[DW] CFP - Pista '03 - International Conference on Socio Political Informatics and Cybernetics - Due 2 Apr 2003
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 10:48:19 -0400 From: Jose Vicente Carrasquero [EMAIL PROTECTED] CALL FOR PAPERS International Conference on Socio Political Informatics and Cybernetics: Pista '03 July 31, August 1-2, 2003 - Orlando, Florida, USA Jointly with The International Conference On Computer, Communication And Control Technologies: CCCT '03 http://www.confinf.org/Pista03 Pista '03 Organizing Committee invites authors to submit their original and unpublished works, innovations, ideas based on analogical thinking, problems that require solutions, position papers, case studies, etc., in the fields of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT researchers are invited to present their research results. Practitioners and consultants are invited to present case study papers and innovative solutions. Corporations are invited to present political information systems and software based solutions. Public servers are invited to present case studies, information systems developed for specific purpose, and innovative ideas and designs. Political and social scientists are invited to present research or position papers on the impact and the future possibilities of ICT in Societal systems and political processes. Politician and political consultants are invited to present problems that might be solved by means of ICT, or solutions that might be improved by different approaches and design in ICT. All are invited to organize panel or invited sessions. Panel sessions with panelists coming from both: ICT researcher/practitioners and political consultants or politicians are highly encouraged. Submitted papers must describe work not previously published. They must not be submitted concurrently to another conference with refereed proceedings. Pista '03 Organizing Committee invites authors to submit their original and unpublished works, innovations, ideas based on analogical thinking, problems that require solutions, position papers, case studies, etc., in the fields of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT researchers are invited to present their research results. Practitioners and consultants are invited to present case study papers and innovative solutions. Corporations are invited to present political information systems and software based solutions. Public servers are invited to present case studies, information systems developed for specific purpose, and innovative ideas and designs. Political and social scientists are invited to present research or position papers on the impact and the future possibilities of ICT in Societal systems and political processes. Politician and political consultants are invited to present problems that might be solved by means of ICT, or solutions that might be improved by different approaches and design in ICT. All are invited to organize panel or invited sessions. Panel sessions with panelists coming from both: ICT researcher/practitioners and political consultants or politicians are highly encouraged. Submitted papers must describe work not previously published. They must not be submitted concurrently to another conference with refereed proceedings. You can find complete information about the conference in our web page http://www.confinf.org/Pista03 * Pista '03 ORGANIZATION General Chair: Prof.: Jose Vicente Carrasquero Organizing Committee Chair: Prof: Frederik Welsch Organized by the IIIS: The International Institute of Informatics and Systemics * CONFERENCE AREAS AND TOPICS Informatics And society Social Informatics. Cyber-Civics. Digital Libraries. Communicating Culture. Culture Shifts and the Transformation of Politics. Digital Cities. Global E-Quality. E-Development. Internet and society. What is New about the New Media. Societal and political impact of Mobile communications. Politics and the Internet. Politics in Mediatized Cultures. Computer mediated Communications. Political Communication and Public Spheres. Informatics for Education. Computer Mediated Education. The e-literate society. Networking Schools, Universities and Communities. Citizenship in the Information Society. Citizenship, New Media and Political Action. Informatics, Voting and Political Parties Informatics and Political Campaigns. Online Campaigning. On-line Polling. Political Advertising. Leaders, Elections and Parties and New Media. Informational Power. E-democracy and E-participation. Democracy and New Media. The effects of mobile communication on public participation and political mobilization. Political Information. Informatics And Government Electronic Government. Web-Enabled Government. Local
[DW] Sites - Interactive Journalism
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** From: http://www.j-lab.org/coolstuff.html J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism gives a megaphone to interactive news experiments like these: The (Everett, WA) Herald's Clickable Map To let residents have a virtual vote on how the town's waterfront should be developed, The Herald created a first-of-its-kind clickable map with icons for development choices that could be dragged to four waterfront sites.The Everett game players could electronically submit their final version of the map, and their votes were tallied for news stories. See how The Herald presented the full Waterfront Renaissance report. NYcitizens.org and WXXI's Redistricting Game This interactive exercise allowed Web users to use a role-playing game to create their own Congressional Districts. The game allows players to be one of six different kinds of stakeholders for instance, the role of a white Republican state legislator interested in advancing Republicans at the state and national level. See how the game is framed within the full project on Congressional redistricting. KQED's Smart Growth Game KQED, San Francisco's public television station, designed a city planning game that gives players five different decisions to make about how to develop their city. At the end of the game, it explains the impact of each choice and it scores players on how well-planned their cities are. Topeka Capital-Journal City Council Survivor Game Confronted with reporting on an unruly City Council, the Capital- Journal asked, What if the Topeka City Council members were on the TV show 'Survivor'...? Those interested could go online and call Council members to account for their behavior by voting them off. Watch the promo for the game in true Survivor style. (A QuickTime Movie) You don't have Flash 5 installed. Install Flash Myrtle Beach Growth Along the Strand Game The Sun News, with developer Smashing Ideas Inc. (www.smashingideas.com), created an interactive Web game, Chart the Strand's Future, that allows users to design their own plans for growth in this booming resort town and see how their choices would impact community finances and quality of life. See how the game was presented on The Sun News site. Savannah's Water Use Calculator Savannah Morning News tackled the issues surrounding water use in Georgia by providing several interactive Web features including a program that calculates an individual's water use and compares it to the average per capita use in a particular county. As the state legislature looks into ways to manage water use, the paper intends for these tools to help make the choices clear to the public. Check out all the water features including quizzes, surveys and an interactive presentation. BET's Best Cities for Black Families Map As part of BET's series that explores different aspects of black family life, from factors that threaten its stability to new traditions that are strengthening it, the station's Web site creative an interactive map that profiles major U.S. cities and includes comments from people who have lived in them. Check out the full Under One Roof package. Interactive Obituary (Register or sign in first.) The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, uses images and audio from family and friends to create short movie tributes to accompany standard obituaries. Know of other cool examples? Email us at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Project - US Election 2002 Web Archive
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** This kind of resource is very very important. Candidates are dedicating more resources to online efforts that encourage you to vote for them, while IMHO lagging behind in efforts to connect with citizens online once they are elected. Without archives like this, access to candidate promises and positions would be much more difficult. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire P.S. Don't forget the election 2000 archive as well: http://web.archive.org/collections/e2k.html See: http://www.loc.gov/minerva/collect/elec2002/index.html The Library of Congress, in collaboration with WebArchivist.org of the State University of New York Institute of Technology and the Internet Archive, has created the Election 2002 Web Archive with additional funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts through the University of Washington Center for Communication and Civic Engagement. The Election 2002 Web Archive is a selective collection of nearly 4,000 sites archived between July 1, 2002 and November 30, 2002. The initial March 4th, 2003 release of the Election 2002 Web Archive includes web sites produced by congressional and gubernatorial candidates. Future releases will include party, interest group, press, government, civic, and other selective web sites related to the 2002 national and statewide elections. Additional materials will be made available as the collection is processed for long-term preservation. The Election 2002 Web Archive is part of a continuing effort by the Library's MINERVA Web Preservation Project to evaluate, select, collect, catalog, provide access to, and preserve digital materials for future generations of researchers. Go to Election 2002 Web Archive: http://webarchivist.org/minerva/DrillSearch - The mission of the Library of Congress is to make its resources available and useful to Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. The Library of Congress presents these documents as part of the record of the past. The Library of Congress does not endorse the views expressed in these collections. The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes and makes no warranty with regard to their use for other purposes. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or holders of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Confs - Democracy in the Digital Age - 4-6 Apr 2003 - Yale, Finding Our Digital Voice: Governing in the Info Age - 7-9 May 200
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** From: http://islandia.law.yale.edu/isp/democracy_conference_main.html Democracy in the Digital Age Friday, April 4, 2003-Sunday, April 6, 2003 Hosted by: The Information Society Project, Yale Law School Location: Yale Law School 127 Wall Street New Haven, CT 06511 Program Agenda and Speakers Friday, April 4, 2003 Informal gathering of participants and attendees. 6:00pm-9:00pm, Location to be determined. Join us for an informal, pre-conference gathering at one of New Haven's local establishments. Saturday, April 5, 2003 How do People Deliberate: Deliberative Discourse and the Internet 9:00am-10:30am, Room 127, Yale Law School Moderator Cynthia Farrar, Yale University Panelists James Fishkin, University of Texas School of Law Anthony Wilhelm, Benton Foundation Herbert Burkert, University of St. Gallen Coffee Break and Exhibit of Technologies for Democracy 10:30am-11:00am, Room 122, Yale Law School Designing for Democracy 11:00am-12:30pm, Room 127, Yale Law School Moderator Richard Sherwin, New York Law School Panelists Michael Froomkin, University of Miami School of Law Steven Johnson, Author William Mitchell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lunch and Keynote Address 12:45pm-2:15pm, Room 120, Yale Law School Benjamin Barber, University of Maryland How Political Decisions are Made: Citizen Participation and Decision- Making 2:30pm-4:00pm, Room 127, Yale Law School Moderator Peter Shane, Carnegie Mellon University Panelists Cary Coglianese, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Beth Noveck, New York Law School Hank Perritt, Chicago-Kent School of Law Coffee Break Exhibit of Technologies for Democracy 4:00pm-4:30pm, Room 122, Yale Law School Creating Public Discourse: Cultural Transmission and the Creation of Democratic Discourse 4:30pm-6:00pm, Room 127, Yale Law School Moderator Caio Mario da Silva Pereira Neto, Yale Law School Panelists: Jack Balkin, Yale Law School Niva Elkin-Koren, University of Haifa Shanto Iyengar, Stanford University Dinner at the Yale Cabaret 7:00pm Sunday, April 6, 2003 How Groups Form: Community, Organization and the Internet 9:30am-11:00am, Room 127, Yale Law School Moderator Robert Heverly, Yale Law School Panelists Brook Manville, SABA Software Howard Rheingold, Author John Gastil, University of Washington Coffee Break Exhibit of Technologies for Democracy 11:00am-11:30am, Room 122, Yale Law School Creating Alternative Discourse: Protest and E-Resistance 11:30am-1:00pm, Room 127, Yale Law School Moderator Nimrod Kozlovski, Yale Law School Panelists Katie Hafner, N.Y. Times Anonymous Andrew Herman, College of the Holy Cross From: http://crossingboundaries.ca/cbv32/index.phtml?section=about_current Finding Our Digital Voice: Governing in the Information Age The Crossing Boundaries National Conference Ottawa Congress Centre Ottawa, Ontario May 7-9, 2003 If the Information Age raises fundamental challenges for government, it also provides an historic opportunity to transform and improve it. For the past two years, the Crossing Boundaries III initiative has brought together elected representatives, public servants, academics, and members of the private and third sectors to share their expertise and experience and to discuss what this means for Canadians. The process has produced the most comprehensive overview and analysis of the road ahead yet completed in Canada, and quite possibly the world. The Crossing Boundaries National Conference Finding Our Digital Voice: Governing in the Information Age will be an opportunity to consider the road aheadits consequences for the organization of government, the provision of information and the democratic process. With nationally and internationally recognized speakers such as Paul Martin, MP for Lasalle-Émard; Stephen Coleman, Professor of E- Democracy, Oxford University; Sharon Dawes, Director of the Center for Technology and Government, University of New York at Albany, and Ian Wilson, National Archivist of Canada, this conference represents an opportunity to take the next step in defining solutions for the challenges that lie ahead. CO-CHAIRS Tony Valeri, MP for Stoney Creek Sandra Lang, Deputy Minister of Consumer and Business Services Ontario. CONFERENCE PLAN The conference will be an interactive learning eventan opportunity to meet and discuss the issues with colleagues from across the Canadian public policy community. The agenda is divided into three major themes: · Information as a Public Resource · E-Democracy: Extending Public Space · Building the Tools of Democratic Renewal Each one will be the topic of a plenary session, addressed by a panel of distinguished speakers. Plenaries will be followed by smaller breakaway sessions, ranging in topic
[DW] Misc - New Improvement to New York Times News Tracker
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** Imagine if your parliament, legislature, or local council allowed you to track key happenings and content based on your interests and preferences. What is so important that you would opt-in to receive an e-mail from your government about it? _Timely_ online access to government information, when that information still matters in decision-making, is e-democracy evolution that will make a difference. If the New York Times can do it, why not the governments that represent you? Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 18:32:17 -0500 From: NYTimes.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:New Improvement to Times News Tracker Send reply to: NYTimes.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] @TIMES - Inside NYTimes.com Monday, March 3, 2003 - Dear News Tracker Subscriber, We're writing to let you know about an exciting new improvement to Times News Tracker. As part of a series of new software upgrades, we've added a review function to our alert sign-up screen. Now when you create an alert you'll be able to review the type of articles you'll be getting. That means you'll know right away whether your Tracker is optimized for your interests or needs to be refined a bit more. With this new interactive preview function, now's a great time to edit your News Tracker Alerts. Whether you want a more specific set of articles or just more articles, head to our Alerts Management page and refine your alert. http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html Finally, if you're not taking advantage of all three of your free News Tracker alerts, now is the perfect time to sign up for another alert. Take advantage of our improvements and create an alert on one of this month's most popular topics (listed below) or a topic of your choice. http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?module=callcskey=retA=retT= For more tips on editing and refining your alerts see our list of frequently asked questions. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/newstrackerfaq.html Happy Tracking! NYTimes.com This Month's Top 20 News Tracker Topics 1. Medicine and Health http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Medicine%20a nd%20Healthtopic_field1=desmodule=callalert_context=1 2. Israel http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Israeltopic _field1=geomodule=callalert_context=1 3. Education and Schools http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Education%20 and%20Schoolstopic_field1=desmodule=callalert_context=1 4. Terrorism http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Terrorismto pic_field1=desmodule=callalert_context=1 5. Drugs (Pharmaceuticals) http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Drugs%20%28P harmaceuticals%29topic_field1=desmodule=callalert_context=1 6. Recipes http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Recipestopi c_field1=desmodule=callalert_context=1 7. Roman Catholic Church http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Roman%20Cath olic%20Churchtopic_field1=orgmodule=callalert_context=1 8. Environment http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Environment; topic_field1=desmodule=callalert_context=1 9. Iraq http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Iraqtopic_f ield1=geomodule=callalert_context=1 10. China http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Chinatopic_ field1=geomodule=callalert_context=1 11. Mental Health and Disorders http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Mental%20Hea lth%20and%20Disorderstopic_field1=desmodule=callalert_context=1 12. United States Politics and Government http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=United%20Sta tes%20Politics%20and%20Governmenttopic_field1=desmodule=callalert_c ontext=1 13. India http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Indiatopic_ field1=geomodule=callalert_context=1 14. New York Yankees http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=New%20York%2 0Yankeestopic_field1=orgmodule=callalert_context=1 15. Venezuela http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Venezuelato pic_field1=geomodule=callalert_context=1 16. Brazil http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Braziltopic _field1=geomodule=callalert_context=1 17. Archaeology and Anthropology http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Archaeology% 20and%20Anthropologytopic_field1=desmodule=callalert_context=1 18. Argentina http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1=Argentinato pic_field1=geomodule=callalert_context=1 19. United States International Relations http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?topic1_check=ytopic1
[DW] News - Using the Net to Promote Local Advocacy Newspaper Ads
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** In terms of using the Net nationally to motivate local action that people can measure, it doesn't get any better than this: https://www.moveon.org/localads/?zip=55408 Imagine how this approach could be used in other forms of advocacy or even by campaigns willing to give their donors a chance to help direct some resources. It is important to note the perspective that the Alexa web traffic numbers give to the popularity of Moveon's web site: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/msg00628.html How about those of you in Europe - is the Net being used in sophisticated ways beyond the emotive articles and statements of protest that I noticed on the surface of websites yesterday? Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire - Forwarded message from Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org moveon- [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Date: 27 Feb 2003 20:03:27 - From: Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Hundreds of Thousands March, and What's Next Dear MoveOn member, Our Virtual March has been an enormous success -- by some estimates, the Senate and White House received over a million phone calls, faxes, and emails today. Offices on Capitol Hill were busy with the sounds of ringing phones and conversations about the war. And media outlets from the Washington Post to the BBC covered this broad and unprecedented action. A comment we received from a MoveOn member in Connecticut is representative: I called Lieberman's office, and made my statement, and then I said to the man who answered the phone, 'this must be nuts for you today' and he said, 'My day will be hell, but it is so much better than apathy. This is what democracy is all about. I think it is terrific.' I asked him if he thought it might change the Senator's position, and he said he wasn't authorized to speak on that, but that they were overwhelmed with the number of people speaking out from Connecticut. Members of the House of Representatives (who were not targeted) took notice: Representative Anna Eshoo from California even took the time sent us all a letter thanking us for marching. You can read it at: http://www.moveon.org/eshooletter.jpg For everyone in the 32 organizations that make up the Win Without War coalition, thanks for joining in something huge. THE NEXT STEP: LOCAL ADS Our next big push will be to highlight opposition to war in small towns across America -- neighbors talking to neighbors. We'd like to run local ads in over 100 communities all over the country. Can you help? Check out the ad and help us run it near you by going to: https://www.moveon.org/localads/?zip=55408 Here's why we've taken this approach: A recent New York Times poll revealed that 42% of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein was behind what happened September 11th. It's a shockingly high number, given that even the Bush Administration has never asserted a connection. The false linkage of Saddam Hussein and 9/11 or al Qaeda is at the base of why many people support this war, even though they're worried about its consequences. Our advertising campaign will counter this message in over 100 small cities and towns, and explain in the words of America's top military and policy experts why war on Iraq is a bad idea. As a person who grew up in a small town, I can testify that for many folks, an ad in the local paper is much more powerful than an ad in the New York Times. With your help, we can get over a hundred of these ads running by mid-next week. We'll need to finalize our buy by this Friday, so anything you can give TODAY would be appreciated. You can take look at the ad and where it's running, and contribute securely online at: https://www.moveon.org/localads/?zip=55408 It's rare to see local ads on national issues like this, and even rarer to see them run in coordination across the country. At least two ads will be running in every state. Here's where we hope to hit in your area: St. Cloud Times, St. Cloud, MN Brainerd Daily Despartch, Brainerd, MN Tribune, LaCrosse, WI News Tribune, Duluth, MN Your gift now can make it happen. These local ads are a exciting part of our grassroots PR campaign, which just keeps building. We've now posted posters in the tens of thousands and handed out an enormous number of flyers at over 1,000 locations in the US. Billboards and bus ads are running in major cities.And of course the Virtual March has been immensely successful. Help to keep the momentum going by supporting local ads today. In small cities and towns across America, we can make the case for tough inspections, not war. Sincerely, --Carrie, Eli, Joan, Peter, Wes, and Zack The MoveOn Team February 27th, 2003 P.S. Here are a few of the great articles written about the Virtual March. Enjoy. WASHINGTON POST: ANTIWAR
[DW] Notes - Iraq and the Net, Alexa Comparisons, Virtual March on Washington
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** Lots of links related to Iraq ... be sure to check out the diverse mix of sites listed by their Alexa ranking at the bottom - SLC. Compiled by Steven Clift - http://www.publicus.net For the Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org.do Iraq amuk for Links --- Large scale online activities promoted by MoveOn.Org today: http://www.moveon.org/winwithoutwar/ Other anti-war sites: http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/subsection/0,12809,884056,00.html http://stopwar.org.uk/links.asp Emerging news coverage: http://news.google.com/news?q=virtual+march http://news.google.com/news?q=internet+anti-war What about those with a different approach: http://news.google.com/news?q=internet+iraqi+opposition 'With the Internet, there is no limit' Cut off by sanctions both internal and external, Kurds find Web allows them access to the world http://globetechnology.com/servlet/ArticleNews/gtnews/TGAM/20030224/UK URDN Iraqi opposition links: http://www.iraqifd.org/links.html Earlier net activism overage: Internet Stokes Anti-War Movement http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,57310,00.html News straight from the UN: http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=50Body=IraqBody 1=inspect Something interesting from: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2003/t02262003_t0225sdaljaz.html Al Jazeera: Does it surprise you that the largest demonstrations happened in the capitals and the cities of those people who are supportive of your position now vis-à-vis Iraq? Rumsfeld: Well, it doesn't really because if you think about it, today with the Internet people can organize very quickly and get lots of people to demonstrate, but if you take the population of Western Europe, of those three countries for example. I think you mentioned three countries that have the largest. You take their populations and compare it to the number of people who demonstrated, it's a very small fraction. Even though it was a large number of people, it's a very small fraction of the people. In democracies that's what people do. You don't see people demonstrating in Iraq. You don't see people demonstrating against the government in Iraq because they'll be killed. And what about radio ... and the use of the Net by radio buffs to uncover this interest tidbit: Wednesday February 26, 12:02 PM Radio Buff Finds Mystery Station Connected To Iraq (From The Wall Street Journal) By Andrew Higgins http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/030226/72/3899w.html Finally, Alexa http://www.alexa.com ratings for various sites of interest (ratings are for the whole site not the Iraq specific links I include below): 1 - http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fccid=34in=worldcat=iraq_u_s_ 26 - http://www.cnn.com/linkto/iraq.tracker.html 36 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/default.stm 326- http://www.drudgereport.com 497- http://www.aljazeera.net (Arabic) 823- http://www.worldnetdaily.com 839- http://english.ajeeb.com (Arabic Translator) 387- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/0,2759,423009,00.html 1646 - http://www.whitehouse.gov 2244 - http://www.un.org/Docs/scinfo.htm 2443 - http://www.indymedia.org 3170 - http://www.military.com 3338 - http://www.moheet.com (Arabic) 4182 - http://www.antiwar.com 4929 - http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/iraq.htm 5689 - http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq.htm 5978 - http://www.defenselink.mil 6547 - http://www.commondreams.org 8427 - http://www.uruklink.net/eindex.htm (Iraq Govt) - http://www.uruklink.net/iraqnews/eindex.htm (News) 9124 - http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/ 10144 - http://www.kdp.pp.se (Kurds, inflated by pp) 11615 - http://www.nodo50.org (Spain) 12375 - http://www.janes.com/regional_news/africa_middle_east/ 12970 - http://www.moveon.org 15111 - http://www.buzzflash.com 17724 - http://special.fco.gov.uk 18386 - http://www.nato.int 22327 - http://www.stratfor.com/promo/?site=usiraq 24899 - http://www.unitedforpeace.org 29314 - http://www.iraq2000.com (Arabic) See: http://www.iraq2000.com/babil/babil_eng/index.htm - Newspaper More papers: http://www.world-newspapers.com/iraq.html 30541 - http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/Focus/IaeaIraq/index.shtml 33592 - http://www.internationalanswer.org 39233 - http://www.puk.org (Kurd) 50136 - http://www.iraqvoice.com (Voice chat w/Iraqis) 51396 - http://www.stopwar.org.uk 62432 - http://www.votenowar.org 69868 - http://www.notinourname.net 88500 - http://protest.net 91504 - http://www.iraqcp.org (Communist Party) 112556 - http://www.iraqdaily.com 118114 - http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw 135395 - http://www.eucom.mil 141121 - http://www.iraqtv.ws (looks hacked) See: http://web.archive.org/web/20021127082015/http://www.iraqtv.ws/ 142822 - http://www.gulfwarvets.com
[DW] Notes - How to Unsubscribe from DO-WIRE
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** To unsubscribe from DO-WIRE, simply send an e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body (not subject), simply write: unsub do-wire We are up to 2677 members, so the more you can do to manage your own subscription the better. If you have trouble unsubscribing (if your e-mail address was changed for example), drop me a note with the e-mail address you think you were subscribed under and I can remove you manually. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire -- Steven Clift http://publicus.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Need your questions ... in one hour
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** Tonight there will two panel sessions on the Net Elections and Online Advocacy in Minnesota. The dynamic panelist are ready to roll. While the event will not be webcast until after March 15, you can zip in a question that I'll add to those from the live audience: [EMAIL PROTECTED] See the agenda to figure out what you might ask: http://www.inms.umn.edu/convenings/politics.htm Thanks, Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. I'll be catching up on list administration sometime next week. -- Steven Clift http://publicus.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Event - World Summit on Information Society Prep Con 2
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** Official page: http://www.itu.int/wsis/ Webcasting now from: http://www.itu.int/ibs/WSIS/pc2/ UNESCO's WSIS Page: http://portal.unesco.org/wsis A good discussion/news lists about the WSIS: http://vancouvercommunity.net/lists/info/dotforce-wsis http://www.comunica.org/pipermail/crisinfo_comunica.org/ Lots more links below and a news story. Steven Clift Democracies Online Some news/commentary from the CRIS list: -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Bruce Girard Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 3:19 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [CRIS Info] Summit Prep Meet Caught between Two Visions - IPS CRIS Info is a public list for information and questions about the campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) http://crisinfo.org CRIS also has a Latin American regional list at: http://comunica.org/mailman/listinfo/crisal_comunica.org Summit Prep Meet Caught between Two Visions Gustavo Capdevila GENEVA, Feb 17 (IPS) - In the preparatory discussions for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to take place in December, a rift has emerged between the visions aiming to put new technology at the service of business, or of citizens. The differences were evident from the beginning, in Monday's sessions of Prepcom-2 in Geneva, convened by the United Nations to discuss how to achieve greater equality in access to information and communications technology. The pillars of the debate are access, referring to the digital divide that leaves the people of the developing South excluded; power, and the concentration of ownership of the communications media; democracy, or freedom of expression; and cultural diversity. The first portion of the Summit, slated to take place in Geneva, Dec 10-12, has a mandate to issue a declaration on these issues and establish policies for an action plan. The WSIS will continue in Tunisia in 2005 to follow up on the results and to make corrections to improve the process. Only the private sector has the experience and resources to translate the concept of the information society from cyberspace to everyday life, said María Cattaui, secretary-general of the International Chamber of Commerce. But governments must cooperate, creating stable economic conditions and favourable legal frameworks to attract private investment, she said. The information and communications technology (ICT) industry shrank in 2001. Sales of semiconductor materials fell 29 percent, and computer sales declined for the first time in 15 years, while mobile telephone sales stagnated, according to figures from the World Trade Organisation (WTO). But Cattaui expressed optimism that the sector is ready to recuperate its role as the key provider of solutions. ICT is empowering citizens, not necessarily corporations, said civil society representative Izumi Aizu, of the Japan-based Asia Network Research. Lawrence Lessig, law professor from Stanford University in the United States and expert in ICT issues, said it is inappropriate to focus on a business vs. non-business division in the information society. Lessig urged the delegates at Prepcom-2 to resist the extreme protectionism of intellectual property rights in the ICT sphere, noting that this phenomenon is particularly strong in the United States. Jacques Attali, a French politician and intellectual, agreed that innovations in the information and communications fields should be freely accessible, at least in the early stages. Attali commented that in the early days of radio, artists worked for free, and their generous attitude continued until that media sector was consolidated. The essence of the debate, he said, is centred on a concept of information as a public good, while access to information is truly a vital good that is not limited to the right to receive it, but rather to generating it. The right to inform, added Attali, is complemented by the right to have the means with which to inform. During the first day of Prepcom-2 sessions, Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF - Reporters Without Borders) issued a warning against any initiative that would jeopardise Internet freedoms. At previous meetings, many government delegates had suggested that they would use the fight against Internet crimes to justify monitoring and repressive measures, said the Paris-based RSF. Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, the UN body in charge of organising the conference, told a Monday press conference that there is no clear consensus that the WSIS should take up the matter of Internet regulation. However, Utsumi acknowledged that Internet security will be discussed, an issue of interest
[DW] Event - Cyberweek - Online Conference on Use of Technology for Dispute Resolution - 24-28 Feb 2003
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 08:52:56 -0500 From: InSITeS News [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Cyberweek: Announcement from the UMass Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution We are pleased to relay the following announcement from InSITeS Legal Expert Network member Ethan Katsh: The UMass Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution, in collaboration with the Online Dispute Resolution Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution, is pleased to be holding Cyberweek 2003 this year from February 24-28th. This is the fifth Cyberweek, a free all-online conference focused on the use of technology in dispute resolution. This is a conference that you can participate in from anywhere at anytime. Please register at http://www.ombuds.org/cyberweek2003 and we will send you additional information prior to the start of Cyberweek. Cyberweek consists of online discussions, simulations and other activities that we hope will illustrate the opportunities and challenges provided by our new technologies. This year's most ambitious activity is ICODR 2003, the International Competition for Dispute Resolution. ICODR 2002, held in conjunction with Cyberweek 2002, involved eleven schools in a negotiating competition. ICODR 2003 involves over thirty five schools from five continents in negotiation, mediation and arbitration competitions. Please feel free to circulate this announcement to colleagues and students. Participation in Cyberweek is free. Please join us. Ethan Katsh Professor and Director Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 413-545-5879 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.umass.edu/dispute Please do not Reply to this message. For further information, please contact Peter M. Shane, Director, InSITeS,at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or (412) 268-5980. --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Event: Online Exchange on E-Government and Low Income/Underserved - Contentbank.org - 10-19 Feb 2003
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Thu, 06 Feb 2003 19:02:58 -0500 Subject:Contentbank.org Online Exchange: E-Government From: Rachel Fireman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Announcing Contentbank.org¹s (http://www.contentbank.org) newest Online Exchange-- E-Government: Technology Tools Connecting Citizens to Government When: February 10 February 19, 2003 Where: http://www.modernsignal.com/clients/production/contentbank/cfforums/ What: Exchange e-government resources and materials with organizations using technology to connect low-income and underserved individuals to government information and services. * Do you use technology to connect individuals to government services and resources? * Are you looking for programs you can learn from and resources you can use? * Have you created e-government guides, tutorials, or Web sites? * Do you know of great online government resources that anyone can access? The topic for the February Contentbank.org Online Exchange will be e- government. We will focus on how growing support for e-government initiatives will affect the lives of low-income people, the role community-based organizations can play in bringing e-government services to those individuals, and the challenges of making the resources accessible to everyone. This topic was selected in light of the recent signing of the E-government Act of 2002, which may have major implications on the availability of government information and services. With this online exchange, we hope to 1. Gather resources, tools, best practices, and curriculum ideas from individuals involved in effective community e-government projects as well as from decision-makers and policy-makers; 2. Promote a dialogue about e-government work and policy; and 3. Involve our users in this dialogue so that you have the information and tools you need to implement e-government education and advocacy programs in your own communities. Please take this opportunity to tell people about your good work and learn from the work of others. HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Anyone can view the Online Exchange and download attached files. However, to post your own messages you must join (by clicking on join in the upper right-hand corner of the page). When you join you will be emailed a temporary password (usually within a couple of minutes) that you can use to access this and all future Online Exchanges. WHAT IS AN ONLINE EXCHANGE? We call our message board forums Online Exchanges. We will host them regularly, and each one will focus on a different topic that our users have told us is important to them. The Exchanges will give our users the opportunity to exchange resources, ideas, curricula, and more. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE RESOURCES AFTER FEBRUARY 19TH? The resources will remain on Contentbank.org indefinitely. In addition, we will post a summary of the Exchange and highlight the best resources in other areas of Contentbank.org. WHAT IS CONTENTBANK.ORG? Contentbank.org is a project of The Children's Partnership, http://www.childrenspartnership.org, a national nonprofit child advocacy organization, with generous support from the Markle Foundation and the AOL Time Warner Foundation. Contentbank.org has three major goals: 1. To identify what online content low-income users need, examples of what exists, and what still needs to be created; 2. To make it easier for community-based organizations and the individuals they serve to create their own content; and 3. To encourage the public and private sectors to develop useable content for low-income and underserved Americans. WHAT IS THE CHILDREN¹S PARTNERSHIP? The Children's Partnership (www.childrenspartnership.org) is a national, nonprofit organization that undertakes research, analysis, and advocacy to place the needs of America's nearly 70 million children and youth, particularly the underserved, at the forefront of emerging policy debates. If you have any questions or technical difficulties, please contact Rachel Fireman at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or at 718-923- 1400 x244. --- Rachel Fireman Producer, Contentbank.org 150 Court Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 Tel: 718-923-1400 x244 Fax: 718-923-2869 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: http://www.contentbank.org --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE
[DW] Event - NetElections and Online Advocacy - 20 Feb 2003 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** This month I am serving as a Visiting Fellow http://publicus.net/fellow at the Institute for New Media Studies http://www.inms.umn.edu at the University of Minnesota. Next week we are hosting two panel sessions - one on the Internet and our recent elections and another on online advocacy and lobbying at the state capitol. This event will give you a deep sense of what it is like to live in a place with a high level of per capita politics online. Should you fly in from around the world to attend this event? Certainly. Or if you don't mind streaming media, we will make the audio and video available for all a couple weeks after the event. I am going to prepare a two page handout with links to the top online resources online campaigning and online advocacy. I'll share it with the world as well. Please nominate new and old resources via e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. This fellow business is quite exciting. A big thanks goes out to Nora Paul with the Institute for New Media Studies for making this possible. *** Free and Open to the Public *** What: The Net Elections and Online Advocacy in Minnesota An evening for insight and exploration with two dynamic expert panels When: 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Thursday, February 20, 2003 Where: Coffman Memorial Union Campus Club - 4th Floor Conference Rooms A-B-C University of Minnesota Sponsored by the Institute for New Media Studies http://www.inms.umn.edu and Minnesota E-Democracy http://www.e-democracy.org. RSVP requested by Tuesday, February 18, but not required: E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] or call 612-625-0576 To receive virtual handouts and a notice about the post-event webcast release, e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Evening Schedule See below for full details and a list of our dynamic panelists. 6:30 p.m. - Reception, including the U.S. premiere of Japanese television news coverage of e-democracy in Minnesota 7:00 p.m. - Panel 1 - The Net Elections in Minnesota 8:00 p.m. - Panel 2 - Online Advocacy and Lobbying in Minnesota 8:50 p.m. - Video E-Citizens - Share a comment, lesson, or your reactions to the panel on video for our global post-event webcast. Additional *cash* drinks available in the newly renovated Campus Club Lounge http://www1.umn.edu/cclub/tourbar.html during and after the event through 10 p.m.. Parking --- We recommend that you park in the East River Rd Garage: See http://www1.umn.edu/cclub/map.html or http://www1.umn.edu/pts/maps/ebhour.htm for maps. Enter from E. River Rd/Pkwy or from just after the Washington Ave. Bridge traveling east only. Once parked, *Level A* of the garage is connected by a tunnel to Coffman Memorial Hall. - - - - - - - - - Full Event Details and Panelists * 7:00 p.m. - Opening - Welcome - Nora Paul, Institute for New Media Studies, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Minn. - Introduction - The Good Online Life in Minnesota - Promoting High Per Capita Politics Online - Steven Clift, Visiting Fellow, Institute for New Media Studies and Chair, Minnesota E- Democracy 7:10 p.m - The Net Elections in Minnesota - Panel 1 In 1994, Minnesota E-Democracy created the world's first election-oriented web site. In 1998, Governor Jesse Ventura create a global Internet buzz when he credited the use of the Internet as crucial to his victory. In 2002, awareness of election use of the Internet was eclipsed by our tragic election season, the post-dotcom hangover, and by the Internet's integration into our political life. This panel will expose important lessons learned and discuss future trends to watch. David Erickson - Panel Moderator - Publisher, MNPolitics.com Bob Collins - Online News Editor, Minnesota Public Radio Bridget Cronin - Former Editor, Minnesota GOP Newsline JC Quirn - Webmaster, Wellstone for Senate Brian McClung - Republican Candidate for Minnesota State House in 2002 Rob Davis - Promotion Pawn, BushBoy.com 8:00 p.m. - Panel 2 - Online Advocacy and Lobbying in Minnesota In 1993, the Minnesota State Legislature opened its Gopher server and soon moved content to the web. Minnesota's state legislators, political interest groups, and active citizens got online early and many have integrated the Internet deep into their political activities. A decade later in 2003, with a wired state capitol, connected interest groups, and about 70% of Minnesotans online, how will the high stakes surrounding our $4.5 billion dollar two year budget gap manifest itself through online advocacy and lobbying? Linda Jean Kensicki - Panel Moderator - Asst. Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota
[DW] News - Nick's Crusade
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** A great example of what one person can do online. SLC See: http://nickscrusade.com/ News: http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_974391.html Fighting the Medicaid System Ala. Youth Crusades to Extend Nursing Care for Disabled ... clip ... After Dupree turns 21, Alabama's Medicaid program will pay for Dupree to move to a nursing home, but he says institutional care could not provide the constant attention he needs. He and his mother fear that if a ventilator tube came loose, an aide would not come by quickly enough to save his life. Knowing of the changes that would occur upon his 21st birthday, two years ago Dupree took matters into his own hands. Using his limited mobility - he has use of one thumb and an index finger - Dupree launched a crusade from his computer to change Alabama law. He's sent countless emails to politicians and policy makers and even launched a website, Nick's Crusade. ... clip ... *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Misc - Egyptian democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim chats withDFN
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do ***
*** ***
*** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE ***
I am interested in any articles/reports on ICT trends in the Middle
East as they relate to online news/democracy. Send them to :
[EMAIL PROTECTED] - SLC
A clip from the chat transcript:
middle_panda: question: people in the middle east have had greater
access to information in the past 5 years because of the Internet and
independent news sources like Al-Jazeera. How has this changed
prospects for democracy? Do you think there will be a crackdown by
governments against the press such as we are seeing in Iran?
saad_ibrahim: Let me say that the communication revolution is
something we should welcome. It is definitely helped democratization
and human rights. The governments are concerned of course, but they
cannot do anything about it. They will try to fight it but it is a
losing battle. It is a winning battle for advocates of human rightrs.
-- Forwarded message --
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 06:42:05 -0700
From: Digital Freedom Network [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [DFN-News] Egyptian democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim chats
with DFN
DIGITAL FREEDOM NETWORK: Human rights and cyber-rights news
---
In spite of his plight, an optimist
URL: www.dfn.org/voices/egypt/saad-chat.htm
(February 4, 2003) Today, Saad Eddin Ibrahim begins his final retrial to fight
two-year-old charges of fraud, accepting foreign funding without governmental
approval, and defaming Egypt by spreading false information. If convicted, the ailing
sociology professor and renowned democracy leader could serve seven years in prison.
Last week, Dr. Ibrahim spoke with DFN readers about conditions for democracy in Egypt
and in the middle east as a whole. Although facing an unknown future, Dr. Ibrahim
still maintained his characteristic objectivity throughout the conversation. The
transcript of the chat, slightly edited for clarity, follows below.
---
Thur Jan 30 23:55:20 2003 {logging enabled}
DFN: For 30 years, Saad Eddin Ibrahim has been a strong voice for democracy,
intellectual freedom and peace in the Middle East. He is a professor at American
University in Cairo and also the founder and director of the Ibn Khaldun Center, a
think tank that promotes democratic reform in Egypt and the Arab world.
In May 2001, he was convicted by an Egyptian State Security Court of fraud, accepting
foreign funding without governmental approval and defaming Egypt by spreading false
information, and sentenced to seven years in prison. Mr. Ibrahim appealed the
sentence, but was found guilty once again in July 2002 in a retrial beset with
irregularities. He will be retried one final time on February 4 in Egypt's Court of
Cassation.
Because of his impending trial and in his best interest, Dr. Ibrahim will not be able
to answer questions about his court case. We ask that you limit your questions to
topics pertaining to Egypt and the Middle East.
Welcome Dr. Ibrahim! Do you have any introductory remarks?
Saad_Ibrahim: I am happy to be of service! I am grateful to all who have come today to
hear me.
bill: How do you feel about Libya becoming the Chair of the Human Rights Commission?
Saad_Ibrahim: I don't feel good about it at all. It is a misnomer to have Libya as the
chair. Libya has one of the worst records in human rights. I remember that from my
days as secretary-general of the Arab Human Rights Organization, in the first 4 years
on the job I received thousands of complaints of violations in Libya.
curtis: Can you tell us about any action that has been taken by the African Commission
on Human and Peoples' Rights?
Saad_Ibrahim: I am not aware of any action on that issue.
asad azfar: What are prospects for democratic reform in Egypt over the next 5 years?
Saad_Ibrahim: I am an optimist. I always look for the right spot. The prospects are
good. There is a growing middle class and a growing demand for democracy in Egypt and
all over the Arab world. I am optimistic even though I was a victim.
curtis: What is your opinion about the current situation concerning Iraq?
Saad_Ibrahim: Iraqwe are all very concerned, Curtis. We have been trying to find a
third way to spare us the agony of war but also to get rid of Hussein. We want to put
an end to the warmonger in Washington. We are not happy that they are leading the war.
We want to work with the peace movement in the States.
moderator: We are now chatting with Egyptian Professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim. Please feel
free to ask questions.
Bill: There have been some positive human rights/democracy role models emerging in the
region, such as Qatar, Morocco, and Bahrain. Do you see this as a trend?
Saad_Ibrahim: There is a trend.
[DW] CFP - Public Participation Geographic Information Systems Conference
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** An detailed article on this topic: http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/muki/pdf/HaklayandHarrison-PPGIS-AAG2002.pdf And a bibliography: http://www.iapad.org/bibliography.htm -- Forwarded message -- Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 12:21:54 -0600 From: Scott Grams [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [NBHD] 2nd Annual PPGIS Conference - Deadline Extended Time is running out to submit an abstract for the 2003 Public Participation GIS Conference (PPGIS). The last day to submit is February 14th and the program is filling up fast. URISA will be holding a conference from July 20-22, 2003 at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon on the subject of public participation GIS. Public Participation GIS refers to a range of topics raised by the intersection of community interests and GIS technology. The PPGIS Congress will bring together participants with a rich diversity of experience. More details are available at http://www.urisa.org/PPGIS/ppgis.html Call for Presentations: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology has demonstrated great value in empowering citizen organizations and revitalizing communities. The technology is relatively inexpensive, digital spatial data is increasingly available and the user interfaces are improving. As its use grows and evolves, GIS is being used alone or with other information and communications technologies to improve public knowledge and participation. Abstracts are being solicited in any of the following presentation topics/categories PPGIS Practice, Monitoring, and Evaluation PPGIS Theory/PPGIScience Data Issues Organizations and Institutions (Using and being affected by PPGIS) We are also accepting submissions for a Project Showcase/Poster Session All abstract submissions, received by February 14, 2003 will be considered for the program. More information and the abstract submission form is available on the URISA website at: http://www.urisa.org/PPGIS/ppgis.html Registration: Early Registration Rates: URISA Member: $125; Nonmember: $150 Non-profit group employee/staff: $65 (proof of affiliation required) *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Event: Politalk: Inspections Or Invasion - Online Discussion 29 Jan - 21 Feb, 2003
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** Tim does a great job demonstrating how e-mail can be used to bring a diverse group of people together for deliberation and dialogue. Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. He is also an E-Democracy volunteer who is leading efforts to develop our St. Paul Issues Forum: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/goals.html And some recent press coverage ST. PAUL: City issues aired via Internet: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/5026678.htm --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Mon, 03 Feb 2003 01:39:41 -0600 Subject:Politalk: Inspections Or Invasion From: Tim Erickson [EMAIL PROTECTED] == ANNOUNCEMENT: Please Forward == Politalk TIESWeb Present the next 'Transatlantic Perspectives' online discussion: IRAQ - Inspections or Invasion? Jan 29 - Feb 21, 2003 == mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Join with citizens, leaders of civil society, and scholars from the United States and European Union, as we discuss and debate the Transatlantic gulf in opinion regarding a potential war in Iraq. This special online event will provide you with an opportunity to ask questions, share opinions, and inform yourself about this important topic. (See discussion questions listed below) Week 2: Participate In FRENCH - GERMAN - ENGLISH - SPANISH --- During week 2 (Feb 10-14), there will be opportunities for some participants to take part in small group discussions in languages other than English. Volunteers will summarize these discussions and report back to the full group in English. To participate in this e-mail discussion, send a blank e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - Why Iraq and not North Korea? - Is a preemptive strike justifiable? - Are Inspections working? And why? - How united is Europe on this issue? - Is the American public ready for war? For more information, visit: http://www.politalk.com == This event is part of: Transatlantic Perspectives -- Quarterly online discussions and debates on issues important to the transatlantic relationship. Politalk TIESWeb http://www.politalk.com http://www.TIESWeb.org == --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Information Architecture
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** Web sites in the e-government/e-democracy space need to build intuitive information architectures to stay competitive with the other sites citizens use every day. People have limited time and attention, you must compete to stay relevant. Build it and they will never come unless you tell them it is there. Tell them it is there, bring them in, present them a usable site with compelling content and you've built a relationship. Bring them in, confuse them instead, and they will never come back. Some resources below ... Steven Clift Democracies Online Understanding Information Architecture http://www.ojr.org/ojr/technology/1042357331.php And a great list of information truths: http://aifia.org/pg/25_theses.php 25 Theses 1.People need information. 2.More importantly, people need the right information at the right time. 3.Without human intervention, information devolves into entropy and chaos. 4.The Internet has changed how we live with information. It has made ubiquitous the once rare entity: the shared information environment. 5.Shaping information to be relevant and timely requires specialized human work. Doing so for a globally shared environment that is itself made of information is a relatively new kind of specialized human work. 6.This work is both a science and an art. 7.This work is an act of architecture: the structuring of raw information into shared information environments with useful, navigable form that resists entropy and reduces confusion. 8.This is a new kind of architecture that designs structures of information rather than of bricks, wood, plastic and stone. 9.People live and work in these structures, just as they live and work in their homes, offices, factories and malls. These places are not virtual: they are as real as our own minds. 10.Many people spend most of their waking hours in these spaces. As the numbers of physical workers decline and knowledge workers increase, more and more people will live, work, share, collaborate, learn and play in these environments for more and more of their lives. 11.There is already too much information for us to comprehend easily. And each day there will only be more of it, not less. Inexorably, information drowns in its own mass. It needs to breathe, and the air it needs is relevance. 12.One goal of information architecture is to shape information into an environment that allows users to create, manage and share its very substance in a framework that provides semantic relevance. 13.Another goal of information architecture is to shape the environment to enable users to better communicate, collaborate and experience one another. 14.The latter goal is more fundamental than the former: information exists only in communities of meaning. Without other people, information no longer has context, and no longer informs. It becomes mere data, less than dust. 15.Therefore, information architecture is about people first, and technology second. 16.All people have a right to know where they are and where they are going and how to get what they need. People naturally seek places that provide these essential needs. Any environment that ignores this natural law will attract and retain fewer people. 17.The interface is a window to information. Even the best interface is only as good as the shape of the information behind it. (The converse is also true: even the most comprehensively shaped information is only as useful as its interface. For this reason, interface design and information architecture are mutually dependent.) 18.Just as the Copernican revolution changed the paradigm for more than astronomy, the Internet has changed our paradigm for more than just technology. We now expect all information environments to be as accessible, as immediate, and as total. 19.Just because information architecture happens mostly on the Internet today, it doesn't mean that will be the case tomorrow. 20.Information architecture accomplishes its task with whatever tools necessary. 21.These tools are being fashioned by many people, including information scientists, artists, librarians, designers, anthropologists, architects, writers, engineers, programmers philosophers. They all bring different perspectives, and they all add flavor to the stew. They are all necessary. 22.These tools come in many forms and methods, including controlled vocabularies, mental modeling, brainstorming, ethnography, thesauri, human-computer interaction, and others. Some tools are very old, and some are very new. Most are still waiting to be invented. 23.Information architecture acknowledges that this practice is bigger than any single methodology, tool or perspective. 24.Information architecture is first an act, then a practice, then a discipline. 25.Sharing the practice grows
[DW] Project - Meetup: Organizing Local Interest Groups Online
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** I am gathering ideas for a future DoWire Notes post on tools that connect the Internet directly to geography and have demonstrated a community/political impact. Ideas? E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Below is a short piece written for DoWire by the folks with http://www.meetup.com. Steven Clift Democracies Online --- Forwarded message follows --- From: William Finkel [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Meetup Article Date sent: Thu, 23 Jan 2003 11:23:13 -0500 History shows that significant social change happens when people gather. Nowadays, media and technology may be ubiquitous, and people may spend their time in front of screens and keyboards, but powerful activism still happens when people gather in real life. From Anti-WTO protests to Filipino citizens toppling their President in 2000 to drivers in the UK spontaneously self-organizing demonstrations... Nothing is as powerful as people mobilized around a cause. What's different is HOW they mobilize today: They USE the screens and keyboards TO MOBILIZE and effect change. Meetup fills this need for a variety of causes! From the 2004 U.S. presidential candidates, to political parties, to dialogues on the impending war in Iraq; Meetup allows for people around the world to meet with other likeminded individuals, locally. Meetup creates real-world group gatherings about anything anywhere. We've built a technology and a network of venues (cafes, bars, etc.) that can help any interest group easily organize local monthly meetups in over 540 cities across 31 countries. Recently, some of our most popular topics have involved politics. Some of these have included: http://dean2004.meetup.com http://edwards2004.meetup.com http://democrat.meetup.com http://republican.meetup.com http://green.meetup.com http://libertarian.meetup.com. We offer Meetups for all the 2004 U.S. presidential candidates, as well as for a number of Political Action topics. You can find a full listing of our Political Meetups at http://www.meetup.com/browse/polact . We're also open to your suggestions! If you don't find the topic that you're looking for, please submit your suggestion at http://www.meetup.com/suggest/topic . Given the nature of E-Democracy, I thought that our service might be an interesting way for your members to organize locally, while thinking globally. __ William Finkel Meetup http://www.meetup.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] CFP - Internet Research 4.0 - Broadening the Band - Subs due 1 Mar 2003, Conf 16-19 Oct 2003 Toronto, Canada
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Join over 2650 subscribers, from 75 countries on DO-WIRE *** P.S. Another CFP for those on the computer science side of things: 2003 International Multiconference in Computer Science Engineering: http://www.ashland.edu/~iajwa/conferences/ --- Forwarded message follows --- From: Matthew Allen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:request to post CFP to DO-WIRE Call for Papers - IR 4.0: Broadening the Band International and Interdisciplinary Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 16-19 Lead organizer Knowledge Media Design Institute at the University of Toronto Submission site opens: January 15, 2003 Deadline for submissions: March 1, 2003 Conference Website: http://www.aoir.org/2003 | http://www.ecommons.net/aoir Digital communications networks such as the Internet are changing the way people interact with each other, with profound effects on social relations and institutions. Yet many remain excluded from access and meaningful participation. It is timely to consider who is included, who is excluded and what we now know about the composition and activities of online communities. Internet Research (IR) 4.0 will feature a variety of perspectives on Internet, organized under the theme Broadening the Band. As in previous conferences, the aim is to develop a coherent theoretical and pragmatic understanding of the Internet and those that are empowered and disenfranchised by it. IR 4.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, creators, and practitioners from many disciplines, fields and countries for a program of presentations, panel discussions, and informal exchanges. IR 4.0 will take place at the Hilton Hotel in the heart of downtown Toronto. The conference is hosted by a team led by the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) and its partners at the University of Toronto. The IR 4.0 steering and working committees reflect the growing pan-Canadian network of Internet researchers, including members from Quebec, Alberta, and New Brunswick, in addition to the local contingent from Toronto, York and Ryerson Universities. This year's theme, Broadening the Band, encourages wide participation from diverse disciplines, communities, and points of view. Under the umbrella theme, contributors are called to reflect upon, theorize and articulate what we know from within the emerging interdisciplinary space known as Internet Research. In a cultural sense, the theme calls attention to the need to examine access, inclusion and exclusion in online communities. What role do race, gender, class, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, age, geography, and other factors play in the degree of online participation? What are the indicators of meaningful participation? In a technical sense, the theme points to the development of broadband, wireless and post-internet networks and applications that are currently coming on-stream including community, private, public as well as national research networks (e.g. CA*net 4, Internet 2). We plan to use these technologies to make the conference an internet- mediated and internationally accessible event. In an organizational sense, the theme reflects a widening of AoIR's reach to include more researchers and constituencies involved in the evolution of the Internet. French language presentations will be included in the call for papers for the first time. Researchers and practitioners in the arts and culture sectors are encouraged to participate alongside social scientists and humanities scholars and researchers. In a thematic sense, Broadening the Band suggests widening the scope of topics and problematics considered within past conferences, while retaining the consistent emphasis on rigorous research work. This call for papers thus initiates an inclusive search for theoretical and methodological correspondences between this expanding theme and the many disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches that are required to address it with precision. Possible Topics: - Who is bridging what: questions and answers on the digital divide - New directions in digital art - E-me, e-you? (E- Health, E- Governance, E-Commerce,E-Business, E-games, E-entertainment, E-other) - Ethnicity, Race, Identity, Gender, Sexuality, Language(s) and Diverse Cultural Contexts Online - Who Decides: Ethics, Law, Politics and Policy of the Internet - We can't measure that, can we? Meaningful Indicators for Internet Access, Participation, Use and Effects - Who owns what? Value, Space, and Commons on the Internet - Is there an Author, a Publisher, or writing on the internet? - Transformed by Technics: New Technologies and The Post-Internet Age - Who is watching your computer, when You're not watching it - When we are glocal: the internet in global and local manifestations - I put my
[DW] Notes - Guess how many countries DoWire members come from?
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** A quick analysis of our member list puts the number at 67 countries. I simply counted the two letter domain name extensions. With lots of Hotmail, Yahoo and .com addresses, I know our reach is even more extensive. Ultimately, I'd like to recruit at least one person from each country to be part of our network and then enable people within a specific country to opt-in to networking with each other. Please see if your country is NOT listed below. If it isn't, please drop me a short note telling me where you are from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The member list is not published, so don't worry about this information being disclosed. Thanks, Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do The list of DoWire member's countries (by domain extensions): .ae United Arab Emirates .ar Argentina .at Austria .au Australia .be Belgium .bg Bulgaria .bj Benin .br Brazil .ca Canada .ch Switzerland .cr Costa Rica .cz Czech Republic .de Germany .dk Denmark .ee Estonia .eg Egypt .es Spain .fi Finland .fr France .gr Greece .gy Guyana .hk Hong Kong .hr Croatia/Hrvatska .hu Hungary .id Indonesia .ie Ireland .il Israel .in India .it Italy .jp Japan .ke Kenya .kg Kyrgyzstan .kr Korea, Republic of .kz Kazakhstan .lt Lithuania .lu Luxembourg .lv Latvia .mn Mongolia .mt Malta .mx Mexico .my Malaysia .nl Netherlands .no Norway .np Nepal .nz New Zealand .pe Peru .ph Philippines .pk Pakistan .pl Poland .pt Portugal .ro Romania .ru Russian Federation .se Sweden .sg Singapore .si Slovenia .sk Slovak Republic .sl Sierra Leone .sn Senegal .th Thailand .tr Turkey .tw Taiwan .ua Ukraine .uk United Kingdom .us United States .uy Uruguay .uz Uzbekistan .za South Africa .zw Zimbabwe ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Projects - Online Deliberative Poll, Youth Summit Online
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** From U.S. public broadcasting: http://www.by-the-people.org Background on the Online Deliberate Poll As part of an effort to examine what ordinary Americans consider the proper role of the United States in world affairs, a national, representative sample of Americans has begun meeting online. Fifteen different groups, each consisting of between ten and twenty-two participants, meet twice a week for an hour, over a period of four weeks. In addition to exchanging views and talking about differing perspectives on U.S. foreign policy, participants also pose questions to experts who represent competing points of view. The questions and answers are posted on the PBS Online NewsHour website. The discussions are part of the first-ever online Deliberative Poll. The poll is a joint effort of the Center for Deliberative Polling at the University of Texas, the Political Communications Lab at Stanford and Knowledge Networks. The online poll is funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Unlike conventional opinion polls, a Deliberative Poll provides participants with sustained opportunities to deliberate about a policy issue. Prior to each meeting, participants read carefully balanced and non-partisan briefing materials (developed by the National Issues Forums and the Kettering Foundation) designed to offer an overview of the relevant policy debates. Both before and after they have had a chance to deliberate, participants complete a survey of their beliefs and opinions. Research on face to face deliberative polls, which have been conducted in various countries -- including the U.S., Australia, Denmark, Britain, and Bulgaria - demonstrates that participants become more informed and that their opinions tend to undergo significant change. This is the first time that the process has been conducted on-line, and the results will allow researchers to compare the effects of online with face-to-face discussion. These results will be released in mid-January, 2003. From the American Bar Association: http://www.abanet.org/publiced/noys/ Division for Public Education National Online Youth Summit Welcome to the National Online Youth Summit (NOYS) home page. The purpose of these summits is to encourage young people to think critically about a timely legal public policy issue. The summits give students an opportunity to learn about legal and policy issues with peers and policy resource persons. Discussions are made possible through the use of Web-based conferencing software. Spring 2003 -- Access Denied, R-Rating, V-Chip: Should Youth Access to the Internet Be Restricted? Past Summits: Spring 2002 -- Race, Ethnicity and the American Criminal Justice System Spring 2001 -- Does Capital Punishment Have a Future? Spring 2000 -- Access Denied, R-Rating, V-Chip: Should Youth Access to the Internet and Mass Media be Restricted? Fall 1999 -- After City of Chicago v. Morales: If Youth Hang Out on the Street, Are They Breaking the Law? Resources: Evaluating Web Resources materials for both teachers and students Teaching with Technology: Online Teaching Strategies Essentials of Law-Related Education (.pdf) Note: PDFs are used occasionally throughout this site; you may need to download Adobe's free Acrobat Reader in order to view them. A program of the American Bar Association Division for Public Education, the National Online Youth Summit is supported by Award No. 2001-JS-FX-K004 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Report - Prepare for Digital Democracy - Imperative 8 from HarvardPolicy Group
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** A number of addtional Harvard links below ... Eight Imperatives for Leaders in a Networked World: A Series of Guidelines for the 2000 Election and Beyond Imperative #8: Prepare for digital democracy (August 2002) Download from: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/stratcom/hpg/imp8.pdf From the Introduction... As citizens, we care about how well government meets its responsibilities - about traditional concerns for effectiveness and efficiency. We are also concerned about how the government goes about deciding what its responsibilities should be. We typically care about ends even more than means, about politics more than administration. Who does government listen to? What values get priority? How should government officials be held accountable? Earlier papers in this series have focused on the output or implementation side of government. In contrast, this paper focuses on the input or policy side. As human interactions go electronic, how and to what extent should we redesign democratic institutions and processes? This report explores challenges that the growth of computer networking brings to democratic governance, and how governments can respond by increasing both the breadth and depth of citizen participation in democratic processes. More reports in this series: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/stratcom/hpg/index.htm Digital Government Workshop Papers http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/cbg/dgworkshop/papers.htm National Center for Digital Government http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/digitalcenter/ http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/digitalcenter/research.htm (P.S. Is anyone from this new center on DoWire? Let me know [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Report - Internet Polling in the UK - Slight slant left
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** UK Internet Poll Trial Research Report Published by ICM on behalf of the Guardian newspaper. [This is an apple/oranges comparision with the recently Pew survey that found conservatives more likely to fill out basic one questions online snap polls on web sites. - SLC] See: http://www.icmresearch.co.uk/reviews/2002/Internet-polling-paper- jan-03.htm Clips: 1. Introduction Considerable interest has been expressed in the possibility of conducting polls via the internet, and such interest has been heightened by the appearance in the UK of the internet polling company YouGov. Popular belief that opinion polls can accurately measure public opinion is based largely on their success in predicting the outcome of elections. Despite some notable failures (1992) for the most part polls in the UK have given a good guide to the eventual result. ICMs telephone methodology, developed after 1992 with the full support of The Guardians editorial team, proved extremely accurate in particular in 1997 and 2001 as well as at several other elections in between. But neither ICM or The Guardian are complacent and recognise that past success is no guarantee of future accuracy. However before switching to a new polling methodology both organisations are concerned to ensure that any alternative they adopt is likely to be at least as successful as telephone polls. The accusation most easily levelled at on-line polls is that because only about half of the population have access to the internet their samples and thus their results - cannot possibly be representative of the population as a whole. Nevertheless, YouGov have been successful in predicting the outcome of the last general election, the Conservative Leadership election and the first pop idol TV contest. So ICM, with the financial support of The Guardian, decided to test the efficacy of on-line polling. As a first step a series of questions have been put to a sample of 4,014 people interviewed between October 11th and 24th 2002 using ICMs standard telephone poll methodology. In so doing we both identified those who have access to the internet and those who say they are willing to join an internet polling panel. The resulting data allow us to analyse and compare the characteristics and attitudes of those who are accessible via the internet and those who state that they are willing to join an internet panel with those of voters accessible to a telephone poll. If this test were to indicate that data collected from those willing to join an internet panel were capable of producing similar results to those of a telephone poll, we would have the confidence to go-ahead and set up an internet polling web-site in the knowledge that doing so would not undermine the reliability of ICM/Guardian polls. ... clip ... 8. Conclusions We have found that at present internet polls based on a recruited polling panel may not necessarily produce results that are representative of the population as a whole, even after very considerable weighting of the results has been undertaken or care exercised to ensure that those who are asked to complete an internet poll are demographically and politically representative of the whole population. Being on the internet reflects a difference of attitude towards life that is to a significant degree independent of socio-economic background. While it may be the case that internet polls conducted by YouGov may have hitherto avoided the potential pitfalls so far as voting intentions are concerned, this does not appear to be the case so far as least some social issues are concerned, most notably the Euro and the death penalty. It also appears highly likely that internet panellists are more politically interested and knowledgeable, and may perhaps be more inclined to take a left-wing stance on some issues too. As a result we would conclude that there is a risk that a switch towards internet polling could well undermined the reliability of ICM/Guardian polls, though this does not mean that the efficacy of this approach should not continue to be monitored. ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to:
[DW] US online election news usage rises
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** The full report 24 page report from Pew Internet: Modest increase in Internet use for campaign 2002 Political Sites Gain, But Major News Sites Still Dominate January 5, 2003 http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=82 Do you have more numbers for 2002? I am keeping my eye on http://www.ipdi.org and http://www.politicalweb.info. Where else should we watch? Steven Clift Democracies Online --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 09:23:39 -0800 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Rebecca Fairley Raney [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:rfr: Internet and election news == RFR News: Jan. 7, 2003 == Hello! The New York Times ran a piece this morning about the growing number of people who go to the Internet for election news. (There's no byline on the story, but I wrote it.) The survey by the Pew Research Center and the Pew Internet Project shows that the proportion of people using the Internet for election news is growing quite a bit, up to 13 percent in 2002 from 6 percent who had done so in the last midterm election in 1998. Some interesting details deep in the report show that those early adopters, the white, male, wealthy, well- educated group, are really digging for candidates' issue positions and voting records. It's a small number now, but the big question is, will more Internet users join that group as they build more experience online? Also, the general population is going to candidate Web sites and issue sites in growing numbers, but the proportion of users who actually donate money online is small, at 5 percent. Here's a link to the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/06/national/06POLL.html Here's a link to the full report: http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=82 Best, Rebecca * To subscribe to RFR News, or to send comments, click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]. * --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Council of Europe - Media role in information-age democracy - Request for Comments, BBC New Politics Initiative
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** A number of interesting questions for our media friends at the end of this COE request for comments (due 31 Jan 2003). The reality around that world is that established media brands are the number one online providers of political news and information - at least in terms of users. Therefore, the future of e-democracy relies in large part on how the media takes advantage of the two- nature of the Internet versus their traditional one-way communication models. The most obvious thing the media as a whole can do is make it easier for technologies that help people contact the journalists who write articles via web forms and/or e-mail. Adapting the NewsML http://www.newsml.org standard to make this more automatic, particularly across wire services is a fundamental choice: Yes, and the media is making citizen engagement easier and promoting media accountability. No, and the media is holding onto their old media position of power by maintaining a lack of access to their writers on an industry-wide basis. Of course journalists and specific media outlets should have the choice about whether to utilize a feedback path standard, but a feedback element in media technical standards should exist. Does anyone know what path NewsML efforts have taken since my last post on this topic in 2000 http://www.mail-archive.com/do-wire@tc.umn.edu/msg00103.html? Finally, at the _very end_ I have included a piece from the BBC in VoxPolitics http://www.voxpolitics.com about their role in e-democracy. My quick comment - shouldn't the media do more to bring together dislike minds (instead of like minds) within a context of civil exchange? That is where the heavy lifting is needed. My sense is that people more naturally organize online with those whom they agree, we need public benefit intervention in the major gap areas to help citizens come to better understand the views of others and to ensure that online public discourse has an agenda-setting impact on decision-makers and media itself. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do Available in Word, from: http://www.humanrights.coe.int/media/ Strasbourg, 19 December 2002MM-S-OD (2002) 13 rev [mmsod\2002\7\ammsod13.2002.rev] GROUP OF SPECIALISTS ON ON-LINE SERVICES AND DEMOCRACY (MM-S-OD) Secretariat memorandum prepared by the Directorate General of Human Rights Introduction This document contains an outline position paper on the role of the media in promoting democracy and participation in the information society, prepared by the Group of Specialists on on-line services and democracy. European media professionals, research institutions and other interested parties are kindly invited to comment on this paper, in particular by sending answers to the questions listed in Appendix I to the document, in English or French, to the Media Division, DG II, Council of Europe (see contact details at the end of the document) by 31 January 2003. I. The Council of Europe and e-governance The Council of Europe recently embarked on work concerning e- governance with the aim of defining common approaches to the subject. (1) Against this background, the Group of Specialists on on-line services and democracy (MM-S-OD) has decided to prepare a position paper on the role of the media in promoting democracy and participation in the information society. A first outline was discussed during the 6th meeting of the Group on 6-8 November 2002. At that meeting, it was decided to invite media professionals and other interested circles in Europe to answer certain questions listed in the outline position paper. The aim is to gather information about how they see the role of the media in a changing context and on how the media is reacting to the changes. The information collected may be useful not only for those media which have not yet started to deal with these questions because their countries are less advanced on the road to the information society, but also for public authorities when defining their e-governance policies. Public authorities and Parliaments may, for example, consider whether they should themselves organise public consultations on important political questions, whether this should be left to the media professionals or whether this can be done in partnership between the two. II. The role of the media in promoting democracy and participation in the information society a) Information increasingly offered directly to the public One of the roles of the media has traditionally been to provide the general public with information about the activities of public authorities. Increasingly, however, such information is made directly available to the general public on official web sites
[DW] E-democracy Presentation - Barry Quirk, Lewisham (UK) Chief Executive
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** A number of interesting presentations: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/DocumentLibrary/ce.asp The key e-democracy presentation from Oct. 2002: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/DocumentLibrary/downloads/e-democracy.ppt Barry Quirk does a good job of presenting issues from the E-Envoy's In the service of democracy consultation paper to the local government audience. This presentation is well worth the download. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Carnegie Mellon Team Wins $2.1 Million to Build Online Forum forCitizen Deliberation (fwd)
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** Wow!! I never thought the NSF would get involved in such a thing. Good news. I invite the team working on this to join do-code and network with others intersted in technology that would support such citizenr interactivity. We have experienced technlogy that works in MN, it is called an e-mail list. However, our interest in expanding the technical options haven't had an opportunity to be be developed. The key is to work from the citizens perspective and not create technologies with high learning curves. The other challenge is that systems can't be buit in a vacuum, you need e-citizens who use this stuff in the real world for everyday political participation. The e-thepeople have built a slashdot like system for discussion of major issues and WebLab has a system for small group dialogue. There are many other systems in Europe and beyond. Let's get all you folks together and see what kinds of component oriented systems are possible. I invite anyone interested in this to join the do-code e-mail list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do From: Seth Grimes [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 22:36:21 -0400 (EDT) To: David Farber [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [cpsr-activists] Fwd: Carnegie Mellon Team Wins $2.1 Million to Build Online Forum for Citizen Deliberation Carnegie Mellon Team Wins $2.1 Million to Build Online Forum for Citizen Deliberation PITTSBURGH - The National Science Foundation has approved a three-year $2.1 million grant to support a Carnegie Mellon University team of electronic democracy researchers. The research team, led by faculty members Peter M. Shane, Peter Muhlberger and Robert Cavalier, seeks to develop and test software that would enable large numbers of citizens to use the Internet more effectively to learn about, deliberate and act upon community issues. The Virtual Agora Project named for the ancient Athenian marketplace will seek to identify how information technology can best be used to support electronic democracy and to demonstrate the value of computer-mediated communication for building a widespread and inclusive political community. Through a variety of experiments and comparisons between online deliberation and face-to-face dialogue, the team hopes to learn about how online communication affects its participants and how it contributes to the quality of their decision making. The software they develop could lead to new forms of online civic engagement, including public hearings to inform government decision-making processes, new forms of public opinion polling, and new tools for community organizing and problem solving. The software, including so-called audio bulletin boards, will be designed to be accessible to anyone with a modem and modest computing power. Peter M. Shane, a principal investigator on the project and director of Carnegie Mellon's Institute for the Study of Information Technology and Society (InSITeS), said, The Virtual Agora Project will be a major leap forward in both our understanding of how people's knowledge and values are affected by online deliberation and the translation of that understanding into usable software. Shane, an expert in constitutional and administrative law, played a leading role in founding Carnegie Mellon's e-democracy research program two years ago. The NSF grant will help us figure out under what circumstances the Internet might become a medium for meaningful and enduring civic dialogue on an inclusive basis, Shane said. As a public law scholar, and as a citizen, that's my key objective. Peter Muhlberger, the lead social scientist on the team, said, We hope to shed light on how online participation affects civic engagement. We will study how much conflict, consensus and community-mindedness emerge among participants, whether trust and social capital rise, how inclusive involvement proves to be and whether citizens perceive outcomes as legitimate. Our goal is to develop online communication and information tools that empower citizens to identify what problems their communities face, intelligently discuss which policies best address these problems and effectively communicate their considered opinions to policy makers, Muhlberger said. Robert Cavalier, the principal investigator who will oversee the technical development of the virtual agora, directs the Multi-Media Lab in the Carnegie Mellon Philosophy Department's Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics. We face a major challenge, Cavalier said, of developing high-telepresence audio and video web software for collaborative information sharing and deliberation. We are going to try to enable users to express nonverbal cues easily and to develop mutual
[DW] Online Campaigning 2002: A Primer - Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** The table of contents is below. Download the Primer from: http://www.ipdi.org/primer2002.html Online Campaigning 2002: A Primer is a publication of The Institute for Politics, Democracy the Internet, which is funded by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM). The Institute for Politics, Democracy the Internet encompasses the Democracy Online Project, which published the first edition of this Primer in 1999, and a second edition in 2000. This Primer is based on Institute conferences, surveys, interviews, and field research, as well as news reports and academic studies. Dr. Michael Cornfield is the principal author of this Primer. Portions of this version were drafted by Carol C. Darr, John Griffiths, Christy McConville, Nicholas Stark, and William F. Trezevant of the Institute. Portions of earlier versions were drafted by Dr. David M. Anderson; Robert J. Arena, chief online political strategist for the 1996 Dole for President campaign; and Dr. F. Christopher Arterton. Copyright © 2002 The Institute for Politics, Democracy the Internet. This report may be reprinted in whole or in part, provided that the text is not altered and credit is given to the authors and the Institute. The Institute is a research and advocacy initiative to promote the development of online politics in a manner that upholds democratic principles and values. One of the Institutes main goals is to help establish the Internet as a locus for trustworthy information and civil discussion of public affairs, with an initial emphasis on campaigns for elective office in the United States. Table of Contents FORWARD ii INTRODUCTIONiii THE IPDI BEST PRACTICES PLEDGE iv PREPARING AN ONLINE CAMPAIGN What Can the Internet Give My Campaign, and What Must I Do To Get It?2 How Long a Lead Time Do I Need Before I Open My Web Site?3 What Equipment, Software, and Technical Services Do I Need?3 What Should I Put Online And Who Should Put It There?7 What Should I Budget For My Net Operation? 7 LAUNCHING AN ONLINE CAMPAIGN How Will People Find Me Online? 8 What About Online Advertising?9 How Can I Make My E-mails and Web Site Appealing?9 How Often Will I Need To Update Information?12 How Do I Assemble and Maintain My E-mail Lists?12 What Is Spamming, and How Do I Avoid It?14 What Can I Do With the Data I Collect?15 What Can I Do About Technical Disruptions to My Net Operation? 15 RUNNING AN ONLINE CAMPAIGN How Do I Solicit and Collect Money Online?18 How Do I Deal With The Press Online? 19 When Should I Participate in Online Forums? 20 How Do I Deal With My Opponents Online?22 How Do I Deal With the Voters Online?23 How Do I Manage My Online Campaign Team and Network? 24 What Do I Do With My Net Operation After the Election?26 BEST PRACTICES A: Make Your Site Accessible to Everyone4 B: Document Your Positions6 C: Exhibit and Extend Your Community Ties11 D: Develop, Post, and Live by A Privacy Policy 14 E: Explain the Rules, and Show You Comply20 F: Make Your Case Through Contrasts22 G: Provide Interactive and Interpersonal Opportunities 24 CONCLUSION 27 BEST PRACTICES CHECKLIST 28 IPDI GOLDEN DOT AWARDS 29 BEST PRACTICES PLEDGE FORM30 ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Voting Technology Glitches in Florida Primary
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** If you are interested in learning about the risks associated with technology, the RISKS digest has been around for over ten years. Subscription information below. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire -- Forwarded message -- Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 7:36:40 PDT From: RISKS List Owner [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [risks] Risks Digest 22.24 RISKS-LIST: Risks-Forum Digest Weds 11 September 2002 Volume 22 : Issue 24 FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS (comp.risks) ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy, Peter G. Neumann, moderator * See last item for further information, disclaimers, caveats, etc. * This issue is archived at URL:http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/22.24.html and by anonymous ftp at ftp.sri.com, cd risks . Contents: Florida Primary 2002: Back to the Future (Rebecca Mercuri) Nurses refuse to wear locator devices (Duane Thompson) Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System defeated (Max) The Underground Web (Monty Solomon) Missed phone connections (Robert Kuttner via Monty Solomon) Microsoft says Win 2000 hacking outbreak subsides (PGN) Greek court finds Government ban on electronic games unconstitutional (Giorgos Epitidios) The pinnacle of chutzpah in spam filtering (Przemek Klosowski) REVIEW: Computer Forensics and Privacy, Michael A. Caloyannides (Rob Slade) Abridged info on RISKS (comp.risks) -- Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 03:14:39 -0400 From: Rebecca Mercuri [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Florida Primary 2002: Back to the Future Well, Florida's done it again. Tuesday's Florida primary election marked its first large-scale roll-out of tens of thousands of brand-new voting machines that were promised to resolve the problems of the 2000 Presidential election. Instead, from the very moment the polls were supposed to open, problems emerged throughout the state, especially in counties that had spent millions of dollars to purchase touchscreen electronic balloting devices. Florida voters, including Gubernatorial candidate Janet Reno, experienced delays (ranging from minutes to hours) due to touchscreen machines not working properly or at all. Reno, and others (including Duval County officials) reportedly sought court orders requesting additional time for the day's voting session. Governor Jeb Bush granted a two hour extension, but some of the polling places did not receive notice and shut down their machines at 7PM, only to discover that restart was impossible because of the way the machines had been designed. In addition to polls and machines that opened late, many precincts reported problems with some electronic cards voters used to activate their ballots. A few machines in Miami-Dade County reset themselves while voters were trying to vote. Even the mark-sense ballots proved troublesome -- in Orange County many votes will have to be hand-counted because defects made them unreadable by the optical scanners. Lest readers think that Florida is alone with these election problems, other states, including Georgia and Maryland, have also reported similar difficulties with touchscreens. Problems in MD led 4 counties there to commission a report from UMD, which revealed serious reliability concerns, due to catastrophic failure, malfunction, and unusability of one of the two machines they were given for testing. The Association of Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI) offered to perform similar evaluations on Palm Beach's new voting equipment, urged by U.S. Representative Robert Wexler, but the offer was declined by the County's Board of Elections. Florida was forewarned about problems with some of their new machines when, in local municipal elections held back in March 2002, anomalies surfaced in Palm Beach County. Some voters submitted sworn affidavits to the state's 15th Circuit Court, attesting to problems ranging from a lack of privacy at the voting booth, to machines freezing up until rebooted or reset, and voter cards being rejected. During this past summer, as part of an investigation into Emil Danciu's contest (one of two lawsuits for the March Palm Beach County election), the court permitted me to perform a walk through inspection of the County's Board of Election warehouse where the machines were being stored and prepared for this Fall's primary. To my amazement, I learned that the devices would not be tested to see whether they would register a vote for each candidate that appeared on the ballot face. Rather, the tallying system was checked by transferring data between cartridges, (circumventing the ballot face on each
[DW] Netactivism-Oriented Conference Calendar
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** This conference has always been one of the higher quality online conferences available: CivicNet '02: Build Local Power with Community Networks Internet, Cyberspace September 18-October 2, 2002 http://www.civicnet02.net This is a big deal: Global Congress on Community Networking Montreal, Quebec, Canada October 7-12, 2002 http://www.globalcn.org Many, many more below ... Thank you Rick Birmingham for passing this along. Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. What is the Riders list? - Riders is a community of non- profit (NPO) and non-governmental (NGO) technology assistance providers -- Circuit Riders. The topics range from best practices in providing services to issues regarding specific technology. See: http://npogroups.org/lists/info/riders -Original Message- From: Art McGee [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, September 08, 2002 7:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [RIDERS] Conference Calendar [Send me any updates or changes.--Art] Reclaim the Media: A Community Media Convergence Seattle, WA, USA September 10-15, 2002 http://www.reclaimthemedia.org CivicNet '02: Build Local Power with Community Networks Internet, Cyberspace September 18-October 2, 2002 http://www.civicnet02.net Community Connections: Prospects for Electronic Democracy Pittsburgh, PA, USA September 20-21, 2002 http://www.cmu.edu/insites Media, Technology, and Social Change: Broadening the Base, Building the Movement Boston, MA, USA September 20-21, 2002 http://www.ltc.org/gbbn/techconf Open Source Content Management Berkeley, CA, USA September 25-27, 2002 http://www.oscom.org/conferences/berkeley2002 The Web of Change Cortes Island, British Columbia, Canada September 26-29, 2002 http://www.mediathatmatters.org/webofchange2002 Labor's Voices/LaborTech New York, NY, USA September 26-28, 2002 http://www.laborsvoiceslabortech.org Telecommunications Policy Research Alexandria, VA, USA September 28-30, 2002 http://www.tprc.org Developing Country Access to Online Scientific Publishing Trieste, Italy, EU October 4-5, 2002 http://www.ictp.trieste.it/ejournals/meeting2002 Break the Media Blackout: Media Democracy the Struggle to End Poverty Philadelphia, PA, USA October 4-6, 2002 http://www.kwru.org/conference Rural Telecommunications Congress: Building Demand for Broadband Des Moines, IA, USA October 6-9, 2002 http://ruraltelecon.org/RTC02 Global Congress on Community Networking Montreal, Quebec, Canada October 7-12, 2002 http://www.globalcn.org World Summit on Internet and Multimedia: Bridging the Digital Divide Montreaux, Switzerland, EU October 8-11, 2002 http://www.internetworldsummit.org Union for Democratic Communications: Democratic Communications and Social Justice State College, PA, USA October 10-13, 2002 http://www.udc.org Race in Digital Space 2.0: Race and New Media Technologies Los Angeles, CA, USA October 11-13, 2002 http://www.annenberg.edu/race Advancing the Research Agenda on Open Source Brussels, Belgium, EU October 14, 2002 http://merit0227ts49.unimaas.nl/FLOSS/workshop Action Coalition for Media Education Albuquerque, NM, USA October 18-20, 2002 http://www.acmecoalition.org African Studies Association: Africa in the Information and Technology Age Washington, DC, USA December 5-8, 2002 http://www.africanstudies.org/asa_papercalltheme.html -end- ___ For all list information and functions, including changing your subscription mode and options, visit the Web page: http://npogroups.org/lists/info/riders --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] MyBallot.net - New service from E-Democracy - details and press release
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** We have a primary election in Minnesota today. Following the lead of Publius http://www.publius.org in Michigan and Smart Voter http://www.smartvoter.org in California, volunteers with Minnesota E-Democracy have built http://www.myballot.net. See the press release below. Led by David Stein with design help from Jason Gohlke, MyBallot.Net provides a simple address-based look up of your ballot choices (in Minnesota). Visit the site http://www.myballot.net and use the examples to generate a test ballot. From the ballot you can do nifty pre-set Google searches which demonstrate how to leverage the always evolving content on the Internet. We also have hundreds of candidate and campaign information links at http://www.e-democracy.org/2002/ along with details on our partner http://www.e-democracy.org/2002/edem2002myballotpartnerletter.doc model. We basically trade links with government and media sites and allow sites to integrate MyBallot as their own enhanced service if they mention/print it a number of times in their traditional medium. For example http://wcco.com/politics/ and http://news.mpr.org/collections/campaign2002/. Stay tuned for more. Steven Clift Democracies Online Board Chair, Minnesota E-Democracy P.S. David and I were guests on the hard rock 93x radio Half-Assed Morning Show the other day promoting the site. They gave it the big thumbs up to their youthful audience. In response to their suggestion that we ought to have pictures of babes on our site to attract their listeners, I regretfully mentioned that our's was essentially a text-only site, to which another host piped in, what was that, a 'sex-only' election site. Hmmm. That may have to wait until 2004. --- Forwarded message follows --- From: Steven Clift [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:MyBallot.net - The Primary Voter's Online Sample Ballot Source - Press Release Date sent: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 15:06:37 -0500 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - TIME SENSITIVE Friday, September 6, 2002 MyBallot.net Set to Give Primary Voters What They Want: Information MINNEAPOLIS - September 6, 2002 - Minnesota E-Democracy announces the launch of MyBallot.net, a site devoted to informing Minnesotans on their Election Day voting choices: http://www.myballot.net MyBallot.net is a featured service of the E-Democracy 2002 partnership made up of leading media and civic organizations promoting awareness of election information via the web. E-Democracy 2002 provides links to candidate web sites and sources of quality election information, news, and discussions: http://www.e-democracy.org/2002 With a few keystrokes and clicks on MyBallot.net, Minnesotans can conveniently bring up a sample ballot displaying the candidate names they will see upon entering the voting booth during the upcoming primary and general election (1). Each name is linked to an information search about the candidate, allowing voters to make informed choices and not be overwhelmed by unfamiliar names on the ballot - a key factor in undervoting. This is a powerful tool in the fight to make elections relevant to everyday citizens, said Steven Clift, Minnesota E-Democracy chair. Far too often people don't vote because they're unfamiliar with their choices. They might recognize the major candidates, but never have heard of others. MyBallot.net helps level the playing field for citizens and candidates alike. The brainchild of David Stein, an E-Democracy volunteer, MyBallot.net was conceived in after the 2000 election in the hopes it would serve as a force to inspire more people to exercise their right to vote. I really wanted a web site that would quickly provide people with their ballot choices and polling place along with information from different sources about the candidates, said Stein. I've found that unbiased information on candidates, especially state legislative candidates, can be really tough to find. The information MyBallot.net provides, and the ease with which it does it, will hopefully drive people to vote in record numbers this year. About Minnesota E-Democracy Minnesota E-Democracy, established in 1994, is a non-profit, non- partisan citizen-based organization whose mission is to improve participation in democracy in Minnesota through the use of information networks. More information at: http://www.e-democracy.org/about.html Media outlets and civic organizations with non-partisan election content are encouraged to join the E-Democracy 2002 Partnership and/or link to these sites. More information is available at: http://www.e-democracy.org/2002/ (1)The sample ballot generated
[DW] UK Political Participation Online Survey Results - From ERSC, Univof Salford
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** Thank you Wainer Lusoli [EMAIL PROTECTED] for sending this along. If you have new papers, studies and the like, be sure to send in your abstracts, summaries, and web addresses for potential distribution on do-wire: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Steven Clift Democracies Online From: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/esrccontent/news/september02-3.asp Full paper: http://www.esri.salford.ac.uk/ESRCResearchproject/papers/UK_public_response.pdf More papers including the recent Online Campaigning in the UK: The Public Respond?: http://www.esri.salford.ac.uk/ESRCResearchproject/output.html POLITICIANS MUST EXPLOIT INTERNET TO WIN 'APATHETIC' YOUNG VOTERS - STUDY Politicians and pressure groups are much more likely to engage young people in politics through the Internet than more traditional methods, according to new ESRC-funded research. The research, which was carried out by NOP as part of the ESRC's Democracy and Participation Research Programme, showed that 15-24 year olds are three times more likely to be politically active through the Internet than traditional political activities. There has been much concern that only 40 per cent of 18-24 year olds voted in the 2001 general election. Dr Stephen Ward, Project Director and Lecturer in Politics, said: Politicians are worried about the low turnout and supposed political apathy among young people. This research should be studied closely by parties and pressure groups keen to engage them with politics. The survey also found that campaigning still benefits from the personal touch, with internet users more willing to respond to emailed political messages passed on by friends. When political messages are emailed by friends, only 10 per cent would ignore them, compared to 29 per cent who would skip impersonal 'spam' political emails. Most of those who have used the net to contact a political organisation 63 per cent say they would not have done so had they had to rely on the telephone or the post. And 40 per cent of those receiving political emails respond to them positively with a further 24 per cent occasionally reading them. Thirty per cent of those who contacted a political organisation online become more interested and involved afterwards. Internet users are 22 per cent more likely to engage in political discussion and 8 per cent more likely to contact political figures than those who don't use the net. Yet, only 15 per cent of online users have ever heard of any online political campaigns. And those few who did were most likely to have come across anti-capitalist protests like May Day Monopoly or Global Resistance. Despite more women going online and increasing internet use across all social classes over the last year, online political participation is still strongest among those with higher education and incomes. AB and C1 internet users are more likely to engage in online political activity than more traditional politics. The reverse is true for C2 and DE users However, young people are more politically active on the Internet. 30 per cent of young people aged 15-24 say they engage in online political activity, compared to 10 per cent who had participated in more traditional politics. The internet also wins out for those aged 25-34, with 28 per cent participating online, compared to 18 per cent offline. By contrast, only one per cent of the over-65s has taken part online, compared to 20 per cent offline. Furthermore, nearly half of all internet users say they have looked for political information on the web, with 29 per cent claiming to have visited the site of a political organisation. Nearly a quarter have emailed their MP or councillor. Dr Ward added: While most political organisations are online, they are failing to tap its growing potential to get their message across. Yet with over half the population now online, there is a surprisingly strong appetite for political information. The Internet may not revolutionise political participation, but it can make a difference especially with young people. So far, most political organisations have been slow to develop their use of new technologies to engage the public. Unless politicians and political organisations start to use the technology creatively, the participation gap will widen in Britain. For further information, contact: Stephen Ward 0161 295 5126 or 07986 271856. email:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Or Iain Stewart or Lesley Lilley, ESRC External Relations, telephone 01793 413032/413119. NOTES FOR EDITORS Copies of the report are available at http://www.ipop.org.uk or via email from [EMAIL PROTECTED] NOP surveyed 1,972 adults aged over 15 during May 2002 The survey is part of a wider study of the impact of the Internet on political organisations
[DW] Internet Research 3.0 Conference - 13-16 Oct 2002 - Maastricht, the Netherlands
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** I can recommend this conference without reservation or hesitation. Last year's conference in Minneapolis had a steady stream of inter-disciplinary online politics content from the cutting edge of Internet research. This year's program has links to abstracts - an excellent addition. Hopefully they will share full papers and power points online (something that was missing last year) for those who can't make it this time around. Steven Clift Democracies Online From: http://aoir.org/2002/ The Internet has become an integral, ubiquitous part of everyday life in many social domains and international contexts. Yet, most of the public attention on cyberspace remains fueled by utopian or dystopian visions, rather than being informed by the growing body of research on the Internet as a complex fact of modern life. Internet Research (IR) 3.0, an international and interdisciplinary conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (A.o.I.R.), will feature a variety of perspectives on Internet research, in order to develop a better theoretical and pragmatic understanding of the Internet. Building on the previous well-attended international conferences, the IR 3.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, and practitioners from many disciplines, fields and countries for a program of presentations, panel discussions, and informal exchanges. This year's theme is Net/Work/Theory. Contributors are called to reflect on how to theorize what we know about the Internet and on how to apply what we know theoretically in practice. The conference will be held for the first time in Europe, whose intellectual environments have traditionally been a source of social and cultural theory. IR 3.0 will be hosted by the International Institute of Infonomics in the beautiful city of Maastricht in the Netherlands. As the city in which one of the key treaties of the European Union was signed, Maastricht also symbolizes a changing Europe in a changing international setting. The conference will provide opportunities to network, learn from other researchers, hear from leading players in Internet development, and enjoy the art of fine living of Maastricht, in the south of the Netherlands. The full program: http://aoir.org/2002/ Internet Research 3.0: NET / WORK / THEORY Maastricht, The Netherlands, October 13-16 2002 ***Preliminary Program*** Sunday October 13 PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOP 1: Intellectual Property for Internet Researchers PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOP 2: Social, Technical, and Democratic Origins of the Internet Monday October 14 08:00 Registration 09:00 Plenary session I Opening: Director of Infonomics Institute Luc Soete, AoIR President Steve Jones, Conference Coordinator Monica Murero Keynote speaker: Dr. Detlef Eckert, Head of Unit for Policy Planning, European Commission, Brussels 10:00 Break 10:15 Panel session 1 Panel 1A Old Methodologies, New Empirical Issues on the Internet Applying Old Media Theories to New Media: Uses Gratifications abstract Jennifer Stromer-Galley, USA Flow-Experience, the Internet and its Relationship to Situation and Personality abstract Robert Tzanetakis, AUSTRIA Peter Vitouch, AUSTRIA Telling Stories: Using Scenario Methodologies in Internet Research abstract Erika Pearson, AUSTRALIA Improving Unit-Nonresponse Error Correction in Online Surveys Using Multi-Dimensional Response Models abstract Gerhard Lukawetz, AUSTRIA Panel 1B Information Societies around the World Cultural Indexes of Information Society: The Future of the Internet in Asia abstract Brian Shoesmith, AUSTRALIA Mark Balnaves, AUSTRALIA Debate on the Internet in Africa: Trends, Typology, and Characteristics abstract RaphaÎl Ntambue-Tshimbulu, FRANCE Accurately Measuring the Impact of Information Society/Revolution Conditions upon Public Policy Decision-Making. A Comprehensive Cross- disciplinary Research Agenda abstract Adrian Petrescu, USA Surveying the Internet: A Critical Review of the Study of Internet Effects on Society abstract Mattia Miani, ITALY Panel 1C September 11: The Web Response The September 11 Collection: Archiving an Emerging Web Sphere abstract Diane Kresh, USA Cassy Ammen, USA Online Structure for Action in the September 11 Web abstract Kirsten Foot, USA Steven M. Schneider, USA The Multidimensionality of Blog Conversations: The Virtual Enactment of September 11 abstract Sandeep Krishnamurthy, USA The Web as News? abstract Alex Halavais, USA Panel 1D Gendered Practices of Internet Use Women Empowerment: Internet Perspective abstract Chitra Pathak, INDIA Manish Kumar, THE NETHERLANDS Participating in an Electronic Forum: The Difference Gender Makes abstract A. Vayreda, SPAIN
[DW] NYC DW Gathering - This Wednesday
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** I'll be in NYC for a couple days this week. If you'd like to gather informally with fellow NYC DO-WIRE members on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. for drinks/dinner, drop me a note on Tuesday [EMAIL PROTECTED] or call 612-308-0513 on Wednesday. Let's meet at 6:30 p.m. in the lobby of my hotel, the Flatotel, at 135 W 52nd St: http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmapaddr=135+W+52nd+St+csz=New+York+City+NY While many of the NYC-area subscribers may know each other, these kind of informal events are great ways to discover who else interested in e-democracy is out there. Sincerely, Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. I have public presentations scheduled in NYC this trip. If you are interested in arranging something, I may be out again in November. *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] The web is bad for democracy - Eli Noam
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** I too am concerned that without democratic intent the application of online tools in democracy will not lead to better democracies. It has been years since I have run into anyone claiming the Internet is a sliver bullet for democracy. To present a false cyberoptimist approach and knock it down is too easy. Instead we need to challenge ourselves and say that for all the bad things the Internet is/can do to our democracies/communities/forms of citizen participation what are the positive online things we must develop and invest in so we can at least preserve (hopefully enhance) our democracies. More on this theme: http://www.publicus.net/articles/future.html#E-Citizens The jury is still out on whether the Internet as a whole and all its uses will be good or bad for democracy. I do believe that the default may be negative unless more people, foundations, governments, the media and others roll up their sleeves and ensure that the demonstrated successful e-democracy practices are spread and developed universally across all democracies. I enjoy discovering leading e-democracy examples. The share their stories far and wide with the hope and belief that others will take them up, build on those successes, and lead to a virtuous circle of development all in the name of improving not just our democracies, but also the lives of people in the communities, nations, and world in which we live. Should I believe this? Are we investing as we should? Are we moving fast enough? Are we running out of time? I don't know. Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. Thank you Frank Bannister for pointing out the story below. From: http://news.ft.com/comment/columnists/neweconomy Direct: http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/ StoryFT/FullStorycid=1028186097523p=1020498309075 - one line Eli Noam: The web is bad for democracy Published: August 28 2002 19:46 | Last Updated: August 28 2002 19:46 People may disagree on the impact of the internet on culture and the economy, but they seem to be pretty unanimous when it comes to its positive effects on democracy. But maybe this balloon, too, needs to be pricked. My scepticism about the internet as a democratic force is not based on its uneven distribution. It is more systemic. Observers tend to commit the error of composition, confusing the qualities of the parts with the qualities of the whole. They think that if something is helpful to an individual or group, it will also be helpful to society at large when everybody uses it. The alleged time-saving properties of the automobile are an example of this fallacy: does it really take less time today to get to work than it used to? ... Of course, the internet makes some political activity cheaper. But it does so for everyone. Thus, any gains made by early adopters will soon be matched by their rivals and will simply lead to an expensive and mutually stalemating political arms race of investment in customisation techniques and new media marketing technologies. The early users of the internet experienced an increase in their effectiveness, and messianically extrapolate this to society at large. The gain was trumpeted as the empowerment of the individual over Big Government and Big Business, but much of it has simply been an temporary strengthening of individuals and groups with computer and online skills (who usually have significantly above-average income and education) and a relative weakening of those without such resources. Government did not become more responsive due to the online users; it just became more responsive to them. ... The internet will lower the quality of political discourse An increase in the quantity of information does not mean that its average quality rises. On the contrary, as the internet leads to more information clutter, messages will have to get louder in order to be heard. Mainstream political information, therefore, will inevitably become even more distorted, shrill and simplistic. One of the effects of the internet is the elimination of the intermediaries that stand between service providers and the consumer. For politics, the decline of traditional news media and their information screening would not necessarily be a good thing at all. True, gatekeeping has negative aspects, too, but screening and organising information also helps audiences. When information comes unfiltered, it overwhelms and leads to the creation of rumour, disinformation and last-minute political ambush. Direct access to public officials will be bogus Yes, anybody can fire off e-mail messages to public officials and perhaps even get a reply, and this may provide an illusion of access. But one limited resource will be even scarcer: the attention
[DW] Comparing U.S. State Election Offices and Online Services
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** From the U.S. National Association of Secretary of States: http://www.nass.org Specifically: http://www.nass.org/Issues/egov_primer.pdf NASS eGov Primer for Secretaries of State Working Document Updated: August 27, 2002 ... 1.3 PHASES OF E-DEVELOPMENT: Gartner Dataquest has developed a working model for assessing the stages of e-development. At the presence stage the Internet site merely provides information online in a static format. The next stage is interaction, here visitors to a site can search information, download forms, or access links to other relevant sites. The key to identifying this stage is that while many critical services can be accessed online, completion of the transaction requires either mailing or delivering to the appropriate office the required documentation (this is often referred to as print, review and send). The third stage is transaction and it alleviates a citizens need to make an office visit. Citizens/Customers can complete services entirely online. For example some states allow customers to file annual reports, and file UCC Financing Statements, submit campaign finance information, and search databases for corporate entities on-line. Lastly, Gartner identifies the final stage as transformational. Some attributes of this stage are wireless access, enabling sites to push government information to citizens and robust customer relationship management (CRM) tools.6 Inherent to the transformational stage is a redesign of government office work flow and business processes. Currently most Secretary of State services are at the interaction stage; however services targeted to the corporate sector are becoming increasingly transactional. Many states provide the services at the transaction stage for a fee to defray the cost of implementing such sophisticated technologies. ... See page 12 - 24 for Voter Registration/Info Listing Comparing _every state_. http://www.nass.org/Issues/egov_primer.pdf - Very interesting. - SLC ... 3. CONCLUSION 3.1 OBSERVATIONS Most internet functions of the nations secretaries of state offices are at the interaction level as evidenced from the previous data. As discussed earlier the key distinction between the interaction stage and the transaction stage is that the latter empowers the user to conduct and complete entire tasks online, while the former requires a visit to the office or mailing of documents. While many services, particularly those that cater to business clientele can be completed electronically and are thus transactional, most services utilized by private individuals have not yet reached this level of e-development. State legislatures have been largely out of step with the increasing demands of a paperless digital society. As a result, many Secretaries of State services are not amenable to electronic submission. This is particularly true with regards to voter registration. For example several jurisdictions have rigid requirements for the submission of voter registration applications including original signatures and specifications for the weight the paper is submitted on to the office. Arguably online voter registration will not be a reality until legislatures actively embrace alternatives that embrace online initiatives. Secretaries of States face the challenge of educating and resourcing their prospective legislatures to introduce bills that will facilitate e-government thereby allowing its current services to migrate to the transformation stage. ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Oxford Internet Institute and E-Democracy - Visiting Professorship
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,736025,00.html Oxford Don - Professor William Dutton is the first director of the new Oxford Internet Institute Interviewed by Chloe Veltman Thursday June 13, 2002 ... What areas of research will you explore at the OII? One area is e-democracy, where my research has focused on the role of the internet in policy advocacy. Is the web enabling citizens to have a greater influence on the policy process? ... Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. For those in academic circles who have not heard about this, they will be hosting a Visiting Professorship in e-Democracy (DEADLINE to apply Sept 2, 2002): http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/demprof.shtml OXFORD INTERNET INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD in association with JESUS COLLEGE Visiting Professorship in e-Democracy Download the job application pack Applications are sought from scholars within any field in the social sciences with a proven track record in research on the implications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for democratic practices and institutions. Applications are also encouraged from established researchers who have not worked specifically in this area, but who demonstrate great promise in applying innovative analytic frameworks from related fields to the study of e-Democracy. The world's first professorship in e-Democracy, at the recently established Oxford Internet Institute (OII), is designed to be flexible. It may be held for one or (preferably) two years in the first instance, with the opportunity for renewal for a third year. It is tenable from 1st October 2002 (or as soon as possible thereafter) in association with Jesus College. Secondments will be welcomed. The Visiting Professor's role will be to design a research and dissemination strategy to examine the role of ICTs, generally, and how the Internet, in particular, can be more effectively utilized to improve democratic processes and institutions. The post holder will be expected to identify the most critical research issues in the area, undertake original research, or an original synthesis of existing research, develop innovative proposals for Oxford research on e-Democracy, and organise activities, such as research forums, in collaboration with the policy and practitioner community. Further particulars (including details of stipend and duties) may be obtained from Prof William Dutton, Director, Oxford Internet Institute, 1 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3JS (tel: +44 (0)1865 287210; e- mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]) or from our website: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk. Closing date: midday on 2nd September 2002. ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Scaring Up Votes Online - Surfing some Minnesota candidate sites
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** Only in Minnesota would there be a primary election challenge within the Green Party ... This is the establishment Green candidate: http://www.votekenpentel.org Pentel is getting some decent press in Minnesota. We have four political parties legally defined as major parties. They all tend to get invited to all the debates and candidate forums (a significant accomplishment you rarely see in other states). You can get a sense here what this means for Pentel (who is polling under 5%, but will likely do better than that in the general which is consider a viable three-way race already: http://news.mpr.org/collections/campaign2002/governor/pentel.shtml Now, you have to check out the other Green candidate for Governor: http://www.klatteforamerica.org Scroll your mouse over his picture. This story tipped me off: http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/politics/3926851.htm The main Republican candidate, Tim Pawlenty http://www.timpawlenty.com also has a primary challenge from Leslie Davis (an environmental activist): http://www.davisforgovernor.com - Check out his Dump Pawlenty animation - the web demonstrates its substance. ;-) You can also check out independent candidate Booker T. Hodges pictured with the Minnesota-born Pillsbury Dough Boy! http://www.bookertforgov.com/pictures.php Everyone is so jazzed up about a Libertarian candidate for Congress in North Carolina http://radio.weblogs.com/0112137/ who apparently has the first candidate weblog. It looks like Booker tried something similar last month http://www.bookertforgov.com/bookersdaily.php. Finally, if you want go further to the right side of the spectrum (Constitution Party State House candidate) to explore that site of someone who learned about the responsibilities of a man perched on the fender of his dad's tractor. check out: http://www.votejarman.com Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire P.S. If you want to dig in deep, check out all the state legislative candidate web sites, visit them from this page: http://www.e-democracy.org/2002/leg.html ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Political SMS, FEC Requirements
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** Technology is supposed to increase accountability right? Then why would a company in U.S. that wants to send SMS campaign messages ask to drop the requirement for a prepared and paid for statement. The solution is easy - send two messages - The next message you will receive was paid for by X, call 555- to tell us how stupid we were to send it unsolicited and that you'll vote for the other person. See the article below. Speaking of political SMS (text messages to mobile phones) http://www.mail-archive.com/do-wire@tc.umn.edu/msg00481.html, the full Viral Political Marketing: M-Politics in the Making - SMS and E- mail in the 2002 Hungarian Election Campaign article is online http://web.axelero.hu/aja/SukosdDanyi.PDF. Also, I am tracking opt-in SMS/IM (instant messaging) use this election in the U.S., beside U.S. Senate incumbents Paul Wellstone http://www.wellstone.org/green/volunteer/ (Mobile/IM) and John Kerry http://www.johnkerry.com/site/ConsProfileUser (IM) are any other campaigns gathering this type of information? My sense is that this information could be used strategically for last minute volunteer operations and in the field get-out-the-vote efforts. Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. Far below is my own reaction to getting commercial SMS spam from ATT last week. I was not happy. --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 11:22:32 -0400 Subject:IP: As if SPAM wasn't bad enough ... From: Dave Farber [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ip [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Forwarded Message From: Richard Shockey [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 11:25:38 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: As if SPAM wasn't bad enough ... Political Ads May Go Cellular Target Wireless reportedly is petitioning the Federal Election Commission for permission to put political ads on cell phones. The company wants the FEC to scrap a requirement that political ads say who is paying for them because there is so little space on mobile phone screens, a report says. Advertising Age (8/19) http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=35757 For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/ --- End of forwarded message --- Steve again: Something I sent to Farber, but not posted on IP: From: Steven Clift [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:mLife = mSpam??, mobile phone e-mail/global roaming options Date sent: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 13:06:40 -0500 Ah, there I was enjoying mLife. Checked my e-mail via my phone ... nothing to warrant a return to the office for a serious reply. I'll hang out at the park next to the Mississippi River in Minneapolis and keep working on the draft of my next article. Then suddenly, baadup a text message on my mobile: Aug 14 10:23am From: 9266 ATT Wireless brings American Idol to your phone! Keep up to date with polls quizzes trivia. Sign up at idolonfox.com on MSN. To cancel offers call 611 I found some info here: http://amidol.mobliss.com/faq.asp http://attws.com/personal/txt_msg/ After strolling past some people putting leeches on their fishing line hooks, I immediately dialed 611 on my own mobile leech. I spent 7:31 minutes getting through their voice hell system, hmmm, no features option that allows you to turn off text messaging offers. Finally 0 put me in a cue for live help. Then a ring, we are sorry, due to high call volume the estimated wait for assistance is 6 to 10 minutes. I hung up. Honestly, if ATT wants to kill text messaging before it gets anywhere in the U.S., keep on sending this junk. The main reason I have stayed on ATT over the years is the ability to slip a SIM card into the basic non-U.S. GSM cell phone I bought a few years ago. With the global roaming rates still sky high (they promoted a drop to 99 cents a minute about 18 months ago, but they didn't promote that fact that long distance was to added to calls made outside of the country you are in, keeping rates close to the (as I recall) 1.99 flat-rate they started with for calls regardless of destination, I have been plotting a switch to VoiceStream or any other carrier that has a SIM/global roaming deal like ATT. The other thing that has kept me on ATT is their (now closed to new subscribers) $6.99/mo flat-rate PocketNet service that I use to check my main popmail account. Both the new mMode http://www.attws.com/mmode/index.jhtml and VoiceStream's T-Zones have 1MB offers. ATT is $7.99 plus 1 cent for every KB or about $10 for the next 1MB. VoiceStream charges http://www.voicestream.com/products/services/t-zones/overview.asp $2.99 plus $10 for the next 1MB (the $10 price for each additional MB
[DW] UK E-Dem Updates - Security of E-Voting, Online Consultation Summary/Invite
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** *** *** Up to seven posts a week. To join over 2500 subscribers, *** *** e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], in message: sub do-wire *** Two main items below. Steven Clift Democracies Online 1. Security of Electronic Voting See: http://www.edemocracy.gov.uk/library/papers/study.pdf --- Forwarded message follows --- From: Mark Rickard [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Security of Electronic Voting Date sent: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 21:57:20 +0100 The UK Government's public consultation on e-democracy, launched 16 July, has now been enhanced by the publication of a study report on e- voting security by CESG - the information assurance group within GCHQ (part of the UK's security services). Comments are invited by the 31 October (the same date as the main consultation), but with a request that suppliers having an interest in the next round of UK experiments in e-voting (May 2003) should give preliminary views on the practicality of CESG's recommendations by end August. See http://www.edemocracy.gov.uk for the paper and the e-Envoy's invitation to comment. Mark Rickard Office of the e-Envoy --- End of forwarded message --- 2. eDemocracy Policy Online Consultation Summary, more First summary of online comments: http://www.edemocracy.gov.uk/library/papers/edemsummary1.doc After my own promotion of the consultation I received this note from the event facilitator, Stephen Coleman. I really encourage anyone with practical and idealist ideas about e-democracy and government policy/applications/funding _anywhere in the world_ to add to the event. Breaking through with innovative ideas or programs in one country is an important starting point for information age democracy reforms around the world. - Steven Clift, DO-WIRE I have included some of the subject lines from the consultation below ... From: Stephen Coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: UK Government's e-democracy consultation Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 09:19:18 +0100 Members of this list are invited to contribute to the UK Government's online consultation forum to discuss its e-democracy policy. It is at http://www.ukonline.gov.uk and will be open until the end of October. At the request of the Cabinet Office, I am moderating this site and trying to ensure that there is a useful discussion which can feed into the Government's thinking about the shape of its e-democracy policy. There have already been some very valuable contributions on the site from key practitioners and thinkers in the UK. Background information about the policy and the consultation can be found at http://www.edemocracy.gov.uk Stephen Coleman From: http://www.ukonline.gov.uk/Discussions/DSThreadIndex/1,1822,~ae92cd~fs ~en~~1,00.html?category=2group=248archive=1 Discussions TitleNumber of commentsLast comment Designs for e-participation111 August 2002 StephenColeman Including the Excluded712 August 2002 StephenColeman i - Politicians 109 August 2002 davidow Where is all this democracy heading? 208 August 2002 JohnTradewell Congratulations! 105 August 2002 IrvingRappaport Electoral Commission Report1012 August 2002 StephenColeman Cllr Phil Davies 131 July 2002 Barnsley e-consultation through 3rd parties 311 August 2002 Garforth Publicity 229 July 2002 Kestrel Digital TV 128 July 2002 Broadsword e-Democracy - Should gov.uk support a discussion board? 3 28 July 2002 MarvinTPA Are MPs missing the web revolution? 610 August 2002 nRiehle To err is human 225 July 2002 Goldieb A minor observation 606 August 2002 taxfinancedearwig ACCESS 225 July 2002 alpine Verbose spin 322 July 2002 colonel_bogey Graham Allen 1612 August 2002 GrahamAllen e-voting3024 July 2002 StephenColeman e-participation5811 August 2002 StephenColeman e-Democracy Consultation Rules321 July 2002 BeccyEarnshaw Housekeeping116 July 2002 BeccyEarnshaw Welcome to the online consultation117 July 2002 StephenColeman ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] DW offline until July 17, Why? :-)
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** Established January 1998 - Reaching over 2400 subscribers *** DO-WIRE will be offline through at least July 17, 2002. I am getting married tomorrow. My bride, Laurel and I will then be offline on our secret honeymoon! Laurel is from St. Paul, Minnesota. We met over two years ago when she showed up out of the blue at a volunteer meeting for Minnesota E-Democracy. Finally, some measurable results from the world online civic engagement. :-) Over the years, many DO-WIRE members have invited me into their homes, shown me around their towns, and introduced me to their families. From our engagement in New Zealand http://publicus.net/engage.html to a visit in Ottawa, Laurel has been able to join me from time to time on the edge of speaking trips. It is our hope that any DO-WIRE member coming through Minnesota will allow us the honor of returning the hospitality we have been shown. If you'd like to send us any wishes, greetings, or your special tips on married life, e-mail both of us at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks, Steven Clift http://www.publicus.net Democracies Online *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[DW] Using Online Tools to Track Campaign Finance
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** This from a media-oriented source designed to help journalists cover campaign finance issues in the U.S. - SLC -- Forwarded message -- Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 11:51:57 -0500 From: Aron Pilhofer(IRE/CFIC) [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: CFIC Weekly Update Campaign Finance Information Center Weekly Update http://www.campaignfinance.org ~ The Campaign Finance Information Center (a program of IRE) is dedicated to helping journalists follow the campaign money trail -- on the national, state and local levels - and other important election issues. Through seminars, our Tracker newsletter and Web site, CFIC provides a forum on the latest developments in which journalists can learn from one another. ~ June 27, 2002 * Training: Regional CAR/Campaign Finance Workshop June 29-30, Minneapolis, MN. Campaign finance will be THE story of Election 2002 -- is your news organization ready? If not, this workshop will help you get there. Trough classroom and hands-on computer-assisted reporting training, the workshop will provide you with the knowledge and skills to get a jump on the competition. This program is ideal for journalists (print and broadcast) who will be covering a federal, state or local race in 2002. It will be tailored to reporters in the upper Midwest, but is open to all. Among the topics the workshop will cover: - Current campaign finance laws and loopholes campaigns use to skirt them - What documents are available for both federal and state candidates, and where to find them on deadline - What to expect when campaign finance reform kicks in after the November election - How to work with federal and state campaign finance data, including how to retrieve, import and analyze filings from the FEC's new electronic filing system on deadline The featured presenter is David Magleby, director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy and one of the country's leading experts on campaign finance. The cost is $25 for IRE members, or $75 for non-members (registration plus a one-year IRE membership). A schedule and registration is posted on IRE's website, here: http://www.ire.org/training/minneapolis.html. For more information, contact CFIC Director Aron Pilhofer at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or (202)362-3223. * Story of the week: State parties: The campaign finance backdoor? The Center for Public Integrity (http://www.publicintegrity.org), Center for Responsive Politics (http://www.opensecrets.org) and The National Institute on Money in State Politics (www.followthemoney.org) released the results of their analysis of fundraising and spending by state parties in the 2000 election, and the numbers are staggering. State parties raised more than a half-billion dollars, of almost half of which came in the form of unregulated soft money transfers from the national party organizations. The Center for Public Integrity hand-keyed thousands of pages of paper records from all 50 states to create the first comprehensive database of money raised and spent by state party committees. The report and a searchable database are online here: www.statesecrets.org. * Other news: Campaign finance reform: The devil in the details Who says soft money is the thing of the past? Not the Federal Election Commission, which last week approved a series of exceptions to the ban on soft money required by the new campaign finance reform law. The rules uphold restrictions on the national parties, which prevents them from raising and spending soft money to help federal candidates directly. But under what promises to be the most controversial of the commission's decisions, parties will be allowed to form surrogate committees to conduct soft money fundraising and spending on their behalf. Already, advocacy groups are threatening lawsuits, claiming the bi-partisan commission went beyond the letter of the new law. One thing is certain if the new regulations stand: covering federal campaign finance will become a good deal more complex after Nov. 6 when the new law kicks in. Here is a link to the Washington Post article on the FEC actions: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29834-2002Jun22.html California contract, campaign finance scandal continues Gov. Gray Davis is not out of the woods by any means, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Reporter Bill Nissenbaum notes that California state Attorney General Bill Lockyer is still working on his criminal investigation into the $95 million no-bid contract between the state and Oracle software, which officials estimate exceeds the state's software needs by as much as $41 million. Among the subjects of Nissenbaum's investigation is a $25,000 campaign contribution
[DW] Democracy, Freedom Internet Conf - European Parliament - 10 July2002
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** RSVP to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 16:02:05 +0200 From: Marco Cappato [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Gianluca Eramo [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Democracy, freedom and the Internet Conference Dear friend, On the 10th of July, from 9hr to 18hr, a public conference will take place at the European Parliament in Brussels on Democracy, freedom and the Internet: how digital technologies empower or undermine civil liberties. The seminar - that is the second meeting on new technologies organised by Radical MEPs of the Lista Bonino together with the Transnational Radical Party- is open to everybody. Due to the limited number of places in the conference room, we please you to announce your participation as soon as possible, and in any case before the 5th of July. The following issues will be dealt: + Data retention: citizens' right to privacy and State powers in treating personal data; + Cybercrime: the borderline between criminality and civil disobedience in the Net; + e-democracy: from pilot project to fundamental right; Interventions will concentrate not only on the European Union context, but also on national or local experiences concerning the above mentioned issues. The peculiar situation of non democratic States and the role of companies will be analysed too. Further to inviting you to the conference, we would ask you to tell us as soon as possible if you are interested in proposing a speech (title and brief abstract), so to prepare the agenda and the sending of preparatory documents. Please do not hesitate in suggesting us more people that shall be invited. Sincerely, Marco Cappato Ottavio Marzocchi Gianluca Eramo MEP, President of the Member of Transnational Project co-ordinator Transnational Radical Party Radical Party board For further enquiries, information and to announce your participation: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: 0032 2 2847496, Fax 0032 2 2849496 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Information Commons - Related Reports, Articles, and Legislation
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** The information commons is picking up some new currency in the United States. Over the years, I have seen similar concepts cycle through different parts of the world - from community networking efforts in Canada http://www.tc.ca/tcadvocacyandreports.html, http://www.tc.ca/bc2001.txt in the mid-1990s to my own early scribblings about the Public Internet http://www.publicus.net/pi. Below are a number of links to more recent reports and articles. My general conclusion is that most current public interest activity online exists because of commercial or governmental activity. The biggest barrier to developing sustainable collaborative non-profit online ventures (that don't collapse the shoulders of one individual) is the creation of the coordinating host mechanism and the resources required make such a thing work. For example, if YahooGroups fails to generate a profit and a shutdown is ever threatened, I'll put out a call to develop a non-profit to take and seek to sustain the most fundamentally important online service in the world today (or at least to the freedom of association online.) How would you construct and fund such an organization? Big question. In the end, any inferior web site/online effort will fail to attract users no matter their ideological/profit motive purity. The non-profit online services that work, understand that what they deliver is more important than who they are and their public interest philosophy and approach. I think our challenge is to find ways that build from public interest motivation in such a way that they truly build better and more cost effective forms of online content and interactivity. Steven Clift Democracies Online New Information Commons Reports, Articles, and Legislation: * Saving the Information Commons - Report (83 pp.) New America Foundation By David Bollier Co-Written by: Tim Watts http://www.newamerica.net/Download_Docs/pdfs/Pub_File_866_1.pdf * An Information Commons for E-Learning - Working Paper New America Foundation By Thomas Kalil http://www.newamerica.net/Download_Docs/pdfs/Pub_File_848_1.pdf (More articles are available from this source http://www.newamerica.net - Select publications, reports.) * Digital Promise: http://www.digitalpromise.org Recent announcement: S2603, a bill entitled the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust Act, was introduced in the Senate on June 11 by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT), joined by Sen James M. Jeffords (I-VT). Citing the precedent of the Land Grant Colleges Act, this act calls for the establishment of a Digital Opportunity Investment Trust Fund to support innovations in education, information, the arts, and culture. It provides 50 percent of the revenues from future spectrum auctions to go to the Fund, which will be used to award grants for training, education, and for research in utilizing new telecommunications and information technologies. Grants will be given to nonprofit public institutions that work to enhance learning, broaden knowledge, encourage an informed citizenry, and teach the skills needed in an information-based economy. Go to the web site for the full text of this and similar House legislation. * A number of items from Peter Levine's web site http://www.peterlevine.ws/Internet%20work.htm: Building the E-Commons: A Project of the Democracy Collaborative http://www.democracycollaborative.org/programs/public/BuildingElectronicCommons.pdf Can the Internet Rescue Democracy? Toward an On-line Commons http://www.peterlevine.ws/Internetdemocracy.htm Public Telecommunications Service White Paper http://www.peterlevine.ws/pts.pdf *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Broadband Report - PewInternet, South Korea Broadband E-Democracy
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** See: http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=63 South Korea is the broadband capitol of the world. On the digital divide panel at the Metropolis Conference I asked the Korean speaker if there was a growing divide between the modem people and the always-on DSL/cable modem users. He replied, Modems, I don't think anyone uses those anymore. In Europe and many countries where modem use racks up per-minute charges, I have always felt that e-democracy will remain institutional in nature because citizens will be very unlikely to pay to participate in public affairs online. With metered access, behavior is too rational (i.e. democracy is irrational or something unnatural that we have to put effort into for it to exist or thrive, pay to play democracy - I don't think so). Next to price, time is the other key barrier to online civic participation. Hence the combined importance of getting people off modems and off metered access to the Internet. DSL and cable modems are the current solutions. Why are they still priced out of reach for most people? If the technical time to participate online via modem remains high, we are much less likely to see e-democracy (and lots of other online activities) become an integrated part of people's online lives. Having to dial-up a recipe for example, is being replaced with a mouse shake to wake up your computer with a quick google search on a directly connected home computer. I predict the same thing with politics - see a news story or political ad that interests you on television, wake up your laptop which is connected wirelessly to home network with DSL and check things out. Hey, that is what I do today. :-) In the long run, democratic intent and interest will be our real challenge, not the infrastructure and pricing. I wish we could focus primarily on that challenge now. To get a sense of broadband e-democracy, check out the South Korean Parliament's web site: http://www.assembly.go.kr And some of their political parties online: http://www.politicalresources.net/korea.htm Translate from here if you like: http://babelfish.altavista.com Cheers, Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. My very recent comments about broadband pricing/regulation: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mn-wired/message/154 And a very important draft report: A Comparative Study of Broadband in Asia: Deployment and Policy http://www.anr.org/web/html/output/2002/broadbandasia522.htm -- Forwarded message -- Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 09:57:35 -0400 From: Lee Rainie [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear friends and colleagues: We released a report this morning about how broadband connections change the way people behave online and feel about their Internet experiences. The report can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=63 , or you can write me and I'll send you a copy. ... clip ... Best wishes, Lee Rainie ** Director Pew Internet American Life Project 1100 Connecticut Ave. NW -- Suite 710 Washington, D.C. 20036 voice: 202-557-3463 fax:202-296-6797 http://www.pewinternet.org *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] E-Moderators Online Course from UK Hansard Society - Starts September 2002
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Application contact information at the bottom. This is great to see - an online moderators training course in the UK. Since the course is online-based, I assume that if you can pay the tuition and are accepted in the course, folks from anywhere can build their online facilitation skills. In the U.S., E-Democracy worked with the National Civic League to develop a grant proposal for a Building the Online Commons Training Program. The proposal combines online facilitation training with practical efforts to establish local community e-lists based on our successful model. September 11 knocked us off of our fund raising path, but in Winona http://onlinedemocracy.winona.org/training.html the idea was adapted to build the facilitation skills of participants. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do From: Irving Rappaport [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Hansard Society E-Moderators course details Date sent: Wed, 5 Jun 2002 15:40:39 +0100 E-Moderators Training Course (from the Hansard Society and the Open University) Government, Parliament, local councils, the media, business and the voluntary sector are increasingly eager to hear what people have to say on matters of public policy. The internet makes it much easier for there to be two-way communication between the public on the one hand and decision makers and politicians on the other. But in order for this to be a meaningful and civilised interaction there is a need for well trained online moderators (or 'e-moderators') who can facilitate the discussion so that people can - a.. hear all sides of a political issue b.. express their points of view and respond to those of others c.. know that they are being listened to by politicians and/or decision makers d.. know that their opinions will be taken into account This course, the first of its kind in the UK, is being offered by the Hansard Society (http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk) in association with Dr Gilly Salmon of the Open University. It will provide an opportunity to acquire these essential online moderation skills. The course will be run entirely through the internet and uses a tried and tested training model already successfully deployed to train thousands of online teachers from many professional backgrounds and many parts of the world. Now you will be able to learn how to apply these techniques to online consultation and deliberation. The training programme will require you to devote some 5 hours per week online over a 5 week period at times to suit your schedule (about 25 online hours in total). Groups of 20 participants will work together asynchronously to develop the basic skills and experience to become qualified e-moderators. A minimum of 30 minutes online at any time each day is recommended to enable you to stay in touch with your tutor and fellow participants. An e-moderation certificate will be awarded by the Hansard Society to those completing the course. The anticipated demand for trained e-moderators is expected to grow significantly in the very near future. All holders of this unique qualification will be given the option of having their names published on the Hansard Society website and made available to organisations requiring these skills. Prerequisites are: · good keyboard skills · excellent communication and literacy skills · ability to follow text based discussion online · regular, fast access to the internet · interest in the challenge of participating in online democracy · knowledge and experience of democracy · determination and motivation to become an e-moderator · willingness to suspend your own opinions and adopt a politically impartial role The first course commences 20th September 2002 and will cost £495 plus VAT To request further details please email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject heading 'Application for e-moderator course'. If you wish to apply now, please attach a cv (no more than 2 pages as a Word file) and a brief letter explaining your interest and suitability for the course. ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Online Campaigning E-List Reopened - DO-CAMPNET
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** --- Please Forward to Campaign and Political Party Webmasters -- After the 2000 elections, the Democracies Online Newswire http://www.e-democracy.org/do, hosted an open dicussion http://groups.yahoo.com/group/do-campnet/messages/1 on the role of the Internet in the 2000 election cycle. It a very good exchange. David Erickson and I have decided to reopen the forum. With the recent elections in France, the Netherlands and upcoming 2002 elections in South Korea, Sweden, Germany, and United States, the forum will encourage global sharing of tips and lessons. We encourage all political party and candidate webmasters to join us today. To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the Democracies Online Newsire, read below or visit: http://www.e-democracy.org/do Sincerely, Steven Clift Democracies Online - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Democracies Online Newswire - DO-WIRE http://www.e-democracy.org/do - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Join the Democracies Online Newswire - DO-WIRE 'must reading' 'highest quality' DO-WIRE is your primary source for what's important and happening with democracy, government, politics and the Internet around the world. DO-WIRE is a free, high quality moderated e-mail announcement list with no more than seven messages a week. To subscribe for convenient e-mail delivery or read recent posts on the web, visit: http://www.e-democracy.org/do Or send the command SUB DO-WIRE in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Be sure to reply ok to the confirmation e-mail request you receive. Launched in January 1998, DO-WIRE now connects over 2400 experts, practitioners, journalists, and citizens from around the world. If you are interested in democracy online, which includes politics online, new media, e-governance, online advocacy, citizen interaction and related topics, then join us. Each week, well known e-democracy expert and speaker Steven Clift http://publicus.net forwards, with occasional analysis, up to seven carefully selected messages. Posts include news, article, and report web links, event and conference announcements, calls for papers, and often uncover important primary source online resources, projects, and initiatives of significance. DO-WIRE Member Submissions and Comments The large and diverse subscriber base on DO-WIRE makes this information exchange network so vibrant. Share your text-only submissions for review to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the end, comments from DO-WIRE members are the best invitation to join: 'must reading' 'highest quality' 'interesting content' 'keeps me informed ... not inundated' 'incredibly rich, diverse, deep coverage' 'best source ... invaluable resource' 'your contributions are ... informative and enlightening' 'thoughtful analysis and provocative personal perspective' E-Democracy E-Book, Future of E-Democracy Democracy online trends from the last decade are explored in Steven Clift's E-Democracy E-Book. Themes previously covered by DO-WIRE are summarized in this article. The E-Book, the new Future of E-Democracy article, presentations, and highlighted posts are available online from: http://www.publicus.net Please forward this message to others who are interested in networking with others across the global democracy online community. If you have a web site, please add links as appropriate. Thanks. 1 MAY 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Democracies Online Newswire - DO-WIRE http://www.e-democracy.org/do - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] News Media and Online Interaction with Information
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** SPOTLIGHT on GAMING THE NEWS News organizations are using fun and innovative Web capabilities to help people interact with information. http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/spotlight/index.php -- Forwarded message -- Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 11:56:48 -0400 From: Pew Center/Rebecca Wyhof [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: PCCJ: J-FLASH 5-21-02 Pew Center for Civic Journalism: J-FLASH BATTEN KEYNOTES ONLINE: WALKER LUNDY HODDING CARTER III --- WALKER LUNDY, Editor Executive VP, The Philadelphia Inquirer: ... go back to your newsroom and your classroom and change something, anything. And then change something else. Exceed your authority. Be subversive. http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/speeches/s_lundy.html --- HODDING CARTER III, President and CEO, Knight Foundation: We're going to have to start speaking a lot more clearly with some truth to a lot of power. Not government's power; our own business' power. http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/speeches/s_carter.html SPOTLIGHT on GAMING THE NEWS News organizations are using fun and innovative Web capabilities to help people interact with information. http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/spotlight/index.php NEW VIDEO: 2002 BATTEN AWARD WINNERS Reserve your copy of The Best of Civic Journalism: 2002 Batten Award Winners. The Savannah Morning News' winning Vision 2010 project, Cincinnati Enquirer, Wisconsin State Journal, St. Paul Pioneer Press. New this year, Innovator Awards. Free. E-mail your mailing address today. SAVE THE DATE: 2002 AEJMC LUNCHEON -- August 8 -- Miami, FL ORDER YOUR VIDEO SET: A JOURNALIST'S TOOLBOX Transcripts order form: http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/videos/toolbox.html _ Questions? Call us at 202-331-3200. E-mail us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] To be removed from the J-FLASH list, just e-mail us your request. c2 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Online Consultation and Events - Tips for Govt and Civic Hosts
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Online Consultations and Events - Top Ten Tips for Government and Civic Hosts V1.1 Original: http://www.publicus.net/articles/consult.html By Steven Clift Online Strategist and Public Speaker http://www.publicus.net Editor, Democracies Online Newswire http://www.e-democracy.org/do Copyright 2002 Steven Clift - All rights reserved. This article may be freely linked to, cited or quoted with simple e-mail notification to the author and a commitment to share copies of any final derivative works. The full text of this article may only be redistributed in print with the express permission of the author. Permission granted to forward via e-mail. Discuss this article with your government and civic peers on the Democracies Online Online Consultation and Civic Events e-mail list. Send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. As the concept of e-democracy builds momentum, interest in the use of online consultation in government and civil society circles is growing significantly. Online consultations, online public hearings, or online civic events can all be defined as the structured, often time-limited, use of online tools to inform public policy processes and encourage civic participation. By time-limited, I mean an online event with beginning and an end. This article provides online consultation tips geared toward prospective online consultation organizers. Most of the tips assume an asynchronous event (not real-time or live). Most lessons can be generalized to different models and elements I share below. At the very end of this article I share key links to resources related to online consultation. Let's get started. Online Consultation Top Ten Tips In summary 1. Political Support Required. 2. State Purpose, Share Context. 3. Build an Audience. 4. Choose Your Model and Elements Carefully. 5. Create Structure. 6. Provide Facilitation and Guidelines. 7. Disseminate Content and Results. 8. Access to Decision-Makers and Staff Required. 9. Promote Civic Education. 10. Not About Technology. In full details 1. Political Support Required. Online consultations with strong and sincere political support are the only ones worth hosting. There must be a political desire for input and a willingness to consider that input in the decision-making process. Expecting that an online consultation will dramatically change the outcome of decision-making process is not generally a requirement. Political listening is a first and reasonable step. We are talking about evolution, not revolution. 2. State Purpose, Share Context. Citizens want to know the purpose of an online event. They will be skeptical. Share concise and readable information that shares the context of the event. Where in the policy process is this event being the staged? The beginning? The end? Let people know in order to establish reasonable citizen expectations. If it is an experiment or public awareness exercise that you know will have limited impact, simply be upfront and say so. You have to start somewhere. 3. Build an Audience. Recruit your participatory audience before the online event starts. Most online consultations fail due to the lack of citizen participation. Why? The public relations engines are not revved up until the event starts - bad move. The pragmatic approach is to recruit participants one at a time. Don't be fooled by the Internet myth that if you build it they will come - they won't. Create specific audience goals from 50 to 1000 people or more. Encourage all prospective participants to join an e-mail announcement list for the event and future events. Carry your audience from one event to the next whenever possible or appropriate. Recruit participants at in-person events and through the traditional and online media for at least two to three weeks before an online consultation starts. Even with an audience, many discussion-oriented events fail in the first three days because those attracted to the online event are thinking the same thing - No one has posted yet, this event must not matter. Seeding the early hours of an event with authentic posts encouraged behind the scenes combined with e-mail highlights and encouragement to participants will make it a happening event. 4. Choose Your Model and Elements Carefully. Figure out what kind of online consultation you want to hold. Here are different kinds of online elements to consider, combine, and innovate from: A. Q and A - A simple public web page containing questions from citizens (often selectively chosen from those received by e-mail) with responses signed by decision-makers in the organization. Many media sites also use this model in reverse by posing a question with short responses from citizens. Examples: Kids Questions to Florida Governor - http://www.myflorida.com/eog/kidspage/Questions.htm Need more examples ... BBC Talking
[DW] E-mail Can Leak
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** This is a double example of how online communication speeds to flow of information. First this is an Iowa Republican party e-mail alert with text from the National Republican Congressional Congressional Committee. Second it cites e-mail somehow gathered by the Republican from the Democrats. The lesson should not be - don't use e-mail for political strategy. It should be - use e-mail when you are able to be upfront and honest. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do P.S. Does anyone know of any efforts to archive/track/monitor/study e-mail alerts from political parties and/or candidates? -- Forwarded message -- Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 16:19:31 -0500 From: Republican Party of Iowa [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Democrat Party's Senior Scare Campaign Exposed This is the Wednesday Iowa GOP Update, an E-publication of the Republican Party of Iowa. Chuck Larson Jr., Chairman. Democrat Party's Senior Scare Campaign Exposed Internal E-Mail Shows High-Level Democrat Staffers Producing, Approving Not Entirely Factually Accurate Senior Scare Propaganda (Released by the NRCC) Washington - Republicans today made public an incriminating internal Democrat document on Social Security, raising serious new ethical questions about the way national Democrats are targeting senior citizens and near retirees. The document shows high-level Democrat staffers deliberately employing false and deceptive scare tactics in an effort to make political gains with voters on Social Security. We have said for months that national Democrats are engaged in a cynical and deceptive campaign to scare seniors on the issue of Social Security, commented National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA). After reviewing this document, there is absolutely no question that Democrats are knowingly and willfully using false and misleading information to scare seniors about their Social Security. This is a smoking gun. In late March, high-level staffers in the office of Appropriations Committee member Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) composed an op-ed, presumably intended for release to the public. Republicans obtained a paper trail of these staffers deliberating via e-mail on the accuracy of the op-ed, which, among other things, falsely accused Republicans of favoring Social Security privatization. Does the rhetoric match the facts here? wrote one staffer. [It is] not entirely factually accurate, replied another staffer. Talk about scaring seniors - this may be a little over the top. But it is sooo fun to bash Republicans. :) The e-mail was obtained by Republicans after Kaptur aides mistakenly carbon copied an unintended Republican recipient who shared the same last name with another of Kaptur's aides. The language used in this draft op-ed is exactly the kind of language that is routinely used by Democrats across the board to falsely accuse Republicans of wanting to privatize Social Security, added Davis. This e-mail shows that there is an entrenched culture among Democrats that takes pleasure in preying on the fears of seniors with false and deceptive misinformation for no other reason than to score political points. Iowa Republicans Release Budget Plan for 2003 Protect Children, Taxpayers, and Good Paying Jobs (News release from Legislative leaders) (Des Moines) Republican legislative leaders today released their budget plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, along with a comparison to an alternative proposal made by Governor Tom Vilsack. Our budget proposal balances the state's budget while protecting children, taxpayers and good paying jobs, said Senate Majority Leader Stewart Iverson, Jr. (R-Dows). We plan on passing this plan on Tuesday, May 28, and the Governor should sign it into law. The Republican plan protects children by increasing spending on K-12 schools by nearly $35 million, despite falling state revenues. The Republican plan gives schools $59 million to increase general school spending, while maintaining $40 million to raise teacher pay and $30 million to reduce class sizes and improve early childhood reading program. While Governor Vilsack's budget proposal cuts spending on frontline child protection workers by 4.5%, Republicans have opted for a smaller reduction of 2.2%. Rather than jeopardize front-line child protection workers as the Governor's plan does, we decided to eliminate some government programs and make smaller cuts in the remaining parts of the budget, said House Majority Leader Christopher Rants (R-Sioux City). We believe our plan is more responsible that the Governor's across-the-board approach. Rants also noted that the Republican plan protects efforts to improve Iowa's air and water quality, while the Governor cuts those programs by 33%. For instance the Republican plan spends
[DW] Call for E-democracy Case Studies from Karin Geiselhart
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** If you haven't bookmarked Karin's links to e-democracy resources, you should: http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/kgeiselhart/e-_democracy_resources_.htm Be sure to get your case study suggestions to her if you have worked on a project in this field. The more lessons gathered and shared the better. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do From: Karin Geiselhart [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:DO-WIRE call for case studies Date sent: Sat, 18 May 2002 12:23:19 +1000 Call for case studies - Electronic Democracy Australian researcher Dr Karin Geiselhart (http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/kgeiselhart) is collecting case studies for a book on electronic empowerment. This can be any use of communication technology to influence: a) decision making b) resource allocation c) accountability Examples can be local, organisational, national or supranational level. They do not have to be successful, as others can also learn from what didn't work. Transnational networks, associated with global governance regimes for any issue, examples from the developing world, and organisational examples are particularly sought. The book will try to draw general lessons about what works and why. Another aim is to create a database of cases and contacts to share. All contributors will be acknowledged in the book. If you would like to submit your case study provide as much information as you wish for these categories: Name of project (web address) Purpose Technologies being used Background Stakeholders Outcomes so far Critical issues Lessons learned What have you found to be the most interesting or surprising aspect of your project? Are you willing to be contacted for a more in-depth case study? Other aspects/issues you feel should be included in the case studies Please send to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The book proposal is available on request. Dr. Karin Geiselhart School of Business Information Technology RMIT University Melbourne ph 03 9925 1352 fax 03 9925 5482 http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/kgeiselhart --- End of forwarded message --- --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] African ICT Policy Monitor and E-mail List
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** This reminds me ... I have spoken in the past with a number of people interested in organizing a DO-AFRICA online event like we did for Asia last year http://groups.yahoo.com/group/do-asia/messages/1. Let me know if you'd like to lead a month long online exchange on the role of the Internet in democracy, governance, media, etc.. across Africa. These events are great starting points that help connect people interested in or involved in similar efforts. To join the list mentioned below, visit: http://lists.sn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/africa-ir-public Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire http://www.e-democracy.org/do -- Forwarded message -- Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 07:09:38 +0200 From: Heather Ford [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: APC Project launches dynamic mailing list APC Project launches dynamic mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has recently launched an online Africa ICT Policy Monitor website that aims to enable organisations working for human rights, freedom of expression, and progressive government policy to be able to monitor proposed and new legislation and regulation affecting the Internet in their region. Most people may not realise that regulatory frameworks exist that actively promote - or restrict - access to the Internet by the general population, says Emmanuel Njenga Njuguna, coordinator of the Africa ICT Policy Monitor. The aim of the APC monitors is to gather information about and demystify the policy territory for human rights groups, civil society organisations, local Internet service providers whoever has a stake in promoting equitable, secure access to the Internet in their country. A mailing list, which will highlight alerts and features from the website, as well as regular updates on Africa ICT policy, is being launched alongside the website to keep organisations and interested individuals informed as to the latest developments in the field. The mailing list will also alert users to the availability of exclusive resources on ICT policy in Africa from the website, as well as the latest developments in African responses to global, regional and national Internet Rights campaigns. We extend a warm invitation to interested individuals and organisations to join this informative and dynamic list. Regards, Heather Ford ~~~ Heather Ford Website Manager AFRICA ICT POLICY MONITOR PROJECT E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: http://africa.rights.apc.org ~~~ To post to this list, send your email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] to subscribe to the list and for other general information about the mailing list visit: http://lists.sn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/africa-ir-public ~~~ FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE APC ICT POLICY MONITOR WEBSITES Africa ICT Policy Monitor: http://africa.rights.apc.org (in English) Europe Internet Rights: http://europe.rights.apc.org (in English) Latin America and Caribbean ICT Policy Monitor: http://lac.rights.apc.org (in Spanish) ~~~ *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] US e-thePeople Relaunch - Online Petitioning
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** The rationale for combining e-thepeople.org http://e-thepeople.org/a-national/about/fullstory and Quorum http://www.democracyproject.org (some history here) is below. The hard working .org folks with Quorum/Democracy Project received the assets of the commercially non-viable e-thepeople.com 14 months ago. The most valuable part of the transfer was the partnerships ETP built with newspaper web sites across the country. Their decision to integrate their Quorum discussion concepts into the petitioning system makes sense to me. In a similar vein, the more global/UK stage OpenDemocracy http://www.opendemocracy.net has built a much larger imprint than I thought possible in a year. However, I am still skeptical of web-first systems for local online civic dialogue, particularly from the top-down. At the national/global level, web systems are working better and better (particularly when they integrate e-mail notification of posts). The challenge remains - can you make online political discussions both valuable to participants and relevant to real politics through agenda-setting and public opinion formation? Why de-emphasize online petitions? Online petitions, like offline petitions outside legally binding structures (such as initiatives, referendums, or other formal petitions that compel some sort of government action or at least an acknowledgment) have limited value in real politics. More on the right to petition http://w3.trib.com/FACT/1st.petition.html. The weakness of most citizen-initiated online petitions, like most petitions on ETP and other petitioning sites http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Activism/Petitions/Petition_C reation/ is that they have no real political base nor rarely the follow through required to use the petition signatures in an effective way. Are there any new sustainable member-based political organizations (http://www.moveon.org started with their own site) that _started_ from a third party petitioning platform? (Perhaps there are a few???) The only online petitioning efforts that have sustained value in my opinion are those that use the petitioning act to gather opt-in e- mail addresses of like-minded supporters http://www.mail-archive.com/do-wire@tc.umn.edu/msg00296.html. The real political question is - what does an organization do with their supporters network over the long-term? Do they educate, inform, motivate, and active their supporters based on the issue the individual cares most about? Or does the organization transfer the e- mail addresses into fundraising or general political alert networks in a bait-and-switch sort of way? Pragmatically, I would recommend a bit of both if I were advising an interest group interested in online petitioning and effective e-mail alert networking. A number of years ago while passing through Silicon Alley in NYC, I met with Alex Sheshunoff http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9810/05/esoapbox.idg/, the founder for e-thepeople.COM, and his crew (then) with New York Now. They had this demonstration application for petitioning. They asked me who I thought might buy the service - and to their moderately cyber-libertarian surprise - I said local government. They rightly, worked on the media first, but I basically said that if you want petitioning systems to fill pot-holes in the street, improve local schools, etc. you want to build these applications right into the official online offerings of government. You want problems to be solved more organically with direct citizen-to-government connections and save protest and petitioning for more contentious issues. In general, I argue that governments want to do a good job, they just need the tools and a kick in the butt once in awhile. I have little patience for us versus them forms of technology or e-democracy. Congrats to e-thepeople.org for their redesign and shift away from an emphasis on online petitioning only. Steven Clift Democracies Online From: http://www.e-thepeople.org/a-national/about/news/3657638 Check out their conference call: 5/13/2002 First-ever E The People Conference Call Wonder who runs this shadowy non-profit? Sign up for a conference call and online chat with ETP's founders Mike and Scott on 2 pm EDT on Thursday May 23rd by clicking on the link below: http://www.e-thepeople.org/maillist/signup?list=etp-conference/ We're starting a new democracy conversation, and we're inviting you to participate. On the call, we'll talk about: Who are we? What is effective e-participation? What can you do to help improve your community and our democracy? Ask your own questions of two of E The People's founders, Michael Weiksner and Scott Reents. So, please join us! -Mike --- Forwarded message follows --- From: e-thePeople.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:e-thePeople relaunch: come try version
[DW] Conflict Resolution and ICTs
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** I bumped into a paper titled Internet Resources on Conflict Management, Prevention and Resolution http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNACH194.pdf from 1998. For those interested in this topic, it still looks useful. This report mentions four online mediation projects. I found the updated links: 2. Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution - http://www.ombuds.org/center/index.html - They have a book on the topic: http://www.jbp.com/Corporate/Website/Objects/Products/0,9049,222797,00 .html - And they have links to a number of articles from: http://www.ombuds.org/cyberweek2002/library.html Including: Isabelle Manevy's article and bibliography - Online Dispute Resolution: What Future? Mireze Philippe, Where Is Everyone Going With Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Cara Cherry Lisco, Case Study in Online Mediation: Resolution Across Borders Todd Barker, Information Technology and the Evolution of Multi-Party Dispute Resolution Processes 2. Seeds of Peace http://www.seedsofpeace.org http://www.seedsofpeace.org/newclubhouse/ (For Arab and Israeli youth) 3. Technlogy for Peace - Cyprus http://www.tech4peace.org The article (clips below) about the use of ICTs (information and communication technologies) in Cyprus looks quite interesting. - http://www.tech4peace.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=719 What about local disputes and online dialogue? I do have concerns about the nature and capacity of online communication when attempting to forge consensus, make decisions, and solve public problems overall. When people are gathered locally online in the common interest I do see the generation of respect and understanding, but I sense that the technology tends to accent disagreements and often over inflates the sense of opposition and discontent. Why? Folks in the middle or in general agreement don't express themselves much. I suppose that how most people engage in political discussion in-person as well. While I continue to focus my Minnesota activities on building a base of active e-citizens with simple e-list technology, I wonder if approaches, tools, and technologies developed for online mediation and dispute resolution be leveraged for local civic engagement and direct citizen involvement in addressing public challenges? Or in reverse, can tools and techniques for local online community conversations be adapted for international conflict resolution and efforts to bring the people of countries/groups at war together to build peace? Your thoughts? Post here: http://slashdemocracy.org/cgi- bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=15 Steven Clift Democracies Online Technology For Peace: Innovation used towards the Cyprus Problem http://www.tech4peace.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=719 ... clip ... It began its operations in 1996, with two activities that were mostly funded by their participants. In this task, a bi-communal virtual organization was set up on the Internet to discuss matters of general interest and attempt to inform and recruit Cypriots, both Turkish and Greek, who live abroad. ... fast forward to their web site today - http://www.tech4peace.org ... Complimenting the need for a structured, organized and lasting communication As already discussed, the design and development of the Technology For Peace project www.tech4peace.org, was conceptualized in the framework of complimenting the need for a structured, organized and lasting communication between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in Cyprus. In this context, the project aimed to design and develop a comprehensive virtual infrastructure for peace promoting individuals and groups and indirectly support their activities by introducing an Information Technology dimension to their work. This would ensure continuity and sustainability, while at the same time create a permanently accessible and continuously updated record of the work, activities and end products of each active individual or peace- promoting group. Furthermore, the project aimed to become the central reference, information and meeting point, which would provide different types of support, information, ideas and inspiration to the various peace building initiatives. In order to be able to establish a culture where people/users have incentives to use the Tech4Peace portal, we tried to make sure that its design and construction as well as future evolution/development encompass flexible technological solutions, which would essentially guarantee its information access, short-term sustainability, long-term evolution and consistent user-friendliness. In this venture, the feedback, support, criticism and participation of our users is absolutely essential. The purpose of all these is to establish a sense of community to the user, and to help make the users feel comfortable about using the Tech4Peace portal for beginning their journey for Peace from
[DW] Some French Election Links and Internet News
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Also check out http://www.netpolitique.net/. Steven Clift Democracies Online From: Phil Noble [EMAIL PROTECTED] We at PoliticsOnline.com did a little Special Report on the web in the French elections http://www.politicsonline.com/pol2000/specialreports/frenchelections20 02 [SLC - Includes lots of news story links at the bottom of the page on the role of the Internet in their elections.] If anyone has seen any recent stuff, pls pass it along and we will put it up. Thanks, Phil Phil Noble PoliticsOnline/Phil Noble and Associates --- Forwarded message follows --- From: Sandor Vegh [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date sent: Thu, 2 May 2002 12:23:35 -0400 FORCE THAT UNITES PROTESTERS In the wake of Jean-Marie Le Pen's unexpected success at the French polls, new Internet sites carrying responses ranging from hoaxes to online petitions have popped up. The social movement we have in France is relayed on the Internet, but it was born in the street, says Olivier Blondeau, a sociologist who studies online social affairs. The Internet enables people to organize demonstrations, saying what happens where and whenWhile political parties and trade unions want to unite people for Labor Day, most of the other sites promote continuous social agitation. On political party and candidate sites, discussion forums have exploded. One such site, the Lionel Jospin website, recorded more than 30,000 contributions in only 10 days. On other sites, political parties and trade unions are offering downloadable kits with posters and stickers in an attempt to motivate voters. The web is working for all sides of the political argument. Le Pen has even spoken of how the Internet offers him a way around what he considers a media conspiracy to force the country to vote against him in the upcoming second-round polls. [SOURCE: The Guardian; AUTHOR: Stephanie Stoll] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,708230,00.html) --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] More on Cyber Crime Prevention - Essay and Presentation by Luther Krueger, Minneapolis Police Department
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** This is a must download: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/citywork/police/VirtualBlockClubs.ppt This morning I e-mailed Luther Krueger with the Minneapolis Police Department. I suggested that he share a 400 word essay with DO-WIRE about efforts in Minneapolis to use online tools for crime prevention. In record DO-WIRE essay submission time, below is his essay. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do --- Forwarded message follows --- From: Krueger, Luther [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Essay Date sent: Thu, 2 May 2002 11:15:27 -0500 We moderate an interactive email list for crime prevention in the Downtown Command with the Minneapolis Police Department (Governments Using Forums to Serve Public Purposes - Cyber CrimePrevention http://www.mail-archive.com/do-wire@tc.umn.edu/msg00459.html, April 24). As with most email forums, we allow our subscribers--members of the community--to post. We focus on crime-related topics Downtown. Participants can post: Suspect pictures from security cameras, crime stats and maps, questions about crime patterns or specific procedures in reporting and addressing various crimes, traffic advisories, and notices for meetings of interest to our community partners. Our community partners are often surprised that so much information can be shared; many in law enforcement remain apprehensive about sharing information even though it's considered public by statute. But we know that participants come up with longer-term solutions when they know more about the crimes they are concerned about--truly, Information is Power. Further, our power as a police department is not diminished, so long as the information shared does not jeopardize on-going investigations. Finally, the MPD stockpiles tons of information that may or may not be released to the public. But the private sector--property managers, security personnel, workers, residents--often has as much or more information which they are not bound by law to keep under wraps. And when the community's alerts, and inquiries are posted side-by-side with our notes, they know that our partnership is one of equals. I recently presented at the East Coast Conference on Community Policing* and found the tide is shifting. Most officers I spoke with are eager to share information and develop similar partnerships. Technology remains an obstacle--not that they don't have the technology, but ironically the I.T. gatekeepers are so seldom consulted, they have no precedent in extracting data for their own internal use. We're fortunate to have many data-mining experts who can package the information we need to get out. Where is this leading us? The Chief has stated at many community meetings, eventually it should be possible for any Minneapolitan to log in and get any and all information that's considered public, in a format useful for neighborhood associations, block clubs, business groups, etc. In the meantime we reach a happy medium wherein we develop localized partnerships with those who can help us reduce the incidents of specific crimes or in specific areas, using information we can reasonably extract for their use and ours. * My PowerPoint presentation can be reviewed at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/citywork/police/VirtualBlockClubs.ppt CPS Luther Krueger 612-673-2923 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Minneapolis Police Department, Downtown Command SAFE 29 5th St. So., Minneapolis MN 55402 fax: 612-370-3900 Monthly crime stats by neighborhood in Minneapolis are located at: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/citywork/police/stats/codefor/index.as p The Downtown Command never sleeps. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Democracies Online Newswire - DO-WIRE http://www.e-democracy.org/do - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Join the Democracies Online Newswire - DO-WIRE 'must reading' 'highest quality' DO-WIRE is your primary source for what's important and happening with democracy, government, politics and the Internet around the world. DO-WIRE is a free, high quality moderated e-mail announcement list with no more than seven messages a week. To subscribe for convenient e-mail delivery or read recent posts on the web, visit: http://www.e-democracy.org/do Or send the command SUB DO-WIRE in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Be sure to reply ok to the confirmation e-mail request you receive. Launched in January 1998, DO-WIRE now connects over 2400 experts, practitioners, journalists, and citizens from around the world. If you are interested in democracy online, which includes politics online, new media, e-governance, online advocacy, citizen interaction and related topics, then join us. Each week, well known e-democracy expert
[DW] UK Parliamentary Inquiry into ICTs and MPs/Representative Work
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** See notes below about: http://www.democracyforum.org.uk What do you get when you mix E-Government and Representative Democracy? Representative E-Democracy. In most places most democracy-related e-government investment is going into administrative/executive branch online consultation and e- rulemaking processes. This investment is good, but needs to be counter-balanced. I argue that representative institutions - from parliaments to local councils - must invest in ICTs in order make their official public processes more useful, relevant and accessible to all citizens. These institutions must make uniform ICT tools available to their elected member or our representatives will lose relative power to increasingly powerful government departments and Cabinet members who have ever increasing technology and communication resources. It is very encouraging that the UK Parliament's Information Committee is asking for your input on the use of information and communication technologies and the work of the House of Commons. Read the short note and starter questions from Stephen Coleman below. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do --- Forwarded message follows --- From: Stephen Coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:UK Parliamentary Inquiry Date sent: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 22:54:33 +0100 The Information Committee of the UK Parliament is holding an Inquiry into ways that ICTs can help Members (MPs) carry out their work more effectively and interact with the public. The Committee will report to Parliament on its findings in July of this year. As specialist advisor to the Inquiry, I have been asked to set up a web site and seek evidence from ICT and e-democracy experts from the UK and beyond. Members of the DO-Wire and DO-Consult lists are urged to go to http://www.democracyforum.org.uk, click on the Information Committee button and contribute your ideas to the Inquiry. I shall ensure that a copy of the final report is distributed to these lists. Stephen Coleman, Specialist Advisor, Information Committee Inquiry [More below - cut and pasted by SLC] --- End of forwarded message --- Once you login, this in a collection of discussion starting posts to give you a sense of what this is about: Topic: MPs and their Work (1 of 1), Read 14 times Conf: MPs and their work From: Stephen Coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thursday, April 25, 2002 10:18 PM The committee would appreciate your responses to the following questions: 1. Which ICTs will be most appropriate for the work of an elected representative in five years time? 2. How can representatives ensure that they are communicating with those they represent (their constituents)and not others, such as citizens from other constituencies or countries - or professional lobbyists? 3. What sort of skills do elected representatives need to succeed in the information age? 4. How can ICTS help MPs to be better at a) representing their constituents; b) considering legislation; c) scrutinising the Government; and d) relating to the media? Please post responses to these questions under different topic headings. Stephen Coleman, Specialist Adviser to the Information Committee Inquiry Topic: No Topic (1 of 1), Read 18 times Conf: Parliament and the public From: Stephen Coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thursday, April 25, 2002 10:24 PM The committee is interested in looking at ways that Parliament can use ICTs to interact with the public. Responses to the following questions would be most welcome. 1. How can Parliament best use ICTs to consult with the public about matters of policy, legislation and scrutiny? 2. Is there a danger that online consultations could raise public expectations and lead to frustration? How might this be avoided? 3. How might Parliament be interacting with citizens in five - or ten - years time? 4. What would be the benefit of webcasting Parliament? (An experiment in webcasting the UK Parliament is taking place at the moment.) Topic: International examples (1 of 1), Read 16 times Conf: International examples From: Stephen Coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thursday, April 25, 2002 10:27 PM The Information committee is very interested in learning from other parliaments and representative institutions. It has visited the Scottish Parliament and will be visiting the Welsh Assembly. It will be holding a video-conference with MPs in the Canadian Parliament. Examples of good practice (or, indeed, unsuccessful practice) from other countries would be much appreciated. Stephen Coleman, Specialist Adviser to the Information Committee Inquiry -- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL
[DW] UK Governments on the Web II Report and Related Papers
-government will easily shift to X,Y,Z backlogs and never be recaptured in any measurable way. Remember that you can share your comments on this and other posts at: http://slashdemocracy.org/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=15 Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Canadian eCommons-Agora Launch - 27 Apr 2002 Public Space Day
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** See: http://www.ecommons.nethttp://www.agora-electronique.net --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 12:23:37 -0400 From: Liss Jeffrey [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:April 27: Public Space Day/ eCommons-Agora launch Keywords: For DO-WIRE. Media and Citizen Alert Friday April 26 1 PM eCommons / Agora web site launches Saturday April 27 declared Public Space Day - celebration at Marshall McLuhan Coach House! For many people, the word Internet has come to mean dot-com bomb over the last year. The real story is out there, but far less visible. The use of the Internet by ordinary Canadians and community groups has been growing steadily as more and more Canadians use the 'Net ( nearly 60 per cent) for news, business, and social connections. Citizens and communities are using their contacts online to build their learning skills, engage in civic actions, and make their communities better places to live. Whats needed is a public network that will bring the not for profit sector, educational institutions, researchers, cultural workers, and community organizations together in a shared space. With violence in the Middle East escalating and the war in Afghanistan continuing, many Canadians are looking for ways to hold honest, open conversations and make a difference in the world. The need for education and communication has never been greater. A group of researchers, volunteers and open source technical developers, the eCommons/Agora formed a national not for profit community learning network in April 2000 to create that sustainable public space network. Initiated at the byDesign eLab and the McLuhan Program at University of Toronto in 1997, the eCommons/Agora secured a matching pilot grant from HRDC's Office of Learning Technologies to accelerate the idea. The mission is to bridge digital divides by creating a public space network where best and worst practices, tools and ideas can be shared and debated by all sectors of Canadian society. Goals include support for civic engagement, community development and cultural content creation. Now the eCommons/Agora programmers and content producers are releasing their latest platform, featuring a growing database of Canadian public interest resources, search engines to deliver relevant and validated contents, with input forms so that civil society groups can submit their own resources. The NetiZen News service alerts subscribers to practical news for citizens, and constantly updated listings of relevant sources. The Knowledge Zone offers Research reports and discussions on citizen uses of the net. And this is only the beginning. The eCommons/Agora invites volunteers online and offline to join in shaping this grassroots work in progress. Members of the media are invited to come talk to us about public space online. April 26 11 AM - 7 PM At 1 PM the latest release of the eCommons/Agora project will be launched at The McLuhan Coach House, University of Toronto 39a Queen's Park Crescent East (behind the Multicultural History Building -- south of Museum TTC station) With comments from: Rob Mastin, Manager, Office of Learning Technologies, HRDC Dr Liss Jeffrey, founding director, eCommons/Agora, director, McLuhan global research network and the eCommons/Agora team Public Space Day declared! Saturday April 27 (Between Earth Day and May Day, in National Volunteer Week) Join us 11 AM - 11 PM At the Coach House, enjoy live performances, music, a photo gallery, NetiZen News Zine, make an Enso (an image of public space), test drive the web site, join the netcasting, production demonstrations, .and more http://www.ecommons.nethttp://www.agora-electronique.net The eCommons/Agora project is sponsored in part by Human Resources Development Canada Office of Learning Technologies, Rogers Communications Centre (Ryerson University), and Joel Alleyne and Associates, with technical support from Deepsky.com and Trick Media. Chief cyber architect byDesign eLab. For more information email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact us at 416- 596-9533 x 280 eCommons.net -- A vital place in virtual space --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] e-Parliament Pilot Programme Information - Harvard's Program on Negotiation, EarthAction
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** After an interesting telephone conversation a few weeks ago, I asked Joshua Weiss to send along details about the e-Parliament Pilot Programme that I could forward to DO-WIRE. Additional information is available from: http://www.pon.harvard.edu/research/projects/ppw.php3 http://www.pon.harvard.edu/shared/docs/eparl.pdf http://www.earthaction.org/e-parl/ I have long http://www.publicus.net/articles/transnational.html been interested in ways to create online structures that foster inter- governmental/civic information exchange. Scroll about 2/3 of the way down and read from Human Networks down. In some ways my perspective was sharper, more fresh back in 1993 than it is today. Anyway, the idea of creating systems http://www.landfield.com/govnews/ to promote global information sharing in the past may have been too broad. With the e-Parliaments focus on a few key issues it might give them the context to build the democratic overhead required for effective information exchange that can be extended to more issues over time. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do From: Joshua Weiss [EMAIL PROTECTED] The e-Parliament Pilot Programme A proposal for funding March 2002 Section 1. Background The e-Parliament Concept The 'e-Parliament' is a new initiative to further global democracy through an internet-based forum linking the world's democratically elected legislators. The e-Parliament will enable parliamentarians from industrialised and developing countries to collaborate with civil society in a search for creative solutions to global problems such as AIDS, children's rights and climate change. The e-Parliament will contribute to global information exchange and the spread of good practice between legislators and will be of particular benefit to parliamentarians with few resources in developing countries. Through the use of internet-based research and discussion forums the e-Parliament will enable its members to get in touch with colleagues in other countries who share common concerns, and to find out what legislators in other countries are doing to address common global problems. It will provide the opportunity for groups of legislators to create joint recommendations for global action. The e-Parliament represents a positive response to the challenge of globalization. As more decisions move to the global level, on issues ranging from climate change to trade, there is an urgent need for a democratic global forum to bring greater accountability to world decision-making. And while global free markets are an efficient mechanism for meeting some of society's needs, there is a corresponding requirement to strengthen the role of democratic parliaments to advance global public goods that are not automaticallly provided by free markets. The e-Parliament is a unique concept fulfilling a proven need of legislators and civil society. No other forum of this nature is currently in existence. The e-Parliament project has been initiated by EarthAction (a global network of citizen groups and legislators), together with the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard University. More information on EarthAction can be found at http://www.earthaction.org A new legal entity called the e-Parliament Initiative is being created, with a board made up of distinguished legislators and civil society representatives. The e-Parliament's Purposes The e-Parliament will: * Provide a unique tool for the world's 25,000 democratically elected legislators to link up into a democratic global forum to deal with common problems. * Contribute to the promotion of global good governance through a 'library' of examples of good legislation and policy deposited on the e-Parliament site by parliamentarians and available for use and adaptation by legislators world-wide. * Establish a process for generating more creative and effective solutions to global problems by sharing ideas and research on issues such as AIDS, children's rights, prevention of terrorism or climate change. Recommendations will be generated and fed into national parliaments and global institutions for action. The active involvement in this process of civil society groups and parliamentarians from around the globe will be encouraged, in particular those from developing countries with direct experience of the particular issue. * Focus on generating new funds to meet global needs. Legislators vote national budgets and can influence both national and international priorities on budget spending. Their concerted action could make a difference to the amount of funds expended internationally for poverty reduction and environmental protection. . The e-Parliament in Practice Unlike other global institutions, the e-Parliament will be made up entirely of democratically-elected representatives. The structure will be quite
[DW] Governments Using Forums to Serve Public Purposes - Cyber CrimePrevention
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** See: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/industries/computers_and_internet/3111793.htm (Text is below) The downtown police precinct in Minneapolis hosts a two-way e-mail list for communication related crime prevention. While I am aware of various one-way e-mail alert networks in my fair city http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/citywork/police/ccp-safe/emaillist.html the two-way downtown list is a prime example of how the Internet can be used to involve people in directly dealing with public concerns. The other government as online communication host for the implementation of public policy goals that I feel is extremely important is the Community Builder site/web forum/e-list. It is hosted by the state government of New South Wales in Australia http://www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/. You can get a sense of their 800+ person exchange related to community development directly at http://www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/forum/list.php?f=3. Including such topics as Public Toilets and their Future http://www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/forum/read.php?f=3i=594t=594. First we had reality-based television, now reality-based e-democracy. :-) It is my belief that we need a grid for civic/inter-governmental information exchange that works from the local level on up. If we do not build the framework for information exchange forums that deal with more mundane public services, we will never have the foundation required for larger, often national or international policy issue online deliberation. With the globalization of so many policy issues that directly impact local and national policy options, the initial tendency is to first create more global online civil society forums. These global information exchange places will have limited impact as long as there is no grass roots framework for local information exchange on related topics. The cross-flow of relevant e-mail posts between many-to-many local, national, and global forums with provide a powerful multiplier effect. So for example, back to crime, if you want a global agreement on say drug crimes to be effective, you need lots of local crime prevention forums that can be consulted online for input on the global policy framework. The participants in each local online exchange are represented by somebody in traditional political power structures (i.e. they are voters) while purely global forums are not viewed by anyone with legitimate power as something they must take notice based on some sense that they risk political ramifications in their district. If public officials, including national leaders had a sense that what they were doing on a global stage might generate positive or negative buzz across local forums in their country, perhaps impact the next election, they will both take such online forums seriously and attempt to engage them to assist their political goals. That will then open up the opportunity to use online information exchange and discussions in efforts to not just promote accountability and set the public agenda, but also to help improve the outcomes of the public policy process. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do From: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/industries/computers_and_internet/3111793.htm (I have included the full article for educational purposes because I am not sure whether this site keeps articles at the same URL for more than a week - they didn't before their recent redesign.) Posted on Mon, Apr. 22, 2002 Cyber-Crimestoppers More than an electronic bullhorn, e-mail has given Minneapolis police an interactive, effective means to combat downtown crime. BY LESLIE BROOKS SUZUKAMO Pioneer Press Police departments around the country often turn to high-tech crime-fighting tools costing small fortunes. But in Minneapolis, two police workers say they've found a smarter and cheaper anti-crime technology. It's called e-mail. Electronic mail is hardly cutting-edge in the computer sense. In downtown Minneapolis, though, officer Craig Williams and civilian crime-prevention staffer Luther Krueger are using it in ways that are cutting-edge as public-safety measures, experts believe. In what is being dubbed a virtual block club, police and about 430 other people with downtown connections are able to exchange messages as part of a communal crime-fighting effort. Membership in the virtual block club is free. Creating it cost police nothing. They simply did what thousands of gardening groups, computer clubs, sports enthusiasts and politics junkies have already done they started an e-mail group. The group, also known as a mailing list or listserv, allows police to communicate with the managers and owners of downtown office buildings, bars, restaurants and parking ramps. What's more, any group member can communicate with all members
[DW] How I Support DO-WIRE, Speaking Requests for Next Fall
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** People often ask me how I support DO-WIRE. My business model is to give everything away for free, but charge those who want to know what is most important. Public speaking around the world is how I support my work. I have transitioned to making public speaking my main business over the last five months. So the more profile speaking events, the more I can justify providing DO-WIRE as a free one-size-fits-all. So far so good - thanks to major speaking events in Canada, Finland, Seattle, and Japan (I am prospecting additional speaking opportunities in Hong Kong or South Korea Monday, May 27 - Thursday, May 30. Please send me any leads ASAP.) Next Fall I am now working up plans for my next multi-stop trip to Europe in the second-half of September and my speaking schedule through the rest of the year. If you are interested in hosting a profile speech, workshop, or other meetings anywhere in the world, now is the time to get in your request or indicate an interest. E-mail me at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thank you for your continued interest in DO-WIRE. Sincerely, Steven Clift http://www.publicus.net Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Texting to Victory - Mobile Voting via SMS?
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Below are a couple of press releases on the e-voting trials in the UK local elections (and some other links far below). I shared a stage in Finland with an IT leader from the Liverpool city government. He claimed that somehow, someway they were going to allow voting via text messaging from mobile phones. I look forward to learning the details. The UK Commons Leader Robin Cook came out for online voting: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_1921000/1921760.st m Will online voting increase turnout? We know that voting by mail does. In Switzerland it is my understanding where voting by mail is the most common choice the take up of online options faces a citizen take up challenge. Can anyone summarize lessons from recent Swiss experiments for DO-WIRE? Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. M-Democracy? - Do you know of interesting mobile/wireless e-democracy applications? I have a big one from Finland to share that I am saving for later ... From: Chris Quigley [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:British campaign targets youth e-vote Date sent: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 19:27:31 +0100 Press release (23/4/02) Sheffield City Council targets youth vote E-vote youth engagement site launches: http://www.EvoteSheffield.com Sheffield City Council today (23/4/02) launches EvoteSheffield.com, a website aimed at engaging young voters in the local e-voting pilots taking place in several of the citys wards. With only 39% of young people voting in the 2001 General Election, Sheffield City Council believes that making the voting process more convenient and relevant to voters lifestyles will go some way to addressing the problem of low election turnout. EvoteSheffield.com is an innovative site designed to engage the younger voter in the e-voting pilots by illustrating how easy it is to e-vote, and by providing information about the e-voting process in a youth-relevant way. Sheffield City Councils Chief Executive Bob Kerslake comments: It is vital that young people are involved in the election of local representatives, and given the choice to vote using methods that suit them. In the past voting has meant one thing, a trip to the nearest polling station to put your cross on a ballot paper. Our young voters can now vote in the way they communicate every day, selecting their favoured candidate with a mobile phone text message or via the internet on PC or at one of Sheffields many public information kiosks. I hope that this extra choice, and the information on EvoteSheffield.com, will encourage many more young people to vote in this years local elections. EvoteSheffield.com has been developed by election.com and Spinon, and includes Flash animations illustrating how to use each e-voting method, a movie putting e-voting in a historical context, and also an interactive mechanism enabling the voter the opportunity to air their views on e-voting and local politics in general. Andrew Murphy of election.com comments: If young people are going to participate in democracy it is vital that the information they receive is relevant to their lifestyle. The simple instructions and engaging graphics of EvoteSheffield.com are designed to communicate key facts about the voting process in a way young people are used to. With the World Snooker Championships heating up in Sheffield, EvoteSheffield.com also gives young voters the chance to test their skills in its very own snooker challenge. Could you pot the black to win the Championships? The message of the campaign is clear: some things in life may be difficult but its easy to e-vote. http://www.EvoteSheffield.com END Notes for the Editor: E-voting using mobile phone text message and the internet, via a PC and Public access kiosk, will be possible in the Sheffield wards of Hallam, Manor and Nether Edge. Voting in these wards will take place over the course of a week, from 26th April to 2nd May. 39% of 18 24 year olds voted in the 2001 General election: Electoral Commission report, July 2001. The most frequently quoted reason for not voting in the 2001 General Election, given unprompted, by non-voters was inconvenience. MORI poll Jun 2001 Only 10% of people gave no interest in politics as a reason for not voting. election.com is a global election software and services company with an experienced team of election experts from around the world. Election.com is working alongside BT to provide the technology in the Sheffield and Liverpool e-voting pilots. Spinon is a youth political communications company set up with the remit to engage and connect young people with the British political system. Spinon was founded following the dismal turnout at the 2001 General Election, and is headed by Chris Quigley: e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] m: 07710 145575 http://www.spinon.net For more information contact: Andrew Murphy
[DW] Draft Declaration on freedom of communication on the Internet - Council of Europe - Comments Due 1 May 2002
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Under Principle 2 I'd add after web sites the phrase and online forums. As I have stated before, in my opinion the most democratizing aspect of the Internet is the ability of people to organize and communicate in groups. The effective exercise of the freedom of communication on the Internet requires an audience and the ability for many-to-many communication. As I noted to a number of people at the CFP conference http://www.cfp2002.org/proceedings/ we need an Internet of democracy http://www.publicus.net/articles/netdem.html not just based on rights, but also on responsibilities. The future of democracy in the information age is in many ways on the shoulders of civic-minded techies with standing in the Internet meritocracy. It is up to them to build democratic principles (like the freedom of association http://www.opengroups.org into the technical infrastructure of the Internet, e-mail and the Web. Democracy as an online afterthought or side application will not be cost effective. Democracy online may well find itself priced out of the market of human experience without concerted thought and action today. Read on below and zip your comments to the Council of Europe [EMAIL PROTECTED] by May 1st, 2002. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org P.S. Share your comments to the COE publicly at: http://slashdemocracy.org/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=15 From: http://www.humanrights.coe.int/media/ Draft Declaration on freedom of communication on the Internet (09/04/2002) The Group of Specialists on on-line services and democracy has decided to invite the public to comment on a draft Declaration on freedom of communication on the Internet (EN / FR). Please send your comments to the Media Division [EMAIL PROTECTED] by 1 May 2002. The full text from: http://www.humanrights.coe.int/media/documents/Draftdeclaration.rtf French: http://www.humanrights.coe.int/media/documents/Draftdeclaration(F).rtf Strasbourg, 8 April 2002 Public version No. 1 GROUP OF SPECIALISTS ON ON-LINE SERVICES AND DEMOCRACY (MM-S-OD) __ Draft Declaration on freedom of communication on the Internet __ DRAFT DECLARATION ON FREEDOM OF COMMUNICATION ON THE INTERNET The member States of the Council of Europe, Recalling the commitment of member States to the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information, as guaranteed by Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Considering that freedom of expression and information on the new information and communication services needs to be reaffirmed; Aware at the same time of the need to balance freedom of expression and information with other legitimate rights and interests; Recalling in this respect the Convention on Cybercrime and Recommendation No. R (2001) 8 on self-regulation concerning cyber content; Recalling furthermore Resolution No. 1 of the 5th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy (Thessaloniki, 11-12 December 1997); Concerned about attempts to limit access by the public to communication on the Internet for political reasons or other motives contrary to democratic principles; Convinced that there is a necessity to state firmly that prior control of communications on the Internet, regardless of frontiers, should remain an exception; Considering furthermore that there is a need to remove barriers to individual access to the Internet, and thus to complement measures already undertaken to set up public access points in line with Recommendation No. R (99) 14 on universal community service concerning new communication and information services; Convinced that freedom to establish services provided through the Internet will contribute to guaranteeing the right of users to access pluralistic content from a variety of domestic and foreign sources; Convinced also that limited liability of intermediaries when they act as mere transmitters or when they provide in good faith access to or host content from third parties will enhance the free flow of information on the Internet; Considering that a balance has to be found between the right of users of the Internet not to disclose their identity and the need for law enforcement authorities to trace the authors of criminal deeds; Welcoming efforts by intermediaries to co-operate with law enforcement agencies when faced with illegal content on the Internet; Noting the importance of co-operation between these agencies in the fight against such content; Declare that in the field of communication on the Internet, they seek to abide by the following principles: Principle 1 - Absence of prior control Without prejudice to Article 10, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, public authorities should not through general measures
[DW] UK Robin Cook, MP - Reviving Democracy
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Thank you Stephen Coleman for sending this along ... See: http://www.yougov.com/news.jsp;jsessionid=4s4mk7uqm1?news.id=20016706 I welcome the invitation to contribute to this conference. As Chair of the Cabinet Committee on E-Democracy, it gives me an opportunity to share with you our thinking and to seek your help with our work. That work springs from the confluence of two separate modern developments. The first is the worrying decline in the participation rate in our democracy. It is a worry captured in the title of this conference Reviving Democracy. There would be no need to talk about reviving democracy if democracy was already in good heart and robust health. - clip - ... The strategic danger is that the public senses a loss of ownership of the democratic process. Reviving democracy means restoring a sense of ownership the public. I mentioned a confluence of two modern developments. The other development is the revolution in communication technology. It is a technology now so commonplace that the time may have come to drop the word new as its prefix. To most people under forty the e-mail and the text message are routine parts of their life style, and they are mildly amused when politicians of a certain age write with breathless excitement about technologies they have just discovered. We have long passed the moment at which the number of e-mails dispatched in Britain out-numbers the number of letters posted. There is a connection waiting to be made between the decline in democratic participation and the explosion in new ways of communicating. We need not accept the paradox that gives us more ways than ever to speak, and leaves the public with a wider feeling than ever before that their voices are not being heard. The new technologies can strengthen our democracy, by giving us greater opportunities than ever before for better transparency and a more responsive relationship between government and electors. The Cabinet Committee on e-democracy was set up to make the connections between government and public, which the new technologies offer. In this context I do not mean government in its limited sense of a ministerial collective. I use it to embrace all forms of public and accountable authority, including all the diverse range of agencies, regulators and quangos that make up modern government. ... See article URL above for full text. *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Parliaments on the Net V - Presentations and Conference Reports
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** The other week I had the opportunity to address staff from 31 parliaments http://www.eduskunta.fi/ecprd/ across Europe at the Parliaments on the Net conference in Helsinki. There is a growing interest in the concept of e-democracy within representative institutions as well as a concern that the expectation of online speed may undermine their attempts to successfully bring these tools into their processes which are by design slow and deliberative. Here are my policy questions - Should parliaments, legislatures, councils and other representative institutions begin to invest real resources in e-democracy and build it into their official processes? Do they need to provide a counterbalance to the larger e- government and e-democracy/consultation investments of the administrative branch of government? You check out my answer in my 10MB (yikes) power point presentation: http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/repedemclift.ppt (It includes lots of interesting screen shots of parliamentary sites.) My bottom line: Build representative e-democracy today or you will lose power tomorrow. As the legitimate direct representatives of citizens, your institutional use of e-democracy tools and concepts is paramount to the future of democracy as a whole. Check out their Photo Album as I pray for the future of representative e-democracy. :-) Steven Clift Democracies Online Check out the Agenda and Conference Report pages for presentations: http://www.eduskunta.fi/ecprd/ (Or use links below) Conference Reports (Notes): E-Democracy Workshop http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/Edemoc.ppt Knowledge Management Workshop http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/KMworkshop.pdf Quick links to Conference Presentations: 1. E-democracy in practice, Swedish experiences of a new political tool. http://www.svekom.se/skvad/E-democracy-en.pdf Tommy Rosén, Project Director, Swedish Association of Local Authorities Address: http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/Rosenaddress.helsinki.pd f Slides: http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/helsinki.ppt (author of the now famous local government e-democracy report) 2. Bruno Vieillefosse/Assemblée nationale France: Les perspectives de la démocratie électronique French: http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/helsinki.pdf English: http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/helskineng.pdf 3. Knowledge Management - projects in the Finnish Parliament, a Member of Parliaments mission and toolbox as an example, Markku Markkula, Member of the Finnish Parliament, Committee for the Future Developing and Implementing Knowledge Management in the Parliament of Finland http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/KM_Finnish_Parliament.pd f (major report still in the works) 4. Knowledge Management - an accelerator for national competitiveness, Professor Pirjo Ståhle, Lappeenranta University of Technology http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/stahle.pps (not parliament specific) 5. Daniel Schweizer/The Swiss Parliament: Verbalix - near real-time Internet publishing of Parliamentary minutes http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/verbalix-helsinki.zip (Very popular) 6. Per Axelson/The Swedish Parliament: Promoting the exchange of information between Parliaments http://www2.eduskunta.fi/fakta/edustaja/ecprd/Axelson.ppt ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] E-Government for Development - Live Conference Video from Palermo
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Perhaps you can catch this on April 11 live (European time): http://www.palermoconference2002.org/en/diretta1.php Conference Program: http://www.palermoconference2002.org/en/conf3.htm While I doubt their panels are broadcast, here is one of direct interest on Thursday: Parallel Sessions - Session F GOVERNANCE AND e-DEMOCRACY 09:00 / 10:50 Room: Sala Rossa :: Chair Mr Pekka Tarjanne Executive Coordinator, UN-ICT Task Force :: Panellists Mr Libisi Maphanga IT Manager, Independent Electoral Commission, South Africa ICT and Democratic Elections in South Africa Mr Ed Gerck Chairman, Internet Voting Technology Alliance Assuring Trust, Privacy and Integrity for Internet Voting Ms Orapin Sopchokchai Director, Public Administration Reform Program, Thailand IT for Good Governance and New Public Service in Thailand Mr Stephen Coleman Democracy Forum - Hansard Society, United Kingdom ICT for Development and Democracy ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Online Issue Advocacy - Call for nominations for Golden Dot Awards
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 19:28:27 -0500 From: Ronda Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Call for nominations for Golden Dot Awards =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-= CALL FOR NOMINATIONS THE 2002 GOLDEN DOT AWARDS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-= On May 20, 2002 the Democracy Online Project of The George Washington Universitys Graduate School of Political Management will award Golden Dot Awards for Civic Excellence in Online Issue Advocacy. The purpose of the awards is to showcase individuals and groups that have advanced the field of online politics. Awards will be presented in five categories: Innovation, Interactivity, Message, Public Support and Transparency. In additions, a Grand Prize will be awarded to a finalist in one of the preceding five categories whose campaign demonstrated overall, and/or exceptional, issue advocacy excellence between January 1, 2000 and April 30, 2002. The Golden Dot Awards have been presented annually for the last four years, alternating each year between political campaign campaigns and issue advocacy campaigns. Past winners in this years category--issue advocacy--include The National Environmental Trust's Hotearth.net, IowaGOP.org, Heritage Forests Campaign and MoveOn.org. The judging panel, consisting of previous award winners, journalists and members of the Golden Dot Award committee are inviting nominations from, or on behalf of, any individual or organization meeting the eligibility requirements. Nominations can be made directly from the site: http://www.gspm.org/politicsonline/goldendot2000.htm Award finalists will be informed in advance so that he or she will be prepared to speak for approximately five (5) minutes at the Golden Dot Award Ceremony at the Eighth Annual Politics Online Conference, May 20, 2002. Nominations will be accepted until 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, April 30, 2002. Further information can be found on the Golden Dot Award web site at http://www.gspm.org/politicsonline/goldendot2000. The sponsor of the awards, Democracy Online Project is a research, education and advocacy initiative that was established in 1998 to improve campaigns through the use of the Internet. Funded by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Democracy Online Project documents and analyzes the evolving use of the Internet in politics; develops and advocates best practices in online campaign conduct; identifies and promotes awareness of critical public policy choices regarding the Internet, politics and democracy; and serves as an informational resource for candidates, political professionals and activists, journalists, scholars and citizens. More information on the Democracy Online Project is available at: http://www.democracyonline.org/ The Golden Dot Awards ceremony will be during the 2002 Politics Online Conference on May 20, 2002 at The George Washington University, 805 21st Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20052 More information on conference is available at: http://www.gspm.org/politicsonline --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] AOL GovernmentGuide and Nat'l League of Cities, Assoc Counties
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** See: http://www.governmentguide.com I am a big believer in inter-governmental cooperation. I wonder if FirstGov has similar efforts/plans with state and local government associations? The distribution of directory input into all sorts of government/civic/commercial portals is a great idea. Steven Clift Democracies Online From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Fwd: Final GovernmentGuide release Date sent: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 16:21:33 EST AOL PARTNERS WITH NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES TO EXPAND GOVERNMENTGUIDE RESOURCES Web's Most Visited Government Information Portal Increases Total Listings to More Than 210,000 Federal, State, and Local Links Comprehensive New My Government Section Will Include More Local Information on County Supervisors, City Councilmembers, Mayors DULLES, VA - APRIL 4, 2002 - America Online, the world's leading interactive services company, today announced a broad expansion of the GovernmentGuide web resource through new partnerships with the National League of Cities (NLC) and the National Association of Counties (NACo). GovernmentGuide will also dramatically increase the number of its local government listings through a new partnership with eGovernment provider NIC that will give users access to more than 210,000 government-related links organized into 1,600 categories. The new partnerships will give the thousands of municipalities represented by NLC and NACo the ability to submit their government Web sites free-of-charge for listing in GovernmentGuide's national database. NACo and NLC will certify the submissions and will promote the listing service to their member cities and counties. Additionally, through an expanded partnership with Capitol Advantage, the site's My Government section will allow users to find new information about local elected officials from their mayor to county supervisors and city council members. We're very pleased to be partnering with these prominent organizations and expanding the local government information available to our members and the tens of millions of other Americans who are now using the online medium, said Kathryn Borsecnik, President of AOL Brand Management and Programming. When government is close to the people, it can serve their needs the best, and these efforts will help us continue to use the online medium to close the gap between government and the American people by delivering information, enabling communication, and connecting voters with their elected officials. Through this partnership with AOL, we're giving America's cities a powerful new tool to reach their citizens with valuable government information and resources ranging from the addresses of local police stations to contact information for the mayor's office, said Donald J. Borut, Executive Director of the National League of Cities. By providing local information, GovernmentGuide is helping connect citizens with the layer of government that most impacts their daily lives. This new effort is an exciting opportunity to show how public- private partnerships can transform the way that Americans interact with their government, said Larry E. Naake, Executive Director of the National Association of Counties. We look forward to helping our members use the online medium to become more useful, effective, and informative for their constituents. GovernmentGuide is a one-stop resource designed to help online users locate, find information about, and connect with elected officials and government agencies at the federal, state, and local level. The site organizes information by topic and common task and personalizes it by ZIP code to make it more useful and easier to find relevant information. GovernmentGuide can be found on the Web at http://www.governmentguide.com and at AOL Keyword: GOVERNMENT. According to Jupiter Media Metrix, GovernmentGuide had more than 3.7 million unique visitors in February, making it the Web's most visited government information portal. GovernmentGuide was launched in December 1999. GovernmentGuide is powered by NIC, which identified, categorized, and maintains the world’s largest government information database for GovernmentGuide. Interested municipalities can provide their online information for listing in GovernmentGuide through http://www.usgovnow.com/NLC/index.cfm (for NLC members) and http://www.usgovnow.com/NACo/index.cfm (for NACo members). About America Online, Inc. America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e- commerce services. About National League of Cities The National League of Cities is the oldest and largest national organization representing municipal governments throughout the United
[DW] Urban Planning and New Media - Report from EDEN
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** See sections starting at page 39 and page 49 in particular. Also see their What's New section for additional documents and highlights http://www.edentool.org/new.htm including links to an analysis (in German) of the Horn-Lehe On-Line Forum in Bremen http://www.horn-lehe.de. Steven Clift Democracies Online Table of contents from: http://www.edentool.org/Deliverables/D5_1.pdf 1. Introduction 4 2. The History of Urban Planing 7 National and continental differences: Europe and America (the anglo-american world) 15 3. State of the Art 21 General methods already existing (without ITCs tools) 25 Meetings and Workshops 26 Search Conferences 27 Accountability groups 28 The SpeakOut 29 Public information / Newsletters 30 Surveys 31 Specific techniques within meetings and workshops 32 Surveys within meetings or workshops 33 Role plays and simulations 33 Site Visits 34 Parcour 34 Work with Children 35 Food Modeling 35 Face Painting 35 Creative visualization and drawing exercises 36 Surveys of children 36 A week with a camera 36 Slide Analysis 37 Role acting 38 4.Urban Planning and New Media 39 City planning with new media in the U.S. and in Japan 41 The Virtual Los Angeles Project 43 Overview of further projects in the USA 46 Overview of projects in Japan 47 Usage of New Media in City Planning in Europe 48 5. Evaluating Participation 49 1. Introduction 49 Scope of this chapter 49 E-democracy and Innovations in Participation 50 2. Participation, Consultation and Urban Planning 51 a) Participation Goals 51 b) Extent of citizens influence 53 c) Owners, Actors and Target Participants 55 d) Pre-requisite Knowledge Skills 57 e) Tangibility of Outcomes 59 f) Stage in decision-making 60 g) Time range 61 h) Resources and Methods 61 i) Analysis and Feedback 63 Analysis of online discussion 65 Tools and Methods for Urban Planning 2 Content analysis 65 Analysis of closed questions 67 2. Socio-technical Evaluation 68 Evaluation of Technical Usability 69 Evaluation of Public Policy Interventions 70 References 75 ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Rise of the E-Citizen: How People Use Government Agencies' Web Sites - PewInternet Report
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** From: http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=57 The Rise of the E-Citizen: How People Use Government Agencies' Web Sites April 3, 2002 Table of Contents: Summary of findings Part 1: Who visits government Web sites and what they do Part 2: A closer look at some activities Part 3: Different types of government Web site users Part 4: A case study of the last visit to government Web sites Methodology The Summary: Summary of findings Web presence is not optional for governments in the United States. Citizens are online and learning to demand answers at Internet speed. Government budget-writers require that the cost-savings potential of the Internet be mastered. At the same time, laws and executive orders mandate the provision of at least some services online. And Americans are stepping up to use them. Fully 68 million American adults have used government agency Web sites - a sharp increase from the 40 million who had used government sites in March 2000 when we first polled on the subject. They exploit their new access to government in wide-ranging ways, finding information to further their civic, professional, and personal lives. Some also use government Web sites to apply for benefits, engage public officials, and complete transactions such as filing taxes. While many government site users focus on their personal needs in dealing with government agencies, there is abundant evidence that a new e-citizenship is taking hold: Ø 42 million Americans have used government Web sites to research public policy issues. Ø 23 million Americans have used the Internet to send comments to public officials about policy choices. Ø 14 million have used government Web sites to gather information to help them decide how to cast their votes. Ø 13 million have participated in online lobbying campaigns. Other key findings Satisfied searchers: Most government Web site visitors are happy with what they find on the sites; 80% of them say they find what they are seeking on the Web sites. Improved relations with government: Overall, 60% of government Web site users say such sites had improved their interactions with at least one level of government. Half of government Web site users (49%) say the Internet has improved the way they interact with the federal government; 44% say it has improved the way they interact with their state government; and 30% say the Internet has improved the way they interact with local government. Federal and state sites get better grades than local sites: Federal and state Web sites are more popular than local Web sites: 80% of government Web site users have visited federal sites, 76% have visited state sites, and 41% have visited local government Web sites. Generally, seekers find the information they want more easily on federal (68%) and state (69%) Web sites than they do on local government sites (46%). Federal and state sites get higher evaluations from these Internet users. ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Electronic Submission of Public Comments - Health Example, EPIC Privacy Alert
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do ***
*** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html ***
Here is an example of government taking electronic comments on
proposed rules was included in the EPIC alert below:
Health and Human Services Privacy Rule Site and Proposed Changes:
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/
It is interesting to see who links here as well:
http://www.google.com/search?as_lq=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hhs.gov%2Focr%2Fhi
paa
Steven Clift
Democracies Online
P.S. I am back from Finland digging out of my e-mail.
--- Forwarded message follows ---
Date sent: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 18:16:51 -0500
From: EPIC News [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: EPIC Alert 9.06
Keywords:
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Volume 9.06 March 28, 2002
--
Published by the
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Washington, D.C.
http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_9.06.html
==
=
Table of Contents
==
=
[1] FBI Ordered to Locate Carnivore Documents in EPIC FOIA Case
[2] ACLU, EPIC, Library Groups Challenge Internet Filtering Law
[3] Congress Holds Hearing on Surveillance Cameras in Washington, DC
[4] Bush Administration Reneges On Medical Privacy Guarantees
[5] EPIC FOIA Request Seeks Homeland Security Documents
[6] Updated EPIC Public Opinion Page; Industry Privacy Reports Biased
[7] EPIC Bookstore - Free as in Freedom
[8] Upcoming Conferences and Events
==
=
[1] FBI Ordered to Locate Carnivore Documents in EPIC FOIA Case
==
=
EPIC has won another round in its effort to compel the disclosure of
information about the FBI's controversial Carnivore Internet
surveillance system. In an order issued on March 25, U.S. District
Judge James Robertson denied a government motion for summary judgment
and directed the Bureau to expand its search for records about
Carnivore. The judge ordered the FBI to complete within 60 days a
further search for records pertaining to the system.
EPIC filed its Freedom of Information Act suit against the FBI and
the
Justice Department in July 2000, after the agencies failed to respond
to a request to expedite the processing of documents relating to
Carnivore. The FBI subsequently agreed to expedite its search (which
otherwise would have taken several years), and made its final
release of documents in January 2001. The Bureau then prepared an
itemized accounting of withheld material in support of its motion for
summary judgment, which was filed last summer. The accounting
indicated that approximately 2000 pages of material were located at
two Bureau components -- the Electronic Surveillance Technology
Section (ESTS) in Quantico, Virginia, and the Contracts Unit at FBI
Headquarters -- but no other locations.
In response to the government's motion, EPIC noted that the released
documents dealt only with technical aspects of Carnivore, rather than
the legal and policy implications of the surveillance technique.
EPIC
further noted that no documents had yet been located at key FBI and
DOJ components, including the FBI's Office of General Counsel. Judge
Robertson agreed, finding that EPIC has raised a 'positive
indication' that the FBI may have overlooked documents in other FBI
divisions, most notably the offices of the General Counsel and
Congressional and Public Affairs.
Public disclosure of information concerning Carnivore is particularly
important in the aftermath of September 11, as such investigative
techniques are likely to increase in use. The controversial USA
PATRIOT Act, quickly passed by Congress last fall, expressly
authorizes the use of Carnivore and imposes certain reporting
requirements when it is used by investigators.
Judge Robertson's order is available at:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/court_order.html
Background information on EPIC's Carnivore FOIA litigation, including
scanned images of selected documents, is available at:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/
==
=
[2] ACLU, EPIC, Library Groups Challenge Internet
[DW] Death of U.S. Internet Radio?
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Take a look at http://www.saveinternetradio.org and follow http://doc.weblogs.com and other web loggers on the subject of CARP http://www.loc.gov/copyright/carp/webcasting_rates.html or the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel. More from the recording industry http://www.riaa.org/Licensing-Licen-3a.cfm. A text clip below makes it clear that most Internet radio stations, even online versions of traditional broadcasters with music, in the U.S. will close because of costs. Here is where the issue of fees for streaming songs came from http://news.com.com/2100-1023-217284.html?tag=bplst. And news and activism from today http://www.kurthanson.com/ and from Slashdot http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/02/20/2351222mode=flat. You can observe webcasters in their natural online environment here http://www.broadcast.net/pipermail/webcasting/ and http://community.streamingmedia.com/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?visit=thelist. From an online activism stand point the Saveinternetradio site and sites like http://www.digitalconsumer.org need to ratchet up their e-mail activist alert efforts and begin identifying supporters by geography (congressional district) in order to have any real political impact. The Net may be global but politics starts local. My questions - how does this impact streaming in/from other countries? Will this lead to a major split in the kinds of music streamed on the Internet where royalty-free music dominates hobbyist streams and the vast catalogs of past recordings owned by record companies will only find a place on traditional broadcast radio? Will the unintended consequence of this lead to a new paradigm where a minor league of music essentially gives stuff away and only the best (I imagine some sort of Internet music chart) get grabbed up by the recording industry? Or will this change the economics so dramatically such that new bands with talent find a way to survive and make money without a major recording contract? No clue. I am an e-democracy guy. Steven Clift Democracies Online Listening to Jazz with Winamp http://www.winamp.com via Shoutcast http://www.shoutcast.com/waradio.phtml perhaps for the last time?! Here is a bit from the home page of Saveinternetradio: The CARP decision: Most Webcasters had hoped that the CARP's recommended royalty rate would be based on a percentage of revenues somewhere between the 15% of revenues that the RIAA had been asking of Webcasters and the 3% that Webcasters had proposed (which would be more in line with their ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC royalties to composers). On February 20, 2002, however, the CARP arbitrators issued their recommendation .14 per song per listener for Internet-only webcasters, .07 per song per listener for broadcast radio simulcasts, and .02 per song per listener for non-commercial radio simulcasts. CARP rate implications: While CARP's proposed royalty rate might be manageable for Internet radio properties owned by multi-billion-dollar corporations like AOL, Yahoo!, and Microsoft, it seems as if it will effectively bankrupt the vast majority of Webcasters. For example, for a mid-sized independent webcaster (e.g., two or three people working out of a home office or dorm room) that has had, say, an average audience of 1,000 listeners for the past three years, the bill for retroactive royalties -- which will come due sometime early this summer if the CARP rate recommendation is approved -- would be $525,600! *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Dairy Queen and E-Democracy - Media Coverage and Political Power inMinneapolis
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** Last week was a big week on the 800 member Minneapolis Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/mpls/. On Monday, Doug Grow, probably the most read newspaper columnist in Minnesota launched his column with, An ice-cream fight in the Minneapolis park system has turned into a prime example of e-mail democracy. Or maybe e-mail demagoguery. Read the full article http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/1922367.html. It heavily quotes one few remaining likely less-cyber comfortable elected officials on our city council who said of forum participants, They've got public officials twisted around their little fingers. Wow! To set the record straight - Minnesota E-Democracy does not seek total world domination, just Minneapolis. ;-) The discussion on the list about the article is highly informative about why these types of forums are important and influencial http://www.mail-archive.com/mpls@mnforum.org/msg08568.html in real geographic communities and local politics. Last October, reporter Steve Brandt wrote an important article about the forum http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/773948.html and here are his comments toward the end of the discussion about the role of the Mpls list and whether the media views it as competition http://www.mail-archive.com/mpls@mnforum.org/msg08877.html. The new mayor, RT Rybak, continues to participate in the forum as he did while a candidate. The recent police shooting of a Somali immigrant with mental illness (and a crow bar and machete walking down the street) brought out this post from the Mayor http://www.mail-archive.com/mpls@mnforum.org/msg08622.html later on the same Monday. This helps illustrates how important the online commons is during major events, not just discussions about ice cream vendors in city parks. However, the lack of immigrant participation on our forum is a concern. Hey foundation people, we need $10,000 for an aggressive, in-person New Voices outreach campaign - we have two volunteers working on a grant proposal. Interested? [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can find more on this event, other reactions to the Grow article and the original DQ discussion by clicking on earlier messages from http://www.mail-archive.com/mpls@mnforum.org/. Below is an e-mail answering the claim that one part of the city dominates the discussion by David Brauer, our volunteer list manager. Build one of these in your city today, before it is too late! Seriously, what are you waiting for? Steven Clift Democracies Online Minnesota E-Democracy [Mpls] Where in the world are Mpls-Issues posters? - From: List Manager Subject: [Mpls] Where in the world are Mpls-Issues posters? Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 06:49:05 -0800 - So ARE we Southwest-dominated? Thank goodness there's a list rule asking you to sign with your neighborhood as well as name. It allowed me to do a little research on where our posters live in the city. (A reminder: please sign with neighborhood, not ward or SD # if you can.) A disclaimer: I can't tell where ALL members live - if you are a lurker, your location is invisible, too. However, we'll assume posters reflect overall membership. To compile data, I chose, arbitrarily, the first 10 days of Jan., Feb. and March 2000...742 posts in all! I counted posts, not individuals, but that's because it reflects the actual conversation. To my surprise, we are NOT southwest-dominatedno matter how you draw the map. Here are two ways of figuring it - neighborhood specific results follow. If you split the city into 5 parts (SE includes the U-area and Downtown includes the neighborhoods inside the Mississippi-35W-94 freeway ring), posts break down like this: Posts List% Pop% SE 253 38.938.2 SW 222 34.127.5 DT 67 10.3 5.5 NE 59 9.110.7 N50 7.718.2 With the exception of the SW and N sections, list posts reflect the city's population closely. SW has about a third more posts than expected, N side about half. But that's a far smaller disparity than I expected. Or, if you split the city into quadrants by 35W and the Mississippi. Posts List% Pop% SW 254 38.531.2 SE 223 33.833.1 NE 101 15.315.9 N73 11.019.8 The disparities shrink: SW has about a quarter more posts than by population, while the north side has about 40 percent fewer. The neighborhood results were extremely satisfying. 63 of the city's 80 neighborhoods were represented in 30 days of posting! As Loki suggests, we have a lot of Central here, although my neighborhood, Kingfield, is the champ (thanks to me, Ken Avidor, the Manns, Steve Brandt, and others.) The big neighborhood and communities (4
[DW] UK e-democracy parliamentary debate, MP Allen's proposal, e-voting
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** *** New! Discuss Posts - http://e-democracy.org/do/discuss.html *** P.S. I'll be speaking to staff from a number parliaments across Europe http://www.eduskunta.fi/ecprd/ next week. Any last minute suggestions on great things you've seen on parliamentary web sites that I might mention? E-mail me [EMAIL PROTECTED]. UK e-democracy updates ... The parliamentary e-democracy debate from March 12, 2002: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/ pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/cm020312/debtext/20312-36.htm#20312-36_head1 (cut and paste on one line) E-Democracy Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.[Mr. Pearson.] 10.29 pm Mr. Graham Allen (Nottingham, North): I would like to use this debate as an opportunity for the Minister to update the House on where the UK Governmentand its wholly-owned subsidiary, the UK Parliamentare on the exciting but dangerous road of e-democracy. Access is the key to e-participation. Just as the majority of people in the world have never made a telephone call, so the majority of my constituents have never sent an e-mail. They are in the poorest third of our community in the UK, with only one in nine households having access to a personal computer. However, one of the answers to that, and to participation in democracy, is not ownership of a PC but access to one. Involvement through a group is just as valid. Indeed, arguably, in the practice of democracy, it is more effective than one of the atomised. ... many more pages at the URL above ... From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_1867000/1867605.st m Tuesday, 12 March, 2002, 13:48 GMT 'Web can break Whitehall monopoly' Using the internet in new ways can give the public the chance to break Whitehall's monopoly on framing new laws, says a Labour MP. Former whip Graham Allen says neither the public nor MPs are seriously involved in putting together new legislation under the current process. Mr Allen wants the rules changed so the public and MPs can join together to provide an alternative to plans drafted by civil servants and ministers. In a Commons debate on Tuesday, he will press for MPs to examine planned new laws for eight weeks before the proposals formally go before Parliament. ... end clip ... And, an e-voting update from Stephen Coleman (I added the URLs): From: Stephen Coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 22:54:23 Subject: e-voting Elections in the 21st Century: from paper ballot to e-voting by the UK's Independent Commission on Alternative Voting Methods was launched this Tuesday. Copies are available from the Electoral Reform Society; the report's recommendations are online at the ERS web site http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk. On the same day a number of voting pilots for this May's local elections were announced by Government Minister, Nick Raynsford, including several involving internet voting. More details from the DTLR web site http://www.elections.dtlr.gov.uk/pilot/index.htm. Stephen Coleman Also see: http://www.local-regions.detr.gov.uk/egov/modem/ or http://www.elections.dtlr.gov.uk/modemoc/ (the same???) Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions Modernising Democracy Prospectus for Electoral Pilots - Local Elections 2002 ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Finland - eCommunity Invite - Wed Mar 27 - Helsinki (Denmark Quick Stop Fri Mar 22)
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * I'll be in Helsinki, Finland from Sunday, March 23 through Wednesday, March 27. There is one main event that is open to the public and looks to be quite interesting with a mix of speakers. Please see the agenda in English and the invite letter below in Finnish. RSVP to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. See you in Finland or perhaps Copenhagen ... For those in Denmark - Are you interested in connecting on Friday, March 22? Drop me an e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] and I'll pass your name on to my contacts in Copenhagen. Steven Clift http://www.publicus.net Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do P.S. With two recent trips behind me, I am now in the middle of a busy patch with travel just about every other week into May. If your DO-WIRE submissions or other communication seems delayed, always feel free to resend. Finland Event Agenda: Welcome to eCommunity -Meeting 300 invited guests from public sector and companies Date: Wednesday 27th March 2002, 13.00 - 18.00 pm. Venue: University of Art and Design, Mediacenter LUME, Sampo -sali, Hämeentie 135 C, 00560 HELSINKI, FINLAND. The Organizers: Decretum Solutions Oy Ltd, The University of Art and Design - Mediacenter LUME, City of Helsinki, Business Development Unit, ADC - Art and Design City Helsinki. 13.00Opening, Ilkka-Christian Björklund, Deputy Mayor - City of Helsinki Finland 13.10 Global View to eDemocracy; Steven Clift, Online Strategist and Public Speaker - Publicus.Net Minneapolis USA Discussion 13.50 eDemocracy in UK; representative from UK (the name will be confirmed later) Discussion 14.30Coffee 15.00eDemocracy in Public Institution - Case; The New Nettools of Eduskunta; Mr. Olli Mustajärvi, Manager of Data Administration - Eduskunta, The Parliament of Finland 15.30eDemocracy in Finland; Ari Tammi, Netproducer - Decretum Solutions Oy Ltd.Helsinki, Finland 15.45Local Democracy in The Community of Helsinki Virtual Village; Mr. Kari Raina, Managing Director - ADC-Art and Design City Helsinki Oy 16.00 - 18.00 Cocktails and buffet Jazz -music, Kvartet Coctail The invitation letter in Finnish: DECRETUM SOLUTIONS OY LTD. Pvm 11.3.2002 AsiaKutsu eCommunity Meeting Decretum Solutions Oy järjestää yhdessä TaiKin Mediakeskus LUMEn, Helsingin kaupungin elinkeinopalvelun, ADC-Helsingin, Kuntaliiton ja Paavalin seurakunnan kanssa keskiviikkona 27.3.2002 kello 13.00-18.00 Mediakeskus LUME:ssa, Hämeentie 135 C, Helsinki eDemokratian asiantuntijatapaamisen Tilaisuuden avaa apulaiskaupunginjohtaja Ilkka-Christian Björklund ja kansainvälisinä vieraina luennoivat mediakonsultti Steven Clift, USA, Montana teemasta eDemokratian kehitysnäkymiä maailmalla ja Englannista tulee edustaja kertomaan aiheesta eDemokratia Iso- Britanniassa. Lisäksi kuvataan eDemokratian kehitystä Suomessa, esitellään eduskunnan uusia verkkotyökaluja ja kerrotaan Arabianrannan aluedemokratiamallista. Steven Cliftin ja Iso-Britannian edustajan alustukset ovat englanniksi, samoin niihin liittyvät keskustelut. Muutoin seminaari on suomenkielinen. Seminaarin ohjelma on oheisena. Toivotamme teidät tervetulleeksi seminaariin. Järjestelyjen vuoksi toivomme tilaisuuteen ilmoittautumisia 22.3.2002 mennessä Marja Anttoselle [EMAIL PROTECTED], p. 09 2727 0810 tai fax 09 2727 0850 tai 050 3254 511. TERVETULOA Decretum Solutions Oy LIITE ohjelma ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Candidate for Cal. Governor and Opt-Out Unsolicited E-mail
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Can I vote for Bill Jones for Governor in California? I don't think so. :-) Below is a note apparently from that campaign encouraging me to do so. It seems pretty obvious that Bill Jones does use TV-ads despite what his e-mail says http://www.billjones.org/Home/HomeList.cfm?c=19. There is nothing on his home page stating that he is not responsible for this unsolicited e-mail. The message below came straight to me twice, but also the soon to be open Twin Cities Metropolitian Issue Forum. So this statement at the end is odd: Your email was selected off the Internet based on your voter demographics. If you would like to be removed from future mailings, please click here. 4419tXdR3-848xDpP0058prOV2-023SzSl617l35 The senders address also bounced a test message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: host smtp-gw-4.msn.com[207.46.181.13] said: 550 5.1.1 [EMAIL PROTECTED] User unknown It looks like under California's spam laws they don't have to include the ADV: you often see because they are not selling a good, however I wonder if their use of MSN may cause them trouble under the California laws http://www.spamlaws.com/state/ca1.html. I guess Jones did this in December as well http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/671170.asp?cp1=1 Here is something from the La Times on Feb 20, 2002 http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-022002jones.story: The Jones campaign came under criticism again in December, when it sent out uninvited e-mails to drum up contributions. I'm Bill Jones and I need your support for governor, said the e-mail, which was first reported on MSNBC's Web site. Then it listed some accomplishments and invited recipients to visit Jones' campaign Web site. One recipient was Tom Geller, executive director of a San Francisco nonprofit called SpamCon Foundation that is dedicated to stamping out unwanted e-mail. The political message, he told The Times, is probably legal because California's anti-spam laws focus on commercial messages. But he added, There is no question it's improper and violates the spirit of the legislation. Jones referred questions to Lapsley, who said that out of 30,000 e-mails, there were only two complaints but thousands of visits to the campaign Web site. The advantage of using e-mail, he said, is that it costs much less than a traditional paper mailer. If we thought we were doing something inappropriate, we would not have sent them, Lapsley said. Anyway, my point in sharing this is not to suggest that unsolicted political speech via e-mail should be illegal. If you are going to do this, please don't claim it is targeted and send it to some in Minnesota twice and to an e-mail list designed to discussion regional policy issues 2,000 miles away. Also, you should use a return address that works and is directly tied to the campaign (my first thought was that this was a clever spoof that sought to have Jones labeled a spammer). Finally, my sense is that trading e-mail lists between campaigns is about as far as you would want to go in a primary elections and even then, a one-time message from the owner of the source list (often a candidate from a previous election) with an option to Opt-In to another candidates list is about as far as I would go. Steven Clift Democracies Online -- Forwarded message -- Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 20:02:07 -0600 (CST) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: undisclosed-recipients: ; Subject: Bill Jones for California Governor 5434xzsv5-177Gtjh560l19 [IMAGE] This is a new and unique experiment. For the first time in history I am trying to make the Internet the vehicle to provide information to the people of California - NOT 30 second TV ads. [IMAGE] I believe that Democracy is enhanced when the voter has factual information instead of propaganda and that the Internet has the power to transform politics and political campaigning. So while other candidates for Governor are spending over $10,000,000 dollars on 30 second TV ads, I am trying something new. What's new is this I am only going to provide you with the facts on my record. Please go to my web site and check it out for yourself. Check the Facts: THE BILL JONES RECORD OF LEADERSHIP AND EXPERIENCE 1) Served for 12 years in the State Assembly and have twice been elected Secretary of State, receiving almost 12 million votes. 2) Authored and passed California's 3 Strikes law, which has reduced crime by over twice the national average. 3) Strongly supported Prop 73, the first successful campaign finance reform law to limit campaign contributions to candidates. 4) Successfully co-authored Prop 204, the Safe, Clean
[DW] Conf - Access and preservation of electronic information - Spain,7-8 May 2002
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Electronic records preservation is a really big deal particularly when it comes to long-term public accountability (corporate too). I continue to wonder when we will see major court sanctions against governments and specific people when it comes to the often illegal destruction of e-mail records when top political figures leave office. Steven Clift Democracies Online -- Forwarded message -- Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 15:12:07 +0100 From: Josep Manuel Prats [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: DLM FORUM Dear friends, DLM*-FORUM 2002 @ccess and preservation of electronic information: http://www.dlmforum2002.org Best practices and solutions ANNOUNCEMENT Where: Palacio de Congresos de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain Date: 7 8 May 2002 The third multidisciplinary European DLM-Forum on electronic records will take place in Barcelona on 7 and 8 May 2002. The opening of the exhibitions and preconference activities will take place on 6 May 2002. The DLM-Forum 2002 will welcome specialists and executives representing different disciplines: public administration, archives, the ICT-industry and research. A large number of participants from the EU Member States, regions, candidate states and other European countries are expected. The DLM-Forum 2002 will be organised by the Secretariat of Telecommunications and Information Society of the Catalan government together with other Catalan institutions and departments of the Spanish central government. They benefit from the support of the European Union Presidencies of Sweden (1st half of 2001), Belgium (2nd half 2001) and Spain (1st half of 2002), the European Commission (Secretariat General, DG Information Society) and representatives from the ICT-industry. The DLM-Forum 2002 will be organised in close cooperation with the EU Member States and regions. * DLM is an acronym for the French Données lisibles par machine, in English: Machine-readable data, in German: Maschinenlesbare Daten. The DLM-Forum is based on the conclusions of the Council of the European Union (Official Journal of the European Communities N° C 235 of 17 June 1994, p. 3), concerning greater cooperation in the field of archives. The DLM-Forum 2002 is based on the general theme '@ccess and preservation of electronic information: Best practices and solutions. The objective of the forum is to examine best practices and concrete solutions, both from the perspective of the hard- and software producers as from the perspective of the users in public administration and archives. Presentations and discussions will focus on proven practical applications and ongoing projects. Users will have the opportunity to discuss their experiences and needs with representatives from the ICT-industry. The DLM-Forum 2002 will include an exhibition of some 40-45 leading suppliers of electronic document and content management. The exhibition will give participants an opportunity to see the latest technologies available for the practical and effective capture, management, storage and delivery of electronic information. Six Industry White Papers will be presented at the DLM Forum 2002 covering key technology and application areas including: · Intelligent capture, indexing and auto-categorisation of information · Back-file conversion and migration issues · Content management · User access and information protection · Long term availability and preservation · Education, Training Operation The aspects of short- and long-term preservation, transparency, access and openness of public information will play an important role at the DLM-Forum 2002. The forum aims to achieve concrete results in this area. Notably, it will examine the creation of a Europe-wide network of excellence on electronic archives in order to achieve an even wider cooperation in this area between Member States, regions and at Community level. For more information on exhibiting at DLM-Forum 2002, contact AIIM International Europe Tel: +44 (0)1753 592 769 or email Kyla Rowan at [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Josep Manuel Prats i Moreno Adjunt a Gerència Secretaria de Telecomunicacions i Societat de la Informació Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació Av. Diagonal, 605, 5è, 1a. - 08028 - Barcelona Telf. +34 93 363 83 76 Fax: +34 93 363 83 70 Mòbil +34 607 07 40 03 Correu-e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.gencat.es/dursi __ *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe
[DW] E-mail Updates from Elected Officials
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Are others aware of representative bodies that give their members e-mail announcement lists to help them carry out their official duties? In my opinion every elected official should have one of these provided at government expense. However, the e-mail addresses should not be transferable to their campaign operations and should a member lose office at a minimum the new seat holder should be ableto allow other to opt-out or opt-in to ongoing communication with their new representative. Check out: http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=21B Check this out! http://www.house.mn/21b Yes, the Minnesota legislature is using a Mongolian domain name. Oh, and for you political junkies, the MN House (Republican) and MN Senate (Democratic) have teamed up to override our Governor Jesse Ventura's budget veto: http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/170.html Read the Rep's take on it. Cheers, Steven Clift Democracies Online -- Forwarded message -- Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 08:10:22 -0600 From: Richard Mulder [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: undisclosed-recipients: ; Subject: Fwd: Override email update Friends, AT THE CAPITOL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE SPECIAL February 27, 2002 VETO OVERRIDE PASSES Today the Minnesota House put aside political differences and overturned the Governor's veto of our bipartisan balanced budget plan. Ninety-nine House members voted for the override, and the Senate is expected to override the veto easily. We worked long and hard to reach a compromise. It is unfortunate that the veto process overshadows what an accomplishment this bill is, but I have to stress that the agreement is a good one that recognizes Minnesota's priorities - schools and nursing homes - while preventing the tax increases that Ventura feels are inevitable. It prudently taps state reserves, reduces spending and the size of state government, and takes annual spending increases off automatic pilot to balance the budget. Work has already begun on phase two of this plan, which focuses on the economic forecast numbers we received earlier this week. One proposal uses the state's tobacco lawsuit account - currently funding anti-smoking ads - to fill the gap estimated in the new February revenue forecast. Our work is not done, but this is a major step in the right direction. Thank you for your support and input! doc To subscribe to my weekly newsletter go to: http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/join.asp?district=21B Minnesota State Representative Richard Mulder 515 State Office Building, St.Paul, MN 55155 Phone: 1-800-474-3425 or 1-651-296-4336 Fax: 1-651-296-1478 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] L.A. Rebecca Lowden: 651-296-4230 Ivanhoe Office: 366 East George Street Box A, Ivanhoe, MN 56142 Phone Office: 1-507-694-1232 or 1-800-520-3718 Home: 1-507-694-1539 Fax: 1-507-694-1171 Ivanhoe E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cell Phone: 1-800-939-0279 or 1-507-828-0257 Web Site: www.docmulder.com Caucus Web Site: www.house.mn/gop *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Cyber Persuasion Project - Measuring Impact of Online Political Ads
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Speaking of online political advertising, has anyone seen anything innovative recently? Are issue groups or campaigns using any of the new standards http://www.iab.net/iab_banner_standards/bannersource.html and interactive options? Read on below about an interesting effort attempting to establish a visual voter guide online advertising study for 2002. Steven Clift Democracies Online --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 14:40:28 -0500 Subject:Cyber Persuasion Project From: Richard Thau [EMAIL PROTECTED] : Cyber Persuasion Project How much do online ads affect voter behavior and recall? One unique study is about to find out. Third Millennium, the non-partisan Gen X think tank, will be undertaking a research project this year to follow up on its groundbreaking initiative in 2000. Two years ago, Third Millennium conducted the only head-to-head comparison of full-screen pop-up ads from then-Gov. Bush and then-VP Gore. Tested exclusively in a controlled experiment on Juno, these ads had a tremendous impact on voter recall, and a likely effect on voter behavior. This year, the group plans to study between two and six statewide races. But rather than show ads from the candidates, they will instead run visual voter guides in the form of ads, conveying multiple candidates' positions on issues that unlikely voters say interest them most. Third Millennium will then compare the voting behavior of unexposed participants to groups exposed to the ads. Famed Stanford Professor Shanto Iyengar is helping design the ads and the experiment. Third Millennium President Rich Thau is looking to build an advisory board for the project. Anyone interested should contact him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] The results of the 2000 previous study may be found at: http://www.neglection2000.org. --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] E-Government Toolkit for Developing Countries -- Call for BestPractices Case Examples
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * -- Forwarded message -- Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 17:09:06 -0500 From: Ari Schwartz [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [egovtoolkit] CDT InfoDev E-Government Toolkit for Developing Countries -- Call for Best Practices Case Examples CALL FOR E-GOV BEST PRACTICES SUBMIT BEST PRACTICES, CASES STUDIES AND PAPERS FOR E-GOV TOOLKIT CDT, in association with the World Bank's InfoDev Program, is looking for best practices, case studies and papers for inclusion in a toolkit to guide the evolution of electronic government in developing countries. This toolkit is intended to be used by technology and policy leaders in the developing world to design their own e-government projects. Submissions for this toolkit must be of practical value. Take a look at the outline of e-government that we prepared with our international advisory board (below) - the outlines gives a good overview of the issues that will be covered in the toolkit. Procedure: Send in your success stories, models, guides, etc, through the online form at: http://www.cdt.org/egov/submissions.shtml. We ask that you designate your submission as either a best practice/case example or an overview/paper. Best practices and case examples should highlight how e-gov principles have been applied to specific projects in the developing world. The advisory board is looking for examples that provide good models for developing countries to follow. Overviews and papers should provide generalized guidance to those who are embarking on e-government, providing advance warnings of the pitfalls but also highlighting the opportunities and cost savings available. Accountability is key to the advisory board's vision of e-government and the board will be looking for papers that reflect this. The advisory board will review the submissions looking for quality, focus and responsiveness to the outline of issues and approaches. Authors will be given full attribution and the final product will be widely distributed by InfoDev. Submission deadline: March 31, 2002 Questions about the project, submission process, or outline should be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Submissions sent to this address will be accepted, but we would prefer you to use the Web submission system]. --- E- Government Toolkit Outline E-government is the application of information and communication technology to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of informational and transactional exchanges within government, between governments and government agencies at federal, municipal and local levels, citizens and businesses; and to empower citizens through access and use of information. The Tools of E-Government 1) The PUBLISH phase of e-government -- tools that facilitate broader access to government information using information and communications technologies - * The public expects (or will come to expect) their governments to make best-possible use of available information technologies to improve efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability. Furthermore, the long term cost savings and productivity improvements the private sector has found in information technology are available to the public sector - a powerful incentive as budgets become ever tighter and expectations of government ever higher. 2) the INTERACT phase of e-government -- tools that promote broader public involvement in participatory government. * Some governments are suffering from the effects of citizen apathy, while others are striving to better engage their populace in the governance process. E-government has the potential to help administrations achieve their objectives in this field by reaching out to citizens throughout the political cycles and through all levels of government. Importantly, strengthening civic engagement contributes to building public trust in government. 3) The TRANSACT phase of e-government -- Tools that make government services available using information and communication technologies. * As the private sector in developing countries begins to make use of the internet to offer e-commerce services, government will be expected to keep up with technological leaders. In addition, the long term cost savings, accountability through information logs and productivity improvements will be important drivers. Transformation Issues: Process development: Critical to the success of e-government transformation is the understanding that e-government is not just about the automation of existing process and inefficiencies. Conversely, it is about the creation of new processes and new relationships between governed and governor. Leadership: In order to manage this change, leaders who understand technology and policy goals will be needed at all levels through government, from elected through to
[DW] State of Victoria Launches E-Democracy Inquiry, FirstGov Story by OMBWatch
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Currently in the United States, the third primary link in the e-Citizen http://www.firstgov.gov/featured/ecitizen.html section of the U.S. government's main portal tells you how to adopt a wild horse. Yeehaah! Hopefully the redesign efforts described by OMBWatch http://www.ombwatch.org/execreport/firstgov.html will help the U.S. government corral e-democracy concepts front as they attempt to catch up with other government already presenting democracy-related online resources along side their services and service-oriented information. In term of the redesign, this is a key government link about focus groups and usability related to FirstGov http://www.eps.gov/spg/GSA/OGP/OAP/GS00A02PDR0001/SynopsisP.html. Mean while, back on the e-democracy ranch, the folks in e-government downunder are the bucking broncos of e-democracy interest. The latest release attached below comes from the State of Victoria. As you can see someone has lassoed these issues quite well http://www.go.vic.gov.au/Research/ElectronicDemocracy/voting.htm. It will be interesting to see which state in Australia becomes known as the leading e-democracy state? Cheers, Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. I am off to Ottawa for the next week. Expect a light load on DO- WIRE. While I am there, why not check out Canada's e-government research interest survey http://canada.gc.ca/e-consultation_e.html or check out all the ways they help you interact with government http://canada.gc.ca/e-services/transac_e.html. From: http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/web_notes/newmedia.nsf/ebfd7a9e83f839 b34a2568110023b2e3/8747b9a1469ada824a256b66007c3252?OpenDocument Media Release FROM THE MINISTER FOR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DATE: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 E-DEMOCRACY COMES TO VICTORIA Electronic voting in State elections will be considered as part of an inquiry into electronic democracy, the Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Marsha Thomson, announced today. The Electronic Democracy Inquiry will look at how the Bracks Government uses technology so that Victorians can take a more active role in the decision-making process, Ms Thomson said. Not only will the Inquiry help make the Parliamentary process more relevant to the community, it will also increase even further the transparency and accountability of Parliament and the Government a key objective of the Bracks Government. This inquiry is yet another way of continuing to restore democracy to Victorians while ensuring that the Victorian Government remains open, accessible and accountable. More and more people are using the Internet as part of their daily lives and the Victorian Government recognises that there is an opportunity to use technology to involve Victorians in the operations of their Parliament. Ms Thomson said that online voting would be considered, along with a range of options including the datacasting of Parliament over the Internet and the use of technology to keep individuals and interest groups informed of proposed legislation. This inquiry will also investigate the potential for Internet discussionf orums, email and SMS alerts about upcoming parliamentary business, live Internet Parliamentary broadcasts and 'virtual' communities, Ms Thomson said. Ms Thomson said the e-Democracy Inquiry was a key element of the Government's commitment in Growing Victoria Together to restore many of the democratic safeguards abandoned by the previous Liberal government. Since coming to office the Bracks Government has: · Made government contracts open and transparent; · Restored the independence of the Auditor General; · Held regular Community Cabinet meetings where Ministers meet with communities; · Held community consultations on many important issues; · Increased Parliamentary sitting days and questions without notice as well as taken Parliament outside Melbourne for the first time. The e-Democracy Inquiry was outlined in the State Government's ICT policy Connecting Victoria, which aims to deliver the benefits of technology to all Victorians. Ms Thomson said the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee ? chaired by the Member for Werribee, Mary Gillett MLA ? would seek input from Victorian businesses, special interest groups and the broader community. The Bracks Government is committed to consultation and we want to hear from all Victorians about the best way to voice their concerns and opinions, Ms Thomson said. Giving Victorians the chance to have a clear voice in the Parliamentary process is one of our top priorities and I encourage feedback from as many people as possible. The Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee will table its report by the end of the year. Sent in by: Cheryl Hardy Project Manager E-government Multimedia Victoria Level 10, 55 Collins Street Melbourne, Victoria, 3000
[DW] E-Gov Poll Pending, CFP, more from US Council for Excellence in Government
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * --- Forwarded message follows --- From: Joiwind Ronen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Council for Excellence in Government Update and Invitations Date sent: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 16:25:24 -0500 To: undisclosed-recipients:; Dear Friend of the Council for Excellence in Government, Thank you for your continued commitment and support. We are pleased to provide you with this update of our current activities: 1. E-GOVERNMENT POLL RELEASE FEBRUARY 26th 2. COUNCIL WORKING WITH PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES 3. COUNCIL REACHING 1,000+ GOVERNMENT LEADERS THROUGH 2002 EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE 4. 2002 INNOVATIONS IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AWARD APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE 5. DIGITAL GOVERNMENT CALL FOR PAPERS Please contact us with your questions or comments. Sincerely, Joiwind Ronen Melissa Hardin Council for Excellence in Government (202) 728-0418 -- -- 1. E-GOVERNMENT POLL RELEASE FEBRUARY 26th You are invited to attend the release of the second annual Hart/Teeter poll on e-government. This study, sponsored by EDS, captures the opinions of the public and includes a separate survey of government officials in federal, state, and local government. Initial findings show that the public sees an important role for e-government in the war against terrorism. Please join us on February 26th between 8:15am-9:30am at the East Room of the Mayflower Hotel (1127 Connecticut Ave, NW, 347-3000). Panelists will include Peter Hart, CEO, Hart Research; Bob Teeter, President, Coldwater Corporation; Pat McGinnis, President and CEO, Council for Excellence in Government; and Al Edmonds, President, EDS U.S. Government Solutions. Breakfast will be served. The press conference release will be open to the public and all data and findings will be posted on our website at www.excelgov.org If you would like to attend, please RSVP by February 21st to [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2. COUNCIL WORKING WITH PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES The Council is working with the White House to design and carry out a leadership/orientation program for cabinet members, senior White House staff, sub-cabinet appointees and nominees. The development and implementation of the program is guided by a steering committee which is chaired by the Director of Presidential Personnel and includes representatives of OMB, GSA and four appointees -- two with past government experience and two who are new to government -- to represent the customer perspectives. After an initial meeting with the President on October 15, appointees met in smaller groups to discuss effective leadership in government and to review the President's management agenda. President Bush, Vice President Cheney and members of the Cabinet met again with appointees on February 13th to discuss the Presidents vision, values and expectations. Over the coming two months additional sessions will be organized to focus more in-depth on management tools to achieve results in the public interest. The first session will focus on e-government and includes a keynote address by Governor Ridge. Under the guidance of the steering committee, the Council is developing a website for Presidential appointees including information such as the OMB Guide to the budget process, the Government Performance and Results Act, OMB legislative and testimony clearance procedures, information about the role of Inspectors General, the President's Management Agenda, Office of Government Ethics information, as well as other material. The Council is also developing a brief history of previous administration efforts to provide orientation for appointees, for use by this and future administrations. 3. COUNCIL REACHING 1,000+ GOVERNMENT LEADERS THROUGH 2002 EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE The Council is partnering with Government Executive magazine to organize the 2002 Excellence in Government Conference, July 15-17, 2002 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. Over the past six years, the Excellence in Government Conference has earned a reputation as the management conference for government's most energetic innovators. Its top-rank keynote speakers and carefully designed breakout sessions attract over 1,000 participants from federal, state and local government who want to learn about, discuss and improve emerging solutions to the most pressing problems facing the public sector. For more information about the conference -- including corporate sponsorship and exhibiting -- please contact Kelly Diffily at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or (202) 530-3251. You may also visit last year's website at www.govexec.com/excelgov/2001/ 4. 2002 INNOVATIONS IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
[DW] Baby Elephants and Free Speech Online
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * From Newsbytes: Free Speech E-rased On Va. Virtual Monument When a think tank proposed building a community chalkboard in Charlottesville as a monument to the Jeffersonian ideal of free speech, critics made dire predictions that it would become a venue for obscenities, character assassinations and racist slurs. No one suggested that the biggest impediment to civil and enlightened discourse on the burning issues of the day might be the eraser. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174470.html Baby elephants, gone by Monday: http://chalkboard.tjcenter.org/ The Virtual Community Chalkboard The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression is currently developing The Community Chalkboard, a monument that will both commemorate the right of free expression and serve as a forum for the exercise of that right. To be located in Charlottesville, Virginia, the monument is expected to be completed in the summer of 2003. Meanwhile, we invite you to express your opinions, and respond to those of others, by using this Virtual Community Chalkboard. Please note the following: The messages on the chalkboard do not necessarily reflect the views of the Thomas Jefferson Center. Those using the virtual chalkboard are solely responsible for the content of their expression. As with visitors to Charlottesville's Community Chalkboard, visitors to the virtual chalkboard may choose to write a new message, respond to a previously posted message, or clean the board entirely or in part. In choosing one of these options, visitors are encouraged to consider whether it is more effective to answer objectionable speech than it is to censor it. The chalkboard is automatically cleaned every Monday. Write a New Message - Someone who hates baby elephants keeps erasing my msgs, but I will keep writing messages on this Chalkboard about the baby elephants until only the only elephants in our zoos are adult elephants. I ask you, why should there be a baby elephant in the National Zoo?! When you are a baby and an elephant you should be free to frolic in the wild. Then after you are finished being a baby elephant, OK, the zoo people can come and capture you and put you on display. That way as you are chewing hay and contemplating mommies with cameras and little children eating popsicles, you can remember how it felt to run through the veldt, your trunk swaying in the breeze, your big ears flapping. It is not humane to put an elephant in a zoo unless she or he has memories of freedom, so she or he can reconcile herself to captivity. Everybody should write a letter to the national zookeepers unions and to the u.s. congress and say, No baby elephants in the National Zoo until they are grown up! [reply/edit] [erase] - More stuff on the Chalkboard: http://chalkboard.tjcenter.org ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Argentina - Politicayactualidad - Net role in protests?
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Does anyone know the story behind this quote from: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storyu=/ap/20020209/ ap_wo_en_bu/argentina_economy_8 (paste on one line) But the announcement did little to persuade thousands from taking to the streets in response to a call via the Internet and email summoning Argentines to participate in the nighttime pot-banging protest against Duhalde's handling of the economy. I am looking for sources that explain what role the Internet is having in Argentina in the current situation. Perhaps the site mentioned in the note I received below may help shed some light? Steven Clift Democracies Online Jump right to: http://www.politicayactualidad.com/index.asp From: Romina Kasman [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Democracya on line in Argentina Date sent: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 12:58:15 -0300 Buenos Aires, February 12 th To Whom It May Concern Politicayactualidad.com is a great undertaking aimed to contribute to the democratic consolidation process, which is taking place in our continent, specially in South America and in our country, Argentina. Being conscious about the rising of the Global Aldea, in which the communication frontiers has been transcended and the reaffirmation of the Globalization phenomenon, our activities are connected with which we consider will be the most powerful instrument of the Twenty First century: The Internet. The emergence of a truly Global Information Society, whose principal core is the WEB, requires us the adaptation of former conceptual maps; to start understanding the existence of a virtual community in which men and women all over the world discuss, make business deals and established all sort of ties and linkages. In this way, our attention is centered on the wide range of the effects coming from these processes that are taking place in the political, social and economic systems of the countries which have been part of the called ¨ third wave of democracies ¨ occurred in the last two decades. Nowadays, you can see the effects of the recession and the economic crisis, that came to discuss the political institutions and social order. In fact democracy is being thought as a system that could not afford de challenges of progress and distribution. It will be an achievement if we could change the matters of discussion among democracy. Instead of asking and questioning the democracy it self, it will be better to discuss what kind of democracy is coherent with the social, cultural and political conditions, requirements and necessities. Lack of representation, confidence, consensus and institutionalization of economic development to make an order of liberal democracy, thus leaded to a political crisis that seems to not to find an end in the short term. Politicayactualidad.com intends to contribute to democratic consolidation process by the revaluation of politics and policies among public administrations and central or local governments. In fact, the creation in internet of a plural and democratic frame which gives the bases to establish many different sceneries where the ¨ principal characters ¨ of modern democracies are able to discuss, debate and interchange every kind of ideas. Not only the consensus and legitimacy, but the dissent are the clue of the new ways for citizens to express demands to institutions and for politicians (alone or supported by a political party) to canalize, institutionalize and give the correct answers to people just in time. The more responses the ruling class give, the more legitimacy acquires the government and the political system, beyond the political color of the particular government in a particular moment. It's important to point out that each of the main characters of democracies, representatives and citizens, will be equally treated and positioned in order to settle beneficial results obtained from debates and conclusions leaded by idea interchanges. As a result of these processes, we consider that our site could be a bridge where the mentioned ideas pass the virtual world to the real world of policy making or decisions process, so that new proposals may be directly implemented or considered in government stages. Precisely the advantage that internet gives is to establish feedback between the parts, because the concept is not about a former ¨ a politician propose, then voters decide¨ . Nowadays, there's an interaction, a real feedback: a politician propose, then the electorate reject and make new propositions or put forward demands, and the process continues like this It has no limits. This feedback enriches the whole social system. Other objective of this web site, is to encourage citizen's apprenticeship about national and international, issues, facts, sceneries in order to make up perspectives and propositions which
[DW] Clift in Finland - Late March - Parliaments on the Net
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * On March 25 and 26, 2002, I will address staff from the member parliaments of the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation http://www.ecprd.org at their Parliaments on the Net conference in Helsinki. Have you seen any new or innovative features on parliamentary or legislative sites lately? Please send in examples [EMAIL PROTECTED]. I'll report back in couple of months on leading trends and useful examples. While this event is reserved for members parliaments of the ECPRD, I hope to meet with other e-democracy interested people in Finland later that same week. If you would like to connect while I am in Finland, please join my new Democracies Online Finland contact e-mail list. We will use this list to figure out the best time to meet and make sure DO-WIRE subscribers from Finland know each other. Subscribe by sending an e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can also use the list to let me and others know about interesting e-democracy related trends in Finland. I am always on the look out for interesting examples and continued to be amazed by how much is going on and how important in-person travel is to pull out the nuggets of truth. Please pass this on to others in Finland you think would be interested and refer them to this site http://www.e-democracy.org/do for more details on DO-WIRE. Sincerely, Steven Clift http://www.publicus.net Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Article - Political Privacy and Online Politics: How E-Campaigning Threatens Voter Privacy
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Thank you John Fraim http://www.symbolism.org for pointing the article on privacy referenced below. Just as the use the web will create new information on voters/supporters, in the U.S. we also have the issue of voter registration files and their combination with other data. This article reminded me of an article by Jim Warren on how important it is voters to be able to communicate with each other instead of just having information about them being used to influence them. Here is a bonus link to his Voter Access to Empower Grassroots Participation column from 1995 (I love flat HTML archives) http://www.govtech.net/magazine/gt/1995/sep/voter_ac.phtml. In democracy, what balance must be struck between the rights of individuals to discreetly act on their political views and our right to know what other individuals are doing to trying to influence the democracy within which we live? If democracy is about public life what parts of it should we expect to be private? What level of exposure and loss of privacy defeats the purposes of democracy? Hmmm Steven Clift Democracies Online From: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_2/hunter/index.html Political Privacy and Online Politics: How E-Campaigning Threatens Voter Privacy In the 1998 and 2000 U.S. elections, the Internet played an important role as a source of information for citizens and as a campaign tool for office seekers. The rise of Internet campaigning has brought about numerous benefits including increased access to political information, increased depth of content, and the ability to engage in online interactive political dialogue. Unfortunately, there is a potential dark side to all of this interaction. Just as the rise of electronic commerce has created tremendous concerns about online privacy, so too has the rise of e-campaigning. Through the use of cookies, online donation forms, and political mailing lists, Internet- based campaigns can now gather tremendous amounts of information about which candidates voters prefer and where they choose to surf. The creation and sale of such detailed voter profiles raises serious questions about the future of political privacy and the democratic electoral process itself. This paper will explore the importance of political privacy, its protection through our rights to associational privacy and anonymous speech, and the many ways that the political preferences of citizens are compromised online by campaign Web sites, database and e-mail marketers, and excessive U.S. Federal Election Commission disclosure rules. The potential negative effects of a monitored electorate on the democratic process are also examined. Contents Introduction Political Privacy: Oxymoron or Necessity? The Right to Associational Privacy The Right to Anonymous Political Speech From Profiling Consumers to Profiling the Electorate FEC Disclosure and the Threat to Political Privacy and Anonymous Speech Conclusion See: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_2/hunter/index.html ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] E-Gov/Dem Related Jobs - AOL, Scotland's Teledemocracy Project
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Not that e-democracy will take us to full employment, but here are a few jobs in our field in the U.S. and in Scotland. Steven Clift P.S. Remember DO-CAMPNET http://groups.yahoo.com/group/do-campnet? I know of at least one participant who share her knowledge and perspective which led to a great job offer. Sharing your knowledge on various DO online forums can lead to unexpected good things. 1. AOL Government Guide Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date sent: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 18:17:19 EST (clip) Government Guide is looking for a 40 hour a week on-site contractor (AOL in Dulles, VA) to create and update creative programming of government websites and information (polls, quizzes, feature packages, highlights). This person will do both daily and long term content development as well as internal promotion of Government Guide and the related products to other AOL TW channels and properties. This person will also oversee development of online community (message boards, chats, etc.) in GovGuide. I need someone who is a strong writer, extremely creative, a good networker and familiar with government. The ideal person will be flexible, adaptive and good with follow thru. A journalistic background and/or online experience would be ideal, but not mandatory. Those interested should send a resume and their idea of what four links they would put up on the www.governmentguide.com main screen that demonstrate relevance to the day's news, the current season (tax, student loan or congress session) or some new or interesting government content people may not know about. Address to James Vaughn at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pay is $25/hr. Thanks for your consideration! James Vaughn AOL - Government Guide 2. International Teledemocracy Centre From: http://www.teledemocracy.org/news/RecruitmentFeb02.htm The SMARTGOV project is a Governmental Knowledge-Based Platform for Public Sector Online Services funded by the EU IST Framework V programme. The Centre's research will focus on investigating and constructing new process models to enable public administrations to exploit the benefits of intelligent transaction services and to develop frameworks that support the acceptance of these services, focusing on issues of privacy and trust. Both posts are fixed-term until 31 January 2004. Research Fellow (1A) £25,456 pa (fixed point) You will have extensive experience and a higher-level degree qualification relating to modelling and knowledge management, and experience of qualitative field research. You will take a leading role in designing e-government methods to facilitate the uptake of electronic public services. Working in a stimulating environment, you will be an enthusiastic individual. Experience of ICT in government and an interest in intelligent applications would be especially advantageous. You will be capable of independent research and publication. Research Associate (1B) £19,681 pa (fixed point) With a degree in computer science or a related subject, you should have experience of work in a research environment. You will be familiar with web-based technologies, XML and Xforms. Collaborating with other members of the team on organisational and user modelling, you will help specify the Smartgov platform. You will also contribute to evaluation of the platform in a number of government organisations, and assist with the writing of project deliverables and their publication on a web archive. E-democracy Youth Channel for Scotland project, funded by Young Scot, is due to start in February and will last 12 months in the first instance. The project aims to design, manage and evaluate an e-democracy channel for the national youth information portal in Scotland. The research focuses on the innovative application of technology to encourage and support young people's participation in democratic decision-making. Research Associate (1A) £21,503 pa (fixed point) Taking a leading role in designing e-democracy tools to motivate and engage young people, you should have a Higher level degree in a Social Science related subject and experience of qualitative field research and web-based applications. Working at the leading edge of e-democracy research and development, you will be an enthusiastic individual comfortable working with young people. A good communicator, you should be able to work on your initiative. Knowledge of web-based discussion forums and experience of e- government would be especially advantageous. For all posts: please apply by CV, including the names and addresses of two referees, to Cheryl Thomson, Faculty of Engineering Computing, Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5DT, tel: 0131-455 2602 or email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Closing date 18 February 2002. Please read the further particulars . Download word
[DW] Conf - Computers, Freedom Privacy 2002 - San Francisco 16-19 Apr 2002
Clarke, Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, Canberra, Australia Steven Clift, Democracies Online Karen Coyle, CPSR* Lorrie Cranor, ATT Labs-Research Janet Daly, W3C Rebecca Daugherty, Reporter's Cmte for the Freedom of the Press Mark Eckenwiler, USDOJ* Lenny Foner, MIT* Alex Fowler, Zero Knowledge Systems* Robert Gellman, Privacy and Information Policy Consultant Nick Gillespie, Reason Magazine Beth Givens, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Jennifer S. Granick, Stanford Law School Wendy Grossman, Freelance writer and author of net.wars Harry Hammitt, Access Reports Chris Hoofnagle, EPIC Peggy Irving, IRS Jennifer Jacobsen, AOL Time Warner Bruce Koball, Technical Consultant* Marit Khntopp, Independent Center for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein Barbara Lawler, Hewlett Packard Mark Lloyd, Civil Rights Telecommunication Forum Deirdre Mulligan, Boalt Hall, University of California Berkeley School of Law* Deborah Pierce, Privacyactivism.org* Ron Plesser, Piper Marbury Richard Purcell, Microsoft Jonah Seiger, Mindshare Internet Campaigns Saundra Shirley, American Library Association David Singer, IBM Richard Smith, Privacy Foundation Barry Steinhardt, ACLU Peter Swire, Ohio State University College of Law Ryan Turner, OMB Watch Maurice Wessling, Bits of Freedom CFP2002 Sponsors Patrons: AOL TimeWarner Microsoft Verisign Supporters: Center for Democracy and Technology US Postal Service Sponsors: DoubleClick Hewlett Packard SafeWeb Contributors: Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility DataPrivacy Partners IBM Proxim Sun TRUSTe Cooperating Organizations: Democracy Online Project Electronic Frontier Foundation Electronic Privacy Information Center Privacy Journal Privacy Times Public Citizen Technology Policy Group --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Information Literacy for Active and Effective Citizenship - Research Request
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Conf - 3rd Worldwide Forum on e-democracy - Paris, France 11-12 April 2002
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Contact Eric [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you wish to be kept up-to- date on this conference. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire P.S. Here is something from the UK government International Benchmarking report on e-democracy in France: http://www.e- envoy.gov.uk/publications/reports/benchmarkingV2/edemo_fra.htm Also see: http://www.netpolitique.net - and their November newsletter: http://www.netpolitique.net/newsletter_novembre.htm From: Eric LEGALE [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:3rd Worldwide Forum on e-democracy Date sent: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 09:34:51 +0100 Issy-les-Moulineaux (Paris, France) will welcome on April 11 and 12, 2002, the 3rd World wide Forum on e-Democracy, entitled : What Information society in 2010? . Under the high patronage of the French President and under the patronage of the European Parliament, the 3rd Forum will be held a few days before the French presidential election, and a few months before the French and German General Elections. Therefore, it will have an important impact on the media, since this will be the occasion to know the objectives and priorities of these two main European countries, concerning the construction of Information society. This year, the European Commission will be our official partner, and will present all European projects related to e- democracy. The treated subjects will be: * Mayors and the challenges of the Information society, with the cooperation of city elected members of the world (to this day, Bremen, Kiev, Riga, Bologna, Bamako, Vienna have confirmed their participation). * After September 11: the Internet under high surveillance ? With two main issues : is the Internet secure and how can we reinforce it ? How can we protect Human rights on networks ? * Changing Elections with the Internet : two main issues : shall we vote by Internet in 2010 ? Is Net-campaining going to turn the Web into a significant communication tool for the French and German general elections ? * The Administration and e-government : how do administrations forsee their modernization through technological tools ? The list of already-confirmed speakers is on-line ( http://www.issy.com/e-democracy ) . The site is regularly updated. A weekly newsletter will allow Internet users to be informed permanently. If you are not registered, please go to the Forum website. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. (clip) Best regards Eric LEGALE Directeur ISSY MEDIA 62 rue du général Leclerc F-92131 Issy-les-Moulineaux cedex Tel : +33.1.40.95.65.67 Fax : +33.1.40.95.65.32 http://www.issy.com/ --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Online Consultations - 3 New Reports, 10 Previous - New: US EPA lessons, Scottish process, GOL-IN country trends (fmr G8 Govern
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * As you may have noted on DO-WIRE http://www.e-democracy.org/do, interest in online consultations and civic events organized by governments and other groups is growing rapidly. Trendwatchers take notice. In the nine months that we were working up plans for the DO- CONSULT practitioners e-mail list, a number of key reports have been issued and featured on DO-WIRE. They keep coming. Three new reports are described below with a list of ten additional reports worth taking a look at as your government (civic group) brings online consultation and events into your online efforts. Don't recreate the wheel. Learn from others. Pass this collection of links on. Quick Access (detail below) Democracy Online: An Evaluation of the National Dialogue on Public Involvement in EPA Decisions http://www.rff.org/reports/PDF_files/democracyonline.pdf What sort of Scotland do we want to live in? Assessment of the e- consultation process http://itc.napier.ac.uk/e-consultant/scfrio/Evaluation-of- process.pdf Online Consultation In GOL-IN Countries - Initiatives to foster e- democracy http://governments-online.org/documents/e-consultation.pdf (This is from the former named G8 Government Online effort.) To discuss these reports and connect with about 100 of your peers who are working to build useful and successful online consultations, join the Democracies Online - Online Consultation and Civic Events e-mail list today. Introductions will start shortly. To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For full e-mail list details, follow the link in the right column under DO Communities of Practice from http://www.e- democracy.org/do. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do P.S. Stay tuned for my own Top Ten Tips on Online Consultations. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - From: Beierle, Tom [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: New report on EPA electronic dialogue Resources for the Future has just released the report Democracy Online: An Evaluation of the National Dialogue on Public Involvement in EPA Decisions. This report examines an on-line public dialogue conducted by the Environmental Protection (EPA). Held in July 2001, it was the first time that EPA (and perhaps any federal agency) included such a sophisticated on-line participation mechanism as part of its decisionmaking process. RFF's report demonstrates that on-line dialogues offer a whole new approach to public involvement by combining broad participation with the intensive interaction usually found only in small groups. As the era of e-government dawns, this report outlines how on-line dialogues can harness the Internet to enhance public participation in agency rulemaking and other policymaking efforts. Please use the following link to download the full report: http://www.rff.org/reports/PDF_files/democracyonline.pdf To download only the executive summary, please use the following link: http://www.rff.org/reports/summaries/DemOnlineExecSum.pdf If you would like a hard copy of the report, please email a request to [EMAIL PROTECTED], send a fax to (202) 939-3460, or call (202) 328- 5015. This research was conducted in cooperation with Information Renaissance and EPA, and funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - From: Macintosh, Ann [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: 2 reports on Scottish e-consultation We have just completed 2 evaluation reports on a recent e- consultation on What Sort of Scotland do we want to live in?. The e-consultation was on behalf of the Environment Group of the Scottish Executive and was based around sustainable development issues facing Scotland. The aim was to equip Ministers with views to develop a policy document as input to the World Summit in South Africa in 2002. The e- consultation ran from 6th June to 8th October 2001. It aimed to inform people about the key issues facing a future Scotland and asked them to give their views on a range of issues ranging from efficient use of resources to lifestyle and transport. The web site address for the e-consultation is: http://e-consultant.org.uk/sustainability/. It received a total of 392 contributions. Of these 172 were made by individuals and 19 on behalf of organisations or groups. One report provides the results of the analysis of the comments entered onto the e-consultation website: Here there were 3 objectives to the analysis: · To discover the extent to which contributions answer questions set by the e-consultation; · To investigate whether the issues and information provided online were clear and helpful; · To determine the main sustainable development themes arising from the e-consultation. The other report (which
[DW] Whack-a-Pol - Stanford Political Communication Lab
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Directly at: http://pcl.stanford.edu/exp/whack/pol/index.html Are you interested in taking out some aggression on a politician? Participate in our Whack-A-Pol online study. Context from the Political Communication Lab at Stanford: http://pcl.stanford.edu/ Also (many PDFs, but not all): http://pcl.stanford.edu/research/index.html Technology Has Technology Made Attention to Political Campaigns More Selective? An Experimental Study of the 2000 Presidential Campaign (2001), S. Iyengar, K. Hahn M. Prior Cynicism and Choice (2001), S. Iyengar Experimental Designs for Political Communication Research: From Shopping Malls to the Internet (2000), S. Iyengar The Method is the Message: The Current State of Political Communication (2001), S. Iyengar Engineering Consent: The Renaissance of Mass Communication Research in Politics (2001), S. Iyengar Political Campaigns Research Papers: The Effects of Media-Based Campaigns on Candidate and Voter Behavior: Implications for Judicial Elections (2001), S. Iyengar Making Voters Autonomous: The Possibility of Unmediated Political Campaigns (2001), S. Iyengar Replicating Experiments Using Aggregate and Survey Data: The Case of Negative Advertising and Turnout (1999), S. Ansolabehere, S. Iyengar A. Simon New Perspectives and Evidence on Political Communication and Campaign Effects (1999), S. Iyengar A. Simon The Stealth Campaign: Experimental Studies of Slate Mail in California (1999), S. Iyengar, D. Lowenstein S. Masket Who Says What? Source Credibility as a Mediator of Campaign Advertising (1999), S. Iyengar N. Valentino Research Data: Slate Mail Study, S. Iyengar, D. Lowenstein S. Masket 1992 California Primary Election Study, S. Ansolabehere S. Iyengar Publications: Going Negative: How Political Advertisements Shrink and Polarize the Electorate (1997), S. Ansolabehere and S. Iyengar Interview with the authors by Tom Plate - KCRW Los Angeles The Media Game: American Politics in the Television Age (1993), S. Ansolabehere, R. Behr and S. Iyengar Explorations in Political Psychology (1993), S. Iyengar W. McGuire (eds.) News Media Research Papers: Prime Suspects: Script Based Processing of Local News (1999), F. Gilliam S. Iyengar Media Effects Paradigms for the Analysis of Local Television News (1998), S. Iyengar Publications: Do The Media Govern? Politicians, Voters, and Reporters in America (1997), S. Iyengar R. Reeves (eds.) Is Anyone Responsible?: How Television Frames Political Issues (1991), S. Iyengar News That Matters: Television and American Opinion (1987), S. Iyengar D. Kinder ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] US Congress Online - Assesing and Improving Capitol Hill Web Sites
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * The report's http://www.congressonlineproject.org/webstudy2002.html table of contents and a few clips are below. The folks at http://www.gop.gov/item-news.asp?N=20020128084904 were celebrating before the report's release. They were already linked to http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A46591-2002Jan27 which has a story on the report. I met with the GOP.Gov folks in late 2000. I was impressed. In the U.S. Congress it seems clear that political competition will be the main motivation for advancing the online services members provide to the public and not the creation of a more uniform online constituent office that all members would/could use. This will result in a selection of ever improving elite sites and lots of members with inferior sites and little incentive to improve. GOP.gov however points to party-based aggregation of technical services which may bring the overall offerings of member to higher level and provide the party caucus structure a more powerful online command and control operation with external communication. The party-based development contrasts with trends in the Minnesota legislature where the House members directory is evolving into a uniform set of online offerings regardless of party http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/housemembers.asp. (And I just noticed that all MN House members now have e-mail update subscription options for the public, just click in a bit - this is a big deal!). Although, with our budget shortfall, we are seeing a number of party-based issue sites http://www.mnbalancedbudget.com emerge this session. Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do P.S. I just updated my secret http://politicalbs.com site to include quick access to more popular US Congressional content that changes frequently. By tracking click-outs in aggregate I am trying to learn what political information and news is most popular. From: http://www.congressonlineproject.org/webstudy2002.html Congress Online Assessing and Improving Capitol Hill Web Sites HTML by Section: http://www.congressonlineproject.org/webstudy2002.html Printable PDF Version (514 KB) http://www.congressonlineproject.org/congressonline2002.pdf Executive Brief (90 KB) http://www.congressonlineproject.org/executive2002.pdf About This Report The goal of the Congress Online Project is to provide congressional offices guidance to improve the online communications between Members of Congress and the public they serve. This report is the heart of this effort. The purpose of this report is to assist congressional offices in developing effective Web sites. To achieve this end, we discuss the five building blocks that are most critical to building effective Web sites. We then identify and award the specific congressional Web sites that are currently applying these building blocks most effectively - the Congress Online Gold and Silver Mouse Award winners. We hope that by identifying the best Web sites on Capitol Hill and delineating the practices that make them the best, this report will motivate many more offices to improve their Web- based communications. Summary of Key Findings Introduction Methodology Nine Benefits of a Good Web Site The Five Building Blocks of Effective Congressional Web Sites 1. Audience 2. Content 3. Interactivity 4. Usability 5. Innovations Assessing the Performance of Congressional Web Sites Analyzing Grade Distribution Trends Analyzing Trends in Award Winners The Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill Congress Online Gold Mouse Awards Senate Member Offices House Member Offices Standing Committees Leadership Offices Congress Online Silver Mouse Awards Audience Content Interactivity Usability Innovations Mistakes Congressional Offices are Making Change Factors Between 1999 - 2001 Conclusion Appendix A: Research Findings Constituent Focus Groups Interviews with Congressional Staff Industry Research Survey of Political Reporters Survey of Advocacy Groups Reviews of Non-congressional Web Sites Review of Previous Analysis of Congressional Web Sites Appendix B: Evaluation Methodology Appendix C: Congress Online Project Expert Panel Biographies Acknowledgments About the Congress Online Project From: http://www.congressonlineproject.org/gold2002.html Congress Online Gold Mouse Awards Senate Member Offices Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) House Member Offices Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) Standing Committees Senate Budget Committee (majority) House Committee on Energy and Commerce (majority) House Committee on Energy and Commerce (minority) House Committee on Rules (majority
[DW] Online Consultations and Events - New Practitioner Information Exchange E-Mail List - DO-CONSULT
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Please forward this to those working with online consultations and events in government and civic organizations. Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. This important peer to peer exchange is facilitated by Canadian and Harvard Ph.D candidate Alexandra Samuel - thank you Alexandra. Democracies Online Forum on Online Consultations and Civic Events * Quick Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * The Internet gives governments and civic organizations unprecedented opportunities for engaging citizens in public decision-making. Government and civil society leaders around the world are working together to find the best ways of harnessing the Net as a tool for greater civic engagement. As one of these leaders, you know the value of e-mail as a way of exchanging ideas, information, and techniques with other experts in the field of online consultation. We (see Charter Members list below) are taking this a step further by inviting you and fellow online leaders to join us on a simple and informal e-mail group. DO-Consult is a peer-to-peer forum for those involved with government, parliamentary and civic online consultations and events. Its purpose is to encourage professional information exchange among practitioners and researchers on use the Internet in the public policy consultation, public hearings, and rulemaking processes. This includes online consultations and events sponsored by governments (from local councils to parliamentary committees to national departments) and those organized by civic (NGOs) and academic organizations. This is the place to ask questions, share lessons and insights, and distribute relevant announcements. We encourage you to join us today in creating an important new resource for all those seeking to harness the Internet as a new channel for citizen engagement in policy-making. This forum will open with introductions as soon as we have 75 members. To subscribe, simply send an e-mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To visit the web archive or set e-mail list options, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/do-consult/ Join us today and forward this message on to appropriate contacts within your organization or with other colleagues working in the area of online consultation. Further Details This forum is facilitated by Alexandra W. Samuel http://www.alexandrasamuel.com, Ph.D. candidate, Harvard University, with Ann Macintosh, International Teledemocracy Centre http://www.teledemocracy.org. It is part of the Democracies Online family of peer forums organized by Steven Clift http://www.publicus.net. Those also interested in announcements and news on democracy and Internet should join the moderated 2300 member Democracies Online Newswire http://www.e-democracy.org/do. Guidelines This informal forum is completely independent from official government and organizational channels. All participants participate as individuals and do not officially represent their governments or organizations. Forum messages may NOT be forwarded without the permission of the original author(s) and the participant list will only be available to other forum members. Messages in multiple languages are appropriate and participants are welcome to help create additional opportunities for specialized information exchange. Please carefully review the first messages you receive for they may contain additional instructions or forum details. Charter Members Charter Members, currently involved with online consultation include (affiliations listed for identification purposes only): Anthony Barnett Editor www.opendemocracy.net Tom Beierle, Fellow Resources for the Future Washington, DC Tim Erickson Politalk Moderator St. Paul, Minnesota Meegan Fitzharris Assistant Manager, Government Online Policy and Review The National Office for the Information Economy Government of Australia Dr. Karin Geiselhart School of Business Information Technology RMIT University Melbourne, Australia Joe Goldman, MPA candidate Kennedy School of Government Harvard University Deborah Hamilton Community Consultation Officer Office of Multicultural and Community Affairs ACT Chief Minister's Department Government of Australia Chip Hauss Director, Policy and Research Search for Common Ground USA Dr. David R. Newman Queen's University Belfast Pauline Poland Policy Advisor Ministry for the Interior and Kingdom Relations The Hague Scott Reents E-the-people Elisabeth Richard Director, Branch Strategies and Initiatives Public Works and Government Services Canada Niels Jørgen Thøgersen Director of Communications European Commission Lars Torres and Carolyn Lukensmeyer AmericaSpeaks Paul Waller Deputy Director Office of the e-Envoy Cabinet Office, U.K. Marc Weiss President Web Lab/ Digital Innovations Group Nancy White Full Circle Associates Griff Wigley Northfield Citizens Online Michael
[DW] GoaNet - E-mail Can Indeed Be a Powerful Tool
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * --- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 12:13:48 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:[GKD] E-mail Can Indeed Be a Powerful Tool Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] E-MAIL CAN INDEED BE A POWERFUL TOOL By Frederick Noronha [EMAIL PROTECTED] My own discovery of the power of 'e-mail publishing' was quite accidental. It wasn't even called that then, and we didn't know what it was leading to. But over the years, one's conviction that e-mail and e-mail publishing is much, much more powerful than the snazziest of websites has stood the test of time. But, can I hear you asking, if e-mail publishing is all that potent, why don't we hear of it? The dotcom boom came and went. But even after the bust, we still continue using the humble e-mail like the proverbial pinch of salt. We take it for granted, and only realise what we miss when we lose access to it. If you want to understand this issue deeper, do check out 'Poor Richard's Email Publishing'. This book comes with a long sub-title that explains a great deal. It's about: Creating Newsletters, Bulletins, Discussion Groups and Other Powerful Communication Tools. Authored by Chris Pirillo, this title comes from Top Floor Publishing, and is published from Colorado in the US. (Price $29.95, ISBN 0-9661032-5-4, 334 pages.) You can't deny that e-mail publishing, in a region like South Asia, is virtually non-existent or at best in its infancy. For that matter, how many e-zines, newsletters, discussion lists or mailing- lists do you know of which work effectively? Both in terms of the numbers they serve, and the regularity with which these work? It is only some news- services (the Indnet network, Vani Murarka's discussion-group Interact-Inn, a network of health professionals CyberMed-India, ZDNetIndia, Osama Manzar's INOMY from New Delhi and a few others) that come out faithfully. But there are useful and honorable exceptions. On the IT front, Pakistan has Irfan Khan's excellent [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list, that gives one a useful update of what's happening on the regional IT front. SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, runs its useful mailing-lists, a labour of love for Prof Sree and his team at Columbia University. Hersh Kapoor, an expat India and one of the (seemingly shrinking minority) continuing to long for peace on the subcontinent, brings out a useful Alternative India Index [EMAIL PROTECTED] from France. This offers a chance for Indians and Pakistanis to learn of less-hawkish perspectives from each other's countries, and build sustainable possibilities of a more tolerant subcontinent which tries to at least begin understanding 'the other side'. Some mailing-lists -- also somewhat mistakenly called Listservs after the software they're based on, or more-inaccurately e-groups (after the earlier name of a site allowing to set up free lists, now yahoogroups.com) -- focus on South Asian-related themes. But, often, these lists fall into disuse. There's simply nobody to post regularly to them. Many lack the 'critical mass' in terms of membership numbers. We here simply haven't seem to have yet realised the utility of building up such 'communities of interest'. Is it because websites exude more glamour? Or was it due to the fact that everyone thought of making a killing on a website? Undeniably, making money from e-mail publishing appears much more remote now than it did earlier on Never mind that. Since sometime in 1995 this writer accidentally stumbled across a mailing list of Goan expats based in the US. (Goa is a small region on the Indian west coast, and has a significant segment of its population migrating outside... a legacy since Portuguese colonial times.) It was the initiative of Herman Carneiro of the North Eastern University, Boston, who was then all of 18 years old. Educational institutions in the US were then encouraging their students to set up mailing-lists on just about any subject. Carneiro chose Goa, a tiny region on the Indian west coast, which his ancestors hail from but which his family hasn't been living in for two or more generations. This list started as a network for young Goans to keep in touch with one another, exchange light banter and generally meet up. Till, that was, others like a librarian based in the UK, a scientist back in Goa, and we journos were struck by the potential of a network to exchange more-serious news and views, undertake initiatives related to Goa, and play an otherwise more useful role. GoaNet is today 4000 members strong (quite a size for a state with just 1.35 million inhabitants) and has plans to grow further. It has been behind various campaigns: to get Internet connectivity to the small region of
[DW] Minnesota E-Gov Portal Redesign - Report, Press Coverage, Comments
to allow citizens to participate fully in a democratic system of government. Service and democracy. Two legs. When North Star stalled after 1997 (when I moved into e-democracy consulting) and was stuck with my crappy design from 1995 (not too bad in '95 ...), I began to offer critical comments when the million dollars we secured (for the two years after 1997) in the legislature for the project did not to result in any changes for citizens except a search engine. I am heartened to see major progress toward big rebuilt vision that engaged front-line e-gov staff from many agencies and goes beyond many of my original redesign ideas http://www.publicus.net/egov/irmdraft.html. To all those who are working on the redesign, congratulations, let's have a big party when all is said and done. Below are clips from a newspaper article about the redesign. Check out my Jesse Test comments at the end of the article. Onward, Forward, Government Online Ho! (My former scrolling screen saver while at the state.) Steven Clift http://www.publicus.net Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org Clips From: http://www.pioneerplanet.com/tech/ctk_docs/229270.htm (This page will probably expire in the next day or two.) Published: Monday, January 21, 2002 Minnesota to freshen up its site, expand online services BY LESLIE BROOKS SUZUKAMO Pioneer Press Minnesota's home page is about to get its first makeover since it burst on the Web seven years ago with its splashy logo and wailing loon. North Star (www.state.mn.us), the online face of Minnesota state government, serves a digital doorway to more than 100 agencies and offices. Until now, this has been an often-confusing experience given the site's size and complexity. The new North Star, due in March, promises to makes this process easier by more closely emulating general interest portal sites such as Yahoo and MSN. Users will be able to log in with a username and password, then customize the site to their liking. Their ability to mix 'n' match content and services promises to boost the site's already substantial traffic. ... clip ... Much of the redesign is inspired by a recent study showing how Minnesotans use the current North Star. The study found that most state residents don't know or care which agency provides a service or piece of information -- they just wanted easy access to it. Many also said they want new site services such as the option to obtain a driver's license or renew a professional license online. Such requests hint at a growing need for e-government with a wider array of online services. The state now lets residents electronically file their taxes and renew motor-vehicle registrations. The new North Star is being touted as a high-tech platform suitable for such services, but when such amenities might debut is unclear. The state is mulling which of 16,000 services to make available online. It seeks feedback at www.portal.state.mn.us/survey.html. Improving North Star is part of an effort to improve the state's high- tech image, David says. The site has lost its luster in recent years, state officials and technology watchers agree. When it debuted in 1995, North Star was an instant hit. It propelled Minnesota to the top of most lists touting states that made the best use of technology. But once-cool features such as audio of a loon call are old-hat now. And while the portal remained essentially unchanged in recent years, other states zoomed past it. California, Maine, North Carolina and North Dakota now possess the nation's most user-friendly Web portals, while Minnesota ranks only 33rd, according to a study issued last week by Indiana University- Bloomington. For overall e-government services, however, Minnesota ranks higher -- 19th in a 2001 survey of Digital States by the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute that helps governments. Minnesota government sites are heavily used. In December alone, North Star attracted 933,695 visits. The Office of Technology recorded more than 20 million hits on various state sites. The redesigned portal should attract at least 20 percent more traffic, officials predict. A consistent look and feel will contrast with the current site, with different designs for each agency's site and different technologies that make online unity a challenge. To achieve consistency and ease-of-use, Minnesota has turned to Silicon Valley-based BroadVision for the high-tech know-how needed in creating a next-generation Minnesota home page. BroadVision provided the technical guts for the state of California's portal at www.state.ca.us. California became one of the first states to drop its static home page, which always looked the same, and embrace dynamic technology that customizes the site for every user. ... clip ... The second key to personalization will involve e-mail alerts about changes or updates to the content in which users have expressed interest, adds James Kauth, North
[DW] Terrorismanswers.com - Council on Foreign Relations and Markle Foundation
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * Check out: http://www.terrorismanswers.com Speaking of terrorism, you may want to check out the archive from the Politalk/TIESWeb online event: http://www.politalk.com/pages/topics/terrorism/archive.html What I haven't seen is the coordinated use of the Internet to bring Americans in direct contact with people in the Middle East. The Internet can be used globally, why isn't it? Perhaps you know of examples? Let me know [EMAIL PROTECTED]. To get a sense of what I mean, follow links from this previous post http://www.mail-archive.com/do-wire@tc.umn.edu/msg00365.html to online exchanges among people in/from Afghanistan and the Middle East. Steven Clift Democracies Online P.S. There is now an Arabic version of CNN http://arabic.cnn.com and according to Wired News an Arabic version of an Israeli news paper http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,49281,00.html. From: http://www.markle.org/news/_news_pressrelease_012402.stm January 24, 2002 COUNCIL LAUNCHES NATIONS FIRST ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TERRORISM New QA website offers reliable answers to Americas questions on terrorism New York, January 24, 2002 The Council on Foreign Relations today launched a unique online encyclopedia of terrorism and Americas response to give the public an easy-to-read, authoritative primer on what the experts knowand dont know. Our aim is to give people one reliable and understandable site to get briefed on the basics, and sort out fact from fiction, said Council President Leslie H. Gelb. Written by a Council team and drawing upon leading experts, TERRORISM: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS will provide up-to-date, authoritative information in a crisp and clear question and answer format. Well recheck and update the answers as events change; well keep adding new QA fact sheets; and if we ever find that somethings not fully accurate, well fix it, said Gelb. Our watchword is simple: reliable information in troubled times. Produced in cooperation with the Markle Foundation, the new site also features This Week in the War on Terrorism summarizing new events in key areas such as the Investigation, Homeland Defense, New Legislation, and Global Repercussions of 9/11. The goal of terrorism is to inspire fearone effective antidote to fear is the facts, said Zoë Baird, President of the Markle Foundation. By partnering with the Council on Foreign Relations, one of the nation's foremost institutions dedicated to increasing the publics understanding of the world, we are able to provide trustworthy and timely answers to the questions on the minds of millions of people around the world. Content on the site has been carefully researched, reported, and written by the Council on Foreign Relations, the nations leading foreign policy organization. The editorial team is led by Warren Bass, a former associate editor of Foreign Affairs who holds a Ph.D. in Middle East history from Columbia, and Calvin Sims, the Councils Edward R. Murrow press fellow and former Tokyo bureau chief of The New York Times. The weekly summary is produced by former National Security Council staffer Kenneth Pollack, now deputy director of National Security Studies at CFR; Dafna Hochman is deputy director of the project. TERRORISM: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS can be found at http://www.terrorismanswers.com ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift-W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis- - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - -T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE*** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage*** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
[DW] Introduction - Future of E-Democracy Part 1
*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** * Future of E-Democracy - http://publicus.net/articles/future.html * So far 1326 people have accessed my new speech on the Future of E-Democracy. Not too bad after e-mailing upwards of 20,000 people on appropriate e-mail lists across the Internet. According to my logs, over the last two years there have been 8,980 hits on my E-Democracy E-Book table of contents page. To promote a bit of e-mail leakage. I will share the full text only on DO-WIRE in three parts starting today. Feel free to share the full-text sections that interest you with others. I have made it possible for people to share their comments about the speech publicly via the web. Why not put in your two cents? Post comments at: http://www.quicktopic.com/11/H/Vpd9hnkhYXgcn Steven Clift Democracies Online http://www.e-democracy.org/do Part 1 of 3 Full version: http://www.publicus.net/articles/future.html The Future of E-Democracy The 50 Year Plan By Steven Clift Online Strategist and Public Speaker http://www.publicus.net Editor, Democracies Online Newswire http://www.e-democracy.org/do - Join 2300 people on my e-mail announcement list here. Copyright 2002 Steven Clift - All rights reserved. This article may be freely cited or quoted by sending a simple e-mail notice to the author and a commitment to share copies of any final derivative work. The full text of this article may only be redistributed online or in print with the express permission of the author. Release Note: Published online January 2002 This extended and edited transcript is based on a speech given to the international World Futurist Society http://www.wfs.org conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 31, 2001. This speech is only the start of a plan. I try to share a pragmatic, yet futuristic vision of governance when e-democracy exists as an integrated part of real everyday representative democracy. I look forward to the time when e- democracy is simply called democracy. Also, the timeline I use in the speech is quite arbitrary. While the spread of e-democracy strategies will move slowly in the near term, I foresee dramatic leaps in practice brought on by external social forces. E-democracy will become a democratic necessity and not simply an option for most governments. As you read and reflect on what I have to say, please share your comments, ideas and suggestions with me http://www.publicus.net/e-mail.html or post them publicly on the web http://www.quicktopic.com/11/H/Vpd9hnkhYXgcn. Future of E-Democracy Speech Outline E-mail Version Part 1: Introduction Defining E-democracy E-mail Version Part 2: E-Governance - Exceptional Practice Makes Perfect -- E-mail Notice -- In-person Public Hearing Recordings and Materials -- Online Public Hearings and Consultations -- Wired Politicians Reach Out and Serve, or Perish -- Local Civic Deliberations and Global Networking E-mail Version Part 3: Trending Toward the Future - Why not look through 2040? -- Family and Social Networking -- E-Government - The E-Business Model that Works? -- New Breed of Politician After 2015 -- E-Citizens the Ultimate Challenge Conclusion Introduction I am told that I think out-of-the-box. I dont think of myself as a futurist, perhaps I am a here and nowist who operates in a big box. I often find myself throwing things (e-mail that is) into other peoples boxes via my 2,200 member Democracies Online Newswire e-mail list http://www.e-democracy.org/do. Networking people and sharing information and knowledge within my networked box is what I do best. Preparing this futurist speech forced me to poke some major holes in that box. As I walked around Lake Calhoun here in Minneapolis and first pondered this task, I wondered if I would see lightness or darkness on the other side? Let me tell you, the process of poking holes is a lot more painful and absorbing than one might expect. Back in 1994 I helped launch Minnesota E-Democracy http://www.e-democracy.org, a non-partisan, non-profit that created the worlds first election-oriented web site. I remember the media excitement. They asked if this was the end of democracy as we know it. They asked if politics would ever be the same. Back then, I am quoted as saying this was simply an experiment. To this day I try to reduce expectations and promote a more pragmatic action-oriented vision that says Yes, the Internet can improve democracy. Lets get to work. The truth is, without significant democracy online efforts, the Internet could instead help accelerate the decline of democracy we hear so much about. In this speech, I give my working definition of e-democracy, share predictions on the e-governance applications I expect to see on a universal basis in developed democracies about 10 to 15 years from now, and conclude with deeper analysis on four major trends looking out forty years. I picked forty years because a few months ago I told
