Infrastructure Disputes Shape Future of Streaming Media

In November 2010, tension between Internet infrastructure companies boiled over in a dispute between content distribution network (CDN) Level 3 and Internet service provider (ISP) Comcast. Level 3, a distribution partner of Netflix, accused Comcast of violating the principles of net neutrality when the ISP increased distribution fees for carrying high bandwidth services. Comcast justified its actions by stating that the price increase was standard practice and argued Level 3 was trying to avoid paying its fair share. The dispute exemplifies the growing concern over the rising costs of streaming media services. The companies facing these inflated infrastructure costs are CDNs (Level 3, Equinix, Limelight, Akamai, and Voxel), companies that host streaming media content on server farms and distribute the content to a variety of carriers, and ISPs (Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, and AT&T), the cable and phone companies that provide “last mile” service to paying customers. Both CDNs and ISPs are lobbying government regulators to keep their costs at a minimum. The outcome of these disputes will influence the cost, quality, and legal status of streaming media.

The ultimate edge: The case for planning media for sustaining space communities

Governments and intergovernmental organisations have long recognised that space communities – the ultimate ‘settlements at the edge’ – will exist one day and have based their first plans for these on another region ‘at the edge’, the Antarctic. United States President Eisenhower proposed to the United Nations in 1960 that the principles of the Antarctic Treaty be applied to outer space and celestial bodies (State Department, n.d.). Three years later the UN adopted the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space and in 1967 that became the Outer Space Treaty. According to the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, ‘the Treaty was opened for signature by the three depository Governments (the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) in January 1967, and it entered into force in October 1967’ (Office for Outer Space Affairs, n.d). The status of the treaty (at time of writing) was 89 signatories and 102 parties (Office for Disarmament Affairs, n.d.). Other related instruments include the Rescue Agreement, the Liability Convention, the Registration Convention and the Moon Agreement (Office for Outer Space Affairs, n.d.-a). Jumping to the present, a newsagency reported in July 2014 (Reuters, 2014) that the British Government had shortlisted eight aerodromes in its search for a potential base for the UK’s first spaceplane flights which Ministers want to happen by 2018 (UK Space Agency, 2014). The United States already has a spaceport, in New Mexico (Cokley, Rankin, Heinrich, & McAuliffe, 2013)...

Teachers working in an online world

This book brings together a number of academics who have conducted research and written about effective practices and pedagogies that incorporate the use of information and communications technologies (ICT). The book is intended for graduate and undergraduate students in Teacher Education programmes, as well as teachers and those who areinterested in contemporary educational issues. The authors in this book have been engaged in rethinking education with ICT. Implicit in this, is the view that we need to reconceptualise our pedagogies and practices in order to make schools relevant to the lives of the young people who inhabit them. The chapters in this book are based on empirically grounded research work. The chapters illustrate the various dimensions of innovative practices with ICT that can extend teachers’ pedagogies and engage learners so that they are able to extend their potential for knowledge building in new and dynamic ways.

Política na internet? Fala sério! Democracia e política na perspectiva do jovem eleitor carioca conectado pelas TIC

A pesquisa busca compreender como a lógica e as ferramentas das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação atuais são apropriadas socialmente na participação dos assuntos cívicos, com ênfase na política. Como percurso, são revisitados os conceitos tradicionais da democracia e situa-se a discussão nas maneiras como os valores democráticos são paulatinamente incorporados aos ambientes digitais contemporâneos, apresentados como elementos importantes na aquisição cognitiva do público. Como recorte demográfico, estuda-se a juventude eleitora conectada, residente na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Ao fim do trabalho, aplica-se uma pesquisa de caráter quantitativo com amostra representativa do público, na busca por compreender a opinião política, o posicionamento perante a democracia, os hábitos culturais relacionados aos meios massivos e TIC de comunicação, identificando, por fim, os repertórios de ação reconhecidos como tal na esfera pública com o suporte da comunicação digital.

Ciberativismo e a dimensão comunicativa dos movimentos sociais: repertório, organização e difusão.

O que é o ciberativismo? Como compreender o fenômeno? Há uma grande variedade de disciplinas e abordagens teóricas que tem se debruçado sobre o tema, gerando uma diversidade de ferramentas analíticas e estudos empíricos sobre aspectos específicos da prática; mas, ao mesmo tempo, uma dificuldade de diálogo entre as interpretações e perspectivas teóricas. Faz-se necessário, assim, uma reflexão que permita pensar esse campo de discussão de forma mais abrangente. Tomando como pressuposto que a dimensão comunicativa não é nova para os movimentos sociais, mas que o ciberativismo, como tal, pressupõe uma nova inflexão, este trabalho propõe um duplo esforço para compreender como as NTICs impactam a ação coletiva. Por um lado, busca-se realizar uma análise de caráter histórico que permita identificar a centralidade da dimensão comunicativa nas práticas dos movimentos sociais; por outro lado, propõe-se tecer uma interpretação de viés teórico que possibilite resgatar alguns eixos de análise das Teorias dos Movimentos Sociais (repertórios de ação, organização e dinâmicas de difusão), de tal forma que ferramentas analíticas possam ser atualizadas para o entendimento da ação coletiva contemporânea.

ICTs, globalization and local diversity

This paper is based on a panel discussion at the 2002 International Conference on Information Systems in Barcelona. Three panellists responded to a set of questions on the meaning of the term globalization to them, and the role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in globalization processes. The panellists also highlighted the importance of local diversity in understanding globalization and ICTs, drawing from their varied research in contexts such as western country financial markets, health systems in Guatemala, and e-commerce in Mexico. A further output of the panel, and this paper, is the identification of key research questions and theories for future IS research in this important area.

A framework for the transformation of the creative industries in a digital age.

The creative industries sector faces a constantly changing context characterised by the speed of the development and deployment of digital information systems and Information Communications Technologies (ICT) on a global scale. This continuous digital disruption has had significant impact on the whole value chain of the sector: creation and production; discovery and distribution; and consumption of cultural goods and services. As a result, creative enterprises must evolve business and operational models and practices to be sustainable. Enterprises of all scales, type, and operational model are affected, and all sectors face ongoing digital disruption. Management consultancy practitioners and business strategy academics have called for new strategy development frameworks and toolkits, fit for a continuously changing world. This thesis investigates a novel approach to organisational change appropriate to the digital age, in the context of the creative sector in Scotland. A set of concepts, methods, tools, and processes to generate theoretical learning and practical knowing was created to support enterprises to digitally adapt through undertaking journeys of change and organisational development. The framework is called The AmbITion Approach. It was developed by blending participatory action research (PAR) methods and modern management consultancy, design, and creative practices. Empirical work also introduced to the framework Coghlan and Rashford’s change categories. These enabled the definition and description of the extent to which organisations developed: whether they experienced first order (change), second order (adaptation) or third order (transformation) change. Digital research tools for inquiry were tested by a pilot study, and then embedded in a longitudinal study over two years of twentyone participant organisations from Scotland’s creative sector. The author applied and investigated the novel approach in a national digital development programme for Scotland’s creative industries. The programme was designed and delivered by the author and ran nationally between 2012-14. Detailed grounded thematic analysis of the data corpus was undertaken, along with analysis of rich media case studies produced by the organisations about their change journeys. The results of studies on participants, and validation criteria applied to the results, demonstrated that the framework triggers second (adaptation) and third order change (transformation) in creative industry enterprises. The AmbITion Approach framework is suitable for the continuing landscape of digital disruption within the creative sector. The thesis contributes to practice the concepts, methods, tools, and processes of The AmbITion Approach, which have been empirically tested in the field, and validated as a new framework for business transformation in a digital age. The thesis contributes to knowledge a theoretical and conceptual framework with a specific set of constructs and criteria that define first, second, and third order change in creative enterprises, and a robust research and action framework for the analysis of the quality, validity and change achieved by action research based development programmes. The thesis additionally contributes to the practice of research, adding to our understanding of the value of PAR and design thinking approaches and creative practices as methods for change.

A demonstration of wireless sensing for long-term monitoring of water quality

At a time when technological advances are providing new sensor capabilities, novel network capabilities, long-range communications technologies and data interpreting and delivery formats via the World Wide Web, we never before had such opportunities to sense and analyse the environment around us. However, the challenges exist. While measurement and detection of environmental pollutants can be successful under laboratory-controlled conditions, continuous in-situ monitoring remains one of the most challenging aspects of environmental sensing. This paper describes the development and test of a multi-sensor heterogeneous real-time water monitoring system. A multi-sensor system was deployed in the River Lee, County Cork, Ireland to monitor water quality parameters such as pH, temperature, conductivity, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. The R. Lee comprises of a tidal water system that provides an interesting test site to monitor. The multi-sensor system set-up is described and results of the sensor deployment and the various challenges are discussed.

Increasing Staff and Student Capacity to Use the Communication Facility in Queen's Online in Order to Support Learning and Teaching on a BSW Programme

In this article the authors explore and evaluate developments in the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) within social work education at Queen's University Belfast since the inception of the new degree in social work. They look at the staff development strategy utilised to increase teacher confidence and competence in use of the Queen's Online virtual learning environment tools as well as the student experience of participation in modules involving online discussions. The authors conclude that the project provided further opportunity to reflect on how ICT can be used as a platform to support a whole course in a systematic and coordinated way and to ensure all staff remained abreast of ongoing developments in the use of ICT to support learning which is a normative expectation of students entering universities. A very satisfying outcome for the leaders is our observation of the emergence of other 'experts' in different aspects of use of ICT amongst the staff team. This project also shows that taking a team as opposed to an individual approach can be particularly beneficial