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My condolences for Prof. Chris Brown-Syed relatives. Dear Terri, Terri L. Lyons, and Chris and Terri children Colin and Kiera, my most sincere condolences for the passing of my friend Chris Brown-Syed. I never met Chris in person, but we became good friends since he went to teach at SUNY-Buffalo where I did my MLS in 2001, and lately we had many of my postdoctoral projects in mind together in which he helped me a lot and kindly and unselfishly. We planned to publish a book on geopolitifcs of information about information flow among the north/south centre/periphery developed/emerging nations - after the Internet - and about the notions of "information as a commodity" v. "information as a social good", updated for the present century. E.g. Many More Voices: new frontiers in the geopolitics of information. Edited by Christopher Brown-Syed. Along with other colleagues such as: Concept: Anthony Smith's Geopolitics of Information and the report of the commission headed by Sean McBride, Many Voices One World had tremendous influence upon the agendas of IFLA and Unesco during the period between the early 1980s and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Much concern was expressed in those forums concerning uneven flows of communication between the more developed nations of the North or West, and the emerging nations of the South or East. Galtung characterized the situation as one in which the developed nations at the "centre" dominated the culture of the less developed countries at the "periphery". The proposals of the New World Information and Communications Order (NWICO) and the New International Economic Order (NIEO), were responses to these concerns, but in turn raised tensions at the United Nations, and at times contributed to the bitter acrimony of the era. It was partly because of these agendas that the United States, Britain, and Singapore withdrew from Unesco during the 1980s. How have the global Internet, the rise of citizen journalism, and the geopolitical reality of a single superpower, coupled with the rise of new economic powers, China and India, affected the flow of information between the centre and the periphery? Is a new new world order emerging in the information realm? This book draws upon the experience of journalists, librarians, and global development specialists with experience in both the new centre and the new periphery, to explore those impacts. Plan of the Book In this volume of contributed chapters, Christopher Brown-Syed, PhD in the geopolitics of information and library educator, updates his popular 1992 paper, ////, recapping the original controversy, and setting the tone for subsequent chapters. < http://web.archive.org/web/20080228001749/http://valinor.ca/csyed_libres3.html > Flor Cubero, PhD in the geopolitics of information and librarian at the UN University for Peace, covers changes in Central and South America. Christopher Schwartz, MA in political science and new media journalist, discusses changes in the former Soviet Central Asian republics. [Unconfirmed], discusses developments in communications and new media within Russia itself. Thomas Ledwell, broadcast journalist with BBC World Service and CBC, PhD candidate in political science (defending this fall), on broadcasting about development issues. [Unconfirmed], PhD in Information Studies, discusses the impact in India. The concluding summary recapitulates the major points raised by contributors, and suggests possible outcomes. Zapopan M. Muela-Meza, PhD, Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK, updates his papers "age of the corporate state versus informational and cognitive public domain" <http://eprints.uanl.mx/705/ >; information liberation as a condition for the liberation of information access and the commons of information < http://eprints.rclis.org/bitstream/10760/6214/1/26.pdf > geopolitifcs of information about information flow among the north/south centre/periphery developed/emerging nations - after the Internet - and about the notions of "information as a commodity" v. "information as a social good", It is a great loss for all of us who had the great chance to meet him and work with him! My most sincere condolences to all of his relatives and people who cared about him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For all the colleagues who were invited to his book plan, I will try to continue with his idea if any of you may like to contact me off-line to not let fade away Chris' major late endavour so we'll pay homage to his ideas by continuing them. Professor Chris will be very missed in our lives and profession!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And yes Prof. Lorna, we have missed a very special person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 sincerely yours truly, Dr. Zapopan Martín Muela-Meza LIS Adjunct Professor, UANL Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico March 12, 2012. http://www.uanl.mx/universidad/persona/investigador/zapopan-martin-muela-meza.html On Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 5:52 PM, Gretchen Whitney <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2012 11:46:53 -0500 > From: Lorna Peterson <[log in to unmask]> > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Dr. Christopher Brown-Syed, 1951-2012 > > Dear Colleagues, > > It is with great sadness that I share the news that Chris Brown-Syed has > passed away. Chris was on the University at Buffalo LIS faculty as a > visiting assistant professor 2001-03 and then a tenure track faculty member > from 2003-2008. He was also a faculty member at Wayne State University and > had taught part time for San Jose State University, University of Arizona, > and most recently taught for Seneca College, in Toronto. With his BA degree > from York University (Canada), and MLS and PhD degrees from the University > of Toronto, Chris Brown-Syed made many contributions to Library and > Information Science research and educated many in the library, archives, > museums, and information professions. > > Many of you will remember him for his dry wit and calm ways. He had > recently published the book: Parents of Inventions: The Development of > Integrated Library Systems in the 1970s and 1980s, ABC Clio 2011. This is a > work regarding his time with Geac, Plessey Canada, and other vendors and is > a "a soft-systems analysis of vendors and customers during the > mini-computer era." > > Chris was editor of the refereed journal Library & Archival Security > since 1998, the author of many articles and chapters in books, an > admired teacher, international traveler, and a scholar and gentleman > in the truest sense of the words. > > As one colleague stated about Chris, he was " ...inspirational, > motivational, innovative, and one who proved that there are tremendous > wonders underneath and all you had to do was pick up the rock to find > something new and different." > > We have lost a very special person. > > > lp > > Lorna Peterson > University at Buffalo > > -- Dr. Zapopan Martín Muela Meza, PhD <http://star.shef.ac.uk/TalisPrism/doOpenURLSearch.do?sid=Talis:prod_talis&pid=Key%3A2503241%3BArtifactType%3AMarc21Slim%3BsearchLocation%3Atalislms> Doctor in Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK<http://star.shef.ac.uk/TalisPrism/doOpenURLSearch.do?sid=Talis:prod_talis&pid=Key%3A2503241%3BArtifactType%3AMarc21Slim%3BsearchLocation%3Atalislms> zapopanmuela[nospam]gmail.com http://sites.google.com/site/zapopanmuela/ =a=l=e=j=a=c=t=a=e=s=t=i=n=h=o=c=s=i=g=n=o=v=i=n=c=e=s============ *"Only true persons are those who free man from* *the chains that imprison his reason" -- Maxim Gorky, novel The Mother, 1907 * *c=a=v=e=n=e=c=a=d=a=s=s=i=v=i=s=p=a=c=e=m=p=a=r=a=b=e=l=l=u=m==== "Sólo son verdaderas personas quienes arrancan al hombre las cadenas que sujetan su razón." --Máximo Gorki, novela La madre, 1907 * =v=i=c=t=o=r=a=e=t=e=r=n=u=s=b=e=l=l=u=m=d=i=x=i=v=i=c=t=o=r=i=a====