Number of results to display per page
Search Results
352. Why Uncertainty in Global Health Interventions Matters—and What We Can Do About It
- Author:
- Kalipso Chalkidou, Anupama Dathan, and Francis Ruiz
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Global health interventions, like many public policies, are rife with uncertainty. Will a program, such as a malaria prevention strategy that looks strong on paper, work as intended? Will a new technology, such as a specific drug or device that appears effective in clinical trial settings, work in practice and provide good value-for-money? In the case of programs made up of a complex interaction of multiple interventions, implementers often create a theory of change and then meticulously track whether it is being followed every step of the way, from each input translating into the prespecified activity, and the activities yielding the right outputs and the expected outcomes. When observational data is available that permits quantitative analysis (evaluation), it may also be possible to estimate causal impact in a given setting by applying experimental methods (such as a randomized controlled trial) or quasi-experimental techniques (such as difference-in-difference analysis). Such program evaluations generally consider outputs (e.g. the number of bed nets distributed) and relatively short-term outcomes (e.g. malaria infections following bed net distribution). Many eval- uations also collect data years after the program to identify longer-term impacts. Cost-effectiveness calculations are sometimes conducted after ascertaining the cost and impact of the program, but such analyses aren’t necessarily considered when determining whether to implement a certain program or technology—especially when politics and other concerns get in the way. Discrete clinical interventions and technologies (which are defined as including clinical interven- tions, drugs, diagnostics and even public health programs) are usually the subject of health technolo- gy assessment (HTA) to inform coverage decisions in many contexts. The underpinning evidence base for HTA typically involves a synthesis of randomized trial data, designed to reduce bias in estimating causal inference and relative effectiveness. Trial data is then combined with information from other sources and study designs to develop models of the technology’s long-term health and cost impact in a given context. A key feature of both programs and technologies is uncertainty.
- Topic:
- Health, International Cooperation, Science and Technology, Humanitarian Intervention, and Pharmaceuticals
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
353. Innovation and Precarity: Workplace Discourse in Twenty-First Century Capitalism
- Author:
- Sidney Rothstein
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies (MaxPo)
- Abstract:
- This paper analyzes discourse in the workplace in order to explain puzzling patterns of precarity in twenty-first century capitalism. Tech workers’ central role in digital transformation endows them with labor market power reflected by their high wages, but during economic downturns, when demand for their skills decreases, even they are vulnerable to downsizing. Comparing workers’ responses to downsizing at two sites of an American tech firm, this paper shows how management disempowers workers by framing the employment relationship in a financial discourse. Disposing workers to believe that their jobs are threatened by market forces beyond their control, rather than by managers’ decisions, this financial discourse undermines labor’s established power resources by persuading workers that mobilizing will be ineffective in protecting their jobs. Relying on detailed case study evidence, this paper demonstrates the importance of discourse to explaining variation in worker power. It argues that the workplace should play a larger role in comparative political economy, particularly in explaining labor market outcomes related to digital transformation.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Hegemony, Capitalism, Discourse, Knowledge Economy, Power, and Digital Platform Workers
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
354. Why Chemical Weapon Is More Dangerous Than Nuclear
- Author:
- Andrei Kortunov
- Publication Date:
- 05-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Rethinking Russia
- Abstract:
- Today chemical weapons pose a more challenging and dangerous threat than even nuclear ones. Recent events in the UK’s Salisbury and Syrian city of Duma make one reassess the problem of chemical weapons.
- Topic:
- Intelligence, Science and Technology, Weapons, Chemical Weapons, and Non-Traditional Threats
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom, Syria, and Global Focus
355. Artificial Intelligence: The Algorithmic Revolution Driving the Next Industrial Transformation
- Author:
- Kenji E. Kushida
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming one of the underlying drivers of the next wave of industrial transformations. There is every reason to believe that we are on the cusp of a sea change in how human activities and decision-making are transformed by abundant computing power. This research note will provide the basis for understanding the conceptual building blocks and paradigmatic examples of how the development of AI is accelerating, and how its deployment will be transformative.
- Topic:
- Industrial Policy, Science and Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Artificial Intelligence
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
356. Biometrics in the Humanitarian Sector
- Author:
- Carly Nyst, Zara Rahman, and Paola Verhaert
- Publication Date:
- 03-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Biometrics is the measurement of human characteristics through technology such as iris scanning, facial recognition and fingerprint scanning. In the aid sector, supporters of the technology praise its potential to combat fraud and streamline service delivery in low-resource settings, while others point to the significant risks to privacy resulting from collecting and storing this personal information. This report was commissioned by Oxfam to help it consider the possibility of introducing secure, ethical and cost-effective use of biometric technology in its programmes in the future. The report looks at the external context around use of biometric technology in the humanitarian sector, considers the benefits and potential harm, and goes on to outline cases where the use of biometrics could be helpful.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Refugee Crisis, Humanitarian Intervention, and Emerging Technology
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
357. Going Digital: Improving Data Quality with Digital Data Collection
- Author:
- Simone Lombardini, Alexia Pretari, and Emily Tomkys Valteri
- Publication Date:
- 07-2018
- Content Type:
- Case Study
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Three years on from the Going Digital: Using digital technology to conduct Oxfam’s Effectiveness Reviews pilots, where we shared learning on the added value of using digital technology to conduct our impact evaluations, Oxfam continues to develop its survey techniques through the use of technology. The second paper in this series, Going Digital: Using and sharing real-time data during fieldwork, demonstrated how Oxfam was sharing real-time data during fieldwork to increase engagement and participation in surveyed communities, as well as improving integration between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. In this third paper, we present some of the features enabled by digital data collection technology that we have been piloted and used to improve quality and accuracy of data. It also explores ways in which the ethics of respecting privacy can be improved in survey data collection.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Privacy, Data, and Digitization
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
358. Introducing Information Communication Technologies into Humanitarian Programming
- Author:
- Laura Eldon and Anna Kondakhchyan
- Publication Date:
- 07-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Digital technologies are radically transforming the ways in which aid agencies can interact with the communities with whom they work. Oxfam believes that information communication technologies (ICTs) offer a huge opportunity to amplify and improve effectiveness across the organization’s work. From monitoring water points to delivering electronic vouchers through mobile phones and digitalizing protection surveys, Oxfam has been harnessing the use of ICTs to enhance the quality, accessibility and efficiency of its programming. Yet, the path from experimentation to widespread adoption and organizational support for new tools and technologies can be a challenging one, often opening up a range of concerns and opportunities. This article looks at the example of beneficiary information management and the introduction of World Vision’s Last Mile Mobile Solutions (LMMS) digital registration and distribution management platform. It explores the application of Oxfam’s ‘innovation pyramid’ to take the introduction of new tools from ‘systems of innovation’ to ‘systems of differentiation’ and subsequently to 'systems of record’. Digital technologies are radically transforming the ways in which aid agencies can interact with the communities with whom they work. Oxfam believes that information communication technologies (ICTs) offer a huge opportunity to amplify and improve effectiveness across the organization’s work. From monitoring water points to delivering electronic vouchers through mobile phones and digitalizing protection surveys, Oxfam has been harnessing the use of ICTs to enhance the quality, accessibility and efficiency of its programming. Yet, the path from experimentation to widespread adoption and organizational support for new tools and technologies can be a challenging one, often opening up a range of concerns and opportunities. This article looks at the example of beneficiary information management and the introduction of World Vision’s Last Mile Mobile Solutions (LMMS) digital registration and distribution management platform. It explores the application of Oxfam’s ‘innovation pyramid’ to take the introduction of new tools from ‘systems of innovation’ to ‘systems of differentiation’ and subsequently to 'systems of record’.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Communications, Digital Economy, and Innovation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
359. The Challenge of Emerging Technologies to Non-proliferation Efforts: Controlling Additive Manufacturing and Intangible Transfers of Technology
- Author:
- Kolja Brockmann and Robert E. Kelley
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- Additive manufacturing (AM) machines are multipurpose manufacturing instruments that rely on the transfer of build-information in a digital form. AM is a rapidly developing technology with a growing range of applications, especially in the aerospace and defence industry. It is also generating concerns about its potential to create ways of weakening or circumventing dual-use and arms export controls. This SIPRI Paper examines (a) the state of the art in AM; (b) its ability to produce military equipment and dual-use items; (c) the application of export controls to AM and their implementation at the national level; and (d) the challenges that implementation and compliance present for governments, companies and research institutes. The conclusions summarize potential options and considerations when expanding controls on AM. This is one of two research papers that address the closely related issues of controlling transfers of software and technology and applying exports controls to AM. Taken together, the papers examine some of the most challenging issues that governments, companies and research institutes in the European Union (EU) and the wider world are facing when they seek to effectively implement dual-use and arms export controls. The papers also address a range of topics that are under active discussion within the multilateral export control regimes and in connection with the recast of the EU Dual-use Regulation. For the second paper, 'The Challenge of Software and Technology Transfers to Non-proliferation Efforts: Implementing and Complying with Export Controls', see here. Funding for the concept paper was provided by the US Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program.
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Science and Technology, Military Affairs, Disarmament, and Exports
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Global Focus
360. How 5G Will Shape Innovation and Security
- Author:
- James Andrew Lewis
- Publication Date:
- 12-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Abstract:
- The fifth generation of mobile network technologies, known as “5G,” promises greater speed, security, and capacity. 5G will underpin the internet economy and provide the backbone for the next generation of digital technologies. So, it is unsurprising that there is intense competition among companies and countries for 5G leadership. 5G will determine the direction the internet will take and where nations will face new risks and vulnerabilities. Who makes 5G technologies will affect security and innovation in an increasingly competitive technological environment. Decisions made today about 5G will affect national security and economic performance for decades to come. This is a competition among companies and groups of companies but also a competition between market-based and state-directed decisionmaking. The United States has relied on the former, China on the latter, and Europe falls somewhere in between. American technology remains essential for 5G mobile telecommunications. American companies have been strong performers in developing 5G technologies, but the United States and its allies face a fundamental challenge from China. The focus of competition is over 5G’s intellectual property, standards, and patents. Huawei, for example, has research programs to develop alternatives to American suppliers, and U.S. trade restrictions have accelerated China’s efforts to develop its own 5G industry. While American companies lead in making essential 5G technologies, there are no longer any U.S. manufacturers of core telecommunications network equipment. Four companies dominate the market for the core network technologies needed for 5G networks. None of these companies are American. 1The choices are between European security partners (Ericsson and Nokia) and China (Huawei and ZTE). Telecom is a strategic industry and having two companies with close ties to a hostile power creates risk for the United States and its allies. A secure supply chain for 5G closes off dangerous areas of risk for national security in terms of espionage and the potential disruption to critical infrastructures. China’s aggressive global campaign of cyber espionage makes it certain that it will exploit the opportunities it gains as a 5G supplier. One way to envision this is to imagine that the person who built your house decides to burgle it. They know the layout, the power system, the access points, may have kept a key, and perhaps even built in a way to gain surreptitious entry. Major telecom “backbone” equipment connects to the manufacturer over a dedicated channel, reporting back on equipment status and receiving updates and software patches as needed, usually without the operator’s knowledge. Equipment could be sold and installed in perfectly secure condition, and a month later, the manufacture could send a software update to create vulnerabilities or disrupt service. The operator and its customers would have no knowledge of this change. The United States can manage 5G risk using two sets of policies. The first is to ensure that American companies can continue to innovate and produce advanced technologies and face fair competition overseas. American and “like-minded” companies routinely outspend their Chinese competitors in 5G R&D and hold 10 times as many 5G patents. Chinese companies still depend on the western companies for the most advanced 5G components. The second is to work with like-minded nations to develop a common approach to 5G security. The United States cannot meet the 5G challenge on its own. When the United States successfully challenged Chinese industrial policy in the past, it has been done in concert with allies. Another task will be to find ways to encourage undecided countries to spend on 5G security. Huawei’s telecom networks cost between 20 to 30 percent less than competing products. Huawei also offers foreign customers generous terms for leasing or loans. It can do this because of its access to government funds. Beijing supports Huawei for both strategic and commercial reasons. Many countries will be tempted by the steep discount. Not buying Huawei means paying a “premium” for security to which economic ministries are likely to object. The United States will need to encourage others to pay this security premium while at the same time preparing for a world where the United States unavoidably connects to Huawei-supplied networks and determine how to securely connect and communicate over telecom networks in countries using Chinese network equipment. The United States does not need to copy China’s government-centric model for 5G, but it does need to invest in research and adopt a comprehensive approach to combatting non-tariff barriers to trade. 5G leadership requires a broader technology competition policy in the United States that builds the engineering and tech workforce and supports both private and public R&D. The United States also needs to ensure that U.S. companies do not face obstacles from antitrust or patent infringement investigations undertaken by other countries to obtain competitive advantage. In the twentieth century, steel, coal, automobiles, aircraft, ships, and the ability to produce things in mass quantity were the sources of national power. The foundations of security and power are different today. The ability to create and use new technologies is the source of economic strength and military security. Technology, and the capacity to create new technologies, are the basis of information age power. 5G as the cornerstone of a new digital environment is the focal point for the new competition, where the United States is well-positioned to lead but neither success nor security are guaranteed without action.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, 5G, Emerging Technology, and Telecommunications
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus