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Perceptions of Public Libraries in Africa This…

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Perceptions of Public Libraries in Africa :

« This article presents a summary of some results of the study Perceptions of Public Libraries in Africa which was conducted to research perceptions of stakeholders and the public towards public libraries in six African countries. The study is closely linked with the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme, which awarded grants to public libraries in developing and transition countries to address a range of socio-economic issues facing their communities, including projects in Kenya, Ghana and Zambia.

The goal of the study was to understand the perceptions of national and local stakeholders (municipalities, ministries, public agencies, media, etc.) and the public (including non-users) in respect of public libraries in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe about the potential of public libraries. It also aimed to understand how these stakeholders could best be positively influenced to create, fund, support or to use public libraries. It is hoped that stakeholders in the countries studied will choose to assess the findings as a potential tool to improve library management and advocacy. »

URL : http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue68/elbert-et-al

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Understanding the net neutrality debate Listening to stakeholders…

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Understanding the net neutrality debate: Listening to stakeholders :

« The Internet is increasingly seen as integral to economic progress and prosperity. Yet how the Internet will be managed as it grows and diversifies remains a hotly contested topic, as the debate on net neutrality demonstrates. Whether the Internet is neutral or not has serious implications for Internet service providers (ISPs), businesses operating online, governments, and civil society. With these stakeholders and varying interests at play, the debate about net neutrality is often characterized in terms of polar positions, and the discussion has seemed intransigent and ongoing with an uncertain end point. To increase understanding about the debate, this paper combines a review of the literature on net neutrality with evidence from interviews with four individuals, each representing the viewpoint of a major stakeholder group in Canada. Analysis of the similarities and differences among key stakeholder positions shows that in fact the positions are more complex and considerably more nuanced than typically depicted. By focussing on components of the issues, and staying away from the politics of contesting net neutrality, progress in the debate can be made. While this paper gives attention to the Canadian context in particular, the findings echo those of international organizations, and adds to the global conversation on the future of the Internet. »
URL : http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3857/3205

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The Internet selective learning and the rise of…

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

The Internet, selective learning, and the rise of issue specialists :

« Using national survey data (N = 1,208) in the U.S., the present study found that individuals relying upon the Internet translated their interest in the health care issue into issue–specific knowledge. However, those who depended on network TV, newspapers, and radio failed to display a high level of issue–specific knowledge, even when they were interested in the issue. The findings suggest that the Internet plays an important role in fostering issue specialists rather than generalists. »

URL : http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3888/3206

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Digital inclusion and data profiling In the…

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Digital inclusion and data profiling :

« In the United States, digital inclusion policies designed to introduce poor people, communities of color, indigenous, and migrants (collectively, “chronically underserved communities” or “the underserved”) to the economic, social, and political benefits of broadband lie in tension with new practices and techniques of online surveillance. While online surveillance activity affects all broadband users, members of chronically underserved communities are potentially more vulnerable to the harmful effects of surveillant technologies. This paper examines specific examples of commercial data profiling against a longer history of low–tech data profiling of chronically underserved communities. It concludes by calling for issues of online privacy and surveillance to punctuate digital inclusion discourse. Until this happens, digital inclusion policies threaten to bring chronically underserved communities into online worlds that, as Gandy (2009) argued, reinforce and exacerbate social exclusion and inequalities. »
URL : http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3821/3199