Kahn and Kellner:"Virtually Democratic:Online Communities and Internet Activism"

Summary
Kahn & Keller described the Internet as a "consisted terrain" in which alternatives subcultural forces and online communities are articulated in opposition to more reactionary, conservative, and dominant groups.
There are potential risks to promote terrorists' act, for example, Al Qaeda used the Internet to plan the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. And the political battles between "hacktivists" and governments or corporations are occuring in the Internet.
However, the authors accepted as these situations are at least in part a positive development that opens radical possibilities for a greater range of opinion, new models of virtual and actual political communities, and novel forms of direct action.
Using information and communication technologies(ICTs), online communities such as blogs and wikis can promote democracy and social justice on local and global scales, therefore, the authors suggested two points. First, those interested in the politics and culture of the future should be on the important role of the alternative public spheres. Second, critical cultural theorists and activists have to educate students around the cultural and subcultural literacies in order to enable them to participate in the ongoing struggle inherent cultural politics.

My reaction
I agree the authors' opinion that the globalization-from-below will be increasing. For example, 10/15 was the "Blog Action Day" which newly established this year. On the day, bloggers around the world are encouraged to write post freely on a same theme like "environment".

Barabasi: The Third Link

1. What is the principle of six degrees of separation? What number of social links does any one person need to be connected to global society? p. 30
The principle of six degrees of separation is that any pairs of two people are separated on average by six links from each other regardless where they are.

2. How is the fabric of society today different from pre-internet society? p. 31
Due to the recently-emerged system of URLs, our societies are stitched together.

3. How many more links separate any pair of web pages compared to people in society? What can explain the difference? p. 34
Any pages of the Web is on average nineteen clicks away from any other, while people in society are separated by only six other people. The difference between six to nineteen is caused by the factor that the Internet is huge far more than our society.

4. So far, what ranges of separation have network scientists discovered in different kinds of networks? p. 34
Network scientists discovered a wide variety of networks, such as, network of food webs, mollecules in the cell, scientists in different fields, and the neurons in the brain of the C.elegans.

5. What does research suggest about the fundamentals of networks? p.34-35
The research suggests that as we add more links, the distance between the nodes suddenly become very short. And the origin of small separation is explained as a logarithmic term presented in a mathematical formula.

6. What is your estimate of your personal number of connections to society? What connections are your strongest?
I'm not sure about the number of connections, but maybe I have almost ten type of connections to society so far. For example, family, schools, cram schools, neighborhoods, church, piano, intern, part-time, volleyball club, and getting friend with someone who is friend of a friend. And I think the connection related to my school days is strongest.

Barabasi: The First Link

Q1. What elements or factors were critical to Paul's success in spreading the Christian message?

There seems two factors which made Paul's effort achieved. First, in order to spread Christianity beyond Judaism, he continued evangelizing without demanding circumcision and forcing strict food laws. In addition to that abolishment of high barriers to becoming a Christian, he reached to the biggest communities of his era so that he could reach and convert as many as possible.


Q2. Barabasi asks the question, "Could it happen again?" (p.4), what is your answer?

Though delivering of information around the world could be happen faster than Paul's era, I think there are so many information that we couldn't put importance on each news. So converting could be occurred at various place on the world, but not in big fever.


Q3. What new kinds of maps have been made of our interconnectivity (p.5)? What kinds of interconnectivity would you like to see mapped?

Map of the Internet, companies connected by trade or ownership, interaction between species in ecosystems, and genes in cell have been made. I would like to see mapped how connect the academic relationships between proffessors in Tokyo regardless which university they belong now.


Q4. What is the 'real surprise' (p.5) that such maps have revealed?
Personally, does this surprise you?

'Real surprise' is that highly simple and far-reaching natural laws govern the construction and evolution of all the complex networks that surround us. And I was surprised by that.


Q5. How does the author define the nature of most scientific research in the 20th Century? What is the problem associated with such an approach (p.6-7)?

The author difines the way of research as reductionism. However, since nature is more complexed than scientists expect, this approach can not reach understanding the universe as a whole.


Q6. What does Barabasi predict will be the new focus of scientific research in the coming era (p.7)? What is your view?

He predicts that the research by scientific community will be focused on social networks responding to the future domination of our life by the Internet.
And I agree his opinion due to my own experiences of changing life style caused by the Internet.