Creating Citizenship Through Community Radio in Rural Thailand
This study seeks to analyze the ongoing social movement to establish community radio in rural Thailand as a participatory communication process in order to transform people into citizens. More specifically, the study analyzes the participatory process inherent in the development of community radio in Thailand since its inception in 1997 to the present and illustrates success cases of citizen empowerment. The study is based on analysis of documents and secondary data, personal observation and interview of key persons, field study and case studies of numerous community radio stations. The study showed that the movement was triggered off by the 1997 Constitution which advocated a participatory democracy and reallocation of radio frequencies for public interests at all levels. To vie for frequency allocation, a number of government, non-government, public and private agencies rushed to set up community radio as a pilot station. As a result of the failure to establish a national broadcasting regulator as stipulated by the Constitution, most small radio stations had been operated illegally and in a chaotic state. However, there was some evidence suggesting that participatory community radio, particularly hill tribe radio, has the potential to transform rural people into active citizens due to radio’s ability to involve and empower the grassroots as well as to treat its listeners as subjects and participants rather than as objects or passive audiences.
Mobile Phones as Participatory Radio: Developing Hmong Mass Communication in the Diaspora
In this article, I explore the development of Hmong teleconference radio: a thriving form of mass communication for Hmong in the diaspora that uses conference call software to provide listeners with a wide array of radio-like programming accessed through their mobile phones. It is based on a qualitative analysis of Hmong media that assesses the history of Hmong media development in the United States, the content and formatting of teleconference radio programs, and the perspectives of those who participate in creating and consuming media. In exploring the development of a new form of participatory radio, this article expands our understanding of diasporic media practices to include communities that must overcome the challenge of using limited resources in their efforts reach geographically dispersed audiences.
Electrophysiological Studies of Penticainide (CM 7857), a New Antiarrhythmic Agent, in Mammalian Myocardium
The intracellular electrophysiologic properties of a new antiarrhythmic substance, penticainide, were studied in isolated rabbit, dog, and guinea pig myocardial preparations superfused or perfused with oxygenated Tyrode's solution. “Therapeutic” concentrations of penticainide (1.5 to 3 x 10-5 M) had little effect on sinus node automaticity; sinoatrial conduction was slightly delayed. In atrial, Purkinje and ventricular fibers, amplitude, and maximal rate of rise of phase 0 (dV/dtmax) were decreased by penticainide; Purkinje-ventricle conduction velocity was depressed. Penticainide did not significantly modify action potential duration (APD) of rabbit atria and dog ventricle and reduced APD and effective refractory period (ERP) of dog Purkinje and guinea pig ventricular fibers. Penticainide reduced APD heterogeneity of Purkinje-ventricle junction with a preferential effect at the gate and decreased tension amplitude of perfused papillary muscle in dog heart. The effect of penticainide on dV/dtmax was voltage and rate dependent; the resting block was weak. Thus, penticainide is a class 1 antiarrhythmic agent with properties of class 1B agents such as APD reduction and properties of class 1C agents such as slow recovery kinetic of rate-dependent block.