Note: This page is still under construction. It is
not to be construed as a complete list of resources for the course.
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United
Nations. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
"The Convention is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social
development dimension. It adopts a broad categorization of persons with
disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must
enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It clarifies and qualifies how all
categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where
adaptations have to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise
their rights and areas where their rights have been violated, and where protection
of rights must be reinforced."
Article 9(g): "To promote access for persons with disabilities to new information
and communications technologies and systems, including the Internet..."
- United States. Section 508 Website.
"In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to
make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with
disabilities. Inaccessible technology interferes with an individual's ability to
obtain and use information quickly and easily. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate
barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people
with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help
achieve these goals. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop,
procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508
(29 U.S.C. 794d), agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public
access to information that is comparable to the access available to others."
This Website includes the 508
standards.
- World Wide Web Consortium. Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI)
"The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) works with organizations around the world
to develop strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to
people with disabilities."
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American Civil Liberties Union
"The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts,
legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and
liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in
this country."
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American Library
Association. Office for Intellectual Freedom
"Established December 1, 1967, the Office for Intellectual Freedom is charged
with implementing ALA policies concerning the concept of intellectual freedom as
embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Associations basic policy on free
access to libraries and library materials. "
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Amnesty International
"Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for
internationally recognized human rights for all."
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Electronic Frontier Foundation
"From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and
empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in
the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is
the first line of defense. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990 well
before the Internet was on most people's radar and continues to confront
cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights
today. From the beginning, EFF has championed the public interest in every critical
battle affecting digital rights."
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Electronic Privacy Information Center
"EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. It was established
in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect
privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values."
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European Digital Rights
"European Digital Rights was founded in June 2002. Currently 27 privacy and
civil rights organisations have EDRi membership. They are based or have offices in
17 different countries in Europe. Members of European Digital Rights have joined
forces to defend civil rights in the information society. The need for cooperation
among organizations active in Europe is increasing as more regulation regarding the
internet, copyright and privacy is originating from European institutions, or from
International institutions with strong impact in Europe."
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United Nations. Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
"...THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a
common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that
every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in
mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and
freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their
universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member
States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction."
Note especially article 12, which
includes privacy; article 19, the right
to freedom of opinion and expression; and article 26, the right
to education.
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Digital Opportunity Index (DOI)
"The Digital Opportunity Index is an e-index based on internationally-agreed ICT indicators. This makes it a
valuable tool for benchmarking the most important indicators for measuring the Information Society. The DOI is a
standard tool that governments, operators, development agencies, researchers and others can use to measure the digital
divide and compare ICT performance within and across countries."
- ITU-T Country
Reports
This website gives global overviews of telecommunication penetration
and detailed reports for individual countries. To access a country report, scroll
down to the bottom of the Website to the Country reports section. Select the
country of interest.
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World
Information Society Report 2007
"The second edition of the World Information Society Report: Beyond WSIS, published
by ITU [International Telecommunication Union] and UNCTAD [United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development], looks beyond WSIS [World Summit on the Information
Society] to the creation of an inclusive,
people-centred and development-oriented Information Society, open to all."
- World
Information Society Report, Chapter 1
Introduction. Talks about the WSIS, how one measures the Information Society,
and creating a composite index of information communication development. It also
gives an overview of the contents of the following chapters.
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World Information Society Report, Chapter 2
Bridging the Digital Divide.
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World Information Society Report, Chapter 3
The Digital Opportunity Index (DOI)
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World Information Society Report, Chapter 4
ICT Growth Strategies. Case studies on Korea, Estonia, Vietnam, Nigeria,
Guatemala, Tunisia, Netherlands, and Pakistan.
- Federal Communications Commission (U.S.)
"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States
government agency. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is
charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio,
television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states,
the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions."
- International
Telecommunication Union Regulatory Knowledge Centre
" The information and communication technology (ICT) sector is in the midst of
remarkable transformation fuelled by a combination of technological, market, policy
and regulatory developments. These changes include unparalleled numbers
of voice telephone subscribers, the rise of IP-enabled networks and Voice over IP
(VoIP) services, initial - yet promising - deployment of fixed-line broadband and
broadband wireless access (BWA) services and intelligent radio
devices. The market and technological developments are exerting pressure on the
current regulatory framework. How will regulation change?
One of the core functions of BDT is the collection, analysis and dissemination of information on telecommunication
regulatory trends and practices, collectively known as the Regulatory Knowledge Centre. This site is an online
one-stop-shop for the latest ICT regulatory information. The data is drawn from an annual regulatory survey, which
dates back to 1994. Each year the survey is adapted in order to reflect changes in the sector. "
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National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (U.S.)
"The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is an agency in
the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the executive branch agency
principally responsible for advising the President on telecommunications and
information policies. In this role, NTIA frequently works with other Executive
Branch agencies to develop and present the Administration's position on these
issues. Since its creation in 1978, NTIA has been at the cutting edge of critical
issues. In addition to representing the Executive Branch in both domestic and
international telecommunications and information policy activities, NTIA also
manages the Federal use of spectrum; performs cutting-edge telecommunications
research and engineering, including resolving technical telecommunications issues
for the Federal government and private sector; and administers infrastructure and
public telecommunications facilities grants."
- Office of Communications (United
Kingdom)
Deals with both "common carrier" topics and radio and spectrum allocation.
Licenses all radio and television in the United Kingdom. "Guidance for
communications companies, setting out details of the general authorisation
regime, general conditions of entitlement, telephone numbering allocation and
other regulations." "Information for communications companies about industry
working arrangements in areas such as network interoperability, network charge
controls, metering and billing and the Telecommunications Adjudication Scheme."
- Office of the
Telecommunications Authority (Hong Kong)
"OFTA's work ... includes licensing and regulation of services; setting
equipment and network connection standards; type-approving telecommunications
equipment; administering the numbering plan; handling determinations and mediations
to resolve industry disputes related to interconnection and sharing of facilities;
handling issues concerning access to land and provision of physical facilities for
the installation of networks, including the coordination of access to buildings by
operators and laying of ducts for telecommunication cables in public roads; and
investigating complaints pertaining to suspected breach of relevant provisions in
the Telecommunications Ordinance and licence conditions. ... OFTA enforces the
provisions in the Telecommunications Ordinance concerning anti-competitive practices
and misleading conduct. ... OFTA's responsibilities include the management of
radio frequencies, investigation into radio interference complaints, licensing
private telecommunications services, prosecution of illegal use of
telecommunications equipment, and coordination with the frequency management
authorities outside Hong Kong to prevent interference between radio services."
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American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
"The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has served in its capacity as
administrator and coordinator of the United States private sector voluntary
standardization system for more than 90 years. Founded in 1918 by five engineering
societies and three government agencies, the Institute remains a private, nonprofit
membership organization supported by a diverse constituency of private and public
sector organizations.
ANSI facilitates the development of American National Standards (ANS) by
accrediting the procedures of standards developing organizations (SDOs). These
groups work cooperatively to develop voluntary national consensus standards. "
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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
"The IEEE is a leading developer of international standards that underpin many of today's telecommunications,
information technology and power generation products and services. ... This includes
the prominent IEEE 802 standards for wireless networking."
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International Organization for
Standardization (ISO)
"ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 159 countries, one
member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that
coordinates the system.
ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and
private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the
governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On
the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector,
having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations. "
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International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
"ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, and the global focal
point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services. For nearly 145 years, ITU has
coordinated the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoted international cooperation in assigning satellite
orbits, worked to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, established the worldwide standards
that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems and addressed the global challenges of
our times, such as mitigating climate change and strengthening cybersecurity."
"ITU's standards-making efforts are its best-known and oldest activity. Working at the coalface of the world's
fastest changing industry, today's Telecommunication
Standardization Sector (ITU-T) continues to evolve, adopting
streamlined working methods and more flexible, collaborative approaches designed to meet the needs of increasingly
complex markets."
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Internet Architecture Board (IAB)
"The IAB is chartered both as a committee of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) and as an advisory body of the Internet Society (ISOC). Its responsibilities
include architectural oversight of IETF activities, Internet Standards Process
oversight and appeal, and the appointment of the RFC Editor. The IAB is also
responsible for the management of the IETF protocol parameter registries."
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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
"The mission of the IETF is make the Internet work better by producing high quality, relevant technical documents that
influence the way people design, use, and manage the Internet."
- Internet Research Task Force
"The Research Groups work on topics related to Internet protocols, applications,
architecture and technology."
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Internet Society (ISOC)
The Internet Society (ISOC) is a nonprofit organisation founded in 1992 to
provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With
offices in Washington D.C., USA, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to
ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of
people throughout the world.
The Internet Society provides leadership in addressing issues that confront the
future of the Internet, and is the organisational home for the groups responsible
for Internet infrastructure standards, including the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C
"The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and
the public work together to develop Web standards. Led by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, W3C's mission is to lead the
Web to its full potential."