"The eight articles in the publication can be broadly grouped into two main sets. The first set discusses the different types of digital skills required from a more academic perspective, in particular in the context of the pandemic and post-pandemic period, as countries accelerate their move towards
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the digital transition. It also features an article that looks at a specific development sector – humanitarian assistance – and demonstrates how digital skills training can help communities affected by crisis. The second set of articles presents concrete examples, from countries in different regions, of digital skills initiatives, policies and programmes; and provides insights on lessons learned and recommendations on the way forward." (Page 4)
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"A clustered randomized trial in two states of India examines alternate strategies to reduce child marriage, increase girls' education and change gender attitudes. GPs were randomized into four treatment and one control group in a 1:1:1:2:2 ratio. The GP level intervention from November 2012 deliver
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ed to treatment groups i) A Full Package, comprising mass-media, training and community mobilization programs; ii) a Training Package comprising a combination of mass media and a training program at the block level; iii) a Community Mobilization Package comprising a combination of mass-media and a community mobilization program; iv) and an only Mass Media program. Data from 2,542 households seven years after the start of the program shows that the intervention made significant improvements in impact indicators on girls' education and incidence and age at marriage. As compared to the control GPs, the Full Package intervention increased the age at marriage for girls aged 13-25 on an average by 6.5 months and their education by 9 months. The Full Package also increased the percentage of girls enrolled in school by an additional 9% over the level that control group achieved (92% in Full Package vs 83% in Control Group). The program impacts were similar after controlling for stratification and other household and GP level characteristics.
We found that the intervention made an outcome indicator - gender attitudes - more progressive; GP with Full Package had a 0.407 standard deviation (equivalent to approximately 16%) higher gender attitude index than control GPs (p < 0.01). The measure of attitudes is an index of aggregated indices on gender equality, education, marriage, mobility and knowledge. Attitude change was larger for education and mobility indices. For example, the households in the Full Package had 0.26 and 0.33 standard deviations more positive attitude towards girls’ education and mobility than control GPs. We did not find any significant effect on attitudes pertaining to marriage and girl’s work and responsibility. There is little change in norms related to gender roles within the home and education has mostly been perceived as a vehicle for better management of the home, rather than for empowering women to work and be independent." (Summary)
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"Muslims in the Movies provides a series of essays that explore the portrayal and reception of Muslims in Euro-American film, transnational productions, and global national cinemas. The volume brings together a group of internationally recognized experts to introduce Muslims in the films of Europe,
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North America, Australia, Iran, Egypt, North Africa, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The interdisciplinary collection explores issues of identity, cultural production, and representation through the depiction of Muslims on screen and how audiences respond to these images. Together, the essays operate as an introduction to the subject of Muslims and film for new readers while also serving as new works of critical analysis for scholars of cinema." (Publisher description)
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"Salali and Uysal (2020) found in their study that vaccine acceptance significantly increased when people believe in the natural origin of the virus. Therefore, mis/disinformation and conspiracy theories about how the virus started need to be debunked, especially in countries having high vaccine hes
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itancy rates. Fact-checking agencies and independent fact-checkers have a major role to play. Banerjee et al. (2010) found in their study that providing incentives boosted immunization rates. This strategy is currently being applied in the COVID-19 vaccination drive [...] Government and health authorities should be aware of anti-vaccine campaigns and take necessary actions. Necessary services should be provided in areas with high illiteracy rates or poverty to help those people get vaccinated. Media needs to get better at reportage. Spreading the truth about the harmful effects of not taking COVID-19 vaccine can help in lowering vaccine hesitancy. Balance needs to be maintained in reporting incidents like deaths or side effects which might not be related to vaccines. Mis/disinformation spread on national media outlets about the virus or vaccine should be condemned. Boosting transparency and the spread of accurate and sufficient information related to the virus and vaccines can help in mitigating the peoples’ fears and doubts. Therefore, government needs to be more upfront in providing latest information about COVID-19 vaccines. Public concerns should be handled by public health authorities. Communication helpline should be developed where people can explain their fears and doubts about vaccines and gain insights on the situation. Religious and opinion leaders can help encourage their followers to get vaccinated. Policymakers and public health officials need to come up with targeted health communication strategies for subgroups with high vaccine hesitancy." (Conclusion, page 318)
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"Many Voices, Many Worlds: Critical Perspectives on Community Media in India is a critical reflection on governance and policymaking, development, disability, knowledge and other social markers in the context of community media. Bringing together different modes of community media—such as video, r
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adio, theatre, information and communication technologies (ICTs) and new media—into a productive conversation with each other, the book focuses on how communities through their communicative practices, negotiate the politics of caste, class, gender, and access to funding and technology." (Publisher description)
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"The media is considered to be of utmost importance in all phases of disasters, before, during and after, with different types of media having different proactive roles to play in disaster risk reduction. Before disasters, they play essential roles not only in bringing early warning to people but al
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so in enhancing their perception of the need to take action. At during- and post-disaster response recovery phases, community radio and social media are the key. These necessitate a resilient media infrastructure as the core of uninterrupted coverage. Media literacy has become an important issue for several stakeholders, including governments. In addition, more focus is placed on media governance to look at the priorities of disaster risk reduction initiatives within the media. All of these are considered to lead to trust in the media, which further improves people's disaster response actions based on information from the media, before and during disasters." (Publisher description)
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"The handbook is divided into five parts, each taking global developments in the field into account: Theoretical Reflections, Power and Authority Conflict, Radicalization and Populism, Dialogue and Peacebuilding, Trends. Within these sections, central issues, debates and developments are examined, i
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ncluding: religious and secular press; ethics; globalization; gender; datafication; differentiation; journalistic religious literacy; race, and religious extremism." (Publisher description)
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"The contents of this book deals with an overview of traditional folk media, characteristic elements of the study, empirical data of Jathara, Importance of Jathara as a medium of communication for the development of society. The analyzed the role of Jathara as a local and traditional mode of communi
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cation for rural development. In addition, it has portrayed the historical perspective of Raj Gonds' Nagobha Jathara as a conduit of communication and development, Paatha Pantala Jathara of Sangham women, Deccan Development Society, Zaheerabad region of Telangana State." (Back cover)
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"In this book, Patrick Colm Hogan sets out through close analysis and explication of culturally particular information about Indian history, Hindu metaphysics, Islamic spirituality, Sanskrit aesthetics, and other Indian traditions to provide necessary cultural contexts for understanding Indian films
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. Hogan analyzes eleven important films, using them as the focus to explore the topics of plot, theme, emotion, sound, and visual style in Indian cinema. These films draw on a wide range of South Asian cultural traditions and are representative of the greater whole of Indian cinema. By learning to interpret these examples with the tools Hogan provides, the reader will be able to take these skills and apply them to other Indian films. But this study is not simply culturalist. Hogan also takes up key principles from cognitive neuroscience to illustrate that all cultures share perceptual, cognitive, and emotional elements that, when properly interpreted, can help to bridge gaps between seemingly disparate societies. Hogan locates the specificity of Indian culture in relation to human universals, and illustrates this cultural-cognitive synthesis through his detailed interpretations of these films." (Publisher description)
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"The journalists’ right to perform their watchdog role and to do their routine jobs without fear of being killed, kidnapped, harassed, and attacked is a topic of utmost importance for freedom of the media and freedom of expression. However, in the past decade, journalists’ killings across the gl
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obe indicate that journalism is no more a safe profession. Noticeably, the Asia-Pacific region is the third worst violator of media freedom in the world. While the level of media freedom and journalists’ safety is not better in the Middle East and the North African regions, the Asia-Pacific region stands out because it is home to the two of the top ten worst countries for journalists’ killings over the past 25 years, namely: Pakistan and India. Therefore, drawing on the system theory, this study aims to investigate the journalists’ lived experiences of diverse safety risks in Pakistan and India. To accomplish this aim, this study uses the qualitative methods of document reviews and in-depth interviews. Besides, this study uses thematic analysis to analyse the gathered data. The analyses of journalists’ lived experiences of safety risks reveal a stark systemic failure to protect them and safeguard their right to freedom of expression in these two countries." (Abstract)
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"Internet shutdowns have occurred in India for several reasons, mainly to hinder the spreading of information through social media - this is discussed in detail along with political motives behind this and how this can conflict with government policies, such as the flagship program "Digital India" w
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hich is ostensibly meant to improve the infrastructure and expansion of digital information throughout the country. This book suggests new dimensions in the digital spatiality. Furthermore, the digital space is defined and discussed, including its role and how this might be reflected in concepts around spatiality and spaces. More concretely, the book considers the following questions: How is social media reflected in spatial sciences? How does the space differ from more tangible spaces, such as the hydrosphere or atmosphere? How do (computer/mobile phone) screens behave as a space/place in the context of behavioural sciences? How is this reflected in what is shaping and reshaping the spatiality of digital gadgets? Do digital gadgets change the socialization process that's often considered a path towards how we develop in society? How do internet shutdowns affect the political economy and what patterns can be seen in how individuals, companies and the internet industry in particular react to these shutdowns in India?" (Publisher description)
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"Featuring contributions from a diverse range of internationally-recognized experts and practitioners, this timely volume discusses recent developments in the field in the context of related scholarship, public policy, formal and non-formal teaching and learning, and DIY and community practice. Offe
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ring a truly global perspective, the Handbook focuses on empirical work from Media and Information Literacy (MIL) practitioners from around the world. The book’s five parts explore global youth cultures and the media, trans-media learning, media literacy and scientific controversies, varying national approaches to media research, media education policies, and much more." (Publisher description)
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"This year's report reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a YouGov survey of over 92,000 online news consumers in 46 markets including India, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Colombia and Peru for the first time. The report looks at the impact of coronavirus on news consumption a
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nd on the economic prospects for publishers. It looks at progress on new paid online business models, trust and misinformation, local news, impartiality and fairness in news coverage." (Overview)
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"This book features pathbreaking analysis from journalists and academics of the changing nature and peril of media capture - how formerly independent institutions fall under the sway of governments, plutocrats, and corporations. Contributors including Emily Bell, Felix Salmon, Joshua Marshall, Joel
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Simon, and Nikki Usher analyze diverse cases of media capture worldwide, many drawn from firsthand experience. They examine the role played by new media companies and funders, showing how the confluence of the growth of big tech and falling revenues for legacy media has led to new forms of control. Contributions also shed light on how the rise of right-wing populists has catalyzed the crisis of global media. They also chart a way forward, exploring the growing need for a policy response and sustainable models for public-interest investigative journalism." (Publisher description)
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"Definitions of impunity regarding crimes against journalists have thus far been too narrow. Therefore, we propose a new approach to understanding impunity as also being grounded in journalists’ lived reality and perceptions to better understand the complexity and breadth of impunity. It is based
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on the findings obtained through a set of semi-structured interviews with 40 editors and senior journalists in five countries and expressed in a new typology of impunity. We argue that what we call the ‘Politics of Impunity’ is a policy of governance whereby impunity is used as a political tool by the state and state-sponsored actors to achieve journalistic self-censorship. This is done through the deliberate deprivation of private autonomy brought about by the enforced exile of journalists into a ‘space of exception’ where they are both within and beyond the law. The exercise of the ‘Politics of Impunity’ in an increasing number of states creates an environment that only allows for politically compliant journalism." (Abstract)
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"This 3rd edition maps the new world of Investigative Journalism, where technology and globalisation have connected and energized journalists, whistle-blowers and the latest players, with far-reaching consequences in politics and business worldwide. In this new edition, expert contributors demonstra
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te how crowdsourcing, big data, globalization of information and changes in media ownership and funding have escalated the impact of investigative journalists. The book includes case studies of investigative journalism from around the world including the exposure of EU corruption, destruction of the Malaysian environment, and investigations in China, Poland and Turkey. From Ibero-America to Nigeria, India to the Arab world, investigative journalists intensify their countries' evolution by inquisition and revelation. This new edition reveals how investigative journalism has gone digital and global." (Publisher description)
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"In 2017, following the #MeToo movement stirred by the public outing of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, the safety of women at the workplace became a prime agenda for international news media. Although far from being truly inclusive, the #MeToo movement rapidly spread to other parts of the worl
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d. Women of different nationalities, backgrounds, and race shared their stories of abuse and survival using the #MeToo hashtag and its variants. In 2018, women within the news media industry in India joined the movement and called out prominent editors, filmmakers, and artists on social media for perpetrating and abetting acts of sexual harassment and abuse against them. As an immediate result, several accused were made to resign from their organizations and dropped from prestigious public posts. However, a backlash to the movement followed soon after, most evidently in the form of victim-shaming and defamation lawsuits against women. Based on the theory of epistemic advantage, the study explores the perception of sexual harassment among journalists in India using in-depth interviews." (Abstract)
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"Social media technology is having a dramatic impact on social and political dynamics around the world. The contributors to this book document and illustrate this "techtonic" shift on violent conflict and democratic processes. They present vivid examples and case studies from countries in Africa, So
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uth and Southeast Asia, Latin America as well as Northern Ireland. Each author maps an array of peacebuilding solutions to social media threats, including coordinated action by civil society, governments and tech companies to protect human minds, relationships and institutions. Solutions presented include inoculating society with a new digital literacy agenda, designing technology for positive social impacts, and regulating technology to prohibit the worst behaviours." (Publisher description)
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"Starting from the assumption that media play a crucial role for populist discourses of authenticity, the volume moves beyond conventional and social media by expanding its focus to media in formal education, notably school textbooks and curricula. These two particular media formats lastingly shape
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younger generations and thus the future. The proposed volume adopts global perspectives from three postcolonial countries that are often beyond the scope of studies dealing with populist discourses and media entanglements - insights that contribute new aspects to international scholarly debates." (Publisher description)
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