Rationales, rhetoric and realities:FIFA’s World Cup in South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was heralded by mainstream media outlets, the local organisers, the South African government and FIFA as an unequivocal success. The month-long spectacle saw South Africa take centre stage and host the world’s largest single sporting event. This occurred against a backdrop of rationales and promises made that the event would leave lasting legacies for all, in particular marginalised South Africans. The reality is quite different. In this article we consider the South African World Cup in the build up to Brazil 2014. We argue that the rationales and rhetoric are similar in both countries and suggest the reality for Brazil 2014 will be the same as South Africa 2010 in that the mega-event will be primarily funded by significant public investment, while the primary beneficiaries will be private capital and FIFA.

O comportamento eleitoral da nova classe trabalhadora no Rio Grande do Norte 2014: ideologia, avaliação de governo e voto

This thesis investigates the voting behavior of the fractions of the new working class in Rio Grande do Norte, more specifically in the cities of Natal, Mossoró and Caicó, from the presidential election of 2014. This research examined the ideology, the evaluation of government and guidance the vote of a portion of the working classes of RN voters. In Brazil, from 2003, socio-economic change has occurred perceptibly, especially in a part of the working classes who ascended socially and switched to the "C economic class." Thus, there was this period, a significant expansion of this social stratum. The expansion of the "class C" in the past decade in Brazil raised the academic debate and in the media about the emergence of a "new middle class". Neri (2008) termed the "class C" of the "new middle class" and that will be the central part of their studies. But the debate on the "new middle class" can not be simplistic to the point of considering that social mobility, the main variable income, entered this segment of the population in the middle class, because it has different specificities of the popular classes. To understand this phenomenon, the income variable was outdated, adding the importance of ownership of the means of production, control of labor power and the symbolic values in the division of social classes resulting in three fractions of the new working class: the management positions, non-heads and small fighters. In this study, using as a complement to the sociological approach (ideologies and social classes) and the performance evaluation was identified that the new working class (heads) mainly reproduced the ideological and political positioning of the middle class, resulting in the rejection of PT governments (2003-2014) and it’s social, compensatory and redistributive policies. From what has been seen, the new working class (chiefs) approaches the ideological and political behavior of the middle class that will reflect in their electoral choices and class interests. The new working class (not heads and small fighters who voted in the situation) because of its classist and ideological interests approached the Workers' Party positively evaluating the Lula-Dilma governments (2003-2014) due to the implementation of compensatory policies, and redistributive programs government turned to the popular classes. In a counterpoint, the voters of the new working class (not heads and small fighters) who voted null, reproduced the discourse of mainstream media and the middle class about the rejection of compensatory policies, redistribution and government programs of Lula-Dilma governments, and consequently they disapproved of the government Dilma and her candidacy.

MIDIATIZAÇÃO E CIRCULAÇÃO DE SENTIDOS NAS MANIFESTAÇÕES DE JUNHO DE 2013

Os sistemas comunicacionais têm presenciado alterações expressivas desde a chegada da internet, onde os dispositivos participativos crescem a cada dia, fruto do processo cada vez mais evidente de uma sociedade midiatizada. O trabalho aborda o tema das Manifestações de Junho, ocorridas no Brasil, busca evidenciar os tensionamentos do discurso da grande imprensa frente a cobertura da mídia alternativa, reflete quais foram os desdobramentos de uma das principais manifestações que o país já presenciou e analisa a circulação de sentidos nos eventos ocorridos em 2013. Para tanto, combina uma pesquisa bibliográfica e histórica com pesquisa empírica voltada à análise de narrativas das colunas do jornalista Arnaldo Jabor para a Rádio CBN, durante as manifestações, como também de dois comentários em vídeo de Jabor, para o Jornal da Globo, da TV Globo. E para evidenciar o referencial teórico da presente pesquisa, analisou-se um terceiro vídeo, que tem como título “La Hipocresia de los Medios”, fruto da edição do programa Bajada de Línea, da TV Argentina, que repercute as falas de Arnaldo Jabor, transforma-se literalmente em uma terceira fala, evidenciando a mudança de opinião e confirmando que a midiatização afeta o modelo clássico de comunicação.

COMUNICAÇÃO E CULTURA LOCAL NA RÁDIO COMUNITÁRIA BOA NOVA FM EM SENHORA DE OLIVEIRA, MG

Estudo sobre a Rádio Comunitária Boa Nova FM do município de Senhora de Oliveira-MG, no que se refere às suas configurações e as relações com a comunidade local. Os objetivos são identificar o sistema de funcionamento da rádio comunitária como forma de compreender até que ponto ela se insere no cotidiano oliveirense e articula a movimentação local, sobretudo em períodos eleitorais; averiguar o tipo de informação veiculada; observar o sentimento dos ouvintes em relação à mesma. O estudo se baseia em pesquisa bibliográfica para tecer as teorias e nortear todo o processo de pesquisa e no estudo de caso por meio de procedimentos metodológicos como a pesquisa documental, a pesquisa participante e entrevistas semi-estruturadas, além de uma pesquisa de recepção junto aos ouvintes. Conclui-se que a rádio Boa Nova, que convive harmoniosamente com a comunicação comunitária estabelecida também pelo alto falante, articula de forma simplória a informação e a cultura local em suas práticas, pois há reprodução de conteúdo da mídia convencional, além de não haver uma participação ampla da associação comunitária que é sua mantenedora. Apesar da falta de conhecimento técnico da maioria dos locutores e da relação político partidária presente na emissora, há compatibilidade entre o que a rádio veicula e o interesse dos ouvintes

Governmentality gone wild: How the separation of sex workers from 'communities' contributes to violence against sex workers

Sex workers are members of our communities, whether they are local or national communities. In law, mainstream media representations, and research sex workers are positioned as outside of or in opposition to communities. Even within marginalized communities sex workers are excluded when appeals to respectability politics are made. In this thesis I analyze three analytic sites from three areas of social life. The first chapter performs a textual analysis of The Bedford Decision (2013) and the resulting Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (2014) as an examination of law. The second chapter is an analysis of filmic discourse on community, sex workers, and violence in the mainstream film London Road (2015) as an examination of mainstream media. The third chapter draws upon empirical research, i.e. in-depth interviews with three current and former sex workers in Ottawa, Canada and analyzes the transcripts using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to center how sex workers’ understanding of their work, community, and the laws and policies that are supposed govern and protect them. In my preface and conclusion I discuss some of the ethical dilemmas I encountered while conducting this research. My findings suggest that sex workers are being positioned and understood as outside of communities in ways that contribute to violence against sex workers. The implications of this research suggest that people who speak in the name of communities—communities in the sense of local neighborhood communities, activist communities, and national communities—need to recognize that sex workers are part of their communities and be accountable to ensuring they are treated as members. Researchers who conduct research on sex work and sex workers need to be accountable to their participants and the impacts their research may have on laws and policies. Sex workers are an over-researched population yet their voices are largely misappropriated or silenced in popular research and policy debates.

Guiding public protest: assessing the propaganda model of China’s hybrid newspaper industry

This dissertation presents an account and analysis of published mainland Chinese media coverage surrounding three major events of public protest during the Hu-Wen era (2003-2013). The research makes a qualitative analysis of printed material drawn from a range of news outlets, differentiated by their specific political and commercial affiliations. The goal of the research is to better understand the role of mainstream media in social conflict resolution, a hitherto under-studied area, and to identify gradations within the ostensibly monolithic mainland Chinese media on issues of political sensitivity. China’s modern media formation displays certain characteristics of Anglophone media at its hyper-commercialised, populist core. However, the Chinese state retains an explicit, though often ambiguous, remit to engage with news production. Because of this, Chinese newspapers are often assumed to be one-dimensional propaganda ‘tools’ and, accordingly, easily dismissed from analyses of public protest. This research finds that, in an area where political actors have rescinded their monopoly on communicative power, a result of both policy decisions and the rise of Internet-based media platforms, established purveyors of news have acquired greater latitude to report on hitherto sensitive episodes of conflict but do so under the burden of having to correctly guide public opinion. The thesis examines the discursive resources that are deployed in this task, as well as reporting patterns which are suggestive of a new propaganda approach to handling social conflict within public media. Beside the explicitly political nature of coverage of protest events, the study sheds lights on gradations within China’s complex, hybrid media landscape both in terms of institutional purpose and qualitative performance.

El uso de la documentación con una nueva formación política: Podemos

Esta investigación pretende analizar, desde un punto de vista documental, el tratamiento periodístico dado por los principales medios impresos españoles a las informaciones sobre el nuevo partido político Podemos en el momento de su eclosión. Podemos es un fenómeno social que en muy breve espacio de tiempo cambió los parámetros políticos de España. Por ello, queremos conocer cómo los principales medios de comunicación elaboraron sus informaciones en ese contexto de novedad que supuso su aparición. La documentación es el pilar de la información periodística de calidad, razón por la que nos servimos de ella para medir, dentro del marco de nuestra investigación, la calidad del periodismo que se practicó con dicha formación política.

Youth Expression with Video Surveillance Technology

This qualitative study examines five young Afro-Franco Caribbean males in the Diaspora and their experiences with systems of technology as a tool of oppression and liberation. The study utilized interpretive biography and participatory video research to examine the issues of identity, power/control, surveillance technology, love and freedom. The study made use of a number of data collection methods including interviews, round table discussions, and personal narratives. A hermeneutic theoretical framework is employed to develop an objective view of the problems facing Afro-Franco Caribbean males in the schools and community. The purpose of the study is to provide an environment and new media technology that Afro-Franco Caribbean males can use to engage and discuss their views on issues mentioned above and to ultimately develop a video project to share with the community. Moreover, the study sought to examine an epistemological approach (Creolization) that young black males, particularly Afro-Franco-Caribbean males, might use to communicate, document, and share their everyday experiences in the Diaspora. The findings in the study reveal that the participants are experiencing: (a) a lack of community involvement in the urban space they currently reside, (b) frustration with the perspective of their home country, Haiti, that is commonly shown in mainstream media, and (c) ridicule, shame, and violence in the spaces (school and community) that should be safe. The study provides the community (both local and scholarly) with an opportunity to hear the voices and concerns of youth in the urban space. In addition the study suggests a need for schools to create a critical pedagogical curriculum in which power can be democratically shared.

The conversation on political issues on Twitter: an analysis of the participation and frames in the debate on the 'Wert law' and evictions in Spain

The aim of this study is to determine which social agents are involved in the political debate on Twitter and whether the interpretive hegemony of actors that have traditionally been the most prominent is tempered by the challenge of framing shared with audiences. The relationship between the interpretations expressed and the profiles of participants is analyzed in comparison with the frames used by mainstream media. The chosen methodology combines content analysis and discourse analysis techniques on a sample of 1,504 relevant tweets posted on two political issues –the approval of the education law LOMCE and the evictions caused by the crisis, which have also been studied in the front pages of four leading newspapers in Spain. The results show a correlation between political issue singularities, frames and the type of discussion depending on the participants.

The global sports-media nexus: Reflections on the 'Super League Saga' in Australia

Despite the social and (increasingly) commercial significance of sport and sporting bodies worldwide, they remain under-represented in the mainstream management literature. One of the more recent and dramatic examples of the global sports-media nexus is the 'Super League saga' in Australia. This paper recounts the tale of the Super League saga, providing a holistic analysis of the events and competitive issues arising by drawing on literatures concerning the economic nature and value of sports leagues, the resource-based view of the firm and the nature of psychological contracts in changing environments. The analysis confirms the general monopolistic tendencies of professional sports leagues in an increasingly global industry driven by the sports-media nexus, in accord with a number of comparable cases internationally. The particular conditions of the Australian marketplace that exacerbate this tendency beyond, for example, that found in the USA, and differences in the outcomes of battles between rival leagues are also considered. The Super League saga portrays the importance of effective management of resources key to the production of the 'rugby league product' including, among others, the often over-looked importance of careful management of local resources for the success of global strategies, and, where human resources are key, the importance of psychological contracting. The holistic analysis of the Super League saga in Australia affords lessons that extend well beyond the realm of sports.

Gender in focus: (new) trends in media

(Excerto) Nowadays, the public discourses about gender equality are commonly accepted in Western society. In fact, we live in an era of “equality illusion” (Banyard, 2010) because the mainstream discourses incorporate gender in the agenda, conveying the message that feminist struggles are unnecessary today. At the same time, postfeminism (McRobbie, 2004) gains importance and demonstrates the intricacies of a neoliberal, highly individualist culture that subtly imprisons the freedoms that it is supposed to grant (Gill & Scharff, 2011).

Gender and media: where do we stand today?

Nowadays, the public discourses about gender equality are commonly accepted in Western society. In fact, we live in an era of “equality illusion” (Banyard, 2010) because the mainstream discourses incorporate gender in the agenda, conveying the message that feminist struggles are unnecessary today. At the same time, postfeminism (McRobbie, 2004) gains importance and demonstrates the intricacies of a neoliberal, highly individualist culture that subtly imprisons the freedoms that it is supposed to grant (Gill & Scharff, 2011). However, back in 1978, Gaye Tuchman used the expression “symbolic annihilation” to refer to how the media represented women. The author refers to a “symbolic annihilation” because sometimes it is so hidden and subtle that it becomes difficult to perceive – and to be fought. Much has improved since then; yet a lot remains the same. Over the past decades there have been marked changes in gender relations, in feminist activism, in the (media) communication industry and in society in general (Byerly, 2013; Carter, Steiner & McLaughlin, 2015; Gallagher, 2014; Gallego, 2013; Krijnen, Álvares & Van Bauwel, 2011; Krijnen & Van Bauwel, 2015; Lobo, Silveirinha, Subtil, & Torres, 2015; Ross, 2009; Silveirinha, 2001; Van Zoonen, 1994, 2010). Now, in a globalised and media saturated world, the gendered picture is, consequently, different. The contemporary grammar is marked by diverse and complex tensions (van Zoonen, 2010).

Backpacker 2.0 - Contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform

Long-term independent budget travel to countries far away has become increasingly common over the last few decades, and backpacking has now entered the tourism mainstream. Nowadays, backpackers are a very important segment of the global travel market. Backpacking is a type of tourism that involves a lot of information search activities. The Internet has become a major source of information as well as a platform for tourism business transactions. It allows travelers to gain information very effortlessly and to learn about tourist destinations and products directly from other travelers in the form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Social media has penetrated and changed the backpacker market, as now modern travelers can stay connected to people at home, read online recommendations, and organize and book their trips very independently. In order to create a wider understanding on modern-day backpackers and their information search and share behavior in the Web 2.0 era, this thesis examined contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform. In order to achieve this goal, three sub-objectives were identified: 1. to describe contemporary backpacker tourism 2. to examine contemporary backpackers’ travel information search and share behavior 3. to explore the impacts of new information and communications technologies and Web 2.0 on backpacker tourism The empirical data was gathered with an online survey, thus the method of analysis was mainly quantitative, and a qualitative method was used for a brief analysis of open questions. The research included both descriptive and analytical approaches, as the goal was to describe modern-day backpackers, and to examine possible interdependencies between information search and share behavior and background variables. The interdependencies were tested for statistical significance with the help of five research hypotheses. The results suggested that backpackers no longer fall under the original backpacker definitions described some decades ago. Now, they are mainly short-term travelers, whose trips resemble more those of mainstream tourists. They use communication technologies very actively, and particularly social media. Traditional information sources, mainly guide books and recommendations from friends, are of great importance to them but also eWOM sources are widely used in travel decision making. The use of each source varies according to the stage of the trip. All in all, Web 2.0 and new ICTs have transformed the backpacker tourism industry in many ways. Although the experience has become less authentic in some travelers’ eyes, the backpacker culture is still recognizable.

A black-focused school : black Canadian youth and the mainstream curriculum

ABSTRACT When asked about the proposal for a black-focused school, black youth from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) voiced their agreement with elements of the proposal, but resisted the idea of implementing the proposal by creating a separate school. Although media representations and Dei (1996, 2006) provide insight into what Torontonians' reactions are to the proposed blackfocused school there has been no such information documented on what black youth in the GTA think about the project. This is the first known study that attempts to fill that gap by providing a representation of black youths' voices obtained via focus groups. The study examines what black youth know and think about the proposal, and why they largely disagree with the blackfocused school proposal. While the findings of this study indicate that the participants saw many positive elements of the proposal, they did not support the implementation of a black-focused school as they saw the creation of a separate space for the school as a negative thing. The youth had trouble conceptualizing 'black-focused schooling' as an alternative approach to mainstream education, which had an impact on whether they choose to, or could, respond to questions that precisely related to the black-focused school project. The study concludes that the youth could not visualize what the school would look like and how it would operate because they draw on liberal racist discourses (e.g. colour-blindness, blaming the victim, and equal opportunity) when thinking about their educational experiences; however, there was a clear contradiction in the way the youths' voices reflected an awareness of the role of race in education experiences. It was evident when they talked about fear of stigmatization, but when using liberal discourses the youth discounted the role of race, and seemed not to be aware of its role in educational experiences. These findings pose important implications for educators, would-be educators, administrators, the TDSB and proponents of the black-focused school.

South Asian Women's Identities: A Media and Personal Narrative Analysis

This study examines issues of racism and sexism through the lens of Critical Race Theory and the interaction of personal and composite narratives. Specifically, the study explores how mainstream media’s hegemonic portrayal of South Asian culture and the 2007 socalled honour killing of Aqsa Parvez contribute to post-9/11 Islamophobia. The researcher presents a personal narrative that draws upon her experiences growing up in Dubai, U.A.E., and in Ontario, Canada and critically analyzes majoritarian stories related to Parvez as well as “counter-perspectives” that challenge such views. Study findings highlight the impact of 9/11 and Parvez’s murder on the researcher’s identity formation, and how media portray Muslim women as oppressed beings who live under the yoke of patriarchy. Results also indicate that although certain articles offer a counter-perspective that challenge dominant narratives, most recent media representations of the Parvez story equate Islam with honour killings and thus foster continued Islamophobia.