Presentation Articles: Summary and Links

I looked at several articles to synthesize some information on poverty and internet access. Below are my article and cumulative summaries.

“East Side Story.” Thomas K Grose. ASEE Prism. Washington: Oct 2004.Vol.14, Iss. 2; pg. 28, 4 pgs.

This article discusses the “digital divide in Europe” in relation to internet access being provided to Eastern European countries. The article looks at the possibility of access to internet and computer technology as a contributing factor in decreasing poverty.

The case study of Eastern Europe compares countries like Ukraine and Romania to America. “Fully 63 percent of Americans are now online. But in Romania, the figure is a mere 10 percent. Of the 47 million people living in Ukraine, just 900,000 have Internet access.”

Several issues discussed in the article include cost in “third world” countries for computer technology and internet access; language barriers, especially for non-English speaking users; differences in needs between industrialized and developing nations; and education and computer/internet literacy.

There are differences between providing access to countries where most of the citizens are impoverished, and providing access to impoverished citizens in countries that already have the infrastructure to enable internet access.

Link to Article: East Side Story

Further information and concepts: Information and Society/Digital Divide
http://proquest.umi.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/pqdweb?did=1057940451&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=8991&RQT=309&VName=PQD

This week’s concept is “Access and Digital Divide.” The idea behind “Digital Divide” looks at how different types of people are given or restricted from access to new technologies. There are many various groups, including most if not all national governments, invested in researching and providing access to all. Many believe that the internet holds the key to ending poverty and giving everyone equal opportunities through access to technology.

PowerPoint

Week 8 Reading Response

Best’s article provides an interesting solution to internet access in rural and impoverished areas. If we want to continue to regard the internet as our foremost democratic medium, we need to ensure that universal access does not neglect poor users. Although endlessly didactic, the article illustrates the concept of using radior frequency to provide cheap and universal internet access to people and areas generally neglected by large ISPs. Esentially, the development of new technologies will decrease cost and increase access, which is the ultimate goal for increasing internet availability. Also, with access extended to potentially everyone, the internet will further grow as the one medium to find, exchange, contribute and acquire information.

Rosenblog Response

I think it is interesting and important to have a forum for discussion about current events, and I like that his blog provides a professional opinion and uses real resources to back up claims. I agree that blogs should link/refrence news sources to retain credibility. I am also optimistic that the aedvent of blogging will not replace actual news reporting or established journalism, but rather enhance the field. Rosenberg’s talk seemed to reaffirm the idea that the professional blogs utilized or linked by established news sources (newspapers or local news stations) are regarded as good journalism because the authors have some history in news writing. I would have liked him to discuss further if increased blog activity from the public become its own paying profession, and if it would be freelance or funded by news organizations. Also, how would it be a lucrative career if the internet thrives on cheap or free services?

Response to Week 5 Readings

“The human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.”

I found The Cluetrain Manifesto one of the most relevant readings yet. The discussion of “community of discourse” is profound and glaringly true. With the advent of virtually unrestricted internet access, the national and global market has shifted to one of unforseen speed and never before experienced supply-meets-demand instantaneously. The Wired article agrees: ” Many of our assumptions about popular taste are actually artifacts of poor supply-and-demand matching – a market response to inefficient distribution.”

The statement “Companies are deeply afraid of their markets” is bold and strips marketing down to the truth. I find it empowering to have the sense of real communication articulated so clearly, and am very interested to see where this market trend may lead.

Anderson describes an “entirely new economic model for the media and entertainment industries, one that is just beginning to show its power. Unlimited selection is revealing truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it in service after service.” This establishes a turning point for the entertainment market. What will be the consequences for the entertainment industry when “unlimited selection” is universal?

According to the Manifesto, where is the market heading? What exactly will corporations and large companies experience as a result of this “community of discourse”?

What do you suggest as the solution to open/free software vs. economic and intellectual property dilemma?

Sources for Podcast

In researching my podcast topic, I utilized UW library links to ProQuest, primarily. I used “internet regulation mass media law” as my search keywords. I also limited my search to recent articles (to be more relevant) so I searched 1999 through present only, and limited results to peer reviewed full text articles. Articles listed below.

Explaining the global digital divide: economic, political and sociological drivers of cross-national Internet use. Mauro F. Guillen and Sandra L. Suarez.
Social Forces 84.2 (Dec 2005): p681(28).

Parochialism and pluralism in cyberspace regulation.(Choice of Law and Jurisdiction on the Internet ). Allan R. Stein.
University of Pennsylvania Law Review 153.6 (June 2005): p2003(14).

Cyber law: case studies in the SME environment.(Notes and Insights)(small to medium enterprises). M.J. Taylor, J. McWilliam, D. Gresty and M. Hanneghan.
Systems Research and Behavioral Science 22.3 (May-June 2005): p261(7).

A proposed antitrust approach to high technology competition. Thomas A. Piraino Jr. William and Mary Law Review 44.1 (Oct 2002): p65(101).

Internet regulation: lawmakers try to tame cyberspace. Jean Hellwege. Trial 32.n1 (Jan 1996): p11(4)

Communication Law and Policy: The State of Research and Theory
John C. Reinard, Sandra M. Ortiz. Journal of Communication. New York: Sep 2005. Vol. 55, Iss. 3; p. 594

Does YouTube’s Bright Past Mean a Cloudy Future?
Christopher D Newkirk, Thomas A Forker. Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal. Clifton: Jan 2007.Vol.19, Iss. 1; pg. 1, 6 pgs

The Podcasting Explosion: US and International Law Implications
Holly Beth Billington. Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal. Clifton: Nov 2006.Vol.18, Iss. 11; pg. 1, 6 pgs

Prepare to Earn More Frequent Flyer Miles: The Far-Reaching Grip of Internet Law
Katherine Marchetti. Defense Counsel Journal. Chicago: Jul 2006.Vol.73, Iss. 3; pg. 282, 9 pgs

Response to Norman and Sterling

I do not have a long or detailed relationship with the differences between analog and digital signals, so the Norman article was interesting and informative. I thought it helpful that he assoiated analog with natural human behavior, and digital with precision and perfection. When he discusses new information technology, i found the concept of analog and digital to be particularly relevant: before our hyper-advanced modern technology, would anyone have ever dreamed of the development of machine more precise than a human, by nature? One interesting piece of information I took from Sterling’s article was the reason for the development of the internet. Cold War politics never cease to amaze me, especially the countless impacts they have had globally.

The relationship between man and machine is a paradox; man created these machines, but are they more effecient, smarter in some areas, than man himself? Norman’s discussion of Taylor’s principles of efficiency is interesting. The work was published in 1911 and there were numerous labor rights movements in that time, resulting from the industrial revolution and new technologies. These early theories are not altogether irrational, in fact, assembly line and specialization are evident in many different job descriptions even though they originated in factories in the early 1900s.

How does advancing the “machine” disadvangate the “man”? Has man’s relationship with machines becom intrinsic after the advent of fast-breaking technology in the past century?

Podcast Proposal

I propose to conduct my research and publish my podcast on the topic of internet regulation and media law. I think this is a very current and relevant topic relating to new digital media and social responses.

In detail, I would like to consider the possible impact of definite internet regulation applied to mass media. I intend to look at Congressional law proposals and those that have passed, as well as look into possible international law and the internet. One interesting idea is to apply international trade agreements to internet conduct.

Possible areas of focus: Libel, Speech Freedoms, Copyright, Anti-trust and Conglomerate Laws, or Trade issues.

I did some brief research and cited articles in a longer version of this proposal that I believe to be helpful in studying this topic (available upon request).

Internet Regulation

The idea behind the internet being the one true democratic medium implies there should be little to no censorship, and rules about who can publish, especially if the concern is “information overload” seem to be inconsequential.  However, the debate over First Amendment protection of speech is waged with a certain lack of clarity when it comes to new technology.  Where does a government have jurisdiction when the internet effectively disposes of time and geographical barriers?  Should the internet be treated as print media or as broadcast?  What about print media (i.e. newspapers) redistributed or re-posted on non-sanctioned sites?  “For a variety of reasons, national governments are not likely to accept the notion that the Internet should be free from direct regulation…The sale or dissemination of child pornography, for example, creates a market for materials that a just government might wish to prevent (Krotoszynski).”  In theUS alone, libel and copyright laws have distinct subcategories differentiating between types of media and who can be held responsible for content, and took the better part of the last century to develop to their current (incomplete) stages.  The internet, for the past 15 years, has presented a puzzle that lawmakers are timid, if not loathe, to solve.   

As follows with others forms of media, some regulation is bound to emerge.  It is reasonable to assume that restrictions will look at the type of speech and develop different levels of punishment for interpreted seriousness of the content or action the speech implies.  The US Supreme Court  has yet to hear and hand down a direct decision about jurisdiction, rights, or restrictions.  Part of the problem is that such a decision would only effect Americans, and it would be difficult to halt consumption of speech originating from other jurisdictions.  Fittingly, internet research led to Krotoszynski’s proposed solution: “…One of two things: either (1) a voluntary decision by a local court to decline to apply its own law, notwithstanding the fact that a local citizen’s reputation has been harmed by Internet speech; or (2) the creation of some sort of transnational system that would undertake protection of personal reputation on the Internet.”  However, as evident as both of these suggestions are, theory clashes with reality when it comes to enforcing law with the internet.  In any case, there requires extensive cooperation between local, national, and international actors if regulation of the internet is going to come to fruition.   

Kielbowicz, Richard B. Mass Media Law: Communication 440, University of Washington, Fall 2006.  

Krotoszynski Jr., Ronald J.  “Defamation in the Digital Age: Some Comparative Law Observations on the Difficulty of Reconciling Free Speech and Reputation in the Emerging Global Village.” Washington and Lee Law Review. 
Lexington Winter 2005. Vol.62, Iss. 1; pp. 339-354.

Response to Nelson and Solock

Although Solock’s article was interesting, I found him a bit bitter about the use of the internet, and considered a lot of it had to do with the publishing date of the article as being 1996.  I think that both articles had good points about information overload and access as overwhelming and inconsistent at best.  HOwever, I also beleive that this problem has become increasingly addressed and modified to narrow down information found to best fit with what is being searched for.  For example, when I first started at UW in 2002 the library systems were incredibly difficult to navigate for research purposes, and I have found them increasingly efficient over my time here.  I think one thing that has contributed to better management of information overload is increasing education of the user on how to search (i.e. keywords that will be easily recognized) and which search engines and databases will best suit a specific information search.

Discussion Question: How will the internet become more efficient in the next year? As technology changes rapidly, what do you see as a new solution to “information overload”?

Response to Bush And FCC Articles

I found it very interesting that Bush was able to make the leap from an historical analysis of technological advancement to the processes of the human mind, specifically categorization and learning techniques. The combination of these produced his “Memex”, which eerily foreshadows the internet, as well as modern internet search and organizational tools (i.e. google argueably operates like Bush’s interpretation of the human mind and the association of thoughts.) In fact, today it appears that modern technology attempts to do exactly what Bush thought improbable – “Fully duplicate the [human mind's] mental process” – via internet and communication technologies. As described in further detail in the FCC articles, the development of the internet was able to provide real time communication and sharing of ideas and information between people all over the world. It is interesting to me that unlike some other advancements I have studied or incountered, the internet began as a specific vision that became realized; it was not stumbled upon accidentally, and grew at an unprecedented rate.