Popular protests are on the rise in China. However, since protesters rely on existing channels of participation and on patronage by elite backers, the state has been able to stymie attempts to generalize resistance and no large scale political movements have significantly challenged party rule. Yet the Chinese state is not monolithic. Decentralization has increased the power of local authorities, creating space for policy innovations and opening up the political opportunity structure. Popular protest in China - particularly in urban realm- not only benefits from the political fragmentation of the state, but also from the political communications revolution. The question of how and to what extent the internet can be used for mobilizing popular resistance in China is hotly debated. The government, virtual social organizations, and individual netizens both cooperate and compete with each other on the web. New media both increases the scope of the mobilizers and the mobilized (thereby creating new social capital), and provides the government with new means of social control (thereby limiting the political impact of the growing social capital). This volume is the first of its kind to assess the ways new media influence the mobilization of popular resistance and its possible effects in China today.

Popular protests are on the rise in China. However, since protesters rely on existing channels of participation and on patronage by elite backers, the state has been able to stymie attempts to generalize resistance and no large scale political movements have significantly challenged party rule. Yet the Chinese state is not monolithic. Decentralization has increased the power of local authorities, creating space for policy innovations and opening up the political opportunity structure. Popular protest in China - particularly in urban realm- not only benefits from the political fragmentation of the state, but also from the political communications revolution. The question of how and to what extent the internet can be used for mobilizing popular resistance in China is hotly debated. The government, virtual social organizations, and individual netizens both cooperate and compete with each other on the web. New media both increases the scope of the mobilizers and the mobilized (thereby creating new social capital), and provides the government with new means of social control (thereby limiting the political impact of the growing social capital). This volume is the first of its kind to assess the ways new media influence the mobilization of popular resistance and its possible effects in China today.

This book attempts to document and analyse the complicated role new media play in the adaptation and integration of China’s new generation of migrant workers. By analysing the interviews and observations of more than 500 migrant workers under the age of 25 between 2010 and 2015, the author tries to understand how new media shape the experiences of this significant group of people at different stages of their lives. This study profiles the daily life of this new generation of migrant workers and examines the intricate connections between media and the reconstruction of migrant workers’ identity, as well as their urban life adaptation and social inclusion. Not only is their interaction with new media a key factor in decisions to migrate to the city in the first place, but it continues to play a crucial role in how their outlook on life, sense of identity, lifestyle, personal relationships, and aspirations change as they navigate their new environment. These findings reveal the impact of new media on China’s accelerating urbanization and modernization. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of contemporary China studies, and those who are interested in the urbanization of China in general.

This book examines the use and culture of digital media in urban Chinese cities. By examining examples and data from Chinese and global social media platforms, the book argues that digital media facilitate Chinese people's sense of local self and local identity. In doing so, the book moves on from the polarised debate regarding the democratic function of Chinese Internet to instead examine the connection between digital technologies and the country's history, culture and eventually, people and their everyday lives. It offers a rich analysis of a Chinese city in the digital age, and challenges the nationalistic approach to study China's digital media culture.

CSA Sociological Abstracts abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 1,800+ serials publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers.

Featuring an innovative organization and in-depth research, Comparing Media from Around the World discusses how media systems are similar and different across the globe. This book discusses the fundamental elements of media systems and shows how they are used in eight sample countries. Unlike other books, it is organized according to media elements, with comparative discussions of all eight countries within each chapter. This helps readers make connections and comparisons between the countries and allows them to apply the concepts to other countries not discussed in the book. Comparing Media from Around the World also features exciting photographs from the sample countries showing not only the media but how they are experienced in context (for example, a newspaper stand in France and an internet cafe in Ghana).

Confucianism, colonialism, and socialism have all contributed significantly to gender relations in Vietnam. More recently, political and social change associated with modernization and globalization have also had an impact. How do the Vietnamese display their social positions and their identities as male or female? This volume examines negotiations, and transgressions, of gender within Vietnamese society, looking at gender, family, social and work relations, bodily displays, body language, and the occupation of space. Of special interest is a discussion of sexual harassment in schools and the workplace, and the strategies women adopt to deal with it, the first discussion of this issue by a Vietnamese scholar.