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SeeClickFix is a free mobile phone and web app that enables citizens to take care of their neighborhoods by seeing non-emergency issues in their neighborhoods, clicking to create 'tickets' describing the issue and how to resolve it, and fixing the issue or reporting it to whoever can. This article discusses the technology and tools working to help citizens get involved in their communities and their governments. It also discusses the Gov 2.0 Expo held recently in the US. I found the discussion of mobile citizen governance apps particularly interesting, as it would be something that could be rolled out fairly easily.

The Four Corners report mapped the issue from when internet censorship was bought forward as a policy issue in a report by the Australian Institute in 2003 to how the Howard government and now how the Rudd government has approached the issue of internet censorship. \n\nNot only can you can watch the report you can also read the transcript, watch the extended interviews and there are also links to further resources.\n

"..the impact of digital information and networking provokes a reconsideration of the model of medium theory. Every time it is written or stated that digital convergent technology has re-shaped the use and effects of media forms, then some form of medium theory is being employed." Good analysis of the strenths and weaknesses of both technological determinism and social shaping for understanding internet issues, with a look at the hybrid solutions like ActorNetwork Theory. Excellent background paper for understanding critical theories of technology.

There have been a number of research programs that have investigated students' thinking and beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing, including definitions of knowledge, how knowledge is constructed, and how knowledge is evaluated. However, these different research programs have pursued varying definitions and conceptual frameworks and used quite different methodologies to examine students' epistemological beliefs and thinking. In the first section of this article, we provide a critical and comprehensive review of these different research programs. In the second part of this article, we identify nine crucial theoretical and methodological issues that need to be resolved in future research on epistemological theories. As these issues are addressed in future research, there will be more consensus regarding the nature of epistemological theories, and their relation to cognition, motivation, and learning will be made more explicit.

ONE, the NGO led by, among others, Bono, has been an influential voice in international lobbying for some years now. As the British election comes close, the organization has launched a campaign to incite voting and, once the new government is elected, pressure the winner to support issues concerning Africa and other development issues. It all sounds good, but.... how and why can an international NGO influence internal politics in a country, when does it cease to be intervensionism? 

Ilse Aigner, Germany's minister of food, agriculture and consumer protection, who usually concentrates on issues over rotten meat, genetically engineered corn and imitation cheese, recently took on a different kind of issue: the Internet and data privacy. Suddenly Aigner finds herself facing online giants Amazon, Facebook and, above all, Google. Soon Google plans to send cars equipped with cameras out onto Germany's roads once again for the company's Street View project. Aigner is now insisting that Google should ask permission before violating the privacy of German citizens. The minister's attack and the following discussions reveal just how divided the German government is when it comes to the online world. The debate revolves around questions of national security and individual self-determination on the Internet. But it also concerns the power of the large giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and MySpace, as well as the question of what these companies are doing with the records of our everyday data, and how they will be able to obtain information from us, influence us or perhaps even control us in the future. It seem like, once again, a German politician is exploiting the popular issue of internet privacy and censorship in a superficial way in the hope of scoring political points.

Ideas, issues, knowledge, data - visualised. CReator David McCandless is a London-based author, writer and designer who has written for The Guardian, Wired and others. He is interested in "how designed information can help us understand the world, cut through BS and reveal the hidden connections, patterns and stories underneath. Or, failing that, it can just look cool!"

Copyright holders are suing Google for using images of books and other media in its search results without properly compensating anyone. This issue and lawsuit will have huge impact on public life. Where do we draw the line between who to protect, the creators or the public?

He admits that "Flash does have some issues, particularly around reliability, security, and performance. But MS works closely with engineers at Adobe, sharing information about the issues in ongoing technical discussions. Despite these issues, Flash remains an important part of delivering a good consumer experience on today's web."

Article sums up the news around Facebook and Google Street View of the last weeks. The sleeping issue of privacy is said to have woken up. The U.S. Congress as well as the Federal Communications Commission and a Federal Trade Commission are asked to take action.

People are taking actions to express their feeling about Facebook privacy issue.

Should California based company, facebook, follow the rules in Australia? Should they respond? After the teeageer killed from meeting with her facebook friend, this issue has become a back fire for facebook and australian authority.

Blog entry, discussing Facebook privacy issue after viewing the F8 conference on Facebook.

Interesting article applicable to the issues with the digital divide. Most notable is the way that many developing countries are 'skipping' over technology-steps: ie, going straight to mobiles without any landline infrastructure or going straight to tablet computers without ever having desktops.

International network, local lawsuit and regulation. The Australian Government is asked to justify the business deal with Google for it's privacy issue. Since google revealed to mistakenly capture private information from it's street scanning.

n remarks at a news conference Thursday, Clinton said the United States will hold talks with the United Arab Emirates over its decision to suspend some BlackBerry services due to security concerns. "We are taking time to consult and analyze the full the range of interests and issues at stake because we know that there is a legitimate security concern," she said. "But there is also a legitimate right of free use and access. So I think we will be pursuing both technical and expert discussions as we go forward."

Rudd will consider Xenaphon's idea of an online ombudsman to help in some unknown way people affected by social media issues such as cyberbullying.