The social reality of blogging and empowerment among Malaysian bloggers

The study focuses on the issue of empowerment among Malaysian bloggers. In Malaysia, there are issues considered as taboo and are not discussed openly in the mainstream media. The rise of blogs in the earlier part of the 21st century has led to the discovery of a new platform of interaction. Malaysia is unique in the sense that it has its own interpretation of press freedom, a multicultural society and Islam as the official religion. Though there is a general awareness on 'what is illegal offline, should be illegal online', there are those who found new freedom in this new realm. The new world of blogosphere is considered as a haven for self-experimentation, discourses and sharing of opinions where it allows individuals to express themselves openly with or without considering the legal, religious or even cultural restrictions. Some people have used the new avenue positively and found empowerment which they would never have found if the blog had never existed while others may take advantage of this new platform for malicious activities. Forty Malaysian bloggers were interviewed during the course of this study where they share their personal blogging experiences and how blogging has brought about changes to their lives

The mirror-ball effect: Investigating channels, messages and participation levels

Journalists have always used equipment which has been generally available in the communities in which they worked. This has been a result both of economy and necessity, since they found they had to connect with their audiences using means that were available to the audience, not just to the sender. Newspapers sold on street corners in the very early media days; SMS and email have become the rule for the early 21st century. This development also admits the possibility of the roles of the communication professional and the community merging during the “public journalism” process, and has become most recently evident in the areas around the Bay of Bengal, struck by the tsunami on December 26, 2004, especially in the Indonesian province of Banda Aceh, and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where tiny portable radios, featuring solar panels and hand-cranked dynamos, have suddenly become part of a vital news media channel. In this article participant-observation and personal interview techniques are used to record and compare many of the digital channels used by news and information senders up to 2005. It also investigates the level of genuine participation which these new technologies have brought to the communications process

A Documentary Video Assignment to Enhance Learning in Large First-Year Science Classes

The video documentary assignment described in this paper provides students with learning opportunities in a range of core competencies in biology, framed by and including communication skills. The design, presented as a flow chart to illustrate scaffolding activities, is a culmination of six years of reflective practice and evidence based evaluation (e.g., student perspectives, teacher perspectives and student performance on certain criteria). The assignment forms part of a large (600 student) first year biology course and requires groups of four students to investigate and explain the biology behind an environmental issue to a lay audience. Scaffolding activities support development of interpersonal communication skills (team training activities), visual and oral communication skills (through interaction with a journalist and/or TV presenter) and the basics of audience analysis. They also develop information literacy skills and involve students in evaluation of basic logic and argument in a selection of Youtube videos. Student engagement and motivation with the assignment is very high and it provides a fun and bonding experience for students in their first semester of university. Evidence and justification for design decisions are presented in this article and should prove useful for others looking to implement a similar task in a different context, either as a whole or part

The 'new majority' and the academization of journalism

The academization of journalism is reliant on the development of the field founded in scholarship demonstrated through the publication of research in peer-reviewed specialist journals. Given the profile of journalism faculty, this means inducting practitioners into a culture of critical research. In Australia at least, this cohort of neophytes is predominantly comprised of middle-aged women who were surveyed about their personal attitudes to research. They were mostly open to the idea of becoming researchers but were inclined to proceed cautiously without necessarily severing their ties with practice. There was evidence to suggest that a generally positive orientation to research was not capitalized on and that they remained uncertain about the role of research. On the other hand, they appeared not to have adopted the orthodoxy of implacable opposition to scholarly inquiry. The change in gender composition in the academy may provide, contrary to historical, but more in line with contemporary, evidence, a renewed impetus to the project of academizing the field

Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) Expansion: Measuring Racial, Religious, and National Aspects of Sense of Ethnic Identity Within the United Kingdom

These studies examined the degree to which racial, religious, and national aspects of individuals' sense of ethnic identity stand as interrelated, yet distinct, constructs. Results of exploratory factor analyses in Study 1 (n = 272) revealed that a three-factor model specifying racial, religious, and national identities yielded optimal fit to correlational data from an expanded, 36-item version of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Roberts et al., 1999), although results left room for improvement in model fit. Subsequently, results of confirmatory factor analyses in Study 2 (n = 291) revealed that, after taking covariance among the items into account, a six-factor model specifying exploration and commitment dimensions within each of the racial, religious, and national identity constructs provided optimal fit. Implications for the utility of Goffman's (1963b) interactionist role theory and Erikson's (1968) ego psychology for understanding the full complexity of felt ethnic identity are discussed

Interactive impact of ethnic distance and cultural familiarity on the perceived effects of free trade agreements

Past research on free trade agreements (FTAs) mostly uses an economic perspective to assess their impact on the level of trade and investments between nations. As a result, there is a distinct paucity of research on the perceptions of employees and managers in organizations affected by FTAs, towards the likely outcomes of those FTAs. We address this gap by using the context of recently signed China-Australia free trade agreement (ChAFTA) to develop a multidimensional scale for the perceived advantages and disadvantages of FTAs. Drawing on social identity theory and the similarly-attraction paradigm we also show direct and interactive effects of perceived ethnic distance (between home and partner country) and cultural familiarity (with the FTA partner country) on these perceived outcomes of FTAs. Our findings highlight the need to look beyond the economic perspective and consider a much broader range of perceived outcomes of FTAs

Enhancing Journalists’ Competitive Advantage

Dr. Cokley, 48, from the University of Queensland in Australia and formerly a long-time newspaper and magazine writer, editor and trainer, has just returned from leading a four-day workshop on precisely this topic in Tehran, Iran

Data and Observations Suggest Convergence Should Lead to Choice, Not Over-Commitment

Abstract not available

Reducing waste in timber procurement is critical to replacement of original wooden shingle roofs on heritage buildings at Norfolk Island

Traditional timber cutting, recovery and installation processes used by loggers and builders on Norfolk Island are a major impediment to the continued and sustainable restoration and maintenance of historic buildings at the southern tip of the island. Sustainable restoration and maintenance is likely to be a contributing factor in the expected decision by UNESCO about whether the island is included on the World Heritage List

The financial importance of audience involvement for media survival

Improving audience involvement in media production enhances the democratization potential within a community and enhances the capacity building potential within that community. Both democratization and capacity building have been identified as factors which enhance a community's ability to thrive. While profitability and return on investment (ROI) are legitimate goals for media organisations insofar as they allow and encourage audience involvement, these goals must remain subordinate to the goal of democratization, since without that key element, the environment which maintains the media disappears. A formula is proposed whereby media owners, workers and audiences can fine-tune their relationship to enhance financial as well as community outcomes