"Efforts to govern algorithms have centerd the ‘black box problem,’or the opacity of algorithms resulting from corporate secrecy and technical complexity. In this article, I conceptualize a related and equally fundamental challenge for governance efforts: black box gaslighting. Black box gasligh
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ting captures how platforms may leverage perceptions of their epistemic authority on their algorithms to undermine users’ confidence in what they know about algorithms and destabilize credible criticism. I explicate the concept of black box gaslighting through a case study of the ‘shadowbanning’ dispute within the Instagram influencer community, drawing on interviews with influencers (n = 17) and online discourse materials (e.g., social media posts, blog posts, videos, etc.). I argue that black box gaslighting presents a formidable deterrent for those seeking accountability: an epistemic contest over the legitimacy of critiques in which platforms hold the upper hand. At the same time, I suggest we must be mindful of the partial nature of platforms’ claim to ‘the truth,’ as well as the value of user understandings of algorithms." (Abstract)
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"In this toolkit, our focus is on the use of mobile phones to the maximum benefit of women, men, youth, smallholder farmers and refugees, to enable them access digital financial services." (Background, page 11)
"Based on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork, Ageing with Smartphones in Urban Chile analyses the experience of ageing for Peruvian migrants aged around 60, who have lived in Chile for over 20 years. Their lives are informed by a series of experiences of being in between. They live between two coun
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tries, two generations (their Peruvian parents and their Chilean children), two different stages in life (retained youth and menacing old age), between giving care (to their parents) and not wanting care (from their children) and between a continuing legacy (through their children, who have a promising future) and not transmitting legacy (some traditions will not pass on to the next generation). Peruvian migration has been one of the most studied in Chile. However, neither the experience of ageing of migrants in Chile nor the experience of late middle age has been fully addressed yet. By focusing on the entanglement of ageing, migration and technology, this monograph is an ethnographic contribution to an unexplored subject in the vast literature on migration studies in Chile." (Publisher description).
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"The increasing role of algorithms shaping our use of communication technology—particularly on social media—comes with a growth of empirical research attempting to assess how literate users are regarding these algorithms. This rapidly emerging field is marked by great diversity in terms of how i
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t theorizes and measures our understanding of algorithms, due, in part, to the opaque “black box” nature of the algorithms themselves. In this review article, we summarize the state of knowledge on algorithmic literacy, including its definitions, development, measurement, and current theorizing on human–algorithm interaction. Drawing on this existing work, we propose an agenda including four different directions that future research could focus on: (1) balancing users’ expectations of algorithmic literacy with developers’ responsibility for algorithmic transparency, (2) methods for engaging users in increasing their literacy, (3) further developing the affective and behavioral facets of literacy, and (4) addressing the new algorithmic divide." (Abstract)
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"The United States (U.S.) Department of State Bureau of Europe and Eurasia/Office of the Coordinator of Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia (EUR/ACE) contracted Social Impact, Inc. (SI) to conduct a performance evaluation of nine media literacy (ML) assistance projects in Europe and Eura
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sia. These projects were selected by ACE and its partners to represent a wide range of USG target groups and assistance modalities. Six of the projects were funded by ACE and three were funded by the Global Engagement Center (GEC). In addition to GEC, the projects were implemented by the following ACE partners: the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL); the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The evaluation assesses project performance during the period 2017-2020. The purpose of this evaluation was to independently assess the strategic approach, relevance, and overall effectiveness of selected projects, identifying lessons to inform future programming in the region. The primary intended users of this evaluation are EUR, ACE, GEC, DRL, NED, USAID’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, USAID field missions, and U.S. embassies in the region. The findings and recommendations are also useful to other State Department and USAID bureaus worldwide, and other donors and funders who are active in promoting ML globally." (Executive summary, page vi)
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"This report defines and takes the pulse of five vital elements of digital learning. It contributes to the ongoing yet urgent aim of transforming education, and offers steps to recovery through child-centered, equity-driven, and innovative solutions. The five vital elements covered are ICT in educat
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ion policies and financing, digital learning platforms and content, teachers and school leadership, digital literacy, and holistic learning opportunities within and beyond classrooms. The report calls for a whole-of-system approach to digital learning, which includes increased resources, addressing the digital and usage divides, empowering teachers and school leaders, developing digital literacy among all groups, and meeting children where they are through entertaining and educational content and a mix of technologies. Particular attention should be given to gathering more data and evidence, which are sorely lacking; centering initiatives and solutions around the needs of marginalized learners and families, especially in low- and lower-middle income countries; and ensuring a holistic approach that considers all the vitals to make digital learning safe, equitable, engaging and effective." (Publisher description)
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"Presentamos en este texto una ingente obra colectiva de investigaciones, propuestas, reflexiones, estudios y proyectos en el emergente ámbito de la educación mediática. Con 151 capítulos de 298 autores únicos se ofrece una panorámica general en un mundo postpandemia global con un análisis po
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liédrico del complejo entramado educomunicativo que vivimos. Educadores, comunicadores y educomunicadores, así como profesionales de los más diversos ámbitos de las ciencias sociales abordan aproximaciones complejas, apegadas a la práctica, sobre la sociedad actual, no solo haciendo una radiografía, más o menos amplia, sino también realizando propuestas educomunicativas que mejoren los parámetros de convivencia con los medios." (Prólogo)
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"L’avvento dell’era digitale ha interessato sempre più il settore di ricerca delle scienze della comunicazione con notevoli ricadute anche in campo catechetico. Questo libro prova a rispondere all’esigenza di formare una nuova figura di catechista chiamato ad interagire con i “soggetti digi
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tali” che, in misura sempre più significativa, vanno emergendo dall’attuale contesto sociale e culturale. Il testo esamina i cambiamenti in atto e tenta di descrivere gli influssi che stanno generando sulle nuove generazioni. Infatti, sono proprio i media digitali ad aver condotto ad un inarrestabile mutamento delle dimensioni cognitive, affettive, comunicative e comportamentali del soggetto." (Descrizione della casa editrice)
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"The guidelines contained here specify steps and measures that newsrooms and journalists in West Africa can take to mitigate the problem of online abuse. The purpose is not to shield journalists from criticism or promote the criminalization of online speech, but to deal with a real threat facing jou
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rnalism today, which has the potential to erode press freedom in West Africa if it goes unchecked." (Introduction, page 4)
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"Das vorliegende Methodenbuch zeigt Möglichkeiten auf, wie das Potenzial digitaler Medien anhand unterschiedlicher Lernprozesse wie individualisiertem, kollaborativem/kooperativem, inklusivem, gamebasiertem/gamifiziertem sowie immersivem Lernen sinnvoll genutzt werden kann. Es werden jeweils die di
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daktischen Besonderheiten, verschiedene Methoden und die entsprechenden digitalen Werkzeuge vorgestellt. Beispiel für Kollaboratives/Kooperatives Lernen: Kollaborative Gestaltung des Schreibprozesses (Board, Etherpad, Workchat, Wortwolke); Digitales Storytelling (Blog, Microblogging-Dienst, Website); Auditive Umsetzung (Audioguide, Hörspiel, Podcast); Filmische Umsetzung (Erklär- und Lernvideos, Vlogs)." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Digital infrastructure increasingly enables the extraction, exploitation, processing and analysis of personal and behavioural data. Data analytics have not just become the core of the digital economy but also constitute a growing feature of the public sector. Wide areas of public administration are
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now based on, or at least informed by, the aggregation of data for the purpose of profiling, categorising, sorting, rating, ranking and segmenting populations, and then treating them distinctly. Scoring systems and other forms of predictive analytics are prime means to assess citizens yet these systems are applied mostly without the knowledge of those being analysed and the exact mechanisms of data analytics remain obscure. Citizens are classified according to criteria that are not transparent, with consequences they do not know about, and without an open way of redress. As citizens are continuously profiled and evaluated, there is a power shift from citizens to the state. All this raises fundamental questions regarding the quality of democracy in a context of datafied administration and governance. Whereas a democracy requires that the people adopt the role of the sovereign, in a datafied society this sovereign does not have much knowledge, understanding, or say in how it is treated. Key questions arise: What are avenues for people to participate in decisions about the use of predictive analytics by public institutions? How can they intervene into an increasingly automated state? How can the datafied society be democratised? To investigate these questions, this report addresses six themes: 1. Institutional dynamics; 2. Initiatives of civic engagement; 3. Oversight and advisory bodies; 4. Civil society strategies; 5. Alternative Imaginaries and Infrastructures; 6. Data literacy." (Executive summary)
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"Las páginas que siguen están estructuradas en tres partes. En la primera se exponen las bases teóricas y epistemológicas esenciales de la Alfabetización Mediática e Informacional (AMI), fundamentalmente en los capítulos de Divina Frau-Meigs y Tessa Jolls. La segunda, donde continúan las int
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ervenciones de carácter conceptual y se suman ejemplos de políticas y metodologías de AMI en diferentes países de Iberoamérica, pero sin perder contacto con las realidades específicas analizadas. Finalmente, en la última parte se muestran experiencias concretas de proyectos AMI de Argentina, pero con potencial de aplicación en otros contextos. Cada una de estas nos permite recuperar el saber que hoy encontramos en las practicas concretas que, de forma creativa y comprometida, dieron respuesta a la continuidad pedagógica en el contexto de aislamiento producido por la COVID-19." (Introducción, página 27-28)
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"Paradoxes of Media and Information Literacy contributes to ongoing conversations about control of knowledge and different ways of knowing. It does so by analysing why media and information literacy (MIL) is proposed as a solution for addressing the current information crisis. Questioning why MIL is
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commonly believed to wield such power, the book throws into sharp relief several paradoxes that are built into common understandings of such literacies. Haider and Sundin take the reader on a journey across different fields of practice, research and policymaking, including librarianship, information studies, teaching and journalism, media and communication and the educational sciences. The authors also consider national information policy proposals and the recommendations of NGOs or international bodies, such as UNESCO and the OECD. Showing that MIL plays an active role in contemporary controversies, such as those on climate change or vaccination, Haider and Sundin argue that such controversies challenge existing notions of fact and ignorance, trust and doubt, and our understanding of information access and information control. The book thus argues for the need to unpack and understand the contradictions forming around these notions in relation to MIL, rather than attempting to arrive at a single, comprehensive definition." (Abstract)
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"This situation report herein analyses media and information literacy (MIL), disinformation, and trust in news across the Caribbean. It contains country reports from eight researchers, covering eight Caribbean nations: the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Su
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riname, and Trinidad & Tobago. In each country, research was undertaken over a period of five months. The methods varied across the countries, and included surveys, desk research, and expert interviews. Separately, research was undertaken to determine the feasibility of a regional trusted news network." (Executive summary)
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"O capítulo 1, “Reconhecimento e representação: sobre vozes, epistemicídio e resistências”, investiga e discute as formas, contextos e a constituição sóciohistórica, econômica e cultural da sociedade brasileira contemporânea e de seus grupos estigmatizados e precarizados, enfatizando
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o papel da posse, acesso, uso e apropriações diferenciadas das TIC. Na mesma direção, o capítulo 3, “A nova geração de telefonia móvel 5G já nasce com data de validade”, antecipase e se concentra na crítica dos modos como a inovação tecnológica digital, como conduzida no Brasil, vêm carrear novas formas de exclusão, opressão e sofrimento social. A partir da perspectiva original de Rheingold (1994) sobre as comunidades virtuais, em certa medida ingênua, pois que baseada em partilhas cordiais entre os indivíduos, outros pensadores vêm agregando elementos adicionais, mais críticos e problematizadores, capazes de contemplar conflitos e desigualdades de poder na luta e na militância política no ciberespaço e na cibercultura. Para contribuir com essa discussão, o capítulo 2, “Dimensões interseccionais da vulnerabilidade digital no Brasil”, introduz e expande a compreensão do fenômeno e dos conceitos associados às vulnerabilidades digitais, apontando para a necessidade da construção crítica de uma educação midiática focada na superação das condições da exclusão digital e na construção de cidadãos autônomos – e na (re)construção de suas vozes sociais, sua expressão e suas justas reivindicações materiais e simbólicas, na participação democrática. O tema é retomado de forma aprofundada no capítulo 4, “Educação midiática para a vida online: descolonização, diferença e alteridade”, que sinaliza a necessidade e a urgência de políticas, ações, iniciativas e medidas da educação popular no âmbito do aprendizado das, pelas e para as mídias digitais." (Apresentação, página 7-8)
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"This Primer aims to: improve USAID staff's understanding of digital literacy; demonstrate how digital literacy contributes to broader global development goals; describe how digital literacy can be incorporated into various stages of the USAID program cycle; and detail ways in which different sector
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s and practice areas can develop digital literacy through their unique activities. This primer builds on the Digital Competence (DigComp) digital literacy framework developed by the European Union (EU) and considered to be the gold standard for understanding digital literacy. The DigComp framework will enable USAID staff to develop digital literacy activities, share best practices, and capture lessons learned with a shared understanding and technical approach. Digital literacy is a broad topic that encompasses a range of competences from basic literacy and numeracy skills to advanced computing and information processing skills. Sharing a language and an understanding of each of the core competences of digital literacy will improve USAIDfs programming, understanding, and collaboration on this topic that is critical to effective digital programming." (About this primer, page 6)
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