DiploNews – Issue 30 – 22 February 2001
Language and Diplomacy Conference Website
Following the International Conference on Language and Diplomacy in Malta, from 26 – 28 January 2001, we have updated the conference website to include all papers presented at the conference, in hypertext format. The conference offered a unique opportunity for partipants to exchange views on the use of language in diplomacy, and papers approach the topic from a variety of angles, both academic and based on experience. To access these papers visit the "documents" section of the conference website.
The Diplo MultiMedia team has created a CD ROM record of the conference, which includes all conference papers, complete audio recording of the conference, video clips of conference hightlights and more. For more information about this CD or to order a copy, visit the conference website.
Will technology protect individual privacy?
In an article in the March issue of the Atlantic Monthly, Toby Lester examines the growing concern over protection of privacy with the introduction of new technologies. Lester points out that although throughout history people have associated new technologies with potential invasion of privacy, in fact, "contemporary notions of privacy have in many cases evolved not despite new technology but because of it". The simplest example is that the invention of one of the earliest technologies – writing – made private communication possible. As new technologies emerge, such as the Internet, which potentially pose a threat to privacy, a market has been created for services to protect privacy, and technology is developing new means for such protection. Lester writes "There is serious talk of building privacy protection into the infrastructure of the Internet, and of using such protection, paradoxically, to make the flow of information freer than ever before."
To read the article, visit website.
Measuring Globalisation
Everyone is talking about globalisation as the defining feature of our era. However, few attempts have been made to actually measure globalisation and its effects. An article in the January/February 2001 issue of Foreign Policy Magazine introduces the "A.T. Kearnery/Foreign Policy Magazine Globalisation Index", which was developed to measure the pace of global integration. Based on the findings of the index, the article reports that "much of the conventional wisdom cherished by both champions and critics of globalization collapses under the weight of hard data, ranging from the pace and scale of global integration and the characteristics of the "digital divide" to the impact of globalization on income inequality, democratization, and corruption." The article examines the role of information technologies in globalisation as a means of communication, for spreading cultural values and ideologies, in the forming of global communities and especially in economic integration. Among other things, the Index indicates that the digital divide is growing rather than shrinking.
To read the article, visit website.
Subscribe to Diplo's News
