"Through the methodological framework of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), the report measures the extent to which 144 economies, from both the developed and developing worlds, take advantage of ICTs and other new technologies to increase their growth and well-being. The NRI identifies the most r
...
elevant factors driving ICT readiness and impacts, providing policymakers, business leaders, and civil society at large with a useful tool for designing national strategies for increased networked readiness and for benchmarking their country’s performance against other relevant comparators. The Global Information Technology Report 2013 features the latest computation and rankings of the NRI, and in referring to this year’s theme, dives deeper into the connection between ICTs and economic growth and job creation. As in previous years, it also showcases a number of ICT development stories of particular interest. In addition, the report includes detailed profiles for the 144 economies covered this year together with data tables for each of the 54 indicators used in the computation of the NRI." (Back cover)
more
"Out of the twelve countries surveyed, only four have specific access to information laws. These countries are: Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe. However, a significant indication of the shifting tide on the continent is that six of the countries surveyed have some form of specific access to
...
information in a Bill or parliamentary process. These countries are: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia." (Page 5)
more
"A practical guide for journalists practising in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. The handbook not only contains a comprehensive overview of applicable media laws for each country reviewed, it also contains suggestions on possible law reforms to improve
...
the protection of media in these countries." (Publisher description)
more
"This thesis operates from the observation that "Decolonising the Mind", i.e. a cultural decolonisation process, was needed after the independence of African countries to support and flesh out political decolonisation. Culture, as shown, played a major role in the mobilisation of support for nationa
...
list movements, but after independence nationalist culture was just one among many. In both cases presented here, the most pressing issue after political independence was how to deal with the different identities that had previously existed and were onyl partially cushioned by political and cultural nationalism. Now that the political kingdom had been attained, the different language, cultural and political groups started to ask questions about their place in this kingdom. Although many politicians shared the idea that "once you have a national identity, the question of culture becomes something which flows automatically", it soon turned out to be misguided. Media and education were seen to be the major tools in "decolonising the mind". However, a close analysis of the electronic media in the two cases presented here shows that the policies for promoting national unity in programmes were largely ineffective. Instead, radio programmes, both before and after independence, provided a space to negotiate issues of national identity. This space was sometimes more, sometimes less restricted, but listeners used it as much as they could.
Colonial media had, for all their focus on political control and censorship, accompanied and mediated social change. As described, this happened specifically in cultural programmes, where broadcasters were much freer in their work. However, Northern Rhodesian media were supposed to work as a catalyst to further the process of modernisation, and to help its listeners come to terms with the transition from being 'traditional' to becoming 'modern' Africans. In the Apartheid broadcasting system, culture was used consciously to construct a specific 'ethnic' identity, emphasising cultural traditions of the different language groups. But while the intentions were different, both broadcasting institutions were at the centre of negotiating ideas of tradition and modernity.
Both were also established because there was a need to legitimate the respective political system. Be it the Central African Federation or a 'democratic' "South West Africa/ Namibia", the political models promoted by the authorities could not just be imposed on the people. The radios were established to give reality to these constructs, to make listeners identify with a social, political and cultural space that had been defined by colonial authorities. As shown, colonial ideologies not only surfaced in obvious propaganda programmes but also significantly determined the technical and managerial setup of the stations. While radio infrastructure was formed and reformed to structure that space – by linking three territories with different political and social power structures or, following Apartheid ideology, by assigning each language group their own space according to the homeland system – culturally as well as geographically. As shown, infrastructure mirrored the proposed political models, not just in its technical aspects (i.e., the stations' footprints, transmitting posts and frequencies), but also in management structure. As the Federal Broadcasting Services were subdivided in European and African Services, respectively catering for the whole White or Black population of all three territories, the South West African Broadcasting Corporation separated first Black and White, then subdivided the three Departments in the several language Services, each broadcasting to the designated "homeland". This infrastructure not only formed the whole process of programme production and reception but was also part of it as it imparted ideological considerations. The first order of business for independent countries was therfore to restructure the radio according to the needs of the new nations." (Conclusion, page 274-275)
more
"The Report is composed of four thematic parts. Part 1 describes the conceptual framework and relates the findings of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2012. In addition, Part 1 features selected expert contributions on the general theme of hyperconnectivity. Part 2 includes two case studies showi
...
ng the efforts that two countries, Azerbaijan and Mauritius, are making to develop ICT and fully leverage their potential benefits. Part 3 comprises detailed profiles for the 142 economies covered in this year’s Report, providing a thorough picture of each economy’s current networked readiness landscape and allowing for international comparisons of specific variables or components of the NRI. Part 4 includes data tables for each of the 53 variables composing the NRI, with rankings for the economies covered as well as technical notes and sources for the quantitative variables used." (Executive summary, page xi)
more
"Medien und Religionen: ein brisantes Thema, das bisher nur unzureichend bearbeitet ist. Dabei ist spätestens seit dem 11. September 2001, seit den heftigen Auseinandersetzungen um die Mohammed-Karikaturen und dem Streit um das provokante Buch von Thilo Sarrazin deutlich, wie sehr Bilder und Videos
...
in Fernsehen und Internet, Zeitungsnachrichten und nicht zuletzt sensationell aufgemachte Bücher die Vorstellungen der Religionen und Kulturen voneinander mitbestimmen. Es ist häufig ein sehr problematisches und einseitiges Bild, das da medial vermittelt wird. Zum anderen haben die Religionen von jeher mit Medien, mit Bildern, Klängen, Schriften und Symbolen zu tun. Sie haben lange und reiche Traditionen im Ringen um einen menschenfreundlichen, lebensförderlichen Umgang mit Medien in einem weiten Sinn. Insofern lassen sich von den Religionen auch Impulse für die Humanisierung unserer Medienkultur erwarten. Beide Perspektiven wurden auf dem X. Nürnberger Forum verfolgt und in ihren Konsequenzen für religiöse und kulturelle Bildung bedacht. Expertinnen und Experten aus Theologie und Religionswissenschaft, Human- und Sozialwissenschaften, allgemeiner Pädagogik, Medienpädagogik und Religionspädagogik, aus Politik und öffentlichen Medien, aus Europa, Amerika, Afrika und Asien und aus allen großen Religionstraditionen referierten und diskutierten zu den vier Themenbereichen - Die Darstellung der Religionen in den öffentlichen Medien - Bilderverbot/Bilderkult: Das Bild und andere Medien in ihrer Bedeutung für die Religionen - Medienethik im Kontext religiöser Pluralität - Medien und interreligiöses / interkulturelles Lernen. In einem ergänzenden Symposium wurden – basierend auf dem Nürnberg-Rostocker Forschungsprojekt „Die Darstellung des Christentums in Schulbüchern islamisch geprägter Länder“ – Standards für interreligiöse Schulbuchforschung und -entwicklung erarbeitet, die Autorenteams, Verlagen und Kultusbehörden weitergegeben werden." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
more
"There is abundant evidence of underrepresentation of women as subjects of coverage, but until now there were no reliable, comprehensive data on which to make a clear determination about where women currently fit into the news-making operation or in the decision-making or ownership structure of thei
...
r companies. The IWMF Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media seeks to fill this gap by presenting for the first time sound data on gender positions in news organizations around the world [...] The findings presented in this report, conducted over a two-year period, offer the most complete picture to date of women’s status globally in news media ownership, publishing, governance, reporting, editing, photojournalism, broadcast production and other media jobs. More than 150 researchers interviewed executives at more than 500 companies in 59 nations using a 12-page questionnaire." (Introduction)
more
"L'Afrique dans son ensemble : 28 chapitres présentant le continent par rapport au reste du monde. Tous les aspects de la géographie physique : relief, hydrographie, climat, végétation, et aussi l'histoire, les religions, les langues. L'Afrique par régions. Les cartes de localisation avec visua
...
lisation géopolitique aisée, toponymie française et toponymie des Nations unies, indexation. L'Afrique pays par pays. Par ordre alphabétique les cinquante-quatre Etats du continent et les territoires dépendants (La Réunion, Mayotte, Ceuta et Melilla, etc...) - Nombreuses cartes illustrant : relief, hydrographie, agriculture, pêche et élevage, commerce, industries et ressources du sous-sol." (Description de la maison d'édition)
more
"The study found that, in their struggle to generate the income for day-to-day running costs, stations become detached from their communities, and end up competing - usually unsuccessfully - with better-resourced commercial broadcasters. The solution, the study suggests, is to invest in strengthenin
...
g community participation, rather than diluting this vital ingredient in a bid to save money, as has tended to be the case, particularly when donor funding dries up." (fesmedia website)
more
"This publication was created to serve two purposes: Firstly, it aims to provide a thorough review of the status quo of the Namibian media system. Secondly, it is the first study to apply the theory of the European-focused news value research tradition to Namibian media. Aside from literature and on
...
line research, in-depth interviews with media representatives were conducted and questionnaires distributed amongst Namibian journalists and media students in 2009." (Introduction, page 9)
more
"This article has evolved from the author's continuing relationship, as a broadcaster and trainer, with two so-Called community radio stations. One is a community station according to accepted definitions of the global community radio movement, and the other is an example of community radio in a pub
...
lic service environment. Both, the article argues, fail their communities through being too closely associated with the norms and practices that have shifted radio from the sphere of material to the sphere of broadcast, with all that such a move entails in terms of business practices, political intervention (ideological and authoritarian), censorship and essentialist notions of identity and consensus. Through an examination of the concept of community and the exploration of the two radio stations as case studies, the article argues that only radio as art can fully articulate the community voice and go some way to answering the questions as to who is speaking for whom, why and with what consequences." (Abstract)
more