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| Topic: Society |
12:59 am EDT, Oct 26, 2003 |
The Internet has become an integral part of our lives because it is interactive. That means people are senders of information, rather than simply passive receivers of 'old' media. Most importantly of all, we can talk to each other without gatekeepers or editors. This offers exciting possibilities for new social networks, which are enabled -- but not determined -- by digital technology. What would happen if the 'source code' of our democratic systems was opened up to the people they are meant to serve? An open source model for participatory, bottom-up and emergent policy will force us to confront the issues of our time. A new essay from Douglas Rushkoff. Download the full text in PDF. Open Source Democracy |
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Tickle - America's Social Network |
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| Topic: Society |
8:30 am EDT, Oct 23, 2003 |
It's ... Yet Another Friend-of-a-Friend web site! Yay! This system officially launched on October 15, and now the operator, Emode, has purchased extensive advertising on nytimes.com to draw visitors to the site. From the press release: Emode today introduced the Tickle Social Network, the first social networking product to deliver deep user profiles that go beyond basic demographic data to include group affiliations, career history and personality traits. The Tickle Social Network provides Emode's 15 million members with targeted introductions to new friends, romantic partners and business contacts, as well as qualified referrals to products and services. The Tickle Social Network is available immediately in a free, preview release. Tickle - America's Social Network |
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Arab Human Development Report 2003: Building Knowledge Society |
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| Topic: Society |
12:03 pm EDT, Oct 19, 2003 |
On Monday, 20 October, visit this site to download the Arab Human Development Report for 2003. For now, you can review the 2002 Report. This report is a product of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Arab Human Development Report 2003: Building Knowledge Society |
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| Topic: Society |
11:58 am EDT, Oct 19, 2003 |
As Lawrence Summers, Harvard's president, likes to say, "One good example is worth a thousand theories." Iraq -- maybe -- could be that example. A group of courageous Arab social scientists decided to begin fighting the war of ideas for the Arab future ... Tomorrow, they will unveil the Arab Human Development Report 2003, which focuses on the need to rebuild Arab "knowledge societies." I sense it will be a bombshell. Arab region: 18 computers per 1,000 people. 371 R&D scientists and engineers per million citizens.
Worldwide: 78.3 computers per 1,000 people. 979 R&D scientists and engineers per million citizens. ... Tons of foreign technology is imported, but it's never really internalized ... Tom Friedman on Arab society in the Sunday New York Times. Courageous Arab Thinkers |
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| Topic: Society |
8:04 pm EDT, Oct 11, 2003 |
Here we have a classic case of denial, prominently displayed in a recent letter to the editor of Network Computing magazine. "I agree that globalization of the IT profession is 'fruitless to resist.' I am educating my 19-year-old son about globalization and its effects. The result? My son has changed his mind about pursuing a degree in MIS/CS. He is now looking for a career that he will not only find fulfilling, but also be in control of and able to hold on to!" He misses the point entirely. At the beginning, I thought he really had it, but then he completely lost it at the end. There is a certain naïveté in the notion that this phenomenon is somehow unique to the "IT profession" (whatever that is). That he still believes there exist jobs that are both worth having and amenable to being "held on to" is clear evidence of his denial. Would you care to venture a guess as to the industry in which the letter writer works? You'll have to follow the link to find out. I found this last tidbit particularly telling, yet also sad. I am inclined to go digging through the dead-tree archives of Atlantic Monthly and The Economist in search of equivalent letters to the editor from the late nineteenth century. I could also post a link to a copy of Shirley Bassey singing "History Repeating", but I suspect that mentioning two songs from Decksandrumsandrockandroll in one day could risk making this weblog appear to be repeating itself. Get Out of IT |
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Lack of Teachers, Lack of Time |
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| Topic: Society |
2:07 pm EDT, Oct 11, 2003 |
According to Education Weekly, it takes approximately 15,500 hours to teach the average K-12 curriculum. But there are only about 9,000 hours of classroom instructional time available. Lack of Teachers, Lack of Time |
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The Profession's Role in the Global Information Society |
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| Topic: Society |
9:49 pm EDT, Oct 2, 2003 |
Most people agree that computer science will play a significant role in the inofrmation society. But what role will that be? Analyzing the part knowledge played in the agrarian, industrial, and information societies can help answer this question. ... The transition from the agrarian to the industrial society showed that a revolution takes a place whenver a new technology usurps human usefulness in a given field. ... The information society will embed the most precious part of human knowledge in computer software. This approach offers obvious advantages and serious threats. ... The traditional industrial-society eduation -- 20 years of education and 40 years of work -- is fast becoming obsolete. In the information society, people will change their professions every five to 10 years. ... Computer engineers continually face professional exclusion ... Just in case you thought one college degree was going to keep you competitive for decades ... This article appears in the September 2003 issue of IEEE Computer. |
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Trust: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order |
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| Topic: Society |
6:45 pm EDT, Sep 28, 2003 |
Fukuyama examines the impact of culture on economic life, society, and success in the new global economy. He argues that the most pervasive cultural characteristic influencing a nation's prosperity and ability to compete is the level of trust or cooperative behavior based upon shared norms. In comparison with low-trust societies (China, France, Italy, Korea), which need to negotiate and often litigate rules and regulations, high-trust societies like those in Germany and Japan are able to develop innovative organizations and hold down the cost of doing business. Fukuyama argues that the United States, like Japan and Germany, has been a high-trust society historically but that this status has eroded in recent years. This well-researched book provides a fresh, new perspective on how economic prosperity is grounded in social life. Trust: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order |
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The Evolution of the Black Sheep |
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| Topic: Society |
6:18 pm EDT, Sep 28, 2003 |
Accused of killing a 71-year-old neighbor in an unglamorous apartment complex two years ago -- quarters he rented disguised as a woman -- Mr. Durst fled after his arrest only to be apprehended in a delicatessen while stealing a chicken sandwich. ... What is worth noting about the media coverage of Mr. Durst's spectacular tribulations is how little has been made of the effects his actions might have had on his powerful relatives and their business dealings. The notion of family dishonor is absent in part, one must assume, because the notion of family honor itself has become outdated. Geoffrey Wolff, author of biographies on two fabled black sheep, noted that now the phrase "Oh, my God, the shame you have brought on your family!" goes virtually unheard. "The idea of my saying to my boys, 'How could you do this to the Wolffs?' seems utterly ridiculous." The Evolution of the Black Sheep |
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Iraqi Family Ties Complicate American Efforts for Change |
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| Topic: Society |
6:15 pm EDT, Sep 28, 2003 |
"I was a little surprised, but I knew right away it was a wise choice. It is safer to marry a cousin than a stranger." Iqbal's reaction was typical in a country where nearly half of marriages are between first or second cousins, a statistic that is one of the more important and least understood differences between Iraq and America. The extraordinarily strong family bonds complicate virtually everything Americans are trying to do here, from finding Saddam Hussein to changing women's status to creating a liberal democracy. ... "Liberal democracy is based on the Western idea of autonomous individuals committed to a public good, but that's not how members of these tight and bounded kin groups see the world. Their world is divided into two groups: kin and strangers." ... "Japan and India have managed to blend traditional social structures with modern democracy, and Iraq could do the same." But it will take time and finesse, along with respect for traditions like women wearing the veil. "A key purpose of veiling is to prevent outsiders from competing with a woman's cousins for marriage. Attack veiling, and you are attacking the core of the Middle Eastern social system." Iraqi Family Ties Complicate American Efforts for Change |
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