Cyber-Democracy or Cyber-Hegemony? Exploring the Political and Economic Structures of the Internet as an Alternative Source of Information

Although government regulation of the Internet has been decried as undercutting free speech, the control of Internet content through capitalist gateways???namely, profit-driven software companies???has gone largely uncriticized. The author argues that this discursive trend manufactures consent through a hegemonic force neglecting to confront the invasion of online advertising or marketing strategies directed at children. This study suggests that ???inappropriate content??? (that is, nudity, pornography, obscenities) constitutes a cultural currency through which concerns and responses to the Internet have been articulated within the mainstream. By examining the rhetorical and financial investments of the telecommunications business sector, the author contends that the rhetorical elements creating ???cyber-safety??? concerns within the mainstream attempt to reach the consent of parents and educators by asking them to see some Internet content as value laden (sexuality, trigger words, or adult content), while disguising the interests and authority of profitable computer software and hardware industries (advertising and marketing). Although most online ???safety measures??? neglect to confront the emerging invasion of advertising/marketing directed at children and youth, the author argues that media literacy in cyberspace demands such scrutiny. Unlike measures to block or filter online information, students need an empowerment approach that will enable them to analyze, evaluate, and judge the information they receive.published or submitted for publicatio

Public Opinion Formation in the Digital Age: How Tribalism and Political Fury are Manufactured through Social Media Microtargeting.

Since its inception, one of the central tenets of critical media literacy education has been institutional analysis, namely understanding the political and economic power of those who own and control our media systems. While corporate and legacy media have clearly defined owners and producers, few people understand the architecture and practices of new digital media systems. Political elections and public opinion are being shaped by sophisticated means that involve data mining, algorithms, microtargeted ads, psychographics and surveillance. Today, ad buyers and political groups alike can select and target audiences based on a series of personal markers that can include a user’s geo-location, political leanings, and a series of personal interests. Ranging from as many as 1.5 billion daily users of social networks to as few as 20 people, microtargeting services can weaponize ad technology to try to influence consumer and voter behavior in any demographic area. This paper will discuss the need for critical digital media literacy education curricula and initiatives to help apprise students, parents, and educators of data mining services by big tech giants to influence democracy and commerce through microtargeting, political partisanship, and tribalism

Breaking the barriers of sexual harassment in corporate media: How feminist media literacy and social media campaigns expose and confront social inequalities and injustice.

Lifelong civic engagement for social change includes feminist approaches to media literacy that encourage critical analysis of corporate media practices that perpetuate gender inequities and injustices. The #MeToo campaign affords a poignant case study for assessing how media literacy activism can unify and mobilize the NetGeneration to challenge antiquated attitudes and behaviors that keep women marginalized in media sectors, public life, and business careers. Along with the slew of celebrity revelations of sexual harassment brought on by the Harvey Weinstein exposé, women -- and some men -- have used hashtag campaigns to share personal stories of sexual harassment and assault. Drawing from what the sexual harassment scandals of U.S. Media Celebrities Donald Trump, Bill O’Reilly and Harvey Weinstein, and data provided by the 2017 Report of The Status of Women in the U.S. Media, I will analyze the correlation between male domination of corporate media and the continued systematic marginalization and oppression of women within and outside U.S. media enterprises. The goal is to connect media literacy education with feminist scholarship and pedagogy as a catalyst for lifelong civic engagement and social justice activism

Media literacy in cyberspace: Learning to critically analyze and evaluate the Internet

This dissertation demonstrates the findings and implications of a study inquiring into the existence and range of models equipped to integrate new telecommunications technology in the classroom. The research methods employed included: (1) a discourse analysis of the socio-cultural narratives and quasi-solutions addressing the appropriateness and filtering of Internet content, (2) a content analysis of the print or online marketing strategies used to validate and promote the purchase of Internet rating systems and blocking software devices, and (3) a content analysis of various technology-based curricular programs funded across schools in Massachusetts. By adjoining bodies of research in media theory, cultural studies, and critical pedagogy, this study articulates a vision of critical learning directed at providing teachers with student-centered lessons in online communication content, grammar, medium literacy, and institutional analysis. Through the analysis of mainstream print and online media sources, my findings suggest that “inappropriate content” constitutes a cultural currency through which concerns and responses to the Internet have been articulated within the mainstream. Although government regulation has been decried as undercutting free speech, the control of Internet content through capitalist gateways—namely profit-driven software companies—has gone largely uncriticized. I argue that this discursive trend manufactures consent through a hegemonic force neglecting to confront the invasion of online advertising or marketing strategies directed at children. By examining the rhetorical and financial investments of the telecommunications business sector, I contend that the rhetorical elements creating cyber-paranoia within the mainstream attempt to reach the consent of parents and educators by asking them to see some Internet content as value-ladden (i.e. nudity, sexuality, trigger words, or adult content), while disguising the interests and authority of profitable computer software and hardware industries (i.e. advertising and marketing). The next component of my research describes the results of my analysis and assessment of 74 technology initiatives in Massachusetts\u27 schools sponsored during the 1998–1999 school year through the Lighthouse Technology Grants. With few models offering higher levels of critical learning with and about technology, the final segment of my research outlines a model of educational empowerment over censorship through the theoretical and practical considerations of media literacy in cyberspace

If a Tree Falls - A Media Literacy Lesson in the Power of Omission: The Unfinished Business of Agent Orange in Vietnam and US Mediamnesia

The presentation, with visuals, is based on a course conducted in the spring of 2012 involving research on US media coverage of the effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam and a trip to Vietnam with US college and high school students to examine those effects firsthand. Conceptually, the purpose of the course was to deepen understanding of the role of omission in shaping common wisdom, or common ignorance. It is standard practice in media literacy education to pose a media clip in front of a class and ask for deconstruction of the messages embedded in that media sample. But what if the media sample is thin air, a void, an absence? How is our learning shaped by what doesn\u27t appear before us? Or, as one of my students put it, Our country committed one of the worse war crimes of the last century. How can nobody know about it? The absence of information in the mainstream media (and very little in alternative media) presents a special challenge for those teaching media literacy. It is not hard to list numerous other omissions from popular media, such as other US exploits abroad, or the development of mass incarceration during the decades that prison populations exploded. There are no easy solutions to this challenge, but I argue that grappling with the challenge is critical to interrogating the hegemonic worldview of neoliberalism and fostering critical consumers of media. The case of the ongoing effects of Agent Orange, both for US vets and for Vietnamese, is one startling example of what I refer to as mediamnesia - intentional forgetting driven by both commercial and ideological factors that frame news coverage in the mainstream media. There are plenty of other examples, and I would hope that a discussion with participants in this session would generate both case studies and ideas for how to incorporate the notion of omission into critical media literacy pedagogy

If a Tree Falls - A Media Literacy Lesson in the Power of Omission: The Unfinished Business of Agent Orange in Vietnam and US Mediamnesia

The presentation, with visuals, is based on a course conducted in the spring of 2012 involving research on US media coverage of the effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam and a trip to Vietnam with US college and high school students to examine those effects firsthand. Conceptually, the purpose of the course was to deepen understanding of the role of omission in shaping common wisdom, or common ignorance. It is standard practice in media literacy education to pose a media clip in front of a class and ask for deconstruction of the messages embedded in that media sample. But what if the media sample is thin air, a void, an absence? How is our learning shaped by what doesn\u27t appear before us? Or, as one of my students put it, Our country committed one of the worse war crimes of the last century. How can nobody know about it? The absence of information in the mainstream media (and very little in alternative media) presents a special challenge for those teaching media literacy. It is not hard to list numerous other omissions from popular media, such as other US exploits abroad, or the development of mass incarceration during the decades that prison populations exploded. There are no easy solutions to this challenge, but I argue that grappling with the challenge is critical to interrogating the hegemonic worldview of neoliberalism and fostering critical consumers of media. The case of the ongoing effects of Agent Orange, both for US vets and for Vietnamese, is one startling example of what I refer to as mediamnesia - intentional forgetting driven by both commercial and ideological factors that frame news coverage in the mainstream media. There are plenty of other examples, and I would hope that a discussion with participants in this session would generate both case studies and ideas for how to incorporate the notion of omission into critical media literacy pedagogy

Critical Media and Information Literacy in the Classroom: Practical Applications and Theoretical Foundations

Although much has been written on the theoretical foundations of critical media and information literacy, there is a dearth in terms of the practical ways to incorporate it into the college classroom. This quick fire panel seeks to address this and will provide attendees with varied ways to incorporate critical media literacy and critical information literacy into their classes, address issues of student resistance as well as delineate their own critical media and information literacy influences. Notable writers in the field including Julie Frechette and Jeff Share have agreed to be part of this panel. Spencer Brayton and Natasha Casey will bring perspectives from their critical media and information literacy collaboration. We anticipate an additional two participants

sj-docx-2-son-10.1177_23779608231216161 - Supplemental material for Implementation Leadership in the Point of Care Nursing Context: A Systematic Review Comparing Two Measurement Tools

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-son-10.1177_23779608231216161 for Implementation Leadership in the Point of Care Nursing Context: A Systematic Review Comparing Two Measurement Tools by Sonia Angela Castiglione, Julie Frechette and V. Ramanakumar Agnihotram in SAGE Open Nursing</p

sj-docx-3-son-10.1177_23779608231216161 - Supplemental material for Implementation Leadership in the Point of Care Nursing Context: A Systematic Review Comparing Two Measurement Tools

Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-son-10.1177_23779608231216161 for Implementation Leadership in the Point of Care Nursing Context: A Systematic Review Comparing Two Measurement Tools by Sonia Angela Castiglione, Julie Frechette and V. Ramanakumar Agnihotram in SAGE Open Nursing</p