"Artificial intelligence (AI) is now receiving unprecedented global attention as it finds widespread practical application in multiple spheres of activity. But what are the human rights, social justice and development implications of AI when used in areas such as health, education and social service
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s, or in building “smart cities”? How does algorithmic decision making impact on marginalised people and the poor? This edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) provides a perspective from the global South on the application of AI to our everyday lives. It includes 40 country reports from countries as diverse as Benin, Argentina, India, Russia and Ukraine, as well as three regional reports. These are framed by eight thematic reports dealing with topics such as data governance, food sovereignty, AI in the workplace, and so-called “killer robots”. While pointing to the positive use of AI to enable rights in ways that were not easily possible before, this edition of GISWatch highlights the real threats that we need to pay attention to if we are going to build an AI-embedded future that enables human dignity." (Back cover)
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"These are the background case notes complied for MEMO 2018.1: Challenging Truth and Trust: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation. For details on the methods behind this content analysis please see the methodology section of the report. This document contains data from over 500 s
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ources organized by country. The sources include high quality news articles, academic papers, white papers, and a range of other grey literature. As an annotated bibliography, the country cases here make use of significant passages from these secondary sources, and every effort has been made to preserve full citation details for future researchers. The full list of references can be found in our public Zotero folder, with each reference tagged with a country name." (Page 3)
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"The 43 country reports included in this year’s Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) capture the different experiences and approaches in setting up community networks across the globe. They show that key ideas, such as participatory governance systems, community ownership and skills transfe
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r, as well as the “do-it-yourself” spirit that drives community networks in many different contexts, are characteristics that lend them a shared purpose and approach. The country reports are framed by eight thematic reports that deal with critical issues such as the regulatory framework necessary to support community networks, sustainability, local content, feminist infrastructure and community networks, and the importance of being aware of “community stories” and the power structures embedded in those stories." (Back cover)
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"The model of journalism we practice in Asia is an adversarial one driven by conflict reporting, a model we have borrowed from the West. This book is an outcome of a project implemented by the Faculty of Communication Arts of Chulalongkorn University and funded by the International Program for the D
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evelopment of Communications (IPDC) of UNESCO. The project incorporates Asian philosophical ideas and communication theories emanating from Buddhist, Hindu, and Confucius teachings for developing a curriculum to train Asian journalists. It is designed to frame a new paradigm of reporting tha could form a new approach to development communication. It covers areas such as realizing social harmony, protecting nature and environment, respecting cultural diversity, and encouraging sufficiency economic models. This book focuses on using such a path of communication to promote sustainable development." (Preface)
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"Die kommunikationswissenschaftliche Öffentlichkeitsforschung hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren verstärkt mit transnationalisierten Formen von Öffentlichkeit beschäftigt. Allerdings gehen nur wenige empirische Arbeiten über die (mögliche) Entstehung einer europäischen Öffentlichkeit hinaus.
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Daher analysieren wir anhand der medienöffentlichen Debatten in 15 Ländern über die Klimapolitik – ein Thema, das oft als möglicher Kristallisationspunkt für die Entstehung transnationaler oder gar „globaler“ Öffentlichkeiten dargestellt wird – inwieweit die Akteursensembles in der Berichterstattung von Qualitätstageszeitungen, Regional- und Boulevardzeitungen transnationalisiert sind und welche Reichweite eine etwaige Transnationalisierung aufweist. Die Analyse zeigt eine beträchtliche Transnationalisierung, die teils über eine Europäisierung hinausgeht. Allerdings ist die Berichterstattung je nach Untersuchungsdimension unterschiedlich transnationalisiert: Transnationalisierte Bezüge zeigen sich eher in „schwacher“ als in „starker“ Form: Ausländische oder supranationale Akteure werden häufiger in der Berichterstattung erwähnt, als dass sie selbst zu Wort kommen. Zudem ist die horizontale Transnationalisierung stärker ausgeprägt als die vertikale: Bezüge auf Akteure aus anderen Ländern finden sich häufiger als Bezüge auf supranationale politische Organisationen. Die Analyse zeigt zudem Länder- und Medienunterschiede, die grosso modo die Befunde der Forschung zu Klimawandel-Kommunikation und europäischer Öffentlichkeit bestätigen: In wirtschaftlich von Klimaschutzmaßnahmen betroffenen Ländern ist die Berichterstattung stärker national geprägt. In Qualitätstageszeitungen ist die Berichterstattung stärker transnationalisiert als in Boulevard- und Regionalmedien." (Zusammenfassung)
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"This book offers comprehensive insights into the cultural and ecological values that influence sustainable development across Asia, addressing the cultural, religious and philosophical moorings of development through participatory and grassroots communication approaches. It presents a range of cont
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ributions and case studies from leading experts in Asia to highlight the debates on environmental communication and sustainable development that are relevant today, and to provide an overview of the positive traditions of ecological sensitivity and cultural communication that may find common ground between communities." (Publisher description)
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"Governments around the world have dramatically increased their efforts to manipulate information on social media over the past year. The Chinese and Russian regimes pioneered the use of surreptitious methods to distort online discussions and suppress dissent more than a decade ago, but the practice
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has since gone global. Such state-led interventions present a major threat to the notion of the internet as a liberating technology. Online content manipulation contributed to a seventh consecutive year of overall decline in internet freedom, along with a rise in disruptions to mobile internet service and increases in physical and technical attacks on human rights defenders and independent media. Nearly half of the 65 countries assessed in Freedom on the Net 2017 experienced declines during the coverage period, while just 13 made gains, most of them minor. Less than one-quarter of users reside in countries where the internet is designated Free, meaning there are no major obstacles to access, onerous restrictions on content, or serious violations of user rights in the form of unchecked surveillance or unjust repercussions for legitimate speech." (Page 1)
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"From a Buddhist perspective, social change needs transformation of both spiritual and personal aspect. Mindful communication is a methodology to a critical self-reflexivity and social engagement. It is to help us cope with greed, anger, and delusion. For the mass media and the media industry, delus
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ion deems to be addressed for both media practitioners and corporations. Being mindful is being addressed in this chapter. Anyone, not only journalists, should benefit from mindfulness understanding and practice." (Abstract)
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"At the forefront in its field, this Handbook examines the theoretical, conceptual, pedagogical and methodological development of media literacy education and research around the world. Building on traditional media literacy frameworks in critical analysis, evaluation, and assessment, it incorporate
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s new literacies emerging around connective technologies, mobile platforms, and social networks. A global perspective rather than a Western-centric point of view is explicitly highlighted, with contributors from all continents, to show the empirical research being done at the intersection of media, education, and engagement in daily life. Structured around five themes—Educational Interventions; Safeguarding/Data and Online Privacy; Engagement in Civic Life; Media, Creativity and Production; Digital Media Literacy—the volume as a whole emphasizes the competencies needed to engage in meaningful participation in digital culture." (Publisher description)
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"This study used qualitative research involving a documentary analysis of the existing research in Thailand. In all, 60 research studies between 1993 and 2012 [...] were reviewed and analyzed for participatory communication usage and media types. These studies were classified by the purpose of parti
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cipatory communication using: (1) studies focusing on participatory communication as the framework for participatory media, (2) studies focusing on participatory communication as the framework for communication strategies for people participation building, and (3) studies focusing on participatory communication as the framework for people participation in solving problems." (Methodology, page 69)
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"This chapter attempts to assess the information discussed on digital social media such as Twitter, Internet, and Instagram related to the Dhammakaya Temple and its abbot. Content and contextual analyses will be conducted. The research findings will be discussed against the background of modernizati
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on, Thai Buddhist culture, and digital communication in Thailand." (Abstract)
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"On May 22nd 2014, The Kingdom of Thailand experienced its latest successful military coup. A few months later, in November 2014, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 was released in Thai cinemas sparking new protests using symbols from the series. With this article, I seek to examine the reception o
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f The Hunger Games series in Thailand by different interest groups in light of recent political developments. I present a system of shared reference that is based on Jonathan Cohen’s discussions of ‘identification’ and ‘spectatorship’ (2001) to illustrate the relationship between The Hunger Games series in Thailand, pro-democracy protesters, and the military junta. I aim to illuminate how the two opposing sides use and understand references from The Hunger Games as part of their actions in an ongoing tense political climate." (Summary)
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"In this special edition of GISWatch, Unshackling Expression, APC brings together analysis on the criminalisation of online expression from six Asian states: Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand. While the report mostly focuses on criminalisation, curbs placed on expression usin
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g laws, regulations and policies are also discussed in parts. These countries were chosen for closer study based on preliminary assessment. These six states have several socio-political characteristics that are similar and varied. They have largely similar legal systems, since India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Pakistan are former British colonies and follow the commonwealth system. These countries were also chosen keeping in mind sub-regional balance and to bring to the table a diverse experience with laws and violations. All these states, amongst many others, criminalise online expression for a variety of reasons, which they set out in their constitutions and legislations. In these country reports, the authors identify and analyse the reasons for which online expression is criminalised, from defamation to sedition, hate speech to blasphemy, national security to contempt of court." (Page 5)
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"This paper attempts to analyze the following:(1) How the Sangha, or the Buddhist body of Thailand, has been impacted since it has become part of the state during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V); (2) How the economic and social development has an impact on Thai Buddhism, especially the anim
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istic beliefs, cults, Hindu Gods, and astrology; and (3) How the Thai mass media and new social media create hypes on Buddhism, animism, and the further commercialization of Buddhism." (Abstract)
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"A majority of Thai journalists viewed all roles listed in the questionnaire as very or extremely important. The roles that ranked highest included to report things as they are (88.7%), to provide analysis of current affairs (85.5%), and to be a detached observer (82.1%) (see Table 1). There was lit
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tle dispute about the relevance of all listed roles among the interviewed journalists as the relatively low standard deviations indicate, except for acting as an adversary of the government (s=1.01). The roles of providing information people need to make political decision, motivating people to participating in political activity, and monitoring and scrutinizing business were rated as extremely or very important by a slight majority." (Journalistic roles, page 2)
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"This book deploys an original comparative framework, as well as archival and pattern-matching research methodologies, to analyze whistleblowing cases from Peru, South Korea, Thailand and the United States of America and to ascertain factors that make for effective whistleblowing. After examining th
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e cases, the study concludes that external whistleblowing, extensive mass media coverage, and strong evidence are essential components of effective whistleblowing. When there is a lack of proper legal protection, whistleblowers experience brutal retaliation, even though their actions are successful in stopping wrongdoing and promoting change in the public sector." (Publisher description)
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"This book examines what the diverse roster of celebrity humanitarians are actually doing in and across North and South contexts. Celebrity humanitarianism is an effective lens for viewing the multiple and diverse relationships that constitute the links between North and South. New empirical finding
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s on celebrity humanitarianism on the ground in Thailand, Malawi, Bangladesh, South Africa, China, Haiti, Congo, US, Denmark and Australia illustrate the impact of celebrity humanitarianism in the Global South and celebritization, participation and democratization in the donor North. By investigating one of the most mediatized and distant representations of humanitarianism (the celebrity intervention) from a perspective of contextualization, the book underscores the importance of context in international development." (Publisher description)
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"Internet freedom has declined for the sixth consecutive year, with more governments than ever before targeting social media and communication apps as a means of halting the rapid dissemination of information, particularly during antigovernment protests. Public-facing social media platforms like Fac
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ebook and Twitter have been subject to growing censorship for several years, but in a new trend, governments increasingly target messaging and voice communication apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram. These services are able to spread information and connect users quickly and securely, making it more difficult for authorities to control the information landscape or conduct surveillance. The increased controls show the importance of social media and online communication for advancing political freedom and social justice. It is no coincidence that the tools at the center of the current crackdown have been widely used to hold governments accountable and facilitate uncensored conversations." (Page 1)
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