Technologie en innovatie in Vlaanderen: Prioriteiten.

Vlaanderen;

The Mundane Computer: Non-Technical Design Challenges Facing Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence

Interdisciplinary collaboration, to include those who are not natural scientists, engineers and computer scientists, is inherent in the idea of ubiquitous computing, as formulated by Mark Weiser in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, ubiquitous computing has remained largely a computer science and engineering concept, and its non-technical side remains relatively underdeveloped. The aim of the article is, first, to clarify the kind of interdisciplinary collaboration envisaged by Weiser. Second, the difficulties of understanding the everyday and weaving ubiquitous technologies into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it, as conceived by Weiser, are explored. The contributions of Anne Galloway, Paul Dourish and Philip Agre to creating an understanding of everyday life relevant to the development of ubiquitous computing are discussed, focusing on the notions of performative practice, embodied interaction and contextualisation. Third, it is argued that with the shift to the notion of ambient intelligence, the larger scale socio-economic and socio-political dimensions of context become more explicit, in contrast to the focus on the smaller scale anthropological study of social (mainly workplace) practices inherent in the concept of ubiquitous computing. This can be seen in the adoption of the concept of ambient intelligence within the European Union and in the focus on rebalancing (personal) privacy protection and (state) security in the wake of 11 September 2001. Fourth, the importance of adopting a futures-oriented approach to discussing the issues arising from the notions of ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence is stressed, while the difficulty of trying to achieve societal foresight is acknowledged

Emergence of Foresight Activities in Swedish Government Authorities

This paper discusses and aims to explain the emergence of foresight activities in Swedish government authorities, including environmental scanning and analysis, futures studies and other activities trying to detect and analyse change in the surroundings of the organisation. To explain the growing importance of foresight activities we must consider the increasing administrative authority given to public authorities in recent years, and the development of information technology that has given new technological opportunities to conduct foresight. Furthermore, structural (and institutional) changes - such as globalisation and the development of the EU - created a need and incentives for more foresight activities.Foresight; Futures studies; Swedish government authorities; Public authorities; Information; Information society; Globalisation; Internationalisation; Technological change; EU

Group support systems features and their contribution to technology strategy decision-making: A review and analysis

Collective decision-making processes require careful design considerations in organizations. On one hand, the inclusion of a greater number of actors contribute to a wider knowledge base, on the other, it can become a diffuse process and be distorted from the principles initially established. This paper observes a specific collective decision making process in organizations—technology strategy formulation—and, through a critical review of the literature, analyzes how the advances in features of group support systems support improvements in different stages of this process. This paper also discusses the implications of GSS appropriation in group dynamics.This research was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/ BD/ 33727/ 2009), within the framework of the MIT Portugal Program.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anticipating plausible futures for innovative experimental ecosystems using foresight approach. Case: Design Factory

Change-makers are visionaries who wish to bring change in their respective fields. Design Factory at Aalto University, as an innovative experimental ecosystem with inter-disciplinary principles and new teaching methodologies has been successful and at the forefront in educating the students to be change-makers. The students learn skills, knowledge and are provided with a safe environment that guides them to become a change-maker in their respective fields such as social organizations, entrepreneurship, and careers in start-up or industry. Educating the students to be change-makers will evolve with future; the aim of the study is to holistically anticipate plausible futures for innovative experimental ecosystems utilizing foresight approach. The focus of the study is on Design Factory ways of working, spaces, and teaching methods which will support students in learning by year 20x6{x = 2, 3}. This study is about drawing virtual lines that connect the trends, future drivers, visions, and scenarios, using a contemporary approach that fuses qualitative and quantitative methods. The research on future trends and drivers were performed through semi structured interviews and environmental scanning. The drivers are evaluated through an online survey based on principles of the Delphi method. Further, the drivers are used to build mini scenarios which are further evaluated with the Design Factory stakeholders through a workshop. The results from the study are six future scenarios for the Aalto Design Factory. These results are expected to further foster or trigger new research and development experiments, directions on building radical environments, new teaching methods and ways of working

Envisioning Digital Europe 2030: Scenarios for ICT in Future Governance and Policy Modelling

The report Envisioning Digital Europe 2030 is the result of research conducted by the Information Society Unit of IPTS as part of the CROSSROAD Project - A Participative Roadmap on ICT research on Electronic Governance and Policy Modelling (www.crossroad-eu.net ). After outlining the purpose and scope of the report and the methodological approach followed, the report presents the results of a systematic analysis of societal, policy and research trends in the governance and policy modelling domain in Europe. These analyses are considered central for understanding and roadmapping future research on ICT for governance and policy modelling. The study further illustrates the scenario design framework, analysing current and future challenges in ICT for governance and policy modelling, and identifying the key impact dimensions to be considered. It then presents the scenarios developed at the horizon 2030, including the illustrative storyboards representative of each scenario and the prospective opportunities and risks identified for each of them. The scenarios developed are internally consistent views of what the European governance and policy making system could have become by 2030 and of what the resulting implications for citizens, business and public services would be. Finally, the report draws conclusions and presents the proposed shared vision for Digital Europe 2030, offering also a summary of the main elements to be considered as an input for the future development of the research roadmap on ICT for governance and policy modelling.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ