Nurturing the Accumulation of Innovations: Lessons from the Internet

The innovations that became the foundation for the Internet originate from two eras that illustrate two distinct models for accumulating innovations over the long haul. The pre-commercial era illustrates the operation of several useful non-market institutional arrangements. It also illustrates a potential drawback to government sponsorship – in this instance, truncation of exploratory activity. The commercial era illustrates a rather different set of lessons. It highlights the extraordinary power of market-oriented and widely distributed investment and adoption, which illustrates the power of market experimentation to foster innovative activity. It also illustrates a few of the conditions necessary to unleash value creation from such accumulated lessons, such as standards development and competition, and nurturing legal and regulatory policies.

Nurturing the Accumulation of Innovations: Lessons from the Internet

The innovations that became the foundation for the Internet originate from two eras that illustrate two distinct models for accumulating innovations over the long haul. The pre-commercial era illustrates the operation of several useful non-market institutional arrangements. It also illustrates a potential drawback to government sponsorship – in this instance, truncation of exploratory activity. The commercial era illustrates a rather different set of lessons. It highlights the extraordinary power of market-oriented and widely distributed investment and adoption, which illustrates the power of market experimentation to foster innovative activity. It also illustrates a few of the conditions necessary to unleash value creation from such accumulated lessons, such as standards development and competition, and nurturing legal and regulatory policies.

The Political Nature of TCP/IP

Despite the importance of the Internet in the modern world, many users and even policy makers don’t have a necessary historical or technical grasp of the technology behind it. In the spirit of addressing this issue, this thesis attempts to shed light on the historical, political, and technical context of TCP/IP. TCP/IP is the Internet Protocol Suite, a primary piece of Internet architecture with a well-documented history. After at technical overview, detailing the main function of TCP/IP, I examine aspects of the social and developmental record of this technology using STS theoretical approaches such as Hughesian systems theory, Social Construction of Technology (SCOT), and Langdon Winner’s brand of technological determinism. Key points in TCP/IP evolution, when viewed from an STS perspective, illuminate the varied reasons behind decisions and development of the technology. For example, as detailed in this paper, both technical and political motivations were behind the architectural politics built into TCP/IP in the 1970s, and similar motivations spurred the rejection of OSI protocols by Internet developers two decades later. Armed with resultant contextual understanding of previous TCP/IP developments, a few possible directions (both political and technical) in contemporary and future Internet development are then explored, such as the slow migration to IPv6 and the meaning of network neutrality

Evaluating Sociotechnical Factors Associated With Telecom Service Provisioning: A Case Study

Provisioning Internet services remains an area of concern for Internet service providers. Despite investments to improve resources and technology, the understanding of sociotechnical factors that influence the service-provisioning life cycle remains limited. The purpose of this case study was to evaluate the influence of sociotechnical factors associated with telecom service provisioning and to explore the critical success and failure factors, specifically in the telecommunication industry of Kuwait. Guided by sociotechnical systems theory, this qualitative exploratory case study approach examined a purposeful sample of 19 participants comprising of managers, engineers, and technicians who had the knowledge and experience of the service-provisioning life cycle. Semistructured interviews, project logs, and a self-created follow-up questionnaire were the primary sources of data. Thematic analysis techniques assisted in coding the data and developing themes, which resulted in a set of critical success and failure factors that influence the service-provisioning life cycle. Cross-functional communication, risk management practices, infrastructure availability, and employee skill development were among the emergent factors that influenced the service implementation. Internet service providers may use the results from this study to improve the service-provisioning life cycle. Successful implementations will promote an environment of positive social change that will increase employee motivation, productivity, and employee morale

From diversity to convergence : British computer networks and the Internet, 1970-1995

The Internet's success in the 21st century has encouraged analysts to investigate the origin of this network. Much of this literature adopts a teleological approach. Works often begin by discussing the invention of packet switching, describe the design and development of the ARPANET, and then examine how this network evolved into the Internet. Although the ARPANET was a seminal computer network, these accounts usually only briefly consider the many other diverse networks that existed. In addition, apart from momentary asides to alternative internetworking solutions, such as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seven-layer reference model, this literature concentrates exclusively on the ARPANET, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. While focusing on these subjects is important and therefore justified, it can leave the reader with the impression that the world of networking started with the ARPANET and ended with the Internet. This thesis is an attempt to help correct this misconception. This thesis analyses the evolution of British computer networks and the Internet between the years 1970 and 1995. After an introduction in Chapter 1, the thesis analyses several networks. In Chapters 2 and 3, the focus is on academic networks, especially JANET and SuperJANET. Attention moves to videotex networks in Chapter 4, specifically Prestel, and in Chapter 5, the dissertation examines electronic mail networks such as Telecom Gold and Cable & Wireless Easylink. Chapter 6 considers online services, including CompuServe, American Online, and the Microsoft Network, and the thesis ends with a conclusion in Chapter 7. All of the networks discussed used protocols that were incompatible with each other which limited the utility of the networks for their users. Although it was possible that OSI or another solution could have solved this problem, the Internet's protocols achieved this objective. This thesis shows how the networks converged around TCP/IP

Divergent Paths to a Network World. An Approach to the IT from Savings Banks Industry

This study provides information on how the process of technological globalization was implemented prior to the Internet and what its limits were, which certainly helps to understand how computers are changing the world. One can see divergent patterns in the process of introducing computers (using the worldwide savings bank industry as a reference). However, the foundations of this divergence should be situated within an idiosyncratic and not an asymmetric landscape as a consequence of the role that adoption/appropriation processes (the end-user as an active participant) play in the perspective of technological diffusion

Divergent Paths to a Network World. An Approach to the IT from Savings Banks Industry

This study provides information on how the process of technological globalization was implemented prior to the Internet and what its limits were, which certainly helps to understand how computers are changing the world. One can see divergent patterns in the process of introducing computers (using the worldwide savings bank industry as a reference). However, the foundations of this divergence should be situated within an idiosyncratic and not an asymmetric landscape as a consequence of the role that adoption/appropriation processes (the end-user as an active participant) play in the perspective of technological diffusion

From diversity to convergence : British computer networks and the Internet, 1970-1995

The Internet's success in the 21st century has encouraged analysts to investigate the origin of this network. Much of this literature adopts a teleological approach. Works often begin by discussing the invention of packet switching, describe the design and development of the ARPANET, and then examine how this network evolved into the Internet. Although the ARPANET was a seminal computer network, these accounts usually only briefly consider the many other diverse networks that existed. In addition, apart from momentary asides to alternative internetworking solutions, such as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seven-layer reference model, this literature concentrates exclusively on the ARPANET, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. While focusing on these subjects is important and therefore justified, it can leave the reader with the impression that the world of networking started with the ARPANET and ended with the Internet. This thesis is an attempt to help correct this misconception. This thesis analyses the evolution of British computer networks and the Internet between the years 1970 and 1995. After an introduction in Chapter 1, the thesis analyses several networks. In Chapters 2 and 3, the focus is on academic networks, especially JANET and SuperJANET. Attention moves to videotex networks in Chapter 4, specifically Prestel, and in Chapter 5, the dissertation examines electronic mail networks such as Telecom Gold and Cable & Wireless Easylink. Chapter 6 considers online services, including CompuServe, American Online, and the Microsoft Network, and the thesis ends with a conclusion in Chapter 7. All of the networks discussed used protocols that were incompatible with each other which limited the utility of the networks for their users. Although it was possible that OSI or another solution could have solved this problem, the Internet's protocols achieved this objective. This thesis shows how the networks converged around TCP/IP.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Government Information Quarterly. Volume 7, no. 2: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Programs. Special issue

NASA scientific and technical information (STI) programs are discussed. Topics include management of information in a research and development agency, the new space and Earth science information systems at NASA's archive, scientific and technical information management, and technology transfer of NASA aerospace technology to other industries