Technological Neutrality

"The paper speaks about the both positive and negative arguments of the concept of technological neutrality. Technology is the part and parcel of present people's daily life having aesthetic and devil impact on world. The experts and philosophers on interpretation of the influence of technology in life are concerned about the ongoing misuse of technology. The debate is whether technology itself becomes destructive and detrimental to us or the people inventing technology are responsible to make it more harmful for their own greediness. States are preparing to adopt new laws regarding the proper, exact and neutral use of technology in a sense to protect the deviation of technology behavior. The introduction tells about the fundamental impact and effectiveness of technology in life; ""definition of technology"" goes ahead to identify the various aspect of technology development stages; ""autonomous technology"" heading finds out the true characters of technology as against to human power and strength; ""neutral technology"" implies the adaptation of laws for neutral use of technology itself; ""neutrality principle in economy and communication science"" has the notion of impartial rationale of being unbiased for upholding technology neutrality principle in practice; and finally the conclusion ends with summing up the average influences of technology on human being at large."

La dimensió política de la construcció social del Programari Lliure

Aquest estudi es presenta com una aproximació al fenomen del Programari Lliure des de la seva vessant política. Lluny de tractar-se d'una alternativa tecnològica la naturalesa de la qual seria explicable en termes exclusivament tècnics - la qual cosa no faria sinó atribuir-li una presumpta neutralitat tecnològica -, ací assumim que tota tecnologia s'inscriu en un procés de construcció social en el que incideixen factors de tipus social, econòmic, polític i/o moral que rebasen allò merament tècnic. Creguem que en el cas del Programari Lliure es donen cita tots aquests factors, sent el plànol polític el que adquireix un especial protagonisme en dit procés de construcció i que mereix de tractament aïllat. D'aquesta manera, la semàntica de allò polític serà examinada en les seves diferents accepcions a través de dos plànols complementaris. Per una banda, rastrejant els fonaments culturals que subjauen al Programari Lliure i les seves possibles concomitàncies de contingut polític. D'altra, descrivint la praxis actual d'actors heterogenis (corporacions, governs, associacions d'usuaris,...) desenvolupada en un marc global d'interacció col·lectiva, que es revisteix igualment, producte de la confrontació estratègica d'interpretacions i discursos particulars sobre el mateix, d'un caràcter indubtablement polític.

L'écrit électronique

Les technologies de l’information entraînent de profondes transformations dans nos façons d’apprendre et de socialiser ; de lire et d’écrire. Ces changements ne sont pas sans conséquence sur de nombreuses institutions, juridiques ou non. Créées au fil du temps et adaptées à une réalité qu’elles avaient internalisée, elles doivent aujourd’hui comprendre et s’adapter au changement. L’écrit est une de ces institutions. Sa place dans le droit civil est le fruit de centaines d’années de cohabitation et le droit y a vu un allié stable. Mais autrefois facilitateur, l’écrit devient obstacle alors que les technologies de l’information, affranchies du papier, sont utilisées dans des situations juridiques. Comment adapter la notion d’écrit – et celles de l’original et de la signature – alors qu’il n’est question que de données abstraites sous forme numérique ? C’est là l’objet de ce mémoire. Suite à une étude de la notion d’écrit dans le temps, de son affirmation à son bouleversement, nous étudierons les outils juridiques (traditionnels ou récents, comme les principes de neutralité technologique et d’équivalence fonctionnelle) à la disposition du droit civil pour constamment s’adapter à des situations changeantes. Enfin, dans une perspective plus pratique, nous verrons le traitement qu’ont fait divers législateurs, de l’écrit électronique. Nous terminerons par une analyse plus précise des dispositions québécoises relatives à l’écrit électronique. Les principes étudiés dans ce mémoire sont susceptibles de s’appliquer à d’autres situations similaires.

L'encadrement du contrat électronique : l'exemple français

Les nouvelles technologies jouent un rôle croissant dans notre société. Le droit s’est interrogé sur la façon de rendre possible l’utilisation du support électronique dans un monde où seule l’utilisation du support papier était possible jusqu’à peu. L’objectif était d’éviter que la loi par son attachement au support papier n’entrave l’utilisation des nouvelles technologies et plus largement le développement des échanges en ligne. Dans ce contexte, la Commission des Nations Unies pour le Développement du Commerce International (CNUDCI) a développé les principes de neutralité technologique et d’équivalence fonctionnelle aux termes desquels les écrits électroniques sont considérés comme équivalents à ceux papiers s’ils sont en mesure d’endosser les mêmes fonctions que ces derniers. Le législateur français, s’inspirant des travaux de la CNUDCI, a modifié sa législation pour permettre la reconnaissance de la valeur juridique des actes passés par voie électronique. La reconnaissance de la valeur juridique des actes conclus par voie électronique laisse cependant subsister certaines questions relatives la protection du consentement de celui qui contracte en ligne. Le législateur français a ainsi élaboré des règles formalistes et dérogatoires au droit commun concernant la conclusion des contrats électroniques pour protéger le consommateur en ligne.

Le formalisme du contrat électronique dans l’ASEAN : définition et interprétation des notions d’écrit et de signature

Plus de dix ans après la mise en place du projet d’harmonisation du droit du commerce électronique, l’ASEAN, « The Association of Southeast Asian Nations » rassemblant dix États membres en Asie du Sud-est, n’arrive toujours pas à doter chacun de ses États membres d’une législation harmonisée en la matière. Dans cette optique, nous tenterons, pour contribuer à cette harmonisation, de démontrer la situation problématique relative au droit du commerce électronique dans six des dix États membres de l’ASEAN où, en plus de leur non-uniformité législative, les textes nationaux régissant le formalisme du contrat électronique demeurent difficiles à comprendre, à interpréter et donc à appliquer ; ce qui cause parfois des erreurs interprétatives voire l’oubli total de ces textes. Cette expérience n’est pas unique dans l’ASEAN, car l’on trouve également de similaires situations dans d’autres juridictions, telles que le Canada et les États-Unis. Pour pallier cette rupture entre la loi et la jurisprudence, nous proposons une quête d’une méthode d’interprétation comme une piste de solution qui nous semble la plus pertinente au regard de l’état des textes déjà en vigueur et de l’objectif de l’harmonisation du droit du commerce électronique dans l’ASEAN. Parmi les méthodes interprétatives très variées, nous arrivons à identifier la méthode contextuelle, aussi large soit-elle, comme la méthode la plus pertinente eu égard aux caractéristiques particulières du formalisme du contrat électronique, à savoir l’écrit et la signature électroniques. Nous proposons donc une grille d’analyse de cette méthode composée de contextes juridique, technique et social, qui aideront les juristes, surtout les juges, à mieux saisir le sens des textes et à leur donner « une meilleure interprétation » en faveur de l’objectif de l’harmonisation du droit dans l’ASEAN.

The Law of the WTO and the Communications Law of the EC : On a Path of Harmony or Discord?

This paper presents an overview of the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) relevant to telecommunications services and correlates this body of law with the current regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services in the European Community. The latter has been adapted to meet the challenges of technological and market developments in communications, epitomized by the processes of digitization, enhanced transport networks and convergence. The novel solutions embodied in the EC electronic communications regime, notably, a new design of the Significant Market Power mechanism, a projected withdrawal of sector specific regulation and an affirmation of the principle of technological neutrality, pose interesting questions as to the conformity of this reformed EC communications law with the WTO rules on telecommunications services and the obligations of the European Communities and their Member States. Looking beyond the WTO legal compatibility test, essential questions regarding the need for evolution of the WTO telecommunications rules are raised. The present paper contributes to the ongoing debate in that context in light of the EC experience.

A tractable means of correcting sector level TFP calculations in the face of biased technological change.

The measurement of the impact of technical change has received significant attention within the economics literature. One popular method of quantifying the impact of technical change is the use of growth accounting index numbers. However, in a recent article Nelson and Pack (1999) criticise the use of such index numbers in situations where technical change is likely to be biased in favour of one or other inputs. In particular they criticise the common approach of applying observed cost shares, as proxies for partial output elasticities, to weight the change in quantities which they claim is only valid under Hicks neutrality. Recent advances in the measurement of product and factor biases of technical change developed by Balcombe et al (2000) provide a relatively straight-forward means of correcting product and factor shares in the face of biased technical progress. This paper demonstrates the correction of both revenue and cost shares used in the construction of a TFP index for UK agriculture over the period 1953 to 2000 using both revenue and cost function share equations appended with stochastic latent variables to capture the bias effect. Technical progress is shown to be biased between both individual input and output groups. Output and input quantity aggregates are then constructed using both observed and corrected share weights and the resulting TFPs are compared. There does appear to be some significant bias in TFP if the effect of biased technical progress is not taken into account when constructing the weights

Influence of the technological innovation degree on knowledge creation: Evidence from a Brazilian firm

The aim of this paper is to analyze the process of knowledge creation when developing high technology products in projects having various innovation degrees. The main contribution to the literature is the systematization of an approach to analyze knowledge creation during the product innovation process. Three innovation projects developed by a company specialized in industrial automation systems were investigated using case studies. The knowledge creation processes, which took place in these three projects, were analyzed comparatively. As a distinctive result of this paper, the main features of the knowledge creation processes influenced by a degree of technological innovation are identified.

Quantum Hall Effect near the Charge Neutrality Point in a Two-Dimensional Electron-Hole System

We study the transport properties of HgTe-based quantum wells containing simultaneously electrons and holes in a magnetic field B. At the charge neutrality point (CNP) with nearly equal electron and hole densities, the resistance is found to increase very strongly with B while the Hall resistivity turns to zero. This behavior results in a wide plateau in the Hall conductivity sigma(xy) approximate to 0 and in a minimum of diagonal conductivity sigma(xx) at nu = nu(p) - nu(n) = 0, where nu(n) and nu(p) are the electron and hole Landau level filling factors. We suggest that the transport at the CNP point is determined by electron-hole ""snake states'' propagating along the nu = 0 lines. Our observations are qualitatively similar to the quantum Hall effect in graphene as well as to the transport in a random magnetic field with a zero mean value.

Technological advances and mechanistic basis for fungal biopulping

Biopulping fundamentals, technology and mechanisms are reviewed in this article. Mill evaluation of Eucalyptus grandis wood chips biotreated by Ceriporiopsis subvermispora on a 50-tonne pilot-plant demonstrated that equivalent energy savings can be obtained in lab- and mill-scale biopulping. Some drawbacks concerning limited improvements in pulp strength and contamination of the chip pile with opportunist fungi have been observed. The use of pre-cultured wood chips as inoculum seed for the biotreatment process minimized contamination problems related to the use of blended mycelium and corn-steep liquor in the inoculation step. Alkaline wash restored part of the brightness in biopulps and marketable brightness values were obtained by one-stage bleaching with 5% H2O2 when bio-TMP pulps were under evaluation. Considering the current scenario, the understanding of biopulping mechanisms has gained renewed attention because more resistant and competitive fungal species could be selected with basis on a function-directed screening project. A series of studies aimed to elucidate structural changes in lignin during wood biodegradation by C. subvermispora had indicated that lignin depolymerization occurs during initial stages of wood biotreatment. Aromatic hydroxyls did not increase with the split of aryl-ether linkages, suggesting that the ether-cleavage-products remain as quitione-type structures. On the other hand, cellulose is more resistant to the attack by C subvermispora. MnP-initiated lipid peroxidation reactions have been proposed to explain degradation of non-phenolic lignin substructures by C subvermispora, while the lack of cellobiohydrolases and the occurrence of systems able to suppress Fenton`s reaction in the cultures have explained non-efficient cellulose degradation by this biopulping fungus. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relationship between technological properties and slab surface roughness of siliceous dimension stones

Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[06/52521-0]

Shedding light on technological development in Brazil

We try to shed some light oil the question of wily technology-intensive businesses often fail in less-developed countries and under what circumstances they are likely to be a Success from the perspective of both domestic and export markets. The answers were drawn from a set of empirical evidences from Brazilian firms applying photonics technologies. Sonic of the issues faced by them are related to the question of state versus private initiative, entering traditional versus niche market, and technology transfer versus product development management. In overall, we concluded that weakness of the institutions and inadequacy of social and organizational demography play a key role in explaining to a large extent wily countries differ in technological development and diffusion. In this context, we point out obstacles, which must be removed in order to make public policies and firm`s achievements more efficient. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technological characterization of phosphate ore types from the Salitre Alkaline Complex, MG - Fosfertil Area

The present study was carried out on six different ore types from the Salitre Alkaline Complex aiming to determine their mineralogical composition and the major features that are relevant in the mineral processing. The P(2)O(5) grades vary from 9 to 25%. The slime content (-0, 020 mm) varies between 20 and 34% (w/w) and carries 17-22% of the P(2)O(5) content. The samples essentially consist of apatite, iron oxi-hydroxides, ilmenite, clay minerals, carbonate, quartz, pyroxene, perovskite, secondary phosphates and other minor accessory minerals. Below 0.21 mm, apatite essentially occurs in free particles showing a clean surface or a weak coating of it-on oxi-hydroxides; the highly covered apatite (not recoverable by flotation) varies from 6 to 9%. In the deslimed fraction (above 0.020 mm) more than 97% of the total phosphor content occurs as apatite; the estimated P 2 0 5 potential recovery in flotation concentration is over 90% (71-76% overall recovery).

X ray densitometry applied to technological evaluation of MDF panels of eucalyptus

MDF panels from eucalyptus wood fibers were manufactured in laboratory and industrial production and had their apparent density profile determined by X-ray densitometry. The MDF panels apparent density parameters (maximum density of the superior and inferior faces; medium and minimum density) were determined and compared. The results indicated that the density values of the MDF panels made in the laboratory and in industrial line did not show significant statistical differences, indicating the similarities in the pressing phase of the fibers of both kinds. However, for MDF panels of laboratory and production line, the values of maximum, mean and minimum densities showed statistically significant correlations. The determination of the density profile for MDF panels by X-ray densitometry is important for the evaluation of pressing phase and other variables of the industrial process of production, as well for the determination of the technological properties.