Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Proyecto De Investigación: La Primera Agencia Espacial Mexicana: La Comisión Nacional Del Espacio Exterior (1962-1977), J. R. Joel Flores-Mariscal

J. R. Joel Flores-Mariscal

No abstract provided.

Proyecto De Investigación: Los Mexicanos En Las Operaciones De La Segunda Guerra Mundial, J. R. Joel Flores-Mariscal

J. R. Joel Flores-Mariscal

No abstract provided.

Residential And Business Broadband Prices: Data Appendix, Scott J. Wallsten, James Riso

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

An Economic Overview Of The Implications For Online Video Of The Proposed Comcast-Nbcu Transaction, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

Ubiquitäres Computing – Vision Einer Von Informationstechnologie Durchdrungenen Welt, Michael Friedewald

Michael Friedewald

Das Ubiquitäre Computing hat seine Wurzeln in den wegweisenden Arbeiten von Mark Weiser, der bis zu seinem Tod 1999 als leitender Wissenschaftler am Xerox-Forschungszentrum im Silicon Valley tätig war. Er propagierte schon 1991 in einem visionären Artikel im »Scientific American« den allgegenwärtigen Com- puter, der unsichtbar und unaufdringlich den Menschen bei seinen Tätigkeiten unterstützt und ihn von lästigen Routineaufgaben weitestgehend befreit. Der Computer als sichtbares Gerät sollte nach Weisers Auffassung verschwinden, dessen informationsverarbeitende Funktionalität aber überall verfügbar sein. Heute scheinen wir auf dem Weg dahin schon weit vorangekommen zu sein.

A New Concept For Privacy In The Light Of Emerging Sciences And Technologies, Michael Friedewald

Michael Friedewald

Privacy is recognized as a fundamental human right. It underpins human dignity and other values such as freedom of association and freedom of speech. It has become one of the most important human rights of the modern age. However, privacy is challenged in the net- worked society. New technologies undermine the individual right because they facilitate to collect, store, process and combine personal data for the use of security agencies but also of businesses. In many cases this means that the notion of privacy is losing its value. Thus a new concept seems to be necessary.

Residential Broadband Competition In The United States, Scott J. Wallsten, Colleen Mallahan

Scott J. Wallsten

This paper uses a new FCC dataset on residential broadband subscribership and speeds at the census tract level combined with data from a number of additional sources to explore the state of broadband competition in the U.S. and test the effects of competition on speeds, penetration, and prices.

We find that the number of wireline providers in a census tract is positively correlated with the highest available broadband speeds, even when controlling for housing density, household income, state fixed effects, and endogenizing the number of providers. That is, we find that DSL, cable, and fiber speeds are each significantly higher …

Adaptive Foresight In The Creative Content Industries: Anticipating Value Chain Transformations And Need For Policy Action, Fabienne Abadie, Michael Friedewald, Matthias Weber

Michael Friedewald

This paper discusses the approach adopted to carry out a techno-economic foresight on the creative content industries, within the European Perspectives on the Information Society project. The novelty of the methodology lies in the mix of tools used, the embedding in an adaptive foresight framework and the implementation of a real-time Delphi which lead to interesting methodological lessons. The project succeeded in defining scenarios for the creative content industries, offering distinct trajectories and raising different policy challenges. The impact of the foresight on policy was limited, as it did not lead to direct policy measures, nevertheless, it confirmed some issues …

Hope-In-The-Wall? A Promise Of Free Learning, Payal Arora

Payal Arora

Hole-in-the-Wall as a concept has attracted worldwide attention. It involves providing unconditional access to computer-equipped kiosks in playgrounds and out-of-school settings, children taking ownership of their learning and learning driven by the children's natural curiosity. It is posited that this approach, which is being used in India, Cambodia and several countries in Africa, can pave the way for a new education paradigm and be the key to providing literacy and basic education and bridging the digital divide in remote and disadvantaged regions. This paper seeks to establish why two such open access, self-directed and collaborative learning systems failed to take …

Assessing National Policies To Support Software In Europe, Timo Leimbach, Michael Friedewald

Michael Friedewald

Software and Software Based Services (SSBS) are a major domain of the European ICT industry and is recognised as a key element in developing the Information Society. This article aims to shed light on the various strategies, policies and activities pursued by the EU and their member states. It is based upon a survey of national programmes that are aimed specifically or in substantial part at the software sector. This analysis and assessment usually face two challenges: (1) Unlike other technologies that have the same significance and/or the same attractiveness, the SSBS industry is a very dy- namic one, due …

Sorting Out Smart Surveillance, David Wright, Michael Friedewald, Serge Gutwirth, Marc Langheinrich, Emilio Mordini, Rocco Bellanova, Paul De Hert, Kush Wadhwa, Didier Bigo

Michael Friedewald

Surveillance is becoming ubiquitous in our society. We can also see the emergence of “smart” surveillance technologies and the assemblages (or combinations) of such tech- nologies, supposedly to combat crime and terrorism, but in fact used for a variety of purposes, many of which are intrusive upon the privacy of law-abiding citizens. Following the dark days of 9/11, security and surveillance became paramount. More recently, in Europe, there has been a policy commitment to restore privacy to centre stage. This paper examines the legal tools available to ensure that privacy and personal data protection are respected in attempts to ensure …

Collaborative Community-Based Natural Resource Management, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

This article analyzes the importance of increasing civil society actor access to and influence in international legal and policy negotiations, drawing from academic scholarship on governance, conservation and environmental sustainability, natural resource management, observations of civil society actors, and the authors’ experiences as participants in international environmental negotiations.

Emerging Law Addressing Climate Change And Water, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

The World Economic Forum recognizes that while restrictions on energy affect water systems and vice versa, energy and water policy are rarely coordinated. The International Panel on Climate Change predicts that wet places will become wetter and dry places will become dryer. Transboundary water, energy and climate coordination can occur through international consensus building.

The Neoliberal University And Agricultural Biotechnology: Reports From The Field, Wilhelm Peekhaus

Wilhelm Peekhaus

Following in the footsteps of a variety of previous research that elaborates on the current state of affairs in academia, this article sets out the argument that neoliberalism and its corresponding iterations of science and technology and research funding policies in this country have implications for the types of knowledge that can be generated within and communicated without contemporary institutions of higher education. Using agricultural biotechnology as the lens through which to focus analysis, the article outlines a number of empirical examples that illustrate how the free flow of knowledge either critical of or not readily appropriated by capital is …