Dear Friends and Colleagues of the Quello Center:
I am delighted to brief you on recent developments at Quello. We have two new appointments, several forthcoming events, and some selected research papers that I would like to highlight for you.
New Appointments
Two early career researchers will be joining us in the coming weeks – creating a core of our research team around Internet Studies and economics: Bianca Reisdorf and Aleks Yankelevich, who will strengthen the Quello Center’s multidisciplinary team in ways that will advance research to inform and stimulate debate on policy and practice.
Bianca C. Reisdorf, Quello Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Bianca Reisdorf has been appointed as a Quello Postdoctoral Fellow in Media and Information Policy in the Department of Media & Information of the College of Communication Arts & Sciences. Bianca received her D.Phil. degree in Information, Communication and the Social Sciences at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, in 2012, having completed an M.A. in Sociology at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, in 2008. At Oxford, Bianca was part of the team that conducted the Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS), which tracked the use and impact of the Internet in Britain from 2003 through 2013.
Dr. Reisdorf will begin her postdoc in mid-August 2015. Prior to joining the Quello Center, Bianca worked as a Lecturer and Director of Distance Learning in the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Leicester in the UK with a focus in digital media and research methods. In addition, she has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Communication at the University of Cincinnati.
Bianca’s research interests include digital inequalities and policies, Internet use among vulnerable groups, and cross-national comparative studies that apply both qualitative and quantitative methods. She has been involved in the research project “Access Denied: A Qualitative Study of Inadequate Broadband Access in Rural Britain” (http://rural.oii.ox.ac.uk) and she is developing a new study on the consequences of lack of Internet access in prisons.
At the Quello Center, Bianca is playing a key role in the Center’s Network Neutrality Impact Project, and in the development of new projects around issues of digital inequalities.
Aleksandr Yankelevich, Quello Research Assistant Professor
Dr. Aleksandr Yankelevich has been appointed to a new Research Assistant Professor position in the Quello Center, effective October 1, 2015. Aleks is joining us from his position as an Industry Economist working for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireless and Wireline Telecommunications Bureaus. At the FCC, he has provided economic expertise on various rule makings, mergers, and secondary market transactions involving the allocation of electromagnetic spectrum for mobile use. In 2013, he received the FCC’s Excellence in Economic Analysis Award.
Aleks’s primary research is in the field of industrial organization, where he focuses on firm price discrimination and vertical interactions between competitors. His current research focuses on information services, including subscription and dedicated access services. Aleks received his Ph.D. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis in 2011 and Bachelor’s Degrees in Economics and in Management (Summa Cum Laude) from SUNY Binghamton in 2003.
At the Quello Center, Aleks will be contributing to the Network Neutrality Impact Study, and developing new research proposals and projects. One of his early interests is a new stream of research on regulation around the provision of special access services by local exchange carriers, such as for the provision of enterprise services for business customers.
Forthcoming Quello Lectures in Washington DC and at MSU
Recent lectures and events have focused on Internet policy and regulation, network neutrality, social media effects, digital inequalities, and social accountability in the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Denmark, India, South Africa and worldwide. Forthcoming Quello Lectures range from public service and Internet governance to media ownership.
Dr David Bray, the CIO of the FCC will give a Quello Lecture on “The Importance of Public Service #ChangeAgents in Exponential Times”. This will be held in Room 191 of Communication Arts & Sciences at MSU on Sep 21 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm. More information.
Professor Laura DeNardis of American University will give a Quello Lecture on “The Destabilization of Internet Governance”. This event will be held in Washington DC on 24 September 2015 at MSU’s offices at 1100 New Jersey Avenue Southeast #735. More information.
Professor Eli Noam of Columbia University’s CITI will speak on “Who Owns the World’s Media? Media Concentration and Ownership in the Digital Age”, a Quello Lecture in Room 191 of Communication Arts & Sciences on Oct 12, 2015 from 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm. More information.
Selected Working Papers on Research, Policy and Practice
Bauer, J. M. and Dutton, W. H., The New Cybersecurity Agenda: Economic and Social Challenges to a Secure Internet. This is a joint working paper for the Oxford Global Cybersecurity Project at the Oxford Martin Institute, University of Oxford, and the Quello Center at MSU. It is based on a briefing document prepared by the authors to support the World Bank’s World Development Report. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2614545 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2614545
Dutton, William H., Multistakeholder Internet Governance? This is a working paper for the Quello Center at MSU that is based on a briefing document prepared by the author to support the World Bank’s World Development Report. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2615596 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2615596
Another input to policy was through the Quello Center playing a central role in drafting UNESCO’s recent report, entitled ‘Keystones to Foster Inclusive Knowledge Societies’. The English version is available.
Video webcasts of selected Quello events are available on our blog site along with more information about our research team, research projects, events and publications at https://quello.msu.edu. And please follow our tweets @QuelloCenter to keep track of developments between these occasional newsletters.
Thank you for your support of the Quello Center. Please get in touch with me if you have questions or wish to be more involved with our work.
Regards,
Bill Dutton
Director
Quello Center
