Fixed- and random-effects models represent two different approaches to analyzing and understanding data with meta-analysis. The current article describes the results of a two-part study to illustrate the effect of choice of meta-analytic model on study conclusions. Part 1 illustrates the effect of model choice by analyzing data simulated to conform to either fixed- or random-effects scena…
This article describes the experiences of returnees from exile into Kigali, Rwanda and the efforts of the Government of Rwanda (GoR) and the UNHCR to meet the needs of returnees, and to deal with the aftermath of the genocide. Particular attention is paid to the Gacaca courts and the role of social work therein. We identify gaps in services and make recommendations in respect of the r…
A rise in the power of Islamist parties has lent fresh interest to the old question of how revolutionary movements respond to participation in democracy. Pessimists argue that such movements will use any power they gain at the ballot box to subvert democracy, while optimists believe that participation can turn extremists into moderates. The example of 20th century European communist parti…
Popular and academic discussions of the future of print focus on the electronic formats of books and newspapers but ignore some of the most ubiquitous and historically significant, albeit ephemeral, types of print media. This article argues for taking the flyer, leaflet and pamphlet seriously. These forms of ‘disposable literature’ are in part facilitated by electronic media and in part able to…
This article examines the significance of networking practices as a means of finding work and developing a career in the British independent television production sector (ITPS). The findings are based on qualitative research carried out between 2005 and 2006, based on in-depth interviews with 20 freelancers working in the ITPS. The article studies the importance of networking not only as a mode…
This article aims to expand on the currently popular practice of conducting ethnographic studies of individual online fan groups to find other ways of using the internet ethnographically for television studies. The example of the Antiques Roadshow is used to explore a strategy for ethnographic attention to the diversity of mundane engagements with a particular television text via the internet. …
The article investigates the discursive construction of a Turkish Cypriot national identity by the newspapers in North Cyprus. It questions the representation and reconstruction processes of national identity within the press and examines the various practices employed to mobilize readers around certain national imaginings. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the article analyses news reports of…
In this article, we define the notion of ‘celebrity news’, emphasizing the fact that the portrayal of film stars embodies the imitable and the inimitable and, consequently, points towards values. In that context, we discuss the results of a thematic content analysis of a wide corpus of the daily and weekly European, French-speaking printed media to reveal which values are highlighted in celebri…
Modern-day children are immersed in cultures of consumption such that every aspect of their lives is touched by a buy-and-consume modality. In particular, children in North America are increasingly experiencing the effects of consumer culture at unprecedented levels of involvement. It becomes necessary, therefore, to examine the impact of consumerism in order to assess identity formation and de…
The World Wide Web has excited much speculation, and a growing body of scholarship, about its potential to advance the communicative power of social movement organizations. As a medium that enables online publishing, and selected features and functions, websites could be important in this regard. Yet, studies of social movement websites have documented these groups’ modest uses of the medium, a…
Historically, journalism as a profession emerged alongside the notion of objectivity. However, in the past decades, objectivity has been dismissed not only as an unattainable standard but also as an undesirable norm. Yet an analysis of the criticisms reveals that most scholars actually fail to define journalistic objectivity. This article tries to remedy this flaw and to suggest that journalist…
Evidence suggests that purchasing products for ethical or political reasons?also known as political consumerism?may be gaining in importance. With (young) people’s declining voting rates and a general disinterest in political institutions, scholars and political elites alike are speculating on the evolution of citizenship. Research shows that citizens in countries like the UK see issue and life…
Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital and habitus, this study investigates media consumption, motives of media use, and reading strategies among Asian immigrant women in South Korea. The interview data from this study reveal that the total sum of media consumption among Asian immigrant informants tends to increase after immigration and that their media consumption can be regarded a…
This article renews Dallas Smythe’s ‘blindspot’ argument by examining the economy of Google advertising. I argue that Google sells at least three types of commodities: keywords, statistics of keywords, and search results. Through a vertically integrated system, Google sells to advertisers commodities that have no exchange value outside the Google ads system. Moreover, Google creates an ideology…
In order to accomplish more multi-dimensional analyses of media logic one needs to study how journalists grapple with news issues in their expanding development, such as the revolutionary development of the climate issue in the news. The present analysis is based on interviews with 14 Swedish environmental journalists from various news media, who have been part of editorial concentrations on cl…
This article examines the multifaceted roles of provincial media and officials in China’s Guangdong province in the national policy process, and their patterns in articulating policy influence through policy implementation and learning. Key issues are (1) the role of the province in policy formulation, implementation and learning; (2) the mechanism whereby provincial media can influence nationa…
With the advent of digital technologies, awareness of media is acquiring crucial importance. Media literacy, information literacy and digital literacy are the three most prevailing concepts that focus on a critical approach towards media messages.This article gives an overview of the nature of these literacies, which show both similarities to and differences from each other. The various context…
Being perceived as family-engaged is assumed to benefit politicians, augmenting moral capital they can trade for votes and power. Moral capital benefits of family engagement are particularly salient for male politicians, whose relationship to family generally invokes responsibility and strength. Is family engagement a moral capital resource for female politicians, whose stereotypical associatio…
The collapse of the Soviet Union marked the beginning of a search for a national identity in Russia. This article investigates whether the Russian State recognized cinema as a cultural good for nation-building purposes. On the basis of qualitative and quantitative methods, it is demonstrated that after 1994, films with a national claim became more likely than other films to obtain state support…