arXiv subjects

Douglas A. Galbi

Publications and source records attributed to Douglas A. Galbi.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2005

Long-Term Trends in Given Name Frequencies in England and Wales

The frequency distribution of personal given names offers important evidence about the information economy. This paper presents data on the popularity of the most frequent personal given names (first names) in England and Wales over the past millennium. The popularity of a name is its frequency relative to the total name instances sampled. The data show that the popularity distribution of names, like the popularity of other symbols and artifacts associated with the information economy, can be helpfully viewed as a power law. Moreover, the data on name popularity suggest that historically distinctive changes in the information economy occurred in conjunction with the Industrial Revolution.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2003

Copyright and Creativity: Authors and Photographers

The history of the occupations "author" and "photographer" provides an insightful perspective on copyright and creativity. The concept of the romantic author, associated with personal creative genius, gained prominence in the eighteenth century. However, in the U.S. in 1900 only about three thousand persons professed their occupation to be "author." Self-professed "photographers" were then about ten times as numerous as authors. Being a photographer was associated with manufacturing and depended only on mastering technical skills and making a living. Being an author, in contrast, was an elite status associated with science and literature. Across the twentieth century, the number of writers and authors grew much more rapidly than the number of photographers. The relative success of writers and authors in creating jobs seems to have depended not on differences in copyright or possibilities for self-production, but on greater occupational innovation. Creativity in organizing daily work is an important form of creativity.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2003

Transforming the Structure of Network Interconnection and Transport

Vibrant development of a network-based economy requires separating investment in highly location specific local access technology from the development of standardized, geography-independent, wide-area network services. Thus far interconnection arrangements and associated regulations have been too closely tied to the idiosyncratic geographic structure of individual operators' networks. A key industry challenge is to foster the development of a wide area lattice of common geographic points of interconnection. Sound regulatory and anti-trust policy can help address this industry need.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2003

Growth in the "New Economy": U.S. Bandwidth Use and Pricing Across the 1990s

An acceleration in the growth of communications bandwidth in use and a rapid reduction in bandwidth prices have not accompanied the U.S. economy's strong performance in the second half of the 1990s. Overall U.S. bandwidth in use has grown robustly throughout the 1990s, but growth has not significantly accelerated in the second half of 1990s. Average prices for U.S. bandwidth in use have fallen little in nominal terms in the second half of the 1990s. Policy makers and policy analysts should recognize that institutional change, rather than more competitors of established types, appears to be key to dramatic improvements in bandwidth growth and prices. Such a development could provide a significant additional impetus to aggregate growth and productivity.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2003

A New Account of Personalization and Effective Communication

To contribute to understanding of information economies of daily life, this paper explores over the past millennium given names of a large number of persons. Analysts have long both condemned and praised mass media as a source of common culture, national unity, or shared symbolic experiences. Names, however, indicate a large decline in shared symbolic experience over the past two centuries, a decline that the growth of mass media does not appear to have affected significantly. Study of names also shows that action and personal relationships, along with time horizon, are central aspects of effective communication across a large population. The observed preference for personalization over the past two centuries and the importance of action and personal relationships to effective communication are aspects of information economies that are likely to have continuing significance for industry developments, economic statistics, and public policy.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2003

Revolutionary Ideas for Radio Regulation

Radio technology seems destined to become part of the standard micro-processor input/output system. But unlike for memory or display systems, for radio systems government regulation matters a lot. Much discussion of radio regulation has focused on narrow spectrum management and interference issues. Reflecting on historical experience and centuries of conversation about fundamental political choices, persons working with radio technology should also ponder three questions. First, what is a good separation and balance of powers in radio regulation? Second, how should radio regulation be geographically configured? Third, how should radio regulation understand and respect personal freedom and equality? Working out answering to these questions involves a general process of shaping good government. This process will be hugely important for radio regulation, technology, and applications.

cs.CY↗