Personal tools
The CPSR Compiler - September 2005
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The CPSR Compiler - September 2005 - 4.3 < <
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COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS for SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Turning Thoughts to Actions
******
* CPSR'S ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING OCTOBER 29th
* NORBERT WIENER AWARD RECEPTION FOR DOUGLAS ENGELBART
* CPSR'S NEW ADVISORY COUNCIL
* CPSR'S STRATEGIC PLAN
* PROPOSE LOCAL MEETINGS
* CPSR'S BOOKSTORE RETURNS
* CPSR'S WORKING PAPER SERIES
* UN WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
* PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION IN IBERO-AMERICA
* CPSR FILES BRIEF IN DEFENSE OF GOOD VOTING IN FLORIDA
* PUBLIC SPHERE PROJECT REPORT
* BAY AREA MEMBERS MET
* MEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS
******
JOIN US !
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29th
CPSR'S ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING
11:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
All Saints Episcopal Church
555 Waverley (between University and Hamilton)
PALO ALTO, CA, USA
You may have noticed the announcements in the last few issues of
The Compiler and on the website saying that this year we are not
doing an issues-oriented conference, and will instead be holding a
longer Members Meeting focusing intensively on the future of CPSR.
CPSR's core asset---the interest and active engagement of its
membership---seems to be waning, and there is a real need for
some fresh thinking about the organization's future direction and
prospects.
We strongly encourage members to attend the Members Meeting,
if possible. Your participation is really crucial, as we need to
think seriously and potentially make some hard decisions about the
future of CPSR. This could prove to be a key turning point in the
history of the organization.
The bottom line is that CPSR faces some serious challenges going
forward, and we need to have a collective conversation about what
we want to make of this organization. This is long overdue.
Whether CPSR should continue down its current path, strike out
in new institutional and programmatic directions, or do something
else, is up to all of us. It's our organizations, so let's talk about
what we want it to be.
Free Registration.
To reserve a seat, use http://cpsr.org/membershipForm
For more information, see
http://www.cpsr.org/act/events/annconf/annconf05/
*******
NORBERT WIENER AWARD RECEPTION FOR DOUGLAS ENGELBART
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29th
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
PALO ALTO, CA, USA
CPSR honors Douglas Engelbart, pioneer of human-computer
interface technology, inventor of the mouse, and social-impact
visionary, with its 2005 Norbert Wiener Award.
See http://www.cpsr.org/news/press/wiener2005/
Douglas Engelbart Wiener Reception early registration rates,
good until October 8th:
$ 5 for CPSR Student/Low Income Members
$10 for other CPSR members
$20 for non-members
To register, use http://cpsr.org/membershipForm
For more information,
see http://www.cpsr.org/act/events/annconf/annconf05/
Please contact Susan at evoy(a)cpsr.org or 650-322-3778 if you
would like to help with planning or logistics for October 29th.
&&&&
CPSR'S NEW ADVISORY COUNCIL
After a gap of several years, CPSR has launched a new Advisory
Council (AC) to provide the Board with input on the
organization's direction. In contrast with some previous
incarnations of what was then called the Advisory Board, the AC
is composed largely of committed CPSR veterans, including three
past presidents and a number of former Board members, who
know our challenges and opportunities from the inside and can
provide advice that is grounded in experience with our inner
workings. The AC's members include:
Jeff Chester , Karen Coyle, Harry S. Hochheiser , Jeff Johnson,
Aki Namioka, Andy Oram, Eric S. Roberts, Doug Schuler,
Coralee Whitcomb, and Terry Winograd.
See http://www.cpsr.org/board/ac/
&&&&
CPSR'S STRATEGIC PLAN
The Advisory Council's first and most important task is to lead in
the development of a Strategic Plan (SP). A draft version is scheduled
to
be ready by October 19.
We will announce how we will facilitate a Strategic Plan
online comment process from October 20 to December 1.
In addition, the draft will be discussed at the Members Meeting in
Palo Alto on October 29, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 2:00-5:30 p.m.;
see
http://www.cpsr.org/act/events/annconf/annconf05
for details. Board and AC members will participate in the
Members Meeting discussion, which will be very informal, open,
frank, and focused---in short, collective brainstorming among peers.
&
PROPOSE LOCAL MEETINGS
In addition to participating in the online discussion
of the Draft Strategic Plan, and attending the Members
Meeting, all members are encouraged to send proposals
for face-to-face local meetings from October 19 until
the end of the discussion period to discuss the Draft
Strategic Plan, and to pass along their comments to be
included before, at the Annual Members Meeting in Palo
Alto on October 29th, and until the final version is written.
When you have an idea(s) for where and when you'd like to
propose meeting with fellow CPSR members in your area,
please contact cpsr(a)cpsr.org to send a meeting invitation out.
&&&&
CPSR BOOKSTORE RETURNS
Buy books; support CPSR. It's that easy.
Through an association with Powells.com, CPSR earns a
percentage on books purchased through our links to Powell's
site. If you link to Powell's from our bookstore pages,
CPSR receives a percentage of the purchase price of
everything you buy. So, every time you go to Powell's,
do it through CPSR's website, and show your support for CPSR.
If you have recommendations for additions to the CPSR
Bookstore, please submit them for consideration to
cpsr(a)cpsr.org with Subject "Bookstore", in the citation
format used, including the ISBN number.
See http://www.cpsr.org/store/bookstore/author.html
&
FEATURED BOOK
Bootstrapping: Douglas Engelbart, Coevolution, and the
Origins of Personal Computing (Writing Science)
by Thierry Bardini
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
"Bardini (communication, Universite de Montreal) analyzes the
genesis of personal computing through a close study of Engelbart's
life. It also examines the "bootstrapping" process by which the
invention of new hardware and software systems was simultaneously
matched with the creation of a new concept we call the 'user.'
Engelbart's work and his vision for a human-computer interface
is considered in its historical context."
See http://www.cpsr.org/store/bookstore/index.html
&
Books by and about Norbert Wiener can be found via
http://www.cpsr.org/store/bookstore/author.html#W
&&&&
CPSR'S WORKING PAPER SERIES
Launched in May 2005, the Working Papers Series publishes
research and opinion pieces by CPSR members on social issues
related to information and communication technology. While
the papers are consistent with CPSR's mission of progressive
public interest advocacy, they solely reflect the views of
the individual authors. The papers are made available in
accordance with Creative Commons licensing
(www.creativecommons.org), and are open to noncommercial
use with attribution. The authors are solely responsible
for other intellectual property matters.
CPSR members are strongly encouraged to consider submitting
contributions to the series. If interested, please send a
message to cpsr(a)cpsr.org with "Working Papers" in the
subject area.
&&&&
UN WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
Collective Learning in the World Summit on the Information Society
by William J. Drake, President, CPSR -- May 2005
The second paper in the new Working Paper Series is
available at
http://www.cpsr.org/pubs/workingpapers/2/Drake
&
&&&&
William Drake, Robert Guerra, Desiree Miloshevic and Avri Doria
are representing CPSR at PrepCom3 of the UN's World Summit
on the Information Society in Geneva, Switzerland.
See http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparatory2/pc3/
PrepCom 3 Parallel Events on Internet Governance
Organized by Computer Professional for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
The purpose of these events is to facilitate focused, open,
multistakeholder discussions on two major issues that were
discussed in the report of the UN Working Group on Internet
Governance (WGIG) and are prominent on the WSIS agenda for
PrepCom-3 and beyond: 1) the possible creation of a new Forum
for Internet governance dialogue, monitoring, and analysis;
and 2) the possible reform of the current arrangements for
Oversight of the Internet's core resources (e.g. the root zone
file and ICANN's Government Advisory Committee). All attendees
are very much welcome to participate in these discussions.
&&
Bill Drake's Presentations
"Internet Governance," presentation at the Conference of NGOs in
Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO)'s
Civil Society Orientation Session, September 18; "Collective
Learning in WSIS," presentation at the UNICT Task Force parallel
event, The World Summit on the Information Society: From the
Past into the Future, September 20; Chairperson and overview
presentation at the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
parallel event, The Internet Governance Forum Function,
September 21; "The Research Agenda," presentation at the
ICT4Peace Project parallel event, September 23; Chairperson and
discussant, International Association for Media and
Communication Research parallel event, Announcing the
International Researchers Charter, September 26; and Chairperson
and overview presentation at the Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility parallel event, The Internet Governance Oversight
Function, September 28; all held during the Preparatory Conference
3 for the Tunis Phase of WSIS, September 18-29, 2005; Geneva.
"On the Creation of a New Internet Governance Forum,"
presentation at the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation's Public Meeting on Internet Governance, Copenhagen;
September 14, 2005.
&&
Bill Drake's Publications
Daniel Stauffacher, William J. Drake, Paul Currion, and Julia
Steinberger. Information and Communications Technology for Peace
(ICT4P): The Role of ICT in Preventing, Responding to and
Recovering from Conflict. Draft report prepared for the Government
of Switzerland, in preparation for the World Summit on the
Information Society, Tunis, 16-18 November 2005.
http://www.ict4peace.org
William J. Drake. "Collective Learning in the World Summit on
the Information Society," in, Daniel Stauffacher and Wolfgang
Kleinwächter, eds., The World Summit on the Information Society:
Moving from the Past into the Future. New York: United Nations
Information and Communication Technology Taskforce, 2005,
pp. 135-146. Also published as CPSR Working Paper No. 2,
www.cpsr.org/pubs/workingpapers/2/Drake
&&&&
NEXT MEETING OF THE UN WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
CPSR will be attending and participating in the UN World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS), November 16-19, in Tunis, Tunisia
Contact Robert Guerra for details about opportunities for how
to participate in CPSR's delegation. You can email him at:
wsis@privaterra.org
To join the discussion of CPSR's role in WSIS, subscribe to
the "infosoc" list via http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/infosoc
&&&&
PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION IN IBERO-AMERICA:
ANALYSIS AND PERSPECTIVES
October 20-21
Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), CPSR-Perú
and GECTI is organizing the following conference. We hope
you can join us in Bogota. Registration is Free!
We are going to organize some extra-meetings out of the hours
of the conference. This is a great opportunity to meet the
latinaomerican community interesting in those topic.
I hope to see some of you there.
Best regards,
Katitza Rodríguez
International Policy Fellow
Electronic Privacy Information Center
& Director, CPSR-Perú
&
This conference will launch the first edition in Spanish of the
annual Privacy & Human Rights report. Its objectives are also
to provide a meeting for civil society representatives, academic
experts and governmental authorities to analyze and debate
current public policy issues and recent developments in privacy
in Ibero-America.
Program outline:
* Launch of the 1st Spanish edition of the annual Privacy
and Human Rights report.
* Panels: Privacy and Data Protection in Ibero-America;
Transborder Data Flow, Financial Privacy; Technological
Protection Measures: concept, scope and implication for
privacy.
* Presentation on video surveillance.
Organizers:
CPSR-Perú, http://www.cpsr-peru.org
Electronic Privacy Information Center, http://www.epic.org
GECTI, Colombia
Location:
Auditorio Alberto Lleras Camargo, Los Andes University.
Carrera 1 No. 18A 10, Bogota, Colombia.
Coordinator:
Ms. Katitza Rodríguez, katitza@cpsr-peru.org -
tel. No. +51-1-2412460
Registration for this event is free. For complete information,
speakers bios, program, PDF announcement and institutions,
please visit
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/bogota05/
http://www.cpsr-peru.org/eventos/privacy
&&&&
CPSR FILES BRIEF IN DEFENSE OF GOOD VOTING IN FLORIDA
by Erik Nilsson
CPSR, along with several organizations led by the Electronic
Freedom Foundation, has filed a "friend of the court" brief to allow
Volusia County, Florida to choose modern and trustworthy voting
equipment.
The National Federation of the Blind filed suit against Volusia
County and sought a preliminary injunction, asking the court to force
Volusia County to purchase untrustworthy paperless touchscreen
machines made by Diebold. The National Federation of the Blind
claims that these machines are easier for blind voters, but other
groups
of blind voters and other disabled voters have found these machines
difficult to use. Furthermore, these Diebold machines have well-
documented reliability problems.
Volusia County wants to purchase a different kind of machine for
blind voters called AutoMARK that offers better support for blind
voters than the paperless machines, and is more trustworthy because
it generates a paper ballot, which is then voted in a ballot box like
any other paper ballot. (The paper ballots can then be tallied by
machine or by hand.)
The National Federation of the Blind and their allies have become
increasingly shrill in their filings, calling for the Florida primary
to
be delayed if necessary, and insisting that accessible equipment is
immediately required by law, even though the deadline for such
equipment in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) is January 1, 2006.
(Volusia County intends to comply with this deadline.) The only real
beneficiary of the injunction would be Diebold, who stand to win a
sale by injunction that they couldn't win on merit through Volusia
County's bidding process.
CPSR's position is that all voters require elections that are
trustworthy and accurate. Furthermore, voters with special needs are
entitled, by law and by simple fairness, to a voting process that
accommodates their needs. But granting the plaintiff's wishes would
not improve voting for blind people in Volusia County, and would
degrade trust in elections for all voters.
The National Federation of the Blind seeks to force Volusia County
to act in haste, before the issue of law is even settled, and purchase
obsolete elections equipment that can't be immediately used anyway.
There simply is not enough time for Volusia County to purchase and
deploy a new voting system for an October election, let alone a
complex new technology with known reliability problems. Volusia
County wants to wait two months, as directed by HAVA, for
equipment that will offer a better and more trustworthy voting
experience. CPSR believes that Volusia County's proposed
course of action is the correct one, and the proposed injunction
expensively puts the integrity of this and future elections in Volusia
County at risk. Consequently CPSR strongly opposes the proposed
injunction.
&&&&
PUBLIC SPHERE PROJECT REPORT
By Doug Schuler
The "only" thing to report is LOTS of activity around the
Liberating Voices! pattern language project. Now that a
book is definitely in the cards some additional incentive to
prepare the patterns is motivating the Liberating Voices!
community.
There are several new and updated patterns this month
including "Unintended Use" (Erik Stolterman), "Earth's Vital
Signs" (Jenny Frankel-Reed), "Working Class Consciousness:
Media, the Internet and International Capitalism" (Steve
Zeltzer), Collective Decision-Making: Hearing Six Voices"
(Valerie Brown), and "Mobile ICT Learning Facilities"
(Grant Hearn).
There are also many new contributors working on patterns
(many not yet made "public" on the site) including "Satire",
"Citizen Diplomacy", "Citizen Diplomacy", "Modeling",
"Anti Racism", "Users' IT Quality Assurance", "Community
Assets", "Corporate Responsibility", "Engaged Tourism",
"Environmental Impact Remediation", "Information Art",
"Mobile Intelligence", "People's Information", "Techo
Skepticism", "Citizen Journalism ", "Citizenship School",
"Matrifocus", "Privacy", "Sustainable Appraisal", "Telling
Stories", "Labor Visions", "Community Inquiry", "Peace
Studies", "Community Infrastructure", "Federated Systems",
and many others.
Visit http://www.cpsr.org/program/sphere/patterns to see
how things are shaping up. Be sure to let us know if you're
interested in helping with this project!
&&&&
Six members from the San Francisco Bay Area met in Palo
Alto, on short notice, on August 31st for a Chinese dinner.
Those in attendance included Todd Davies (Board member),
Jeff Johnson (Advisory Council member), Herb Kanner
(former Board Secretary), Rich Tucker (CPSR member and
office tech extraordinare), Paul Czyzewski (longtime
member), DiHuyen van Ho (Webmaster), and Susan Evoy
(Managing Director). Todd Davies, CPSR's new Vice
President, gave an update on the newly formed Advisory
Council and its work in producing a Strategic Plan for
CPSR's future. Jeff Johnson spoke about his work on
the Election Incident Reporting System (EIRS) and
ongoing lobbying efforts aimed at members of the U.S.
Congress to promote verifiable elections.
&&&&
University of California - Berkeley Taps Former ACM
President, Expert on E-Voting, for Life Achievement Award"
Barbara Simons, CPSR's 1992 Norbert Wiener Award Winner,
and former ACM President Barbara Simons has earned a 2005
Distinguished Engineering Alumni Lifetime Achievement
Award from the University of California, Berkeley, for
her professional, academic, and public service contributions.
See article.
&&&&
MEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS
HOW TO REQUEST YOUR TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION RECORD
"If you fly, you could be among the 100 million passengers
whose info the TSA has illegally collected from commercial
sources. Ann Harrison has posted a step-by-step guide for
exercising your rights to request the TSA's records under the
Privacy Act."
See guide.
"In direct violation of the Privacy Act, TSA has collected over
100 million records from commercial data providers to test Secure
Flight. If your records are contained in this database, you have a
right to obtain them. What would happen if thousands of people
requested their TSA travel records every day?"
"You can request your travel and commercial records under the
Privacy Act, but you better do it before TSA destroys the
information. TSA spokeswoman Deirdre O'Sullivan told Wired
News that the TSA has only destroyed some passenger name records
(PNR) from airlines and travel agents, but not information TSA
gathered from commercial data bases. You can request both your
PNR and commercial data with a Privacy Act request."
&&&
Karen Coyle recommends a fascinating short article by the head
of IT at Louisianna State University - Baton Rouge, on what
happens when you become the IT center everyone is depending on
during a disaster. It shows another side of disaster planning,
plus a way that IT is part of emergency services.
See article
&&&
Global ICT and Humanitarian Relief
October 17, 2005: Washington, D.C.
Looking from the Katrina Response, to the tsunami in Asia, to
Darfur, to Afghanistan, humanitarian relief operations depend
critically on the effective use of information and
communications technologies. This conference will focus on ICT
in all phases of relief operations: preparation and planning,
emergency response, long-term relief, and transition to
self-sufficiency. See http://ga0.org/ct/X11uOvd1CXnw/
--------------------
My apologies if I overlooked any entries for this
Compiler issue, and/or if any of your questions/requests
to me have not been answered. Please feel free to send
me reminders, maybe with the Subject beginning - "NUDGE".
Thanks, Susan evoy(a)cpsr.org
******************************
The CPSR Compiler is a monthly notice with short
updates on recent activities of our members and
opportunities to engage in the development of the
public voice through CPSR projects.
To report news for future issues, send a sentence or
two (and URL if available) to cpsr@cpsr.org
CPSR provides a discussion and project space where
individuals can contribute to the public debate and
design of our global digital future. Through CPSR's
chapters and working groups, members focus on regional
and civic issues developing the public voice. To
insure a democratic future in a time of intense
globalization, the voice of the public must command
a prominent position on the world stage. CPSR frames
and channels the public voice.
When in doubt about how to get more out of your CPSR
membership, contact cpsr@cpsr.org or refer to the
Activists Handbook at http://www.cpsr.org/membership/activistshandbook
to get help in getting the most out of your membership.
To get involved in policy work through CPSR, consider
joining one of CPSR's Working Groups
http://www.cpsr.org/about/projects
or contact cpsr@cpsr.org about starting a new one.
CPSR-Activists is the main members forum of CPSR,
where the board and members discuss current policy
and organizational issues. Only subscribed members
can post to this list:
http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/cpsr-activists
(c) Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility 2005.
Redistribution of this email publication - both internally
and externally - is encouraged if it includes this paragraph.
CPSR is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Donations are tax deductible.
Pay Dues, Buy Tshirts, or Make Donations via
http://cpsr.org/membershipForm
Find out about email discussion lists and Working Groups
hosted by CPSR at http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/
The CPSR Compiler is emailed to CPSR members in
good standing, who have provided CPSR with their
email address.
********************************************
Online Dues and Donation Form:
http://www.cpsr.org/membershipForm
--
Susan Evoy * Managing Director
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
P.O. Box 717 * Palo Alto * CA * 94302
Phone: (650) 322-3778 * (650) 322-4748 (fax)
The CPSR Compiler - September 2005 - 4.3 < <
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS for SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Turning Thoughts to Actions
******
* CPSR'S ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING OCTOBER 29th
* NORBERT WIENER AWARD RECEPTION FOR DOUGLAS ENGELBART
* CPSR'S NEW ADVISORY COUNCIL
* CPSR'S STRATEGIC PLAN
* PROPOSE LOCAL MEETINGS
* CPSR'S BOOKSTORE RETURNS
* CPSR'S WORKING PAPER SERIES
* UN WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
* PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION IN IBERO-AMERICA
* CPSR FILES BRIEF IN DEFENSE OF GOOD VOTING IN FLORIDA
* PUBLIC SPHERE PROJECT REPORT
* BAY AREA MEMBERS MET
* MEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS
******
JOIN US !
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29th
CPSR'S ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING
11:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
All Saints Episcopal Church
555 Waverley (between University and Hamilton)
PALO ALTO, CA, USA
You may have noticed the announcements in the last few issues of
The Compiler and on the website saying that this year we are not
doing an issues-oriented conference, and will instead be holding a
longer Members Meeting focusing intensively on the future of CPSR.
CPSR's core asset---the interest and active engagement of its
membership---seems to be waning, and there is a real need for
some fresh thinking about the organization's future direction and
prospects.
We strongly encourage members to attend the Members Meeting,
if possible. Your participation is really crucial, as we need to
think seriously and potentially make some hard decisions about the
future of CPSR. This could prove to be a key turning point in the
history of the organization.
The bottom line is that CPSR faces some serious challenges going
forward, and we need to have a collective conversation about what
we want to make of this organization. This is long overdue.
Whether CPSR should continue down its current path, strike out
in new institutional and programmatic directions, or do something
else, is up to all of us. It's our organizations, so let's talk about
what we want it to be.
Free Registration.
To reserve a seat, use http://cpsr.org/membershipForm
For more information, see
http://www.cpsr.org/act/events/annconf/annconf05/
*******
NORBERT WIENER AWARD RECEPTION FOR DOUGLAS ENGELBART
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29th
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
PALO ALTO, CA, USA
CPSR honors Douglas Engelbart, pioneer of human-computer
interface technology, inventor of the mouse, and social-impact
visionary, with its 2005 Norbert Wiener Award.
See http://www.cpsr.org/news/press/wiener2005/
Douglas Engelbart Wiener Reception early registration rates,
good until October 8th:
$ 5 for CPSR Student/Low Income Members
$10 for other CPSR members
$20 for non-members
To register, use http://cpsr.org/membershipForm
For more information,
see http://www.cpsr.org/act/events/annconf/annconf05/
Please contact Susan at evoy(a)cpsr.org or 650-322-3778 if you
would like to help with planning or logistics for October 29th.
&&&&
CPSR'S NEW ADVISORY COUNCIL
After a gap of several years, CPSR has launched a new Advisory
Council (AC) to provide the Board with input on the
organization's direction. In contrast with some previous
incarnations of what was then called the Advisory Board, the AC
is composed largely of committed CPSR veterans, including three
past presidents and a number of former Board members, who
know our challenges and opportunities from the inside and can
provide advice that is grounded in experience with our inner
workings. The AC's members include:
Jeff Chester , Karen Coyle, Harry S. Hochheiser , Jeff Johnson,
Aki Namioka, Andy Oram, Eric S. Roberts, Doug Schuler,
Coralee Whitcomb, and Terry Winograd.
See http://www.cpsr.org/board/ac/
&&&&
CPSR'S STRATEGIC PLAN
The Advisory Council's first and most important task is to lead in
the development of a Strategic Plan (SP). A draft version is scheduled
to
be ready by October 19.
We will announce how we will facilitate a Strategic Plan
online comment process from October 20 to December 1.
In addition, the draft will be discussed at the Members Meeting in
Palo Alto on October 29, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 2:00-5:30 p.m.;
see
http://www.cpsr.org/act/events/annconf/annconf05
for details. Board and AC members will participate in the
Members Meeting discussion, which will be very informal, open,
frank, and focused---in short, collective brainstorming among peers.
&
PROPOSE LOCAL MEETINGS
In addition to participating in the online discussion
of the Draft Strategic Plan, and attending the Members
Meeting, all members are encouraged to send proposals
for face-to-face local meetings from October 19 until
the end of the discussion period to discuss the Draft
Strategic Plan, and to pass along their comments to be
included before, at the Annual Members Meeting in Palo
Alto on October 29th, and until the final version is written.
When you have an idea(s) for where and when you'd like to
propose meeting with fellow CPSR members in your area,
please contact cpsr(a)cpsr.org to send a meeting invitation out.
&&&&
CPSR BOOKSTORE RETURNS
Buy books; support CPSR. It's that easy.
Through an association with Powells.com, CPSR earns a
percentage on books purchased through our links to Powell's
site. If you link to Powell's from our bookstore pages,
CPSR receives a percentage of the purchase price of
everything you buy. So, every time you go to Powell's,
do it through CPSR's website, and show your support for CPSR.
If you have recommendations for additions to the CPSR
Bookstore, please submit them for consideration to
cpsr(a)cpsr.org with Subject "Bookstore", in the citation
format used, including the ISBN number.
See http://www.cpsr.org/store/bookstore/author.html
&
FEATURED BOOK
Bootstrapping: Douglas Engelbart, Coevolution, and the
Origins of Personal Computing (Writing Science)
by Thierry Bardini
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
"Bardini (communication, Universite de Montreal) analyzes the
genesis of personal computing through a close study of Engelbart's
life. It also examines the "bootstrapping" process by which the
invention of new hardware and software systems was simultaneously
matched with the creation of a new concept we call the 'user.'
Engelbart's work and his vision for a human-computer interface
is considered in its historical context."
See http://www.cpsr.org/store/bookstore/index.html
&
Books by and about Norbert Wiener can be found via
http://www.cpsr.org/store/bookstore/author.html#W
&&&&
CPSR'S WORKING PAPER SERIES
Launched in May 2005, the Working Papers Series publishes
research and opinion pieces by CPSR members on social issues
related to information and communication technology. While
the papers are consistent with CPSR's mission of progressive
public interest advocacy, they solely reflect the views of
the individual authors. The papers are made available in
accordance with Creative Commons licensing
(www.creativecommons.org), and are open to noncommercial
use with attribution. The authors are solely responsible
for other intellectual property matters.
CPSR members are strongly encouraged to consider submitting
contributions to the series. If interested, please send a
message to cpsr(a)cpsr.org with "Working Papers" in the
subject area.
&&&&
UN WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
Collective Learning in the World Summit on the Information Society
by William J. Drake, President, CPSR -- May 2005
The second paper in the new Working Paper Series is
available at
http://www.cpsr.org/pubs/workingpapers/2/Drake
&
&&&&
William Drake, Robert Guerra, Desiree Miloshevic and Avri Doria
are representing CPSR at PrepCom3 of the UN's World Summit
on the Information Society in Geneva, Switzerland.
See http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparatory2/pc3/
PrepCom 3 Parallel Events on Internet Governance
Organized by Computer Professional for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
The purpose of these events is to facilitate focused, open,
multistakeholder discussions on two major issues that were
discussed in the report of the UN Working Group on Internet
Governance (WGIG) and are prominent on the WSIS agenda for
PrepCom-3 and beyond: 1) the possible creation of a new Forum
for Internet governance dialogue, monitoring, and analysis;
and 2) the possible reform of the current arrangements for
Oversight of the Internet's core resources (e.g. the root zone
file and ICANN's Government Advisory Committee). All attendees
are very much welcome to participate in these discussions.
&&
Bill Drake's Presentations
"Internet Governance," presentation at the Conference of NGOs in
Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO)'s
Civil Society Orientation Session, September 18; "Collective
Learning in WSIS," presentation at the UNICT Task Force parallel
event, The World Summit on the Information Society: From the
Past into the Future, September 20; Chairperson and overview
presentation at the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
parallel event, The Internet Governance Forum Function,
September 21; "The Research Agenda," presentation at the
ICT4Peace Project parallel event, September 23; Chairperson and
discussant, International Association for Media and
Communication Research parallel event, Announcing the
International Researchers Charter, September 26; and Chairperson
and overview presentation at the Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility parallel event, The Internet Governance Oversight
Function, September 28; all held during the Preparatory Conference
3 for the Tunis Phase of WSIS, September 18-29, 2005; Geneva.
"On the Creation of a New Internet Governance Forum,"
presentation at the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation's Public Meeting on Internet Governance, Copenhagen;
September 14, 2005.
&&
Bill Drake's Publications
Daniel Stauffacher, William J. Drake, Paul Currion, and Julia
Steinberger. Information and Communications Technology for Peace
(ICT4P): The Role of ICT in Preventing, Responding to and
Recovering from Conflict. Draft report prepared for the Government
of Switzerland, in preparation for the World Summit on the
Information Society, Tunis, 16-18 November 2005.
http://www.ict4peace.org
William J. Drake. "Collective Learning in the World Summit on
the Information Society," in, Daniel Stauffacher and Wolfgang
Kleinwächter, eds., The World Summit on the Information Society:
Moving from the Past into the Future. New York: United Nations
Information and Communication Technology Taskforce, 2005,
pp. 135-146. Also published as CPSR Working Paper No. 2,
www.cpsr.org/pubs/workingpapers/2/Drake
&&&&
NEXT MEETING OF THE UN WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
CPSR will be attending and participating in the UN World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS), November 16-19, in Tunis, Tunisia
Contact Robert Guerra for details about opportunities for how
to participate in CPSR's delegation. You can email him at:
wsis@privaterra.org
To join the discussion of CPSR's role in WSIS, subscribe to
the "infosoc" list via http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/infosoc
&&&&
PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION IN IBERO-AMERICA:
ANALYSIS AND PERSPECTIVES
October 20-21
Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), CPSR-Perú
and GECTI is organizing the following conference. We hope
you can join us in Bogota. Registration is Free!
We are going to organize some extra-meetings out of the hours
of the conference. This is a great opportunity to meet the
latinaomerican community interesting in those topic.
I hope to see some of you there.
Best regards,
Katitza Rodríguez
International Policy Fellow
Electronic Privacy Information Center
& Director, CPSR-Perú
&
This conference will launch the first edition in Spanish of the
annual Privacy & Human Rights report. Its objectives are also
to provide a meeting for civil society representatives, academic
experts and governmental authorities to analyze and debate
current public policy issues and recent developments in privacy
in Ibero-America.
Program outline:
* Launch of the 1st Spanish edition of the annual Privacy
and Human Rights report.
* Panels: Privacy and Data Protection in Ibero-America;
Transborder Data Flow, Financial Privacy; Technological
Protection Measures: concept, scope and implication for
privacy.
* Presentation on video surveillance.
Organizers:
CPSR-Perú, http://www.cpsr-peru.org
Electronic Privacy Information Center, http://www.epic.org
GECTI, Colombia
Location:
Auditorio Alberto Lleras Camargo, Los Andes University.
Carrera 1 No. 18A 10, Bogota, Colombia.
Coordinator:
Ms. Katitza Rodríguez, katitza@cpsr-peru.org -
tel. No. +51-1-2412460
Registration for this event is free. For complete information,
speakers bios, program, PDF announcement and institutions,
please visit
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/bogota05/
http://www.cpsr-peru.org/eventos/privacy
&&&&
CPSR FILES BRIEF IN DEFENSE OF GOOD VOTING IN FLORIDA
by Erik Nilsson
CPSR, along with several organizations led by the Electronic
Freedom Foundation, has filed a "friend of the court" brief to allow
Volusia County, Florida to choose modern and trustworthy voting
equipment.
The National Federation of the Blind filed suit against Volusia
County and sought a preliminary injunction, asking the court to force
Volusia County to purchase untrustworthy paperless touchscreen
machines made by Diebold. The National Federation of the Blind
claims that these machines are easier for blind voters, but other
groups
of blind voters and other disabled voters have found these machines
difficult to use. Furthermore, these Diebold machines have well-
documented reliability problems.
Volusia County wants to purchase a different kind of machine for
blind voters called AutoMARK that offers better support for blind
voters than the paperless machines, and is more trustworthy because
it generates a paper ballot, which is then voted in a ballot box like
any other paper ballot. (The paper ballots can then be tallied by
machine or by hand.)
The National Federation of the Blind and their allies have become
increasingly shrill in their filings, calling for the Florida primary
to
be delayed if necessary, and insisting that accessible equipment is
immediately required by law, even though the deadline for such
equipment in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) is January 1, 2006.
(Volusia County intends to comply with this deadline.) The only real
beneficiary of the injunction would be Diebold, who stand to win a
sale by injunction that they couldn't win on merit through Volusia
County's bidding process.
CPSR's position is that all voters require elections that are
trustworthy and accurate. Furthermore, voters with special needs are
entitled, by law and by simple fairness, to a voting process that
accommodates their needs. But granting the plaintiff's wishes would
not improve voting for blind people in Volusia County, and would
degrade trust in elections for all voters.
The National Federation of the Blind seeks to force Volusia County
to act in haste, before the issue of law is even settled, and purchase
obsolete elections equipment that can't be immediately used anyway.
There simply is not enough time for Volusia County to purchase and
deploy a new voting system for an October election, let alone a
complex new technology with known reliability problems. Volusia
County wants to wait two months, as directed by HAVA, for
equipment that will offer a better and more trustworthy voting
experience. CPSR believes that Volusia County's proposed
course of action is the correct one, and the proposed injunction
expensively puts the integrity of this and future elections in Volusia
County at risk. Consequently CPSR strongly opposes the proposed
injunction.
&&&&
PUBLIC SPHERE PROJECT REPORT
By Doug Schuler
The "only" thing to report is LOTS of activity around the
Liberating Voices! pattern language project. Now that a
book is definitely in the cards some additional incentive to
prepare the patterns is motivating the Liberating Voices!
community.
There are several new and updated patterns this month
including "Unintended Use" (Erik Stolterman), "Earth's Vital
Signs" (Jenny Frankel-Reed), "Working Class Consciousness:
Media, the Internet and International Capitalism" (Steve
Zeltzer), Collective Decision-Making: Hearing Six Voices"
(Valerie Brown), and "Mobile ICT Learning Facilities"
(Grant Hearn).
There are also many new contributors working on patterns
(many not yet made "public" on the site) including "Satire",
"Citizen Diplomacy", "Citizen Diplomacy", "Modeling",
"Anti Racism", "Users' IT Quality Assurance", "Community
Assets", "Corporate Responsibility", "Engaged Tourism",
"Environmental Impact Remediation", "Information Art",
"Mobile Intelligence", "People's Information", "Techo
Skepticism", "Citizen Journalism ", "Citizenship School",
"Matrifocus", "Privacy", "Sustainable Appraisal", "Telling
Stories", "Labor Visions", "Community Inquiry", "Peace
Studies", "Community Infrastructure", "Federated Systems",
and many others.
Visit http://www.cpsr.org/program/sphere/patterns to see
how things are shaping up. Be sure to let us know if you're
interested in helping with this project!
&&&&
Six members from the San Francisco Bay Area met in Palo
Alto, on short notice, on August 31st for a Chinese dinner.
Those in attendance included Todd Davies (Board member),
Jeff Johnson (Advisory Council member), Herb Kanner
(former Board Secretary), Rich Tucker (CPSR member and
office tech extraordinare), Paul Czyzewski (longtime
member), DiHuyen van Ho (Webmaster), and Susan Evoy
(Managing Director). Todd Davies, CPSR's new Vice
President, gave an update on the newly formed Advisory
Council and its work in producing a Strategic Plan for
CPSR's future. Jeff Johnson spoke about his work on
the Election Incident Reporting System (EIRS) and
ongoing lobbying efforts aimed at members of the U.S.
Congress to promote verifiable elections.
&&&&
University of California - Berkeley Taps Former ACM
President, Expert on E-Voting, for Life Achievement Award"
Barbara Simons, CPSR's 1992 Norbert Wiener Award Winner,
and former ACM President Barbara Simons has earned a 2005
Distinguished Engineering Alumni Lifetime Achievement
Award from the University of California, Berkeley, for
her professional, academic, and public service contributions.
See article.
&&&&
MEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS
HOW TO REQUEST YOUR TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION RECORD
"If you fly, you could be among the 100 million passengers
whose info the TSA has illegally collected from commercial
sources. Ann Harrison has posted a step-by-step guide for
exercising your rights to request the TSA's records under the
Privacy Act."
See guide.
"In direct violation of the Privacy Act, TSA has collected over
100 million records from commercial data providers to test Secure
Flight. If your records are contained in this database, you have a
right to obtain them. What would happen if thousands of people
requested their TSA travel records every day?"
"You can request your travel and commercial records under the
Privacy Act, but you better do it before TSA destroys the
information. TSA spokeswoman Deirdre O'Sullivan told Wired
News that the TSA has only destroyed some passenger name records
(PNR) from airlines and travel agents, but not information TSA
gathered from commercial data bases. You can request both your
PNR and commercial data with a Privacy Act request."
&&&
Karen Coyle recommends a fascinating short article by the head
of IT at Louisianna State University - Baton Rouge, on what
happens when you become the IT center everyone is depending on
during a disaster. It shows another side of disaster planning,
plus a way that IT is part of emergency services.
See article
&&&
Global ICT and Humanitarian Relief
October 17, 2005: Washington, D.C.
Looking from the Katrina Response, to the tsunami in Asia, to
Darfur, to Afghanistan, humanitarian relief operations depend
critically on the effective use of information and
communications technologies. This conference will focus on ICT
in all phases of relief operations: preparation and planning,
emergency response, long-term relief, and transition to
self-sufficiency. See http://ga0.org/ct/X11uOvd1CXnw/
--------------------
My apologies if I overlooked any entries for this
Compiler issue, and/or if any of your questions/requests
to me have not been answered. Please feel free to send
me reminders, maybe with the Subject beginning - "NUDGE".
Thanks, Susan evoy(a)cpsr.org
******************************
The CPSR Compiler is a monthly notice with short
updates on recent activities of our members and
opportunities to engage in the development of the
public voice through CPSR projects.
To report news for future issues, send a sentence or
two (and URL if available) to cpsr@cpsr.org
CPSR provides a discussion and project space where
individuals can contribute to the public debate and
design of our global digital future. Through CPSR's
chapters and working groups, members focus on regional
and civic issues developing the public voice. To
insure a democratic future in a time of intense
globalization, the voice of the public must command
a prominent position on the world stage. CPSR frames
and channels the public voice.
When in doubt about how to get more out of your CPSR
membership, contact cpsr@cpsr.org or refer to the
Activists Handbook at http://www.cpsr.org/membership/activistshandbook
to get help in getting the most out of your membership.
To get involved in policy work through CPSR, consider
joining one of CPSR's Working Groups
http://www.cpsr.org/about/projects
or contact cpsr@cpsr.org about starting a new one.
CPSR-Activists is the main members forum of CPSR,
where the board and members discuss current policy
and organizational issues. Only subscribed members
can post to this list:
http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/cpsr-activists
(c) Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility 2005.
Redistribution of this email publication - both internally
and externally - is encouraged if it includes this paragraph.
CPSR is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Donations are tax deductible.
Pay Dues, Buy Tshirts, or Make Donations via
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The CPSR Compiler is emailed to CPSR members in
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email address.
********************************************
Online Dues and Donation Form:
http://www.cpsr.org/membershipForm
--
Susan Evoy * Managing Director
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
P.O. Box 717 * Palo Alto * CA * 94302
Phone: (650) 322-3778 * (650) 322-4748 (fax)
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