"This book tells the story of community radio in four South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The three parts of the book focus on policy (discussed country by country), issues in practice, and case studies. In effect, however, each of the chapters touches on these topics to
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one degree or another. The first section presents very helpful background on the introduction of community radio in the four countries, focusing not only on policy issues but also on the history of setting up the stations. The second section calls attention to particular challenges such as the role of NGOs, radio spectrum management, the introduction of somewhat advanced technologies into rural communities, the role of women, the possibilities of community radio for disaster response, and issues of sustainability. The third section (the case studies) offers a good deal of practical suggestions to address challenges such as conflicts in the communities, assessment of the stations, and the practices of democracy." (Review in "Religion and Social Communication", vol. 20:2, 2022, page 418-421, https://www.asianresearchcenter.org)
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"This chapter will focus on the theorizing of communication and social change. It will argue that theory must enable people to know the world. It will also argue the limits to token participation and the unsustainability of "behavioral change communication'' that is theorized outside of structures,
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power flows, and cultures. Using the Right to Information movement in India as a case study, this chapter will explore grounded meanings of "voice" and "participation'' and will argue the need for a theory of communication for social change that is informed by people's needs and struggles. If theory is a set of principles informed by and drawn from observations of everyday needs and practice, its explanatory power is bound to remain consistent over time. Theory offers us a framework for knowing the world and the validation of concepts that are critical to apprehending and making sense of reality. I argue in this chapter that the Right to Information movement in India gives opportunities to explore communication and social change theory from the bottom up." (Abstract)
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"Communication Rights and Social Justice offers historical perspectives on struggles to use the instruments of state and political participation - power, inter-governmental treaties and declarations, and various forms of political advocacy and protest politics - to articulate the concept of communic
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ation as a fundamental right. The contributions make up an intergenerational and multi-vocal dialogue. Different generations of scholars, activists and practitioners, who have been engaged with mobilizations at different times, present their views; some adopt a more academic style, others reflect autobiographically on personal experiences. The collection acknowledges the plural geo-cultural roots that compose what have eventually become a network of transnational mobilization dynamics that are increasingly global, digitally mediated, multi-stakeholder and faced by new and forthcoming challenges." (Publisher description)
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"Outside the West, religion is an ever more prominent force in social and political movements of both reform and retrenchment. Across these contexts, no issue in religion is of as much concern as fundamentalism - or rather the fundamentalisms within various traditions - which are seen to be fomentin
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g religious, social, ethnic, and political tension and conflict. The contributions to this volume represent the first effort to look at ‘fundamentalisms’ and the ‘media’ together and address the resulting relations and interactions from critical perspectives of history, technology, geography, and practice." (Publisher description)
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"Communication rights and the ever more urgent need to construct a culture of peace are central to a vision of a world in which universal human values displace the accumulated weight of history’s tyrannies. Michael Traber, to whom this book is dedicated, believed that there is only one way of over
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coming the political, economic, social, and cultural inequalities and violence that have marred and obstructed justice for all – and that is genuine communication. Building a culture of peace means building a culture of communication in solidarity with those whose freedom has been taken away, or seriously diminished, rendering them less than human." (Publisher description)
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"Exploring recent developments in Asian television systems in the context of the continually changing global environment, this book covers India, China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. Country-based analyses are preceded by contribution
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s which analyse processes at the regional level. Chapters explore how television in Asia has responded to new threats and opportunities and provide evidence against the view that global forces will destroy national and regional differences." (Publisher description)
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