The community-focused approach of Architecture for Humanity in Haiti

When states become hollow, they become brands

Links for 2010-02-08 [del.icio.us]

• Never mind the Edupunks…
• Works – Weblogsky: Jon Lebkowsky's Weblog
• Science in the Open » Blog Archive » Peer review: What is it good for?
  It hasn’t been a real good week for peer review. In the same week that the Lancet fully retract the original Wakefield MMR article (while keeping the retraction behind a login screen – way to go there on public understanding of science), the main stream media went to town on the report of 14 stem cell scientists writing an open letter making the claim that peer review in that area was being dominated by a small group of people blocking the publication of innovative work.
• Leading-ship: reshaping relationships at work « NewUnionism’s Blog
  In an effort to develop an alternative model of leading, a work-in-process began some years ago, seeking to develop a model based on equally-balanced relationships in the workplace. The term “leading-ship” was introduced into this debate by myself in 2006(1). The neologism was considered necessary because the term “leadership” had become so laden with associations, assumptions, perceptions and beliefs that yet another modified interpretation could never help establish a qualitatively new model. If real change were necessary, I felt it must involve a reorientation of language and terminology as well — a paradigm shift to help make the unthinkable thinkable, the unconceivable conceivable. The term leading-ship embodies the function of leading through personalized and internalized processes that involve every person in the workplace. Put simply, leading-ship consciously manifests itself as a contrast to leadership.
• Slashdot IT Story | 95% of User-Generated Content Is Bogus
  it found was that a staggering 95% of User Generated Content is either malicious in nature or spam."
• Germany plans enquiry into the digital society - P2P Foundation
  On 14th January the Christian Democratic Union and its Union partner in the German government the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CDU/CSU) proposed setting up an Enquete Commission to examine the implications of the Internet on society. Amongst other things, the Commission will be asked to look at initiatives for providing free access to publicly-funded research. Could this announcement be connected with the e-petition in support of Open Access (OA) launched in Germany last November? Does it herald a change of heart about OA on the part of the German government?
• Destructive Creation: Internet Disintermediation and the Rise of Efficiency « Generation Bubble
  If Google and its ilk deliver humanity to a post-scarcity paradise by supplanting costly, ponderous brick-and-mortar institutions with cheaper, more efficient virtual ones, what will humanity do with the surfeit of leisure such a transition entails?
• P2P Foundation » Blog Archive » Virtual and physical p2p spaces as a policy against the meltdown
  What do you do when you find yourself with a lot more time and a lot less money on your hands than you’re used to? That may be the most important question of 2010
• P2P Foundation » Blog Archive » Dean Baker’s proposals for the Obama stimulus package
  Great example of how stimulating/promoting/funding open and participatory processes makes economic and policy sense.
• P2P Foundation » Blog Archive » 20 proposals to get beyond the crash
  20 ideas for building a more stable, more local, and more fair economy. “Governments need to act,” says Executive Director of nef, Steward Wallis, “not to shore up and rebuild the old financial system but to help build a new system that serves society instead of acting as its master.”
• Exchange, justice and injustice — keimform.de
  In a recent post Oekonux participant Raoul Victor from France deals with the question, if it is possible to have »no commercial injustice”. Here is the main part of the post
• Welcome to the CiviCRM 3.1 Demo | CiviCRM 3.1 Demo Site
  CiviCRM is a community-based open source project to build constituent relationship management functionality for the nonprofit, advocacy and nongovernmental sectors.
• CiviCRM (en)
  CiviCRM is a powerful web-based relationship management system. It allows you to record and manage information about the various people and organisations that are important to your organisation. CiviCRM is more than just an address book It also allows you to track your interactions with those people and organisations and to get them to engage with, and potentially give money to, your organisation through your website. The information you gather is all stored in one place but you can access it from almost anywhere.

An extraordinary bibliography on participation

Panarchical governance: towards a state that isn’t a state