Merlyna Lim, assistant professor in Carleton University’s Lim examines the relationship between digital media and social movements in contemporary society. She believes that social media is often credited with creating social movements, yet to affect real social change movements still need to physically meet and occupy public spaces as exemplified by the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements.
At a Glance:
- The research findings will allow social scientists to better conceptualize the relationship between digital and physical spaces in the making of contemporary social movements.
- This project will contribute towards foreign affairs policy to support democratization and human rights abroad as well as the development of best practices for the use of social and other digital media for not-for-profit organizations.
About the John R. Evans Leaders Opportunity Fund:
The funding is part of the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), designed to help universities attract and retain the best researchers at a time of intense international competition.
To this end, JELF offers institutions the opportunity to:
- Acquire infrastructure for their leading research faculty to undertake cutting-edge research; and
- Create competitive research support packages in the form of infrastructure and a portion of the operating and maintenance costs from the CFI, coupled with direct research costs from partner organizations.
Quotes:
“Merlyna Lim is a world-class, dedicated researcher whose work is of global importance. CFI’s support will help Lim develop new research tools to analyze and visualize the interactions between social media data and contemporary protest movements around the world.” — Sandra Crocker, Acting Vice-President (Research and International)
Associated Links:
Backgrounder on Merlyna Lim’s research
Carleton University School of Journalism and Communication website
CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund website
Media Inquiries:
Chris Cline
Media Relations Officer
Carleton University
613-520-2600, ext. 1391
christopher_cline@carleton.ca
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