"This report is the third in a series of comprehensive studies of internet freedom around the globe and covers developments in 47 countries that occurred between January 2011 and May 2012. Over 50 researchers, nearly all based in the countries they analyzed, contributed to the project by researching
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laws and practices relevant to the internet, testing the accessibility of select websites, and interviewing a wide range of sources. This year's findings indicate that restrictions on internet freedom in many countries have continued to grow, though the methods of control are slowly evolving, becoming more sophisticated and less visible. Brutal attacks against bloggers, politically motivated surveillance, proactive manipulation of web content, and restrictive laws regulating speech online are among the diverse threats to internet freedom emerging over the past two years. Nevertheless, several notable victories have also occurred as a result of greater activism by civil society, technology companies, and independent courts, illustrating that efforts to advance internet freedom can yield results." (www.freedomhouse.org, January 14, 2013)
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"This report [is] the first compilation of the global data on how women in developing countries access and use the Internet. I am convinced this report provides key insights for policy makers, the development community and industry. Based on interviews and surveys of 2,200 women in developing countr
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ies, as well as interviews with experts and a review of existing literature, this report found that, on average, 23 percent fewer women than men are online in developing countries. This represents 200 million fewer women than men who are online today. In some regions, the size of the gap exceeds 40 percent. In addition, in many regions, the Internet gender gap reflects and amplifies existing inequalities between the sexes. We know that many women who use the Internet derive profound benefits through it, including economic and educational opportunities, a community of support, and career prospects. As the report indicates, expanding Internet access for women would also provide a significant boost to national income." (Foreword)
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"Through enhancing reflection on the treatment of cultural diversity in contemporary Western societies, this collection aims to move the debate beyond the opposition between ethnicity and citizenship and demonstrate ways to achieve equality in multicultural and globalised societies." (Publisher desc
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ription)
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"Based on interviews with 300 journalists in Chile, Brazil and Mexico, this article describes similarities and differences in their professional cultures. Two competing conceptual explanations are tested: the dominance of political structures, levels of press freedom and the size and concentration o
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f media ownership vs the predominance of political cultures and political parallelism. Although the study provides some evidence in favour of the second scenario – overall in terms of the institutional roles supported by the journalists – neither of the two explanations can fully account for the differences between the countries. Meanwhile, the epistemological and ethical views of the journalists seem to be trapped in contesting terrains of ambiguity, where organizational, media routines and individual factors override country differences." (Abstract)
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"The article presents the main results of the investigation, ‘Current Situation and Prospects of Spanish Cooperation in Culture and Communication with the Rest of Ibero-America, 1997–2007’. The text offers an overview of the initiatives which took place during the period studied, by country, c
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ultural and media sectors, agents involved, and type of activity. Spain’s role in terms of cooperation in culture and communication is analysed, and a reflection on the possibility of building an Ibero-American cultural space appropriate to the new digital scene is also included. Although Ibero-America has traditionally been a privileged geopolitical space for Spanish cooperation policy, this was not developed until well into the new millennium, evolving from simplistic and rhetorical visions based on instrumental conceptions of culture and communication to a gradual recognition of the fact that cooperation is much more than the classical actions of dissemination and promotion of Spanish cultural products." (Abstract)
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"In the 2012 elections, the internet – and particularly the social networks – became more important than ever before and took up an unprecedented amount of space in the media. The role played by Web 2.0 in the 2012 elections in Mexico cannot be assessed without bringing the #YoSoy132 movement in
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to the equation. This phenomenon brought together the two elements of “youth participation” and “Web 2.0 tools” to enliven the political debate during the election campaign." (https://www.kas.de)
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"While the empirical emphasis of this book is on diasporic groups and their experiences with mainly new communication technologies, the topic is embedded in a broader set of questions that inform social sciences today. The book speaks to and analyses convergence cultures, community building, transna
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tional connections and processes of identity formation in the midst of these processes and relations. One of the overriding premises for the book seems to be the development within media and communication technologies and the exploration of their influence upon the increasingly mediatized social and cultural practices. New media geographies, growing virtual spaces, mediated social networks and processes of mass self-communication are all part and parcel of the contexts in which identity formation - diasporic or not - is taking place." (Foreword, page 9)
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"Turning the tide on the killing of journalists involves several steps, but primarily it is a matter of having the political will to acknowledge the issue as important and ending the impunity for those responsible for the violence. These steps include: following through on making attacks on the medi
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a, particularly murders, a federal rather than a state or local crime, in order to remove the investigations from often corrupt or intimidated local law enforcement groups. This fundamental legal change would be significant in ending the cycle of impunity and the botched investigations that currently feed the violence; strengthening the special prosecutor’s office, with additional funding and staff, to more effectively go after those accused of these crimes; forming a common front in the media to tackle the problems of security for journalists and the risks of reporting on transnational organized crime; persuading national opinion leaders to speak out about the violence and its impact on society; targeting international aid specifically for the protection of journalists." (Executive summary, page 6-7)
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"This article explores the consumption patterns of local and foreign film and television content of Mexican audiences living in the Northeast region of the country, a region bordering with the United States. Based on telephone surveys in four of the largest cities in the area (Reynosa, Monterrey, Sa
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ltillo and Torreón), the study presents data about television consumption that suggest that cultural proximity factors are stronger in Mexican northerners than their geographical, commercial and historical proximity to the US. The concept of cultural discount seems to apply in this part of Mexico, due to the differences in language, practices and traditions despite the proximity and familiarity with US culture (except in the case of Hollywood films, as in many other countries in the world)." (Abstract)
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"El valor de este trabajo radica en la visión global que nos ofrecen los distintos equipos de trabajo de los países sobre los diferentes y complejos escenarios en los que se dan la relación audiencia-medios, lo que sucede antes y después de esa relación, el aporte de los contenidos que ofrecen
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los medios, la visión que las audiencias tienen de sus propios medios y, en fin, una serie de conceptos que dejan planteadas dudas que incentivan a la discusión en torno a este tema que tiene varias implicaciones." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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"En 2010 el Foro desplegó una nueva investigación en la que han participado ocho países: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, México y Perú. El esfuerzo realizado por los equipos locales del Foro, con el apoyo inestimable de Fundación Telefónica y de Telefónica, ha permiti
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do que más de seiscientos colegios hayan tomado parte en ella, lo que ha supuesto encuestar a más de setenta y ocho mil menores de entre 6 y 18 años. Se ha puesto, además, un énfasis particular en que también los menores de los entornos rurales estuvieran debidamente representados en la muestra de estudio, lo que ha supuesto en muchos casos un trabajo adicional por parte de los profesores y de los equipos locales [...] los menores en los países iberoamericanos están creciendo en un contexto altamente tecnologizado, lo que plantea nuevas oportunidades y nuevos retos desde el punto de vista educativo y de la protección del menor. La importancia de éstos es tal que solo cabe una respuesta activa por parte de todas la instituciones involucradas en su educación: gobiernos, empresas, escuelas y, por supuesto, familias, deben sentirse interpeladas por la necesidad de formar a los menores en el uso responsable de las TIC. Únicamente el esfuerzo conjunto podrá conseguir minimizar los riesgos a los que se enfrentan con su uso y sacar el máximo provecho a las oportunidades que ofrece este nuevo escenario." (Introducción, página 12)
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"La Comunicación Política en México aborda las formas en que la dimensión comunicativa de la sociedad mexicana enfrenta dos tendencias contrapuestas: las inercias de un sistema político autoritario, y la coexistencia con nuevos valores y significaciones en torno al poder y a la toma de decision
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es, lo que implica una participación política más clara por parte de la sociedad civil. La obra se estructura en torno a tres ejes temáticos fundamentales: la Comunicación Política y los Procesos Electorales; estrategias de Comunicación Política; Comunicación Política y la relación México-Estados Unidos. Los participantes en esta obra son miembros del grupo de investigación en Comunicación Política de la Asociación Mexicana de Investigadores de la Comunicación (AMIC)." (Resumen)
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"[...] En este informe confirmamos que si bien existen avances en algunos países, la mayor parte de ellos mantiene un sistema regulatorio y políticas públicas de radio y televisión que violan la libertad de expresión; que se traducen en prácticas discrecionales y discriminatorias en la adjudic
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ación de frecuencias; que no establecen límites reales a la concentración de medios; que imponen barreras a las comunidades indígenas, las organizaciones sociales y otros medios no comerciales al acceso equitativo, y que, además, disponen limitaciones técnicas y económicas que impiden su desarrollo, lo que deriva en el silenciamiento de voces disidentes y diversas e impacta gravemente a la democracia, situación que se ha venido agudizando con los procesos de convergencia y transición tecnológica. Estos procesos, que avanzan rápidamente, podrían –y deberían- ser una gran oportunidad para garantizar el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión en condiciones de pluralidad y diversidad. Sin embargo, existe una preocupante tendencia hacia una mayor concentración de medios de comunicación por efecto de la expansión de servicios de quienes ya cuentan con frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico, por lo que consideramos conveniente que la CIDH determine estándares específcios que permitan tanto el artículo 13º de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos, como la Declaración de Principios sobre Libertad de Expresión, de 2000, en materia de regulación de servicios de comunicación audiovisual y radiodifusión, tanto en lo que toca a los entornos existentes como a la transición a los soportes digitales, previa a la adopción de normas nacionales para garantizar una distribución y asignación de espectro compatibles con el Estado de Derecho y el pluralismo." (Introducción)
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