Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

472 technology policyDuring the 1980s, the number of degree offerings increased,and people began to specifically prepare for the field, oftenby earning a computer science degree with a specializationin technical writing. Organizations such as the Society forTechnical Communication have offered technical writersand editors a forum for discussing their profession, includingissues relating to certification.Further ReadingAlred, Gerald J., Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu. The Handbookof Technical Writing. 8th ed. Boston: St. Martin’s Press, 2006.Lindsell-Roberts, Sheryl. Technical Writing for Dummies. New York:Hungry Minds, 2001.Pringle, Alan S., and Sarah S. O’Keefe. Technical Writing 101: AReal-World Guide to Planning and Writing Technical Documentation.2nd ed. Research Triangle Park, N.C.: ScriptoriumPublishing Services, 2003.Society for Technical Communication. Available online. URL:http://www.stc.org/. Accessed August 22, 2007.technology policyPolicy makers have found themselves increasingly confrontedwith difficult issues relating to the Internet, theinformation industry, and an economy increasingly dependenton computing and communications technology. Aswith other complex issues such as health care, there hasbeen difficulty reaching a consensus or formulating comprehensiveor consistent policies.Historically many of the early innovators in moderncomputing (even Microsoft) have tended to keep aloof frompolitics and lobbying. This may have been due in part tolibertarian or laissez-faire beliefs that the best thing thegovernment could do for the information highway was tostay out of its way.Today, however, with vital economic interests and thousandsof jobs at stake, major computer companies have joinedthe political game with a vengeance. In turn, candidates in therun up to the 2008 presidential election have not neglectedto court technology leaders. (For example, in 2008 leadingDemocratic candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and BarackObama both outlined extensive technology agendas.)Major policy issues involving information technologyindustries include:• foreign trade and the protection of intellectual property(see intellectual property and computingand software piracy and counterfeiting)• attempts to reform the patent system to prevent whatis seen as dubious and expensive litigation• the need for an increasing number of trained workersand providing a sufficient number of visas for foreignworkers (see globalization and the computerindustry)• preserving equal access to the Internet (see net neutrality),which pits content providers against telecommunicationscompanies• promoting the development of a next-generationInternet infrastructure (“Internet 2”)• government support for computer research (such asthrough the National Science Foundation)—see governmentfunding of computer research• favorable treatment of online businesses with regardto taxation (often objected to by traditional brickand-mortarbusinesses)—see e-commerce• laws against computer-related fraud and other crime(see computer crime and security and onlinefrauds and scams)• Privacy regulations (see identity theft and privacyin the digital age)The computer industry is also involved in issues thatwill affect its future over the longer term, such as the needto improve math and science education in elementary andhigh schools, energy and environmental policy, and issuessuch as health care and pensions that affect all sectors ofthe economy.International AspectsIn a global industry, American information technology policycannot be considered without looking at the policiesof other nations (both industrialized and developing) andtheir potential impacts. For example, China’s success (orlack thereof) in protecting intellectual property has a directimpact on the revenue of major software companies. Similarly,issues of censorship (see censorship and the Internet)create dilemmas for companies that must balanceconcern for human rights with the opportunity to enterhuge new markets. Other important aspects of comparativetechnology policy include research funding, subsidies, patentand copyright law, and labor standards.Further ReadingAspray, William, ed. Chasing Moore’s Law: Information TechnologyPolicy in the United States. Raleigh, N.C.: SciTech Publishing,2004.Coopey, Richard, ed. Information Technology Policy: An InternationalHistory. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.Marcus, Alan I., and Amy Sue Bix. The Future Is Now: Scienceand Technology Policy in America since 1958. Amherst, N.Y.:Humanity Books, 2006.MIT Center for Technology, Policy, and Industrial Development.Available online. URL: http://web.mit.edu/ctpid. AccessedNovember 27, 2007.Nuechterlein, Jonathan E., and Philp J. Weiser. Digital Crossroads:American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age. Cambridge,Mass.: MIT Press, 2007.Ricadela, Aaron. “Technology Companies Have Much at Stake in2008.” Business Week, September 19, 2007. Available online.URL: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2007/tc20070917_079427.htm. Accessed November 26, 2007.U.S. Technology Administration. Available online. URL: http://www.technology.gov/. Accessed November 27, 2007.telecommunicationsSince its birth in the mid-20th century, the digital computerand the telephone have had a close mutual relationship.Many of the first programmable calculators and computersbuilt in the early 1940s used relays and other compo-