Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

The amount of news on the web often confuses the ideas of the reader, who struggles to disentangle information that is sometimes contradictory and difficult to decipher. In the face of such an articulated scenario, the role played by schools is absolutely central: the development of critical thinking in young people (and by extension in their families) is a necessary condition for facing the complexity of the reality with the right awareness and control. Providing young people with a thorough understanding of the fake news spreading phenomenon is a first step in combating it. To this end, in this article, we propose a serious game whose objective is to let young people experience the typical interaction scenario when faced to a feed of real and fake news in social media. Our proposal focuses on educational workshops, carried out in secondary schools and dedicated to the correct use of information on the web, with particular attention to logical fallacies and cognitive bias mechanisms that lead to the formulation of erroneous reasoning or prevent a comparison from progressing logically. Thanks to an intuitive interface that helps the teacher supervise the whole game session, the students are invited to assess the truthfulness of a small set of news at different levels and to share them with their friends. At the end of the game session, the teacher is provided with an interactive detailed report of the activities that enables the analysis of all participants' actions and behavior. The teacher can use such a report to conduct a classroom lecture in a more engaging and interactive way, by stimulating discussions among the students and raising their curiosity on the subject. Our educational platform has been tested accurately in a broad experimental study involving 217 middle school students. The results show the suitability of the platform in providing a valuable educational tool for supporting educational activities on fake news analysis.

The authors address the goals, objectives and concepts of the project on mass media education in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The purpose of the study: a comparative analysis of the development of media education in the CIS (1992-2020) at each stage (including theoretical concepts, goals and objectives, role, place, functions, organizational forms of media education in the mainstream education). Object of the study is media education in the countries of the CIS. The research's subject is basic stages of development, theoretical and methodological concept of media education in the CIS countries over the past 25 years. Research objectives are to formulate and justify a set of theoretical stances that make up the methodological basis of research into the history of mass media education in the CIS (1992-2020); to analyze theoretical sources and practical experience of the leading figures of media education in the CIS countries, to determine the essential features, qualities and properties of media education in the CIS countries, to investigate the structure, main stages of historical development, directions, theoretical concepts, goals and objectives, contents, media education technologies in the CIS; to carry out a comparative analysis and systematization of the material, to identify the main theoretical and methodological concepts of media education in the CIS countries, which may be a promising basis for further successful development in the Russian contexts.

With our paper we analyze four renowned media literacy models from Germany, UK and USA to derive, through comparisons, the necessary core competencies which apply to all professions and that are valid across disciplines. In the results, as key-competencies, we identified critical analysis as essential to be able to act as self determined individuals in so called mediatized societies. Further results show that media literacy learning can be developed in formal learning settings, as well as in non formal and in informal learning settings that complement each other. Media literacy promotion is therefore a cross-disciplinary task for all kinds of professionals in the educational and social systems. With referring to the concept of mediatization, we also show the deep social impact of media on people’s lives and explain why it is helpful to see media literacy learning as part of lifelong learning. We finally conclude, that the terms «teaching media literacy» and «media literacy education» are no longer applicable. Instead, we highly recommend the terms «promoting media literacy» and «media literacy learning». By seeing media literacy learning as a cross-disciplinary task and as a process of lifelong learning, our findings can help to unify discussions about media literacy on a global level.

The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare the concepts of media literacy and computer literacy based on the works indexed on the Web of Science. The present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of methodology with a scientometric approach in which network analysis techniques have been used. The research community of scientific products is related to the subject of media literacy and computer literacy. Findings indicate that 1736 works have been indexed in the field of media literacy and 772 works in the field of computer literacy. Fedro in the field of media literacy and Grasser AC have the most products in the field of computer literacy. Among the countries, the United States is in the first place in two areas, among which Iran with 11 works is in the position of 31 computer literacy, and with 8 works is in the position of 19 media literacy. The co-occurrence of media literacy works was 9 clusters and computer literacy works were 6 clusters. There are 327 common keywords in the thematic clusters of these two domains. Also, paying attention to the field of media literacy and computer literacy as one of the components of society can play an important role in the growth and promotion of individuals. In the analysis and results of the present study, suggestions were made for managers and politicians to better clarify the issues in this area and to invest better in its development.

This article analyzed the results of survey of university students’ media literacy competence (on the base of a classification of indicators of media literacy competence of the audience as an effective tool for comparative analysis of the levels of development of media competence of students of the control and experimental groups): the level of media competence of students who have a one-year training course in the framework of media literacy education courses four times higher than in similar indicators in the control group. Analysis of the results of this survey confirmed the general trend of media contacts of student audience – its orientation to entertainment genres of audiovisual media, visually appealing; positive, active, unmarried, childless, educated, highly qualified characters (primarily – male characters) aged 19 to 35 years. These heroes are characteristic optimism, independence, intelligence, emotion. They have an excellent command of the life situation and have a positive impact on the development progress of the plot of a media text

Reception analysis takes into consideration not only individual differences but also cultural differences. On the other hand, there are diverse factors determining audience’s reception and active participation. Education, age, sex, economical status, family background, ethnicity, world –view and similar factors affect the reception process. Besides that, being media literate and fostering a critical approach towards media texts also determines reception. Taking into account all these factors, this research is designed as a comparative reception analysis. We will be comparing the reception of a global product by youngsters (Survivor Show) within the scope of media literacy education and cultural differences. For that purpose we realized focus group discussions with communication faculty students from Spain and Turkey. The research was realized in the framework of literature review including the above mentioned topics.

In knowledge society, there is currently a call for cultivating a combination of media literacy and information literacy. This, however, requires cooperation from these two separate fields of study, and uncertainty regarding their boundaries hinders a smooth merger. It is unclear whether they are subsets of each other or separate entities. In this study, we have explored the relationship between these two fields by empirically mapping out their territories and discussing their similarities and differences. We have made use of the Web of Science database to delineate the content and boundary of these two fields. Our findings from 1956 to 2012 show that the two fields have different authors, university affiliations, and journals; they also differ in terms of academic origin, scope, and social concern. Information literacy has a closer tie to library science, while media literacy is more related to media content, media industry, and social effects. Due to their different academic orientations, the two fields adopt different analytical approaches. We have found that media literacy is not a subset of information literacy as some scholars have suggested, although the two fields have similarities. They share the same goal, and their publications overlap in terms of subject areas, countries of origin, and titles. The two fields could find common ground by cooperating together to contribute to the promotion of new literacy in knowledge societies.

Purpose: The aim of this study was a comparative study of media literacy curriculum policy in the educational system of leading countries and Iran. Methodology: The approach of the research was qualitative approach and the method used in it was comparative-analytical method. The research population in this study included all valid scientific documents, including books, articles in specialized journals related to media literacy, from which the works related to the subject were selected using purposive sampling method and appropriate to the research objectives of the case. Were analyzed and data were collected by documentary method, Descriptive analysis method was used in data analysis. Based on the research question, a framework for data analysis was considered. Based on this framework, the required data from available resources were selected, organized, and then their similarities and differences were identified and compared and interpreted. Findings: Based on the results of this study, the concerns and views on content, necessities and goals of media literacy in different countries are largely similar and educational planners try to maintain their cultural identity in the use of different media. . The results also showed that media literacy has been considered as one of the most effective monitoring tools in the countries. Also, according to the results of the research, the most important differences between the selected countries and Iran in this regard was that the goal of these countries is to institutionalize the media literacy curriculum in an organized manner and in the form of codified policies and long-term plans, but in Iran. Although this issue has been emphasized in the upstream documents, due to the lack of sufficient infrastructure, lack of culture appropriate to the age of technology and teachers not being familiar with this knowledge, these conditions have not been provided and implementation in schools has been unsuccessful. Several years of implementation have not yet led to a successful indigenous approach and model for implementing this skill in schools. Conclusion: The results showed that the concerns and views on the content, necessities and goals of media literacy in different countries are largely similar and educational planners try to maintain their cultural identity in the use of different media.

As new technologies and information delivery systems emerge, the way in which individuals search for information to support research, teaching, and creative activities is changing. To understand different aspects of researchers’ information-seeking behavior, this article surveyed 2,063 academic researchers in natural science, engineering, and medical science from five research universities in the United States. A Web-based, in-depth questionnaire was designed to quantify researchers’ information searching, information use, and information storage behaviors. Descriptive statistics are reported.

This study investigates the impact of information technology (IT) on productivity and collaboration patterns in academe. Our data combine information on the diffusion of two noteworthy innovations in IT—BITNET and the Domain Name System (DNS)—with career-history data on research-active life scientists. We analyzed a random sample of 3,114 research-active life scientists from 314 U.S. institutions over a 25-year period and find that the availability of BITNET on a scientist’s campus has a positive effect on his or her productivity and collaborative network. Our findings also support the hypothesis of a differential effect of IT across subgroups of the scientific labor force. Women scientists and those working at nonelite institutions benefit more from the availability of IT in terms of overall research output and an increase in the number of new coauthors they work with than do men or individuals at elite institutions. These results suggest that IT is an equalizing force, providing a greater boost to productivity and more collaboration opportunities for scientists who are more marginally positioned in academe

The need to understand authors’ motivations for creating links between university web sites is addressed by a survey of a random collection of 414 such links from the ac.uk domain. A classification scheme was created and applied to this collection. Obtaining inter-classifier agreement as to the single main link creation cause was very difficult because of multiple potential motivations and the fluidity of genre on the Web. Nevertheless, it was clear that, whilst the vast majority, over 90%, was created for broadly scholarly reasons, only two were equivalent to journal citations. It is concluded that academic web link metrics will be dominated by a range of informal types of scholarly communication. Since formal communication can be extensively studied through citation analysis, this provides an exciting new window through which to investigate a facet of a previously obscured type of communication activity

This paper analyzes the impact of academic inbreeding in relation to academic research, and proposes a new conceptual framework for its analysis. We find that mobility (or lack of) at the early research career stage is decisive in influencing academic behaviors and scientific productivity. Less mobile academics have more inward oriented information exchange dynamics and lower scientific productivity.The analysis also indicates that the information exchange and scientific productivity of academics that changed institutions only once do not differ substantially from that of ‘‘mobile inbred academics’’. This emphasizes the need for mobility throughout scientific and academic careers and calls for policies to curtail academic inbreeding.

The information seeking behavior of academic scientistsis being transformed by the availability of electronicresources for searching, retrieving, and reading scholarlymaterials. A census survey was conducted of academicscience researchers at the University of North Carolina atChapel Hill to capture their current information seekingbehavior. Nine hundred two subjects (26%) completedresponses to a 15-minute Web-based survey. The surveyquestions were designed to quantify the transition toelectronic communications and how this affects differentaspects of information seeking. Significant changes ininformation seeking behavior were found, includingincreased reliance on web based resources, fewer visitsto the library, and almost entirely electronic communica-tion of information. The results can guide libraries andother information service organizations as they adapt tomeet the needs of today’s information searchers. Simpledescriptive statistics are reported for the individual ques-tions. Additionally, analysis of results is broken out bybasic science and medical science departments. The survey tool and protocol used in this study have been adopted for use in a nationwide survey of the information-seeking behavior of academic scientists

The essay reflects on how visual media and visual literacy have evolved since the publication of the author’s earlier book Visual “Literacy”: Image, Mind, and Reality (1994). It focuses on how technological and cultural changes have transformed the way people create, share, and interpret images. The article highlights two major technological developments that have reshaped visual communication. The first is the advancement of digital image manipulation and computer-generated photorealistic images. Modern editing tools make it easier to alter photographs or create highly realistic digital images, which makes detecting visual manipulation or fraud more difficult. This change raises concerns about the reliability and authenticity of visual information in media.

The study examines how visual literacy is practiced, taught, and understood in higher education. It serves as an introduction to a special issue that focuses on the role of visual literacy in university teaching and research. The article argues that visual literacy has become increasingly important because modern communication and knowledge production rely heavily on images, visual media, and multimodal forms of expression. Universities therefore need to help students develop the ability to interpret, analyze, and create visual content, not just textual information.

The study discusses the concept of digital visual literacy (DVL) and its growing importance in modern education and everyday life. Digital visual literacy refers to the ability to both understand and create visual information using digital technologies, such as images, graphics, presentations, and data visualizations produced through computers. The paper explains that DVL has become an essential skill in many areas of daily life and professional work. People need these skills to critically interpret images in news media, use digital cameras, design websites, create presentations, and visualize scientific data. Because visual communication is increasingly digital and multimedia-based, the ability to analyze and produce digital visuals is now a key component of literacy in many fields.

This book explores the concept, debates, and challenges surrounding visual literacy, particularly in the fields of art, media studies, and education. The book brings together contributions from different scholars who examine whether visual literacy can truly be considered a form of “literacy” comparable to reading and writing, and how people learn to interpret and understand visual images. The contributors discuss what it means to “read” images and whether the skills used to interpret visual material—such as paintings, photographs, diagrams, and digital images—can be systematically taught and learned.

The article discusses the growing importance of visual literacy. Felten explains that visual literacy involves the ability to understand the meaning of visual images, evaluate their credibility and persuasive techniques, and communicate ideas effectively through visual forms. The article emphasizes that images are not neutral; they carry cultural, political, and rhetorical meanings that viewers must learn to critically interpret.

The article examines how privacy concerns, trust, and privacy literacy influence the use of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) on the Internet. It focuses particularly on the anonymization service Tor (The Onion Router), which allows users to browse the web while protecting their identity and personal data. The study builds on the Internet Users’ Information Privacy Concerns (IUIPC) model, a framework commonly used to measure how privacy concerns affect people’s willingness to use online technologies. However, the authors argue that this model does not fully apply to privacy-enhancing technologies because these tools are specifically designed to reduce privacy risks, which changes how trust and risk perceptions influence user behavior.

The article critically examines online privacy literacy and its role in shaping how individuals understand and respond to privacy issues in the digital environment. It argues that current debates about online privacy are largely based on liberal theory, which defines privacy mainly as protection from external influences such as governments, corporations, or other individuals.

The article examines the concept of privacy literacy in the context of personalized and direct marketing, where companies increasingly collect and process consumers’ personal data to deliver targeted advertising and interactive marketing strategies. As digital marketing becomes more data-driven, concerns have grown about how businesses can use personal information without violating consumers’ privacy. The paper introduces privacy literacy as a concept that explains how consumers understand and respond to the processing of their personal data.

The article examines how privacy literacy training influences children’s understanding of online privacy and their behavior when sharing personal information on the Internet. It focuses on children aged 9–13 years, who frequently encounter requests from online services to disclose personal data but often lack awareness of the commercial value of their data and the potential privacy risks involved.

This study examined the impact of three dimensions of digital literacy on privacy-related online behaviors: (a) familiarity with technical aspects of the Internet, (b) awareness of common institutional practices, and (c) understanding of current privacy policy

The article investigates the relationship between online privacy literacy (OPL) and Internet users’ privacy concerns, particularly within the European context. Privacy literacy is defined as users’ knowledge about privacy rights, data protection regulations, and strategies for protecting personal information online.

The article examines privacy literacy on social media and how it relates to the privacy divide among different user groups. Privacy literacy refers to users’ ability to understand privacy risks, manage personal information, and apply privacy controls while using social media platforms. The study investigates whether demographic factors such as gender, ethnicity, and prior experience with privacy tools influence individuals’ level of privacy literacy.