"Mobile phones are the most ubiquitous communications technology in the world. Besides transforming the way in which we communicate, they can also be used as a powerful tool for conflict prevention and management. This book presents innovative uses of mobile technologies in the areas of early warnin
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g, disaster and humanitarian relief, governance, citizens’ participation, etc. and cuts across different regions. The book brings together experts and practitioners from different fields—mobile technologies, information systems, computer sciences, online dispute resolution, law, etc.—to reflect on present experiences and to explore new areas for research on conflict management and online dispute resolution (ODR). It also reflects on the transition from present ODR to future mobile Dispute Resolution and discusses key privacy issues." (Publisher description)
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"The year 2010 marks the midpoint between the Tunis phase of WSIS (2005) and the deadline for achieving the WSIS targets (2015), in line with the target date of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report presents a mid-term review of the progress mad
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e towards achieving the ten WSIS targets. The overall objective of the report is to provide policy-makers with a comprehensive assessment of the WSIS targets to date and, based on the findings, make suggestions on the types of policy measures required to meet them. The report also highlights the need for formal monitoring of progress towards achieving the WSIS targets. Currently, there are no agreed indicators for the targets which countries could use for monitoring purposes." (Executive summary, page xxi)
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"This paper identifies four primary drivers of proactive disclosure throughout history. The first is the need to inform the public about laws and decisions and the public’s right to be informed, to know their rights and obligations. The second is the public’s demand for the information needed to
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hold governments accountable both at and between elections. The third is the demand for information in order to participate actively in decision-making. The fourth is the provision to the public of information needed to access government services, which has expanded significantly in the past decade with growth of electronic access to services or “egovernment.” [...] The recently adopted legal frameworks which include proactive disclosure regimes (Section 3) point to an emerging standard on the classes of information which should be made available at the core of any national proactive disclosure regime. The national standards are reiterated and complemented by provisions by international international bodies (Section 4). These international provisions make clear that, in addition to having numerous benefits for public bodies and for members of the public, proactive disclosure is an obligation that is part of the right of access to information. From comparing the national and international provisions it is possible to identify a set of 14 core-minimum of classes of information for proactive disclosure." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"Children growing up in homes with many books get 3 years more schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of their parents’ education, occupation, and class. This is as great an advantage as having university educated rather than unschooled parents, and twice the advantage of having
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a professional rather than an unskilled father. It holds equally in rich nations and in poor; in the past and in the present; under Communism, capitalism, and Apartheid; and most strongly in China. Data are from representative national samples in 27 nations, with over 70,000 cases, analyzed using multi-level linear and probit models with multiple imputation of missing data." (Abstract)
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"This study provides an in-depth treatment of the global newspaper publishing market and its evolution, with a particular view on the development of online news and related challenges. It assesses online news consumption patterns and new online news value networks, compared with the traditional news
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paper value chain. It shows that the economics of news production and distribution has been radically altered, in particular in the context of the economic crisis which has accelerated structural changes. After very profitable years, newspaper publishers in most OECD countries face declining advertising revenues and signficant reductions in titles and circulation. The economic crisis has amplified this downward development. However, the data and the large country-by-country differences, for instance, currently do not lend themselves to make the case for “the death of the newspaper”, in particular if non-OECD countries and potential positive effects of the economic recovery are taken into account. Importantly, the study shows that many promising forms of news creation and distribution are being experimented with, some of which are empowered by increasing technological sophistication and resulting decentralised forms of content creation and broad-based participation [...] More recently newspaper websites have seen strong growth in their own pages, with large newspapers reporting several million unique visitors to their pages per month, increasingly including readers from abroad, a radical shift from national patterns of established newspapers." (Summary, page 6)
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"Die Bedeutung von Medien für den Krieg und das Gendering des Militärischen sind zwei seit langem kontrovers diskutierte Themen in den Medien-, Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften. Weisen etablierte stereotype Bilder von friedfertigen Frauen und kriegerischen Männern in gegenwärtigen medialen Texte
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n Brüche und Widersprüche auf oder werden sie im öffentlichen Diskurs bekräftigt? Wie tragen populäre Medienangebote in verschiedenen kulturellen Kontexten zur Legitimation oder Infragestellung von militärischen Institutionen und Gewaltakteuren bei? Welche Rollen nehmen Journalistinnen im Spannungsfeld von Kriegsberichterstattung, Konfliktbearbeitung und emanzipatorischen Vorstellungen ein? Der Band versammelt Beiträge von WissenschaftlerInnen unterschiedlicher sozial- und geisteswissenschaftlicher Disziplinen, die mediale Repräsentationen, Bilderpolitiken, Narrationen und Artikulationen von Gender in Krieg und Militär in synchroner wie diachroner Perspektive analysieren." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"The Information Economy Report 2010 focuses on the nexus of ICTs, enterprises and poverty alleviation. Whereas the knowledge base needs to grow considerably, the evidence presented in this Report suggests that more attention should be given by policymakers and other stakeholders to this new set of
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opportunities. The Report is organized into fi ve chapters. Chapter I introduces a c onceptual framework for the analysis that follows. Chapter II reviews recent connectivity and affordability trends to gauge the degree of access and uptake of different ICTs among the poor. Chapter III turns to the role of the poor in the production of ICT goods and services (the ICT sector). In chapter IV, the focus shifts to the use of ICT by enterprises, with emphasis on those that matter most for poor people, namely small and micro-enterprises in urban and rural areas. Finally, chapter V presents the main policy implications from the analysis." (Executive summary, page X)
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"Betty la Fea, the phenomenally popular Colombian telenovela, has been exported as both canned (e.g. either dubbed or unaltered) programming and format to approximately 70 countries, including the recent US prime-time hit Ugly Betty. Guided by an examination of the extended global success of this Co
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lombian production, this article explores the telenovela as a cultural product that is successful because of its appeal on both the local and global level, and as an economic product traversing a global industry. Popular telenovelas succeed as both canned programming and formats because they combine universally appealing stories (rags-to-riches) and style (melodrama) with localizable specifics with which viewers can easily identify. While telenovelas are localized products produced to first achieve domestic success, the cross-ownership structure of and multinational flows that mark the telenovela industry render any conception of telenovelas as South-to-North contra-flows of culture inherently problematic. Instead, this article argues that telenovelas can best be understood as localizable yet universally appealing cultural products traversing global networks of capitalist cultural concerns." (Abstract)
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"There is a lack of comparative statistics on media and communication, and this is a fundamental problem. National media statistics are very poor in many countries. But some comparative statistics already available within different international and regional organisations and institutions could be m
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uch more elaborated. Still, compiling comparative media and communication statistics is not an easy task. Despite the challenges, Nordicom has made an attempt – though on a very limited scale – and the results are presented in the current publication. Nordicom has collected and compiled statistics from a large number of sources in order to provide a more comprehensive overview of international media and communication statistics, primarily concerning television and the Internet." (Foreword, page 7)
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"The purpose of this document is to highlight cases in which Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization (ACSM) interventions have contributed to a positive outcome of tuberculosis (TB) control activities directed to a range of audiences and settings. It is intended for on-the-ground stakeholder
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s who are interested in successfully integrating ACSM strategies and activities into TB control programming, as well as for decision-makers who can provide greater political and financial support for ACSM activities at the national, sub-national and international level. ACSM is a relatively new technical component within the Stop TB Strategy, but its application is increasing quickly. In recent years, many partners and countries have adopted ACSM models – notably including the engagement of communities and patients in TB care and prevention – with the purpose of expanding the reach of TB programmes in innovative and effective ways. A significant differentiator of ACSM strategies is their focus on patient and community empowerment. This element promotes the integration of community-based programming into the otherwise medical and vertical health service delivery model that has traditionally been employed by TB control programmes." (Introduction)
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"Picking up where the IPI Report series left off in 2000, “Brave News Worlds” explores what the next 10 years hold for the news and journalism industry and offers insight into how journalists and non-journalists alike can take advantage of changes in the media and technology to make the future o
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f news a bright one." (Preface)
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"Peace Journalism, War and Conflict Resolution draws together the work of over twenty leading international writers, journalists, theorists and campaigners in the field of peace journalism. Mainstream media tend to promote the interests of the military and governments in their coverage of warfare. T
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his major new text aims to provide a definitive, up-to-date, critical, engaging and accessible overview exploring the role of the media in conflict resolution. Sections focus in detail on theory, international practice, and critiques of mainstream media performance from a peace perspective; countries discussed include the U.S., U.K., Germany, Cyprus, Sweden, Canada, India, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Chapters examine a wide variety of issues including mainstream newspapers, indigenous media, blogs and radical alternative websites." (Publisher description)
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"There are increasing numbers of mobile-based projects, and donors such as the World Bank infoDev and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation continue to invest in mobiles for development (M4D). A scan of projects in the 14 focus countries for this study indicated that the most common sectors for inve
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stment are health, socio-economic development, and agriculture. There is evidence that governments are interested in using mobiles as service providers, yet there remain few actual manifestations of such intent in developing countries. Most examples are found in Asia, where concepts have been proven, and more mature mobile markets are seeking new revenue streams. Up to this point, mobile operators have tended to support M4D through concessions such as free or subsidized shortcodes and SMS tariffs, which have been negotiated as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. A feature of CSR initiatives in health, education, and child protection, for example, is that they rarely exploit technical resources held by companies. CSR departments tend to be poorly integrated with the core business, and have small budgets and limited decision-making power. Some operators would like to develop services that have a developmental impact, but also a return on investment – M4D that is revenue generating and scalable. As one interviewed thought leader in the M4D space indicated, operators are happy to work towards achieving development goals but only by “doing business as usual”." (Executive summary, page 2)
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