行動上網時代來臨，隨著連網技術成熟與裝置快速普及，微型應用程式（application，簡稱app）的應用應運而生，線上軟體平台產業快速成形，集廣大外部開發者之力共同創造價值與利潤。 激烈的平台競爭與初步的產業發展成果突顯出，面向多方參與者的平台對外部開發者守門的重要性，平台經營者如何在敞開大門的同時又能取得好的創意，背後應該有可供解釋的理由與作為。因此，本研究結合過去研究未有交集的多邊平台與守門理論兩觀點，期盼藉由研究成果回答三點研究問題：（1）線上軟體平台如何對外部開發者進行守門？（2）線上軟體平台之守門機制隨平台發展歷程有何變化？（3）線上軟體平台之守門機制對平台之經營績效有何影響？ 本研究所得到的初步結論：（1）線上軟體平台在開放與透過一系列「規範中有服務」的措施組成對外部開發者的守門機制，分為「價值獲取型」守門機制與「價值創造型」守門機制兩類。（2）線上軟體平台守門機制在「導入期」與「成長期」是處於「開放中有封閉，封閉中有開放」的狀態，價值獲取型守門機制從導入期至成長期是封閉趨向開放，價值創造型守門機制從導入期至成長期是開放趨向封閉。（3）線上軟體平台非獲利中心，而是生態系統的一控制點。 / Internet infrastructure and technology have advanced, we have now entered the Mobile Internet Device era. Online marketplaces form and applications sprout, stimulating an ecosystem worthy enough for external developers to dive in, grabbing the value in this co-creating process. However, managing the online marketplace is difficult. Developing a place to encourage participation for external developers as well as to gate keeping the platform quality is not an easy task. Up to this day, we can observe different online marketplaces develop different approaches. This research combines the prospective from multi-sided platforms theory and gatekeeping theory in view to answer three questions: (1) What is the gatekeeping strategy for online marketplaces? (2) As online marketplaces develop, how does the gatekeeping process change? (3) What influence does gatekeeping strategy has on online marketplaces performance? This study has found: (1) Two different strategies multi-sided platforms use for gatekeeping forming regulation and services for external developers are “Value Proposition” and “Value Creation”. (2) From the “early stage” to the “developing stage” of multi-sided platforms, this research discovers two different movements on gatekeeping: “From Opened to Restricting” and “From Restricting to Opened”. “Value Proposition” strategy leans toward “From Restricting to Opened” state, while “Value Creation” strategy leans toward “From Opened to Restricting” state.(3) Multi-sided platform is not a place to generate interests, but a place to manage the ecosystem.

This is a multiple case study of the ways middle grades social studies teachers, as curricular-instructional gatekeepers, may make decisions to provide their gifted students with purposeful differentiated instruction. More specifically, this study explores what teachers believe they should do to instruct gifted students, in what ways teachers prepare and adapt curriculum and instruction for gifted students, and how instruction for gifted learners can take place in a middle school social studies classroom. Through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and supportive visual evidence, six middle grades (6-8) social studies teachers disclosed in what ways they differentiate their middle grades social studies curriculum and instruction for their gifted adolescent learners. Through Hatch’s (2002) Inductive Analysis model, findings were recorded and presented in the form of individual teacher observation and thematic cross-case analysis. Findings suggest that middle grades social studies teachers take into consideration factors that influence their curricular-instructional beliefs, directly affecting the decisions they make in terms of curriculum selection, instructional delivery, and the methods of differentiation employed to meet the needs of their gifted students. Much of what teachers planned, prepared, and adapted was often influenced by the needs of their students, but also addressed mandates of their school and district agendas. This conflict between meeting the needs of both students and administration resulted in gatekeeping that often favored administration, while reducing the frequency of best practices for middle level gifted students in social studies classrooms. Implications for the study include how teacher confidence, or the lack there of, effects instructional practices. Time constraints in middle level curriculum pacing and increased assessment also limited opportunities for rigorous, relevant, and differentiated social studies instruction for gifted students. Middle level social studies teachers of gifted call for clearer and more illustrative descriptions of what the academic ceiling for gifted social studies might look like in general. There are distinctive contrasts between models of differentiation and neighboring concepts of individualized and personalized learning. While in theory differentiation is meaningful, middle level social studies teachers find it difficult to implement methods of differentiation in their classroom with desired frequency. There is a distinctive bond between the fields of social studies, English Language Arts, and research skills. Middle level social studies teachers of gifted seek greater opportunities for meaningful professional development options. Lastly, there is a call among middle level social studies teachers for the inclusion of gifted initiatives in teacher education programs. Topics that could be explored for future research include a continued effort to expound applicable gatekeeping practices, the provision of purposeful professional development and learning for teacher populations, continued application and practice of differentiation in the field of social studies education, increased inclusion of social studies in the elementary classroom, the awareness and servicing of gifted learners in the middle school social studies classroom, and the increased inclusion of gifted populations with undergraduate and graduate social studies education programs.

The aim of this thesis is to study how students perceive and handle internet’s continuous flow of information in everyday life, through news report, social media and targeted advertising. By examining the students attitudes and thoughts about the extent to which they find the information they meet relevant this study seeks to understand how they find what is relevant to them and how they limit the intake of information by different combinations of selection processes. For this purpose interviews were carried out with seven university students from different fields and levels. Three categories of theories about selection processes serves as a theoretical framework for the analysis and results. The categories are referred to as external, personalized and personal factors. The external factors include gatekeeping theory, news valuation and agenda theory and the personalized factors include theories about filter bubbles and echo chambers. The personal factors include strategies to avoid information overload such as filtering and withdrawing, it also includes satisficing as a stop rule for information seeking.  The study shows that the three categories of selection processes are affected by emotional factors referred to as simplicity, interest and sensation. These drives the student to get more deeply informed. The students attitudes towards personalized information shows to be divided between if it should be more firmly adapted to each individual, or if that would increase the feeling of being monitored. In the students reflections regarding saved information emerges three feelings of negativity described as reluctance, lack of control and unease. Despite these feelings of negativity the phenomenon is accepted. Seeing that the alternative is disconnecting from modern society and life, acceptance shows to be the most reasonable alternative.

The thesis provides an insight into corporate agenda-building process in the Czech media. Using the Czech division of Deloitte as an example, the thesis will demonstrate the common practices companies use to get their topics published in media, how they are successful and how they really influence the media agenda. To answer these questions, the thesis uses quantitative content analysis of 248 pieces of news from Mladá Fronta DNES, Hospodářšké noviny, Lidové noviny, Právo, television stations ČT24, Nova and Prima and also radio station Český rozhlas - Radiožurnál. Besides that, the thesis will provide an insight into the way journalists work with sources of information and their autoregulative techniques, as well as into the work of PR professionals, who are significant actors in the agenda-building process. The aim of this thesis is to introduce the corporate sphere as an influential actor in the agenda-building process and to uncover the influences journalists have to face in their work.

The rise of social media platforms has had a significant impact on the conventional model of gatekeeping. With increased access to information--as well as the ability to contribute to the public discourse--individuals no longer need to rely on the mass media for news. These realities have led to increased conversations surrounding credibility in the digital age. Although not a new concept, fake news has become increasingly common in recent years. The web--particularly social media outlets, like Twitter--have enhanced the spread of misinformation. To combat this, social media platforms have introduced gatekeeping features like verification marks and warning labels. However, questions remain regarding the credibility and effectiveness of these features. Furthermore, little information exists regarding the perceptions of these features. For this study, the researcher examined the perceptions of fake news, verification, and Notices (i.e., warning labels) as they relate to Twitter. These perceptions were captured through a survey that was distributed to Twitter users through MTurk. Results were examined generally as well as in the light of political orientation, ranging from very liberal to very conservative on a 4-point scale. Within the scope and limitations of this study, results indicate that the majority of Twitter users believe that fake news on the platform is a major problem. Additionally, results show that there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of verification and the effectiveness of Notices in slowing the spread of fake news, and neither feature is perceived as strongly credible or effective.

Thesis (M. A. (Media Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Citizen journalism has the potential to enhance the state of community newspapers. The emergence of digital media brought about the concept of citizen journalism, allowing ordinary citizens to practice journalism similar to professional journalism. The resultant high volume of news information from ordinary citizens, despite its benefits, leaves editors grappling with what enters the news gate. This study investigated the perceptions and attitudes of editors of community newspapers in Limpopo province of South Africa towards integrating citizen journalism into their daily journalism practices. This qualitative study used interview guide for data collection from a total of six (7) community newspaper editors in the province. The findings of the study indicate that most editors of community newspapers have positive perceptions towards citizen journalism. They are of the view that it could contribute positively towards their organisations particularly in strengthening democratic participation as a corner stone of community media, increasing the circulation of their newspapers, and assisting their communities to strive and strengthen their relationship with the outside world. However, they are not keen to incorporate citizen journalism in their professional practices. Their expressed concerns are lack of ethics and other basic journalistic skills in citizen journalism and the possibility of encumbering the process of news gatekeeping. However, due to many positive impacts of citizen journalism, editors should endeavour to find ways to incorporate citizen journalism into their organisations. Keywords: Gatekeeping, citizen journalism, community newspapers, community participation, news editors

Men continue to outnumber women in public school superintendent roles by a 4:1 ratio. However, women outnumber men by a 4:1 ratio in teaching roles in public school districts. In addition, more women than men hold superintendent certificates and educational doctorates. Due to this puzzling discrepancy, it is important to understand possible factors in the form of gendered barriers to access that could lead to the unequal representation of women in superintendent positions. In this study, I examined how these barriers manifested in the experiences of female superintendents participating in the study, how they influenced the hiring experiences of these participants, and how they impacted these female leaders throughout their careers. With this study, I investigated barriers associated with holding mechanisms, gendered norms, and gendered filters that may limit women's access to superintendent roles. Women's experiences of the origins and effects of gender normative perceptions and hiring practices have potential for contributing to the study of gender equity in the field of education and beyond. Findings could provide implications for increasing women's opportunities to serve beyond central office positions in public school districts. Possibilities exist for identifying practices in organizations that have hired women to serve at the highest level of school district leadership; that of the superintendent of schools.

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Raven Sinclair (2004) locates the social worker at the heart of the colonial project, carrying out violent and assimilative government policy in Canada (p.50). Social work's connections to colonialism have been consciously and some would say “innocently” mutually dependent (Rossiter, 2001; Heron, 2007). Social work responses over time have been criticized for being non-performative (Ahmed, 2004), upholding institutional power (Bunjun, 2014) and ignoring ongoing colonialism (Lawrence & Dua, 2005). This study explores how self-identified white social work managers and directors reflect on and understand their roles in relation to reconciliation policy. It looks at the way discourse interrupts or maintains ruling relations including white supremacy and other colonial continuities (Heron, 2007). “In order to avoid further complicity, in assimilative and colonial practices, non-indigenous helpers must develop a clear understanding of their privilege and of their professions’ complicity in past and present colonial practices embedded in their practice”(Baskin, 2016). Through qualitative interviewing the study used critical whiteness studies and critical discourse analysis with the concept of relational validity in mind (Tuck & Yang, 2018). “What is valid in research is that which resonates with people’s lives and informs their power to make change” (Tuck & Yang, 2018, p.xiii). The findings suggest that participants orientation to reconciliation in the workplace, is controlled and continually reinforced through state discourses (neoliberal, neocolonial, reconciliation). Interestingly, the findings also suggest that participants may be de-contextualizing AOP discourses to neutralize and depoliticize their professional roles in the colonial project, as well as to rationalize their reluctance to take action. This suggests current approaches are not adequate to address colonial continuities in an era of reconciliation. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

This thesis examines the perceived role of democratization and participatory culture for contemporary film criticism and film festivals, aiming to understand the significance of TikTok and other social media platforms for the industry. For that purpose, film critics and film festival representatives from across Europe and various career stages and ages are interviewed to study how they perceive the developments of film criticism in the age of social media to let them create their own narrative. The findings were then discussed in light of participatory culture, gatekeeping theory, and Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and cultural capital. Results show that participatory culture enhances the diversity in film discourse and provides younger audiences with entry points into film culture, while also leading to information overload, a lack of filters, and discourse toxification. The line between film criticism and film promotion blurs online, with critics calling for better labeling. As film content on social media shows more characteristics of film promotion, it is not regarded as film criticism by critics. However, it is still considered a valuable asset to the media landscape and film culture. Rather than TikTok and its participatory practices, critics perceive industry dynamics and the crisis of the news media as threatening to their profession. Furthermore, the purpose and role of film critics as gatekeepers are strongly debated amidst the rise of participatory culture. Academic discourse around the topic lacks both the study of TikTok’s relevance for film criticism and qualitative research on how critics and industry professionals perceive the situation. Despite the limitations of interview research, including representation, subjectivity, and quantification constraints, this thesis makes a valuable contribution to both academia and the industry due to nuanced data insights and implications for future research. These include research focusing on other industry players, the audience, and content.