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Article Alert

Article Alert - February 2011

The U.S. Embassy's Information Resource Center is pleased to offer you Article Alert, the monthly current awareness publication of the Information Resource Center, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs, Bangkok, Thailand. It offers abstracts of approximately 25 current articles and policy briefs from leading American journals and think tanks in six thematic areas with an emphasis on East Asian regional affairs. The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect U.S. government policies.

Full Text Availability: Hyperlinks to full texts are provided for U.S. government documents. Full hard copy texts of non-U.S. government documents are available upon request to IRC service subscribers only. To request full texts, please contact us at irc@state.gov, tel: 02-205-4640; or fax: 02-650-8918, citing the article number(s). Current and back issues of Article Alert are also available in our homepage.  

Spotlight: Political Freedom in Cyberworld

  • "Democracy in Cyberspace"Ian Bremmer. Foreign Affairs, November/December 2010, 8 pages.

The author, President of Eurasia Group, examines the relationship between cyberspace and political liberalization, focusing on the impact of information technology on political development of authoritarian states.

  • "The Political Power of Social Media"Clay Shirky. Foreign Affairs, January/February 2011, 14 pages.

The author, a professor of New Media at New York University, examines the ubiquity of social media as a political force and the impact of the rise of the Internet on political freedom and civil society worldwide.

U.S. Politics

  • “President Obama at Mid-Term”Stefan Halper. International Affairs, January 2011, 11 pages.

The author, Director of Political-Military Studies at the Nixon Center, examines President Obama’s situation at the mid-term elections, focusing on debated political issues and the implications of Republican control of the House of Representatives for both legislation and relations between the administration and Congress, then analyze the President’s chance of getting re-elected in 2012.

Human Rights

  • “Obama and Human Rights: Continuity and Change”Sean Aughey. World Today, January 2011, 3 pages.

The author, an expert of the International Law Program at Chatham House, examines the progress that U.S. President Barack Obama has made in terms of bolstering human rights.

World Financial Crisis

  • "Can Developing Countries Continue to Lead Global Growth?"Otaviano Canuto. International Economic Bulletin, January 20, 2011, 2 pages.

The author, the World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, examines new economic challenges that policy makers in developing countries must confront and how to maintain the economic policies that supported their growth before and during the crisis.

  • “The Rise of the New Global Elite”Chrystia Freeland. The Atlantic, January/February 2011, 10 pages.

The author, a global editor-at-large for Reuters, discusses the shrinking middle class and the increasing divide between modern plutocrats and the middle and working classes, focusing on the global economic elites and their reaction to the great financial recession of the early 21st century.

How can the United States avoid a type of rejection by global financial markets that would cause a truly sharp decline in its global role?  The authors discuss the accumulation of significant public debt in the United States and its impact on American power and security.

  • "Liftoff or Cold Shower? The Economy in 2011"John H. Makin. AEI Economic Outlook, January 2011, 4 pages.

The author, a resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, examines the U.S. economic growth and the prospect of economy in 2011, focusing on the risks that threaten global economic recovery.

According to the authors, the current global economic crisis is being fostered due to inflating food prices and concern about the stability of the U.S. economy.  They examine the potential for major economic concerns during the year 2011 and for global economic growth.

Asian Rising

  • “Is Asia's Rise Inevitable?”Lord Malloch-Brown. Asian Affairs, November 2010, 12 pages.

The author, a former Deputy Secretary-General and Chief of Staff of the United Nations, analyzes the rise of Asia and the challenges it faces.

U.S. Foreign policy

  • "Taking Soft Power Seriously"Matthew Kroenig et al. Comparative Strategy, November 2010, 19 pages.

The authors develop a theory about the conditions under which states will best be able to apply soft power to achieve specific foreign policy objectives, and its implications for international relations theory and U.S. foreign policy.

  • “Intensive Care for the United Nations"Thomas Weiss. Current History, November 2010, 7 pages.

The author, a professor of political science and director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, examines the prospects of the United Nations and the U.S. engagement under the Obama administration.

Nuclear non-Proliferation

  • “A Deeply Flawed Fuel Bank”Amitai Etzioni. World Policy Journal, Winter 2010, 8 pages.

The author, a professor of International Relations at the George Washington University, examines whether the fuel bank -- a stockpile of enriched uranium held by a global consortium to halt nuclear proliferation -- will actually prevent or promote the spread of nuclear weapons.

Journalism and Social Media

  • “R U Tweeting 2 Much?”Andrew Ferguson. Commentary, January 2011, 2 pages.

The author, a senior editor of The Weekly Standard and a columnist for Bloomberg News based in Washington, discusses the role the micro-blogging website Twitter plays in the world of journalism and whether the information provided on Twitter benefits or harms the journalism industry.

  • “Retreating from the World”Jodi Enda. American Journalism Review, Winter 2010, 14 pages.

The author, a Washington-based journalist, discusses the rise of startup news organizations dedicated to covering foreign news in the wake of decreased foreign coverage from traditional U.S. news agencies.

Digital World and Information Technology

  • “Information Overload, Then and Now”Ann Blair. The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 3, 2010, 4 pages.

The author, a professor of history at Harvard University, discusses information overload through an exploration of the vast amounts of information that exist in regards to texts and digital data.

The author, a contributor to Teaching Tolerance, discusses bullying and cyberbullying among high school students and ways parents and schools can help stop its effects.

Environment and Climate Change

  • “Globalisation and Climate Change in Asia: The Urban Health Impact”Barry Munslow and Tim O'Dempsey. Third World Quarterly, December 2010, 18 pages.

The authors examine the impact of globalization and climate change across Asia, and explore the most pressing challenges that Asians face.

  • “Energetic Cities”Paul Sullivan. World Policy Journal, Winter 2010, 3 pages.

The author, a National Defense University Adjunct Professor, stresses the critical need for a "green metropolis," and explores the ways in which cities in developed nations are slashing fossil-fuel dependency while improving the quality of life.

  • “Drifting in Static”Leslie Allen. National Geographic, January 2011, 3 pages.

The author explores the impact that a global increase in man-made noise, including noise from ocean shipping traffic, is having on the behavior and communication styles of several aquatic animals including fish, baleen whales and right whales.

Education

  • “The Elements of Clunk”Ben Yagoda. The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 7, 2011, 5 pages.

The author, a professor of English at University of Delaware, discusses frequent mistakes that college students make when writing for college assignments and provides explanations regarding the grammatical errors found in the passages.

  • “Online Education vs. Traditional Learning: Time to End the Family Feud”Mark David Milliron. The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 5, 2010, 4 pages.

The author discusses how college teachers can use teaching methods from traditional and online learning to ensure that students will succeed academically.

The authors examine appropriate teaching methods for teachers to use in literacy development programs designed for limited English-proficient students.

Library Trends

  • “Taking the Social Web to the Next Level”Marshall Breeding.  Computers in Libraries, September 2010, 3 pages.

The author, a director for Vanderbilt University Libraries’ Innovative Technologies and Research, discusses ways by which libraries can increase the use of their services and resources using online social networks.

  • “Librarians Forever!”Loretta Gharst. Computers in Libraries, December 2010, 6 pages.

The author, a head of Calcasieu Parish Public Library’s Collection and Computing Services, examines the impact of technology on the core of library service including organizing, providing access and guiding others in the use of materials.

The author, an associate professor at the Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science, presents an interview with award-winning public domain advocate Carl Malamud in which he discusses steps including his collaborations with libraries that he has taken to make government information available to the public.