(An extended working paper)

Abstract
Digital wireless technologies increasingly employ radiofrequency non-ionizing radiation (NIR/RFR) for wireless communication. Early wireless technology innovation focused on military, aviation, and telecommunication applications, such as radar and microwave communications. However, the 1980s saw the rollout of commercial consumer-oriented wireless cellular telecommunications systems. While concerns on adverse health effects from exposure to RFR emerged in the military-industrial context in the 1950s, it was not until the early 1990s that there was an institutional response to calls for health and safety protection guidelines. Unfortunately, these guidelines were based on NIR/RFR thermal risks only—the science and technology experts ignored and dismissed a considerable body of research finding adverse health effects from non-thermal exposures. By 2020, that body of research had grown considerably. Yet, for reasons that are unclear to concerned scientists, guidelines from the 1990s remain unchanged. This study conducts a path constitution analysis (PCA) and a retrospective ethical risk analysis (eRA) to help foster an understanding of how historical guidelines were arrived at and why they remain immutable to change. The study finds potentially unethical behaviour in a variety of institutional and organisational actors, the consequence of which is a significant risk to the health and wellbeing of adults and children.

PDF:

https://www.emfsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Wireless-Technologies-Ethical-Risk-Analysis-Working-Paper-2021.pdf

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Source: Eithne Dodd, The Sunday Times

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/prof-tom-butler-s-complaint-upheld-over-wi-fi-article-in-irish-times-x9fn0gjdh?fbclid=IwAR2wSYZ4rkjFdI4NfXCzI6lHtSbXsdIuBNZL0lf14UpBpwOT-kL4ZS8DHw8

The press ombudsman has upheld a complaint in relation to a New York Times article that was republished by The Irish Times last September, writes Eithne Dodd.

Headlined “Are there any real links between wireless technology and health?”, it was written by William Broad, an American science journalist who has twice shared the Pulitzer prize with colleagues.

Asked last week to comment on the fact the press ombudsman in Ireland had upheld a complaint about one of its pieces, The New York Times said: “We’re confident in the accuracy of our reporting.”

Read more at the link above.

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Tom Butler is Professor in Information Systems and Regulatory Technologies at University College Cork. A former IRCHSS Government of Ireland Research Fellow, he is Principal Investigator of Ireland’s Governance Risk and Compliance Competence Centre at UCC (www.gr3c.com), which focuses on developing artificial intelligence applications for risk and compliance. Tom has 225 publications and 11 inventions. He is currently a member of the European Commission Expert Group on “Regulatory obstacles to financial innovation” (ROFIEG) 2018-2019 and a Member of Lero – the Irish Software Research Centre.

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A Critical Review of Digital Technology in Education that should give Policy Makers and Educators Pause for Thought

PDF https://www.radiationresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Digital-Technology-in-Education-Working-Paper-2019.pdf

“Digital Technology is hardly the benign, neutral presence in education that we are often assured it to be”
Selwyn (2015, p. 247)

Abstract

There is a dearth of scientific evidence and evidence-based practice to justify current levels of digital technology use for educational purposes in the classroom and in the home. In contrast, there is a growing body of scientific
studies across several disciplines that highlight the direct and indirect negative effects of Digital Technology use on human cognition, learning, and behaviour. This paper considers objective evidence from peer-reviewed scientific studies in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and related disciplines, as well as the field of education itself, to review the fundamental problems that beset Digital Technology use in education. The paper highlights, for example, that:

(1) Screens lead to sleep disruption and deprivation, which impacts on learning, and is associated with obesity, and
other physical disorders, such as computer vision syndrome;

(2) Computer use in class disrupts the learning process and impairs learning outcomes for users and non-users alike;

(3) Learning with books and paper is superior in comparison to learning with e-books;

(4) Taking notes with pen and paper, as opposed to touch typing lecture notes in class, leads to better learning
outcomes;

(5) Smart phone, iPAD and laptop use result in student distraction and multitasking, which, impair learning and lead to neural addiction problems, such as Internet addiction disorder and other psychological maladies;

(6) There are islands of success in an ocean of failure when it comes to Digital Technology and educational technologies, with researchers arguing that there is little evidence to support the proposition that Digital
Technology and/or EdTech improve pedagogy or learning outcomes;

(7) Finally, basic education about Digital Technology is one topic that needs to find a place in the curriculum. However, as with all Digital Technology initiatives, the introduction of programmes at primary and secondary schools level need to be considered mindfully, with the strengths and limitations of the proposed enabling technologies clearly in focus. All this should give educators, administrators and politicians pause for thought. The paper concludes by discussing its findings, offering practical recommendations, and by suggesting a change in emphasis in pedagogy in and through Digital Technology.

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