Anton Carpinschi, The Russian-Ukrainian war and media literacy. Thoughts and memoriesof an East-European 

The emotions caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war stimulated thoughts by the author about Soviet-Russian propaganda and the acute need for media literacy. The author approaches this through the memories of a childhood under the Soviet occupation and the experiences lived in the communist regime in Romania.

It is a plea for reformative political solutions in a spiritual-religious climate freed from the dominance of the what the author calls the troika of post-Soviet power:  the autocratic-oligarchic-ecclesiastical state.

For full article: https://culture-impact.net/the-russian-ukrainian-war-and-media-literacy-thoughts-and-memories-of-an-east-european/

Amer Bital:  Authority representation as a cultural discourse!

In this article I analyze how authority is represented by artists in visual arts and how it is interpreted by the targeted audience and what is the effect of national cultures in the way its represented and interpreted.
My aim is to explore how authoritarians used visual art to impose disciplinary power and to control their people’s minds; furthermore, I aim to probe the role of national culture in impacting the way authority is represented, taking examples from different cultures based on Geert Hofstede’s national culture’s dimensions.
Drawing upon Foucault’s premises that human subject and social practices are products of historically created discourses where national culture plays a powerful role in building the coding system.
To this end, it will call on visual culture studies, power of gaze and national culture to highlight how visual representative art is used to create a powerful instrument to control human minds and  to build docile bodies.

For full article:  https://culture-impact.net/authority-representation-as-a-cultural-discourse/

Fernando Lanzer: Cultural filters and blind spots in media

Everyone perceives reality through a filter, as if wearing tinted glasses. This applies to media outlets as well. Therefore, whenever one sees or hears anything in the media, one must ask questions. Who exactly is the source of this information? What does one know about them? What kind of cultural bias do they have?

There are at least three filtering processes involved: (1) the perception of reality by a source of information; (2) the way that source communicates information to you; and (3) the perception of that information by yourself.

The main issue is that we constantly consume English-language content produced mostly by Contest culture media. As a result, there is a lot of filtering going on, with a high probability of distortion—not only purely cultural but also because there might be vested interests at stake.

So, what are the typical distortion filters at work in different cultures regarding how their media perceive and broadcast information to the world? This paper will describe some of them and add an aspect that is sometimes overlooked: the blind spots that can be found in media. That is to say: the cultural bias that is most often quite unconscious in media because most people from those specific cultures tend to be quite unaware of it, even when they might be aware of other biases that might be regularly discussed in that culture.

For full article:  https://culture-impact.net/cultural-filters-and-blind-spots-in-media/

Huib Wursten:  Culture and Media Literacy. Truth, BS, and shibboleths.

How does culture affect media literacy?

Culture can play a significant role in shaping an individual’s understanding and interpretation of media messages. It can influence how people perceive and respond to media content, as well as the types of media they consume and the values and beliefs they hold about media and its role in society. Example: Hofstede on Vietnamese schools and American schools

Truth Truth as a cultural construct? In an earlier paper it was explored how the different culture clusters relate to the concept of truth. (Wursten 2015) Different “sayings “, used by the dominant cultures illustrate and reflect the way truth is perceived.

1. Bullshit is not the same as lying. Both misrepresent the truth, but with entirely different intentions. The liar is “someone who deliberately promulgates a falsehood”. He or she knows the truth or could lay hands on it – but they certainly aren’t giving it to you. The “bullshitter”, on the other hand, “does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his purpose.” BS-ers couldn’t give two hoots about the truth. They just want a story. The intent is not to refer to facts or truths.” The intent is to discredit “the other side” and to enrage the other side in the meantime.

Shibboleths. Special attention will be given to Shibboleths. In the media some words or concepts that are basically cultural, work as a Shibboleth, a watchword to distinguish the good ones (people like us) from the others. If such a watchword is used, then there is no need to listen further. For example: words like “Woke”, “wokeism”, or even worse “socialism”

The Common Good and culture. How does culture affect the notion of Common good in the media. The way the common good is defined is culturally sensitive. 

Pragmatism versus Cartesian thinking: analysis of a scandal: Sokols Hoax The background of “Intellectual imposters”

For full article: https://culture-impact.net/culture-and-media-literacy-truth-bs-and-shibboleths/

Martin Karaffa: True to whom?

In 2023, we hear the phrase “fake news” on many lips.  But depending on how the question is asked, concern over fake news can vary. 

Is the objective truth of what is reported in the media, or shared in the social media, a concern of individualistic, low-context cultures?  One might easily jump to that conclusion.  In such cultures, communications often focus on the simple, factual content of a message.  Does the risk of fake news rise when the lens of social context is removed from the discourse—when we pay less attention to the source, or character of the speaker? 

To that end, the article examines the relationships among several sources of data on the perceived risk of fake news and looks for cultural factors which affect the audience’s relationship to trust in the media.   The author uses such robust psychological and cultural measures as Hofstede’s 6 Dimensions of Cultural Difference, the OCEAN model of personality, and the Mediacom/Hofstede Insights Consumer Culture Intelligence tool.  He compares these scores with data from renowned studies as the Edelman Trust Barometer, the Gallup World Risk Survey, and recent studies from the Pew Research Centre. 

This exercise has revealed strong patterns in how cultures judge the reliability of media. 

For full article: https://culture-impact.net/true-to-whom-the-global-cultures-of-fake-news/

Dr Vedabhyas Kundu: Intertwining Nonviolent Communication in Media and Cultural Literacy programmes

Today’s generation is much more sensitive; the more the exposure, the more they are forced to critically think, reflect, and react. So young people who acquire communication and media literacy skills are in a position to use these dexterously and contribute to the culture of peace and nonviolence in a greater way. Also, by developing capacities to use different forms of media especially the new media, young people can connect with other youth in different communities and globally and initiate dialogue. – Syeda Rumana Mehdi (Kundu, 2016)

Rumana stress on how young people with skills in media literacy can connect with other young people from communities across the world thereby contributing towards dialogues and culture of peace and nonviolence. It is a marker on the intrinsic link between media literacy, deep understanding of different cultures and use of nonviolent communication for dialogues. She further notes (Kundu, 2016), “The problem arises when young people are not exposed to the efficacies of positive and nonviolent communication. It is then the cultural differences, the deep-rooted stereotypes and lack of understanding of each other’s practices takes primacy and sows seeds of conflict.”

The integration of nonviolent communication in media literacy education can provide the wherewithal to avoid cultural stereotypes and promote effective dialogues across cultures.

For full article:  https://culture-impact.net/intertwining-nonviolent-communication-in-media-and-cultural-literacy-programmes/

Dr. Hamid Doost Mohammadian. A Study of Social Cultural Sustainability and Holding a Discussion on the Effect of Information Disorder and Social Engineering on Media.

According to the 5^th wave/tomorrow age theory and the Seven Pillars of Sustainability (7PS) model, cultural sustainability is one of the most important issues in recent decades.

Generally, to gain sustainable development and globalization are the main aims of humanities. Sciences and technologies are utilized in such a way to attain sustainability because it is the best solution to preserve the world and improve the quality of life and livability.

Research in humanities and research related to human resources have roles in achieving sustainability, especially social and cultural sustainability.

Some of the issues related to humanities and sustainability are (1-) hybrid and cognition warfare and (2-) velvet (soft or color) revolutions.

Velvet revolutions occurred to improve sustainable development and globalization (two important phenomena in recent decades).

Fundamentally, to gain trust, democracy, freedom, equality of genders and developing social capital, cultural capital and sustainability are the goals of hybrid and cognition warfare velvet revolution.

It is necessary to do such research to indicate the importance and role of humanities research in sustainability and find out the main reasons for velvet revolutions and why some companies and politicians support them.

Information disorder is about false news and messages created, produced, and disturbed by agents to gain their purposes.

It has three types:1) Dis-information, 2) Mis-information and 3) Mal-information. Social media has changed how young people discover brands; the “attention economy defines shopping habits”. Based on my theories, models, concepts, and various published IEEE articles, books, and speeches, social media could also influence the global economy as a tool for cognitive warfare and the velvet revolution! and research results.

For full article:  https://culture-impact.net/a-study-of-social-cultural-sustainability-and-holding-a-discussion-on-the-effect-of-information-disorder-and-social-engineering-on-media-for-a-velvet-revolution-hybrid-warfare/