"Young people today have grown up living substantial portions of their lives online, seeking entertainment, social relationships, and a place to express themselves. It is clear that participation in online communities is important for many young people, but less clear how this translates into civic
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or political engagement. This volume examines the relationship of online action and real-world politics. The contributors discuss not only how online networks might inspire conventional political participation but also how creative uses of digital technologies are expanding the boundaries of politics and public issues. Do protests in gaming communities, music file sharing, or fan petitioning of music companies constitute political behavior? Do the communication skills and patterns of action developed in these online activities transfer to such offline realms as voting and public protests? Civic Life Online describes the many forms of civic life online that could predict a generation's political behavior." (Back cover)
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"South Africa offers a rich context for the study of the interrelationship between the media and identity. The essays collected here explore the many diverse elements of this interconnection, and give fresh focus to topics that scholarship has tended to overlook, such as the pervasive impact of tabl
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oid newspapers. Interrogating contemporary theory, the authors shed new light on how identities are constructed through the media, and provide case studies that illustrate the complex process of identity renegotiation taking place currently in post-apartheid South Africa. The contributors include established scholars as well as many new voices. Collectively, they represent some of South Africas finest media analysts pooling skills to grapple with one of the countrys most vexing issues: who are we?" (Publisher description)
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"This paper introduces a set of methods that have been used to capture attitudes and opinions in a conflict environment. Based on an ongoing project in Darfur, it details the two main streams of research: one developed to carry out interviews on the ground to allow people to frame key issues using t
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heir own language and world views; and the other, to keep contact with the formation of opinions from a distance, particularly when the security situation or other obstacles prevent the researchers from being in the field. The result of the combination of the two streams is the production of rich narratives about the actors involved in or affected by the conflict, their interests and the paths they value as the most effective to overcome the crisis and move toward reconciliation. The objective of this, and similar research, is the development of a grassroots diplomacy, a way to include a wider variety of voices in the negotiation process and in the building of a consensual idea of a post-conflict society." (Abstract)
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"This book offers a view of the cultural, family, and interpersonal consequences of mobile communication across the globe. Scholars analyze the effect of mobile communication on all parts of life, from the relationship between literacy and the textual features of mobile phones to the use of ringtone
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s as a form of social exchange, from the “aspirational consumption” of middle-class families in India to the belief in parts of Africa and Asia that mobile phones can communicate with the dead. The contributors explore the ways mobile communication profoundly affects the tempo, structure, and process of daily life around the world. The book discusses the impact of mobile communication on social networks, other communication strategies, traditional forms of social organization, and political activities. It considers how quickly miraculous technologies come to seem ordinary and even necessary; and how ordinary technology comes to seem mysterious and even miraculous. The chapters cut across social issues and geographical regions; they highlight use by the elite and the masses, utilitarian and expressive functions, and political and operational consequences. Taken together, the chapters demonstrate how mobile communication has affected the quality of life in both exotic and humdrum settings, and how it increasingly occupies center stage in people’s lives around the world." (Publisher description)
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"This briefing builds on DFID’s commitments set out in our 2006 White Paper, Making Governance Work for the Poor. The main purpose is to provide an overview of the relationship between media and governance, and to highlight some of the principal opportunities and challenges to engaging with the se
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ctor. It is aimed at all staff across DFID working on media or governance issues, and is intended to complement the practical guidance contained in DFID’s 2000 “Media in Governance: A Guide to Assistance”. The Note explains why and how the media is a critical sector in shaping governance relationships, and summarises key global trends in the media which are already leading to changes in country-level governance. The note explains some of the incentives and disincentives driving the sector which can lead the media to play either a positive or negative role in strengthening democratic politics. It pays particular attention to the role of the media in fragile states. The paper concludes by identifying key lessons and principles for donors to increase the effectiveness of media development initiatives in order to help build democratic, capable, accountable and responsive states." (Introduction, pages 1-2)
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"The Pacific Media & Communications Facility (PMCF) was a three-year regional media governance project involving the 14 Pacific Island Forum countries. It was funded by the Australian government and commenced in May 2004. The report “Informing Citizens: Opportunities for media and communications i
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n the Pacific” (2005) was the major output for year one. This chapter is based on the original report that contains a situation analysis and needs assessment, which assesses the capacity of the media, government and civil society sectors to promote good governance and development issues through the media. It also contains a content analysis of governance news in the 14 countries. The Pacific Island countries included in the survey are: the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Twenty Pacific Island researchers collected the data for the report. This is the first time a study of this scope has been conducted in the region and it provides baseline data on media capacity for Pacific media organisations, NGOs, governments and donor organisations." (Page 34)
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"Los enfoques de agenda setting, de network society y de public sphere constituyen el marco teórico básico para el abordaje metodológico y posterior desarrollo de “El Observador de Medios de Comunicación en América Latina” que presentamos. El Observador analiza la agenda de los principales
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medios de comunicación masiva, determinando si el tratamiento de unos temas (y la exclusión de otros) favorecen a los principios e ideales del sistema democrático y contribuyen a su desarrollo." (Introducción, página 9-10)
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"This book compares rebel media use in three Mesoamerican rebellions: the Nicaraguan Revolution, the Salvadoran civil war and the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico. Directly comparing media use in all three rebellions provides a richer understanding of the role of media in social change, particu
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larly violent change." (Publisher description)
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"This book analyzes the relationship between political power and the media in a range of nation states in East and Southeast Asia, focusing in particular on the place of the media in authoritarian and post-authoritarian regimes. It discusses the centrality of media in sustaining repressive regimes,
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and the key role of the media in the transformation and collapse of such regimes. It questions in particular the widely held beliefs, that the state can have complete control over the media consumption of its citizens, that commercialization of the media necessarily leads to democratization, and that the transnational, liberal dimensions of western media are crucial for democratic movements in Asia. Countries covered include Burma, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam." (Publisher description)
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"Dieses Buch fasst Untersuchungen aus verschiedenen Ländern, in denen Frauen höchste Staatsämter innehaben, zusammen und prüft, wie die Medien mit ihnen umgehen und wie sich Wahlkampagnen von und für Frauen gestalten." (Publisher description)
"Le président brésilien Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva n’a jamais eu de relations faciles avec la presse de son pays. Cette dernière a en effet appuyé, en grande majorité, le coup d’État qui a mené à la dictature militaire (1964-1985), et mis, depuis le rétablissement de la démocratie, tou
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te son énergie au service des candidats conservateurs. Cela n’a pas empêché finalement Lula de l’emporter en 2002, et d’être réélu en 2006, les deux fois avec un nombre record de suffrages. Cet ouvrage met l’accent sur le rôle d’acteur politique que joue la presse au Brésil, avec ses intérêts propres, y compris économiques, même lorsqu’ils sont dissimulés sous le manteau des grands principes démocratiques (« l’indépendance du quatrième pouvoir », « l’intérêt public », etc.). Publiant des témoignages inédits provenant des coulisses du gouvernement et des rédactions, Giancarlo Summa montre comment un leader charismatique, qui gouverne au nom des intérêts matériels et symboliques de la majorité défavorisée de la population, parvient à rompre le blocus des médias traditionnels. Le choix du président d’une communication directe (meetings, messages télévisés, Internet, recours à la presse locale et aux radios communautaires, etc.) lui a permis assurément de contourner le monopole médiatique des grands groupes commerciaux. Cependant Lula a renoncé à mettre sur pied une véritable politique de communication susceptible de remettre en question les intérêts structurels de ces grandes compagnies et de favoriser la création de médias alternatifs d’importance." (Dos de couverture)
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