This book throws new light on the way in which the Internet impacts on democracy. Based on Jürgen Habermas’ discourse-theoretical reconstruction of democracy, it examines one of the world’s largest, most diverse but also most unequal democracies, Brazil, in terms of the broad social and legal effects the internet has had. Focusing on the Brazilian constitutional evolution, the book examines how the Internet might impact on the legitimacy of a democratic order and if, and how, it might yield opportunities for democratic empowerment. The book also assesses the ways in which law, as an institution and a system, reacts to the changes and challenges brought about by the Internet: the ways in which law may retain its strength as an integrative force, avoiding a ‘virtual’ legitimacy crisis.

This groundbreaking book explores the new legal and economic challenges triggered by big data, and analyses the interactions among and between intellectual property, competition law, free speech, privacy and other fundamental rights vis-à-vis big data analysis and algorithms.

The series features in this fifth title the work of the professor and sociologist Sergio Amadeu da Silveira on the social implications of the technological development of algorithms. The author discusses the relationship between the advance of digital systems based on algorithms and the democratic debate. In an effort to understand how digital networks organize our daily lives, Amadeu looks into the role of algorithms in mediating and modulating public opinion. Citing key authors and practical examples, the book is organized into chapters such as "Democratic theory and the information society," "Freedom of speech and freedom of viewing," and "Can algorithms serve democracy?" The Digital Democracy series is published in Portuguese and English exclusively in digital format.

In this fourth title of the Digital Democracy series, Professor Maria Carlotto addresses a subject that is dear to the new forms of production, publishing and distribution of content driven by the advent of digital networks: intellectual property. The author reviews the history of the idea of intellectual property, from legislation passed in Venice in 1474, which for the first time protected the monopoly on the exploitation of inventions, to recent discussions. With chapters such as "The history of intellectual property", "Prevalence of the utilitarian view", and "The moral issue of the tension between protection and access", the author retraces the path of what she calls the "judicialization" of industrial property, copyright and the protection of plant varieties (living beings, such as medicinal plants). As Maria Caramez Carlotto argues in the book: "The advent of information and communication technologies has radically altered the way humanity produces and exchanges content [...]. This marks the emergence of a new form of producing culture, in which each individual becomes a potential cultural producer. [...] Due to this growing and decisive importance, decision making on intellectual property legislation should be as democratic as possible, effectively involving the political community composed of all citizens. Nevertheless, what we have seen over the past 50 years – a period in which intellectual property laws have been significantly reinforced worldwide – is quite the opposite". The Digital Democracy series, edited by the sociologist Sergio Amadeu da Silveira, is published in English and Portuguese exclusively in digital format.

What are we to make of our digital social lives and the forces that shape it? Should we feel fortunate to experience such networked connectivity? Are we privileged to have access to unimaginable amounts of information? Is it easier to work in a digital global economy? Or is our privacy and freedom under threat from digital surveillance? Our security and welfare being put at risk? Our politics undermined by hidden algorithms and misinformation? Written by a distinguished group of leading scholars from around the world, the Routledge Handbook of Digital Media and Communication provides a comprehensive, unique, and multidisciplinary exploration of this rapidly growing and vibrant field of study. The Handbook adopts a three-part structural framework for understanding the sociocultural impact of digital media: the artifacts or physical devices and systems that people use to communicate; the communicative practices in which they engage to use those devices, express themselves, and share meaning; and the organizational and institutional arrangements, structures, or formations that develop around those practices and artifacts. Comprising a series of essay-chapters on a wide range of topics, this volume crystallizes current knowledge, provides historical context, and critically articulates the challenges and implications of the emerging dominance of the network and normalization of digitally mediated relations. Issues explored include the power of algorithms, digital currency, gaming culture, surveillance, social networking, and connective mobilization. More than a reference work, this Handbook delivers a comprehensive, authoritative overview of the state of new media scholarship and its most important future directions that will shape and animate current debates.

This book features selected papers from the International Conference on Communication and Applied Technologies (ICOMTA 2021), jointly organized by Universidad del Rosario (Bogotá, Colombia); the University of Vigo (Galicia, Spain); the University of Santiago de Compostela-Equipo de Investigaciones Políticas (Galicia, Spain); the University of A Coruña (Galicia, Spain); and the Information and Technology Management Association (ITMA), during September 2021. It covers recent advances in the field of digital communication and processes digital social media, software, big data, data mining, and intelligent systems.

Presents alphabetized, comparative essays on the press systems of 232 countries and territories, covering such aspects as press laws, censorship, state-press relations, attitudes toward foreign media, news agencies, broadcast media, and education and training; and includes graphs, statistical tables, and maps.

The Right Place explains why firms succeed in one country and fail in another, irrespective of their inner drivers, and suggests potential initiatives that governments can take to help the private sector create jobs and, consequently, make their countries more prosperous. The competitiveness race is not unlike a cycling race. If you want to ride fast, you need three things: a good bike, to be in good shape, and a smooth and fast road. In a collaborative model, you might say the business is the bicycle, the business leader is the cyclist, and the road is the government and the external environment. The responsibility of a government is to design and build the best possible road. It turns out that when the road is good, good cyclists suddenly appear and want to race on it. In this book, competition and macroeconomics expert, Arturo Bris, provides the analysis of country competitive performance based on 30 years advising countries on this topic. The typical mistakes that countries make are revealed and the pillars necessary in building a competitive economy: economic performance as a necessary condition for prosperity; government efficiency, so the public sector can create the conditions for a productive economy; business efficiency, so companies can create jobs; and infrastructure, both tangible and intangible, so businesses and individuals can operate efficiently. With contemporary case studies throughout, the book provides an illuminating read for politicians, business leaders and students of macroeconomics.