Analyzing Challenges to Library Materials: An Incomplete Picture

This research project used Freedom of Information requests to obtain public records from Alabama institutions about challenges to materials in public schools and public libraries. Challenges occur when a patron objects to certain content. In this analysis, we examine the records of challenges. The research questions were as follows: How many challenges occur in public schools and libraries? What is the nature of these challenges? Are there institutional or demographic factors that are correlated to the occurrence of challenges? In this exploratory study, the number of reported challenges was surprisingly low. We investigated whether reported challenges were related to certain institutional or demographic factors, but did not find any discernible relationships. The data suggest that most challenged material is retained, but that librarians may be self-censoring to reduce controversy in their collections.     

论信息公开政策与政府公信力的提升——兼议2008中国新闻政策的变化

信息公开政策的的确立和实行是提升政府公信力的重要基础,并有利于提高政府运作的透明度。2008年中国新闻政策的变化主题是信息公开,作者对08年我国信息公开政策形成的四个阶段及其特点进行了历时性分析,并指出了其在中国新闻传播发展历史上的意义。     

Student Advocacy and the Limits of (Action-) Free Speech: Figurations of Materiality in Tinker,Bethel, and Hazelwood

The US Supreme Court has considered the question of free speech rights for students several times since its landmark Tinker v. Des Moines ruling in 1969. In each case it has confronted the failure of existing precedents to crystallize the imaginary distinction between speech and action in such a way as to satisfactorily negotiate the social relationship between students and educators, youth and adults. This essay analyzes three cases in the student free speech tradition, attending to the ways in which materiality is thematized in the course of a negotiation of the interests of adults vis-à-vis youth.     

Spotlight and Investigative Journalism: How the Film Reinforces the Essential Role of a Free,Professional Press in a Democracy

This article examines key scenes and ideas portrayed in the film Spotlight and discusses related landmark Supreme Court cases as a reaffirmation of the value of a professional, free press in a democratic society. Based on actual events, the movie adaptation follows journalists from the Boston Globe (within an investigate unit with the actual name “Spotlight”) as they reveal one of the biggest scandals of the twenty-first century, the cover up of systematic abuse of children by priests; and go up against one of the most powerful institutions in the world, the Catholic Church. By giving a voice and a platform for the victims, and by meticulously researching the story, the film provides a clear and strong argument for the continued court protection of one of the United States’ founding principles: freedom of the press.     

民国初年报纸言论尺度考察——基于对《大公报》言论栏目的分析

媒体批评政府和官员的限度,是衡量新闻自由程度的一个重要指标。通过对1912至1916年间《大公报》的言论栏目进行抽样分析,本文发现其时该报享有较高程度的新闻自由。根本原因有二:一是当时的国家-社会关系使得言论尚有自主空间;二是《大公报》的言论责任观使其立言尽可能公允清楚。     

Talking About Genetically Modified (GM) Foods in South Korea: The Role of the Internet in the Spiral of Silence Process

Using the issue of genetically modified foods, this study examines how the Internet may affect the spiral of silence phenomenon in South Korea. More specifically, we explore whether the Internet has created a social environment, where people can exchange opinions more freely without being fearful of social isolation. Analyzing data from an online survey, we first examine whether the Internet can play a role as a source of information, from which people assess the climates of public opinion. Also examined is whether the opinions of netizens can comprise another form of opinion climate, exerting pressure on one's willingness to speak out. Finally, we explore whether expressing an opinion on the Internet is subject to the pressure of opinion climates. Findings suggest that the Internet may play an important role in shaping people's perceptions of opinion climates. Perceived opinion congruence with other people were significantly associated with one's willingness to participate in an online forum, indicating that expressing an opinion on the Internet may be subject to the spiral of silence effect. We conclude that the Internet in South Korea may not have helped to diminish the social pressure that keeps citizens from expressing a minority view.     

沟通、导引与守望--西藏近现代重要藏文媒体的统促作用

以近现代重要的三家藏文媒体——《西藏白话报》《藏文白话报》以及中央人民广播电台藏语广播在西藏和平解放前重要历史拐点的表现为例,着重分析传媒对于维护国家统一的重要性,以透过纷繁的历史对所谓的“西藏问题”有更深层次的认识与思考。     

因特网的分析索引:乌托邦的梦想

检索互无关联的信息条目和数字内容时,所有查询因特网资源的方法都变得力不从心。本文通过研究现有的因特网查询方法、传统的书目控制和网站设计,探讨了对分析索引的需求问题。通过对这些索引的开发、设计和筛选过程中遇到的相关问题的讨论,得出一个结论,即在因特网上创建全面的分析索引不现实,而创建小型具体化的索引可能是查询某些具体数字信息的最佳途径。     

National Security Letters,the USA PATRIOT Act,and the Constitution: The tensions between national security and civil rights

In response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the USA PATRIOT Act greatly expanded the ability of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to use National Security Letters (NSLs) in investigations and the contexts in which they could be used by relaxing the standards under which NSLs could be employed. NSLs allow investigators to acquire a significant amount of information about the subject of an investigation, and the range and frequency of uses of NSLs has risen dramatically since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. An outstanding question with NSLs is whether they are being used in a manner that violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution. This article explores the relationships between NSLs, the USA PATRIOT Act, and the Constitution. The paper reviews the legislative history of NSLs, synthesizes the First and Fourth Amendment issues and key judicial decisions related to NSLs, and analyzes the extent to which the USA PATRIOT Act Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 adequately addresses challenges to the constitutionality of NSLs. The paper concludes with an examination of NSLs within the greater information policy context in the United States, as the expanded usage of NSLs—even if entirely constitutional—raises the possibility of chilling the freedom of expression.     

Suffering in Silence: The Resilience of Pakistan’s Female Journalists to Combat Sexual Harassment,Threats and Discrimination

ABSTRACT

Pakistan’s journalists confront severe safety risks across the country and impunity to crimes against them allows the perpetrators to go unpunished. Now the country is recognized as one of the deadliest places for working journalists in the world. Given this situation, the Pakistani female journalists are more vulnerable because they are not only prone to safety risks and sexual harassment, but also they face gender discrimination when it comes to their recruitment and equal pay-scale. In the past decade, there has been an alarming increase in attacks on female journalists and incidents of their sexual harassment in Pakistan. Notwithstanding the growing plague of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the country, the resilience of female journalists to work within a threatening and prejudiced environment has not yet fully explored and analysed. Therefore, drawing on the postcolonial feminist theory, this study aims to investigate the Pakistani female journalists’ lived experiences of sexual harassment, threats and discrimination. The study also analyses the impacts of sexual harassment, threats and gender discrimination on the country’s female journalists. To achieve the aforementioned aims, this study uses the qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and focus groups discussion, and offers a thematic analysis of qualitative data.     

(In)Efficient market models: the reality behind economic models in the publishing industry

The literature on evolving economic models in the electronic publishing industry of academic and scholarly communication has primarily been based on an ideology of economic efficiency. This ideology implies the role of print journals and publishers will become less dominant in the publishing industry since market forces predict a significant change in the flow of incentives and information between the various stakeholders. However, recent research suggests that this conclusion may be premature. Resisting forces, which manifest themselves via institutional, infrastructural and informational channels, seem strong enough to maintain the viability of print publishing in the medium term.     

An Examination of Support (In)Adequacy: Types,Sources, and Consequences of Social Support among Infertile Women

This study investigated gaps between the supportive communication people desire and receive in the context of infertility. Our findings advance the notion of support adequacy by positioning social support as a dynamic resource that is contributed to from a variety of sources in numerous ways. A community sample of 301 infertile women indicated that they experience discrepancies in the support they desire compared to what they receive from their spouses, friends and family, medical professionals, and online sources. Participants experienced the most discrepancies from medical professionals, and in almost all of these discrepancies people desired more support than they received. The magnitude of the gap between people's desires and what they receive corresponds with evaluations of support quality.     

College Students with Learning Disabilities (SWLD) and Their Responses to Teacher Power

Individuals in relationships accrue dependence power to the extent that they are perceived by a committed partner to be uncommitted to the relationship and have viable relationship alternatives (Cloven &; Roloff, 1993). This investigation examined how relational dependence power influences post‐hoc appraisals and communicative decisions about problematic events for both problematic event offenders and observers. One hundred and six dating couples participated in this investigation. Each person individually completed measures of dependence power. Then, one person in each couple was designated the offender and the other was the observer of one of five hypothetical problematic events; participants rated the severity of the scenario, as welt as completing several measures related to defining the scenario as a problematic event. Respondents also reported the likelihood that they would not communicate about the situation. Analyses indicated that for offenders, appraisals of problematic event severity were negatively associated with partner's commitment and positively associated with perceptions of partner's alternatives; the opposite pattern was indicated for observers. Moreover, when events were appraised as serious, offenders and observers were less likely to avoid communicating about the situation. Little support was found for the association between dependence power and decisions to communicate about problematic events.     

环境传播的九大研究领域(1938-2007):话语、权力与政治的解读视角

通过对1938-2007年西方1041篇关于环境传播的研究文献进行内容分析,同时借鉴安德鲁·皮尔森特等学者的"关键词建构理论",环境传播可以划分为九大研究领域: (1)环境传播的话语与权力(2)环境传播的修辞与叙述(3)媒介与环境新闻(4)环境政治与社会公平(5)社会动员与环境话语营销(6)环境危机传播与管理(7)流行文化中的环境表征(8)环境与国际政治外交转型(9)环境哲学与生态批评.同时,立足于文化唯物主义和新历史主义批评视角,本文从话语、权力与政治三个内在关联的视角具体解读环境传播的九大研究领域.