All Blogs
NGO Profile: Third World Network
In the second blog in this series, I profile the work of the IP team of Third World Network (TWN) at the various International Organisations in Geneva.
Report on the 9th Session of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement
The 9th Session of the Advisory Committee on Enforcement ended here in Geneva last week. In this report, I look at the major issues discussed at the Session and the deadlock over future work of the Committee.
Open Education Week: Interview with Subhashish Panigrahi
Noopur Raval interviewed Subhashish Panigrahi from the Centre for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge team about sharing information resources and attribution in academia.
New Standard Operating Procedures for Lawful Interception and Monitoring
Government issues new guidelines to TSP’s to assist Lawful Interception and Monitoring.
Information Structures for Citizen Participation - Janaagraha
In our efforts to understand how change is conceptualized in the digital era, we find a growing emphasis on the role of effective information structures to empower the citizen and the government. We interview Joylita Saldanha from Janaagraha to answer questions around information, participation and e-governance.
Digital Humanities: The Ecto-Parasite
This blog entry, exploring Jacques Derrida's Mochlos can be read in three ways. The numbers below refer to the cells which should be read in the specified order. A.) 1-3-4: This essay views knowledge and the University as a technology and asks whether the Digital Humanities under this framework is unnecessary and elitist. We analyze the elitism through Kants attempts to distinguish the University's duties of truth and action and then find out why Derrida thinks this distinction is impossible to make because of the nature language. B.) 1-2-4: This essay starts off the same way but goes into the devouring margins of the University, whether its possible to safeguard against intrusion if the University is viewed as a language act and flips the question to see if the University is a parasite on the outside world and uses the Digital Humanities in this negotiation of power. It goes further to see if this parasitism is inevitable where there is language. C.) 2-4: This is a subset of the previous essay but stands alone as a commentary on a different kind of effect of capitalism on the University from the one explored in the previous blog.
NGO Profile: Knowledge Ecology International
As CIS’ observer in Geneva, I will be profiling NGOs and other prominent actors at the WIPO. In the first in a series of blogs, I profile the work of Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) at the various International Organisations in Geneva.
Extractive Charges on Spectrum & Petroleum
The author examines whether government levies on these critical inputs are beneficial or detrimental.
Wikipedia Editathon on India Women's History at CBIT, Hyderabad
“Wikipedia Editathon on India Women's History” and “Work-Life Balance: Women in Engineering” were organized parallelly at Chaitanya Bharati Institute of Technology (CBIT), Hyderabad on March 8, 2014. These events had a common session during the morning and a separate sessions in the afternoon.
Institute for Internet & Society 2014, Pune
Last month, activists, journalists, researchers, and members of civil society came together at the 2014 Institute for Internet & Society in Pune, which was hosted by CIS and funded by the Ford Foundation. The Institute was a week long, in which participants heard from speakers from various backgrounds on issues arising out of the intersection of internet and society, such as intellectual property, freedom of expression, and accessibility, to name a few. Below is an official reporting summarizing sessions that took place.
Indian Wikimedia community coordinates Women’s History Month
The Indian Wikimedia community is pleased to invite you to participate in Women’s History Month events, 2014. We started off with a pre-event Wikipedia workshop at Roshni Nilaya School of Social Work, in Mangalore on the 26th of February.
Odia Language's Presence in Digital Media and Wikipedia's Role
କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟରରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷା (Odia language in computer) is an essay published in Odia newspaper "The Samaja's Sunday supplement" on March 2. It is about the journey of Odia language in the digital era and the challenges faced during digitization of books and manuscripts.
First Urdu Wikipedia Workshop at Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad
During the second week of February, Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore received a call from Dr Faheemuddin, Assistant Professor, Department of Translation Studies, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad requesting an Urdu Wikipedia Workshop in University. We were informed of special interest of Dr Zafaruddin , Head, Department of Translation studies in holding the event as any effort aimed at expanding the Urdu Wikipedia will benefit the Urdu language community across the world.
Digital Design: Human Behavior vs. Technology - Vita Beans
What comes first? Understanding human behavior and communication patterns to design digital technologies? Or should our technologies have the innate capacity to adapt to the profiles of all its potential users? This post will look at accessibility challenges for digital immigrants and the importance of behavioral science for the design of digital technologies. We interview Amruth Bagali Ravindranath from Vita Beans.
Comparison of Section 35(1) of the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill and Section 4 of the Identification Act Revised Statute of Canada
A comparison of section 35(1) of the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill, section 4 of the Identification Act, Revised Statute of Canada, and a review of international best practices.
Big Democracy, Big Surveillance: India's Surveillance State
In India, surveillance is on the rise by the state to tackle crime and terrorism, and private companies are eager to meet the demand.
Storytelling as Performance: The Ugly Indian and Blank Noise 2
This post compares the method of storytelling with performances. To illustrate this, we explore the narratives of the Blank Noise project and The Ugly Indian, two civic groups from Bangalore making interventions in the public space. Part 2 looks at the role of actors and the stage in performances to explore the role of agency and the public space in storytelling.
Surveillance and the Indian Constitution - Part 3: The Public/Private Distinction and the Supreme Court’s Wrong Turn
After its decision in Gobind, the Supreme Court's privacy floodgates opened; a series of claims involving private parties came before its docket, and the resulting jurisprudence ended up creating confusion between state-individual surveillance, and individual-individual surveillance.
UIDAI Practices and the Information Technology Act, Section 43A and Subsequent Rules
UIDAI practices and section 43A of the IT Act are analyzed in this post.
Open Call for Comments: The Privacy Protection Bill 2013 drafted by the Centre for Internet and Society
The Centre for Internet and Society is announcing an Open Call for Comments to the CIS Privacy Protection Bill 2013.
