Blogging and Environmental Advocacy: A New Way to Engage the Public?

While there is a growing literature on weblogs (or “blogs”), most studies focus on a few high profile blogs, or on blogs written by individuals. This study assesses the little‐researched area of organizational blogging through a content analysis of blogs by 40 national‐level environmental organizations. I examine the general purposes that these blogs serve and the extent to which organizational blogs differ from traditional websites. Additionally, I explore two blog features—interactivity and personalized content—that offer the potential to strengthen the connections between group leaders and their supporters. I find that groups use their blogs primarily to inform readers about policy developments and news headlines, but that the level of interactivity between blog authors and readers is low. Thus, while the potential exists for blogs to enhance grassroots support for environmental groups, that potential is far from being realized.     

网络传播对青年民警思想政治工作影响的新思考

网络正在以巨大的信息容量和快速同步的传幅方式对社会、经济、政治、文化等诸多领域造成影响。网络具有散布性、全球性、开放性、即时性、综合性等特点,也给新时期青年民警思政工作带来难得的机遇和严峻的挑战。利用网络的特性,以“网络政工”为触手,发挥技术优势,采用灵活多样的手段,可以提高青年民警政治思想工作的科技含量。遵从网络发展客观规律,从科技化、信息化和建立现代队伍管理制度的高度出发,以建设精干、高效政工队伍为理念,可以造就出符合时代特点的新型政工网络。     

Negotiating the Marcellus: The Role of Information in Building Trust in Extractive Deals

New technology has expanded the opportunities for energy companies within the United States, often bringing them into populated communities and requiring them to negotiate deals with landowners. This case study focuses on how one group of landowners in northeastern Pennsylvania creatively reimagined the process of negotiating in a natural gas deal. They used collective bargaining for leverage, and the Internet and social media to level the informational playing field. These techniques allowed them to develop trust within the group and ultimately with one company, as they sought to protect their environment and enhance their financial gain.     

浅析印度尼西亚互联网的发展

印度尼西亚互联网的发展始于20世纪80年代。起初,互联网的应用仅限于少数研究机构。随着印尼互联网商业化的发展,印尼网站数量和网民人数均有较大增长。但是由于印尼互联网基础设施发展不平衡、互联网法规不健全以及互联网接入费用相对过高,印尼要实现互联网的广泛普及仍然有很长的一段路要走。     

对网络党建推进中理论与实践问题的思考

网络党建是中国共产党适应信息网络社会发展的创新之举。网络党建既是一个实践问题,更是一个理论问题。必须认真规划好网络党建的顶层设计,寻求网络党建发展的突破口,采取正确的行动策略,推进网络党建深入持续健康发展。     

我国网络环境下儿童性权益保障的缺失及对策探讨

随着互联网的迅速发展,儿童已成为我国网络使用的重要群体。网络作为一种新的社会因素,对儿童成长的影响逐渐凸显。儿童在上网过程中,网络环境中充斥的淫秽、色情等不良有害信息以及某些网络违法者对儿童实施的性骚扰及性侵害等行为严重侵害了儿童的性权益。近几年来,网络环境下侵犯儿童性权益的案件频繁发生,如何有效的预防和制止这类犯罪,在复杂的网络环境中减少侵犯儿童性权益的犯罪行为,是我国目前应重视的问题。通过提出网络环境下儿童性权益受到侵害的现状,探析网络环境下儿童性权益被侵害的原因,进而提出网络环境下儿童性权益保护的对策,通过完善我国目前的法律法规,加强对儿童网络安全的管理,加强学校和父母对儿童的性教育与网络安全教育等相关措施,净化网络环境,保护网络环境下儿童性权益,保障儿童的健康成长。     

Are courts re-inventing Internet regulation?

The article reviews the evolution and key dimensions of the jurisprudence around the world as it relates to the Internet regulation and governance. It argues that while the judicial sector played a fairly marginal role as far as on-line issues were concerned in the first two decades of the Internet development, judicial rulings have now emerged as one of the main forces shaping on-line freedom of expression and information and the Internet governance. The article reviews a number of decisions from Europe and Latin America to demonstrate that judicial ruling are challenging some of the Internet’s founding principles and values. They have become highly influential, not just as interpreters of the law (the tribunals’ traditional function) but as shapers or transformers of the Internet norms and values. This evolution has become particularly clear over the last three to five years, demonstrating the increasing confidence of judges and Tribunals in challenging engineers, users, corporations, or indeed governments and possibly establishing different norms as far as the cyberspace is concerned.     

Asia-Pacific news

This column provides a country by country analysis of the latest legal developments, cases and issues relevant to the IT, media and telecommunications’ industries in key jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific region. The articles appearing in this column are intended to serve as ‘alerts’ and are not submitted as detailed analyses of cases or legal developments.     

The Google conundrum: Perpetrator or facilitator on the net? - Forging a fair copyright framework of rights, liability and responsibility in response to search engine 2.0 - Part II: The Google Books Search Project

Is Google in its quest for search engine optimization through the creation of new technologies, which not only improves its search algorithms but also refines its search functions for users, doing it in a manner that makes it a perpetrator of primary copyright infringement or an invaluable facilitator for Internet functionality? How should the balance of interests in the treatment of creative works be recalibrated in the face of changes in search engine technology and operations, and the disputes that have arisen within the last decade in the context of the digital age and its needs? Using Google as a case study, this paper will look at the two main areas of dispute over the operations of information locator tools and services that either threatens search engine functionality and efficiency or weakens copyright holders’ exclusive rights. It proposes a concerted set of solutions through a reassessment and amendment of copyright law to optimize the social benefits and objectives of both the copyright regime and technological innovations in the electronic model of information archiving, indexing and delivery. A fair distribution of responsibilities and allocation of rights and liabilities will be suggested. In the process, due consideration will be given to both public and private interests, with the former taking precedence; while the recommended solutions will be made within the currently outdated framework for Internet intermediary protection (i.e. safe harbor laws) and exceptions (i.e. specific statutory exemptions and the general fair use defense) under the existing copyright regime. Thus, the proposed changes will be far reaching without being too radical a departure from current law, an evolution that will likely be more acceptable and realistic a solution to the problem.This paper is published in two parts. Part One of this paper published in the previous edition of the CLSR at [2011] 27 CLSR 110-131 dealt with the challenges to the copyright regime posed by the operations and technology behind the Google Images Search Engine, while Part Two will assess the benefits of the Google Books Search Project vis-à-vis the effects it will have on the scope of copyright protection. Recommendations are made to copyright law to accommodate both functions while generally preserving the main objectives of copyright protection.