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612. Networks and Citizenship: Using Technology for Civic Innovation
- Author:
- Jeffrey Abramson
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- In any robust understanding of democracy, citizenship is a crucial component of self-government. In turn, the free flow of information, the accuracy of that information, opportunities to participate in the affairs of government and a sense of civic engagement with others are crucial components of citizenship. In evaluating these components, participants in the 2011 Aspen Institute Forum on Communications and Society (FOCAS) explored how best to take citizenship digital. Participants gathered to take stock of innovative ways that citizens can use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to better practice the core—but often unrealized—ideals of citizen participation and empowerment.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Globalization, Science and Technology, Communications, and Governance
613. Updating Rules of the Digital Road: Privacy, Security, Intellectual Property
- Author:
- Richard P. Adler
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- The Internet is rapidly becoming the main thoroughfare over which the vital functions of society—communications, commerce, news, finance, civic and government affairs—are carried. The Net has already had enormous impact on a range of industry sectors, ranging from retailing and financial services to publishing and entertainment, and it has begun to reshape critical institutions, ranging from education to health care. Virtually every enterprise, no matter what business it is in, has been touched in multiple ways by the digital revolution: functions such as advertising, business intelligence, research, sales, orders, payments, logistics and even the management of daily activities have moved online. Internet-driven connectivity has made the world increasingly "flat" by creating a global marketplace. Government agencies at all levels are in the midst of putting their functions online in order to increase efficiency of operations and enhance transparency. Social media have emerged as a new way for people-especially young people-to connect with one other and express their individuality. These online tools have also demonstrated the capacity to organize political action and to galvanize resistance to repressive regimes, even as they strive to exercise control over these grassroots networks. Wireless media have extended the reach of the Net to the entire world. A series of reports from the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program have documented these tectonic shifts (see table) and explored some of the issues that they are raising.
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Communications, and Intellectual Property/Copyright
614. Reinventing Health Care
- Author:
- Basit Chaudhry deBronkart, Carole Roan Gresenz, Joseph Hutter, Anjali Jain, Brent C. James, Shawn Martin, Lewis Mattison, Daniel L. Newton, Anthony Nguyen, Brent Parton, Kavita Patel, and Steven Weinberger
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- In many respects, the U.S. health care system is breathtakingly innovative. It produces new technology, medical procedures, and scientific knowledge at a dazzling speed, enabling patient store cover from diseases and injuries once thought incurable or untreatable. As a consequence, the U.S. has one of the highest survival rates for cancers, excels at acute and trauma care, and has produced half of the world's Nobel laureates.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology and Health Care Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
615. UK-Japan Defense Cooperation: Britain Pivots and Japan Branches Out
- Author:
- Philip Shetler-Jones
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- During his recent visit to Japan, British Prime Minister David Cameron signed a landmark defense cooperation agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda making the United Kingdom Japan's only defense technology partner after the United States. The agreement comes just months after Japan relaxed its post-World War II restrictions on its participation in international research, development and trade in defense equipment. There are few publicly-available specifics on the deal, but official statements from Tokyo suggest the plan is to start small and slowly increase cooperation. Artillery and tank technology has been mentioned; along with helicopters, mine detection and chemical protection suits.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Science and Technology, Treaties and Agreements, War, Biosecurity, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, and Tokyo
616. The Medium versus the Message: U.S. Government Funding for Media in an Age of Disruption
- Author:
- Anne Nelson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Abstract:
- Digital media are disrupting every aspect of modern society, rebooting traditional practices and jumpstarting new disciplines ranging from telemedicine to robotic assembly lines. Along the way, they are rattling hierarchies, making blunders, and fomenting miracles.
- Topic:
- Development, Government, Science and Technology, and Mass Media
- Political Geography:
- United States
617. Biometrics as security technology: Expansion amidst fallibility
- Author:
- Katja Lindskov Jacobsen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Biometric technology has been afforded a central role in the security architecture that Western governments have forged since the events of 9/11 2001. With biometrics the body becomes the anchor of identification. In a security architecture centred on identification of persons of interest and determination of their status as friend or foe, biometrics has come to be praised for its supposedly exceptional capacity to identify reliably.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, Science and Technology, and Biosecurity
618. Meeting the Cyber Security Challenge
- Author:
- Gustav Lindstrom
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- While most policymakers agree that there are substantial risks in cyber space, there is disagreement on whether or not it poses a threat to national security. The divergence in opinions is most obvious when references are made to terms such as cyber war and cyber warfare. In spite of these differences, there are many reasons why policymakers should care about developments in cyber space. With society's growing reliance on cyber space, a disruption can have wide ranging implications and cascading effects.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Crime, and Science and Technology
619. The Evolution of India's UID Program: Lessons Learned and Implications for Other Developing Countries
- Author:
- Frances Zelazny
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- India has embarked on an ambitious new program to provide its citizens and residents a unique, official identity. The UID (Universal ID) program aims to improve the delivery of government services, reduce fraud and corruption, facilitate robust voting processes, and improve security. It is by far the largest application of biometric identification technology to date and will have far-reaching implications for other developing countries that are looking to adopt national ID programs to further social and economic development. This paper discusses the evolution of the UID program, the innovative organization and pathbreaking technology behind it, how it is being rolled out, and how robust ID is beginning to be used.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Crime, Democratization, Development, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- India
620. The Video Revolution
- Author:
- Jane Sasseen
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Abstract:
- The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), at the National Endowment for Democracy, works to strengthen the support, raise the visibility, and improve the effectiveness of independent media development throughout the world. The Center provides information, builds networks, conducts research, and highlights the indispensable role independent media play in the creation and development of sustainable democracies. An important aspect of CIMA's work is to research ways to attract additional U.S. private sector interest in and support for international media development. The Center was one of the of the main nongovernmental organizers of World Press Freedom Day 2011 in Washington, DC.
- Topic:
- Development, Science and Technology, International Affairs, Communications, and Mass Media
- Political Geography:
- United States and Washington