RF Alumni Research Bulletin

الإثنين ١٧ - يونيو - ٢٠٢٤ ٠٩:٣٥ مساءً

اضيف الخبر في يوم الخميس ١١ - مارس - ٢٠١٠ ١٢:٠٠ صباحاً.

This posting of the RF Alumni Research Bulletin includes information on Awards and Opportunities, Online Publications, Internet Spotlight, and Research Tip for February 2010.

The DRC Staff

Awards and Opportunities:

مقالات متعلقة :

Rights & Democracy's John Humphrey Award 2010

Online Publications:

Internet Spotlight:

Avoiding a Digital Dark Age
Brains Can Manage 150 Friends Max [Facebook and other Social Media]
Creative Commons Content
The Evolution of Revolution
Facebook Will be the Common Denominator in Social Net by 2012; Mobile Phones Overtake PCs by 2013
The Future of the Internet IV: New Edition Now Available from the Pew Internet & American Life Project
Google Introduces Answer Highlighting and Rich Snippets for Events
How to Set up a Free Online Monitoring System
Open Government Data Initiatives Around the World
Real-Time Search: 5 Alternatives to Google, Bing
YouTubes New Interface

Research Tip:

Tips on Using Internet Search Engines

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Awards and Opportunities:

Rights & Democracy's John Humphrey Award 2010 - Call for nominations
http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/humphrey_award/index.php
Source: Rights & Democracy. For the 19th year, the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy) will confer the John Humphrey Award on an individual or an organization to highlight their contribution to the promotion of human rights and democratic development.The Award includes: $30,000 grant and a Canadian tour to mobilize public opinion and raise awareness of the Laureate’s cause. Deadline: April 30, 2010.

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Online Publications:

Africa:

African Experts Lay Out Recommendations for Credible Elections

Democratic Republic of Congo: Escalating abuse of human rights defenders. Source: Amnesty International. This report Amnesty documents the persecution faced by eight prominent human rights defenders, harassment which the organisation fears will intensify in the build-up to the 2011 presidential and national elections

Initiatives to end the violence in northern Uganda: 2002-09 and the Juba peace process. Source: Conciliation Resources. This update to the 2002 publication on northern Uganda aims to inform future peacemaking initiatives in the region and elsewhere. The war between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Ugandan government is one of Africa's longest. The Juba peace process between 2006 and 2008 offered an unprecedented opportunity to end decades of civilian suffering. Although a peace agreement was negotiated, LRA leader Joseph Kony did not sign it. Military operations have since driven LRA rebels further into Southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic. Communities there have endured intolerable violence and hundreds of thousands of people are displaced. Peace is urgently needed but how to achieve it remains unclear.

Negotiating Sudan's Post-Referendum Arrangements Source: U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP). With Southern Sudans referendum on whether to remain part of Sudan or secede approaching, it is vital that the international community encourage and support negotiations on postreferendum arrangements, which include issues ranging from wealth sharing to citizenship rights to security arrangements. Good coordination among the international community will be essential.

Poor governance jeopardises primary education in Africa Source: Transparency International. This report looks at seven countries to show that strengthening governance is key for achieving education goals.

Zimbabwe: Political and Security Challenges to the Transition Source: International Crisis Group. This report analyses the situation resulting from the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that broke the stalemate following failed 2008 presidential elections and led to formation of the unity government in February 2009. It concludes that all domestic signatories of the GPA, as well as the South African mediation, must embrace democratic transformation as the vital objective of the transition.

Asia:

Audiovisual Media Policy, Regulation and Independence in Southeast Asia Source: Open Source Institute (OSI) The media systems of Southeast Asia are extraordinarily diverse in terms of professional standards, economic models, political engagement, and technology. They range from Vietnam, where private media are not allowed, to Thailand, where all broadcasters are somehow public in character, to Indonesia and the Philippines, with their vibrant and commercialized broadcast sectors

Bangladesh: The Threat from Jammat-ul Muj ahideen Source: International Crisis Group. This report assesses the ongoing danger JMB poses to the state. Despite two government crackdowns since 2005, the organisation continues to recruit, train and raise funds. Although JMB is a much weaker force due to the arrest of hundreds of its members and the execution of its original leadership council, it remains a potent threat with a proven capacity to regenerate. Its past and present ties to Pakistans Lashkar-e-Tayyba (LeT), the organisation responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attack and for a foiled December 2009 plot to target embassies in Dhaka, reinforce that threat.

Laos: Background and U.S. Relations Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that the United States and the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) cooperate in important areas despite ideological differences and U.S. concerns about alleged human rights abuses against the ethnic Hmong minority. The U.S. government has gradually upgraded its relations with the communist state, which has strong ties to Vietnam and growing economic linkages with China.

Prospects for Democracy in Hong Kong: The 2012 Election Reforms Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that support for the democratization of Hong Kong has been an element of U.S. foreign policy for over 17 years. The Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-383) states, "Support for democratization is a fundamental principle of United States foreign policy. As such, it naturally applies to United States policy toward Hong Kong. This will remain equally true after June 30, 1997." The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-8) provides at least $17 million for "the promotion of democracy in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan " The democratization of Hong Kong is also enshrined in the Basic Law, Hong Kong's quasi-constitution that was passed by China's National People's Congress (NPC) prior to China's resumption of sovereignty over the ex-British colony on July 1, 1997.

Reforming Pakistans Civil Service. Source: International Crisis Group. This report analyses the structure and functioning of Pakistans civil bureaucracy. It identifies critical flaws as well as measures to make it more accountable and able to provide essential public services. Military rule has left behind a demoralised and inefficient bureaucracy that was used to ensure regime survival. Low salaries, insecure tenure, obsolete accountability mechanisms and political interference have spawned widespread corruption and impunity. If the flaws of an unreformed bureaucracy are not urgently addressed, the government risks losing public support.

The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora after the LTTE. Source: International Crisis Group. This report examines political dynamics within the Tamil diaspora since May 2009, as Tamils abroad adapt to the LTTEs defeat. It also looks at the potential for new forms of militancy within the diaspora, especially among the younger generations, radicalised by the deaths of thousands of Tamil civilians in the final months of the war. While there is little chance of the Tamil Tigers regrouping in the diaspora, most Tamils abroad remain profoundly committed to a separate state of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka.

Understanding China's Political System Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that opaque and shrouded in secrecy, China's political system and decision-making processes are mysteries to many Westerners. At one level, China is a one-party state that has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1949. But rather than being rigidly hierarchical and authoritarian, which is often the assumption, political power in China now is diffuse, complex, and at times highly competitive. Despite its grip on power, the Party and its senior leaders (the Politburo and its Standing Committee) are not always able to dictate policy decisions as they once did. Instead, present-day China's political process is infused with other political actors that influence and sometimes determine policy.

Eurasia:

Abkhazia: Deepening Dependence. Source: International Crisis Group. This report gives a snapshot of the current situation, particularly the extent of Russian economic, political and cultural dominance in the Black Sea entity that has long been a favourite winter holiday resort for the Moscow elite.

Arrest the Violence: Human Rights Violations Against Sex Workers in 11 Countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Source: Open Society Institute. This first report document the human rights violations that sex workers face throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Central Asia: Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that U.S. policy toward the Central Asian states has emphasized maximizing their assistance in U.S. and NATO stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and in helping them combat terrorism, proliferation, and arms and drug trafficking. Other U.S. objectives have included promoting free markets, democratization, human rights, energy development, and the forging of east-west and Central Asia-South Asia trade links. Such policies aim to help the states become what various U.S. Administrations have considered to be responsible members of the international community rather than to degenerate into xenophobic, extremist, and anti-Western regimes that contribute to wider regional conflict and instability.

Democracy's plight in the European Neighbourhood Source: FRIDE. This report notes that in recent years many analysts have focused their attention on an apparent backlash against democracy and democracy promotion. FRIDE and CEPS have previously cooperated on exploring the general nature of this backlash. In this volume we turn to a more specific European neighbourhood focus, and explore the general issues relating to democracys travails in more detail in the countries to the south and east of the European Union. The underlying question is whether, in an era of democratic pessimism, the European neighbourhood can offer any more optimistic conclusions.

Footprint of Financial Crisis in the Media. Source: Open Society Institute. This study explores the impact of the financial crisis on media and news delivery in 18 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The Post-Communist Generation in the Former Eastern Bloc This report notes that members of the post-communist generation, who are now between the ages of 18 and 39, offer much more positive evaluations of the political and economic changes their countries have undergone over the past two decades than do those who were adults when the Iron Curtain fell. The younger generation is also more individualistic and more likely to endorse a free market economy than are those who are ages 40 or older. Throughout 2010, the Pew Research Center will release a series of reports that explore the values, attitudes and behavior of America's Millennial Generation, which first came of age around the time of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and played an important role in the election of President Barack Obama. The Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project's contribution to this project focuses on a somewhat different age group: the post-communist generation in the former Eastern bloc. The generation gap on attitudes about democracy and capitalism in Eastern Europe reflects a divide among the past, present and future. Concerns about the way things are going span all ages, but while the older generation looks back longingly, often saying that people were better off financially under communism, the younger generation expresses more confidence that democracy can solve their countries' problems.

Latin America:

Cuba: Issues for the 111th Congress. Source: Congressional Research Service. Cuba remains a hard-line communist state with a poor record on human rights. The countrys political succession from the long-ruling Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl was characterized by a remarkable degree of stability. Fidel stepped down from power temporarily in July 2006 because of health reasons, and Raúl assumed provisional control of the government until February 2008, when he officially became President.

Democracy Survey Shows Opportunities, Ongoing Challenges for Political Participation in El Salvador Source: The National Democratic Institute (NDI). The survey uncovered a number of unexpected attitudes among women and young people, which prompted NDIs former country director for El Salvador, Alison Miranda, to think about new ways to increase Salvadorans levels of political and civic engagement.

Honduran General Elections: Final Report of NDI's International Election Assessment Mission Source: The National Democratic Institute (NDI). NDI released its final report on the Nov. 29, 2009, general elections in Honduras, reiterating the opportunity and responsibility of President Porfirio Lobo and other newly-elected leaders to do everything possible to overcome divisions in the country. NDIs hope is that the report can provide Hondurans and the international community with an impartial and independent analysis of those elections to assist in the process of national reconciliation.

Uruguay: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations. Source: Congressional Research Service. On November 29, 2009, Senator José "Pepe" Mujica of the ruling center-left Broad Front coalition was elected president of Uruguay, a relatively economically developed and politically stable South American country of 3.5 million people. Mujica, a former leader of the leftist Tupamaro urban guerilla movement that fought against the Uruguayan government in the 1960s and 1970s, defeated former President Luis Alberto Lacalle (1990-1995) of the center-right National Party in the country's sixth consecutive democratic election since its 12-year dictatorship ended in 1985. Mujica was forced to contest a runoff after he failed to win an absolute majority of the vote in the October 2009 first-round election.

MENA:

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that upon taking office, the Obama Administration faced a deteriorating security environment in Afghanistan, despite a steady increase in U.S. forces there in recent years. Signs of deterioration included an expanded area and greater intensity of militant operations, higher levels of overall violence, Afghan and international disillusionment with corruption in the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and the ease of infiltration of Taliban militants from safe havens in Pakistan.

Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes in the context of a review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan during September-November 2009, the performance and legitimacy of the Afghan government figured prominently. In his December 1, 2009, speech on policy in Afghanistan going forward, President Obama stated that the Afghan government would be judged on performance, and "The days of providing a blank check are over." The policy statement was based, in part, on an August 2009 assessment of the security situation furnished by the top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, which warned of potential mission failure unless a fully resourced classic counterinsurgency strategy is employed.

European Union Enlargement: A Status Report on Turkey's Accession Negotiations. Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that October 2009 marked the fourth anniversary of the European Union's decision to proceed with formal negotiations with Turkey toward full membership in the Union and launched the annual period when all three European Union institutions, the Council, Commission, and Parliament, would be required to assess the progress Turkey had made or failed to accomplish in the accession process and to issue recommendations on whether and how the process should continue. Many "Turkey-skeptics" saw the end of 2009 as a deadline for Turkish action that would have marked a critical juncture for the future of Europe's relationship with Turkey.

Global Trends in NGO Law, Survey of Arab NGO Laws. Source: The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. This issue addresses the NGO laws of the Middle East / North Africa (MENA), and includes:

A brief history of the development of NGO laws in the region,
A review of the current status of NGO laws in the MENA countries, and
A review of the most recent initiatives to revise the regions NGO laws.

Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that President Obama has said his Administration shares the goals of previous Administrations to contain Iran's strategic capabilities and regional influence. The Administration has not changed the previous Administration's characterization of Iran as a "profound threat to U.S. national security interests," a perception generated not only by Iran's nuclear program but also by its military assistance to armed groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the Palestinian group Hamas, and to Lebanese Hezbollah.

Iran: Regional Perspectives and U.S. Policy Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that as the Administration and Congress move forward to pursue engagement, harsher sanctions, or both, regional actors are evaluating their policies and priorities with respect to Iran. Iran's neighbors share many U.S. concerns, but often evaluate them differently than the United States when calculating their own relationship with or policy toward Iran. Because Iran and other regional concerns--the Arab-Israeli peace process, stability in Lebanon and Iraq, terrorism, and the ongoing war in Afghanistan--have become increasingly intertwined, understanding the policies and perspectives of Iran's neighbors could be crucial during the consideration of options to address overall U.S. policy toward Iran.

Iraq: Politics, Elections, and Benchmarks Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that Iraq's political system, the result of a U.S.-supported election process, is increasingly characterized by peaceful competition rather than violence, as well as by cross-sectarian alliances. However, ethnic and factional infighting continue to affect national decision making and security. Some believe that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, strengthened politically by the January 31, 2009, provincial elections, is increasingly authoritarian, in part to ensure that he holds power after the planned March 2010 national elections. Maliki is widely assessed as gaining control of the security services and building new security organs loyal to him personally.

Iraqs Uncertain Future: Elections and Beyond. Source: International Crisis Group. This report examines the path to the countrys third parliamentary election in five years. Issues that complicated and almost derailed the elections disqualification of almost 500 candidates on charges of Baathist affiliation, accusations of demographic manipulations in Kirkuk, fears over the rights of out-of-country voters reflect more profound conflicts that could haunt efforts to form a new government.

The legal basis for the invasion of Afghanistan. Source: House of Commons Library. The military campaign in Afghanistan was not specifically mandated by the UN there was no specific Security Council Resolution authorising the invasion but was widely (although not universally) perceived to be a legitimate form of self-defence under the UN Charter.

Mixed Views of Hamas and Hezbollah in Largely Muslim Nations Source: PEW Research Center. This is a survey conducted May 18 to June 16, 2009 by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project of six predominantly Muslim nations (Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey) and the Palestinian territories, as well as the Muslim population of Nigeria and Israel's Arab population also finds there is limited enthusiasm for most of the Muslim political figures tested on the survey, with the exception of Saudi King Abdullah, who is easily the most popular. There is also a widespread perception among Muslims that conflict between Sunnis and Shia is not limited to Iraq's borders, and many Muslims are also convinced there is a struggle between groups who want to modernize and fundamentalists. Also of note, Muslim publics overwhelmingly support educating girls and boys equally.

Mullahs, Guards, and Bonyads : An Exploration of Iranian Leadership Dynamics Source: RAND. This report notes that The Islamic Republic of Iran poses serious challenges to U.S. interests in the Middle East, and its nuclear program continues to worry the international community. The U.S. ability to "read" the Iranian regime and formulate appropriate policies has been handicapped by both a lack of access to the country and the opacity of decisionmaking in Tehran. To improve understanding of Iran's political system, the authors describe Iranian strategic culture; investigate Iran's informal networks, formal government institutions, and personalities; assess the impact of elite behavior on Iranian policy; and summarize key trends.

Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations Source: Congressional Research Service. This report provides an overview of current issues in U.S.-Palestinian relations and. It also contains an overview of Palestinian society and politics and descriptions of key Palestinian individuals and groups--chiefly the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestinian Authority (PA), Fatah, Hamas, and the Palestinian refugee population.

U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993 and the establishment of limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1994, the U.S. government has committed over $3.5 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. Since the death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004, U.S. assistance to the Palestinians has been averaging about $400 million a year. During the 1990s, U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinians averaged approximately $75 million per year. Despite more robust levels of assistance this decade, Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Hamas's heightened role in Palestinian politics have made it more difficult to implement effective and lasting aid projects that serve U.S. interests.

Israel and the Palestinians: Prospects for a Two-State Solution Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that following leadership changes in the United States and Israel in early 2009 and the Israel-Hamas Gaza conflict in December 2008-January 2009, the inconclusive final-status peace negotiations that took place between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during the final year of the Bush Administration have not resumed. Nevertheless, President Barack Obama showed his commitment to a negotiated "two-state solution" just days after his January 2009 inauguration by appointing former Senator George Mitchell as his Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.

Turkey-Israel: A Fluctuating Alliance. Source: SETA, Turkey. This report notes that when Turkish-Israeli relations were formalized in March 28, 1949, Turkey became the first Muslim state to recognize the state of Israel; however, relations were kept at a minimum level for decades. From 1949 to the early 1990s, relations were very fragile and followed a fluctuating pattern. This pattern was replaced by the honeymoon years starting from the late 1990s. The late 1990s marked by the soft coup of 1997, also known as the February 28 Process, constituted an exception in the pattern and level of relations between Turkey and Israel. Since 2000, relations regained its historically fluctuating pattern and this continues to characterize the nature of relations between Turkey and Israel today.

Yemen: Background and U.S. Relations Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that with limited natural resources, a crippling illiteracy rate, and high population growth, Yemen faces an array of daunting development challenges that some observers believe make it at risk for becoming a failed state. Between 2007 and 2008, Yemen ranked 153 out of 177 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index, a score comparable to the poorest sub-Saharan African countries. Over 43% of the population of nearly 24 million people lives below the poverty line, and per capita GDP is estimated to be between $650 and $800. Yemen is largely dependent on external aid from Persian Gulf countries, Western donors, and international financial institutions, though its per capita share of assistance is below the global average.

Multi-regional:

Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective, Global Presence, and Implications for U.S. Policy/ Source: Congressional Research Service. This report notes that Al Qaeda (AQ) has evolved into a significantly different terrorist organization than the one that perpetrated the September 11, 2001, attacks. At the time, Al Qaeda was composed mostly of a core cadre of veterans of the Afghan insurgency against the Soviets, with a centralized leadership structure, made up mostly of Egyptians. Most of the organization's plots either emanated from the top or were approved by the leadership. Some analysts describe pre-9/11 Al Qaeda as akin to a corporation, with Osama Bin Laden acting as an agile Chief Executive Officer issuing orders and soliciting ideas from subordinates. Some would argue that the Al Qaeda of that period no longer exists. Out of necessity, due to pressures from the security community, in the ensuing years it has transformed into a diffuse global network and philosophical movement composed of dispersed nodes with varying degrees of independence

Economic Opportunity & Prosperity: The 2010 Index of Economic Freedom. Source: Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal. For over a decade, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, Washingtons preeminent think tank, have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the influential Index of Economic Freedom. Since 1995, the Index has brought Smiths theories about liberty, prosperity and economic freedom to life by creating 10 benchmarks that gauge the economic success of 183 countries around the world. With its user-friendly format, readers can see how 18th century theories on prosperity and economic freedom are realities in the 21st century.

2009 Global Rankings of Think Tanks. Source: Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, University of Pennsylvania. The index evaluated a total of 6305 think tanks worldwide. Close to 400 organizations were nominated and ranked by a global panel of 300 experts. The findings of the survey will be formally announced at a briefing at Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC on Friday, January 29, 2010

Human Rights Watch World Report 2010 This 20th annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2009 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the country in question.

Internet Freedom in the 21st Century: Integrating New Technologies into Diplomacy and Development. Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs . This report outlines five key freedoms of the Internet age:

Freedom of Speech: Blogs, emails, text messages have opened up new forums for the exchange of ideas.
Freedom of Worship: The Internet enhances peoples ability to worship as they see fit.
Freedom from Want: Online connections expand peoples knowledge and economic opportunities including locating new markets.
Freedom from Fear: Those who disrupt the free flow of information threaten individual liberties and the worlds economy and civil society.
Freedom to Connect: Connecting with others near and far offers unprecedented opportunities for human cooperation.

National Platform for Women: A Unified Vision for a New Path Source: National Democratic Institute (NDI). This report notes that Iraqi women are slowly increasing their involvement in government, political parties, and civil society, but they are still largely absent from the decision-making processes within these bodies. Women constitute 54 percent of Iraqs population, yet their voices are not reflected in the current political discourse. In conjunction with the upcoming national elections, the National Platform for Women provides an opportunity to alter this trend by encouraging debate on a common set of policy priorities.

The United Nations Human Rights Council: Issues for Congress Source: Congressional Research Service. On March 15, 2006, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution replacing the Commission on Human Rights with a new Human Rights Council (the Council). The U.N. Secretariat and some governments, including the United States, view the establishment of the Council as a key component of comprehensive U.N. reform. The Council was designed to be an improvement over the Commission, which was widely criticized for the composition of its membership when perceived human rights abusers were elected as members. The General Assembly resolution creating the Council, among other things, increased the number of meetings per year and introduced a "universal periodic review" process to assess each member state's fulfillment of its human rights obligations. One hundred seventy countries voted in favor of the resolution to create the Council.

Source: National Democratic Institute (NDI). Election experts and practitioners from 25 African nations meeting in Ghana last November called for the ratification of the African Union's charter on elections and enforcement of its standards to achieve more peaceful and credible elections on the continent. The gathering, organized by NDI and nine other organizations, issued a communiqué with recommendations for standards that could mitigate conflict and improve election processes.

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Internet Spotlight:

Avoiding a Digital Dark Age. Source: American Scientist. This article notes that over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st, an increasing proportion of the information we create and use has been in the form of digital data. Many (most?) of us have given up writing messages on paper, instead adopting electronic formats, and have exchanged film-based photographic cameras for digital ones. Will those precious family photographs and letters—that is, email messages—created today survive for future generations, or will they suffer a sad fate like my backup floppy disks? It seems unavoidable that most of the data in our future will be digital, so it behooves us to understand how to manage and preserve digital data so we can avoid what some have called the “digital dark age.”

Brains Can Manage 150 Friends Max [Facebook and other Social Media]. Source: The Times of London. This article notes that we may be able to amass 5,000 friends on Facebook but humans brains are capable of managing a maximum of only 150 friendships, a study has found. Robin Dunbar, professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University, has conducted research revealing that while social networking sites allow us to maintain more relationships, the number of meaningful friendships is the same as it has been throughout history.

Creative Commons Content. Source: MashTrends. The resource gathered 25+ sources of content licensed under Creative Commons.

The Evolution of Revolution. Source: Policy Innovations. This publication notes that revolution is hard work, and lethal. Social media has a communicative role to play in the sophisticated design of systems that will undermine human suffering and solve the "day after" problems of deposing a dictatorship.

Facebook Will be the Common Denominator in Social Net by 2012; Mobile Phones Overtake PCs by 2013 Source: Gartner Research. Here are a few highlights:

By 2012, Facebook will become the hub for social network integration and Web socialization.
By 2015, context will be as influential to mobile consumer services and relationships as search engines are to the Web.
By 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide. According to Gartners PC installed base forecast, the total number of PCs in use will reach 1.78 billion

The Future of the Internet IV: New Edition Now Available from the Pew Internet & American Life Project Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project. Pew Internet and Elon Universitys Imagining the Internet Center asked internet experts and stakeholders to react to two opposing statements about the direction and impact of the internet 10 years from now that is, the year 2020.This report covers there answers to these issues.

Google Introduces Answer Highlighting and Rich Snippets for Events/ Google Squared focuses on adding structure to unstructured web data. Answer Highlighting helps you get to results more quickly by seeking out and bolding the likely answer to your question right in search results list. The feature is meant for searches with factual answers, such as [meet john doe director], [john lennon died], or [what was the political party of president ford]. If the pages returned for these queries contain a simple answer, the search snippet will more often include the relevant text and bold it for easy reference.

How to Set up a Free Online Monitoring System Source: PRSarahEvans.com. This resource has a business focus but has a useful list of tools for those on a tight budget. These are FREE tools (in five relatively easy steps) available to help you get a handle of your online presence.

Open Government Data Initiatives Around the World Source: Electronic Frontiers Foundation. The Open Knowledge Foundation and Access Info are currently seeking information on open government data initiatives around the world, as part of a scoping paper supported by the Open Society Institute.

Real-Time Search: 5 Alternatives to Google, Bing Source: Resource Shelf. This article looks at five dbases/services that do their best at providing real-time access to various info sources. The sources discussed are: 1. Collecta 2. Leapfish 3. OneRiot 4. Scoopler 5. Thoora

YouTubes New Interface Source: Resource Shelf. Google has redesigned YouTubes video page interface because it has become cluttered and a little overwhelming by Googles own admissionThe makeover aims primarily to make the video clip the star of the page by consolidating other elements and moving them out of the way. The section with suggestions for other videos to watch will now be populated according to how the user found the video theyre watching. For example, if it was through a search, the suggestions list will feature the other search results, but if it was through a playlist or recommendation, then the list will be populated with the other playlist or recommendation items.

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Research Tip:

- Identify whether or not the search engine defaults to using Boolean logic (employs OR, AND, & NOT). This will have huge effect on how you construct your search statement.
- Use the plus (+) and minus (-) signs in front of words to force their inclusion and/or exclusion in searches. EXAMPLE: +anorexia -bulimia (NO space between the sign and the keyword)
- Use double quotation marks (" ") around phrases to ensure they are searched exactly as is, with the words side by side in the same order. EXAMPLE: "World Movement for Democracy". There is no need to add quotation marks around a single word.
- Put your most important keywords first in the string. EXAMPLE: +hybrid +electric +vehicle
- Use truncation and wildcards (e.g., *) to look for variations in spelling and word form. EXAMPLE: librar* returns library, libraries, librarian, etc.
- Combine phrases with keywords, using the double quotes and the plus (+) and/or minus (-) signs. EXAMPLE: +"lung cancer" +bronchitis -smoking (In this case, if you use a keyword with a +sign, you must put the +sign in front of the phrase as well. When searching for a phrase alone, the +sign is not necessary.)