INTERNET
Digital Divide Still Very Real
Deaf Kazakh Pupils Go Online
Plan to Change Internet Group is Criticized as Inadequate
The Push for News Returns
BROADCAST
'Multiple Intelligence' Theory Lets TV Appeal to Both Parents,
Preschoolers
TV Networks Favor Pilots They've Made
BROADBAND
Wiring Iowa for the Future
INTERNET
DIGITAL DIVIDE STILL VERY REAL
In response to recent claims that the digital divide no longer exists Benton
Foundation Senior Associate, Andy Carvin, warns that a jump in the overall
online population should not be confused with the digital divide being
bridged. Carvin points out that, according to government figures, 75 percent
of those earning $15,000 a year or less are still not online. He writes that
the gap between the poorest and richest households that have gone online has
actually increased since 1997. "Technology isn't, and will never be, a
quick-fix solution to poverty," acknowledges Carvin, "But thanks to the
thousands of individuals working at CTCs, libraries and other local
institutions, it's helping the lives of real people, providing them with the
education and tools they need to improve the quality of life in their
families and communities."
[SOURCE: CNET, AUTHOR: Andy Carvin (Senior Associate, Benton Foundation)]
(http://news.com.com/2010-1078-872138.html)
DEAF KAZAKH PUPILS GO ONLINE
Across Central Asia, an ambitious program to introduce the online world to
the deaf and hearing impaired is taking hold. Organized through the US State
Department's Internet Access and Training Program (IATP), the program is in
operation in all of the former Soviet Union and other regions. Most recent
to the program is the Almaty School for the Deaf in Kazakhstan. IATP sent a
deaf trainer to the Almaty School for the Deaf in November 2000. Since then,
faculty and students have been diligently pursuing grants and donations to
set up a computer lab for deaf students. Teachers from the school are
impressed with how the Internet has increased the children's vocabulary,
made them more curious about the world and given them career aspirations far
and above what they had before. Several of the school's students are
participating in an Internet training course for deaf teenagers and adults.
"The whole training was fascinating, exciting, amazing, I cannot even
express it in words," said one of the students, Elena Pegina.
[SOURCE: BBC News]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1879000/1879158.stm)
PLAN TO CHANGE INTERNET GROUP IS CRITICIZED AS INADEQUATE
ICANN, the organization responsible for managing the Internet's address
system, has embarked on a contentious reform effort. At the end of February,
ICANN president and chief executive, M. Stuart Lynn, acknowledged some of
its shortcomings with a 30-page paper calling for reform. But critics say
the remedies Mr. Lynn proposes, mainly changing how the board is chosen and
reorganizing ICANN's advisory committees, would even further reduce public
representation, a major criticism of the organization. The proposal also
suggests recasting ICANN as a "public-private partnership" and giving
international governments a stronger role in the organization by allowing
them to nominate five members to the board. That suggestion has set off
alarm bells within the United States government, which intentionally
designed ICANN as a private nonprofit corporation to avoid some of the
pitfalls of government bureaucracy. The chairman and several members of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to Commerce Secretary
Donald L. Evans in mid-March to express concern that Mr. Lynn's proposal
"will make ICANN even less democratic, open and accountable than it is
today."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Susan Stellin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/01/technology/ebusiness/01DOMA.html)
(requires registration)
THE PUSH FOR NEWS RETURNS
Remember PointCast, the push-technology that was supposed to dethrone the
Internet browser by delivering headlines right to your desktop? PointCast,
along with other similar upstarts fizzled away. Now, in the latest attempt
to automate the news, a group of Columbia University researchers have
launched Newsblaster. The project uses natural language processing
techniques to summarize top headlines. "(Newsblaster) grooms information
together and cuts redundancy," said Regina Barzilay, a computer science
doctoral student working on the project. Users of the service, which was
launched shortly after September 11, seem satisfied with Newsblaster's
accuracy. According to a user survey, about 88 percent of newsblaster's
summaries were deemed acceptable. "It does make errors, and it's not always
going to be correct," says Kathleen McKeown, project overseer.
"(Newsblaster) is not intended to replace human editors. Rather, it provides
a complementary tool to help humans cope with the exploding quantity of
information on the Web...Even with errors, it is useful in this way."
Newsblaster is available at (http://www.cs.columbia.edu/nlp/newsblaster/).
Other similar projects have been launched by Google
(http://news.google.com/) and the University of Michigan
(http://www.newsinessence.com/nie.cgi). For now, at least, human
journalists and editors aren't in jeopardy of being superceded by automated
news [we keep telling ourselves!].
[SOURCE: Wired news, AUTHOR: Kendra Mayfield]
(http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,51112,00.html)
BROADCAST
'MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE' THEORY LETS TV APPEAL TO BOTH PARENT'S PRESCHOOLERS
Media giants like Viacom and Walt Disney Co. are integrating Howard
Gardner's "multiple intelligence theory" into preschool programming to
capture the attention of parents. Gardner's theory is that intelligence
goes far beyond the traditional verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematical
measurements. Historically, commercial networks left the preschool market to
the Public Broadcasting System. The relatively recent interest in
preschoolers comes from networks looking to capitalize on licensed products
such as T-shirts and stuffed animals as well as attempting to hook a young
audience that will later translate into higher ratings with older kids. In
the face of increased competition by the corporate audience, PBS has
expanded its preschool programming. As for Dr. Gardner, he remains
skeptical about television's ability to teach the whole child saying, "A
week in the real world is worth ten years watching television." The
American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids under the age of two not
watch any TV.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sally Beatty]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1017611458737452560,00.html?mod=Page+One
)
(Requires subscription)
TV NETWORKS FAVOR PILOTS THEY'VE MADE
The major networks are rolling out new programming, much of which has have
been created within their own companies. At ABC only 4 or 5 of the 30
pilots being considered were created outside of ABC's television studio arm,
Touchstone Television. Gary Newman, president of 20th Century Fox
Television said, "There has been a quantum leap this season in terms of
in-house production". This change has been the result of declining
audiences, the network's interest in "repurposing" programs for both their
television and cable networks, and a desire to offset large payments to
producers and actors of hit shows by using in-house production companies.
Some writer-producers claim the network's production of shows will result in
mediocre programming that will not stem the decline in viewers. Network
executives such as Susan Lyne, president of ABC Entertainment disagree, "
The biggest value is having a studio that understands your brand and your
needs better than anyone else...There are economic and creative benefits.
Writer-producer, Steven Bochco of "N.Y.P.D. Blue" and" Hill Street Blues"
fame said, "It's so incestuous. When you develop pilots in-house, they tend
to reflect a very common sensibility, a very common denominator, which is
the last thing television needs now. You're not getting passionate people
bringing their babies to you."
[SOURCE: The New York Times, AUTHOR: Bernard Weinraub and Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/01/business/media/01PILO.html)
(Requires registration)
BROADBAND
WIRING IOWA FOR THE FUTURE
Iowa lawmakers are following an age-old model to boost Internet use in Iowa.
Early in the last century Iowa decided to get "out of the mud" and
authorized the farm-to-market road system to ensure their economy. Today,
state officials see high-speed Internet access as a new farm-to-market
system. "Iowa's long-term competitiveness in the new economy will be driven
in part by how well we can provide access to affordable high-speed
telecommunications to all businesses in the state," said Governor Tom
Vilsack. "Access means capacity for Iowans to work from anywhere [in the
state] with anyone in the world." A recent study commissioned by the Iowa
Alliance for Advanced Communications Services determined that 70 percent of
Iowans have Internet access at home or at work. More than 60 percent of
households are connected and more than half of Iowa businesses are
connected. The problem now is in deploying a high-speed network. It's
expensive and, according to Mike Eggley, CEO of net INS, that cost is
generally passed on to the consumer. The Iowa Department of Economic
Development is responding by committing marketing dollars to educate Iowans
about the benefits of high-speed access, conducting workshops, and talking
to chambers of commerce and economic development groups.
[SOURCE: Des Moines Business Record Online, AUTHOR: Beth Dalbey]
(http://www.businessrecord.com/businessrecord/myarticles.asp?P=504629&S=584&
PubID=8859&EC=0)
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