Dear Friends, The Global Network of Internet & Society Research Centers (NoC) is happy to welcome 10 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 44- 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. * *Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) at the Central Europe University* [Hungary] o Webpage: http://cmds.ceu.edu/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/CMDSatCEU o CMDS is the leading center of research on media, communication, and information policy in Central and Eastern Europe. Affiliated with the School of Public Policy at Central European University, CMDS produces scholarly and practice-oriented research addressing academic, policy and civil society needs. Their research priorities include: Media and communication policy; Fundamental communication rights; Media and civil society; New Media and technology; Mediain transition. See http://cmds.ceu.edu/research-areas for more information. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Éva Bognár*, Senior Program Officer and Researcher at the CMDS (http://people.ceu.edu/eva_bognar). * *Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam *[the Netherlands] o Webpage: http://www.ivir.nl/?lang=en o The Institute for Information Law (IViR), officially established in 1989, is one of the largest research centers in the field of information law in the world. The Institute employs over 25 researchers who are active in an entire spectrum of information society related legal areas: intellectual property law, patents, telecommunications and broadcasting regulation, media law, Internet regulation, advertising law, domain names, freedom of expression, privacy, digital consumer issues, commercial speech. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Thomas Margoni*, senior researcher at the Institute for Information Law (http://www.ivir.nl/medewerkerpagina?id=39). * *New Research on Digital Societies (NeRDS) group at Kozminski University *[Poland] o Webpage: http://nerds.kozminski.edu.pl/ o NeRDS (the New Research on Digital Societies) group was established in 2013 at Kozminski University in Warsaw (Poland). Their aim is to study digital societies by the means of virtual ethnography, anthropology of the Internet, digital sociology, but also network analysis and other quantitative methods. Their projects so far include studies of open collaboration communities (such as Wikipedia), Couchsurfing, the Second Life, piracy, transhumanism, as well as virtual communities of museums. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Dariusz Jemielniak*, Full Professor of Management at Kozminski University in Poland (see the "people" menu in the NeRDS website). * *Swedish Institute for Legal Informatics (IRI) at Stockholm University *[Sweden] o Webpage: http://www.juridicum.su.se/iri/english/ o The Swedish Law and Informatics Research Institute (IRI) was established in 1981 as an independent institute within the Faculty of Law at Stockholm University. The institute is engaged in education and research on the relationship and interaction between law and ICT. Areas of interest include application of regulations in the digital environment and the development of methods for legally customized system design and management. o The main contact persons within the NoC are *Patricia Mindus*, Associate Professor at Uppsala University (http://www.filosofi.uu.se/Department/Staff/Mindus__Patricia_/?languageId=1), and *Peter Wahlgren*, the Director of IRI (http://www.juridicum.su.se/iri/organisation/Peter_Wahlgren/). * *Web Science Institute (WSI) at the University of Southampton* [United Kingdom] o Webpage: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/wsi/index.page o The Web Science Institute fosters interdisciplinary collaboration in research and education that aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the World Wide Web. Current research ranges from Social Media Analytics and Social Machines to Ciber Security, and Online Health (see http://www.southampton.ac.uk/wsi/research/index.page). o The main contact person within the NoC is *Susan Halford*, Professor of Sociology and a Director of the Web Science Institute (http://www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/about/staff/sjh3.page). -- 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. They are listed in alphabetical order. * *Chatham House* [United Kingdom] o Webpage: http://www.chathamhouse.org/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChathamHouse o Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is based in London. Chatham House’s mission is to be a world-leading source of independent analysis, informed debate and influential ideas on how to build a prosperous and secure world for all. Their policy threads include Science, Technology, and Cyber Security. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Caroline Baylon*, Research Associate of Science, Technology, and Cyber Security at Chatham House (see http://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/directory/196737). * *Diplo Foundation *[Malta / Switzerland] o Webpage: http://www.diplomacy.edu/ o DiploFoundation (Diplo) is an independent non-profit organisation established in 2002 by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo’s main mission is to increase the capacity of small and developing states to engage effectively and efficiently in global policy processes, negotiations, and diplomacy, in particular in the field of Internet governance. o The main contact persons within the NoC are *Jovan Kurbalija*, founding director of Diplo Foundation (http://www.diplomacy.edu/courses/faculty/kurbalija), and *Roxana Radu*, researcher at Diplo Foundation (http://www.diplomacy.edu/courses/faculty/radu). * *Internet Policy Observatory Pakistan (iPOP)* [Pakistan] o Webpage: http://ipop.org.pk/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/InternetPolicyP o iPOP (Internet Policy Observatory Pakistan) conducts public interest research on ICT policy and regulation in Pakistan. It provides researchers, governments, regulators, operators, multilateral institutions, development agencies and community organizations with the information and analysis required to develop innovative and appropriate policies for modern age digital technologies. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Arzak Khan*, Director and Co-Founder at the Internet Policy Observatory Pakistan (see http://globalnetpolicy.org/ipo-affiliate-arzak-khan-establishes-internet-pol...). * *Global Public Policy Institute* (GPPi) [Germany] o Webpage: http://www.gppi.net/ o Twitter: https://twitter.com/GPPi o The Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) is an independent non-profit think tank based in Berlin. Our mission is to improve global governance through research, policy advice and debate in seven issue areas ranging from humanitarian action and human rights over peace and security to internet politics. Within their Global Internet Politics program, we are committed to developing the internet as a free, open and secure space (see http://www.gppi.net/issue-areas/global-internet-politics/). o The main contact persons within the NoC are two research associates with the Global Public Policy Institute: *Isabel Skierka* (http://www.gppi.net/team/isabel-skierka/), and *Mirko Hohmann* (http://www.gppi.net/team/mirko-hohmann/). * *Nesta Innovation Lab on digital technologies and future Internet* [United Kingdom] o Webpage: http://www.nesta.org.uk/our-people/team/25 o Nesta Innovation Lab works with individuals and organisations to generate, develop and test radical new ideas to address social problems. Through developing and applying leading edge innovation practices and methods, it supports innovators in the public, private and social sectors, and links innovative projects to advocacy and policy change to transform whole systems. o The main contact person within the NoC is *Francesca Bria*, Senior Project Lead in the Nesta Innovation Lab (http://www.nesta.org.uk/users/francesca-bria). 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/. -- Raimondo Iemma Managing Director & Research Fellow Nexa Center for Internet and Society http://nexa.polito.it/ Project Manager Global Network of Internet & Society Research Centers http://networkofcenters.net/
