What’s Inside August 2011:
New websites New articles on 2011 social media and riots New reports on the BBC
NEW
WEBSITES
HM Government launch epetitions website. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/ This month the government launched a site where members of the public can create e-petitions. If a e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it is eligible for a debate in the House of Commons. The site explains the process and will enable the creation and reading of recent petitions. The Scottish Parliament already has an operational e-petitions section where you can view examples. http://epetitions.scottish.parliament. uk/
Iceland involves citizens in constitution drafting For those interested in e-government and citizen participation. Yahoo reported recently http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/201 10729/tc_afp/icelandconstitutioninte rnet that Iceland had used the web to create a new draft constitution. A committee, including citizens, used the website and thousands of comments were posted. The committee website is at
http://stjornlagarad.is/There is a limited section in English http://stjornlagarad.is/english/ .However Google translation seems to work quite well. It gives examples of the use of wikis, facebook and youtube for discussion. Lawyer Katrin Oddsdottir who was involved in the process also used twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/kataodds Meta-Activism Project (MAP) http://www.meta-activism.org/ The Meta-Activism Project (MAP) is a non-traditional think tank that leverages the affordances of the digital network to better understand its effects on social power.it is staffed by volunteers. Its website provides free access to its book and other case studies that cover ways in which citizens around the world are using digital technologies to push for social and political change. The site is also creating a Global Digital Activism Data Set (GDADS) which aims to provide statistics and lists of digital activism projects.
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NEW
ARTICLES
SOCIAL
MEDIA AS A CAMPAIGN TOOL ecampaigning forum http://www.ecampaigningforum.com / Is an annual event where practitioners share advice and expertise on how to use social media in campaigning. The 2011 website http://ecflive.fairsay.com/ includes information and some presentations. Topics covered include practical case studies on campaigning from charities. Examples include: Open Data for Campaigning. What can you do with it? How do you open your data? How do I tell my boss? What would you like to see?
British Politics and policy blog http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpoli cy/category/london-riots-2011/ has academic discussion on the causes of the unrest and how to prevent future protests. For a different perspective History and Policy have published the opinion piece Opinion piece: rioting in Georgian London and contemporary Britain http://www.historyandpolicy.org/opi nion/opinion_75.html by Katrina Navickas, of Hertfordshire University, highlights the parallels and differences between a notorious riot in Georgian England and the current violence and disorder.
NEW ARTICLES SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE RIOTS This Month the Guardian datablog http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/dat ablog/2011/aug/15/riots-maphappened-suspects-addresses produced some interesting mappings of where those arrested lived and where the riots happened. It is also keeping files on magistrate court lists and sentences. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/databl og/2011/aug/11/uk-riots-magistratescourt-list For information on other social media tools used by journalists to cover the story see this useful article from Journalism.co.uk http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/editors /2011/08/09/london-riots-five-waysjournalists-used-online-tools/ LSE Polis http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2011/08/1 1/the-social-media-pleasure-of-ariot/ also had posts on the use of social media during the riots and
NEW
REPORTS
BBC
Culture, Media and Sport Committee - Fourth Special Report BBC Licence Fee Settlement and Annual Report: Responses to the Committee's Fourth Report of Session 2010-12 http://www.publications.parliament. uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmcumed s/1375/137502.htm
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NEW SURVEYS ON MEDIA USAGE
Pew report on smartphone ownership in USA. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2054/s martphone-ownershipdemographics-iphone-blackberryandroid What are the most popular online activities? http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2079/email-internet-search latest data from the Pew Project. Comparison of print and online content in Australia’s metropolitan media-Media Monitor http://www.mediamonitors.com.au/i nsights/whitepapers
All the articles listed in this newsletter are free but did you know you can also search for articles using the library’s subscription databases. New this month Communication and Mass media complete search the full text of over 400 ejournals.
https://catalogue.lse.ac.uk/Record/1278 218 To find out more try our subject guide. http://www2.lse.ac.uk/library/subjectGu ides/Home.aspx
If you would like more information or individual help in using the library contact Heather Dawson Library h..dawson@lse.ac.uk
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