Sunday, April 26, 2009

011409: Internet threat to minors overblown, study suggests

Reuters | 01/14/2009 5:16 PM

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Worries that the Internet and social networking services like MySpace pose a threat to child safety may be overblown, a report by industry, academics and technology experts suggests.

The report, which will be released on Wednesday, suggests that the biggest threats to children's safety online may come from other children, and that their own behavior could contribute to the trouble they encounter.

"Minors are not equally at risk online," the report said. "Those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other parts of their lives."

It is the product of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, created last February by 49 state attorneys general to address what many of them said was the growing problem of sexual predators soliciting children online.

"The risks minors face online are complex and multifaceted and are in most cases not significantly different than those they face offline, and ... as they get older, minors themselves contribute to some of the problems," the study said.

The Task Force includes executives from social networking services like Facebook and News Corp's MySpace, as well as other technology and media companies including Yahoo Inc, Verizon and Time Warner Inc's AOL.

The findings, if accepted by the law enforcement community, would be important for Facebook and MySpace. Both social networking sites have large numbers of younger members, and parents have expressed concern over strangers approaching their children on those sites.

Both have signed agreements with the attorneys general to increase their efforts to protect their youngest members from sexual predators.

MySpace was the subject of a 2006 lawsuit by a 14-year-old girl who said she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man she met on the site.

Released by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, the report suggests that the biggest threats to children's safety online come from other children.

"Youth report sexual solicitation of minors by minors more frequently, but these incidents, too, are understudied, underreported to law enforcement, and not part of most conversations about online safety," the task force said.

Online sexual predators are a concern, but the task force said that many of the studies it reviewed were based on law-enforcement cases that pre-dated social networking sites.

They said bullying and harassment, especially by peers, are the most frequent problem minors face both online and elsewhere.

Not all agreed with the findings. Task force member John Phillips, chief executive of Aristotle Corp, a company that makes software specifically intended to verify the identity and ages of people on the Internet, said blaming children and their parents is not the answer.

"There is absolutely a role for parents and for minors themselves to be a lot more careful," he said in a telephone interview. He said industry also needs to do more to protect children from sexual predators.

MySpace, which helped to fund the study, said in a statement it fully supports the key conclusions of the report, noting that "there is no single technological solution to the problem of youth online safety and no single technology that fully addresses any specific risk minors face."

Other companies that helped pay for the study include Microsoft Corp, AOL, MTV Networks parent Viacom, AT&T, Symantec, Turner Broadcasting, Loopt and Linden Lab, creator of the Second Life online community.

as of 01/14/2009 5:16 PM

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/01/14/09/internet-threat-minors-overblown-study-suggests-0

121808: Idol, Friendster top Pinoy search

120408: Scientists: Is technology rewiring our brains?

12/04/2008 | 11:23 AM

NEW YORK – What does a teenage brain on Google look like? Do all those hours spent online rewire the circuitry? Could these kids even relate better to emoticons than to real people? These sound like concerns from worried parents. But they're coming from brain scientists.

While violent video games have gotten a lot of public attention, some current concerns go well beyond that. Some scientists think the wired world may be changing the way we read, learn and interact with each other.

There are no firm answers yet. But Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatrist at UCLA, argues that daily exposure to digital technologies such as the Internet and smart phones can alter how the brain works.

When the brain spends more time on technology-related tasks and less time exposed to other people, it drifts away from fundamental social skills like reading facial expressions during conversation, Small asserts.

So brain circuits involved in face-to-face contact can become weaker, he suggests. That may lead to social awkwardness, an inability to interpret nonverbal messages, isolation and less interest in traditional classroom learning.

Small says the effect is strongest in so-called digital natives — people in their teens and 20s who have been "digitally hard-wired since toddlerhood." He thinks it's important to help the digital natives improve their social skills and older people — digital immigrants — improve their technology skills.

At least one 19-year-old Internet enthusiast gives Small's idea a mixed review. John Rowe, who lives near Pasadena, Calif., spends six to 12 hours online a day. He flits from instant messaging his friends to games like Cyber Nations and Galaxies Ablaze to online forums for game players and disc jockeys.

Social skills? Rowe figures he and his buddies are doing just fine in that department, thank you. But he thinks Small may have a point about some other people he knows.

"If I didn't actively go out and try to spend time with friends, I wouldn't have the social skills that I do," said Rowe, who reckons he spends three or four nights a week out with his pals. "You can't just give up on having normal friends that you see on a day-to-day basis."

More than 2,000 years ago, Socrates warned about a different information revolution — the rise of the written word, which he considered a more superficial way of learning than the oral tradition. More recently, the arrival of television sparked concerns that it would make children more violent or passive and interfere with their education.

Small, who describes his modern-day concerns in a new book called "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind," acknowledges he doesn't have an open-and-shut case that digital technology is changing brain circuitry.

Still, his argument is "pretty interesting and certainly provocative," although difficult to prove, says brain scientist Tracey Shors of Rutgers University.

Others are skeptical. Robert Kurzban, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist, said scientists still have a lot to learn about how a person's experiences affect the way the brain is wired to deal with social interaction.

Life in the age of Google may even change how we read.

Normally, as a child learns to read, the brain builds pathways that gradually allow for more sophisticated analysis and comprehension, says Maryanne Wolf of Tufts University, author of "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain."

She calls that analysis and comprehension "deep reading." But that takes time, even if it's just a fraction of a second, and today's wired world is all about speed, gathering a lot of superficial information fast.

Wolf asks what will happen as young children do more and more early reading online. Will their brains respond by short-circuiting parts of the normal reading pathways that lead to deeper reading but which also take more time? And will that harm their ability to reflect on what they've read?

Those questions deserve to be studied, Wolf says. She thinks kids will need instruction tailored to gaining reading comprehension in the digital world.

Some research suggests the brain actually benefits from Internet use.

A large study led by Mizuko Ito of the University of California, Irvine, recently concluded that by hanging out online with friends — sending instant messages, for example — teens learn valuable skills they'll need to use at work and socially in the digital age. That includes lessons about issues like online privacy and what's appropriate to post and communicate on the internet, Ito said.

Rowe, the 19-year-old, said he and his buddies often debate whether technology might actually be bad for you. That includes kicking around the argument that computer use makes people socially inept.

Of course, he added, "we spend a lot of time on the computer and still have totally normal and perfect social lives." - AP

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/137436/Scientists-Is-technology-rewiring-our-brains

102208: Only a few Net cafés in Davao under watch

Vol. XXII, No. 63
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

The Economy

DAVAO CITY — Regulating Internet café operations in this city has become difficult since the number of these establishments ballooned to over 400, with only 70 registered under the Internet Cafe Association of Davao, or ICAD, which coordinates with the city government on enforcement of policies.

Yvonne F. Cabada, association president, said Internet cafés have become a popular investment choice for overseas Filipino workers.

ICAD is organizing an Internet Café Summit this Nov.14 at the city's legislative building that will discuss topics like the effect of the Internet on children and women, as well as education and business.

Ms. Cabada said that the city's Business Bureau has already suspended some cafés for illegal operations. The city government regularly monitors these establishments in cooperation with the Internet Café Association Board. The Business Bureau has also fined café owners after they were caught allowing students to play games during school hours.

Johpee Agustin, Business Bureau chief, said stricter monitoring of these establishments started last February. First-time offenders were fined P1,000, while second-time offenders were meted a P2,000 fine. If the owner is caught for the third time, she said, the city government will impose a P5,000 fine plus closure of the establishment. — J. B. Escovilla

http://bworldonline.com/BW102208/content.php?src=1&id=055

091908: BPO industry needs more ICT graduates

09/19/2008 | 09:12 PM

DAVAO CITY, Philippines - With the Philippine Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry growing by 30 to 35 percent annually and a projection of 1 million jobs generated by 2010, key players in the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and academe are pushing for a comprehensive and sustainable training program that will develop Mindanao's human resources on information, communication technology (ICT.

"We need to let the public know the positive economic impact the BPO sector has already gained, and the untapped opportunities that the ICT industry has to offer particularly in creating more jobs and ICT-related businesses," said Wit Holganza, president of the ICT Davao, Inc. during the first ever BPO Human Resource and Recruitment Forum held recently.

She said the forum, which gathered BPO experts and HR practitioners from local schools and training institutions, is a good start to prepare the human resource pool to acquire skills that will serve the requirements of the BPO industry players.

The supply of qualified ICT-skilled workers is an increasing concern, as the industry needs more ICT graduates with the ICT industry poised for upbeat growth in the next years.

Ditas Formoso, head of the Technical Committee on Government Academe Industry Linkage (TC-Gail) said that the talent pool is growing at a rate of only 10 percent while the industry grows 30-35 percent annually.

In her presentation, she explained that faculty development, industry immersion for students, appropriate school infrastructure and industry-based curricula are factors that make up a talent pool required by the industry.

The TC-Gail will embark on advocacy and awareness programs to gain industry, academe and local
government support for the faculty immersion programs they will be pilot testing.

She also encouraged academic institutions to participate, as this will benefit both graduates and faculty.

Jamea Garcia, Talent Development Director of the Business Processing Association of the
Philippines (BPAP) said in her presentation that the supply of talent would determine the level of growth the industry will experience.

She said that a comprehensive assessment and training program must be developed to help improve suitability of talent for the industry.

In a recent article, she said investing in training of human resources is a challenge for stakeholders "in order to supply the quality of talent which will also propel improvements in the industry."

She said aside from generating 1 million jobs by 2010, it is also projected to generate 1.2 to 1.3 million indirect jobs.

The forum was organized by the ICT Davao, an umbrella organization of different ICT industry associations. The group is planning to develop a databank, which will determine Davao's human resources pool and its capacity to respond to the needs of prospective locators.

The three-day forum also matched teachers and guidance counselors of schools with HR and recruitment staff of BPO companies on a two-day job fair to allow schools firsthand experience in human resource and recruitment processes which can become a benchmark for schools in improving their curriculum particularly in English proficiency and other ICT-related skills.

A career employment track was organized to focus on career opportunities in the different BPO fields, which include the contact center, medical transcription, and graphics and animation.

On the other hand, the technopreneurship track oriented the participants of opportunities in engaging in ICT start-up businesses.

The Davao Business Plan Competition was also launched during the forum to encourage young ICT entrepreneurs to submit business start-up proposals. - Sun.Star Davao

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/121563/BPO-industry-needs-more-ICT-graduates

090308: Limited broadband links hindering development, report says

Vol. XXII, No. 28
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

FREE PREVIEW

The Economy

LIMITED BROADBAND connectivity is inhibiting economic development in developing countries like the Philippines, where the government has barely invested in infrastructure, an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) report said.

Broadband, or high-speed Internet connection, has led to applications like distance learning, disaster management and increased business opportunities.

In emerging economies, the ITU report covering Asia Pacific’s information communications technology (ICT) industry said the "use of broadband technologies could help overcome many of the basic development challenges those countries are facingBasic broadband connectivity is crucial for many applications that have an important impact on development."

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW090308/content.php?id=052

042409: Play a videogame, boost performance

Vol. XXII, No. 186
Friday, April 24, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Labor & Management

BY JOHN GAUDIOSI. Reuters

Play a videogame, boost performance

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA — Forget boring company training films. A leading hotel chain has teamed with a videogame developer to create a new game to improve their employees’ job performance.

Many businesses use serious videogames designed for the PC but Hilton Garden Inn (HGI) has taken the virtual training concept portable for the first time with "Ultimate Team Play."

Working with North Carolina-based game developer Virtual Heroes, HGI has created a videogame for Sony’s PSP (PlayStation Portable) that allows employees to practice their jobs before they have to interact with customers.

"Ultimate Team Play" offers timed scenarios focusing on departments like housekeeping, food and beverage, engineering, maintenance and front desk. The hotel chain has sent out 500 PSPs loaded with the game to all of its locations.

"By playing the game and not watching a video or reading a book we have the opportunity to repeat the same message a few times without ’losing’ the participants," said David Kervella, senior manager of brand education at Hilton Hotels Corporation.

"Players are learning by doing without making mistakes with real guests," he added.

Mr. Kervella said that Virtual Heroes created the game to allow for easy customization to fit any of the 11 Hilton brands. If the HGI test is successful, PSPs will be added to additional hotel brands in the future.

"We’ve designed the game, which will take five hours to complete, to focus on interactions with guests and every action will impact the guest’s mood as well as the hotel’s Satisfaction and Loyalty (SALT) scores," said Jerry Heneghan, CEO of Virtual Heroes.

The Apply Group, a leading videogames marketing consultancy, said that by 2012 up to 135 of the world’s leading companies will have adopted gaming for learning, with the United States, United Kingdom and Germany leading the way.

The games will range from flight simulators to virtual restaurant training guides.

"The challenge right now is getting companies to adopt games," said Ian Bogost, a professor at Georgia Tech and a founding partner at Persuasive Games, which has created company training games.

"There’s still an element of fear, especially in a down economy. And human resources and training managers tend to avoid doing new things for fear that they’ll stick their necks out. Executives at forward-thinking companies need to endorse games as a part of the future of work."

According to a 2008 study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which works to further understanding of entrepreneurship, the economic impact of a great lecture can improve learning outcomes by 17%, while switching to a different delivery mechanism such as serious gaming can tremendously improve learning outcomes.

"More than the technology capabilities like rapid processors and 3D graphics, demographics and the rapid pace of business change is driving the way many companies are training their personnel," said Phaedra Boinodiris, project manager for IBM’s Serious Games.

"For business purposes, we are seeing companies use games to make hiring decisions and evaluate skills and performance."

Mr. Heneghan said that on the heels of the HGI training game, many companies are interested in utilizing the PSP. It may be just the beginning because iPhones, Nintendo DSi and other portable devices also hold the potential to offer virtual training scenarios.

http://bworldonline.com/BW042409/content.php?src=1&id=081

091908: Filipino Netizens among most sociable

By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:29:00 09/19/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- You think that collectively sending about one billion text messages daily is enough for Filipinos to stay in touch? Apparently not.

In the third edition of Universal McCann's study on social media, the Philippines had the social networking highest penetration among Internet users (83.1 percent) compared with the global average of 57.5 percent.

The Philippines also had the second-highest incidence of blog-reading among Internet users at 90.3 percent. South Korea topped the blog readership list at 92.1 percent. The global average was 72.8 percent.

And all over the world, including the Philippines and South Korea, personal blogs or diary blogs were the favorite reading fare. That's a lot of chismis (rumors).

What about writing blogs? About 65.8 percent of Filipino Internet users write blogs, compared with 70.3 percent in China, 70.9 percent in Taiwan and 71.7 percent in South Korea. Globally, 44.8 percent of Internet users blog, mostly about themselves.

That means that Filipinos like to read about other people more than they like to write about themselves -- but so did the rest of the world.

It must be noted, though, that Internet penetration in the Philippines is relatively low at around 15 percent. Compared to cell phone penetration of more than 60 percent, that is a lot more room for growth.

Still, Universal McCann said its study indicates that blogs and social networks are becoming "mainstream" media and are a valid platform for spreading information.

The study also indicates that there is a wealth of opportunities for traditional media publishers and advertisers alike to explore.

But most importantly, it shows that consumers are no longer passive -- they have more control of how they consume content. They also have more ways of telling other people about their views on products, services, people and events.

Universal McCann's study involved 17,000 respondents in 29 countries. Those included in the study were Internet users 16 to 54 years old who accessed the world wide web every day or every other day.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20080919-161723/Filipino-Netizens-among-most-sociable

090108: IT heads playing key roles in companies

Vol. XXII, No. 26
Monday, September 1, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Corporate News

THE GROWING importance of information technology (IT) in corporations, from being a mere cost-cutting solution to a legitimate competitive edge, is making the position of chief information officers (CIO) — the company’s IT head — more important.

A global study conducted by IBM in May showed how a CIO’s traits, which include being hungry for change and globally integrated, can be a key in turning the chief executive officer’s (CEO) vision into reality, which in turn can transform the business into the "enterprise of the future."

"More organizations need to shift their mind-set of IT’s role from its traditional status as a cost center to a competitive engine it represents today, fueling business growth," James Velasquez, IBM Philippines country general manager, said in a statement.

With businesses becoming more global as a result of partnerships with foreign firms, CIOs need to be more globally integrated and "take the leadership position in overcoming technological, cultural and organizational barriers to integration," said the IBM study, which surveyed 1,000 CEOs.

For one, he must ensure that the right infrastructure is in place for a seamless flow of information across the world, using the latest technology. This will lead to improved communications and access via any device, from anywhere at any time, the study said.

CIOs also need to be innovative by understanding markets and customers using available information. With the amount of sales and market data that need to be stored doubling every 18 months, CIOs need not only store this data efficiently and safely, but also turn these information into insight about customers and markets.

The CIO also needs to be flexible to allow the company to keep up with the pace of change, including integrating acquisitions into the fabric of the enterprise.

The study also showed how the CIO can be part, not only of a company’s internal operations, but also its corporate social responsibility agenda. Particularly, CIOs should push the adoption of environment-friendly products and processes, which save money and energy.

"This is essential given the increasing costs of power, cooling systems and the rising costs involved in managing IT infrastructure," IBM said.

Meanwhile, a survey of 160 CIOs from local and multinational companies in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam between January and May found that "94% of companies in [Southeast Asia] say that the role of the chief information officer is gaining more importance in business."

The survey said CIOs in the region "view leading employees as a key capability that goes beyond managing and retaining IT staff in general, but also identifying and nurturing individual talent." Four out of five respondents said empowering employees by delegating, broadening their opportunities and acting with fairness was a key leadership quality. CIOs also acknowledged IT as a tool that bridges cultural and communication gaps between employees in different parts of the region.

More than three-fourths of the respondents also said that their organizations were using IT to improve the business process. "Today, CIOs are expected not only to understand the business process but to standardize and simplify it," the survey said. Results for the Philippines did not vary much from the rest of the region, it added. — Paolo Luis G. Montecillo

http://bworldonline.com/BW090108/content.php?src=1&id=044

041008: RP improves capability to use technology for dev't

04/10/2008 | 02:35 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The country has improved its capability to use information and communications technology (ICT) for development, but may not be doing enough to keep in step with its peers in this regard, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) "E-readiness rankings 2008: Maintaining momentum" report says.

The white paper defines "e-readiness" as "a measure of the quality of a country’s information and communications technology infrastructure and the ability of its consumers, businesses and government to use ICT to their benefit," based on a number of criteria.

Specifically, the Philippines’ "e-readiness" score has been improving to 4.90 out of 10 points this year, from 4.66 last year and from 4.41 in 2006.

But it has stagnated in its ranking against other economies, improving slightly to 54th place out of 69 markets last year — tied with India — from 56th out of 68 in 2006, but falling this year to 55th place out of 70.

A selection of other economies covered showed the following movements through the list in these same years:

* Hong Kong got the highest ranking among Asian economies covered, rising to 2nd place from 4th last year and 10th in 2006;
* Singapore was the second highest among Asian markets covered, keeping its 6th place from last year, after rising from 13th spot in 2006;
* South Korea was the third highest-positioned Asian economy, rising to 15th place from 16th last year, and from 18th in 2006;
* Japan was the fourth-ranking Asian market in the list, keeping its 18th place from last year, after rising from its 21st place in 2006;
* Taiwan was the fifth highest Asian economy in the list, but falling to 19th place this year from 17th last year, after rising from 23rd spot in 2006;
* Malaysia rose to 34th place this year from 36th last year, compared to its 37th spot in 2006.
* Thailand regained its 47th place this year, after falling to 49th place last year from 47th in 2006;
* India kept its 54th spot from last year, compared to 53rd in 2006;
* China kept its 56th place from last year, compared to 57th in 2006;
* Pakistan fell to 64th place this year from 63rd last year, after rising from its 67th spot in 2006;
* Vietnam maintained its 65th place from last year, after rising from its 66th spot in 2006;
* Indonesia fell to 68th this year, after falling to 67th last year from 62nd in 2006.

First and last place

The United States rose to 1st place this year from 2nd place last year — also its spot in 2006, while Denmark sank to 5th place this year from its top spot in 2007 and 2006.

Iran laid at the bottom at 70th place this year from the bottom 69th spot last year, after placing 65th — or fourth lowest — in 2006.

Azerbaijan ranked 69th this year from 68th last year and in 2006.

The average "e-readiness" score for all 70 economies stood at 6.39 this year from 6.24 last year.

Criteria

In terms of "e-readiness" criteria, the Philippines improved its scores for most factors, except one:

* consumer and business adoption, with a weight of 25%, rose 0.35 point to 5.45 from 5.10;
* connectivity and technology infrastructure, with a weight of 20%, rose 0.50 point to 3.20 from 2.70;
* business environment, with weight of 15%, rose 0.13 point to 6.56 from 6.43;
* social and cultural environment, also with 15%, rose also by 0.13 point to 4.53 from 4.40;
* government policy and vision, 15%, rose 0.15 point to 5.20 from 5.05; but
* legal environment, which also had a 15% weight, actually dropped 0.15 point to 4.50 from 4.65.

"The gap between the ’haves’ and ’have-nots’ in our rankings narrowed again in 2008 — a hopeful indication of a contraction in the digital divide between developed and developing countries," a press statement Wednesday on the report read.

"However, the narrowing of this gap was considerably less than in previous years," it noted.

The same statement quoted EIU Editorial Director Robin Bew as noting that "the world’s most developed digital economies, and many of less developed ones, continue to record impressive gains in broadening access to ICT and making digital services available to the population."

"It is hard work to maintain this progress, however, and even the leaders have much to do to translate these gains into real economic and social benefits," Mr. Bew said.

The EIU has been conducting this study since 2000. - BusinessWorld

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88560/RP-improves-capability-to-use-technology-for-devt