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Freedom on the Net 2015: Privatizing Censorship, Eroding Privacy

Sanja Kelly, Madeline Earp, Laura Reed, Adrian Shahbaz, Mai Truong (eds.)

Washington, DC; New York: Freedom House (2015), 986 pp.

"Internet freedom around the world has declined for the fifth consecutive year, with more governments censoring information of public interest and placing greater demands on the private sector to take down offending content. State authorities have also jailed more users for their online writings, wh ... more

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Religion, Hate Speech and Social Media in Myanmar: Analysing Methods of Intervention

Bethany Davis

University of Winchester, Master Thesis (2015), 77 pp.

"Myanmar is home to one of the longest running intrastate conflicts in the world, involving a series of ethnic and religious clashes that have caused harm to all parties involved. The ideology of a homogeneity based on Buddhism and the Bamar ethnicity has marginalized minority groups, which make up ... more

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Community Information Flows to Reduce Inter-Communal Violence in Burma

Emily Speers Mears et al.

Search for Common Ground (2015), 71 pp.

"The research presented in this report aims to contribute towards a better understanding of the way in which rumors, hate speech, and manipulated information contribute to inter-communal conflict and outbreaks of inter-communal violence in Myanmar. It focuses on Muslim-Buddhist inter-communal confli ... ct in one urban and one peri-urban area: Lashio, the largest town in Shan state, and Amarapura, a former capital on the outskirts of Mandalay [...] People in Lashio and Amarapura draw upon a wide range of sources for information and news. They mainly obtain information by word of mouth from friends, colleagues, people who travel for their work, and figures of authority. They share this information by phone and online messaging services, and in markets, teashops and pagodas, as well as other places where people gather such as bus stations. Certain individuals in the community are regarded as trustworthy sources of information including religious leaders, teachers, bosses, government officials, and community leaders. Many people also have access to news applications on Facebook, and/or read journals and newspapers, listen to the radio, and watch TV in order to find out about news that affects them. People report a high level of skepticism about the news that they hear, particularly from sources like Facebook and government newspapers. They analyze not only the information itself but also the source of that information, and check whether it is accurate with people who live in the affected area, or by going to see for themselves. Family members or trusted community members are also consulted to verify or analyze news and information. Respondents also claim to try to verify information by checking different news sources. The more they can cross-reference, the more confident they are that the information is accurate. [...] The causes of inter-religious inter-communal conflict in Myanmar are not well understood. There is a long history of Muslim settlement in Myanmar, and of peaceful relations between Muslims and Buddhists. This changed with the arrival of the British, whose colonial policies brought an influx of Indians, including Muslims, to Myanmar. Specifically anti-Muslim (rather than anti-Indian) tensions first came to a head in 1938; however an inquiry into the anti-Muslim riots of that time found that while the riots had religious anti-Muslim undertones, the real causes were political, economic and social. There have been irregular outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence in subsequent decades, but unfortunately few detailed investigations or analyses of their causes, due to the difficulty of conducting research under the socialist and military governments, and to the sensitivity of the issue. This difficulty persists to the present. [...] Both Muslims and Buddhists are worried about religious violence, and the impact that it might have on the economy. However, most people in Lashio are probably more immediately worried about the fighting between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed groups that is taking place outside of Lashio, which has negative effect on the economy, on their livelihoods, and on their feelings of security, due to the numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have sought safety in Lashio. Ethnic groups in Lashio are concerned that the religious conflict will also have an impact on ethnic relations, due to the different religions amongst the ethnic groups. In Lashio, there is also a high level of anti-Chinese sentiment on the part of the Bamar and other ethnic groups. [...] The large amount of rumors about Muslims and about Muslim-Buddhist conflict that we heard in Lashio and Amarapura suggest that people are concerned about this conflict. Negative rumors contribute to the background levels of hatred and distrust of Muslims and serve to manifest tensions between the two communities. This kind of background hatred and distrust may not in itself result in violence. But it means that Buddhists and Muslims in these areas do not mix, and fosters an environment of suspicion and hostility, creating an enabling environment for violence. However, on their own, rumors are not sufficient to trigger violence. For every example of a situation where (true or false) rumors have triggered violence, there is an example where rumors have not triggered violence. Other factors – harder to identify – contribute to outbreaks of violence, and to the underlying conflict. It is essential that these factors be understood if the root causes of inter-communal conflict are to be addressed. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS With this analysis in mind, the following recommendations are provided: recognize the important role that word-of-mouth communication plays in the ways that rumors are spread; recognize and understand the nuances in each local context, in order to develop a deeper understanding of why people feel insecure, as well as to identify root causes of the conflict; mitigate the background levels of anti-Muslim hate speech, by engaging with the genuine Buddhist concerns that are expressed through hate speech; and strengthen community resilience to potential ‘trigger’ rumors – and recognize and strengthen existing efforts to combat these rumors." (Executive summary, page 3-7) more

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State of the Use of Mobile Technologies for Disaster Preparedness in South East Asia

Chih-Hui Lai, Arul Chib, Rich Ling

Singapore: Nanyang Technological University (2015), 66 pp.

"This project is conducted in response to Global Disaster Preparedness Center’s (GDPC) initiative of developing flood hazard preparedness mobile apps in the four target countries (Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam)." (Executive summary)

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Standards of Journalism Education: An International Comparative Study in the Context of Media and Development

Christoph Schmidt (ed.)

Leipzig; Bonn: Vistas; Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2015), 265 pp.

"Training and educating of journalists around the world with the aim of enhancing free and independent media has been a major field of media development cooperation for decades. Nevertheless, the state of scientific research in this area remains limited, specifically with regard to the status quo of ... more

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New Media Configurations and Socio-Cultural Dynamics in Asia and the Arab World

Nadja-Christina Schneider, Carola Richter (eds.)

Baden-Baden; London: Nomos; Bloomsbury (2015), 372 pp.

"This book explores socio-cultural dynamics in Asia and the Arab world, embedding them into current processes of mediatisation. The book is based on the assumption that social and cultural changes never originate exclusively from the media or technological innovations, but rather depend on the chang ... more

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Community Information Flows to Reduce Inter-Comunal Violence in Burma

Emily Speers Mears

Search for Common Ground (2015), 71 pp.

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Asian Comics

John A. Lent

Jackson: University Press of Mississippi (2015), x, 342 pp.

"As only Japanese comics output has received close and by now voluminous scrutiny, Asian Comics tells the story of the major comics creators outside of Japan. Lent covers the nations and regions of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philipp ... more

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Censored Gender: Women’s Right to Freedom of Expression and Information in Myanmar

Yin Yadanar Thein et al.

London: Article 19 (2015), 91 pp.

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Losing Control: Freedom of the Press in Asia

Louise Williams, Roland Rich (eds.)

Canberra: Australian National University (ANU) E Press (2014), xvi, 282 pp.

"Losing Control: freedom of the press in Asia takes us right up to the end of this tumultuous century. It deals with the Chinese media cranking up its latest propaganda campaign, this time against the Falun Gong. It discusses how the Indonesian media lost its way in reporting the tragedy in East Tim ... more

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Citizen Participation and Technology

Washington, DC: National Democratic Institute (NDI) (2014), 67 pp.

"Using case studies from countries such as Burma, Mexico and Uganda, the study explores whether the use of technology in citizen participation programs amplifies citizen voices and increases government responsiveness and accountability, and whether the use of digital technology increases the politic ... more

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3d Conference on Media Development in Myanmar, 18-19 September 2014: Summary of Presentations and Conclusions

Myanmar Media Development Thematic Working Group; International Media Support (IMS) (2014), 50 pp.

"For the third consecutive year in a row, the Myanmar Media Development Conference, a unique multi-partner, multi-stakeholder enterprise, gathered government officials, journalists, media owners, editors, reporters, NGOs, local, regional and international organisations for discussions on the status ... more

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Freedom on the Net 2014. Tightening the Net: Governments Expand Online Controls

Sanja Kelly, Madeline Earp, Laura Reed, Adrian Shahbaz, Mai Truong (eds.)

Washington, DC; New York: Freedom House (2014), 986 pp.

"Internet freedom around the world has declined for the fourth consecutive year, with a growing number of countries introducing online censorship and monitoring practices that are simultaneously more aggressive and more sophisticated in their targeting of individual users. In a departure from the pa ... more

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WorldCat (134)

The Influence of International Media Development Organizations on Journalism Education in the Current Transition Period in Myanmar

Abdul Hai Ahm

Bonn: Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Master Thesis (2014), ix, 223 pp.

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Why Information Matters: A Foundation for Resilience
Deep Insights

Tara Susman-Peña

Internews (2014), 84 pp.

"This report: 1. Defines “information ecosystems” and proposes an analytic framework of eight critical dimensions for understanding them; 2. Analyzes information ecosystems across a spectrum of change and their impact on resilience, referencing four case studies of Internews’ previous work [In ... more

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Handbuch Myanmar: Gesellschaft, Politik, Wirtschaft, Kultur, Entwicklung

Ute Köster, Phuong Le Trong, Christina Grein

Berlin: Horlemann (2014), 495 pp.

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Beyond State-Centric Frameworks: Transversal Media and the Stateless in the Burmese Borderlands

Lisa Brooten

In: Global Communication: New Agendas in Communication

Karin Gwinn Wilkins, Joseph D. Straubhaar, Shanti Kumar (eds.)

New York; London: Routledge (2014), pp. 142-162

"Transversal dissent by communities whose actions and identities are no longer primarily state centric but, rather, have shifted to cross identity boundaries is one of the most important developments for understanding how politics is being transformed today. Burmese media groups, political activists ... more

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Seizing Opportunities: For Free and Independent Media Worldwide

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2014), 34 pp.

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Media and Conflict in Myanmar: Opportunities for Media to Advance Peace

Theo Dolan, Stephen Gray

Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace (USIP) (2014), 36 pp.

"This study is based on the Intended Outcomes Needs Assessment (IONA) methodology and assesses the changing relationships between media and conflict in Myanmar. Findings reveal a deeply rooted, intractable, and dynamic conflict landscape. Analysis focuses on three key conflicts: citizen-state, ethni ... more

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Information Ecosystems in Transition: A Case Study from Myanmar. How to Inform, Empower and Impact Communities. Part One: Research Findings

Andrew Wasuwongse, Alison Campbell

Internews (2014), 56 pp.

"The research focuses on three themes. Firstly, it identifies and maps the information environment in Mon State in terms of technology and media use across urban, rural, non-conflict, and former conflict geographic areas. Secondly, the flow of news and information is examined to see how individuals ... more

Why Information Matters: A Foundation for Resilience Deep Insights

Why Information Matters: A Foundation for Resilience
Deep Insights