53 research outputs found
Equality of Participation Online Versus Face to Face: Condensed Analysis of the Community Forum Deliberative Methods Demonstration
Online deliberation may provide a more cost-effective and/or less inhibiting
environment for public participation than face to face (F2F). But do online
methods bias participation toward certain individuals or groups? We compare F2F
versus online participation in an experiment affording within-participants and
cross-modal comparisons. For English speakers required to have Internet access
as a condition of participation, we find no negative effects of online modes on
equality of participation (EoP) related to gender, age, or educational level.
Asynchronous online discussion appears to improve EoP for gender relative to
F2F. Data suggest a dampening effect of online environments on black
participants, as well as amplification for whites. Synchronous online voice
communication EoP is on par with F2F across individuals. But individual-level
EoP is much lower in the online forum, and greater online forum participation
predicts greater F2F participation for individuals. Measured rates of
participation are compared to self-reported experiences, and other findings are
discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 10 tables, to appear in Efthimios Tambouris, Panos
Panagiotopoulos, {\O}ystein S{\ae}b{\o}, Konstantinos Tarabanis, Michela
Milano, Theresa Pardo, and Maria Wimmer (Editors), Electronic Participation:
Proceedings of the 7th IFIP WG 8.5 International Conference, ePart 2015
(Thessaloniki, August 30-September 2), Springer LNCS Vol. 9249, 201
A Tale of Two Stories from "Below the Line": Comment Fields at the Guardian
This article analyzes the nature of debate on âbelow the lineâ comment fields at the United Kingdomâs Guardian, and how, if at all, such debates are impacting journalism practice. The article combines a content analysis of 3,792 comments across eighty-five articles that focused on the UN Climate Change Summit, with ten interviews with journalists, two with affiliated commentators, plus the community manager. The results suggest a more positive picture than has been found by many existing studies: Debates were often deliberative in nature, and journalists reported that it was positively impacting their practice in several ways, including providing new story leads and enhanced critical reflection. However, citizenâjournalist debate was limited. The results are attributed to the normalization of comment fields into everyday journalism practice, extensive support and encouragement from senior management, and a realization that comment fields can actually make the journalistsâ life a little easier
Dealing with the mess (we made): Unraveling hybridity, normativity, and complexity in journalism studies
In this article, we discuss the rise and use of the concept of hybridity in journalism studies. Hybridity afforded a meaningful intervention in a discipline that had the tendency to focus on a stabilized and homogeneous understanding of the field. Nonetheless, we now need to reconsider its deployment, as it only partially allows us to address and understand the developments in journalism. We argue that if scholarship is to move forward in a productive manner, we need, rather than denote everything that is complex as hybrid, to develop new approaches to our object of study. Ultimately, this is an open invitation to the field to adopt experientialist, practice-based approaches that help us overcome the ultimately limited binary dualities that have long governed our theoretical and empirical work in the field
Egypt's feminist counterpublic: The re-invigoration of the post-revolution public sphere
This study examines the current feminist counterculture movements which appears to be
reinvigorating the Egyptian public sphere. The study argues women in particular have been
able to find themselves alternative ways to develop a discourse focused on a desire for social
changes around which they can unite. In focusing on lifestyle issues that normally are
discussed only in small private spheres, they are able to challenge norms while not provoking
the state or security apparatus and avoiding becoming part of the polarised political
environment. This article explores the dynamics and motivations of these groups through a
case study of three of the networked feminist movements. Our data from semi-structured
interviews with the founders show that they grew from networks to movements which then
evolved in order to be sustainable. This article argues that through the process of their
evolution, these movements are helping strengthen the public sphere and enhance Egyptian
democracy
Reconceptualizing CSR in the media industry as relational accountability
In this paper, we reconceptualize CSR in the media industries by combining empirical data with theoretical perspectives emerging from the communication studies and business ethics literature. We develop a new conception of what corporate responsibility in media organizations may mean in real terms by bringing Bardoel and dâHaenensâ (European Journal of Communication 19 165â194 2004) discussion of the different dimensions of media accountability into conversation with the empirical results from three international focus group studies, conducted in France, the USA and South Africa. To enable a critical perspective on our findings, we perform a philosophical analysis of its implications for professional, public, market, and political accountability in the media, drawing on the insights of Paul Virilio. We come to the conclusion that though some serious challenges to media accountability exist, the battle for responsible media industries is not lost. In fact, the speed characterizing the contemporary media environment may hold some promise for fostering the kind of relational accountability that could underpin a new understanding of CSR in the media
Why media representations of corporations matter for public health policy : a scoping review
BACKGROUND: Media representations play a crucial role in informing public and policy opinions about the causes of, and solutions to, ill-health. This paper reviews studies analysing media coverage of non-communicable disease (NCD) debates, focusing on how the industries marketing commodities that increase NCD risk are represented. METHODS: A scoping review identified 61 studies providing information on media representations of NCD risks, NCD policies and tobacco, alcohol, processed food and soft drinks industries. The data were narratively synthesized to describe the sample, media depictions of industries, and corporate and public health attempts to frame the media debates. RESULTS: The findings indicate that: (i) the limited research that has been undertaken is dominated by a focus on tobacco; (ii) comparative research across industries/risk-factors is particularly lacking; and (iii) coverage tends to be dominated by two contrasting frames and focuses either on individual responsibilities ('market justice' frames, often promoted by commercial stakeholders) or on the need for population-level interventions ('social justice' frames, frequently advanced by public health advocates). CONCLUSIONS: Establishing the underlying frameworks is crucial for the analysis of media representation of corporations, as they reflect the strategies that respective actors use to influence public health debates and decision making. The potential utility of media research lies in the insights that it can provide for public health policy advocates about successful framing of public health messages and strategies to counter frames that undermine public health goals. A better understanding of current media debates is of paramount importance to improving global health
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