Science and Technology

Heartache, back pain, anxiety, a daughter’s scanty eating habits: a quick tour of cyberspace and one stumbles upon doctors, virtual support groups, pharmaceutical deliveries, various therapists and coaches. An email is written, a virtual community is notified, and a blog or chat opened to look for answers.

Esaya Isaak took a step to the microphone, but remained speechless. Too overcome with emotion was he after receiving the 2011 Golden Pen of Press Freedom on behalf of his brother, Dawit Isaak, who has been imprisoned in Eritrea without trial since 2001 for criticising the government in Setit, the country’s first independent newspaper, which he founded. 

If name recognition is a mark of success, WUK has made it. Hardly anyone knows its full name – Werkstätten und Kulturhaus, or “workshop and cultural centre.” The parsimonious acronym is enough to call to mind sweltering rock gigs, the in-house bike workshop, and a welcoming atmosphere that stands as an example of social integration in Vienna.

Only a little more than a year ago, not a single woman held a Rector’s chair at an Austrian university.  Now there are four. 

In contrast to the oft-quoted “crisis of the print media” brought about by the Internet, Austrian newspapers continue to hold – or even expand – their market share. According to figures released in July by the Austrian Audit Bureau of Circulations (Österreichische Auflagenkontrolle – ÖAK), an industry association of media and advertising companies, three national dailies were able to increase their sales in the first half of 2011, compared to same period a year earlier: Kronen Zeitung, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten and Der Standard.

The doors of cyberspace are open – for information, support and occasional dangers. The doors to research, however, particularly in psychology, have been ripped from their hinges, via technological advances and the Internet.

What makes us human? In the age of artificial intelligence and concern for animal rights, it is a question whose importance is back at the center of public debate. What is it exactly that makes us different from machines or animals? Is it a capacity for self-awareness, feelings or empathy? Our social competencies and social emotions?

“Oh Lord, won’t you buy me… sustainability.” Such might have been the opening lyrics of Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz, had she seen what the automotive industry is up against today.

On sunny days, you can ride the waves of email, instant messaging, and social media websites like a surfer cruising in onto Santa Monica Beach; it’s fun and easy to use forums for networking, doing business, or just staying in touch. But increasingly there is a dark side, when the ride can be upset by the threat of a stalker harassing you online.

Anyone who uses the Internet can be subjected to Cyberstalking, the use of information technology, particularly the Internet, to harass another person. It can take many forms: People send threats and make false accusations, spy on people, steal their identity, and damage data or equipment. They solicit minors for sexual purposes and gather information to harass or blackmail.