Responding to Digital Repression

Author(s):  
Steven Feldstein

This chapter discusses strategies civil society groups can use to raise the costs of repression associated with the dictator’s digital dilemma. It examines specific approaches activists can pursue to counter state repression, such as using reputational, economic, political, and supply-side pressure to reverse regime advantages. Turning to the private sector, it describes companies’ roles and responsibilities in relation to digital repression. It contends that democracies should consider advancing a stronger normative framework that will set clearer guidelines about responsible corporate behavior related to digital technology. Such steps will help companies push back on political demands from nondemocratic states. Finally, it proposes strategies that democracies and civil society can adopt to counter the proliferation of digital repression equipment and services provided by authoritarian states like China and Russia, and it discusses policy implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to digital technology.

Author(s):  
Ronald E. Rice ◽  
Simeon J. Yates ◽  
Jordana Blejmar

We conclude the Handbook of Digital Technology and Society by identifying topics that appear in multiple chapters, are more unique to some chapters, and that represent general themes across the material. Each of these is considered separately for the ESRC theme chapters and the non-ESRC chapters. In the ESRC theme chapters, cross-cutting research topics include digital divides and inequalities; data and digital literacy; governance, regulation, and legislation; and the roles and impacts of major platforms. Cross-cutting challenges include methods; theory development, testing, and evaluation; ethics; big data; and multi-platform/holistic studies. Gaps include policy implications, and digital culture. In the non-ESRC chapters, more cross-cutting themes include future research and methods; technology venues; relationships; content and creation; culture and everyday life; theory; and societal effects. More unique, these were digitization of self; managing digital experience; names for the digital/social era; ethics; user groups; civic issues; health, and positive effects. The chapter also shows how the non-ESRC chapters may be clustered together based on their shared themes and subthemes, identifying two general themes of more micro and more macro topics. The identification of both more and less common topics and themes can provide the basis for understanding the landscape of prior research, what areas need to be included in ongoing research, and what research areas might benefit from more attention. The chapter ends with some recommendations for such ongoing and future research in the rich, important, and challenging area of digital technology and society.


Author(s):  
Thomas G ALTURA ◽  
Yuki HASHIMOTO ◽  
Sanford M JACOBY ◽  
Kaoru KANAI ◽  
Kazuro SAGUCHI

Abstract The ‘sharing economy’ epitomized by Airbnb and Uber has challenged business, labor, and regulatory institutions throughout the world. The arrival of Airbnb and Uber in Japan provided an opportunity for Prime Minister Abe’s administration to demonstrate its commitment to deregulation. Both platform companies garnered support from powerful governmental and industry actors who framed the sharing economy as a solution to various economic and social problems. However, they met resistance from actors elsewhere in government, the private sector, and civil society, who constructed competing frames. Unlike studies that compare national responses to the sharing economy, we contrast the different experiences and fates of Airbnb and Uber within a single country. Doing so highlights actors, framing processes, and within-country heterogeneity. The study reveals the limits of overly institutionalized understandings of Japanese political economy. It also contributes to current debates concerning Prime Minister Abe’s efforts at implementing deregulation during the 2010s.


Significance Although President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly committed to increase funding to combat what he calls South Africa’s “second pandemic”, there is a lack of transparency in how the government disburses funds linked to its National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-based Violence and Femicide. Impacts Civil society groups will increase pressure on the government to make expenditure on GBV programmes more transparent. A new private-sector fund to contribute to the NSP has received strong early support, but its management structure is opaque. High levels of GBV will not only have significant humanitarian and social costs but may deter much-needed foreign investment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rachel Gwendoline McInnes

<p>This research applies Frambach's integrated model of the adoption and diffusion of innovations to the adoption of digital technology in the New Zealand motion picture industry. Previous models concerning innovation adoption have typically focused on adopter side variables. The model employed here integrates supply-side variables with the adopter-side variables focused on in traditional research. This research extends Frambach's model to consider the time and extent of adoption. The model is tested through a mail-out survey. Tests of associations between dependent and independent variables are carried out through four measures of association in a bivariate fashion. The results show that supply-side and adopter-side variables are both important influencers of the extent of adoption of digital technology in the motion picture industry. However supply-side factors do not appear to be important determinants of the time of adoption of digital technology in this industry.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 097370302110620
Author(s):  
Aditya Duggirala ◽  
Rohit Kumar

Social protection in India is segmented with multiple programmes applying different targeting methods to design and implementation, providing varied benefits and covering different groups of the population. Such approach to social protection has policy implications for not only India but also for other emerging countries following similar path. A shift to a systems approach to social protection is required to provide comprehensive coverage over the life course of an individual while improving equity and efficiency. In this article, we introduce the welfare state in India, provide a comparative analysis of various programmes, challenges posed by the segmented approach to social protection including barrier to emergency responses and some reforms to consider to move to a systems approach to social protection. We highlight how integrating and consolidation of programmes in the same area, leveraging digital technology and unique identification number, creation of a single database, etc., can speedup progressive universalism.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurfarizan Mazhani Mahmud ◽  
Intan Salwani Mohamed ◽  
Roshayani Arshad

Purpose This paper aims to provide a proper understanding of corruption in the private sector, also known as the supply-side of corruption. It also presents the causes of corrupt practices and points out the corporations’ actions to mitigate corrupt behaviour in the business environment. Design/methodology/approach This study reviews the prior literature on the phenomenon of corruption in the private sector, its causes and the preventive measures that should be implemented. Findings Corruption in the private sector was associated with a firm’s interaction with the public sector, and the most common corruption in the private sector is grand corruption, which is improper contribution made to high-level public officials and politicians. The causes of corruption in the private sector can be explained from several dimensions: economy, psychosocial and legal and regulation. Preventative measures encompass both internal strategies, which are endogenous to business and external strategies like exogenous legislation and restrictions enforced by the government or outside organizations. Originality/value The efficient strategies in combating corruption need active cooperation and participation from the supply-side of corruption. Thus, this study contributes to the literature on the theoretical understanding of the corruption problem from the supply-side and responsibility play by the private sector in global anti-corruption initiatives.


Author(s):  
Marvine Hamner

There are many differences between entities in the public and private sectors engaged in emergency management: vision, mission, goals, and objectives are only a few. To develop workable public private partnerships requires an understanding of these differences. This understanding will then provide a foundation for establishing unambiguous agreements within which each sector's roles and responsibilities are clear, and within which all entities can be successful. This chapter explores the differences between public and private sector entities, which can create gaps in understanding and communication, comparing and contrasting these differences; then, it evaluates ways the resulting gaps between entities and within public private partnerships can be closed. Comparison of the respective backgrounds and perspectives provides the material necessary to complete a gap analysis. Anecdotal information is provided that illustrates how the differences between public and private sector entities support, hinder, or manifest in public private partnerships.


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