MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Univisi=F3n, HBC Are Still Waiting
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Where Are the Future Scientists?
INTERNET
Crunch Time Nears for 'kids.us' Web Domain
Competition Spurs Broadband in Europe
Loss of Email 'Worse than Divorce'
TECH SECTOR
A High-Tech Bridge to Middle East Peace?
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
UNIVISI=D3N, HBC ARE STILL WAITING
The proposed merger between Univisi=F3n Communications and the Hispanic
Broadcasting Company may receive approval from the FCC as soon as next
month, ending an unusually long process delayed in part by the rancor =
over
the commission's media ownership decision. The key issue before the FCC =
is
whether the Spanish language audience constitutes its own market or if
should be considered part of the larger mainstream market. Opponents to =
the
deal, including Telemundo, argue that the deal would give the merged =
company
a lock on Hispanic TV, radio and entertainment. HBC and Univisi=F3n =
argue that
their merger will only serve to make them more competitive in the =
overall
market, in which they must compete against major mainstream =
conglomerates
for advertising dollars and the increasingly bilingual Hispanic =
community.
The FCC's delay following the Justice Department's antitrust approval =
stems
partly from a heated political debate in Congress over the merger, but
analysts suspect that the FCC is somewhat gun-shy in light of the =
backlash
over its media ownership deregulation decision in June.
SOURCE: The Miami Herald; AUTHOR: Christina Hoag
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/6422038.htm
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
WHERE ARE THE FUTURE SCIENTISTS?
A camp known as EXCITE (Exploring Interests in Technology and =
Engineering)
aims to attract girls to careers in science -- a field where women =
continue
to be underrepresented. Studies have pointed to a gender gap in math,
science and technology education. The camp's strategy is to expose the
students to role models and mentors, while getting them working in =
teams.
With the help of volunteers from IBM, MIT and other neighboring
institutions, the girls have built virtual bridges, programmed robots =
and
used Venn diagrams to get to know each other. These activities help the
girls learn about science through social interaction, said Cathleen =
Finn,
community relations program manager for IBM. The Gender and Science =
Digital
Library (GDSL) is another project designed to bridge the gender gap and
encourage scientific pursuits. GSDL is an online collection of =
"gender-fair
resources" related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM). Boys and girls could both benefit from greater exposure to =
women who
are teachers, mentors and historical figures, says Sarita Nair, who =
entered
the field of computer science lacking women role models. "A resource =
like
this would have opened up so much to me," she says.=20
SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor; AUTHOR: Elizabeth Armstrong
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0729/p13s01-lehl.htm
See also:=20
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0729/p12s01-lecs.html
and
http://ww.gsdl.org=20
INTERNET
CRUNCH TIME NEARS FOR 'KIDS.US' WEB DOMAIN
NeuStar Inc. is accepting "sunshine" applications from trademark =
holders
until August 16 to register domains within its kids.us Internet domain =
--
the world's first child-friendly Internet space. The domain, formed as =
part
of the Dot-Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002, is set to =
launch
in September, when general registration becomes available to the =
public.
Restrictions for the site include no sexual content, no teenage or =
adult
game sites, and nothing that promotes gambling, alcohol consumption, =
tobacco
use, or violence. A combination of human intervention and search
technologies will be used to enforce the standards. Critics believe the =
site
will have trouble signing companies to the service, since the process
requires registration, payment of a non-refundable $1,000 application =
fee,
and operation of a separate location on the Web. Online safety experts
critical of the initiative say the success of kids.us will depend on =
its
ability to provide content appealing to children. Until kids.us garners
enough support to compete with the vast array of resources available on =
the
Internet, online child safety specialist Parry Aftab suggests that =
schools
and parents turn to "white lists" offered by the American Library
Association and her own organization, WiredSafety.org.
SOURCE: eSchool News; AUTHOR: Corey Murray
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=3D4519
(requires registration)
COMPETITION SPURS BROADBAND IN EUROPE
A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and =
Development
suggests that European countries that promote competition among telecom =
and
cable providers show faster adoption of broadband Internet services. =
The
report warned governments against propping up the telecom industry in
exchange for broadband build-out. "Incumbent operators are using their
economic influence on governments to say, 'If you are nice to us we =
will
deliver broadband,' but what the OECD numbers show is that competition
between operators is what delivers broadband," said Ewan Sutherland,
director general of the Brussels-based International Telecommunications
Users Group. Evidence shows that Germany, once the leader in broadband
growth, has been overtaken by the more competitive environment in =
Belgium,
where 98 percent of the country has access to at least 3Mbps service - =
up to
six times faster than the transmissions available in France or Britain. =
The
United States has fallen from 3rd to 10th in the OECD rankings, =
primarily
because the prices and speeds offered by phone companies have not =
matched
those offered by cable. Asian countries have used government subsidies =
to
stimulate the markets have resulted in additional competition and lower
prices, allowing the region to take the lead in broadband deployment.
SOURCE: E-Commerce News; AUTHORL Jennifer L. Schenker
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/31231.html
LOSS OF EMAIL 'WORSE THAN DIVORCE'
A survey of information technology managers for the software storage =
firm
Veritas highlights the key role of email in businesses. People start to =
get
annoyed after just 30 minutes without email access, the study found. =
About a
fifth of computer technicians feared for their job if they could not =
get
email back online within a day. While 99 percent of companies said they
regularly back up email and attachments, about half of the managers =
said it
would be difficult to locate and retrieve a particular email on the =
system.
Only a fifth said they could recover an email sent more than a year =
ago.
According to Veritas, the survey shows "alarming deficiencies in =
current
email system management and backup and recovery methods, placing =
businesses
at risk and causing undue stress in the workplace." A third of those
surveyed said that when email problems persist for more than a week, =
the
experience was more traumatic than moving or getting married or =
divorced.
(Sadly, Veritas and the article apparently have nothing to say about =
the
"alarming deficiencies" of a workforce that has so lost touch with =
their
personal lives that they consider an email outage to be more traumatic =
than
getting married or divorced.)
SOURCE: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3104889.stm
TECH SECTOR
A HIGH-TECH BRIDGE TO MIDDLE EAST PEACE?
CNET News' interview with former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres =
reveals
the Nobel Peace Prize winner's belief that high-tech ventures between
Israelis and Palestinians may be the key to future peace. "Politics and
economics are symbiotic," said Peres, who points out the economic =
success of
pushing such ventures during the 1990s, when the Israeli tech sector
quadrupled in size. Peres believes that despite the violence of the =
past
three years, joint projects between Israeli and Palestinian tech =
companies
will not be uncommon in the near future. Peres downplayed assertions =
that he
advocates Israel becoming a regional economic superpower in the Middle =
East,
standing by an earlier statement that "the better the Palestinians have =
it,
the better neighbors we will have," and adding that "Israel [would] be =
happy
to put at the disposal of its neighbors its know-how in the field of
high-tech and to develop ties of cooperation."
SOURCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Charles Cooper
http://news.com.com/2008-1082_3-5057993.html=20
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