- Knowledge Politics
Knowledge Politics is a virtual think-tank operating from the
United Kingdom , focusing exclusively on promoting political and policy research on the subject of the 'information society'.Aims and origins
Knowledge Politics was launched in late 2006 by a group of current and former students of the Department of Politics at the
University of Sheffield .The organisation describes its work as being "dedicated to exploring the implications and possibilities of the development of an ‘information society’, and to influencing the debate over its meaning and future." It claims to be the first "political" organisation devoted to this task, although similarly focused work has been carried out by specific teams at think-tanks such as the
Institute for Public Policy Research andThe Work Foundation .Knowledge Politics cites three academic theorists as the inspiration behind its work, all sociologists:
Daniel Bell ,Andre Gorz andManuel Castells . The early work of Bell, in particular his book The "Coming of Post-Industrial Society" probably looms largest in terms of offering a blueprint for the organisation's ideological standpoint, with Castells being the leading contemporary theorist of the social changes Knowledge Politics seeks to address.The name of the organisation provides another clue to its political values, and is also derived from Bell: the prominence of the term 'knowledge' reflects the goal of using new information and communication networks not just to generate profit but to enhance the level of learning and education across society. This theme is alluded to in the Knowledge Politics logo (two vertical oval shapes touching), which according to the first posting on the organisation's blog, was inspired by the
Kurt Vonnegut novel, "Slapstick".Work of the organisation
Knowledge Politics' work is divided into seven themes or workstreams: the knowledge economy, intellectual property, media & culture, skills & education, information society theory, internet governance, and technology & society.
Knowledge Politics defines its primary function as providing a "gateway" to research produced by other individuals or organisations, notably academics and think-tanks. An extensive set of links on the Knowledge Politics website demonstrates this.
But the organisation also publishes its own material. This is mainly in the form of pamphlets or discussion documents. To date, all of Knowledge Politics' publications have been written mainly or entirely by external contributors.
The first pamphlet published was by Dr Karol Jakubowicz, defending the principle of
public service broadcasting . Then followed a series of reports entitled "Frontiers of Freedom" examining the future of intellectual property in the digital age. Most recently Knowledge Politics published a report which presented contrasting viewpoints on theEuropean Union 'sAudiovisual Media Services Directive .Three Members of Parliament have contributed to Knowledge Politics publications:
Derek Wyatt MP (Labour Party),Andrew Gwynne MP (Labour Party) andPete Wishart (Scottish National Party ).The organisation has also announced plans for an online academic journal aimed at postgraduate students, and further reports on the significance of blogs in the political world and the relationship between the information society and localism.
Most of the early attention gained by Knowledge Politics within the UK policy community concerned their overt campaigning in favour of public service broadcasting in the digital age. This has been a feature of the organisation since its inception, which came at a time when a reduction public funding of the
British Broadcasting Corporation was announced by the UK government.External links
* [http://www.knowledgepolitics.org.uk Knowledge Politics]
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