Sms Uprising Mobile Activism In Africa

Providing a unique insight into how activists and social change advocates are addressing Africa's many challenges from within, this collection of essays by those engaged in using mobile phone technologies for social change provides an analysis of the socioeconomic, political, and media contexts faced by activists in Africa today. The articles address a broad range of issues--including inequalities in access to technology based on gender and rural and urban usage--and it offers practical examples of how activists are using mobile technology to organize and document their experiences. An overview of the lessons learned in making effective use of mobile phone technologies without any of the romanticism so often associated with the use of new technologies for social change is given. Examples are shared in a way that makes them easy to replicate, hoping to lead to greater reflection about the real potential and limitations of mobile technologies. Contributors include Ken Banks, Nathan Eagle, Anil Naidoo, Berna Ngolobe, and Juliana Rotich.

The last decade has witnessed the rise of the cell phone from a mode of communication to an indispensable multimedia device, and this phenomenon has led to the burgeoning of mobile communication studies in media, cultural studies, and communication departments across the academy. The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media seeks to be the definitive publication for scholars and students interested in comprehending all the various aspects of mobile media. This collection, which gathers together original articles by a global roster of contributors from a variety of disciplines, sets out to contextualize the increasingly convergent areas surrounding social, geosocial, and mobile media discourses. Features include: comprehensive and interdisciplinary models and approaches for analyzing mobile media; wide-ranging case studies that draw from this truly global field, including China, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, as well as Europe, the UK, and the US; a consideration of mobile media as part of broader media ecologies and histories; chapters setting out the economic and policy underpinnings of mobile media; explorations of the artistic and creative dimensions of mobile media; studies of emerging issues such as ecological sustainability; up-to-date overviews on social and locative media by pioneers in the field. Drawn from a range of theoretical, artistic, and cultural approaches, The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media will serve as a crucial reference text to inform and orient those interested in this quickly expanding and far-reaching field.

Mobile phones are the most ubiquitous communications technology in the world. Besides transforming the way in which we communicate, they can also be used as a powerful tool for conflict prevention and management. This book presents innovative uses of mobile technologies in the areas of early warning, disaster and humanitarian relief, governance, citizens’ participation, etc. and cuts across different regions. The book brings together experts and practitioners from different fields—mobile technologies, information systems, computer sciences, online dispute resolution, law, etc.—to reflect on present experiences and to explore new areas for research on conflict management and online dispute resolution (ODR). It also reflects on the transition from present ODR to future mobile Dispute Resolution and discusses key privacy issues. The book is addressed to anyone involved in conflict prevention and dispute management aiming to learn how mobile technologies can play a disruptive role in the way we deal with conflict.

The untimely death of Dr. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem in 2009on African Liberation Day stunned the Pan-African world. This lively selection of his weekly Pan-African Postcards demonstrates the brilliant wordsmith he was and his steadfast commitment to Pan-Africanism andoffers a legacy of political, social, and cultural thought from his determination to speak truth to power. Showcasing the author'sexceptional ability to express complex ideas in an engaging manner, this book presents his philosophy on diverse but intersecting themes: his fundamental respect for the capabilities, potential, and contribution of women in transforming Africa; penetrating truths directed at African politicians and their conduct; and deliberations on the institutional progress towards African Union. He reflects on culture and emphasizes the commonalities of African people. Also represented are his denunciations of international financial institutions, the G8 and NGOs in Africa, with incisive analysis of imperialism's manifestations and impact on the lives of African people, and his passion for eliminating poverty in Africa."

A groundbreaking book, accessible but scholarly, by African activists. It uses research, life stories, and artistic expression--including essays, case studies, poetry, news clips, songs, fiction, memoirs, letters, interviews, short film scripts, and photographs--to examine dominant and deviant sexualities and investigate the intersections between sex, power, masculinities, and femininities. It also opens a space, particularly for young people, to think about African sexualities in different ways.

Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania, was a Pan-Africanist and an internationalist, and this book includes contributions from leading commentators--those who worked and fought imperialism alongside Nyerere, members of a younger generation, and Nyerere in his own words. The writings reflect on Nyerere and liberation, the Commonwealth, leadership, economic development, land, human rights, and education. Above all, they are a testament to the growing recognition of the need to rekindle the fires of African socialism to which Nyerere was deeply committed.

Language, Literacy and Diversity brings together researchers who are leading the innovative and important re-theorization of language and literacy in relation to social mobility, multilingualism and globalization. The volume examines local and global flows of people, language and literacy in relation to social practice; the role (and nature) of boundary maintenance or disruption in global, transnational and translocal contexts; and the lived experiences of individuals on the front lines of global, transnational and translocal processes. The contributors pay attention to the dynamics of multilingualism in located settings and the social and personal management of multilingualism in socially stratified and ethnically plural social settings. Together, they offer ground-breaking research on language practices and documentary practices as regards to access, selection, social mobility and gate-keeping processes in a range of settings across several continents: Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe.

This book efficiently contributes to our understanding of the interplay between data, technology and communicative practice on the one hand, and democratic participation on the other. It addresses the emergence of proactive data activism, a new sociotechnical phenomenon in the field of action that arises as a reaction to massive datafication, and makes affirmative use of data for advocacy and social change. By blending empirical observation and in-depth qualitative interviews, Gutiérrez brings to the fore a debate about the social uses of the data infrastructure and examines precisely how people employ it, in combination with other technologies, to collaborate and act for social change.