Cambridge University Press webpage for the book
Publisher's Summary: "This is the first account of the health panic surrounding cellular phones that developed in the mid-1990s. Treating the issue as more ‘social construction’ than evident scientific problem, it tells the story of how this originally American anxiety diffused internationally, having an even bigger impact in countries such as Italy. Burgess highlights the contrasting reactions to the issue ranging from positive indifference in Finland to those such as the UK where precautionary measures were taken. These differences are located within the emergence of a precautionary culture driven by institutional insecurity that first appeared in the US and is now most evident in Europe. Anxieties about cell phone radiowaves are also situated historically in the very different reactions to technologies such as x-rays and in the more similar ‘microwave suspicions’ about television. In addition, Burgess outlines a history and sociology of what is, despite media-driven anxieties, a spectacularly successful device. • The first in-depth study on the subject • Based on entirely original comparative research • The subject of the book is the most popular communications technology of our time" By Adam Burgess, Cambridge University Press, 2003. The book is for sale in paper copy, but the table of contents and introductory chapter can be downloaded free from this site.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Anatomy of a techno-myth
Economist.com article: (Subscription required.)
"DO MOBILE phones cause explosions at petrol stations? That question has just been exhaustively answered by Adam Burgess, a researcher at the University of Kent, in England. Oddly, however, Dr Burgess is not a physicist, but a sociologist. For the concern rests not on scientific evidence of any danger, but is instead the result of sociological factors: it is an urban myth, supported and propagated by official sources, but no less a myth for that."
Urban myths are perhaps the worst case example of products of informal knowledge systems. It would be a shame if the dissemination of mobile phones were impeded by false beliefs of this kind. Equally, in poor nations, added costs of protection against unreal but imagined dangers are especially unfortunate.
"DO MOBILE phones cause explosions at petrol stations? That question has just been exhaustively answered by Adam Burgess, a researcher at the University of Kent, in England. Oddly, however, Dr Burgess is not a physicist, but a sociologist. For the concern rests not on scientific evidence of any danger, but is instead the result of sociological factors: it is an urban myth, supported and propagated by official sources, but no less a myth for that."
Urban myths are perhaps the worst case example of products of informal knowledge systems. It would be a shame if the dissemination of mobile phones were impeded by false beliefs of this kind. Equally, in poor nations, added costs of protection against unreal but imagined dangers are especially unfortunate.
"Punch-up over handouts"
Economist.com Economics focus: Subscription required.
"Rich countries are under pressure to end their farm subsidies. Might some poor countries be sorry to see them go?"
This month the World Trade Organisation (WTO) upheld its ruling that certain agricultural subsidies by the United States and other rich nations distorted trade and breached limits agreed in 1994. Consequently, there is likely to be a reduction in agricultural subsidies in the foreseeable future.
"Most poor countries are net importers of agricultural goods. A study in 1999 found that 33 of the 49 poorest countries import more farm goods than they export; 45 of them are net importers of food." These countries can expect, at least in the short run, that their import costs will go up, and for most, food costs will also go up. In the long run, poor countries may export more into world markets, but it seems likely that countries such as Argentina and Brazil will be the greatest beneficiaries among developing nations.
Subsistance farmers may notice little difference, but countries subsidizing urban consumption and the urban poor may face higher food costs!
"Rich countries are under pressure to end their farm subsidies. Might some poor countries be sorry to see them go?"
This month the World Trade Organisation (WTO) upheld its ruling that certain agricultural subsidies by the United States and other rich nations distorted trade and breached limits agreed in 1994. Consequently, there is likely to be a reduction in agricultural subsidies in the foreseeable future.
"Most poor countries are net importers of agricultural goods. A study in 1999 found that 33 of the 49 poorest countries import more farm goods than they export; 45 of them are net importers of food." These countries can expect, at least in the short run, that their import costs will go up, and for most, food costs will also go up. In the long run, poor countries may export more into world markets, but it seems likely that countries such as Argentina and Brazil will be the greatest beneficiaries among developing nations.
Subsistance farmers may notice little difference, but countries subsidizing urban consumption and the urban poor may face higher food costs!
Global dimming
BBC Online Program Followup
"Between the 1950s and the early 1990s the level of solar energy reaching the earth's surface had dropped 9% in Antarctica, 10% in the USA, by almost 30% in Russia. And by 16% in parts of the British Isles. This was a truly global phenomenon, and Gerry gave it a suitable name - Global Dimming."
"Between the 1950s and the early 1990s the level of solar energy reaching the earth's surface had dropped 9% in Antarctica, 10% in the USA, by almost 30% in Russia. And by 16% in parts of the British Isles. This was a truly global phenomenon, and Gerry gave it a suitable name - Global Dimming."
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Sachs' Reply to Easterly's Review
Washingtonpost.com: Letter to the Editor from Sachs:
"When The Washington Post asked Easterly to review my book....it knew it would get a polemic, not a review. True to form, Easterly provides a crude caricature of my ideas. Easterly asserts, as he has falsely done before in the New York Times, that I envision a vast central-planning apparatus led by the U.N. secretary general and legions of U.N. staff. What I actually say is that the specialized U.N. organizations like UNICEF can offer great expertise to poor countries, not that they should be central planners. I also say that the secretary general should help coordinate the efforts of U.N. agencies, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and donors. As the book makes utterly clear, poverty reduction must be managed by poor countries themselves, starting in the villages. "
"When The Washington Post asked Easterly to review my book....it knew it would get a polemic, not a review. True to form, Easterly provides a crude caricature of my ideas. Easterly asserts, as he has falsely done before in the New York Times, that I envision a vast central-planning apparatus led by the U.N. secretary general and legions of U.N. staff. What I actually say is that the specialized U.N. organizations like UNICEF can offer great expertise to poor countries, not that they should be central planners. I also say that the secretary general should help coordinate the efforts of U.N. agencies, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and donors. As the book makes utterly clear, poverty reduction must be managed by poor countries themselves, starting in the villages. "
William Easerly's review of Sachs' Book
"A Modest Proposal" - The Washingtonpost.com review:
"Jeffrey D. Sachs's guided tour to the poorest regions of the Earth is enthralling and maddening at the same time -- enthralling, because his eloquence and compassion make you care about some very desperate people; maddening, because he offers solutions that range all the way from practical to absurd. It's a shame that Sachs's prescriptions are unconvincing because he is resoundingly right about the tragedy of world poverty. As he puts it, newspapers should (but don't) report every morning, 'More than 20,000 people perished yesterday of extreme poverty.' "
"Jeffrey D. Sachs's guided tour to the poorest regions of the Earth is enthralling and maddening at the same time -- enthralling, because his eloquence and compassion make you care about some very desperate people; maddening, because he offers solutions that range all the way from practical to absurd. It's a shame that Sachs's prescriptions are unconvincing because he is resoundingly right about the tragedy of world poverty. As he puts it, newspapers should (but don't) report every morning, 'More than 20,000 people perished yesterday of extreme poverty.' "
UN to set up science advisory mechanism
SciDev.Net article:
"Kofi Annan, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has announced plans to create a high-level advisory panel to help integrate science and technology into the development efforts of all the member organisations of the UN system.....
"Annan has also announced that he is to appoint a scientific advisor to provide 'strategic forward-looking' scientific advice on policy matters, with responsibility for 'mobilising scientific and technological expertise within the United Nations system and from the broader scientific and academic community'."
"Kofi Annan, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has announced plans to create a high-level advisory panel to help integrate science and technology into the development efforts of all the member organisations of the UN system.....
"Annan has also announced that he is to appoint a scientific advisor to provide 'strategic forward-looking' scientific advice on policy matters, with responsibility for 'mobilising scientific and technological expertise within the United Nations system and from the broader scientific and academic community'."
Monday, March 28, 2005
Censorship in the Science Museums
The New York Times Editorial (Registration required.)
"Big-screen Imax theaters typically offer lavish visual spectacles with bland and uplifting scripts. Their films are seldom the stuff of controversy. So it was a bit of a shock to learn, from an article by Cornelia Dean in The Times on March 19, that a dozen or so Imax theaters, mostly in the South, have been shying away from science documentaries that might offend Christian fundamentalists. Worse yet, some of those theaters are located in science centers or museums, the supposed expositors of scientific truth for public education."
"Big-screen Imax theaters typically offer lavish visual spectacles with bland and uplifting scripts. Their films are seldom the stuff of controversy. So it was a bit of a shock to learn, from an article by Cornelia Dean in The Times on March 19, that a dozen or so Imax theaters, mostly in the South, have been shying away from science documentaries that might offend Christian fundamentalists. Worse yet, some of those theaters are located in science centers or museums, the supposed expositors of scientific truth for public education."
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Hot air and global warming
The full Boston Globe article
"Earlier in the month, the former chief scientific adviser to the British government, Lord May of Oxford, bluntly compared Bush to a modern-day Nero. Last fall, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, ''If what the science tells about climate change is correct, then unabated it will result in catastrophic consequences for our world. The science almost certainly is correct.'
"At the recent London conference, Brown said, ''Environmental issues including climate change have traditionally been placed in a category separate from the economy and from economic policy. But this is no longer tenable. Across a range of environmental issues, from soil erosion to the depletion of marine stocks, from water scarcity to air pollution, it is clear now not just that economic activity is their cause, but that these problems in themselves threaten future economic activity and growth.'
"Nero and his fiddlers would hear none of that. Asked last month what the science was on global warming, Connaughton said on CNBC, ''There are many different views.'"
James L. Connaughton is the Chairman of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality.
"Earlier in the month, the former chief scientific adviser to the British government, Lord May of Oxford, bluntly compared Bush to a modern-day Nero. Last fall, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, ''If what the science tells about climate change is correct, then unabated it will result in catastrophic consequences for our world. The science almost certainly is correct.'
"At the recent London conference, Brown said, ''Environmental issues including climate change have traditionally been placed in a category separate from the economy and from economic policy. But this is no longer tenable. Across a range of environmental issues, from soil erosion to the depletion of marine stocks, from water scarcity to air pollution, it is clear now not just that economic activity is their cause, but that these problems in themselves threaten future economic activity and growth.'
"Nero and his fiddlers would hear none of that. Asked last month what the science was on global warming, Connaughton said on CNBC, ''There are many different views.'"
James L. Connaughton is the Chairman of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality.
Friday, March 25, 2005
ICT for Capacity-Building: Critical Success Factors
Meeting website:
"UNESCO and the Club of Rome are co-organizing a three-day 'World Conference on Harnessing the Potential of ICT for Capacity Building' from 11 to 13 May at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. The event is one of UNESCO's thematic meetings in preparation for the second meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society (Tunis, Tunisia, 16-18 November 2005)."
"UNESCO and the Club of Rome are co-organizing a three-day 'World Conference on Harnessing the Potential of ICT for Capacity Building' from 11 to 13 May at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. The event is one of UNESCO's thematic meetings in preparation for the second meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society (Tunis, Tunisia, 16-18 November 2005)."
Social Transformation in the Information Society: UNESCO-CI
Download the book. :
This publication is part of a series the UNESCO is producing in support of the World Summit on the Information Society. Chapters are: "Introduction: opening and closing access pathways to your future;" "The information society and social transformation;" "ICTs and society: the evolution of different perspectives;" "Social change tied to technological choices;" "Inventing our futures: the social factors shaping outcomes of digital Innovation;" "Reconfiguring access in major economic, social, and political arenas;" and "Summary: policy for a connected world." By William Dutton, UNESCO, 2004. (PDF, 1.35 MB, 144 pages.)
This publication is part of a series the UNESCO is producing in support of the World Summit on the Information Society. Chapters are: "Introduction: opening and closing access pathways to your future;" "The information society and social transformation;" "ICTs and society: the evolution of different perspectives;" "Social change tied to technological choices;" "Inventing our futures: the social factors shaping outcomes of digital Innovation;" "Reconfiguring access in major economic, social, and political arenas;" and "Summary: policy for a connected world." By William Dutton, UNESCO, 2004. (PDF, 1.35 MB, 144 pages.)
Debate on Information Literacy at UNESCO
Debate on Information Literacy at UNESCO: UNESCO-CI:
"A debate on 'Information literacy", a basic skill empowering people to benefit fully from the Information Society, will be held on 5 April at UNESCO?s Headquarters in Paris. The one-day debate that is open to Permanent Delegations of UNESCO Members States, is part of the 8th meeting of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme."
"A debate on 'Information literacy", a basic skill empowering people to benefit fully from the Information Society, will be held on 5 April at UNESCO?s Headquarters in Paris. The one-day debate that is open to Permanent Delegations of UNESCO Members States, is part of the 8th meeting of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme."
New Vaccine in African Trials Said to Offer Hope Against Bacterium
The New York Times article: (Registration required.)
"No one expected so big a reduction in pneumonia, hospitalization and mortality,' Dr. Levine said. 'Most people don't know it, but pneumococcal disease kills more people every year than malaria. In this trial, we prevented one death for every 200 children we vaccinated. That's a whopping public-health contribution.'"
"No one expected so big a reduction in pneumonia, hospitalization and mortality,' Dr. Levine said. 'Most people don't know it, but pneumococcal disease kills more people every year than malaria. In this trial, we prevented one death for every 200 children we vaccinated. That's a whopping public-health contribution.'"
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Latin American science 'needs regional integration'
SciDev.Net article:
"Representatives of ten Latin American countries have issued a statement calling for greater regional integration of science policies and research activities."
The "Buenos Aires Statement' was announced at the end of the First Latin American Forum of Parliamentary Committees on Science and Technology, held 7-8 March in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
"Representatives of ten Latin American countries have issued a statement calling for greater regional integration of science policies and research activities."
The "Buenos Aires Statement' was announced at the end of the First Latin American Forum of Parliamentary Committees on Science and Technology, held 7-8 March in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Friday, March 18, 2005
OECD Science, Technology and Industry (STI) Outlook 2004
STI Outlook 2004 website:
"Science and technology contribute to innovation and industrial performance as never before. As the recent economic slowdown gives way to prospects of stronger economic growth across the OECD and competition from outside the OECD increases, renewed attention is being directed to ways of tapping into science, technology and innovation to achieve economic and societal objectives. What steps are countries taking to strengthen their capabilities in science, technology and innovation? How can governments best collaborate with business to create, diffuse, and exploit their intellectual assets in all sectors of an increasingly competitive, global economy?"
"Science and technology contribute to innovation and industrial performance as never before. As the recent economic slowdown gives way to prospects of stronger economic growth across the OECD and competition from outside the OECD increases, renewed attention is being directed to ways of tapping into science, technology and innovation to achieve economic and societal objectives. What steps are countries taking to strengthen their capabilities in science, technology and innovation? How can governments best collaborate with business to create, diffuse, and exploit their intellectual assets in all sectors of an increasingly competitive, global economy?"
"Society of African Journal Editors Launched"
Sigma Xi reports: "The Rural Outreach Program (ROP) in Kenya and the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND) recently hosted the launch meeting of the Society of African Journal Editors (SAJE). In a two-day meeting in Nairobi last December, the group rectified the draft constitution, adopted a logo and developed a strategic plan. The organization’s mandate is to oversee scholarly publishing on the continent and facilitate and promote both human and institutional capacity-building initiatives."
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Wolfowitz tapped to lead World Bank
MSNBC article:
"President Bush on Wednesday tapped Defense Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who has been a lightning rod for criticism of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and other defense policies, to take over as head of the World Bank."
"President Bush on Wednesday tapped Defense Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who has been a lightning rod for criticism of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and other defense policies, to take over as head of the World Bank."
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Digital Solidarity Fund
Digital Solidarity Fund website
The Digital Solidarity Fund went into operation yesterday. It is a result of the discussions that have taken place around the World Summit on the Information Society. The initial funding is from the City of Geneva and a number of national governments. It is hoped that a number of ICT firms will donate one percent of their funds to the Fund.
The Digital Solidarity Fund went into operation yesterday. It is a result of the discussions that have taken place around the World Summit on the Information Society. The initial funding is from the City of Geneva and a number of national governments. It is hoped that a number of ICT firms will donate one percent of their funds to the Fund.
Monday, March 14, 2005
"Off Track" by Benjamin Wallace-Wells
Washington Monthly article:
"Whereas a decade ago the most creative, groundbreaking stuff came from Silicon Valley, now it all seemed to come from overseas. The plasma televisions were from Korea; the computer-like cell phones were from Finland; the feature-packed digital cameras were from Japan. "
"Whereas a decade ago the most creative, groundbreaking stuff came from Silicon Valley, now it all seemed to come from overseas. The plasma televisions were from Korea; the computer-like cell phones were from Finland; the feature-packed digital cameras were from Japan. "
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