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Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change
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Jan Servaes (ed.)

Singapore: Springer (2020), 2 vols.

"The book contains 85 chapters written by persons who have been on those frontlines of communication and development [...] A variety of case studies appear in the book. For example, Kriss Barker and Fatou Jah – in a chapter titled “Entertainment-Education in Radio: Three Case Studies from Africa ... ” – explore in detail projects in Nigeria, Burundi and Burkina Faso that used a communication intervention approach advanced by the Population Media Center. Other chapters in the Handbook take the reader to Spain, Kenya, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and beyond. Song Shi examines “ICTs and Modernization in China,” revealing that assumptions and theories of the modernization paradigm have significantly influenced the policies and projects on ICT4D in contemporary China. And, Song Shi writes, discussion on the potential of other approaches in ICT4D in China has also emerged among scholars. Hina Ayaz discusses the “Multiplicity Approach in Participatory Communication” in Pakistan – wherein the country adopted the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – only to run into negative perceptions and banning of polio vaccinations. However, a shift to a more successful approach, grounded in UNICEF’s social mobilization and communityinvolvement communication strategy, brought significant success. While many of the Handbook case studies incorporate participation as a significant development factor, they also address a wide range of social and political issues including, for example, civic engagement, sexual harassment, empowerment, and community voices. In addition to an abundance of case studies from around the world, the Handbook delves into various research methods that are being used to understand and design communication for development and social change interventions [...] Handbook editor Jan Servaes' own chapter (with Rico Lie), “Key Concepts, Disciplines, and Fields in Communication for Development and Social Change ” identifies five clusters of concepts and practices that are evident in the field today and which determine the activities and approaches in communication for sustainable development and social change interventions: The clusters are (1) a normative cluster of concepts; (2) a cluster of concepts that sets an important context for communication activities for development; (3) a cluster of strategic and methodological concepts; (4) a cluster of concepts that relate to methods, techniques, and tools; and (5) a cluster of concepts that addresses the practices of advocacy, (participatory) monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessment. The authors extend their discussion into three subdivisions: (1) health communication, (2) agricultural extension and rural communication, and (3) environmental communication (including climate change communication). This leads the reader into issues related to (1) right to communicate; (2) education and learning; (3) innovation, science, and technology; (4) natural resource management; (5) food security; (6) poverty reduction; (7) peace and conflict; (8) children and youth, women, and senior citizens; and (9) tourism. Some of the forerunners of development communication have not been forgotten. In “Daniel Lerner and the Origins of Development Communication”, Hemant Shah links Lerner’s 1958 book Passing of Traditional Society to today’s modernization and faith in technology to solve social problems. Also contributing to the foundation of this field is Paulo Freire who contributed much to idea that participation should be a vital part of the development dialogue. Ana Fernández-Aballí Altamirano’s chapter on "The Importance of Paulo Freire to Communication for Development and Social Change" highlights his main work Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a "before-and-after" in the fields of education, research, and communication, initially in Latin America and later in both North and South. Particularly in the case of development communication and communication for social change, the author stresses, Freire’s work had a definitive impact ..." (Review by Royal Donald Colle, Journal of Development Communication, vol. 30 (2), page 92-94) more

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ICTs for Learning in the Field of Rural Communication

Rico Lie, Loes Witteveen

In: Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change

Jan Servaes (ed.)

Singapore: Springer (2019), 18 pp.

"This contribution surveys learning approaches in the field of agricultural extension, agricultural advisory services, and rural communication and explores their relationships with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It makes a distinction between theory-based approaches to learning a ... more

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Disciplines in the Field of Communication for Development and Social Change

Rico Lie, Jan Servaes

Communication Theory, volume 25, issue 2 (2015), pp. 244-258

"This article provides an overview of subdisciplines in the field of Communication for Development and Social Change. Different subdisciplines of communication science are analyzed to assess their connection to the field. Building on these subdisciplines the article reviews health communication, agr ... more

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Participatory Film-Making for Social Change: Dilemmas in Balancing Participatory and Artistic Qualities

Margriet Goris, Loes Witteveen, Rico Lie

Journal of Arts & Communities, volume 7, issue 1-2 (2015), pp. 63-85

"This study contributes to the field of films for social change by exploring the production process of participatory film-making for social change, whereby explicit claims of community empowerment, participation and social change are the very justification of the production. To do so, it investigate ... more

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Sustainable Social Change and Communication

Jan Servaes, Rico Lie

Communication Research Trends, volume 32, issue 4 (2013), pp. 4-30

"This issue of 'Communication Research Trends' provides a survey of the field of sustainable social change and communication in a global context. It starts with a review of introductory works and general overviews and lists some manuals, resource books, journals, and organizations, which are relevan ... more

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The Power of Global Community Media
Inspiring Practice

Linda K. Fuller (ed.)

New York: Palgrave Macmillan, revised paperback ed. (2011), xix, 272 pp.

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Video in Development
Key Guidance

Rico Lie, Andreas Mandler

Wageningen; Rome: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA);FAO (2009), 60 pp.

"The book was written mainly to inform rural development professionals, practitioners and decision-makers in a variety of organisations – from NGOs and farmer associations to government departments and research and educational institutions – about the diverse uses of video in development. Specif ... more

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La video dans le developpement: Filmer pour le changement rural

Rico Lie, Andreas Mandler

Wageningen; Rome; Rome: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA);FAO (2009), v, 60 pp.

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Communication for Development and Social Change

Jan Servaes (ed.)

Los Angeles et al.: Sage (2008), 428 pp.

"This book includes 17 articles on the current state of communication for development from renowned communication practitioners and scholars. It covers five areas: an introduction to the relationship between development, participation and communication; the theoretical underpinnings of development c ... more

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Community Media: International Perspectives
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Linda K. Fuller (ed.)

New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2007), xiii, 258 pp.

"This collection of writing on community media describes attempts at local media development and case studies of functioning projects. It presents a range of perspectives on grassroots media originating from community groups; research representing participant observation; hands-on community involvem ... more

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The New Communications Landscape: Demystifying Media Globalization

Georgette Wang, Jan Servaes, Anura Goonasekera (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2000), xvi, 343 pp.

"The innovative and rapid growth of communication satellites and computer mediated technologies in the late 1980s and early 1990s, combined with the deregulation of national broadcasting, led many media commentators to assume that the age of national media had been lost. But what has become clear is ... more

Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change Top Insights

ICTs for Learning in the Field of Rural Communication

Disciplines in the Field of Communication for Development and Social Change

Participatory Film-Making for Social Change: Dilemmas in Balancing Participatory and Artistic Qualities

Sustainable Social Change and Communication

The Power of Global Community Media Inspiring Practice

Video in Development Key Guidance

La video dans le developpement: Filmer pour le changement rural

Communication for Development and Social Change

Community Media: International Perspectives Top Insights

The New Communications Landscape: Demystifying Media Globalization

Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change
Top Insights

The Power of Global Community Media
Inspiring Practice

Video in Development
Key Guidance

Community Media: International Perspectives
Top Insights