Jürgen Habermas’ The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere has been described as outdated and incompatible with 21st century democracies. Among other things, Habermas’ initial formulation excluded the state from the public sphere. Recently, a revised model of the public sphere has emerged that positions the state and other law-making bodies at its centre. Although some theorists have embraced this revised model, others continue to exclude the state or oversimplify its role. While some research has examined how parliaments fit into this revised model, no research has been published on this in a Canadian context. This thesis attempts to fill this gap by answering the research question: Does the Canadian House of Commons constitute a form of the public sphere? To answer this question, the Canadian House of Commons is explored along three dimensions of the public sphere – structure, representation, and interaction. This system of classification conforms to the essential function and institutional criteria of classical theory and also accounts for revised models of the public sphere. Ultimately, this work argues that the Canadian House of Commons satisfies the structural and representational dimensions of the public sphere. Its interactional dimension, however, is found to be inconsistent with public sphere theory due to a lack of real deliberation and the pervasiveness of party politics.

Jürgen Habermas’ The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere has been described as outdated and incompatible with 21st century democracies. Among other things, Habermas’ initial formulation excluded the state from the public sphere. Recently, a revised model of the public sphere has emerged that positions the state and other law-making bodies at its centre. Although some theorists have embraced this revised model, others continue to exclude the state or oversimplify its role. While some research has examined how parliaments fit into this revised model, no research has been published on this in a Canadian context. This thesis attempts to fill this gap by answering the research question: Does the Canadian House of Commons constitute a form of the public sphere? To answer this question, the Canadian House of Commons is explored along three dimensions of the public sphere – structure, representation, and interaction. This system of classification conforms to the essential function and institutional criteria of classical theory and also accounts for revised models of the public sphere. Ultimately, this work argues that the Canadian House of Commons satisfies the structural and representational dimensions of the public sphere. Its interactional dimension, however, is found to be inconsistent with public sphere theory due to a lack of real deliberation and the pervasiveness of party politics.

In recent years, the cyberspace had led to significant evolution of information transmission. Indie musician upload their music to StreetVoice and Youtube to display themselves. They also keep good connections with other musicians and fans through Social Network. Consequently, network has been one of the most important environment for musician to create. Whether network is well creativity space for indie musician involves conflicts between its enhancing and inhibiting factors. We use Csikszentmihalyi¡¦s three-pronged systems model and four major regulators:Law, Norms, Market, Architecture in the book of ¡§Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace¡¨ by Lawrence Lessig as the study framework. This research takes qualitative approach with twelve interviewees. All of them are indie musician. Following the data analysing, the results present the life of creativity can been divided into three stage: copy, shadow and create. When people go through the three stages, their knowledge of music will become more rich. Musician can write or sing a song to express what they want and who they are. The results of this analysing, network could bring several enhancing factors Including promotion, grouping, sharing, encouragement and expanding fans. According to the analysis observed that network architecture isn¡¦t robust now. Indie musicians are afraid that law can¡¦t protect their copyright of music on network. In the part of norms, indie musicians want all of their musics on network are perfect. Furthermore, indie musicians don't believe that network could made enough profit to cover their basic expenses.

No description available.

Der Vortrag wurde zum UNIX-Stammtsich am 25.5.2010 gehalten.

Diss. Linköping : Univ.

I do not intend to talk about architecture as just shapes or forms but as an ongoing construction of the social, political and physical spaces we inhabit. I will concentrate on the different elements that constitute the process of making-the-world, together with the text, interventions on site, understanding the design as one of those elements, not as the final output of my work. This project is a reaction to the impact that the recent and on-going changes in society have in public space, or in other words: a reaction to changes in public life such as individualization being opposite to the commonality and ability to share in relationship with the effects those changes have had on public space, such as an overwhelming and growing privatization of those spaces and an increasing threat to their very existence. First, I explore existing public spaces and their construction through analysis and involvement in the city. I continue my explorations being in the spaces and interacting with different actors and react on the discovered aspects (potentialities, failures) by virtue of interventions. This leads to the discovery of features such as playfulness, openness, common ownership, voluntariness, equality, freedom and other as conditions that emerge from the different experiences and situations in which I have intervened. Combinations of them give opportunities for other forms of togetherness to be thought and discussed, but also for them to appear in space. Finally, those features become also an input for speculative proposals that allowed me to test my reflections: an imaginary projection onto the current situation of intuitions, ideas and ideals, which are integral for what I call Urban Commons. The Urban Commons I propose are connected to public life and social behaviour in public spaces and reflect on the possibilities of new ways of commonality. I will consider one intervention, its process and current state closer as I relate it to the making of the Urban Common. This imaginary projection also allows to criticise existing construction of public spaces and society in common.

ccMixter.org, an online remix community that uses Creative Commons licenses to protect and promote their work, is a unique site of musical activity whose discourse is shaped by an egalitarian ideology. However, simultaneously exists a hierarchical structure in which some remixes are considered better than others. This report explores the coexistence of these two paradigms, and seeks to frame the discussion within the context of current IP policy politics, the open source movement, and fundamental shifts that the Internet has caused in communication. / text

It has been proposed that the field of appropriate technology (AT) - small-scale, energy efficient and low-cost solutions, can be of tremendous assistance in many of the sustainable development challenges, such as food and water security, health, shelter, education and work opportunities. Unfortunately, there has not yet been a significant uptake of AT by organizations, researchers, policy makers or the mainstream public working in the many areas of the development sector. Some of the biggest barriers to higher AT engagement include: 1) AT perceived as inferior or ‘poor persons technology’, 2) questions of technological robustness, design, fit and transferability, 3) funding, 4) institutional support, as well as 5) general barriers associated with tackling rural poverty. With the rise of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for online networking and knowledge sharing, the possibilities to tap into the collaborative open-access and open-source AT are growing, and so is the prospect for collective poverty reducing strategies, enhancement of entrepreneurship, communications, education and a diffusion of life-changing technologies. In short, the same collaborative philosophy employed in the success of open source software can be applied to hardware design of technologies to improve sustainable development efforts worldwide. To analyze current barriers to open source appropriate technology (OSAT) and explore opportunities to overcome such obstacles, a series of interviews with researchers and organizations working in the field of AT were conducted. The results of the interviews confirmed the majority of literature identified barriers, but also revealed that the most pressing problem for organizations and researchers currently working in the field of AT is the need for much better communication and collaboration to share the knowledge and resources and work in partnership. In addition, interviews showcased general receptiveness to the principles of collaborative innovation and open source on the ground level. A much greater focus on networking, collaboration, demand-led innovation, community participation, and the inclusion of educational institutions through student involvement can be of significant help to build the necessary knowledge base, networks and the critical mass exposure for the growth of appropriate technology. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-16 17:13:06.891

The local livelihood systems of Tam Giang Lagoon, Central Vietnam have shifted since the policy changes of 1986. Aquaculture has replaced capture fishing as the most important livelihood activity in the lagoon. Aquaculture is governed by both customary and legal access rights. The move from a centrally-planned (collectivization) economy to a market-oriented economy in conjunction with the development of the aquaculture sector has had significant impacts. This change has reduced the available lagoon areas for mobile-gear fishers, polarized different user-groups, and raised the issue of resource access inequity. The overarching objective of this thesis is to understand the complexity and influence of property rights on local livelihood systems; specifically: (1) to examine changes in resource access and various types of resource use in the lagoon; (2) to analyse the effects of aquaculture and changes in resource access on local livelihood systems; and (3) to assess the resilience of livelihood systems and identify the essential elements that contribute to resilience in livelihood systems. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for data collection. Sixty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted and fourteen households were selected for an additional in-depth livelihood analysis. Focus group discussions were one of the most important methods used for data collection. Fifteen formal focus groups and several informal discussions were organized. Both types of focus groups were used in conjunction with a number of participatory methods, such as seasonal calendar, participatory mapping, and well-being ranking. The field work was conducted over twenty-nine months between December, 2005 and April, 2008. The research examined the evolution of property rights and the complexity of resource access in Thuy Dien village. The research investigated seven types of resource use which are associated with “bundles of rights” and discussed the dynamics of property rights governed by both laws and customs. De jure and de facto rights were classified in different time periods by using Schlager and Ostrom’s framework. By applying a sustainable livelihood framework, the research presented overview of livelihood systems and discussed the influence of property rights on household livelihoods. Households in the village were classified into four groups: (1) earth pond, (2) net-enclosure; (3) mobile fishing; and (4) non-fishing households. Attention was paid to the disparity between these household types in term of livelihood strategies and opportunities for livelihood development. The research applied a resilience approach to the analysis of the local livelihood systems. Resilience is an inherent attribute of sustainable livelihood systems because it implies the flexibility and availability of options. If resilience is lost, livelihood systems may cross a threshold and shift to a different regime or alternative equilibrium. In Tam Giang Lagoon, a shift to a different regime seemed to have occurred over the last two decades.