"With rapidly changing digital platforms and the impact of globalization on cultural diplomacy that has provoked the increasing mediatization of the field, non-state actors are now able to expand networks and gain legitimacy by addressing new publics using digital spaces. While the research about th
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e use of social media as a vehicle for cultural diplomacy continues to increase, little work has been done reflecting on the potential of another digital medium: video games. This study intends to fill that gap by assessing video games’ potential to serve as tools for cultural engagement in cultural diplomacy programming. Using the video game Never Alone as a case study, this dissertation explores the opportunity to provide a digital third space where imagined contact can occur to foster cultural understanding. Never Alone is a puzzle platformer video game developed in collaboration with the Iñupiaq Alaska Natives to showcase their culture. The game’s inclusive development process also works to examine virtual third spaces as a site for decolonial action at the microlevel regarding the Iñupiaq and the video game industry and at the macrolevel regarding Inuit diplomacies. This research attempts to critically explore the possibility for non-state cultural diplomacy initiatives using video games as tools to shape perceptions about the world." (Abstract)
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"This report examines the Israeli film industry from the perspective of gender. Over the past twenty years, there has been a growing involvement of women in the Israeli film industry. Since the establishment of Israel and up until the year 2000, women directed a mere 7% of screened Israeli narrative
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features. However, as shown in this report, over the last two decades this gap has been growing smaller, and the ratio of films directed by women between 2013 and 2018 stands at 21%. With that said, the positive change in the growing numbers of female-directed narrative features is not reflected in some of the film-related professions, and the gender-inequality within the Israeli film industry is still quite large. In recent years, a few reports and research papers have examined the evident gender-inequality in the allocation of budgets as well as in the gender-biased division of labor in the film industry of the Western-world. However, such research regarding the Israeli film industry hasn’t been published to date. This report joins existing research, allowing a comparison between gender-related aspects of the Israeli film industry and equivalent industries worldwide." (Introduction, page 5)
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"Als sich Ende der 1920er Jahre in den USA und Europa der Tonfilm durchsetzte, erkannten ägyptische Geschäftsleute dessen Potenzial für die arabische Welt. Sie erwarben innovative Tontechnik aus Deutschland und schickten ägyptische Stipendiaten zur Ausbildung nach Berlin und Paris. Nach ihrer R
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ckkehr schufen diese gemeinsam mit europäischen Filmschaffenden eine Traumfabrik nach dem Vorbild Hollywoods. In diesem Umfeld entstanden die ersten ägyptischen Tonfilme, die ab Mitte der 1930er Jahre weltweit zirkulierten. Manche dieser Spielfilme gelten in Ägypten als Klassiker, während sie in den europäischen Filmgeschichtsbüchern selten Erwähnung finden. Ausgehend von diesem Missverhältnis untersucht die Autorin die Entstehung, Verwertung und Rezeption dreier ägyptischer Tonfilme der 1930er bis 1950er Jahre aus transnationaler Perspektive. Ihre historisch fundierten Analysen zeigen, dass besonders die auf Zelluloid gebannten orientalischen Klänge für europäische Ohren befremdend wirkten, während sie in Ägypten maßgeblich zum Erfolg beitrugen. Um die von einander abweichende Wahrnehmung zu beleuchten, macht die Autorin den Begriff der «Atmosphäre» für ihre transnationale Rezeptionsstudie fruchtbar. Erstmals rücken damit Filme in den Blick, die dem Goldenen Zeitalter des ägyptischen Films der 1950er Jahre den Weg bereiteten, in Europa bislang aber kaum gewürdigt wurden. Im Mittelpunkt der Analyse stehen die Filme Wedad (Wedad the Slave, 1936, Lashin (Verräter am Nil), 1938 und Raya w Sekina (Der Frauenwürger von Kairo),1953." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"The late Asenath Bole Odaga, one of the pioneers of women in publishing in Africa and founder of Lake Publishers & Enterprises Ltd in Kenya in 1983, in an account of her early experience as a publisher, wrote1 that she found it to be an uphill struggle initially, and was confronted by male colleagu
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es who suggested that publishing was a complex business, best left to men, and that it might be rather more appropriate if she were to set up a restaurant instead of a publishing house! Happily, such blatantly chauvinist attitudes are now largely a thing of the past, and it would probably be true to say that much progress has been made in gender equality in African publishing in recent years. This has seen the emergence of a whole new generation of agile, visionary, and enterprising women publishers, as well as many other women who have provided leadership, and have made significant contributions in the African book world." (Abstract)
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"La elección de la temática de esta convocatoria fue incitada por la conmemoración de los 70 años de la primera transmisión televisiva en el país realizada el 17 de octubre de 1951 por Canal 7 de Buenos Aires que era dependiente de LR3 Radio Belgrano, de propiedad del Estado nacional y que est
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aba a cargo del presidente Juan Domingo Perón. Pero el acontecimiento resulta una excusa para recoger las reflexiones que se están dando en el campo académico en torno a un objeto de estudio que había hegemonizado la producción intelectual durante las últimas décadas del siglo XX en las que la televisión asumía un papel relevante como articulador de la vida social, cultural y política de nuestro país. Partíamos de la presunción que en el presente ese rol hegemónico se diluía en un ecosistema medial más diverso y que los estudios de los medios de comunicación habían reconducido gran parte de su atención para comprender las dinámicas, afectaciones y apropiaciones de los medios digitales, y la televisión (como forma tecnológica y cultural) parecería transitar un proceso de envejecimiento y disolución que no la hacía merecedora de los esfuerzos intelectuales. Sin embargo lo que se advierte es que el abordaje del medio televisivo se ha reinventado ampliando sus límites, instalando la problematización en la diversidad de dispositivos y formas narrativas que configuran lo audiovisual transmedia." (Página 7)
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"Este libro constituye un estudio desde el Diseño y la Enunciación sobre la fotorreportería del periódico El tiempo 2002-2006, su propósito es indagar acerca del conflicto armado colombiano y revelar cuáles fueron los principales antecedentes que le dieron origen. De esta manera, la imagen fot
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ográfica toma lugar como la principal fuente de indagación y el recurso que establece las características y procederes del reportaje de guerra. El fenómeno del conflicto, a efectos de esta investigación, está delimitado entre los años 2002-2006, a fin de precisar las circunstancias identitarias del conflicto armado en Colombia que no se dan en otra temporalidad, probablemente porque las dimensiones de esta realidad fijaron modos de una narrativa de guerra significativa." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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"Jorge de Buen desarrolla en estas reflexiones una inteligente crítica a algunos de los usos habituales en la composición de textos y el diseño de libros, a la vez que revaloriza conceptos y procesos de la tipografía tradicional para destacar su importancia y utilidad en la edición actual, desm
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ontando otras prácticas cuestionables que se mantienen «porque siempre se ha hecho así». Porque, para que un libro llegue al lector con su apariencia de contundente sencillez, editores, diseñadores y correctores vuelcan en su trabajo amplios conocimientos y siglos de tradición. Pero, ¿todas estas tradiciones tienen una justificación lógica? ¿responden los programas informáticos que utilizamos hoy día a las necesidades de un buen diseño editorial? Conciso, contundente y no exento de humor, el autor analiza en este libro aspectos claves en la tipografía y ofrece soluciones lógicas a problemas comunes: la medida del tipo, la división de palbaras, la distribución de blancos, las formas de las citas, el uso de cifras [...]; así como critica algunos aspectos del software manifestamente mejorables." (Contratapa)
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"Africa's history of publishing is long and multilayered and within these layers is Heinemann's African Writers Series founded in 1962 to nurture indigenous creative writing. This research addresses the contemporary relevance of Heinemann's African Writers Series (AWS) in Nigeria. It examines the cu
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rrent value of the AWS for secondary school students, teachers and retailers, as the examination board in Nigeria continues to recommend the AWS among the prescribed texts for the study and assessment of literature in English. This study is important because these classics represent more than a set of prescribed texts of an academic program for the present-day audience. In fact the AWS is important not only for the history of publishing in Africa but also for teaching African literature. The research approach adopted in this dissertation is qualitative combined with empirical research which was obtained from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings from the research identified how the AWS shifted its focus from a general readership market to providing texts for school; it also critically analysed its general relevance on the African literary scene and focused on its enduring significance for secondary school students and teachers of literature in English. In addition, it provides insight into the role of school book retailers as agents of distribution for the authorised AWS texts. The principal conclusions drawn from this study are: the AWS has an enduring legacy. It epitomises historical, cultural, literary and symbolic value for students and teachers and is a pivotal point in the discussions on the culture of publishing in Africa. However, there is need to study the challenges of traditional adherence to canonical lists, to add contemporary voices who address current issues to the prescribed list and resolve the imbalance between demand and supply which affects availability of core texts and encourages piracy." (Abstract)
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"This paper presents the participatory video methodology as an effective tool to establish a two-way communication channel between researchers and marginalized communities. The discussion begins by describing the transition from one- to two-way communication in the research for development field, fo
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llowed by how participatory video opens a two-way communication process that contributes to research for development objectives. This is illustrated through a participatory video experience conducted within an agricultural research for development program in Nicaragua, where the methodology was linked to the program’s learning, innovation, and gender and youth empowerment objectives while supporting its productive, economic, and environmental objectives. The paper concludes with an analysis of the effectiveness of participatory video in establishing a two-way communication channel, considering its limitations and its possible applications in various research fields." (Abstract)
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"Beyond Access was the first major global attempt to connect the international development and public library worlds. Taking the form of a series of projects in a dozen countries meant to help catalyze library development around national goals, the program operated from 2011 to 2018. Starting from a
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point at which libraries in most low – and middle-income countries were neglected, disused and staffed by librarians with outdated skills, it effectively launched public libraries into national dialogue in some countries and failed to do so in others. This article explores the conditions and actions that led to effective projects and what lessons for future library development efforts might be gleaned from the program’s work. In Myanmar and Georgia, the program attracted new investment into public libraries aligned with central government digital strategies. In Bangladesh and the Philippines, the program integrated public libraries into education efforts where they had been previously ignored. With more than a quarter million public libraries in low – and middle-income countries, there remains vast potential for library systems to reinforce their relevancy in the 21st century, attract new resources, and provide vital services. Library leaders around the world can build on the experience of Beyond Access to help inform initiatives to revivew libraries around modern needs." (https://www.ictworks.org, 2021/6/31)
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"In den Comicgeschichten werden drei Generationen antikolonialen Widerstands in Kamerun skizziert. Das zentralafrikanische Land war 35 Jahre lang deutsche Kolonie. Die Geschichten des kamerunischen Königs Duala Manga Bell, der Anlu-Rebellion der Kom-Frauen sowie des Aktivisten André Blaise Essama
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ermöglichen historisches Lernen aus einer antirassistischen Perspektive. Hier schreiben die Kolonialisierten Geschichte und wehren sich gegen das System von Unterdrückung, Gewalt und Ausbeutung. Ihre Kämpfe machen das Ausmaß der kolonialen Gewaltherrschaft deutlich und bieten einen Ausgangspunkt dafür, über das koloniale Erbe ins Gespräch zu kommen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"In this book, Patrick Colm Hogan sets out through close analysis and explication of culturally particular information about Indian history, Hindu metaphysics, Islamic spirituality, Sanskrit aesthetics, and other Indian traditions to provide necessary cultural contexts for understanding Indian films
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. Hogan analyzes eleven important films, using them as the focus to explore the topics of plot, theme, emotion, sound, and visual style in Indian cinema. These films draw on a wide range of South Asian cultural traditions and are representative of the greater whole of Indian cinema. By learning to interpret these examples with the tools Hogan provides, the reader will be able to take these skills and apply them to other Indian films. But this study is not simply culturalist. Hogan also takes up key principles from cognitive neuroscience to illustrate that all cultures share perceptual, cognitive, and emotional elements that, when properly interpreted, can help to bridge gaps between seemingly disparate societies. Hogan locates the specificity of Indian culture in relation to human universals, and illustrates this cultural-cognitive synthesis through his detailed interpretations of these films." (Publisher description)
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"Updated and revised, the fourth edition of The Radio Handbook is a comprehensive guide to the medium of radio and the radio industry in the UK. Featuring new chapters on social media and podcasting, this book offers a thorough breakdown of the knowledge and skills needed to work within the contempo
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rary radio industry. Using examples, case studies and transcripts, it examines the various building blocks that make radio, from music scheduling to news values and from phone-ins to sports commentaries. The latest trends in contemporary audio practice are referenced throughout, including the increased adoption of smartphone technology, further consolidation within commercial radio, and the ongoing debate about the future funding of the BBC against the backdrop of an accelerated move towards remote working, the rise in popularity of podcasting and an ever more crowded media landscape." (Publisher description)
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