"Because of its relatively well-developed, highly urbanised economy and high penetration of mobile internet access, the platform economy took off quickly in South Africa, with international players vying for market share and local platforms pursuing more innovative approaches. Digital labour platfor
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ms have offered new earning opportunities to many in the country, but concerns have been raised about the quality of jobs created, and whether they meet standards of decent work. South Africa was one of the pilot countries for the Fairwork Project. This article describes the specific conditions which supported the take-off of location-based digital labour platforms in South Africa, explains the methodology used for pursuing the Fairwork research, discusses ratings outcomes based on the empirical research and summarizes the action research component of the project—with particular attention paid to outcomes for workers. We also list some of the lessons that were learnt and give a critical reflection on the project in the hope of assisting other researchers investigating the fourth industrial revolution, the gig economy, and decent work standards, especially in the Global South." (Abstract)
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"In contrast to earlier publications on Chinese propaganda and media, 'Chinese propaganda seducing the world' offers the first comprehensive analysis of propaganda from Mao to today. Here lies the book’s strength. The author, Jeanne Boden, holds a PhD in Oriental Languages and Cultures (Ghent Univ
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ersity), and draws on years of experience studying the complexity of cross-cultural cooperation, in particular, between Europe and China. She has conducted an impressive analysis of more than 2,500 photographs of propaganda in public spaces all over China taken between 1994 and 2018, and, additionally, on other formats like propaganda movies, television programs, and myriad publications. Displayed throughout the book, these materials include gems such as the unique picture taken in Lhasa in 2002 with a Chinese propaganda slogan dating back to 1966–1976 (pp.61), the somewhat surreal Communist Party Theme Park (pp.82), or the striking example of a public humiliation campaign from during the Cultural Revolution that has been turned into a tourist commodity (pp.64). Substantial context is added to the analysis. For example, how “[c]onstruction itself has become a political measure of China’s success and growth and is therefore actively put to use for political purposes” (pp.31), or how “the absence of the idea of privacy in the socialist work unit paved the way for the technologically advanced control seen in China today” (pp.142)." (Review by Jono van Belle in: Communications, vol. 45:1, 2020)
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"This book highlights the importance of the news media as watchdogs, agenda setters and gatekeepers for the quality of democratic deliberation in the public sphere. At the same time, it theorizes that the capacity of journalists and media systems to fulfill these roles depends on the broader context
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determined by the profession, the market and the state. Media systems' performance often falls far short of the ideals, as succesive case studies from different world regions demonstrate. Finally, the book asks what policy interventions work effectively to close the gap between the democratic promise and perfomance of the news media as an institution. The final chapter, "Policy recommendations", concludes (page 406): "Interventions include reforms directed at strengthening the journalistic profession, notably institutional capacity building, through bodies such as press councils, press freedom advocacy NGOs, and organizations concerned with journalistic training and accreditation. Other important reforms seek to overcome market failures, including developing a regulatory framework for media systems to ensure pluralism of ownership and diversity of contents. Finally, policies also address the role of the state, including deregulation to shift state-run broadcasting to public service broadcasting, overseen by independent broadcasting regulatory bodies, and the protection of constitutional principles of freedom of the press, speech, and expression." (commbox)
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"In many ways, this book is a simple and straightforward product of social science research. A conceptual expectation was created through the integration and extension of existing theory and research findings. The responsiveness argument presented in chapter 2 lead to the expectation that aid bureau
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cracies will try to roughly match the levels of aid they offer with their perception of the domestic political importance of the recipient. It was argued that the news media provide a simple, clear and easily accessible indicator of that importance and, as a result, it was expected that aid bureaucracies will respond to the content of the news media by matching development aid allocations with levels of coverage. From that conceptual foundation, a comparative battery of tests were conducted to evaluate the empirical implications of that expectation, and to address at least a few of the obvious potential objections or critiques. In analysis after analysis, the predicted relationship was found: aid levels and media coverage are clearly correlated." (Page 137)
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