Dieter Otten

Dieter Otten (* 1943 in Eltville am Rhein ) is a German sociologist . Until 2007 he was professor of sociology at the University of Osnabrück and is the chairman of the Foundation: Internet Research .

Life

Dieter Otten grew up in Essen , where he graduated from high school in Werden in 1963 . He studied in Göttingen , Münster and Oxford first theology , then sociology , philosophy and mathematics . He received his doctorate in 1972 at the University of Münster (capital development and qualification structure, 1974) and was involved in the establishment of the University of Osnabrück until 1973 (focus: one-phase teacher training), to which he was appointed professor of sociology in 1974 .

From 1991 to 1996 Otten was the managing director of the Gelsenkirchen Science Park and a scientific advisor to vebacom on the INFO-City NRW project. From 1998 to 2005 he headed the research project Internet elections . In 2007 Otten founded the »Foundation: Internet Elections«, today »Foundation: Internet Research«.

He has two sons

plant

Ottens research topic in theoretical sociology is the interface between technology and society . The focus was initially on research into the "development of productive forces" from a Marxist and non-Marxist perspective, which in the first part of his work "Die Welt der Industrie" (1985) led to an understanding of the industrial revolution as a complex process that began in the late Middle Ages , starting from Northern Italy , began. In the second part, Otten developed the concept of a »post-Fordist«  information society in the tense relationship to the wage labor society .

In addition, empirical studies played an important role, such as research into the voting behavior of young voters in the process of German unification (New Kids on the Box, 1992), and the analysis of gender relations in permissive society (Männerversagen, 1998). In the 1990s, Otten began researching the years 1939 to 1964, which he identified with the 50+ study from 2008 as actors in a change in age and values . This result led to a paradigm shift in the consideration of demographic change : it is proceeding completely differently than expected. People are getting older, but the age limit is also shifting upwards. And the understanding of age in the modern age is changing so dramatically that " age " can no longer be a relevant sociological category today ( The 50+ Study , 2008).

In 1998 Otten began researching Internet elections in parallel to his work on the information society . In collaboration with Jürgen Küntzler, this resulted in the protocol of a secure and anonymous online voting system and the »i-vote« voting system, a technically feasible and secure internet voting process. However, the result of the assessment research showed that Internet elections must remain constitutionally problematic as long as it is not possible to create a digital equivalent to the public in society (i-vote Report, 2004-6).

Fonts (selection)

• Capital development and qualification structure, on the logical and historical relationship between economic, technical development and training of labor capacity. Berlin 1973
• Keywords for the criticism of political economy. Wunstorf 1974
• The world of industry, the emergence and development of modern industrial society. 2 volumes:
• Volume 1: Ascent and Expansion. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1984
• Volume 2: Crisis and Transformation. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1984
• Men's Failure, The Relationship of the Sexes in the 21st Century. Bergisch Gladbach 2000
• Killer application: Internet choice. In: Germany online. (Ed .: Erwin Staudt, Berlin 2002)
• Modernization of the choice of presence through the Internet. In: online elections. (Ed .: Buchstein / Neymanns 2002)
• More democracy through internet elections? Paderborn 2005
• The 50+ Study of How the Young Elderly Revolutionize Society. Reinbek 2008

Web links

• Foundation: Internet