Staying free in a world of persuasive technologies
Broadly speaking, most of the online services we think we’re using for “free”—that is, the ones we’re paying for with the currency of our attention—have some sort of persuasive design goal …
How are internal monitoring systems being used to tackle corruption in the Chinese public administration?
China has made concerted efforts to reduce corruption at the lowest levels of government, as a result of dissatisfaction from both the business communities and the general public …
Seeing like a machine: big data and the challenges of measuring Africa’s informal economies
In a similar way that economists have traditionally excluded unpaid domestic labour from national accounts, most African states only scratched the surface of their populations’ true economic lives …
Chinese Internet users share the same values concerning free speech, privacy, and control as their Western counterparts
Many people—even in China—see the Internet as a tool for free speech and as a place where you can expect a certain degree of privacy and anonymity …
Is China changing the Internet, or is the Internet changing China?
By 2015, the proportion of Chinese language Internet users is expected to exceed the proportion of English language users …
The scramble for Africa’s data
As Africa goes digital, the challenge for policymakers becomes moving from digitisation to managing and curating digital data in ways that keep people’s identities and activities secure …
How effective is online blocking of illegal child sexual content?
Combating child pornography and child abuse is a universal and legitimate concern. With regard to this subject there is a worldwide consensus that action must be undertaken in order to punish abusers and protect children …
Presenting the moral imperative: effective storytelling strategies by online campaigning organisations
Existing civil society focused organisations are also being challenged to fundamentally change their approach, to move political tactics and communications online, and to grow their member lists …
Mapping the uneven geographies of information worldwide
There are massive inequalities that cannot simply be explained by uneven Internet penetration. A range of other physical, social, political and economic barriers are reinforcing this digital divide …
