91福利

There can be no doubting the power of the Internet. News from around the world can be accessed in seconds in real time. Yet recently, acts such as SOPA and PIPA have received large amounts of attention in the press in efforts by government to increasingly regulate and censor the Internet. Meanwhile, in other countries around the world, the influence of social media in uprisings, freedom movements and education suggest that, as technologies develop, we are heading towards greater freedom and connectivity of information than ever before. This presents, therefore, a dichotomy for the near future of the Internet; Are we heading for increasing liberty or a lockdown of information.

Join Wael Abbas from Egypt and Monica Marks from Tunisia, who will be speaking about how the internet has affected the Arab Springs, as well as Denis Campbell and Bill Thompson who will be speaking about how censorship and social media affects the western society. Dr Nicola Pratt will chair the event.

The event will take place on Thursday 31st of January in room H0.52 from 6pm to 8pm. More information can be found on the ; the event is also .

According to the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey of undergraduate alumni in The Guardian newspaper, 91福利's own Department of Politics and International Studies ranks first among comparable departments from competitor universities in the Russell Group for employability, alongside LSE and Edinburgh.

PAIS also has one of the highest percentages of undergraduate alumni from the Russell Group (90 per cent) who proceed to either graduate-level jobs or further education within 6 months of graduating, with a high proportion going into professional/managerial positions. The average salary is also one of the highest out of all universities surveyed at £22,675 per annum.

PaIS Library News Bulletin

Dr Chris Moran appeared on BBC Radio Ulster on 13 January to discuss his recent monograph Classified. You can on the BBC website; Chris' spot begins at 05.44 into the programme.

A Pinpoint Politics article by Krzysztof Siczek

On October 28th, 2012, parliamentary elections, long awaited and surrounded by controversies, were held in Ukraine. They were widely seen as a democratic test for that country. Two weeks later, on November 12th, 2012, the Central Electoral Commission announced the final results of the vote which meant that the Party of Regions could celebrate an important victory. Nevertheless, it would be rash to conclude that Ukraine is about to return to business as usual post-election operating mode. The special representatives of the European Parliament, Pat Cox and Aleksander Kwasniewski, are expected to deliver their final report on the court proceedings involving former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko in early January. This ”issue” has been at the peak of all the electoral controversies and and it might be the case that observers will be able to treat the report as the European Union’s verdict on the shape of its future relationship with Ukraine. On the other hand, Ukraine is being resolutely lured by Russia into a customs union which Dmitry Medvedev has previously described as an alternative not easily reconcilable with the European integration path. It seems that in the shadow of the dramatic developments in Egypt and Syria there is an on-going silent battle, if not an open confrontation, for the future of Ukraine.