"It has to be underlined that this study does not see the internet as a major remedy for the development of political culture and civil society that is so essential for Pakistan’s further democratic consolidation. To understand possible contributions of the new information technologies towards pol
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itical progress it is important to consider them within the context of society. If the new media are integrated into ongoing struggles for change they can actually open up the landscape of ‘old politics’, providing additional possibilities for civic engagement and mobilisation. This is perhaps most evident in the efforts for women’s empowerment on and over the internet which in fact represent a new approach to the long-term activism against violence against women and for women’s rights in Pakistani society. The necessary attempts to reach a coherent legislation for internet use in Pakistan might provide another example in this regard - when pursued in a concerted manner. Here, civil society and the private sector could seek to develop a unified position vis-à-vis the state and to influence the government’s decision making process, thereby indirectly touching fundamental issues such as civil rights and cultural tolerance." (Conclusion, page 66)
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"This paper examines the relationship between a broadcaster’s research methods and aspects of the environment in which it operates, specifically its accountability to its funders and the growth of interactivity by its users. It is concerned with (1) how the BBC World Service’s funding by the UK
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government’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) means that it has to account for its activities to some extent in terms of the global conversation which it fosters; and (2) how the recent growth of interactive and social media enhances possibilities for worldwide engagement and conversation, but also increases the complexities of measurement. This is because users are dispersed across the globe (they are no longer confined to a geographical area of radio reception) and they are interactive: instead of merely listening or viewing, they talk back to the BBC, and they talk with one another. New tools and techniques are needed to measure these new flows and forms of interaction (and they also beg new professional and organisational practices). In a case study of the BBC’s Chinese service, the paper explores what the BBC knows of its audience or users; and, in a content analysis of online forums, it explores some of the issues and possibilities that arise in researching online interaction, the sort of research data and analysis that might be seen as necessary in the context of organisational accountability and the emerging interactive media environment." (Summary)
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"This paper explores the use of new information technologies in Russia to examine the next generation of media development and to ask how the ability of the “network society” – and the new forms of collective action it allows to contribute to social change can be supported. Building on the ide
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a of the “fifth estate,” and how networked individuals and institutions can use the Internet as a platform to challenge the influence of other more established bases of authority, these examples of social media and online activism – specifically blogging and crowdsourcing – show how Russia’s networked society is helping invigorate the country’s civil society and traditional media." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"Key Findings: About 17 million people in the Arab region are using Facebook, available in Arabic, with 5 million in Egypt alone, and demand is expected to grow on micro-blogging sites. Twitter announced it will launch its Arabic interface in 2011; Arab governments are developing, at varying rates,
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the telecommunications infrastructure for greater Internet connectivity through broadband, mobile Internet, and fiber optic cable to the home for increased Internet speeds and capacities to meet future demands of digital economies and youth, who comprise about half of the regional population; Along with technical capacities come increasing efforts to monitor, filter, and block websites, and harass, arrest, and incarcerate activists or citizens for their online writings. Sites of NGOs and others critical of government have withstood cyber-attacks on content and e-mail accounts; Even when Internet users are not breaching traditional red lines, authorities in the region call upon emergency laws, cyber crimes laws, anti-terrorism laws, ISPs’ terms and conditions, and press and publications laws that provide justification for the arrest, fines, and incarceration of individuals for certain online writing or related activities." (Summary)
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"The Egyptian revolution was characterized by the instrumental use of social media, especially Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and text messaging by protesters, to bring about political change and democratic transformation. This article focuses on how these new types of media acted as effective tools fo
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r promoting civic engagement, through supporting the capabilities of the democratic activists by allowing forums for free speech and political networking opportunities; providing a virtual space for assembly; and supporting the capability of the protestors to plan, organize, and execute peaceful protests. Additionally, it explores how these new media avenues enabled an effective form of citizen journalism, through providing forums for ordinary citizens to document the protests; to spread the word about ongoing activities; to provide evidence of governmental brutality; and to disseminate their own words and images to each other, and, most importantly, to the outside world through both regional and transnational media." (Introduction)
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"Warum findet Facebook jeden meiner Bekannten? Auf welche Datenspuren hat der Staat Zugriff? Und was kann man aus ihnen herauslesen? Die Experten für Informationssicherheit, Constanze Kurz und Frank Rieger, weisen uns den Weg zu einer neuen digitalen Mündigkeit. Sachkundig und verständlich erklä
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ren sie, was sich hinter den Benutzeroberflächen tatsächlich verbirgt. Aus dem Strom scheinbar harmloser Daten, die wir tagtäglich im Netz hinterlassen, werden geldwerte Informationen geschöpft, deren Ausmaß und Gehalt wir uns gar nicht vorstellen können. Ob der Staat oder Google, alle bedienen sich am Datensatz Mensch. Es ist an der Zeit, das eigene digitale Schicksal wieder selbst in die Hand zu nehmen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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Offers a policy-focused overview of the state of online political participatory media in Tunisia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda.
"The Best Practice Guide gives a general overview of new media in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Syria. It analyses new media experiences acquired in conflict and post conflict areas, presenting best practice examples and recommendations developed by the workshop participants
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on how to use new media as a tool to facilitate peace and dialogue in the region. The Pedagogical Toolkit contains a series of articles by experts on new media. It formed the basis of the training sessions at the “Arab New Media for Peace and Dialogue Workshop” and provides useful, practical insight into the field of new media within the region and in other contexts." (Preface)
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"Peace Journalism, War and Conflict Resolution draws together the work of over twenty leading international writers, journalists, theorists and campaigners in the field of peace journalism. Mainstream media tend to promote the interests of the military and governments in their coverage of warfare. T
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his major new text aims to provide a definitive, up-to-date, critical, engaging and accessible overview exploring the role of the media in conflict resolution. Sections focus in detail on theory, international practice, and critiques of mainstream media performance from a peace perspective; countries discussed include the U.S., U.K., Germany, Cyprus, Sweden, Canada, India, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Chapters examine a wide variety of issues including mainstream newspapers, indigenous media, blogs and radical alternative websites." (Publisher description)
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"Drawing together the new techniques available to the market researcher into a single reference, The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research explores how these innovations are being used by the leaders in the field. This groundbreaking reference examines why traditional research is broken, both
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in theory and practice, and includes chapters on online research communities, community panels, blog mining, social networks, mobile research, e-ethnography, predictive markets, and DIY research." (Publisher description)
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"Asia’s Media Innovator’s Vol 2 is the offspring of the earlier book that appeared in 2008. This new volume consists of studies of innovations at media companies in the region. The success of these media companies shows the dynamism in the region, and reflects its potential for growth. Each chap
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ter covers various forms of media, including online newspapers and broadcast outlets. Every couple of weeks a new chapter will be published online." (KAS website)
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"Das chinesische Festland zählte im Sommer 2009 338 Millionen Internetanwender. Dies bezieht sich auf diejenigen „User", die über sechs Jahre alt sind und sich in den letzten sechs Monaten im Internet einloggten. Das übertrifft die 312 Millionen „Worldwideweb"-Nutzer der Europäischen Union u
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nd sogar die 253 Millionen Netizens in Nord-Amerika. Die 10- bis 29-Jährigen stellen – wie in den Vorjahren – den größten Anwenderanteil. Trotz des Anstiegs der „User" in der Altersgruppe 30 bis 39 Jahre bleibt die chinesische Internetpopulation jugendlich. Analysiert man den Berufshintergrund der Netzgemeinde, steht die Gruppe der Studenten mit 32 Prozent an erster Stelle, gefolgt von Angestellten (14 Prozent) und Arbeitslosen (sieben Prozent). Die 70-prozentige Mehrheit der Internetpopulation ist in der Stadt zu Hause; die Anzahl der Internetnutzer auf dem Land nimmt – nicht zuletzt dank finanzieller und infrastruktureller Anstrengungen der Regierung – stetig zu. Den 747 Millionen chinesischen Mobiltelefonbesitzern3 ist es möglich, das Internet mobil anzuwählen; rund 155 Millionen Nutzer machen von diesem Service Gebrauch.4 Diese Zahlen dürfen nicht darüber hinwegtäuschen, dass die Penetrationsrate des Internets innerhalb der chinesischen Bevölkerung, verglichen mit den entwickelten Teilen der Welt, weiterhin niedrig ist. (China: 27 Prozent, Deutschland: 66 Prozent, EU: 64 Prozent).5 Dem Großteil der chinesischen Internetgemeinschaft dient das Internet als Unterhaltungsmittel (Online Spiele, Musik, Videos). Das „Worldwideweb" wird außerdem für die Informationssuche genutzt und erfreut sich als Kommunikationswerkzeug großer Beliebtheit." (Seite 90-91)
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