Search

Begin New Search Topic Science and Technology

1841. What if different and opposing views of sociology were complementary to each other?: Reflections on the development of the knowledge of collective life

Author:
Pierre Tripier
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
Sociology was born at a time when the Newtonian paradigm was introduced as the hegemonic scientific model. However, this model was not sufficient to understand complex and unstable situations. The model was a unitary explanatory system that not only considered time and space as absolute, but is also drew sociology away from medicine, history, geography and the art of governing. With sociology, these disciplines could have been better understood. That is, when the Newtonian paradigm was discussed from the point of view of thermodynamics, quantum physics, and restricted relativity, other perspectives –dialogic and interactionists- could have conquered legitimate positions in the social sciences so as to compete with these deterministic points of view. Today, a third phase of evolution in physics and biology has allowed for non-contradictory stands in their different perspectives primarily because of the division of work and the awareness of their complementary elements. This question is could this also occuir in sociology?
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, and Science and Technology

1842. ¡Bárbaros en Delfos! Geopolitical knowledge and International Relations before the 21st Century

Author:
Filibi López and Mariano Ferrero
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to examine the connection between knowledge and power as well as scientific knowledge and politics. We use a sociology of knowledge perspective that provides a framework for the social and geopolitical situated nature of social science researchers and their academic communities. We will make sense of how the evolution of International Relations' (IR) knowledge production is tightly linked to the development of the international political context. From this point of view, American post-war hegemony came hand in hand with the Realist monopoly of the IR discipline. By the same token, the ongoing decentering process of academic spaces and theoretical approaches expresses the new world political landscape after the Pax Americana/Cold War era.
Topic:
International Relations, Civil Society, Politics, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
America

1843. Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Transport Alternatives: Issues for Developing Countries

Author:
Grant Boyle and Lynn Mytelka
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Recent technological advances in the application of hydrogen fuel cells in the transport sector have drawn considerable attention and increased funding from both public and private sources over the past ten years. The International Energy Agency estimates that about US$1billion per year is currently being invested in public hydrogen and fuel cell research, development, test vehicles, prototype refuelling stations and demonstration projects, as compared to the total annual public budget for energy research, development and demonstration of around US$8billion. While still in the early stages of development and costly in comparison to conventional vehicle propulsion and fuel technologies, fuel cells and hydrogen offer a promising solution to address growing concerns over the transport sector's dependence on oil and its impact on climate change.
Topic:
Development, Energy Policy, Science and Technology, and Third World
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

1844. Open Source and Open Standards: A New Frontier for Economic Development?

Author:
Philip Schmidt and Rishab Aiyer Ghosh
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Free software (also called open source software or libre software) has become one of the most talked about phenomena in the ICT world in recent years. This is remarkable, not only for the usual reasons—that open source has been around for many years as a volunteer driven success story before being discovered by big business and now government— but also because it has largely developed quietly on its own without the headline coverage and glare of international attention that it now receives.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Science and Technology, and Third World
Political Geography:
United States

1845. Decision-making under Pressure: The Negotiation of the Biometric Passports Regulation in the Council

Author:
Jonathan P. Aus
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:
This paper accounts for the so-called Biometric Passports Regulation of the European Community. Formally adopted by the Council of the European Union (EU) in December of 2004, the Biometric Passports Regulation prescribes the compulsory biometric “enrollment” of all EU citizens applying for a new passport or passport renewal. Member States fully participating in the Schengen regime and Schengen-affiliated third countries like Norway are obliged to include two biometric identifiers into their citizens' passports by the end of June 2009. Schengen-made “e-Passports” will contain a chip storing a facial scan of the passport holder and two of his or her fingerprints.
Topic:
Security and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Europe and Norway

1846. Protecting Consumers from Cyberfraud

Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The Internet has become a basic fact of everyday life for millions of people worldwide, from e-mail to online shopping. Ever faster and more accessible connections available on a wider range of platforms, such as mobile phones or person to person portable devices, have spurred new e-commerce opportunities. Online shopping and banking are increasingly widespread and over the next 10 years, the Net is expected to become as common as gas or electricity. Google's “Internet Chief Evangelist” Vinton Cerf, has predicted that by 2016, “everything from the family fridge to the office coffee pot … heating, cooling, and security systems … will be managed through the Internet; … by then, the Internet will become so pervasive that connecting to it will no longer be a conscious act.”
Topic:
Security, Development, Economics, and Science and Technology

1847. E-learning in Tertiary Education

Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
E-learning is becoming increasingly prominent in tertiary education, with universities increasing provision and more students signing up. But is it actually changing the way universities teach and students learn, or is it simply a case of students typing up their essays on computers and professors sending them course reading lists or work assignments by e-mail?
Topic:
Development, Education, and Science and Technology

1848. The International Mobility of Cultural Talent

Author:
Tony Addison
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Artists, musicians and writers have always been great travellers. Today, their talent circulates in new ways, and takes new forms, as the creative industries expand globally in a marriage of media technology and the traditional arts. The growing international market for cultural talent can do much to help countries diversify their economies, and improve the quality of life more broadly. The creative industries are subject to strong clustering effects, with talent moving swiftly to the most vibrant clusters, not always to the advantage of the poorer countries which can lose talent to the richer world. Countries that protect intellectual property rights, educate and train their talent, and maintain politically open and liberal societies will have a head start in the global creative economy.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Migration, and Science and Technology

1849. Credit Constraints as a Barrier to Technology Adoption by the Poor: Lessons from South-Indian Small-Scale Fishery

Author:
Xavier Giné and Stefan Klonner
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
We study the diffusion of a capital intensive technology among a fishing community in south India and analyze the dynamics of income inequality during this process. We find that lack of asset wealth is an important predictor of delayed technology adoption. During the diffusion process, inequality follows Kuznets' well-known inverted U-shaped curve. The empirical results imply that redistributive policies favouring the poor result in accelerated economic growth and a shorter duration of sharpened inequality.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
India and Asia

1850. International Mobility of Researchers and Scientists: Policy Options for Turning a Drain into a Gain

Author:
Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen and Kristian Thorn
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
High demand for researchers and scientists has led to an increase in skilled migration in recent years. The paper focuses on improving our understanding of the push and pull factors affecting the migration decisions of researchers and scientists from developing countries and discusses policy options for maximizing the potential gains associated with international mobility of advanced human capital. Evidence suggests that a reasonable salary level should be guaranteed but that return decisions of researchers and scientists are primarily shaped by factors such as the quality of the research environment, professional reward structures and access to state-of-the-art equipment.
Topic:
International Relations, Education, Migration, and Science and Technology