Potential for visual communications technology in business

The authors describe the methodology used in a survey conducted by NTT to assess the potential of visual communications technology in business and the conclusions drawn. Communications activities were investigated in detail at a selected manufacturing company, and several fundamental communication patterns suitable for the application of visual communications services were defined. It was concluded that the areas with the greatest potential for such services were ‘investigation/ inquiry’, ‘negotiation’, and ‘submitting information’. To confirm these needs, a questionnaire was mailed to major corporations throughout Japan. Finally, several services and systems were proposed.     

The US communications consumer and monopoly supply: The FCC position on the proposed legislation

The existing and prospective US telecommunications policy would be significantly affected by the bills comprising the ‘Consumer Communications Reform Act’, which would substantially amend the Communications Act of 1934. It is argued that the proposed legislation constitutes a serious disservice to the very class of people it purports to protect — the American customer. The argument is put forward through a consideration of policy developments during the past decade and a discussion of the effects of competition in the terminal equipment and private line markets upon telephone company revenues and rates. The author concludes with a detailed summary of the FCC position.     

The participation society and its inability to correct the failure of market players to deliver adequate service levels in rural areas

This paper critically reviews the ‘participation society’ inspired policy measures of two Dutch provinces (Drenthe and Groningen) for providing rural broadband. Based on a database with broadband initiatives, interviews with stakeholders, focus groups and document analysis, it analyzes how rural broadband initiatives and regional governments interact in their ventures to provide superfast broadband to rural communities. Essential in this is that in the Dutch participation society concept, citizens' initiatives are seen as an important actor to deal with failing service delivery by market players in rural areas. The relation between regional governments and citizens' initiatives, however, is troublesome, resulting in inadequate policies. Key findings are that even when governments come up with supportive policies for citizens' initiatives, initiatives still experience governmental efforts as constraining factors. Regional governments apply ‘old style’ governance and construct generic policy instruments, forcing initiatives to put a lot of effort in complying with generic policy requirements or political goals. Overall, solving a national market problem at the regional level proves to be problematic. More national guidance is needed to solve the rural broadband gap.     

Bundling communications policy for the new US administration

The USA does not have a coherent framework for communications policy. The author sets out what should be the prime concerns of a communications policy aimed at serving a pluralistic society in an ‘electronic age’. She describes the current situation, in which responsibilities for communications are divided over a wide range of government organisations. The Communications Act of 1934 is under review, and the author focuses on major aspects of the debate, and lists suitable areas for government involvement. She concludes by stressing the need for the new US administration to provide a coherent structure for communications policy making to encourage the essential free flow of information.     

Trying to Promote Network Entry: From the Chain Broadcasting Rules to the Channel Occupancy Rule and Beyond

This article traces the efforts by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to promote the entry of new networks, starting from its regulation of radio networks under the Chain Broadcasting Rules, through its regulation of broadcast television networks under its Financial Interest and Syndication Rules and its Prime Time Access Rule, and finally to its regulation of cable television networks under its Channel Occupancy and Leased Access Rules and its National Ownership Cap. The article’s principal conclusion is that these efforts by the FCC were largely ineffectual and that only the removal of regulatory barriers to new network entry could, and indeed did, achieve the Commission’s goal.     

How are students’ attitudes related to learning outcomes?

This article is a part of a research project aimed to find out how different background variables are related to learning outcomes in technology education related to the school subject Sloyd (craft). The research question of this article is: “How are ninth grade students’ attitudes towards the subject related to their learning outcomes?” The empirical data (n = 4792) was collected by stratified sampling from 152 secondary schools as a part of the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE) assessment. A shortened Finnish version of the Fennema–Sherman attitude test was carried out in a narrowed sample (n = 1548). The three attitude factors for learners were ‘Liking Sloyd as a school subject’, ‘Experiencing Utility in Sloyd’ and ‘Self-concept in Sloyd’. Structural equation modelling revealed that ‘Experiencing Utility’ predicts learning outcomes while ‘Liking’ and ‘Self-concept’ were interveners. The results suggest more learner-centred pedagogics for developing technology education.     

Adherence to WHO’s nutrition recommendations in the UK: Dietary patterns and policy implications from a national survey

Analysis of dietary patterns has largely focused on their association with diseases or risk factors, but limited research has been conducted on the heterogeneity of population dietary patterns and their adherence to international or national nutritional guidelines. As a result, the aim of this study is to identify latent dietary patterns of UK residents and to assess how well different segments comply with WHO dietary norms.To achieve this objective, the UK’s National Diet and Nutrition Surveys for 2011–12 dataset was analysed performing a latent class analysis on energy (kcals) derived from selected food groups. To assess adherence to different dietary patterns of the British population to nutritional guidelines, a traffic light system and a composite conformity index were developed to establish how well the identified segments comply with current dietary WHO norms regarding salt, free sugars, total fat, saturated fat, fruit and vegetables and dietary fibre.Results show four different segments which on the basis of heterogeneity of dietary patterns were named ‘high sugar/high fat consumers’, ‘prudent eaters’, ‘high fat consumers’ and ‘junk food eaters’. These segments show significant differences within and between groups in terms of dietary calories intakes and their adherence to WHO norms. Although ‘prudent eaters’ are closer to WHO dietary guidelines than other segments, none of the identified segments fully comply with dietary WHO norms. Policy implications of these findings are fully discussed in the conclusions arguing how current, future and potential dietary demand and supply measures affect consumers’ compliance with WHO norms.     

‘Meet the New Boss … Same as the Old boss?’ Technology,toil and tension in the agrofuel frontier

Agrofuels are increasingly sourced and sold as a socially and environmentally beneficial solution to oil dependence. The promotion of sugar‐derived ethanol as a substitute for petroleum has thus been key to state development and international trade policies by Brazil and the European Union, respectively, and subsequent investment by leading energy and food transnational corporations has transformed socio‐spatial relations in the new sites of production. Brazilian rural worker testimonies, however, point to large‐scale labour exclusion rather than reform and a deepening, rather than disruption, of historic power inequalities in the sector. Labour contestation challenges a converging institutional discourse of responsible technological innovation and social upgrading associated with emerging commodity chains and the ‘green’ economy. Although corporate and statutory response has been market‐orientated certification and ‘more technology’ the idea of the ‘techno‐institutional fix’ provides a power relation‐attentive analysis that invites the further exploration of socially committed alternatives to food and energy production.     

The digital vicious cycle: Links between social disadvantage and digital exclusion in rural areas

The Internet confers benefits on its users in a variety of ways, ranging from simple information acquisition and purchasing goods and services, to interacting with a range of individuals and groups in the wider processes of governance. Rural citizens stand to gain more than most, relatively, since the use of the Internet reduces, if not removes, former barriers (particularly that of distance) to such interaction. To that extent, the shrinking of the ‘digital divide’ (and particularly the increased availability of broadband Internet in the countryside) is very welcome. However, there is a danger that non-users of the Internet are disenfranchised by such developments, and these include some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of rural populations. There is thus a risk that, as the Internet increasingly becomes regarded as the default communication medium, a minority becomes progressively disadvantaged, first in relative and then in absolute terms. This paper explores the links between digital exclusion and social exclusion in a rural context, to identify the likely consequences of this ‘digital vicious cycle’, and to consider the options for ameliorating these consequences.     

The determinants of innovation in green supply chains: evidence from an Italian sectoral study

Innovation processes are increasingly spreading through the unbounded universe of European small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It represents a fundamental opportunity especially for those SMEs operating in the so‐called ‘green economy’ sectors, in order to be competitive in a National, European and International market with their sustainable products and services. Drawing upon a database of over 300 enterprises operating within the eight defined green sectors, this paper assesses the determinants and drawbacks of innovation. In particular, by using an econometrical approach, we tested the following propositions: (1) small dimension of enterprises is not an obstacle to their innovation capabilities; (2) the adoption of an internationalisation strategy is an opportunity and a stimulus to innovation for SMEs; (3) cooperation with research centres, financial partners, trade association and public entities can help SMEs to overcome difficulties and help them to develop and offer innovative products and services, so to be competitive at an international level. The econometric analysis shows a positive impact of the variables ‘dimension’ and ‘level of internationalisation’ on innovation capabilities. In addition, cooperation with research centres and access to capital market are positively related with effective innovations.     

Commercialisation: A meta-approach for agricultural development among smallholder farmers in Africa?

This paper presents a critique of commercialising smallholder farming for agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. First it questions the validity of an overarching ‘metanarrative’ approach to development. Then it discusses the different types of knowledge, values and method and draws attention to the increasingly heterogeneous development policy context and also the heterogeneity among the smallholder ‘targets’ of agrifood policies.Second, a case study exemplifies this critique in the context of an existing multistakeholder strategy of commercialising the Zambian cassava sector. Although limited in scope, the primary research illustrates how a commercial supply response should not be assumed from within a rural sector more concerned with food security.The study casts doubt on the validity of a commercialising metanarrative. Rather, it endorses the need for a multidisciplinary understanding of the particular and local context which influences knowledge generation and development design, accounting for different value systems and perceptions of reality and smallholder farmer decision making within heterogeneous contexts.     

An Oligopoly Model for Analyzing and Evaluating (Re)-Assignments of Spectrum Licenses

The Communications Act requires the Federal Communications Commission to assess whether proposed spectrum license transactions serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity. We review the FCC’s implementation of this component of the Act. We provide a tractable economic model of competition among wireless service providers in which spectrum licenses are a cost-reducing input. This model allows us to evaluate the effects of (re-)assigning spectrum licenses on economic outcomes and to define operational measures of “warehousing” licenses. Calibrating the model, we find little evidence of warehousing and that the approved Verizon-T-Mobile-SpectrumCo transaction increased social surplus.     

Information services in rural areas — access and delivery

In the UK, considerable interest has been expressed in the extent to which telecommunications could help to improve the accessibility and provision of information services in rural areas. Information services are typically provided by local and central government departments, voluntary advice agencies, and by a wide range of professional, financial, public utility and transport undertakings. It has never been particularly easy to visit service outlets in market towns, but recent changes in the organization and location of information services, together with the withdrawal of many public transport services, have caused a significant deterioration in physical accessibility. The authors summarize their research project on ‘Telecommunications and information services in rural areas’, the final report of which was submitted to the UK Department of the Environment in October 1978.     

Ambiguous workarounds in policy piloting in the NHS: Tensions,trade‐offs and legacies of organisational change projects

Pilot projects are increasingly used as a mechanism to enact organisational change, particularly government policy. Information technology's centrality to organisations often makes it key to the introduction of new processes. However, it can give rise to workarounds as employees circumvent impediments it presents by rejecting its prescribed use. Workarounds tend to be conceptualised dichotomously, as either ‘good’ problem solving, or ‘bad’ subversion of the technology. In pilot projects, workarounds are more ambiguous because those that support projects' successful completion in the short‐term may undermine day to day operations longer term. We draw on interview data from a policy pilot in general practice in the National Health Service in England aimed at extending access to care. We problematise the dichotomous conceptualisation of workarounds, finding they can be simultaneously supportive and undermining of policy pilots. Workarounds thereby become political, as employees are required to trade‐off consequences for themselves and the wider organisation.     

Broadband and universal service

Section 254(b)(3) of the 1996 Telecommunications Act established the objective that residents of rural areas should have access to advanced telecommunications and information services comparable to services in urban areas. Pursuant to the passage of the Act, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established a new universal fund that provides explicit support to high-cost rural areas. This paper addresses the question of whether people in rural areas have similar access due to the support provided through the Commission's new high-cost fund. This paper focuses on the telephone platform because cable companies often do not serve rural areas due to the high cost of service, and because there is no mechanism for the federal or state government to subsidize the provision of advanced telecommunications services via cable. The Act's objectives are apparently not being met in rural areas served by large companies since people living in these areas are much less likely to have qualified lines that could be used to access advanced telecommunications services. On the other hand, small companies are much closer to satisfying the statutory requirement as a result of the implicit support received through cost sharing.     

Economics at the FCC 2020–21: Closing the Connectivity Gap,COVID-19 and Telehealth,Spectrum Auctions,Communications Marketplace Report,and Economic Research

Review of Industrial Organization - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is responsible for regulation in the communications marketplace and for management of the nation’s non-federal...     

Economics at the FCC 2018–2019: Competition,Broadband Deployment,and Transaction Review

Review of Industrial Organization - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is responsible for regulation in the communications marketplace and for management of the nation’s non-federal...     

EFT in the United States — a report summary

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is described by the US National Commission on EFT as a sophisticated electronic technology used to conduct many of the daily financial transactions in our society presently being provided for by cash and checks. Recent trends in electronic banking provide the consumer with such new choices as having access to his/her checking (current) account or savings (deposit) account 24 hours a day, paying bills by phone and having paycheques deposited by the employer directly into a bank account. The Commission states that ‘EFT systems and services represent an alternative that will operate side-by-side with the traditional cash and check payment systems.’ A summary of the findings of the US National Commission on EFT is presented below.