"With the advent of social media, traditional analogue radio has converged to audio-visual with print formats. Using the case of community radio in Zimbabwe, this article explores how radio broadcasters have taken advantage of media convergence to disseminate text as implant on radio. A qualitative
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content analysis of community radio platforms on Facebook reveals that some multilingual community radio stations still maintain their local languages in written text as captions or print, although there is a tendency towards English and major indigenous language dominance. Using language revitalisation theory, we argue that merging written text with radio on social media should always maintain the distinctness of radio and text as implant that reflect the local languages of community radio stations to revitalise or strengthen indigenous languages. We find the affordances of digital connection through Facebook useful to revitalise languages which are no longer used in the everyday communication of a digital audience." (Abstract)
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"In an era where digital interactions dominate, young people must be equipped with more than just basic digital literacy skills. Media and Information Literacy (MIL) has become an essential competency, enabling them to critically navigate the overwhelming _ow of information in our fast-paced and com
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plex information ecosystem. With the Internet user base getting younger every day - data shows that one in three internet users is a child - countries worldwide are increasingly working on integrating MIL into their education systems. Despite these advancements, many young people still grapple with challenges such as disinformation, hate speech, and other harmful online content. Additionally, new technologies continue to emerge, creating challenges with unknown impacts. For example, 80% of young people aged 10 to 24 use AI multiple times a day for education, entertainment, and other purposes. Global youth organizations are at the forefront of UNESCO's efforts to promote MIL among young people through informal education. This toolkit serves as a primary resource to help these organizations incorporate MIL into their strategies, policies, and operations, aiming to make MIL a lasting component of their practices and peer-to-peer educational programs." (Abstract)
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"In light of the “gardening” of the public sphere in autocracies, the question of how power is distributed in the media field calls for empirical investigation. We use computational methods of network analysis, topic modeling, and semantic analysis to test if the Russian media landscape is organ
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ized around the three “publics” as suggested by earlier theory. Using the data from the media outlets’ public pages on the social network VKontakte and
the texts of the publications, we reveal which groups of outlets exist in the media field and compare the similarity in terms of coverage with how the media are seen by the audience. We validate the previously suggested structure of the Russian media landscape. The differentiation among the “publics” is consistently pronounced on the levels of coverage specifics and the audience subscription profiles." (Abstract)
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"Nationen basieren auf Ein- und Ausschlussmechanismen, die in öffentlichen Mediendiskursen ausgehandelt werden. Im heutigen Europa sind Referenzen zu Religion und spezifisch zum Islam bei der Verhandlung nationaler Zugehörigkeit zentral. Bisherige Analysen öffentlicher Debatten zum Islam in Europ
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a haben gezeigt, dass Fragen der Geschlechtergleichstellung im Vordergrund stehen und muslimische Frauen häufig Bilder kollektiver Differenz markieren. Mirjam Aeschbach legt anhand einer detaillierten Analyse aktiver Medienbeiträge muslimischer Diskursakteurinnen von 2016 bis 2019 dar, wie diese in der Öffentlichkeit Bilder nationaler Zugehörigkeit aufgreifen und sich aneignen - und wie diese Bilder so potentiell in Frage gestellt werden." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"The threats associated with AI on safeguarding the record of the Holocaust are manifold, including the potential for manipulation by malicious actors, the introduction of falsehoods or dissemination of biased information, and the gradual erosion of public trust in authentic records. This paper prov
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ides a warning of what is at stake for the preservation of historical truth in a digital era increasingly mediated by AI. This report highlights five major concerns: 1. AI automated content may invent facts about the Holocaust [...] 2. Falsifying historical evidence: Deepfake Technology [...] 3. AI models can be manipulated to spread hate speech [...] 4. Algorithmic bias can spread Holocaust denial [...] 5. Oversimplifying history [...]" (Executive summary)
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"This article examines chatbots that have been developed by civil society for social, political, and/or cultural purposes. I ask what conceptual approaches have influenced the design of civil society chatbots and how these frameworks are actualized in practice. To do this, I first propose the concep
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t of “civil society chatbots” to understand how and why civil society has chosen to use chatbots to support their campaigning and advocacy work. I then examine four conceptual approaches that have influenced them in the design of their chatbots and illuminate each with short case studies. The conceptual approachesunder study are entertainment education, community media and technology, feminist design, and human and digital rights. Using these approaches helps situate a practice that is increasing and plural within civil society but relatively eclipsed by the hype around generative artificial intelligence chatbots." (Abstract)
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"Maori data sovereignty, an extension of Indigenous data sovereignty, is gaining recognition as a vital element of data-related strategy, management, policy, and culture in New Zealand. Driven by the principles of tino-rangatiratanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Maori data sovereignty emphasizes Maori
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self-determination and control over their data. This article explores the significance of Maori data sovereignty within public and private sector organizations in New Zealand through interviews with data experts. The outcomes of this research highlight the importance of building relationships based on trust (whanaungatanga), asserting the right to selfdetermination (rangatiratanga), working collectively for the benefit of all (kotahitanga), and promoting learning and capacity building (akoranga) as key principles of Maori data sovereignty. While there is a growing recognition of Maori data sovereignty, power imbalances and the need for greater education and awareness persist. The study emphasizes the need for organizations to embrace a kaupapa Maori lens and tikanga Maori values to foster inclusive data cultures that uphold the rights and aspirations of Maori communities. Collaboration and further research are essential to advance Maori data sovereignty and integrate its principles into information policies and practices across sectors, thus promoting a data culture that respects Indigenous rights and collective well-being." (Abstract)
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"The International Network of Street Papers (INSP) is the UK based charity and enterprise that represents all printed publications sold by people experiencing homelessness and poverty to earn a dignified income. INSP mission is to support the global street paper network to alleviate poverty and buil
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d a movement for social change. In 2023, INSP has provided services to its 92-member organisations in 35 countries, through both its news service and member engagement activities. As poverty continues to rise globally, so has the demands on street paper organisations, who are an important part of the solution to the poverty crisis. INSP’s member organisations consist of street paper staff and volunteers who provide frontline services to people experiencing homelessness, poverty and other forms of marginalisation. 2023 saw INSP strengthen its regional networks in South America, Europe and in North America, where it has established a non-profit umbrella to raise funds and support street papers." (Page 2)
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"Contrary to the prevailing narratives of "digital empowerment" and opportunities for every individual, this book argues that digitalisation massively curtails social advancement opportunities, consolidating existing social relations. From a spatial perspective, Scheffer demonstrates how socially di
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sadvantaged groups are faced with reproducing mechanisms as part of a new data economy. Surprisingly, the more intensively digital services are used, the more this happens. Building on Löw´s sociology of space and Bourdieu´s concept of habitus, this book shows how practices of social exclusion are transferred to the digital present in an innovative way. The image of "mirrored" spaces describes a new mechanism that explains social exclusion in the age of digitalization." (Publisher description)
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"Este documento presenta el Mapeo de iniciativas de Alfabetización Mediática e Informacional en Iberoamérica, realizado a lo largo de 2023, a partir de un cuestionario dirigido a los miembros de la Plataforma de Reguladores del sector Audiovisual de Iberoamérica (PRAI), a los medios audiovisuale
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s de servicio público, así como a diversos organismos públicos y organizaciones civiles relevantes en el ámbito de la Alfabetización Mediática e Informacional (AMI) en la región iberoamericana. El objetivo del mapeo es agrupar las prácticas recientes implementadas por todos los organismos encuestados en sus áreas de competencia, para sistematizar sus experiencias y resultados y poder darlos a conocer a fin de sensibilizar a los públicos objetivos sobre el papel desempeñado en la promoción de la AMI. El presente documento integra la presentación del proyecto, así como sus principales hallazgos y recomendaciones para la promoción y difusión de la AMI en la región. Lo acompañan dos anexos que detallan las 52 iniciativas identificadas que configuran el mapeo." (Resumen ejecutivo)
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"The evaluations point to several dimensions of the strategic significance of joint work. Programmatically, joint programmes enable a more multidimensional and holistic approach to addressing gender inequality. They enhance the catalytic role of the UN by increasing the visibility of and advocacy on
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gender issues in national and global agendas. Normatively, they forge new partnerships for gender equality and combine the comparative advantages of multiple agencies in technical expertise and stakeholder networks. Operationally, they can enhance the effectiveness of intervention implementation by reducing duplication of efforts and ensuring a more efficient use of resources across UN agencies, although typically with a sizable increase in transaction costs in terms of human labour for coordination and communication for technical coherence and governance structures such as steering committees. The results of programming were typically measured in outputs rather than outcomes or impact, though inter-agency programmes for SDG 5 reported considerable accomplishments in multisectoral reach to beneficiaries and knowledge production." (Page 1)
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"Diversity is often announced as a solution to ethical problems in artificial intelligence (AI), but what exactly is meant by diversity and how it can solve those problems is seldom spelled out. This lack of clarity is one hurdle to motivating diversity in AI. Another hurdle is that while the most c
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ommon perceptions about what diversity is are too weak to do the work set out for them, stronger notions of diversity are often defended on normative grounds that fail to connect to the values that are important to decision-makers in AI. However, there is a long history of research in feminist philosophy of science and a recent body of work in social epistemology that taken together provide the foundation for a notion of diversity that is both strong enough to do the work demanded of it, and can be defended on epistemic grounds that connect with the values that are important to decision-makers in AI. We clarify and defend that notion here by introducing emergent expertise as a network phenomenon wherein groups of workers with expertise of different types can gain knowledge not available to any individual alone, as long as they have ways of communicating across types of expertise. We illustrate the connected epistemic and ethical benefits of designing technology with diverse groups of workers using the examples of an infamous racist soap dispenser, and the millimeter wave scanners used in US airport security." (Abstract)
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"Tribalism is a social phenomenon polarising South Africa along ethnic lines and undermining democratic efforts for social cohesion in the newly reconfigured inclusive territorial zones. Community radio is expected to play a social cohesion role of uniting cohabiting disparate ethnic groups within t
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hese spaces by promoting multilingualism. This paper examines the role of community radio policies in promoting social cohesion within the interethnic communities of Collins Chabane Municipality in Limpopo Province, using Malamulele FM and Vuwani FM as case studies. The study is situated within the broadcasting policy perspective and adopted an analytic approach to document studies which combined elements of content analysis and thematic analysis to analyse the policies of Malamulele FM and Vuwani FM that contain detailed language policy provisions. We found that language functions ideologically in these community radio policies and regulatory models to perpetuate tribalism. The article proposes a realignment of community radio language policies and regulation towards the objective of social cohesion and an inclusive South African society by promoting multilingualism in its broadcasting, and away from its current majoritarianism model." (Abstract)
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