INTERNET
Survey Finds Americans Split on E-Government
Sessions Aim to Merge High-Tech with Community Service
OWNERSHIP
US Broadcasters' War Stance Under Scrutiny
EVENTS
Call for Papers: International E-Entrepreneurship Community
Conference
INTERNET
SURVEY FINDS AMERICANS SPLIT ON E-GOVERNMENT
A survey on e-government shows that Americans are torn between support for
online services and concerns over privacy and Web security. The study,
sponsored by the Council for Excellence in Government and Accenture,
suggests that Americans are using government Web sites to obtain basic
information but would be interested in additional services from agencies.
However, online voting was not among those services. Additionally, the idea
of a national identification card was objectionable to most respondents.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Judy Sarasohn]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19407-2003Apr13.html)
SESSIONS AIM TO MERGE HIGH-TECH WITH COMMUNITY SERVICE
Students at Penn-Hebron elementary school in Pittsburgh, PA are learning to
cross the digital divide -- and are providing a community service in the
process. In a program sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh and the St.
James Episcopal Church Faith Tech Center, 30 female students learned basic
computer skills, ranging from typing to Internet navigation, in an effort to
hold their interest in technology at an age where they typically lose it. At
the end of the six-week course, the girls used their newly acquired skills
to complete a service project for their community. One 11-year-old student,
for example, published a book of jokes and distributed them to patients at
the local hospital. Other students used the Net to publicize a collection
drive for the community food bank.
[SOURCE: PittsburghLive.com, AUTHOR: Tom Jewell, Tribune-Review]
(http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_127082.html)
OWNERSHIP
US BROADCASTERS' WAR STANCE UNDER SCRUTINY
Rupert Murdoch's $6.6 billion purchase of DirecTV last week comes at a time
when many critics question the motives of media companies that have been
reluctant to offer critical coverage of the military conflict in Iraq. With
most major news corporations lobbying the Republican-dominated FCC to relax
media ownership restrictions, news coverage might be used as a tool to curry
favor with the Bush administration. Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital
Democracy believes that US media companies have "a serious conflict of
interest" in reporting on the war. Murdoch has been accused of being
particularly "vocal," using his media outlets to voice his approval of Bush.
[SOURCE: Guardian Unlimited, AUTHOR: Annie Lawson]
(http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,935101,00.html)
EVENTS
CALL FOR PAPERS: INTERNATIONAL E-ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMMUNITY CONFERENCE
The International E-Entrepreneurship Community Conference, scheduled for
July 31-August 1 in Kuching, Malaysia, is seeking papers and presenters to
tackle e-commerce and the digital divide. Conference organizers hope that
potential presenters from both developed and developing countries will
submit proposals. Among the suggested topics are e-commerce opportunities
for people with disabilities, the use of open source tools to bridge the
digital divide and technology needs of indigenous and minority populations.
Proposals are due May 12.
[SOURCE: ProZane.com, AUTHOR: Zane Amira]
(http://www.prozane.com/)
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