The IPTS Report - November 1997
The November issue of "The IPTS Report", the monthly journal of the Institute of Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) is now available. This latest issue contains articles addressing the following topics: - Nitrates in food stuffs: A study looking at the negative health effects of nitrates and the impact on health of nitrates contained in fruit and vegetables. The authors conclude that the negative health effects of nitrates contained in fruit and vegetables are offset by the positive role of these food stuffs in preventing certain types of cancer. Implications for food safety policy are examined; - Photovoltaic technology and rural electrification in developing countries: The article argues that renewable energy technologies, and particularly photovoltaic technologies, can offer a cost-effective alternative for rural electrification; - "Network Enterprises" and the Information Society: The impact of the Information Society on enterprises in rural and remote areas is examined. The authors argue that new technological developments may make mass production and scale less important and distance less overwhelming. An appropriate policy approach in rural regions could support this process further through the provision of high quality local infrastructures and the stimulation of networking; - Industrial competitiveness and the case of GSM: The article highlights the GSM example in the field of mobile communications as a European success story. The authors stress that a lot can be learnt from this example regarding the importance of coordinated collective action in setting common standards and creating large markets; - Environmentally sound innovation: It is argued that greater integration of environmental considerations in the technology development strategy of SMEs is necessary in order to achieve sustainable development, and will, moreover, act as a driving force for innovation. Designed to disseminate information about scientific and technological issues which are of interest to policy-makers, "The IPTS Report" is published by IPTS in collaboration with the European Science and Technology Observatory network (ESTO). Until now, "The IPTS Report" (available in English, French, German and Spanish) has been distributed free of charge to registered subscribers. It is intended, however, to introduce an annual subscription fee as of January 1998. The Report will, nevertheless, continue to be available free of charge to a limited number of subscribers and, electronically, on the IPTS Web site (http://www.jrc.es/iptsreport/ ).