Regulating Obscenity in Chinese Livestreaming: An Ongoing Mediation between the Private and the Public, the Nation and the Market

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 70-91
Author(s):  
Jingyi Gu

Abstract Livestreaming platforms, including Huya, Douyu, Huajiao, and Inke, have become extremely popular in China in recent years, resulting in the formation of new industries and new professions. Livestreaming also forms a ‘grey area’ for the production and circulation of content that can be deemed pornographic and obscene by the government. The challenges for effective regulations come mainly from livestreaming’s real-time feature and its problematization of the distinction between public and private. Using theoretical lenses, including a Foucauldian approach to neoliberal governmentality, this article examines the Chinese government’s major attempts between 2016 and 2018 to regulate obscenity in livestreaming and consider them in the context of the government’s history of regulating media, the internet, and pornography. Based on an analysis of the evolving regulatory regime, the article also discusses how livestreaming users are left to their own devices as they navigate the ongoing mediation between the government’s economic and ideological motives.

Orthodoxia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
F. A. Gayda

This article deals with the political situation around the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Empire in 1912 (4th convocation). The main actors of the campaign were the government, local administration, liberal opposition and the clergy of the Orthodox Russian Church. After the 1905 revolution, the “official Church” found itself in a difficult situation. In particular, anti-Church criticism intensified sharply and was expressed now quite openly, both in the press and from the rostrum of the Duma. A consequence of these circumstances was that in this Duma campaign, for the first time in the history of Russian parliamentarianism, “administrative resources” were widely used. At the same time, the authorities failed to achieve their political objectives. The Russian clergy became actively involved in the election campaign. The government sought to use the conflict between the liberal majority in the third Duma and the clerical hierarchy. Duma members launched an active criticism of the Orthodox clergy, using Grigory Rasputin as an excuse. Even staunch conservatives spoke negatively about Rasputin. According to the results of the election campaign, the opposition was even more active in using the label “Rasputinians” against the Holy Synod and the Russian episcopate. Forty-seven persons of clerical rank were elected to the House — three fewer than in the previous Duma. As a result, the assembly of the clergy elected to the Duma decided not to form its own group, but to spread out among the factions. An active campaign in Parliament and the press not only created a certain public mood, but also provoked a political split and polarization within the clergy. The clergy themselves were generally inclined to blame the state authorities for the public isolation of the Church. The Duma election of 1912 seriously affected the attitude of the opposition and the public toward the bishopric after the February revolution of 1917.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-244
Author(s):  
Kyungmoo Heo ◽  
Yongseok Seo

Public interests in coming futures of Korea continue to be increasing. Fears on uncertainties and pending challenges as well as demands on a new but Korea-own development model trigger a quantitative increase of futures research and relevant organizations in both public and private. The objective of this paper is to review history of futures studies and national development plan and strategy linked with foresight along with its challenges and recommendations. This paper identifies drawbacks and limits of Korea foresight such as misapplication of foresight as a strategic planning tool for modernization and economic development and its heavy reliance on government-led mid- and long-term planning. As a recommendation, an implementation of participatory and community-based foresight is introduced as a foundation for futures studies in Korea. A newly established research institute, the National Assembly Futures Institute, has to be an institutional passage to deliver opinions of the public, a capacity-building platform to increase the citizen’s futures literacy, and a cooperative venue for facilitating a participation and dialogue between politicians, government officials, and researchers.


Author(s):  
AnasGhassan Kanaan ◽  
Shahizan Bin Hassan

This paper presents a study which examines several e-government success factors in Jordan. Due to the pace of globalization and rapid global growth of technology and the Internet information, many governments around the world have turned their services from traditional services into e-government services. Were the citizens, business organizations and other stakeholders are served via the internet. Jordan is one of the rare countries in the Middle East with a history of commitment to good governance and ICT-related initiatives. In recent years, Jordan’s efforts to provide e-government services to the public have been recognized. But still Jordan faces the problem of low usage levels of these electronic services, plus several scholars addressed that several studies were conducted from citizen perspective but few for businesses perspective. For a better understanding of e-government and its influence on the society as all and on the business society in particular the researchers carried out this study to identify the success factors which affect e-government adoption in Jordan, also to investigate the factors that determine business organization satisfaction towards e-government in Jordan. In this paper the researcher will discuss four factors that affect the success of e-government services from businesses perspective in Jordan as followed: e-service quality, perceived usefulness, trust, personalization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 925-932
Author(s):  
Azeez Anyila ◽  

Water is an essential part of human existence. It is universally utilized for various purposes ranging from drinking to other domestic purposes. The need for access to water has been a significant challenge for governments all over the world. In Nigeria, there is a growing concern about the water shortage in various communities across the country. In a bid to overcome water scarcity, the government providesboreholes in many places. However, the inadequacy of functional public boreholes has led to the proliferation of private boreholes across the country, which the quality is doubtful. The purpose of the present study was to compare the physical and bacteriological compositions of the public and private boreholes in Kogi state, Nigeria. A total of ten water samples were collected from different public and private boreholes in three locations in the state. Standard procedures were followed in analyzing the samples. The analysis revealed the presence of salmonella spp, Escherichia coli, pseudomonas aeruginosa in the private boreholes.


Author(s):  
Е.Н. Крылова

В статье затронут малоизученный аспект государственного контроля за системой распространения периодических изданий в России на примере столичных городов в начале ХХ века. Цель исследования — выявить основные каналы распространения столичных газет в начале ХХ века и определить механизмы государственного контроля за системой дистрибуции периодической печати. На основе имеющихся архивных источников автор приходит к выводу, что основными каналами распространения столичной прессы были подписка, розничная продажа в разнос и в магазинах и на железных дорогах. К началу Первой мировой войны система дистрибуции периодических изданий постепенно менялась. Нормативные акты, принятые в конце XIX века, уже не позволяли эффективно контролировать распространение информации, а правительственные меры предпринимались запоздало или были незначительны. Существовавшая система государственного контроля за системой дистрибуции не могла оперативно реагировать на кризис, что способствовало распространению нежелательной для правительства информации среди населения, в том числе запрещенной литературы. Полученные результаты могут быть использованы в первую очередь при подготовке общих курсов по истории России, чтении курсов лекций и спецкурсов по истории журналистики. The article treats some under-investigated issues associated with the state supervision of the periodicals circulation and distribution system in Russia in the early 20th century. The aim of the research is to study the main channels of capital newspapers circulation and distribution in the early 20th century and to identify the mechanisms of state supervision of the periodicals distribution system. The analysis of archival materials enables the author to conclude that capital newspapers were distributed via subscription, retailing, train station retail, and delivery. During the pre-war period, the system of newspaper distribution was undergoing gradual changes. Normative acts issued in the late 19thcentury were no longer enough to efficiently control the spread of information; state measures were often insufficient and untimely. The existing system of state supervision of newspaper distribution failed to respond to the crisis, therefore the public had an access to information the government wished to conceal and to literature that was forbidden. The validity of the results of the research will be recognized by lecturers, by teachers who conduct Russian history classes, by teachers conducting classes in the history of journalism.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-50
Author(s):  
Noraida Harun ◽  
Jady @ Zaidi Hassim

Corruption in the public and private sector has become a major problem to the government. Corruption is a serious problem that has become a topic of debate lately, especially in the mass media. Several negative effects will arise as a result of this corruption problem. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the prevailing corruption in land administration. Thus, the trend of corruption in land administration is deeply rooted and it could jeopardize public confidence in the institution of land office. This paper aims to identify the factors of the problem of corruption, recommendations and solutions to curb these crimes from occurring and to identify whether Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC Act 2009) is able to provide solutions to the problems of the crime. The library research and content analysis method are being used in this study. The finding of this research shows that there are several factors of corruption have been identified occurring in the land administration. The MACC Act 2009 appears to have a lot of loopholes in the effort to curb the problem of corruption. This study will highlight some of the proposed recommendations according to Islamic perspective to ensure the interests and rights of all parties involved.   Keywords: corruption, land administration, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, recommendations and solutions according to Islamic law.   Rasuah dalam sektor awam dan swasta telah menjadi satu masalah utama bagi kerajaan. Rasuah merupakan gejala serius yang sering menjadi topik perbincangan sejak akhir-akhir ini terutamanya dalam media massa. Di samping itu juga, pelbagai kesan negatif yang akan timbul akibat daripada masalah rasuah ini. Objektif utama penulisan ini di buat adalah untuk melihat gejala rasuah yang berlaku dalam pentadbiran tanah. Justeru itu, trend jenayah rasuah dalam pentadbiran tanah yang semakin meningkat amatlah membimbangkan kerana ia boleh menggugat kepercayaan orang ramai terhadap institusi pejabat tanah. Kertas kerja ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti punca masalah rasuah, beberapa cadangan penambahbaikan dan jalan penyelesaian bagi mengekang jenayah ini dari terus berlaku. Perbincangan ini turut mengupas Akta Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia 2009 (ASPRM 2009) adakah mampu memberi penyelesaian kepada permasalahan jenayah ini. Kajian kepustakaan dan kaedah analisis kandungan digunakan dalam kajian ini. Hasil kajian mendapati terdapat beberapa punca masalah rasuah yang telah dikenal pasti berlaku dalam pentadbiran tanah dan ASPRM 2009 turut dilihat masih longgar dalam usaha untuk mengekang masalah rasuah ini. Penulisan ini akan mengutarakan beberapa cadangan penambahbaikan menurut perspektif Islam dalam menjamin kepentingan dan hak-hak semua pihak yang terlibat.   Kata kunci: rasuah, pentadbiran tanah, Akta Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia 2009, cadangan dan penyelesaian menurut undang-undang Islam.


Author(s):  
Donald Cohen

This chapter focuses on the right wing's astonishingly successful efforts to privatize public goods and services. Privatization has been one of the highest priorities of the right wing for many years, and the chapter shows how it threatens both labor and democracy. Intentionally blurring the lines between public and private institutions, private companies and market forces undermine the common good. This chapter documents the history of privatization in the United States, from President Reagan's early efforts to Clinton and Gore's belief in private markets. Showing how privatization undermines democratic government, the chapter describes complex contracts that are difficult to understand, poorly negotiated “public–private partnership” deals, and contracts that provide incentives to deny public services. With huge amounts of money at stake, privateers are increasingly weighing in on policy debates—not based on the public interest but rather in pursuit of avenues that increase their revenues, profits, and market share. Privatization not only destroys union jobs but also aims to cripple union political involvement so that the corporate agenda can spread unfettered. Nevertheless, community-based battles against privatization have succeeded in many localities, demonstrating the power of fighting back to defend public services, public jobs, and democratic processes.


Author(s):  
Sherif H. Kamel ◽  
Nagla Rizk

Digital technology, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and innovative technology applications are gradually transforming businesses and governments in emerging markets making them more competitive and offering opportunities for economic growth and prosperity. This chapter demonstrates Egypt's potential to enable a knowledge society through the deployment of emerging technology tools and applications across different sectors of the society. The chapter analyzes the critical success factors that are necessary for the realization of a digitally driven society where information is seamlessly exchanged for the optimal utilization of resources for decision-making purposes at the government, public, and private sector levels. The chapter highlights the need for the formulation of a nation-wide entrepreneurial ecosystem that promotes a tech-startup culture that can effectively contribute to transforming the society by enabling inclusion, universal access to the internet, more diversified educational opportunities and a comprehensive and conducive environment to development.


Author(s):  
Cass R. Sunstein

It is important to distinguish between two kinds of transparency. The government can be transparent about its “inputs”: about who, within government, said what to whom, and when, and why. The government can also be transparent about its “outputs”: its regulations and its policies, its findings about air and water quality, or its analysis of the costs and benefits of drone strikes. The argument for output transparency is often very strong, because members of the public can receive information that can help them in their daily lives and because output transparency can improve the performance of both public and private institutions. The argument for input transparency is different and often weaker, because the benefits of disclosure can be low and the costs can be high. It is challenging to make general pronouncements about input transparency and the appropriate evaluation of leaks and leakers without making a contestable judgment about whether a particular government is well-functioning and capable of self-correction.


Author(s):  
Jarrod M. Rifkind ◽  
Seymour E. Goodman

Information technology has drastically changed the ways in which individuals are accounted for and monitored in societies. Over the past two decades, the United States and other countries worldwide have seen a tremendous increase in the number of individuals with access to the Internet. Data collected by the World Bank shows that 17.5 of every 100 people in the world had access to the Internet in 2006, and this number increased to 23.2 in 2008, 29.5 in 2010, and 32.8 in 2011 (World Bank 2012). According to the latest Cisco traffic report, Internet traffic exceeded 30 exabytes (1018 bytes) per month in 2011 and is expected to reach a zettabyte (1021 bytes) per month by 2015 (Cisco Systems 2011). Activities on the Web are no longer limited to seemingly noncontroversial practices like e-mail. The sheer growth of the Internet as a medium for communication and information sharing as well as the development of large, high-performance data centers have made it easier and less expensive for companies and governments to aggregate large amounts of data generated by individuals. Today, many people’s personal lives can be pieced together relatively easily according to their search histories and the information that they provide on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Therefore, technological breakthroughs associated with computing raise important questions regarding information security and the role of privacy in society. As individuals begin using the Internet for e-commerce, e-government, and a variety of other services, data about their activities has been collected and stored by entities in both the public and private sectors. For the private sector, consumer activities on the Internet provide lucrative information about user spending habits that can then be used to generate targeted advertisements. Companies have developed business models that rely on the sale of such information to third-party entities, whether they are other companies or the federal government. As for the public sector, data collection occurs through any exchange a government may have with its citizens.


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