"On average across Asia and the Pacific, women make up 28.6 percent of the media workforce. The proportions are lower in decision-making roles in media organizations where women make up 17.9 percent of executive roles, 19.5 percent of senior editorial and 22.6 percent of mid-level editorial position
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s. There is a clear gender pay gap, with women on average earning US$436 per month, compared with men earning US$506 per month. In Malaysia, the pay gap is the smallest with women earning much higher money and at more equitable levels than the regional average. In contrast, Cambodia and Pakistan had the widest gender pay gap with men earning much higher salaries. Arguably, in Cambodia this could be due to more women journalists recently joining the profession. Women continue to be restricted by stereotypical beats, and face more job insecurity, lower wages and gender discrimination but they are multi-skilled and usually working across more beats than men." (Executive summary)
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"Using Bourdieu’s field theory, this thesis describes journalism education from the perspective of Australians who specialise in teaching outside Australia. It uses three data sources: a content analysis of media in Solomon Islands; a survey and in-depth interviews with Australian journalism educa
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tors; and a case study of Solomon Islands. It is significant in that for the first time this thesis describes a group of Australian journalism educators (as opposed to journalists) in depth. In the case study, the thesis describes the work done in rebuilding the media in a post-Conflict situation (Solomon Islands), paying attention to the characteristics and influences of Australian educators and contrasting the educators’ views with those of Solomon Island journalists and civil society leaders. This thesis features in-depth interviews and surveys of 44 Australian educators as well as 25 people connected to the media in Solomon Islands." (Abstract)
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"This article discusses the trial of visual research methods in a socio-economic research and development project with women subsistence farmers and their families in two regions of Papua New Guinea. It reports on the benefits and challenges of three visual research methods (drawing, participatory p
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hotography, and picture elicitation) to explore the agricultural practice of women subsistence farmers and their families. The paper discusses the potential of these methods for enhancing community engagement, reducing the power imbalance between researchers and participants, and promoting dialogue and reflection to better understand the needs and practices of subsistence farmers." (Abstract)
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"Development journalism has been a key focus of discussion among journalism scholars for around half a decade, but most of the attention has been firmly on African and Asian countries. This article examines the situation on the little-researched island nation of Fiji, which has experienced considera
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ble political instability since independence in 1970. Based on interviews with 77 of the country's small population of just over 100 journalists, we find that journalism in Fiji exhibits similarities to Western journalism ideals, but also a significant development journalism orientation. A comparison with six other countries from the global South shows that this mix is not unique, and we argue that Western journalism approaches and development ideals are not by necessity mutually exclusive, as has often been argued. In this way, the article aims to contribute to a reassessment of our understanding of development journalism and how journalists in developing societies view their work." (Abstract)
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"This study is an attempt to see how religion plays a part in development in a country where Christianity is seen as a major force behind social change. Government and business houses have done their part in enhancing people’s livelihood. However, it is claimed that Christianity has played a major
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role in enhancing people’s well-being. How people’s well-being is enhanced is vague, and might be understood through the concept of development communication. Development communication has been defined as “the art and science of human communication linked to a society’s planned transformation from a state of poverty to one of dynamic socio-economic growth that makes for greater equality and the larger unfolding of individual potentials.” Research participants were interviewed and their narratives were analyzed using thematic analysis." (Abstract)
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"This paper examines the extent social media is enabling e-democracy in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The study conducts an interpretative case study approach interviewing active social media users, political actors, civil servants, civilians, civil society actors and tertiary students. The stu
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dy also conducts a content analysis of popular “political social media” Facebook pages in these three countries. The findings of the study suggest that social media is playing a role in facilitating citizen engagement with governments, making governments accountable and providing a means for citizens to be informed, to discuss and share views on political matters. However, social media usage is evolving quite differently in these three countries and factors such as high levels of militarism (Fiji), high levels of corruption (Solomon Islands) and also rapid ICT development (Vanuatu) have contributed towards shaping the potential of social media as a democratic enabler and political tool in these countries." (Abstract)
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"Constraints imposed on the press in Fiji under the 2010 Media Decree have been compared with the system of press control in Singapore. The two systems are, however, quite different. The type of hegemonic control that has been achieved in Singapore is unlikely to be replicated in Fiji. The press in
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Singapore was brought to heel over a period of decades through regulation, including licensing, and legal intimidation in a sophisticated system that utilizes corporate control to ensure that journalists exercise self-censorship. A military dictatorship in place in Fiji since 2006 instead criminalized journalism ethics in the Media Decree and has engaged in repression and censorship of journalists. Fiji’s press system, and the regime’s attempts to control it, were the subject of intense scrutiny in advance of elections planned for September 2014." (Abstract)
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"This report has eight core sections. In the first three sections we outline the overall purpose of the study, the methodological approach and the overarching insights that emerged from the study. This is followed by a section on key citizen information needs and sources. The fifth section discusses
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the media landscape in Vanuatu, varying media access and media consumption patterns and audience’s preferences for different media outlets, media formats and genres. The next section provides an overview of citizens’ attitudes towards development aid, their perceptions of international organisations and entities working in Vanuatu. Section seven focuses on assessing the impact of communication efforts on civic participation and exploring the attitudes and behaviour related to domestic violence and land issues. We conclude with considerations for the development, media and policy community working in Vanuatu and a more detailed description of the methodological approach applied in this study." (Introduction, page 5)
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"The research for this report was developed and undertaken between June 2012 and April 2013 across 14 Pacific Island nations: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Nauru, Niue, Republic of Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon I
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slands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The report provides a regional overview of the PACMAS key components (Media Policy, Media Systems, Media Capacity Building and Media Content) as they emerged through 212 interviews focused upon the six PACMAS strategic areas. It also provides basic background information, an overview of the media and communications landscape and discusses in detail media and communications technicians; emergency broadcast systems, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVETs), media associations, climate change and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). For this reason, observations on the four PACMAS components should be understood to represent changes in the media and communication environment based upon an investigation focused on the PACMAS strategic activities." (www.pacmas.org)
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"This report assesses current information materials on natural disasters in Solomon Islands, identifies the key factors in disseminating information during a disaster and provides recommendations for future disaster content and communications." (Page 2)
"This article appraises the general state of investigative journalism in seven Pacific Island countries—Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu—and asserts that the trend is not encouraging. Journalism in general, and investigative journalism in particular
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, has struggled due to harsher legislation as in military-ruled Fiji; beatings and harassment of journalists as in Vanuatu; and false charges and lawsuits targeting journalists and the major newspaper company in the Cook Islands. Corruption, tied to all the major political upheavals in the region since independence, is also discussed. Threats to investigative journalism, like the ‘backfiring effect’ and ‘anti-whistleblower’ law are examined, along with some investigative journalism success case studies." (Abstract)
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"GISWatch 2012 explores how the internet is being used to ensure transparency and accountability, the challenges that civil society activists face in fighting corruption, and when the internet fails as an enabler of a transparent and fair society. The eight thematic reports and 48 country reports pu
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blished ask provocative questions such as: Is a surveillance society necessarily a bad thing if it fights corruption? And how successful have e-government programmes been in fighting corruption? They explore options for activism by youth and musicians online, as well as the art of using visual evidence to expose delusions of power. By focusing on individual cases or stories of corruption, the country reports take a practical look at the role of the internet in combating corruption at all levels." (Back cover)
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"This research study provides baseline indicators for the Solomon Islands Media Assistance Scheme (SOLMAS) Program Phase III. It presents findings around the current quality of media, experiences of training to date, and relationships with stakeholders such as development organisations, government c
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ommunications and the National Disaster Management Office. This executive summary presents main findings from the study, under several key areas: media quality and inhibitors of quality; training and capacity building; audience needs and new media; media and development issues; the Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI); the public broadcaster Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC); and perceptions of SOLMAS to date." (Exexutive summary)
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