Edupage 1/3/95

[Johnathan Corgan]

Some selected articles from Educom that may interest you...

***************************************************************************
Edupage, a summary of news items on information technology, is provided
three times each week as a service by Educom -- a Washington, D.C.-based
consortium of leading colleges and universities seeking to transform
education through the use of information technology. 
***************************************************************************

CYBERPHOBICS GALORE
A recent Gallup poll conducted for MCI shows almost half of the 600 white
collar respondents admitting they are cyberphobic or resistant to new
technology. More than a third do not use a computer at all, either at home
or at work, and nearly 60% don't use voice mail. Two thirds do not use
e-mail at work, and about the same number don't carry a pager. The most
common reason cited for anti-technology attitudes was a fear of loss of
privacy. Close runners up were worries over information overload and a fear
of losing face-to-face contact with associates. (Miami Herald 1/2/95 p.22) 

MORE INTERNET FACTS
Traffic on the NSFnet grew a whopping 110% in 1994, and the number of
countries online increased from approximately 137 in 1993 to approximately
159 this past year. There were 1,964 phone calls to InterNIC Registration
Services during November '94. For more facts, check out
http://www.openmarket.com/info/internet-index/current-sources.html. (The
Internet Index, Number 5)

"GIVE US YOUR MONEY, BUT KEEP YOUR OPINIONS TO YOURSELF!"
A survey of small business executives conducted for IBM by Roper Starch
Worldwide shows 65% of the respondents saying that building the information
highway is a good use of government funds, but only 3% think the government
should have "a lot" of influence on how the highway operates. Forty-four
percent felt the government should have no influence, and 49% said they
thought it should have "some" say in how things were run. (Inc. Technology
Premiere Issue p.19)

THE WIRED REVOLUTION
While saluting Wired magazine's worthy premise as a publication that
addresses the social and cultural effects of digital technologies, the
director of the 21st Century Project at the University of Texas blasts
Wired for its "fevered, adolescent consumerism, its proud display of empty
thoughts from a parade of smoke-shoveling celebrity pundits, its smug
disengagement from the thorny problems facing postindustrial societies, and
most annoyingly, its over-the-top narcissism. If this is the revolution, do
we really want to be part of it?" (New Republic 1/9-16/95 p.19)

************************************************************************
EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage: send
a message to: listproc at educom.edu and in the BODY of the message type:
subscribe edupage Sidney Carlton (assuming that your name is Sidney
Carlton; if it isn't, substitute your own name) ... To cancel subscription
to Edupage: send a message to: listproc at educom.edu and in the BODY of the
message type: unsubscribe edupage.    
************************************************************************
Educom    --     Transforming Education Through Information Technology
************************************************************************
Written by John Gehl & Suzanne Douglas. V: 404-371-1853. F: 404-371-8057

==
Johnathan Corgan       "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
jcorgan at scruznet.com                    -Isaac Asimov