Research questions
Overview of research questions per Group.
Group 1 Arif
- Will internet user be given two identities - one they are born with and one for their internet identity?
- How will the internet replace the need for personal interaction. Will society fight back against companies trying to coerce them to shift use to web (such as banking)?
- Will managers make bad decisions because on are not able to address the integrity of the business partners?
- Will the proliferation of the internet (the need to be connected to email and blackberry) affect the humans ability to becoem detached from work?
Group 2
Group 3
Daan
Political
- Who will govern and control the internet? Will there be any laws for the internet (local/global and written/unwritten)?
- Will the internet more and more function as a forum between viewpoints and stimulate the political debate? Will it be robust enough for this function and how can misusage be prevented?
- Can intellectual property be protected on the internet in the future? If not, will this then slow innovation?
- What is the future of hacking and spam?
- How will the internet deal with the different languages in the world or will there be a dominant internet language in the future?
- How available will new technologies and internet become for all layers of society and all countries? Who will govern this spread?
Economical
- How will internet change business in the next couple of years (global vs local, small vs large companies)?
- How will companies deal with crime and security of payments to stimulate e-commerce?
- How soon will there be consistency in the global tax regime with respect to e-commerce? What impact will this have on internet business?
- What impact will telecommuting have on the economy and business?
- How fast and far reaching will the globalization of labor develop itself because of the internet, and will it ultimately have an effect on equality across continents?
Social
- How will trust be built on the internet and who are the actors in this development?
- What impact will telecommuting have on society?
- What implications will the digital divide between countries and sectors in society (old and young people) have on the social relations?
- Will we ever be able to separate our personal lives from the internet or will it keep on following us?
- Internet will stimulate social interaction between people, but will this digital interactivity also lead to a significant decrease in verbal skills of people?
Technological
- Is internet sustainable or just a temporary tool?
- How soon and how radical will the device convergence for internet take place?
- How will grid computing evolve and change human endeavor?
- How will the speed of internet advance over the years and what other developments will result from this?
- Will wireless be reliable, secure and work with high bandwidth? When will it provide the same mobility for internet communications as we currently enjoy with cellular phones?
Environmental
- How will internet stimulate information sharing about environmental issues in a way that the environment will benefit from it?
Ute
Political
- How will local governments regulate the usage of the information that is available on the Internet?
- How will governments worlwide cooperate to set laws, regulations etc. for the Internet?
- How will governments approach the information misbalance of the world related to an unequal accessability of the Internet worldwide?
Economic
- Will trade be only made via the Internet?
- How will the availability and accessability of the Internet influence economic performance of countries?
- How does the Internet influence long-term economic cycles?
- How will the Internet influence unemployment rates?
- How will the Internet influence jobs and industries people work in?
Social
- How will values and common believes (cultures) change?
- Will the Internet dominate the way how people communicate or will there still be human, direct interaction?
- Will the Internet be present in all day-to-day activities or are there parts of our live where the Internet will not be influencing?
Technological
- Will technology develop in way that allows people to access the Internet everywhere, anytime?
- Will the Internet be based on technology we already know today?
- What medium will we use to access the Internet (computer, phone, TV, other devices)?
Environmental
- How will the Internet influence people's attention to environmental issues?
- Will the technology be environment-friendly or not, i.e. will it cause high volumes of waste etc.?
Group 4
Eser
Political:
-How will the internet affect the power of local governments?
-Will the internet increase conflict of interest between nations?
-Will the internet increase or decrease influence and power of politics and politicians?
-Will the internet increase transparency in the governance of the nations and public organizations?
-Will the internet eliminate bureaucracy in the public organizations?
-How will the internet be regulated?
Technological:
-How will the people react to the technological advancements in the internet? Will they easily adapt or will they resist it?
-What kind of confidentiality issues will arise as a result of internet related technological advancements?
-What kind of ethical issues will arise as a result of rapid technological advancements in internet?
Economic
-How will the internet affect dispersion of global welfare between nations?
-How will the internet affect global commerce? Will the on-line transactions dominate the global trade?
-Will the internet provide same economic advantage to all nations or increase the income gap between them?
-How current corporate dynamics and working conditions will be affected by the internet?
Social:
-How will the internet affect inter-personal relationships?
-How family relations will be affected by the advancements in the internet?
-Will the internet be the unavoidable and dominant part of our personal lives?
-How will the internet affect the crime rate in the societies?
Environmental:
-How will the internet contribute to the solutions of current environmental issues?
-Will the internet enhance people's consciousness about environmental related issues?
Group 5
Group 6