"Während der Corona-Pandemie und der damit verbundenen Einschränkungen des öffentlichen Lebens hat sich der Medienkonsum in allen Bereichen signifikant erhöht. Um auf dem Laufenden und mit anderen in Kontakt zu bleiben, aber auch um sich zu unterhalten und abzulenken, nutzten (und nutzen) die Me
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nschen sowohl die traditionellen Angebote als auch die digitalen Medien- und Kommunikationstechnologien in stärkerem Ausmaß. Medienangebote haben während der Pandemie neben der Informations- auch psychosoziale Funktionen. Die stärker ausgeprägte Nutzung von Medien, die interpersonale Kommunikation und hohe soziale Präsenz ermöglichen (z.B. Video-Calls, Instant-Messenger), ist ein Indikator für das starke soziale Bedürfnis während der Pandemie, das durch den Gebrauch entsprechender Technologien befriedigt werden soll. Neben nützlichen Funktionen können dabei auch eher problematische Folgen der Mediennutzung beobachtet werden. Das Internet wirkt sich beispielsweise in der Krisenzeit positiv als Kommunikationsweg aus, um mit anderen in Kontakt zu bleiben und Informationen zu erhalten. Gleichzeitig berichten die Nutzer aber auch von Überforderung und Erschöpfung sowie negativen emotionalen Auswirkungen durch die Berichterstattung. Mit andauernder Krise zeigen sich zudem Anzeichen dafür, dass weniger Informationen gesucht werden und es bei vielen Menschen zur Informationsüberlastung hinsichtlich des Themas Corona-Pandemie gekommen ist. Wenn subjektiv eine kritische Masse an COVID-19-Informationen erreicht ist, können auch negative Effekte, wie zum Beispiel depressive Symptome, entstehen. Um die psychosozialen Belastungen abzufedern und das Wohlbefinden zu steigern, nutzen die Konsumenten spezifische inhaltliche Medienangebote. So dient zum Beispiel die Rezeption nostalgischer Medieninhalte neben der Unterhaltung auch der Bewältigung von Isolationsbefürchtungen. Als weitere hilfreiche Strategie, um das Bedürfnis nach Zugehörigkeit und sozialen Kontakten zu befriedigen, kann auch die Intensivierung parasozialer Beziehungen mit medialen Charakteren (Prominenten, Personas u.ä.) dienen. Spezifische Medienangebote können somit auch die Funktion haben, einen Ausgleich zur belastenden Situation in der Krise zu bieten." (https://www.ard-media.de/media-perspektiven)
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"Despite the wide-ranging topics presented in this collection, this volume takes ‘communication’ as the keyword for the various research and reflections on the life and mission of the Catholic Church during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as post-crisis. The reader will readily recognize that what
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is referred to as ‘communication’ here is an extremely elastic and multi-dimensional category. Within the context of the Church, particularly as discussed in this book, communication refers to words and images that the Church transmits to the faithful and to the world to help the people cope with issues brought about by the crisis. This communication helps contextualize these dramatic events in sound theological principles which need to again and again be creatively restated and reaffirmed with every human happening, both big and small, that takes place. Second, communication also refers to pastoral and evangelizing actions carried out by the Church and its members to sustain the life of the Church amid the grave situation of imposed isolation, pastors and members of the flock succumbing to COVID-19, shuttered church doors, and unlit altar candles. Third, communication refers to the models and strategies by the Church and its leaders to employ technological means to promote ecclesial communion, nourish the faith life of the people, and to dialogue with individuals and groups to create a truly synodal Church. Finally, communication also refers to ways that the Church discerns and engages with the signs of the times in order to transform raw experiences into valuable lessons, human suffering into salvific grace, and pandemic isolation and division into greater post-pandemic interculturality, interdependence, and collaboration." (Introduction, page xx-xxi)
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"Media representations of ageing play a role in stereotype formation and even reinforce them. Encountering these stereotypes can negatively impact the self-esteem, health status, physical wellbeing and cognitive performance of older people. This international collection examines different dimensions
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of ageing and ageism in a range of media. Chapters include explorations of the UK media during the COVID-19 pandemic; age, gender and mental health in Ghana; advertising in Brazil; magazines in Canada; Taiwanese newspapers; comics, graphic novels and more." (Publisher description)
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"The contributions of this special issue are grouped in three sections: context, theoretical framework and empirical research. The first articles set up two important dimensions of the context we are living in that have to be definitely improved if we want to take advantage of the positive sides of
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Covid-19’s effects to bring about real social relations and a good communication of science [...] The following articles deal with three important core components needed to set up a theoretical framework, from which this issue intends to start a serious scholarly conversation around the lessons learned from the Covid’s impact on social communication: (1) how a person knows and shapes his/her judgment in practical affairs when s/he is critically involved in them, (2) why and how science has surrendered to technology in the last decades, (3) and how practical knowledge is socially shared [...] The context and theoretical framework having been set up, the issue enters into the empirical part of our research: several papers examine the news coverage of the Church dealing with the pandemic in a good sample of newspapers around the world, one paper looks at how social media have engaged in the response to the pandemic by the Catholic Church, and another at how local churches have managed the challenges of the pandemic [...] The analysis of worldwide media coverage aims to find out how the mainstream press has portrayed the role of Christian churches and other religious bodies in dealing with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. All researchers have broadly shared a common qualitative methodology: looking for the frames and inducing the topoi (common places) underlying the resulting frames of the examination of news and editorial items." (Pages 2-4)
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"El panorama de los medios de comunicación han cambiado: de las grandes empresas editoras de periódicos, generalmente propiedad de grupos familiares, a los medios nativos digitales financiados por los propios periodistas o por ONGs gracias a los aportes ciudadanos o iniciativas de recaudación de
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fondos y suscripciones. Este texto dibuja un panorama general de lo que significan los medios digitales y revisa las experiencias de algunos medios de Ecuador, Colombia, Perú y Argentina. En el caso ecuatoriano, se analiza la cobertura de un hecho particular -las movilizaciones de octubre 2019- por parte de tres medios: Wambra EC, La Periódica y el Centro de Medios Virtuales de la Carrera de Comunicación de la Universidad politécnica Salesiana." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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"Disinformation undermines human rights and many elements of good quality democracy; but counter-disinformation measures can also have a prejudicial impact on human rights and democracy. COVID-19 compounds both these dynamics and has unleashed more intense waves of disinformation, allied to human ri
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ghts and democracy setbacks. Effective responses to disinformation are needed at multiple levels, including formal laws and regulations, corporate measures and civil society action. While the EU has begun to tackle disinformation in its external actions, it has scope to place greater stress on the human rights dimension of this challenge. In doing so, the EU can draw upon best practice examples from around the world that tackle disinformation through a human rights lens. This study proposes steps the EU can take to build counter-disinformation more seamlessly into its global human rights and democracy policies." (Abstract)
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"Con esta sistematizacón nos proponemos una re-visita sobre la situación de la educación de personas jóvenes y adultas en 4 países de la subregión andina, a saber, Colombia, Ecuador, Péru y Venezuela a partir de los testimonios de estudiantes, docentes, facilitadores/as voluntarios/as, person
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al directivo y expertos/as invetigadores/as. En su propia voz intercambiamos las denuncias, las expectativas y demandas de este grupo poblacional que ha sido expulsado del sistema educativo por sus condiciones de origen, y que con la pandemia corren el riesgo de exclusión. El seriado'Contra Viento y Marea' cuntea con 23 historias que se nutrieron de la revisión de antecedentes relevantes, información institucional, así como la data intercambiada por el equipo de producción comunicativa (fichas de contexto y entrevistas). Se enmarcan de la propuesta de educación radiofónica en los casos de Ecuador y Venezuela por un lado, educación a distancia y/o semipresencial en los casos de Colombia y Perú, por otro." (Introducción, página 4)
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"This white paper discusses how digital technologies are building COVID resilience, shaping and accelerating the recovery, and diffusing within Asia Pacific region (APAC) in ways that are likely to persist in a post-COVID world. Section 1 presents the role of digital technologies in the Sustainable
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Development Goals (SDGs), examines the digital divide during COVID-19, and how APAC economies have been affected by the crisis. Section 2 presents six cases of resilience, providing examples of how digital technologies can help solve immediate, pressing problems. Hien, a business owner in Vietnam, demonstrates how MSMEs can go digital when entrepreneurs have the appropriate training. Miss Thanchanok Kamwinit, a teacher in Thailand, describes her work educating a new generation of digital citizens about online risks. Irfani recalls her journey to becoming a data scientist in Jakarta, where digital skills are in high demand. Sokneang, a co-founder and CEO of a fair trade startup in Cambodia, describes how digital platforms have been used in the agri-food sector during the pandemic. Gulshan, a Google Research Scientist, performs clinical trials in India to apply AI-based technologies in healthcare. Finally, Teh, a Malaysian citizen, volunteers in a vaccination center thanks to a digital platform that facilitates his civic engagement. Section 3 describes how digital technologies can drive the near future - the “new normal,” including the future of work as impacted by automation, and the need to transition to a low carbon economy. Section 4 discusses lessons and guidelines for a policy response." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"The content of the book is organized into four sections. The first three sections are essays recounting real-world experiences of pastoral agents. These essays are roughly divided into three sub-groups. The first group of essays focus on the parish setting and the ministries that each parish attemp
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ted to implement in response to the crisis. The second group of essays highlight the education and formation ministry, which includes both catechism teaching and other educational settings such as theology schools and formation houses. The third group of essays primarily depict outreach ministries such as those with the poor, migrants, and other marginalized groups. The pastoral workers carrying out these ministries may do so in context of a parish/diocesan setting or as part of a nonparochial program. The final section, comprised of five essays are responses to the experiences presented in the previous three sections. The aim of this section is to dialogue with the experiences recounted in the essays originating from a variety of countries around the world. Some of the issues that the writers of the responses were asked to consider include presenting theological insights gained from these experiences; lessons to be learned from what has been shared; the understanding of “pastoral creativity” in the contemporary world; and implications that these experiences hold for the post-pandemic Church." (Preface, page viii-ix)
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"This eBook provides a follow-up conversation with key contributors from The Distanced Church, published in April 2020, which explored how church leaders were responding and adapting to the need move their traditional services online during the first lockdown of the covid-19 pandemic. Revisiting the
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Distanced Church offers not only a "then and now" reflection on how pastors and scholar see the evolving relationship between the church and digital media one year later after the global migration of the church online. It also provides a unique look into the long term implications of these technology choices and experimentation on the church, how leaders and scholars are reflecting on the present-future of digital ministry, and the areas in need of further theological reflection due to these changes." (Abstract)
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"This resource presents options for adapting gender-based violence (GBV) case management in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic so that survivors can continue to access and receive safe and confidential services. It focuses specifically on phone-based case management. In this resource, phone-based
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case management is defined as case management that caseworkers provide over the phone to existing clients (or, in some cases when resources, safety and referral processes allow, new clients through direct referrals). It may be accessed through appointments agreed upon by the survivor and caseworker or through survivor-initiated calls when the caseworker is available (i.e., not open to the general public, or operating all hours). This resource also provides recommendations for scaling up hotlines as a strategy for meeting urgent support and referral needs of survivors and those at risk." (Page 4)
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"Esta investigación versa sobre lo que significó la estrategia “Aprendo en casa” en el Perú, en el año 2020, desde dos de sus recursos principales: la radio y la televisión. El objetivo fue analizar comunicacionalmente y evaluar los programas de ambos medios. Se discutió sobre treinta y do
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s piezas de todos los niveles educativos, en un periodo de siete meses, con veintisiete expertos comunicadores y se evaluó la experiencia a partir de cincuenta actores destino de la estrategia. El estudio fue metodológicamente naturalista, de enfoque cualitativo, con tipologías hermenéuticas indirectas y fenomenológicas, y bajo diseño de codificación abierta. Se hallaron ocho categorías generadas a pleno albedrío que arrojan resultados sobre sesgados contenidos y cuestionables formas de presentación; se visibilizaron brechas educativas, digitales y generacionales, así como desarticulación entre los ejes educación y comunicación. Lo encontrado aspira a contribuir a la mejora del diseño y uso de recursos mediáticos a favor de la incursión educativa analizada y sus similares." (Resumen)
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"[...] governments have put up barriers to activities like reporting and sharing opinions and used the pandemic as a pretext to muzzle critical voices. Amnesty International is concerned that Covid-19 related restrictions are not just temporary measures but are part of an ongoing onslaught on human
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rights and civic space. In addition, misinformation on different aspects of the pandemic has contributed to behaviours such as vaccine hesitancy. The overabundance of false and misleading information, facilitated by social media platforms, makes it harder than ever for individuals to form a fully informed opinion and make choices about their health based on the best available scientific facts. The report ends with a list of recommendations, urging States to stop using the pandemic as an excuse to silence independent reporting, debate and scrutiny and urgently lift all undue restrictions as a key approach to protecting the right to health and enabling an inclusive recovery. States should also provide credible, reliable, accessible, objective and evidence-based information, enable independent, public interest journalism and independent civil society, and engage diverse communities. Amnesty International urges social media companies to also take measures to address the viral spread of misinformation, including by improving the transparency and oversight of their business practices, policies and procedures." (Back cover)
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"Russia recycled previous narratives and exacerbated tensions in Western society while attempting some propaganda about Russian scientific prowess. Russia’s approach evolved little; it recycled previous narratives, spreading a broad range of COVID-19 disinformation. Evidence supports the theory th
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at Russia seeks to strengthen itself in relative terms by weakening the West, while China seeks to strengthen itself in absolute terms. The Kremlin and the CCP learned from each other. While limited evidence exists of explicit cooperation, instances of narrative overlap and circular amplification of disinformation show that China is following a Russian playbook with Chinese characteristics. Russia is simultaneously learning from the Chinese approach. The largest difference between China and Russia’s information warfare tactics remains China’s insistence on narrative consistency, compared with Russia’s “firehose of falsehoods” strategy. Even with substantially greater resources, this largely prevents Chinese narratives from swaying public opinion or polarizing societies." (Executive summary)
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