The Evolving Role of Unlicensed Spectrum: Introduction

24 Feb 2015

The Evolving Role of Unlicensed Spectrum: Introduction

With the FCC taking multiple steps to expand the availability of unlicensed spectrum amid growing user reliance on untethered connectivity, the role and importance of this spectrum in the U.S. context is expanding and likely to expand further. This evolving dynamic will be the topic of a series of posts, starting with this introduction. We hope it will trigger comments from experts and other interested parties in the U.S., and also from those who can draw comparisons with other countries and regions of the world. Among the manifestations of this shift are new types of wireless service providers, including small startups […]

20 Feb 2015

The Greece-Euro Crisis: Much at Stake and Much to Learn

As the Euro crisis enters a new high-risk phase pregnant with opportunity for either long-awaited progress or regrettable and widespread harm, I find myself pondering the value of research focused on how traditional and online/social media are treating the crisis and their role in easing or exacerbating its risks. Such a study might include how media coverage and social media dynamics vary across countries, media types and specific media channels, and how these correlate with public opinion in different countries and key decisions, events and outcomes related to the unfolding situation. There’s certainly a lot at stake in the crisis, […]

19 Feb 2015

ICA Communication and Technology Awards: Nominate!

2015-02-19
William Dutton
Blog

Scholars of the Internet and Society Please take some time to consider this last call for nominations to the Communication and Technology (CAT) Awards Committee for three different awards. CAT is a division of the International Communication Association (ICA): First, we request nominations for the Frederick Williams Prize for Contributions to the Study of Communication Technology. Send nominations by 2 March 2015. http://www.icahdq.org/about_ica/awards/frederickwilliams.asp Secondly, please nominate dissertations to be considered for the Herbert S. Dordick Prize. http://www.icahdq.org/about_ica/awards/dordick.asp We will receive nominations sent by 2 March 2015. Finally, the CAT Awards Committee has been asked to recommend members of CAT to […]

18 Feb 2015

What is the Internet? by A. Michael Noll

2015-02-18
quelloadmin
Blog

Introduction It is amazing to me that there seems to be confusion and controversy in answering the basic question: “What is the Internet?” I have no problem in defining it and have a short and simple answer to the question based on my personal experience with its predecessor, the ARPANET, from over 40 years ago. This short essay is an attempt to explain the Internet using a simple approach with basic analogies from the past. Also some history will be reviewed about the development of the Internet. The essay will conclude that the Internet is a packet-switched network. Today that […]

16 Feb 2015

Is Your Democracy Failing? There’s an App for that!

2015-02-16
Mitchell Shapiro
Blog

Well, no, actually there isn’t (at least not yet). But there are some intriguing and potentially important efforts underway to give democracy a much needed boost via Internet-based applications and platforms. It’s certainly not hard to make the case that some help is needed, and the sooner the better. A short and incomplete list of problems plaguing the U.S. political system includes campaign finance reform, gerrymandering, the Senate filibuster, voter disenfranchisement, and the apathy and non-voters all this engenders. Speaking of the latter, one data point recently brought to my attention is that only 10% of California’s eligible voters aged […]

15 Feb 2015

Johannes Bauer on Communication Policy Processes in the US

2015-02-15
William Dutton
Blog, FCC

This brief interview provides insights to key features of communication policy and regulatory processes in the US context. It is an interview with Professor Johannes Bauer, following a lecture he gave to visiting executives that allowed him to pursue these issues in depth. Discussing an overview of his more detailed presentation he gave to a Quello seminar, Professor Bauer argues that there is a new phase of experimentation around the development of principles and frameworks for the new media and information ecologies being shaped by the Internet and related innovations in information and communication technologies. Globally, many approaches are developing […]

15 Feb 2015

Charles Steinfield on Enterprise Social Media: Implications for Business Collaboration and Knowledge Management

2015-02-15
William Dutton
Blog

Prior to a presentation for the Quello Center, Professor Charles Steinfield was interviewed by Bill Dutton about his work on ‘enterprise social media’, the subject of this presentation. He explains what enterprise social media are, why they are becoming popular across business and industry, and their implications – intended and sometimes unintended. Charles Steinfield is a professor in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. In addition to his faculty position, Steinfield participates with the MSU Eli Broad College of Business Information Technology Management Program and is a member of the campus-wide Faculty of Computing and Information. […]

15 Feb 2015

Steve Wildman on the Future of Media Content Delivery

2015-02-15
William Dutton
Blog

The Quello Center Advisory Board identified the future of content delivery as one of the Center’s most critical issues for research. Late in 2014, Professor Steve Wildman provided an overview of the prospects for new forms of content delivery to a group of visiting executives. Prior to his lecture, Bill Dutton interviewed him about the key points he planned to cover. You’ve find this video of this interview to be a succinct summary of major issues facing the future of broadcasting and the media more generally. We’d welcome your comments – whether you agree to disagree with the future painted […]

12 Feb 2015

Community Fiber Networks: Bringing Competition and World-Class Infrastructure to American Cities

In the following video, President Obama announced several steps his Administration is taking to encourage municipally-owned broadband networks, as well as the rationale for taking them. A few weeks after the president’s January 14 speech, the FCC announced it would be voting on a similar approach to municipal broadband at its February 26 meeting, where it will also vote on a proposal to classify broadband access as a Title II common carrier. Since community broadband is a topic I hope to write about here in the future, and the Commission’s meeting is only two weeks away, I thought I’d share some initial […]

12 Feb 2015

Communication, Communication, Communication: A Jet-lagged Bill Interviewed by Voices from Oxford

2015-02-12
William Dutton
Blog

During my recent visit to Oxford for an Advisory Board Meeting, and Awards Ceremony for the Oxford Internet Institute, I had the pleasure of an impromptu interview with the Director of Voices from Oxford, Dr Sung Hee Kim. You might enjoy the production, the American music, the images from Korea and Oxford, and might also want to challenge my views on the centrality of communication for students from any nation, called ‘Communication in the Modern Age’. The interview is on Voices from Oxford (VOX): Communication in the Modern Age from Voices from Oxford on Vimeo.

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