Public perception of the magnitude of challenges associated with climate change is still lower than that of the majority of scientists. The societal relevance of climate change has raised the need for a more direct communication between scientists and the public. However, peer-reviewed scientific articles are not well-suited to engaging a wider audience. This begets a need to explore other avenues for communicating climate change. Social media is a vibrant source for information exchange among the masses. Blogs in particular are (...) a promising tool for disseminating complex findings on topics such as climate change, as they are easier to comprehend and are targeted at a broader audience compared to scientific publications. This chapter discusses the usefulness of blogs in communicating climate change, using our blog Climate Footnotes as a case study. Drawing from communication theory and our experiences with Climate Footnotes, we identify and describe elements such as message framing, translation of scientific data, role of language, and interactivity in aiding climate change communication. The insights outlined herein help understand the nature and impact of online climate change communication. The chapter may also serve as a useful blueprint for scientists interested in utilizing blogs to communicate climate change. [Open access]. (shrink)

This paper critically examines the rising popularity of blogging in the US as a new kind of public space that has the potential to extend and deepen the way in which we interact and engage each other in political discourse. To proponents of deliberative democracy these moves are promising since they seem to point to the development of vibrant online public forums where political issues can be freely and openly debated. In this paper I evaluate this promise and ask (...) whether or not blogging is consistent with the main theoretical tenets of deliberative democracy. My argument is that, despite some shortcomings, there is significant potential for the blogosphere to develop into a meaningful deliberative community. (shrink)

This paper undertakes an analysis of the narrativity of a form of discourse which has appeared recently (blogs) within the framework of an emergentist theory of narrativity and its discursive modes. The narrative/discursive characteristics of blogs emerge from a preexistent ground of more basic or less specific communicative practices; and narrative discursivity itself is an emergent phenomenon with respect to other cognitive and experiential phenomena. A number of formal and communicative characteristics of blog writing and of the blogosphere are discussed (...) as emergent modes of experience within the pragmatic context of computer-mediated communication. -/- Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish. (shrink)

As organizações de notícias do Brasil e da Argentina utilizam blogs de futebol dos principais colunistas de esportes para gerar interatividade e fidelidade com o público. Realizar um estudo exploratório que a análise de conteúdo combinado de 1328 comentários sugerem que eles não conseguiram promover a boa interação entre o público e seus funcionários.

L’intérêt des blogs BD tient-il d’abord aux nouvelles expérimentations graphiques ou à la particularité des relations avec les lecteurs que cette pratique autorise ? Certes, les blogs permettent à leurs auteurs d’auto-publier leurs histoires sans contrainte, qu’elles soient éditoriales, économiques ou de mise en page. Pour autant, la pratique des blogs de BD représente avant tout une pratique de blog graphique. Ainsi, les auteurs interrogés insistent sur la possibilité de pouvoir tester en direct leurs histoires , de pouvoir construire un (...) réseau de liens d’abord virtuels puis réels avec d’autres dessinateurs blogueurs , de toucher un nouveau public en raison de l’accès gratuit à ces histoires , en tout lieux , mais aussi parce que ces blogs de BD répondent à nouvelles attentes de lectures. Interactifs, ouverts sur l’extérieur, accessibles à un plus grand public, centrés sur la quotidienneté, les blogs de BD sont avant tout révélateurs d’un rapport plus étroit avec le public, plutôt que de nouvelles tendances graphiques.Are comic blogs primarily of interest as a new experiment in graphics or because of the specific type of relationship with readers they allow? Blogs are obviously one way for authors to self-publish their work without any constraints, whether editorial, economic or in page lay-out. But comic blogs are first and foremost a graphic blogging practice. When questioned, their authors emphasise the possibilities for testing their stories live , for building up a network of initially virtual and subsequently real links with other cartoonists working through blogs , for reaching new readers thanks to free access to their stories , anywhere and at any time , but also the fact that these comic blogs meet new reading expectations. Comic blogs are interactive, wide open to the world, accessible to a wide audience and focused on daily life, and as such they reflect above all a closer relationship with the public, rather than new trends in graphics. (shrink)

Four years ago, I tried assigning blogs as homework to ensure that students came to class prepared for seminar discussions. From the start, it was clear that blogging was having a good effect, but I needed to make many refinements before I was satisfied that I was squeezing the greatest benefit from this device. In this paper, I summarize and explain the fully developed method on which I eventually settled. I first explain what I’m hoping will happen to students (...) over the semester. Then, I list some guiding principles that have pushed me in certain directions as I refined the method. Next, I give a step-by-step account of how the method works, from the syllabus to the classroom. Finally, I consider drawbacks, advantages, and an important objection. (shrink)

This article focuses on the blogosphere as an oppositional field where the meanings around contemporary Western women's singlehood are contested, negotiated and rewritten. In contrast to dominant narratives in which single women are pathologised, in the blogs by, for, and about single women analysed here, writers aim to refigure women's singleness as well as providing resources, support and a textual community where others can intervene and contribute to the re-valuation of single women. These blogs also function as alternative forms of (...) knowledge, seeking to (re)legitimise women's singleness and to trouble their aberrance and social liminality. Rather than only considering the form in isolation from its content, this article analyses the discourses deployed by bloggers and within blogs and how women bloggers publicly perform their very singleness as part of a personal and political strategy of re-signification. In this way, while cautious not to overestimate the democratic potentialities of the so-called blogosphere, it underscores the important cultural – and indeed political – work being undertaken by single women therein. Moreover, by demonstrating how these blogs use discursive tactics commonly associated with feminism's second-wave – women's consciousness-raising; identity politics; deploying and reiterating the famous feminist dictum: ‘the personal is political’; naming discrimination; and empathy and community-building – it argues that they are using so-called ‘new’ media for what is now problematically believed to be ‘old’ (feminist) politics. (shrink)

Public versus private is an ongoing concern in communication. This book examines this phenomenon through self-representational writing and the philosophical lens of Hannah Arendt’s public versus private theory, the Boundary Management theory, and the Parasocial Framework theory to examine the first social networking platform: personal blogs.

In the past decade, several professors have advocated for the use of blogs in undergraduate courses in philosophy, arguing that blogs are beneficial for student learning, as blogs are forums for student collaboration and engagement with course material outside the classroom. In this paper I argue that blogging assignments can be beneficial for introductory-level undergraduate courses in philosophy for two reasons yet to be fully explored in the pedagogical literature. First, blogging assignments can act as low-stakes practice for (...) paper writing. Second, blogging assignments give students the freedom to explore the relevance of course content to real world problems and academic fields other than philosophy. I then provide an example of a blogging assignment from a course in applied political philosophy that, I argue, achieves both of these goals. (shrink)

In the past decade, several professors have advocated for the use of blogs in undergraduate courses in philosophy, arguing that blogs are beneficial for student learning, as blogs are forums for student collaboration and engagement with course material outside the classroom. In this paper I argue that blogging assignments can be beneficial for introductory-level undergraduate courses in philosophy for two reasons yet to be fully explored in the pedagogical literature. First, blogging assignments can act as low-stakes practice for (...) paper writing. Second, blogging assignments give students the freedom to explore the relevance of course content to real world problems and academic fields other than philosophy. I then provide an example of a blogging assignment from a course in applied political philosophy that, I argue, achieves both of these goals. (shrink)

The Really Basic Business WebSite 19 April, 2008 The really basic business web-site is a web-site owned by you and controlled by you. It provides the basic facts about your business, and, it can be found when someone searches on Google for the name of your business. Read more ... Synaptic Downscaling and the Dream-Maker 10 February, 2008 Can the Dream-Maker theory of dreams be reconciled with the theory of synaptic downscaling proposed by Giulio Tononi and Chiara Cirelli ? Read (...) more ... How to Create an Audio CD Using Sox and InfraRecorder 23 January, 2008 How to create an audio CD using the open-source applications SoX and InfraRecorder. Read more ... "Music Theory" is not the Same Thing as a Theory of Music 16 January, 2008 Music theory is theory in the sense that it is distinct from musical practice, but it is not theory in the sense of being a scientific theory . Read more ... Music: The Hidden Sense and the Three Ways of Knowing 23 December, 2007 Music perception reveals to us an otherwise hidden sense . The three ways of knowing are genetic, experiential learning and cultural learning . Cultural learning can be verified or unverified. "Musicality" perception is a hidden sense that increases the reliability of unverified cultural learning . Read more ... The Evolutionary Implications of Amusia 4 November, 2007 Both adaptive and non-adaptive theories of music have to deal with the problem of amusia. For adaptive theories , amusia is a deficit in the creation and.. (shrink)

PurposeThe popularity and persistence of Blogshops raises ethical issues regarding the presentation of the female teenage owners' “self” to others and the relationship they maintain with buyers and other owners.Design/methodology/approachThis ongoing observational study of Singaporean Blogshops reveals a layered and interrelated typology of alternative e‐commerce activities that critiques many of the myths associated with e‐commerce particularly the extent and manner in which it can empower consumers.FindingsIt is argued that Blogshops represent a new formulation of e‐commerce practice that draws upon a (...) rich assemblage that includes readily available and popular digital technologies and an efficient urban public transport system.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is primarily emic in perspective and requires complementary ethnographic research among Blogshopowners and buyers – specifically female teenage Singaporeans.Originality/valueThe present study introduces the phenomenon of Blogshops to a wider academic and theoried audience through a critical interpretation of observed activities. In doing this the study offers insight into the complex intersection of public transport infrastructure, freely available Web‐based technologies and the significant influence that fashion exerts upon contemporary popular culture. (shrink)

The Government uses various policy tools to reduce alcohol consumption. There are restrictions on promotions, information campaigns, and pricing policies. These policies do not stand unchallenged. Restrictions on promotions irk business, information campaigns fail to reach the less educated, and pricing policies hurt responsible but poor consumers. So what about Thaler and Sunstein’s Nudge? Nudges keep choices open but change the “choice architecture” so as to help those who would like to drink less, and they do so in ways that (...) constructively engage business. Let us focus on one choice environment here, namely beer consumption in British pubs. (shrink)

We investigate what nudging techniques could increase the acceptance of gender-neutral restrooms.

We investigate the effect of gender-neutral restrooms on waiting times.

In the first in this three-part series, Luc Bovens looks at death, immortality and the worthwhile life.

In the second part of this series, Luc Bovens looks at a good death and a future without oneself.

How do you hope to be thought of after you die? In his final post in this series, Luc Bovens looks at attitudes towards the dead.

EU states agreed on 23 September to implement a refugee quota system which will distribute 120,000 refugees across the EU, despite four member states – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia – voting against the proposal. Luc Bovens and Anna Bartsch write that regardless of the wider debate over whether a quota system is justified or not, it is vital that the ‘distribution key’ determining how many refugees are assigned to each state is fair. They argue that the distribution (...) key proposed by the European Commission is ill-conceived and regressive, and that a fairer system with recalculated quotas may go some way toward convincing the dissenting states to support the system. (shrink)

One of the stated aims of the “2008 Policy Plan on Asylum” by the European Commission is increased ‘responsibility sharing’ between Member States with respect to asylum seekers. Luc Bovens and Günperi Sisman assess the extent to which UNHCR outcome data reflect these aims between 2006 and 2011 – from the end of the first phase of the Common European Asylum System until the latest available data. They find that Greece, Portugal and Spain take on very low responsibility for asylum (...) seekers per capita and per unit of GDP. Eastern European states do poorly per capita, but do much better per unit of GDP. There is also an overall trend towards greater responsibility sharing for acceptances and stocks per unit of GDP. (shrink)

This article examines the linguistic construction of textual messages in the use of blogs and Twitter in the Nigerian 2007 electoral cycle comprising the April 2007 general elections and rerun elections in April, May, and August 2009. A qualitative approach of discourse analysis is used to present a variety of discursive acts that blogging and microblogging afford social media users during the electoral cycle. The data are culled from 245 blog posts and 923 tweets. The thesis of the study (...) is that citizens’ access to social media electronically empowers the electorates to be actively involved in democratic governance. Electronic empowerment is a direct result of access to social media (and mobile telephony) by more citizens who constitute the electorates. This encourages more public discussions about politics and makes the democratic process more dynamic than in the pre—social media era. An analysis of the data shows that there is a dialectical relationship between social media discourse and the process of political empowerment. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Graduate Student Member Spotlights Blog for SBCS:Chera Jo WattsChera Jo WattsMy name is Chera Jo Watts, and I am a first-year doctoral student at the University of Georgia in the Department of Religion and Institute for African American Studies. I am a mother, writer, gardener, yoga practitioner, and artist striving toward what Darlene Clark Hines labels a "Black Studies Mindset." As a first-generation college graduate from a poverty-class background, (...) my degrees include a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a Master of Arts in Religion, and a Graduate Certificate in African American Studies from the University of Georgia. My broad research interests include African American women's religion and literature, focusing primarily on Womanism, and bridging the gap between the Academy and the everyday. I assert that we have much to learn from our ancestors and from each other while living and operating in what Black Buddhist bell hooks labels an imperialist white supremacist capitalist cispatriarchy. These teachings facilitate personal and communal healing as we continuously dismantle white supremacy in the tangible ways we can from the spaces that we occupy. Also, I currently serve as the Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Georgia.Within SBCS, I am a graduate student member, and I strongly encourage other graduate students to consider membership in this organization. This community consists of imaginative and generous scholars, and you could make numerous international connections within the field of religious studies (along with other disciplines). As the current Executive Associate for Digital Services, I currently support the Society in a professional role through web updates, monitoring email, and various tasks as instructed by the governing board.How do your research interests relate to the SBCS? What are you working on at the moment?I am currently learning from published Womanists-Buddhists, and SBCS has published several journal articles focused on this thread of Womanist thought and scholarship (especially see Volumes 34, 2014, and 36, 2016). I am grateful to be in conversation with these folks through their work.In May 2022, I finished my Master's Thesis (published in ProQuest) under the direction of Dr. Carolyn Jones Medine. My thesis focuses on Womanist Buddhist thought in the works of Alice Walker while paying special attention to her first novel, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, and then tracing the importance of her Buddhist practice across other works, such as essays and poetry. My first peer-reviewed journal [End Page 273] article was also published in 2022. Reading between the Times: An Ongoing Womanist Buddhist Project may be accessed online through MDPI, and it was included as part of a Special Edition of the journal which focused on spirituality, identity, and resistance in African American literature. At the moment, I have a few journal articles in process which extend this work, and I expanded the analysis to include Black Buddhist bell hooks. For hooks, I am especially interested in her focus on living from a "love ethic," and I'm grateful for an upcoming panel presentation at the 2023 bell hooks Symposium hosted by Berea College this June. Finally, along with Dr. Carolyn Jones Medine, I am co-authoring an Oxford Bibliography entry for "Alice Walker," in which we acknowledge the importance of Walker's spiritual practices, including Buddhism, on her life and writings.Contact information: [email protected] | University of Georgia | Institute for African American Studies and Department of Religion. [End Page 274]Chera Jo WattsExecutive Associate for Digital ServicesCopyright © 2023 University of Hawai'i Press... (shrink)

Following the rise in use of online communication in electoral campaigns throughout the world, this article deals with the use of blogs by politicians in Europe. Through the approach of Critical Discourse Analysis, it analyzes blog posts written by the European Parliament incumbents running for the European Parliament elections in 2009, from four different EU states and ideological backgrounds, and at the same time the four largest political groups in the European Parliament. The purpose of the study is to reveal (...) the campaign strategy and dominant discourses through the analysis of the format, style and appeals. The findings reveal the differences in discourses between four political blogs, which result from the different use of language and appeals. (shrink)

How would you feel if you thought God wrote a personal note to you...on His website...and it was about some of the stuff that makes you wonder if He really exists at all? This book does make you feel...while it makes you think. Maybe God isn't who we thought He was. Maybe His thoughts aren't what we have been taught. God's Blogs contains some insightful, fresh thoughts that help us see more of God's character, His love, and His grace as (...) He reflects on marriage, death, laughter, dads, and questions like "Why are we here?" and, "What about tsunamis and poverty?" A fascinating read that will make you laugh and cry and search your own thoughts about who He is. What Might God Say on His Blogsite? Basically I'm entering into your blogdom because somehow the rumor got started that I was kind of boring. For those of you who bought into that craziness, you should know that I'm the one who created all the stuff you love...all the stuff that makes life exciting. I invented funny and laughter. I created adventure and romance... I laugh a lot. "Divinely inspired. This is an awesome book!" Jeff Foxworthy Very funny, smart man who loves God "Fresh thoughts on life with God from one of the most creative--and quirky--communicators I know." Louie Giglio Founder of Passion Conferences and author of I Am Not But I Know I AM "This book went through me like liquid fire. It is so inspiring, uplifting, and refreshing." Dolly Parton (everybody knows Dolly) "Wonderfully fresh and imaginative." John C. Maxwell Founder of INJOY Stewardship Services & EQUIP "I found myself reading it out loud to anybody who would listen. You are going to love this book." Andy Stanley Pastor, North Point Community Church Story Behind the Book "Blogging is a huge thing on the Web all over the world. Millions of people are logging on to millions of other people's journals just to see what they have to say. Some blogs have a larger audience than the New York Times. With blogging being so trendy right now, it occurred to me, What might people do if they thought God was blogging online about what He was seeing or what He thought was important? That being the hook, I wanted to take biblical principles written in a form similar to Eugene Peterson's The Message and attempt to use what is cultural to say what is timeless. God's truths about His love and grace and fatherhood, written in a contemporary fashion, might just penetrate the hearts of those who need Him during times of trial, or of those who aren't even sure He exists." -- Lanny Donoho. (shrink)

This article proposes a typology of the epistemology of live blogging through an analysis of two live news blogs: Radio New Zealand News’ live blog of a significant earthquake in Aotearoa New Zealand in November 2016 and BBC News’ live blog of the Brexit referendum result in June 2016. We use these cases to draw out five features of the genre that we suggest may characterise other live news blogs. We demonstrate that these blogs tend to produce a fragmentary (...) narrative that reflects particular moments in time, curate an array of textual objects from a range of information sources to produce ‘networked balance’, gain coherence from an often informal authorial voice or voices and generate claims to knowledge of events which are simultaneously dynamic and fragile. This typology contributes to understanding journalism’s position within networked information spaces. (shrink)

This was written in 2014 during desultory afternoons in hinterland Bengal. The blog went on to feature in a US Bible Blog carnival. The author tried then to start a dialogue between the Gospel of Glory and Hinduism. But now, in 2018, this seems puerile and infantile to the author.