Communications

The communications sector of an economy comprises a range of technologies, physical media, and institutions/rules that facilitate the storage of information through means other than a society\u27s oral tradition and the transmission of that information over distances beyond the normal reach of human conversation. This chapter provides data on the historical evolution of a disparate range of industries and institutions contributing to the movement and storage of information in the United States over the past two centuries. These include the U.S. Postal Service, the newspaper industry, book publishing, the telegraph, wired and cellular telephone service, radio and television, and the Internet

The ECHELON Trail: An Illegal Vision

This article tells the story behind the uncovering of the US operated global telecommunications interceptions system now known as ECHELON. It begins with the use of fieldwork techniques in the early 1970's exploring the configuration of Britain's Post Office Towers – these were ostensibly the microwave links through which Britain's long distance telephone calls were made. This modelling process revealed a system within the system of microwave towers linked to the American Base of Menwith Hill in the North York Moors. All the key researchers were then promptly arrested, a raid by Special Branch on the author's university at Lancaster ensued and later a show trail for the other main researchers, most notably Duncan Campbell. Eventually in 1988, Duncan wrote up the ECHELON story, which for its time was an incredible piece of detective work using materials lifted from waste bins by the women activists campaigning around the Menwith Hill Base. Little notice was taken until 1997 when an obscure book by Nicky Hager, Secret Power explained the role and function of ECHELON in more depth. The author represented these findings in a policy report to the European Parliament on the technology of political control that led to a process of political debate and disagreement of the ethics of such a system which continues even today

Program on application of communications satellites to educational development. Computer-based instruction: A background paper on its status, cost/effectiveness and telecommunications requirements

Status, cost/effectiveness, and telecommunication/satellite requirements of computer-based instructio

Between reason of state and reason of market: the developments of internet governance in historical perspective

“No sovereignty, no elected government, no authority, no borders”. It was exactly twenty years ago, John Perry Barlow proclaimed his Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace. And those were his keywords. Today, we can say that the development of Internet governance as a global policy arena is the answer to the questions that Barlow believed irrelevant to the proper development of cyberspace. If founding myths about an ungovernable, borderless, and intangible Internet have been demolished, what power relations have emerged in the Internet governance arena? What are the ideas –or the normative values– that sustain and legitimize the political role of governmental and nongovernmental actors? And, finally, is the multi-stakeholder model capable of grasping the real conflicts over political power, or is it part of those conflicts, a narrative supporting specific interests and coalitions? The main aim of this article is to consider these issues by analysing the developments of political conflicts over Internet governance, from the IAHC to WSIS, until recent processes such as the WCIT and NetMundial.“Ninguna soberanía, ningún gobierno electivo, ninguna autoridad, ningún confín”. Hace veinte años, John Perry Barlow proclamó su Declaración de Independencia del Ciberespacio. Y estas eran las palabras clave. Hoy día, podemos afirmar que el desarrollo del Internet Governance como ámbito de policy global responde a las preguntas que Barlow consideraba irrelevantes precisamente por lo que al desarrollo del ciberespacio se refería. Una vez que los mitos fundadores de un Internet sin confines, inmaterial y falto de estructuras de gobierno han sido derrotados, ¿cuáles son las relaciones de poder que han emergido en el campo del dominio del Internet? ¿Cuáles son las ideas –o los valores normativos– que sostienen y legitiman el papel político de los actores gubernamentales y no gubernamentales? Además, ¿el modelo multi-stakeholder sabe distinguir los conflictos de poder reales, o él mismo parte de esos conflictos, como un discurso de apoyo de los intereses y de las coaliciones en juego? El objetivo principal del artículo es analizar esos cuestionamientos a través del análisis del desarrollo de los conflictos políticos respecto de la gobernanza de la red: del IAHC al WSIS, hasta llegar a los procesos más recientes, como el WCIT y el NetMundial

Factors shaping the evolution of electronic documentation systems

The main goal is to prepare the space station technical and managerial structure for likely changes in the creation, capture, transfer, and utilization of knowledge. By anticipating advances, the design of Space Station Project (SSP) information systems can be tailored to facilitate a progression of increasingly sophisticated strategies as the space station evolves. Future generations of advanced information systems will use increases in power to deliver environmentally meaningful, contextually targeted, interconnected data (knowledge). The concept of a Knowledge Base Management System is emerging when the problem is focused on how information systems can perform such a conversion of raw data. Such a system would include traditional management functions for large space databases. Added artificial intelligence features might encompass co-existing knowledge representation schemes; effective control structures for deductive, plausible, and inductive reasoning; means for knowledge acquisition, refinement, and validation; explanation facilities; and dynamic human intervention. The major areas covered include: alternative knowledge representation approaches; advanced user interface capabilities; computer-supported cooperative work; the evolution of information system hardware; standardization, compatibility, and connectivity; and organizational impacts of information intensive environments

Connected OFCity Challenge: Addressing the Digital Divide in the Developing World

Over the past 50 years, the development of information and communications technology has provided unprecedented support to the steady economic growth of developed countries. In recent years, some of the largest growth has been reported in emerging economies, which, however, often lack adequate telecommunications infrastructure to further sustain their development. Although a number of service providers and system vendors have started to address the issue, the challenges they encounter are substantially different from those in the developed world, including an unreliable electricity grid, poor fiber infrastructure, low revenue expectations, and often a harsh climate environment. This paper reports use cases and solutions pertinent to the development of the networking infrastructure in emerging economies, provided by organizations directly involved in such activities. After providing some background information on the current state of network infrastructure and the main challenges for Africa and rural China, the paper provides details on two proposed solutions. The first focuses on the provisioning of services and network infrastructure through the development of low-cost data centers, whereas the second proposes cost-effective adaptation of both fiber and hybrid copper-fiber technology to rural areas. The article is concluded with a brief discussion on the complementarity of the two approaches

Globalization, Tax Erosion and the Internet

Electronic commerce and globalization are, and will continue to be a challenge to tax collectors throughout the world. Globalization makes the cross-border movements in goods, capital and labour less transparent. Companies and individuals are therefore able to exploit tax differences between countries. The Internet eliminates borders between countries and furthermore makes businesses virtually invisible. At the consumer end, E-commerce makes the tracing of transactions and thus the taxing of goods and services sold and distributed via the Internet almost impossible. As a result, state and national governments’ tax bases are, or are at risk of, being eroded.public economics ;