Lee McKnight | Syracuse University (original) (raw)

Papers by Lee McKnight

ABSTRACT This study combines ambient intelligence with wireless grids to investigate social inter... more ABSTRACT This study combines ambient intelligence with wireless grids to investigate social interactions in emerging and next generation technology-pervasive environments. The use experience of postsecondary students and faculty with WeJay social radio is explored in a virtual distributed environment. The research literature on 21st century social sciences, wireless grids, ambient intelligence, and futures studies provides a theoretical framework for the exploration of social interactions with emerging technologies. The research design incorporates a case study approach, employing multiple methods of inquiry and analysis. Focusing on information-based social interactions in technology-pervasive environments, this study proposes an interaction dynamic, a conceptual model, and a research agenda for a 21st century ambient learning and information society.

Internet telephony, 2001

It has taken nearly thirty years for the historically analog telephone network to be transformed ... more It has taken nearly thirty years for the historically analog telephone network to be transformed into today's end-to-end digital circuite switched network. Today we are on the verge of a second revolution in telephone technology that will be every bit as radical as the conversion from analog to digital: from circuit-switched to packet-switched technology for the carriage of voice as well as data traffic. The development of technology for carrying voice traffic over Internet protocol (IP) networks has already resulted in the widespread ...

The MIT Press eBooks, 1997

International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life, 2017

The role of technology in supporting the trajectory of well-being through history cannot be overs... more The role of technology in supporting the trajectory of well-being through history cannot be overstated. The theoretical, philosophical, socioeconomic, political, and developmental aspects of this contribution to human development are examined in this chapter. A key emergent theme is the idea that technology is a profoundly catalytic phenomenon, capable of eliciting both good and bad, and triggering changes in how people do everything—from producing their food to constructing their cities, moving from place to place, and communicating with one another. Throughout time, technology’s unique reflexive and recursive properties have sparked some of our most vital development trajectories and set the stage for our most obvious system-level dependencies today.

Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and a... more Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and applications. The rapidly developing technology can convert analog voice input to digital data, send it over available networked channels, and then convert it back to voice output. Traditional circuit-switching networks such as telephone lines can be used together with packet-switching networks such as the Internet, thereby merging communication modes such as email, voice mail, fax, pager, real-time human speech, and ...

Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and a... more Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and applications. The rapidly developing technology can convert analog voice input to digital data, send it over available networked channels, and then convert it back to voice output. Traditional circuit-switching networks such as telephone lines can be used together with packet-switching networks such as the Internet, thereby merging communication modes such as email, voice mail, fax, pager, real-time human speech, and ...

13 Internet Telephony Regulation Jonathan Weinberg The communications world is changing, and pack... more 13 Internet Telephony Regulation Jonathan Weinberg The communications world is changing, and packet-switched networks are taking over. Traditionally, telephone networks have relied on a circuit-switched architecture; when one user makes a call to another, a circuit ...

TPRC 2021 : 49th RESEARCH CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION, AND INTERNET POLICY, Jul 29, 2021

In this thesis, we examine the integration of Internet access into the work practices of one high... more In this thesis, we examine the integration of Internet access into the work practices of one high school social studies classroom in Lexington, Massachusetts. Technologically, this classroom is several years ahead of most of its peers, with a dedicated high speed connection to the Internet and several computers capable of displaying video and audio material. These capabilities include a new service called Internet CNN Newsroom, which enables the retrieval of current and archival news footage through the World Wide Web. ...

From the Publisher: More than fifty years ago, Joseph Schumpeter stated that processes intrinsic ... more From the Publisher: More than fifty years ago, Joseph Schumpeter stated that processes intrinsic to a capitalist society produce a "creative destruction," whereby innovations destroy obsolete technologies, only to be assaulted in turn by newer and more efficient rivals. This book asks whether the current chaotic state of the telecommunications and related Internet industries is evidence of creative destruction, or simply a result of firms, governments, and others wasting valuable resources with limited benefits to society as a whole. In telecommunications, for example, wireless, IP, and cable-based technologies are all fighting for a share of the market currently dominated by older, circuit-switched, copper-terminated networks. This process is accompanied by mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and investment and divestment in worldwide markets. The selections discuss the primary challenge facing firms, governments, and other players: how to exploit the opportunities creat...

Wireless Grids Edgeware - a new category of 'cloud to edge' ad hoc network applications a... more Wireless Grids Edgeware - a new category of 'cloud to edge' ad hoc network applications and services have been under refinement for more than a decade following the first presentation on the topic to TPRC in 2002. A variety of proprietary and open/non-proprietary applications - called gridlets and wiglets, respectively - have been developed over the years, and tested in experimental use by a wide variety of users. Applications and use cases in K-12, university, and adult education as well as informal learning; social emergency response; social radio; virtual energy; enterprise cloud operating models for 'workplace as a service' and 'healthcare workplace as a service' as well as infrastructureless and serverless networks. This tutorial will provide hands-on use experiences and guest account access to a number of wiglets and gridlets, and among other things permit users to create their own social radios across their own - social - machines. The security implica...

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017

Internet penetration in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is 4%. According to radio okapi, t... more Internet penetration in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is 4%. According to radio okapi, the high costs of services and the lack of infrastructure block most people from accessing the Internet. The high Internet costs are due to the high cost of satellite bandwidth use, which raises Internet providers operating costs. Low Internet penetration in the D.R.C. is a brake on the development of this country, experts in the sector confirm. This damages both the economy and society, and is especially dangerous in case of emergency. The objective of the Interagency Task Force and Advisory Group is to support the D.R.C. achieving 30% penetration as soon as 2020. This paper assesses an Interagency Task Force and Advisory Group (IATAG) helping catalyze interagency and civil society cooperation with industry investment to enable D.R.C. Internet penetration to exceed 30% in 2020. If successful, the economic and social benefits are obvious as a more connected and wealthier D.R.C. creates more economic opportunities for citizens and investors, improves health and well-being, and improves the functioning of the public sector. Fieldwork to identify key inhibitors and barriers, which must be removed or reformed if the DRC Broadband Vision is to be realized, is among the research methods to be used in this paper. Experiments with government ministries, governors, civil society actors, and firms will be evaluated. Sociopolitical challenges will vary both between and within the Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. To obtain a realistic view of current conditions and critical barriers, infrastructure providers of telecommunications and energy, and their business, residential and public sector customers must be encouraged to contribute, along with potential new market entrants. Investors and industry partners, who affirm they would contribute if identified barriers were removed, are participating in this multi-stakeholder process. The conclusions of this paper may have significant application to realizing efforts of international agencies and the technology industry to facilitate the next billion and half people accessing the Internet. Already, the nascent efforts in the DRC are being attracting growing interest in several other African nations whose geography, economy, and political instability may also have left large numbers of people excluded from Internet access to date. Are there lessons to be learned from the DRC on what policy approaches and technology innovations may help rural areas, education and emergency services leap ahead? Aggregating demand by supporting inter-city hybrid heterogeneous (fiber, wireless, and satellite, as well as off-grid solutions) networks will be key to enabling sustainable, rapid growth in connectivity and Internet access, this research indicates. Establishment of an annual series of DRC Internet Forum meetings, to facilitate continuous multistakeholder dialogue is planned. Several Provinces whose Governors and citizens may be prepared to commit to supporting the Vision will prove their commitment by formally volunteering their Provinces as Innovation Zones. Both government and civil society clearly must be prepared to take practical, and difficult, actions to make the plan implementable, and change possible. The IATAG is developing a checklist and brief questionnaire for submission by the Governor of interested Provinces, with indications of broad support by local officials, university and school leaders, businesses, and community organizations. Results of this questionnaire may be shared with TPRC participants for their feedback and suggestions. Incumbent telecommunications operators identifying what they perceive to be the key challenges in the region is also critical input for the Task Force to consider. For example, it may be that mobile backhaul is the top obstacle, as it was in Ugandan regions where Facebook co-invested in 2017 with two operators to remove that barrier. This paper will also report on findings from the point of view of incumbent and new entrant operators. The virtuous circle of private sector actors encouraged by reformed government innovation policies and engaged community groups inviting change, will risk investment in advanced wireless, mobile and fiber infrastructure in the DRC as soon as possible. This can increase access and can lower costs for everyone while improving quality and variety of services far beyond 4G. These include innovative hybrid heterogeneous software-defined and virtualized networks offering cloud services across wireless grids for the Internet of Things with edgeware.

ABSTRACT This study combines ambient intelligence with wireless grids to investigate social inter... more ABSTRACT This study combines ambient intelligence with wireless grids to investigate social interactions in emerging and next generation technology-pervasive environments. The use experience of postsecondary students and faculty with WeJay social radio is explored in a virtual distributed environment. The research literature on 21st century social sciences, wireless grids, ambient intelligence, and futures studies provides a theoretical framework for the exploration of social interactions with emerging technologies. The research design incorporates a case study approach, employing multiple methods of inquiry and analysis. Focusing on information-based social interactions in technology-pervasive environments, this study proposes an interaction dynamic, a conceptual model, and a research agenda for a 21st century ambient learning and information society.

Internet telephony, 2001

It has taken nearly thirty years for the historically analog telephone network to be transformed ... more It has taken nearly thirty years for the historically analog telephone network to be transformed into today's end-to-end digital circuite switched network. Today we are on the verge of a second revolution in telephone technology that will be every bit as radical as the conversion from analog to digital: from circuit-switched to packet-switched technology for the carriage of voice as well as data traffic. The development of technology for carrying voice traffic over Internet protocol (IP) networks has already resulted in the widespread ...

The MIT Press eBooks, 1997

International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life, 2017

The role of technology in supporting the trajectory of well-being through history cannot be overs... more The role of technology in supporting the trajectory of well-being through history cannot be overstated. The theoretical, philosophical, socioeconomic, political, and developmental aspects of this contribution to human development are examined in this chapter. A key emergent theme is the idea that technology is a profoundly catalytic phenomenon, capable of eliciting both good and bad, and triggering changes in how people do everything—from producing their food to constructing their cities, moving from place to place, and communicating with one another. Throughout time, technology’s unique reflexive and recursive properties have sparked some of our most vital development trajectories and set the stage for our most obvious system-level dependencies today.

Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and a... more Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and applications. The rapidly developing technology can convert analog voice input to digital data, send it over available networked channels, and then convert it back to voice output. Traditional circuit-switching networks such as telephone lines can be used together with packet-switching networks such as the Internet, thereby merging communication modes such as email, voice mail, fax, pager, real-time human speech, and ...

Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and a... more Internet telephony is the integration and convergence of voice and data networks, services, and applications. The rapidly developing technology can convert analog voice input to digital data, send it over available networked channels, and then convert it back to voice output. Traditional circuit-switching networks such as telephone lines can be used together with packet-switching networks such as the Internet, thereby merging communication modes such as email, voice mail, fax, pager, real-time human speech, and ...

13 Internet Telephony Regulation Jonathan Weinberg The communications world is changing, and pack... more 13 Internet Telephony Regulation Jonathan Weinberg The communications world is changing, and packet-switched networks are taking over. Traditionally, telephone networks have relied on a circuit-switched architecture; when one user makes a call to another, a circuit ...

TPRC 2021 : 49th RESEARCH CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION, AND INTERNET POLICY, Jul 29, 2021

In this thesis, we examine the integration of Internet access into the work practices of one high... more In this thesis, we examine the integration of Internet access into the work practices of one high school social studies classroom in Lexington, Massachusetts. Technologically, this classroom is several years ahead of most of its peers, with a dedicated high speed connection to the Internet and several computers capable of displaying video and audio material. These capabilities include a new service called Internet CNN Newsroom, which enables the retrieval of current and archival news footage through the World Wide Web. ...

From the Publisher: More than fifty years ago, Joseph Schumpeter stated that processes intrinsic ... more From the Publisher: More than fifty years ago, Joseph Schumpeter stated that processes intrinsic to a capitalist society produce a "creative destruction," whereby innovations destroy obsolete technologies, only to be assaulted in turn by newer and more efficient rivals. This book asks whether the current chaotic state of the telecommunications and related Internet industries is evidence of creative destruction, or simply a result of firms, governments, and others wasting valuable resources with limited benefits to society as a whole. In telecommunications, for example, wireless, IP, and cable-based technologies are all fighting for a share of the market currently dominated by older, circuit-switched, copper-terminated networks. This process is accompanied by mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and investment and divestment in worldwide markets. The selections discuss the primary challenge facing firms, governments, and other players: how to exploit the opportunities creat...

Wireless Grids Edgeware - a new category of 'cloud to edge' ad hoc network applications a... more Wireless Grids Edgeware - a new category of 'cloud to edge' ad hoc network applications and services have been under refinement for more than a decade following the first presentation on the topic to TPRC in 2002. A variety of proprietary and open/non-proprietary applications - called gridlets and wiglets, respectively - have been developed over the years, and tested in experimental use by a wide variety of users. Applications and use cases in K-12, university, and adult education as well as informal learning; social emergency response; social radio; virtual energy; enterprise cloud operating models for 'workplace as a service' and 'healthcare workplace as a service' as well as infrastructureless and serverless networks. This tutorial will provide hands-on use experiences and guest account access to a number of wiglets and gridlets, and among other things permit users to create their own social radios across their own - social - machines. The security implica...

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017

Internet penetration in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is 4%. According to radio okapi, t... more Internet penetration in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is 4%. According to radio okapi, the high costs of services and the lack of infrastructure block most people from accessing the Internet. The high Internet costs are due to the high cost of satellite bandwidth use, which raises Internet providers operating costs. Low Internet penetration in the D.R.C. is a brake on the development of this country, experts in the sector confirm. This damages both the economy and society, and is especially dangerous in case of emergency. The objective of the Interagency Task Force and Advisory Group is to support the D.R.C. achieving 30% penetration as soon as 2020. This paper assesses an Interagency Task Force and Advisory Group (IATAG) helping catalyze interagency and civil society cooperation with industry investment to enable D.R.C. Internet penetration to exceed 30% in 2020. If successful, the economic and social benefits are obvious as a more connected and wealthier D.R.C. creates more economic opportunities for citizens and investors, improves health and well-being, and improves the functioning of the public sector. Fieldwork to identify key inhibitors and barriers, which must be removed or reformed if the DRC Broadband Vision is to be realized, is among the research methods to be used in this paper. Experiments with government ministries, governors, civil society actors, and firms will be evaluated. Sociopolitical challenges will vary both between and within the Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. To obtain a realistic view of current conditions and critical barriers, infrastructure providers of telecommunications and energy, and their business, residential and public sector customers must be encouraged to contribute, along with potential new market entrants. Investors and industry partners, who affirm they would contribute if identified barriers were removed, are participating in this multi-stakeholder process. The conclusions of this paper may have significant application to realizing efforts of international agencies and the technology industry to facilitate the next billion and half people accessing the Internet. Already, the nascent efforts in the DRC are being attracting growing interest in several other African nations whose geography, economy, and political instability may also have left large numbers of people excluded from Internet access to date. Are there lessons to be learned from the DRC on what policy approaches and technology innovations may help rural areas, education and emergency services leap ahead? Aggregating demand by supporting inter-city hybrid heterogeneous (fiber, wireless, and satellite, as well as off-grid solutions) networks will be key to enabling sustainable, rapid growth in connectivity and Internet access, this research indicates. Establishment of an annual series of DRC Internet Forum meetings, to facilitate continuous multistakeholder dialogue is planned. Several Provinces whose Governors and citizens may be prepared to commit to supporting the Vision will prove their commitment by formally volunteering their Provinces as Innovation Zones. Both government and civil society clearly must be prepared to take practical, and difficult, actions to make the plan implementable, and change possible. The IATAG is developing a checklist and brief questionnaire for submission by the Governor of interested Provinces, with indications of broad support by local officials, university and school leaders, businesses, and community organizations. Results of this questionnaire may be shared with TPRC participants for their feedback and suggestions. Incumbent telecommunications operators identifying what they perceive to be the key challenges in the region is also critical input for the Task Force to consider. For example, it may be that mobile backhaul is the top obstacle, as it was in Ugandan regions where Facebook co-invested in 2017 with two operators to remove that barrier. This paper will also report on findings from the point of view of incumbent and new entrant operators. The virtuous circle of private sector actors encouraged by reformed government innovation policies and engaged community groups inviting change, will risk investment in advanced wireless, mobile and fiber infrastructure in the DRC as soon as possible. This can increase access and can lower costs for everyone while improving quality and variety of services far beyond 4G. These include innovative hybrid heterogeneous software-defined and virtualized networks offering cloud services across wireless grids for the Internet of Things with edgeware.

More than fifty years ago, Joseph Schumpeter stated that processes intrinsic to a capitalist soci... more More than fifty years ago, Joseph Schumpeter stated that processes intrinsic to a capitalist society produce a "creative destruction," whereby innovations destroy obsolete technologies, only to be assaulted in turn by newer and more efficient rivals. This book asks whether the current chaotic state of the telecommunications and related Internet industries is evidence of creative destruction, or simply a result of firms, governments, and others wasting valuable resources with limited benefits to society as a whole. In telecommunications, for example, wireless, IP, and fiber-based technologies are all fighting for shares of the market previously dominated by older, circuit-switched, copper-terminated networks. This process is accompanied by mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and investment and divestment in worldwide markets. Chapters discuss the primary challenge facing firms, governments, and other players: how to exploit the opportunities created by such destructive dynamics. They highlight the importance of national regulations promoting competition and non-monopolistic market structures, as well as the role of new Internet technologies in driving down the price and speeding the diffusion of innovative products and services in telecommunications, media, electronic retailing, and other "new economy" industries.

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are playing a significant role in economic, po... more Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are playing a significant role in economic, political and cultural development. The relationship between technologies supporting information processing and distribution, and the application of that knowledge for development purposes has only recently come into focus. The discovery, publication
and application of new knowledge, the dissemination of information concerning best practices and the exchange of views and opinions are now considered essential elements
of development work. These functions it is now increasingly recognized, are effectively facilitated by ICTs. In the area of economic development ICTs can create new jobs, new
industry and service sector opportunities and a more educated work force. They make possible the cross-border flow of information, promote international trade, particularly
high technology, bits rather than atoms, type trade and help to attract foreign direct investment.

ICTs can also contribute to political development by fostering good governance and streamlining bureaucratic procedures through intra-governmental networking. The creative use of
ICTs, particularly the Internet, in the areas of health care,
education, environmental protection and in other developmentally important fields can substantially contribute to the advancement of developing societies.

This book identifies the causes and consequences for these trends and considers their implications for the further development of knowledge networks for development of the
global Internet economy.

Political Communication, 1993

We argue that there exists a critical opportunity for independent communications policy research ... more We argue that there exists a critical opportunity for independent communications policy research to make a difference and to anticipate and facilitate a paradigm shift in telecommunications regulation.