"This paper seeks to identify the extent to which the national TV and radio programme Sema Kenya (Kenya Speaks), part of BBC Media Action’s governance work in Kenya, supported accountability, peace and inclusion at the time of the 2013 Kenya election. It shows the specific value placed on Sema Ken
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ya by audiences and experts at election time [...] Sema Kenya is a weekly programme, in the Kenyan national language of Swahili, involving a panel discussion led by questions from the audience. In its first season, episodes were recorded in 14 different locations across the country. Sema Kenya is not an election programme, which allowed it to tackle local and national governance issues and present a diversity of views and dialogue at a time when the rest of the Kenyan media maintained a very narrow election focus [...] The research also shows that at a time when media coverage and debate was influenced by a peace agenda, resulting in an avoidance of sensitive issues, Sema Kenya provided the public with arguably more detailed information than other media sources." (Abstract)
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"Through a paired comparison of two moments of mass mobilization, in Ukraine and Argentina, focusing on the role of different actors involved, this text maps out a multi-layered sequence of events leading up to mass mobilization." (Publisher description)
"The study will begin by defining and classifying social media and will go on to explain the reach and role of these media in developing contexts, in particular when used for political communication, interaction and decision-making processes. In a second chapter, risks and benefits of social media a
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nd political participation in developing contexts will be reviewed. The heart of the study will be the third chapter, where 10 case studies will demonstrate the bandwidth of use of social media for political participation. The case studies offer insight into different forms of citizen to government and government to citizen interaction using different types of social media. They have been authored by people directly involved as creators or users of the projects featured from different countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. The study will provide an assessment on the impact social media can have on the work of German development cooperation in the area of good governance and conclude with a set of recommendations how to incorporate social media into their good governance programmes." (Introduction, page 4)
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"Communication Rights and Social Justice offers historical perspectives on struggles to use the instruments of state and political participation - power, inter-governmental treaties and declarations, and various forms of political advocacy and protest politics - to articulate the concept of communic
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ation as a fundamental right. The contributions make up an intergenerational and multi-vocal dialogue. Different generations of scholars, activists and practitioners, who have been engaged with mobilizations at different times, present their views; some adopt a more academic style, others reflect autobiographically on personal experiences. The collection acknowledges the plural geo-cultural roots that compose what have eventually become a network of transnational mobilization dynamics that are increasingly global, digitally mediated, multi-stakeholder and faced by new and forthcoming challenges." (Publisher description)
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"Examining the opportunities presented by the real-time generation of new, relatively unregulated content online, Uncommon Grounds evaluates the prominent role that new media has come to play in artistic practices – and social movements – in the Arab world today. Analysing alternative forms of c
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reating, broadcasting, publishing, distributing and consuming digital images, this book also enquires into a broader global concern: does new media offer a ‘democratisation’ of – and a productive engagement with – visual culture, or merely capitalise upon the effect of immediacy at the expense of depth? Featuring full-colour artists’ inserts, this is the first book to extensively explore the degree to which the grassroots popularity of Twitter and Facebook has been co-opted into mainstream media, institutional and curatorial characterisations of ‘revolution’ – and whether artists should be wary of perpetuating the rhetoric and spectacle surrounding political events." (Publisher description)
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"This chapter provides an overview of development and social change by talking about advocacy approaches to social justice. Advocacy communication offers a critical approach within the field of development, working toward social justice. Recognizing conditions of globalization contributes toward an
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analysis of problems and solutions that privilege normative and structural change. Advocacy communication engages strategic intervention with clear political positions, having no pretense toward neutrality, and resisting hegemonic dominance in valuing social justice. Focusing on advocacy allows one to consider the potential value of social change, recognizing the latent and manifest politics of approaches to intervention. The chapter also explores the role of communication and media in facilitating and limiting the potential for advocacy. It concludes with future research areas that would contribute toward social justice." (Summary)
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"This article uses interdisciplinary insights and a critical review of relevant literature to identify research opportunities that stand to advance mobile political communication theory. Contributions and limitations of studies focused on ICTs and political participation are reviewed and discussed.
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Analysis of studies focused on the political participation outcomes of mobile media use is synthesized with theory from user-focused mobile communication literature to highlight the unique qualities that distinguish mobile media and the implications of those distinguishing features for studying political participation. Recommendations are made for research directions that would further investigate the association of mobile media's distinctive features with online and offline forms of political participation. This analysis indicates opportunities for scholars to unpack mobile media's unique features in ways that potentially redefine political participation, and, accordingly, further the development of research questions and theories that investigate the relationship of mobile media and political participation. It is concluded that research is needed that explains mobile media use in finer detail, accounts for shifting conceptualizations of political participation, and contributes to the development of cross-cultural comparative frameworks." (Abstract)
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"Media use and talking with others have been found to have positive effects on citizens' civic participation according to Wyatt, Katz, and Kim (2000). Recent research links informational uses of the mobile phone to increased involvement in civic and political life. Building on this line of research,
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this study explores the effect of smartphone use on civil discourse engagement in China, with its nearly 900 million mobile phone user. Results reveal the smartphone's role as an outlet of public information, which fosters political talk with others, but also suggest use of government-controlled traditional media stifles open civic discourse. Hierarchical regression analyses show that talking politics in private, extensive use of the smartphone, and mobile tweeting were positive predictors of engagement in online civic discourse." (Abstract)
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"In Making Democracy Fun, Josh Lerner offers a novel solution for the sad state of our deliberative democracy: the power of good game design. What if public meetings featured competition and collaboration (such as team challenges), clear rules (presented and modeled in multiple ways), measurable pro
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gress (such as scores and levels), and engaging sounds and visuals? These game mechanics would make meetings more effective and more enjoyable -- even fun. Lerner reports that institutions as diverse as the United Nations, the U.S. Army and grassroots community groups are already using games and game-like processes to encourage participation. Drawing on more than a decade of practical experience and extensive research, he explains how games have been integrated into a variety of public programs in North and South America. He offers rich stories of game techniques in action, in children's councils, social service programs and participatory budgeting and planning. With these real-world examples in mind, Lerner describes five kinds of games and 26 game mechanics that are especially relevant for democracy. He finds that when governments and organizations use games and design their programs to be more like games, public participation becomes more attractive, effective and transparent." (Publisher description)
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"Leading media scholars from nine Asian nations focus on three main questions: How frequently do Asians use social media to access and discuss political information? Does the use of social media increase political participation? What political, social and cultural factors influence the impact of soc
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ial media on political engagement in each nation? To answer these questions, contributors first analyze the current state of social media in their nations and then present the findings of a cross-national survey on social media use that was conducted with over 3,500 Asian respondents. By employing a comparative approach, they analyze how social media function and interact with the cultural and political systems in each country - and how they might affect political engagement among individual citizens." (Back cover)
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"Es lässt sich also feststellen, dass der Dokumentarfilm der Demokratie insofern zuträglich ist, da er seinen Schwerpunkt auf der Gewährleistung der Validierungs-, Orientierungs-, Informations-, Bildungs- und Sozialisationsfunktion hat, während das citizen journalism footage sich insbesondere da
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durch auszeichnet, dass es der Beobachter-, Informations-, Artikulations- und Kritik- und Kontrollfunktion verstärkt gerecht wird. Indem also das citizen journalism footage durch professionelle Instanzen in eine den gängigen Konventionen entsprechenende Form des etablierten Dokumentarfilms gebracht wird, können so die demokratieförderlichen Attribute ,alter‘ und ,neuer‘ Medien ergänzend kombiniert werden." (Conclusio, Seite 75-76)
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"This essay examines the Responsible Procreation campaign of Acción Cultural Popular (ACPO) within the context of “zones of crisis” characterized not only by the legacy of long-standing violence but by tensions experienced within the Catholic Church and Colombian society at large during the tum
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ultuous decades of the 1960s and 1970s. ACPO centered its Responsible Procreation campaign on a radical critique of authoritarian and exclusionary gender relations that could only be remedied by guaranteeing women’s access to education and their participation as equals in household and community decision making. As a Catholic-affi liated organization, ACPO enjoyed legitimacy many secular organizations did not, enabling it to provide spaces where rural Colombians, especially women, could experiment with voice and agency and explore alternative visions of citizenship and community development without fear of reprisal or social ostracism. Christian social activism, the essay concludes, often laid the basis for the proliferation today of social movements spearheaded by rural women." (Abstract)
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"Nas próximas páginas queremos dar uma olhada ampla sobre a prática e os desafios da radiodifusão comunitária no Brasil e em outros países. Convidamos uma turma diversa de 11 autoras e autores, entre elas e eles jornalistas, radialistas, acadêmicos e advogadas. As suas abordagens são origina
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is, convidam-nos para conhecer a radiodifusão comunitária de perto de um ângulo tanto crítico como solidário. São expostos nos textos como organizações internacionais e nacionais influenciam sobre o acesso e o uso do espectro eletromagnético, nos contam dos problemas cotidianos das emissoras independentes no Brasil, México e nos Estados Unidos para conseguir uma outorga. E perguntam por que as rádios comunitárias reproduzem a falta de interesse no esporte feminino, não conseguem romper por completo com tendências homofóbicas da imprensa e não defendem com maior vigor o acesso de migrantes aos ondas eletromagnéticos." (Página 4)
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"We are pleased to be sharing with you the second yearbook on media and information literacy and intercultural dialogue. The first MILID Yearbook was published in June 2013 [...] The theme of the 2014 Yearbook is Global Citizenship in a Digital World. Global citizenship assumes ease of participation
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in global spaces in which persons are media and information literate and are equipped with competencies and attitudes to deal with the multi-faceted nature of a mediated world in which information is no longer bound by space or time. The unprecedented access to and use of media and Internet technologies for communication and collaboration especially among youth, suggest that effective strategies must be found to enable active critical inquiry and effective media production." (Foreword, page 7)
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