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Dialogue on the impact of communication and information technology in global contexts

The University of Washington Information School and Department of Communication are hosting this dialog. A Panel will consist of Prof. Philip Howard (Department of Communication), Ibrahim Al Beayeyz (Ministry of Higher Education, Saudi Arabia), and Prof. Jochen Scholl (The Information School), with Harry Bruce moderating. Each panelist will have ten minutes to present their research to us, then there will be time for questions, thoughts, and comments. This should be a very interesting discussion! Please come. Biographies of each panelist is below.

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Philip N. Howard is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Department at UW. His current research and teaching interests include political communication and the role of new media in social movements and deliberative democracy, work in new economy and e-commerce firms, and the application of new media technologies in addressing social inequalities in the developing world. He teaches courses on research methods, politics online, organizational behavior and international media systems.

Dr. Howard plans to discuss a book he is working on called Digital Divides, Digital Dividends, about modernization, dependency and underdevelopment in the information age. This manuscript explores several questions which will be explored. It uses evidence from ethnographic fieldwork, the International Telecommunications Union annual data reports, and an archive of digital artifacts from countries and cultures around the developed world.

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Ibrahim Al Beayeyz received his Ph.D. in Communication from Ohio State University. He has held the positions of Assistant Professor, Mass Communication Dept., King Saud University; Director General, Public Relations, King Saud University; Director General, Research & Information Dept., Ministry of Higher Education; Consultant, Ministry of Information; and Consultant, Ministry of Higher Education.

Dr. Al-Beayeyz plans to discuss New Communication Technology and Social Changes in Saudi Arabia: Satellite television and internet represent a new phenomenon in Saudi Arabia. These two basic communication and information technologies are expected to have a profound affect on the Saudi sociopolitical order. The presentation tries to look into such a potential affect. It includes the result of a recent survey of more than 200 satellite TV channels available in Saudi Arabia via Arabsat and Nilesat. It also provides a review of 1700 threads in two of the most popular and active blogs. These satellite channels and Weblogs provide the Saudis, conservatives and liberals, with new means for social dialog, which the local mass media have failed to do.

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Hans J. (Jochen) Scholl teaches Information Management with a special focus on the interdependency between technology, organizational context, and human interest and interaction. He earned a Ph.D. in Information Science from the University at Albany. Jochen also holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the GSBA Zurich, Switzerland. His research interests are focused on modeling complex systems, in particular, by means of system dynamics and also agent-based simulation. Beyond these quantitative research methods, he is interested in qualitative methods such as Action Research which is particularly geared to involve practitioners and develop new theory by exploring and solving practical problems. Areas of study include information systems success, e-Government, and private-sector firm survival.

Dr. Scholl plans to talk about Wicked Problems, Complexity Science and E-government.

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For more information contact Karen Erickson by phone (206-616-7213) or e-mail (karene@u.washington.edu).