No description available.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Freiburg. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-246).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1953. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [239]-243).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Freiburg. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-246).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boise State University, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-255). Also available online via the ProQuest Digital Dissertations database.

No description available.

The concept of accessibility (hereafter “accessibility”) encapsulates the relationships between the availability of opportunities; an individual's ability to access, engage with and ‘benefit' from such opportunities, and; the problem of social exclusion. However, while “improving accessibility” has been a policy objective in the United Kingdom since 1997, an emphasis on economic and environmental considerations at the expense of social considerations has become a cause for concern. This thesis helps address that concern by exploring why and how accessibility should and could be made more directly relevant to people's everyday lives; and by proposing a form of and an approach to the implementation of accessibility that supports the provision of social interventions, irrespective of the origin and scale of the same. Consequently, this thesis critically reviews extant ideas of accessibility and redefines the concept using Amartya Sen's Capabilities Approach. It then explores the operationalization of that redefined concept through an action research case study in North-East Scotland. Finally, it examines the potential role of digital information and communication technology (ICT) in managing the accessibility related data needed to support decision taking in providing social interventions. The key findings are: (1) the capabilities approach enables the redefinition of accessibility as a holistic, more socially representative and agent centric concept; (2) that definition could be usefully related to the concept of social exclusion through the notion of risk; (3) this emerging theory and practise of accessibility requires further development to achieve broader acceptance; (4) that notwithstanding the philosophical arguments underpinning action research, the participation of ‘local' people in research can build stronger, more informed and productive (research) relationships, and; (5) the use of digital ICT is central to realising the full potential of accessibility.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-81)

In recent years groups in several cities have attempted to use online media and digital technology to help the members of marginalized communities cover where they live. These initiatives have the potential to improve mainstream coverage, which relies on official sources and typically portrays these communities as deviant. But despite their relative independence, the influence of the culture of journalism itself could potentially lead these initiatives to use routines and frames that replicate the mainstream’s coverage of the marginalized. This dissertation analyzed four case studies, one based in Austin and three in Chicago, to examine this paradox. It investigated how the schools and nonprofits that maintain these initiatives balance participation with professionalism, and how participants relate to other residents, institutions, and officials within their communities and in other communities. It explored the limits of citizen journalism’s attempts to supplement and improve upon professional journalism. These cases were considered in terms of Bourdieu’s concept of the journalistic field, Castells’ network society, and Habermas’ public sphere. This theoretical framework is concerned with whose voices are heard in public discourse and in the culture overall. As Castells makes clear, access to the Internet and facility with online communication is a requirement for participation in public life, including journalism. But as Bourdieu argues, there are cultural aspects as well to the field of journalism that can limit such participation. Each initiative faced a tradeoff between adhering to traditional journalistic practices and standards and attracting participation from members of a community. A combination of elements of journalism culture (having editors and training), community media culture (advocating for communities, covering ongoing issues alongside events), and digital culture (allowing participants freedom to contribute in multiple ways, interaction) seems the most effective way to improve coverage of marginalized communities. Such a mixture would aid the creation of bonding social capital within a community and bridging social capital across communities, and presents an opportunity for the marginalized to use their cultural capital to gain social capital. Yet this hybrid model of journalism is resisted by the societal factors that influence mainstream journalism. / text