Finding Democracy in Spain

Between General Franco's agony (October/November 1975) and the constitution's approval (December 1978), European media reported intensively about the democratisation process in Spain. The present paper deals with its examination through the Radio della Svizzera di lingua italiana broadcasts. As the only Swiss Italian-speaking broadcaster, it tried to provide in-depth information and opinion on a country whose solid ties with Switzerland were based on economy, migration and tourism. The study of this non-commercial radio allows us to determine the way the democratisation was approached and portrayed for a Swiss audience and offers a genuine case for transnational historical research.     

Democracy and the problem of free speech

Should state or federal governmental units regulate pornography? Are existing constitutional standards clear enough to create and enforce restrictions on printed materials? In this article the author posits that the federal government should not attempt to curb offensive sexually explicit speech or printed works. However, he argues that the government has the authority to craft regulations addressing narrow issues related to materials combining sex with violence or coercion.     

互联网的发展对民主的影响

互联网技术的出现对民主政治的影响是双重的,它既为民主的发展提供了空前的动力与机遇,同时又使民主的发展面临着巨大的挑战。在这个网络化的时代,我们既要积极利用网络技术推动民主的进步,也要高度重视网络技术给民主带来的危害,并采取措施加以防范。     

What are Emergent Democratic Societies Doing to Democracy?

New evidence from the largest democracy in the world, India,and her four neighboring countries in South Asia has come tocomplete a picture that is difficult to ignore. Today we gather,in the Globalbarometer, public opinion data from 46 emergentdemocracies. The query posed by the new South Asian Barometeris not what democracy is doing to these societies, but whatthese societies are doing to democracy. Comparing results for Africa, Latin America, East Asia, andSouth Asia renders a map of a reduced understanding of democracy.It appears that the more democracy spreads, the more simplethe conception of democracy in people's minds gets. It seemswith few exceptions in the countries surveyed that democracyto the people means above all freedom, whereas the institutionaland procedural dimension of the concept is not so salient     

对县区级公共图书馆实行民主治理的思考

县区级公共图书馆承担着近70％基层广大群众的扫盲和社会教育的重任，在我国全面落实“三个代表”重要思想、树立科学发展现和构建社会主义和谐社会的大背景下，探索县区级公共图书馆的民主治理机制显得尤为迫切和需要。本文从分析县区级公共图书馆现状和政府主导治理下的问题出发。阐明了县区级公共图书馆实行民主治理的重要性和必要性。通过两个实例举证提出：建立县级公共图书馆管理委员会的构想，符合自下而上的社会民主发展规律。     

Democracy or Republic: Answering a Frequent Reference Question

This article frames the issues that the writers of the U.S. Constitution left as one of their writing legacies. The writers settled on the idea of founding a republic rather than a monarchy or democracy because they believed it the most stable form of government available to them. Their debate over “republic or democracy” found its way quickly into political discourse, with theoreticians like Will Butts and Eugene Volokh offering different views about which terms worked best to describe some of the political disagreements of modern times. This essay is best read in association with the short article on civic education by Reneé Critcher Lyons, which follows this article.     

Deliberative Democracy Online: Bridging Networks With Digital Technologies

This article applies a network metaphor to an examination of the mediated public sphere. The analysis focuses on the deliberative spaces afforded by traditional and alternative media technologies, concluding that participatory digital technologies best support interactive and adaptable networks for deliberation. These networks sustain enclave and shared nodes where multiple publics can engage in deliberation within and across public boundaries. This argument informs decisions regarding broadband policy by focusing attention on values of openness, access, and freedom.     

From Grand Narratives of Democracy to Small Expectations of Participation

This article critically examines the invocation of democracy in the discourse of audience participation in digital journalism. Rather than simply restate the familiar grand narratives that traditionally described journalism's function for democracy (information source, watchdog, public representative, mediation for political actors), we compare and contrast conceptualisations of the audience found within these and discuss how digital technologies impact these relationships. We consider how “participatory” transformations influence perceptions of news consumption and draw out analytic distinctions based on structures of participation and different levels of engagement. This article argues that the focus in digital journalism is not so much on citizen engagement but rather audience or user interaction; instead of participation through news, the focus is on participation in news. This demands we distinguish between minimalist and maximalist versions of participation through interactive tools, as there is a significant distinction between technologies that allow individuals to control and personalise content (basic digital control) and entire platforms that easily facilitate the storytelling and distribution of citizen journalism within public discourse (integrative structural participation). Furthermore, commercial interests tend to dominate the shaping of digital affordances, which can lead to individualistic rather than collective conceptualisations. This article concludes by considering what is gained as well as lost when grand visions of journalism's roles for democracy are appropriated or discarded in favour of a participation paradigm to conceptualise digital journalism.     

Participatory Culture and Collaborative Democracy: The Awesome Libraries Chapter

ABSTRACT

A brief overview of the Awesome Libraries Chapter of the Awesome Foundation and the process of crowdsourcing and funding transformative ideas in public libraries.     

Democracy online: an assessment of New Zealand government web sites

This study assesses the effectiveness of New Zealand government Web sites in providing equitable and appropriate access to government information to all citizens. A range of government Web sites was evaluated, and visitors to approximately half of these sites were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the effectiveness of the sites. Results show that there are several key issues for the government to address in formulating effective policy for government Web sites. These include the need for: a clear statement of purpose; good meta-data; good contacts for feedback and update of information; clear statements and adequate provision for confidentiality and privacy of personal data, liability, and copyright; access for disabled users; availability of publications in both electronic and print formats. Key issues to emerge from the user survey focus on the need for better search engines, indexes, and site maps to help people find out quickly if the information they are wanting is likely to be there, and to locate it. Users also need to be assured that the information on government Web sites is accurate and up-to-date. The authors concluded that there is a major gap in government policy emerging from this research that needs urgently to be addressed.     

The Role of Public Librarians in Disseminating Information for True Democracy

Disseminating information should be the business of public librarians. In a democracy, public librarians are expected to play a leading role in acquiring, processing, interpreting, repackaging, and disseminating relevant, up-to-date, and timely information and knowledge resources both from within and beyond their localities. Public librarians should serve as catalysts for the effective dissemination of information to promote true democracy. They are expected to explore channels of communication for the practice of true democracy. An emphasis on democratic ideals raises awareness of democratic tenets among the populace and also facilitates the holding of free, fair, and peaceful elections. This article examines the concept of democratic governance, the link between democratic governance and information, public libraries, and what public librarians should do to ensure the promotion of democracy.