Navigating the technology-media-movements complex

Abstract

In this article we develop the notion of the technology-media-movements complex (TMMC) as a field-definition statement for ongoing inquiry into the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in social and political movements. We consider the definitions and boundaries of the TMMC, arguing particularly for a historically rooted conception of technological development that allows better integration of the different intellectual traditions that are currently focused on the same set of empirical phenomena. We then delineate two recurrent debates in the literature highlighting their contributions to emerging knowledge. The first debate concerns the divide between scholars who privilege media technologies, and see them as driving forces of movement dynamics, and those who privilege media practices over affordances. The second debate broadly opposes theorists who believe in the emancipatory potential of ICTs and those who highlight the ways they are used to repress social movements and grassroots mobilization. By mapping positions in these debates to the TMMC we identify and provide direction to three broad research areas which demand further consideration: (i) questions of power and agency in social movements; (ii) the relationships between, on the one hand, social movements and technology and media as politics (i.e. cyberpolitics and technopolitics), and on the other, the quotidian and ubiquitous use of digital tools in a digital age; and (iii) the significance of digital divides that cut across and beyond social movements, particularly in the way such divisions may overlay existing power relations in movements. In conclusion, we delineate six challenges for profitable further research on the TMMC.     

Women’s Movements in Portugal and Spain: Democratic Processes and Policy Outcomes

Portugal and Spain underwent dramatic transformations between 1974 and the early 1980s, transitioning from dictatorships to democracies. In this article I explore why Portugal was faster than Spain in adopting key gender-rights policies (e.g., divorce, equal pay, state feminism) during the period in question. Bridging insights from the democratization, social movement, and women’s studies literatures, I argue that Portugal’s accelerated policy path on women’s rights can be explained by three complex factors: (1) the nature of the revolutionary transition, which structured options for women’s movements and for institutional actors; (2) the configuration of movement-party alliances; and (3) supranational pressures to reorganize the state-civil society relationship. The study contributes to the engendering of democratization processes in Iberia by paying close attention to the interconnected agency of women’s movements with other political actors at a time of regime transformation.     

Fetal movements: What are we telling women?

Problem

Information that women receive about the importance of monitoring fetal movements and what to do if there are changes is inconsistent and may not be evidence based.

How the Right Usurped the Queer Agenda: Frame Co‐optation in Political Discourse

This article draws on a case study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and queer politics in Vermont to explain the conditions under which radical discourse gains and loses a public voice. In contrast to claims that the marginalization of queer discourse is due to silencing by LGBT rights activists or to litigation strategies, we argue that variation in queer discourse over time is the result of the co‐optation of queer discourse and goals by opponents. Extending the social movement literature on frame variation, we argue that opponents co‐opt discourse when they adopt aspects of the content of a movement's discourse, while subverting its intent. We show that conservative LGBT rights opponents co‐opted queer discourse. As a result, queer positions lost their viability as the discursive field in which those arguments were made was fundamentally altered. Because queer positions became less tenable, we see the withdrawal of queer discourse from the mainstream and alternative LGBT media. Our work both supports and builds on research on frame variation by demonstrating how discourse can change over time in response to the interplay between changing aspects of the political and cultural landscape and the discourse of opponents.     

《联合国反腐败公约》与我国刑法中私营部门内贿赂犯罪之比较与评析

《联合国反腐败公约》规定的私营部门贿赂犯罪在我国刑法典中就是指公司、企业工作人员受贿罪,向公司、企业工作人员行贿罪。两者对私营部门贿赂犯罪的规定在犯罪主体、贿赂物的范围、主观要件、客观行为等方面有一定的差别。我国刑法应采取扩大私营部门惩治贿赂犯罪的主体范围,扩大惩治贿赂的范围,改变现行刑法典以"利益"为核心构建的贿赂犯罪行为人的主观心理等完善措施。     

汉代蝗灾论略

蝗灾是中国古代一种非常严重的自然灾害。汉代蝗灾在时间分布上有明显的季节性 ,空间分布上有明显的地域性 ;成灾面积广阔 ,灾情严重 ;蝗灾具有群发性、连锁性特点。对后世开展治蝗、灭蝗工作有一定的借鉴意义。     

企业人力资源危机预警研究

预警机制缺乏是导致人力资源危机的重要因素。防范人力资源危机的有效措施是开展人力资源危机预警。人力资源危机预警的过程和功能是:建立危机预警管理理念、预警规划、危机日常监控、危机决策与行动和危机行动总结。这一过程不断循环,企业人力资源危机免疫力也就不断增强。     

迈向和解的政治

运动是现代政治的典型特征,公民权运动、追求理想状态和追求宗教-文化同一性的运动,构成现代政治的主要风景线。这些运动的意识形态,皆不足以为现代政治奠定基础。能够为现代政治提供框架的,是和解的政治,它吸收各个文明的基本假定,以和平与说理作为最根本的承诺。     

高校学生申诉制度存在的问题及对策

2005年3月,我国教育部颁布的《普通高等学校学生管理规定》对高校建立和实施学生申诉制度作了较为具体的规定。但由于高校学生申诉制度尚处于起步阶段,在实践中还存在一些问题。本文以公立高校中的学生申诉制度为研究对象,分析了学生申诉制度中存在的问题,对完善高校学生申诉制度,充分发挥其维护学生合法权益的作用提出了相应对策。     

对反腐倡廉法治化的探讨

腐败总是权力的腐败 ,反腐倡廉法治化从根本上讲就是对权力的制约机制法治化。本文认为 ,在我国应加强廉政立法 ,实现以法治权 ,确立权力运行程序化和公开化 ,以权利制约权力 ,进行体制改革 ,以体制控制权力 ,严肃廉政执法司法 ,从法律责任上约束权力