Under the Dome: “Chinese” smog as a viral media event

Under the Dome, a video about smog in China produced by author and former television anchor Chai Jing, garnered 200 million views within 48 hours before disappearing from major Chinese websites. This essay examines the video’s aesthetics, distribution and reception with a particular attention to its relation to time. I argue that a focus on temporality allows us to discern the ideological conditions that delimit how we talk about Under the Dome and indeed China’s pollution in the context of neoliberal globalization. The celebration of the video’s digitally enabled instantaneity not only privileges technological solutions and consumer agency but also obscures the unequal relation of power to which the Chinese state and the workers within the global electronics supply chain have long been subject. What these discourses eclipse is an opportunity to rethink the accidental event as opening an alternative dialogue about the geological deep time of media culture.     

How Comparable are the Actions of a School-Based Intermediary Responding to Inquiries and the Information-Seeking Behavior of Young People?

This article examines an issue that is rarely considered—the similarities between the action taken by an intermediary responding to inquiries within the setting of a school library media center and the information behavior of end-users. The work concentrates on five important areas: the exploitation of the individual's own knowledge; the employment of readily accessible information resources; the way in which materials may be used; approaches to other people; and the circumstances surrounding the termination of a search. The article identifies implications for the information professional and suggests ways forward for future research.     

图书馆“阅读推广人”模式的实践探索——以沈阳师范大学图书馆为例

[目的/意义] 以沈阳师范大学图书馆\"阅读推广人\"行动计划为例,探索高校图书馆以阅读推广人为引领的阅读推广新模式。[方法/过程] 基于对阅读推广人概念、人员构成现状的分析,介绍图书馆阅读推广人方案的实施过程和效果,在总结活动经验、得失的基础上,提出阅读推广人活动持续发展的四点思考。[结果/结论] 阅读推广人以其发挥的无与伦比的推动作用,成为全民阅读工程产生的文明使者,是阅读推广活动中重要的人才保障,其由业余兼职走向崭新的专门职业不无可能。     

Watchdog,Voyeur, or Censure?

One of the longest-running ethical debates in visual journalism is the extent to which graphic and/or violent photographs should be present in our news media. The current research is designed to elicit further understanding about this complex topic from a framing effects perspective. The research uses a 2 (level of graphicness) × 3 (story topic) experimental design to test for media effects of graphic photos in regard to such variables as attitude toward the situation and attitude toward continued US involvement in the situation. The three story topics are the 2011 Somalia famine, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the 2003 war in Iraq. In addition, the research integrates eye-tracking data—a unique approach to understanding the effects of graphic photographs on participants. The research did not find across the board significant effects in regard to level of graphicness; however, a key finding emerged: the nature of the news story did lead to significant effects. In addition, the inclusion of eye-tracking data showed that the highly graphic photos more quickly attracted participants' attention and that participants' fixated on highly graphic photos for a longer amount of time.     

Making Creative,Innovative, and Entrepreneurial Things Happen in the Special Library

No abstract available for this article.     

Trend spotting – whither health science librarianship?

This feature surveys 20th-century trends in health sciences librarianship. It sets the scene for a series of features looking at 21st-century trends in various countries and regions. Whilst the mission of the health science library remains constant, librarians must find ways of adjusting their role and the services they provide to take account of changes in the external environment.