Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Chapter 3: Theoretical Background Second Draft

CHAPTER III

THEORETICAL, CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK

This study was conducted to determine the effects of watching anime and reading manga on the study habits of students. To support the study, theories will be used in order to fully explain the factors and variables of the study.

I. Theoretical Framework

The Hypodermic Needle Theory

The hypodermic needle theory's origins are largely unknown, and research on the theory's founder is hampered by the generality that surrounded media analysis in the early 20th century. Hypodermic Theory, also known as "Magic Bullet Theory" and "Hypodermic Needle Theory" was claimed to have arisen out of the surplus of propaganda and other influential films made public in the years immediately after World War I and in the years leading up to World War II. Hoever, although not widely recognized for having come up with the theory, Harold Lasswell may have refined and introduced the Hypodermic Theory in his 1927 book "Propaganda Techniques in the World War".

The "hypodermic needle theory" implied mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. It predicts strong and more or less universal affects of mass communication messages on all the audience members who happen to be exposed to them. Media fires the message directly into audience head without the audience knowing and this message causes the immediate response from the audience mind without any uncertainty. The media injects the message into viewers mind and it cause changes in audience behavior and consciousness towards the message. Audience are passive and they can’t resist the media message.

This theory deals with the impact of media messages in audience mind and how audience react towards the message without any hesitation.

The Temporal Motivation Theory

The Temporal Motivation Theory of Dr. Piers Steel (2007) provides strong evidence on why we procrastinate and is one of the major theories that fully explains the root causes of procrastination. The best definition for procrastination is the delaying of a task that was originally planned despite expecting to be worse off for the delay (van Eerde, 2003). Because the delay is irrational, people end up voluntarily choosing a course of action that they know will not maximize their physical, psychological and material well-being. But even though the people know that engaging into procrastination is bad for them, they still do it because when people find the work difficult or not enjoyable they also tend to procrastinate. Some people get distracted so easily that is why put off things that need to be done for later. The nearer the deadline the harder the people concerned work on. Also, some people make some plans on the things they need to work but do not work on the plan.

The Self- Handicapping Theory

In order to fully grasp the Self Handicapping theory, the attribution theory must be discussed first. The attribution theory of Weiner (1935) is about how the learner's "current self- perception" influences the ways which they interpret the outcomes of their doings. In attribution theory a person will interpret the surroundings and engage into a course of action. He then finds justifications, if the course of action he took just so happened to fail, and make them seem like he had no control over certain factors that hindered him from doing a certain task. That is why when people succeed they attribute it to their own effort but when they fail they say that it is because of reasons which they have no control.

Self-handicapping Theory by Riggs (1992) uses the principles of the attribution theory. In the self-handicapping theory, however, people willingly create the obstructions that hinder them from doing a certain task. These obstructions might be foolish but they help make excuses. If people fail, they tend to say it is because of these obstructions. These obstructions have a great impact on the performance of people because it blocks learning. Self-handicapping is common on teenagers. because it is commonly occurs on people who are concerned on their image and most likely they are teenagers (Slavin, 1983).



Figure 3. 1


II. Conceptual Framework

From the Hypodermic Needle Theory presented earlier, the researchers have dubbed the internet, television and various forms of printed material as the mediums that the viewers are exposed to regularly, subsequently giving these media direct and powerful influences upon the audience seeing as the internet and television have changed the speed, storage and availability of information from all over the word making various information easier to access. The messages from the medium, therefore, are directly injected into the viewers mind without them knowing and they passively consume the information and are unable to resist it.

So, if we incorporate the Hypodermic Theory with that of the Temporal Motivation Theory where it is stated that the more unpleasant a student finds a task, which in this case is studying, or making papers and assignments, the more likely he/she will put it off for later. First, modern technology has made it easier for people to procrastinate. The internet provides many distractions like checking e-mails, listening to music, instant messaging friends, playing computer games, watching videos on YouTube and hanging out in virtual social networks like Facebook, Tumblr and MySpace that can hinder a person from finishing a task that is needed to be done. However, the Internet is not the only existing distraction: television, cell phones, mp3 players, video games and a lot more sophisticated, modern inventions can cause serious procrastination.

And to add, the Self-Handicapping Theory which states that people will willingly find obstructions to excuse their failures. If a student will fail and he/she has not studied because she was watching TV or was surfing the net the day before a major exam, then he/she has the appropriate excuse to have failed and thus will not feel that he/she is stupid or dumb. However if he/she passes the exam without studying, then the student will think that he/she is a genius for passing an exam even if they spent the previous day just lazying around. Given these theories, the student will find excuses not the make projects and will look for ways not to or put off studying for exams later. These excuses will involve surfing the internet, playing computer games, wasting time in Facebook and other social networking sites and watching videos in YouTube all day long.

Figure 3 . 2

III. Operational Framework

As what the theories above stated, there are mediums that influenced a communicative situation to the Second Year College students of the University of the Philippines Cebu College. Since it is already established in this study that modern technology, which in this case is the internet, has changed the accessibility of information from all around the word making various information easier to access. This has resulted to the fast and world-wide distribution and dispersion of Japanese anime and manga. But it is just not the internet that makes anime and manga available for those who want to access them. Anime could be accessed through the television or could be streamed online or downloaded through the internet and bought at local DVD stores in malls. Manga could be bought from bookstores or purchased and read online. Like a drug, anime and manga is injected into the student to create a more effective, powerful and strong impact making anime and manga hard for them to resist watching and reading them.

Anime and manga will then be the student's obstructions and from our Temporal Motivation Theory where it is stated that the more unpleasant studying is, or making papers and assignments, the more likely a student will put it off for later and would rather spend their time watching anime and reading manga in the internet due to its easy accessibility. With this, the student will most likely put off studying and making projects for catching up with the anime series they are following.

From the Self-Handicapping Theory where obstructions are created to excuse failures, students unconsciously find ways to distract themselves and make these distractions as excuses for not studying or making projects. If students conduct group study sessions, students will talk about anime and manga and, thus, will make a good excuse for not having studied for an exam well. If a student will fail an exam or be unable to meet a deadline because he/she was watching anime and reading manga, then he/she has the appropriate excuse to have failed.



Chapter VI: Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations

CHAPTER VI

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This study was conducted to determine the effects of watching anime and reading manga unto the study habits of second year college students of the University of the Philippines Cebu College.Twenty Second Year College students of the University of the Philippines Cebu College were the respondents of this study. The inquiry was conducted on the school year 2011-2012.

Findings:

  1. 90% of the respondents started watching or were exposed to anime and manga when they were still 2 to 13 years old. These are the years when the respondents are still in kindergarten or in elementary. This means that many anime enthusiasts today were exposed to anime and manga early during their childhood. The researchers found out that most of the respondents who watch anime and read manga everyday were exposed when they were still 2 - 7 years old. Most of them spend more time watching anime and reading manga than studying. Four out of the 11 respondents who started watching at two to seven years old watch anime everyday while the other four only watch when they feel like it. This means that early exposure to anime and manga does increase your chances of getting 'addicted' to anime and manga.

  2. Most of the respondents prefer to not study everyday and only when exams are near which shows that majority of the student's time is spent watching anime and reading manga at home seeing as exams aren't held everyday. During the weekends, most students answered that the watch anime and read manga for two - 12 hours.

  3. 92% of the respondents watch anime and read manga only when they feel like it. However, after reconfirmation through the interview of the respondents who answered as such, the researchers verified that they allot more time for watching anime and reading manga rather than use the free time to study their lessons.

  4. 50 % of the respondents give equal priority to both their projects and time to watch anime and manga. They set aside time to do schoolwork first before watching. However, the data, shows that when exams or deadlines are really near, the respondents work on their projects and study for their exams immediately.

  5. Respondents prioritize the discussions given by the instructor during class hours. The respondents know that class hours are used for learning and should not be used for things that they can do later. However, data shows that when they are not in class, they are free to talk about anything without worrying about missing important notes and ideas from the instructor. Researchers find that the respondents know how to set their priorities well at school.

  6. During group sessions set for studying, 60 % of the respondents prefer to not discuss anime, characters or new updates. However, through the interview, a few respondents confessed that they cannot engage into anime discussions because their study mates either do not watch anime and/or do not appreciate distractions during study time.


Conclusion

Based on our findings, the researchers conclude that the studying habits of the second year anime enthusiasts of the University of the Philippines Cebu College are indeed affected by watching anime and reading manga. However, they give their full attention during class hours, not allowing anything to distract and interrupt them from listening to the instructor. However, once at home, they will find time to engage into anime and manga, whether it is to chat with other anime fans and/or spending the time watching and reading.


Recommendations

Based on the findings, the researchers recommend that:

  1. Seeing as early exposure to anime and manga can affect the attitude of a toddler toward these Japanese creations, parents should supervise the amount of anime and manga their children are exposed to during their toddler years.

  1. For the future researchers of this study, they must gather more respondents to ensure unbiased results and data.



Sunday, October 16, 2011

CHAPTER I : REVISION

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the Study


Hihara, a Computer Science student of one of the universitiesof Cebu city, had a major exam the very next day. The exam scheduled the following day was a hands-on File Reading exam so Hihara needed to practice coding the night before due to the fact that he was not that good in file reading yet. So he told himself that after eating dinner, he would start studying and coding.

When he arrived from school later that day, he was determined to let nothing distract him from studying. However, when he booted his laptop to open the lecture notes uploaded on the class blog, he saw that the anime he had on torrent for several days had already finished downloading. So then, he thought, "Hm. Okay, Maybe I should rest my mind a bit and watch anime while I eat my dinner. That will help me loosen up and calm my mind."

Satisfied with that, he got up and made dinner. He told himself over and over again that he was only going to watch an episode or two and then he was going to focus on programming and file reading.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. When dinner was ready, he had watched two full episodes of anime. And by the time he was full, he had already finished 4 episodes. The temptation to continue watching was there, even after he had placed his dirty plate in the sink.

He kept telling himself, "Ugh. Okay. I promise. This is the last episode for the night. And I'm going to get some coding down."

Nothing of the sort happened. He spent the whole night watching the anime he had finished downloading and by the time he finally found the nerve to shut the video player off, he was too sleepy to code properly. Nevertheless, he did but it was sloppy and unmotivated. The next day, just before the exam, he found out that some of his classmates who also loved anime experienced the same thing.

Hihara is one of the many second year anime enthusiasts in the University of the Philippines Cebu College who experience the same situations.

Anime is a blanket term, shortened from the word 'animation' and is often used to refer to the animated versions of comics that originated from Japan called "manga". Anime is an increasing world phenomena. More and more Anime series, mangas and movies come out each year and with that, the population of Anime fans around the world keep on increasing as well. The popularity of a particular Anime title that became a hit TV series usually lasts for years. Even though the show has ended on the TV station where it was aired, fans will search for their own copies of the series and watch it over and over.

Many young adults today watch anime and manga. What with its exiting plot lines, action packed scenes and a complexity that draws out a wider range of viewers, anime has taken the world by storm. Many young people claim it to be so addicting that they often neglect their responsibilities and would rather to watch anime and read manga.


So, with Hihara, nstead of studying and reviewing for exams or making projects to meet the deadlines, anime fans like Hihara procrastinate and postpone the tasks they need to do to watch anime and read manga.


Our study aims to find out the effects of watching anime and reading manga onto the study habits of the Second Year College students of the University of the Philippines Cebu College.


Statement of the Problem


This research was conducted to find out how influential anime and manga are on the study habit of the Second Year college students in the University of the Philippines Cebu College during Academic year 2011-2012.

Specifically, this study was attempted to answer the following sub-problems:

1. How much time do the students allot for watching anime and reading manga?

2. How much time do the students spend studying and reviewing?

3. How does watching anime and reading manga affect study group sessions?

4. How does watching anime and reading manga distract students during class

hours?

5. How does watching anime and reading manga interfere with the time used to

complete assignments and projects?

6. Does early exposure to anime and manga affect the students' attitude towards

anime and manga?


Objectives of the Study


The objectives of this study are:


To know the time students allot for watching anime and reading manga.

To determine the time students spend studying and reviewing.

To determine how watching anime and reading manga affects study group sessions.

To assess how watching anime and reading manga distract students during class

hours.

To know how watching anime and reading manga interfere with the time used to

complete assignments and projects.

To determine if early exposure to anime and manga can affect the students' attitude towards anime and manga.


Significance of the Study


This study can benefit the following people:


Parents. Through this study, parents will be made aware of the effects of their children watching anime and reading manga too much during childhood, and so with this, the parents can supervise their children's exposure of these Japanese media.

Students. With this study, they will be aware of the effects of watching too much anime and manga on their studies. With this, they can make necessary measures to limit their addiction.

Teachers. They can be made aware of the hobbies of their students and use these to their advantage. Teachers could make use of anime and/or manga as effective teaching techniques to arouse the interests of their students. (e.g. using characters from Axis Powers Hetalia to teach World History).