"While social media offer an unprecedented opportunity for orchestrating large-scale communication campaigns, it is often difficult to track audience responses on various digital platforms over time and to ascertain if their engagement is aligned with the original intention. In this article, we shar
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e a promising solution—the purposive embedding and tracking of unique content elements as “markers” using text analytics techniques. Four markers were introduced in an Indian melodramatic television serial, Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon (I, A Woman, Can Achieve Anything), which was part of a larger transmedia edutainment initiative in India to promote sanitation, family planning, and gender equality. These markers served as anchors for audience engagement with the originally intended messaging embedded in the narratives as well as for program monitoring and evaluation. We applied various web-based tools to systematically track marker-related engagement on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube across eight months. We also conducted semantic network analysis to better understand how marker-related social media comments evolved over time. Our investigation of using markers for digital engagement and narrative exchange in MKBKSH makes an important and timely methodological contribution to the scholarship and praxis of social and behavior change communication." (Abstract)
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"Few studies have examined the relationships between the different aspects of vaccination communication and vaccine attitudes. We aimed to evaluate the influence of three unique messaging appeal framings of vaccination from two types of messengers on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in India. We surveyed
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534 online participants in India using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) from December 2021 through January 2022. We assessed participants' perception of three messaging appeals of vaccination -COVID-19 disease health outcomes, social norms related to vaccination, and economic impact of COVID-19 - from two messengers, healthcare providers (HCP) and peers. Using a multivariable multinomial logistic regression, we examined participants' ad preference and vaccine hesitancy. Participants expressed a high level of approval for all of the ads, with >80% positive responses for all questions across ads. Overall ads delivered by health care workers were preferred by a majority of participants in our study (n = 381, 71.4%). Ad preference ranged from 3.6% (n=19) social norm/peer ad to 32.4% (n = 173) health outcome/ HCP ad and half of participants preferred the health outcome ad (n = 279, 52.3%). Additionally, vaccine hesitancy was not related to preference (p = .513): HCP vs. peer ads (p = .522); message type (p =.284). The results suggest that all three appeals tested were generally acceptable, as well as the two messenger types, although preference was for the health care provider messenger and health outcome appeal. Individuals are motivated and influenced by a multitude of factors, requiring vaccine messaging that is persuasive, salient, and induces contextually relevant action." (Abstract)
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"Examples from Sierra Leone, Uganda, and India show how ‘ignorant public’ framings are used as explanation for vaccine hesitancy through assigned roles for institutions and publics, and the consequences this narrative has for vaccination encounters. These examples are based on ethnographic field
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work and media analysis carried out before, during, and after outbreaks, of newly introduced vaccines for both human and animal health. Drawing on science communication and development studies, we show how this narrative then positions governmental concern about vaccine hesitancy as being a (largely) imagined issue of public ignorance. We argue that when institutions tasked with strengthening vaccine uptake see public ignorance as the key problem, this can obscure other problems, such as competing interests and experiences, and also minority group treatment. As a result, public governance is rationalised by assigning the ignorance label to certain public groups that stand in contrast to scientific and government expertise, and so accountability for low vaccine uptake is transferred onto the public." (Abstract)
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"This book explores case studies across India, Kenya, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, and global, comparative settings, and asks what positive impact ICT applications (Health Information Systems, Pandemic response systems, Early Warning and Response Systems, Hospital Information System and Smartphone based Ap
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ps) can have on today’s most pressing challenges. The authors use this lens to discuss a wide range of issues facing communities around the world, including public health and pandemic management; the mitigation of ethnic violence and violence against women; the emergence of an informal economy; and the displacement of refugees. The case studies are analyzed through a wide means-process-ends framework, which is complemented with micro-level observations of people’s experience, such as empowerment, agility and trust within communities. This interplay between the macro framework and micro concepts helps us to understand how and why digital interventions can contribute to positive outcomes, and which stories of hope may inspire other development channels." (Back cover)
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"Using a narrative style, this book draws on stories and examples from seven South Asian countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—to highlight how communities in South Asia are building resilience to climate change. A total of 58 authors have contributed to t
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his volume, and I am delighted that most of them are from the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) representing all the seven South Asian countries, five of which are from the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. The 29 chapters in the book are organised under six themes: concepts and models; traditional knowledge and sustainable agriculture; technology adoption; disaster risk reduction; urban sustainability; and alternative livelihoods. These chapters highlight stories of creativity, community engagement, and locally applicable solutions. They are powerful and instructive. They offer valuable lessons for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers." (Foreword, page xv)
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"This Open Access book examines the ambivalences of data power. Firstly, the ambivalences between global infrastructures and local invisibilities challenge the grand narrative of the ephemeral nature of a global data infrastructure. They make visible local working and living conditions, and the reso
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urces and arrangements required to operate and run them. Secondly, the book examines ambivalences between the state and data justice. It considers data justice in relation to state surveillance and data capitalism, and reflects on the ambivalences between an “entrepreneurial state” and a “welfare state”. Thirdly, the authors discuss ambivalences of everyday practices and collective action, in which civil society groups, communities, and movements try to position the interests of people against the “big players” in the tech industry." (Publisher description)
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"This paper experimentally tests the effectiveness of two short edutainment campaigns (under 25 minutes) delivered through Facebook Messenger at reshaping gender norms and reducing social acceptability of violence against women in India. Participants were randomly assigned to watch video clips with
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implicit or explicit messaging formats (respectively a humorous fake reality television drama or a docuseries with clear calls to action). After one week, the intent-to-treat effects of the implicit format on knowledge, gender norms, and acceptability of violence against women oscillated between 0.16 and 0.21 standard deviations yet impacts diminished after four months. By contrast, the explicit format was more impactful in the short term in increasing willingness to share video clips with friends and promoting online information-seeking behaviors. In the medium term, individuals who were exposed to the docuseries were 7.5 percentage points more likely to add a frame against violence against women in their Facebook profile picture, a public display of their disapproval of this harmful practice. The general lack of heterogeneous effects across social status indicators suggests social media as a potential medium for reaching different online populations, including vulnerable ones." (Abstract)
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"The study finds that journalistic and fact-checking disinformation responses in the country have struggled due to lack of conceptual understanding of disinformation among journalists, monetization trends that incentivize sensationalist news and reduce the impact of capacity building initiatives, la
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ck of financial sustainability of responses, language barriers, and political backlash. At the same time, the research finds that local capacity building responses have improved the ability of individual journalists to understand Covid-19 misinformation and hashtag manipulation on Twitter whereas fact-checking responses have led to the development of efficient workflows, informed recruitment principles, contextual verification practices, and collaboration with social networks to downrank viral online disinformation. The study also confirms findings from literature that disinformation is negatively affecting the work and safety environment of Pakistani digital journalists. The journalists surveyed for this research reported that disinformation has increased their risk of getting deceived by fake social media posts during online newsgathering. In addition, most women journalists surveyed for the study said they were targeted with gendered disinformation campaigns, which caused them physical, psychological or reputational harm. A majority of surveyed women digital journalists also believed that they face additional challenges to counter disinformation due to their gender identity. The digital journalists who participated in the survey identified fact-checking training as their most urgent need to counter disinformation." (Executive summary, page 8)
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"Nepal’s digital ecosystem does not yet meet the needs of all Nepalis and runs the risk of falling further behind. Over the past decade, mobile phones, and mobile internet have become increasingly widespread in Nepal; however, the government’s capacity to implement digital policies and solutions
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has not kept pace with Nepalis’ embrace of the internet. In the coming years, equitable access for all Nepalis, establishment of internet connectivity in remote areas, and safe internet use practices for the digitalization of Nepal’s economy are just some of the key challenges that the country will face." (Executive summary)
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"Key findings: Overcoming the digital divides between men and women and urban and rural populations requires long-term planning and resource commitments that include broad stakeholder engagement and coordination [...] The public’s appetite for online content is growing, but accessible, diverse, hi
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gh-quality educational and professional content in local languages is sorely lacking [...] High, unmet demand for digital and IT talent and a weak digital startup ecosystem are critical bottlenecks to growing Uzbekistan’s domestic IT sector and driving digital transformation across the economy [...] The COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the Government’s commitment to digital transformation of the health sector." (Executive summary, page 12)
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"Journalism is a demanding profession in Afghanistan, where females are less encouraged to become journalists. Even recently, the people of Afghanistan still do not encourage females to work outside. But still, a significant number of females are engaged in journalism. It contributes to society for
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economic prosperity and changes the attitude toward the concept and process of development. A noticeable change is occurring in the social attitude symbolized by the advancement of females in the journalism sector. These contributions also pave the way for women's and human freedom. Afghan female journalists have made significant gains since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. 1741 working Afghan female journalists are a symbol for other Afghan females, who are living in their homes and are not permitted to work outside. These female journalists report on violence against women every day and publish and transmit them through their media and acquaint them with their Islamic and cultural rights. Even their (people) views towards females, who are working in the media are not very positive, but still, the Afghan female journalists continue to do their jobs. Besides the security issues that female journalists are facing daily, they are facing discrimination in and outside of the office and are also concerned about the future. So in this context, the main reason for this study is to reveal the working conditions and main challenges of Afghan female journalists." (Abstract)
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"This book uses decolonisation as a lens to interrogate political communication styles, performance, and practice in Africa and the diaspora. The book interrogates the theory and practice of political communication, using decolonial research methods to begin a process of self-reflexivity and the cre
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ation of a new approach to knowledge production about African political communication. In doing so, it explores political communication approaches that might until recently have been considered subversive or dissident: forms of political communication that served to challenge imposed western norms and to empower African citizens and their histories. Centring African scholarship, the book draws on case studies from across the continent, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana." (Publisher description)
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"Indian Media Giants' is an analytical chronicle of six Indian mega media conglomerates' individual odyssey from their humble, incipient beginnings in the pre-independence era to their transformation into powerful business empires in the digitised world. The book traces Indian Media metamorphosis, t
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he birth, phase-wise contours of growth and development, travails and trajectories, organizational structures, editorial policies and business dynamics of print majors in India, namely, The Times Group, The Hindu Group, The Hindustan Times Limited, The Indian Express Group, Dainik Jagran Limited and DB Corp Limited. It unravels their understanding of the values of co-dependence, collaboration, and competition with their contemporaries. It is an untold story of how these organizations leapt over the perimeters of conventional greatness to achieve unmeasured success that spans the globe. The book analyses how innovations have been brought in the management policies of these print businesses, with respect to production, distribution, consumption, while accrediting the visionary leadership that drives each organisation forward in its endeavours. What the case studies also details, is the wide extent of strategic intent enunciation; the role of product lines, development and diversification into radio, TV, digital and other segments; geographical spread, expansion, regional penetration and international footprint; the role of technological advancements in throwing up unimaginably new business opportunities; strategic alliances, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and takeovers; manpower management policies; CSR activities and financial performance of these media giants. The theoretical implications of the growth of media organisations in terms of the nature of mass media and its products are also underlined. The book focuses on the theoretical framework of media management and pays attention on the changing media management practices from one era to another, gradually orienting and re-orienting the strategic positioning of respective media giants to the pulse of the media market and the opportunities under various regulatory regimes. It is replete with the meticulous analysis of the editorial values and business dynamics upon which their legacies are founded, changing business models adopted by the media moguls, the ripples they have created in the media world and how they are constantly being modified to suit the tastes of the modernising market. With this, and more, Indian Media Giants is a holistic compendium that offers multiple perspectives on how print media organizations in India have grown from strength to strength and have become platform agnostic. The book also details the changing media landscape in India and also underlines the efforts of media giants in retaining print while embracing the digital." (Publisher description)
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"New data sources related to socio-economic development should improve journalistic reporting. Still, despite an abundance of open data in Kyrgyzstan, journalists may face delays in getting quick access to important datasets. Goal: To facilitate the access to development-related information for jour
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nalists working with data on socio-economic issues, Zerkalo conducted a mapping study, identifying all the open data sources in Kyrgyzstan and putting together a comprehensive database. Methods: Relying on a two-stage desk research approach, the Zerkalo team constructed a database containing open data sources in Kyrgyzstan. The main data collection phase for the mapping study was conducted from February 14 to March 10, 2022. Overall, the research team examined 1986 hyperlinks to 131 websites, holding relevant datasets. As a result, Zerkalo identified 389 datasets on socio-economic themes, which were included in the database." (Executive summary, page 4)
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"This volume focuses on indigenous knowledge in analyzing the traditions and communication processes within various communities of Northeast India. It deals with the historical and theoretical trajectory of communication for social change as a discipline, bringing together a series of interesting ca
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se studies from the sphere of meaningful learning where individuals and communities engage in a cooperative and dialogic environment to promote change at multiple levels. The case studies cover a range of media - radio, video, ‘forum theatre’ - and considers both practitioners and audiences." (Publisher description)
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"Oppression of women, financial meltdown, censorship: Research findings by Afghan NGO Nai SOMA and DW Akademie highlight the extent of the Afghan media sector’s breakdown after the Taliban took power in Kabul." (Page 1)
"According to a survey conducted by Reporters without Borders (RSF) in December 2021, from 10,790 people working in Afghan media (8,290 men and 2,490 women) at the start of August 2021, only 4,360 (3,950 men and 410 women) were still working and the number may reduce even further. For this survey, d
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ata were collected through online and in-person manual surveys in May 2022. The questionnaire included 23 questions and was completed by 308 respondents in Dari (75.97%) and Pashto (24.03%). All 100 percent respondents were female. The survey largely represented reporters (54.87%), followed by journalists (19.16%), producers (9.74%), presenters (3.90%) and others (12.01%). [...] A majority of respondents (67.86%) reported that they have lost their jobs since the de facto authorties’ takeover of Afghanistan in August. The highest ratio of respondents having lost their jobs compared to the respondents interviewed were in Bamyan (100%), followed by Kandahar (91%), Balkh (85%), Badakhshan (68%) and Kabul (62%). 60.39% of respondents reported that they have felt ‘major changes’ since the collapse of the former government. In addition, 28.90% respondents reported changes in some cases. As for the level of restrictions imposed on reporting since the de facto authorities’ takeover of power, an astounding 80.52% of respondents reported the case to be ‘very restricted’. As far as the reporting autonomy is concerned, 45.13% respondents mentioned that ‘Government Interferences have Increased’, while 35.71% responded as ‘Bad’ meaning the independency in journalists’ reporting is bad.
46.75% of respondents mentioned that the de facto authorities’ spokespersons do not respond to female journalists, followed by 29.55% who mentioned that they do respond, but just in some cases. All 100% of the respondents reported that they have received some kind of threat since the de facto authorities have taken over the power, and reported the major threat against female journalists to be the new restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities (52.9%), followed by the gender-based discrimination (18.8%), and threats posed by extremist groups (16.9%). A majority of the respondents (55.19%) reported that they were restricted from their work specifically due to their outfit/sense of clothing and some (27.92%) reported that they have experienced the same but to some extent only." (Executive summary, pages 5-6)
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"An international survey reveals that Internet users' trust on the Internet has dropped significantly since 2019. That is among the key findings of a 20-country Ipsos survey released by The New Institute in Hamburg, Germany. Only six in ten (63%) Internet users on average across the 20 countries sai
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d they trust the Internet. That is down 11 points since a similar survey was conducted in 2019. The singular exception is Japan, which showed a 7 percentage-point increase in trust. But Japan is the rare exception, as the findings reveal that Internet trust shrunk by double-digits in India (-10 points), Kenya (-11), Sweden (-10), Brazil (-18), Canada (-14), the United States (-12), and Poland (-26)." (Publisher description)
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"This book explores the socioeconomic and cultural understanding of climate issues and the influence of environment communication via the news and the public response to it. It also examines the position of the media as a facilitator between scientists, policy makers and the public. Drawing extensiv
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ely from case studies, personal interviews, comparative analysis of international climate coverage and a close reading of newspaper reports and archives, the author studies the pattern and frequency of climate coverage in the Indian media and their outcomes. With a special focus on the Western Ghats, the book discusses the political rhetoric, policy parameters and events that trigger a debate about development over biodiversity crisis and environmental risks in India." (Publisher description)
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"This volume explores and calls into question certain commonly held assumptions about writing and technological advancement in the Islamic tradition. In particular, it challenges the idea that mechanical print naturally and inevitably displaces handwritten texts as well as the notion that the so-cal
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led transition from manuscript to print is unidirectional. Indeed, rather than distinct technologies that emerge in a progressive series (one naturally following the other), they frequently co-exist in complex and complementary relationships – relationships we are only now starting to recognize and explore. The book brings together essays by internationally recognized scholars from an array of disciplines (including philology, linguistics, religious studies, history, anthropology, and typography) whose work focuses on the written word – channeled through various media – as a social and cultural phenomenon within the Islamic tradition." (Publisher description)
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