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This paper aims to make a contribution toward an improvement of European e-policy practice. It is inspired by the conviction that successful e-policy strategies can lead to balanced chances for all members in certain societies to aquire the absolutely indispensable capabilities for decision-making in the context of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Following the path of the development of e-policy papers it has to be stated that many goals have not yet been achieved. The techno-deterministic concepts ‘access’ and ‘usage’ seem not to reach far enough to get people really involved and informed. Many more aspects have to be considered in order to create a climate for innovation where different choices made by different individuals according to their different social, economic or cultural backgrounds do not lead automatically to the well known either or not, connected or not-connected, haves or have-nots, but to a variety of patterns of involvement. In this paper, we argue for different e-policy strategies according to cultural aspects in certain societies. And hereby we will focus on the cultural aspects of information itself, on the notion of information in different information cultures. It also seems important to mention at this stage that we believe that getting all members of society involved in the ICTinnovation process in order to provide the basis for informed decisions by each individual member is the most important task of e-policy. 1 1. E-policy Most governments around the globe emphasize the diffusion and implementation of ICTs in their countries as one - if not the only - major opportunity for economic competitiveness and as a chance to overcome social and economic divides within their states. In numerous policypapers - most are derivatives from the original "National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action" introduced in 1993 by the then new US Clinton-Gore Administration- these are unquestioned assumptions. Concepts like universal access and computer literacy form the guidelines for most of the so-called e-policy-papers. In principle, e-policy is the strategy for the introduction of ICT in a certain social environment. This strategy can be applied on different levels from organizational to global. This paper focuses on e-policy on a national and supra-national (EU) level.

Recently public health issues have aroused great social concern in China, and mass media has started to play an increasingly important ro/e in public hea/th communication. This paper depicts the current situation of hea/th communication in China. By illustrating the major functions of the Chinese mass media in hea/th communication, the paper puts forward some suggestions for the improvement of public health communication via mass media in China.

This paper will first briefly map out the shift from disciplinary to control societies (what I call designer capitalism, the idea of control comes from Gilles Deleuze) in relation to surveillance and mediation of life through screen cultures. The paper then shifts to the issues of digitalization in relation to big data that have the danger of continuing to close off life as zoë, that is life that is creative rather than captured via attention technologies through marketing techniques and surveillance. The last part of this paper then develops the way artists are able to resist the big data archive by turning the data in on itself to offer viewers and participants a glimpse of the current state of manipulating desire and maintaining copy right in order to keep the future closed rather than being potentially open.

Sustainable development is the pressing issue of our time. One of many goals within sustainable development is to transform lifestyles and the economy with sustainable production and consumption patterns. Social enterprises are seen as an organizational form with transformational potential for such sustainable patterns. In this paper, we analyzed social enterprises’ contents on various online communication channels to identify how they position themselves as more sustainable organizations with aims and values that differ from the profit-maximizing sector. We conduct a qualitative content analysis of the strategic communication of five successful social enterprises from Germany. Our results show that social enterprises use distinctive characteristics in their communication that differentiate them from the profit-maximizing sector and that are also reflected in the literature and in framing and signalling theory. Social enterprises clearly relate to their sustainability and provide recipients with tips on how to consume and live more sustainably but also frame themselves as “better” alternatives and change makers.

This paper investigates visual representations of migrants in Slovenia. The focus is on immigrant groups from China and Thailand and the construction of their ‘ethnic’ presence in postsocialist public culture. The aim of the paper is to provide a critical angle on the current field of cultural studies as well as on European migration studies. The author argues that both fields can find a shared interest in mutual theoretical and critical collaboration; but what the two traditions also need, is to reconceptualize the terrain of investigation of Europe which will be methodologically reorganized as a post- 1989 and post-westernocentric. Examination of migration in postsocialism may be an important step in drawing the new paradigm.

This paper asks how the contemporary multimodal landscape of the digital era effects learning and opportunities for identity formation. It outlines the need to understand the broad move toward non-linguistic forms of communication and the scope of the visual and multimodal in education, in particular visual practices that might lead to learning. It briefly outlines the ways in which representational and communicational resources are reconfigured through media technologies with particular attention to how this opens new conditions and functions for authorship and changed practices of visual production and dissemination. What this reconfigured communicational landscape means for learner identity formation and management is then briefly discussed. The paper concludes with a short discussion of the challenges and questions these changes present for education.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the biggest crises of the 21st century. This paper investigates the role of reactance-based perceptions of threatening government communication on (1) attitudinal outcomes regarding acceptance of the COVID-19 health protection measures and (2) behavioral outcomes regarding adherence to the COVID-19 measures. From a theoretical perspective, reactance theory suggests that subjectively detecting (a) one-sidedness, (b) fear appeals, (c) discreditation, and (d) overload in government communication might lead to less acceptance and adherence of the health protective measures. Using an Austrian two-wave panel survey (N = 911) collected in August and October 2020, the hereby proposed main effects were supported by applying a Structural Equation Model (SEM). This emphasizes the importance of sensitive government health communication in order to avoid reactant attitudes and behavior, since acceptance and adherence to the COVID-19 measures help combat this pandemic and can possibly decrease fatality rates. Further implications are discussed.

This paper investigates visual representations of migrants in Slovenia. The focus is on immigrant groups from China and Thailand and the construction of their ‘ethnic’ presence in postsocialist public culture. The aim of the paper is to provide a critical angle on the current field of cultural studies as well as on European migration studies. The author argues that both fields can find a shared interest in mutual theoretical and critical collaboration; but what the two traditions also need, is to reconceptualize the terrain of investigation of Europe which will be methodologically reorganized as a post- 1989 and post-westernocentric. Examination of migration in postsocialism may be an important step in drawing the new paradigm.

Digitalisation and the emergence of online media in particular have led to intense debates about its effects on what is now often called “traditional media” including broadcast media such as radio. Our paper investigates how radio stations’ expansion into online space has transformed radio production. Focusing on the relationship between station and listeners, it discusses the social media practices of radio producers and explores whether these new digital tools contribute to a shift towards a more participatory production culture. The paper draws on data from a multi-method case study investigation of local British radio stations that combined programme analysis, expert interviews and web analysis. The study highlighted a shared belief among producers in the importance and value of social media for achieving audience loyalty and engagement. Nevertheless –not least due to a lack of additional resources –their use of social media is mainly an extension of traditional journalistic and promotional tech niques. Its potential for listener involvement in the production process is not met and exchanges with the audiences remain in the digital realm without impact on the on-air listener experience.

This paper deals with a stakeholder-focused perception of stakeholder engagement and the question of how much media and corporate communication influence people to get engaged with environmental issues and resources and the water issue in particular. With five case studies at a European, national, regional and local level it is shown that only a high degree of problematization of an issue (here: flooding or water scarcity and droughts) leads to participation as well as engagement which – much more than participation or activism – depends on the existence of organizational structures. Study findings conclude that stakeholder engagement equals a highly complex, autonomous and individual process that requires qualitative research methods. Organizations, political institutions as well as corporations have to acknowledge that stake - holders get engaged “themselves”, whereas the problematization of issues can foster engagement. Implications also refer to the field of Public Relations, where highly individual and customized communication strategies are needed.

Ein Papierfragebogen wird meist am „Empfangsort“ ausgefüllt. Bei Haushaltsbefragungen ist dies beispielsweise die Wohnanschrift potentieller Befragter, bei Befragungen zum Thema Arbeitsbedingungen oftmals der Arbeitsplatz und Untersuchungen rund um das Bildungssystem finden meist in Bildungseinrichtungen statt. Ähnlich dazu nahmen bislang Befragte bei Onlinebefragungen meist am Standort des PCs teil – also entweder zu Hause oder am Arbeitsplatz. Mit der technischen Entwicklung (Stichwort Smartphone) sind potentielle Befragte nun allerdings zunehmend „digital mobil“ und somit in der Lage Onlinefragebögen ortsunabhängig abzurufen und zu beantworten. D.h. der Befragungskontext bei Onlineerhebungen ist zunehmend variabel – und zwar hinsichtlich Ausfüllort und genutztes Endgerät. Diese Variabilität – so die Annahme – führt zu Unterschieden in der Datenbeschaffenheit. Gemeint ist dasmobilitätsbedingte Auftreten systematischer Antwortausfälle. Entsprechend fokussiert das vorliegende Paper die Forschungsfrage: „Wie bedeutsam ist digitale Mobilität, in Form von befragungsortunabhängiger Teilnahme mittels Smartphone, aufgrund kontextsensitiven Nonresponses, für die Qualität online erfragter Daten?“ Basis dafür bilden Daten, die im Rahmen einer Onlinebefragung zum Thema „Partizipation von Studierenden an der Universität“ erhoben wurden. Im Zuge dessen wurden 17.500 Studierende zur Teilnahme eingeladen. 14% der Zielgruppe reagierten auf die Einladung, 11% beantworteten zumindest eine Frage, aber nur 7% erreichten die letzte Seite des Onlinefragebogens. Die Responserate bzw. der Dropoutanteil variiert je nach Befragungskontext. Solch mobilitätsbedingte Unterschiede sollten – wie näher ausgeführt wird – im Rahmen der Datenaufbereitung und -analyse berücksichtigt werden. Beides kann eine akzeptable Datenqualität sichern und somit zur Ergebnisqualität beitragen.

By analyzing the Facts that the regulatian palicy for Chinese media industry has been /aasen greatly and Chinese AD & IT companies have rushed ta Nasdaq based an the re/ated thearies af Econamic and Management, this paper draws the picture af twa prafound changes happening ta the structure af Chinese media industry value chain.

This paper presents the findings of an empirical study on the role of internet based mediation among children’s communities and proposes a theoretical framework for the study of communities and their related online experience, introducing social capital and activity as key elements. The main goal is to understand the ways children interact with online social technologies and how they use them within the context of their own community to promote social interaction and knowledge acquisition.

Being mainstream places where a variety of online practices converge and are integrated, social network sites have also witnessed the emergence of grassroots and topdown political uses: from candidates’ and parties’ profiles, to single-issues campaigns’ discussion groups, to petitions and forms of ‘political fandom’, political content is now a constant presence in social media. Since social network sites are pervasive in young people’s everyday lives, questions of the efficacy of the internet in engaging disaffected youth and expanding the opportunities for participation are under debate. This paper discusses the findings of a qualitative study aimed at investigating political uses of social network sites and emerging practices of online participation among Italian youth. Participatory uses of social network sites are unevenly distributed among young people: political content tends often to be incorporated as identity marker, while other young people actively engage in citizenship practices online. Therefore, it is argued, civic and political uses of social media have to be contextualised in young people’s every day lives, especially in their ‘civic cultures’ and in the particular ‘convergent media ecology’ in which they are immersed. Depending on the civic cultures young people form and shape, and the digital literacy they develop, political uses are either a further outcome of networked individualism or the signal of new modes of participation which is mainly grassroots, non conventional and concerning identity and lifestyle choices.

This article provides an overview of the current approach to evaluation within the Canadian broadcasting sector. Current evaluations take on a variety of labels and guises, but very few actually provide a valid and reliable methodology. The paper provides insight into the need for reform and explains what evaluation should look like to achieve professional evaluation standards. A portion of the proposed evaluation model is used in the context of the Canadian commercial radio licence renewal process to illustrate how it can be applied to evaluate media policy. More importantly, it demonstrates how it can provide lessons for other countries wanting to improve evaluation standards in the quest for heightened accountability.

In our paper we discuss the political aesthetics of Jacques Rancière, specially his writings on the documentaries of the French director Chris Marker. In a first section we give an introduction to Rancière’s political philosophy, which explains political acts in terms of seizing the word by those who have no share in our societies. Such a seizing of words reconfigures the discursive regimes that decide who can say what and under what conditions publicly. In a second section we will show how Rancière’s aesthetical writings discuss works of art in a similar way as agents of a transfiguration of orders of visibility or sight. This becomes clear, as our third section will argue, in Rancière’s film aesthetics, especially in his essays on Chris Marker. Markers movies (for instance Le Tombeau d'Alexandre) focus on and at the same time complicate the boundaries between documentary and fiction; they allow us to understand a reality which is supposedly without alternatives as a result of human practice which always can be changed.

This paper is presented in order to understand the evolution of media dynamics in Brazil and investigate its perspectives for the future. Brazil, among the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), will be our focus. From a mono-mediatic paradigm to a convergent one, Brazil is developing new practices in fictional and non-fictional media. Our hypothesis is that the transmedia storytelling strategy is both the reality – although still timid – and the most probable future scenario for media development in Brazil. We can assert that transmedia storytelling is a tendency. Therefore, we will explore examples of transmedia storytelling initiatives in Brazilian media mainly related to journalism, entertainment, branding and advertisement.

Although new technologies can serve as tools for creating an environment of equal opportunities and empowerment, they also reflect and reinforce an offline gendered social order. The paper examines the emergence of new cultures of control based on technological designs that support infringements of privacy and new practices of surveillance and argues that technologies left unchecked constitute tools for new forms of surveillance and control of women´s lives. These under-researched issues are mapped and international policy initiatives are discussed against this matrix. It discusses whether and in which ways policies adequately recognise gender based practices and impacts of these developments by interrogating the nexus of gender, privacy and surveillance in the digital age.

Although new technologies can serve as tools for creating an environment of equal opportunities and empowerment, they also reflect and reinforce an offline gendered social order. The paper examines the emergence of new cultures of control based on technological designs that support infringements of privacy and new practices of surveillance and argues that technologies left unchecked constitute tools for new forms of surveillance and control of women´s lives. These under-researched issues are mapped and international policy initiatives are discussed against this matrix. It discusses whether and in which ways policies adequately recognise gender based practices and impacts of these developments by interrogating the nexus of gender, privacy and surveillance in the digital age.

In our paper we discuss the political aesthetics of Jacques Rancière, specially his writings on the documentaries of the French director Chris Marker. In a first section we give an introduction to Rancière’s political philosophy, which explains political acts in terms of seizing the word by those who have no share in our societies. Such a seizing of words reconfigures the discursive regimes that decide who can say what and under what conditions publicly. In a second section we will show how Rancière’s aesthetical writings discuss works of art in a similar way as agents of a transfiguration of orders of visibility or sight. This becomes clear, as our third section will argue, in Rancière’s film aesthetics, especially in his essays on Chris Marker. Markers movies (for instance Le Tombeau d'Alexandre) focus on and at the same time complicate the boundaries between documentary and fiction; they allow us to understand a reality which is supposedly without alternatives as a result of human practice which always can be changed.