EDTECH
Schools Get Internet Access, but How do Teachers Use it? (CyberTimes)
Log On or Lag, Girls Are Warned (WP)
UNIVERSAL ACCESS/PHONE REGULATION
Carpe Diem: Seizing Opportunities in the Global Marketplace (FCC)
Local Telephone US Out to Reclaim Local Phone Power (ChiTrib)
Justice Questions Local-Telephone Rules (WSJ)
JOBS
Bill to Increase Work Visas for Foreigners Gets New Lease on Life (NYT)
OWNERSHIP
ABC Kills Story Critical Of Owner Disney (WP)
ABC Kills Planned TV Story Critical of Parent's Park (WSJ)
New Radio Network Set for Fox News (NYT)
ADVERTISING
Mass. Gets Tough With Adult Smokers In Graphic TV Ads (WP)
CENSORSHIP
ACLU Favors Porn over Parents (WSJ)
MERGERS
Commission to Hold the First of Two En Bancs Regarding
Telecom Mergers (FCC)
ANTITRUST
Microsoft Rebuttal Reinterprets Old E-Mail (NYT)
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EDTECH
======
SCHOOLS GET INTERNET ACCESS, BUT HOW DO TEACHERS USE IT?
Issue: Ed Tech
Next week, Market Data Retrieval will release a report
http://www.schooldata.com/ that says teachers are not yet making regular
use of the Internet in the classroom. The study shows that 85% of American
schools have Internet access and 44% of classrooms have at least one
computer wired to the Internet. 14% of the schools reported that 90% or more
of their teachers use the Internet for what the study called "instructional
purposes" while about 60% of the schools surveyed reported that less than
one third of their teachers employed the Internet to assist with
instruction. About 46% of the responding schools reported that less than one
third of their teachers used the computer daily for "instructional planning
and/or teaching." [Those damn gym teachers are always pulling down the
curve] Market Data Retrieval said the reason for the low use could be 1)
that connections in schools are new so teachers are just getting use to
computers and the Internet and 2) it could be generational -- in a
profession where the median age is 44, many teachers grew up without
computers and may feel uncomfortable with the technology or lack the
training to use it, a researcher said. "One of the things lagging behind is
professional competency and development," said Cheryl Lemke, executive
director of the Milken Exchange on Educational Technology, a group that
promotes effective use of technology in schools. "Whereas teachers may now
have the access, they have not had the opportunity to learn how to use the
technology effectively with children." Larry Cuban, a Stanford University
education professor who has written a history of failed attempts to
introduce technology into schools, offered other possible reasons for slow
adoption of computers in the classroom: 1) policymakers have not worked with
teachers closely enough to ensure the successful introduction of new
technology and 2) no one has answered the question yet -- do kids learn more
using computers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels
mendels( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/cyber/education/14education.html
LOG ON OR LAG, GIRLS WARNED
'Virtual Ceiling' May Replace Glass as Computer Gap Widens
Issue: Gender/ EdTech
A report being released today by the American Association of University
Women found that girls lag behind boys in the number and level of computer
courses they enroll in. This gap persists through college and results in an
underepresentation of women in the lucrative technology career market. "We
are concerned that as we move into the 21st century, girls are not going to
be prepared for the areas for which clearly there will be a need," said
Janice Weinman, AAUW's executive director. "The virtual ceiling is replacing
the glass ceiling." The AAUW report does not include information on
minorities in technology education, but researchers at Carnegie Mellon
University who offer a summer course for high school computer science
teachers say the minority gap is at least as troubling. "Many of the high
school teachers are saying gender is a problem, but race is the most glaring
problem," said Jane Margolis, a visiting research scientist at Carnegie Mellon.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A4), AUTHOR: Ann O' Hanlon]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1998-10/14/034r-101498-idx.html
=================================
UNIVERSAL ACCESS/PHONE REGULATION
=================================
UNIVERSAL ACCESS : CARPE DIEM: SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE
Issue: Universal Access
Chairman Kennard's Speech at the Regulators' Breakfast ITU Plenipotentiary
Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "This conference provides a unique
opportunity for regulators from around the world to debate and discuss, both
formally and informally, the major issues that will determine the future of
international telecommunications. As regulators, we face a critical role in
shaping that future and ensuring that competitive and liberalized markets
benefit all consumers around the globe....I believe there are three basic
principles which should guide our policies on universal access: 1.
Reasonable and Affordable Rates for All Consumers; 2. Competitive and
Technological Neutrality; 3. Universal Service Mechanisms that are
Transparent and Fair"
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/spwek831.html
LOCAL TELEPHONE US OUT TO RECLAIM LOCAL PHONE POWER (ChiTrib)
JUSTICE QUESTIONS LOCAL-TELEPHONE RULES (WSJ)
Issue: Telephone Regulation
While the Supreme Court is eager to encourage competition in local telephone
markets, the Court was skeptical of the FCC rules designed to do just that.
Several Justices felt that the federal rules, requiring incumbent carriers
to lease local network access to competitors, usurped the state's power to
set local rates.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3,p.3), AUTHOR: Jan Crawford Greenberg]
http://chicagotribune.com/
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B10), AUTHOR: Edward Felsensthal]
http://wsj.com/
====
JOBS
====
BILL TO INCREASE WORK VISAS FOR FOREIGNERS GETS NEW LEASE ON LIFE
Issue: Jobs
Congressional leaders have agreed to add to the omnibus spending bill
legislation that will nearly double the number of employment visas for
skilled foreign workers. "This is a big victory for the economy, which is
being fueled in large part by our high-tech industries," Senator Spencer
Abraham (R-MI) said. "The legislation strikes the right balance in
safeguarding America's competitive edge and protecting U.S. jobs." Sen Tom
Harkin (D-Iowa) and the White House had opposed the bill because of concerns
it lacked protection for US workers. The number of H1-B visas will increase
from 65,000 to 115,000 in each of the next two years and settle back to
107,500 in the third year. No more than 15% of a company's work force can
consist of H1-B employees and it must attest that they have not replaced
American workers. There will be a $500 filing fee on visa applications and
renewals which is expected to raise $75 million. These funds will be spent
for training and scholarship programs for US citizens. (Oh, training US
citizens for jobs in the US; yeah, I guess that's another way to go.) The
bill is seen as a big victory for the Silicon Valley firms that said they
could not find enough skilled US workers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C3), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/cyber/articles/14visa.html
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OWNERSHIP
=========
ABC KILLS STORY CRITICAL OF DISNEY OWNER (WP)
ABC KILLS PLANNED TV STORY CRITICAL OF PARENT'S PARK (WSJ)
Issue: Ownership
Yesterday, ABC officials denied that corporate linkage influenced their
decision to pull an investigative report on allegations involving Walt
Disney Co., which owns ABC. "Disney: The Mouse Betrayed", a "20/20" segment
produced by Brian Ross, alleged, among other things, that Disney World in
Florida fails to perform security checks that would prevent the hiring of
sex offenders, and has problems with peeping Toms. According to an ABC
spokeswoman, news president David Westin's killing of the story had nothing
to do with any network reluctance to criticize its parent company. "The fact
that this particular story involved Disney was not the reason it did not
make air," claim ABC officials.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (D), AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz ]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-10/14/029l-101498-idx.html
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Bruse Orwall]
http://wsj.com/
NEW RADIO NETWORK SET FOR FOX NEWS
Issue: Radio/Ownership
Westwood One, the number 1 distributor of radio programming, will team up
with the Fox News Channel to create a new radio network -- Fox News. The
network will feature sports and entertainment updates, and news from Fox
with sports and entertainment from Westwood One which services 7,000 radio
stations around the world through an agreement with CBS.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C8), AUTHOR: Bloomberg News]
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/f/AP-Fox-News-Radio.html
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ADVERTISING
===========
MASS. GETS TOUGH WITH ADULT SMOKERS IN GRAPHIC TV ADS
Issue: Advertising/Health
While state health departments around the country have fought smoking by
attacking the tobacco industry, with mixed success, officials in
Massachusetts are attempting to focus attention on individual adult smokers
and encourage them to quit. A series of 30-second documentary-style
sequences, which cost $1.5 million to produce, will show Pam Laffin, 29-year
old mother of two, struggle to survive while slowly suffocating from the
debilitating and deadly lung disease emphysema. The six-part series of
compelling and often graphic antismoking commercials will air during some of
this season's most popular television programs. The MA Department of Health
developed a new advertising approach after researchers concluded that
realistic and graphic antismoking images were more effective in targeting
smokers than lighter, less direct approaches
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A3), AUTHOR: Pamela Ferdinand, Special to The
Washington Post]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1998-10/14/051r-101498-idx.html
==========
CENSORSHIP
==========
ACLU FAVORS PORN OVER PARENTS
Issue: Censorship (Op-Ed)
Author Amitai Etzionoi is appalled by the ACLU and the American Library
Association's attempt to prevent Libraries from installing filtering
software to block children's access to harmful material. The ACLU has filed
suits against several communities that have tried to install such blocking
devices. Etzioni claims that, in trying to insure the free flow of ideas,
the ACLU is restricting parents' ability to shape the education of their
children; "developing a child's charter is a parent's highest duty - a duty
no civil libertarian should interfere with."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A22), AUTHOR: Amitai Etzionoi]
http://wsj.com/
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MERGERS
=======
COMMISSION TO HOLD THE FIRST OF TWO EN BANCS REGARDING TELECOM MERGERS
Issue: Mergers
Commission to Hold the First of Two En Bancs Regarding Telecom Mergers to
Discuss Recent Consolidation Activities in the Telecommunications Industry,
on Thursday, October 22, 1998, Focusing on Three of the Proposed Mergers
Before the Commission. The first En Banc will take place on Thursday,
October 22, 1998, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and will be held in the
Commission Meeting Room (Room 856) at 1919 M. Street, N.W., Washington, DC.
The purpose of these En Bancs is to assist the Commission in determining
whether these mergers are consistent with the goals of the 1996
Telecommunications Act, which include promoting competition in
telecommunications markets and protecting the public interest.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1998/da982045.html
=========
ANTITRUST
=========
MICROSOFT REBUTTAL REINTERPRETS OLD E-MAIL
Issue: Antitrust
Am I the only person in this room who can read binary, Mr Gates said...
In a 40-page paper Setting the Record Straight, released yesterday,
Microsoft attempts to refute the Government's antitrust case which the
company asserts is based on "a handful of snippets" from among the 3.3
million pages of email and memos handed over to the Justice Department. In
the paper, Microsoft portrays itself as an upstart underdog battling and
rivals Intuit and America Online. One quoted internal email written by Mr.
Gates describes a meeting he had with the chief executive of Intuit which at
the time had started shipping Quicken financial software with the Netscape
Internet browser. "I was quite frank with him that if he had a favor we
could do for him that would cost us something like $1 million to do that in
return for switching browsers in the next few months, I would be open to
doing that." Microsoft contends that put in context, it is actually Intuit
that is doing the hard bargaining, not Mr. Gates. "You would expect
Microsoft to take positions that at least pass the laugh test," said Kevin
Arquit, a partner at Rogers and Wells, who is a consultant to Sun
Microsystems Inc. a Microsoft rival. "This paper suggests that Microsoft is
worried about the evidence that is going to come out in the trial."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C2), AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/biztech/articles/14soft.html
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