Browsing by Subject "Development communication"
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Item Networking the favelas : leveraging international outreach to support digital journalism in Rio de Janeiro’s urban peripheries(2015-05) Davis, Stuart H.; Straubhaar, Joseph D.; Wilkins, Karin Gwinn, 1962-; Kumar, Shanti; Strover, Sharon; McAnany, Emile G.This dissertation interrogates two recent positions regarding the position of community activists as change agents for marginalized populations. The first position, generated by dissatisfaction with how organizations like the World Bank and the US Agency for International Development approach community partners, argues that grassroots actors offer a more egalitarian and dialogic approach to community-based economic, social, and political development. The second position, grounded in the history and theory of alternative media production as well as theories of citizen, civic, and participatory journalism, argues that technological advances in portable communication devices and the increasing ease of publishing in networked venues has re-configured and democratized the process of media production in a way that allows non-professional actors to create and disseminate media content. In order to investigate major theoretical and political implications of these two positions, I examine the international networking activities and local digital journalism programs practiced by Viva Rio, a Rio de Janeiro-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been working in the city’s favelas, or unincorporated urban slums, since 1993. Chapters 1-2 will address how Viva Rio used its position as the first favela-based NGO to draw in financial and political support from a variety of international organizations (IOs) ranging from the UN Development Program to the Inter-American Development Bank to Norwegian Church Aid. Chapters 3-5 will turn back to the local context to examine how Viva Rio channels resources gained through networking into its digital media production program, called Viva Favela. Drawing on interviews with staff members, quantitative and qualitative analysis of materials produced by the project, and participant observation of training workshops conducted in 2013, I examine how the international expansion of Viva Rio creates unintended consequences for Viva Favela including increased professionalization of staff and conflicting approaches to community outreach and training, and a distancing of the project from other favela-related media programs.Item Pursuing development with educational technology standards : complicating narratives of ICTs in the classroom(2012-12) Custard, Holly Ann; Wilkins, Karin Gwinn, 1962-; Strover, Sharon; Straubhaar, Joseph; Kumar, Shanti; Angel, RonaldThis dissertation examines stakeholder narratives that surround Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education, as well as the gap that exists between this narrative and effective widespread integration of ICTs in the classroom. Popular narratives surrounding ICTs in education often position ICTs as positive and inevitable and as a development strategy that benefits individuals, nations, and the global marketplace. However, ICTs are not equally distributed or enjoyed within or among nations. Technologies, information, and social development efforts are not neutral but are socially constructed and motivated by specific actors trying to achieve certain outcomes. This research, anchored in theories of ICTs in education, globalization, development communication, digital divide, and production of culture, provides a critical perspective to better understand who contributes to the production of the education technology culture and what social development gains are possible through the implementation of such efforts. One major factor contributing to the narrative of ICTs in education is the widespread adoption of education technology standards. This case study examines the stakeholder culture that produces those standards and contributes to the education technology narratives. Through interview and historical organization document analysis, I examine the processes followed to establish the National Education Technology Standards (NETS); the stakeholders that contribute to and operate within a culture of instructional technology that informs the development of technology standards; and how the production of culture surrounding instructional technology standards has been realized internationally. I argue that there is a disconnect between the production of instructional technology culture and the realities facing poor schools and poor nations. Despite the development and widespread adoption of educational technology standards, significant educational gains have largely gone unrealized. While I do not dispute the importance of establishing a minimum set of expectations for ICTs in education, I assert that the focus on standards distracts from more challenging conversations concerning inequities among schools and the deep socioeconomic divisions that continue to reinforce the digital divide and the overall inability to provide equitable opportunities for students.