May 2016 - netsociety - server-nexa.polito.it

CfP - AoIR preevent on STS and Internet governance - Deadline 15 June
by Julia Pohle May 26, 2016

May 26, 2016

Dear all Please find below the call for contributions for an AoIR preconference workshop on STS and Internet governance. Be aware that the deadline for submissions is already *June 15! * If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. Best regards Julia --- *Call for Contributions* Deadline: 15 June 2016 *The Internet Rules, But How? * *An STS take on doing Internet governance* Preconference workshop – AoIR 2016 5 October 2016 – Berlin, Germany Workshop facilitators: Dmitry Epstein, Christian Katzenbach, Francesca Musiani, Julia Pohle Keynote speaker: Laura DeNardis Over the last decade, the regulation and governance of the Internet at the national and international level have attracted growing attention by policy-makers and researchers. This is particularly the case in post-Snowden times which increased distrust of formal government institutions and their ‘dangerous liaisons’ with the private sector. Traditionally, Internet governance (IG) research focussed on new institutions that have been explicitly established to negotiate the Internet’s technical coordination or deliberate Internet-related public policy issues. Recently, authors have criticised this institutional focus, including a small group of scholars who draw on perspectives from Science and Technology Studies (STS), calling to rethink and substantiate questions of ordering and governing the net. Their contributions highlight the day-to-day, mundane practices that constitute IG, take into account the plurality and ‘networkedness’ of devices and arrangements involved in the governance of information technology, and investigate the invisibility, pervasiveness, and apparent agency of the digital infrastructure itself. IG, in this view, consists of practices and controversies of design, regulation, and use of material infrastructures. Accordingly, the observation and investigation of practices require different, innovative research approaches, which delve into the variety of ways in which digital uses and practices may be an integral part of today’s IG. In this way, STS-informed perspectives are increasingly instrumental for challenging and expanding our understanding and for informing our examination of ordering and governing processes in the digital realm. This preconference workshop seeks to nurture the growing interest in researching and observing IG from an STS-informed perspective. More broadly, the workshop aims to facilitate a discussion and an exchange of perspectives about the intertwined roles of design, infrastructures, and informal communities of practice in IG. For the full-day workshop, we are inviting contributions for four sessions: 1.The first research panel will focus on theory, inviting papers that share a strong conceptual interest in understanding how STS can inform theoretical perspectives on Internet governance, for instance by revealing socio-technical controversies or by unveiling power and control structures embedded in Internet architecture and its governance institutions; 2.The second research panel will focus on STS-informed empirical work on Internet governance, inviting papers that make use of the conceptual and methodological tool-sets of STS to observe and study IG practices and the ways in which the norms shaping the provision, design and usage of the Internet are negotiated, and de- and re-stabilised; 3.For the methodological fishbowl session, we will invite researchers to report on their experience with STS-inspired Internet governance research. The open discussion will focus on the practicalities of doing participatory observation in IG and the challenges of negotiating one’s role as a researcher and an active participant (or even an activist) in IG processes; 4.For the final open roundtable discussion we are inviting researchers to reflect on the notion of “black box” as it relates to the treatment of technological artifacts in public and media discourses (e.g. related to the French intelligence bill). We foresee that unpacking the notion of the “black box” will also help engage IG research and researchers with the broader community of Internet scholars who are deliberating topics such as politics of platforms and algorithms. Please submit your contributions *no later than June 15 *to <mailto:ig-workshop-aoir2016@hiig.de>ig-workshop-aoir2016(a)hiig.de. We expect extended abstracts for sessions 1-2 and position papers for sessions 3-4, max. 800 words. Registration at the AoIR 2016 conference is necessary in order to participate at the workshop. Notification will be sent out in mid-July so that participants can book Early Bird Tickets for the conference before August 1. This workshop is part of a broader effort of advancing an STS-informed conversation on Internet governance. It builds on the successful panel on STS perspectives on IG that took place during AoIR 2015 in Phoenix and a special issue of the Internet Policy Review to be published in early September 2016. The workshop is supported by the Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet), the Internet Policy Review of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG, Berlin), the Department of Communication, University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Institute for Communication Sciences (CNRS/Paris-Sorbonne/UPMC, Paris). *Contact:*Julia Pohle. Christian Katzenbach. Francesca Musiani. Dmitry Epstein ig-workshop-aoir2016(a)hiig.de <mailto:ig-workshop-aoir2016@hiig.de>.

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OPEN DATA RESEARCH SUMMIT COUNTDOWN - Call for Abstracts Deadline 30 May
by Stefaan Verhulst May 20, 2016

May 20, 2016

Dear members - If of interest, please submit, share widely and hope I will see some of you in Madrid! Wishes Stefaan thegovlab.org <http://thegovlab.org/> > > <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-r/> > <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-tw-sstkul-hlzjudia-b/> <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-fb-sstkul-hlzjudia-n/> > View online version <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-y/> > > > > REMINDER > > Open Data Research Symposium <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-j/> > Call for Abstracts > Deadline: 30 May 2016 > > > Thank you to those who have already submitted abstracts. We look forward to reviewing them and to receiving many more submissions in the coming days. > Please feel free to share this call widely among your networks. > A reminder of the call for abstracts: > As open data becomes entrenched in the policy mainstream, there is an ongoing need to delve deeper into the dynamics of open data practice. At the same time, there is a need to maintain a critical perspective and to develop empirically-tested theories on open data. > Researchers across the world have been exploring various issues around the supply, use and impact of open data. The Second Open Data Research Symposium <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-i/> offers researchers an opportunity to share their research and to formulate the open data research agenda. > Submissions that reflect critically on the following themes are invited: > · Theoretical framing of open data as a concept and a movement; > · Use and impacts of open data in specific countries or specific sectors; > · The making, implementation and institutionalisation of open data policy; > · Capacity-building for wider availability and use of open data; > · Conceptualising open data ecosystems and intermediaries; > · Entrepreneurial usage and open data economies in developing countries; > · Linkages between transparency, freedom of information and open data communities; > · Measurement of open data policy and practices, including methods for assessing the impact of open data; > · Critical challenges for open data: privacy, exclusion and abuse; and > · Situating open data in the global governance and developmental contexts. > Submissions are invited from all disciplines, though with an emphasis on empirical social research. Doctoral students and early-career researchers are particularly encouraged to submit abstracts. > SUBMISSION DETAILS > Extended abstracts in English of up to 1,200 words, detailing the question addressed by the research, methods employed and findings should be submitted via the EasyChair website <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-d/> by 30 May 2016. > Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full papers. Full papers of accepted abstracts will be due by 1 September 2016. > > > > > > > > > > > TRAVEL SUPPORT > Travel support is available for selected authors of accepted abstracts. Authors must have submitted a full paper prior to the Symposium and must be from a developing country to qualify for support. > All those wishing to apply for travel support are encouraged to apply for travel support via the IODC website once registrations open. Applicants for travel support should indicate in their request for travel support that they have submitted an abstract to the Symposium. > > > > CONTACTS > For further information on ODRS16 <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-k/>, including the call for abstracts, key dates, venue or any other details, please contact either Francois <mailto:francois@webfoundation.org> or Stefaan <mailto:stefaan@thegovlab.org>, or visit the symposium website <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-u/>. > > > > > > > > > PROGRAMME COMMITTEE > · Stefaan Verhulst (The GovLab, NYU Tandon School of Engineering) (Co-chair) > · Francois van Schalkwyk (World Wide Web Foundation & Stellenbosch University) (Co-chair) > · Katie Clancy (IDRC/OD4D) > · Emmy Chirchir (Munster University) > · Gisele Craveiro (University of Sao Paulo) > · Tim Davies (University of Southampton) > · Kyujin Jung (Tennessee State University) > · Gustavo Magalhaes (UT Austin | Portugal CoLab) > · Michelle McLeod (University of the West Indies) > · Fernando Perini (IDRC) > · Stefania Milan (University of Amsterdam) > · Andrew Young (The GovLab, NYU Tandon School of Engineering) > > > > Open Data Research Symposium 2016 > > > > > > <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…>

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OPEN DATA RESEARCH SUMMIT COUNTDOWN - Call for Abstracts Deadline 30 May
by Stefaan Verhulst May 20, 2016

May 20, 2016

Dear members - If of interest, please submit, share widely and hope I will see some of you in Madrid! Wishes Stefaan thegovlab.org <http://thegovlab.org/> > > <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-r/> > <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-tw-sstkul-hlzjudia-b/> <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-fb-sstkul-hlzjudia-n/> > View online version <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-y/> > > > > REMINDER > > Open Data Research Symposium <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-j/> > Call for Abstracts > Deadline: 30 May 2016 > > > Thank you to those who have already submitted abstracts. We look forward to reviewing them and to receiving many more submissions in the coming days. > Please feel free to share this call widely among your networks. > A reminder of the call for abstracts: > As open data becomes entrenched in the policy mainstream, there is an ongoing need to delve deeper into the dynamics of open data practice. At the same time, there is a need to maintain a critical perspective and to develop empirically-tested theories on open data. > Researchers across the world have been exploring various issues around the supply, use and impact of open data. The Second Open Data Research Symposium <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-i/> offers researchers an opportunity to share their research and to formulate the open data research agenda. > Submissions that reflect critically on the following themes are invited: > · Theoretical framing of open data as a concept and a movement; > · Use and impacts of open data in specific countries or specific sectors; > · The making, implementation and institutionalisation of open data policy; > · Capacity-building for wider availability and use of open data; > · Conceptualising open data ecosystems and intermediaries; > · Entrepreneurial usage and open data economies in developing countries; > · Linkages between transparency, freedom of information and open data communities; > · Measurement of open data policy and practices, including methods for assessing the impact of open data; > · Critical challenges for open data: privacy, exclusion and abuse; and > · Situating open data in the global governance and developmental contexts. > Submissions are invited from all disciplines, though with an emphasis on empirical social research. Doctoral students and early-career researchers are particularly encouraged to submit abstracts. > SUBMISSION DETAILS > Extended abstracts in English of up to 1,200 words, detailing the question addressed by the research, methods employed and findings should be submitted via the EasyChair website <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-d/> by 30 May 2016. > Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full papers. Full papers of accepted abstracts will be due by 1 September 2016. > > > > > > > > > > > TRAVEL SUPPORT > Travel support is available for selected authors of accepted abstracts. Authors must have submitted a full paper prior to the Symposium and must be from a developing country to qualify for support. > All those wishing to apply for travel support are encouraged to apply for travel support via the IODC website once registrations open. Applicants for travel support should indicate in their request for travel support that they have submitted an abstract to the Symposium. > > > > CONTACTS > For further information on ODRS16 <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-k/>, including the call for abstracts, key dates, venue or any other details, please contact either Francois <mailto:francois@webfoundation.org> or Stefaan <mailto:stefaan@thegovlab.org>, or visit the symposium website <http://webfoundation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-sstkul-hlzjudia-u/>. > > > > > > > > > PROGRAMME COMMITTEE > · Stefaan Verhulst (The GovLab, NYU Tandon School of Engineering) (Co-chair) > · Francois van Schalkwyk (World Wide Web Foundation & Stellenbosch University) (Co-chair) > · Katie Clancy (IDRC/OD4D) > · Emmy Chirchir (Munster University) > · Gisele Craveiro (University of Sao Paulo) > · Tim Davies (University of Southampton) > · Kyujin Jung (Tennessee State University) > · Gustavo Magalhaes (UT Austin | Portugal CoLab) > · Michelle McLeod (University of the West Indies) > · Fernando Perini (IDRC) > · Stefania Milan (University of Amsterdam) > · Andrew Young (The GovLab, NYU Tandon School of Engineering) > > > > Open Data Research Symposium 2016 > > > > > > <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…>

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Two vacancies at Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT, Tilburg University)
by C.R. Nauta May 20, 2016

May 20, 2016

Dear members of the Network of Centers, We would like to draw your attention to two vacancies that are currently open at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) under the Philip Eijlander Diversity Program. Philip Eijlander Diversity Program Tilburg University is committed to diversity as a self-evident value within its organization. Diversity, inclusion, and equality are important key priorities of the university's HR policy. Under the Philip Eijlander Diversity Program, Tilburg University offers talented women with a passion for teaching and research a wonderful opportunity to design research and courses on important themes at the various Schools. Appointees will receive a start-up grant for their research and will participate in a networking and coaching program. Below are the links to the vacancies. Female Full professor in Technology Law & Human rights http://bit.ly/23YoUOH Female Assistant/Associate professorship Regulation of Technology http://bit.ly/1NAeO4u Deadline: 6 June 2016. Read more about the Philip Eijlander Diversity Program: www.tilburguniversity.edu/PED<http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/PED> We would be grateful if you could distribute these vacancies within your own relevant networks. Thank you. Best regards, Renske Nauta Renske Nauta Management Assistant Tilburg University TILT - Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society Room M 721 P.O. Box 90153 5000 LE Tilburg University Office hours: Mo. & Thu. 8.30-17.00 hrs. Tel.: + (31) 13 466 8720 c.r.nauta(a)tilburguniversity.edu<mailto:c.r.nauta@tilburguniversity.edu> www.tilburguniversity.edu<http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/> www.tilt.nl<http://www.tilt.nl/> [http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/imweb2/images/content/UTI020_Logo.png]

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Three PhD scholarships in internet research
by Klaus Bruhn Jensen May 17, 2016

May 17, 2016

Three PhD scholarships in internet research The Department of Media, Cognition, and Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, invites applications for three 3-year PhD scholarships. The successful candidates will be affiliated with the Peoples’ Internet (PIN) project sponsored by the Carlsberg Foundation. The candidates are expected to begin October 1, 2016, or as soon as possible thereafter. Description of the project “The Peoples’ Internet – Market, state, and civil society in China, Europe, and the United States” will undertake a comparative study of the internet in different world regions. Digital networks are among the most flexible and universally applicable technologies ever invented by humans. But the many significant variations in the social uses of the internet around the world remain poorly understood. The PIN project compares the current state and future potential of the internet in three centers of the global economy and world politics – China, Europe, and the United States – focusing on the interplay of civil society with the other two key sectors of modern societies: market and state. The PhD candidates will be an integral part of the PIN research group. They will participate both in formal project events and in informal deliberations throughout their affiliation with the project; they will have the opportunity both to pursue personal research interests and to contribute to the overall theoretical and methodological framework of PIN; and they will join a wider interdisciplinary research environment centered in the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Communication and Computing and its research group on Digital Communication and Aesthetics. In addition to coursework and other institutional obligations, the PhD candidates will undertake the following main activities: • six months of ethnographic fieldwork (China, Denmark, or the US) • review of regulatory regimes and cultural traditions in their fieldwork area • participation in analyses of population surveys • contributions to the dissemination of project findings and other outreach. PhD position # 1: The successful PhD candidate must be fluent in spoken and written academic English, and in Mandarin. Prior experience with cross-cultural studies and/or survey research within media and communication studies will be considered an advantage, but is not a requirement. It is expected that the successful candidate will be present, part of the research group, and engaged in the activities of PIN on a daily basis. Departing from the PIN project framework, the PhD project description must include: • a main section outlining preliminary research questions, methodological considerations, and a time schedule for a six-month ethnographic fieldwork in the People’s Republic of China • a section identifying preliminary issues to be addressed in a review of regulatory regimes and cultural traditions in China • a section discussing how insights from the fieldwork may inform and complement the survey component of the PIN project. PhD position # 2: The successful PhD candidate must be fluent in spoken and written academic English, and in Danish. Prior experience with cross-cultural studies and/or survey research within media and communication studies will be considered an advantage, but is not a requirement. It is expected that the successful candidate will be present, part of the research group, and engaged in the activities of PIN on a daily basis. Departing from the PIN project framework, the PhD project description must include: • a main section outlining preliminary research questions, methodological considerations, and a time schedule for a six-month ethnographic fieldwork in Denmark • a section identifying preliminary issues to be addressed in a review of regulatory regimes and cultural traditions in Denmark • a section discussing how insights from the fieldwork may inform and complement the survey component of the PIN project. PhD position # 3: The successful PhD candidate must be fluent in spoken and written academic English. Prior experience with cross-cultural studies and/or survey research within media and communication studies will be considered an advantage, but is not a requirement. It is expected that the successful candidate will be present, part of the research group, and engaged in the activities of PIN on a daily basis. Departing from the PIN project framework, the PhD project description must include: • a main section outlining preliminary research questions, methodological considerations, and a time schedule for a six-month ethnographic fieldwork in the United States of America • a section identifying preliminary issues to be addressed in a review of regulatory regimes and cultural traditions in the U.S. • a section discussing how insights from the fieldwork may inform and complement the survey component of the PIN project. Please note that the project proposal must lie within the overall framework of PIN. For further information, including a copy of the project framework, please contact the Principal Investigator of PIN, Professor Klaus Bruhn Jensen kbj(a)hum.ku.dk<mailto:kbj@hum.ku.dk> Please note that all applications must be submitted via the PhD School’s website by using an electronic application system. To see the full version of the call and information on how to apply, please visit the PhD School’s website: http://phd.humanities.ku.dk/how_to_apply/calls/ Application deadline: July 7, 2016 at 23.59 (CET).  Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career. ********************************************************** Klaus Bruhn Jensen Professor, dr.phil. Head of Centre for Communication and Computing Section of Film, Media, and Communication Department of Media, Cognition, and Communication University of Copenhagen Karen Blixens Vej 4 DK-2300 Copenhagen S Denmark kbj(a)hum.ku.dk<mailto:kbj@hum.ku.dk> www.media.ku.dk Tel +45-35328100 Fax +45-35328110 ********************************************************** *New publication* Special section of the International Journal of Communication: Audiences across Media (2015), http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc

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Call for Proposals: Post-Snowden Internet Policy - Deadline 31 May
by Julia Pohle May 17, 2016

May 17, 2016

Dear all, Please find below the call for papers for a thematic issue of the Cogitatio Media and Communication Open Access Journal that might be of interest for the policy scholars amongst you. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions. Best, Julia --- Call For Proposals - Deadline 31 May 2016 Cogitatio Media and Communication, Volume 4, Issue 6 http://cogitatiopress.com/ojs/index.php/mediaandcommunication/pages/view/ne… Title: Post-Snowden Internet Policy Editors: Julia Pohle (WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany) and Leo Van Audenhove (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, and University of the Western Cape, South Africa) Deadline for Abstracts: 31 May 2016 Deadline for Submissions: 31 August 2016 Publication of the Issue: December 2016 Information: In summer 2013, the world was shaken by the revelations of Edward Snowden, a former NSA systems administrator who leaked classified records of the surveillance programmes of the US intelligence agencies. In several countries, these disclosures led to a chorus of outrage by internet users and policy-makers. In addition, despite the fact that many international corporations dissociated themselves from US surveillance practices, the disclosed documents revealed how the nexus between the US government and the IT industry entails the neglect of privacy concerns on a large scale. Hence, the NSA scandal has demonstrated that existing Internet policy frameworks are not adequate to address illegitimate data collection and surveillance through global digital infrastructures. It thereby accelerated a necessary debate about the future of Internet policy in an increasingly globalised word that is interconnected by digital infrastructures. But as much consternation as Snowden’s revelations have caused, the discursive response to the scandal appears disconnected from the practical response. While users continue to entrust their data and personal information to US-based corporations, policy-makers in Europe and other regions have yet to put forward alternative approaches that would reform existing domestic and international Internet policy and ensure the respect of legal obligations and human rights. This thematic issue seeks contributions that approach the consequences that the Snowden disclosures have had, might have or should have on the discursive and practical level. We particularly invite submissions that reveal the complex mechanisms of Internet policy and its many interrelated (and often competing) discourses, issues and actors. Approaching the topic of post-Snowden Internet policy from a theoretical, conceptual or case-study perspective, contributions could address the following topics: - Privacy by policy or by design - Data protection in a globalised network society - Digital literacy and the power of users/consumers - Surveillance – between care and control - Digital sovereignty and data localisation - Accountability of international corporations - Policy-making in a black box society - Civil disobedience, (h)activists and their impact on policy debates Instructions for Authors: Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal's instructions for authors and to send their abstracts (about 200-250 words, with a tentative title) by email to the journal's editorial office (mac(a)cogitatiopress.com) by 31 May 2016. Authors shall also check with their institutions if funds are available to cover open access publication costs. Further information about the journal's open access charges and institutional memberships can be found in the "About" webpage. -- Dr. Julia Pohle Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung(WZB)/ WZB Berlin Social Science Center Politikfeld Internet / Internet Policy Internationales Recht und Politik / International law and politics Reichpietschufer 50 10785 Berlin / Germany Office: +49-(0)30-25491-220 Email: julia.pohle(a)wzb.eu

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The Network of Centers welcomes 4 new participants
by Lorenzo Canova May 4, 2016

May 4, 2016

Dear Friends, The Global Network of Internet & Society Research Centers (NoC) is happy to welcome 4 new participants from across the world! The joining Centers are described below. Please visit the links to get further information on their current research, areas of interest, and on the contact persons. The full list of the Centers involved in the NoC - currently 67 - is available at http://networkofcenters.net/centers. -- The following Centers have joined the NoC as *Participating Centers*, i.e., academic research centers whose agenda is primarily focused on Internet & Society topics. They are listed in alphabetical order. * *Cyberlaw Research Centre (CIJIC) of the University of Lisbon School of Law *[Portugal] o Webpage: http://www.cijic.org/sobre-nos/ o CIJIC - Cyberlaw Research Center is a research center dedicated to the legal aspects of cyberspace and, in particular, cybersecurity. Our mission is to create an intellectual environment that inspires and challenges law students, any type of legal professionals, computer experts and society in general to participate in a broad debate on the legal framework for information technologies and the changes they are introducing in daily life. Embracing a multidisciplinary approach, given the particular nature of the subject matter, the CIJIC aims to provide a forum within which ideas can be disseminated and discussed and new projects developed. Among other initiatives, the CIJIC has a periodical publication named “CyberLaw – by CIJIC” and promotes seminars and all sorts of events. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Nuno Teixeira Castro*, researcher at the Cyberlaw Research Center (CIJIC). * *The Governance Lab at the New York University* [USA] o Webpage: http://thegovlab.org/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegovlab o The GovLab is an action research center with the mission to improve people's lives by changing the way we govern. Our goal is to strengthen the ability of institutions – including but not limited to governments – and people to work more openly, collaboratively, effectively and legitimately to make better decisions and solve public problems. We believe that increased availability and use of data, new ways to leverage the capacity, intelligence, and expertise of people in the problem-solving process, combined with new advances in technology and science can transform governance. We approach each challenge and opportunity in an interdisciplinary, collaborative way, irrespective of the problem, sector, geography and level of government. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Stefaan Verhulst*, Chief of Research at the GovLab (http://thegovlab.org/about/team/stefaan-verhulst/) * *The Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project at the University of Essex’s Human Rights Centre *[UK] o Webpage: http://www.hrbdt.ac.uk/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/HRBDTNews o The Economic and Social Research Council-funded Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project, based at the University of Essex’s Human Rights Centre, maps and analyses the challenges and opportunities presented by the use of ICT and big data from a human rights perspective. Drawing on the wide range of expertise of its interdisciplinary researchers and partner organisations, the Project considers whether fundamental human rights concepts and approaches need to be adapted to meet the rapidly evolving technological landscape. The work brings together practitioners in the fields of human rights, technology and Internet governance, the United Nations, technology industries, and academics, to assess existing regulatory responses and the need for reforms in order to maximise effective human rights enjoyment and protection. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Catherine Kent*, Project Officer for the Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project (http://www.hrbdt.ac.uk/?team=ms-catherine-kent) -- The following Centers have joined the NoC as *Affiliated Participants*, i.e., other types of institutions, still with Internet & Society-related open threads, carried out, e.g., as non-academic research centers, policy-support entities, or think tanks. * *INTERNETLAB *[Brazil] o Webpage: http://www.internetlab.org.br/en/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/internetlabbr o INTERNETLAB is an independent research center that aims to foster academic debate around issues involving law and technology, especially internet policy. Our goal is to conduct interdisciplinary impactful research and promote dialogue among academics, professionals and policymakers. We follow an entrepreneurial nonprofit model, which embraces our goal of producing scholarly research as an academic think tank. As a nexus of expertise in technology, public policy and social sciences, our research agenda covers a wide range of topics, including privacy and state surveillance, freedom of expression, gender and technology. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Dennys Antonialli*, Executive Director of InternetLab (http://www.internetlab.org.br/en/team/cv/#dennys-antonialli-2) Again, a warm welcome to all new participants in the Network of Centers! -- *About the Network of Internet and Society Research Centers* The Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC) was launched by a group of academic centers in 2012 in recognition of the lack of internationally coordinated research and engagement activities in issues concerning the Internet and related technologies. The NoC is a collaborative initiative among academic institutions with a focus on interdisciplinary research on the development, social impact, policy implications, and legal issues concerning the Internet. This collective aims to increase interoperability between participating centers in order to stimulate the creation of new cross-national, cross-disciplinary conversation, debate, teaching, learning, and engagement regarding the most pressing questions around new technologies, social change, and related policy and regulatory developments. See http://networkofcenters.net/get-involved/. -- Lorenzo Canova Nexa Center for Internet & Society Politecnico di Torino - DAUIN http://nexa.polito.it Project Manager Global Network of Internet & Society Research Centers http://networkofcenters.net/

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