an article by Martin Campbell-Kelly (University of Warwick) and Daniel D Garcia-Swartz (Compass Lexecon) published in Journal of Information Technology Volume 28 (March 2013)
Abstract
The origins of the Internet are only partially understood.
It is often believed that the Internet grew as a tree from a tiny acorn, the ARPANET network set up in 1969.
In this study, we argue that this interpretation is incomplete at best and seriously flawed at worst.
Our article makes three contributions.
First, on the basis of a wide variety of primary and secondary sources we reconstruct the history of computer networks between the late 1950s and the early 1990s. We show that the ARPANET network was one among a myriad of (commercial and non-commercial) networks that developed over that period of time – the integration of these networks into an internet was likely to happen, whether ARPANET existed or not.
Second, we make a systematic effort to quantify the significance of these various networks. This allows us to visualise more clearly the extent to which the ARPANET network was one among many, and not a particularly large one at that.
Third, we provide a nuanced interpretation of the rise of various technologies, including the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol and the World Wide Web, as ‘dominant designs.’ Their rise should be interpreted within the economic framework of industries with network effects, in which historical accidents bring about tipping points that lead to universal acceptance.
We thus show that history matters for understanding why information systems function in the way they do.
Full text (PDF 67pp) is available via this link
Please note that the original article that I found on SSRN was published in December 2005. I know that scholarly articles take a while to get through the review process etc but ….
Showing posts with label World_Wide_Web. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World_Wide_Web. Show all posts
Monday, 11 March 2013
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Knowledge acquisition: Past, present and future
an article by Brian R. Gaines (University of Calgary and University of Victoria, Canada)
published in International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Volume 71 Issue 2 (February 2013)
Abstract
As we celebrate the 50th knowledge acquisition conference this year it is appropriate to review progress in knowledge acquisition techniques not only over the quarter century since the conference series began but backwards through the millennia to the beginnings of knowledge capture and forwards through the foreseeable future to speculate on reasonable expectations, appropriate targets and potential surprises in the next quarter century.
Figures and tables from this article
Worth looking at just for the images!! Stunning stuff.
Abstract
As we celebrate the 50th knowledge acquisition conference this year it is appropriate to review progress in knowledge acquisition techniques not only over the quarter century since the conference series began but backwards through the millennia to the beginnings of knowledge capture and forwards through the foreseeable future to speculate on reasonable expectations, appropriate targets and potential surprises in the next quarter century.
Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past. What might have been is an abstraction remaining a perpetual possibility only in world of speculation.
T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets
Figures and tables from this article
Worth looking at just for the images!! Stunning stuff.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Public sector information and open data: which way forward for the UK?
an article by Stephen Saxby and Chris Hill (affiliation(s) not provided) published in International Journal of Public Law and Policy Volume 2 Number 3 (2012)
Abstract
Since 2009, the move towards open data policies in the UK, also currently under review in proposals to replace PSI Directive 2003/98/EC on access and re-use of data, is having a profound impact on UK policy towards public sector information (PSI) that, as a resource, goes to the core of its function and purpose.
Driven by principles of openness and transparency, the process now supports the systematic release into the public domain of PSI in the form of datasets. The government believes that collective scrutiny of such data, while contributing to transparency, may also offer new insights into policy. Expectations have grown and new partnerships are emerging that blur traditional distinctions as to what is “public” and “private” in this regard.
Government has also been listening to the ideas of the founder of the World Wide Web that much more can be secured from today’s web via adoption of new techniques for linking data. The important contribution that location data, “information rich” in content, can make towards policy development has been recognised and acted upon.
Abstract
Since 2009, the move towards open data policies in the UK, also currently under review in proposals to replace PSI Directive 2003/98/EC on access and re-use of data, is having a profound impact on UK policy towards public sector information (PSI) that, as a resource, goes to the core of its function and purpose.
Driven by principles of openness and transparency, the process now supports the systematic release into the public domain of PSI in the form of datasets. The government believes that collective scrutiny of such data, while contributing to transparency, may also offer new insights into policy. Expectations have grown and new partnerships are emerging that blur traditional distinctions as to what is “public” and “private” in this regard.
Government has also been listening to the ideas of the founder of the World Wide Web that much more can be secured from today’s web via adoption of new techniques for linking data. The important contribution that location data, “information rich” in content, can make towards policy development has been recognised and acted upon.
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