"With e-learning technologies evolving and expanding at high rates, organizations and institutions around the world are integrating massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other open educational resources (OERs). MOOCs and Open Education in the Global South explores the initiatives that are leveragi
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ng these flexible systems to educate, train, and empower populations previously denied access to such opportunities. Featuring contributors leading efforts in rapidly changing nations and regions, this wide-ranging collection grapples with accreditation, credentialing, quality standards, innovative assessment, learner motivation and attrition, and numerous other issues. The provocative narratives curated in this volume demonstrate how MOOCs and OER can be effectively designed and implemented in vastly different ways in particular settings, as detailed by experts from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific/Oceania, and the Caribbean. This comprehensive text is an essential resource for policy makers, instructional designers, practitioners, administrators, and other MOOC and OER community stakeholders." (Publisher description)
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"Preaching has been central to Muslim communities throughout the centuries. The liturgical Friday sermon is a prime example, although other genres that are less commonly known also serve important functions. This book addresses the ways in which Muslims relate various forms of religious oratory to a
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uthoritative tradition in 21st-century Islamic practice, while striving to adapt to local contexts and the changing circumstances of politics, media and society. This is the first book of its kind to look at homiletics beyond a specific country focus. Taking into consideration the historical developments of Muslim preaching, it offers a collection of thoroughly contextualised case studies of oratory in Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Sweden and the USA. The analyses presented here show shared emphasis on struggles for legitimacy, efforts to speak authoritatively, as well as discursive opportunities and constraints." (Publisher description)
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"This article examines Turkish TV series’ recent success as canned programming primarily in newly developed and developing countries in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and South America through close textual analysis of a particularly popular Turkish adaptation, Bizim Hik
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aye (Our Story) (2017-2019) in comparison with its original, Shameless (2011-). I argue that Turkish series’ emphasis on nostalgic and melancholic narrative frames make them particularly appealing in these regions, as they deal with relatable circumstances of swift and traumatic changes under neoliberalism. However, female protagonists are allowed only a limited range of roles because of the reliance on nostalgia, thus, ultimately serving to re-legitimize patriarchal relations of domination." (Abstract)
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"This chapter deals with lèse-majesté laws and their impact on the exercise of freedom of political expression and journalism from the perspective of international human rights law. In doing so, it addresses the chilling effects of the application of a particular crime of lèse-majesté, namely
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defaming a head of state”, which are emphasized with historical and current examples from Turkey: a country that exemplifies the excesses in practice. Said excesses are assessed in light of the standards of freedom of political expression set by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which also demonstrates the excesses in other European countries and provides a comparative outlook. In conclusion, it is inferred that the mere existence of lèse-majesté crimes puts the rule of law at risk, thereby forcing journalists and other citizens alike to resort to self-censorship in violation of international human rights law as interpreted by the regional human rights mechanism." (Abstract)
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"Journalism has always been an unsafe practice in modern Turkey. However, ties between the political system and democracy have been severed by the recent witch-hunt following the most recent failed coup, in 2016, and the subsequent societal collapse triggered by the administration of the state of em
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ergency. In fact, mass and commercial journalism culture, whose foundations were built upon the post- World War II efforts to create a democratization trend and the transition to the multi-party system, were never strong enough to generate a sustainable liberal-pluralist set of media norms as in the West. Instead, a media system that serves the needs of political and economic power elites was both established and entrenched (Adakl*, 2006; Kaya, 2009)." (Abstract)
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"2018: Irakische Christen kehren in ihre Dörfer zurück, aus denen der „Islamische Staat“ sie vier Jahre vorher vertrieben hatte. Hundert Jahre zuvor hatten Christen in der Region schon einmal alles neu aufbauen müssen. Während des Ersten Weltkriegs waren in Anatolien Hunderttausende vertrieb
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en und ermordet worden. Was ist in den hundert Jahren seit dem Ende des Osmanischen Reichs passiert? Wie wirkte sich der Aufbau unabhängiger arabischer Staaten aus, wie die jüdische Einwanderung und die Gründung Israels? Welche Rolle spielt der Libanon als christlich geprägter Staat? Wie ging die laizistische Türkei mit Christen um? Welche Folgen hatte der Sturz Saddam Husseins für die irakischen Christen? Wie sehen Christen die Revolution in Ägypten, und welche Auswirkungen hat der Bürgerkrieg in Syrien für sie? Das Buch beschreibt den Weg der Christen im Nahen Osten zwischen Integration, gesellschaftlicher Teilhabe, Abgrenzung und Auswanderung sowie die Herausforderungen, vor denen sie heute stehen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Through a meticulous empirical examination of the criminalization of the Turkish hacktivist group Redhack, Dogan explores the critical conflation of hacktivism with cyber-terrorism—by national security organizations and academic researchers alike —that enables states to criminalize non-violent
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hacktivist groups. The paper’s empirical sources include interviews with Turkish security agents, legal and regulatory texts, and its theoretical grounding is a combination of literatures on moral panic, hacking, social movements, critical criminology, and framing analysis. In examining how Redhack constitutes an anomaly, and in exploring how anomalies point to the necessity of grounded, context-sensitive research, Dogan contributes conceptual development beyond Turkey and beyond hacktivism." (Page 1)
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"This study aims to measure the level of digital security awareness of journalists in Turkey who use digital technology in the course of their work. In the study, research questions are answered using data collected by means of an online survey in relation to the digital security risks faced, the ex
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tent to which digital technology is used, the digital security tools employed and the extent of digital security training undertaken. The study reveals that journalists in Turkey are faced with security issues ranging from personal threats to physical and digital attacks and that they rely heavily on digital technology. The study concludes that they lack awareness of digital security risks, and only a small percentage have undertaken safety training to protect themselves and their sources in either the physical or digital worlds." (Abstract)
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"Menschen gemeinsamer Herkunft, die verstreut über verschiedene Staaten leben, sind Inbegriffe gelebter Transnationalität. Als Diasporagemeinschaften bilden sie globale Netzwerke. Interdisziplinäre Beiträge aus Wissenschaft und Kulturarbeit bündeln, fotografisch gestützt, die Inhalte zweier WI
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KA-Workshops anhand der Fragen: Wie können Diasporagemeinschaften als kulturelle Vermittler wirken? Welchen Schwierigkeiten sind sie ausgesetzt? Und wo liegen Potenziale/Risiken für die Außenkulturpolitik?" (Abstract)
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"People across 27 countries are divided on whether they trust traditional media (magazines and newspapers, TV and radio). These sources are equally trusted as they are distrusted. However, levels of trust in media sources vary greatly at the country level. Trust in traditional media is perceived to
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have decreased over the past five years. This survey shows two main contributing factors: the prevalence of fake news and doubts about media sources’ good intentions. Online media websites are slightly less trusted than traditional media, but trust in them is not reported to have dropped as extensively over the past five years. Proximity to people matters. People are most trusting of other people they know them personally. Furthermore, personal relationships are the only source of news and information that is perceived to have gained in trustworthiness over the past five years. Opinions vary widely across countries as to whether public broadcasters can be trusted more than private ones, depending on how broadcasting services are organized and controlled." (Key findings)
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"Despite the efforts of the news industry, we find only a small increase in the numbers paying for any online news – whether by subscription, membership, or donation. Growth is limited to a handful of countries mainly in the Nordic region (Norway 34%, Sweden 27%) while the number paying in the US
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(16%) remains stable after a big jump in 2017. • Even in countries with higher levels of payment, the vast majority only have ONE online subscription – suggesting that ‘winner takes all’ dynamics are likely to be important. One encouraging development though is that most payments are now ‘ongoing’, rather than one-offs. In some countries, subscription fatigue may also be setting in, with the majority preferring to spend their limited budget on entertainment (Netflix/Spotify) rather than news. With many seeing news as a ‘chore’, publishers may struggle to substantially increase the market for high-priced ‘single title’ subscriptions. As more publishers launch pay models, over two-thirds (70%) of our sample in Norway and half (50%) in the United States now come across one or more barriers each week when trying to read online news. In many countries, people are spending less time with Facebook and more time with WhatsApp and Instagram than this time last year. Few users are abandoning Facebook entirely, though, and it remains by far the most important social network for news. Social communication around news is becoming more private as messaging apps continue to grow everywhere. WhatsApp has become a primary network for discussing and sharing news in non-Western countries like Brazil (53%) Malaysia (50%), and South Africa (49%). People in these countries are also far more likely than in the West to be part of large WhatsApp groups with people they don’t know – a trend that reflects how messaging applications can be used to easily share information at scale, potentially encouraging the spread of misinformation. Public and private Facebook Groups discussing news and politics have become popular in Turkey (29%) and Brazil (22%) but are much less used in Western countries such as Canada (7%) or Australia (7%). Concern about misinformation and disinformation remains high despite efforts by platforms and publishers to build public confidence. In Brazil 85% agree with a statement that they are worried about what is real and fake on the internet." (Summary, page 9)
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"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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"Die iz3w erscheint in einem Land mit einer »guten Situation« für Presseerzeugnisse (globaler Index der Reporter ohne Grenzen). In vielen Ländern ist die Lage infolge von Repressionen »sehr ernst«, zum Beispiel in China, in Iran oder Sudan. Auch in Ländern zwischen diesen Extremen kann freier
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Journalismus lebensgefährlich sein, etwa in Mexiko. Dabei sind die Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit Grundvoraussetzungen für Gesellschaften, die aufgeklärte Zustände und Partizipation an politischen Entscheidungen anstreben. Es geht um demokratische, freiheitliche und soziale Regeln, die einerseits im Bewusstsein, andererseits als verbindliche Rechte verankert sind. Wir lassen Personen zu Wort kommen, die sich für diese Ziele einsetzen, und fragen uns: Wie sehen die Produktionsbedingungen für die Berichterstattung weltweit aus? Wozu braucht es freie Medien? Wo fängt die Repression an und auf welche Weise wirken sich neue Medien auf die Berichterstattung aus?" (https://www.iz3w.org/printausgaben/heft-365)
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"This article focuses on AKTrolls, defined as pro-government political trolls in Turkey, while attempting to draw implications about political trolling in the country in general. It examines their methods and effects, and it interrogates whether (and how) Turkish authorities have attempted to shape
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or counter politically motivated social media content production through trolling after the Gezi Park Protests that took place in 2013. My findings are based on an ethnographic study that included participant observation and in-depth interviews in a setting that is under-studied and about which reliable sources are difficult to find. The study demonstrates political trolling activity in Turkey is more decentralized and less institutionalized than generally thought, and is based more on ad hoc decisions by a larger public. However, I argue here that AKTrolls do have impact on reducing discourses on social media that are critical of the government, by engaging in surveillance, among other practices." (Abstract)
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