"How does religious fundamentalism operate in modern global society? This two-volume series analyses the dynamics of fundamentalism and its relationship to the modern state, the public sphere and globalisation. This second volume explores the links between fundamentalism and communication: the rise
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of fundamentalism as a mass media phenomenon, fundamentalist communication in the public sphere, national cultural identities and the rise of a 'global society'. Expert scholars in the field address specific contemporary and past fundamentalist movements that have emerged from within mainstream Islam, Christianity, Baha'ism, Hinduism, Judaism and Buddhism." (Publisher description)
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"By assessing edutainment as a space of cultural translation, Drama for Development advances an often neglected perspective in this topics' research. It focuses on what happens when various goals, worldviews and needs from donors, producers and the audiences come together in the production and meani
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ng construction of soap operas. The perspective is illustrated by examples from the largely South Asian experiences of the BBC World Service Trust, itself seen as a cross-cultural contact zone. Tensions between western scientific paradigm and local researcher in the audience research process (chapter 3), the cosmopolitan competencies of the production team in harmonizing the urge for authenticity, cultural sensitivity and development objectives (chapter 6) and the construction of social realism as an interplay of the observed realities of the audiences and the neo-liberal themes of donors (e.g., opium in ch.6 and forced marriage in chapter 11) exemplify some of the processes taking place in that zone. The epistemological position of the book is complementary to the more technical perspective of the existing body of literature, which sometimes fails to capture the complex processes of meaning construction and link it to the wider social context." (commbox)
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"Provincial Information Service of Battambang, with technical assistance from the ABC International Projects, has produced two regular radio programs. Light of the Region is a one-hour talkback program which broadcasts from Monday to Friday at 11am. Covering wide ranging topics from governance to re
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ligion and gender, the program is aimed at those aged 25 and above. Youth Voice is a youth-focused magazine combining a variety of components, including talkback show, music, news and personal stories. The program is aimed at younger people aged between 15 and 24. To assess the extent to which the Youth Voice and the Light of the Region have achieved their objectives and to make further necessary improvements to the programs, this qualitative audience evaluation was conducted using eight Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) in the Provincial City of Battambang and Moung District of Battambang Province. The two programs are overall well received by their listeners except a few downsides expressed by some of the participants in the FGDs." (Executive summary)
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"Those working to develop and reform media often draw on human rights discourse, especially in areas of political violence. Yet discourse reflecting globally dominant conceptions of individually based human rights can have detrimental effects. This study illustrates how militarization and this disco
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urse of human rights can be mutually reinforcing, and explores the impact of this phenomenon on media and reform efforts. We examine as case studies the efforts to reform and develop media in the Philippines and Burma (Myanmar), both militarized states with severely constrained political discourse. As a result, media freedom and reform efforts tend to center on the safety and individual rights of journalists rather than on media as a public service, a political and social force accessible to all." (Abstract)
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"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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"In 2007 nearly 17,000 people died because of natural disasters and more than 211 million others were directly affected. News media play a basic role in giving publicity to these numerous instances of global suffering as it is mainly through media reports that the world perceives international crise
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s. Drawing upon theories on distant suffering, this study investigates the mediated representation of international crises, with a focus on natural disasters occurring in Australia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the USA. Applying critical discourse analysis, this article explores how discourses of hierarchy and inequality are realised in news texts about distant suffering. The cases of analysis are nine news items that were broadcast on a public and a commercial Belgian television channel on 2 January 2006. The comparative analysis of these news texts reveals glaring differences that reflect global hierarchies of place and human life. Suffering in the West (USA and Australia) was portrayed as comprehensible and close to the spectator, who could identify with the distant sufferers as if they are like us. While being of a greater magnitude, the Indonesian disaster was in contrast presented as no cause for concern or action, which blocked the engagement with the distant sufferers who were portrayed as ‘Others’, with a capital ‘o’. Pakistan sufferers were also articulated as distant others, but close-ups of gazing children urged the spectator to care for them and potentially act on the represented misfortune. In general, the critical discourse analysis supports the claim that Western news media reproduce a certain kind of global hierarchy, mainly a Euro-American-centred world order, and that news discourse normalises inequalities. This article argues that mediated representations of international crises reflect and consolidate the power relations and divisions that characterise our contemporary world." (Abstract)
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"This report provides an overview of the discussions and conclusions from the International Partnership Meeting in New York on 26 January 2010 organised by the Open Society Institute and International Media Support. At the meeting, 30 media support and press freedom organisations from across the wor
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ld met to discuss partnerships and countries in which the partnership process might be pursued in 2010. Nine target countries in 2010 were selected for partnership action in 2010." (IMS website)
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"This study provides an overview of the broadcasting environment in the ten countries covered, with a focus on regulatory systems. It outlines the constitutional framework in each country, as well as the status of international law. This is followed by a brief outline of the broadcasting sector in e
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ach country, to provide some background context to help with understanding the regulatory regime. The bulk of the study focuses on the legal framework governing public broadcasting, and the broadcast regulator and its powers and role. The study also touches on new media, particularly the internet, in each country, assessing the extent to which new media are able to serve as an alternative to more traditional broadcasters." (Introduction, page 6)
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"The 52-page report summarised here is the result of the three-year partnership between UNDP Oslo Governance Centre and the Communication for Social Change Consortium in piloting the C4E approach in five least-developed countries: Mozambique, Madagascar, Ghana, Lao PDR, and Nepal. The report present
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s key learning from the information and communication needs assessments conducted in these five countries, funded by a grant from the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF). The implementation of the C4E approach consisted of: (i) information and communication assessments to identify the information and communication needs and identify gaps in meeting those needs; (ii) review of the media context based on the existing research at the national level; (iii) programme interventions informed by the findings of the assessment to ensure economically poor and marginalised groups' participation in decision-making processes. Experiences and lessons from testing the C4E approach in Madagascar and Mozambique in 2007-2008 enabled further refining of the C4E approach and informed the information and communication assessments carried out in Ghana, Lao PDR, and Nepal. As a result, the concept of C4E also widened: from an initial conception as part of UNDP's Access to Information work primarily geared to meeting the information and communication needs of the people through specific media strategies - to an approach that promotes inclusive participation, empowerment of economically poor and marginalised people, and accountability of the state to its citizens. These aspects of C4E, thus, make it an integral part of broader democratic governance and development work." (Summary at the "Communication Initiative" website)
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"Media coverage of REDD+ in Indonesia indicates that the issue has captured the attention of a broad cross-section of society. However, opinions are evidently polarised and some voices are clearly louder than others. Moreover, while the engagement of all levels of society has been constructive for m
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oving the policy debate forward, equally it has raised financial expectations and created conflict over resource control. Consequently, the need to balance conflicting and competing interests is likely to have significant implications for creating a REDD+ strategy that is effective, efficient and equitable." (Page 1)
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"Internet censorship and surveillance becomes more sophisticated. The first-generation controls like China's "Great Firewall" are being replaced by techniques that include strategically timed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, targeted malware, take-down notices and stringent terms-of-usa
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ge policies. Their aim is to shape and limit the national information environment. This publication reports on these new trends and their implications for the global internet commons. In addition, it offers 32 detailed country profiles on internet surveillance from the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia and Europe." (CAMECO Update 2-2010)
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