Contributions
Anna Krontal
Reader comments or blogs or any
other digital communication mostly appeal because of their linking connection
between the public and private voice. Therefore, they are particularly
rewarding as an object of critical discourse analysis, offering an opportunity
to take a closer look at the relationships between society and discursive
research.
The purpose of this work is to apply
an analytical tool of critical online discourse analysis to a socially
problematic area - namely the topic "Refugees and violence in Italy,"
to see how users comments create an atmosphere of problematic social discourse.
For this purpose, the contents of
this work will focus on two different approaches: on the one hand, a
deliberately selected textual corpus, which consists of different articles and
blogs from the online newspaper The
Huffington Post Italia. Second, the reader comments are examined and placed
in conversation with societal moods and tensions regarding this theme. The main
attention is paid to the fears and threats.
This concludes with a summary and
some on the results of this study concerning options for changing the designs
of such comment forums, and other proposals on how to deal with this problem in
society, focusing especially on educational institutions to achieve a decrease
of such fears.
Adriel Watt
The Digital Divide, a social threat
for the 21st century.
The goal of this presentation is to
examine the nature of the digitial divide in the early 21st
century as a social threat and to look at the role libraries play in addressing
the threat. I will first examine a number of definitions of the digital
divide and discuss the metaphors used to describe the problem. Then I will
discuss the demographics of the digital divide. Next I will explore the
notion of a spectrum of users of Information and Communications Technology
(ICT). Finally, I will discuss possible solutions to the problem focusing on
what libraries can do to help.
Originally, the digital divide
referred to the digital “haves” and “have-nots”, i.e. those who have access to
ICT, and those who do not. The focus has, however, moved from physical access
to skills/usage.Using ICT is not enough, one must also possess the skills to
operate the technology and most importantly the information literacy to
navigate through the vast online environment to solve one's problems.
The digital divide as a
metaphor is problematic. It suggests that it is possible to “build a bridge”
and allow those on the wrong side of the divide to cross over. The problem is,
however, fundamentally social. Another metaphor that is often used is the idea
of the “information rich” and “information poor”. This is closer to the
reality. The division is between those of higher and lower socioeconomic
status. Since the digital divide is a mirror of social inequality, some
prefer the term “digital inequality”.
The demographics of the digital
“haves” and “have-nots” are as one would expect. The “have-nots” tend to be
senior citzens, those with a low income, the less educated and rural residents.
Age and income seem to be the biggest factors influencing a person's use of
ICT. The main reasons non-users in developed countries cite for not going
online are a lack of interest and difficulty in using ICT. In developing
countries physical access is still a major problem.
Most scholars of the digital
divide prefer to view the problem as a spectrum. There are those who do not
have access to ICT and at the far end of the spectrum there are those with
access and very well developed skills. In between there are those who have
access to ICT, but rarely use it or have minimal computer skills or mainly use
ICT for entertainment. This is connected to the idea of the knowledge gap,
the idea that those of higher socioeconomic status get more out of the mass
media than those of lower socioeconomic status. The most important factor in
solving this problem is education.
Libraries can help in bridging both
the access gap and the skills gap. For those without their own ICT, the library
can be one of their main access points. For those who possess ICT, the library
can be a place to learn the skills needed to use ICT effectively. Many libraries
offer courses on a range of subjects including computer skills and information
literacy.
Biography
- Born and raised in California.
- 2013 to present librarian at the
Department Library of the Department of Romance Languages at Kiel University
- 2012 B.A. in Library and Information
Science (focus cataloging and reference services) HTWK, Leipzig
- 2005-2012 teacher of English as a
foreign language and translator.
- 2002 B.A. in German (focus
linguistics)
Martina Hillbrand
Climate Change
and Human Adaptation – What Can We Learn From (Pre)history?
In my research I
have studied the effect of climatic and environmental changes on pre-historic
human societies and the effect theses societies had on their environment. I
demonstrated that climatic changes forced people to abandon certain settlements
because of changing water levels. I also showed, however, that during human
settlement the water quality of a nearby lake changed considerably, suggesting
that even in prehistoric times humans had heavily negative effects on the
natural environment. In my talk, I will address the impact of climate change on
human civilization throughout history up until the present day. I will then ask
to look critically at the climate change debate today and its frequent use in
political campaigns.
Biography
Martina
Hillbrand (MSc) studied ecology at the University of Innsbruck (Austria). From
2008 until 2012 she worked on a project at the University of Innsbruck in
cooperation with the Amt für Archäologie of the Swiss canton Thurgau studying
the environment of the neolithic settlement Nussbaumersee-Inseli. Next to her
work in palaeoecology she worked as a field ornithologist in several countries
in Europe and North America. She is currently enrolled as a master student at
the Kiel School of Sustainability.
Contact:
mhill053@fiu.edu
