This document provides an exploratory study of the digital landscape and risks faced by Russian youth online. Some key findings include:
- Internet usage in Russia grew dramatically from 2000-2010, with 46.5 million users by 2010.
- The Russian digital space is dominated by domestic sites like Yandex, VKontakte, and Mail.ru rather than Western equivalents.
- Meeting strangers online poses one of the biggest risks, with 40% of Russian youth aged 9-16 reporting meeting an online contact in person.
- Other significant risks include exposure to adult/indecent content, malware/fraud, and cyberbullying.
This document provides an exploratory study of the digital landscape in Ukraine. It finds that while Ukrainian is the official language, many Ukrainians communicate primarily in Russian. As a result, the Ukrainian digital landscape ("UaNet") is heavily influenced by Russian and Western websites, with few uniquely Ukrainian sites. The study examines Internet access and usage among Ukrainian youth, finding social media, communication, and content sharing to be primary activities. It also identifies several safety risks Ukrainian youth face online, such as exposure to inappropriate content, communicating with strangers, and meeting offline. The document concludes there is a need to educate youth on safely utilizing the Internet as opportunities expand.
The document summarizes findings from a survey conducted on MXit, the most widely used social networking platform in South Africa. Some key findings include:
- Chatting on MXit is the most common activity reported among South African adolescents and young people.
- 79% of MXit users ask for another user's Age, Sex, Location, and Race (ASLR) when interacting, rather than just Age, Sex, and Location (ASL).
- Users give various reasons for asking "Wots ur ASLR?", including to get to know the other person fully, for safety reasons, and out of habit.
- 26% of respondents reported experiencing insults on M
This document discusses confidence building measures (CBM) for cyber peace. It provides examples of CBMs used during the Cold War like the hotline between the US and Soviet Union. It argues that communication channels between potential adversaries are important for preventing conflict through miscommunication. Soft law and relationships built over time can help in emergencies. While technology can enable harm, raising digital literacy standards can help ensure technology is used positively. International cooperation is needed to address issues like cyber terrorism and building consensus on definitions and frameworks.
THE VICES OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON STUDENTS SUCCESS AT THE ADAMAWA STATE POLYTECHNI...ijcsit
Social media and social networking web sites have continued to gain supremacy in determining the
student’s success in education. It captures the attention of students and their tutors over the years. A social
media network is only an electronic links amongst its users which turned out to be a habit for students,
youngsters,
and even the grown person. The influence of social media on students is alarming and doing more harm
than good. The aim of the paper is to analyze the vices of social media on the academic success of students
of Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola. The survey method of research was adopted to achieve the objectives
of the study. Some research questions were presented to the respondents where the results revealed that so
many (96 percent of them) usually spent much time on the social networking sites than to their academics.
As such, the academic success of the students suffers setbacks which lead to poor performance in the
student’s academics. It is therefore recommended that the networking sites should be built in such a way to
support student’s educational activities in a positive way, as this will help in attracting the students to ge
Global youth networks and the digital divideHeidi Thon
This document discusses global youth networks and the digital divide between the global North and South. It examines theories on how digital technologies spread through populations and whether they contribute to increased communication between youth. The author conducted a survey of 629 students in Norway and East Africa to compare their technology access and motivation for staying connected with exchange partners. The findings suggest that both technological and motivational factors influence digital networks between students in different regions. Barriers to connection included lack of infrastructure, cost, and education in the global South.
The document presents a theoretical framework for analyzing the impact of internet usage on student performance. It hypothesizes that education, social status, cooperation from teachers, and reliability of online information positively impact internet usage, while risks/uncertainties and expenses negatively impact usage. A regression model is developed to measure the relationship between these independent variables and the dependent variable of internet usage.
This document summarizes a paper that examines how over-reliance on mass media like the internet and television can negatively impact cognition and independent critical thinking in young people. It traces the origins of mass media integration in people's lives to the rise of globalization and the internet in the 1990s. The constant stream of information from mass media overwhelms the brain's ability to process and store information in long-term memory, resulting in less knowledge retention and conceptual understanding. While mass media provides a vast amount of information, it does not significantly contribute to cognitive abilities or independent thinking according to research.
UNESCO’S INTERNET UNIVERSALITY INDICATORS: A Framework for Assessing Internet...Fola Odufuwa
The Internet has developed rapidly into a communications medium which continues to transform access to information, opportunities for expression, and many aspects of government and business for people around the world. It has become a global marketplace for ideas, goods and services. It has both facilitated the enjoyment of human rights and raised new risks. Among the challenges that need to be addressed if the benefits of the Internet are to be universally available, are digital divides between developed, developing and least developed countries, between urban and rural areas within countries, between people with higher and lower incomes and higher and lower levels of educational experience and attainment, and between women and men. Opportunities and risks will continue to become more complex, more powerful and more influential on the future as a result of the Internet’s technology, services and markets are in constant change.
Understanding and assessing the complexity of the Internet’s development, and its impact is crucial if we are to effectively address the Internet for optimum contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNESCO has long engaged with this agenda, emphasising the Internet’s potential for developing Knowledge Societies, based on freedom of expression, universal access to information and knowledge, respect for cultural and linguistic diversity, and quality education for all. For example, the Organisation played a prominent part in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS, 2003 and 2005) and has continued to play an important role in Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the Broadband Commission on Sustainable Development and other fora concerning the Internet and its impact. As the Internet has continued evolving, so UNESCO has developed the concept of Internet Universality in order to help comprehend the developments
This document provides an exploratory study of the digital landscape in Ukraine. It finds that while Ukrainian is the official language, many Ukrainians communicate primarily in Russian. As a result, the Ukrainian digital landscape ("UaNet") is heavily influenced by Russian and Western websites, with few uniquely Ukrainian sites. The study examines Internet access and usage among Ukrainian youth, finding social media, communication, and content sharing to be primary activities. It also identifies several safety risks Ukrainian youth face online, such as exposure to inappropriate content, communicating with strangers, and meeting offline. The document concludes there is a need to educate youth on safely utilizing the Internet as opportunities expand.
The document summarizes findings from a survey conducted on MXit, the most widely used social networking platform in South Africa. Some key findings include:
- Chatting on MXit is the most common activity reported among South African adolescents and young people.
- 79% of MXit users ask for another user's Age, Sex, Location, and Race (ASLR) when interacting, rather than just Age, Sex, and Location (ASL).
- Users give various reasons for asking "Wots ur ASLR?", including to get to know the other person fully, for safety reasons, and out of habit.
- 26% of respondents reported experiencing insults on M
This document discusses confidence building measures (CBM) for cyber peace. It provides examples of CBMs used during the Cold War like the hotline between the US and Soviet Union. It argues that communication channels between potential adversaries are important for preventing conflict through miscommunication. Soft law and relationships built over time can help in emergencies. While technology can enable harm, raising digital literacy standards can help ensure technology is used positively. International cooperation is needed to address issues like cyber terrorism and building consensus on definitions and frameworks.
THE VICES OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON STUDENTS SUCCESS AT THE ADAMAWA STATE POLYTECHNI...ijcsit
Social media and social networking web sites have continued to gain supremacy in determining the
student’s success in education. It captures the attention of students and their tutors over the years. A social
media network is only an electronic links amongst its users which turned out to be a habit for students,
youngsters,
and even the grown person. The influence of social media on students is alarming and doing more harm
than good. The aim of the paper is to analyze the vices of social media on the academic success of students
of Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola. The survey method of research was adopted to achieve the objectives
of the study. Some research questions were presented to the respondents where the results revealed that so
many (96 percent of them) usually spent much time on the social networking sites than to their academics.
As such, the academic success of the students suffers setbacks which lead to poor performance in the
student’s academics. It is therefore recommended that the networking sites should be built in such a way to
support student’s educational activities in a positive way, as this will help in attracting the students to ge
Global youth networks and the digital divideHeidi Thon
This document discusses global youth networks and the digital divide between the global North and South. It examines theories on how digital technologies spread through populations and whether they contribute to increased communication between youth. The author conducted a survey of 629 students in Norway and East Africa to compare their technology access and motivation for staying connected with exchange partners. The findings suggest that both technological and motivational factors influence digital networks between students in different regions. Barriers to connection included lack of infrastructure, cost, and education in the global South.
The document presents a theoretical framework for analyzing the impact of internet usage on student performance. It hypothesizes that education, social status, cooperation from teachers, and reliability of online information positively impact internet usage, while risks/uncertainties and expenses negatively impact usage. A regression model is developed to measure the relationship between these independent variables and the dependent variable of internet usage.
This document summarizes a paper that examines how over-reliance on mass media like the internet and television can negatively impact cognition and independent critical thinking in young people. It traces the origins of mass media integration in people's lives to the rise of globalization and the internet in the 1990s. The constant stream of information from mass media overwhelms the brain's ability to process and store information in long-term memory, resulting in less knowledge retention and conceptual understanding. While mass media provides a vast amount of information, it does not significantly contribute to cognitive abilities or independent thinking according to research.
UNESCO’S INTERNET UNIVERSALITY INDICATORS: A Framework for Assessing Internet...Fola Odufuwa
The Internet has developed rapidly into a communications medium which continues to transform access to information, opportunities for expression, and many aspects of government and business for people around the world. It has become a global marketplace for ideas, goods and services. It has both facilitated the enjoyment of human rights and raised new risks. Among the challenges that need to be addressed if the benefits of the Internet are to be universally available, are digital divides between developed, developing and least developed countries, between urban and rural areas within countries, between people with higher and lower incomes and higher and lower levels of educational experience and attainment, and between women and men. Opportunities and risks will continue to become more complex, more powerful and more influential on the future as a result of the Internet’s technology, services and markets are in constant change.
Understanding and assessing the complexity of the Internet’s development, and its impact is crucial if we are to effectively address the Internet for optimum contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNESCO has long engaged with this agenda, emphasising the Internet’s potential for developing Knowledge Societies, based on freedom of expression, universal access to information and knowledge, respect for cultural and linguistic diversity, and quality education for all. For example, the Organisation played a prominent part in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS, 2003 and 2005) and has continued to play an important role in Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the Broadband Commission on Sustainable Development and other fora concerning the Internet and its impact. As the Internet has continued evolving, so UNESCO has developed the concept of Internet Universality in order to help comprehend the developments
This document provides an overview of the key findings from Freedom House's report "Freedom on the Net". The report evaluates internet freedom in 15 countries based on obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights. The main findings are:
1) Access to and usage of the internet and mobile phones has grown exponentially in recent years, but this has been met with new threats to internet freedom like increased censorship and prosecution of users.
2) Censorship of online content exists in all 15 countries and targets political content in 11 countries. Censorship is taking diverse forms and private companies are increasingly involved.
3) Lack of transparency and accountability are issues across democratic and authoritarian countries regarding censorship
Semantic web approach towards interoperability and privacy issues in social n...ijwscjournal
The Social Web is a set of social relations that link people through World Wide Web. This Social Web
encompasses how the websites and software are designed and developed to support social relations. The
new paradigms, tools and web services introduced by Social Web are widely accepted by internet users.
The main drawbacks of these tools are it acts as independent data silos; hence interoperability among
applications is a complex issue. This paper focuses on this issue and how best we can use semantic web
technologies to achieve interoperability among applications.
This document summarizes cases from the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH) regarding the misuse of children's personal data online. Several cases are described where children's photos were taken from social media sites without consent and shared on other sites along with personal details and harmful or offensive comments. The NAIH has received many complaints about such incidents and lacks jurisdiction in some cases when data is processed outside of Hungary. However, principles of data protection and consent still apply. The NAIH aims to protect children's rights and dignity online through enforcement and raising awareness.
CALL for a New Literacy: New Tools and Rules of EngagementMichael Krauss
1. The document discusses the changing definition of literacy in the digital age and how tools like CALL and Web 2.0 can help students develop 21st century literacy skills.
2. If integrated effectively using a student-centered pedagogy, technology can help students become proficient communicators, successful workers, and engaged global citizens.
3. While computer use initially created challenges in Russia, Internet access and use of tools like blogs have grown substantially and are expected to continue growing and transforming literacy attainment.
Lesson 2 Online Safety, Security, Ethics and EtiquetteLea Rodriguez
The document discusses online safety, security, ethics and etiquette for senior high school students. It addresses issues like digital media status, cyberbullying, privacy and internet safety. It provides resources on understanding one's digital footprint and life, the risks of social media disengagement and loneliness, password security checks, cyberbullying prevention, and the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. It recommends the Digital Compass app for game-based learning on responsible decision making and building positive relationships online.
More connected, more extended, more content, more risks Mobile device explosi...victor Nduna
1. The document discusses the implications of increased mobile device use and mobile apps on public records management in Zimbabwe. Mobile devices have allowed more flexible work locations and communication channels beyond organizational control. This poses challenges for maintaining confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.
2. Mobile device use is growing rapidly in Zimbabwe, with 98% market penetration by 2014. Most mobile users access social media apps like Facebook and WhatsApp. The proliferation of mobile devices and apps is pressuring government officials to also utilize social media to engage with the public.
3. Over 250 mobile apps have been developed specifically for the Zimbabwean market. These apps allow local storage of data on devices or in the cloud. This dispersed management of records
Proliferation of Online content - Contributary factors and implicationsDaniel Davey
This document is a dissertation exploring factors that have led to the proliferation of online content and its implications. It begins with an acknowledgement and dedication, followed by an abstract outlining how increased internet speeds and availability have led to exponential growth in e-commerce. The literature review then examines topics like broadband and mobile internet proliferation, emerging technologies, and resulting social trends and ethical dilemmas. Methodology details quantitative and qualitative research methods used. Analysis chapters present survey results and qualitative findings. The conclusion discusses technological, social and ethical impacts of increased online content availability.
Use of electronic information resources and academic performance of universit...Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a study that examined the relationship between university teachers' usage of electronic information resources (e-resources) and their academic performance. The study found:
1) There was a strong positive correlation (r=0.623) between e-resource usage and academic performance.
2) Usage of e-resources had a statistically significant impact on academic performance, accounting for 38.8% of its variation.
3) The study concluded that e-resource usage is associated with improved academic performance among university teachers.
1) Social networking has implications for youth, both positive and negative. While it allows constant connection, it also enables creating virtual identities and spreading of misinformation.
2) Youth are heavily engaged with social media and new technologies. Over 90% of youth are active internet users and own smartphones, spending over 7 hours per day consuming media.
3) New media enables many-to-many communication through user interactivity and participation. However, it also allows personal information to be data mined and archived without consent, including by espionage groups.
The document summarizes the key findings of a survey of 895 technology experts and stakeholders about their expectations for how the internet will change between now and 2020. The survey presented pairs of opposing scenarios and asked participants to choose one. It found that most experts believe the internet will enhance rather than diminish intelligence and knowledge. They also expect innovation to continue surprising users and debates over control and anonymity of the internet to persist.
The document summarizes the key findings of a survey of 895 technology experts and stakeholders about their expectations for how the internet will change between now and 2020. The survey presented pairs of opposing scenarios and asked participants to choose one. It found that most experts believe the internet will enhance rather than diminish intelligence and knowledge. They also expect innovation to continue surprising users and that debates around control of the internet and online anonymity will persist.
Proliferation of Online content - Contributary factors and implicationsDaniel Davey
This dissertation examines factors that have led to the proliferation of online content and its implications. It begins with an acknowledgement of the author's parents and brothers for their support. The abstract states that increased internet speeds, availability, and standardization have led to an exponential rise in e-commerce. The literature review covers topics like internet and broadband proliferation, mobile internet usage, social networking, and ethical dilemmas related to increased online content.
The document discusses the concept of the "new digital divide" in relation to technology integration and social justice. It notes that while initial concerns focused on physical access to technology, true access requires digital literacy skills. It highlights several factors that can contribute to unequal participation, such as socioeconomic barriers, lack of awareness or relevance of technology, and fear or distrust of privacy and security issues. The document advocates for a focus on developing 21st century skills and media literacy to promote more inclusive and empowered participation in the digital world.
The document discusses the knowledge gap hypothesis and digital divide. It summarizes previous research showing that those with higher socioeconomic status tend to acquire information from mass media at a faster rate, widening the knowledge gap between higher and lower socioeconomic groups. It also discusses four levels of the digital divide related to motivation, access, skills, and usage. Several studies from different countries find support for both the knowledge gap and usage gap, with those of higher education engaging in more advanced online activities. The document calls for future research to consider additional factors beyond just socioeconomic status that may influence online knowledge acquisition and activities.
What is Social Media?Positive Effects/Advantages of Social Media,Negative effects/Disadvantages of Social Media,True research facts,Threats from Social Media,Prevention,Conclusion and Implication
For more information , visit : http://www.computercareer.in/projects-by-cc/
The document discusses key topics related to information and communication technology (ICT). It defines ICT as the use of communication technologies like mobile phones and the internet to locate, save, send and edit information. It also discusses the evolution of the world wide web from static Web 1.0 pages to dynamic Web 2.0 pages that allow user interaction. Popular examples of social media and how they enable users to share content are provided. The top uses of ICT in the Philippines are also summarized.
Several studies found that the use of wireless technologies and mobile internet in educational settings can improve student motivation and engagement. Specifically, studies found that wireless technologies increased learner participation, improved voluntary attendance and self-directed learning. However, some of the increased motivation may be due to the novelty of new technologies. Over time, students see mobile devices as useful learning tools rather than just toys. Younger students and those from developing countries are especially likely to use mobile internet as their primary means of internet access.
Empowerment Technologies, ET, Live C. Angga, Malungon NHS, Empowerment Technology, Senior High School, SHS, Department of Education, SHS, ET Student LM, Learning Materials for ET students
The document discusses several cyber security issues related to increased internet usage. It notes that while the internet has provided benefits to sharing information, it has also enabled cyber crimes and threats to national security. One example is Wikileaks, which published confidential US national defense information and caused concern about information security. Additionally, the internet enables hacking, fraud, and spreading of objectionable content. Countries also use cyber espionage to obtain rivals' sensitive information. Overall, the document argues that while the internet facilitates connectivity, information security is a growing issue due to potential for misuse in criminal activities like identity theft and terrorism.
RubyMotion allows iOS development using the Ruby language instead of Objective-C. It provides a command line toolchain and compiles Ruby code to native iOS apps. While the syntax is Ruby, the underlying classes and objects are still Objective-C/Cocoa. This allows tapping into the full iOS SDK while enjoying Ruby's more succinct syntax. The document provides an example Hello World app and demonstrates how to load images from the camera library using RubyMotion and related libraries like Bubblewrap and RMQ.
The document discusses problems with current copyright law and how Creative Commons (CC) licenses can help address these issues. It notes that while copyright law was meant to promote progress, the law has not kept pace with technological changes and now restricts many types of sharing and reuse. CC licenses were created to offer more flexible options for authors beyond "all rights reserved" by allowing some permissions in advance. The document provides an overview of the history and goals of CC, how the CC license suite works, and why CC licenses are useful for libraries, academics, and others seeking to enable access and dissemination of works.
This document provides an overview of the key findings from Freedom House's report "Freedom on the Net". The report evaluates internet freedom in 15 countries based on obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights. The main findings are:
1) Access to and usage of the internet and mobile phones has grown exponentially in recent years, but this has been met with new threats to internet freedom like increased censorship and prosecution of users.
2) Censorship of online content exists in all 15 countries and targets political content in 11 countries. Censorship is taking diverse forms and private companies are increasingly involved.
3) Lack of transparency and accountability are issues across democratic and authoritarian countries regarding censorship
Semantic web approach towards interoperability and privacy issues in social n...ijwscjournal
The Social Web is a set of social relations that link people through World Wide Web. This Social Web
encompasses how the websites and software are designed and developed to support social relations. The
new paradigms, tools and web services introduced by Social Web are widely accepted by internet users.
The main drawbacks of these tools are it acts as independent data silos; hence interoperability among
applications is a complex issue. This paper focuses on this issue and how best we can use semantic web
technologies to achieve interoperability among applications.
This document summarizes cases from the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH) regarding the misuse of children's personal data online. Several cases are described where children's photos were taken from social media sites without consent and shared on other sites along with personal details and harmful or offensive comments. The NAIH has received many complaints about such incidents and lacks jurisdiction in some cases when data is processed outside of Hungary. However, principles of data protection and consent still apply. The NAIH aims to protect children's rights and dignity online through enforcement and raising awareness.
CALL for a New Literacy: New Tools and Rules of EngagementMichael Krauss
1. The document discusses the changing definition of literacy in the digital age and how tools like CALL and Web 2.0 can help students develop 21st century literacy skills.
2. If integrated effectively using a student-centered pedagogy, technology can help students become proficient communicators, successful workers, and engaged global citizens.
3. While computer use initially created challenges in Russia, Internet access and use of tools like blogs have grown substantially and are expected to continue growing and transforming literacy attainment.
Lesson 2 Online Safety, Security, Ethics and EtiquetteLea Rodriguez
The document discusses online safety, security, ethics and etiquette for senior high school students. It addresses issues like digital media status, cyberbullying, privacy and internet safety. It provides resources on understanding one's digital footprint and life, the risks of social media disengagement and loneliness, password security checks, cyberbullying prevention, and the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. It recommends the Digital Compass app for game-based learning on responsible decision making and building positive relationships online.
More connected, more extended, more content, more risks Mobile device explosi...victor Nduna
1. The document discusses the implications of increased mobile device use and mobile apps on public records management in Zimbabwe. Mobile devices have allowed more flexible work locations and communication channels beyond organizational control. This poses challenges for maintaining confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.
2. Mobile device use is growing rapidly in Zimbabwe, with 98% market penetration by 2014. Most mobile users access social media apps like Facebook and WhatsApp. The proliferation of mobile devices and apps is pressuring government officials to also utilize social media to engage with the public.
3. Over 250 mobile apps have been developed specifically for the Zimbabwean market. These apps allow local storage of data on devices or in the cloud. This dispersed management of records
Proliferation of Online content - Contributary factors and implicationsDaniel Davey
This document is a dissertation exploring factors that have led to the proliferation of online content and its implications. It begins with an acknowledgement and dedication, followed by an abstract outlining how increased internet speeds and availability have led to exponential growth in e-commerce. The literature review then examines topics like broadband and mobile internet proliferation, emerging technologies, and resulting social trends and ethical dilemmas. Methodology details quantitative and qualitative research methods used. Analysis chapters present survey results and qualitative findings. The conclusion discusses technological, social and ethical impacts of increased online content availability.
Use of electronic information resources and academic performance of universit...Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a study that examined the relationship between university teachers' usage of electronic information resources (e-resources) and their academic performance. The study found:
1) There was a strong positive correlation (r=0.623) between e-resource usage and academic performance.
2) Usage of e-resources had a statistically significant impact on academic performance, accounting for 38.8% of its variation.
3) The study concluded that e-resource usage is associated with improved academic performance among university teachers.
1) Social networking has implications for youth, both positive and negative. While it allows constant connection, it also enables creating virtual identities and spreading of misinformation.
2) Youth are heavily engaged with social media and new technologies. Over 90% of youth are active internet users and own smartphones, spending over 7 hours per day consuming media.
3) New media enables many-to-many communication through user interactivity and participation. However, it also allows personal information to be data mined and archived without consent, including by espionage groups.
The document summarizes the key findings of a survey of 895 technology experts and stakeholders about their expectations for how the internet will change between now and 2020. The survey presented pairs of opposing scenarios and asked participants to choose one. It found that most experts believe the internet will enhance rather than diminish intelligence and knowledge. They also expect innovation to continue surprising users and debates over control and anonymity of the internet to persist.
The document summarizes the key findings of a survey of 895 technology experts and stakeholders about their expectations for how the internet will change between now and 2020. The survey presented pairs of opposing scenarios and asked participants to choose one. It found that most experts believe the internet will enhance rather than diminish intelligence and knowledge. They also expect innovation to continue surprising users and that debates around control of the internet and online anonymity will persist.
Proliferation of Online content - Contributary factors and implicationsDaniel Davey
This dissertation examines factors that have led to the proliferation of online content and its implications. It begins with an acknowledgement of the author's parents and brothers for their support. The abstract states that increased internet speeds, availability, and standardization have led to an exponential rise in e-commerce. The literature review covers topics like internet and broadband proliferation, mobile internet usage, social networking, and ethical dilemmas related to increased online content.
The document discusses the concept of the "new digital divide" in relation to technology integration and social justice. It notes that while initial concerns focused on physical access to technology, true access requires digital literacy skills. It highlights several factors that can contribute to unequal participation, such as socioeconomic barriers, lack of awareness or relevance of technology, and fear or distrust of privacy and security issues. The document advocates for a focus on developing 21st century skills and media literacy to promote more inclusive and empowered participation in the digital world.
The document discusses the knowledge gap hypothesis and digital divide. It summarizes previous research showing that those with higher socioeconomic status tend to acquire information from mass media at a faster rate, widening the knowledge gap between higher and lower socioeconomic groups. It also discusses four levels of the digital divide related to motivation, access, skills, and usage. Several studies from different countries find support for both the knowledge gap and usage gap, with those of higher education engaging in more advanced online activities. The document calls for future research to consider additional factors beyond just socioeconomic status that may influence online knowledge acquisition and activities.
What is Social Media?Positive Effects/Advantages of Social Media,Negative effects/Disadvantages of Social Media,True research facts,Threats from Social Media,Prevention,Conclusion and Implication
For more information , visit : http://www.computercareer.in/projects-by-cc/
The document discusses key topics related to information and communication technology (ICT). It defines ICT as the use of communication technologies like mobile phones and the internet to locate, save, send and edit information. It also discusses the evolution of the world wide web from static Web 1.0 pages to dynamic Web 2.0 pages that allow user interaction. Popular examples of social media and how they enable users to share content are provided. The top uses of ICT in the Philippines are also summarized.
Several studies found that the use of wireless technologies and mobile internet in educational settings can improve student motivation and engagement. Specifically, studies found that wireless technologies increased learner participation, improved voluntary attendance and self-directed learning. However, some of the increased motivation may be due to the novelty of new technologies. Over time, students see mobile devices as useful learning tools rather than just toys. Younger students and those from developing countries are especially likely to use mobile internet as their primary means of internet access.
Empowerment Technologies, ET, Live C. Angga, Malungon NHS, Empowerment Technology, Senior High School, SHS, Department of Education, SHS, ET Student LM, Learning Materials for ET students
The document discusses several cyber security issues related to increased internet usage. It notes that while the internet has provided benefits to sharing information, it has also enabled cyber crimes and threats to national security. One example is Wikileaks, which published confidential US national defense information and caused concern about information security. Additionally, the internet enables hacking, fraud, and spreading of objectionable content. Countries also use cyber espionage to obtain rivals' sensitive information. Overall, the document argues that while the internet facilitates connectivity, information security is a growing issue due to potential for misuse in criminal activities like identity theft and terrorism.
RubyMotion allows iOS development using the Ruby language instead of Objective-C. It provides a command line toolchain and compiles Ruby code to native iOS apps. While the syntax is Ruby, the underlying classes and objects are still Objective-C/Cocoa. This allows tapping into the full iOS SDK while enjoying Ruby's more succinct syntax. The document provides an example Hello World app and demonstrates how to load images from the camera library using RubyMotion and related libraries like Bubblewrap and RMQ.
The document discusses problems with current copyright law and how Creative Commons (CC) licenses can help address these issues. It notes that while copyright law was meant to promote progress, the law has not kept pace with technological changes and now restricts many types of sharing and reuse. CC licenses were created to offer more flexible options for authors beyond "all rights reserved" by allowing some permissions in advance. The document provides an overview of the history and goals of CC, how the CC license suite works, and why CC licenses are useful for libraries, academics, and others seeking to enable access and dissemination of works.
The documents summarize representative private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions and registered direct offerings conducted by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP in 2008-2010. The firm acted as counsel for companies conducting equity offerings, investors participating in the offerings, and placement agents involved. The transactions ranged from $300,000 to $120,000,000 and involved companies across various industries and stock exchanges.
The document provides information about professional development opportunities for educators through WGTE Public Media, including schedules, sessions, and grant information. Educators can sign up for professional development credit through Lourdes College and participate in sessions on topics like SMART Boards, Google tools, and social media. WGTE also offers "BIG Tech Paks" that provide technology equipment and training, and resources are highlighted for subjects like environmental science, engineering week at Imagination Station, and the Toledo Museum of Art's online educator resources. Grants through ING and Horace Mann are also noted.
LoadRunner offers multi-protocol support for testing applications across various platforms and devices. It provides options for cloud-based testing through integration with Amazon and HP cloud services, as well as SaaS options. When choosing a load testing solution, factors to consider include the application under test, protocols, user numbers, locations, budgets, and timescales. LoadRunner in the Cloud is suitable for web-based testing with remote load generation and flexible licensing.
The client, Steve Janes, requires a design to upright his totem pole that was previously supported by a tree on his property. The design must hold the 30 foot pole with a base diameter of 21 inches upright, withstand temperatures from -40°C to 40°C and wind up to 135 km/h, minimize damage to the pole, and be under 12 feet tall and $10,000 budget. Stakeholders include suppliers, safety committees, indigenous groups, and future buyers who are concerned with costs, safety, cultural preservation, and value. The pole will be located between the client's house and garage on a concrete base.
Internet TV, Broadcasting and IPTV
Technical standards that will accelerate the economic future
of these media delivery options and accelerate the growth of a mass market
of devices and services
The document discusses streams API, which enables asynchronous I/O processing by reading and writing data chunks. It can pipe data between streams and supports automatic transformations. The spec defines ReadableStream, WritableStream, and TransformStream interfaces. It is useful for tasks like loading video segments or sending messages over websockets. The implementation in browsers uses JavaScript builtins tied to WebIDL to define the API in a maintainable and performant way while avoiding memory issues, though it requires care around security.
An overview of current Open Data activities and approaches and our own approach to manage and develop Open Data projects using Linked Data as the technical piece for the best results in the long run. Prepared for ICT 2010, http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/events/cf/ict2010/item-display.cfm?id=2790
This document provides information about the Business Performance Excellence Summit taking place from September 26-28, 2016 in San Francisco, California. The summit will focus on operational excellence, strategy, innovation, and scalability as keys to sustainable performance excellence. It will feature case studies from enterprise transformation leaders, expert speakers, sponsors and exhibitors. Attendees will learn how to drive innovation and agility across their organizations. A new focus day will address issues for the healthcare industry. The event aims to unite innovation from startups with scalability lessons from large companies.
User Experience Mentoring (Ideabox Indonesia)Dian Soraya
The objective of the talk is to show the teams the proper methodologies in user research. The ultimate aim is to help the teams in building good UX for their apps, because good UX design only comes from good user research.
The School of Physical Sciences offers degree programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Access to our Undergraduate degrees is by application to the Central Applications Office (CAO) or the International Office Directly for non EU applicants. The school also offers taught and research postgraduate degrees. Please see the online prospectus at the links on the left and check out our research profile and opportunities.
Active International is a global leader in corporate trade that has been in business for 29 years. They have 525 employees globally and offices in 13 countries. They have an annual gross trading volume of approximately $1.4 billion. Their business involves restoring value on clients' inventory, equipment, real estate, or other assets by buying them and allowing payment in trade credits that can be used to purchase operating expenses through their network of over 1,500 trading partners across categories like media, travel, print, and freight. This provides clients financial benefits like higher asset values, lower cash outlays, and reduced carrying costs.
Techbridge is a nonprofit that promotes girls' engagement in STEM through after-school programs, summer camps, and partnerships with schools and organizations. It offers hands-on curricula in topics like engineering, chemistry, and career exploration. Techbridge has reached over 2,800 girls and evaluations found that the program improves girls' confidence, problem-solving, and plans to study STEM in college. It provides resources and training to teachers, role models, families, and its community partners which include companies like Apple, Google, and foundations.
Global warming refers to the increase in average surface temperatures of the Earth since the late 19th century, according to scientific consensus. The document then lists specific human behaviors and activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, such as using excess paper and electricity, driving inefficient vehicles, eating meat, and deforestation. It encourages individuals to make small changes like using less hot water, unplugging appliances, and encouraging organizations to reduce emissions in order to help address the problem of global warming from a grassroots level.
UNICEF Russian digital landscape exploratory paperAkshay Sinha
This document provides an overview of internet use among youth in Russia. Some key findings include:
- Internet penetration in Russia doubled from 2006-2009 and 84% of 12-17 year olds are internet users.
- The Russian digital landscape is dominated by domestic sites like VKontakte, Yandex, and Mail.ru rather than Western sites.
- Meeting strangers online poses the biggest risk - 40% of Russian 9-16 year olds reported meeting someone from the online world offline.
- Other significant risks include exposure to adult content, malware/fraud, and cyberbullying.
UNICEF Ukraine digital landscape exploratory paperAkshay Sinha
This document provides an exploratory study of the digital landscape in Ukraine. It finds that internet penetration grew significantly between 2005 and 2010. While most users access the internet through stationary connections, mobile usage is rising. Ukrainian youth are highly active online, predominately using Russian and Western sites and services for communication, content creation, and e-commerce. However, they also face risks such as exposure to inappropriate content, interacting with strangers, cyberbullying, and malware. The study aims to better understand opportunities and challenges for Ukrainian youth online in order to promote safe and productive internet use.
UNICEF Turkey digital landscape exploratory paperAkshay Sinha
This document provides an exploratory study of the digital landscape among youth in Turkey. Some of the key findings include:
- Turkish youth, aged 10-24, make up a disproportionately large portion of Internet users in Turkey. However, there remains a pronounced gender gap with males reporting higher Internet use than females.
- The most common online activities among Turkish youth are social networking on sites like Facebook and MSN, as well as gaming. Blogging is also a popular form of user generated content.
- The primary risks Turkish youth face online are exposure to malicious software, sharing personal information, and cyberbullying.
- While the Turkish government actively promotes Internet development and online safety, some of its monitoring
This document provides an exploratory study of the digital landscape for youth in Turkey. Some key findings include:
- Turkish youth, aged 10-24, make up a disproportionate share of Internet users in Turkey. However, there remains a gender gap in Internet usage.
- Popular online activities for Turkish youth include social networking on sites like Facebook and MSN, as well as gaming and consuming news/media.
- Main risks Turkish youth face online are exposure to malicious software, sharing personal information, and cyberbullying.
- The Turkish government actively promotes Internet development but also monitors online content, raising concerns about freedom of expression.
Russia and the Challenges of the Digital EnvironmentRussian Council
This working paper was written as part of the Russian International Affairs Council’s project “Information Security, Response to Cyber Threats and the Use of the Internet to Defend Russia’s National Interests on the International Scene.” In their articles, the authors expound on Russia’s presence in cyberspace and suggest the identification of a reference point from which to develop the discussion and seek an effective strategy for Russian participants in global internet processes. The materials place particular emphasis on the use of online tools to improve the quality of foreign policy.
- South African adolescents and youth are early adopters of mobile technology, with 72% owning cell phones.
- South Africa leads Africa in social networking, microblogging, and online content creation on platforms like Mxit and Twitter.
- There is a pronounced digital divide in South Africa based on factors like race, socioeconomic status, and geography.
- Primary online risks faced by South African youth include interacting with strangers, cyberbullying, and sexting.
- The government and private sector are working to expand access to ICTs while also promoting safe online practices.
The usage of internet by youngsters of gujrat city (pakistan)Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a research study on internet usage among youth in Gujrat City, Pakistan. The study used surveys and focus groups to collect data from 250 college students between ages 16-25. The results showed that most students used the internet for entertainment purposes like chatting rather than education. Male students were more likely to use internet cafes while females used email more. The study found signs that excessive internet use was causing addiction for some students, negatively impacting their studies and social lives. In conclusion, the internet was found to influence youth behavior in the city with both benefits and risks requiring awareness.
This document summarizes a study examining people's experiential relationships with social media through qualitative accounts from 231 Facebook users. The study finds that relationships are characterized by ambivalence rather than utopian hopes or dystopian fears. Ambivalence stems from the desire for technology to meaningfully augment life while fearing it may replace real experiences. The document reviews utopian views that technology enhances life and dystopian views that it controls and isolates people, but argues experiential accounts show a more nuanced ambivalence.
The document discusses the rapid growth of social media and digital content sharing online. It notes that the number of social media users has grown from 1.4 billion in 2012 to an estimated 2.13 billion in 2016, with Facebook being the dominant platform. The impact on society has been significant, enabling real-time communication within and across communities. However, many challenges remain regarding the business models of platforms, legal issues around content sharing, and developing social norms around online behavior. The document examines these topics to understand the current state and future trajectories of social media.
Social Network Continuity Disruption Countermeasures Papermartindudziak
This document discusses technologies that can support and protect social networking during periods of social unrest and political disruption. It notes that governments may try to disrupt social media during such times in order to limit communication between civilians. The document reviews the growth of internet usage and social networking, and how these have transformed communication and responses to emergencies. It examines alternatives for maintaining connectivity when conventional networks are disrupted, along with countermeasures against such alternatives and ways to overcome the countermeasures.
This report examines gender gaps in access to information and communication technologies (ICTs). It finds that while gender gaps in Internet access are declining in many countries, significant gaps still remain, especially in developing nations. Women are still around 200 million fewer online than men globally. The report recommends that governments integrate gender considerations into ICT and broadband policies, improve collection of gender-disaggregated data, boost affordability and usability of technologies for women, increase relevant online content, and develop plans to achieve gender equality in broadband access by 2020. Addressing these issues could help leverage ICTs to improve women's empowerment and socioeconomic opportunities.
The document discusses some of the main dangers of using the internet. It outlines how viruses are one of the biggest dangers as they can infect computers and destroy or steal data. It notes that emailed viruses can be hard to avoid if you open an infected attached file or email message. The document also mentions how websites can now contain virus code that executes when the page is accessed, allowing viruses to spread widely. It concludes by explaining that crackers aim to cause damage through viruses and hacking, unlike hackers who break into systems to learn about them without causing harm.
The document is a report on the dark web submitted by a student. It includes an introduction, index, and sections on the surface, deep and dark web, the onion router, the dark web, the origin and history of the dark web, and a conclusion. The student conducted research on the dark web under the guidance of their project guide for a bachelor's degree.
This document provides an overview of 15 theses about the future of digital life by 2025 based on a canvassing of over 2,500 experts. It introduces each thesis in 1-3 sentences and organizes the theses into hopeful, concerned, and neutral categories. The theses predict that information sharing will be effortless and ubiquitous through connected devices and sensors. They also anticipate increased global connectivity, awareness of one's behaviors and environment, political change enabled by technology, and challenges to traditional institutions from new online communities and networks. However, some theses note potential threats to privacy, security, equality, and control that could emerge.
Доклад Жанны Андерсон и Ли Рэйни на тему «Цифровая жизнь в 2025 году». Этот доклад приурочен к 25-летию создания «Всемирной паутины» сэром Тимом Бёрнерсом-Ли — британским учёным, изобретателем URI, URL, HTTP и HTML. Эксперты прогнозируют, что интернет скоро станет подобен электричеству: менее заметным, но больше погружённым в повседневную человеческую жизнь.
Мы просто оставим это здесь...
Future of the Internet Predictions March 2014 PIP ReportVasily Ryzhonkov
This report is the latest research report in a sustained effort throughout 2014 by the Pew Research Center to mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. He wrote a paper on March 12, 1989 proposing an “information management” system that became the conceptual and architectural structure for the Web. He eventually released the code for his system — for free — to the world on Christmas Day in 1990. It became a milestone in easing the way for ordinary people to access documents and interact over the Internet — a system that linked computers and that had been around for years.
The Web became a major layer of the Internet. Indeed, for many, it became synonymous with the Internet, even though that is not technically the case. Its birthday offers an occasion to revisit the ways it has made the Internet a part of Americans’ social lives.
Our first report tied to the anniversary looked at the present and the past of the Internet, marking its strikingly fast adoption and assessing its impact on American users’ lives. This report is part of an effort by the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project in association with Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center to look at the future of the Internet, the Web, and other digital activities. This is the first of eight reports based on a canvassing of hundreds of experts about the future of such things as privacy, cybersecurity, the “Internet of things,” and net neutrality. In this case we asked experts to make their own predictions about the state of digital life by the year 2025. We will also explore some of the economic change driven by the spectacular progress that made digital tools faster and cheaper. And we will report on whether Americans feel the explosion of digital information coursing through their lives has helped them be better informed and make better decisions.
This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals.
Media and Society Politics in Cyberspace A Study in Cybercultureijtsrd
This article aims to understand the importance of cyberspace, namely social networks, in news coverage during election times. To this end, a contextualization about Cyberculture and Cyberspace will be made, as well as politics in this space, and social networks as media platforms. It is intended to demonstrate that in cyberspace, political communication has gained a new way of reaching voters and that the Internet has revolutionized the relationship between journalism and politics and politics with voters. LuÃs Cardoso | LÃgia Neves "Media and Society: Politics in Cyberspace - A Study in Cyberculture" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-6 , October 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd33573.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/social-science/33573/media-and-society-politics-in-cyberspace--a-study-in-cyberculture/lu%C3%ADs-cardoso
Fake news detection for Arabic headlines-articles news data using deep learningIJECEIAES
Fake news has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. The evolution of social websites has spurred the expansion of fake news causing it to a mixture with truthful information. English fake news detection had the largest share of studies, unlike Arabic fake news detection, which is still very limited. Fake news phenomenon has changed people and social perspectives through revolts in several Arab countries. False news results in the distortion of reality ignite chaos and stir public judgments. This paper provides an Arabic fake news detection approach using different deep learning models including long short-term memory and convolutional neural network based on article-headline pairs to differentiate if a news headline is in fact related or unrelated to the parallel news article. In this paper, a dataset created about the war in Syria and related to the Middle East political issues is utilized. The whole data comprises 422 claims and 3,042 articles. The models yield promising results.
the Web tools have been used as a means of dissemination and mobile as a means of voting and counting to hold the first International Digital Direct Election - ID2E. This article aims to describe the ID2E performed in order to test the viability for the international voting by mobiles using SMS protocol, using Web 2.0 tools to facilitate discussions about the election main theme.
Immunization is a core component of the human right to
health and an individual, community and government responsibility. Protected from the threat of vaccine –preventable diseases, immunized children have the opportunity to thrive and a better chance of realizing their full potential.
Knowledge, attitudes and practices of parents from the northern municipalities regarding pre-school education (December 2014) by IPSOS and UNICEF Montenegro
The document appears to be asking respondents to indicate which types of relationships they find acceptable between children with disabilities and others. It lists several potential relationships and provides percentage figures but does not provide any meaningful context around the relationships or percentages.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child turned 25 in November 2014. This compendium highlights the events and celebrations organized by UNICEF in cooperation with partner organizations and children around the world.
It is right and just for young Roma children and their futures to be at the centre of this important research.
The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion+ (RECI+) Studies and Reports are a joint initiative between the Sponsoring Agencies, namely: the Roma ‘Kopaçi’ Initiatives at the Early Childhood Program (ECP) of Open Society Foundations (OSF), the Roma Education Fund (REF) and UNICEF.
Croatia 2015
The 2014 Serbia Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and 2014 Serbia Roma Settlements Multiple Indicator Cluster
Survey were carried out in 2014 by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia as part of the global MICS programme.
Technical and financial support was provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The global MICS programme was developed by UNICEF in the 1990s as an international household survey programme
to support countries in the collection of internationally comparable data on a wide range of indicators on the situation of children and women. MICS surveys measure key indicators that allow countries to generate data for use in policies and programmes, and to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed upon commitments.
This document summarizes a study on investing in early childhood education in Montenegro. It finds that preschool education has significant benefits for child development and prepares children for primary education. Currently, preschool coverage in Montenegro reaches around 60% of children ages 3 to 6, with wide variations between municipalities. The study estimates the annual costs of providing full-time preschool for one child to be around €2,000. It models the costs of introducing universal three-hour preschool preparatory programs and expanding coverage to all children ages 3 to 6, finding it would require around €20 million annually. The study provides recommendations to improve access to quality early childhood education in Montenegro.
This document summarizes research on the impact of television on children. It discusses how television is a powerful medium that influences children's understanding of reality. Through observational learning, children are more likely to emulate behaviors that are frequently modeled and rewarded. Research by Albert Bandura found that children who observed aggressive behaviors on television were more likely to display aggression themselves. While some studies link television to increased aggression in children, the relationship is complex and positive modeling could also influence prosocial behaviors.
Digital Marketing Trends in 2024 | Guide for Staying AheadWask
https://www.wask.co/ebooks/digital-marketing-trends-in-2024
Feeling lost in the digital marketing whirlwind of 2024? Technology is changing, consumer habits are evolving, and staying ahead of the curve feels like a never-ending pursuit. This e-book is your compass. Dive into actionable insights to handle the complexities of modern marketing. From hyper-personalization to the power of user-generated content, learn how to build long-term relationships with your audience and unlock the secrets to success in the ever-shifting digital landscape.
Main news related to the CCS TSI 2023 (2023/1695)Jakub Marek
An English 🇬🇧 translation of a presentation to the speech I gave about the main changes brought by CCS TSI 2023 at the biggest Czech conference on Communications and signalling systems on Railways, which was held in Clarion Hotel Olomouc from 7th to 9th November 2023 (konferenceszt.cz). Attended by around 500 participants and 200 on-line followers.
The original Czech 🇨🇿 version of the presentation can be found here: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/hlavni-novinky-souvisejici-s-ccs-tsi-2023-2023-1695/269688092 .
The videorecording (in Czech) from the presentation is available here: https://youtu.be/WzjJWm4IyPk?si=SImb06tuXGb30BEH .
FREE A4 Cyber Security Awareness Posters-Social Engineering part 3Data Hops
Free A4 downloadable and printable Cyber Security, Social Engineering Safety and security Training Posters . Promote security awareness in the home or workplace. Lock them Out From training providers datahops.com
Your One-Stop Shop for Python Success: Top 10 US Python Development Providersakankshawande
Simplify your search for a reliable Python development partner! This list presents the top 10 trusted US providers offering comprehensive Python development services, ensuring your project's success from conception to completion.
This presentation provides valuable insights into effective cost-saving techniques on AWS. Learn how to optimize your AWS resources by rightsizing, increasing elasticity, picking the right storage class, and choosing the best pricing model. Additionally, discover essential governance mechanisms to ensure continuous cost efficiency. Whether you are new to AWS or an experienced user, this presentation provides clear and practical tips to help you reduce your cloud costs and get the most out of your budget.
zkStudyClub - LatticeFold: A Lattice-based Folding Scheme and its Application...Alex Pruden
Folding is a recent technique for building efficient recursive SNARKs. Several elegant folding protocols have been proposed, such as Nova, Supernova, Hypernova, Protostar, and others. However, all of them rely on an additively homomorphic commitment scheme based on discrete log, and are therefore not post-quantum secure. In this work we present LatticeFold, the first lattice-based folding protocol based on the Module SIS problem. This folding protocol naturally leads to an efficient recursive lattice-based SNARK and an efficient PCD scheme. LatticeFold supports folding low-degree relations, such as R1CS, as well as high-degree relations, such as CCS. The key challenge is to construct a secure folding protocol that works with the Ajtai commitment scheme. The difficulty, is ensuring that extracted witnesses are low norm through many rounds of folding. We present a novel technique using the sumcheck protocol to ensure that extracted witnesses are always low norm no matter how many rounds of folding are used. Our evaluation of the final proof system suggests that it is as performant as Hypernova, while providing post-quantum security.
Paper Link: https://eprint.iacr.org/2024/257
Building Production Ready Search Pipelines with Spark and MilvusZilliz
Spark is the widely used ETL tool for processing, indexing and ingesting data to serving stack for search. Milvus is the production-ready open-source vector database. In this talk we will show how to use Spark to process unstructured data to extract vector representations, and push the vectors to Milvus vector database for search serving.
Have you ever been confused by the myriad of choices offered by AWS for hosting a website or an API?
Lambda, Elastic Beanstalk, Lightsail, Amplify, S3 (and more!) can each host websites + APIs. But which one should we choose?
Which one is cheapest? Which one is fastest? Which one will scale to meet our needs?
Join me in this session as we dive into each AWS hosting service to determine which one is best for your scenario and explain why!
A Comprehensive Guide to DeFi Development Services in 2024Intelisync
DeFi represents a paradigm shift in the financial industry. Instead of relying on traditional, centralized institutions like banks, DeFi leverages blockchain technology to create a decentralized network of financial services. This means that financial transactions can occur directly between parties, without intermediaries, using smart contracts on platforms like Ethereum.
In 2024, we are witnessing an explosion of new DeFi projects and protocols, each pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in finance.
In summary, DeFi in 2024 is not just a trend; it’s a revolution that democratizes finance, enhances security and transparency, and fosters continuous innovation. As we proceed through this presentation, we'll explore the various components and services of DeFi in detail, shedding light on how they are transforming the financial landscape.
At Intelisync, we specialize in providing comprehensive DeFi development services tailored to meet the unique needs of our clients. From smart contract development to dApp creation and security audits, we ensure that your DeFi project is built with innovation, security, and scalability in mind. Trust Intelisync to guide you through the intricate landscape of decentralized finance and unlock the full potential of blockchain technology.
Ready to take your DeFi project to the next level? Partner with Intelisync for expert DeFi development services today!
Dandelion Hashtable: beyond billion requests per second on a commodity serverAntonios Katsarakis
This slide deck presents DLHT, a concurrent in-memory hashtable. Despite efforts to optimize hashtables, that go as far as sacrificing core functionality, state-of-the-art designs still incur multiple memory accesses per request and block request processing in three cases. First, most hashtables block while waiting for data to be retrieved from memory. Second, open-addressing designs, which represent the current state-of-the-art, either cannot free index slots on deletes or must block all requests to do so. Third, index resizes block every request until all objects are copied to the new index. Defying folklore wisdom, DLHT forgoes open-addressing and adopts a fully-featured and memory-aware closed-addressing design based on bounded cache-line-chaining. This design offers lock-free index operations and deletes that free slots instantly, (2) completes most requests with a single memory access, (3) utilizes software prefetching to hide memory latencies, and (4) employs a novel non-blocking and parallel resizing. In a commodity server and a memory-resident workload, DLHT surpasses 1.6B requests per second and provides 3.5x (12x) the throughput of the state-of-the-art closed-addressing (open-addressing) resizable hashtable on Gets (Deletes).
Let's Integrate MuleSoft RPA, COMPOSER, APM with AWS IDP along with Slackshyamraj55
Discover the seamless integration of RPA (Robotic Process Automation), COMPOSER, and APM with AWS IDP enhanced with Slack notifications. Explore how these technologies converge to streamline workflows, optimize performance, and ensure secure access, all while leveraging the power of AWS IDP and real-time communication via Slack notifications.
Trusted Execution Environment for Decentralized Process MiningLucaBarbaro3
Presentation of the paper "Trusted Execution Environment for Decentralized Process Mining" given during the CAiSE 2024 Conference in Cyprus on June 7, 2024.
TrustArc Webinar - 2024 Global Privacy SurveyTrustArc
How does your privacy program stack up against your peers? What challenges are privacy teams tackling and prioritizing in 2024?
In the fifth annual Global Privacy Benchmarks Survey, we asked over 1,800 global privacy professionals and business executives to share their perspectives on the current state of privacy inside and outside of their organizations. This year’s report focused on emerging areas of importance for privacy and compliance professionals, including considerations and implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, building brand trust, and different approaches for achieving higher privacy competence scores.
See how organizational priorities and strategic approaches to data security and privacy are evolving around the globe.
This webinar will review:
- The top 10 privacy insights from the fifth annual Global Privacy Benchmarks Survey
- The top challenges for privacy leaders, practitioners, and organizations in 2024
- Key themes to consider in developing and maintaining your privacy program
How to Interpret Trends in the Kalyan Rajdhani Mix Chart.pdfChart Kalyan
A Mix Chart displays historical data of numbers in a graphical or tabular form. The Kalyan Rajdhani Mix Chart specifically shows the results of a sequence of numbers over different periods.
Salesforce Integration for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions A...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on integration of Salesforce with Bonterra Impact Management.
Interested in deploying an integration with Salesforce for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
Generating privacy-protected synthetic data using Secludy and MilvusZilliz
During this demo, the founders of Secludy will demonstrate how their system utilizes Milvus to store and manipulate embeddings for generating privacy-protected synthetic data. Their approach not only maintains the confidentiality of the original data but also enhances the utility and scalability of LLMs under privacy constraints. Attendees, including machine learning engineers, data scientists, and data managers, will witness first-hand how Secludy's integration with Milvus empowers organizations to harness the power of LLMs securely and efficiently.
Generating privacy-protected synthetic data using Secludy and Milvus
The RuNet generation
1. The RuNet Generation
An Exploratory Study of the Russian Digital
Landscape
October 28, 2011
Authors:
UNICEF New York, Division of Communication, Youth Section
Gerrit Beger, Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda, Akshay Sinha
Collaborators:
UNICEF Russia, Division of Communication, UNICEF Geneva, Division of
Communication
John Budd, Lely Djuhari, Viacheslav Tikhomirov
Contributors:
Daniel Kennedy, Melanie Zuch
2. 1
Contents
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ 2
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ......................................................................................................... 2
THE DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP AND SAFETY PROJECT & THE YOUTH SECTION AT UNICEF 2
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Background.................................................................................................................. 4
1.2 Objective ...................................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 5
2. CONTEXT........................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Overview of Russia ...................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Selected overview: technological context ..................................................................... 8
3. OPPORTUNITIES..............................................................................................................10
3.1 Digital access..............................................................................................................10
3.2 Digital activities ...........................................................................................................11
3.2.1. Communication activities .....................................................................................11
3.2.2. User generated content: blogging ........................................................................13
3.2.3. Commercial .........................................................................................................14
4. IDENTIFYING SAFETY RISKS ..........................................................................................14
4.1 The risks .....................................................................................................................15
4.1.1. Malicious software and fraud ...............................................................................15
4.1.2. Exposure to adult content and child abuse images ..............................................16
4.1.3. Exposure to extremist content ..............................................................................17
4.1.4. Sharing of personal information ...........................................................................17
4.1.5. Cyberbullying .......................................................................................................17
4.1.6. Meeting strangers ................................................................................................19
5. MONITORING THE RUNET ..............................................................................................20
6. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ..................................21
7. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................22
GLOSSARY ..............................................................................................................................23
3. 2
ABSTRACT
This exploratory paper is part of a series examining the role of Internet in the lives of youth living
in the Central and Eastern Europe Commonwealth of Independent States. This report focuses
on Russia and bases itself on secondary evidence gathered through a desk review of reliable
studies and hard data. The first section describes the technological reality in Russia and the
peculiarities of its digital landscape. The Internet in Russia is dubbed the RuNet, and provides a
range of technological platforms to a population that exchanges overwhelmingly on Russian-
bred websites instead of western equivalents. The second section investigates the use of digital
networked technologies by Russian adolescents and young people. The third section analyses
the research available on the types of safety risks faced by the Russian youth when navigating
the Internet. Research shows that youth are facing risks such as cyberbullying, exposure to
indecent content, and are often chatting with and meeting strangers offline. The study concludes
with the assertion that as the opportunities associated with information and communication
technologies rapidly expand for Russian adolescents and young people, so too does the need
to educate users on their safe and optimal use.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The number of Internet users grew from two million in 2000 to 46.5 million by the end of
2010
The Russian digital landscape is dominated by Russian-bred sites like Yandex,
VKontakte and mail.ru
Meeting strangers is the most widespread risk encountered by Russian adolescents and
young people. Forty per cent of Russians aged 9-16 reported meeting someone from the
online world in real life
Significant risks discovered over the course of the study also include adult content,
malicious software and cyberbullying
THE DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP AND SAFETY PROJECT & THE YOUTH SECTION AT
UNICEF
This exploratory study is part of a series produced by the Youth Section at UNICEF New York
through its Digital Citizenship and Safety project. The Digital Citizenship and Safety project aims
to get a better understanding of the digital landscape in a range of different countries, mainly
those with a developing or emerging economy. The project starts with a data collection phase,
during which exploratory, quantitative and qualitative studies are conducted to then produce
evidence-based communication materials to raise awareness on the optimal and safe use of the
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The concept of Digital Citizenship is then
advocated at the local government level through advocacy workshops, seminars and
conferences on how to maximize ICTs‘ opportunities while minimizing risks.
The Digital Citizenship and Safety project aligns itself within the scope of work conducted by the
Youth Section at UNICEF, whose mission is to work with traditional and new technologies
4. 3
including social networking tools, SMS and digital mapping to empower children and young
people to play an active role in society.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989) guarantees the right to express views
and to be heard (Art.12), freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and
impart information (Art.13), the freedom of association and peacefully assembly, and the right to
information (Art.17) amongst others. Although drafted before the internet became ubiquitous,
the CRC is highly pertinent when it comes to young people accessing, posting and sharing
content online. With the rapid development of ICT in the last decade, these rights should be
analyzed and clearly applied to this digital age.
5. 4
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
―Have decided to write on Facebook, too. Keep in touch!.‖ @Medvedev.
President Dmitry Medvedev has a video blog, a LiveJournal and a Twitter account with 131,665
followers1. After Medvedev joined all of the aforementioned platforms, 39 regional governors in
Russia followed suit.2
Nexted: a term used by the visitors of a one-time popular Russian video chat site called
Chatroulette. The website pairs random strangers from around the world for webcam-based
conversations. Users can click the ‗next‘ button at any point in the conversation, including
immediately after seeing what the other person looks like. The experience continues until the
user finds the chatter with whom he or she is interested in chatting. Launched in 2009, it had 3.9
million visitors worldwide as of February 20103, placing the concept of stranger chat on the
digital map. Created by a then 17 year-old high school student in Moscow, Andrey Ternovskiy,
Chatroulette gradually lost the public attention. Indecent exposure by too many users, the
selection of chatters at random, and the poor design of the platform made many shy away from
the site. Still, Chatroulette is a testament to Russia‘s potential in technological innovation, just
as it underlines the growing trend of talking to strangers online4.
Launched in 2006 by Pavel Durov, VKontakte, (‗In Contact‘), is a Russian social network
platform used by 23 million people5. Originally available in Russia, it is also popular in Ukraine,
Kazakhstan and Belarus and can be found in more than 60 languages. VKontakte shares many
of the features of Facebook, and is often seen as its Russian clone. Integrating the option to
share and download files, a preferred activity for Russian youth6, as well as a blogging platform,
VKontakte distinguishes itself from Facebook and enjoys high popularity among Russians.
Since the rise of the Internet, the RuNet—the name Russian-speaking Internet users commonly
call the component of the Internet written in the Russian language—has developed in response
to the societal, cultural and technological realities of a large and diverse country. Russia now
1
As of 28 October 2011.
2
Freedom House, Freedom On The Net, 2011. <www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=664>
(accessed 24 July 2011).
3
Schonfeld, Erick, ―Chatroulette Quadruples to 4 Million Visitors in February‖, 29, March 2010,
<http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/29/chatroulette-4-million-visitors/> (accessed 12 June 2011).
4
Soldatova, G., Foundation for Internet Development, Российские и европейские школьники: риски
онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization]. 2010.
5
Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) 2010, 7 June 2011, <http://www.tns-
global.ru/rus/projects/media/asmi/inet/Reports/index.wbp> (accessed 2 June 2011).
6
Soldatova, G., Foundation for Internet Development, Российские и европейские школьники: риски
онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization]. 2010.
Thirty per cent of 14- to 16-year-old Russian youth often share files.
6. 5
has an Internet penetration of 43 per cent nation-wide. While this figure is lower than that of
most western nations, Internet penetration is rapidly expanding in Russia. Indeed, the figure
more than doubled from 2006 to 2009, and will no doubt continue to grow.7 In 2008, Russia was
dubbed the country with the fastest growing Internet population in Europe,8 and as of 2010, 84
per cent of 12- to 17-year-olds were Internet users.9 Russia has made significant progress in
allowing its society to enter the digital age, and even implemented a large-scale national
programme connecting all institutions of general education to the Internet from 2006-200910.
Largely dominated by local networks such as VKontakte, Yandex (the most popular Russian
search engine), mail.ru (an email service) and Odnoklassniki (a social networking site), the
RuNet is different from its western counterpart in that the most used websites remain Russian
bred. Consequently, the opportunities and risks of the RuNet are decidedly unique,
corresponding to Russian realities and challenges.
Given that young people are active on the RuNet, it is crucial that we gain an understanding of
their behavior on the Internet and the risks associated with its use.
1.2 Objective
This exploratory study is the first output of an ongoing research effort to better understand the
digital landscape and the types of safety risks faced by Russian youth.
1.3 Methodology
Research process
To reach the study objective, a search was conducted for background information on Russia,
particularly pertaining to the use, access, digital behaviour and types of risks faced by Russian
adolescents and young people when online.
As an ongoing process during the research, the methodologies of the studies found were
checked for their reliability, as were the background and experience of the sources‘ institutions,
7
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), ―ICT Statistics 2009—Estimated Internet Users‖,
<http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx> (accessed 9 March 2011).
8
Comscore, ―Russia Has the Fastest Growing Internet Population in Europe‖ 27 August 2008,
<http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2008/08/Russia_Internet_Growth> (accessed
26 May 2011).
9
Public Opinion Foundation, ―Mobile Internet in Russia‖, 2010,
<http://www.ewdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/FOM_Mobile_Internet_Q4_2010.pdf> (accessed 2
May 2011).
10
The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Government of Russia, "Provision of
all Russian schools with access to the Internet", 2010, <http://eng.mon.gov.ru/pro/pnpo/int/> (accessed 7
June 2011).
7. 6
which consisted of ranking sources like United Nations, government sources, state funded
institutions, universities, and private actors. The reliability of the institutions is measured by the
methodology including the sampling frame, the type of questionnaire used, and the experience
of the institutions in conducting research in the focused area.
The literature search was conducted on the Internet in both Russian and English. Russian and
western search engines were utilized, primarily including Yandex and Google. The use of local
language and search tools were important in the research process, to ensure that all local
sources were identified.
Sources utilized
Only the sources identified as stemming from reputable organizations, containing large sample
sizes and reliable methodologies, were utilized. The Russian 2010 Census projections—the
data of which are still being analysed by the Federal State Statistics Service—were used in
calculation of Internet users by density per location. The primary research explored in this report
include studies from the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, United Nations, the
Foundation for Public Opinion, All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM)11, the
Foundation for Internet Development12, and the Friendly RuNet Foundation13.
Valuing local sources and expertise
A detailed process was carried out in weighing all the international and local sources, in order to
gather objective data, which consisted of ranking sources like United Nations, government
sources, state funded institutions, universities, and private actors. For the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) region, it has generally been found that there are very few
international sources that discuss the subject of the digital media through a proper evidence-
based approach. Therefore, it became increasingly important to work with Russian-speaking
researchers and Russian experts.
Two researchers translated the Russian literature into English, consulting with Russian experts
about the validity of results and reliability of sources. Russian language literature came from
sources such as foundations, educational institutions, NGOs, and private companies.
11
The All-Russian Opinion Research Center is one of the leading sociological and market research
companies in Russia. <http://wciom.com/> (accessed 1 June 2011).
12
The Foundation for Internet Development supports projects concerning Internet development, and the
development of legal issues concerning the Internet. <http://www.fid.ru> (accessed 1 June 2011).
13
The Friendly RuNet Foundation is an organization contributing to the development of Internet as a safe
environment, friendly to all its users. <http://www.friendlyrunet.ru/en/index.phtml> (accessed 1 June
2011).
8. 7
In order to validate our findings and gather local perspective, we consulted local experts such as
those at STELLIT14, the writers of the RuNet Echo project15 and Galina Soldatova, Director of
the Foundation for Internet Development.
The findings of this exploratory study were subject to a validation workshop, which took place in
Moscow (Russia). The experts identified during the exploratory process were invited to share
comments, feedback and any additional research to strengthen the present paper.
Assessing reliability of sources
To assess the reliability of secondary sources, a source valuation matrix was created which
weighted the sources by factors of source type, date and expert who wrote a given study. In this
process, data were carefully checked against all available sources. This mitigated the risk of
valuing any invalid facts and the formulation of false hypotheses.
We found 14 studies that contained information relevant to our objective. These studies were
grouped and analysed based on the content of their results.
2. CONTEXT
2.1 Overview of Russia
Russia is the biggest country in the world by land mass size, comprised of 83 federal subjects16,
and is among the emerging economic powers of today.
Most of Russian youth aged 15 to 24 live in urban areas, with 74 per cent of the Russian
population residing in urban areas.17 With a population of 143 million, three fourths of the
population lives in the Western and Central-West parts of the country while only one fourth live
in the less-populated Siberian and Far East Federal Districts18. The Far East Federal District is
particularly sparsely populated, accounting for 36.4 per cent of Russia‘s land area but only 4.4
14
STELLIT‘s mission is to ―improve the health and social well- being of people by assisting a broad range
of professionals, including policymakers, to implement evidence-based, efficient social programmes into
practice‖, <http://eng.ngostellit.ru/> (accessed: 15 June 2011).
15
The RuNet Echo project is ―a project of Global Voices to expand and deepen understanding of the
Russian language Internet and related online communities‖, <globalvoicesonline.org/-/special/runet-
echo> (accessed 3 June 2011).
16
The federal subject is the basic building block of the Russian federal system. Federal subjects have
varying levels of autonomy but equal representation in the Russian Upper House.
17
‗Youth World Report‘, Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, 2010.
18
United Nations Statistics Division: Demographic Statistics Division, Search Russia, <http://data.un.org/>
(accessed 8 June 2011).
9. 8
per cent of its population. However, the Far East region is still predominantly urban, as the cities
of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok both contain over 500,000 people.19
Unemployment in Russia stands at 7.6 per cent overall, though the figure varies dramatically
from one federal subject to another. It ranges from 1.6 per cent in Moscow, to 46.9 per cent in
Ingushetia.20 Ingushetia is part of Russia‘s volatile North Caucasus Federal District, which has
experienced two major wars since the break-up of the Soviet Union and a long Islamic
insurgency that continues to hinder economic development. Siberia and the Far East also lag
behind the rest of the country due to a combination of geographic isolation and poorly
developed communication infrastructure.
2.2 Selected overview: technological context
Internet penetration in Russia has grown rapidly with the emergence of government regulated
Internet service providers (ISPs) that offer relatively low priced Internet. Internet penetration has
grown from 15 per cent in 2005 to 43 per cent in 2010.21
RuNet dominates
Russian companies dominate across search engines, social networking, file sharing, and email
services. Many of the Russian sites replicate the services of their international equivalents,
implementing competitive features of global giants like Google and Facebook.22 Social network
site VKontakte, for instance, was launched in September 2006, and quickly captured the
Russian market, replicating many of the core functions of Facebook‘s English-language version.
Yandex is another case of local site domination in Russia. Yandex is the Russian equivalent to
Google and provides all of the same services worldwide. In addition to a search engine, Yandex
provides detailed maps and real-time traffic information, an e-payments system, and photo
posting and sharing.23
19
Federal State Statistics Service, 2010 Census.
20
Federal State Statistics Service, ‗Занятость и безработица в Российской Федерации в феврале
2011 года (по итогам обследований населения по проблемам занятости)‘[Employment and
unemployment in the Russian Federation in February 2011 (Based on Surveys of the Population‘s
Employment)], 2011,<http://www.gks.ru/bgd/free/B04_03/IssWWW.exe/Stg/d01/62.htm> (accessed 29
May 2011).
21
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), ‗ICT Statistics 2010—Estimated Internet Users‘,
<http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx> (accessed 28 October 2011).
22
Barnett, Emma, ‗Runet: Why the Russian Internet doesn't need the West‘, The Telegraph, 13 January
2011, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8255183/Runet-Why-the-Russian-Internet-doesnt-
need-the-West.html> (accessed June 13 2011).
23
Yandex Company Site. About Yandex Section.
<http://company.yandex.com/press_center/press_releases/2009/2009-01-19.xml> (accessed 6 June
2011).
10. 9
Additional examples of popular Russian-bred sites include mail.ru, the leading email platform,
and Rambler, a web portal similar to Yahoo!, which offers services such as web search, email,
news aggregation (with Lenta.ru) and e-commerce.24
Digital divide on the RuNet
Rural federal districts in Russia are proportionately underrepresented in the total RuNet
audience, while Moscow and St. Petersburg are overrepresented. Despite accounting for 26.3
per cent of Russia‘s population, rural areas only account for 17 per cent of Russia‘s Internet
audience. While Moscow and St. Petersburg only account for 8.06 per cent and 3.36 per cent of
Russia‘s population respectively, they account for 12 per cent and 5 per cent of its Internet
audience.25 26
Residents in more developed federal districts have cheaper Internet rates than the residents of
Far East and Northern rural areas. According to the results of a recent survey, residents of the
most developed Ural, Volga and Central Federal Districts pay 170-190 roubles (US$6-727)
monthly for Internet, while the residents of the less inhabited and developed Far East pay 936
roubles (US$3428).29 The higher prices for Internet connection in less developed areas only
serve to exacerbate the digital divide, preventing youth in these areas from accessing the
RuNet.
Telephony and mobile internet
About 86 per cent of Russians use mobile phones, but the use of mobile Internet remains low at
18 per cent.30 The Russian 3rd Generation Mobile Telecommunications (3G) licensing process
started in February 2007. However, 3G implementation was a lengthy and expensive process
24
Alexa: The Web Information Company. <http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/RU> (accessed 20
May 2011).
25
Public Opinion Foundation, ‗Новый выпуск бюллетеня ―Интернет в России, Зима 2009/2010‖‘ [New
Issue of the Bulletin ‗Internet in Russia, Winter 2009/2010‘], news release, 24 March 2010,
<http://bd.fom.ru/report/cat/smi/smi_int/int240310_pressr>.
26
Federal State Statistics Service, Census, 2010.
27
Rate considered: US$1=27.9 RUB as of 13 June 2011.
28
Ibid.
29
Public Opinion Foundation, Yandex, Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), RuCenter, ‗Internet Development in
Russia‘s Regions‘, 2011, <http://company.yandex.ru/facts/researches/Internet_regions_2011.xml>
(accessed 13 June 2011).
30
Public Opinion Foundation, ‗Mobile Internet in Russia‘, 2010 <http://www.ewdn.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/03/FOM_Mobile_Internet_Q4_2010.pdf> (accessed 20 May 2011).
11. 10
due to the country‘s size31, and didn‘t become available until late 2009. The rollout of 3G
technology has reportedly increased the use of mobile Internet.32
3. OPPORTUNITIES
3.1 Digital access
There have been two major studies conducted about digital access among Russian adolescents
and young people. A 2010 study by the Foundation for Internet Development surveyed 2,050
urban Internet users aged 9-16 to understand the use, access and types of safety risks users
face when online. More than 70 per cent of respondents indicated that they connect at home33
while 30 per cent say they access it from ―anywhere and everywhere‖.34 Cyber cafes are not as
popular among 9- to 16-year-old Russians as they are in other socio-economically similar
countries such as Brazil. Only about 10 per cent access the Internet from cafes, while 58 per
cent reported having access to his or her own computer.35According to the study, 45 per cent
access the Internet via their mobile phones.36
The Public Opinion Foundation conducted a survey with a random sample of 6,474 Russians
aged 12 and over in 2010, finding that, when looking at the 12 to 17 age bracket, 84 per cent
were stationary Internet users, while 49 per cent were mobile Internet users. The prevalence of
mobile Internet use decreases with age, as 43 per cent of respondents aged 18-24, 26 per cent
of respondents aged 25-34, and 11 per cent of those aged 35-44 reported usage.37
31
Business Wire, ‗3G implementation in Russia will be a slow and expensive process‘, 5 April 2007, See:
<http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20070405005505/en/3G-Implementation-Russia-Slow-
Expensive-Process-Analysys> (accessed 13 June 2011).
32
MTS Launches 3G Networks in all Markets of Operation, 2 November 2010,
<http://mtsgsm.com/news/2010-11-02-28361> (accessed 3 May 2011).
33
Soldatova, G., Foundation for Internet Development, Российские и европейские школьники: риски
онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization]. 2010.
34
Ibid.
35
Ibid.
36
Ibid.
37
Public Opinion Foundation, ‗Mobile Internet in Russia‘, 2010.
<http://www.ewdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/FOM_Mobile_Internet_Q4_2010.pdf> (accessed 4
May 2011).
12. 11
3.2 Digital activities
3.2.1. Communication activities
Email
Mail.ru has been the largest free email service of the RuNet since 1998.38 According to the
Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) Web Index Report, 79 per cent of 12-17 year olds and 78.2 per cent
of 18-23 year olds who use the Internet use mail.ru every month.39
Social networking sites
As of 2009, Russia‘s social networking audience was known to be the most engaged in the
world.40 In fact, the RuNet generation spends an average of 6.6 hours per month online (as
opposed to a worldwide average of 3.7 hours), and consumes1,307 pages per visitor (as
compared to 525 worldwide).41
The Russian social networking market is dominated by two sites: vkontakte.ru and
odnoklassniki.ru. Both can be joined free of charge. VKontakte users create profiles, connect
with friends, update statuses, create and join groups, share and download files, blog and/or post
photos and videos. While it was formerly open to all without invitation, as of February 2011
VKontakte adopted an ‗invite only‘ policy. From now on any person wanting to join the platform
must receive an invitation from a current user, then enter a code given by the currently
registered user. It is not clear what the motivations are behind this new registration strategy, but
it has been noted that it will enable the social networking giant to control the existence of clone
and spam accounts. No age restriction applies to registering on VKontakte.
Like VKontakte, Odnoklassniki users can create a profile, connect with friends, publish photos,
update statuses and join groups. However, unlike VKontakte, Odnoklassniki is focused primarily
on allowing users to search for their classmates and/or colleagues, by name, location, school,
year of graduation, etc.42 Like VKontakte, registration is free to anyone of any age.
38
Alexa, The Web Information Company, <http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/mail.ru#> (accessed 16 June
2011).
39
Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) 2010, April 2011, <http://www.tns-
global.ru/rus/projects/media/asmi/inet/Reports/index.wbp> (accessed 2 June 2011).
40
Comscore, ‗Russia Has World‘s Most Engaged Social Networking Audience‘, 2 July 2009
<http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/7/Russia_has_World_s_Most_Engaged
_Social_Networking_Audience> (accessed 2 May 2011).
41
Ibid.
42
Alexa Rankings- Odnoklassniki,
<http://www.alexa.com/search?q=odnoklassniki.ru&p=gkey&r=site_siteinfo&s=odnoklassniki.ru>
(accessed 3 May 2011).
13. 12
The VKontakte user base has grown exponentially over the years, and continues to be used
most commonly by Russian adolescents and young people. A TNS Web Index report noted that
among Internet users, 93.6 per cent of 12- to17-year-olds and 92.2 per cent of 18- to 24-year-
olds have visited VKontatke in the last month, while 39.6 per cent of 12 to 17–year-olds and
49.9 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds visited Odnoklassniki.43
In the Foundation for Internet Development‘s study of urban Internet users aged 9-16, 89 per
cent reported that they had a profile on VKontakte, while only 16 per cent reported that they had
one on Odnoklassniki. Other, albeit less prominent social networking sites are also present on
the RuNet, including MoiMir and LiveInternet.44
Western social network sites are less often used in Russia, although the user base is slowly
growing. In 2010, Facebook use among 9- to 16-year-olds was about 4 per cent.45 Anecdotal
evidence shows that Twitter use is also gaining popularity, although there is no hard evidence
on the scope or frequency of its use.46
Online gaming
There is a dearth of research concerning the prevalence and frequency of online gaming among
Russian adolescents and young people. According to one 2010 study, 75 per cent of Internet
users under 18 years of age who play online games play massively multi-player online games
(MMOG). 47 On average, they play these games 6 days per week, 7 hours per day.48 In addition,
25 per cent of this sample play games on social networking sites.49 On average, games on
social networking sites are played 5 days per week, 4 hours per day.50
43
Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) ‗Web Index Report‘, 2010, (accessed 7 June 2011).
44
Russian Public Opinion Research Center, ―Is Facebook Popular in Russia. Rating of Social Networks‖,
6 June 2010, <http://wciom.com/archives/thematic-archive/info-material/single/13611.html> (accessed 8
May 2011).
45
Soldatova, G., Foundation for Internet Development, Российские и европейские школьники: риски
онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization]. 2010.
46
Global Voices, ‗Russia: The Twitter Craze. This Time, It's a Worm…‘14 October 2010,
<http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/10/14/russia-the-twitter-craz/>, (accessed 3 June 2011).
47
J‘son & Partners Consulting, ‗Market Watch, Online Gaming Market in Russia, 2008-2015‘, October
2010.
48
Ibid.
49
Ibid.
50
Ibid.
14. 13
3.2.2. User generated content: blogging
There are several studies that point to the importance of the flourishing Russian blogosphere51,
both in terms of its prevalence and the uniqueness of its content. A 2010 study by the Berkman
Center of Harvard University found that there were over five million Russian language blogs, the
overwhelming majority of which are found on LiveJournal.52
LiveJournal was invented by an American college student and is now owned by a Russian
company with 48 per cent of its audience located in Russia.53 Where traditional media may lag
in reportage or analysis of important events, LiveJournal, or blogging more generally, has come
to serve a crucial social function in analysing, disseminating and influencing offline events.
Anton Nossik54 calls LiveJournal ―the only uncensored, uncontrolled and unmoderated channel
for discussion.‖55 There have been cases of bloggers exposing corruption and other misdeeds
by the authorities. Some, like Alexey Navalny, a prominent social activist, have in recent years
gained great prominence amongst Russian bloggers and in mass media. Like many others,
Navalny uses his popular LiveJournal blog56 to organize large-scale petitions by Russian
citizens to address different national issues.
Looking at the 9-16 year old age range, the Foundation for Internet Development study found
that 12 per cent blog on a regular basis, more than in any other European country.57 The ‗typical‘
Russian blogger, however, has been shown to be a 22-year-old female from Moscow, according
to a Yandex report from 2010.58
Not all Russian blogs advocate for more rights and/or discuss politics. Many rather focus on
business and finance, as well as movies and other aspects of pop culture.59
51
Yandex, ‗Trends in the Russian Blogosphere‘, Spring 2009 and Berkman Center for Internet and
Society, Public Discourse in the Russian Blogosphere: Mapping RuNet Politics and Mobilization 2010.
52
Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Public Discourse in the Russian Blogosphere: Mapping
RuNet Politics and Mobilization, 18 October 2010.
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/files/Public_Discourse_in_the_Russian_Blogosphere_2010.pdf>
(accessed 20 April 2011).
53
"livejournal.com - Traffic Details from Alexa". Alexa Internet, Inc. 2010,
<http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/livejournal.com> (accessed 16 April 2011).
54
Russia‘s most prominent start-up manager, journalist and a public figure. Founder of the popular online
news sites Vesti.ru, Lenta.ru, Gazeta.ru и NEWSru.com. Former manager of Rambler and SUP Holding.
Founder of the charity foundation Pomogi.org («Помоги.орг»). Since 2009 - Managing Director of United
Media («Объединѐнные медиа»), and a free-lance editor-in-chief of Bfm.ru.
55
Russians Riled by Attacks on Blogging Service, New York Times, 8 April 2011.
56
<http://navalny.livejournal.com/> (accessed 3 June 2011).
57
Soldatova, G., Foundation for Internet Development, Российские и европейские школьники: риски
онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization]. 2010.
58
Yandex, Trends in the Russian Blogosphere, Spring 2009.
59
Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Public Discourse in the Russian Blogosphere: Mapping
RuNet Politics and Mobilization, 18 October 2010.
15. 14
More research in this predominantly peer-produced space would enable a better understanding
of the degree to which adolescents and young people create content, and the role that Internet
can play in promoting dialogue and mobilizing groups.
3.2.3. Commercial
Russian e-commerce
According to a recent study by the Public Opinion Foundation, as much as 24 per cent of all
Russian Internet users, approximately 46.5 million internet users, made a purchase online in the
last month, a 33 per cent increase from August 2010. Among the most popular product
categories are household appliances, cosmetics, clothing, and travel services. This year, the
overall volume of Russian Business-to-Consumer e-commerce could reach as much as $8.75
billion.60 A survey conducted by the children‘s Internet portal Tvidi.ru revealed that 30 per cent
of its users aged 10-16 reported paying for online purchases themselves, compared to 64 per
cent who had their purchases paid for by parents or relatives. Only 1 per cent noted never
having made a purchase online.61
Thus, research shows a high frequency of Internet use by Russian adolescents and young
people, notably on social network sites and blogging platforms, underlining the RuNet
generation‘s desire to be part of an online community.
4. IDENTIFYING SAFETY RISKS
The review of relevant literature revealed that cyberbullying, exposure to adult content,
exposure to extremist content, malicious software and fraud, sharing of personal information
and meeting of strangers are all safety risks associated with Internet use. The literature did not
provide data with regards to hateful content, grooming and gambling, although these safety
issues do likely exist in Russia.
60
Public Opinion Foundation, ‗Новый выпуск бюллетеня ―Интернет в России, Зима 2009/2010‖‘ [New
Issue of the Bulletin ‗Internet in Russia, Winter 2009/2010‘], news release, 24 March 2010,
<http://bd.fom.ru/report/cat/smi/smi_int/int240310_pressr> (accessed 2 June 2011).
61
Rambler, ‗30% юных пользователей сети оплачивают интернет-покупки самостоятельно‘ [30% of
Young Internet Users Pay For Online Purchases Independently], 8 July 2010.
<http://rumetrika.rambler.ru/review/2/4363> (accessed 3 May 2011).
16. 15
4.1 The risks
4.1.1. Malicious software and fraud
Russian Internet users are at a heightened risk of encountering malicious software62 and
fraud63. An estimated 67 per cent of all software is pirated in Russia.64 The use of such illicit
software increases the risk of attacks from viruses and other malware. Cybercrime is a
profitable and highly organized phenomenon in Russia, worth 1.3 billion US Dollars in 2010
according to the research company Group-IB.65 The group also noted a rise in fraud committed
via SMS. For example, one programme took the form of a Valentine‘s Day e-card that users
downloaded to their mobile phones, which then sent text messages from the victim‘s phone to a
premium number.66 In 2010, the Internet security company AVG named Russia the second
country most at risk in the world for malicious software attacks on its ‗Global Threat Index‘,
noting that a user in Russia had a 1 in 15 chance of being attacked on a given day, compared to
the global average of 1 in 73.67
More research is necessary to know to what extent adolescents and young people are exposed
to or affected by malicious software and fraud.
62
Malicious software (often abbreviated to ―malware‖) is ―any software programmes developed for the
purpose of doing harm to a computer system or create mischief. The most common are Viruses, Worms,
and Spyware.‖ Business Software Alliance, ‗Cyber Safety Glossary‘
<http://www.bsacybersafety.com/threat/malware.cfm> (Accessed 24 July 2011).
63
Fraud refers to intentional deception with regards to goods, services or contracts with the aim of
financial gain. Examples of Internet fraud vary from simple fraudulent online sales, where money is taken
but no goods delivered, to more complicated frauds such as re-shipping fraud and advance-fee fraud.
64
Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, ‗Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Russia‘, 2010,
<http://www.iet.ru/en/comments/ob-o-rane-prav-intellektualnoi-sobstvennosti-v-rossii.html> (accessed 30
May 2011).
65
Group IB, ‗«Русский» рынок компьютерных преступлений в 2010 году: состояние и тенденции [
The ‗Russian‘ Computer Crime Market in 2010: Situation and Trends].
<http://www.group-ib.ru/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/GIB-Issl-rynka_2010.pdf> (accessed 2 June 2011).
66
Microsoft ‗SMS Mobile Malware Feelin‘ the Love‘, 11 February 2011,
<http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2011/02/11/sms-mobile-malware-feelin-the-love.aspx>
(accessed 20 April 2011).
67
AVG, ‗New AVG Research Shows Turkey and Russia as Most Risky Places to Surf the Net, Sierra
Leone and Japan Among Safest‘,<http://www.avg.com/ww-en/press-releases-news.ndi-232210> 26
August 2010. (Accessed 24 July 2011).
17. 16
4.1.2. Exposure to adult content68 and child abuse images
Russia criminalizes the illegal production, distribution or sale of pornography in article 242 of the
Russian criminal code69, but fails to define what exactly constitutes pornography.
The research available in the Russian language shows that there is a high exposure of Russian
youth to adult content. In a study led by the Foundation for Internet Development, 40 per cent of
9- to 16-year-old Russians encountered images of a sexual nature on the Internet, with 6 per
cent seeing it daily and 7.6 per cent once or twice a week. The study further states that 33 per
cent of 9- to 16-year-olds see sexual images on social networking sites.70
In 2009, the Ministry of Internal Affairs called VKontakte ―the largest repository of pornographic
materials in the RuNet‖71. The presence of adult content on a site like VKontakte generates
concern, as it is a members-only community with a platform primarily geared to adolescents and
young people. The Russian Internet community, including a number of top Internet company
managers, signed an open letter to the Administration of VKontakte to implore them to introduce
strict content filtering.
In a study focusing on the presence of child abuse images and videos, the Friendly RuNet
Foundation noted growth in the usage of popular social networking sites, file-hosting sites and
photo and video hosting sites for the storage of child abuse images and videos.
While in 2009, 68 per cent of child abuse images and videos could be found on sites specifically
devoted to this type of content, these sites contained only 39 per cent of the content by 2010.72
An increasing amount of child abuse images and videos are now found on social networking
and file-sharing websites, heightening the risk that users with no intention of engaging with this
content will stumble upon it.
68
The terms ‗adult content‘, ‗images of a sexual nature‘ and ‗pornography‘ are used synonymously
throughout this paper.
69
Article 242 states the following: Illegal making for the purpose of distribution or advertising,
dissemination, or advertising of pornographic materials or objects, and likewise illegal trade in printed
publications, cine-and-video-materials, pictures, or any other pornographic objects, shall be punishable
[…], <http://russian-criminal-code.com/PartII/SectionIX/Chapter25.html> (accessed 5 June 2011).
70
Soldatova, G., Foundation for Internet Development, Российские и европейские школьники: риски
онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization]. 2010.
71
Newspepper.su, ‗VKontakte accused Yandex in making the porn‘,
<http://newspepper.su/news/2011/3/23/managers-runet-called-quotvkontaktequot-get-rid-of-porn>
(accessed 15 June 2011).
72
Friendly RuNet Foundation, ‗Отчет о работе горячей линии в 2010 году‘ [Report on The Hotline‘s
Work for 2010], 2010.
18. 17
4.1.3. Exposure to extremist content
Russian government officials have noted the use of the Internet by extremist groups, such as
neo-Nazis and the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI), to spread their messages.73
Extremists advocating violence against minority groups and immigrants have been a problem in
Russia for some time. This study was able to identify only one paper analysing extremist
content on the RuNet. In its 2010 paper entitled Mapping RuNet Politics and Mobilization, the
Berkman Center for Internet and Society explored a range of Russian nationalist bloggers, from
extremists advocating violence against Caucasian and Central Asian immigrants, to more
moderate nationalists focusing on Russian identity. This paper points to evidence of online
political mobilization around often xenophobic nationalist causes, including protests, marches,
calls to support extremists who have been jailed, concerts and other offline initiatives.74
Further research is necessary to know to what extent adolescents and young people are
exposed to, affected by, or engaging with such material.
4.1.4. Sharing of personal information
Social networking sites offer the option for users to display their personal information, including
first and last names, date of birth, city of residence, and name of school. This information
enables one user to find another on the platform, and gives the platform a feel of an authentic
community of friends and acquaintances.
In the Foundation for Internet Development study of 9- to 16-year-olds, it was discovered that 88
per cent listed their last name on their social networking profile, 64 per cent listed their school‘s
name, 25 per cent listed their mobile telephone number and 20 per cent listed their home
address.75 The level of display of private information is therefore quite high on the RuNet,
signaling the need to raise awareness among users on the risks associated with its display.
4.1.5. Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying: child as recipient
According to Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the child, all children have the right to
be protected from all forms of violence while in the care of parents or other caregivers. General
Comment No. 13, of the Committee on the Rights of the Child explains some of the risks that
73
RIA Novosti, ‗Russian Official Warns of Dangerous Growth of Race-hate Groups‘, 28 May 2009
<http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090528/155111787.html> (Accessed 25 July 2011).
74
Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Public Discourse in the Russian Blogosphere: Mapping
RuNet Politics and Mobilization, 18 October 2010.
75
Soldatova, G., Foundation for Internet Development, Российские и европейские школьники: риски
онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization] 2010.
19. 18
children face through ICTs, one of them being cyberbullying: ―As children in contact with others
through ICT, children may be bullied, harassed or stalked (child ―luring‖) and/or coerced, tricked
or persuaded into meeting strangers off-line, being ―groomed‖ for involvement in sexual
activities and/or providing personal information.‖76
Cyberbullying is defined by the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School as the "willful and
repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic
devices".77 Nevertheless, different studies tend to use different definitions and criteria when
carrying out research into the phenomenon, which can yield to inconsistent results.
For instance, in the Russian context, Galina Soldatova, Director of the Foundation for Internet
Development, defines bullying as ―intentional aggressive behaviour, both physical and verbal,
directed against someone who is for some reason considered weaker in order to humiliate
them‖.78 Although bullying existed before the creation of the World Wide Web, the Internet has
magnified the problem by creating a new venue through which bullying can be perpetrated.
When perpetrated online, bullying is eased by the apparent anonymity of the action and
distance from the victim.
A survey conducted by the Foundation for Internet Development reveals that 11 per cent of 9- to
16-year-old Russian respondents have reportedly been bullied on the Internet, 6 per cent
through their mobile phones, and 13 per cent face-to-face.79
When asked about where they encounter cyberbullying, social networking sites emerged as the
leading answer80. Respondents reported cases of insults within a post, as well as instances
where fake pages have been created under the name of the victim to spread insulting content.81
Cyberbullying: child as actor
The literature revealed very little information as to who is perpetrating the cyberbullying. The
only data gathered in this regard stem from the Foundation for Internet Development study,
where 6 per cent of children aged 9-16 admitted to bullying other people on the Internet82.
76
Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/GC/13 , Fifty-sixth session, Geneva, 17 January - 4
February 2011
77
Shrock, Andrew, boyd, danah, Online Threats to Youth: Solicitation, Harassment, and Problematic
Content, Harvard University: Cambridge, 2008
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/RAB_Lit_Review_121808_0.pdf>
(accessed 10 August 2011).
78
Soldatova, G., Foundation for InternetInternet Development, Российские и европейские школьники:
риски онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization].
2010.
79
Ibid.
80
Ibid.
81
Ibid.
82
Ibid.
20. 19
4.1.6. Meeting strangers
Meeting strangers is an opportunity vastly expanded by Internet activity. It can open the door to
potentially long-lasting and/or international relationships, or it can open the door to unwanted
and/or deceitful interactions. With the omnipresence of Internet, many users are accustomed to
the idea of meeting strangers they once talked to online.
This meeting can take several forms. On classifieds websites such as Craigslist in America or
avito.ru in Russia, the buyer and seller may meet to proceed with a transaction. As it is likely a
one-time occurrence, the exposure is typically brief and business-oriented. On a social
networking site or in a chatroom, however, a meeting of strangers is much more likely a
continuation of a more personal, online relationship, and the nature of the meeting will be less
easily defined. There may be a false feeling of safety that comes along with such a meeting, as
the counterparts may have been communicating for a period of time before the face-to-face
meeting and thus feel like they know each other. Social networking sites also provide users the
opportunity to meet friends of friends. This scenario may likewise lead to the feeling that an
offline meeting will be safe, since a friend or acquaintance will have met the person before.
A review of the literature shows that meeting online strangers is a significant occurrence for
Russian children. It should be noted that adolescents and young people might not perceive
strangers as a risk and more as a friend who they have been interacting with online for a longer
period of time. The survey conducted by the Foundation for Internet Development shows that 50
per cent of 9- to 16-year-old Russians constantly interact online with people to whom they are
not connected in any way, while 40 per cent meet these strangers in person. These interactions
are reported to happen mostly on social networking sites, in chatrooms and through online
games.83
As adolescents and young people become increasingly active on the RuNet, they also more
frequently encounter the risks associated with Internet use. While malware, fraud, cyberbullying
and exposure to extremist content all warrant attention, it seems that chatting with and meeting
strangers is the most ubiquitous hazard faced by Russian adolescents and young people today
according to the research findings presented in this paper. Future research will need to carefully
examine the nature of these interactions, to ensure that young RuNet users are not falling prey
to ill-intentioned online contacts.
The research obtained in the course of this exploratory study indicates that the most pressing
and unique risk faced by Russian adolescents and young people is chatting to and meeting
online strangers in real life. Here Russian adolescents and young people seem to sharply
distinguish themselves from their western European counterparts, who are far less likely to
83
Soldatova, G., Foundation for Internet Development, Российские и европейские школьники: риски
онлайн-социализации [Russian and European Schoolchildren: The Risks of Online-Socialization]. 2010.
21. 20
engage in such behaviour84. There is also a strong indication that viewing indecent content such
as adult content and spam is a high risk for Russian adolescents and young people.
5. MONITORING THE RUNET
Russia became party to the CRC at the time of its ratification on August 16, 199085. Russia then
attempted to bring its domestic legislation in accordance with international obligations with
regards to children‘s rights. The Federal Law on Basic Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in
the Russian Federation, enacted on July 21, 1998, repeats all the provisions of the CRC.86 With
the growing use of Internet, particularly among adolescents and young people, steps have been
taken to address the attendant risks that come with digital activity.
Research shows that both governmental and private actors are taking such initiatives. While
governmental actors have typically focused on the adoption of relevant legislation, private actors
have established hotlines where users can denounce indecent content and receive counseling
services if affected by it.
Hotlines for Internet safety
The Friendly RuNet Foundation maintains a hotline to report the presence of child abuse
images and has been very active in pursuing such cases. The Foundation issues an annual
report of its work, detailing the complaints it received, the nature of the content contained in the
complaints, and on what type of sites child abuse images were discovered.87 In June 2011, the
Foundation launched a separate helpline, which allows Internet users to report websites that
promote the use of illegal drugs.88 The work of the Friendly RuNet Foundation led to a total of
nine criminal cases in 2009 and 24 in 2010.89
The Internet Safety League
Talks of improving the policing of the Internet have led to the creation of the Internet Safety
League in February 2011. The Internet Safety League is comprised of the three major mobile
84
Ibid.
85
United Nations Treaty Collection, Chapter IV: Human Rights, 11. Convention on the Rights of Child,
November 20, 1989, <http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-
11&chapter=4&lang=en>.
86
World Organisation Against Torture, Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation, 30 September 2005,
available at: <http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/46af4d420.html>.
87
Friendly Runet Foundation, ‗Отчет о работе горячей линии в 2010 году‘ [Report on The Hotline‘s
Work for 2010], 2010.
88
RIA Novosti, ‗Russian Runet Launches Hotline to Fight Drug Promotion‘
<http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110531/164338344.html> (accessed 3 May 2011).
89
Ibid.
22. 21
providers, Mobile Telesystems, VimpelCom and Megafon, as well as the state telecom company
Rostelecom. The League‘s priority for 2010 was reportedly to fight against child abuse images
and videos. Critics, however, comprised mostly of Russian bloggers and human rights activists,
are skeptical as to whether or not the League will also be used as a tool to further monitor
political dissidents. Considering Russia‘s growing history of monitoring and regulating the
RuNet, this possibility is realistic.
Governmental policing of the Internet
In a 2011 report entitled Freedom on the Net, a study evaluating the level of online freedom
enjoyed by Internet users, Freedom House deems the Russian Internet to be ―partly free.‖
Online monitoring and regulation is a reality on the RuNet, as content is at times removed on
the grounds that it violates Russia‘s laws against extremism. Under article 282 of the Russian
criminal code90, the offence is defined as the ―incitement of national, racial, or religious enmity,
abasement of human dignity, and also propaganda of the exceptionality, superiority, or
inferiority of individuals by reason of their attitude to religion, national, or racial affiliation‖
towards an ―organized group‖. Following a non-transparent procedure, the Russian Ministry of
Justice lists all prohibited materials found on the Internet, and communicates it to Internet
service providers who are instructed to block the content or face legal consequences. In
January 2009, the Ministry of Information and Communication officially required
telecommunications companies and Internet service providers to allow the Federal Security
Service (FSB), to tap telephones and monitor information over the Internet.91 The practice of
exerting pressure on service providers and content producers can result in self-censorship
and/or an exodus of websites to foreign site-hosting providers.92
6. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
The primary limitation of this study lies in the scarcity of literature available on the digital
behaviour and risks faced by adolescents and young people in Russia. This prevented a
thorough cross-referencing of data. There were also no randomized control trials (RCT) of
Russian youth found in the search, though an RCT may have provided a more representative
90
Article 282 states: Actions aimed at the incitement of national, racial, or religious enmity, abasement of
human dignity, and also propaganda of the exceptionality, superiority, or inferiority of individuals by
reason of their attitude to religion, national, or racial affiliation, if these acts have been committed in public
or with the use of mass media shall be punishable by […] The same acts committed: a) with the use of
violence or with the threat of its use; b) by a person through his official position, c) by an organized group,
shall be punishable by […], <http://russian-criminal-code.com/PartII/SectionX/Chapter29.html> (accessed
2 June 2011).
91
United States Government: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Report on Human Rights
Practices. 2009, <http://moscow.usembassy.gov/hrr-2008-russia.html> (accessed 3 May 2011).
92
Freedom House, Freedom On The Net, 2011. <www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=664 2011>
(accessed 24 July 2011).
23. 22
picture of the extent of Internet use in Russia. There was likewise a dearth of literature exploring
Internet use in rural areas, as well as in the North Caucasus and Far East Federal Districts.
This exploratory study has identified several areas for which further research is needed. These
areas include:
Internet usage by rural adolescents and young people
The digital landscapes of North Caucasus, Far East and Siberian Federal Districts
The presence of hateful content, grooming and gambling on the RuNet
The second phase of this project will entail the use of quantitative and qualitative methods to
collect original data on Internet use, access, digital behaviour, and safety risks faced by
adolescents and young people in Russia. Quantitative methods will include a questionnaire with
a large sampling frame. Qualitative research will be conducted primarily through focus groups.
7. CONCLUSION
Although Internet penetration remains low, Russia‘s digital landscape is expanding, particularly
among adolescents and young people. While western societies see its youth corresponding on
major western platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Google, Russian youth have been
interacting on a range of Russian platforms and networks. These sites have been duplicated
and adapted from their western equivalents to not only offer the options available on the
western leading platform, but also to provide features that are favoured by Russian youth, such
as file sharing and blogging. These emerging communication tools play a political as well as
social role, as Russian bloggers discuss serious national topics and address issues that are at
times ignored by the government. Parallel to the spread of ICTs, attendant safety risks have
arisen, including the massive presence of malicious malware on the RuNet, and the high
frequency with which adolescents and young people are talking to and meeting with online
strangers. Russian youth, while enjoying the opportunities created by the digital world, need to
arm themselves with the tools and skills to navigate, judge, create and consume digital content
in a safe and optimal way.
24. 23
GLOSSARY
3G: Generic name for third-generation networks or services under the IMT-2000 banner, for
example W-CDMA. (Source ITU,
<http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/3G/technology/SPU%20Mobile%20Glossary%202003.pdf>).
Access: The right, opportunity, and/or means of finding, using or retrieving information.
(Source: International Standard ISO/TR15489-1, Clause 3.1).
Adolescent: Males and females aged 10-19 years. (Source: United Nations Children‘s Fund
(UNICEF), ―The State of the World‘s Children 2011‖,
<http://www.unicef.org/sowc2011/pdfs/SOWC-2011-Main-Report_EN_02092011.pdf>).
All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM): One of the leading sociological and
market research companies in Russia. <http://wciom.com/>.
Blog: A Web site that contains dated text entries in reverse chronological order about a topic.
Blogs serve many purposes from personal journals to online newsletters. Written by one person
or a group of contributors, entries may contain commentary, observations and opinions as well
as images, audio, video, and links to other sites. (Source: PC Magazine,
<http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=blog&i=38771,00.asp>).
Broadband: A transmission capacity with sufficient bandwidth to permit combined provision of
voice, data and video, with no lower limit. Broadband is implemented mainly through ADSL,
cable modem or wireless LAN (WLAN) services. (Source: ITU
<http://www.itu.int/wsis/tunis/newsroom/stats/The_Portable_Internet_2004.pdf>).
Caucasus: See Federal District.
Chatroom: An online discussion forum. Everyone who is logged into a chatroom sees what
everyone else is typing, although two people can decide to break off and have a private chat.
(Source: PC Magazine,
<http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=chat+room&i=39614,00.asp>).
Child pornography: Child pornography means any representation, by whatever means, of a
child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual
parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes. (Source: Article 2 of the Optional Protocol to the
CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC)).
Cyberbullying: Willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones,
and other electronic devices (Source: Center for International Development at Harvard
University, Information Technologies Group,
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/RAB_Lit_Review_121808_0.pdf>
Cyber café: Public establishments offering access to Internet-enabled terminals in addition to
other services, such as food and drink. Also known as an ―Internet Cafe‖. (Source: Center for
International Development at Harvard University, Information Technologies Group,
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/readinessguide/glossary.htm>).
25. 24
Cybercrime: Refers broadly to any criminal activity that pertains to or is committed through the
use of the Internet. (Source: Center for International Development at Harvard University,
Information Technologies Group,
<cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/Cybercrime.doc>).
Digital Behaviour: The way in which an individual behaves and interacts with other users
online and in groups.
Digital Divide: The gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at
different socio-economic levels with regard to their opportunities to access information and
communications technologies (ICTs) as well as to use the Internet. (Source: Patricia, J.P,
(2003) ‗E-government, E-Asean Task force, UNDP-APDIP‘,
<http://www.apdip.net/publications/iespprimers/eprimer-egov.pdf>).
Digital Media: Digitized content that can be transmitted over the Internet or computer networks.
This can include text, audio, video, and graphics. News from a TV network, newspaper,
magazine, etc. that is presented on a website or blog can fall into this category. (Source: Penn
State University, ―The Fourth Amendment Relating to Technology‖,
<https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/IST432SP11Team14/Definition+of+Digital+Media>).
E-commerce: "The conduct of transactions by electronic means." (Source: Center for
International Development at Harvard University, Information Technologies Group,
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/olds/ecommerce/introduction.html>).
Email (electronic mail): A computer-based form of sending and receiving messages via the
Internet. Users may have their own e-mail account or use a shared account. (Source: Center for
International Development at Harvard University, Information Technologies Group,
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/readinessguide/glossary.html>).
Emerging Economies/Emerging Markets: Developing countries‘ financial markets that are
less than fully developed, but are nonetheless broadly accessible to foreign investors. (Source:
International Monetary Fund (IMF): Global Financial Stability Report 2004).
Far East: See Federal District.
Federal District: Administrative zones composed of several federal subjects, created in order
to more easily facilitate the governing of the country. Each district is headed by a plenipotentiary
envoy, appointed by the president. There are eight federal districts: the Central Federal District,
the Far East Federal District, the North Caucasus Federal District, the North West Federal
District, the Siberian Federal District, the South Federal District, the Urals Federal District and
the Volga Federal District. (See Decree 849 of 13 May 2000 ―On the Plenipotentiary
Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Federal District‖).
Federal Security Service (FSB): An integral part security forces of the Russian Federation
within the authority granted to them to ensure the safety of the individual, society and state.
(Source: Federal Law of 3 April 1995 ―On the Organs of the Federal Security Service in the
Russian Federation‖).
Federal Subject: The federal subject is the basic building block of the Russian federal system.
Federal subjects have varying levels of autonomy but equal representation in the Russian
26. 25
Upper House. (See Chapter III ―The Federal Structure‖ of the Constitution of the Russian
Federation).
File Sharing: Copying files from one computer to another. (Source PC Magazine,
<http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=peer-to-peer+network&i=49056,00.asp>).
Foundation for Internet Development: Organization supporting projects concerning Internet
development, and the development of legal issues concerning the Internet. <http://www.fid.ru>.
Friendly RuNet: Organization contributing to the development of Internet as a safe
environment, friendly to all its users. <http://www.friendlyrunet.ru/en/index.phtml>.
Grooming: ―As children in contact with others through ICT, children may be bullied, harassed or
stalked (child ―luring‖) and/or coerced, tricked or persuaded into meeting strangers off-line,
being ―groomed‖ for involvement in sexual activities and/or providing personal information.‖
<Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/GC/13, Fifty-sixth session, Geneva, 17 January -
4 February 2011>.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs): The building blocks of the Networked
World. ICTs include telecommunications technologies, such as telephony, cable, satellite and
radio, as well as digital technologies, such as computers, information networks and software.
(Source: Center for International Development at Harvard University, Information Technologies
Group, <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/readinessguide/glossary.html>).
Internet: A linked global network of computers in which users at one computer can get
information from other computers in the network. (Source: ITU
<http://www.itu.int/wsis/tunis/newsroom/stats/The_Portable_Internet_2004.pdf>).
Internet-service providers (ISPs): ISPs provide end-users, and other ISPs, access to the
Internet. ISPs may also offer their own proprietary content and access to online services such
as e-mail. (Source: ITU (2009), ―Glossary, Acronyms and Abbreviations‖,
<http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/wtdr_99/material/glossary.html>).
Internet users: Subscribers who pay for Internet access (dial-up, leased line, and fixed
broadband) and people who access to the worldwide computer network without paying directly,
either as the member of a household, or from work or school. The number of Internet users will
always be much larger than the number of subscribers, typically by a factor of 2–3 in developed
countries, and more in developing countries. (Source: ITU <http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict >).
ITU: International Telecommunication Union. The United Nations specialized agency for
Telecommunications, <http://www.itu.int/>.
Malicious Software: (Also known as malware) Any software program developed for the
purpose of doing harm to a computer system or create mischief. The most common are Viruses,
Worms, and Spyware. (Source Business Software Alliance, ―Cyber Safety Glossary‖
<http://www.bsacybersafety.com/threat/malware.cfm>).
Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG): A game on the computer played by many
people. People can log in, join the action and leave whenever they wish, although the game
continues. (Source: PC Magazine
<http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=MMOG&i=56862,00.asp>).
27. 26
Mobile Phone: Portable telephone device that does not require the use of landlines. Mobile
phones utilize frequencies transmitted by cellular towers to connect the calls between two
devices. A mobile telephone service provided by a network of base stations, each of which
covers one geographic cell within the total cellular system service area. (Source: ITU,
<http://www.itu.int/wsis/tunis/newsroom/stats/The_Portable_Internet_2004.pdf>).
Mobile Internet: Internet accessed via mobile devices such as mobile phones through
advanced wireless technologies like Wi-Fi, WiMax, IMT-2000, ultra wideband and radio
frequency identification (RFID) tags. These operate at long, medium and short ranges.
Handheld devices that are Internet enabled could open up the information gateway in a new and
exciting market, that could help further the goals of universal access while challenging
manufacturers and service providers to meet different users‘ needs across the globe. (Source:
ITU, <http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/portableInternet/ExecSummFinal2.pdf>).
Online: A resource that is available over the Internet or a network. (Source: Center for
International Development at Harvard University, Information Technologies Group,
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/readinessguide/glossary.html>).
Online Content: Information that is available online. The "message" rather than the "medium."
(Source: Center for International Development at Harvard University, Information Technologies
Group, <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/readinessguide/glossary.html>).
Penetration: A measurement of access to telecommunications, normally calculated by dividing
the number of subscribers to a particular service by the population and multiplying by 100.
(Source: ITU (2009), ―Glossary, Acronyms and Abbreviations‖, <http://www.itu.int/ITU-
D/ict/publications/wtdr_99/material/glossary.html>).
Platform: A hardware and/or software architecture that serves as a foundation or base.
(Source: PC Magazine
<http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0%2C2542%2Ct%3Dplatform&i%3D49362%2C00.
asp>).
Population: The number of all residents in a country, regardless of legal status or citizenship,
excluding refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum. Data are midyear
estimates. (World Bank, ―Country At a Glance technical notes‖,
<http://go.worldbank.org/WG51XXDWB0>).
Portal: refers to the starting point, or a gateway through which users navigate the World Wide
Web, gaining access to a wide range of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search
engines and shopping malls. (Source: ITU Glossary 1-ITU (2009), ―Glossary, Acronyms and
Abbreviations‖, <http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/wtdr_99/material/glossary.html>).
Randomized Control Trials (RCT): studies that randomly assign individuals to an experimental
variable or to a control group, in order to measure the effects of the intervention. Source: Andre
Marchand, Stephane Guay, Richard Boyer, Soledad Iucci, Annick Martin, Marie-Helene St-
Hilaire, ‗Randomized Controlled Trial of an Adapted Form of Individual Critical Incident Stress
Debriefing for Victims of an Armed Robbery‘, Stanford University School of Medicine, March
2006, Published by Oxford University Press,
<http://btci.stanford.clockss.org/cgi/reprint/6/2/122>).
RuNet: The component of the Internet written in the Russian language.
28. 27
RuNet Echo: Organization which describes itself as ‖a project of Global Voices to expand and
deepen understanding of the Russian language Internet and related online communities‖,
<globalvoicesonline.org/-/special/runet-echo>.
Rural: Any area that cannot be classified as urban. Rural areas are less dense and are usually
devoted to agriculture. The status of a region as urban or rural can change based on the
decision of the federal subject it finds itself in. (See: Legislative Assembly of Krasnoyarsk
Krai. Law 21-5541 of December 26, 2006 ―On Changing the Category of the Settlement of Aban
of Abansky District to That of a Rural Inhabited Locality‖; State Duma of the Russian
Federation. Federal Law 131-FZ of October 6, 2003 ―On General Principles of the Organization
of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation‖).
Search Engine: A web site that maintains an index and short summaries of billions of pages on
the web. Examples include Google and Yandex. (Source PC Magazine
<http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=Web+search+engines&i=54339,00.asp>).
SMS: Short Message Service. A service available on digital networks, typically enabling
messages with up to 160 characters to be sent or received via the message centre of a network
operator to a subscriber‘s mobile phone. (Source: ITU,
<http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/portableInternet/ExecSummFinal2.pdf>).
Social Networking Site: A web-based service that allows individuals to (1) construct a public or
semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they
share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by
others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site
to site. Examples Include Facebook, Odnoklassniki, VKontakte Tvidi.ru and MoiMir. (Source:
Boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007), ―Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship‖,
<http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html>).
Software - The programmes or other "instructions" that a computer needs to perform specific
tasks. Examples of software include word processors, e-mail clients, web browsers, video
games, spreadsheets, accounting tools and operating systems. (Source: Center for International
Development at Harvard University, Information Technologies Group,
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/readinessguide/glossary.html>).
Spam: The abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages, which
are generally undesired. (Source: ITU <http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/cybersecurity/spam.html>).
STELLIT: Russian NGO whose mission is to ―improve the health and social well- being of
people by assisting a broad range of professionals, including policymakers, to implement
evidence-based, efficient social programmes into practice‖. (Source: <http://eng.ngostellit.ru/>).
Urban: In Russia, cities and urban-type localities, officially designated as such, usually
according to the criteria of number of inhabitants and predominance of agricultural, or number of
non-agricultural workers and their families. (Source: UN Demographic Yearbook 2005, UNSD,
<http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/densurb/Defintion_of%20Urban.pdf>).
World Wide Web: The complete set of electronic documents stored on computers that are
connected over the Internet and are made available by the protocol known as HTTP. The World
Wide Web makes up a large part of the Internet. (Source: ITU, <http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict >).
29. 28
Youth/Young People: Males and females, aged 14-24 years old. (Source: United Nations
Children‘s Fund (UNICEF), ―The State of the World‘s Children 2011‖,
<http://www.unicef.org/sowc2011/pdfs/SOWC-2011-Main-Report_EN_02092011.pdf>).