"This report outlines the actions driven towards inclusive education, including skill-based training, online learning and classroom settings, and low-tech to high-tech assistive technology (AT). Skill-based training, one of the most important skills for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), covers life
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skills, vocational training, mobility training, communication and social training, and academic training. This report emphasizes the AT for enabling inclusive education for the PWDs, opening a broader perspective on technology serving this purpose, i.e., physical and digital products that assist PWDs in achieving their goals. However, eight common challenges, shared by the six countries, have been identified: the need to strengthen policies, critical budget, poor implementation, lack of training, limited access, lack of awareness, negative attitude, and cultural and language barriers. These challenges are viewed as interconnected, as none can be resolved without involving another, posing another level of challenge to be implemented, in need of strategies and proper planning for a concerted effort to put forth by each country. Nonetheless, the countries remain steadfast and continue strengthening their policies and efforts toward inclusive education for PWDs." (Abstract)
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"The three countries [Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, and Kenya] provide evidence of online hate speech and disinformation affecting human rights offline. The evidence is not comprehensive yet clear enough to raise serious concerns. Online gender-based violence is also reported as critical in the
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three countries. In the three countries, national legislation to address harmful content shows some degree of inconsistency in comparison to international standards, notably in relation to the protection of freedom of expression. The reasons for such inconsistency vary among countries. The effective enforcement of legal frameworks is uneven in all three countries. Social and cultural inequalities are often reproduced in government or judicial decisions, and vagueness in legislation opens space for discretionary decisions. Platform companies have offices in Indonesia and Kenya, but not in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the three countries, there is a lack of transparency in how companies allocate the roles of moderation tasks, including the number of different language moderators and their trusted partners and sources. Companies do not process content moderation in some of the main local languages and community standards are not entirely or promptly available in local languages." (Executive summary)
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"This article investigates the role of community radio in fostering good governance at the local level in the setting of Indonesia. Using the example of PASS FM Radio, this article demonstrates how community radio has fulfilled the purpose and function of media as a public sphere. As a community rad
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io station, PASS FM has not only succeeded in breaking down communication barriers between citizens and the local administration, but it has also presented solutions for optimising local potential. PASS FM Radio has also succeeded in partnering with the government to jointly serve the public interest and support the ideals of good governance, with the main features of transparency and public participation." (Abstract)
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"Populists and the Pandemic examines the responses of populist political actors and parties in 22 countries around the globe to the Covid-19 pandemic, in terms of their attitudes, rhetoric, mobilization repertoires, and policy proposals. The responses of some populist leaders have received much publ
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ic attention, as they denied the severity of the public health crisis, denigrated experts and data, looked for scapegoats, encouraged protests, questioned the legitimacy of liberal institutions, spread false information, and fueled conspiracies. But how widespread are those particular reactions? How much variation is there? What explains the variation that does exist? This volume considers these questions through critical analysis of countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, by leading experts with deep knowledge of their respective cases. Some chapters focus on populist parties, others on charismatic populist leaders. Some countries examined are democracies, others autocracies. Some populists are left-wing, others right-wing. Some populists are in government, others in opposition. This variation allows for a panoramic consideration of factors that systematically influence or mediate populist responses to the pandemic. The book thus makes a unique contribution to our understanding of the intersection between two of the most pressing social and political challenges of our time. The book will be of interest to all those researching populism, extremism, and political parties, and those more broadly interested in political science, public policy, sociology, communications, and economics." (Publisher description)
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"By learning about both the repression and resistance sides of Myanmar’s Spring Revolution, it is evident that digital technology is playing a critical role in this revolution. The military is using every possible technology to repress people, inject fear into society and manipulate it. The revolu
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tionists are also employing digital technology to circumvent the restrictions of the military and to employ innovative ways to build the state. The digital resilience of its society will be one of the determining factors of the revolution of Myanmar. This scenario of digital repression is one of the many manifestations that indicate that cyberspace has become a new sovereign territory different from land, sea and air. Information freedom, internet freedom, digital literacy, and media literacy cannot be taken for granted anymore as they now have an impact on people’s physical and digital survival. Therefore, Myanmar’s ongoing revolution to fight against the military’s dictatorship is not just physical anymore — the fact is that whoever harnesses the power of technology in the right way will become the game changer of the revolution." (Conclusion, page 14)
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"Like any authoritarian regime, the Philippine government uses various forms of digital authoritarianism to its advantage. The aim is to win the propaganda war against its perceived enemies so that it can continue implementing policies that are often detrimental to the ordinary folk. While the two i
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ncidents analysed in this research took place during the Duterte administration, the narrative frames asserted by state actors have persisted under the new administration of Marcos Jr. Marcos Jr. did not reverse Duterte’s actions. In fact, the same justifications have been peddled by the new officials in government, and even by online trolls with regard to the blocking of 27 websites and the practice of red-tagging. The same online vitriol against journalists and critics is being spread and amplified online under the new administration. The same pattern of attacks on the media has also been noted. According to human rights group Karapatan, the current Marcos Jr. administration seems intent on perpetuating different forms of authoritarianism to quell all forms of dissent." (Analysis and conclusion, page 21)
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"This edited collection investigates the linguistics of globalisation, geopolitics and gender in workplace cultures in a range of different contemporary international settings. The chapters examine how issues of globalisation, gender and geopolitics affect professionals in different workplace contex
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ts, including domestic workers; IT professionals; teachers, university staff; engineers; entrepreneurs; CEOs of different corporates including locally based businesses as well as multinationals; farmers; co-operative leaders; NGO leaders; bloggers; healthcare assistants and caregivers. Taking different sociolinguistic approaches to exploring language and the geopolitics of gender at work in Dubai, Kuwait, Kenya, Uganda, Morocco, Nigeria, Malaysia, Turkey, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, Uganda, the UK and the USA, each focuses on a range of salient geopolitical issues which often have global applicability, but which may also be subject to more localised socio-cultural variation. The chapters critically discuss issues of gendered language, perceptions and representations of workplace cultures, discrimination, the role of gendered stereotyping and deeply ingrained socio-cultural myths about gender and the importance of examining the intersections of identity - all of which continue to persist as barriers to equality and inclusion in workplaces worldwide. Despite the variation and diversity in professions and geopolitical contexts captured across the chapters, remarkably similar issues of gender discrimination and persisting inequalities are identified and critically discussed, thus pointing to the global nature of these issues." (Publisher description)
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"Global land and resource grabbing has become an increasingly prominent topic in academic circles, among development practitioners, human rights advocates, and in policy arenas. The Routledge Handbook of Global Land and Resource Grabbing sustains this intellectual momentum by advancing methodologica
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l, theoretical and empirical insights. It presents and discusses resource grabbing research in a holistic manner by addressing how the rush for land and other natural resources, including water, forests and minerals, is intertwined with agriculture, mining, tourism, energy, biodiversity conservation, climate change, carbon markets, and conflict. The handbook is truly global and interdisciplinary, with case studies from the Global South and Global North, and chapter contributions from practitioners, activists and academics, with emerging and Indigenous authors featuring strongly across the chapters." (Publisher description)
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"On average in the 16 countries surveyed, 56% of internet users frequently use social media to stay informed about current events, far ahead of television (44%). However, it is worth noting that differences exist among population groups: television is the primary source in the most developed countri
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es (55% compared to 37% for social media), while it lags significantly in countries with high (42% vs 63%) or medium/low levels of Human Development Index (HDI) (37% vs 68%) [...] The significance of social media as a source of information, especially during election campaigns, is even more crucial given that citizens believe disinformation is highly prevalent there. Across all 16 countries, 68% of internet users told us that social media is the place where disinformation is most widespread, far ahead of groups on online messaging apps (38%) and media websites/apps (20%). This sentiment is overwhelmingly prevalent in all countries, age groups, social backgrounds, and political preferences. This is even more important and citizens feel that the issue of disinformation is a real threat: 85% express concern about the impact and influence of disinformation on their fellow citizens." (Analysis of key results)
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"Covid Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective examines how conspiracy theories and related forms of misinformation and disinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic have circulated widely around the world. Covid conspiracy theories have attracted considerable attention from researchers, journalists,
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and politicians, not least because conspiracy beliefs have the potential to negatively affect adherence to public health measures. While most of this focus has been on the United States and Western Europe, this collection provides a unique global perspective on the emergence and development of conspiracy theories through a series of case studies. The chapters have been commissioned by recognized experts on area studies and conspiracy theories. The chapters present case studies on how Covid conspiracism has played out (some focused on a single country, others on regions), using a range of methods from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including history, politics, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Collectively, the authors reveal that, although there are many narratives that have spread virally, they have been adapted for different uses and take on different meanings in local contexts." (Publisher description)
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"Despite the pervasiveness of workplace sexual harassment, the connection between sexual harassment and job satisfaction in the news industry remains insufficiently researched. This 16-country and one state study (N*=*1583) sampled news personnel from Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Arab
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region. The results expand current knowledge by examining understudied countries, measuring the impact of sexual harassment on job satisfaction, and evaluating differences in how people perceive gender equality in the news industry. Results show that both verbal and physical sexual harassment are common, underreported, and impact job satisfaction—challenging common misconceptions that there are only few cases of “real” sexual harassment with negative consequences. Sub-Saharan African countries had the lowest job satisfaction and the highest experienced sexual harassment. Southeast Asia had the highest job satisfaction and the lowest experienced sexual harassment. Men had higher levels of job satisfaction and gender equality perceptions than women. The results also highlight power imbalances that reinforce gendered hierarchies." (Abstract)
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"As one of the mass media, the existence of radio in carrying out its role as a social institution to provide education for citizens, especially political education in a democratic country is an interesting topic. The purpose of this study is to analyze the way radio runs and controls political educ
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ation programs for citizens in public spheres and uncovers radio strategies to survive in the face of competition in the digital era. This study adopted descriptive qualitative methods and qualitative content analysis using radio interactive programs. The data were collected through interviews with the manager or directors of each radio. The subjects of this study were four radio stations in East Java, Indonesia. The results showed that radio carries out this role by organizing programs that involve participants. All radios have a mechanism for selecting participants, news and experts/informants. In carrying out its function as a social institution to provide education for citizens including political education, radio has made serious efforts by producing content that: 1) provides knowledge about local political dynamics; 2) criticizes public policies; and 3) activates citizen participation in public issues. Selectively choose the content of the program. Radio’s ability to survive was strongly supported by its ability to utilize of income opportunities and elegantly avoid economic and political pitfalls by empowering the role of the public sphere through massive involvement of external sources. Thus, the constructed opinion seems to be more of an extra media influence rather than an internal initiative of the radi o organization." (Abstract)
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"This report presents a final evaluation of EngageMedia’s project «Digital Rights and Video for Change: Building the Movement in Southeast Asia», funded by the Embassy of Sweden Bangkok. The evaluation covered activities from September 2019 to August 2022 in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand,
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and the broader Asia Pacific region. Evaluation reveals EngageMedia’s relevance in addressing digital rights issues but highlightes the need for EngageMedia to have a clearer role definition. The evaluation team also concludes that while EngageMedia increased organizational effectiveness, monitoring data challenges impact demonstration. The evaluation underlines that project’s sustainability is a concern, and urges to consider monetizing outputs and streamlining for long-term viability. Recommendations include refining EngageMedia’s role in the digital rights space and their thematic and geographic scope, improving monitoring and evaluation system, integrating gender equality and human rights into programming, enhancing program and financial management. The evaluation recommends that Sida should consider additional support when providing core funding to mitigate unintended consequences." (Back cover)
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