CC BY
50Copyright © 2021 by Academic Publishing House Researcher s.r.o.
★ ★ ★
r T
I
★ ★ ★
Published in the Slovak Republic
International Journal of Media and Information Literacy Has been issued since 2016. E-ISSN: 2500-106X 2021, 6(1): 176-181
DOI: 10.13187/ijmil.2021.1.176 www. ej ournal4 6.com
International Journal of Media and Information Literacy: Five-year Anniversary
Andrei Novikov a > *
a Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics, Russian Federation
Abstract
In June 2021, the International Journal of Media and Information Literacy celebrated its fifth anniversary and has come a long way from being a completely unknown publication in Europe and the world to becoming a prestigious journal indexed in Scopus (Q3) that publishes authors from dozens of countries around the world. This review article is devoted to the most significant areas of publication activity of this journal, its most characteristic trends and topics.
The Journal's fifth anniversary is a good occasion to remember how it began and how it developed. Already in the first issues of the journal it became apparent that the leading researchers in the field of media education are interested in it. For example, American professor Art Silverblatt, author of several editions of Media Literacy, wrote that "Information Literacy applies critical thinking skills to the assessment of Information. Media Literacy is a critical thinking skill that is applied to the source of most of our information - the channels of mass communication" (Silverblatt, 2016: 55). We think that this provision can be called key to the general concept of the International Journal of Media and Information Literacy.
Keywords: media and information literacy, journal, media message, media text, media culture, mediation, media literacy education, media studies.
1. Introduction
In June 2021, the International Journal of Media and Information Literacy celebrated its fifth anniversary and has come a long way from being a completely unknown publication in Europe and the world to becoming a prestigious journal indexed in Scopus (Q3) that publishes authors from dozens of countries around the world. This review article is devoted to the most significant areas of publication activity of this journal, its most characteristic trends and topics.
The Journal's fifth anniversary is a good occasion to remember how it began and how it developed. Already in the first issues of the journal it became apparent that the leading researchers in the field of media education are interested in it. For example, American professor Art Silverblatt, author of several editions of Media Literacy (Silverblatt, 2014), wrote that "Information Literacy applies critical thinking skills to the assessment of Information. Media Literacy is a critical thinking skill that is applied to the source of most of our information - the channels of mass communication" (Silverblatt, 2016: 55). We think that this provision can be called key to the general concept of the International Journal of Media and Information Literacy.
* Corresponding author
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. Novikov)
2. Materials and methods
Materials of this article are articles on media and information literacy, published in International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. The research is based on the content analysis and comparative approaches, analysis of academic articles, generalization and classification.
3. Discussion and results
In recent years, UNESCO (UNESCO, 2011; 2013; 2015; 2020) has concentrated its organizational and publishing efforts to bring together information literacy and media educators around the world.
In this sense, I think, the International Journal of Media and Information Literacy appeared at the right time, exactly when the unifying ideas of UNESCO were in demand all over the world.
For example Art Silverblatt wrote that "media have become so pervasive throughout the globe that the ability to decipher messages conveyed through the media has become a 21st century survival skill. ... International Media Literacy focuses on what members of the media literacy community can learn from one another with regard to media literacy principles, concepts, programs, and strategies. Media literacy scholars apply those strategies that most effectively approach the study of media and media presentations in their cultures. Within this context, it can be useful to identify the media literacy principles, concepts, and approaches that are most effective in particular cultures. Further, it can be useful to consider other media literacy approaches that might offer a fresh perspective into that country's media and media presentations" (Silverblatt, 2018: 30).
We agree with Art Silverblatt: "The ability to develop a critical distance from the messages being conveyed through the channels of mass communication is of vital importance. However, the value of Media Literacy education extends beyond media analysis, furnishing critical thinking skills for people who are in danger of losing the ability to come to independent conclusions based on the systematic assessment of evidence. ... What determines the validity of an analysis is the following: 1) the systematic application media literacy methodologies; and 2) the contentions must be supported with concrete examples (e.g., television episodes, films, and social media threads). Instead, the discipline of Media Literacy furnishes individuals with the skills to develop an independence of thought so necessary to the survival of democracy" (Silverblatt, 2018: 66).
At the same time, W. James Potter and Chan Thai believe that "while there are a many definitions of media literacy, the existing definitions typically cluster around highlighting several components, especially skills and knowledge but also behaviors and affects. To a lesser extent there is a clustering around certain domains of skills and particular domains of knowledge. But at this point the conceptualizations stop providing detail, and this inadequate degree of specificity in the explication of media literacy requires researchers to fill in conceptual gaps in order to design their measures. The gaps have resulted in the design of a great many measures of questionable validity, which sets up a vicious cycle. Researchers who want to design a test of media literacy go to the literature for guidance, however that literature shows them an overwhelming choice of definitions with no single definition being regarded as the most useful one. Even more problematic is that none of the many definitions provides enough detail to guide researchers very far through the process of designing measures of media literacy. Until more fully explicated definitions of media literacy are offered to scholars, researchers will be left with little guidance, which will result in the continuation of inadequate conceptual foundations for their empirical studies and therefore a fuzzy and incomplete foundation to use as a standard for judging the validity of their measures" (Potter, Thai, 2016: 27).
We found the results of studies concerning a study into the skills of using data verification tools as a media information literacy instrument for university students (Lebid et al., 2020: 184190) and cultivating the skills of systems thinking in the context of fostering the basic and professional competencies associated with media education and media literacy (Lebid, Shevchenko, 2020: 60-68).
Thanks to the international composition of the authors of this scholarly journal, readers can gain insight into how information and media literacy education is evolving in countries such as Algeria (Aboulkacem et al., 2018), Bulgaria (Nedelcheva, 2018; Tsvetkova, 2016), Canada (Rother, 2016), China: Hong Kong (Cheung, 2017; Cheung, Connie, 2017; Cheung, Wu, 2018; Ko-Wai Tang,
2018; Tang, 2018), Georgia (Levitskaya, Seliverstova, 2020), Ghana (Sarfo, Ansah, 2020), Hungary (Szrjarto, 2017), Montenegro (Cortoni, 2017), Morocco (Hattani, 2016), Nicaragua (Camarero, Varona, 2016), Nigeria (Anumudu, Ibrahim, 2020), Oman (Segumpan et al., 2017), Pakistan (Khuhro, Shoukat, 2020; Umrani et al., 2019), Russia (Balina et al., 2020; Chelysheva, Mikhaleva, 2017; 2020; Fedorov, Levitskaya, 2017; Gorelova, Khilko, 2020; Kamyshanova et al., 2020; Kazakov, 2017; Khlyzova, 2019; Mikhaleva, 2016; 2019; Tselykh, 2019; Vziatysheva, 2020), Saudi Arabia (Hattani, 2016), Slovakia (Cabyova et al., 2020; Petranova, Vrabec, 2016), Sub-Saharan African countries (Alemayehu, 2020), Thailand (Karuchit, 2016), Ukraine (Kitsa et al., 2020; Slavko et al., 2020), USA (Potter, Thai, 2016; Silverblatt, 2016; 2018), Uzbekistan (Chelysheva, 2019).
The authors of the International Journal of Media and Information Literacy attach great importance to the topics of typology and mechanisms of media manipulation (Levitskaya, Fedorov, 2020: 69-78).
An significant part of the journal's publications is devoted to the problems of media culture -the Internet, cinema, television, etc. (Fedorov, 2016; 2017; Gorbatkova, Levitskaya, 2018; Kayal, Seena, 2019; Naeem et al., 2020; Nedelcheva, 2018; Sabah et al., 2020; Salny, 2019; Srivastav, Rai, 2019; Szrjarto, 2017; Tselykh, 2020; Umrani et al., 2019; Zaidi et al, 2020).
The journal could not be more responsive to current events related to the pandemic and how media education is conducted in the face of the risk of COVID-19 infection (Alemayehu, 2020; Anumudu, Ibrahim, 2020; Cifuentes-Faura, 2020; Sarfo, Ansah, 2020).
4. Conclusion
Our analysis of the article of the International Journal of Media and Information Literacy has enabled us to identify the following current trends:
- In almost every country in the world, researchers and educators are concluding that media and information literacy is a necessary and vital component of human competence;
- UNESCO's concept of combining the fields of information literacy and media education is gaining more and more supporters;
- In recent years, the attention of researchers to the problem of media manipulation, fakes, and the development of technologies to counteract negative media influences has increased;
- The pandemic has left its mark on the development of the information and media literacy movement, but even under quarantine and online education, MIL continues to develop.
References
Aboulkacem et al., 2018 - Aboulkacem, S., Haas, L.E., Winard, A.R. (2018). Perspectives from Algeria and the United States: media and news literacy perceptions and practices of pre-service teachers. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 3(2): 40-52.
Alemayehu, 2020 - Alemayehu, M.M. (2020). Communicating health: media framing of COVID-19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan African countries. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 110-122.
Anumudu, Ibrahim, 2020 - Anumudu, C.E., Ibrahim, A.M. (2020). Susceptibility awareness via media platforms is the key for curbing the spread of COVID-19 infections: evidence from the health belief model perspective. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2):
123-133.
Balina et al., 2020 - Balina, T., Dagaeva, E., Novi, I. (2020). Research of the informational needs of state and municipal employees in the university environment. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 134-144.
Cabyova et al., 2020 - Cabyova, L., Krajcovic, P., Pavelekova, J. (2020). Digital literacy and readership of e-books in Slovakia. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1):
3-14.
Camarero, Varona, 2016 - Camarero, E., Varona, D. (2016). Life story as a research technique for evaluating formation processes in media literacy for social change. approaching a case of success of the educational project "Training, education and innovation in audiovisual media to raise awareness of Hunger in Ni". International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(1): 4-10.
Chelysheva, 2019 - Chelysheva, I. (2019). Media literacy education in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 4(1): 3-10.
Chelysheva, Mikhaleva, 2017 - Chelysheva, I., Mikhaleva, G. (2017). Basic approaches to
media education in Russia: sociocultural and methodological aspects. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(1): 3-8.
Chelysheva, Mikhaleva, 2020 - Chelysheva, I., Mikhaleva, G. (2020). Content analysis of university students' interethnic tolerance reflected in Russian and English-language media education of the post-soviet period (1992-2000). International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 15-30.
Cheung, 2017 - Cheung, C.K. (2017). Necessity for media education in early childhood programmes in Hong Kong. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(1): 38-45.
Cheung, Connie, 2017 - Cheung, C.K., Connie, C. (2017). Implementing media literacy education in the junior secondary English curriculum in Hong Kong: reasons and limitations. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(2): 61-67.
Cheung, Wu, 2018 - Cheung, C.K., Wu, Y. (2018). Assessing network media literacy in china: the development and validation of a comprehensive assessment instrument. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 3(2): 53-65.
Cifuentes-Faura, 2020 - Cifuentes-Faura, J. (2020). COVID-19 and infodemics: how to solve this problem. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 145-152.
Cortoni, 2017 - Cortoni, I. (2017). Digital competence and family mediation in the perception of online risk to adolescents. Analysis of the Montenegro case study. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(2): 68-78.
Fedorov, 2016 - Fedorov, A. (2016). The Image of the White Movement in the Western feature cinema (1931-2016). International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(1): 11-17.
Fedorov, 2016 - Fedorov, A. (2016). Western cinema in the mirror of the Soviet film criticism. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(2): 75-107.
Fedorov, 2017 - Fedorov, A. (2017). Leviathan and Sunstroke: opinions of the Russian film critics. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(1): 9-15.
Fedorov, 2017 - Fedorov, A. (2017). Soviet cinema in Cinema Art journal (1967). International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(2): 79-89.
Fedorov, Levitskaya, 2017 - Fedorov, A., Levitskaya, A. (2017). Comparative analysis of the indicators' levels of students' media competence development in the control and experimental groups. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(1): 16-37.
Fedorov, Mikhaleva, 2017 - Fedorov, A., Mikhaleva, G. (2020). Current trends in media and information literacy in research and scientific publications of the early 21st century. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 153-163.
Gorbatkova, Levitskaya, 2018 - Gorbatkova, O, Levitskaya, A. (2018). Hermeneutical analysis of the film Dead Poets Society. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 3(1): 3-10.
Gorelova, Khilko, 2020 - Gorelova, U., Khilko, N. (2020). Organizational forms of implementation of pedagogical technologies in the media education system. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 31-36.
Hattani, 2016 - Hattani, H.A. (2016). Media literacy education in English as a foreign language classroom. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(2): 108-115.
Hazaea, Alqahtani, 2020 - Hazaea, A.N., Alqahtani, AA.J. (2020). Competences in digital online media literacy: towards convergence with emergency remote EFL learning. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 164-175.
Kamyshanova et al., 2020 - Kamyshanova, A., Karyagina, O, Karyagina, A. (2020). Legal ways to counteract institutional deformations in advertising in the media space. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 176-183.
Karuchit, 2016 - Karuchit, W. (2016). Negative effects of digital media on Thai youngsters: case studies from Thailand and abroad. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(2): 122-127.
Kayal, Seena, 2019 - Kayal, S., Seena, J. (2019). Depiction of gender inequalities in animation films: An Indian scenario. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 4(1): 11-17.
Kazakov, 2017 - Kazakov, A. (2017). Political aspect of media literacy. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(2): 90-98.
Khlyzova, 2019 - Khlyzova, N. (2019). Media education as a tool to develop foreign language communicative competence. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 4(2): 31-41.
Khuhro, Shoukat, 2020 - Khuhro, RA., Shoukat, MA. (2020). Social media usage patterns among transgender people of hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 37-47.
Kitsa et al., 2020 - Kitsa, M., Mudra, I., Kuznetsova, O. (2020). Travel programs on TV as a part of entertainment media literacy. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 48-59.
Ko-Wai Tang, 2018 - Ko-Wai Tang, W. (2018). Assessing information literacy skills of undergraduate freshmen: a case study from Hong Kong. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 3(1): 11-17.
Lebid et al., 2020 - Lebid, A.E., Degtyarev, S.I., Polyakova, L.G. (2020). A Study into the skills of using data verification tools as a media information literacy instrument for university students. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 184-190.
Lebid, Shevchenko, 2020 - Lebid, А.E., Shevchenko, N.A. (2020). Cultivating the skills of systems thinking in the context of fostering the basic and professional competencies associated with media education and media literacy. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 60-68.
Levitskaya, Fedorov, 2020 - Levitskaya, A., Fedorov, A. (2020). Typology and mechanisms of media manipulation. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 69-78.
Levitskaya, Seliverstova, 2020 - Levitskaya, A., Seliverstova, L. (2020). Media education trends in Georgia. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 79-89.
Mikhaleva, 2016 - Mikhaleva, G. (2016). Media culture and digital generation. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy, 1(2): 116-121.
Mikhaleva, 2019 - Mikhaleva, G. (2019). Teaching students how to analyze the impact of advertising media messages in the EFL classroom. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 4(2): 42-49.
Naeem et al., 2020 - Naeem, T., Khan, M.H., Khaliq, FA. (2020). Cultural imperialism through Hollywood cinematic media on Pakistani youth. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 90-102.
Nedelcheva, 2018 - Nedelcheva, S. (2018). On the Balkan route: the image of migrants in Bulgarian online news. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 3(1): 18-29.
Petranova, Vrabec, 2016 - Petranova, D., Vrabec, N. (2016). Age as a factor in evaluation of media literacy levels in Slovakia. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(1): 18-26.
Potter, Thai, 2016 - Potter, W.J., Thai, C. (2016). Conceptual challenges in designing measures for media literacy studies. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(1): 27-42.
Rother, 2016 - Rother, I.L. (2016). The impact of media literacy curriculum on the literate behavior of at-risk adolescents. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(1): 43-53.
Sabah et al., 2020 - Sabah, N.U., Sharif, H., Khan, M.H. (2020). Persuasive strategies and video games: an insight into age of Empire III. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 191-198.
Salny, 2019 - Salny, R. (2019). Hermeneutic analysis of the websites of Italy and France on the subject of school and university. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 4(1): 18-28.
Sarfo, Ansah, 2020 - Sarfo, J.O., Ansah, E.W. (2020). Fear experiences of social media users in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic-lockdown: an online survey. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 199-204.
Segumpan et al., 2017 - Segumpan, R.G., Soraya, J., Zahari, A. (2017). Understanding the phenomenology of asynchronous online interactions in an academic business setting in the sultanate of Oman. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(1): 46-58.
Silverblatt, 2014 - Silverblatt, A. (2014). The Praeger Handbook of media literacy. Westport: Praeger.
Silverblatt, 2016 - Silverblatt, A. (2016). Reflections on information literacy. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(1): 54-71.
Silverblatt, 2018 - Silverblatt, A. (2018). Approaches to international media literacy: cultural habits of thought. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 3(1): 30-37.
Silverblatt, 2018 - Silverblatt, A. (2018). Media literacy and critical thinking. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 3(2): 66-71.
Slavko et al., 2020 - Slavko, A.S., Zavhorodnia, V.M., Shevchenko, NA. (2020). Protection of one's honor, dignity, and business reputation on social networks: issues and ways to resolve them. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 205-216.
Srivastav, Rai, 2019 - Srivastav, S., Rai, S. (2019). Metanarratives of identity in web-series: a narrative analysis of Netflix's ghoul (2018). International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 4(2): 50-59.
Szíjártó, 2017 - Szíjártó, I. (2017). Film comprehension strategies in Hungarian blogs. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 2(2): 99-103.
Tang, 2018 - Tang, W.K.W. (2018). Assessing information literacy skills of undergraduate freshmen: A Case study from Hong Kong. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 3(1): 11-17.
Tselykh, 2019 - Tselykh, M. (2019). Communication and information technologies in preparing students for research work. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 4(2): 60-65.
Tselykh, 2020 - Tselykh, M. (2020). "Media Education is the Key to Understanding the Modern Information Society": Interview with Prof. Dr. Alexander Fedorov. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(1): 103-107.
Tsvetkova, 2016 - Tsvetkova, M. (2016). Conflicts with the reading and their decisions through the bibliopsychology. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 1(2): 128-145.
Umrani et al., 2019 - Umrani, L., Memon, B., Khuhro, RA. (2019). Use of Facebook information for news production by journalists in Pakistan. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 4(2): 66-76.
UNESCO, 2011 - UNESCO (2011). Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO, 2013 - UNESCO (2013). Global media and information literacy assessment framework: country readiness and competencies. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO, 2013a - UNESCO (2013). Media and information literacy. Policy and strategy guidelines. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO, 2015 - UNESCO (2015). Keystones to foster inclusive knowledge societies. Access to information and knowledge, freedom of expression, privacy, and ethics on a global internet. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO, 2020 - UNESCO (2020). Communication and information, media and information literacy. Paris: UNESCO.
Vziatysheva, 2020 - Vziatysheva, V. (2020). How fake news spreads online? International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 217-226.
Zaidi et al, 2020 - Zaidi, A., Hanan, A., Ali, F., Awais, M. (2020). Media objectification and women clothing buying behavior: social comparison and self-gratification as mediators International Journal of Media and Information Literacy. 5(2): 227-236.
