Testing the spirit of the information age

Every age has a 'spirit," The Information Age seems to be a more extreme case than most eras, with the constant barrage of messages promising social and individual salvation. Information and information technology are heralded as\ud great, new possibilities not just for reform but perfection, with some even predicting the end of physical death (using information technology. by the end of the next century. The intensity of our current period's fascination with technology is partly due to the technology itself-ideas or sales pitches get out to more people more quickly than ever before in history, and, as a result it\ud is easy to be blinded by all the promises and hype. It is no accident that ideas like "ecommerce" and "knowledge management' are unifying concepts for many in this era, but although there is nothing intrinsically wrong with them, there is something amiss with how they are discussed. This essay comments on the latter issue, the hyperbole of the Information Age, from three perspectives: 1) as a consumer of information technology; 2) as an educator in a field (archives and records management) utilizing information technology; and 3) as an individual convinced about the relevancy of basic Judaic-Christian beliefs as one means to shift critically the many conflicting and confusing messages promulgated by the so-called modern Information\ud Age

From Apps to Liquid Multi-Device Software

AbstractThe recent history of software development has witnessed a battle between web-based software and native apps. At this point, native apps seem to be winning especially in mobile computing. In fact, the trend towards mobile apps seems to be strengthening with the increased popularity of “branded” apps. Such apps are rapidly replacing the use of traditional system applications in mobile devices. We argue that the transition to branded apps by no means predicts the demise of the Web as a software platform. However, there is still work ahead in turning the Web into a platform that can compete with dominant native platforms. At the same time, the focus in the industry is moving from PC and smartphone markets towards new device categories. In our view the industry needs to shift its focus from devices and device-specific apps to liquid software, i.e., multi-device experiences that allow people to use all of their devices seamlessly

Too Big to Fail, Too Blind to See

Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin offers a meticulous re-telling of one of the most important periods in recent history. As regulators, bankers, lawyers, scholars, and other interested parties sift through the rubble in search of knowledge about the crash, Too Big to Fail serves both as a chronicle of the recent past and a cautionary tale for the immediate future. Acknowledging past missteps, uncovering root causes, and correcting systemic shortcomings to prevent similar failure is arguably the key economic and regulatory challenge of our time. Part I of this Essay summarizes key episodes of the financial crisis as covered by Too Big to Fail. Part II examines a potential explanation of the crisis unexplored in the book in light of the decline of neoclassical economic theory and the emergence of behavioral economic theory

Too Big to Fail, Too Blind to See

Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin offers a meticulous re-telling of one of the most important periods in recent history. As regulators, bankers, lawyers, scholars, and other interested parties sift through the rubble in search of knowledge about the crash, Too Big to Fail serves both as a chronicle of the recent past and a cautionary tale for the immediate future. Acknowledging past missteps, uncovering root causes, and correcting systemic shortcomings to prevent similar failure is arguably the key economic and regulatory challenge of our time. Part I of this Essay summarizes key episodes of the financial crisis as covered by Too Big to Fail. Part II examines a potential explanation of the crisis unexplored in the book in light of the decline of neoclassical economic theory and the emergence of behavioral economic theory

A machine for tribological experimentation on indexing continuous media with specific application to semiconductor testing

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (p. 103).Technology was developed to facilitate electrical contact tribology experiments on continuous media, dramatically reducing the difficulty of employing virgin material for each test. Specifically, a tester was designed to accurately reproduce semiconductor contactor operating environments while measuring contact resistance in-situ, thereby effecting the study of operating temperature, test current, cleaning method, and cleaning interval on contactor life. To manipulate the continuous media while preserving exact constraint, novel web handling machine elements were devised. Universal joints and beam type flexible couplings were employed for gimballing and castering axes, both at standard caster radii and at roller center. A kinematic edge constraint was designed. The torque transmission properties of clamped connections were alloyed to the favorable kinematics of typical pinned type connections by compliantly mounting a spherical roller bearing as a pinch roller.by Alexander D. Sprunt.S.M

Building Universal Digital Libraries: An Agenda for Copyright Reform

This article proposes a series of copyright reforms to pave the way for digital library projects like Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and Google Print, which promise to make much of the world\u27s knowledge easily searchable and accessible from anywhere. Existing law frustrates digital library growth and development by granting overlapping, overbroad, and near-perpetual copyrights in books, art, audiovisual works, and digital content. Digital libraries would benefit from an expanded public domain, revitalized fair use doctrine and originality requirement, rationalized systems for copyright registration and transfer, and a new framework for compensating copyright owners for online infringement without imposing derivative copyright liability on technologists. This article\u27s case for reform begins with rolling back the copyright term extensions of recent years, which were upheld by the Supreme Court in Eldred v. Reno. Indefinitely renewable copyrights threaten to marginalize Internet publishing and online libraries by entangling them in endless disputes regarding the rights to decades- or centuries-old works. Similarly, digital library projects are becoming unnecessarily complicated and expensive to undertake due to the assertion by libraries and copyright holding companies of exclusive rights over unoriginal reproductions of public domain works, and the demands of authors that courts block all productive digital uses of their already published but often out-of-print works. Courts should refuse to allow the markets in digital reproductions to be monopolized in this way, and Congress must introduce greater certainty into copyright licensing by requiring more frequent registration and recordation of rights. Courts should also consider the digitizing of copyrighted works for the benefit of the public to be fair use, particularly where only excerpts of the works are posted online for public perusal. A digital library like Google Print needs a degree of certainty - which existing law does not provide - that it will not be punished for making miles of printed matter instantly searchable in the comfort of one\u27s home, or for rescuing orphan works from obscurity or letting consumers preview a few pages of a book before buying it. Finally, the Supreme Court\u27s recognition of liability for inducement of digital copyright infringement in the Grokster case may have profoundly negative consequences for digital library technology. The article discusses how recent proposals for statutory file-sharing licenses may reduce the bandwidth and storage costs of digital libraries, and thereby make them more comprehensive and accessible

Inhabiting the virtual city : the design of social environments for electronic communities

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (p. [101]-111).Judith Stefania Donath.Ph.D