DAOUD 14:30-14:50 Dr. Mustapha NAOUIKHEIR Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of English, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Towards a Dialogue of Civilizations and an Interfaith Communication: Some translations of the holy Quran as a case study 14:50-15:10 Dr. Mohamed ELKOUCHE Full Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, University Mohamed I, Oujda, Morocco Western Media and the Politics of Otherness

15:10-15:30 Dr. Said MENTAK Full Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, University Mohamed I, Oujda, Morocco Le Monde Diplomatique and Religion: Mediating Islamic Issues after 9/11 15:30-16:00 Discussion 16:00-16:20 Coffee Break 16:20-17:50 Third Plenary Session II.2. Influencing Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions: Public Relations, Power and Political Culture / Media, War, and Propaganda Chairperson: Dr. Lamiae AZZOUZI, Moulay Ismail University, Morocco Rapporteur: Dr. Driss RIDOUANI 16:20-16:40 Dr. Abdeljalil NAOUI KHIR, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Cultures, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, VMI, Lexington, Virginia, U.S.A Media, War and Propaganda 16:40-17:00 Mr. Khalid HOUSSAINI Ph.D. Candidate in Communication Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Arabs/Muslims and Americans in post 9/11 Media Discourse 17:00-17:20 Mr. Zouhir HACHOUM Ph.D. Candidate in Communication Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Media and Propaganda in War Time: Manipulation Strategies in the Run up to the Iraq War 17:20-17:50 Discussion

24th November, 2010 09:00-10:30 Fourth Plenary Session II.3. Media in the Market Place/Commercialization of Culture Chairperson: Dr. Jos Maria PERCEVAL, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain Rapporteur: Dr. Drissia CHOUIT 09:00-09:20 Dr. Khalid LAHLOU Associate Professor, Hassan II University, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ben Msik-Casablanca, Department of English and American Studies, Morocco Advertising and Persuasion Strategies 09:20-09:40 Dr. Rotimi Williams OLATUNJI Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Relations and Advertising, School of Communication, Lagos State University, Nigeria The Role of Advertising in the Promotion of Foreign-Oriented Food Culture Among Children in Nigeria 09:40-10:00 Dr. Lamiae AZZOUZI Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of English, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Fashion, Eating Disorder, Sex and the Media 10:00-10:30 Discussion 10:30-10:50 Coffee Break 10:50-12:20 Fifth Plenary Session Theme III: Media Impact on Education Chairperson: Dr. Mohamed LAROUZ, Moulay Ismail University, Morocco Rapporteur: Dr. Mahdia AIT DAOUD 10:50-11:10 Dr. Chourouq NASRI Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, University Mohamed I, Oujda, Morocco, Founder and Coordinator of a Professional
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BA Mdias et communication interactive Fighting Passive Vision in Moroccan Universities!

11:10-11:30 Dr. Driss BENATTABOU Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Gender Imbalances in Moroccan EFL Textbooks: From "Survival of the fittest" to "Survival of all" 11:30-11:50 Dr. Jose Reuben Q. ALAGARAN II Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Miriam College, Philippines In Keeping with the Digital Age: Planning and Adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Among Communication Educators in the Philippines 11:50-12:20 Discussion 12:30 Lunch 14:30-16:00 Sixth Plenary Session Theme IV: The Cultural Impact of New Media Technologies Chairperson: Dr. Qin GUO, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Rapporteur: Dr. Driss RIDOUANI 14:30-14:50 Dr. Mahdia AIT DAOUD Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of English, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco The Film and the Novel: A Semiotic Approach

14:50-15:10 Dr. Bheemaiah Krishnan RAVI, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Bangalore University, Bangalore, India New Media, Culture and Society 15:10-15:30 Ms. Jacinta Mwende Maweu Assistant lecturer, School of Journalism and Media Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya, Ph.D. Candidate, Rhodes University, South Africa Selling Audiences to Advertisers? The Hyper-Commercialism of News Content in News Media in Kenya 15:30-16:00 Discussion 16:00-16:20 Coffee Break 16:20-17:50 Seventh Plenary Session Theme V: Towards a Free and Responsible Media: Setting the Stage for Cultural Development V.1. Media Diversity and Media Discourse Chairperson: Dr. Abdeljalil NAOUIKHIR, VMI, Lexington, Virginia, U.S.A Rapporteur: Dr. Driss RIDOUANI 16:20-16:40 Dr. Qin GUO Senior Lecturer, Discipline Leader, International Communication, Department of Media, Music, Communication and Critical Cultural Studies, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Netting the Public Sphere? - A Chinese Case 16:40-17:00 Dr. Meriem OUAHIDI Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Beni Mellal, Morocco Representation of the Moroccan Family in TV Ads 17:00-17:20 Dr. Mahmoud EID Editor, Global Media Journal - Canadian Edition, Associate Professor, Department
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of Communication, University of Ottawa, Canada Magazine Advertising as a Rationalization of Modern Power: The Canadian Culture and Rhetoric 17:20-17:50 Discussion 25th November, 2010 09:00-10:30 Eighth Plenary Session V.2. Democratic Media Governance: Rethinking the Democratic and Cultural Role of the Mass Media Chairperson: Dr. Mahmoud EID, University of Ottawa, Canada Rapporteur: Dr. Drissia CHOUIT 09:00-09:20 Dr. irin DILLI Postdoctoral Scholar at Paris 3 & Istanbul Bilgi Universities, Paris 3-Sorbonne Nouvelle (UFR Communication, Information, Mdias), Istanbul Bilgi University (Centre for Migration Research) Media, Diversity, Terminology: Making and Breaking Terms 09:20-09:40 Dr. Bouziane ZAID Assistant Professor, Communication Studies Program Coordinator, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco A Typology of Moroccan Media System in the Country's Democratic Transition 09:40-10:00 Dr. Jos Maria PERCEVAL Full Professor, Faculty of Communications Studies, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain Unification, Problematization, Criminalization: Media Coverage of Minorities 10:00-10:30 Discussion 10:30-10:50 Coffee Break

10:50-12:20 Ninth Plenary Session V.3. Media Literacy Chairperson: Dr. Rotimi Williams OLATUNJI, Lagos State University, Nigeria Rapporteur: Dr. Mahdia AIT DAOUD 10:50-11:10 Dr. Mohamed LAROUZ Associate Professor, Coordinator of Master Program in Applied Linguistics, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco & Mr. Hicham Fatmi Digital Literacy in Higher Education: Prospects and Challenges 11:10-11:30 Dr. Santiago TEJEDOR General Coordinator of the Gabinete de Comunicacin y educacin, Coordinator of the Master online Communication, Culture and Education, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona & Dr. Nria Simelio Sol Professor in Journalism Department, Universidad Autnoma de Barcelona & Glria Baena Soria, Ph.D. Candidate, Academic Coordinator of the International Master of Education and Communication, Faculty of Journalism Studies, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona & Mirey AL FARAH Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Journalism Studies, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona and member of the Research Centre "Gabinete de Comunicacin y Educacin" The Role of Television in Media Literacy 11:30-11:50 Mr. Jaouad RADOUANI Ph.D. Candidate in Cultural Studies,

Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco Learning from Media: Aljazeera Channel Influence 11:50-12:20 Discussion 12:30 Lunch 14:30-16:00 Ninth Plenary Session Media Literacy (Continued) Chairperson: Dr. Abdelmajid HAJJI, Moulay Ismail University, Morocco Rapporteur: Dr. Driss RIDOUANI 14:30-14:50 Dr. Drissia CHOUIT Former Consultant to UNESCO, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco A Linguistic Approach to Communication Strategies in Media Discourse and Popular Culture 14:50-15:00 Discussion 15:00-15:40 Keynote Closing Speaker Dr. Jos Manuel PEREZ-TORNERO Full Professor of Communication, Expert in Media Literacy for the European Commission and UNESCO, Director of the International Master of Communication and Education, Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain Media Literacy in Europe: From Promoting Digital Literacy to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive 15:40-16:00 Discussion 16:00-17:00 Reception Closure of the Conference

Dr. Driss RIDOUANI Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco

Modern Moroccan Music is a Westernized Version

Abstract: With the advancement of means of communication, especially in the modern era, we have become aware that nations constitute an ineluctable part of the system that governs the world at large. In fact, what is nowadays called individual societies and considered as independent entities framed within territorial boundaries do not exist any more, for their local distinctive standard can be recognized only within the global framework. Hence besieged and governed by mass media, besides of course other factors, the world at large has been transformed into what McLahen cogently termed Global Village, paving the way for the expansion of foreign powers over the poor societies. Recently, in order to understand what is called an individual society, we would consider it as an integrated part of the global whole together with the external, say Western, factors that forcibly influence its fundamental principles. The scope, in fact, of the impact is so wide that it encompasses all nations together with their institutions, and its nature is so various that it comprises unlimited tools of communication. This paper is an attempt to investigate the way the cultural framework of Moroccan society is Westernized, drawing on the popular music and the changes that have shaped both its content and form. In the same vein, scholars of different interest and aim, chiefly Moroccan ones, underline the process of transformation that has been incessantly happening in popular music, pointing especially to the integration and assimilation of Western characteristics. Such a situation leads to a crucial question why Moroccan popular music has made room for external influences and, like snakes usually do, has sloughed off its originality and its essence. As a case study, the focus will concern a comparative analysis of traditional popular singers and what is termed modern popular singers.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Driss RIDOUANI is Assistant Professor of Literature and Cultural Studies, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco.

Dr. Dobrinka PEICHEVA South-West University, Bulgaria New Media and Culture Abstract: This article is based on two sociological surveys dealing with the Internet and mobile telephones, conducted in Bulgaria in 2009 with the participation of the author. The survey findings made it possible to trace several socio-cultural processes and trends. The most important of them, examined in this article, are related to: the transformation of individual communication participation from a passive into an active endeavour; the restructuring of the communication space and the preconditions for this; the revival of letter writing and the restructuring of written communication; the reorientation of interpersonal communication toward greater mobility and its electronic determination; the emergence of a new kind of mobile-determined culture; individuals becoming independent media; the completion of the framework of processes of medialization (mediatization) of society. Key Words: Internet; mobile telephone; restructuring of communication ecology; mobile determined culture; mediatization. communications;

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Dobrinka PEICHEVA, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in South-West University, Department of Sociology, Bulgaria. Fields of Research: Sociology of mass communication, New media, Mediation of Society, Public Relations, Sociology of Culture Membership: IAMCR (International Association of Media and Communication Research), Bulgarian Association of Sociology Some basic publications:
Peicheva, D. (2009) "The Right to Communication". Sociology and Law. London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Peicheva, D. (2009). "Cultural Dimensions of New Media". The Romanian Review of Journalism and Communication. Peicheva, D. (2007) "Processes and Sequences in Mediated Society". Peicheva,D. (Ed) Sociological Horizons. Blagoevgrad: SWU Ppress. Peicheva, D. (2006) "Beginnings of a Mediatization of Modern Society". The Romanian Review of Journalism and Communication, year 1, 2-3. Peicheva, D. (2005) "Economics and Communications in Mediatization and Globalization of Society". Sociological Paths, part 2, Sfbrs: Sv.Kl. Ohridski. Peicheva, D. (2003) Economics and Communications. The World of Communications or the Media Society. Sofia:Kvazar. Peicheva, D. (2001) Impact of Television on Actual Social Processes. (2001). Sofia: Kvazar. Peicheva, D. (1989) Culture and Mass Communications. ( 1989). Sofia: Nauka i Izkustvo.

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Dr. Abdelhamid NFISSI Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco

Movies and Society

Abstract: Movies are an integral part of our lives and culture. Indeed, they help people know better about society; they reflect how culture works, influences another culture, and may shape the personality, behaviour, and attitudes of individuals. The aim of this paper is to examine whether Moroccan movies are reflective of the society. The discussion revolves around two major points: (1) to show whether movies are interpreted as reflecting and representing cultural values and dealing with social facts, and (2) to examine the impact that these movies have on Moroccan viewers. As a case study, I will examine mainly the following films: (a) Hijabu lhub, and (b) Diyya. This study is based on fieldwork and on my own analysis from a sociological perspective. It is based on questionnaires and interviews aimed to detect peoples' attitudes towards the movies.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Abdelhamid NFISSI is Associate Professor of Comparative Linguistics and Media Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Fes-Sais, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. He is the current Chairman of the Department of English, the In-Charge of Continuing Education in English, and member of the Faculty Council. He obtained a Ph.D. in Linguistics and Communication from the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III, France. His doctoral dissertation on Connectives in English, French and Arabic was published in 1997 by the Presses Universitaires de Lille, France. His research interests include Comparative Linguistics, Communication Strategies, Translation, Media Literacy and Comparative Religions. He has over 20 publications and participation in national and international conferences in these research areas. His other fields of interest include Sociology of Arts and Cultural Anthropology. He is actually preparing a B.A in Sociology and Anthropology. Dr. NFISSI is a founding member and Vice Secretary-General of the National Association for the Safeguarding of Arabic Language. He is a member of the following Professional Associations: the Forum UNESCO-University and Heritage (FUUH); the Association of Linguists "Les Amis du CRELINGUA (Centre de Recherche de Linguistique Anglaise) University of Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III), and the Moroccan Inter-University Network of English (MINE). He is a member of the Research Group on Applied Media Studies and Linguistics, University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, FesSais; and the Research Group on Divine Religions and Comparative Religions, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Fes-Sais.
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Dr. Mustapha NAOUIKHEIR Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Towards a Dialogue of Civilizations and an Interfaith Communication: Some Translations of the Holy Quran as a Case Study

Abstract: What is generally dealt with in this paper is translation as a reliable form of written media and its particularly important role in intercultural dialogue and interfaith communication. Specifically, the paper suggests to undertake a purely linguistic concern with some translations of the holy Quran. Its enterprise consists fundamentally in an attempt at investigating the (prominent) linguistic patterns and choices made in a number of the most outstanding of the English and French translations, and comparing them stylistically with the ones found in the source text. The general framework is that of practical stylistics (Widdowson 1992), semiotics, and discourse stylistics (Carter and Simpson 1989). What is intended along the lines of our comparison and analysis of a sample of the linguistic differences between the holy Quran and its translations is first a sort of measuring of the eventual intercultural misunderstandings, and then a working out of a practical suggestion of how better renderings of the holy book might be attained in the future. Such explanatory translations, it will be argued, would undoubtedly help in the establishment of a more scientific and neutral channel of real intercultural communication between the apparently conflicting civilizations and or religions. Brief biographical sketch of the author: Mustapha NAOUIKHEIR is Assistant Professor of Linguistics, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco.

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Dr. Mohammed ELKOUCHE University Mohamed I, Oujda, Morocco

Western Media and the Politics of Otherness

Abstract: The tension between the Western and the Islamic civilizations is not a recent phenomenon. On the contrary, it dates back to antiquity, as Edward Said has pointed out in his monumental book Orientalism. According to this thinker, the West has always looked at the East -especially the Arab and Islamic world- as its cultural Other, and that is why it has produced a huge body of orientalist discourses that have contributed substantially to the colonial domination of this Other and the imposition of the Wests cultural and political hegemony upon him. Up to the middle of the twentieth century, these discourses of power and Otherness were propagated chiefly by means of written texts -in book form- in different domains such as ethnography, history, sociology and literature. Recently, however, this orientalist ideology has been transmitted and disseminated largely through mass media, including the modern sophisticated ones like satellite TV channels and the Internet. This paper aims at exploring how this shift has taken place and shedding some light on the role of modern Western media in the construction of the image of the Oriental Other. It also aims to critique these media for their failure to promote intercultural dialogue instead of discourses of Otherness and clash of civilizations.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Mohamed ELKOUCHE is Full Professor of English language and literature at the University Mohamed I, Oujda, Morocco. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2005; his thesis was on: Cultural Representation and Ideology: Paul Bowles as a Romantic American Orientalist. He is currently interested in colonial and post-colonial discourses, with a particular focus on the literary writings of American and Moroccan authors. He published several articles in both Arabic and English languages. His essays on Bowles include: Paul Bowles and the Ideological Construction of Characters, Paul Bowles, the Romantic Outsider: Orientalism, Hybridity and the Discourse of Otherness, Paul Bowless Tangier and Fez: The Agony of Transition from Colonial to Post-Colonial Times, Paul Bowless Tangier: Earthly Paradise or Symbolic Panopticon?, Eye For Eye: A Reading in the Travel Accounts of P. Bowles and A. Akbib, Picturing the Interzone: Tangier in P. Bowles Let It Come Down and A. Majids Si Yussef. (NB: Some of these essays are published online).

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Dr. Said MENTAK University Mohammed I, Oujda, Morocco Le Monde Diplomatique and Religion: Mediating Islamic Issues after 9/11

Abstract: To engage in an accurate account of the relationship between Western media and Islamic issues involves consideration of the specific context that first triggered Western interests in Islam. Although Western media dealt with Islamic issues since their appearance, they had never given much space to Islam as they did after 9/11. Islam and terror have become the axis around which any mediation of religion evolves, and talk of a culture war dominates television, radio, the Internet, newspapers, and magazines. Any call for a culture dialogue after this dire event runs counter to the dominant theme of terror that most media want to inculcate in the Western audience. This is not surprising in an age where media determine the rules and procedures for ideological interpretations. However, when it comes to the Muslim intellectuals, insiders well informed about the topic, such rules fall short of reaching the expected outcomes realized in the West. Most Muslim intellectuals are aware of the message mediated by the Western media and most of them, anticipating the Western strategy in handling Islamic issues, lament the negative and antireligious stand against Islam. Much as this stand reflects the stereotypical, if not commercial, context in which Western media operate, it exposes the limitations of Western approaches to Islam. These limitations are also highlighted by the intercultural dialogue upholders who seek, all over the world, to concretize a culture of dialogue and objectivity. The media, with their power and influence, could be effective in the promotion of dialogue were they geared towards an objective mediation of religious issues. It is in this context of intercultural war and dialogue that Le Monde Diplomatique, a famous French monthly paper, is approached. In spite of the fact that the French magazine is not accessible to all Moroccan readers -for its style, theme, and price its focus on world politics enlarges its scope for all -politicians, diplomats, policy-makers, NGOs, think-tank researchers, and opinion formers hence its extreme importance in mediating Islamic issues Brief biographical sketch of the author: Said MENTAK has been teaching English in Mohammed I University since 1988, and he got a "Doctorat dEtat" in 2000 on American postmodernism and the novel. He published some translated work (a book and some articles). He is interested in Islamic culture and its Western conception; he has some articles on the topic published in the American journal, Contemporary Islam: Has the West Ever Bothered to Understand Islam?, Islam and Modernity: Islamist Movements and the Politics of Position, and Abdellah Larouis New Conception of Interpreting Islam. He has just published a book in the U.S.A titled, A (Mis)reading of Kurt Vonnegut, by Nova Publishers.

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Dr. Abdeljalil NAOUI KHIR VMI, Lexington, Virginia, United States

Media, War and Propaganda Abstract: In this analysis, I will show how media- with their manifold uses have been exploited and manipulated in modern times to justify the illegitimate wars against other nations. I will also show how governments use media distraction types, which are aspects of propaganda in disguise, to justify their involvement into war. Then I will show how the manifold propaganda techniques are used to enhance the claimed causes to persuade public opinion to engage into war. Authentic examples of media lies and propaganda misleading messages with reference to the late Iraq war will be examined and analyzed. They will also be equated to some strategies used in the persuasive use of language in advertising.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Abdeljalil NAOUI KHIR was formerly a professor of Linguistics at Dhar El Mehraz, and Sais Faculties in Fez Morocco. He was Chair of the Department of English at Sais Faculty from 1996 to 2000, and ex- coordinator and responsible of the Research Group of Linguistics: Language, Culture and Communication. Professor Naoui Khir has several publications on diverse topics in both English and Arabic. He was also Visiting Chair in the Humanities at Virginia University in 2006, Holder of the Edwin P Conquest. He is currently an Associate Full time Professor of Modern Languages and Cultures at VMI University, Lexington Virginia, U.S.A. He is adviser and member of the Distinguished Speakers Committee and Member of the Internship University Committee.

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Mr. Khalid HOUSSAINI Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco

The US and Arab Media, Conflict and Dialogue

Abstract: This paper examines how Arab and American media shape Arab and American perceptions and views about each others cultures and values in Post-September11, 2001, era. In other words, it will shed light on how media programs tend to reinforce stereotypes and biases leading to an open conflict instead of encouraging dialogue and understanding.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Khalid HOUSSAINI is holder of a B.A degree in Linguistics (1993) and an M.A degree in Communication Studies (2005) from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes. Currently, he is working on a doctoral dissertation on News Media Perceptions of Arabs and Americans. He is also Head of the Bureau of Personnel at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Meknes, and a part-time instructor of English at the same faculty.

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Mr. Zouhir HACHOUM Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco.

Media and Propaganda in War Time: Manipulation Strategies in the Run up to the Iraq War Abstract: The second Gulf war will remain in history records one of the worst examples of unjust wars which were based on lies and faulty information. It will also be remembered as a war where propaganda was intentionally used by the Bush administration with the assistance of mainstream media to manipulate the American public opinion and lead it to support the official foreign policy. The article aims at analyzing some of the rhetorical strategies which were used by G.W. Bush in some of his speeches and which the media (The New York Times and the Washington Post ) uncritically adopted and relayed to the public. The claim is that in the run up to the war in Iraq, two basic styles dominated the American political discourse: the first is a paranoiac style which aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear through the alleged weapons of mass destruction that Saddam Hussein was said to possess and the threat they posed to American security and through the alleged connections with AlQaeda and world terrorism. The second is the humanitarian discourse which aimed at using American values of freedom and human rights as well as American "exceptionalism" and" uniqueness" in order to persuade the public opinion about the noble and just cause of this war. The article draws on political discourse analysis and rhetoric in its approach. Key Words : Iraq, manipulation, media, political discourse analysis, propaganda, public opinion, war Brief biographical sketch of the author: Zouhir HACHOUM is a Ph.D. Candidate in Communication Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco.

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Dr. Khalid LAHLOU Hassan II University, Ben Msik-Casablanca, Morocco

Advertising and Persuasion Strategies

Abstract: It is generally admitted that advertising is the fuel that empowers mass media. As a result, millions and millions of people are daily exposed to advertisements be it through TV, radio, billboards or/ and others. In a continually changing world where the tendency of consumption is gaining ground, advertising exists in order to solve a major problem: the presence of more products (goods and services) than needed bearing in mind that in a society of scarcity, which is not the case of this modern life, there should be no need for ads. The objective of my paper is to try to shed light on the marketing strategies and some persuasive methods used by advertisers in order to: Invite/ lure the existing and potential consumers to take an action Generate a (needless) demand for a given product so as to boost sales, and therefore produce more turnover. Also, the paper will try to show how audiences could be victims of some carefully designed packaging deliberately aimed at deceiving customers. The paper will conclude by raising the notion of ethics concerning the frequent use of disloyal methods, the aim of which is to engender as much profit as possible, regardless of the cultural values and the business ethics that should normally govern such practices.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Khalid LAHLOU is an Associate Lecturer and ex-department head, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Hassan II university, Casablanca where he teaches a number of courses ranging from Understanding the Media, and Extensive Reading to Modern American Fiction, to name but a few. He also supervises a good deal of research papers and monographs. LAHLOU got his B.A in Morocco before moving to Essex University, Colchester, England, to read for his post-graduate degrees. He also made a brief visit to UCSB (University of California Santa Barbara) where he met a number of scholars and men of letters from different countries. He has written and reviewed several articles, amongst which we can cite: The poetic image in Audens the Fall of Rome (2010), A Teaching Approach based on Active Pedagogy (2008), La Maison Blanche: changera-t-elle de couleur? and Chine: Gagnera-t-elle son pari olympique? (2007).

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Dr. Rotimi Williams OLATUNJI Lagos State University, Nigeria The Role of Advertising in the Promotion of Foreign-Oriented Food Culture Among Children in Nigeria

Abstract: Although economically dependent on the adult segment of the human population, children as consumers not only directly undertake buying decisions, they also directly and indirectly influence the purchase decisions of their parents and guardians. Persons from the period of infancy to the onset of puberty, or between the first eight days on earth and ages 12 or 13 are biologically classified as children. In awareness of the huge population and economic potentials of children, and more in realization of their influence on the purchase decisions of the economically active segment of the human population, advertisers often target their messages at children. This is much more the case with advertising messages aimed at inducing food-related behaviour among children. Several studies have shown that factors such as innate preferences, associative conditioning, social learning, and socio-cultural effects influence childrens food choice. In addition to these, childrens exposure to foods is determined by care-givers including parents and siblings; peers and the mass media. The media on their own present food culture to children by showing people eating and drinking in soaps on television, listing of recipes in print media and in the advertisements of foods and drinks. Globalization promotes sameness in all aspects of life including, technological, architectural, ideological, linguistic and other forms of culture, including food culture. It is against this background that this paper examines the role of advertising in the promotion of foreign-oriented food culture, particularly the Asiatic-oriented noodles among children in Nigeria. The survey research design is adopted. A content analysis of selected newspaper advertisements on existing brands of noodles in Nigeria is carried out, which enables the researcher to address the question: What are the major messages, appeals, models, and creative techniques adopted in advertisements directed at children in Nigeria? Questionnaires are administered on randomly selected children from primary schools in Lagos and Ogun states, Nigeria to find out the influence of the advertisements of foreign food (the noodles) on preferences for local food items. The study hypothesizes that exposures to advertisements on foreign foods will not negatively influence childrens preference for local food culture. Relevant theories such as psychological and social learning theories, including media (advertising) uses and gratification theories are relied upon in the discussion. The implications of the findings on consumerism; the promotion of healthful food habits as well as implications on indigenous food culture among children; and its implications on advertising ethics/ regulatory measures on commercial messages directed at children in Nigeria are extensively discussed. Appropriate recommendations are proffered. Key Words: Advertising; Children; Food Culture; Consumerism; Learning theories; Advertising appeals; Creative strategies.
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Brief biographical sketch of the author: Rotimi Williams OLATUNJI is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Relations and Advertising, School of Communication, Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos, Nigeria. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Advertising as Communication from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His research interests are in the areas of Economic and Socio-cultural issues in advertising; advertising and consumer psychology; political communication; and cultural tourism marketing. He has over 20 academic publications in international journals and chapters in books. Some of them are: Olatunji R. W. & B. A. Laninhun (2009). 'Neoliberalism: What Benefits for the Advertising Industry in Nigeria?' In Anthony A. Olorunnisola (Ed.), Media and Communications Industries in Nigeria: Impacts of Neoliberal Reforms between 1999 and 2007, (pp. 157-202). Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, (USA, Canada and Britain); Olatunji, R.W. (2008) Sustainable Cultural Tourism Development in Nigeria: What Roles for Marketing? Journal of Development Communication ,No. 1, Vol. 19 (June), 43-62 (Malaysia); Olatunji, R.W. (2007) The mass media, youths and reproductive health education in Nigeria, International Journal of Social and Management Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 2, 77-100 (Norway); Olatunji, R.W. (2006) The Service Sector in a Deregulating and Emerging Democracy: The case of the advertising industry in Nigeria (1999-2003) Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, Vol.8 No.1 (April), 35-45, (Nigeria); Olatunji, R. W. (2006b). Managing advertising creativity in a deregulating economy, Alliance Journal of Business Research, Vol. 2 No.1, (Spring), 83-90. (Oakland University, Michigan, USA); Olatunji, R.W. (2006c) Print media coverage of world environment day activities in Nigeria (2000 2004), The Nigerian Journal of Communications, Vol. 4, Nos. 1&2, 25-37, (Nigeria). Currently member of the Editorial Board, International Journal of Social and Management Sciences, (IJOSMAS); International Journal of Broadcast and Communication Technology; Associate Editor, The Nigeria Journal of Communication; and Editor, African Journal of Marketing Communication.

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Dr. Lamiae AZZOUZI Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Fashion, Eating Disorder, Sex and the Media Abstract: Media are considered as an empirical link between different societies, and a mediator which plays a very crucial role in presenting and identifying others from diversified cultures and societies. Media, including print Media, play a very important role in all societies; their main role is that of informing the public, and for this alone they have the power to reach as many as possible. The extent to which the media shape how we see ourselves has been hotly debated in all societies around the world, as being fashionable, eating disorder and getting interested in sex culture. Research has consistently demonstrated that media images, especially advertisements and magazines, play a dominant role in distortion of body image leading to increase women and adolescents interests in issues of fashion, diet and sex. Such images of thin models in media generated feelings of anxiety, stress, and dissatisfaction among women. This paper will argue that contemporary media conflate beauty with thinness, to such an extent that many young people feel compelled to make unhealthy life style choice. This paper will also evoke the idea that sometimes media are not entirely fair or just and sometimes they fail to cover some pertinent issues that concern us all as mothers, sisters, fathers, etc., mainly fashion, sex and eating disorder. Brief biographical sketch of the author: Lamiae AZZOUZI has got a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. She has been teaching Professional Communication, Coaching and Business English for Engineers in Computer Science in ESISA SCHOOL since 2003 in Fez City. She joined the School of Arts and Humanities of Moulay Ismail University in Meknes in 2005. She has many articles published. Her fields of interest are Morpho-Syntax, Sociolinguistics, Media Studies, Business English and Professional Communication.

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Dr. Chourouq NASRI University Mohamed 1, Oujda, Morocco

Fighting Passive Vision in Moroccan Universities Abstract: In this paper, I shall examine the importance of the visual in education. Human experience now is more visualized than before. We are overwhelmed with images everyday; but we are so accustomed to them that we do not question their meaning and their impact on us. The visual is a mode of knowledge. Our daily encounters with film, television and advertising shape our understanding of the world. Cinema is a technological apparatus and a cultural institution that trace human life and subjectivity. Interest in film involves interest less in cinematic technology than in the image which sums up the film narrative and the complexities of content. Film translates the fascination of the world with the visual; a fascination which began in the West at the end of the nineteenth century. Television offers another mode of visual representation and visual knowledge. Understanding the image is understanding the social context, technology, economy and cultural modes of spectatorship. The visual is a means that must be used in class. It provides an immense opportunity to make students understand and interact with the world in a more creative way. Our students are visually illiterate. They have trouble understanding literary texts because they cannot represent them to themselves. I want to argue that to transform the education system, we have to teach students how to see. We have to go beyond the traditional confines of the university by inciting them to think about vision in a reflective way. Visual thinking can be liberating since it allows new questions to be raised that are not easily asked in conventional classes. It is the best way to make students sceptical about officially mediated knowledge. By actively interacting with images, students will learn that vision is a social construct. Their understanding of visuality will enhance their critical thinking skills. They will easily recognize the inaccuracy of the saying the camera cannot lie. The curriculum would be richer and more challenging if the visual were included. My aim in this paper is to show that it is time to seriously revisit the educational system and to recognize the importance of the visual in the pedagogical process.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Chourouq NASRI is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Mohamed 1, Oujda. In 2003, he earned a Ph.D. from la Sorbonne Nouvelle by completing a dissertation on the relationship between text and image in the novels of Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Lewis. His current research focuses on the new directing voices in Moroccan cinema. He is also the founder and coordinator of a professional BA, Mdias et communication interactive. This program aims to explore the role of the media in shaping culture and society. It offers a combination of intellectual training and practical teaching.

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Dr. Driss BENATTABOU Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco Gender Imbalances in Moroccan EFL Textbooks: From "Survival of the fittest" to "Survival of all" Abstract: Gender imbalances and disparities in language textbooks have often been and continue to be the concern of a substantial body of research studies. In compliance with the non-sexist recommendations implemented worldwide (Sunderland,1992 ; DeShazer,1981; Mannheim 1994; Hennessy 1994), a number of steps have been undertaken to avoid sexism through the provision of textbooks devoid of any bias, be it at the level of the textual or visual representations of male and female identities. To evaluate the state of the art within the Moroccan context, I have undertaken a content analysis of nine (9) Moroccan EFL textbooks. The findings of this research show that despite the significant initiatives undertaken in a number of countries to eliminate gender stereotyping from language teaching materials, things have not much changed with respect to Moroccan EFL textbooks, which seem to maintain the status quo. In fact, women are still defined by their stereotypical and traditional domestic roles, as being the exclusive subservient of the household, and suitable only for low-status employments. The content analysis of these textbooks proves convincingly that myriad and more subtle aspects of sexism remain deeply-seated and continue to linger on. The argument of this paper rests on the belief that although overt and explicit messages of sex-bias are somehow easier to pin down, what remains difficult to explore and too arduous to contrive are the hidden and covert dimensions of sexism tacitly entrenched in the multifaceted discoursal patterns of the textbooks. This is indeed a regrettable information gap that may potentially have detrimental effects on female language learners. The stakes would unavoidably be very high if we keep closing our eyes and choose a laissez-faire attitude towards this state of affairs. This paper sets out to fill in this information gap, and to suggest that substantial efforts remain yet to be undertaken to help foster a well-balanced and equalitarian view of the two sex groups in Morocco. Brief biographical sketch of the author: Driss BENATTABOU is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco.

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Dr. Jose Reuben Q. ALAGARAN II Miriam College, Quezon City, Philippines In Keeping with the Digital Age: Planning and Adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Among Communication Educators in the Philippines Abstract: This is an updated paper which focuses on how some communication educators in the Philippines plan and adopt information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning communication courses. Eighty-three (83) communication teachers participated in the survey through snowball sampling. The survey was complemented with interviews with Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE) President, and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Technical Panel Chair, and documents review of CHED Policies and Standards on Communication Programs. In general, the respondents use ICT for communication, research, and presentation purposes, and not so much for content creation and development, such as multimedia authoring, digital audio/video streaming, and podcasting. They plan their communication curriculum content based on expected competencies of graduates, which the key informants and CHED Policies also encourage. They also develop the curriculum to match the available ICT equipment in their schools and the ICT competencies of teachers. In keeping with the digital age, the educators would attend professional development programs and help institutionalize ICT integration through the development of ICT policies. In so doing, they are still able to respond to the requirements of the digital age in their own little but varied ways. The paper has been updated to include a model that integrates the concepts of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). These are recent UNESCO frameworks that the author attempts to incorporate in communication education curricula for possible adoption by tertiary or higher education institutions in the Philippines. Key Words: communication education, ICT in education, planning and adoption of ICT Brief biographical sketch of the author:
Jose Reuben Q. ALAGARAN II is a communication practitioner, consultant, researcher, writer, trainer, and educator. He is at present an Associate Professor of the Department of Communication of Miriam College in the Philippines. He is also President of Philippine Communication Society under the Philippine Social Science Council. He is Chairperson of Advocacy and Social Mobilization Information, Education, and Communication (ASM-IEC) Program of the Manila-based Southeast Asian Centre for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development (SEACLLSD) under the auspices of UNESCO. He was also Team Member, UNESCO Curriculum Development Committee for Teacher-Training Curricula on Media and Information Literacy. He obtained his Ph.D. in Communication, with cognates in Educational Technology and Distance Education from the University of the Philippines. He has written papers included in books entitled Philippine Communication Today, A Reader on Information and Communication Technology Planning for Development, Communication and Media Studies in ASEAN, and Excellence in Public Information. His areas of expertise include Communication Research, Communication Management, Development Communication, Educational Technology and Distance Education.

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Dr. Mahdia AIT DAOUD Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco The Film and the Novel: A Semiotic Approach

Abstract: In modern times audio-visual media started performing films derived from literary texts, particularly novels. Since then scholars have been debating various questions such as: What are the differences between linguistic and visual media? Can images faithfully represent written words? What is the function of the author and the adapter? How do interpretations vary from reading response to visual reception? If a text can be adapted into screen, can a film be adapted into a text? The key term that stimulates the above questions is adaptation. Controversial attitudes and views are suggested to determine and analyse this process. This research will be carried out from the perspective of a semiotic approach. Thus, focus will be on the main signs that construct novels and films, their similarities and differences, the codes that govern them and finally how literary signs are transmuted into screen.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Mahdia AIT DAOUD is Assistant Professor of English Literature and Gender Studies. She published various articles in English and Arabic such as:The Fantastic and the Real in the Short Story (in Arabic, The Literary Supplement of Al Alam, 1999);The Veiled Vase (UFAHAMU Magazine, the University of California, USA, 1997); The New Cradle; The Invisible Candidate; Cold Tears; The Ancient Needle; Purple Eyes; The Song of a Dumb (LOpinion, 1992, 1993,1993). Prizes: The First Prize of the Short Story (Jamiat Maghrib Shabab), Casablanca, 2001. The First Prize of the Short Story (Jamiat Ibdae Nissae), Fez, 2000.

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Dr. Bheemaiah Krishnan RAVI Bangalore University, India New Media, Culture and Society Abstract: The paper initiates with mankind, globalization and the contemporary mass media role played through multiple media approach at the dawn of the third millennium and the need to address the challenge of technological pluralism. Then the concepts and influences of new media technologies related communications through the internet, cell phones, multimedia, gaming and animation, portals, etc. are enunciated. Perspectives of Culture, new media culture and its impact on society are dealt with. Later, the importance of studies on culture and relevance of technology in cultural studies are explained. The paper attempts to probe into the prevalent Communication Order/s if any, their acceptance or failures among nations worldwide and their possible thrusts towards advancement of culture(s) maintaining free and responsible media practices. Light is thrown upon the sociological divide and other factors affecting the digital access, the gap among sections of users [digital divide] and hence on the consequence of the divide on knowledge realization. Contradiction arising between such a divide and that of the dream of global village is established in the paper. Simultaneously, the debate of whether globalization can be realized through the culture of new media usages is also brought out. Ideas of convergence of media and the positive and negative effects arising out of it on e-communities are delineated. The subtle changing of the classical and practical definitions of communication into the post-modern versions is also observed with instances. The local cultures resulting out of specific pattern of new media utilities and the identities formed due to new media usages and pedagogical approaches in media education, especially in the teaching of new media related topics are subjected to analysis. Nuances in ideas and possibilities of media imperialism are checked for reality and on such a realization the feasibility of setting up of Global News Agenda is attempted by the paper. Brief biographical sketch of the author:
Bheemaiah Krishnan RAVI, M.A., M.S., Ph.D., is currently Reader in the Department of Studies in Communication, MS Communication Course, Bangalore University, P.K. Block, Palace Road, Bangalore-560 009, India. He has more than two decades of teaching and research experience. He also has a PG Diploma in Translation from University of Mysore and an M.A in English Literature from the same University. He had a five year stint as journalist with the regional vernacular daily Prajavani, too. His specialized areas include journalism, film appreciation, electronic media, public relations and industrial communication, traditional folk media for rural communication, magazine production, communication skills, political communication and international communication. He has presented nearly 10 papers and attended several more; delivered guest lectures on various spectrum of topics on media and society. 26

He has held many positions [at least 30] as chairman / member / Secretary / Trustee, etc. of several commissions or committees in active or advisory capacities. He is a former member of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, Govt. of Karnataka. He has been nominated for [nearly 30] several Central Govt., State Govt., University level, academic and administrative bodies. He has received five Awards from recognized bodies including Chanakya Award for best teaching faculty from Public Relations Council of India. He has produced more than 20 programmes for TV and nearly 20 productions for radio, besides 30 talks on radio. He has nearly 20 books and articles published in different national and international journals, worked in film productions, conducted research studies and training courses. He was on five committees of media relations. Ph: +91-80-23201938; +91-80-22961992; e-mail: bkravibu@gmail.com

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Ms. Jacinta MWENDE MAWEU University of Nairobi, Kenya & Rhodes University, South Africa

Selling Audiences to Advertisers? The Hyper-Commercialism of News Content in News Media in Kenya

Abstract: Since the wind of globalization and liberalization swept through Africa in the early 1990s, there has been dramatic change in the performance and structure of the media in Africa and Kenya in particular. Media ownership changed hands from government to private ownership. This was and is a positive step towards media freedom and performance hence the promotion of democracy. But, although the media in Kenya today is more vibrant and diverse than that of the 1990s, there has been increasing pressure and competition in the media industry with each media devising new strategies to survive in the market. Due to privatization, commercialization and corporate control of the media in Kenya, the individual media have had to fiercely compete for the scarce advertising sources in the market. This has literally translated to the news media tailor making advertiser friendly news; news that creates a buying mood for the advertisers products. Consequently, we are witnessing an increase in paid for news content and a blurring line between editorial and advertorial news. The danger of this trend is that the media are more concerned with the profit motive at the expense of public interest. This paper seeks to examine the social, cultural and democratic implications of the media as profit seeking businesses, funded by profit seeking advertisers in Kenya. Herman and Chomskys Propaganda model will guide this analysis of media performance and accountability in Kenya today. The main contention of the author is that this hyper commercialism of the media in search of profits has grave consequences; that the media cannot effectively function as a genuine public sphere and the peoples watchdog under this glaring pressure to compete for advertisers as well as audiences. This hyper commercialization reduces the quality of news content, leads to the loss of diversity of voices and investigative reporting.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Jacinta MWENDE MAWEU is Assistant lecturer, School of Journalism and Media Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya and a Ph.D. student, Rhodes University, South Africa.

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Dr Qin GUO Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Netting the Public Sphere? - A Chinese Case Abstract: It might symbolise a turning point in Chinas Internet politics when President Hu Jintao appeared on the People Network (www.people.com.cn) and chatted with the net users on 20th June 2008. In responding to questions by the net users, President Hu said that he surfed the web for three major purposes, namely viewing national and international news; understanding net users concerns and opinions; and understanding net users comments and suggestions for the (Chinese Communist) Party and the state. He affirmed that the Chinese government pays great attention to some suggestions and comments posted by the net users, and views the Internet as an important channel of knowing peoples sentiment and pooling peoples wisdom. President Hus online chat was echoed with Prime Minister Wen Jiabaos chat online on 28th February 2009. Since then, a new term wang shang ting zheng ( meaning online hearing of the politicians/officials) became popular and fashionable in China. This research explored the role of Internet in fulfilment of Habermas ideal of public sphere in the Chinese context. Qualitative research methods, including secondary data analysis, media content analysis, and questionnaire survey were applied in the research. The research found that while the government is keen to promote the Internet as a channel to access public opinion, the prospect of political participation in China remains a question. There are challenges facing the Chinese government and people. These include unbalanced online power between the rural and urban areas; insufficient interest of participation among the Internet users; strict governmental intervention. It is concluded that technology will not bring participation or democracy automatically. A healthy public sphere rests on the shoulders of the government and the citizenry. Brief biographical sketch of the author:
Qin GUO is a Senior Lecturer and Leader of the Discipline of International Communication (formerly known as the Department of International Communication) at the Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. She is also Honorary Professor in Educational Technology and Communication at South China Normal University (Guangzhou, China). Qin Guo is an experienced educator and researcher in the field of communication, specialising in intercultural communication and educational communication. She has published widely on the diffusion of innovation and e-Education. Major publications include: Guo, Qin (1995): An Innovation Diffusion Model. Sydney: EAP Education & Communication Service. (ISBN: 0646 26087 1); Guo, Qin (2009): Liberation Education, Integration Instruction and Constructivism. Audio-visual Education Research (e-Education Research), 15-19. (ISSN: 1003-1553); Guo, Qin (2009): Constructing Culturally Sensitive and Responsive Education. Local Problems, Global Solutions? ACE 2009 Conference Proceedings, 1207-1213.; Guo, Qin (2009): Accommodating Cultural Diversity in Multicultural Classroom From Constructivism to PostConstructivism. Conference Proceedings of the 7th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education, 281-293. (ISBN: 1541-5880); Guo Qin (2008): Participatory Teaching and Learning A Multicultural T&L Model. ICERI (International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation) Conference Proceedings. (ISBN: 978-84-612-5091-2); Guo, Qin (2007): Cultural Competence in International Education. The Eighth International Conference of International Academy of Linguistics, Behavioral and Social Sciences Conference Proceedings, 19. (ISBN: 1050-6292)

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Dr. Meriem OUAHIDI University of Beni Mellal, Morocco Representation of the Moroccan Family in TV ads

Abstract: This paper is an attempt to examine the representation of the family in Moroccan TV advertising. More specifically, the question that motivated this research project is: What messages about the family have been given to society through advertisements? Based on empirical research conducted in 2009, this study argues that Moroccan ads tend to portray the family and its members in highly stereotypical ways. Mothers are usually confined to the domestic sphere: caring for children; cleaning the house, shopping for groceries, and making meals for the husband. At times they are supported by their daughters, preparing for their future role as mothers and wives. However, Moroccan fathers are excluded from household activities. Sons reproduce the role model of the father. Gender subordination in the Moroccan culture is very much due to the cultural functions and values of the family. The main purpose of this paper is to critically examine representation of the Moroccan family life in TV ads and to reflect on its influence on commonly held assumptions about the family in Morocco. The results of this study are discussed in relation to the prevailing cultural milieu.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Meriem Ouahidi is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Beni Mellal, Morocco since 2004. She has been interested in the field of Media Studies since her postgraduate studies; her Doctorate dissertation is on Moroccan TV Advertising: A Sociolinguistic and Semiotic Analysis.

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Dr. Mahmoud EID University of Ottawa, Canada www.MahmoudEid.ca Magazine Advertising as a Rationalization of Modern Power: The Canadian Culture and Rhetoric in Macleans Abstract: How the media reflect culture, and particularly how mass media advertising content represents culture, is an important concern in the era of globalization and transnational communication. Rhetoric is one of the powerful tools that has been widely used in communication practices around the world. This paper looks at the Canadian culture as an example of a culture reflected in the advertising content of magazines, in the context of rationalizing a modern style of communication power. The term We Canadians, as an example of a powerful communication mechanism, is examined here. Advertisements from Macleans, the most popular magazine in Canada, during November and December of 2009 and January of 2010 are rhetorically analyzed. The paper investigates how Macleans advertisements try to persuade readers to purchase products or services; i.e., how copywriters and artists use language and images in creating magazine advertisements that they believe will sell. One of the main ways that advertising influences is through allusions to universality, i.e., the term We Canadians ascribes to one unified notion of culture. The specific techniques to achieve this universalized view are rhetorical devices. The paper explores the rhetorical persuasive devices used in advertisements to investigate the influence of Canadian culture in the advertising process. Explored rhetorical persuasive devices are metaphoric language; metonymic language; verbal appeals; the herd mentality; keeping up with the Joneses; imitation of stars and celebrities; reward yourself; stimulate fantasy; oppositions; and images and visual phenomena. Key Words: Rhetoric; Magazine; Advertising; Culture; Canada. Brief biographical sketch of the author:
Mahmoud EID is Associate Professor at the Department of Communication, University of Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Eid is the editor of the Global Media Journal - Canadian Edition. He is the author of Interweavement: International Media Ethics and Rational Decision-Making (2008), series editor of Communication Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (2007), editor of Communication and Media Studies: An Introduction (2010), and co-editor of The Right to Communicate: Historical Hopes, Global Debates and Future Premises (2009) and Introduction to Media Studies: A Reader (2007). His research interests, teaching experience, and publications concentrate on international communication, media ethics, communication research methods, terrorism, crisis management and conflict resolution, modernity, and the political economy of communication. Dr. Eid has presented numerous papers at global conferences and has contributed chapters to several books published by Hampton Press, Pearson, Peter Lang, Oxford University Press, and Kendall/Hunt, among others. In addition, he has published articles in various journals including The Journal of International Communication, The European Journal of Communication Research, International Journal of the Humanities, First Monday, INFORMATION, Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications, Corporate Ownership and Control, Journalism Ethics for the Global Citizen, and The International Journal of Technoethics. 31

Dr. irin DILLI University of Paris 3-Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, France & Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey

Media, Diversity, Terminology: Making and Breaking Terms

Abstract: This paper focuses on the problems of terminology that have characterized the field from the beginning, as well as on my own resolution of these dilemmas. The choice of labels and categories is not without implications. The way groups name and categorise themselves can have political, material, and symbolic consequences for the lives of their members and for society at large. The terminology initially established by groups may be adopted later by other social actors, and intentionally or not, be used with political effects in what we can call a "differentiation-economy". Thus, to be labelled can be the product of the dominant society (hetero-defined category) or the product of the groups (auto-defined category). Category might also come from legal, juridical, statistical instances (illegal, political refugees, etc.) or have social connotations (I am thinking of Beurs , of Bcassines in France or of 5th arm in Turkey). In this case, the question of human rights is relevant since by labelling, you close a group in a hermetic framework which restricts freedom. Thus, from the standpoint of researchers, care must be taken in the use of terminology. The semantic dimensions of terms can shape the object of study and ones relationship to it; further, academic categorisations can be adopted and used in the fields of politics and media.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: irin DILLI is a postdoctoral scholar at Paris 3-Sorbonne Nouvelle and Istanbul Bilgi Universities. She has participated in a number of European research projects. Of Turkish origin, she now resides in Paris. Her main publications includes Mdias et diversit - De la visibilit aux contenus, Paris, Karthala, 2008, 158 p. (co-writer) and Media and Cultural Diversity in Europe and North America, Paris, Karthala, 2009, 168 p. (co-writer).

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Dr. Bouziane ZAID Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco A Typology of Moroccan Media System in the Country's Democratic Transition Abstract: A core assumption of much of the literature on media in developing countries is that a more independent press with greater freedom will make a positive contribution to political change. In Morocco, a democratic transition started in 1997, when the opposition socialist party came to power and led the government. The new governments mission was to enact political reforms that aimed at promoting human rights, civil liberties, an open and pluralist media, and at establishing the rule of law. This paper examines the interplay between media policy, media institutions, and the government in Morocco. To evaluate the nature of the political role of media in democratic transitions requires close scrutiny of three major factors: the legal, the economic, and the political environments. This paper first examines the media policy as enacted in the Constitution, the Press Law, and the Audiovisual Communication Law. Second, the paper provides a careful and detailed examination of the economic and political environments and addresses the issues of ownership and the degree of political control over the content of news media. One important outcome of this research is that it will help determine whether Morocco's democratic reforms are meaningful reforms, or just empty attempts to pacify domestic and international public opinion. Brief biographical sketch of the author: Bouziane ZAID obtained his B.A. degree (1992) in English Literature from Moulay Ismail University in Meknes, his M.A. (1999) in Mass Communication and Ph.D. (2009) in Communication from the University of South Florida, USA. His research interests are in the areas of media law and policy, public service broadcasting, development communication, and critical media studies. Zaid began his teaching career in 1998 as a teaching assistant at the Department of Communication at USF and as a lecturer at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane in 2003. The courses he has taught include Media and Development, Mass Media and Society, International Communication, Communication Theories, and Human Communication. Zaid now works as an Assistant Professor at the Communication Studies Program of the school of Humanities and Social Sciences at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. His publications include the following:
Book: Zaid, B. 2010. Public Service Television Policy and National Development in Morocco: Contents, Production, and Audiences. Saarbrcken, Germany: VDM Verlag. Book Chapter: Zaid, B. 2001. Bakhtins Dialogic Model and Popular Culture. In Culture and Mass Communications in the Caribbean. H. Regis (Ed.). Gainsville, FL.: University Press of Florida. Conference Proceedings: Proceedings of the International Workshop. Women in Water Management. (Workshop held on March 26-28, 2007). A. El Kasmi, A. Legrouri, B. Zaid (Coeditors). Published by UNESCO Chair for Water, Women and Decision Power. October 2007. Entries in Encyclopedia: Zaid, B. 2009. Al Jazeera. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab States Today. An Encyclopedia of Life in the Arab States. Edited by S. Maisel and J. Shoup. Westport CT.: Greenwood. pp. 238-240 Zaid, B. 2007. Maghreb Arab leaders: Bouteflika. Encyclopedia of Political Communication, Sage publications. 33

Dr. Jos Maria PERCEVAL Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain http://www.josemariaperceval.es/

Unification, Problematization, Criminalization: Media Coverage of Minorities

Abstract: The sociological study of the marginalized through the media often falls into traps that promote its discursive exclusion: It starts from the study of a minority problem. The only solution to avoid this is to reverse the process and point directly to the main culprit from the beginning - inclusive society. It is the exclusive collective which starts a signaling process of a group, questioning with respect to it and, finally, criminalizing the group. The media convey this content contributing to the discriminatory process. Brief biographical sketch of the author: Jos Maria PERCEVAL is Full Professor at the Faculty of Communications Studies, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona. He is specialized in Intercultural and Arab World:

Ph.D. in Journalism, Universidad Autnoma de Barcelona (2003). Ph.D. in Social Sciences, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales de CNRS (Pars, 1992). Diplome d'Etudes Approfondies de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales de CNRS (D.E.A.) (Pars, 1986).

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Dr. Mohamed LAROUZ & Mr. Hicham FATMI Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco

Digital Literacy in Higher Education: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract: This paper attempts to examine the role of digital literacy in higher education. Specifically, it will discuss digital literacy from three perspectives: the institution, the teaching staff, and the students to highlight its prospects as well as its challenges to an effective implementation in the education system.

Brief biographical sketch of authors: - Mohamed LAROUZ, Ph.D., is Coordinator of Master Program in Applied Linguistics, Department of English, School of Arts and Humanities, Moulay Ismail University of Meknes, Morocco.

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Dr. Santiago TEJEDOR & Dr. Nria Simelio Sol & Glria BAENA SORIA, & Mirey AL FARAH Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain The Role of Television in Media Literacy Abstract: This article discusses the role of the Spanish educational and cultural television in Media Literacy. An overview will be presented of the educational and cultural televisions in Spain that have developed over the last few years. Additionally, some examples will be presented as case studies for future initiatives. The educational television originally rose - in Spain and in several European and non European countries - as an instrument to overcome and compensate some of the limitations of the school systems. They were designed and presented as an extension of scholar activities and, in some occasions, as a replacement of them altogether. This article will analyze this phenomenon through public and private sector examples. Nowadays, the educational television has to be reinvented and transformed into an interactive audiovisual tool that can serve the purpose of learning and knowledge throughout a lifetime. Television should be able to respond to the multiple demands that the current information age presents to all citizens. In order to accomplish these goals, we should not only take advantage of all the satellite and free land lines available today, but also enhance the huge possibilities in audiovisual services that the Internet offers. Using existing examples in the Spanish television landscape (private and public ones, because this is the way that the Spanish reality had been developed with the private and the public television), we will analyze some of the best practices that already exist in Spain. In addition, we will present a complete overview of the initiatives in both, private and public sectors, with formal and informal formats, that have been carried out by Media Literacy through television (both in the analogical and digital formats). Brief biographical sketch of authors: - Santiago TEJEDOR: General Coordinator of the Gabinete de Comunicacin y Educacin , Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Coordinator of the Master online Communication, Culture and Education, UAB. Ph.D. in Journalism and Communication Studies: Dissertation titled A Study on CIBER Journalism in Spanish Universities, Excellent Cum Laude, UAB. Professor at the Faculty of Communication Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona. Coordinator of Multimedia Workshop in the International Master of Communication and Education in UAB
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 Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA), Universidad Politcnica de Catalunya (UPC), Project Engineer, Environment, Security, Quality and Communication Universidad Politcnica de Catalua (UPC). International Master of Communication and Education (UAB 2001) BA in Journalism 2000, UAB. - Nria Simelio Sol, Ph.D., is Professor in Journalism Department, Universidad Autnoma de Barcelona. - Glria BAENA SORIA, Ph.D. Candidate, is the Academic Coordinator of the International Master of Education and Communication, Faculty of Journalism Studies, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona - Mirey AL FARAH, is Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Journalism Studies, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona and member of the Research Centre "Gabinete de Comunicacin y Educacin".

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Mr. Jaouad RADOUANI Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco

Learning from Media: Aljazeera Channel Influence

Abstract: It is true that at the beginning of the third millennium the mass media have been confirmed as one of the most influential institutions in society, and that they play key roles in shaping our identities, attitudes, behaviours and consciousness through their various functions. Therefore, the mass media are teaching us a lot, they keep influencing the way we see the world and the way we interact with it; thus, they make of us different people in a persistent and recurrent manner, and this no one in the modern world can either escape or deny. Therefore, all of us, as people who rely heavily on mass media to provide us with information, have become in a certain way media-fed-subjects who are what they are, no matter what their level of education and intelligence is, thanks to the influence mass media exert on them. This paper seeks to explain how mass media help make the lives of people better by drawing their attention to things that, otherwise, they may have neglected for the whole of their lives. It takes Aljazeera channel as an example and focuses on the huge change it realised at the level of the mentality of Arab people who rely heavily on it as the main source of information.

Brief biographical sketch of the author: Jaouad RADOUANI is a Ph.D. Candidate at Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Dhar El Mehraz, Fez. He is holder of an MA (DESA) degree in Humanities and Area Studies: Colonial and Postcolonial Discourse from Mohamed I University in Oujda. He is currently working as EFL teacher at a high school in Nador, and is author of two books: Stereotype and Prejudice in Elizabethan Drama, published in Germany by VDM Verlag Dr. Muller, 2009. ISBN 978-3-639-16650-7, and Poems from the Moroccan Desert, published in the United States of America by Wordclay in 2009. He also published a number of articles and translations in local as well as international newspapers and magazines.

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Dr. Drissia CHOUIT Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco

A Linguistic Approach to Communication Strategies in Media Discourse and Popular Culture Abstract: This paper presents a new approach to Communication Strategies and to Media Literacy by highlighting the importance of Linguistics in deciphering media messages. In the framework of the Metaoperational Grammar founded by Henri Adamczewski (www.linguistique.org), this paper aims to show the role played by grammatical operators in constructing semantic interpretation, and how determinant they are in the encoding and decoding of messages. Drawing on my own findings in the fields of Comparative Linguistics, Communication Strategies and Translation, this paper aims (1) to show that grammatical operators reflect the communication strategies used by the communicator according to the context and the goal of communication; (2) to evidence the fact that grammatical operators reveal the attitude of the communicator vis--vis what he structures and vis--vis the audience and other protagonists involved in his/her discourse, if any; and (3) to raise awareness about the importance of considering "Grammar as Communication" and to show the subtle influence that these linguistic patterns may have on audiences: In fact, communicators can use these powerful tools of cognitive persuasion to shape the attitudes and behaviours of audiences. Evidence to support this new approach to language and communication will be provided by (1) examples taken from news media, mainly newspapers and television, using a comparative approach (English, French and Arabic); and (2) examples taken from popular culture, mainly songs in Arabic (Standard Arabic, Moroccan Arabic and Egyptian Arabic).

Brief Biographical sketch of the author:

Drissia CHOUIT obtained her Ph.D. in Linguistics and Communication from the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III), France. Former Consultant to UNESCO in Linguistics and Communication, she has 10 years experience in Diplomacy, and 10 years experience in teaching Comparative Linguistics, and Media Studies, and recently Communication and Leadership. Her other fields of interest include Sociology and Anthropology. She has a number of publications and papers presented at national and international conferences on Comparative Linguistics, Communication Strategies, Translation and Media Literacy. She is a member of the following Professional Associations: the Forum UNESCO-University and Heritage (FUUH); the Association of Linguists "Les Amis du CRELINGUA (Centre de Recherche de Linguistique Anglaise) University of Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III), the National Association for the Safeguarding of Arabic Language, and the Moroccan Inter-University Network of English (MINE). She is a member of the Research Group on Applied Media Studies and Linguistics, University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Fes-Sais. She was a member of the Working Group set up by the President of Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, for the conception and implementation of the "Module Communication", as a contribution of Moulay Ismail University to the national common core Module on Communication for undergraduate studies in Moroccan universities, in the framework of the university reform of September 2003. 39

Dr. Jos Manuel PEREZ-TORNERO, Keynote Closing Speaker Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain Media Literacy in Europe: From Promoting Digital Literacy to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive Abstract: This paper focuses on initiatives and policies the European Commission (EC) has developed in relation to the new digital environment in which communication and information tools have caused significant changes in the way of acquiring knowledge and established innovative forms of social relationships and public participation. These initiatives have guided the actions of the European Union in promoting digital and media literacy as a strategy to become a competitive and dynamic knowledge-driven economy. The paper establishes the most relevant initiatives driven by the EC: to establish programmes -Safer Internet Programme, e-Learning Initiative, e-Inclusion Programme; MEDIA Programme-; to set up specialist groups -High-Level Experts Group and Media Literacy Expert Group- to provide expertise and propose actions; to commission studies Promoting Digital Literacy. Understanding Digital Literacy, Public Consultation, Current Trends and Approaches to Media Literacy in Europe" These efforts to make media literacy a key element of the development of IS (Information Society) in Europe concluded in the enactment of the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which was incorporated into legislation in all EU Member States. Key Words: Digital Literacy, Media literacy, European initiatives, European Commission Brief biographical sketch of the author: Jos Manuel PEREZ-TORNERO, Ph.D., is Full Professor of Communication at the Communication Department of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He is an expert in media literacy for the European Commission and UNESCO, Director of the International Master of Communication and Education (UAB), and Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain. Main publications: Prez-Tornero, Jos Manuel (with Paolo Celot). 2009. Study on Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels. Brussels: European Association for Viewers Interests. Prez-Tornero, Jos Manuel, Celot, Paolo, and Varis, Tapio. 2007. Current Trends and Approaches to Media Literacy in Europe. Brussels: European Commission. Prez-Tornero, Jos Manuel. 2005. Promoting Digital Literacy. Brussels: European Commission. Prez-Tornero, Jos Manuel. 2000. Comunicacin y Educacin en la Sociedad de la Informacin. Barcelona: Paids.

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