Group items tagged

Another article found in my search for information about the "global digital divide." According to the article, last week, the United Nations released a report that "argued that disconnecting individuals from the Internet is a violation of human rights and goes against international law" and that all States should seek to ensure there is "as little restriction to online content as possible." The Atlantic points out, following Wired's Threat Level blog, that the UN report came "the same day that a monitoring firm found two-thirds of Syria's Internet access has been shut down without notice." While access isn't the only factor in the digital divide on a global or a national scale (disparities in information or new media literacy is also a huge factor, for example), I agree that the availability of unfettered access as a matter of government policy is the bare minimum.

It confuses me that it can be considered a basic human right if, for a portion of the population, it's hard to access and at times, can be unreachable. Even though I know it's more what Tom said about it being a negative right, the phrasing just doesn't sit right. Either way, this is a great thing and I'm surprised it didn;t happen sooner.

I had come across this article as well in our group project research, Maggie, and I think that the UN is taking steps to bring the conversation on the right to freedom of opinion and expression into the digital age, as Tom mentions. Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, in place since 1948, states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." So in the context of the recent shutdown of ISPs by Syria, more generally the use of the Internet as a means of civic and political dissidence, and even the debate around net neutrality in this country, I agree with Maggie that the UN's approach seems to clarify and reiterate unfettered access to information.

One aspect of the digital divide that we didn't delve into much in this week's discussion is that of net neutrality - tiers, based on increased cost, that enable access to to "premium" content and faster broadband speeds. This articles provides some great links to other sources on the issue of the digital divide, net neutrality and what some see as a right to the Internet.

Brian D Loader and Leigh Keeble A review of evidence on the effectiveness of initiatives providing better access to information and communication technology for people experiencing social exclusion. This literature review examines current evidence on the effectiveness of public access centres and related community informatics (CI) initiatives in providing better access to information and communication technology for people who experience social exclusion.

Public Policy Institute study shows the gap for broadband access in the home is higher in Latino communities in California; 50 percent do not have access to Internet at home.

I was exploring the journal "First Monday" which was listed in the Google Docs table when I came across this topic of "Obfuscation." Besides just liking the sound of the word, I was fascinated by all the various forms in which digital obfuscation can take place. I thought this article might also be useful for my group project which involves Ethics and Technology. (This is also my first time bookmarking, or using Diigo!)

Mary Beth, I added all those journals just FYI (so you don't think they were approved contributions by our expert prof; I hope they're all applicable!)

Interesting! I like the broadened idea of "obfuscation" -- not just by writing prose that is untrue, but the way we organize or provide access to those words can also be obfuscating. Just making something hard enough to find or get to. A crappy taxonomy can be a weapon of deceit!

I've been researching the "global digital divide" for my group project and one of the things that factors into a global digital divide is governments that control the flow of information and prevent access and use of technology. This is article provides a quick summary of government censorship tactics regarding social media and blogging under repressive regimes.

Another way to take the library away from the library. I'm interested to learn more about that "entire library experience" to launch soon.

I got to play with the Biblion app a couple of weeks ago at work; the developers, Potion (http://www.potiondesign.com/#/home) have created a whole slew of incredible educational exhibits/experiences. I think overall mobile apps are a really interesting direction for digital libraries - making them increasingly portable and interactive. I remember feeling a bit of excitement in my interaction with the materials from the Biblion app in which my own fingers, rather than an extension of them in the form of a mouse, turned pages, rotated objects, pressed buttons, etc. - a stark difference from interacting with digital libraries that contain similar types of artifacts. I'm interested to see how the web-version of the Biblion app compares - in physical presentation and affective impact.

Wow! I'm so glad that you posted this! This makes history so accessible and interesting, and I'm looking forward to installing it asap on my ipad right now! I wish I knew about it this past semester for my junior high American history class I taught; they would have loved this.

I am a big pop music/culture nut. Always have been...probably always will be. So, when I really started thinking about social media and all its uses, I began to wonder...who out there uses social media to it's fullest potential. The answer was obvious. Lady Gaga! When I did a quick search on Lady Gaga and social media, I got a lot of hits. But I wasn't surprised. She is the master when it comes to sites like Facebook and Twitter. Yes, she is out there wearing meat dresses and making fun songs, but it's her presence on social networking sites that I feel has really catapulted her to super stardom. What do you all think?

hmm. is it gaga or her p/r team creating the image? Is her voice really hers? How do we know?

I am sure it is more her "team" then her herself. But, still...it's rather impressive.

Commentary from Jessamyn West: "What we do know is that the US Government has indicted Aaron Swartz [who you may know around the internet for any number of things] for, apparently and allegedly, downloading 4mil articles from JSTOR without (I think?) the proper credentials. Aaron turned himself in. At issue are many points of JSTORs terms of service and what sort of access is given to guests of the university. As Aaron is a net activist, I'm certain this is some level of intentional move on his part, I'm quite curious to see where it goes."

Americans who illegally download songs and movies may soon be in for a surprise: They will be warned to stop, and if they don't, they could find their Internet access slowing to a crawl.

Ug.

Increasingly, Latino and African-American teens are using cell phones as their main device to get online

From my local (Austin, TX) paper. I thought this quote was particularly interesting: However, Watkins says he's becoming increasingly concerned with what he calls the participation gap. If teens are using their phones to consume media such as music, videos or sports scores instead of creating their own artistic works or engaging in discussions, are they really experiencing all the Internet has to offer? "If mobile is the primary access point," Watkins asks, "is that a quality experience that's similar or equal to Wi-Fi on a laptop? Rather than just a mobile entertainment device, are they using (cell phones) for citizenship and engagement?"

This was the website Christine Borgman mentions in the lecture that can be searched for publisher's copyright conditions for authors archiving their work online.

For companies in the telecommunications industry, 2010 has proved to be an eventful year in the regulatory context with the release of the National Broadband Plan by the FCC. Congress intended the Plan to be a long-reaching analysis of what the government and private industry needed to do to achieve ubiquitous broadband access.

I see a lot of the "the Plan recommends" and "the Plan expresses concern"...but it doesn't seem like there's too much in the way of regulation or enforcement.

Case Study: Implementing Database Activity Monitoring for a Major International Telecommunications Company Business need: A leading international telecommunications organization needed a cost effective means to protect the privacy of its customer data and comply with regulatory requirements. Solution: The customer's systems are managed by a well-known global systems integrator. After inquiring with Gartner and Forrester Research, the systems integrator evaluated multiple database auditing vendors (including Oracle) and chose the InfoSphere Guardium solution. InfoSphere Guardium's appliance-based technology allows companies to secure their enterprise data and rapidly address compliance requirements without affecting performance or requiring changes to databases or applications. Benefits: InfoSphere Guardium provided a fine grained audit trail of all sensitive data access, along with automated reporting and compliance workflow, satisfying the needs of auditors. Real-time blocking and alerts ensured privacy policies were strictly enforced. .

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, Inc. (ATIS) is committed to protecting privacy and security of the personal information of our web site visitors. By accessing an ATIS web site, visitors agree to the use of their information as stated in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy describes the personal information we may collect and how it may be used.

Lessig starts with a story about a documentarian and the specter of litigation in that community of practice when it comes to fair use and clearing images, sounds, etc. in documentary filmmaking. He goes on to consider how to reframe copyright: "[W]e need an approach that recognizes the errors in both extremes, and that crafts the balance that any culture needs: incentives to support a diverse range of creativity, with an assurance that the creativity inspired remains for generations to access and understand."

Please see my discussion board post for more about this article! By Jesse Washington, Associated Press When the personal computer revolution began decades ago, Latinos and blacks were much less likely to use one of the marvelous new machines. Then, when the Internet began to change life as we know it, these groups had less access to the Web and slower online connections - placing them on the wrong side of the "digital divide."

The adoption by community organisations of ICTs has facilitated improved communication and services to their client groups. However, many such groups do not have adequate and easy access to affordable, impartial and non-biased ICT support and advice. The e-Rider project aims to provide mobile, technical computing advice and support to not-for-profit community and voluntary organisations in the Wellington region.