"Picturing Afghanistan is an in-depth account of the Euro-American visualization of the conflict in Afghanistan. Comparing images in public affairs, psychological warfare, journalism and the photobook, the author argues that there are no strong boundaries between photography in war and photography a
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bout war. He shwos how and when the media have adopted, extended and counterframed the public affairs discourse of militarism and humanitarianism, and how and when public affairs rely on the aesthetic codes of photojournalism. Instead of enforcing a unified interpretation, the author considers photography's ambiguous and contradictory aspects. It is argued that, even within the conventionalized genre of photojournalism, photographs of conflict do not merely promote unity and social cohesion but express anxieties associated with the breakdown of imagined communities." (Back cover)
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"This article traces the co-evolution between models of research communication and development. It looks at how creative and visual methods fit into this trajectory. It argues that the current growth in the accessibility of communication technologies has emerged alongside a strong revival of more li
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near, marketing-style understanding of development research communication, which threatens to undermine their progressive potential. It argues that despite development research communicators having many more options available to them, in terms of tools and approaches, and a much better understanding of how to integrate research and communication, they are also under increased pressure to prove impact, or show direct attribution. It argues that the more democratised communication becomes, the more difficult it is to do this." (Abstract)
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"The aim of this book is to explore digital media and intercultural interaction at an arts college in Tanzania through innovative forms of ethnographic representation. The book and the series website weave together visual and aural narratives, interviews and observations, life stories and video docu
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mentaries, art performances and productions. It paints a vivid portrayal of everyday life in East Africa's only institute for practical art training, while tracing the rich cultural history of a state that has mixed tribalism, nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and cosmopolitanism in astonishingly creative ways. While following the anthropological tradition of thick description, Digital Drama employs a more artistic and accessible style of writing. Dramatic, ethnographic details are interspersed with theoretical reflections and postulations to explain and make sense of the unfolding narratives. The accompanying Web site visualizes and sensualizes the stories narrated in the book, unfolding a dramatic world of African dance, music, theater, and digital culture." (Back cover)
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"For Palestine's diaspora and exiled communities, the internet has become an important medium for the formation of Palestinian national and transnational identity. Miriyam Aouragh looks at the internet as both a space and an instrument for linking Palestinian diasporas in Palestine, Jordan and Leban
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on. She closely examines the uses and limits of internet technology under conditions of war, along with the ways in which virtual participation enables the generation of new ideals for political reconciliation and self-determination. Through the internet, participants reconstruct a virtual 'Palestinian homeland', gain a space for recovering the past, for overcoming issues of mobility, and for generating social change. This book provides a new angle on those affected by the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and furthers understanding about the connection between electronic media, politics and national identity more widely." (Publisher description)
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"This document includes an analysis and assessment of the present situation for digital radio introduction in Sweden with emphasis on small-scale broadcasting (community radio) and with an international perspective. In Europe there are conflicting viewpoints regarding the viability horizon of differ
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ent digital systems as DAB+ and DRM+. Or even if digital radio is a good idea at all." (Introduction)
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"Any scientist or engineer who communicates research results will immediately recognize this practical handbook as an indispensable tool. The guide sets out clear strategies and offers abundant examples to assist researchers-even those with no previous design training-with creating effective visual
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graphics for use in multiple contexts, including journal submissions, grant proposals, conference posters, or presentations. Visual communicator Felice Frankel and systems biologist Angela DePace, along with experts in various fields, demonstrate how small changes can vastly improve the success of a graphic image. They dissect individual graphics, show why some work while others don't, and suggest specific improvements. The book includes analyses of graphics that have appeared in such journals as Science, Nature, Annual Reviews, Cell, PNAS, and the New England Journal of Medicine, as well as an insightful personal conversation with designer Stefan Sagmeister and narratives by prominent researchers and animators." (Publisher description)
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"This article concerns a study whose questions, methods and analytical conclusions were the work of a group of Karimojong in Uganda. Its report included text and photographs, plain language, direct voices and faces, and little theorising. When it was disseminated it appealed to local people and to a
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development consultant concerned with inclusion, but was dismissed as useless by a donor concerned with influencing government policy. This article looks beyond social discrimination and power in understanding these reactions, and explores the communicative encounter itself, asking what makes work relevant, meaningful and influential? This research doesn’t influence policy, but it does influence local action and the work of reflective intermediaries which, after all, is important." (Abstract)
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"The history of Uganda from the days of Colonial Rule, when modern mass media was introduced was revisited. The thesis of this study was that the substance of the political governance model inherited from Uganda’s colonial past continues in the postindependence period to define the relationship be
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tween the media and government on the one hand, and within media industry itself. This governance model was grounded in power monopoly, power domination, and power preservation, with the ensuing characteristics of exclusiveness, privilege and intolerance of opposition, difference and diversity. State power was not informed by the discourse of good governance nor did it cater for a democratic environment. Legislative, administrative and strong-arm measures were all strategies of power and control that the colonial government deployed to manage a media deemed non-compliant, and thereby maintain and protect the supremacy of its rule. By the same token, the anti-media freedom measures were also an implicit recognition of the power of the press, understood as a subversive threat." (Conclusion, page 90-91)
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"‘Killer facts’ are those punchy, memorable, headline-grabbing statistics that make reports special. They cut through the technicalities to fire people up about changing the world. They are picked up and repeated endlessly by the media and politicians. They are known as ‘killer’ facts becaus
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e if they are really effective, they ‘kill off’ the opposition’s arguments. The right killer fact can have more impact than the whole of a well-researched report."
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"Research has potential to improve the lives of the world’s vulnerable people – if it is appropriately referred to in decision-making processes. While there is a significant industry of activity each year to communicate research findings, little systematic research has tested or compared the eff
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ectiveness of such efforts. One popular research communication tool is the policy brief. In this article we draw on findings from a recent study on how a policy brief works; concluding that a policy brief does not have a linear effect on its readers. Instead, a reader can take a number of alternative routes from belief to action, some of which could subvert the intended outcome of the policy brief in question. We reflect also on the question of what makes for an effective policy brief; concluding that policy briefs that give personality and form to the researcher behind the written word may invoke a deeper relationship between the reader and the author, and affect a greater inclination in the reader to share the message with someone else – that is, they pass the hot potato. The study itself was a first of its kind and contributes to our understanding about the effectiveness of research communication, as well as how to evaluate research communication effectiveness." (Abstract)
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"A review of case studies from a global, ten-year research project coordinated by the Institute of Development Studies suggests that previous efforts to understand the value of research for promoting social change has underappreciated the contribution of researchers as social actors. Researchers inh
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abit a complex web of relations, they hold many identities, and they act politically to bring about social change in ways large and small that go beyond what they write in journals or in policy briefs. Through interviews and self-reflection, we explored some of these ways – formal and informal, direct and indirect – that researchers communicate their knowledge. To capture some of the diversity, this article presents a typology of different ‘roles’ that researchers play as communicators. We hope this typology might help to clarify our understanding of research utilisation, and might also provide insight into how to approach research communication in more strategic and creative ways." (Abstract)
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"Este nuevo boletín del Cerlalc responde a la urgente necesidad que tiene Iberoamérica de representarse en cifras. El Cerlalc de hoy tiene como prioridad ser una fuente de información y de análisis especializado, que estimule en los países miembros iniciativas públicas y privadas a favor del l
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ibro y la lectura. Esperamos que esta publicación contribuya a hacer tangible ese anhelo. El número inaugural de El Libro en Cifras presenta un panorama sobre la producción editorial en Centroamérica, seguido por un informe comparativo sobre las encuestas de comportamiento lector realizadas en once países en la última década y, para finalizar, un artículo sobre el aporte de las Industrias Protegidas por el Derecho de Autor a las economías de 30 países. Además, se ofrecen algunos aspectos importantes sobre la última investigación realizada en Brasil Retratos de lectura en Brasil 2011." (Editorial)
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"The study “Tunisia: from revolutions to institutions” stresses how technology-oriented small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) can generate economic expansion and job growth, including in the economically-isolated interior provinces. Tunisian ICT companies are likely to find an attractive marke
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t in Northern Africa and parts of Europe, thanks to Arabic and French language skills and lower labor costs. Entrepreneurs, however, expressed frustration with the cost of doing business and government control of critical markets, which was installed by the previous regime. They also recognized the need for a more market-responsive higher education system that produces graduates with more up-to-date and practical knowledge. Central to the Tunisian revolution of 2011, ICTs remain critically important to helping address the root causes that led to the uprising in the first place, according to the report. New technologies and applications are necessary to creating a vibrant economy that produces sustainable jobs for the country’s young population and helping to constitute an open and transparent society." (www.infodev.org, March 20, 2012)
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