Towards cyberactivism 2.0? Understanding the use of social media and other information technologies for political activism and social movements

Information technologies are increasingly important for political and social activism. In particular, web 2.0 tools and social media applications have recently played a significant role in influencing government decision making and shaping the relationships between governments, citizens, politicians, and other social actors. After the Arab Spring and the uprisings that have led to significant political changes in Egypt, Tunisia, and Iran, commentators argue that information technologies have the potential to strengthen social movements and ultimately transform society. However, this influence is not new. There were movements in the 90s, using the new technologies of e-mail and websites, which were able to gather significant social attention and generate political pressure. Based on three Mexican social and political movements that span close to 20 years, this article identifies key similarities and differences in the use of information technologies and proposes a framework to understand the evolution of cyberactivism. Initially, activists used information technologies to promote a movement's main ideas and gain global support. More recently, a single tool or application, such as Twitter, has been the technological basis for certain social and political movements. However, there is a trend towards a more integrated use of social media tools and applications, generating what could be called cyberactivism 2.0. In addition, there are some distinguishable stages in the development of social protests using information technologies; this evolutionary model seems to be useful to understand very different social and political movements using very different levels of technological sophistication.     

Creating Educational Destruction: A Critical Exploration of Central Neoliberal Concepts and Their Transformative Effects on Public Education

Individualism and competition are central neoliberal concepts that have profoundly altered the U.S. public education system. This article draws on poststructuralist theory and advances the argument that these concepts have produced problematic policies and deeply flawed school choice mechanisms such as charter schools and school vouchers. I also explore how educational activists contested neoliberal ideology and reshaped reality as they defeated a neoliberal education policy in North Carolina.     

能动司法检察监督的必要性解析

能动司法检察监督具有深厚的理论、实践、政策和法律基础。检察机关通过行使检察监督权,可以充分发挥其防止能动司法权滥用功能和保障能动司法过程中权利实现及其受侵犯时得到有效救济的功能。当代中国建设社会主义法治国家的目标客观上要求通过检察监督,保证能动司法依法进行,防范能动司法偏离司法属性、背离法治轨道等情况的发生。能动司法检察监督是检察监督的应有之义,是现行法律的规定,也是能动司法法制化和规范化的必然选择。凭借权力实现对法官发挥主观能动性的监督和制约是世界通行做法。鉴于当前我国法院和法官的能力状况、能动司法中存在的错误风险,有效规制能动司法需要检察监督的介入。     

Using Quilts and Quilt Picture Books to Celebrate Diversity with Young Children

Quilts, with their bright colors, puzzle-like patterns and comforting touch, naturally appeal to children. Quilts may cover beds, blanket naps, or serve some other function in childrens homes, and the family context of quilts makes them appropriate for exploring diversity with young children in the classroom. A rich and extensive collection of quilt-centered picture books is available that explores cultural, intergenerational and social awareness themes through engaging text and captivating illustrations. Quilts and quilt-themed picture books are useful additions to an early childhood environment that explores, celebrates and integrates diversity in the daily life of the young child.     

Creating a space to #SayHerName: Rhetorical stratification in the networked sphere

ABSTRACT

This essay examines #SayHerName as a case study to analyze how circulation of the hashtag both challenged women’s erasure from #BlackLivesMatter discourse and motivated activists to center the stories of Black women killed in police interactions. We introduce the term rhetorical stratification to discern why the #SayHerName hashtag came to matter, and how it remained relevant in the national discourse about police brutality. To do so, we analyze how the #SayHerName movement evolved from the discursive to the material through policy briefs, social media circulation, and citizen journalism, which influenced news framing and initiated greater deliberation about this issue in both the networked public sphere and in local communities. We conclude that this hashtag invitation to digital activists engaged more nuanced perspectives about police brutality and policy reform, influenced the way Black women victims of police violence are covered in the news, and motivated community-based policy proposals addressing necessary changes in local policing.     

Higher education,democracy, and development: Implications for Newly Industrialized Countries

Universities are central institutions in modern societies, providing education, research, and communication of scientific information needed by technologically based societies. The focus of this essay is on the role of universities in the emerging economies of the Newly Industrializing Countries (NIC) of the Pacific Rim, although this discussion has relevance for all countries seeking to enter the ranks of the industrialized nations. Universities in the NICs are especially important because they are the windows through which modern science enters society. Academic institutions have also served to provide an important critical voice to emerging democracies because their faculties often contribute to public debates and discussions. The roles of faculty and students in the development of the NICs is also examined in this essay.     

Teacher professionalism: why are we still talking about it?

It is now more than 10 years after the publication of the monograph, The Activist Teaching Profession, which, at the time, could be described as a call to action for the teaching profession. I reflect here on how far has the profession progressed in responding to that call to action. The idea of a ‘call to action’ could be seen to born out of industrial rather than professional discourses: 10 years ago different factors were shaping teachers’ professional practice and identity and a call to action was a metaphor and a strategy to mobilize teachers. In this paper, I identify the factors that are still influencing and shaping the teaching profession and argue that different times require different responses and that current thinking and debates around teacher professionalism circulate around professional learning. In this paper, I argue that the time for an industrial approach to the teaching profession has passed. I make the case for systems, schools and teachers to be more research active with teachers’ practices validated and supported through research.     

早期经验、早期训练与早期教育——精神分析与行为主义的视野及其启示

早期教育作为当今社会人们日益关注而又难以有序有效抓好的一大问题摆在了学术界和众多年轻父母的面前,精神分析和行为主义关于早期经验和早期训练的有关论述和卓见,在一定程度上可为我们提供一些借鉴和启示。本文拟通过分析和借鉴这两大学派的相关理论和合理做法,为我国早期教育事业的顺利实施提供一些建设性意见。