INF5210 Information Infrastructure Class #7 Generativity Ben Eaton Dan Truong Le 02/10/2013
Discuss this weeks reading for class discussion Chapter 4: The generative pattern. Zittrain J (2008) In The future of the internet and how to stop it
Towards a Theory of Information Infrastructures A Theories of Information Infrastructures (Evolution & Design) Process Strategies Architecture Governance Assemblage Theory Complexity Actor Network Reflexive Science Theory Modernisation
Aims • To provide you with concepts to describe and explain: ▫ How open an II is to further evolution and development
Overview 1. Benefits of layered architectures 2. Characteristics of generativity 3. The "cousins" of generativity 4. Some advice for your reports ….
How Does Zittrain conceptually layer the architecture of the internet?
Application Layer Apps /Content Networks Layer (Addressing, Routing & Data Transfer) Physical Layer Cables / Radio Spectrum
What are the benefits of a layered architecture
What are the benefits of a layered architecture • Layers are “black boxed” • Standardised interfaces between them agreed and remain static • But the technology within them can change without affecting neighbouring layers. • Layers are independent and loosely coupled • E.g. change from 3G- 4G doesn’t impact on the function of the mobile internet (of course it might change the performance) • It frees up innovation by reducing lock-in & path dependency
How does Zittrain define generativity?
How does Zittrain define generativity? “Generativity is a system’s or technology’s capacity to allow third party (developers) the ability to produce unanticipated change through unfiltered contributions” - Zittrain • My unofficial definition: ▫ A systems capacity for further innovation
What are the characteristics of generativity? Appliance? Part of generative system? Nokia 101 – launched 1992 Samsung Galaxy S4 – launched 2013 Analogue ETACS 3G/4G Weight = 280g Weight = 132g Dimensions = 170 x 55 x27 mm Dimensions = 136.9 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm Battery life = 50 minutes talk time, 11 hours standby Battery life = 14 hours talk time, 63 hours standby
What are the characteristics of generativity? • Leverage ▫ how extensively a system or technology enables a set of different uses ▫ E.g. multiple sensors in Samsung Galaxy S4 – internet connectivity • Adaptability ▫ how easily a system can be built on or modified to enable a range of uses ▫ Extensible Android code base of Samsung Galaxy S4 – public APIs • Ease of mastery ▫ how easy it is for broad audiences to learn how to adopt and adapt ▫ Android SDK
What are the characteristics of generativity? • Accessibility ▫ how accessible it is to those ready and able to build on it. ▫ Barriers to accessibility can also include: expense of producing (and consuming) the technology – taxes & regulations the secrecy its producers adopt to maintain scarcity or control. • Transferability ▫ how transferable any changes are to others ▫ Online developer communities etc
What are the "cousins" of generativity and how do they relate to it? • The free software philosophy ▫ the value of sharing functionality, ▫ & knowledge about how the tool works • Affordance theory ▫ apparent options in a tool as obvious and inviting for use • Theories of the commons ▫ intellectual property licenses declare the conditions under which technical or expressive work to be copied and repurposed.
How and why is generativity being limited in numerous IIs & related systems?
App Store Review Guidelines • E.g.: • We have lots of kids downloading lots of apps, and parental controls don't work unless the parents set them up (many don't). So know that we're keeping an eye out for the kids. • We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps. If your app doesn't do something useful or provide some form of lasting entertainment, it may not be accepted. • If your App looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you're trying to get your first practice App into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour. • We will reject Apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, "I'll know it when I see it". And we think that you will also know it when you cross it.
Further reading …. • Yoo, Y., Henfridsson, O., and Lyytinen, K. "The New Organizing Logic of Digital Innovation: An Agenda for Information Systems Research," Information Systems Research (21:5 - 20th Anniversary Special Issue of Emerging Challenges) 2010. • Yoo, Y., Lyytinen, K., Boland, R., Berente, N., Gaskin, J., Schutz, D., and Srinivasan, N. "The Next Wave of Digital Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges: A Report of an NSF Research Workshop on "Digital Challenges in Innovation Research ".“ • Svahn, F., and Henfridsson, O. "The Dual Regimes of Digital Innovation Management," Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, IEEE, Hawaii, 2012, pp. 3347-3356.
Some tips on your reports ….
How to show your data in your report part 1 • First in the section where you describe the company you investigated, just make a brief statement about ▫ How many interviews you had ▫ The job function of the people you interviewed ▫ The total number of hours of interview
How to show your data in your report part 2 • You don’t have to reference you interviews like you do journal articles • No need to include transcripts of interviews • But you should keep your recordings safely, so that they can be produced if asked for • Often the things interviewees say are quoted in order to make a particular point: ▫ “The second implementation of our ERP system sucked because we couldn’t migrate data from the first” – Project Manager Generally speaking you anonymise the source!!!! ▫ No need to go crazy with quotations – but its nice to include a few quotes as it makes the analysis more credible
Referencing in your reports • Whenever write a sentence in your text and it refers to an idea (typically theory) that someone else has written about … you reference that work • For example we want to use ANT term “inscription” to describe how the use of an II has been designed into a technical artefact, you might write: • “….. The pattern of use was inscribed ( Monteiro 2000) in to the II in the following way …” • You refer to where you read about the idea … ie Chapter 5. written by Eric Monteiro in From Control to Drift
How to reference … • Say you want to reference the following journal article an idea written by Yoo (2005) in his journal article: ▫ The role of standards in innovation and diffusion of broadband mobile services: The case of South Korea, • You could refer to the reference in your text in the following ways: 1. Yoo et al (2005) write about the diffusion of mobile services in Asia 2. The diffusion of mobile services in Asia is well documented (Yoo et al 2005). 3. Yoo et al (2005, p27) define the diffusion of mobile services as: “ blah di blah ” • At the end of your report you list all the references you use in a bibliography in the format: ▫ Yoo, Y, Lyytinen, K, Yang, H.: The role of standards in innovation and diffusion of broadband mobile services: The case of South Korea, 2005. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol 14, Issue 3. • The following 2 websites are useful, and will tell you how to reference journal articles, books, websites etc in Harvard Style : ▫ http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm ▫ http://sokogskriv.no/
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