Culture and Communication

Comparing Language and Social Interaction

by Susana Martinez-Guillem

with David Boromisza-Habashi. In The Handbook of Comparative Communication Research. To be published on February 21st 2012

"From Communication to Mediation." Review of Jurgen Habermas: Democracy and the Public Sphere, by Luke Goode.

by Stella Gaon

Published in the Review of Politics, vol 69 (3): 480-484.

Un rendez-vous parmi d’autres. Ce que le jeu sur internet nous apprend du travail contemporain

by Manuel Boutet

Manuel Boutet, 2011. « Un rendez-vous parmi d’autres. Ce que le jeu sur internet nous apprend du travail contemporain ». ethnographiques.org, Numéro 23 - décembre 2011 "Analyser les présences au travail : visibilités et invisibilités" [en ligne].
(http://www.ethnographiques.org/2011/ Boutet - consulté le 27.12.2011)

Abstract

What can we learn about contemporary work and its collective forms of sociability from the rise of... more Abstract

What can we learn about contemporary work and its collective forms of sociability from the rise of ‘rendez-vous' games on Internet ? Games can be useful tools for analyzing work on the condition that our understanding of the encounters between of these two types of activity is not limited to a common-sense interpretation in which games represent at worst a simple form of entertainment, at best, training for something more serious. On the basis of interviews with players of an online game, we show that forms of play vary with the work activity with which they are associated, and especially, on the presence or absencce of multi-activity, where interactions at a distance and heterogeneous solicitations occupy an important place. Examing gaming pratice during breaks enables us to see how employees manage to maintain the consistency of their activities in such professional contexts, and to understand the developing of new forms of sociability based mainly on shared life/work rhythms.

Résumé

Que peut nous apprendre l'essor des « jeux de rendez-vous » sur le travail contemporain et les collectifs qui s'y inventent ? Si le jeu peut constituer un bon analyseur du travail, c'est que l'intrication de ces deux activités ne se résume pas aux deux interprétations courantes, qui voient dans le jeu un divertissement ou un entraînement. En partant d'entretiens menés avec des joueurs d'un jeu en ligne sur internet, on montre que la forme prise par la pratique de jeu varie selon l'activité de travail où elle s'insère, en particulier selon la présence ou non d'une situation de multi-activité, où se multiplient les communications à distance et les sollicitations hétérogènes dans le cours de l'activité. Le jeu donne ainsi à voir le travail déployé pour maintenir une cohérence de l'activité dans les contextes professionnels, plus nombreux aujourd'hui, où les temps sont individualisés, les arrangements techniques, laissés à la responsabilité du travailleur, et les sollicitations hétérogènes. On comprend aussi que s'y développent des nouvelles formes de sociabilités essentiellement basées sur le partage de rythmes.

Communicating Crusade. Livonian Mission and the Cistercian Network in the Thirteenth Century

by Marek Tamm

published in 'Ajalooline Ajakiri', no. 3/4, 2009

Winning Damaged Hearts and Minds: An Irregular Warfare Concept

by Patrick James Christian

By Brigadier General David L. Grange, Scott Swanson, and Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Christian

In ungoverned and under-governed environments, the local populace is usually the center of gravity. Other centers of... more In ungoverned and under-governed environments, the local populace is usually the center of gravity. Other centers of gravity within the population may include the will of the people that takes form as support for the governing authority or other political, economic and ideological forces. To win their hearts and minds and wean them off our adversaries’ control requires effective communication using the local “information systems.” Effective communications at the local level earns trust, which, in turn, establishes loyalty to our cause, commitment, and eventually buy-in to the regime we support. It also requires a focus on the local economic ecosystem that delves down to the community level, improves basic prosperity, honors local culture, and reinforces what’s important to the people. It requires a focus on the local political system that respects local codes, social networks, and empowers local leaders that eventually will connect to the state, region, and national political system.

Our goal must be to establish capabilities that support the creation of enduring, safe, and secure environments with local participation and responsibility. We want to develop Community Internal Defense (CID) participation with local, state, and foreign governmental and civilian agencies with, and for, the people with the purpose of protecting its citizens. This community provides a safe and secure environment, economic and social well-being, effective governance, human rights, and rule of law with a capacity to counter lawlessness. This is similar to the end-state of America’s historic “Wild West” communities.

Mots et pratiques de l'information. Ce que "aviser" veut dire (XVIe-XVIIe siècles)

by Johann Petitjean

published in "MEFRIM", 122/1, 2010, p. 107-121

Nostalgia: Digitalizing Past & Present Aesthetics (essay)

by Bill Psarras

Author: Bill Psarras / unpublished essay
Year: 2010

A critical approach upon the notion of Nostalgia, its potential existence within the communication technologies and... more A critical approach upon the notion of Nostalgia, its potential existence within the communication technologies and its relations within the fields of media arts.

The Mediamorphosis of the Artistic Communication (Reproduction, Broadcast, Internet)

by Alexandros Baltzis

Baltzis, Alexandros
Seminar of the European research network Digital Radio Cultures in Europe (COST A20), Pages: 18, Year: 2004

This is an introduction to the theoretical and methodological framework for the study of the impact that the internet... more This is an introduction to the theoretical and methodological framework for the study of the impact that the internet has on the artistic communication.

The first part introduces the main changes of the artistic communication brought about by modernity. It also analyses briefly commodification, intermediation and emancipation as the main features of this form of communication in modern societies.

In the second part, the analysis regards reproduction and broadcast as two successive phases in the development of the ways to distribute artworks and introduces a review of the analytic term "mediamorphosis". Although the term is introduced at the beginning of the '70s, it is elaborated just at the beginning of the '90s in the fields of the communication and journalism studies (by Fidler) and in the sociology of music (by Blaukopf). By the beginning of the next decade, the term is used in the sociology of the arts (by A. Schmudits), in order to signify the major changes of the cultural and artistic production brought about by the development of the mass communication and the media. In this context, the lecture explores the main features of the artistic communication in its most recent phase - the internet.

The third part of the lecture describes the main features of the mediamorphosis of the artistic communication through the internet: digitalization, global dissemination, interactivity, development of the global multimedia conglomerates, production designed as ever-expanding revenue stream, flexible specialization and finally high concentration and diversification, but - at the same time - high degrees of product diversity and consumer choice.

Finally, in this complex and contradictory context, the lecture describes in broad strokes the main asymmetries and antinomies of the current phase in the development of the artistic communication, as well as its different aspects.

Debunking the myth of the hard-to-reach farmer: effective communication on udder health

by Jolanda Jansen

Jansen, J., Steuten, C.D.M., Renes, R.J., Aarts, N., Lam, T.J.G.M. 2010. Debunking the myth of the hard-to-reach farmer: effective communication on udder health. Journal of Dairy Science, 93: 1296-1306

Worldwide, programs to control mastitis are implemented using different strategies to reach farmers. Even though... more Worldwide, programs to control mastitis are implemented using different strategies to reach farmers. Even though education materials and best practices may be technically optimal, they need to be used to be successful. Thus, effective communication with farmers is essential in order to change their behavior and to improve their farm management. During a Dutch national mastitis control program, a substantial number of farmers seemed to be hard to reach with information on udder health. Consequently, this study was designed to provide insight into the attitude and motivation of such farmers. In the period of October 2007 to July 2008, 24 in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with farmers whose veterinarians considered to be difficult to approach with advice on udder health management (8 practices, 3 farmers from each practice). The interviews included questions about the farms and the farmers, their attitude and behavior regarding mastitis, and their information sources and social environment. The results show that so-called hard-to-reach farmers were not always badly informed about udder health and did not always experience problems with mastitis. These ostensibly unreachable farmers were not a homogeneous group, but rather could be divided into 4 categories based on their trust in external information sources regarding mastitis and their orientation toward the outside world: proactivists, do-it-yourselfers, wait-and-see-ers, and reclusive traditionalists. There are ample opportunities to reach hard-to-reach farmers, provided that the communication strategies are tailored to their specific needs. There is especially much to gain in communication with do-it-yourselfers and wait-and-see-ers, but this demands a more proactive role on the part of veterinarians and extension specialists. Different types of farmers need to be approached in different ways and through different channels with information on udder health. Consequently, this study can contribute to the optimization of future programs designed to control and prevent diseases.

Campion, B. (2011). Bande dessinée éducative et éducation par la BD. Des pratiques de terrain à une approche intégrée. in Dacheux, E. & Le Pontois, S. (ed), Bande dessinée et solidarités. La BD, un miroir du lien social, Communication et civilisation. Paris: L’Harmattan.

by Baptiste Campion

The book is avalaible now (october 2011)

Malgré une certaine déconsidération de la BD, l'idée d'une bande dessinée « éducative » s'est développée à peu près en... more Malgré une certaine déconsidération de la BD, l'idée d'une bande dessinée « éducative » s'est développée à peu près en même temps que se répandait ce média. Si la pratique est assez répandue, peu d'études scientifiques ont cherché à systématiser ou théoriser cette production qui reste essentiellement empirique. Pourtant, l'inclusion de ces pratiques dans un cadre plus général permettant de définir un « média éducatif » permettrait de donner à la bande dessinée éducative une dimension nouvelle, moins isolée dans les « ghettos » scolaires et parascolaires dans lesquels elle a parfois été confinée. Insérer la bande dessinée dans une réflexion sur les médias éducatifs permettrait entre autres de s'interroger sur ce qui en ferait la spécificité, d'en objectiver les apports et de (re)définir les pratiques en fonction d'objectifs pédagogiques et/ou éducatifs mieux maîtrisés. La bande dessinée éducative existe, mais son étude scientifique reste encore largement à construire.

La présente contribution entend dans un premier temps inventorier différents usages associant la bande dessinée à l'éducation. Dans un second temps, ces usages seront référés à une définition du « média éducatif » en termes d'effets, permettant notamment de dépasser l'opposition entre une bande dessinée spécifiquement éducative et la bande dessinée « normale » de divertissement. Nous nous attarderons en particulier les effets de la narration dans la mesure où celle-ci est sans doute, avec l'image, une des spécificités de ce médium intéressantes pour l'éducation, quoique moins étudiée. Enfin, sera proposé un décloisonnement de la recherche qui faciliterait une meilleure connaissance de la bande dessinée éducative au sein des différents médias dits éducatifs.

Surprising intersectionalities of inequality and privilege: the case of the arts and cultural sector

by Mustafa Ozbilgin

Tatli, A. and Ozbilgin, M. (2011) Surprising intersectionalities of inequality and privilege: the case of the arts and cultural sector, Equality Diversity and Inclusion: an international journal, Special Issue on Joan Acker, edited by S. Sayce.

Purpose: In this paper we explore the difficult territory of intersectionality as it relates to inequality and... more Purpose: In this paper we explore the difficult territory of intersectionality as it relates to inequality and disadvantage in the labour market of the arts and cultural sector. We first examine the way Acker’s concept of inequality regimes is located in the extant literature. Then, we study the dynamics of intersectionality in the arts and cultural sector, which offers an ideal setting with interesting and counter-intuitive outcomes of intersectionality.

Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on a qualitative study which generated interviews with students, employers and higher education institutions which are involved in industrial placements (internships) in the arts and cultural sector in Britain.

Findings: In line with Acker, we also dispute a-contextual and cumulative formulations of intersecting inequalities that rely on multiplying the unequal outcomes on the basis of traditional categories of disadvantage. Instead, we argue that multiplicity of identities and forms of disadvantage introduce complexity and contextual depth into the analysis of inequality if we are to understand interplay between different forms of disadvantage. In addition, we maintain that intersectionality produces surprising outcomes, which vary across industrial contexts, in particular across different sectors of employment. We use the case of work undergraduate and postgraduate placement practices in the arts and cultural sector, in order to demonstrate the unexpected nature of intersectionality in producing disadvantage.

Research limitations/implications: The study draws on a selection of students, employers and higher education staff from London. A larger selection of institutions outside London could reveal differences between London and other cities and regions in Britain.

Practical implications: Intersectionality is an important concern for diversity and human resources management professionals. We provide an assessment of it in an unusual sectoral context.

Social implications: There is need to develop an emic understanding of intersectionality in each sector.

Originality/value: In the literature, intersectionality is problematised at workplace and individual levels. Our take of intersectionality is original in the sense that we explore how intersectionality operates at the sectoral level. In doing so, we demonstrate that salience of a strand of inequality in terms of producing intersectional disadvantage depends on the context.

A Layered Approach to a Common Ground Reading

by Ryan Dewey

In a January 27, 2011 interview on the National Public Radio radio show Fresh Air (hosted by Terry Gross), guest... more In a January 27, 2011 interview on the National Public Radio radio show Fresh Air (hosted by Terry Gross), guest Robert Spitzer made this comment: “Brazil doesn’t have a second amendment in their constitution.” However, as of May 2010 the Citizen Constitution (Brazil’s constitution since 1988) has been amended 64 times, which necessarily includes a second instance of an amendment being made. This fact renders a literal reading of Spitzer’s remark to be infelicitous. Instead, it is argued that Spitzer’s remark utilized the architecture of the situation to engage participants in a joint activity of maximizing the common ground.

This essay explores the role of a shared common ground in layered communication situations which enables participants to understand speaker construals. This falls within the domain of joint attention and pragmatic analysis of communication situations. Clark’s (1996) notion of Common Ground will be used to analyze the situation and untangle the communication layers to question what each participant needs to understand in order to orient on the intended meaning of the speaker. Using attested data from a radio interview, this paper explores three layers of communication and identifies the various aspects of a common ground that are required for a proper reading of a speaker’s intended meaning. This common ground is argued to be essential in the process of the negotiation of meaning. What follows is an initial exposition of the methodological process in this analysis, followed by a situating of the context for the data, and finally the application of the analytical method to the data with appropriate conclusions.

Hacking Practices and their Relevance for Consumer Studies: The Example of the 'Jailbreaking'of the iPhone

by Paolo Magaudda

in "Consumer, Commodities and Consumption" Vol 10 (2), 2010.

While hackers and hacking practices are usually associated with criminals or murky subcultures, modifications of... more While hackers and hacking practices are usually associated with criminals or murky subcultures, modifications of software and hardware of consumer devices are becoming increasingly common in wider social contexts. This short piece aims at showing how hacking modification practices fit into consumer studies research’s recent aenda. Firstly, this topic will be considered in the light of a few concepts recently emerged in consumer studies, such as those of «craft consumer» (Campbell 2005), «prosumer» (Ritzer and Jurgenson, 2010) and of «culture jamming» (Carducci, 2006). Secondly, these arguments will be exemplified by shortly describing the practice of «jailbreking» (i.e the modification of the original software) of Apple’s hardware such as iPhone and iPad and their implications for consumption patterns.

Unsettling Resettlement: Problematizing “Lost Boys of Sudan” Resettlement and Identity

by Sara McKinnon

“Bringing New Hope and New Life”: The Rhetoric of Faith-Based Refugee Resettlement Agencies

by Sara McKinnon

Audiences Authoring Authors: Audience Production of Value, the Culture Industry, and Copyright

by Tim MacNeill

Active audience, fan communities, cultural policy, copyright, music industry, cultural economy

A study of... more Active audience, fan communities, cultural policy, copyright, music industry, cultural economy

A study of the music industry on the Est Coast of Canada, and implications for economic, intellectual, and cultural policy as well as communication and cultural theory.

Transnational Counterpublic: An Owner's Manual

by Tim MacNeill

Social Movements, Communication and Culture theory, public sphere Social Movements, Communication and Culture theory, public sphere

Ong, J.C. (2009). “The Television of Politics, The Politics of Television: Reviewing the Relationship between Television and Public Engagement.” Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, 4(3).

by Jonathan Corpus Ong