Molly Webb
Former Demos researcher
Molly Webb worked as a Demos researcher on science, technology and innovation from January 2005 - August 2007.
- So little time... This article in Business Week "The Real Reasons You're Working So Hard..." is about men living in the US, and even though I'm neither a man nor am I living in the US, I still relate to the feeling that always-on technology leads to more information, more meetings to share that information, and eventually to a sleep-deprived workweek. So do we all have to get a blackberry? Well, not yet. Organisations apparently have to adapt to more 'bottom up' processes for communicating and getting things... continue reading on 24th September 2005
- Demos website: not just a facelift What do you get when you combine everyday democracy and web-based technology? Blogs? Wikipedia? Del.icio.us? Well, yes, but you also get Demos + Headshift.We?re putting our money where our mouth is ? and our theory where our website is ? and re-building the Demos site to fit our democratic values. Don?t ask me what it will look like yet, but we?re kicking off the process by working with Headshift, an internet development company that feels as passionately as we do about giving people the... continue reading on 13th September 2005 in Demos Website Trackbacks (1)
- Use the force, Luke -- but not the dark side There are lots of examples of new technical solutions that connect people (think Skype, SMS, you name it) having an affect on capitalism. "They may make some new economic system possible? says Howard Reingold in this Business week article. Open source communities understand their impact. MrAndrews on Kuro5hin: ?We always preach open standards, so let's get our hands dirty. Let's make an economy that only the internet could sustain. We need to define the mechanics, draft the standards, and put... continue reading on 17th August 2005
- Hwang Woo-suk New York times article about the controversial new techniques used by Dr. Woo Suk Hwang (In korea spelled: Hwang Woo-suk)AP coverage on Hwang's response to religious outcryEthical Debates covered in The Korea TimesHe's also on a newly formed committee of experts in charge of guiding Korea's future in science and technology - June 3 article in Korea HeraldNew US legislation on stem cell research HR 810 continue reading on 7th June 2005 in The Atlas of Ideas
- US, Korea (KAIST) and Switzerland collaborate on nano Polymers team up for nanoelectronics manufacturing - nanotechweb.org"...researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, US, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland have come up with a hybrid method for patterning silicon that exploits a mixture of polymers." KAIST's origins go back to the Principal law of Science in Korea (1971?) But 1980 and 1989 mergers and changes brought it to its current form. (from the website) -... continue reading on 5th June 2005 in The Atlas of Ideas
- Putting the "pub" back in "public engagement" While Jack was taking LA by storm, and James was galavanting around India, I was getting my own dose of excitement at the ESRC-funded Science in Society workshop, right here in sunny London yesterday.In the modern if window-less basement of The Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry or DPEI (the re-branded DTI), a few social scientists and civil servants were thrown into a room together to figure out how public engagement can inform horizon scanning. Steve Rayner led a lively... continue reading on 13th May 2005
- So now who do we vote for? Neal Lawson chaired a debate on the election and Labour party with David Aaronovitch and John Harris at Demos earlier this week. Neal says...Its been a dull election campaign so far. It's if the runners for the London marathon on hearing the gun just turned and walked back the other way. But on a sunny spring evening 70 people packed the Demos meeting space to hear John Harris author of So now how do we vote? and David Aaronovitch columnists with the Guardian and Observer debate whether New... continue reading on 21st April 2005
- Post-techno-fix blues Wouldn't it be great if complex social problems all had a "techno-fix"? Yes! But unfortunately, they don?t. That's why we're experimenting with how public engagement can feed into the knowledge of experts who make decisions about directions of scientific research. At the Science and Society Forum in Brussels a couple of weeks ago, I met with a self-organized group of organizations -- European Science Social Forum Network -- who are concerned that the vision for the European Framework... continue reading on 30th March 2005
- Upstream for nano is now Today, the government response to the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering report (July 2004) was announced in a low-key event at the Science Museum. (The exhibit there on nanotechnologies just launched; looks like fun.) The response mentions a few nanotechnology dialogue projects, one of which is the ESRC funded Demos/Lancaster project on Nanotechnology and Sustainability. We're working on a final report, but check out the See-through Science pamphlet that made a splash last fall.... continue reading on 25th February 2005 in The Nanodialogues
- Bloggers Unite I am not reminded often enough of how much we take freedom of expression for granted. It's worth remembering on "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day".Even when you don't go to jail for it, being involved in the information economy means that sharing personal opinions and details is inevitable, which raises serious questions about privacy and security. I think communication across borders and spheres of knowledge is worth the risk. But when monitoring is possible at any time, is it also worth being a... continue reading on 22nd February 2005