An Elon team is conducting survey research at two major technology forums in Switzerland.
A documentary journalism team from Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center is doing interview research at two major international conferences in Geneva, Switzerland, May 13-17 – the World Technology Policy Forum and the World Summit on the Information Society. Both events are being facilitated by the United Nations.
The Imagining the Internet five-person WTPF and WSIS research team is being led by Brian Walsh, assistant professor of communications. It includes undergraduate students Julie Morse, Joe Bruno, Ryan Greene and Brian Mezerski.
You will find the Imagining the Internet team’s coverage here: http://www.elon.edu/e-web/imagining/event-coverage/wtpf_wsis_2013/default.xhtml
Imagining the Internet Center is conducting interviews during the forums to assess people’s attitudes about the future of the Internet in order to inform policy, identify key issues and provide a record of what people today think about the likely future. This page will hold links leading to video survey pages with hundreds of video clips from dozens of interviews with WTPF and WSIS attendees, offering up a selection of representative answers to six questions:
1 – THE CONDITION OF GLOBAL INTERNET POLICY: Describe the condition of global Internet policy today in one of the following weather terms: Is it sunny, partly cloudy or stormy, and WHY?
2 – WHAT’S NEXT? Some global leaders have said the Internet is facing a dangerous time right now. Is there a battle for control, what do you think will happen next and what do you think should happen?
3 – ACCESS QUESTION: Access to gaining and sharing knowledge for all people is a primary goal of WSIS. What threats and benefits do you foresee if we double the number of people online, going from 2.5 billion to more than 5 billion in the next few years?
4 – HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: What is your greatest hope for the future of the Internet?
5 – CONCERN FOR THE FUTURE: What is your greatest fear or concern for the future of the Internet?
6 – THE FUTURE IN A NUTSHELL: Briefly describe the future of the Internet, using only a few words – in five seconds or less.
Elon is the only university in the world that annually funds undergraduate research to thoroughly document these important global discussions of the future of communications. The U.S. Library of Congress is adding this work to its digital archive. And Elon students have annually been presenting their Internet research findings at the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research.
The Elon initiative at the conferences is being planned and managed by Janna Anderson, associate professor and director of the Imagining the Internet Center.