We conducted a meta-analytic study of recent (2009 to 2020) information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) research in the field of development communication. Our aim was to explore the conceptualization of participation in the context of ICTs and globalization in contemporary scholarly discourse. We found that most studies published during this period evinced a technological deterministic discourse regarding the process of social change, privileging modernization and neoliberal modes of development. In such contexts, participation has often been conceptualized in terms of invitations to ‘access’ (first-level of participation) and ‘empowerment’ (second-level of participation) at the local level. Despite increasing concern regarding global digital inequalities, research that approaches participation in terms of claims to ‘social justice’ (third-level of participation) associated with global forces has been limited. We found, however, that research emerging from the communication and media disciplines have shown skepticism regarding the dominant trends. The paper concludes with a discussion of future directions in ICT4D for scholars across disciplines.
This study explores the photographic representations of two terrorist incidents, the 2015 Paris attacks and the Beirut bombings, produced by the leading global news agencies. The study conducts a content analysis of the photographs produced by AP, Reuters and AFP to identify the recurring patterns of the images under the discourse of ‘othering’ and ‘grievability’. It is observed that the agencies represented the two incidents differently as they show distinctive patterns in their manners of portrayal. It is argued that the apparent ‘hierarchy of news values’ is accompanied by the ‘hierarchy of human lives’ within the photographic representations, whereby the photographs of the Paris attacks, recognized as an extraordinary event, speak of humanization in which lives of the sufferers are valued while the photographs of the Beirut bombings, seen as an ordinary event, speak of dehumanization, where lives are devalued. Implications for global journalism and news value are discussed.
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