"As only Japanese comics output has received close and by now voluminous scrutiny, Asian Comics tells the story of the major comics creators outside of Japan. Lent covers the nations and regions of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philipp
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ines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Organized by regions of East, Southeast, and South Asia, Asian Comics provides 178 black and white illustrations and detailed information on comics of sixteen countries and regions – their histories, key creators, characters, contemporary status, problems, trends, and issues. One chapter harkens back to predecessors of comics in Asia, describing scrolls, paintings, books, and puppetry with humorous tinges, primarily in China, India, Indonesia, and Japan." (Publisher website)
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"This study is based on the Intended Outcomes Needs Assessment (IONA) methodology and assesses the changing relationships between media and conflict in Myanmar. Findings reveal a deeply rooted, intractable, and dynamic conflict landscape. Analysis focuses on three key conflicts: citizen-state, ethni
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c, and intercommunal. The developing media environment has been a central feature of the transition. The range of outlets for information sharing and the diversity and reach of content are expanding rapidly. Radio has a significant influence in ethnic and conflict-affected areas. Television does as well, especially in urban areas. New media freedoms are supporting peaceful transition but are also causing harm. Certain initiatives are needed to monitor and counter hate speech online and leverage social media and online mechanisms to advance social norms that support peaceful coexistence and tolerance." (Summary)
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"This research presents a picture of a public in Burma that, to varying degrees, lacks knowledge, confidence, motivation and opportunity to participate in governance processes and make their voices heard. However, the study provides objective evidence that a relationship exists between people’s me
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dia access and their level of citizen engagement. Access to public service oriented media increases the likelihood of being formally engaged rather than disengaged. Even when accounting for those characteristics that can act as barriers for the individual to engage in governance processes – being female, being poor and living in rural areas – the effect of media on engagement is significant." (Key findings)
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"The paper synthesises findings from quantitative and qualitative data from across African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries. The second section draws on baseline data from Bangladesh, Burma, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories and Sierra Leone to explore the media and governance contex
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ts in the countries where we work. The third part then summarises what we are learning about who is being reached by BBC Media Action interventions. The fourth section, firstly, reports regression analysis conducted on baseline data from Sierra Leone and midline data from Kenya to build up evidence on the impact of debate and discussion programmes on audiences’ political knowledge and participation. Then findings are presented from a qualitative study assessing how Nigerian drama Story Story is promoting dialogue as a means of reducing conflict. Comparing findings across countries is helping us to learn more about the governance and media contexts in which we work and inform programming. A first glance at key governance outcomes across countries attests to the centrality of country context in shaping how political knowledge, discursive participation, political participation and interest in politics relate to each other. Disaggregating these outcomes by demographic variables underlines the importance of gender in structuring them, with women reporting lower levels of political knowledge and interest in politics, and discussing and participating in politics less than men. However, disaggregating political participation by income reveals less consistent results: in Nigeria and Bangladesh, those with more resources are more likely to participate, whereas in Kenya and Sierra Leone, those with more resources and less likely to participate." (Executive summary)
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"This report: 1. Defines “information ecosystems” and proposes an analytic framework of eight critical dimensions for understanding them; 2. Analyzes information ecosystems across a spectrum of change and their impact on resilience, referencing four case studies of Internews’ previous work [In
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stability and Underdevelopment in Fata, Pakistan; East Japan Earthquake 2011; Myanmar's Democratization and Opening; Three Environmental Disasters in Indonesia]; 3. Shares insights from the Jakarta Information Ecosystems pilot, which investigated the relevance of information ecosystems to communities living in chronically flood-prone environments; and 4. Reveals the utility of an information ecosystems approach and highlights preliminary conclusions on why information matters for resilience." (Page 2)
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"Transversal dissent by communities whose actions and identities are no longer primarily state centric but, rather, have shifted to cross identity boundaries is one of the most important developments for understanding how politics is being transformed today. Burmese media groups, political activists
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, migrants, and refugees, while challenging the state of Myanmar and, at times, the sovereign state power of host states, have not yet been openly challenging the state system itself. In fact, they generally desire to rebuild a community within such a sovereign state system. Yet, the work of activists in exile offers insights into "the intrinsically co-Constitutive relation between the 'informal' and the 'formal' political spaces and how they transform each other" (O'Kane 2006)." (Concluding thoughts, page 158-159)
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"Using case studies from countries such as Burma, Mexico and Uganda, the study explores whether the use of technology in citizen participation programs amplifies citizen voices and increases government responsiveness and accountability, and whether the use of digital technology increases the politic
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al clout of citizens. The research shows that while more people are using technology—such as social media for mobile organizing, and interactive websites and text messaging systems that enable direct communication between constituents and elected officials or crowdsourcing election day experiences— the type and quality of their political participation, and therefore its impact on democratization, varies. It also suggests that, in order to leverage technology’s potential, there is a need to focus on non-technological areas such as political organizing, leadership skills and political analysis." (NDI website)
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"Internet freedom around the world has declined for the fourth consecutive year, with a growing number of countries introducing online censorship and monitoring practices that are simultaneously more aggressive and more sophisticated in their targeting of individual users. In a departure from the pa
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st, when most governments preferred a behind-the-scenes approach to internet control, countries are rapidly adopting new laws that legitimize existing repression and effectively criminalize online dissent." (Page 1)
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"For the third consecutive year in a row, the Myanmar Media Development Conference, a unique multi-partner, multi-stakeholder enterprise, gathered government officials, journalists, media owners, editors, reporters, NGOs, local, regional and international organisations for discussions on the status
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and way forward of media development in Myanmar in the year gone by. The theme of the conference was ‘Moving Towards a Sustainable Media Environment’ and in constructive and dynamic discussions, Myanmar media stakeholders debated the current status and way forward for the Myanmar media environment three years after the first media reforms were set in motion in 2011." (Introduction)
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"Internews’ research reveals a confluence of conditions in ASEAN that make the present time a critical moment for Freedom of Expression / Right to Information (FoE/RTI) interventions in the region. As donor support dwindles, and threats to FoE increase, there is a danger of a severe roll-back of t
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he rights and freedoms in the region that underpin thriving democracies. The backdrop to this scenario – ASEAN integration along with various other regional synergies – has created an opening for dialogue on key social issues such as FoE/RTI that connect countries within the region." (Conclusion)
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"The research focuses on three themes. Firstly, it identifies and maps the information environment in Mon State in terms of technology and media use across urban, rural, non-conflict, and former conflict geographic areas. Secondly, the flow of news and information is examined to see how individuals
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receive information and then make decisions about sharing it with others. Thirdly, the report examines the dynamics underlying the trust and influence of news and information among individuals in Mon State." (Summary)
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"This study constitutes the attempt to draw some initial conclusions from the work conducted by DW Akademie and other media development organizations in the past. It aims at a better understanding of which public service functions former state broadcasters can provide at all and which approaches of
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media development actors have proved to be successful.
Reforming of state mouthpieces into public service media can indeed be achieved. This is one of the most important findings of this study. DW Akademie researchers here present examples of media outlets that fulfill their public service remit of creating a public sphere and supporting integration to a substantial degree. Even among the success stories, not all the media outlets studied here have adopted a public service ethos to its full extent. Their work, however, improved considerably. In assisting reform, media development actors were thus able to enhance the public’s freedom of expression as well as its access to information – two basic human rights we see as important prerequisites for peace and democracy. On the other hand, this study shows how difficult and complex transformation is. State media are often highly politicized. Successful transformation, therefore, requires support of a lot of different actors: the political elite, civil society, the management of the broadcaster, its staff, and last but certainly not least, the public as a whole. It is vital that media development actors identify windows of opportunity and profit from them in order to propel change forward.
At the same time, this study demonstrates that media development organizations have to think beyond their traditional fields of expertise: capacity development and newsroom consultancy. A much broader approach is needed if substantial and sustainable development is to be achieved. DW Akademie is currently implementing a new, more complex strategy for successful media development cooperation that takes this into account. Political and legal frameworks have become a strategic area of activity. Other equally important areas comprise qualifications, professionalism, and economic sustainability of the media sector, participation in society, and digital change. With regard to public broadcasting, political and legal frameworks are especially important in order to ensure editorial independence of former state broadcasters. Furthermore, media development actors have to engage more in organizational development. Therefore, at the end of this study, we dedicate a whole chapter to this question.
This study of selected media outlets from twelve countries does not attempt to provide a final answer to the question of successful public service transformation. It aims at giving an overview of what has been achieved in practical work in this field in the course of the past years. More research is needed to understand which steps of reform are needed for a genuine transformation that is sustainable in the long term. The media are undergoing crucial developments. Digital change, convergence, and social media have increased pluralism of opinion substantially in many parts of the world. At the same time, the media face new challenges with respect to their economic sustainability. The notion of public service media that offer a model for providing journalistic quality without financial dependence deserves further thought." (Preface)
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"Losing Control: freedom of the press in Asia takes us right up to the end of this tumultuous century. It deals with the Chinese media cranking up its latest propaganda campaign, this time against the Falun Gong. It discusses how the Indonesian media lost its way in reporting the tragedy in East Tim
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or. And it comments on how the Cambodian media-or at least parts of it-surprisingly reported the allegations that the Prime Minister's wife had her husband's movie star girlfriend assassinated. The book adopts a country-by-country approach dealing with all the countries in Northeast and Southeast Asia. It does not attempt to sweep across to the sub-continent. It would not be possible to do justice to any discussion of freedom of the press in that region by sandwiching it in between the pages of a book about East Asia. The methodology is based on an underlying assumption: that journalists are best placed to provide the most up-to-date analysis of their own industry. Where possible, local journalists have contributed the country chapters. In some cases a more useful outcome could be achieved by employing foreign correspondents and commentators. Authors have written their chapters using journalistic research tools, such as first hand interviews, as well as more conventional academic methods." (Page 14)
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"Since 2001, Internews has trained and supported more than one thousand junior and senior journalists from all of Burma’s major ethnic groups, both those inside the country and those based outside, in print, radio, television, and online reporting. The cumulative effects of this close collaboratio
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n with journalists through a period of extreme censorship and tumultuous events are now coming to fruition as the new media environment takes shape. Internews-trained reporters and editors now occupy senior roles in prominent national print publications. They are familiar voices on ethnic and Burmese-language radio services; they are well known faces on television. Others have emerged as leaders in pivotal media associations, pushing the government to safeguard what most regard as still fragile media freedoms." (Introduction)
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"The study is divided into three parts: Part One is a discussion on brief history of civil war in Myanmar especially in Kachin State, the past experiences of the Church in pastoral and evangelizing communication in Kachin State and the current life situation of the Kachin refugees. In Part Two, we p
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resent the concept of refugees from the Church documents and social teaching of the Church, and. the Church’s approach of Pastoral and Evangelizing Communication. Part three is a discussion on how the Church responds to the pastoral needs of the refugees and it also proposes some qualifications of communicators that the Church ministers would be able to respond effectively to the needs of the Kachin refugees." (Abstract)
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