Constituencies was Re: [] . Nomination for …

[Andrew A. Adams]

> Universities/Academics (the current NCUC leadership could grow that without much pain)

This keeps coming up. I thought it had been put to bed last time (almost all 
the academics currently in NCUC indicated it was a bad idea.

First, please understand that academics in general do not represent 
Universities in general. Academics with an interest in (Non-commercial) ICANN 
issues can come from two distinct camps: those with an interest in academic 
society or other academic usages of domain names (personal academic blogs, 
academic project sites); and those with an interest in communications policy 
etc. Many of the latter will also have engagement in the former, but most of 
the academics who care enough to spend the time to get involved do so because 
their academic research is in related areas: Internet governance, Internet 
technology, public information policy, information ethics.

Universities, on the other hand, provided they are non-profit, fit, to my 
mind, fit clearly within the existing NPOC group. I see little difference 
between the needs of a local instantiation of the YMCA/YWCA, a local branch 
of the Red Cross/Crescent/Star and a non-profit university.

As an academic engaged in information ethics research my role is analysis, 
comment and input into public policy matters. I have in the past given advice 
to my employer on relevant matters and could conceivably be appointed their 
representative to NPOC, say, but actually I'd rather they pointed an 
administrative staff person at such a role if they wanted it, because I'd 
rather follow my academic calling of "speaking truth to power" rather than 
represent the particular interests of my employer (which are not always the 
same as those of their academics).

While I have great respect for the other academics in NCUC, I have no desire 
to form a separate constituency of "information policy academics" with them 
since We do not try to represent our own corner, but to comment and promote 
ideals such as freedom of speech, privacy, good governance, fair markets and 
the right place to do this is within a broad non-commercial users 
constituency.



-- 
Professor Andrew A Adams                      aaa at meiji.ac.jp
Professor at Graduate School of Business Administration,  and
Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Information Ethics
Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan       http://www.a-cubed.info/