"This article deals with the increasing connections among the Tunisian diaspora and its homeland provided by a widespread use of the social Web. The main aim is to evaluate to what extent the Tunisian diaspora has contributed to a wider diffusion of cyberactivism concerning legitimate claims for dem
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ocracy and human rights, considered as one of the main driving forces behind the 2011 revolution. After introducing some epistemological and methodological issues related to the study of the Web, the paper deepens the history of Tunisian migrants’ online activism in order to grasp connections with the later configuration of the cyberdissidence in the homeland. The last section is dedicated to interpretation of the graphs, in order to compare the research hypothesises with the results stemming from the e-Diaspora project methodology." (Abstract)
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"Cette enquête exploratoire s’inscrit dans une interrogation sur la façon dont des collectifs dispersés créent des mondes qui leur sont propres, l’objectif ici étant de voir comment l’usage de l’Internet configure leurs espace et temps singuliers (leurs mondes propres). Les résultats i
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nattendus sont que le Web diasporique chinois est principalement anglo-saxon et que la géographie des sites ne correspond pas du tout à celle de la diaspora chinoise. Est-ce seulement l’effet des critères utilisés pour sélectionner les sites, ou cela révèle-t-il un phénomène plus profond ? Ces questions incitent à une nouvelle enquête." (Résumé)
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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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"The author analyzes the presence of Lebanese organizations on the Web and shows the transnational links between associations from different countries, starting from a case study including France and Canada. The nature and density of these connections are partly attributable to the importance of lin
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guistic, religious and/or political factors.. The graphs indicate that, while there is a real attempt to transcend the divisions in the diaspora cyberspace, the fragmentation of collective dynamics remains important. The most important alliances revolve around a few of individual portals and some institutional websites. However, the weakness of the Lebanese government does not allow its institutions to play a unifying role for the Lebanese diaspora. In fact, economic initiatives are more active than political ones. The connections between websites claiming to be apolitical show the persistence of selective alliances, which reflect the usual Christian/Muslim divide. Transnationality is thereby limited, and the Lebanese Canadian and French organizations are interconnected only through portals that are not representative of the grassroots community dynamics." (Abstract)
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"Taking into account the performativity of the term “diaspora”, the author tries to understand how Nepalese diasporic websites are the sign and conditions of an “incipient diaspora”. Analysis of authoritative websites and links between different websites helps understand the structure of the
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Nepalese diaspora and the issues at stake. The Internet is hardly egalitarian and reflects the tensions in Nepalese society. However, links between websites are real. Non Resident Nepalis Association websites are central to the associative Web, and cultural association websites are in the majority. The “etic” study of “emic” discourses of self-presentation by the diaspora shows that, through their public and performative dimensions, Nepalese diasporic websites are at the very heart of the process of constructing the Nepalese diaspora." (Abstract)
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"The article analyzes web-based networks of Palestinian communities in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Australia, United States, Canada, Spain, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. The findings show a thematic and demographic shift from organizations of Palestinian communities abroad to a transnational so
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lidarity network focused on Palestinian rights and the Boycott movement. Although Palestinian Territories function as the network’s strong center of gravity, analysis of the references reveals that diaspora and non-diaspora actors operate as two distinct but intertwined networks: while diaspora actors are unique in putting emphasis on community as activity type and on diaspora and the right of return as primary cause, non-diaspora actors are mainly dedicated to solidarity as activity and Palestinian rights and the boycott movement as primary cause. Despite this, ties between diaspora and non-diaspora actors are stronger than among diaspora actors, which indicates that part of the dynamics of Palestinian communities is manifest not only between diaspora communities, but mostly between diaspora communities and civil society organizations in their host societies." (Abstract)
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"Hindu nationalists defend the advent of a Hindu state in India, while projecting the universal appeal of their ideology. Their very territorialised yet universal claims have been finding particular resonance among migrant populations, particularly in North America. This study strives to go beyond c
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ontent analyses that foreground voices to focus on the network structure in order to highlight the new transnational practices of nationalism. Two main points emerge from this in-depth scrutiny. On the one hand, Hindu nationalist organisations have transferred their online activities mainly to the USA, where the Indian diaspora is 3.2 million strong and constitute therefore a prime example of long-distance transnationalist nationalism. On the other hand, the morphological discrepancies between the online and the offline networks point to new strategies of discretion developed to evade the gaze of authorities in countries of residence. The recourse to such cartographies thus becomes crucial not only in understanding what sectarian or illegal movements do but also what they seek to hide." (Abstract)
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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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"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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"Internews surveyed more than 120 Syrian refugees in Zaatari camp, asking a set of 30 questions about information needs, sources, and trust levels. Additionally, 20 in-depth key informant interviews were conducted with humanitarian workers and media professionals in Jordan and in Beirut, Lebanon. As
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per the rapid assessment, many refugees in the camp are frustrated by their increasing ignorance of their current situation, the lack of adequate access to news and information about the situation in Syria, the quality of services available in the camp, and the lack of information about the very same services available. First and foremost, refugees demand news and information about Syria. This is followed by the need to know how to access basic services particularly with regard to water, food and new shelter (i.e. caravans). Residents also want to know information about their general situation in the camp. The overwhelming majority of refugees affirmed satellite TV was the source of information they trusted the most when there were at home in Syria – Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Arabiya being the preferred channels. In Zaatari, TV is the source refugees would like to access for news about Syria as well as for entertainment. After TV, mobile phones and Internet were ranked among the three most trusted sources." (Summary)
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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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"This article explores the links between transnational media flows and social and political change in authoritarian regimes through a conjunctural study of Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), a Burmese exile media organization. Drawing on observation and interviews conducted at DVB's Oslo studio during
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the 2010 elections in Burma as well as documentary research, the article explores how diasporic media may contribute to democratization in a military regime where press freedoms and political expression are severely curtailed. The first section draws on Appadurai's theory of global flows to scrutinize transnational flows of people, capital, media, ideas and technology contributing to DVB's operations from 1992 to 2010. The next section engages with theories of media and democracy in order to examine DVB's innovative satellite television coverage of the 2010 elections. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the ongoing relevance of opposition media based outside of Burma amid liberalization measures undertaken by Thein Sein's nominally civilian government in 2011." (Abstract)
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"Through enhancing reflection on the treatment of cultural diversity in contemporary Western societies, this collection aims to move the debate beyond the opposition between ethnicity and citizenship and demonstrate ways to achieve equality in multicultural and globalised societies." (Publisher desc
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ription)
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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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"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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