Reducing energy consumption in urban households is essential for reaching the necessary climate research and policy targets for CO2 reduction and sustainability. The dominant approach has been to invest in technological innovations that increase household energy efficiency. This article moves beyond this approach, first by emphasising the need to prioritise reducing energy demand over increasing energy efficiency and, second, by addressing the challenge of energy consumption at the level of the community, not the individual household. It argues that energy consumption is shaped in and by social communities, which construct consciousness of the energy implications of lifestyle choices. By analysing a specific type of community, a digital community, it looks at the role that communication on online discussion boards plays in the social process of questioning energy needs and shaping a “decent lifestyle”. The article explores three social processes of community interaction around energy practices – coercive, mimetic, and normative – questioning the ways in which they contribute to the activation of energy discursive consciousness. In conclusion, the article reflects on the potential implications of these social processes for future research and interventions aimed at reducing energy demand. To illustrate how the three selected social processes influence one another, the article builds on the results of a research project conducted in Amsterdam, analysing the potential contribution of online discussion boards in shaping energy norms in the Sustainable Community of Amsterdam Facebook group.
This study utilises a quantitative observation study on student journalists (n=47), as well as reconstruction interviews with experienced editors and reporters in newsrooms (n=12), to understand how Dutch journalists search, select, and verify sources online. Through the recording of screen activity, we show that search strategies are heavily influenced by how the search engine sorts and ranks potential sources. Eventual selection of sources remains relatively traditional, focused on legacy media and their websites. Moreover, online news production clearly challenges the verification process. Results suggest that journalists use no explicit but only so-called hybrid methods of verifications, such as background checks of websites and social media accounts, and cross-checking of sources.
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In this article, the main question is whether and, if so, to what extent online journalism raises new moral issues and, if any, what kind of answers are preferable. Or do questions merely appear new, since they are really old ones in an electronic wrapping, old wine in new bottles? And how does journalism deal with the moral aspects of online journalism? The phenomenon of the Internet emerged in our society a few years ago. Since then, a large number of Dutch people have gone online, and the World Wide Web is now an integral part of our range of means of communication. Dutch journalism is online too, although certainly not in the lead. More and more journalists use the Internet as a source, especially for background information. Newspapers have their web sites, where the online version of the printed paper can be read. And that is it for the time being. There are no more far-reaching developments at present, certainly not on a large scale. Real online journalism is rather scarce in the Netherlands. The debate concerning the moral aspects of online journalism is mainly being conducted in the United States. First of all, by way of introduction, I will present an outline of online journalism. The first instance is the online version of the newspaper. Here, only to a certain degree new issues come up for discussion, since the reputation of reliability and accuracy of the papers, in spite of all criticism, also applies to their online versions. Besides, especially in the United States and increasingly in European countries as well, there is the so-called dotcom journalism, the e-zines, the online news sites without any relationship with printed newspapers. This may be the reason why these sites do not have a strong commitment to moral standards, at least as they have developed in the journalistic culture of the newspapers. After having outlined the moral issues arising in online journalism, the question will be addressed whether and, if so, to what extent it is meaningful and desirable to develop instruments of self-regulation for this new phenomenon of journalism.
The Academy for Leisure & Events has always been one of the frontrunners when it comes to the development, design and implementation of cultural tourism and creative industry business models as well as lifelong learning programmes.These programmes are attended by a variety of leisure and tourism professionals, including public authorities in leisure, culture and nature fields.The CULTURWB project addresses the need for strengthening the development of the cultural tourism industry.The experts from BUas together with the other project partners have utilised diverse research methodologies (marketing and branding, strategy business planning, digital tourism, sustainable development, strategy and action plan implementation, etc.) to develop and pilot a toolkit for Lifelong Learning courses in the field of cultural tourism and heritage. They have also designed and implemented a master’s programme in the WB countries and created an online platform for communication between stakeholders, industry leaders, managers, workforce, and academia.PartnersHochschule Heibronn, FH Joanneum Gesellschaft, World University Service - Österreichisches Komitee (WUS Austria), Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar (UNMO), University of East Sarajevo (UES), The University of Banja Luka (UBL), University of NIS (UNI), University of Montenegro (UoM), Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures (SMOC), rovincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments (PZZZSK), Tourism Organisation of Kotor Municipality (TO Kotor)
NHL Stenden opleiding Creative Business & Communication, het Piter Jelles Leeuwarder Lyceum, het lectoraat Organisaties & Sociale Media (O&SM), Van Hall Larenstein, het online jongerenplatform ‘Suksawat’, en het Aansluitingsnetwerk VO-HO Fryslân willen met dit KIEM project de mogelijkheden verkennen voor het ontwikkelen van een duurzame samenwerking tussen voortgezet onderwijs (VO) en hoger onderwijs (HO) op het gebied van 21st century skills/mediawijsheid. Doel van het project is het ontwikkelen en uitvoeren van een pilot rondom social media gerelateerde thema’s zoals fake-news, privacy, de rol van digitale influencers (zoals vloggers) en social media gebaseerde business modellen. Deze thema’s worden gezamenlijk door de genoemde partners uitgewerkt met als doe te komen tot innovatieve leer-werkvormen en lesproducten die vervolgens getest en geëvalueerd worden. Vernieuwend is hierbij dat de beoogde lesproducten ontwikkelt en uitgevoerd worden door studenten (ambassadeurs vanuit het HBO), die onder de begeleiding van experts (Suksawat en het lectoraat O&SM) een jaarlijks terugkerend programma ontwikkelen wat in de curricula van HO, VO en bij activiteiten en evenementen van Suksawat terugkeren. Het beoogde project zal tevens leiden tot onderzoeksactiviteiten op het gebied van social media wijsheid en aansluiten bij de wens van de Suksawat om nieuwe activiteiten te ontplooien voor het betrekken van jongeren bij hun regionale online platform. Tevens is het van belang om doormiddel van deze pilot te kijken of het project ook opgeschaald zou kunnen worden naar meer middelbare scholen in de noordelijke regio’s. De activiteiten rondom het project zullen tevens plaatsvinden in het kader van de verbinding tussen VO-HO in de regio Friesland. De inzichten, uit dit KIEM project, uitgewerkt in een draaiboek, zullen dan ook meegenomen worden voor een groter project waarbij meer kennisinstellingen, (media)bedrijven en middelbare scholen aan deel kunnen nemen.
