"The Australian community radio sector is a rich source of information for researchers, activists and practitioners working to support and develop community broadcasting worldwide. With a 46-year history, it represents an established and enduring third tier of independent local broadcasting with ove
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r 450 non-profit radio services legislated to provide opportunities for community engagement and participation. This article focuses on the political, economic and institutional factors involved in a change of ownership and management of Radio Adelaide, the country’s longest running community radio station. The process illustrates the impact and effects of the non-profit industrial complex as stations struggle for financial survival and independence in an increasingly competitive, corporatized environment. It is a case study which questions the contemporary understanding of a strong and resilient sector, highlighting themes to inform community media research and practice internationally." (Abstract)
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"Die vorliegende Studie kommt zu dem Schluss, dass der öffentliche Rundfunk bezüglich einiger, aber nicht bezüglich aller Merkmalen der Vorstellung eines «Media Commons» entspricht. Sollten sich öffentliche Rundfunkorganisationen also als «Media Commons» beschreiben wollen, müssten sie zuer
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st die Merkmale weiterentwickeln, bei denen sie als «Grenzfall» oder «Tragödie» evaluiert wurden. Bereits jetzt dürfte es aber in den meisten untersuchten Ländern schwierig werden, eine andere Medienorganisation auf nationaler Ebene zu finden, die dem Ideal einer gesellschaftlichen Medienorganisation näherkommt als der öffentliche Rundfunk. Öffentliche Rundfunkorganisationen sind jedoch, wie hier abschließend kurz gezeigt wird, vielerorts unter Druck, eingespart zu werden. Obwohl diese Einsparungen durch Parteien und Regierungen beschlossen werden, sind alle Gesellschaftsmitglieder – also alle «Media Commoners» – indirekt dafür mitverantwortlich." (Ausblick, Seite 241-242)
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"Representing stories through documentary film can offer a means to convey multilayered and sensory accounts of the lived experiences of people in extreme transition, especially former refugees. However, along with the potential of this medium comes the responsibility to engage with participants in
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an ethical and reciprocal manner. This article examines these prerequisites and applies them to two films about the experiences of people from refugee backgrounds in Australia. The first film, The Last Refuge: Food Stories from Myanmar to Coffs Harbour (2015), explores the Myanmar community, their sociocultural relationship to food and how this informs their identity. The second film, 3Es to Freedom (2017), documents a supported employment program for women from refugee backgrounds. Despite having different purposes and target audiences, the two films reinforced the importance of establishing informed and negotiated consent with marginalised people as the basis of all interactions and representations on film. Such negotiation seeks to minimise power imbalances and forms the ethical starting point for reflexive filmmaking practice that considers the filmmakers’ and participants’ intentions, and that promotes a heightened awareness of how knowledge is created through image-making." (Abstract)
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"The innovative research in Video Games and the Global South focuses on a range of topics including art games and serious games from the global south, postcolonialism and cultural representation, player communities, software modification (modding), intercultural communication online, racism and sexi
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sm in game culture, the global growth of eSports, social media use in relation to gaming and the use of games to connect users and communities across the globe. Some fifteen years ago, Uruguayan theorist and game developer Gonzalo Frasca spoke of the possibility of creating “video games of the oppressed,” using the medium as a tool for education, socio-political awareness and consciousness-raising. In short, Frasca advocated for the appropriation of the means of game production by actors in the global south, and the repurposing of these technologies in ways that would benefit the region’s inhabitants. A decade and a half later, we can see that many gamers and game developers from across the global south have taken up this challenge, contributing to game cultures and creating games that respond to the obstacles and affordances of their particular geographical, socioeconomic, political and cultural contexts. Video Games and the Global South brings together perspectives from a range of disciplines, critical methodologies and theoretical approaches. Together, the 20 contributing essays advance the critical methodology for analyzing the relationship between games and culture, as well as historically contextualized insight into the cultural impact of video games and the development of games and game cultures across Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America, the Indian subcontinent, Oceania and Asia." (Publisher description)
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"Transnational Media: Concepts and Cases provides a clear and engaging overview of media communication from a global and a region-based perspective. Rather than focusing on just complex theories and industry-specific analyses, this unique book offers an inclusive, comparative approach to both journa
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lism and entertainment media--introducing readers to the essential concepts, systems, transnational influences, and power dynamics that shape global media flow. Broad coverage of different media forms from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania offers country-based and transnational perspectives while highlighting examples of media trends in television, radio, film, journalism, social media, music, and others." (Publisher description)
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"This Handbook is an in-depth appraisal of the field of minority languages and communities today. It presents a wide-ranging, coherent picture of the main topics, with key contributions from international specialists in sociolinguistics, policy studies, sociology, anthropology and law. Individual ch
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apters are grouped together in themes, covering regional, non-territorial and migratory language settings across the world. It is the essential reference work for specialist researchers, scholars in ancillary disciplines, research and coursework students, public agencies and anyone interested in language diversity, multilingualism and migration." (Publisher description)
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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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"This article examines the role of local radio in the contemporary media environment, specifically as a site for community engagement. Previous research finds journalistic organisations, at the local level, are critical to the functioning of society and more needs to be understood about their contem
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porary role amid destabilised and fragmented public discourse. In contrast to unrestrained and untrustworthy social media platforms, the mediation of local radio can assist in encouraging more inclusive, constructive, and respectful views from people from diverse sectors of society. Empirical research from a case study of a locally produced ABC Radio Community Conversation event exploring community tensions about built, heritage and environmental development in the Australian island state of Tasmania provides new insights into how the facilitation of local radio discussion can help build trust, public knowledge and enable greater participation. Listening and transparency from journalists about their practices is important, creating a space where people can connect in a civil and empathetic way not easily afforded by social media." (Abstract)
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"Women and girls make up only a small percentage of the overall prison population; however, there has been a significant increase in their representation, most notably over the past twenty years. Despite this, fundamental understandings of the role of prisons, as well as issues around recidivism and
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desistance are based on a male norm, failing to meet the needs of women affected by the criminal justice system. This article outlines the findings from an ongoing grassroots action research project conducted with a support group for women of lived prison experience, based in Adelaide, South Australia, to investigate radio production as a means for supporting women in their transition to life outside of prison. It draws on observations made over a two-year period of radio production and thematic content analysis to investigate the role of community radio as a tool of desistance for formerly incarcerated women." (Abstract)
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"This book explores how community radio contributes to social change. Community radio remains a unique communication platform under digital capitalism, arguably capable of expanding the project of media democratisation. Yet there is a lack of in-depth analysis of community radio experience, and a de
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arth of understanding of its functionality as an actively transformative tool for greater equity in society. This project combines the theoretical positions of the political economy of communication with a citizen's media perspective in order to interrogate community radio's democratic potential. By presenting case studies of two radio stations in Melbourne (Australia) and Lospalos (Timor Leste), and applying multiple research methods, the book reveals community radio's amplification of media participation, communication rights, counter-hegemony and media power - in effect, its distinct regenerative voice." (Introduction)
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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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"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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"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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"Part 1: Public Opinion Polls and Surveys, contains references to recent public opinion polls and surveys that measure public trust in journalism across dozens of countries and geopolitical regions including Australia, Africa, Asia, China, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America. Pa
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rt 2: Peer-reviewed Academic Literature, is equally geographically and culturally diverse It includes references to peer-reviewed studies published as books, book chapters, journal articles and major university-published reports. Most of these studies investigate factors that influence perceptions of credibility or public trust in the news media. The section also contains theoretical papers and literature reviews that engage in reflexive analyses and propose new research directions. Part 3: Perspectives from the Journalistic Field, presents a collection of news articles, features, editorials, commentaries, blogs and other contributions from journalists, news editors and media scholars working on collaborative projects between news organisations and universities." (Contents)
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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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"This unique transdisciplinary publication is the result of collaboration between UNESCO’s Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme, the United Nations University’s Traditional Knowledge Initiative, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other organizations. Ch
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apters written by indigenous peoples, scientists and development experts provide insight into how diverse societies observe and adapt to changing environments. A broad range of case studies illustrate how these societies, building upon traditional knowledge handed down through generations, are already developing their own solutions for dealing with a rapidly changing climate and how this might be useful on a global scale." (Back cover)
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