Showing papers in "IEEE Technology and Society Magazine in 2011"

Dimensions of Cyber-Attacks: Cultural, Social, Economic, and Political

Abstract: Essential systems providing water, electricity, healthcare, finance, food, and transportation are now increasingly software dependent, distributed, and interconnected. The detrimental consequences of this growing dependence become apparent during times of political conflict, social instability, and other traumatic events. The Internet has made information exchange easier and more efficient, but it has also created a new space in which criminals and terrorists can operate almost undetected. No longer is modern human conflict confined to the physical world; it has spread to cyberspace. Cyberspace is a massive socio technical system of systems, with a significant component being the humans involved. Current anomaly detection models focus primarily on analyzing network traffic to prevent malicious activities, but it has been shown that such approaches fail to account for human behaviors behind the anomalies. Evidence is growing that more cyber-attacks are associated with social, political, economic, and cultural (SPEC) conflicts. It is also now known that cyber-attackers' level of socio-technological sophistication, their backgrounds, and their motivations, are essential components to predicting, preventing, and tracing cyber-attacks. Thus, SPEC factors have the potential to be early predictors for outbreaks of anomalous activities, hostile attacks, and other security breaches in cyberspace.

Privacy in the Age of Google and Facebook

Abstract: Google and Facebook look to be at best naive, and at worst inept, when it comes to managing data privacy.Privacy is a key protection for intellectual, polit ical, and religious freedom, as well as the dignity of the individual. We cannot underestimate the power of the online revolution unleashed by Google and Facebook, but we can not ignore the inherent vulnerabili ties their size brings to digital social databases.

Cyborg Rights

Abstract: The process of cyborgization harbors great promise, but also significant threats. The scope for inequitable access to potentially beneficial prostheses is enormous, and so is the risk of a backlash against orthoses that are perceived to be "unnatural" or potentially harmful. Political, social, and economic institutions must grapple with the fruits of the labors of information and communications technologies, and they must be in formed by the professional bodies that represent researchers and engineers. At present, those professional bodies are unacceptably inactive.

Continuous RFID-Enabled Authentication: Privacy Implications

Abstract: Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been used in many application areas, including tracking shipments, inventory control, tracking livestock, locating missing pets, and studying wildlife. Recent years saw a rise in applications where RFID is used to track and monitor people with a broad objective of improving safety and productivity. RFID is now used to track military and law enforce ment personnel, locate lost children in amusement parks, and improve critical response time and efficien cy in hospitals by tracking medical personnel. RFID tags for tracking people can be either worn or implanted, but both methods pose significant ethical challenges to privacy. Applications involving subdermally implanted RFID tags and their ethical and privacy implications have been surveyed. The main focus of this article is on RFID systems that use wearable tags that can be embedded in badges or clothing for employee tracking at the workplace.

The Fallout from Emerging Technologies: Surveillance, Social Networks, and Suicide

Abstract: Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) [1] one of the most revered doctors of the ecclesia catholica, might not have been so highly esteemed had he flourished centuries afterwards in a world of uberveillance [2]. One of the unique aspects of Augustine's life that endeared him to the community of the faithful, both past and present, was his rising up from the “fornications” [3] and the “delight in thievery” [4] to become a paradigm for both the eastern and western churches of the penitent who becomes a saint. But would the celebrated bishop and author of The City of God have risen to such prominence and reverence had his early and formative life been chronicled on Facebook and “serialized” on YouTube? Would Augustine's long and grueling years of penitence and good works have been recognized? That we have his stylized and erudite Confessions on paper is another matter altogether; as to its impact, the written record cannot be compared to capturing someone in the act on closed circuit television (CCTV).

Cell-Phone-Enabled Empowerment of Woman Earning Less than $1/Day

Abstract: Cell phones are the fastest spreading information technology (IT) in the developing world, with a penetration rate of over 61%. Hence, there is a growing interest among governments, investors, banking industries, and retail giants like Wal-Mart to exploit this emerging channel of communication for offering services and expanding businesses to more than 3 billion poor consumers earning less than $2 per day. In response, a number of micro (individual), meso (community), and macro (regional/ national)-level research inquiries and consumer surveys have investigated what makes cell phones a desirable and affordable technology for people earning less than $2 per day. These multidisciplinary studies and market surveys have revealed links between access to cell phones and socio-economic opportunities for disadvantaged populations from developing nations

Indian Women and Mathematics for Computer Science

Abstract: To sum up, the case study of female students in India has shown that because they perform well in mathematics, they have high self efficacy for enrolling and remaining in CS. The new domain of CS builds on prior skills in mathematics. This suggests that CS and mathematics share skills. There is a need to carry out a comparative study of how mathematics is taught to girls and boys in the U.S. and India in order to understand issues related to gender and mathematics.

Minimizing Technology Ricks with PIAs, Precaution, and Participation

Abstract: Privacy impact assessment can be a tool for responsible research and innovation (RRI). RRI can be defined as a transparent, interactive process by which societal actors and innovators become mutually responsive to each other. In order to allow a proper embedding of scientific and technological advances in society, actors and innovators keep in mind ethical acceptability, sustainability, and societal desirability of the innovation process and its marketable products. This definition of RRI is close to the definition of privacy impact assessment (PIA). PIA is a process of engaging stakeholders to consider the impact of a new technology, product, service, project, or policy on privacy, and what measures could be taken to avoid or mitigate unwanted effects. In this light, PIA is also an instrument of risk governance that should be understood and implemented within the framework of the precautionary principle. Precaution is a theoretical framework of action in the face of uncertain risks. After considering the precautionary principle from a conceptual point of view, we consider privacy impact assessment in practice. We conclude that by integrating PIA within risk governance, one can also address the problem of balancing privacy and other values.

The Fall-Out from Emerging Technologies: on Matters of Surveillance, Social Networks and Suicide

Abstract: Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) [1] one of the most revered doctors of the ecclesia catholica, might not have been so highly esteemed had he flourished centuries afterwards in a world of uberveillance [2]. One of the unique aspects of Augustine’s life which endeared him to the community of the faithful, both past and present, was his rising up from the “fornications” [3] and the “delight in thievery” [4] to become a paradigm for both the eastern and western churches of the penitent who becomes a saint. But would the celebrated bishop and author of The City of God have risen to such prominence and reverence had his early and formative life been chronicled on Facebook and “serialized” on YouTube? Would Augustine’s long and grueling years of penitence and good works have been recognized? That we have his stylized and erudite Confessions on paper is another matter altogether; as to its impact the written record cannot be compared to capturing someone in the act on closed circuit television (CCTV). The audio-visual evidence is there forever to be rerun at whim by those who have access. And what of the multitude of other canonized “sinners” who in their own time and private space might not only mature by engaging with their humanity, indeed with their flaws and weaknesses, but also aspire to sainthood through repentance. If these “lives of the saints” were rerun before us, would we view such consecrated men and women in the same way? Where context is lacking or missing, then all interpretation of content, however compelling to the contrary, must be viewed with a high degree of suspicion.

Active Aging with Collaborative Networks

Abstract: Many recent studies document a demographic shift towards an older and healthier population [1]. The challenges posed by an aging society include care needs and social costs [2]. Many elderly citizens, following retirement, quickly become marginalized, losing their social links, which often leads to loneliness. Some consider the elderly a cost burden, rather than a resource capable of “value creation” in the society.

Lightning Protection: Getting It Wrong

Abstract: Lightning has become a significant threat to electronics in many countries where the natural phenomenon has previously been treated only as an occasional attacker of careless living beings. Most tropical countries, several southern states of the U.S.A., Japan, and several parts of Australia, experience heavy annual lightning occurrence density. These regions also record high levels of lightning related injuries and accidents. How ever, many European countries, far northern and southern sections of North and South America, and countries such as South Africa and New Zealand areas that had not previously paid much attention to lightning (except South Africa where lightning research started in the early 20th century) are now more vigilant due to increased industrial development, greater sophistication of electronics, and wide expansion of power and communication networks. The extensive dependence of society on automated systems makes countries increasingly vulnerable to lightning related hazards. We present here information that we have obtained in several countries with respect to lightning protection through our long term experience in operating in the Asian region as researchers, consultants, and advisors on this subject. Our findings are directly applicable and will be helpful to many other regions of the world.

Technology and U.S. Politics

Abstract: The relationship between technology use and political activism is significant but not as strong. One possible implication of this result, which is also supported by the technology usage results, is that we have yet to fully leverage technologies that may increase involvement in the political process. The results of the study indicate that technology can be utilized to influence political interest and political activism. The fact that it is possible to expand technology use in politics both by fully realizing the use of new technologies and getting more individuals to use this technology indicates that the influence of technology in politics will only increase. It was previously noted that technology can change the means by which freedom of choice is attained and can help reshape the political interests and goals of various parties in a political system. We also believe that the purpose of using technology in the political arena is to inform, involve, and mobilize large groups of people for a particular cause. The same out comes are desired for many other altruistic purposes.

Equity in South African higher education after apartheid

Abstract: The apartheid regime in South Africa was a notable exception, as that regime explicitly opposed educational equality and openly discriminated against most of its citizens in all aspects of life. Equity efforts in the higher education system of post-apartheid South Africa are vastly changed. ICT education is of particular interest for realizing equity in the larger society because there is an ICT skills shortage, and therefore relative ease-of-employment in the South African ICT sector. Thus ICT tends to provide easier upward mobility channels to disadvantaged ethnic groups in South Africa.

Governing Lethal Behavior in Robots [T&S Interview]

Abstract: This article is the first of a series of T&S Magazine interviews with IEEE and other technology experts and leaders, commenting on the social implications of technology within their engineering specialties.

Accidents and Disaster Management in Fireworks Industries

Abstract: An explosion is a reaction-physical, chemical or nuclear in nature-resulting in a rapid release of energy in the form of light, heat, sound, and a shock wave. Accidental explosions during the manufacture of fire crackers and safety matches are reported regularly in Sivakasi, India. Sivakasi is well known as “Mini Japan” (or “Kutty Japan”), and is situated in the Virudhunagar District of Tamil Nadu State in India. Industries situated in and around Sivakasi satisfy about 90% of the global demand for fireworks products (for both civilian festival occasions and military needs for signaling).

Regulating Beyond Nanotechnology

Abstract: When a new technology generates a need for legal change, there are questions about the form that change should take. The fact that legal problems accompany the introduction of nanotechnology does not mean that all related legal amendments are optimally limited to that context. This article considers some of the disadvantages of creating nano-specific sui generis rules to cope with legal and regulatory issues arising out of nanotechnology.

ID Scanners in the Australian Night-Time Economy

Abstract: The recent introduction of ID scanners into the night-time economy in many Australian cities is fertile ground for exploring a range of themes related to technology and society. There are questions about the scanners' contribution to increased surveillance, the interface between private and public forms of surveillance, the capacity for data sharing, concerns about the protection of privacy and the capacity or utility of existing theoretical models dealing with human surveillance, harm prevention, individual freedoms and the role of technology in promoting social order.

Workplace Consequences of Electronic Exhibitionism and Voyeurism

Abstract: Electronic exhibitionism de scribes the increasing worldwide phenomenon of individuals eviscerating their own privacy by affirmatively or inadvertently posting and distributing private and intimate information, thoughts, activities and photographs via email, text messaging, blogs, and social networking pages. Electronic voyeurism is descriptive of the related phenomenon of individuals and employers, who are members of what Daniel J. So love has described as Generation Google, searching, indexing, and distributing electronic data about others.

Global ICT-Mediated Collaborations: Thinking Beyond Networks

Abstract: Social laws differ from natural laws they can be made an object of reflection and, therefore, change. When it comes to ICT-mediated collaboration, the concept of technology developed within computer science may be critically re-examined in terms of its heuristic significance. This article contributes to this task by challenging the universal applicability of the network perspective on collaboration. It suggests that an activity-focused paradigm can provide a deeper understanding of collaboration as a social interaction and a production of knowledge. A system-activity model of interdisciplinary research can serve as a prototype of ICT-mediated collaboration. This model identifies the most relevant aspects of interaction between heterogeneous participants involved in the co-production of knowledge, and highlights the need to approach a collaborative entity as a sociocultural construct. The concept of collaboration as a system of social activity can assist technology developers in recognizing aspects of ICT-mediated collaboration that cannot be seen within the network perspective. Technology should be approached not only as an infrastructure but as an active participant that facilitates genuine collaboration through enabling human participants to critically reflect on knowledge shaped by different sociocultural and theoretical contexts.

Knowledge Production in Biotechnology in India

Abstract: The 21st century marks a significant change to the context in which knowledge is produced. The new institutional arrangements that seek to protect knowledge and its applications - and the possible global networking of organizations and global flows of knowledge - have changed the context of knowledge production. Some developing countries like India have built impressive research and development (R&D) institutions in the latter half of the 20th century, attempting to seize opportunities in the new context of R&D. There has been a changed culture of innovation in India after the product patent regime was adopted by the Government of India (Gol) in January 2005. Two case studies in the area of the pharmaceutical biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology help illustrate the networking of R&D organizations for innovation in India. These developments also raise larger questions relating to equity in access to innovations in India.

Potential Advantages of Virtual Institutions

Abstract: Social institutions are critical to organization and stability. Governments, businesses, markets, military, schools, hospitals, families, and churches are all complex institutions that provide services through an elaborate system of social organization. These institutions are designed to provide specific services to their constituencies by acquiring resources, by converting those resources to services, and by maintaining a permanent bureaucracy to create and deliver those services.

WiMAX-An Uncertain Promise for Bridging the Digital Divide

Abstract: In general terms, technology is born as the indirect consequence of social demands that are identified by researchers as interesting problems to solve; in solving the problem, they produce new knowledge. If they think they will obtain benefits, manufacturers and service providers take those results and produce products and services that satisfy that demand. Undoubtedly, there exist social needs that cannot be covered while obtaining benefit. If a society considers covering those needs to be a social priority, then complementary measurements should be taken to adequately promote innovation.

Datacenters in the Desert

Abstract: Green IT and green data centers will not happen overnight. Achieving greener data centers with lower carbon emissions and be more environmentally sustainable is a daunting task and especially challenging to make facilities running in extreme climatic conditions greener. However, with maturing technologies and availability of greener products, organizations have better options, even in extreme climates.

Marveling at the Diversity [Editorial]

Abstract: At one time the United States may have had the luxury of pretending that technology issues within its own geographical boundaries were the only technology issues of importance. That kind of myopia was never very bright, but it would be particularly dangerous and short-sighted today.

Society, Ethics, and Technology, 4th Edition (Winston, M.E. and Edelbach, R.D.; 2009) [Book Review]

Abstract: The book is one of a longstanding series of humanities anthologies issued by Wadsworth that I fi rst encountered a decade ago in Louis Pojman?s compilation of classic philosophy texts, The Quest for Truth. But in contrast to Plato and Aristotle, the fi elds of ethics and science and technology studies simply won?t stand still, so publishers are justifi ed in bringing out new editions in this area every few years. The mix of papers and essays in this collection strikes a good balance between relatively timeless and historical material on the one hand, and up-to-date topical discussions of current topics such as globalization, genetic engineering, and climate change on the other. This anthology began with a course the authors developed in 1993 at the College of New Jersey, assisted by NSF support for the fi eld of science and technology studies. The book is divided into two parts: Perspectives on Technology, which carries works on the history, politics, and ethics of technology in general; and Contemporary Technology and the Future, focused on five topical areas. The typography and layout of the book follow the pleasing well-established Wadsworth style. I detected a few signs of haste in copyediting: a typo here and there, and, most seriously, a place where apparently an entire page of references was left out. Considering that the office of proofreader was abolished by most publishers somewhere around 1995, this book is still better than average in its freedom from errors.

Four Scenarios for Future Evolution of the Internet

Abstract: The Internet has transformed the lives of billions of people in areas as diverse as democracy, education, healthcare, entertainment, commerce, finance, and civil infrastructure. It has become the 21st century's fundamental societal infrastructure, comparable to the railways of the 1800s and the roadways of the 1900s. The Internet and its associated services have helped transform the world economy and society, catalyzing new forms of communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation. The Internet deeply affects human communication, and the way humans deal with information and knowledge.

Wireless and Empire: Geopolitics, Radio Industry, and Ionosphere in the British Empire, 1918-1939 (Anduaga, A.; 2009) [Book review]

Abstract: Built on the less visible, yet dynamic, scholarship on the history of geophysics, the author-amidst a handful of recent historians-situates the beginning and growth of radio technology in the context of atmospheric science during the first half of the twentieth century. The outcome of this novel focus is the first book-length historical study of radio ionospheric propagation research. The author's focus of the book is to portray a complex social structure that shaped radio ionospheric propagation research in its formative years. Distinct intellectual traditions in physical sciences, the radio industry, engineering education, science policies, and geopolitics were all intertwined with one another in a kaleidoscopic frame. The author attempts to explain the ionosphere in terms of its impact on social, political, cultural, and economic conditions.

Next Generation Internet Faces the Storm

Abstract: If the Internet were a ship at sea, the voyage would begin under clear skies and strong winds - through surging tides, the ship's course would be steadfast, with no evidence for alarm. But now a storm approaches, indefatigable in its task to vitiate the Internet. The storm utilizes next-generation Internet (NGI) to proliferate vulnerabilities in mobile wireless communications. An unsafe environment is the eye of the storm. A complete redesign of the Internet Protocol (IP) has already begun, making NGI invariably in- tricate, yet meant for the long term.