"This article aims to discuss what we call environmental opacity, a condition of mobile instant messaging services (MIMS) that operates on the basis of end-to-end encryption systems. Utilizing WhatsApp as a specific example, the article presents two fundamental dilemmas around which some issues conc
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erning transparency are mobilized when it comes to digital private communication. The first of them relates to how end-to-end encryption has simultaneously become an asset and a problem for democratic environments; on the one hand, protecting users’ privacy, and on the other, allowing for the circulation of misinformation and harmful content. The second dilemma deals with how this environment of opacity impacts the ethics and transparency of scholarly research focused on WhatsApp and other MIMSs. The paper also reviews an extensive body of studies that discuss the political uses of WhatsApp in different dimensions, and argues that emerging countries with large user bases, such as Brazil and India, have experienced a series of negative effects after the adoption of WhatsApp by politically oriented groups. Among the main proposals, the article suggests some measures to foster platform transparency and facilitate scientific research instead of hindering it." (Abstract)
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"This study aims to explore the policies and practices of Radio Cutivalú in the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment within the context of the prevailing patriarchal structures in Peruvian society. For this purpose, the following research question is formulated: Does Radio Cutival
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ú have a gender policy and if so, how does it manifest? To answer the research question, a qualitative analysis of four internal documents and 11 interviewees with employees was conducted. The study reveals that while Radio Cutivalú does not possess an explicit, written gender policy, gender equality is considered a central guiding principle in the radio’s operations. Its activities align with the objectives of international policies, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – Section J, AMARC-WIN’s Gender Policy for Community Radio, and UNESCO’s Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media. Thus, Radio Cutivalú serves as a powerful platform for addressing gender issues." (Abstract)
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"Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are considered a cross-cutting tool that contributes to meeting the global challenges set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, in many countries, there is still a significant connectivity gap between cities and rural areas. Using
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a case study approach and the Digital-fordevelopment paradigm proposed by Heeks, this paper explores an innovative strategy for addressing the rural connectivity gap and examines its impact on the SDGs. The model under analysis is the Rural Mobile Infrastructure Operator (RMIO). The specific case analyzed is the first company operating under an RMIO figure and offering services in underserved rural areas of Peru. The results show that the RMIO strategy primarily contributes to some specific targets of SDGs 3, 9, and 17. Key stakeholders can use the methodology and results of this study to develop strategies to address the connectivity divide and promote the achievement of the SDGs in rural contexts." (Abstract)
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"This text is divided into four chapters. The first chapter describes the characteristics of online public debate in Colombia. It also presents the historical context and details the circumstances in which risky content for democracy and human rights content is published and disseminated in the coun
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try; this usually happens in public discussions associated with the armed conflict, in debates related to current situations that involve discriminated and vulnerable communities, and —mainly— during electoral periods in which smear campaigns against the media and journalists occur and disinformation strategies to manipulate voters develop. The second chapter presents a normative review that clarifies concepts addressed throughout the text and elaborates on international standards on the subject. The third chapter contains the body of the legal framework that describes the current regulations in Colombia to address content that potentially poses risks for democracy and human rights and presents the alternatives for dealing with such content. The fourth chapter analyzes the extent to which this framework is in line with international standards and reflects on the effectiveness of the legal tools to tackle the problem of hate speech and disinformation. In parallel with the development of the conflict and cycles of political violence, Colombian civil society has been striving for decades to advance in peacebuilding. As part of these efforts, it is essential to understand how to promote a broad and robust conversation in digital environments that guarantees diversity of opinions and protects the right of citizens to receive truthful and unbiased information." (Page 5)
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"This edited collection aims to document the effects of Covid-19 on film festivals and to theorize film festivals in the age of social distancing. To some extent, this crisis begs us to consider what happens when festivals can't happen; while films have found new (temporary) channels of distribution
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(most often in the forms of digital releases), the festival format appears particularly vulnerable in pandemic times. Imperfect measures, such as the move to a digital format, cannot recapture the communal experience at the very core of festivals. Given the global nature of the pandemic and the diversity of the festival phenomenon, this book features a wide range of case studies and analytical frameworks. With contributors including established scholars and frontline festival workers, the book is conceived as both a theoretical endeavour and a practical exploration of festival organizing in pandemic times." (Publisher description)
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"This open access book explores how children draw God. It looks at children's drawings collected in a large variety of cultural and religious traditions. Coverage demonstrates the richness of drawing as a method for studying representations of the divine. In the process, it also contributes to our u
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nderstanding of this concept, its origins, and its development. This intercultural work brings together scholars from different disciplines and countries, including Switzerland, Japan, Russia, Iran, Brazil, and the Netherlands. It does more than share the results of their research and analysis. The volume also critically examines the contributions and limitations of this methodology. In addition, it also reflects on the new empirical and theoretical perspectives within the broader framework of the study of this concept. The concept of god is one of the most difficult to grasp. This volume offers new insights by focusing on the many different ways children depict god throughout the world. Readers will discover the importance of spatial imagery and color choices in drawings of god. They will also learn about how the divine's emotional expression correlates to age, gender, and religiosity as well as strategies used by children who are prohibited from representing their god." (Publisher description)
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"Disputed Archival Heritage brings important new perspectives into the discourse on displaced archives. In contrast to shared or joint heritage framings, the book considers the implications of force, violence and loss in the displacement of archival heritage. With chapters from established and emerg
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ing scholars in the field of archival studies, Disputed Archival Heritage extends and enriches the conversation that started with the earlier volume, Displaced Archives. Advancing novel theories and methods for understanding disputes and claims over archives, the volume includes chapters that focus on Indigenous records in settler colonial states; literary and community archives; sub-national and private sector displacements; successes in repatriating formerly displaced archives; comparisons with cultural objects seized by colonial powers; and the relationship between repatriation and reparations. Analysing key concepts such as joint heritage and provenance, the contributors unsettle Western understandings of records, place and ownership." (Publisher description)
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"Al adentrarse en el estudio de las características psicológicas de los venezolanos, el principal rasgo que sobresale es su complejidad y la presencia de elementos aparentemente contradictorios en su seno. En el caso concreto de las dimensiones que conforman una condición de vulnerabilidad, algun
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as de las encontradas, como muy baja confianza interpersonal, afecto negativo con respecto al país, fuentes de estrés centrado en lo económico, malestar psicológico y físico, duelo, y dificultades de identificación y expresión de emociones, constituyen factores que contribuyen a ella. Al mismo tiempo, factores como percepción de bienestar subjetivo, satisfacción personal con la propia vida, sentido de control personal, apoyo social familiar, afrontamiento religioso, deseos de participación, habilidades cognitivas y bajos niveles de inadecuación social, funcionan como escudos psicológicos de defensa ante una mayor vulnerabilidad." (slides 35-36)
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"[...] El libro constituye el documento imprescindible para proyectar unos estudios de la comunicación indígena ya que nos cuenta de la historia conceptual habitada por la comunicación indígena para dar cuenta de “las reconfiguraciones de los sentidos en torno al ejercicio de los derechos a la
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comunicación”; las construcciones teóricas y metodológicas transdisciplinares para comprender la complejidad de los procesos y prácticas indígenas; la apuesta por la producción colaborativa de conocimientos, sentidos y narraciones basadas en los movimientos indígenas y las experiencias de comunicación; la demanda de derechos por parte de los pueblos indígenas y su articulación con el ejercicio de la comunicación; la presencia de académicos/as indígenas. Así mismo, el libro nos revela la agenda en la que la comunicación indígena se focaliza: los proyectos político-comunicacionales indígenas; los modos en que los activismos indígenas transitan y se configuran comunicativamente; la articulación entre las prácticas de comunicación y la política; las implicancias de la mediatización de la comunicación comunitaria local en los procesos de configuración de las respectivas comunidades; las luchas de los pueblos por lograr el reconocimiento y garantía de sus derechos a la comunicación; los discursos mediáticos hegemónicos en relación a los pueblos indígenas. Finalmente, este libro nos propone diversas teorías y modos de pensar la comunicación de y sobre lo indígena y, al hacerlo, nos da mucha de la bibliografía existente sobre el tema [...]" (Prólogo, página 9)
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"Based on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork, Ageing with Smartphones in Urban Chile analyses the experience of ageing for Peruvian migrants aged around 60, who have lived in Chile for over 20 years. Their lives are informed by a series of experiences of being in between. They live between two coun
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tries, two generations (their Peruvian parents and their Chilean children), two different stages in life (retained youth and menacing old age), between giving care (to their parents) and not wanting care (from their children) and between a continuing legacy (through their children, who have a promising future) and not transmitting legacy (some traditions will not pass on to the next generation). Peruvian migration has been one of the most studied in Chile. However, neither the experience of ageing of migrants in Chile nor the experience of late middle age has been fully addressed yet. By focusing on the entanglement of ageing, migration and technology, this monograph is an ethnographic contribution to an unexplored subject in the vast literature on migration studies in Chile." (Publisher description).
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"This book is the result of a conference that could not take place. It is a collection of 26 texts that address and discuss the latest developments in international hate speech research from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives. This includes case studies from Brazil, Lebanon, Poland, Nigeria,
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and India, theoretical introductions to the concepts of hate speech, dangerous speech, incivility, toxicity, extreme speech, and dark participation, as well as reflections on methodological challenges such as scraping, annotation, datafication, implicity, explainability, and machine learning. As such, it provides a much-needed forum for cross-national and cross-disciplinary conversations in what is currently a very vibrant field of research." (Back cover)
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"This document is a detailed report of best practices for the digital inclusion of speakers of endangered Indigenous languages. The proclamation of the period between 2022 and 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022-2032), as per Resolution A/RES/74/135 from United Nation
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s General Assembly, shines a spotlight on the issue and invites the world to pay more attention to the critical and fragile situation of many Indigenous languages. This document aims to provide a blueprint for the addition of Indigenous languages into software in order to aid digital inclusion efforts, and to provide a set of recommended steps to follow in order to successfully achieve it. As new generations of Indigenous people increase their literacy and use of technology, it is crucial that they are able to use their native language in digital formats to avoid the endangerment and loss of language. With the main goals of promoting the written form of a language in a natural vehicle such as technology, bringing awareness to the endangered Indigenous languages and working towards their survival, Motorola has open-sourced over 800,000 translated Indigenous words as of April 2023 through its official website, enabling other OEMs and companies to promote the languages through their interfaces and paving the way for broader use and revitalization efforts." (Introduction)
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