INTERNET CONTENT REGULATION: Concerns from a European User Empowerment Perspective about Internet Content Regulation: an Analysis of some recent Statements — Part I

This article, to be published in two parts, explores the debate between the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Centre for Democracy and Technology about regulation on illegal and harmful content on the Internet. The authors intend to analyze the method, interests and limits of the self regulatory model proposed by the European institutions, bearing in mind the users’ empowerment perspective.     

Unworthy of Grief: Enduring Urban Violence in Northeast Brazil

Pervasive urban violence has taken its toll on daily life in the northern part of Recife. Taking an ethnographic approach, and tracing recent developments of violent crime and homicide in Recife, this article explores the implications of the normalisation of violence. By thinking through how residents tried to protect themselves and endure the violence in practical and moral terms, the article seeks to elucidate why some members of the community – victims of violent crime and their mothers – were not deemed worthy of grief.     

An investigation of reporting violence to the police: A focus on Hispanic victims

Using conjunctive analysis of case configurations and the National Crime Victimization Survey this research explores the situational contexts of violence against Hispanics most and least often reported to the police and compares situational contexts of violence reported to the police among Hispanic, non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black victims. Results indicate that Hispanic victimization most often reported varies greatly across situational context. Almost all violence reported involves a female victim, and almost all that is reported infrequently involves a never-married, uninjured male victim. Beyond those patterns, the role of all other situational factors is contingent on the specific situational context. Findings reveal wide-spread differences in situational contexts associated with the reporting of violent victimization against Hispanics, non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks. Future research should continue to focus on Hispanics, with a focus on with-in group differences and longitudinal research.     

Buying stolen goods: the ambiguity in trading consumer-to-consumer

This study investigates the buying of stolen goods in Denmark. The study consists of a self-report survey based on a representative sample of the general Danish population (n = 2311) and six focus group interviews consisting of both informants experienced with buying stolen goods and of those with no experience (n = 37). The survey showed that 4.8% had bought stolen goods, while 15.7% were uncertain whether they had bought stolen goods. Young people, males, and unemployed were more likely to purchase stolen goods. No clear correlation between income and buying stolen goods was found. Focus groups suggest the buyers of stolen goods did not buy stolen goods because they could not afford legitimate products. We recommend targeting consumers not interested in buying stolen goods with information about how to avoid such activity.     

Youth violence at school and the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity

Purpose

Research has revealed that school-based activities are related to youth violence at school; however, the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity in this relationship remains uncertain.

Methods

This study utilizes data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 and incorporates multilevel modeling techniques to examine the intersectionality of gender, race, and ethnicity in the relationship between school-based activities and youth victimization at school.

Results

Racial and ethnic minority male involvement in school sports is linked to an increase in school-based victimization, while White American male involvement in school sports is associated with a decrease in school-based victimization. On the other hand, school sports appears to be an insulating factor against victimization for girls regardless of their race or ethnicity.

Conclusions

This research underscores the importance of understanding the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity when examining youth violence.     

Guardians of the environment in Canada’s Chemical Valley

Citizens of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation fight for justice with their bodies at the frontlines of daily toxic exposure. This paper examines struggles for environmental and reproductive justice in the polluted heart of Canada’s ‘Chemical Valley’. These are as struggles over life, land and knowledge. Based upon community-engaged qualitative research, from a participatory action research approach, including field immersion, participant observation and 35 in-depth interviews with First Nations residents, I document the Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s citizens’ activities and practices on the ground as they cope with the impact of their contaminated surroundings on their health and habitat. This community-engaged scholarship lens brings into view the lived experiences and ongoing practices of resistance by the Anishinabek citizens who are surrounded by Chemical Valley. I situate these struggles within the green citizenship literature to assess three blind spots of green governmentality: greening citizenship, lifestyle blame and Western dualisms. I discuss the multiple edges of ecological citizenship and argue that citizens are simultaneously bound up within disciplinary power relations and place-based belonging. This place, although polluted, is crucial to practices of relational Anishinabek citizenship and the identity of indigenous citizens who call this place both ‘prison and home’.     

Reviews

Postmodern Revisionings of the Political Anna Yeatman, Routledge London and New York 1994

An Introduction to Semiotics Thomas A. Sebeok, Pinter London 1994

The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories and Political Significance Rolf Wiggershaus translated by Michael Robertson, Polity Press Cambridge 1994

An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics Suzanne Eggins, Pinter London 1994