Fostering Research on the Economic and Social Impacts of Information Technology (1998) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-6
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Today, innovations in information technology are having wide-ranging effects across numerous domains of society, and policy makers, although currently lacking sufficient understanding and analysis of the consequences of their decisions, are acting on issues involving economic productivity, intellectual property rights, privacy protection, and affordability of and access to information, among other concerns. Choices made now will have long-lasting consequences, and attention must be paid not only to their technological merit, but also to their social and economic impacts.)
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Incorporating examples given at the workshop and in position papers, it indicates some ways in which use of methodology from economics and the social sciences might contribute to important advances, and it describes how interdisciplinary research between social scientists and information technology researchers might help to improve knowledge of outcomes affecting private life and the household, the community, the social infrastructure, and business and the workplace. Chapter 2 concludes with a list of broad research topics offered by the steering committee as examples of promising areas for ongoing research.
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The appendixes list the workshop agenda and participants and include a selection of the position papers submitted, as well as two additional background papers commissioned for the workshop. EXAMPLES OF THE APPLICABILITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH Presented at the 1997 workshop and in participants' position papers was an array of examples showing applications of the results of social science research to improve understanding of the economic and social impacts of information technology in different domains, including the following: .
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Exploring how these concerns might be addressed at the protocol level through policies, rules, and conventions for the exchange and use of information could prove to be a promising approach to addressing complex social issues arising from the use of new computer and communications technology. APPROACHES TO MEETING REQUIREMENTS FOR DATA As was noted in workshop discussions and some of the position papers submitted by participants, approaches such as the following could contribute to meeting the requirements for data needed to study the economic and social impacts of information technology: · Making data related to the social and economic impacts of computing and communications available to the research community through a clearinghouse; · Exploring ways for researchers to obtain access to private-sector data; · Increasing data collection efforts by government;
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. Encouraging interdisciplinary studies and collaboration between researchers in information technology and researchers in the social sciences and economics through use of the following: Interdisciplinary workshops to convene researchers with expertise in a range of fields to explore successful approaches to conducting research on the impacts of information technology, as well as to foster increased collaborative work; Interdisciplinary curricula to help prepare students for collaborative work with researchers in other fields; and Interdisciplinary fellowships to stimulate intellectual cross-fertilization and development of professional contacts.
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Universal service is the practice of making telecommunications and information servicessuch as basic telephone service available at an affordable price to all people within a specified jurisdictional area.
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