Canadian MSAT field trial program user requirements

A wide range of mobile satellite service offerings will be available in late 1993 with the launch of Canada's first satellite devoted almost exclusively to mobile and transportable services. During the last seven years, the Dept. of Communications has been meeting with potential MSAT users in government and the private sector as part of a $20M Communications Trials Program. User trials will be conducted using leased capacity as well as capacity on Canada's MSAT satellite. User requirements are discussed which were identified under the Communications Trials Program. Land, marine, aeronautical, and fixed applications are described from the perspective of the end users. Emphasis is placed on field trials being accomplished using leased capacity such as the marine data trial being implemented by Ultimateast Data Communications, trials using transportable briefcase terminals and additional field trials being considered for implementation with the TMI Mobile Data Service. The pre-MSAT trials that will be conducted using leased capacity are only a limited sample of the overall end user requirements that have been identified to date. Additional end user applications are discussed, along with a summary of user benefits

Global Dialogue Report - Global Governance and Regulation: London

The London Dialogue involved up to 23 participants in discussions about the role of global governance and regulation in the protection and promotion of human wellbeing in the twenty-first century. It ranged across a broad spectrum of governance and regulation issues. The discussion proceeded on the understanding that global governance and regulation is important for all our efforts to live well as individuals but that they are more significant still because they are vital to our efforts to live well together in an increasingly globalised world. The discussion started by recognising that the ecosystem of global governance and regulation was becoming ever more complex, involving a diverse range of new players, new organisations and new values. It was felt that developing a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of this new ecosystem would be an important first step in developing more effective governance and regulation. The discussion of the problems of current global governance and regulations systems and institutions identified a lack of trust in governance institutions as critical at this time. This was related to what was perceived as weaknesses of transparency and accountability for some parts of the global governance regime. Large philanthropic organisations were not seen as being exempt from these issues of distrust, transparency and accountability. The problems of the short -term-ism of national governments (political cycles) and their focus on national priorities in global governance were discussed. The exclusion of women, girls and youth were highlighted as a particular problem of governance systems.The discussion identified a wide range of innovation and trusted institutions of governance and regulation. A number of these involved the innovative use of new information and communication technologies to improve voice and accountability. Further initiatives demonstrated other ways in which trust can be built. These innovations appeared to provide a good foundation on which philanthropic organisations might build to contribute to rebuilding trust in global governance and regulation institutions. The discussions explored the idea that global governance problems might be better dealt with by breaking the problems and challenges into smaller, bite-sized chunks. It echoed the more profound view that there may be fundamental problems with the ideas and values on which current approaches to governance and regulation are founded.The discussion concluded with a suggestion that philanthropic organisations might further explore what was perceived to be their unique position as intermediaries between business, government and civil society in order to explore what their comparative advantage might be in strengthening global governance and regulation in ways that better protect and promote human wellbeing in the face of growing threats and uncertaint

When situativity meets objectivity in peer-production of knowledge:the case of the WikiRate platform

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to further the debate on Knowledge Artefacts (KAs), by presenting the design of WikiRate, a Collective Awareness platform whose goal is to support a wider public contributing to the generation of knowledge on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of companies.Design/methodology/approachThe material presented in the paper comes from the first-hand experience of the authors as part of the WikiRate design team. This material is reflexively discussed using concepts from the field of science and technology studies.FindingsUsing the concept of the “funnel of interest”, the authors discuss how the design of a KA like WikiRate relies on the designers’ capacity to translate general statements into particular design solutions. The authors also show how this funnelling helps understanding the interplay between situativity and objectivity in a KA. The authors show how WikiRate is a peer-production platform based on situativity, which requires a robust level of objectivity for producing reliable knowledge about the ESG performance of companies.Originality/valueThis paper furthers the debate on KAs. It presents a relevant design example and offers in the discussion a set of design and community building recommendations to practitioners

Investigating efficiency in the emergency department at Groote Schuur Hospital

Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-93)

Cultures of of Aspiration and Poverty? Aspirational Inequalities in Northeast and Southern Thailand

The paper provides micro-level evidence of rising inequality in Thailand, using data from an intensive study of seven communities in Northeast and Southern Thailand. This inequality affects participants’ material and subjective wellbeing, their aspirations, and the extent to which they feel these are realised. The paper argues that adaptation, expressed as reduced aspirations, could explain why the effect of material poverty on people’s satisfaction with their lives is small. The reduction in attainment of aspirations linked to socio-economic status suggests that a small, but constant group of people are being excluded from a shift in the societal consensus over what constitutes a good life

How is the Public Imagined by Public Librarians? A Case Study of One US American Public Library During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper explores how librarians from one US American library imagined their publics during the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. By revisiting Habermas\u27 positioning of the public sphere, this paper inquires librarians\u27 own understanding of publics. Through the imagination of their publics after the buildings of the library closed in response to the pandemic, the librarians deepen our understanding of how publics are imagined, and thereby, how publics are made and how publicness is performed