"The book contains 85 chapters written by persons who have been on those frontlines of communication and development [...] A variety of case studies appear in the book. For example, Kriss Barker and Fatou Jah – in a chapter titled “Entertainment-Education in Radio: Three Case Studies from Africa
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” – explore in detail projects in Nigeria, Burundi and Burkina Faso that used a communication intervention approach advanced by the Population Media Center. Other chapters in the Handbook take the reader to Spain, Kenya, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and beyond. Song Shi examines “ICTs and Modernization in China,” revealing that assumptions and theories of the modernization paradigm have significantly influenced the policies and projects on ICT4D in contemporary China. And, Song Shi writes, discussion on the potential of other approaches in ICT4D in China has also emerged among scholars. Hina Ayaz discusses the “Multiplicity Approach in Participatory Communication” in Pakistan – wherein the country adopted the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – only to run into negative perceptions and banning of polio vaccinations. However, a shift to a more successful approach, grounded in UNICEF’s social mobilization and communityinvolvement communication strategy, brought significant success. While many of the Handbook case studies incorporate participation as a significant development factor, they also address a wide range of social and political issues including, for example, civic engagement, sexual harassment, empowerment, and community voices. In addition to an abundance of case studies from around the world, the Handbook delves into various research methods that are being used to understand and design communication for development and social change interventions [...] Handbook editor Jan Servaes' own chapter (with Rico Lie), “Key Concepts, Disciplines, and Fields in Communication for Development and Social Change ” identifies five clusters of concepts and practices that are evident in the field today and which determine the activities and approaches in communication for sustainable development and social change interventions: The clusters are (1) a normative cluster of concepts; (2) a cluster of concepts that sets an important context for communication activities for development; (3) a cluster of strategic and methodological concepts; (4) a cluster of concepts that relate to methods, techniques, and tools; and (5) a cluster of concepts that addresses the practices of advocacy, (participatory) monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessment. The authors extend their discussion into three subdivisions: (1) health communication, (2) agricultural extension and rural communication, and (3) environmental communication (including climate change communication). This leads the reader into issues related to (1) right to communicate; (2) education and learning; (3) innovation, science, and technology; (4) natural resource management; (5) food security; (6) poverty reduction; (7) peace and conflict; (8) children and youth, women, and senior citizens; and (9) tourism. Some of the forerunners of development communication have not been forgotten. In “Daniel Lerner and the Origins of Development Communication”, Hemant Shah links Lerner’s 1958 book Passing of Traditional Society to today’s modernization and faith in technology to solve social problems. Also contributing to the foundation of this field is Paulo Freire who contributed much to idea that participation should be a vital part of the development dialogue. Ana Fernández-Aballí Altamirano’s chapter on "The Importance of Paulo Freire to Communication for Development and Social Change" highlights his main work Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a "before-and-after" in the fields of education, research, and communication, initially in Latin America and later in both North and South. Particularly in the case of development communication and communication for social change, the author stresses, Freire’s work had a definitive impact ..." (Review by Royal Donald Colle, Journal of Development Communication, vol. 30 (2), page 92-94)
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"Journalism in Turkey has an ambivalent characteristic. On the one hand, the social demand for genuine journalism has increased, and on the other hand, news has turned into a tool within the polluted political polarization atmosphere. In the age of fake news and post-truth, practices of journalism i
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n Turkey both contain significantly striking examples of how media professionals overcome the barriers and also give some clues about the changing nature of journalism. The book examines the deep crisis mainstream media experience in Turkey. New-born media institutions, alternatives, their start-up strategies, and transformation of journalism field are scrutinized by qualitative and quantitative methods. The book aims to present a current picture of journalism in Turkey by underlining both historical continuities and breaks from the tradition." (Back cover)
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"In June 2020, MDIF conducted a survey of 36 Myanmar media outlets to gather information about the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses between March and May. They represent a mix of national media, as well as local media from the ethnic states and regions. Their operations are of various sizes: t
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hree media have 70-150 staff, 7 have 20-69, and 26 have 1-19. All the media surveyed felt the impact of COVID-19 almost immediately. Not surprisingly, as this has generally been the experience of media worldwide, commercial revenue decline was often dramatic: half of the survey respondents reported more than a 75% drop in income. Thirty-two of the 36 respondents had advertising revenue prior to the start of the pandemic, and all of them reported that it was negatively affected. All 19 media with print products were obliged to either reduce or even halt production. In response to collapsing revenues, 31 of the 36 survey respondents instituted spending cuts between March and May including, in some cases, cutting salaries and staff. Even as they reeled from the economic impact, Myanmar media also had to adapt their working environments. All the media surveyed quickly instituted work from home practices or else established social distancing in their offices and provided protective equipment for their staff. At the same time, more than half of the media reported having to contend with safety and security challenges. These came in the form of restrictions on movement, websites being blocked, on and offline surveillance, staff harassment and arrests. In common with media in other countries, one bright spot in this bleak picture has been audience growth. MDIF’s survey found that almost all media saw both their digital audiences, and audience engagement, increase. This had a positive knock-on effect for the media, with 30 respondents reporting that during this period they were able to strengthen their digital skills and knowledge due to the increased focus on their online content. The good news that 21 of the 31 respondents that sought emergency funding during the survey period obtained it, is tempered by the reality that the impact of COVID-19 has been deep and will be long lasting. The future for media in Myanmar is precarious." (Introduction)
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"One year into the premiership of Gen Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Thailand’s elected government is showing no signs of loosening its grip on freedom of expression online. Rather than breaking with the established pattern of criminalizing content critical of the authorities, the government is continuing to
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prosecute people simply for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression online and harassing and intimidating online users. Since the elections of March 2019, the authorities have continued to file criminal charges against individuals who find fault with their performance—whether they criticize the police, the military or the Election Commission of Thailand. People scrutinizing the activities of these government bodies and calling for justice are facing years in prison and huge fines. In many cases the government has targeted well-known figures with criminal charges to send a message to other online users that it will brook no dissent. This strategy aims to create a climate of fear in order to suppress the posting and sharing of content deemed “false information” about the performance of the government. One activist told Amnesty International: “That’s part of their strategy—we call it ‘lawfare,’ and it works. It works really well.” Following the outbreak of COVID-19, Gen Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s decision to declare a state of emergency in March 2020 marked a dramatic increase in the Thai government’s restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Authorities wasted no time in invoking the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situation (2005) – empowering public officials both to censor communications related to COVID-19 that are “false” or might instigate fear among the public. In a 24 March 2020 press conference, Prime Minister Prayut warned of prosecutions for “abuse of social media,” deepening concerns that authorities may file lawsuits against individuals for criticizing the Thai government’s response to the virus." (Executive summary)
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"The Myanmar authorities should immediately lift curbs on the free flow of information to at-risk communities; ensure journalists, human rights defenders and activists can operate freely and without any harassment, intimidation, arrest, prosecution and imprisonment; and encourage rather than threate
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n to punish people who criticize, openly discuss, or attempt to raise awareness about the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Myanmar grapples with the outbreak, the authorities have blocked independent media websites; continued to intimidate, arrest and prosecute journalists, human rights defenders, activists and artists; and kept in place a sweeping internet shutdown in two of Myanmar’s poorest states. These measures indicate harsher censorship at a time when access to information could literally be the difference between life and death. When states’ responses to COVID-19 are paired with restrictions on information and a lack of transparency and censorship, they risk undermining the right to seek, receive and impart information on many important matters, including health and humanitarian issues." (Page 1)
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"In this report, we use survey data collected in late March and early April 2020 to document and understand how people in six countries (Argentina, Germany, South Korea, Spain, the UK, and the US) accessed news and information about COVID-19 in the early stages of the global pandemic, how they rate
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the trustworthiness of the different sources and platforms they rely on, how much misinformation they say they encounter, and their knowledge of and responses to the coronavirus crisis. We show that news use is up across all six countries, and most people in most countries are using either social media, search engines, video sites, and messaging applications (or combinations of these) to get news and information about coronavirus. In all six countries, people with low levels of formal education are much less likely to say that they rely on news organisations for news and information about coronavirus, and more likely to rely on social media and messaging applications. In Argentina, South Korea, Spain, and the US, young people are much more likely to rely on social media, and in Germany, the UK, and the US, to rely on messaging applications groups." (Executive summary)
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"The present paper identifies five key roles of media in contributing to the SDGs delivery. These include: channeling information flow, ensuring proper monitoring and accountability, acting as an enabler of a ‘culture of peace’, upholding marginalised voices and facilitating the localisation of
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SDGs. Based on a mapping exercise on selected national and sub-national Bangla, English and online newspapers, this paper finds that among the five identified roles, the media in Bangladesh at present is primarily playing the role of channeling information flow. Media is also playing a watchdog role in a limited scale, while their participation in the SDGs accountability process is almost non-existent." (Abstract)
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"Im Jahr 2000 gründeten drei junge Männer das Internetportal »Indernet« – einen deutschsprachigen Raum von »Indern der zweiten Generation« für »Inder der zweiten Generation«. Aufbauend auf Material, das sie über 17 Jahre gesammelt hat, legt Urmila Goel in ihrer Ethnografie drei Mosaike d
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ieses virtuellen Raums. Sie beschreibt, wie die unterschiedlichen Teile des Portals (Artikel, Forum, Gästebuch, etc.) genutzt wurden und zeichnet die Entwicklungsschritte des Community-Portals von seiner Gründung bis zum Umzug ins Web 2.0 nach. Dabei analysiert sie rassismuskritisch, wie das »Indernet« zu einem Raum der natio-ethno-kulturellen (Mehrfach-)Zugehörigkeit wurde und welche Ausschlüsse damit einhergingen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This article analyses female journalists’ perceptions of their own role, their power in the newsroom, their influence over the news agenda and the challenges they face on a daily basis in two large media-saturated countries and emerging democracies, India and South Africa. India and South Africa
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are both nations that are trying to overcome historical legacies of patriarchal structures and gendered attitudes about women’s role. The authors conclude that female journalists articulated their experiences of newsroom culture as hegemonically masculine. While it appears that female journalists believe that women have made some strides in covering political news, they still see their influence as limited and continue to battle pre-existing professional stereotypes." (Abstract)
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"This book investigates public service broadcasting (PSB) models in post-authoritarian regimes, and offers a critical inspection of the development of a Western European-originated PSB system in Asian transitional societies, in particular in Indonesia since the 1990's. Placing the case of Indonesia'
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s PSB within the context of global media liberalization, this book traces the development of public service broadcasting in post-authoritarian societies, including the arrival of neoliberal policy and the growth of media oligarchs that favour free market media systems over public interest media systems. The book argues that Western European PSB models or 'BBC-like' models have travelled to new democracies, and that autocratic legacies embedded in former state-owned radio and television broadcasters have resisted pro-democratic media pressures. As such, similar to new PSBs in other post-colonial, transitional and global south regimes, such as in Arab states or Bangladesh, this book demonstrates that the adoption of PSB in Indonesia has not reflected the ideal PSB project initially envisaged by media advocates but was flawed in both media policy and governance. It explores the history of broadcast governance in authoritarian Indonesia, and considers how Western European PSB or 'British Broadcasting Corporation/BBC-like' models have travelled - somewhat uneasily - to new democracies, but also how autocratic legacies embedded in former state-owned radio and television channels have resisted external parties of pro-democratic media systems." (Publisher description)
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"The Chinese government’s media activities in the Pacific fall into five categories. First, China has expanded its official media to Pacific Island countries (PICs). The China Central Television’s English international channel (CCTV-9) has established operations in the Federated States of Micron
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esia (FSM, 2002), Samoa (2005), Vanuatu (2005), Fiji (2006) and Tonga (2006). China Radio International is also broadcasting to audiences in Vanuatu (2007), Samoa (2010) and Tonga (2012). In September 2010, China’s biggest news agency Xinhua opened its first Pacific branch in Fiji’s capital, Suva. In addition, Chinese embassies in the Pacific have opened Facebook and Twitter accounts for publicity purposes. Second, Chinese diplomatic missions actively use local media for publicity [...] China’s three other types of media activities include sponsoring Pacific journalists’ visits to China for training or exchanges, constructing media facilities and fostering ties with local Chinese media in PICs. For example, Pacific journalists attended capacity training programs in China in August 2015, October 2016 and June 2018. In March 2019, China funded the construction of the press gallery in Fiji’s parliament. Chinese embassies have also made efforts to establish close relations with Fiji Daily, the country’s largest newspaper in Mandarin Chinese, and Vila Times, the first Chinese-English bilingual newspaper in Vanuatu. In March 2018, Chinese ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo encouraged Fiji Daily to play its role in ‘telling the China story well’ in Fiji and contribute to China–Fiji relations." (Pages 1-2)
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"This collection charts the emergence of modern science communication across the world. This is the first volume to map investment around the globe in science centres, university courses and research, publications and conferences as well as tell the national stories of science communication. How did
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it all begin? How has development varied from one country to another? What motivated governments, institutions and people to see science communication as an answer to questions of the social place of science? Communicating Science describes the pathways followed by 39 different countries. All continents and many cultures are represented. For some countries, this is the first time that their science communication story has been told." (Publisher description)
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"Online spaces are being systematically weaponised to exclude women leaders and to undermine the role of women in public life. Attacks on women which use hateful language, rumour and gendered stereotypes combine personal attacks with political motivations, making online spaces dangerous places for w
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omen to speak out. And left unchecked, this phenomenon of gendered disinformation, spread by state and non-state actors, poses a serious threat to women’s equal political participation. In this research, we investigated state-aligned gendered disinformation in two countries, Poland and the Philippines, through an analysis of Twitter data. We analysed tweets in Polish and, from the Philippines, in English." (Executive summary)
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"Since 2016, Fojo Media Institute, together with local partners, has investigated media landscapes in Eastern Europe from a gender perspective, to find out how women and men in the industry perceive their work life: What are their options to have influence and a fulfilling career? What are the diffe
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rences in beats and job satisfaction between male and female journalists? Is sexual harassment a concern that inflicts on professional practise? First out in the series of gender studies was Russia (2016), followed by Belarus (2017) and Moldova and Georgia (2018). In this report (2020) two more countries are included, namely Armenia and Ukraine. More than one thousand media professionals have shared their views and experiences and contributed to the research [...] One profession that has changed its gender profile is journalism. What was once a male dominated arena has gradually become more gender equal in numbers. The findings of this study indicate that women now make up the majority of media professionals in all the countries covered by this study. According to the experts interviewed, this is not the result of a growing sector with more women coming in, but rather about an outflow of men. The journalistic profession has become less attractive (to men) due to economic restraints (lower wages) and political pressures that make it harder to exercise independent journalism. The study also confirms that women are taking on more decision-making roles, especially in regional and independent media. In Georgia and Moldova, women and men seem to be on equal footing. However, there is still a considerable gender gap in Armenia and Russia, especially when it comes to distribution of power in national media with high circulation/audience, likely related to the fact that the most influential media are still often managed by men. In addition, imbalance in job security and remuneration can be noted, where men have more stable terms of employment and are engaged in beats that pay more. Sexual harassment is another area of interest related to working conditions in the media industry (and elsewhere)." (Preface)
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"This report was commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to examine women’s representation in COVID-19/coronavirus newsgathering and news coverage in India, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the UK, and the US. It is rooted in a computational news content analysis of 11,913 publications an
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d 1.9 million stories between 1st March and 15th April 2020 undertaken by Media Ecosystems Analysis Group; an in-depth qualitative portrayal analysis of 175 highly ranked COVID-19/coronavirus stories across the six countries; quantitative analysis of eight public-facing bespoke Google surveys, as well as multi-country secondary surveys; a pronoun content analysis of COVID-19 headlines; story frames analyses using Google’s news search engine, the Internet TV News Archive in 2020 and the GDELT Project global online news archive for 2017 to 2020; and interrogation of a number of global statistical databases [...] The report has examined the news coverage of the COVID-19/coronavirus story through the lenses of three indicators of gender equality: women as sources of news expertise; news stories leading with women protagonists; and coverage of gender equality issues. The insights from the report have led to the creation of 21 recommendations which aim to support news providers who wish to amplify the substantially muted voices of women in news coverage of the COVID19/coronavirus story. The report has uncovered a substantial bias towards men’s perspectives in the newsgathering and news coverage of this pandemic across both the global north (the UK and US) and the global south (India, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa). This bias operates against a backdrop of women’s effective political invisibility within the COVID-19-related decision-making process in the countries analyzed and the unique socioeconomic, health and psychological challenges that women face globally. Every individual woman’s voice in the news on COVID19 is drowned out by the voices of at least three, four, or five men. The women who are given a platform in the COVID-19/coronavirus story are rarely portrayed as authoritative experts or as empowered individuals but more frequently as sources of personal opinion or as victims/people affected by the disease." (Executive summary)
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"China’s Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP) operates in Xinjiang by collecting Big Data and alerting authorities to those it deems potentially harmful to the CCP regime. It does so through two major devices: the mobile phone, and the camera. These act as tools of disablement constraining
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Uighur mobility and settlement. Uighurs are now obligated to carry smartphones, on which police mandate “nanny apps” to monitor Uighurs through their devices. The Jingwang (“cleansing the web”) app not only tracks Uighurs’ movement, but also records and extracts all messages, internet use, contacts, photographs, and files. These are then amalgamated by IJOP which uses keyword searches to compare the data to its list of potential crimes, which include prayer, visiting banned websites, and other petty accusations. IJOP then decides who is considered a threat and will thus be arrested, and who will simply continue to be monitored." (Page 6)
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"The new militant movement in Kashmir, which began with Burhan Wani in the southern areas, has escalated the conflict in the Valley. While militancy is not new in Kashmir, the Pulwama attack put the conflict back on the radar of the international community. This paper examines the changing nature of
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militancy in Kashmir, specifically with regard to training, recruitment patterns and the use of social media, public support for militants, and an apparent ideological drift. The paper identifies four new variables that have changed the contours of militancy in Kashmir, further complicating the security threats to the Indian state." (Abstract)
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"Our inclusion survey, conducted with 35 private media outlets operating in Yangon and in seven ethnic states and five regions, provides up-to-date inclusion and gender data about the sector. Among the findings: while many women work in media (they represent 33% of the combined staff of the 35 outle
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ts surveyed), they are underrepresented in key roles, including senior leadership and frontline journalistic jobs. Medium-sized ethnic media outlets employ the largest percentage of women, followed by small-sized national media. Small and medium-sized media in Myanmar’s regions employ the smallest percentage of women. The percentage of women employed generally decreases as the roles increase in seniority. In terms of remuneration: outlets led by men generally pay men more than women, whereas outlets with mixed - men, women and/or non-binary - leadership tend to have more gender-balanced salaries. The primary justification offered for higher pay levels for men is that men often have more experience than their women or non-binary counterparts. The survey also confirms that levels of diversity among staff with regards to disability, LGBT+, ethnicity, religious belief, and age vary widely among media outlets. Survey respondents noted a total of 10 non-binary staff members (1% of the total); one outlet in the ethnic states is co-led by a man and a non-binary person. The survey finds, too, that most outlets do not have inclusion policies or plans."
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"In this book, we have investigated the evolving intergenerational media practices over three years to reflect on the quotidian (and often invisible) forms of care at a distance enacted as part of contemporary Digital Kinship. As we have explored, within different cultural contexts we are seeing div
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erging forms of intergenerational perceptions and practices around media and care. Over the three years, we witnessed the growth of self-tracking health apps which are being taken up in diverse intergenerational ways. As we note, understanding intergenerational care at a distance is about complicating care beyond medical notions of health and social services." (Conclusion, page 187)
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