Introduction: Community media’s long march

The new generation of media technologies and the success of the so-called ‘Web 2.0’ platforms has put at the centre of academic and industry discussions the participatory potential of internet-based media. ‘Old’ participatory platforms, alternative and community using traditional broadcasting or print outlets, though, have a long history of close involvement of their audiences in practices that have put communities’ communicative needs at the centre of their everyday work and fought for the democratization of media systems. Despite their financial and organisational weaknesses as individual stations or projects, community media are being increasingly recognised as the third and distinct sector of broadcasting by recent policy and regulatory developments in Europe and across the globe. The contributions present in this issue present the opportunities and challenges that are characterising the sector at this time, as the switchover to digital broadcasting platforms, and the need of constant presence at the European Union and Council of Europe levels to make sure that community media are considered with equal dignity among other broadcasters in media policy debates. Practice-based accounts also show the contribution of community media to intercultural dialogue, an impressive range of interactions with civil society organisations present in their communities, and the potential of giving voice to local and diasporic communities through innovative combinations of FM and web-based broadcasting. Finally, this special issue also shows evidence of the important role that civil society plays in the production of situated knowledge along, and in collaboration with, ongoing academic research in this area of study.     

On the edge. AMARC Europe between ‘movement entrepreneurs’ and the grassroots. Notes from the Bucharest meeting

The (re)founding conference of the European chapter of the World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC) took place in Bucharest, Romania, in December 2008 (http://www.amarc.org/conference_europe/index.html). About 60 community media practitioners from 18 countries in Eastern, Central and Western Europe, took part in the four-day meeting. Items on the agenda included the debate on current ‘hot issues’ such as the digital switch-over, the foundation of the European chapter of the AMARC Women’s International Network, skill-exchange workshops, a plan of action for the coming three years, and the election of a new board. The conference was crucial in fostering networking among radios, and enhanced the relationships with other players, such as the UNESCO and the news agency Inter Press Service. But should it have been more than that? This article takes a critical look at the Bucharest conference, and analyses what AMARC Europe has done so far, its potential role for community media in a pan-European continent, and the perspectives for the future.     

Community media in the context of European media policies

In the last three decades the emergence and development of community media across Europe has been mainly characterised by the political and social contexts at the national levels and, consequently, the sector is shaped by a range of opportunities and challenges that depend on the status of current policy, legislation and funding regimes in each country. Where at the pan-European level, since the 1970s, the Council of Europe has been supporting community media as a means for pluralism and diversity in the media, as well as a tool to promote social cohesion, in the European Union audiovisual and media policies, community media have been largely overlooked. In 2008 the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament promoted a report to support community media in the Union, signalling a new development pursuing to influence media policy discussion in the member states. This article aims to trace the contours of community media’s route across European media policies to assess how its practice has been shaped so far and discuss the emerging issues that are likely to influence its near future.     

Broadband and digital ‘content’ in the EU-25: Recent trends and challenges

This paper focuses on recent trends and issues in the EU-25 countries related to one key broadband application area: digital media ‘content’ applications. It draws upon recently completed research addressing current and future uses and applications of broadband in the EU-25 area.

The paper presents key findings from the BEACON project concerning the broadband content trends and issues in the EU-25 countries. First, the paper briefly considers recent literature on broadband and digital media innovations as well as the policy context in Europe, which has an important influence on framing supports for innovation in content and digital media. Next, it addresses a number of key issues that impact upon the creation of content services. These include the high cost of content production and the difficulty of forming attractive business cases given the uncertainties related to user demand, and the IPR and copyright regimes. It will also consider users’ patterns of engagement with broadband content and emerging user applications. Next, the paper discusses whether broadband is reaching a ‘tipping point’, whereby broadband access is becoming the norm and in the next five years we will see the emergence of innovative, dynamic content services. The paper considers whether recent moves by three sets of significant actors (media corporations, the advertising sector, and EC regulators) could be early signs of a tipping point in favour of the creation of and more focused support for broadband content services.     

Conference report: Community media at ECREA’s ECC08

On 25–28 November 2008 the second European Communication Conference took place in Barcelona, bringing together media and communication researchers from across the continent. Hosted by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the event is co-organised by the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA). Among the thematic sections of the Association, Radio Research, and Communication and Democracy’s panels discussed a wide range of recent research in the area of community media.     

Beyond “Europe 1992”: Communication and cultural identity in small nation states

This article focuses on the changing role of the European Community (EC) and its impact on national media systems and policies. It points out that the EC policies advocate total freedom to provide services across borders, and that, total liberalization may lead to a future cultural synchronization and economic oligopolization of Europe. It is questionable whether the European policies will be in the advantage of the so-called smaller countries in the European Community, like for instance Belgium or the Netherlands, on the one hand, and whether these policies will be able to secure a free and balanced flow of information, ideas, opinions, and cultural activities within the Community on the other hand.     

Analysis of one‐axis tracking strategies for PV systems in Europe

We present a method for estimating the energy output from one‐axis tracking non‐concentrating PV systems and compare the yields from different configurations. The method is based on the use of solar radiation and temperature databases and models for the performance of PV modules under given geographic conditions. In the resulting maps of energy yield for Europe it is found that there are two different one‐axis configurations that perform almost as well as a full two‐axis sun‐tracking system: one with a vertical axis and inclined modules, and the other with an inclined axis directed north–south and modules in the plane of the axis. When the inclination angles of the modules are optimized, these two configurations have an energy yield compared to an optimal fixed mounting that is approximately 30% higher in southern Europe, about 20–25% higher in central Europe, and up to 50% higher in northern Scandinavia. Compared to the two‐axis tracking, the yields are only 1–4% lower, making such one‐axis tracking systems very attractive in terms of performance relative to technical complexity and price. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information-processing capabilities of chemical reaction–diffusion systems. 1. Belousov–Zhabotinsky media in hydrogel matrices and on solid supports

Promising potentialities are opened up by the use of polymer materials for the elaboration of information-processing devices based on reaction–diffusion media. In this work, features of image processing by Belousov–Zhabotinsky media formed on the basis of hydrogel matrices and using catalyst immobilisation on the surface of solid supports have been investigated. Such active media structures have been found to improve significantly the quality of images in the course of their processing by the media. The spatial resolution of the media increases considerably in going from liquid Belousov–Zhabotinsky media and media functioning in polymer matrices to media based on catalyst immobilisation on the surface of solid supports. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CMFE – Community Media Forum Europe

Community Media (CM) have been present in the European landscape for a long time now and have an equally long history of self-organisation. But since 2002 there had been a lack of presence of community media at the European policy level. That is why in 2004 representatives of national federations, media activists, practitioners and academics initiated the Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE), which has been formally established in 2006 as an action-oriented network of CM-related organizations and people to present the potential of CM within the European media landscape.     

Assessing the displacement effects of the Internet

This study examines the “medium-centric” and “user-centric” approaches in investigating the displacement effects of the Internet. Results from a random sample survey support the “medium-centric” approach in displacement effect. The use of the Internet does displace traditional media use of television, newspapers, and radio. The Internet performs a substitutive rather than supplementary function. More important, the use of absolute time measures may lead one to draw the reverse conclusion, and the use of relative proportions of time based on people’s total media time budget allows one to better examine the displacement effects of new media.     

Beyond media globalization: A look at cultural integrity from a policy perspective

The development of satellite and computer technologies have allowed audiences around the world easier access to large volumes of foreign media content. But unlike what was anticipated, the homogenizing effect of media globalization has remained rather limited, and when it occurs, it often does with a particularizing effect by embracing differences in the audiences. Policy-wise, in contrast to the defensive measures many decision makers adopted when global and regional media made their first appearances, we have witnessed a change to a more pragmatic approach, especially in Asia, as more nations seek to export as well as import cultural products. The emphasis on “Asian values” and the waning desire of formulating a common culture in Europe are indications of the complexities involved in the integration and disintegration of cultures. What theories of cultural imperialism and post modernism failed to take into account, is that media, whether global, regional, national or local, are but one of the many factors involved in this process.     

Social participation of the elderly in China: The roles of conventional media,digital access and social media engagement

China is the most rapidly aging country and has the largest aging population in the world. However, social participation is an important intervention to boost the active and healthy aging. The present study investigated the effects of media usage, together with social-demographics and health variables, on Chinese older adults. Drawing upon a national research project with a representative sample (N = 1,399) of older adults (55+) from 58 cities in China, the research findings revealed that conventional media, digital access and social media usage had positive effects on older adults’ informal social participation, while age moderated the relationship between informal social participation and digital access, particularly regarding access to tablet PCs and smartphones. Moreover, conventional media, digital access and social media engagement largely explained seniors’ formal social participation regardless of their social-demographic backgrounds. Finally, the roles of conventional media and digital media in older adults’ social participation are discussed.     

The risk of social media addiction between the ideal/false and true self: Testing a path model through the tripartite person-centered perspective of authenticity

Much previous research has focused on the important role played by personality constructs in developing addictive use of social media. However, no investigation has yet been conducted examining the association between dispositional authenticity and online self-idealization, or the authentic self-expression hypothesis and the risk of becoming addicted to social media. To fill this gap, the present study tested a path model that hypothesized direct and indirect effects of the three components of authentic personality on social media addiction via selfitis behaviors. Participants (N = 490; M_age = 20.31 years, SD = 3.76) recruited from high schools and universities completed a self-report survey assessing the three authentic personality traits, selfitis behaviors, and social media addiction. Results generally confirmed the supposed pathways. Direct and indirect effects on social media addiction were discussed by integrating the two mechanisms of compensation related to individual dispositions with the online self-idealizing and authentic self-expression hypothesis underlying selfitis behaviors. Whereas self-alienation was found to have positive direct and indirect effects on increasing of the likelihood of becoming addicted to social media, both traits of the tendency to accept external influence and authenticity showed indirect effects in opposite directions on the risk of addictive use of social media. Findings from the present study extend previous research by exploring inter-individual differences in predisposing and reinforcing factors associated with the online self-presentation.     

Towards a critical theory of alternative media

In this contribution, we warn against being too optimistic about the actual democratic effects of notions like “civil media”, “community media” “alternative media”, “grassroots media”, “participatory media”, or “participatory culture”. We argue that in contemporary society, which is characterized by structural inequalities, an understanding of alternative media as participatory media is insufficient. As an alternative concept, we suggest the notion of alternative media as critical media. This concept is grounded in critical social theory. A typology of approaches for defining alternative media is constructed. We argue that alternative media need to be situated in the context of visions of an alternative society.     

Internet experience and time displacement of traditional news media use: An application of the theory of the niche

The purpose of this study is to better understand the impact of online news use on traditional news media use by analyzing how Internet experience affects the time on traditional news media consumption. Based on the theory of the niche and the uses and gratifications theory, this study investigates the displacement effect of the Internet on consumer time spent on traditional media. Data were collected in a mail survey with 688 respondents in Northwest Ohio and college students in a Northwest Ohio state university from October to December, 2009. The results indicate that the Internet indeed has a displacement effect on traditional media in the daily news domain and the effect takes place most prominently after 5 years of experience. Consumers’ time spent on traditional media decreases as the years of Internet experience increases with diminishing returns. Among experienced Internet users, there was an increasing overlap between the Internet and traditional media, and they perceived the Internet as superior to traditional media.     

ATM—success or failure? Economic remarks on the introduction of broadband technology in Europe

The introduction of ATM and broadband-based equipment into the European market requires considerable capital investment. It will result in a structural technological change, affecting the competitiveness of the European economy. Successful introduction depends on how both ATM network equipment and broadband based end-user equipment are brought onto the market. This paper focuses on economic benefits and anticipating marketing strategies, applicable in Europe with its specific, historically evolved structures. The price to pay for this ‘in-sight information’ is leaving out a global comparison. Refraining from evaluation whether conditions are good or bad for Europe or other areas, the article explains what conditions can be found there recently and where are the chances and challenges right now.     

Super-Large Domain Metal-Induced Radially Crystallized Poly-Si Made Using Ni(NO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>/NH<Subscript>4</Subscript>OH Mixed Solution

By using an aqueous solution of Ni(NO₃)₂/NH₄OH for formation of Ni media on a-Si, disk-like super-large domain metal-induced radially crystallized (S-MIRC) poly-Si was prepared. The process requires no buffer layer deposition on a-Si. The prepared S-MIRC poly-Si has an average domain size of up to 60 μm, highest hole Hall mobility of 27.1 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, and highest electron Hall mobility of 45.6 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. Poly-Si TFT made on super-large-domain S-MIRC poly-Si had high mobility of ~105.8 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, steep sub-threshold slope of ~1.0 V decade⁻¹, high on/off state current ratio of >10⁷ and low threshold voltage of ~ −6.9 V. A simultaneous Ni-collected and induced crystallization model is proposed to explain the growth kinetics of S-MIRC poly-Si.     

Optical Communications in Space – a Challenge for Europe

The successful test of a laser communication link between an ESA data-relay satellite and an Earth observation satellite marks a milestone in the development of optical space communications. It is the right moment to look back on more than 20 years of R & D effort in Europe. The paper gives an overview of the optical space communication activities at the European Space Agency (ESA), which have started in summer 1977, when ESA placed the first technology study contract in the domain of intersatellite optical links, and reports on the most recent European systems andhardware technology efforts aimed at the development of small and compact laser terminals for global mobile communication systems and satellite-based data networks.     

Lifetime maximization schemes under end‐to‐end frame‐error constraints in wireless multimedia sensor networks

Of significance in wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSN) is the maintenance of media quality and the extension of route lifetime since media stream is more sensitive in quality requirement than data flow. In this paper, the problem of how to balance the needs on constraining end‐to‐end (e2e) quality and prolonging lifetime in an established route can be interpreted as a nonlinear optimization paradigm, which is then shown to be a max—min composite formulation when an e2e frame‐error probability is given. To solve this max—min problem, we propose two novel methods: route‐associated power management (RAPM) and link‐associated power management (LAPM). For computation‐restricted sensor nodes, the RAPM scheme with adding a simplification condition on power management can effectively reduce the power cost at computation and also rapidly determine optimum lifetime from numerous candidate routes. On the other hand, if computing power is not the major concern in a sink node, rather than using a heuristic method, we employ the LAPM algorithm to solve the lifetime maximization problem in a more accurate fashion. Solid theoretical analysis and simulation results are presented to validate our proposed schemes. Both analytical and simulation results demonstrate that the LAPM scheme is very comparable to the heuristic approach. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.