239 research outputs found
Fact vs. Faction: Polarization in the Information Age
How can individuals in the contemporary media and political environment form better political beliefs? In chapter one, this thesis considers what it means to say American politics is polarized. It evaluates the extent of polarization in American politics. And it presents original evidence that suggests that just as the public and members of Congress have polarized, so too has American political discourse. Through the lens of political psychology, chapter two investigates how Americaâs polarized politics has influenced the quality of individualsâ beliefs. Chapter three explores the role that the media plays in encouraging or minimizing the biased information processing practices identified in chapter two. Finally, I conclude by arguing that individuals need to fundamentally rethink how they consume political information; advocate for the creation of a completely new social media platform specifically designed to encourage political deliberation; and outline what such a platform might look like
Fake news: public policy responses
An apparent proliferation of inaccurate and misleading news stories has led to calls for new policy interventions, from fact checking by social media companies to new laws imposing fines for posting or sharing fake news. This raises some difficult issues in media policy. Is this a new problem? Is so called âfake newsâ distinct from longstanding problems with accuracy or objectivity in journalism? Is the controversy rather a response to the scale of current political changes, and their impact on various interested parties? Are there fundamental changes going on in our Western media systems which undermine traditional journalistic crafts of fact checking and verification, and incentivise more emotionally resonant content, at the expense of quality, reliable journalism
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Building Democracy for All: Interactive Explorations of Government and Civic Life
Designed as a core or supplementary text for upper elementary, middle and high school teachers and students, Building Democracy for All offers instructional ideas, interactive resources, links to primary sources, multicultural materials, and multimodal learning materials for interest-building explorations of United States government as well as studentsâ roles as citizens in a democratic society. It focuses on the importance of community engagement and social responsibility as understood and acted upon by middle and high school studentsâcore themes in the 2018 Massachusetts 8th Grade Curriculum Framework, and which are found in many state history and social studies curriculum frameworks around the country. Building Democracy for All has been developed by a collaborative writing team of higher education faculty, public school teachers, educational librarians, and college students who are preparing to become history and social studies teachers. The primary editors and curators are from the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education. Contributing teachers come from school districts in the Connecticut River valley region of western Massachusetts (Amherst, Gateway, Westfield, Hampshire Regional, and Springfield). As an open resource, the book is being revised constantly by the members of the writing team to ensure timely inclusion of online resources and information.https://scholarworks.umass.edu/tecs_ed_materials/1001/thumbnail.jp
Banning, blocking and boosting: Twitterâs solo-regulation of expression
The regulation or self-regulation of online media is one of the key dilemmas of contemporary digital media and policy environment. This includes the new digital intermediary gatekeepers such as social media. The private rules of intermediaries, such as their âterms of serviceâ and content policies, importantly define their functioning and are sometimes thought of as self-regulatory mechanisms. Online intermediaries are increasingly being called upon to engage in codes of conduct or decisions about content. We focus on Twitter as one of the largest and most relevant new gatekeepers because of its use as source of news. The terms and other documents of Twitter are analysed as tools of self-regulation, and as the context within which the individual users and mass media (must) function in todayâs digital environment. We also look at how Twitter has applied this framework in two high profile cases
The citizen lobby: from capacity to influence
The Internet holds endless opportunities for exchange and dialogue and the promise of developing a better democratic model. Day-to-day politics are largely driven by economic lobbies in the interest of what Habermas calls their "generalised particularism," the threat to take jobs and tax revenues elsewhere. Citizens' influence over politicians is twofold: they are asked for their input in elections, referenda, online consultations and surveys, and citizens can initiate issues where they see political action needed. Yet these "participative forces," including NGOs, street rallies and charities, regularly fail to reach the ears of elected politicians as effectively as those of well-funded corporate lobbies. Also, this type of voluntary engagement often falls short of presenting the kind of reasoned challenges to the incumbents - by the electorate - that Habermas' communicative action aimed at. A more powerful model would therefore organise the efforts of the electorate in a way that both generates those reasoned arguments, which, as Habermas quite correctly pointed out differ from mere opinions, and delivers them to the elected politicians in a manner they can neither refuse nor ignore. This is what the Citizen Lobby intends to do
Citizen Lobby
The Internet holds endless opportunities for exchange and dialogue and the promise of developing a better democratic model. Day-to-day politics are largely driven by economic lobbies in the interest of what Habermas calls their âgeneralised particularism,â the threat to take jobs and tax revenues elsewhere. Citizensâ influence over politicians is twofold: they are asked for their input in elections, referenda, online consultations and surveys, and citizens can initiate issues where they see political action needed. Yet these âparticipative forces,â including NGOs, street rallies and charities, regularly fail to reach the ears of elected politicians as effectively as those of well-funded corporate lobbies. Also, this type of voluntary engagement often falls short of presenting the kind of reasoned challenges to the incumbentsâby the electorateâthat Habermasâ communicative action aimed at. A more powerful model would therefore organise the efforts of the electorate in a way that both generates those reasoned arguments, which, as Habermas quite correctly pointed out differ from mere opinions, and delivers them to the elected politicians in a manner they can neither refuse nor ignore. This is what the Citizen Lobby intends to do
Radio evolution: conference proceedings
Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologia (FCT
Orange Chinook
In 2015, the New Democratic Party won an unprecedented victory in Alberta. Unseating the Progressive Conservatives -- who had won every provincial election since 1971 -- they formed an NDP government for the first time in the history of the province. Orange Chinook is the first scholarly analysis of this election. It examines the legacy of the Progressive Conservative dynasty, the PC and NDP campaigns, polling, and online politics, providing context and setting the stage for the unprecedented NDP victory. It highlights the importance of Alberta's energy sector and how it relates to provincial politics with focus on the oil sands, the carbon tax, and pipelines. Examining the NDP in power, Orange Chinook draws on Indigenous, urban, and rural perspectives to explore the transition process and government finances and politics. It explores the governing style of NDP premier Rachel Notley, paying special attention to her response to the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire and to the role of women in politics. Orange Chinook brings together Alberta's top political watchers in this fascinating, multifaceted analysis
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