Technology, Society and Public Policy
- PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Baker Institute’s Technology, Society, and Public Policy Program is aimed at investigating the impact of new technologies—particularly in the areas of computer and information science—on societal organization and governance. Information technologies have produced revolutionary new applications and have radically altered contemporary concepts of knowledge and learning. These profound changes have ushered in new issues of importance to policymakers. How will a borderless Internet be effectively governed? How can networks be secured and policed? What may be done to maintain digital privacy? The questions are varied and significant, and the answers require collaboration: between the engineers and scientists who work in the field and produce these applications, and the practitioners, bureaucrats, and leaders who will increasingly regulate and govern their use.
Funding for the Technology, Society, and Public Policy (TSPP) Program is drawn from three sources at Rice University: the Baker Institute, the Computer and Information Technology Institute (CITI) and Fondren Library. A core goal of the program is to facilitate and broaden interdisciplinary research by networking specialists from science and engineering with experts in the social sciences and humanities. Student input is a key aspect of the program as well, with the undergraduate and graduate students often holding the greatest on-campus expertise in highly specific areas of nascent technological development. Independent of the program, Rice faculty and students in computer engineering, psychology, and political science have already begun investigating the issue of electronic voting, and they adopted the 2006 midterm elections as their classroom. Over time, the program will seek to develop further interdisciplinary learning opportunities related to such diverse topics as wireless networking, healthcare management, border protection, and counterterrorist information sharing.
How is the computer changing your job, your life? That is a question the program will continually seek to answer. There is a critical and immediate need for individuals who are able to understand both technologies and their organizational and societal impact. A core value of this program is the belief that technology itself is not a panacea. Problems are solved by the correct application of technology, and that requires large doses of human interaction. To that end, TSPP will seek to connect diverse communities on the Rice campus, the city of Houston, and beyond.
- PUBLICATIONS
- 2008
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Off We Go ... Cyberspace, the Air Force and the New Face of Battle
Aug 06 2008Christopher Bronk
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Municipal Connectivity Provision: Societal Imperative or Fiscal Folly
Jun 25 2008Christopher Bronk, Kirsten Jones
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Hacking the Nation-State: Security, Information Technology and Policies of Assurance
May 01 2008Christopher Bronk
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Video Briefing Transcript: Convergence and Connectivity
Feb 26 2008Christopher Bronk
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Wiretapping, Surveillance and the Internet
Jan 18 2008Christopher Bronk
- 2007
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Managing the U.S.-Mexico Border Problem
Aug 17 2007Christopher Bronk
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Innovation by Policy: A Study of the Electronic Passport
May 30 2007Christopher Bronk
