"Placed at the crossroads of diverse disciplines – medical sciences, information and communication science, sociology of food, agricultural sciences – this book focuses on media, food and nutrition. Contributors to this volume come from different countries including the United Kingdom, Germany,
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Mexico and Romania, and consider comparatively their native cultures. The book answers several questions: How are food and nutrition made visible and publicized? What is the role of media in relation to food and nutrition? What are the strategies of discourses surrounding food and nutrition within new public spaces?" (Publisher description)
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"This study was carried out with the specific objectives of mapping the present level of mathematical skills of community members, and their radio listening behaviour preferences, with a view to making recommendations for the nature of radio programmes to be produced and broadcast among community me
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mbers to enhance their numerical ability. To this end, the study employed quantitative research design, which involved the survey of a sample of 12,000 respondents taken from among the community members constituting the audience of the community radio stations in the country. The study employed multi-stage sampling to first identify 12 community radio stations, in the first instance, followed by the identification of one thousand households in each of these community radio stations and one respondent from each of the selected households, giving due consideration to the parity of gender. The data collected from each of these 12,000 respondents was processed with the help of descriptive statistical tools to arrive at inferences necessary to achieve the purposes of the study. The study revealed that while community members were comfortable in solving simple mathematical sums and calculating their wages, they experienced difficulties in the use of mathematical skills in the computation of interest, discount, percentage and conversion of scales of measurement. The study further revealed that community members listened to radio extensively and were eager to not just listen to radio programmes based on the imparting of mathematical skills but also willing to adopt a participatory approach in their production, based on their competencies." (Abstract)
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"Community radio in India operates within a clear framework of development. This calls into question the fundamental purpose of community radio: communication rights, activism, voice, community participation or development? Drawing on ethnographic research conducted at two rural stations in South In
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dia, this research explores the influence of a pervasive development discourse on the grassroots activities and functions of community radio. The starkest example of this was observed through the far-reaching influence of the Government of India’s highly publicised sanitation programme, the Swachh Bharat Mission. This programme represents a pervasive example of the modernisation paradigm in development communication, yet it was found to proliferate throughout community radio, a medium more often associated with participatory communication. This development discourse was found to profoundly impact the way both broadcasters and audience members engage with and experience community radio. The findings highlight a disconnect between the theoretical and ideological frameworks of community radio and the ways in which a development discourse operates through the stations at the grassroots level. As such, this article argues that community radio in India represents a liminal space where multiple development communication paradigms interact and compete with the theoretical underpinnings of the movement." (Abstract)
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"An increasing number of media platforms - from newspapers and television to Internet social media networks - are the major providers of indispensable information about the natural world and environmental risk. Despite the dramatic changes in the news industry that have tended to reduce the number o
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f full-time newspaper reporters, environmental journalists remain key to bringing stories to light across the globe. With contributions from across the world broken down into five key regions - the United States of America, Europe and Russia, Asia and Australia, Africa and the Middle East, and South America - this book provides support for today's environment reporters, the providers of essential news in the 21st century." (Publisher description)
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"An increasing number of governments around the world are forcing internet service providers to slow their services during critical sociopolitical junctures—a practice known as throttling—infringing on citizens’ right to information and freedom of expression. Despite its deleterious impact on
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media development and foundational rights, throttling remains an often-neglected topic and risks becoming a pervasive, yet hidden, threat to press freedoms, democracy, and human rights. Throttling refers to the intentional slowing of an internet service by an internet service provider. It stifles the free flow of information during critical moments and prevents journalists from providing vital information to citizens abroad and at home. Due to its difficulty to detect, throttling shields authorities from public scrutiny. Businesses have a duty to be transparent about how and when governments force them to disrupt their services, yet often remain silent on the issue." (Key findings)
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"The Chinese state has demonstrated a propensity for controlling and shaping the information environment of the Chinese diaspora—including via WeChat. The meteoric growth of TikTok has now put the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a position from which it can shape the information environment on a
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largely non-Chinese-speaking platform—with the help of the highest valued start-up in the world and its opaque advanced AI-powered algorithm. Chinese party-state leverage over these companies is considerable, is exercised internally via CCP committees and is enforced by a suite of cybersecurity and intelligence laws. As Chinese companies, Tencent and ByteDance are not only required to participate in intelligence work, but they’re also legally mandated to promote CCP propaganda. China’s censorship and propaganda apparatus is a responsibility that’s pushed down to media and technology companies such as Tencent and ByteDance. As Chinese companies, they’re obligated to comply with strict government regulations on what content is allowed to be published on their platforms, and they both invest heavily in automated systems for content filtering and human curation. The demands of the PRC’s surveillance and propaganda apparatus on these technology companies are such that, at least in the case of WeChat, they’re even prepared to surveil the foreign users of their apps in order to better train the censorship algorithms used on Chinese citizens within the PRC." (Conclusion, page 47)
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"Existing accounts of Myanmar’s film industry available to English speakers are more than twenty years out of date. Opening with a brief overview of cinema in Myanmar since 2000, this article is based on a recent visit to the Myanmar Motion Picture Development Department and the Yangon Film School
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, on conversations with staff, students and alumnae of these institutions and of the National University of Arts and Culture, and with local independent filmmakers. The purpose of my visit was to begin the groundwork needed to answer basic questions: Who are the women making films in Myanmar today? Where are they trained? What are the conditions in which they work? What kind of films they make? How do they fund production? How do their films circulate? And finally: Is there a women’s cinema in Myanmar? What follows thus outlines the context in which women in Myanmar make films today and introduces the work of a small number of them. I conclude with reflections on three short films: A Million Threads (2006, by Thu Thu Shein), Now I am 13 (2013, by Shin Daewe), and Seeds of Sadness (2018, by Thae Zar Chi Khaing), two of which can be found online." (Abstract)
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"Weltweit nutzen 3,3 Milliarden Menschen ein Smartphone, Tendenz weiter steigend. In nahezu allen Ländern des Südens ist die Verbreitung besonders groß. Nicht immer handelt es sich dabei um teure Topmodelle, aber gerade wegen ihrer Erschwinglichkeit sind allein in afrikanischen Ländern 700 Milli
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onen internetfähige Smartphones und nicht-internetfähige Mobile Phones im Gebrauch. Selbst in Ländern wie Somalia, wo Infrastrukturen gleich welcher Art kaum existent sind, funktioniert eines recht zuverlässig: das Mobilfunknetz. In einer High-Tech-Fabrik in Ruanda laufen seit neuestem täglich zehntausend »MaraPhones« genannte Smartphones vom Band.
Die durch Smartphones und Mobile Phones entstehenden Möglichkeiten werden überall auf der Welt ausgiebig genutzt. Tiefgreifende gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Veränderungen sind die Folge. Familiäre Beziehungen werden neu gestaltet und klassische Modelle sozialer Interaktion wie »Freundschaft« neu definiert. Praktisch jeder Wirtschaftssektor ist gründlich von den Handys auf den Kopf gestellt worden. Auch in der kleinbäuerlichen Landwirtschaft in Ostafrika gehören Smartphones längst zum Alltag. Ohne dem Kulturpessimismus zu frönen: Es liegt auf der Hand, dass all diese Entwicklungen nicht nur Chancen, sondern auch große Gefahren bergen. Mit keiner anderen systemrelevanten Technologie lassen sich Manipulation und Überwachung von Individuen besser bewerkstelligen als via Smartphone. Die mit erpresserischen Methoden exekutierte Datensammelwut der großen Konzerne hat durchaus eine Entsprechung in der Überwachung durch autoritäre Regime. Dagegen klingen frühere Dystopien à la »Big Brother is watching you« harmlos.
Im Bereich des Politischen wird besonders deutlich, wie groß die partizipatorischen Potenziale einer Demokratie von unten via Social Media sind, aber auch, wie schnell diese in Regression, Manipulation und Repression münden. Der Arabische Frühling galt zu Recht als »Facebook-Revolution«, das hierarchische Sender-Empfänger-Prinzip war partiell aufgehoben. Was aber vor staatlicher Verfolgung nicht nur nicht schützte, sondern sie oft überhaupt erst ermöglichte. Perfektioniert wird politische Kontrolle via Smartphone einmal mehr von der KP der Volksrepublik China. Sie hält ihre 90 Millionen Parteimitglieder via App auf Kurs – und wehe, jemand liest zu wenig Beiträge und sammelt nicht genügend »Lernpunkte«! Beim Smartphone ist es eben wie beim Beton: Es kommt drauf an, was man draus macht." (Editorial, Seite D2)
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"This report highlights numerous troubling developments in Turkey’s media landscape. Distrust in the media has reached crisis proportions, with fully 70 percent of Turks viewing the media as dishonest. These doubts have formed the backdrop for rapid shifts in how Turks access political news and in
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formation, as citizens turn toward online outlets and social media platforms that are more independent of government control but are themselves often rife with misinformation. Such changes have created an increasingly fragmented media landscape, in which Turks of different political parties, ages, and regions are consuming news from very different sources. Unfortunately, many of these sources are unreliable, and none enjoys trust across the political spectrum. The political repercussions of these trends will deeply affect both Turkey and its Western allies. Indeed, these same challenges, including distrust of the media and severe political polarization, are afflicting numerous other NATO countries, from Poland to the United States. The growing prevalence of misinformation may further aggravate partisan divides and weaken accountability. Already it has undermined Turkey’s response to the coronavirus pandemic." (Page 16)
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"This study examines the social consequences of an ethnic migrant community radio station, Map Radio FM 99, to explore its role for the Shan migrant community in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Fieldwork was conducted for seven weeks between December 2015 and January 2016 to collect data using semi-structured
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interviews, participant observation and relevant documents. Employing a qualitative approach, this study found that participation in community radio helps participants be socially active in Thai society by maximising their participation in the social sphere using media. This study concludes that participation in Map Radio enables the Shan migrant community to better adapt to Thai society by providing and obtaining information necessary for their lives in Thailand and by contributing to the formation of a collective identity as ethnic migrant workers, thereby creating community cohesion. Nonetheless, lack of political efficacy as a result of the challenging political environment in Thailand might partly prevent Map Radio from functioning completely as an alternative public sphere." (Abstract)
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"This volume provides a critical examination of the evolution of platform economies in India. Contributions from leading media and communications scholars present case studies that illustrate the social and economic ambitions at the heart of Digital India. Across interdisciplinary domains of busines
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s, labour, politics, and culture, this book examines how digital platforms are embedding automated systems into the social fabrics of everyday life." (Publisher description)
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"This article is a review of the online news reports about the ‘humanitarian crisis’ that surfaced in India as thousands of migrant workers struggled to return home during the nationwide lockdown triggered by COVID-19. With several newspaper editions unable to print and circulate amid lockdown,
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the online news portals and mobile news apps served as significant news dissemination platforms to the people. The article also attempts to understand how the online news portals reported the environmental issues in relation to the countrywide lockdown. On the one hand, the news stories traced the origin of COVID-19 with coronavirus transmitting to humans via other species like bats and pangolins; on the other, many reports drew people’s attention to the improvement in air quality with declining pollution levels due to the shutdown. Besides, a number of news reports surfaced that warned about the water crisis looming large in many water-stressed regions of India with the onset of summer as more water would be required for sanitization to keep the deadly virus at bay." (Abstract)
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"Offering a collection of invited contributions from scholars across the world, the volume is structured in seven parts, each exploring a particular aspect of local media and journalism that provide the framework to bring together and consolidate the latest research and theorisations from the field,
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and fresh understandings of local media from a comparative perspective and within a global context. Addressing the significant changes local media and journalism has undergone in the last decade, the companion explores the history, politics, ethics and contents of local media, as well as delving deeper into the business and practices that affect not only the journalists and media-makers involved, but consumers as well. For students and researchers in the fields of journalism studies, journalism education, cultural studies and media and communications programmes, this is the comprehensive guide to local media and journalism." (Publisher description)
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"Beijing is running an extensive and sophisticated long-term outreach campaign which cuts across the developed and developing world, focusing on both legacy and digital media. This is a strategic, long-term effort to reshape the global news landscape with a China-friendly global narrative. Through f
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oreign media acquisitions and large-scale telecommunications ventures, China is increasing its share in critical information infrastructure overseas. In this way, Beijing is moving to build control over the messaging infrastructure, as well as subsidising the messaging through content-sharing and reprogramming the messagers through training schemes. Through journalism tours and education, Beijing is cultivating a cadre of third-party supporters, outsourcing its influence operations to individual journalists. There is a more pronounced focus on journalists from developing countries with repressive and ineffective governments. To this end, Beijing is also leveraging global journalism bodies to serve its ends, contracting cooptation through MOUs, a classic United Front strategy. One corollary of the journalism exchanges is the exportation of a different model of journalism than that practiced in the West. China is offering concrete aid in the form of technical support, equipment and training to journalism organisations depending on need. The perception towards China’s outreach is generally positive. Beijing’s key objective is boosting coverage overseas that aligns with its policy priorities, in particular gaining favourable media for its Belt and Road Initiative and deflecting attention from the 1 million Uighurs in political indoctrination camps in Xinjiang. China’s overall strategic objectives are the same across the board, but its ability to achieve these goals is dependent upon the responsiveness of respective governments and the media’s commitment to a free press." (Conclusion)
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"Without proper training in digital news verification, the dissemination of misinformation is both rapid and disastrous. Journalists are often processing a massive amount of information through social media with very little time to verify it--this presents unique challenges for journalists working w
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ith or in digital media especially in times of a pandemic. These problems have manifested themselves in situations where journalists and news organisations have also fallen prey to fake news and disinformation online. It is important to educate journalists and media practitioners regarding the use of proper tools and resources to check the authenticity of a news." (Introduction, page 5)
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"This study analyzes professional ethical perspectives and practices of Central Asian journalists by examining and comparing the four former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This study uses in-depth interviews with 24 journalists to examine their ethical ideals
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in the profession and how their ethical perspectives impact potential democracy. Its significance lies in revealing the gravity of ethical misbehavior where journalists call ethics a “Western luxury” and where public life was filled with falsehoods." (Abstract)
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"At Video Volunteers, we will always remember this year as the year that our network of correspondents came of age. They demonstrated their commitment not just to the work but to the organization; they proved to the world that Video Volunteers is a resilient organization, and thanks to them, we fini
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shed the year stronger than we began it. Though we did launch several new initiatives, this was a year where we consolidated our core work and reaffirmed our commitment to: Building the strongest network of activist journalists in rural India; Creating concrete, tangible impact in people's lives through local action campaigns; Broadening society's ideas of who is an expert, who deserves our attention and whose voice should be listened to." (Introduction)
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"China’s efforts to use state media as a means to increase its soft power around the world have raised concerns in many quarters. With much fanfare in late 2016, China relaunched its global television network, formerly known as China Central Television, as a new global media brand, the China Globa
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l Television Network (CGTN). Despite extensive investment and active support from the highest levels of government, including President Xi Jinping, CGTN has had limited success in improving China’s international soft power standing. For many Western observers, it is CGTN’s association with the Chinese party-state which limits its ability to shape and influence the global discourse. However, it is CGTN’s internal organisational structure and culture which really inhibits its effectiveness as a soft power tool." (Abstract)
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