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In many jurisdictions around the globe, governments are developing ID schemes based on radio frequency identification (RFID) and biometric technologies. In Canada, four provinces recently implemented RFID based 'enhanced' drivers licences (EDL) in response to the United States' Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), which requires all persons entering the United States to present a valid passport or alternative 'secure' document to prove their identity and citizenship. As researchers, we were closely involved in following the EDL policy development process. It became evident, as we attended legislative hearings, that parliamentarians needed clarifications to understand how the RFID identification scheme would function in practice. This project began with the goal of designing prototypes to demonstrate security and civil liberty concerns with a new RFID-based identification (ID) scheme in Canada. Influenced by participatory design and probe approaches to technology design, we built and tested mock infrastructures of RFID-based identification systems including low fidelity paper prototypes, and high fidelity prototypes using RFID-chipped cards, a database, antenna and reader. We also worked closely with civil society organizations to run public engagement activities. This paper reports on our attempts to create spaces for 'playful' engagement with RFID-based ID scheme technology at a time of 'serious' policy deliberations. Designed in the spirit of serious play, our mock ID infrastructures make the security and civil liberties challenges inherent in the proposed combination of ID cards and databases more visible, while demonstrating how such ID schemes work. At this point, we see future promise in the design and use of mock ID infrastructure for public engagement during relevant policy deliberations about ID schemes and databases which contain personal information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Public Advisory Council on Information Highway Policy (PACIHP) project is discussed in terms of activities, difficulties, successes, impact, motivations, and background. This paper is presented in two parts. The first part details how project organizers have attempted to involve the online community in the policy-making process, the techniques used, and the community's and policymakers' response to the initiative. Some preliminary observations about the project's impact are also discussed. The second part presents an overview of the Canadian regulatory and political environment. The specific trends identified have contributed to the authors' concerns, providing some of the motivation for the project. In conclusion, thoughts on the future of computer-mediated communication and its potential for democratizing politics are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of metaphors can provide useful insights into understanding the inherent technical and institutional complexities of spatial data infrastructures (SDI). In this paper, we examine how metaphors have been used in organization studies, information systems, and also in the information infrastructure domains. We examine some dominant metaphors being used to guide the research and practice of SDIs, including that of the “information superhighway,” “marketplace,” and the “rainbow.” We draw upon the rainbow metaphor, which has its origins in the analysis of information and communication infrastructure in Canada, adapt it to the Indian national SDI (NSDI) context, and develop implications to guide research and practice. We conclude that a judicious combination of metaphors can serve not only as a heuristic device for thinking about the development pattern of the emerging Indian NSDI infrastructure, but also as a culturally sensitive rhetorical argument for promoting the NSDI concept to political decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]