ADVERTISING
Restrictions on Political Ads are Eased for Text Messaging
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Appalachia's Technology Economy Faces Big Hurdles, Study Finds
Radio in Use for Community Empowerment in Rural India
EDTECH
Danish Group Writing How-To Books for Schools Interested in Linux
ADVERTISING
RESTRICTIONS ON POLITICAL ADS ARE EASED FOR TEXT MESSAGING
The Federal Election Commission has moved to make it easier for political
campaigns to send text ads to cell phones and hand-held devices. Paving the
way for a new form of political advertising, the Commission approved the
request of Target Wireless to waive the normally mandatory disclaimer
identifying who paid for political ads when the messages are transmitted to
cell phones. Disclaimers are required under federal election law so viewers
know who paid for a political ad. Target requested a waiver because text
messages on most hand-held devices are only capable of containing 160
characters and disclosure requirements would use up too much of limited text
space.
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1030057667242394395,00.html?mod=technolo
gy_main_whats_news)
(requires subscription)
See Also:
SHORT-TEXT MESSAGING MAY GET BOOST AS POLITICAL AD VEHICLE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45717-2002Aug21.html)
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
APPALACHIA'S TECHNOLOGY ECONOMY FACES BIG HURDLES, STUDY FINDS
According to a study by the University of North Carolina Office of Economic
Development, the mountainous Appalachian region of the U.S. must leap a
series of sizable hurdles to get its technology economy running at the same
pace as the rest of the nation. Occupying a rural area spreading 200,000
square miles across 13 states, Appalachia's technology sector is small,
growing only two-thirds as fast as the region's overall economy between 1989
and 1998. The report's authors point to shortages of entrepreneurs,
scientists, university education and public/private sector research, which
continue to hamper the region's ability to develop a technology-centered
economy. While many state-funded programs are trying to develop the area's
high-tech economy, the report says, few are focused on the two areas
projected to grow fastest in the next decade: information technology and
biotechnology.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Gavin McCormick]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43912-2002Aug21.html)
RADIO IN USE FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT IN RURAL INDIA
In Palamau, a district in rural India, Leelawati is one of three rural women
in a group of 14 local reporters working for Palamau's community radio
project. After a recent outbreak of dysentery in the district, Leelawati
quizzed a local doctor on preventive measures that the villagers should
adopt. These are early days for community radio in the 45 villages of
Palamau. In August 2001, two local NGOs -- Alternatives for India
Development (AID) and Manthan Yuva Sangathan -- joined together to launch
Chala Ho Gaon Mein, a half-hour community broadcast on All India Radio. For
the first time, villagers from this area are participating in a community
initiative and are getting to hear their own voices on the radio. In these
villages that go dark after sunset -- they lack both electricity and local
telephone service -- the radio is their only link with the outside world.
[SOURCE: The Digital Opportunity Channel, AUTHOR: Nandita Roy, OneWorld
Radio]
(http://www.digitalopportunity.org/news/)
EDTECH
DANISH GROUP WRITING HOW-TO BOOKS FOR SCHOOLS INTERESTED IN LINUX
In Denmark, a group of education-minded Linux advocates has authored a book
aimed at technology coordinators in schools. The project, called Gnuskole
(GNU school), has so far produced one book, written in SGML, focusing on
setting up Internet and intranet servers using open-source software. The
book covers topics such as configuring Web servers and mail servers, as well
as setting up intranets that can "completely replace" Microsoft Windows. In
addition to cost savings, the authors believe that open-source programs and
Linux can help school computer systems to be more flexible and stable.
[SOURCE: News Forge]
(http://newsforge.com/newsforge/02/08/21/1451215.shtml?tid=23)
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