Projects in the Planning Stages
Listed below are some projects that individuals and institutions
are planning in the IT History area. By placing notice of these
projects on its pages, ITHS is not endorsing them, although all
submissions are reviewed for appropriateness before being posted.
Archival
Community Radio Equipment Support
Description: Use the fund to purchase a community radio transmitter which is currently damaged. The community radio whichi is found in the southern region of Malawi, Mangochi District targets over 50,000 underpreviledged populations to messages of socil-economic development and health including water and sanitation. the Radio has listening clubs district wide and these are forums that discuss issues and suggest and present requests for changes through the radio to responsible authorities. It is the voice of the voiceless. The Radio was funded by UNESCO in 1998. UNESCO support to the radio has been irregular as the radio wsa supposed to be self sustaining. however our current experience is the first in a time calling for quite a big sum of money to pay which as a non profit making radio, we are not ready to meet.
Methodology: Purchase the radio transmitter and engage a local technician for installation.
Deliverables: Continued effective coverage of life changing mass communication systems to 80% of the population of Mangochi District. The program shall assist with the advocacy of child protection, Tuberculosis, Malaria, HIV-AIDS prevention and mitigation, Soil and water conservation and agriculture technologies.
Project timeline: 1st Dec 2008 - 31st Nov 2009
Contact:
Justice Sumaili
Dzimwe Community Radio-Malawi
jsumaili@gmail.com
Historical
History of Privacy in America in the Digital Age
Description: Should I choose this project over several other possibilities, it would describe and analyze the historical development of privacy in America in the past quarter century in light of the increasing digitalization of society and other exogenous forces. Trying to keep the book short, it will focus on only six topics, with probably a lengthy introduction about privacy more generally and perhaps a brief conclusion. The topics are:
1. intellectual property (the use of digital rights management to protect intellectual property in software, music, film, etc.)
2. e-commerce and e-B2B (private data collection, spam and viruses, offshoring risks, etc.)
3. security and surveillance (airport security, public video surveillance, phone and email wiretapping, etc.)
4. Identity and personal information (identity theft, loyalty cards, national identity cards, sectoral protection of personal data such as HIPAA, FERPA, and GLB, etc.)
5. Social networking (privacy risks for teenagers and young adults, etc.)
6. Personal privacy from intrusion (gambling, pornography, cyberstalking, etc.)
Methodology: The book will draw on the literature in law, policy, and social science, but the intention is for the overall approach to be an historical one. It is unclear at this time what kinds of evidence will be used, and in particular how much the book will rely on case studies.
Deliverables: A book that will follow the methodological standards of academic history but which will be short and readable, with scholarly apparatus placed out of the way, and appropriate for a general educated audience.
Project timeline: Summer 2008 to fall 2010
Contact:
William Aspray
Indiana University
waspray@indiana.edu
|
