"The situation of freedom of expression online in Indonesia affirms that Indonesia is shifting further from human rights and democracy. This is not much different from the situation in other countries in Southeast Asia which seem to be competing to be the worst in human rights and democracy. The shr
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inking space for democracy for civil society has the potential to make conditions worse because the state is difficult to be monitored and be reminded in protecting human rights, especially freedom of expression. Indonesia actually has quite a number of regulations that protect freedom of expression online or offline from laws to the constitution. However, there are still laws that restrict freedom of expression online, such as the Criminal Code, the ITE Law, the State Flag and Symbol Law and the Pornography Law. There is also a threat in the future if the Criminal Code Bill is passed because not only it will maintain articles that are often used to criminalise freedom of expression but it will also revive articles that have been revoked by the Constitutional Court. Apart from the legal substance that limits freedom of expression online, there are also problems in the application of the law. The application of treason and the ITE Law against Papuan activists and the application hate speech against human rights activists are some examples. The article on hate speech, which should be a tool to protect minority and vulnerable groups, is instead used to attack activists because law enforcement officials interpret all kinds of criticism or dislike as hate speech. Attacks on freedom of expression in Indonesia are increasingly diverse. Initially, attacks on freedom of expression online were generally related to slander, defamation and blasphemy but now it has expanded to treason articles, hate speech and spreading fake news. It is made worse by the presence of doxing, buzzing, bullying, hacking, blocking and shutting down the internet in a certain area." (Summary and conclusion, page 25-26)
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"It may be observed that, first, at the level of public perception, government actions to restrict free speech are often preceded by statements criticizing the media and foreshadowing a penalty or sanction, which are actually directed to the public and not the media, as if to prime the latter on the
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acceptability of the planned restrictions. The president and his personnel routinely come up with fresh allegations, repeated over time, to discredit journalists and the media, which, in a social media environment crowded with ‘trolls’ and which is at the mercy of algorithms, may be deeply reinforced by echo chambers and confirmation bias. Second, to justify the implementation of legal restrictions, law personnel take a very liberal interpretation of laws, which just straggles the line between what is allowable and what is not (the idea of “continuing publication”; vagueness in the terms “public interest,” “spreading panic or fear,” etc.) thereby allowing the interpretation a degree of legitimacy, since it not entirely wrong and is subjective. Third, freedom of expression is not the only battlefront, so to speak, as evinced by government’s reexaminations of corporate registrations, licenses, permits, and franchises of media entities. At their core, media entities are corporations and journalists are mostly employees (if not contributors) and in that context, there is space for government agencies to nitpick on documents submitted to their offices as part of regulatory compliance, and prepare in advance legal arguments based on records under their custody." (Summary and conclusion, page 40)
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"This book provides empirical accounts to understand the situatedness of open data along the following themes: 1) open data practices; 2) the local implementation of global trends; and 3) open data ecosystems. Many chapters in this volume simultaneously address several of these themes. The thematic
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grouping of chapters is an attempt to foreground salient questions for open data research. In addition, the book covers country-specific, localised applications of open data with a few chapters explicitly focusing on how open government data initiatives unfold within different socio-political contexts. The geographical scope of the contributions spans four continents, providing insights on open data practices in Europe (Kosovo, Belgium, United Kingdom), Africa (Nigeria, Tanzania), Asia (Indonesia, the Philippines), and Latin America (Paraguay, Brazil)." (Introduction, page viii)
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"This report provides an overview of media consumption from the perspectives of selected media practitioners in Cambodia and highlights some of the key communication tools, products, materials, and platforms they have used to reach their respective target audiences. This report maps trends across bo
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th traditional and digital media platforms. It describes how Cambodian media practitioners use different media platforms to reach and inform their target audiences. It also looks at how different media platforms, tools, and ideas can be used to engage Cambodian citizens, especially youth, on environment-related topics. The aim is to encourage active involvement in environmental issues. The findings reveal that digital platforms, especially Facebook, have become increasingly popular in recent years. According to the Media Mapping Report, in 2019, key digital media usage was as follows: 87 percent of Cambodians own a mobile phone; 12.5 million were active Internet users (out of a population of 16.4 M); 8.4 million were active social media users; 8.3 million were active Facebook users. Video is the top communication tool that the organizations used to reach specific audiences through storytelling and social media. The findings indicate that targeted media campaigns are the most effective communication and outreach initiatives, followed by celebration of special events, in which video is an effective tool. These campaigns and videos are delivered using Facebook, which is the top social media platform used to reach specific audiences, followed by YouTube and Instagram. The report found that news programs still attract large audiences on TV and radio. Hang Meas is the toprated TV station, followed by PNN and CTN, while ABC ranges among the top programs, followed by RFI/WMC and Vayo respectively. Based on this media mapping exercise, the team found that the USAID Cambodia Green Future Activity should employ an inclusive approach that involves target audiences – whether youth or the broader public – in all phases including design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the project reaches its objectives and goal. Development partners should explore multi-stakeholder strategies to implement project or campaign activities by using multi-platform approaches, such as using a mix of social and traditional channels to optimize reach and impact." (Executive summary)
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"The findings from the study represent a mixed bag. There is much to celebrate—improved quality of life, enhanced productivity owing to factors such as reduced commute time, and, at scale, the evident reduction of the pollution load on the planet. Further, it sheds light on the possibility that gi
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ven the right policy and incentive regimes, telecommuting will enable many more to engage in the productive economy—including those who currently do not participate in the workforce owing to caregiving or other such responsibilities. But there are areas of concern. As ‘leaving for work’ morphed into ‘living at work,’ working hours stretched, and lines between worktime and downtime blurred. A matter of great concern was that inequality manifests itself in yet newer forms—the poor fared far worse than middle- and upper-income earners, taking hits not only on incomes, but also in lacking the wherewithal to participate in the online economy." (Foreword)
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"The digital divide in rural areas is an important social issue, especially in developing countries. Although Internet and broadband penetration have increased in the world generally, there are many obstacles for rural China to get access to ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and its ser
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vices. The mobile platform is regarded as a novel and effective tool to reduce the digital divide. Based on a case of one mobile platform, namely WeCountry in Chinese rural areas, this study illustrates how a mobile platform bridges the digital divide and helps rural areas achieve social inclusion. Results show that: (1) the mobile platform mainly acts on the digital capability divide elimination, and it has to guide and increase users’ usage capability; (2) the mobile platform can empower villagers in structural, psychological, and resource dimensions, achieving political inclusion, social participation inclusion, and economic inclusion; (3) platform providers and government are key organizations during the divide elimination process. This paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications." (Abstract)
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"The authors contributing to this book do not mean to provide solutions to the pandemic. We mean only to offer resources, based on our studies and experiences, to help our readers to better cope with situations resulting from this crisis, and to assure you that even in the darkest moments of humanit
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y our faith is not hopeless. The aim and purpose of this book transcends the conventions of scholarship. It pertains to faith and humanity, not industry." (Page 7)
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"In every disaster, problems of information and communication distribution always occur. The communication channel is very dependent on various supporting facilities. Electricity, transmitter towers, broadcasting stations, to human resources. In two big disasters in Indonesia in 2018: the Lombok ear
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thquake; and the earthquake, tsunami and liquefaction in Palu, there were issues of the information and communication channels. Local people do not know the conditions that occur in their area and the situation of their families. While outsiders, the government, and rescue teams did not get detailed information from the affected areas. In countries with high intensity of natural disasters, emergency broadcasting policies have been long practiced. The simplest device for emergency broadcasting is radio. This kind of media can immediately air with simple facilities. Regardless, the initiative of emergency radio has not yet adopted into regulation in Indonesia. Therefore, the emergency radio initiator limited to a handful of organization like in Lombok earthquake"
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"The documentary dalan ba dame was produced by the East Timorese Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (Comissao de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliaao de Timor-Leste, CAVR) and covers the twenty-four years of Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste, during which nearly one quarter of the
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population died. The CAVR was originally set up to produce a report about the human rights violations committed between April 25, 1975, and October 25, 1999, analyze its root causes, and identify ways of how to come to terms with the violent past. It therefore constitutes an instrument of transitional justice, defined as “a set of practices, mechanisms, and concerns that arise following a period of conflict, civil strife, or repression and that are aimed directly at confronting and dealing with past violations of human rights and humanitarian law.”1 As the same institution produced both media, the report about the human rights violations and the documentary, one should expect them to communicate the same message. However, this is not the case. The report emphasizes the need to prosecute individual members of the Indonesian military for the human rights violations committed as a precondition for sustainable peace. The documentary tells the story that peace already prevails and keeping it is a matter of reconciliation among the East Timorese population. Consequently, the case of the CAVR and its documentary is interesting for research on visuality, which analyzes the dynamics and effects of visuals in social and political processes." (Introduction)
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"The challenge in evaluating China’s foreign aid has always been the unavailability of reliable data sets. This study constitutes the first analysis of the AidData data set from a communication network perspective. It examines China’s development aid to Africa in the ICT sector from 2000 to 2014
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. Combining data mapping, network modeling, and regression, it uncovers general trends of aid allocation, central players, and collaboration patterns among aid agencies. The results demonstrate the variability in the distribution of China’s foreign assistance to 44 African countries. In particular, African countries with less population, worse economic development, but higher oil rents are more likely to receive ICT aid from China. This study also finds that aid implementation is less likely to occur through collaboration within the same sector or between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private companies. This research reveals nuanced geometries of aid with “Chinese characteristics” that move beyond the extractive “Angola model” or the mutual benefits model. These findings provide implications on how Chinese telecommunication companies are shaping Africa’s digital future." (Abstract)
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"This paper offers a big-picture analysis of the Chinese Digital Silk Road’s (DSR) three most strategically pressing implications for the EU and India. It does so by analysing the DSR’s global progress and specific impacts in Europe and South Asia. The three implications are: a) the creation of
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a full-fledged Chinese digital backbone; b) the setting of technological standards in the unfolding Fourth Industrial Revolution; and c) the shaping of cyber governance, norms, and a ‘digital experience’ with ‘Chinese characteristics’. While immediate DSR impact is currently more ubiquitous outside the EU and India, it will substantially influence the global digital order as well. The DSR offers countries involved in the initiative with economic opportunities, and can, if harnessed smartly, assist in enabling a more level playing field with advanced economies. Equally, it also poses challenges. From the EU and Indian economic and security points of view, neither can afford to ignore the DSR, or be reactionary in policy responses. For both, addressing emerging digital realities will require a long-term multi-pronged vision, and greater collaboration among like-minded states." (Abstract)
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"This research investigates the types of environmental issues represented in Malaysian newspapers and Environmental Non-Government Organisation (ENGO) newsletters and examines the factors in the selection of stories by both social actors. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on 2050 environ
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mental articles in The Star and Utusan Malaysia newspapers, together with the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) and Malaysian Nature Society’s (MNS) newsletters from 2012-2014. A total of 13 people from The Star and Utusan Malaysia, and 11 from the WWF and MNS were chosen for in-depth interview sessions. The study showed that the methods of choosing environmental information for newspapers and newsletters were slightly different. The ENGOs gave more attention to environmental effort topics like sustainable living while the media focused on more environmental problems like floods. The study also found that the Malaysian media and ENGOs shared some criteria for selecting environmental issues, especially proximity, timeliness and impact." (Abstract)
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"Divisive Internet regulation is fragmenting the formerly worldwide web into numerous shards that follow their own rules. The US, the EU and China are influential in shaping regulation even beyond their own jurisdictions, with consequences for human rights, particularly in Africa. This paper argues
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that, as of 2020, the Western post-9/11 security agenda and uncontrolled digital capitalism had a more detrimental impact on Internet regulation in Africa than the authoritarian Chinese concept of Internet sovereignty, seriously affecting freedom of expression and the right to privacy online. However, particularly authoritarian governments in Africa use China’s economic and political agenda to their advantage, leaving civil societies at the mercy of digitally empowered states. Direct ways of impacting Internet regulation in Africa include loans, development programs or influential laws, whereas indirect means include engagement in multilateral and multi-stakeholder fora. Besides the political and economic interests of states, the datafication agendas of ICT corporations shape Internet landscapes in Africa. An emerging data protection framework pushed by the EU has the potential to mitigate their impact. Other means of protecting human rights require a united approach by the African Union and a deconstruction of digital capitalism and dependence relations between African states and the Global North." (Abstract)
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"The article explores Christian missionary radio broadcasting as part of a wider sonic colonization of the Philippines under US colonial rule. Specifically, I explore how some post-Second World War faith-based broadcasters shaped the listening practices of Filipino audiences through programming tact
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ics such as blocktiming. Furthermore, I consider how missionary broadcasters cultivated direct relationships with listeners through the imagined ‘shared experiences’ of aural space. As a case study, I explore the activities of the US-based Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC), which began its operations in the Philippines in 1948. Since then, the organization has used the country as a hub for its expanding domestic and international radio network, which now includes broadcasts to South East Asia, China and other parts of the world. In addition to exploring how FEBC’s localized approach to programming has cultivated specific listening audiences, I explore how programmes have been received by listeners in the Philippines, many of whom continue to tune in via terrestrial radio." (Abstract)
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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 inincome. This is, though, significantly greater than the 40-60% decline that media companies MDIF is working with elsewhere around the world have experienced. 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." (Introduction)
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"Due to the fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Rohingya militant group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in August 2017, hundreds of thousands of stateless Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh. The Myanmar Army was accused of committing torture, atrocities, arson and gang-rapes against the
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Rohingya Muslims during its operations to wipe out the ARSA. When covering this conflict, Myanmar journalists faced criticism from international media and monitoring groups that most of their stories were one-sided and lacked multiple voices. To discover which barriers have impeded Myanmar journalists in their reporting, I conducted in-depth interviews with 17 reporters and editors from 10 media outlets and also drew from my own experiences during 14 years as a Myanmar journalist. The analysis of interviews showed that journalists faced restricted access to the conflict area, limited cooperation from the government and the army, pressures from local Rakhine people, difficulty accessing Rohingya Muslims, barriers in the verification processes, personal safety concerns, and ethical dilemmas. The results suggested that as long as freedom of press is restrained and safety of messengers is threatened, journalists will find it hard to practice peace journalism or conflict sensitive journalism to the fullest. In addition, as previous studies on conflict reporting suggest, this study also revealed that some journalists favored what they believed to be in the national interest whenever they found themselves in an ethical dilemma." (Abstract)
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"This report compares the impact of legislation in countries with multiparty legislatures and independent government institutions, and countries with one dominant political force and an absence of independent national institutions. It finds that in the former countries, provisions are included to sa
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feguard human rights and democratic practices, in particular freedom of expression, whilst international conventions are adhered to and aligned with human rights principles. In contrast, the latter countries place the authority of the state at the centre of dis-information laws, and their interpretation of what constitutes fake news is often vaguely-worded. To address these issues, a set of recommendations are prescribed to governments in the region to adhere to the international obligations, set up independent institutions, ensure multi-stakeholder collaboration, and seek expert advise the conditions to regard when implementing national legislation, policies and practices." (Abstract, page 61)
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