The Digital Divide Between Urban and Rural Areas in China
Article
The purpose of this study was to analyse the digital divide between urban and rural areas in China, and the impact of this divide on regional socio-economic development. This study utilised a mixed-methods approach. . The results indicate substantial differences in internet accessibility, with urban regions exhibiting a penetration rate of 85.1%, in contrast to rural regions at 60.5%. Digital literacy is significantly deficient in rural areas, with 56.1% of rural residents lacking fundamental digital competencies, hence impeding their capacity to fully participate in online education, healthcare, and e-commerce platforms. Moreover, rural areas get little advantage from digital technology, intensifying socio-economic disparities. Notwithstanding efforts by the Chinese government and private enterprises to enhance internet accessibility via infrastructure enhancement and literacy initiatives, obstacles like cultural opposition, economic impediments, and age-related limitations remain. The research indicates that closing the digital divide requires multifaceted interventions that tackle infrastructural deficiencies, improve digital literacy, and execute customised activities that account for cultural and economic obstacles in rural regions.
Breaking The Tabo and the Filipino Diaspora in North America: Isang Kontra-Semiolohikal na Pagsusuri sa Online Series ng One Down Media
Article
Abstrak
Sinuri ng pag-aaral ang Breaking the Tabo, isang serye na ipinalabas online ng One Down Media, bilang isang teksto ng kulturang popular na nagsisilbing larangan ng kontra-diskurso hinggil sa identidad at representasyon ng diasporang Pilipino sa Hilagang Amerika. Layunin nitong alamin kung paano gumagana ang serye bilang isang kontra-mitikong teksto na humahamon sa mga dominanteng representasyon ng Pilipino sa Kanluran. Ginamit na pagsusuri sa pag-aaral ang kontra-Barthesianong semiolohiya at isinagawa ang di-intrusibong biswal at tekstuwal na pagsusuri sa pitong episodyo ng unang season ng serye. Natuklasan mula sa serye ang pitong pangunahing kontra-icon: representasyon ng mga Pilipino sa Hollywood, ang terminong Filipinx, diasporikong pagkalito sa identidad, katayuan ng mga Pilipino sa kasaysayang Amerikano, karanasan ng mga Pilipino sa Canada, pagkaing Pilipino, at kultura ng body shaming. Ipinakikita ng talakayan na ang mga kontra-icon na ito ay nagsisilbing pook ng kolektibong pagkilala at semiotikong paglaban sa historikal na invisibility, esensiyalismo, at rasyonalisadong diskurso. Matalas ang mga biswal at tekstuwal na mensahe ng Breaking the Tabo. Ipinapakita ng pag-aaral na ang Breaking the Tabo ay nananatiling mahalagang anyo ng diskursibong interbensiyon at semiotikong pakikibaka sa kontemporanyong digital na midya ukol sa diasporang Pilipino.
Abstract
This study examines Breaking the Tabo, an online series by One Down Media, as a text of popular culture that functions as a site of counter-discourse on the identity and representation of the Filipino diaspora in North America. It seeks to address the question on how the series operates as a counter-mythical text that challenges dominant representations of Filipinos in the West. The study employs counter-Barthesian semiotics and conducts a non-intrusive visual and textual analysis of the seven episodes from the first season of the series. The results show that seven major counter-icons emerge from the series: representations of Filipinos in Hollywood, the term Filipinx, diasporic confusion of identity, the status of Filipinos in American history, the experiences of Filipinos in Canada, Filipino food, and the culture of body shaming. The discussion demonstrates that these counter-icons function as sites of collective recognition and semiotic resistance to historical invisibility, essentialism, and racialized discourse. The visual and textual messages of Breaking the Tabo are incisive; thus, the study highlights the series as a significant form of discursive intervention and semiotic struggle in the contemporary digital media of the Filipino diaspora.
Discourses of Teenage Pregnancy and Teenage Motherhood as Portrayed in Philippine News Media (1973-2023)
Article
We examine the evolving discourses of teenage motherhood and teenage pregnancy in Philippine news media using Ruiz’s (2009) three-level qualitative sociological discourse analysis. Drawing from 79 news articles published in the country over a 50-year timeframe (1973 to 2023), we observe three overarching, yet non-mutually exclusive, waves of dominant discourses: (1) the Catholic moral discourse (predominant in early 1970s to late 1980s), which tended to frame teenage pregnancy and motherhood in moral terms; (2) the human capital discourse (predominantly in late 1980s to early 2000s), which appeared to reframe the phenomenon as a health and socioeconomic concern; and (3) the poverty trap discourse (predominantly in early 2000s to early 2020s), which amplified how teenage pregnancies and motherhood render young women vulnerable to cyclical poverty without self-sufficiency. We use the wave metaphor to emphasize continuity and rearticulation rather than replacement as older framings endure even as new institutional vocabularies emerge, and nascent discourses may appear within earlier periods before becoming more pronounced in later ones. Finally, we highlight the importance of critically examining these waves of discourses because they can shape societal attitudes and policies toward teenage pregnancy and teenage motherhood.
Aesthetic Pressure in Audiovisual Narratives: A Semiotic Content Analysis of South Korean and Luso-Brazilian TV Series
Article
Across Eastern and Western cultures, aesthetic norms continue to oppress women, with certain aspects transcending socio-historical differences. To visualize symbolic violence in media, we selected three series from diverse but related cultural and social contexts: South Korea’s My ID is Gangnam Beauty, Portugal’s The Good Girls Club, and Brazil’s Hidden Truths. Utilizing a qualitative and interpretive semiotic content analysis method and an intersectional decolonial feminist lens, we observe how these audiovisual media explore aesthetic norms semantically. Findings indicate that neoliberal and postfeminist discourses frame beauty practices as forms of empowerment in the three series. However, they often hide the structural forces pushing women toward unrealistic standards, with physical, financial, and psychological costs. The South Korean series explores bullying for not having hegemonic identities and bodies, and how women need to have a ‘feminine’ body to be accepted in their society. In the Portuguese series, the characters must prove themselves ‘sexy’ and capable of being valued by others. In Brazil’s series, the focus was to show how sensuality and hegemonic beauty standards continue to reinforce a collective imagination associated with success. The study raises awareness of how the media can use semiotics to promote inclusive and responsible representations of female beauty.
The Role of Representation, Relation, and Identity in Reinforcing Local Wisdom Values in Indonesian Television Documentaries
Article
The Indonesia Bagus television documentary program is a form of media that consistently showcases the diversity of Indonesian local culture, including in the episode “Bromo,” which explores the life of the Tengger tribe on the slopes of Mount Bromo (Aderia & Yosiie Marlia, 2014). The phenomenon underlying this research is the challenge of the media in presenting authentic local cultural narratives without falling into tokenism or mere symbolic representation. This study aims to analyze how local wisdom values are represented in documentary programs through representation, relationships, and identity. The research uses a qualitative approach with multimodal analysis methods, including iconographic analysis, visual mode (attribute, setting, salience), and audio mode (narration, background sound, film judgment). The results show that producers position local speakers as the center of cultural representation through language styles, visual attributes, and narrative relationships that strengthen the local identity of the Tengger people. The representation of local wisdom becomes a narrative element, fostering an emotional and educational connection with the audience. In conclusion, this documentary succeeds in showing local values as part of the national narrative, with an inclusive production approach oriented towards cultural preservation.
Abstrakt
Program dokumenter televisi Indonesia Bagus merupakan program televisi yang secara konsisten menampilkan keragaman budaya lokal Indonesia, termasuk dalam episode “Bromo”, yang mengeksplorasi kehidupan suku Tengger di lereng Gunung Bromo. Fenomena yang mendasari penelitan ini adalah tantangan media dalam menyajikan narasi budaya lokal yang otenFk tanpa jatuh ke dalam tokenisme atau representasi simbolis belaka. PeneliFan ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis bagaimana nilai-nilai kearifan lokal direpresentasikan dalam program dokumenter melalui representasi, hubungan, dan idenFtas. PeneliFan menggunakan pendekatan kualitaFf dengan metode analisis mulFmodal, melipuF analisis ikonografi, mode visual (atribut, seLng, salience), dan mode audio (narasi, suara latar belakang, penilaian film). Hasil peneliFan menunjukkan bahwa produsen memposisikan penutur lokal sebagai pusat representasi budaya melalui gaya bahasa, atribut visual, dan hubungan naraFf yang memperkuat idenFtas lokal masyarakat Tengger. Representasi kearifan lokal menjadi elemen naraFf, menumbuhkan hubungan emosional dan edukaFf dengan audiens. Kesimpulannya, film dokumenter ini berhasil menampilkan nilai-nilai local sebagai bagian dari narasi nasional, dengan pendekatan produksi inklusif yang berorientasi pada pelestarian budaya.
Digital Storytelling Discourses in International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ Mobile Cinema Campaign Against the 2024 Cholera Outbreak in Nigeria
Article
This study examines the potential of mobile cinema and digital storytelling as innovative strategies for public health campaigns in response to the 2024 cholera outbreak in Nigeria. Employing the critical discourse analysis (CDA) method, the study undertook three layers of analysis of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC’s) mobile cinema titled How Cholera Spreads (produced in collaboration with the Global Health Media Project). Besides the video’s popularity and wide circulation across digital media platforms in Nigeria, its rich treatment of thematic issues relating to the nature, history, symptoms, spread, and prevention of cholera necessitated its adoption for analysis. The health-themed narratives embedded in the mobile cinema suggest the need to create awareness and orient the public to make informed decisions in the face of the cholera outbreak. The study revealed the IFRC mobile cinema’s portrayal of the significance of systemic and socio-environmental approaches as key to addressing the underlying causes of the cholera outbreak. From an interpretive standpoint, the digital storytelling discourses sustained in the mobile cinema reflect strategies for behaviour change through the tendentious portrayal of preventive measures that, when adhered to, may have a profound impact in preventing/reducing further incidence of cholera disease.
