"The era of digital capitalism poses conundrums for communication for development and social change scholarship and practice. On one hand, mainstream social media platforms are an increasingly ubiquitous element of the everyday media practices of growing portions of the global population. On the oth
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er, the profit-driven architectures can make these hostile spaces for progressive social change dialogues. While a burgeoning literature exists on the uses of social media as part of hashtag-activism and social movements, much less critical consideration has been given to NGOs’and civil society organizations’ uses of capitalist-driven social media platforms in their development and social change efforts, and the challenges and compromises they navigate in this, consciously or not. This paper argues that meaningful uses of social media platforms for social change requires cultivating a hacker mindset in order to find tactics to subvert, resist, and appropriate platform logics, combined with an ecological sensibility to understanding media and communication. This paper analyzes how metaphors, specifically of a recipe, can offer a productive, praxis-oriented framework for fostering these sensibilities. The paper draws on insights from workshops with IT for Change, a civil society organization in India, which is both a leader in critiquing the political and economic power of Big Tech especially in the Global South, and beginning to use Instagram for its work on adolescent empowerment." (Abstract)
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"In pockets of media and communication for development and social change (MCDSC) a distinct set of practices around a worldview emphasizing optimism, chic, creativity, boldness, and “changemaking” is emerging. This trend is in stark contrast with the momentum of our current academic debates expl
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oring the role of communication in the decolonization of MCDSC. This article aims to bring greater critical attention to what I term communication for social changemaking. Through an analysis of selected cases from a sample of program texts spanning 10 years, communication for social changemaking is found to rest on an underlying “spirit” that justifies the employment of capitalist mechanisms for social purposes and a common good. This article argues that there is an urgent need to critically interrupt the assimilation of global capitalist values in MCDSC practice where they undermine social justice goals, and also calls for research to explore how practitioners are both adapting and resisting these discourses." (Abstract)
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"This book presents five cases that reflect on the experiences of using practices consistent with the 'Evaluating C4D framework' [published by June Lennie and Jo Tacchi in 2013]. Case studies are important to help move from a set of ideal principles to an understanding of how the framework may be op
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erationalized within the actual realities of development institutions, organizations, and communities. The authors of each chapter focus on a few key principles from the framework and contextualize how they interpreted those principles in relation to various methods, models, and projects. As well as showing the usefulness and opportunities, they illustrate the challenges of balancing the various principles as well as real-world practical needs." (Overview of the book, page 10)
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"This collection presents 14 concepts from a multi-disciplinary collection of internationally leading and emerging scholars, from 13 countries on 5 continents. They come together around three meta-topics: citizenship and justice, critiques of development, and renewing thought (from and for the margi
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ns). The short chapter format ensures that authors get straight to the nub of their ideas, providing readers - students, scholars and practitioners alike - with accessible, engaging and innovative ways to think critically about communication and social change, in new ways." (Publisher description)
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"This report was commissioned to examine the nature and quality of media stories produced by journalists supported by the Voices of African Migrants pilot programme (see http://migrantvoices.org), managed by International Media Support (IMS), in four migration ‘Hubs’ in Africa, and explored how
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local audiences interpreted and responded to those stories. It used content analysis, interviews and focus group discussions. The research findings show that most stories used human interest frames and foregrounded migrant experiences. The migrants’ main contributions to the stories were to provide a human face to hardships and suffering. Meanwhile, NGOs were included to provide facts, statements of general causes of migrations, statistics, and a sense of scale. Government statements were used to provide a comment on policies and solutions. Most articles were supportive in their sentiments to the plight of migrants. Participants in the focus groups (especially migrants themselves) recognised that migrant voices were missing from mainstream media reporting on migration, that reporting on migration tends to be negative, and that there are pressing issues relating to migration that need to be discussed in the public sphere. Focus group participants generally responded with empathy and understanding in response to stories about the hardships migrants face. Some stories provoked a distancing or disruption to understanding, especially when an aspect of the story did not match their prior tacit or cultural knowledge about migration. A small number of stories deeply moved focus group participants." (Executive summary)
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"International development stakeholders harness communication with two broad purposes: to do good, via communication for development and media assistance, and to communicate do-gooding, via public relations and information. This book unpacks various ways in which different efforts to do good are com
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bined with attempts to look good, be it in the eyes of donor constituencies at large, or among more specific audiences, such as journalists or intra-agency decision-makers. Development communication studies have tended to focus primarily on interventions aimed at doing good among recipients, at the expense of examining the extent to which promotion and reputation management are elements of those practices. This book establishes the importance of interrogating the tensions generated by overlapping uses of communication to do good and to look good within international development cooperation." (Publisher description)
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"This book argues for an overhaul of the way media assistance is evaluated, and explores how new thinking about evaluation can reinforce the shifts towards better media development. The pursuit of media freedom has been the bedrock of media development since its height in the 1990s. Today, citizen v
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oice, participation, social change, government responsiveness and accountability, and other ‘demand-side’ aspects of governance, are increasingly the rubric within with assistance to media development operates." (Publisher description)
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"The Pacific Islands are home to diverse and fast-changing media and communication infrastructures and practices. In this article we examine the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) Innovation Fund, which has opened up the media and communication for development field to new players by funding m
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any small-scale, low-cost initiatives. As elsewhere, the funding environment has exerted a major influence over the kinds of projects that are implemented, both in terms of the focus and goals as well as the actors who are able to participate. This article explores some of the ways in which this Innovation Fund, which has funded highly localized, small-scale initiatives, has encouraged experimentation and how these initiatives respond to locally determined needs. Central to this article is the question of what happens when donors have less control over the focus of funded projects. Through an analysis of some projects undertaken as part of the PACMAS Innovation Fund, we investigate what innovation means in this context, paying particular attention to how the spread of digital technologies is integrated into media and communication for development practices." (Abstract)
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"The IDEAS Guide is for organisations and people who are doing small media and communication projects. It is designed to cater for a range of different skill levels in evaluation. It is ideal for project managers and team members responsible for reporting and evaluation, as well as any other partici
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pants who are interested in evaluation. The IDEAS Guide leads you through the process of designing a project, and thinking about the project’s evaluation. The guide is focused on how to do useful evaluation for learning and continual project improvement. To achieve this, it is important to think about the evaluation of the project as you design it, and to learn from evaluation during the implementation of the project. Focusing on what you can learn by carrying out a project is especially important when the project idea is new and innovative." (Introduction, page 5)
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"The IDEAS Facilitators’ Guide provides briefing notes on how you, as a facilitator, can support small-grant recipients to use the IDEAS Guide to clarify their project design, and to plan and manage their evaluation. The Facilitators’ Guide is best used in conjunction with the IDEAS Guide. These
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guides are designed to be used together in the planning and implementation of a workshop. Facilitators can also adapt the steps to suit the mode and length of delivery. The Facilitators’ Guide was developed to accompany the IDEAS Guide to help facilitators to effectively support capacity development for individuals working in grassroots and community organisations who might have little or no experience of evaluation. It may also be helpful for more experienced practitioners. The approach integrates evaluation into the design of projects." (Page 4)
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"This article draws upon the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) State of Media and Communication Report to examine the implications of a changing media landscape for journalism practice in the Pacific region. The report contributes to an understanding of the diverse media and communications en
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vironments in the Pacific Islands (PI) region and captures aspects of the variations both in media, and in context, across and within the 14 Pacific Islands countries. This article highlights the need for synergies in the Pacific Islands to strengthen legislation, capacity-building initiatives and content production in a fast-changing digital environment." (Abstract)
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"Evaluating the impact of media assistance is challenging for several reasons. Primary among them is that these kinds of initiatives operate in a complex political, social, and cultural environment. Although there has been increased attention to evaluation of media assistance, with a series of inter
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national conferences, funded research projects, and publications addressing this topic, it remains a problematic area of practice. This paper provides a survey of recent media assistance evaluation practices through an analysis of 47 evaluation documents of programs and projects from 2002-2012, identifying trends in methodology choices, and critiquing the quality of the evidence enabled through different evaluation approaches. It finds clear patterns in how, when and by whom evaluations are undertaken, but finds that these practices rarely generate useful, insightful evaluations." (Abstract)
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"In June 2015 a group of academic researchers from Australian universities and practitioners from Australian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) came together to discuss the use of communication for development (C4D) in their present and future work. The seminar was organised as a pre-conference t
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o the ACFID (Australian Council for International Development) University Network Conference, held in Melbourne on 4th-5th June. The aim was to provide a platform for international development actors involved or interested in communication for development to share experiences, lessons learned and recommendations that could contribute to an improved practice. With the additional aim of strengthening the value of the practice, the event wanted to facilitate connections between practitioners and researchers on C4D-related research projects." (Introduction)
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"This thesis explores how the impacts of Australian media assistance on social change and governance can be most effectively evaluated and understood. It is based on a three-stage research design, using predominantly qualitative research methods. In doing so it contributes in-depth insights into the
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politics, theories, and practices of media assistance evaluation, with illustrations of how this knowledge can be directly applied to improve practice in this area. The findings of this research suggest the importance of early investment in participatory planning of evaluation designs, which are then periodically revisited. These evaluation designs should be based on a theoretically sound link between models of change, evaluative questions and methods." (Abstract)
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"This paper suggests that the problem of impact evaluation of media assistance is understood to be more than a simple issue of methods, and outlines three underlying tensions and challenges that stifle implementation of effective practices in media assistance evaluation. First, there are serious con
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ceptual ambiguities that affect evaluation design. Second, bureaucratic systems and imperatives often drive evaluation practices, which reduces their utility and richness. Third, the search for the ultimate method or toolkit of methods for media assistance evaluation tends to overlook the complex epistemological and political undercurrents in the evaluation discipline, which can lead to methods being used without consideration of the ontological implications. Only if these contextual factors are known and understood can effective evaluations be designed that meets all stakeholders’ needs." (Abstract)
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"According to ITU statistics, around 60 percent of Pacific Islanders had access to a mobile in 2012, compared to just 10 percent in 2006. In many Pacific countries mobile phones are, therefore, emerging as a key element of the local communication systems, and are being be built into disaster managem
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ent and communication plans. For these plans to be effective, however, we argue that access to, and affordability of, technologies represent only one dimension of what needs to be considered in effective disaster communication plans. They also need to consider appropriate technologies, local communicative ecologies, systems for the ownership and maintenance of infrastructures, and local knowledge and belief systems. With a focus on mobile and other telecommunications technologies, this paper provides an overview of disaster communication systems and infrastructures, practices and challenges in the region." (Abstract)
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"This paper draws on some preliminary findings from a comparative thematic analysis of 47 evaluation documents of media assistance programs. The aim of this analysis is to identify trends in impact evaluation practice in the media assistance field, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of differen
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t evaluation approaches. This paper presents four types of social change claims commonly presented in reports; hypothetical changes, introduction of new opportunities, concrete examples of immediate impacts, and analysis of ongoing social and political changes. Although these types may appear as a spectrum from weak to strong, the interactions are perhaps more accurately understood using metaphors such as building blocks. This paper explores these types in more detail and suggests that a robust set of impacts-types could be useful in developing more grounded theories of change and indicators." (Abstract)
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