This is a presentation I gave today to students from the Southern Methodist University (SMU) on the invitation of Dan Rainey, the Director of the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution Services (ADRS) for the National Mediation Board, and the agency’s Ombudsman. The presentation covers aspects of my work using ICTs for citizen journalism and peacebuilding [...]
Archive | February, 2010
Online Research and Media Ethics
A presentation that I delivered to Young Asia Television today on how to use Google services more efficiently and effectively for web research, how to ascertain the veracity of information online and existing media ethics that frame the publication of and references to online sources.
Relaunch of Vikalpa: Engaging opinion and analysis in Sinhala from Sri Lanka
Vikalpa (www.vikalpa.org) relaunched its website yesterday, with a renewed focus on compelling and original opinion and analysis in Sinhala from Sri Lanka. First launched in 2007, the old website had become unwieldy, inelegant and hard to navigate. The new website introduces a number of new sections, and makes it easier to follow content updates on [...]
Examples of on-going web censorship in Sri Lanka
The President may have halted planned web censorship with Chinese involvement, but as I asked recently, what of the existing censorship of websites? Here’s just one example. http://www.lankanewsweb.com does not open on Sri Lanka Telecom’s ADSL connections. It does however open on Mobitel’s HSPA connection. What gives? The State has a majority share in SLT, [...]
Sri Lankan President halts web censorship, which raises more vital questions
In a positive development that raises more questions than it addresses, the Sunday Times reports today that the President has “ordered the suspension of a plan by Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator to censor anti-government websites by blocking access to it with Chinese assistance.” This then is a clear admission that plans were afoot to control [...]
When even democracies go awry with online dissent
A growing collection of articles online suggest disturbing trends in countries not usually associated with internet and web censorship and filtering. It is extremely important that we condemn these proposed and enacted measures as vehemently as we decry actions and policies to censor online content by regimes in China, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia for [...]
Will the World Bank indirectly support web censorship in Sri Lanka?
The World Bank issued a press release on 15 February in response to a report in the Sunday Times (Chinese here for cyber censorship) noting that, The World Bank would like to clarify its position regarding the Institutional Development Fund (IDF) Grant for the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC), Sri Lanka. The signed grant agreement which [...]
Getting closer to a truly virtual world
One may of course argue we are already immersed in, and contribute to many virtual worlds, from Second Life to Facebook. But a virtual Trans-Siberian rail journey via the internet? Trans-Siberian Railway Views, a Click Away from the NY Times’ blog points to what is nothing short of an amazing collaboration between Russian Railways and Google. [...]
Government denies plans for web filtering, wants to establish online ethics
Two news stories published today address concerns over recent reports that the Sri Lankan government was planning to filter critical dissent online, in a context where websites have been blocked arbitrarily and without any legal authority. Ironically, pornographic sites that have been banned by the law are more easily accessible than those than are not! [...]
