4 Power, Communication and Multiculturalism
PRESENTED PAPERS
Communication, culture and the complex ‘Period Poverty’ in India
Presenter: Varsha S. Devakumar
This paper explores the concept of ‘Period Poverty’ in India as the ‘lack of access to menstrual products, education, hygiene facilities, waste management, or a combination of these (Nwadike, 2021). The context is set by statistics on usage of sanitary napkins by women and girls in India, the effect that the taboo of periods has on girls. It outlines problem by how this is a barrier to education – nearly 23 million girls drop out of school annually due to lack of proper menstrual hygiene management facilities (The Dasra Report, 2014). Plan International, an INGO conducted a survey in the wake of the pandemic and the results showed that there was a perception among 81% of responders that need of people who menstruate would not be met.
The paper discusses the impact of gender disparity on ‘Period Poverty’. There is a relationship between Equity in health and feminism in the context of oppression, poor health, poverty or disadvantage. (Rogers 2005). The author also points out that gender equality and discrimination have a direct impact on women and girls’ health.
In exploring the and barriers to menstrual health for all, this paper has also identified theoretical frameworks and communications methods that work. It has discussed the various agents involve, and asserts that the cultural-economic context requires tailor-made, community-based, age specific, culturally sensitive solutions for behaviour change.
There are efforts being made to address the issues related to period poverty as part of the Sustainable Development Goals – SDG 6, that is a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene which focuses on solutions to special needs of women and girls in access to toilets and hygiene management, health outcomes (Goal 3), infrastructure in schools and educational institutions (Goal 3), gender equality (Goal 5) and at long sighted goal, economic opportunities (Goal 8). However, understanding the social-religious beliefs and practices that surround menstruation in the Indian context would be significant in creating communications strategies for lasting change.
The role of social media in bringing social change
Presenter: Surbhi Sharma
Technology has given birth to social media, which has turned the world into a closer space by bringing people together. It is a means to exchange ideas, facts, stories, and experiences in an affordable, accessible, and feasible manner. Social media’s rapid growth has transformed the world into a digital world in the past decade, and that led to media activism. Social media has turned into a tool to raise voices against injustice and various causes, which supported successful social movements such as the black lives matter, me too movement. However, the effectiveness of these online movements is not yet discovered.
This paper focuses on the qualitative methods used to examine the importance of social media in activism. The qualitative nature of this study reveals insights into the impact of social media on social movements through its focus on emerging themes and patterns that developed over time. Methods used included participation-observation and interviews with participants. Participants are located in Victoria, BC, Canada. Analysis of the data reveals interesting themes regarding preparation, practice, and performance.
The findings show that social media can be the medium to increase coverage of social movements in society. It can be a great tool to spread the word, but not the only medium to rely upon for a successful movement. Social media can initiate the conversation, which can lead to change in the mindsets of the people.
SUBMITTED PAPERS
Conspiracy Theory in Vaccination Persuasion
Presenter: Jiazheng Duan
This article discussed a case study of popular music idol industries in China and the emergence of data fandom. As media developed and updated, fandom activities take place from real world into digital media. From July 16 to 21, 2019, Jay Chou and Cai Xukun’s fans Weibo super chat incident created new meaning into the fan culture of national carnival. In this super talk event, fans of the classic period successfully rectified their names through the media ceremony created by Weibo, produced new social meanings, and integrated with the production of fan culture in the new media era. While expressing cultural nostalgia, self-expression and self-identity, they also fell into the directing of the ritual maker, and became a tool for the entertainment industry to obtain data, capital and profit. The analysis of this event will help us understand the new features and modes of production of fan culture in the context of new media.
Starbucks’ survival in the Chinese market: Ethnocentrism and attitudes toward foreign companies
Presenter: Liu Xingchen
With globalization comes the reality of a global market. Companies like Starbucks have to work extra hard to assure their expansion into foreign markets is successful. Of course, Starbucks was at a competitive advantage since it opened its first Starbucks in China in 1999, long before many other coffee and beverage companies made the move to expand into the Asian market. However, just because Starbucks has found success in China, that does not mean that its success is guaranteed to continue. In fact, recent events in some of China’s larger markets have put the brand in a compromising position. The question, for purposes here, is not so much what Starbucks can do to overcome recent criticism and public outrage toward their brand. The question being investigated here is how long Starbucks can continue to overcome the strong ethnocentric attitudes Chinese consumers have toward foreign brands.
The current study will take a qualitative approach using a case study of the coffee behemoth, Starbucks. The goal is to identify the relationship between ethnocentrism and consumer purchase intentions among Chinese consumers. This research is more amenable to qualitative research than it is any quantitative design. Since the objective is to identify consumers’ attitudes toward foreign brands, it makes logical sense to use online surveys to collect data. The research will also focus on millennials since there has not been a lot of research in this area. Most studies on ethnocentrism focus on consumers in general or limit their investigation to certain product categories. This research proposal aims to demonstrate that millennials have a much stronger ethnocentric attitude toward foreign brands, including Starbucks than the general population. It is important that companies understand the impact ethnocentrism can have before they decide to move into an emerging foreign market.