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CALL FOR PAPERS
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TPRC Presents
The 31st Research Conference on
Communication, Information and Internet Policy
Hosted by the Center for Technology and Law
George Mason University Law School
Arlington, Virginia
Friday, September 19 to
Sunday, September 21, 2003
www.tprc.org
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TPRC presents this annual forum for dialog among
scholars and decision-makers from the public and
private sectors engaged in communication and
information policy. The purpose of the conference is
to acquaint policymakers with the best recent research
and to familiarize researchers with the knowledge
needs of policymakers and industry.

The TPRC program is developed primarily from submitted
papers. The Program Committee will also be
considering tutorials, special panels, and guest
speakers. Suggestions for the latter can be emailed
directly to the Program Committee.

TPRC is now soliciting abstracts of papers for
presentation at its 2003 conference. Proposals should
be based on current theoretical and/or empirical
research relevant to communication and information
policy, and may be from any disciplinary perspective.
TPRC welcomes national, international, comparative,
and multi- or inter- disciplinary studies. Subject
areas of particular interest include but are not
limited to:

” Auctions
” Broadband
” Community Networks and Technology
” Comparative History
” Competition
” Convergence
” Digital Divide
” Economic Growth and Development, Local Economy
” Education Policy and Technology
” Federal Funding: Universal Service, Erate, TOP, CTC
” Identity and Authentication
” Intellectual Property
” Intercarrier compensation and Interconnection
” Internet Governance
” IPv6, Migration and Govt Policy
” ISPs and Internet Backbones
” Mass Media
” Mergers and Consolidation
” Online health care & policy implications
” Privacy
” Public Rights of Way
” Public Safety Policy
” Regulation of Online Activities
” Security
” Spectrum Policy
” Standards, Regulations, and Policy
” State and local policy initiatives
” Unbundling
” User Studies
” VoIP

An elaboration for each topic is available at
www.tprc.org. Abstracts should contain a clear
statement of the central ideas and outcomes of the
research, in addition to a description of the topic
being addressed. All abstracts must be submitted via
the submission form at www.tprc.org/submit/ and should
include contact information, a no-larger-than 500 word
abstract, and a brief CV.

Submissions are due by March 31, 2003. No submission
will be accepted after this date. Acceptance notices
will be emailed in early May. Primary authors may
have only one paper accepted. Contributors may act as
secondary authors of multiple papers, including
professors supporting the work of students. Primary
authors are expected to present the paper. Although
primary authors will only have one paper accepted,
they may submit multiple abstracts for consideration.
The availability of funding to reimburse presenters
expenses is expected to be limited.

Selected papers will be due to TPRC in late August.
TPRC will provide online access to all conference
papers. Inquiries and suggestions may be made to
members of the Program Committee at
www.tprc.org/TPRC03/ProgComm03.htm
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Call for Papers: What Do We Know About Innovation? A Conference in
Honour of Keith Pavitt

SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research
Freeman Centre
University of Sussex
Brighton, UK

13-15 November 2003

Scientific Committee
Giovanni Dosi, Chris Freeman, Ove Granstrand, Stan Metcalfe, David
Mowery,
Richard Nelson, Luigi Orsenigo, Pari Patel, Luc Soete, William Walker.

Organising committee
Virginia Acha, Peter Augsdorfer, Stefano Brusoni, Luciana D'Adderio,
Ludo
Dibiaggio, Gabriela Dutrenit, Aldo Geuna, Keld Laursen, Orietta Marsili,
Jordi Molas-Gallart, Paul Nightingale, Andrea Prencipe, Ammon Salter,
Jon
Sapsed, Fred Tell, Bruce Tether, Richard Torbett.

This conference is in recognition of the lifetime contribution of
Professor Keith Pavitt to the study of innovation. Keith's work was
based
on a deep empirical understanding of innovation and firm behaviour, and
he
placed particular emphasis on the development of new data, methods, and
taxonomies. His contributions spanned economics, management and
science
and technology policy. The conference is organised around the major
themes
of his work, including the structure, dynamics and management of
innovation processes, the relationship between basic research and
technical change, knowledge and the theory of the firm, the
globalisation
of R&D, and science and technology policy.

Keith's research combined empirical evidence and common sense to
generate
realistic and robust theoretical insights and policy proposals. The
conference will therefore focus on new empirical contributions and
empirically grounded theoretical developments. Methodological
contributions in each theme are also welcome (e.g. new indicators, new
methods of analysis).

Papers are invited on the following themes:

1. The industrial dynamics of innovation and competition
2. Scientific and technology policy: theories, measurement and practice
3. Management of innovation within and between organisations
4. Internationalisation of innovation and production

While recognising Keith's important contributions, the conference is
intended to encourage further critical development based upon his work
and
interests. Therefore, the conference organisers would like to encourage
the participation of younger researchers and will give priority to their
papers. At this stage, the organisers expect that at least one third of
all papers presented will be authored by junior researchers. At the same
time, the conference will provide opportunities for debate among
established academics. The debates will take the form of plenary
sessions
during which a panel of leaders in the field will be asked to take
position on a specific motion (topics to be announced soon).

The conference will be hosted in the Freeman Centre, a new,
state-of-the-art facility for research on innovation, based on the
University of Sussex campus and housing both SPRU and CENTRIM
(University
of Brighton).

Key Deadlines

Deadline for submitting extended abstracts: April 30, 2003
Response from organising committee: June 16, 2003
Deadline for early registration: July 31, 2003
Deadline for submitting completed paper: October 13, 2003
Deadline for late registration: October 13, 2003

Submissions

Electronic submissions of extended abstracts (max 1,000 words) should be
sent to the following e-mail address only: pavittconf@sussex.ac.uk. Each
abstract should succinctly summarise the main argument of the paper, the
methodology applied, the structure of the paper, and key references.

The selection process will be open, competitive and based on the
principles of double blind refereeing and scientific quality. In order
to
encourage current and recently graduated PhD students to submit, the
organisers require authors to state on the front page of the abstract
whether the work is based upon PhD work in progress, or completed within
the past three years (from date of the conference). This is the only
piece
of personal information that will be passed on to the reviewers. Joint
work with senior colleagues/supervisors is welcome, but such submissions
will not be assessed as 'junior' papers.

Conference Fees

Early registration fees (by July 31 2003): £ 150 (£100 for
students)
Late registration fees (by October 13 2003): £ 200 (£150 for
students)
On arrival registration fees: £ 250

The conference fees will cover the costs of attending the meetings,
parallel sessions, plenary sessions and conference meals. They do not
include travel costs or accommodation. On the latter, further
information
will be posted shortly on the SPRU website, and on a dedicated 'Keith
Pavitt Conference' website currently under development.
Journals

The editors of leading academic journals have been approached to publish
special issues on each of the themes proposed.

EXTENDED DEADLINE
Travel support is expected thanks to the National Science Foundation.Ê Please
indicate when submitting abstracts if you need travel support.

Call for Papers: Graduate Student Conference
The Local and the Global: Contexts in Science and Technology
April 12-13, 2003
American Association for the Advancement of Science Headquarters
Washington, DC
Abstracts due by February 14, 2003

The conference is an opportunity for graduate students to present their
research in areas concerning science, technology and globalization,
particularly as they relate to the concerns raised in the post-9/11 world. It
will take place in conjunction with a workshop on science and technology
policy careers planned by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, and immediately follow their annual S&T colloquium.
Abstracts (up to 250 words) for a 10-15 minute presentation should be
submitted by January 30, 2003 to stglobal@vt.edu. Submitted abstracts will
receive a response by March 1, 2003. Final papers will be included on the
conference website. Travel funding may become available for a limited number
of presenters. Students in need of travel funds should indicate so when
submitting their abstract. There may be a small ($25 or less) conference fee.
The organizers welcome submissions from graduate students whose research
focuses on challenges in the global science and technology arena. We are
particularly interested in research that concerns science, technology and
globalization in relation to (but not limited to):Ê

? Science and Technology issues in the post-9/11 world
? Technology transfer, international investment, and intellectual
? property rights
? Terrorism, public safety, public health and critical infrastructure
? Challenges to institutions, civil liberties and civil rights
? Science and technology in support of nation-building and development
? Science and technology from non-Western perspectives
? Multinational corporations and international regulation

The conference will be held April 12 and 13, 2003 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Headquarters in Washington, DC, and is sponsored by:

? George Mason University, School of Public Policy
? George Washington University, The Center for International Science and Technology Policy
? Virginia Tech, Science and Technology Studies Program

Further information on previous conferences, area lodging, schedule etc. is available on the conference website at http://www.gwu.edu/~cistp/stglobal, and
will be updated regularly.Ê If you have any questions, please contact either of the following organizers: David Bruggeman, dbrugg@vt.edu, or Christine Pommerening, cpommere@gmu.edu, or Edith Webster, ewebster@gwu.edu, or Meghan O'Reardon, oreardon@gwu.edu.

Confronting Empire. Confronting Empire

“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness  and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones were being brainwashed to believe.

The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling  their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability.

Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them.

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

Arundhati Roy in her inimitable style speaking at Life After Capitalism at the World Social Forum, 2003, Porto Alegre, Brazil, January 27, 2003, organised by Znet. [MetaFilter]

It should be clear, though it isn't, that this is in part in regards to Negri and Hardt's book Empire, which I haven't read yet, and at the rate people keep talking about it, probably won't though I do like much of Negri's other work.

So what I'm working on right now is a cut down of my paper for DAC in Melbourne. I went to the one at Brown two years ago, and it was quite fun.

The paper is about the political ontogenesis of vision in computer games. which means, in short, that the visual experiences in computer games reconfigures vision in a political way. As this is part of a series of paper on McLuhan's extension/amputation thesis found in Understanding Media that I hope will one day become my own book, I'm going to cut some of that argument out. However, the primary argument is generated from the work of Paul Virilio such as The Vision Machine, The Aesthetics of Disappearance, and Lost Dimension.

Kapor's Open-Source PIM. 3 Feb 2003: Extreme Tech tells us aboutChandler.”Kapor, the co-founder of Lotus Development Corp. and principal author of the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet application, first disclosed his PIM plans last October, as part of an ongoing blog on the Open Source Applications Foundation (OSAF) web site. The OSAF employs nine paid members and four volunteers.” [RootPrompt.org -- Nothing but Unix]

if you want a PIM, there there is but one real solution, well 2, but really the second is more group oriented, anyway, it is Tinderbox by Eastgate. It handles information and makes it useful.

Translucent Databases. 3 Feb 2003: Unix Review takes a look at the bookTranslucent Databases.”There's actually more to “translucency” than the idea of programmatically encrypting individual items or classes of data. One of the values of the book, in fact, is that it goes to the trouble of enumerating related ideas and their consequences. I'm particularly fond of security variations that hide unencrypted data “in plain sight” by filling a channel with volumes of false data.” [RootPrompt.org -- Nothing but Unix]

I've always thought that 'hiding in plain site' was the general strategy now for a highly adept secure information system. I mean given rss and the ability to contribute to multiple websites, you could easily pull off the old newspaper trick…

Net ranks as top information source. A UCLA study reveals Americans who go online rank the Internet as the most important information source, outpacing TV, newspapers and radio.  [CNET News.com] [[ t e c h n o \ c u l t u r e ]]

hmmm, i kow that i use it, but as for the majority of american's i'm suspicious, but then i live in a place that has the most read newpaper for the population, etc. I do know that i don't watch tv news anymore…

From Good Morning Silicon Valley:

TIA+John Pointdexter. TLF: The Senate may have choked off government funding for John Poindexter's Total Information Awareness program (TIA) — a Defense Department research project that aims to identify terrorists by analyzing personal data collected in computer databases — but that has done little to stop its progress. Indeed, according to those with knowledge of the program, TIA is no longer a simple “research project.” There is now working prototype of the system, and federal agencies outside the Defense Department have expressed interest in it….

[[ t e c h n o \ c u l t u r e ]]

If you hear about a military information device as 'new' it is probably good to assume that is far past its beta testing. I wouldn't doubt that this system has been around for two or three years in some form or another, and was just modified and released as public knowledge. In releasing it, you achieve a variety of security goals. You narrow the useful communication channels that people will use for nefarious purposes. You slow the communication and thus logistical machines supporting them, etc. etc.

The PacketPC.

Something that's slipping in underneath the radar from Sony: a 60GB, WiFi-enabled, portable hard drive called the PacketPC that's the size of an iPod and comes with an LCD touch screen for text entry, GPS, and an MP3 player. David Galbraith points out what is really amazing about the PacketPC though:

Sony's enterprise backup service (a consumer service will be available later this year) means that the PacketPC will remotely sync via WiFi or Ethernet with an identical machine in a datastore. Lose your packet PC and clone replacement will be delivered by Fedex with 48 hours. The backup seems to be a simple disk image so there are no settings to really worry about, the offsite model is an exact clone of whatever is on your machine, and data is transferred in encrypted chunks for the enterprise service.

Two questions. One: Is the PacketPC for real? And two: Won't backing up 60 GB take an awful long time?
Read

[Gizmodo]

ooooo, new toy!