Forgotten, televised and cyber wars: reflections on the transformation of communication technologies and politics

I've published my ICISTS-KAIST 2013 conference presentation to the web so that interested people can view it.   It is available at this hyperlink.  The presentation is in a standard slide format with slides set to advance or bullets set to appear automatically every three seconds.  Note that about ten of the slides have embedded video excerpts.  You may view the entire video or advance to the next slide with a click of the mouse. Comments and questions are welcome.

Samsung introduces world's first V-Nand Flash Memory

Although I am not an engineer by training, I have a healthy respect for the role that semiconductors play as basic building blocks for the computers, smart devices and digital networks that together comprise our emerging information age. This week Samsung announced, as reported in the Joongang Daily and other papers, that it "... has begun mass producing the industry’s first three-dimensional (3-D) Vertical NAND flash memory whose innovative structure has made reliability up to 10 times better and doubled write performance and capacity of conventional 20 nanometer NAND flash memories."  The device itself, as pictured in the accompanying graphic (click to see a larger version) looks much like many other chips.  However, that appearance belies its strong capabilities and vast improvement over existing NAND memory chips.
As the Joongang Daily article notes," The new chip the size of a fingernail has a capacity of 128 gigabits (Gb), meaning it is able to accommodate 128 billion units of memory storage. Although the size is same as that of Intel and Micron chips, which still use planar NAND technology, most notable achievement for Samsung is the proprietary vertical interconnect process technology that can stack as many as 24 cell layers vertically." The innovation is expected to be a stepping stone toward realization of a 1 terabit NAND Flash memory chip within five years. Samsung will initially supply the new chip to data centers, but plans to use it soon in smartphones and tablets as well.

My ICSTS conference presentation "Forgotten, televised and cyber wars: reflections on the transformation of communication technologies and politics"

As noted in an earlier post, I've been invited to participate in the International Conference for the Integration of Science, Technology and Society (ICISTS), hosted by KAIST here on campus and at the nearby Daejeon Convention Center August 5-9.   My main presentation on Tuesday, August 6 will be in one of the parallel sessions.  I've entitled the presentation "Forgotten, televised and cyber wars:  reflections on the transformation of communication technologies and politics."  
Although, as with any presentation, the preparation took considerable time, I thoroughly enjoyed putting this one together.   It draws upon my early research on U.S. television news coverage of international affairs, as well as more recent work here in Korea on the impact of the digital information revolution of the late twentieth century.
It was especially interesting yesterday to meet with two of the KAIST students who are leading preparations for the conference.  They've put together quite an interesting agenda for this year's conference and I am looking forward to it.  The theme of this annual conference --integrating science, technology and society--seems to assume added importance with each passing year.  It is especially meaningful to have a student-organized conference since those who are now students will soon be grappling with all of the most difficult challenges of this revolutionary millenium.

POSCO using Google's cloud-based solutions!

Some years ago I recall touring the POSCO steel plant in Pohang and learning that it was highly computerized and the most efficient plant of its type in the world.   Today I read in The Korea Times that the company has recently taken steps to strengthen its IT systems and further improve efficiency.
What really jumped off the page when I read the article was the following section.

"On Dec. 10, 2012, the company launched its Smart Workplace program, partnering with Google and other technology providers. To facilitate communication among employees at various POSCO plants and offices, the company has implemented Google+ Hangouts, a video conferencing app and one of the U.S. Internet giant’s smart workplace solutions. Google+ Hangouts allows employees to access other Google products such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive, enabling employees to collaborate more frequently and achieve better results."

Half of Korean elementary students and about 84% of secondary students own smartphones

South Korea's Ministry of Education yesterday released the results of a nationwide survey of smartphone ownership by students in elementary, middle and high schools.  Overall, 69 percent of all the students surveyed owned smartphones.  While the survey did not indicate what portion of the phones were LTE models, it seems a reasonable assumption that the vast majority are, given the rapid uptake of LTE nationwide here in Korea.  As shown in the accompanying graphic (click for a larger version) the survey showed that middle and high school students were most likely to own a smartphone, with 83-85% of those surveyed reporting ownership.  However, almost half of elementary students reported owning one.