EDTECH
Study Faults Computers' Use in Math Education (WP)
Computers Help Math Learning, Study Finds (NYT)
New Site Seeks Change by Educating Parents (CyberTimes)
MERGERS
Armstrong Urges FCC to Block SBC-Ameritech, Bell Atlantic-GTE
(TelecomAM)
AT&T Chairman Wants Ameritech-SBC Deal Stopped (ChiTrib)
AT&T's Armstrong Urges U.S. to Reject Bell Mergers (WSJ)
MCI WorldCom to Take $3.1 Billion Write-Off (WP)
MCI WorldCom Sets Lower Charge for R&D Costs (WSJ)
MCI Will Cut Its Write-off on Acquisition (NYT)
FCC Asks for Comments on AT&T-TCI Merger (TelecomAM)
INTERNET
Nearing Deadline, Plan for Administering Internet Stumbles (CyberTimes)
Company Seeks to Streamline Political Campaign Donations (CyberTimes)
At ISP Convention, a Shift From Subscribers to Services (CyberTimes)
New Motorola Technology Will Feature Voice Commands to Get Internet
Data (WSJ)
Motorola Dials Into Web Speak (ChiTrib)
LONG DISTANCE
US West to Appeal FCC's Rejection of Joint Marketing Deal (TelecomAM)
LOBBYING
A New Form of Lobbying Puts Public Face on Private Interest (NYT)
JOURNALISM
Magazine's Bureau Chief is Forced to Resign (NYT)
======
EDTECH
======
STUDY FAULTS COMPUTERS' USE IN MATH EDUCATION (WP)
COMPUTERS HELP MATH LEARNING, STUDY FINDS (NYT)
Issue: Education Technology
WP: Computers are not being put to good use in many classrooms claims a report
of the Educational Testing Service released Tuesday. The study based on
tests of nearly 14,000 fourth and eighth graders concluded that computers
used for repetitive math drills are ineffective and may actually hurt
children. The report concluded that simulations and real-life applications
of math concepts on computers did improve math scores. A strong connection
was found between certain kinds of technology use, higher scores and
improved school climate. Results were most obvious among eighth grade
computer users. The research showed no discernible difference in scores of
fourth graders whose teachers used simulations and applications. Fourth
graders whose teachers had them perform mathematical learning games on
computers showed some improvement. NYT: Article looks at results of same
study and begins: "when used selectively by trained teachers in middle
schools [computers] can significantly enhance academic performance."
[EdTech is good/it's bad. Maybe decide for yourself. See The Learning
Connection: Schools in the Information Age
http://www.benton.org/Library/Schools/]
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A3), AUTHOR: Jay Matthews]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/washtech/daily/sept98/tech093098.htm
[SOURCE: New York Times (A16), AUTHOR: Ethan Bronner]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/biztech/articles/30math.html
NEW SITE SEEKS CHANGE BY EDUCATING PARENTS
Issue: EdTech
GreatSchools http://www.greatschools.net/ will post on the Web in-depth,
unbiased information about Silicon Valley schools. "We are creating this in
order to improve the quality of information about school performance and
character. And we think that the more information about school character and
quality that people have, the better able they will be to push for and
contribute to improvement," said William R. Jackson, president of
GreatSchools Inc. "It is a growing trend, particularly because the Web has
become so accessible and the public has started to demand much greater
accountability from schools in terms of outcome," said Ginny E. Markell,
president-elect of the National PTA.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels
mendels( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/cyber/education/30education.html
=======
MERGERS
=======
ARMSTRONG URGES FCC TO BLOCK SBC-AMERITECH, BELL ATLANTIC-GTE
ATT CHAIRMAN WANTS AMERITECH-SBC DEAL STOPPED
AT&T ARMSTRONG URGES U.S. TO REJECT BELL MERGERS
Issue: Mergers
Speaking at the Economic Club of Detroit, AT&T Chairman Michael Armstrong
said that the proposed mergers between SBC & Ameritech and Bell Atlantic &
GTE are not in the public interest. "In the case of SBC and Ameritech, we
have the worst of all worlds: Two big companies coming together to advance
their monopoly positions." He said SBC promised increased competition when
it bought Pacific Telesis and Southern New England Telephone, but "it didn't
happen." Mr. Armstrong defended AT&T's takeover of TCI saying it would offer
the public choices and lower prices.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.2) AUTHOR: Jon Van]
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9809300257,00.html
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter]
http://www.wsj.com/
MCI WORLDCOM TO TAKE $3.1 BILLION WRITE-OFF (WP)
MCI WORLDCOM SETS LOWER CHARGE FOR R&D COSTS (WSJ)
MCI WILL CUT ITS WRITE-OFF ON ACQUISITION (NYT)
Issue: Merger
Strict guidelines for merger write-offs by the Securities and Exchange
Commission have led MCI WorldCom to take a smaller-than-expected write-off.
The $3.1 billion charge is about half what the company had released
previously as an estimate of the charges for research and development that
would be lost as a result of the merger. Critics have said acquiring
companies use the "in-process R&D" charge to help artificially inflate
future earnings.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C11), AUTHOR: Mike Mills]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/mci/mci.htm
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: --]
http://www.wsj.com/
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: David Morrow]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/worldcom-mci.html
FCC ASKS FOR COMMENTS ON AT&T-TCI MERGER
Issue: Mergers
The FCC is reviewing the proposed AT&T-TCI merger and asked for outside
input yesterday. Comments are due October 29; replies November 13. The
Commission's jurisdiction over the merger is restricted to the transfer of
control of TCI's numerous cable licenses. In the merger application AT&T
said the deal "will expand and accelerate AT&T's ability to compete with
ILECs [incumbent local companies] in providing local telephone service to
residential customers." The combined company plans an upgrade of TCI's
infrastructure that will allow the packaging of local, long distance, and
wireless telephone service with high-speed data and video. Because the merger
"does not involve a horizontal merger in any market," AT&T said, the FCC
doesn't need to perform a multistage competition analysis as it did for the
Bell Atlantic-Nynex merger. The FCC's review will be headed by the Cable
Bureau's Policy & Rules Division with input from the Common Carrier Bureau.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
========
INTERNET
========
NEARING DEADLINE, PLAN FOR ADMINISTERING INTERNET STUMBLES
Issue: Infrastructure
The government's contract with Network Solutions expires at midnight
Wednesday and the Administration had hoped to hand over control to a new
nonprofit board. But the make-up and powers of the board are still being
negotiated as the clock ticks. Ira C. Magaziner, President Clinton's top
Internet advisor, has gotten the Department of Commerce to agree to a
one-week contract extension with Network Solutions. "My sense is that for
the next week or two, until the process finally closes, there's going to be
people jockeying for position," said Jon Postel who runs the Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). "My sense is there is growing agreement
on a very high percentage of issues. We just need to bring it all together."
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/cyber/articles/30domain.html
COMPANY SEEKS TO STREAMLINE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN DONATIONS
Issue: Campaign Finance
PoliticsOnline http://www.politicsonline.com, a nonpartisan consulting
firm in Charleston, SC, will unveil today Instant OnlineFundraiser, a system
for collecting campaign contributions online. "The Instant OnlineFundraiser
is going to do for campaign finance what the machine gun did for bank
robberies," said Phil Noble, president of PoliticsOnline. "It's going to
change the way we do everything." "You don't have to offer a chicken
dinner," said Elaine Kamarck, a faculty member at the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard. "There is no doubt that if candidates see that there
is a cost-effective way to raise money, they will put a lot more money into
their online campaigning."
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Rebecca Fairley Raney
rfr( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/
AT ISP CONVENTION, A SHIFT FROM SUBSCRIBERS TO SERVICES
Issue: Internet Service Providers
The focus of ISPCON http://www.ispcon.com, a convention for Internet
Service Providers (ISPs), is changing. Although many in the industry are
still focused on signing up subscribers, others are concerned with services
like hosting Web sites for corporate clients, managing corporate intranets
and e-mail systems, developing and hosting e-commerce applications and even
carrying voice (read: telephone) traffic. "The market is shifting
radically," said Marc Andreessen, co-founder and executive vice president of
Netscape Communications Corp. "Increasingly, we'll see brutal competition
[to provide access], but it's a huge opportunity for ISPs" to move into
other businesses."
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Matt Richtel
mrichtel( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/cyber/articles/30isp.html
NEW MOTOROLA TECHNOLOGY WILL FEATURE VOICE COMMANDS TO GET INTERNET DATA
MOTOROLA DIALS INTO WEB SPEAK
Issue: Technology
Motorola Inc. today announces the release of a new program language which
they hope will be used to simplify public access of information by telephone
and the Internet. The language will allow new programs to make greater use
of simple voice commands avoiding the current requirements for memorization
of complex sequences of numbers for the Internet and complicated features on
digital phones. Motorola says the language called VoxML is based on HTML,
the programming language most widely used on the Internet. The company
hopes the new language will become the standard for computer programmers.
Motorola is expected to use the language in programs for its phones, pagers
and other products.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Quentin Hardy]
http://www.wsj.com/
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Andrew Zajac]
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9809300246,00.html
=============
LONG DISTANCE
=============
US WEST TO APPEAL FCC'S REJECTION OF JOINT MARKETING DEAL
Issue: Long Distance
"The FCC has stifled one of the first tangible consumer benefits" of the
Telecom Act -- "greater competition, better value and no-nonsense pricing,"
said U S West Vice President Mark Roellig. The company has decided to appeal
the FCC's decision to void the local phone giant's deal with Qwest
Communications to offer long distance service. "We can't trade the
short-term convenience of one-stop shopping for long-term monopolies," said
FCC Chairman William Kennard. "As long as the Bell companies keep their
local networks closed and thus remain the sole source for local service, it
makes no sense to reward them by allowing them to become the sole source for
a combined package of local and long distance as well." Ameritech is
reviewing the FCC's decision.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
========
LOBBYING
========
A NEW FORM OF LOBBYING PUTS FACE ON PRIVATE INTEREST
Issue: Lobbying
Because of their pervasiveness and sophistication, it is now hard to tell
the difference between a lobby effort, an issue advocacy campaign and a
citizens movement. Lobbyists are just one player in a team running campaigns
designed to create "grass-roots" support or opposition to legislation. These
grassroots mobilizations were once the sole domain of environmentalists, the
civil rights movement, and the opposition to the Vietnam War. The scale and
costs of these new campaigns resemble the race for the presidency. In the
second of a two-part series, Mitchell examines the techniques and
technologies lobbyists are employing to influence decision makers. The
campaigns include polling, advertising, pitches to journalists, creating
local chapters of national organizations, and drafting legislation.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Alison Mitchell]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/093098lobby-ii.html
==========
JOURNALISM
==========
MAGAZINE'S BUREAU CHIEF IS FORCED TO RESIGN
Issue: Journalism
Jonathan Broder, Washington Bureau Chief at online magazine Salon, has
resigned after publicly criticizing his editors' decision to run the Rep
Henry Hyde (R-IL) affair story earlier this month. David Talbot, the
publication's chief editor, had specifically asked employees to not air the
internal differences in public. Salon is currently going through a
transformation. Its focus has been "essays with attitude" and is moving
towards breaking news. In an interview last Spring, Mr. Talbot said, "I
think your editorial operations can get you news as we've been doing lately
with the stories we've been breaking. It's free PR in a way."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A15), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/biztech/articles/30salon.html
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