"The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is increasingly being played out in parallel on the internet. Recently, a great deal of media attention has been devoted to a series of spectacular hacker attacks that caused dozens of Israeli and Palestinian websites to crash, including thos
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e of the secret service agencies Mossad and Shin Bet. However, for Israelis and Palestinians who are willing to participate in dialogue, the internet also offers much needed opportunities for contact and the peaceful exchange of ideas." (Page 6)
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"Minority Voices began in January 2009 and ran for three years. It implemented the vast majority of its planned activities and produced the planned outputs. These include the development of an online hub or newsroom, 11 training workshops, production of reports and briefing materials on minority and
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indigenous people's issues and a conference in the EU to bring together minority and indigenous people with journalists and policy makers. The project had ten target EU countries: Czeck Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The project achieved significant results in terms of the quality of the outputs produced and in the benefits identified by trainees including their increased confidence and skills in engaging with the media. These were subsequently applied notably with their local media. The project also built awareness of and opportunities for journalists in new EU member states to report minority and indigenous communities' issues in development. The flexible approach taken by MRG, learning from experience and adapting to maximise new opportunities contributed significantly to these results." (Executive summary, page ii)
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"While the empirical emphasis of this book is on diasporic groups and their experiences with mainly new communication technologies, the topic is embedded in a broader set of questions that inform social sciences today. The book speaks to and analyses convergence cultures, community building, transna
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tional connections and processes of identity formation in the midst of these processes and relations. One of the overriding premises for the book seems to be the development within media and communication technologies and the exploration of their influence upon the increasingly mediatized social and cultural practices. New media geographies, growing virtual spaces, mediated social networks and processes of mass self-communication are all part and parcel of the contexts in which identity formation - diasporic or not - is taking place." (Foreword, page 9)
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"Significant progress has been made in regional agreements, providing a suitable frame of reference for a social approach to the care model. Although adjustments are required to harmonize domestic norms with international referents, much remains to be done for educational norms in the regions to ado
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pt provisions promoting educational inclusion according to the commitments acquired by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Human rights are evolving positively under constitutional frameworks and in laws on education and disability. In Central America and some countries of the Caribbean, general education laws take persons with disabilities into account through special education (with the exception of Panama). The same trend can be observed in national Constitutions. This improves in national laws on disability, which are more specific and favor inclusive education or include both modalities. In all three regions, there is no regulatory framework or specific policies on digital inclusion, much less on the use of ICTs for persons with disabilities. There are some isolated attempts to implement ICTs in all sectors of society. Issues of accessibility, the right to education and the use of technologies by persons with disabilities are not well integrated." (Conclusions from the study, page 68-69)
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"This article investigates the phenomenon of the Egyptian diaspora through an innovative approach based on the analysis of digital activity and the presence of Egyptian connected migrants. Following the methodology of the e-Diasporas project, we found a scarcely connected network of websites, with a
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large number of isolated nodes, little clusterisation and no authorities or hubs. The fact that the traditional approach of the e-diaspora gave few results prompted us to follow a new research strategy combining data from Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. In particular, thanks to the coincidence with the Egyptian revolt, we could investigate the mobilisation of Egyptian migrants for their voting rights on the micro-blogging platform Twitter. Through Twitter data, we identified links that were not visible through traditional Web mapping techniques and we could observe the emergence of a transnational Egyptian community debating and fighting for a common cause." (Abstract)
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"This investigation is about how Chinese overseas online commentators (COOCs) respond to political discourses on China. COOCs present the ideological heterogeneity of Chinese overseas. Their diverse responses to different ideological debates show patterns that manifest how the Chinese diaspora enact
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their positional cultural identification. The analysis of the data showed that on both sides of the divide, the debate leads commentators to assume positions of attachment to, or detachment from, their Chinese cultural affiliations not in a set of binary oppositions but as a continuum with varying degrees. Along this division line, internal fragmentation can be further identified by different views of China’s external tension with other world powers. The notable internal complexity can arguably represent the nation’s maturation." (Abstract)
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"Significant progress has been made in regional agreements, providing a suitable frame of reference for a social approach to the care model. Although adjustments are required to harmonize domestic norms with international referents, much remains to be done for educational norms in the regions to ado
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pt provisions promoting educational inclusion according to the commitments acquired by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Human rights are evolving positively under constitutional frameworks and in laws on education and disability. In Central America and some countries of the Caribbean, general education laws take persons with disabilities into account through special education (with the exception of Panama). The same trend can be observed in national Constitutions. This improves in national laws on disability, which are more specific and favor inclusive education or include both modalities. In all three regions, there is no regulatory framework or specific policies on digital inclusion, much less on the use of ICTs for persons with disabilities. There are some isolated attempts to implement ICTs in all sectors of society. Issues of accessibility, the right to education and the use of technologies by persons with disabilities are not well integrated." (Conclusions from the study, página 68-69)
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"Zimbabwean journalists and civil society activists in the diaspora have employed humour not merely to mock or ridicule but to conscientize people, and to raise attention for and awareness of the situation in Zimbabwe, including the social, economic and political realities and everyday life concerns
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and hardships experienced by ordinary people in the country. This article explores how diasporic Zimbabweans have made use of the freedoms in their current locations and of new media and other means to express their dissatisfaction with the Zimbabwean government and the state of affairs in their home country through satire and related forms of political humour. This article focuses particularly on the dissemination of cartoons and satirical messages from liberal host countries through the Internet. It is argued that political humour in the Zimbabwean diaspora has a counter-discursive function and serves as a ‘medium of communicating dissent’." (Abstract)
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"The project [...] was implemented in Kenya by the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) from September 2008 to January 2011 [...] The project’s overarching goal is to promote women’s human rights by raising awareness in six communities in Kenya and strengthening social action using commun
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ity radio listening groups consisting of women, young people and media practitioners to enable them to identify human rights violations and gender inequality, voice their concerns and insist on stronger protection for human rights and hold the government accountable." (Introduction)
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"Despite the country’s long history of censorship, Burmese do not currently appear to be apathetic about news coverage. Almost half (47.5%) say they access some type of news – whether via radio, TV, Internet, newspapers, etc. – at least daily, and 78.5% do so at least once a week. Radio remain
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s the primary medium to which Burmese turn for news. Currently, 62.8% of Burmese say they listened to a radio program in the past week. The results indicate past-week FM listenership continues to rise -- and suggest that AM listeners have migrated heavily toward new options on the FM spectrum. In 2012, just 18.3% of Burmese say they used a MW/AM band to listen to the radio in the past week. However, shortwave radio use remained steady in 2012, continuing to garner a strong weekly audience at 34% of all Burmese. Television is the secondary source, with almost half (44.7%) tuning in for news at least weekly. Overall, 56.8% of Burmese have a working television in their household, with TV ownership far more concentrated in urban areas (82.9%) than small towns and rural areas (45.7%). Just under half of Burmese overall (45.2%) say they watched television in the last seven days, again with a stark difference between those living in urban areas (68.9%) and those in small towns and rural areas (35.1%)." (Page 1)
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"This article builds on media use scholarship by focusing on an understudied population, second-generation Korean American adolescents, and their use of transnational media. The primary findings are that second-generation Korean Americans use transnational media as cultural resources through which t
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hey construct ‘new ethnicities’ that are situated at the borders of their identities as members of the Korean diaspora whose everyday experiences are rooted in their status as marginalized racialized ethnic minorities in the US. Second-generation Korean Americans build inter-ethnic boundaries to create a unique identity that separates themselves from the controlling gaze of dominant culture and to build intra-ethnic boundaries to differentiate between authentic and inauthentic Korean Americans. To do so, they draw on knowledge of Korean popular culture as it comes to be known through transnational Korean media. Finally, their use of Korean media is also influenced by their local views of gender and, in particular, masculinity." (Abstract)
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"The information communication technologies for development literature (ICT4D) has identified information communication technologies (ICTs) as a significant tool for economic and social development of least developed countries. The discourse has marginalized radio and promoted ICTs. However, there a
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re numerous challenges to using ICTs as a communication tool in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although investment in technology could create a much more effective use of ICTs, local appropriation should be at the center of any communication tool for development. This article discusses the widespread exposure to radio in SSA, and emphasizes the effectiveness of using radio to create indigenous knowledge, and in the process empower local women to actively frame their own messages and be active participants in development agendas. Combining radio and ICTs, also known as technological blending, would make certain that rural, poor and non-literate women are not only given meaningful access to new technologies, but also ‘brought into’ the development discourse, as active agents of social change." (Abstract)
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"Freedom of expression in Kenya has witnessed several phases of development, ranging from the autocratic to a proactive new media regime. This transformation has been enabled by governance reforms, including repeals and amendment of laws, as well as the promulgation of a new Constitution in 2010. Wi
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th respect to media, these reforms are reflected in the diversity of the Kenya media, which includes FM stations covering almost all the 42 ethnic dialects spoken in Kenya, mobile telephones, and the internet. These channels have expanded space for freedom of expression and engagement in public affairs, although many citizens still do not contribute to public issues and debates via these channels. New media, in particular the internet and interactive media, has been a focus of research and debate. However, the findings from this study reveal that the old media, in particular radio, remain the dominant channel for accessing news and expanding space for freedom of expression. This is largely due to the widespread availability and low cost of radio infrastructure compared to other communication channels. Newspapers, which also fall under old media, are minimally used, but are still more accessible than the internet Access to interactive media is now relatively widespread (56 per cent are regular listeners), but actual use and interaction via this channel still seems to be a preserve of a selected few, with only 3 per cent calling in or joining discussions. A unique unexplained aspect is the marginal differences across rural/urban, gender and age groups." (Conclusion)
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"Although Islam is not new to West Africa, new patterns of domestic economies, the promise of political liberalization, and the proliferation of new media have led to increased scrutiny of Islam in the public sphere. Dorothea E. Schulz shows how new media have created religious communities that are
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far more publicly engaged than they were in the past. Muslims and New Media in West Africa expands ideas about religious life in West Africa, women's roles in religion, religion and popular culture, the meaning of religious experience in a charged environment, and how those who consume both religion and new media view their public and private selves." (Publisher description)
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"Using a controversial issue in South Korea, a government plan to relocate the administrative capital, this study examines attribute agenda setting. Linking survey data to an analysis of news coverage, more specifically, the article explores how television news has influenced the way the public eval
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uates the plan and its various attributes, i.e. potential benefits and problems of the relocation. Findings support the idea that the media could increase public salience of certain attributes by placing them more prominently in news coverage. An important outcome of attribute agenda setting was its priming effect. Issue attributes emphasized in the media were functioning as important standards by which the audience evaluated the plan. These findings, taken together, enhance the intercultural validity of attribute agenda setting by demonstrating that the theory can be applied to South Korea, a country with a unique cultural tradition." (Abstract)
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"This study explores the solidification of the discourse of integration of the Gypsy/Roma in the European press following the fall of Communism. A discourse analysis focuses on the British and Romanian press between 1990 and 2006, and it suggests that, in the midst of opening of EU borders and talks
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of a European Constitution, the idea and necessity of integration grew in political popularity as a means to peaceably alleviate interethnic conflict. However, the discourse of integration has continuously shifted between assimilationist voices and projects that attempt to change the Gypsy other into a non-Gypsy, on the one hand, and human rights-inspired defense and advocacy for the Roma, on the other. This article further suggests that the press does more than confirm stereotypes; instead, uncertainties, contradictions, and changes mark press writing." (Abstract)
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