TATuP – Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis
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Lessons learned from India’s Green Revolution: Interview with Jack Loveridge
No full textPartition of British India in 1947 triggered a huge refugee crisis in India. In addition, low agricultural yield and high population growth fueled food insecurity. The fear of the Bengal Famine of 1943 was still fresh and the Indian Government wanted to prevent further famines. The philanthropic organizations of the USA (Rockefeller and Ford Foundation) collaborated with Indian policymakers and scientists that helped in the groundwork of the Green Revolution. Jack Loveridge explains how technology and international cooperation contributed to India\u27s Green Revolution and what lessons can be learned for the future. The challenges related population control, environment, social and economic inequality in the Green Revolution were highlighted. Interview by Somidh Saha (ITAS-KIT).Partition of British India in 1947 triggered a huge refugee crisis in India. In addition, low agricultural yield and high population growth fueled food insecurity. The fear of the Bengal Famine of 1943 was still fresh and the Indian Government wanted to prevent further famines. The philanthropic organizations of the USA (Rockefeller and Ford Foundation) collaborated with Indian policymakers and scientists that helped in the groundwork of the Green Revolution. Jack Loveridge explains how technology and international cooperation contributed to India\u27s Green Revolution and what lessons can be learned for the future. The challenges related population control, environment, social and economic inequality in the Green Revolution were highlighted. Interview by Somidh Saha (ITAS-KIT)
Secure IT without vulnerabilities and back doors
Get PDFUnsere zunehmende Abhängigkeit von Informationstechnik erhöht kontinuierlich die Safety- und Security-Anforderungen bei deren Einsatz. Ein zentrales Problem hierbei sind Schwachstellen von Hard- und Software. Marktkräfte konnten diese Situation bislang nicht grundsätzlich beheben. Eine Gegenstrategie sollte deshalb folgende Optionen erwägen: (1) private und staatliche Förderung offener und sicherer IT‑Produktion, (2) Verbesserung der souveränen Kontrolle bei der Produktion aller kritischen IT‑Komponenten innerhalb eines Wirtschaftsraumes sowie (3) verbesserte und durchgesetzte Regulierung. Dieser Beitrag analysiert Vor- und Nachteile dieser Optionen. Es wird vorgeschlagen, die Sicherheit der Schlüsselkomponenten einer Lieferkette durch weltweit verteilte, offene und ggf. mathematisch bewiesene Komponenten zu gewährleisten. Der beschriebene Ansatz erlaubt die Nutzung existierender und neuer proprietärer Komponenten.Increasing dependence on information technology calls for strengthening the requirements on their safety and security. Vulnerabilities that result from flaws in hardware and software are a core problem which market mechanisms have failed to eliminate. A strategy for resolving this issue should consider the following options: (1) private- and public-sector funding for open and secure production, (2) strengthening the sovereign control over the production of critical IT components within an economic zone, and (3) improving and enforcing regulation. This paper analyses the strengths and weaknesses of these options and proposes a globally distributed, secure supply chain based on open and mathematically proved components. The approach supports the integration of legacy and new proprietary components
Science and policy advice: Interview with Ernst Dieter Rossmann
No full textGesellschaftliche Transformationsprozesse stellen Wissenschaft und Politik gleichermaßen vor Herausforderungen. Damit ergeben sich neue und immer komplexere Anforderungen an die Technikfolgenabschätzung (TA) als wissenschaftliche und politikberatende Praxis. Ernst Dieter Rossmann, Vorsitzender des Ausschusses für Bildung, Forschung und Technikfolgenabschätzung, spricht über veränderte Ansprüche an die TA, ihre Rolle in der Demokratie und die Praxis am Büro für Technikfolgen-Abschätzung beim Deutschen Bundestag (TAB).Processes of social transformation pose challenges to both science and politics. As a result, new and increasingly complex requirements are emerging for technology assessment (TA) as a scientific and policy advisory practice. Ernst Dieter Rossmann, Chairman of the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment, talks about changing demands on TA, its role in democracy and the work of the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (TAB)
Democracy and technology assessment: Practical challenges and conceptual consequences
Get PDFTechnikfolgenabschätzung (TA) ist vor über 50 Jahren zur Unterstützung demokratischer Meinungsbildung und Entscheidungsfindung entstanden. Sie hat sich seitdem in demokratischen Gesellschaften westlichen Typs weiterentwickelt und diversifiziert. Dieses Modell ist seit einigen Jahren mit Herausforderungen konfrontiert, darunter: (1) In fast allen westlichen Ländern wird anlässlich des Erstarkens populistischer Strömungen von einer Krise der Demokratie gesprochen. (2) Die Digitalisierung ermöglicht neue Kommunikations- und Mobilisierungsmuster weitab von den klassischen Formen demokratischer Meinungs- und Willensbildung. (3) Basisdemokratische und partizipative Verhandlungen werden für die Ausgestaltung und Akzeptanz von neuen Technologien immer relevanter. In dieser Einführung entfalten wir diese Herausforderungen und geben einen Überblick über die Beiträge des TATuP-Themas.Technology assessment (TA) was established more than 50 years ago to support democratic opinion forming and decision making. Since then, it has developed and diversified in Western democratic societies. This model has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including: (1) In almost all Western countries, the rise of populist movements has led to talk of a crisis of democracy. (2) The ongoing digitalization enables new patterns of communication and mobilization far beyond traditional forms of democratic opinion forming and decision making. (3) Grassroots and participatory negotiations are becoming more and more relevant for the development and acceptance of new technology. This introduction unfolds these challenges and provides an overview of the contributions to the TATuP special topic
Nonpartisan advice for the U.S. Congress matters: Insights into the work of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Get PDFAs in all democratically constituted states, scientific policy advice to the legislature in the U. S. is faced with the challenges of this time: What can good advice look like given the rapidly developing new technologies and their far-reaching implications for society? Despite decades of collaboration between consultants and advisors, mutual trust must be won over and over again. Against this background, it is particularly interesting to take a closer look at current developments in the U. S.: Timothy M. Persons, GAO’s Chief Scientist, gives insights into the work of the U. S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which advises the U. S. Congress. It becomes clear that balanced results of technology assessment and other GAO products arise when not only the majority but also the minority party is heard when prioritizing congressional inquiries. The research questions must be impartial and meet congressional requirements. The interview was conducted by Constanze Scherz (ITAS-KIT).As in all democratically constituted states, scientific policy advice to the legislature in the U. S. is faced with the challenges of this time: What can good advice look like given the rapidly developing new technologies and their far-reaching implications for society? Despite decades of collaboration between consultants and advisors, mutual trust must be won over and over again. Against this background, it is particularly interesting to take a closer look at current developments in the U. S.: Timothy M. Persons, GAO’s Chief Scientist, gives insights into the work of the U. S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which advises the U. S. Congress. It becomes clear that balanced results of technology assessment and other GAO products arise when not only the majority but also the minority party is heard when prioritizing congressional inquiries. The research questions must be impartial and meet congressional requirements. The interview was conducted by Constanze Scherz (ITAS-KIT)
Democratization of technology assessment? The problem of defining the relationship between public sphere and scientific expertise
Get PDFTechnikfolgenabschätzung (TA) öffnet sich gegenwärtig neu für die Beratung demokratischer Öffentlichkeit. Dabei zeigt sich jedoch ein vielschichtiges Positionierungsproblem für TA. Damit TA diese Positionierung transparent vollziehen kann, so unsere These, bedarf es eines demokratietheoretischen Referenzrahmens, in dem die Bezüge zu Öffentlichkeit geklärt werden können. Ein solcher Referenzrahmen kann heuristisch aus den drei Dimensionen politischen Könnens, politischen Wollens und politischen Sollens gebildet werden. Anhand einer Analyse entlang dreier typischer Bezugsformen – Öffentlichkeit als Adressat von TA‑Wissen, als Quelle von TA‑Wissen und als Interaktionspartner – wird aufgezeigt, dass unter Anwendung eines solchen Referenzrahmes TA ein kritisch-reflexives Verhältnis zu Öffentlichkeit einnehmen und so das Positionierungsproblem produktiv lösen kann.Technology assessment (TA) is becoming more open to democratic public consultation. This poses a complex problem of self-positioning for TA. We argue that in order for TA to be able to carry out this public self-positioning transparently, a democratic theoretical framework is required which allows clarifying the relationship to the public. Such a frame of reference can be formed from the three dimensions of political ability (“politisches Können”), political willing (“politisches Wollen”), and political obligation (“politisches Sollen”). Based on an analysis along three typical forms – the public as addressee of TA knowledge, as source of TA knowledge, and as interaction partner of TA – we demonstrate how this framework can help TA develop a critical and reflexive relationship to the public and thus productively solve the self-positioning problem
Chances and limitations of digitalization of classes: An evaluation from a pedagogical perspective
Get PDFDie Digitalisierung ist eine der großen Herausforderungen des 21. Jahrhunderts. Auch die Institution Schule ist hiervon betroffen. Der Digital- Pakt Schule zwischen Bund und Ländern soll helfen, diese Aufgabe zu bewältigen, indem er digitale Medien zur Verfügung stellt. Das Problem liegt aus pädagogischer Sicht darin, dass im Unterricht zwischen der Lernmethode und der Lerntechnik durchaus unterschieden werden kann. Digitale Medien sind dem Bereich der Lerntechniken zuzuordnen. Lerntechniken sind für den Lernprozess zwar notwendige, aber keine hinreichenden Bedingungen.Digitalization poses one of the most significant challenges of the 21st century, which also affects school as an institution. The so-called DigitalPakt Schule, an agreement between Germany’s Federal Government and the States, is supposed to support this development by providing schools with digital media. In class, a distinction between learning methods and learning procedures is quite common. Digital media can be classified as learning procedures. This can lead to problems since learning procedures are necessary, but insufficient for a full learning process as such