Categoría: General

Information Producers

4.  THE INFORMATION PRODUCERS

4.1  Technology:

         4.1a  United States:

U.S. National Intelligence is a major force behind studies on the current status of IT and telecommunications technology in Latin America.  The National Research Defense Institution of the Rand Corporation held three international conferences on the topic of Information Technology in 1999 and 2000 as part of a study for the U.S. National Intelligence Agency.  Summaries of the proceedings of those conferences provided much of the information included in this report and constitute a comprehensive and detailed analysis of technology in Latin America.  The Rand Corporation has also published several analyses on other issues related to technology in Latin America, including sources on «netwar» and the use of digital technologies by drug cartels.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has also collected significant statistics on technology in the developing world as part of its 2001 Human Development Report. While the work done by  U.S. intelligence seems to be interested in analyzing the current obstacles to and prospects for technology development around the globe, the United Nations is specifically interested in how technology might be used to alleviate particular development problems. http://www.undp.org/hdr2001

Wired magazine is a good source of up-to-the minute reports on individual country technology issues, especially relative to IT and telecommunications.  It tends to focus more on the «successful» technology countries-Mexico, Brazil, Argentina-although it does include some updates on other countries as well. http://www.wired.com

4.1b  Latin America:

Independent research centers focused specifically on questions of technology have been somewhat slow to emerge in Latin America.  As noted above, originally technology R&D was pursued by the public university system, but the quickening pace of technological advances and the increasing ties between the region and its northern neighbors has stimulated the emergence of new initiatives.  Often these initiatives incorporate private industry representatives, technology experts, policymakers, and foreign consultants. To date, the best example appears to be the Peruvian Scientific Net (RCP) founded by Jose Soriano, which has since been integrated into larger regional and global technology networks.  However, even in these contexts much of the work on technology in the region appears to come from collaborations with U.S. scholars or international initiatives.

4.2  Social Sciences

            4.2a  United States:

Research on Latin America conducted in the U.S. falls within two categories: that pursued by state/multinational agencies (i.e., U.S. Department of Defense or Education; the United Nations) and independent academic, research institutions.  The information provided by the U.S and multilateral agencies (see for example the CIA page at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html or the UNDP human development report indexes at http://www.undp.org/hdr2001/back.pdf) tend to provide detailed, frequently-updated statistical information on the region, usually organized on a by-country basis.  This type of research provides essential background information on political systems, economic activities and national production, income, demographics, etc.  However, it does not necessarily provide analysis on the meaning of these figures.  The UNDP Human Development Report does provide a comprehensive analysis of its indexical information, and that information is ranked relative to the rest of the world for further context. 

Within academia, several institutions demonstrate a clear concentration of resources and researchers.  The University of Texas at Austin is by far the largest and best institutional site for research on Latin America, including an enormous library and substantial faculty across several disciplines whose work focuses centrally on Latin America exclusively and/or Latin America-U.S. relations.  The University of Texas’ website provides a wealth of information on both U.S. and Latin American-based research, commercial, cultural, and political institutions, plus statistics, maps, and other important reference materials (see http://lanic.utexas.edu). 

            Other research institutions responsible for publishing a wide variety of work on Latin America are the North-South Center at the University of Florida at Miami.  That center has sponsored several conferences on issues of Latin American economics and politics.  Also, theWoodrow Wilson Center has organized and sponsored research on Latin American politics in particular. 

            4.2b  Latin America

            Within Latin America, the independent research institution that stands out as the leader in the sponsorship and publishing of scholarly work on Latin America is FLACSO, based in Santiago, Chile, but with sites throughout Latin America.  FLACSO sets annual research agendas and funds research projects throughout the hemisphere that seek to address those problematics.  FLACSO publishes work by both Latin American academics and practitioners, usually focusing on issues central to social change, inequality, and politics.

            The public universities in Latin America are another source of scholarship on the region; however, their impact is quite varied based on the large differences in institutional strength and resources across the region.  In many Latin American countries, the public university system has been the site of some of the most stinging social analysis.  For that same reason, it has been the victim of widespread political repression and censorship.  Therefore, scholarly traditions vary based on both the historical legacy of a particular institution and the particular context of production. 

Pérou : Internet pour tous

DAVID MANGURIAN
José Soriano est convaincu qu’à un moment donné, au cours du prochain millénaire, Internet sera à la portée des Latino-américains appartenant à toutes les classes de la société pour un prix raisonnable. Cependant, il n’est pas prêt à attendre aussi longtemps.

Ce journaliste, expert en télécommunications et actuel directeur général de Red Científica Peruana (RCP) est en train de promouvoir un moyen inédit de mettre Internet à la portée d’utilisateurs ayant de faibles revenus et habitant dans des zones sous-développées, pour un coût raisonnable. Continuar leyendo «Pérou : Internet pour tous» →

ICANN Fellowship at San Juan, Part 3

At the Fellowship meeting we had a great speaker, Dr. Steve Goldstein, an ICANN Board Member. He gave us an historical overview of networks, starting in 1989 when he first got involved. He often explained events with his perspective that » When there is real money on the table, all the rules change», which he applied to the changing fortunes and importance of ICANN and network policies throughout these years. He will give us a link to his presentation slides, in case anyone is interested.

I found his mention of José Soriano and his pioneering, often dangerous work setting up networks in Peru, and of Randy Bush, who did a lot of volunteer work, for instance in setting up Networks in South Africa, to be very interesting. I met both José and Randy at the LACNIC meeting in Margarita Island, Venezuela, and had heard of what can only be called their «exploits». Steve implied that they are among the «unsung heroes» of Internet history, and give good perspective on the early efforts to help the developing world on the part of these pioneers.

ICANN Fellowship at San Juan, Part 3

Submitted by gingerpaque on Thu, 2007-06-28 17:52.

Just a quick note (upon re-reading, I see it’s not so quick or short. Sorry.) on what’s happening at ICANN in Puerto Rico, from my particular viewpoint.

I the attended the ICANN Public Forum, and found the President’s report by ICANN president Paul Twomey, to actually be very interesting, not the dry, formal information one might expect. There was lots of intensity in this report, lots of policy work, lots of progress.

I found his emphasis– that there are no back room deals with ICANN staff, with registrars or others– to be important. He reiterated that staff does not make policy, and there is constant stress on the importance of participation and transparency. Paul Twomey again invited everyone to participate by any means possible, including through the ICANN Blog.

He also mentioned the renovated ICANN website which includes «The world according to ICANN» in maps, which is worth a look, and the documents and background information which ensure transparency.

Mr. Twomey also mentioned the ICANN fellowship program, which illustrates the importance that ICANN is giving to outreach and the program itself.

I found it interesting that there was no mention of .xxx. I thought it might be revisited. More and more it seems to me, from conversations here at ICANN, that the .xxx was not the media circus that I saw on the Internet, but business as usual for ICANN, and was decided on the rules as interpreted in normal procedures. I now understand that the .xxx was probably rejected on its business model and lack of consensus even within its own area.

In the IDN update report, we were told that the IDNs have been laboratory tested, and are in the process of a decision on the feasibility of implementation. Of course we were given much more detail, but I’m not going to go into that here.

We also heard a report on the proposed fiscal year 2008 by Doug Brent, Chief Operating Officer. The Budget has been posted on the website in Spanish, French, and English, and Arabic was considered, in order to make comments and participation easier. The feedback has already changed the budget.

In the Workshop on Protection of Registrants the point was made that they are also looking for suggestions as to how to make the data accessible and readable, so that it can be understood and used.

At one point, an aside by Vincent Cerf, the quintessential expert speaker, was a tip to a panelist who was speaking too fast for the transcribers: «Don’t let your enthusiasm get in the way of communication.»

We were told that competition and local registrars will be a part of the solution for protection of registrants and in particular registrants in developing countries, and a member of the audience pointed out the necessity of education, as a contribution from ALAC, and the use of plain language in explanations and reports.

One of the biggest questions dealt with was the Protection of Registrants in case of registry failure.–what happens if your registry or registrar goes bankrupt? What happens to your web page? Do you have any recourse? These questions have not been answered yet, but are of importance to those involved, who are actively looking for solutions.

At the Fellowship meeting we had a great speaker, Dr. Steve Goldstein, an ICANN Board Member. He gave us an historical overview of networks, starting in 1989 when he first got involved. He often explained events with his perspective that » When there is real money on the table, all the rules change», which he applied to the changing fortunes and importance of ICANN and network policies throughout these years. He will give us a link to his presentation slides, in case anyone is interested.

I found his mention of José Soriano and his pioneering, often dangerous work setting up networks in Peru, and of Randy Bush, who did a lot of volunteer work, for instance in setting up Networks in South Africa, to be very interesting. I met both José and Randy at the LACNIC meeting in Margarita Island, Venezuela, and had heard of what can only be called their «exploits». Steve implied that they are among the «unsung heroes» of Internet history, and give good perspective on the early efforts to help the developing world on the part of these pioneers.

Steve gave us what looked like the «clouds» of Internet Governance, which we at Diplo call «baskets», and I found it interesting to see how he divided the areas: Illegal Activity (Pornography, fraud, gambling, trafficking, stalking), Legal Activity (eCommerce, Social areas, Education, Research, Entertainment), Operations (Transmissions, names and numbers, DNS), Regulation (WIPO, content, taxation) Standards, and Applications (browsing, virtual reality, video, audio). It was interesting to see this viewpoint and contrast it with our division of the issues.

You will see that he gave ICANN a very small section of the operations area, which is similar to how I perceive the Diplo viewpoint: small, but very important. (Like a diamond?) :).

Well, back to work. I hate to miss even a minute of these activities: there is so much going on.

Aquí están, estos son …

Por José Soriano
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Sin las redes nacionales INTERNET no sería lo que es ni tendría la misma utilidad que hoy disfrutamos. Es gracias al esfuerzo y la pasión de miles de personas que gestaron la plataforma local en su difícil inicio que hoy podemos aprovechar su alcance global. En el caso de América Latina en la mayoría de los casos los gobiernos estuvieron ausentes y todo dependió de la pasión y esfuerzo de unos pocos. A pesar de eso aún hoy se piensa en Internet como una red centralizada en los Estados Unidos olvidando sus capacidades inclusivas y distribuídas de alcance global. Si hablamos de pioneros en la región seguro que no están todos los que son, pero contando con su ayuda pronto la mayoría estarán incluídos.

Continuar leyendo «Aquí están, estos son …» →