Call for Participation
When: April 24 to 26, 2003
Where: Santa Clara University
Due date for applications: July 15, 2002
Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology, and Society (<http://sts.scu.edu/>) is pleased to announce Networked World: Information Technology and Globalization. This conference is unique in format and spirit. It is designed to foster the exchange of cutting-edge research and practice on the theme of information technology and globalization, while also building intellectual community in a workshop setting. It is one of three major conferences that will be held as part of a year-long Institute on Globalization at Santa Clara University.
The format for Networked World: Information Technology and Globalization will include an evening session on Thursday, April 24, with a plenary keynote presentation. The morning of Friday, April 25, will be devoted to presentations and panels by world-wide industry and academic leaders dealing with globalization and the stability of complex systems; globalization and culture; and globalization and social and economic disparities. Currently confirmed are:
Walter Bender Director of the MIT Media Lab
Alfred Berkeley Vice Chairman, The Nasdaq Stock Market
William Davidow Partner, Mohr, Davidow Ventures and author of The Virtual Corporation
Javier Elguea Director of the Corporate Committee on Human Resources for Mexico's Grupo CARSO
Steve Jones Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Chicago and
Senior Research Fellow, Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Michel Laguerre, Director of the Berkeley Center for Globalization and Information Technology
Pierre Lévy Philosopher and author of Cyberculture
Regis McKenna Marketing guru and author of Total Access
James Morgan Chairman and CEO, Applied Materials
Dale Spender Chair of the Board of the Copyright Agency Limited and co-author of the report on elearning at Australian universities.
Breakfast and lunch will provide opportunities to integrate the industry and academic participants. Friday afternoon and Saturday morning will be devoted to specialized tracks focused on three themes:
* Law and Public Policy
* Transformation of Organizations and Work
* Culture, Community, and Family
Application Details (All Tracks)
Specialized track participants will be required to submit essay responses to one of the track theme questions (see below). Five applicants from each of the three tracks will be requested to develop their essays into chapters that will be included in an edited volume to be published in 2004. All accepted participant applications will be published in an electronic conference proceedings.
The application process may be completed online at <http://sts.scu.edu/globalization/.> Firm guidelines for submitting the 2 to 3 page application essays are available at the site. After completing the online application form, applicants can email their essay file (Word or PDF) to <sts at scu.edu>, or submit both the application and essay by fax to the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at (408) 554-2346. Please submit only one application. Note that the call is for participants. In the case of collaborative research, each interested party needs to apply separately.
The deadline for submissions is July 15, 2002. Applicants should expect a response by September 30, 2002.
There will be a $75 registration fee for these specialized tracks. This fee will cover: Registration for the Thursday and Friday plenary sessions, registration for the specialized tracks, all conference materials, and all meals during conference. A block of hotel rooms will be available at discounted prices. More information will follow acceptance of application. (Chapter authors will be provided a $1000 honorarium to defray airfare, lodging, and other expenses. Honoraria for Non-US chapter authors will be negotiated.)
Track 1: Law and Public Policy Track
We will be conducting three separate sessions, with each session covering a separate hypothetical scenario and/or issue to be posed to the panelists that day. A moderator will lead the discussions, and the panels will consist of participants who are specifically invited or selected on the basis of the paper submissions, together with selected individuals from other relevant sectors of industry and professions. We anticipate each panel will have between 4 and 6 participants. The moderator will lead the discussion among the panelists based on the hypothetical scenario. Sessions are open to the general public.
Track 2: Transformations of Organizations and Work
and
Track 3: Culture, Community, and Family
There are two roles for participation. The authors of chapters within Tracks 2 and 3 will be invited to present their work as focal points for the workshop discussions. There are also 45 spaces for "at large" participants. These "at large" participants will be invited to participate in all sessions of the conference/workshops and to critique and discuss the presented papers, but will not be requested to develop chapters. As a result of the limited number of "at large" openings, not all conference applicants may be accepted.
Theme Questions
These theme questions have been developed to focus the conference around tractable questions that span the intended focus of the subsequent publication. The review process will consider responsiveness to the themes of the conference and the diversity of responses, as well as insight and rigor. Essays are limited to 3 pages maximum (please see submission guidelines mentioned above) and authors are urged to focus on a particular topic within one of the three tracks, rather than trying to cover multiple points in the limited space.
Essays must address both globalization and information technology through the lens of one of the three tracks.
Law and Public Policy
* What is the impact of required intellectual property (IP) norms on developing cultures? What is the viability of current IP regimes in a global economy? How do IP rights promote or inhibit culture and trade in a global economy?
* What are the implications of a globally networked society for governments? Should the corporation itself be held responsible for its role in promoting certain broader social principles, such as human rights and international labor standards?
* What new social and institutional forms will we need to construct to parallel and regulate the technologies that increasingly integrate our world? What legal or policy initiatives can protect societies and markets from the potential destabilizing effects of too much interconnectivity? Considering technology as a form of legal regulation, what implications does this have on society?
* What policies should regulate global financial markets? How should we view financial engineering in the global economy?
Transformation of Organizations and Work
* What is the value of presence? What are the hidden pitfalls of more virtual work styles? Technology enables global virtual work, but at what cost to organizational or employee development?
* What are the broad ranging effects of Venture Capitalists' preferences for local firms? (Or for making their funded firms become local?)
* How does organizational learning change in corporations (public, private, non-profit) that function across global barriers?
* Is the Silicon Valley especially well suited to being a hub for global firms? Why or why not? What considerations influence the configuration of global networks and the relative centrality of various nodes?
* What are the implications for organizational design given ubiquitous communication? Can evolutionary agent-based models be applied to suggest new possibilities, or to close down prior paths of inquiry? Are network structures scalable? Are they flexible and adaptive or prone to instability? What are the emerging socio-technical design "tenets" of network structures? Are there cultural moderators?
Family, Culture, and Community
* Is there only one culture in humanity's future? How resilient are minority/local cultures (including languages) to the increased reach of the Internet and the preponderance of English?
* Do online communities with "global citizens" from multiple places make the "real" communities where they live better? Do online communities increase the "social capital" in communities? Do democratic values and practices around the world improve with the greater adoption of technological solutions for core processes like voting and access to information?
* What is the real value of "presence" in education and how can technology overcome limitations of time and space in distance/distributed/online education? How can information and communications technologies (ICTs) help the world address the critical shortage of education opportunities for the large majority of people around the world? How will local/state/national education systems change when attractive online learning opportunities are available from around the world?
* Are the arts ("high-brow culture") being transformed by the Internet and globalization? How are technological advances (e.g., digital photography/video) and global distribution systems via the Internet and other electronic media shaping new forms of artistic expression? Are the performance arts like theater likely to be significantly transformed as "tele-presence" (virtual reality) technologies improve?
* Will more and better communication technologies strengthen families (e.g., allowing individuals and entire communities to stay in touch when separated by distance due to migration) or introduce new tensions and conflicts given changes in established patterns (e.g., of parental communication, of media access and control)? How will families adapt to members living in different cultures and countries?
Conference Hosts
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California's Silicon Valley, offers its 7,400 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's, Ph.D. (engineering), and law degrees. Distinguished nationally by the third-highest graduation rate among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest higher education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice.
The Center for Science, Technology and Society fosters interdisciplinary inquiry into the societal implications of technological change. The Center links the Silicon Valley to Santa Clara University and fosters rich dialogue among thought leaders on how the potential benefits of technology can serve all of humanity. This goal is highlighted through the Center's partnership with the Tech Museum and the United Nations Millennium Project on the State of the Future and their annual Technology Benefiting Humanity Awards.
The High Tech Law Institute (HTLI) builds on a quarter-century of intellectual property and technology law focus at the Santa Clara University School of Law. The HTLI optimizes the synergy between Santa Clara's nationally ranked academic program and the innovators of Silicon Valley in studying both what the law is and what the law should be.
The Institute on Globalization is a program offered during the 2002-03 academic year featuring conferences, a speaker series, exhibits and performances, curriculum development, and other activities related to globalization. Inquiries about the Institute can be directed to Don Dodson, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, <ddodson at scu.edu.>