"This report is an evaluation of the methods and tools used by the Red Cross and Red Crescent to communicate with communities following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The study draws recommendations for the continued and more effective use of communications to engage with communities in H
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aiti and elsewhere in the future." (Back cover)
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"Blogs have become a communicative alternative for Cuban civil society in recent years. Cuban communities, inside and outside the island, are characterized by substantial ideological differences and economic gaps that highlight the challenges for consensus building and collective action in the count
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ry’s politics. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), however, are gradually facilitating the creation of spaces outside the control of the state for the exchange of ideas about the present and future of the nation. Through content analysis and qualitative interpretation, we undertake a case study of the most renowned Cuban blog, ‘Generación Y’, to evaluate users’ participation, the content they generate for the site, and the nature of debates taking place within it. Our findings show that while this blog opens an unprecedented opportunity for Cubans to engage in relatively unrestricted political dialogue, its users tend to favour expressive participation and antagonistic exchanges over the rational deliberations associated with traditional conceptualizations of the notion of the public sphere." (Abstract)
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"The Report is composed of four thematic parts. Part 1 describes the conceptual framework and relates the findings of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2012. In addition, Part 1 features selected expert contributions on the general theme of hyperconnectivity. Part 2 includes two case studies showi
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ng the efforts that two countries, Azerbaijan and Mauritius, are making to develop ICT and fully leverage their potential benefits. Part 3 comprises detailed profiles for the 142 economies covered in this year’s Report, providing a thorough picture of each economy’s current networked readiness landscape and allowing for international comparisons of specific variables or components of the NRI. Part 4 includes data tables for each of the 53 variables composing the NRI, with rankings for the economies covered as well as technical notes and sources for the quantitative variables used." (Executive summary, page xi)
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"From the massacre of the Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee to the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, from famine in China to apartheid in South Africa, Picturing Atrocity examines a broad spectrum of photographs. Each of the essays focuses specifically on an iconic image, offering a distinct approach
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and context, in order to enable us to look again; and this time more closely at the picture. In addition, four photo-essays showcase the work of photographers involved in the making of photographs of brutality as well as the artists' own reflections on these images. Together these essays cover the historical and geographical range of atrocity photographs and respond to current concerns about such disturbing images; they probe why we as viewers feel compelled to look even when our instinct might be to look away." (Publisher description)
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"This sampler is the result of a common research project of 16 Latin American universities and the Informatics Network of the Catholic Church in Latin America (RIIAL) on "the impact of digital culture in the Latin American societies". The first part consists of seven contributions studying the use o
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f and access to social media and ICTs by young people, especially university students, in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Panama and Paraguay. The second part, also consisting of seven articles, covers quite different issues like the "One Laptop per Child" initiative in Peru, "socio-affective capacities" in e-learning in Colombia or a reflection on the evangelisation mission of the Church. The articles differ widely in scope and methodology, as there was no agreed research framework. Nevertheless, the contributions are a helpful stocktaking of digital culture in a variety of country and cultural contexts." (CAMECO Update 1-2012)
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"GISWatch 2012 explores how the internet is being used to ensure transparency and accountability, the challenges that civil society activists face in fighting corruption, and when the internet fails as an enabler of a transparent and fair society. The eight thematic reports and 48 country reports pu
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blished ask provocative questions such as: Is a surveillance society necessarily a bad thing if it fights corruption? And how successful have e-government programmes been in fighting corruption? They explore options for activism by youth and musicians online, as well as the art of using visual evidence to expose delusions of power. By focusing on individual cases or stories of corruption, the country reports take a practical look at the role of the internet in combating corruption at all levels." (Back cover)
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"This paper presents the results of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) pilot survey on media statistics conducted in 28 countries in 2011. The survey instruments were designed to provide an initial set of quantitative indicators identified by UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators project. G
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iven the limitations of this sample survey, this report is intended to highlight the scope of the questionnaire items while describing initial results. Further analysis of the indicators and trends will be made in the future as the data collection is expanded to include a greater number of countries. Chapter 1 focuses on indicators related to the regulatory environment in which media operate across countries. Chapter 2 presents data on the supply of different types of media (radio, television, newspapers) before discussing distribution by ownership and geographic coverage, as well as the availability of radio and television equipment and related issues on the penetration of broadcast media channels within each country." (Introduction)
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"Considerable attention has been focused on the opportunities presented by new information and communication technologies for development (“ICT4D”) and for government (“ICT4GOV”). The purpose of this report is to analyze their impact on human rights (“ICT4HR”). As Philip Alston, the form
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er Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, explained in a report to the General Assembly: “New technologies offer a great many potential solutions to some of [the] problems [in human rights fact-inding], and offer signiicant improvements in existing factinding methodologies.” He notes, however, that there has been “[l]ittle sustained work . . . by the human rights community as a whole to apply existing technologies or to study their potential uses and problems.” This report aims to remedy that gap. Using case studies largely from three countries, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Dominican Republic, the report considers both the opportunities and risks presented by new technologies for human rights. The report concludes there are beneits that can be realized through the deployment of new technologies in human rights projects. New technologies offer the potential to reduce the cost of collecting information about human rights issues and to increase participation in human rights advocacy efforts. Each of these possible beneits, however, gives rise to new risks and challenges. Although new technologies can reduce the cost of information gathering, it can be dificult to ensure the accuracy of the information generated, and the associated volume can make it challenging and expensive to identify relevant data. There is also no guarantee that increased participation or information will be translated into action or concrete outcomes for the community." (Executive summary)
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