March 2007 - KICTANet

AfriNIC Meeting: Abuja, Nigeria 23rd April-4 May 2007
by A. Wanjira Munyua 08 Mar '07

08 Mar '07

Dear Colleagues The next AfriNIC Meeting will be held in Abuja, Nigeria from 23rd April to 4 May 2007, together with AfNOG, INET Africa, AfTLD and AFREN meetings. It is an open forum to discuss issues related to internet number resource management within the AfriNIC service region. This meeting will also host a regional IPv6 conference where network operators will share their experiences on IPv6 deployment. We are looking for presentations and tutorials of relevance from anyone. Tutorials are usually 2 to 4 hour workshops, while presentations may last between 10 and 30 minutes. Presentations / Tutorials may cover the following topics: - IPv6 deployment - Routing Best Practice/Address Space Prefix Filtering - Reverse DNS implemenation - DNSec - Fighting Spam We would like to have as many practical, hands-on presentations as possible and they do not have to be long. Policy proposals are also usually discussed at the meeting, but must pass through the appropriate phases of the Policy Development Process (please see http://www.afrinic.net/pdp.htm) If you would like to make a presentation or tutorial, please send your proposal to meeting(a)afrinic.net Your proposal should contain the following information: - Full Name - Email Address - Affiliation - Short biography - Title of Talk - A detailed abstract or outline describing the presentation - Draft slides for the presentation (if ready/available) - Length of talk (minutes/hours/days) - Need (or not) for sponsorship or assistance to attend the meeting (travel and/or accommodation, etc) The audience at AfriNIC meetings is mainly composed of technical network operators and engineers with a wide range of experience levels from beginners to several years of experience. Presentations that contain any sort of marketing and commercial content are usually not encouraged at such meetings. Best Regards Hisham R. Rojoa Membership Liaison & Communications Officer AfriNIC

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internet news, research papers - international
by Rebecca Wanjiku 07 Mar '07

07 Mar '07

makes good bachground material/.....incase of interest... The rise of technology addiction http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6411495.stm Mobile Content Usage is Higher in Developing Countries http://clickz.com/stats/sectors/wireless/article.php/3625143 *************** RESEARCH PAPERS *************** Mobile Commerce consumer issues and policy challenges for a promising market (OECD) Mobile commerce is a promising market both for consumers and businesses. However, consumer troubles and complaints are increasing and can sometimes become serious, including issues for minors. Member countries experiences show that we should ensure that consumers benefit. In particular, countries may review their instruments with regard to a more effective scheme for information disclosure, liability protection over SIM and RFID cards, effective notice to excessive consumption, and the importance of consumer education. Businesses may also consider more effective consumer protection schemes. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/22/52/38077227.pdf The 'agreement' that sparked a storm At a recent legal presentation attended by prominent intellectual property lawyers and law professors, a loaded question was posed to the audience: "By a show of hands and be honest, now how many of you read the terms and conditions presented in an end-user license agreement?" Of the nearly 100 people in the auditorium, not a single hand was raised. Shocking? Only if such an admission is unexpected. It really isn't. http://www.abanet.org/buslaw/blt/2007-01-02/kahana.shtml The Net Neutrality Debate: Twenty Five Years After United States v. AT&T and 120 Years After the Act to Regulate Commerce by BRUCE OWEN (Stanford Law and Economics Oline Working Paper) Abstract: Net neutrality policies could only be implemented through detailed price regulation, an approach that has often failed, in the past, to improve consumer welfare relative to what might have been expected under an unregulated monopoly. Regulatory agencies often settle into a well-established pattern of subservience to politically influential economic interests. Consumers, would-be entrants and innovators are not likely to be among these influential groups. History thus counsels against adoption of most versions of net neutrality, at least in the absence of refractory monopoly power and strong evidence of anticompetitive behavior - extreme cases justifying dangerous, long shot remedies. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=963623 Helping Hands: Design for Member-Maintained Online Communities This thesis studies the design of member-maintained online communities, systems where many members help perform upkeep. A key design challenge is motivating members to contribute toward maintenance. Social science theories help to explain why people contribute to groups. We use these theories to design two general mechanisms for increasing peoples motivation to contribute. http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~cosley/thesis/final.pdf Where Antitrust Ends and IP Begins by Katarzyna A. Czapracka (Yale Journal of Law and Technology) U.S. antitrust enforcers see little scope for antitrust policy to mitigate the consequences of imperfect IP policies. They are reluctant to intervene in what is perceived to be the sphere of IP policy and take the view that any competitive concerns are better remedied by changes in the IP policy. This trend corresponds with shielding antitrust policy away from fields occupied by other forms of regulation. Exactly the opposite tendencies are present in EU competition law. Both the European Commission and the ECJ seem to see a role for competition law to correct improvidently defined IPRs, even if it entails adjusting competition principles. It may seem reasonable, as unlike competition policy, most issues relating to IP policy within the European Union are still decided at the national level. Yet, there is an inherent danger in this approach. It may lead antitrust authorities to adopt analytically questionable approaches that undermine the coherence of antitrust law. Competition agencies must be particularly cautious in adopting the measures to curb IP laws, as they may discourage private R&D investment. The views of the Commission on application of Article 82 to interoperability information, as expressed in the Microsoft Decision and the Article 82 Paper, confirm that these reservations are valid. http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/yjolt/files/20062007Issue/fall06-czapracka… The Race Robert Kuttner learns that newspapers have a bright future as print-digital hybrids after all-- but they'd better hurry. http://cjr.org/issues/2007/2/Kuttner.asp Does information beget information? by Dennis S. Karjala (Duke L. & Tech. Rev) Using the language of mathematics, Professor Polk Wagner has recently argued that the impossibility of fully appropriating the value of information in a rightsholder leads to the surprising conclusion that expanding the degree of control of intellectual property rights will, in the long run, increase the sum total of information not subject to ownership claims and therefore available as part of the cultural and technological base on which new growth and development can occur. Indeed, he claims that open information will grow according to the formula for compound interest, where the interest rate is 100% plus or minus a factor z supposedly related to creation incentives. This article demonstrates that Professor Wagner's mathematical analysis is simply wrong and does not lead to any of the conclusions he reaches concerning the growth of open information. It also shows both the difficulties and the dangers of the lay use of the language of mathematics in resolving complex social problems even if one does the math correctly. http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2007dltr0001.html Internet 3.0: Identifying Problems and Solutions to the Network Neutrality Debate by ROB FRIEDEN (Pennsylvania State University) This paper examines the network neutrality debate with an eye toward refuting and dismissing the many false and misleading claims and concentrating on the real problems occasioned by the Internet's third evolution. The paper accepts as necessary and proper many types of price and quality of service discrimination. However the paper identifies other types of hidden and harmful discrimination. The paper concludes with an identification of best practices in good discrimination that should satisfy most network neutrality goals without creating disincentives that might dissuade ISPs from building the infrastructure needed for Internet 3.0 services. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=962181 The Internet and the Project of Communications Law by SUSAN P. CRAWFORD (Cardozo Law School) Abstract: The internet offers the potential for economic growth stemming from online human communications, but recent industry and government actions have disfavored these possibilities by treating the internet like a content-delivery supply chain. I recommend that the internet be at the center of communications policy and that laws affecting internet access be evaluated in terms of whether they further U.S. economic growth by facilitating increased emergent online diversity. The article criticizes the nearly exclusive focus of communications policy on the private economic success of infrastructure and application providers, and suggests that communications policy be focused on facilitating communications themselves. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=962594 Internet Think by SUSAN P. CRAWFORD (Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law) Abstract: This essay suggests that how "the internet" is understood has substantial legal, social, and cultural consequences. Beginning in the 1940s, Netheads adopted an understanding of man-computer symbiosis that continues to be attractive to internet futurists. Later on, in the 1970s, Engineers addressed the architectural needs of the future in a concrete way, seeking to interconnect diverse networks. In recent years, the Telcos have increasingly taken the position that "the Internet" is no more than the sum of their privately-owned pipes and wires. These three different approaches to "the Internet" are now informing a complex and important public policy debate about "network neutrality." http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=962596 Rebooting Cybertort Law by MICHAEL L. RUSTAD & THOMAS KOENIG (Washington Law Review) Abstract: Cyberspace provides an ideal legal environment for tortfeasors and online criminals because Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have no duty to mitigate harms caused by ongoing torts, crimes, and infringing acts. Courts have stretched Congress's express language in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act from the narrow purpose of immunizing ISPs as publishers to the expanded purpose of shielding them from all tort liability. This Article proposes imposing a limited duty of crae on ISPs to remove or block ongoing tortious activities on their srvices when they have been given actual notice. This reform will harmonize American ISP liability law with the European union's Electronic Commerce Directive, which imposes an affirmative duty on ISPs to take down objectionable materials. It also will unify U.S. law by creating procedures consistent with the takedown policy mandated by the Digital Copyright Act. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=961885 Authors v. Archivers: The Copyright Infringement Battle Over Web Pages by KINARI PATEL Abstract: Archiving Internet content by storing old versions of Web pages is currently a growing trend because of the educational, cultural, and evidentiary value it provides. Google and the Internet Archive are two examples of Internet archives that provide this service. However, by storing old versions of Web pages without first obtaining the permission of authors, Internet archives infringe on the copyrights of authors. Under the fair use exception to copyright infringement, Internet archives may be legally authorized to archive old versions of Web pages without first obtaining the permission of authors in certain situations. However, this paper argues that, in all cases, the burden should be placed on authors to notify Internet archives that they wish for their Web pages to be excluded from the archive, rather than placing the burden on Internet archives to contact authors before they archive Web pages. By not overburdening Internet archives, the current opt-out policy is more advantageous than an opt-in policy because it allows Internet archives to continue to provide the benefits of archiving old Web pages to the public. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=965199 Corporate Complicity in Internet Censorship in China: Who Cares for the Global Compact or the Global Online Freedom Act? by SURYA DEVA (George Washington International Law Review) This article critically evaluates the efficacy of two regulatory initiatives - the UN Global Compact and the US Global Online Freedom Act - in dealing with the specific challenges posed by doing business with or within China. In considering how much promise these two initiatives offer in ensuring that corporations take their human rights responsibilities seriously, two specific claims are advanced. First, that the Global Compact has failed not only in convincing US corporations to embrace, support and enact its ten principles, but also in ensuring that participant corporations seriously fulfill their undertaken commitments. Such a US-specific inquiry is especially relevant because many MNCs that have been sued for human rights abuses have a presence in the US. The second claim is that although home state extraterritorial regulation is a potential option to tame MNCs' abusive activities, it is unlikely that the Freedom Act, even if enacted, will achieve its goal of promoting Internet freedom globally by combating censorship by authoritarian foreign governments. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=964478 The Structure of Search Engine Law by JAMES GRIMMELMANN (Yale Law School Information Society Project) Abstract: This article will provide a road map to the legal issues posed by Internet search engines. It will indicate what questions we must consider when thinking about search engines, and it will detail the interconnections among those questions. It will not endorse any particular normative framework for search. Nor will it recommend who should regulate search. Instead, it will provide the necessary foundation for informed decision-making, by whatever regulator and whatever its normative approach. Part I will explain how modern search engines function and describe the business environment within which they operate. Part II, the heart of the article, will present a descriptive analysis of the legal struggles over search, showing how questions of search policy, many of which have long been latent in different fields of Internet law, are increasingly confronting lawyers, courts, and regulators. Part III will then show, with five examples, how taking a broad view of search yields otherwise unavailable insights into pressing controversies. This is not to say that the end result must be a body of search-specific law, only to note that failing to consider the larger forces at work in search is antithetical to sensible policy-making. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=963118 Internet Jurisdiction: A Comparative Analysis (Harvard Law Review) The difficult jurisdictional issues raised by the Internet have captured significant attention, prompting one federal judge to comment that, [t]o paraphrase Gertrude Stein, as far as the Internet is concerned, not only is there perhaps no there there, the there is everywhere where there is Internet access. This lack of clear borders creates tension between different interests. The media desire certainty regarding when online content creates a basis for personal jurisdiction so that they can avoid defamation lawsuits in distant places. Sovereign nations want to ensure that the ubiquitous nature of the Internet does not undermine their ability to enforce substantive laws balancing speech and reputation rights. This Parts comparison of U.S. and Commonwealth cases reveals differing approaches to determining when to exercise jurisdiction over media defendants based on Internet content. U.S. courts have adopted a targeting test that requires purposefully directing activity at a forum as opposed to merely providing content accessible there. Courts in Commonwealth countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, have based jurisdiction on foreseeability, exercising jurisdiction over any online media content that could harm a plaintiffs reputation in the forum. Although these inconsistent jurisdictional tests are a matter of procedure, they stem from different substantive laws and from Commonwealth courts underlying unfriendliness to U.S. free speech protections. Media defendants have argued for special jurisdictional rules applicable to the Internet alone; however, any such call for reform must recognize that the procedural divergence results from entrenched substantive differences. Thus, this Part argues that absent an international agreement harmonizing the jurisdictional analysis, courts are not likely to adopt special Internet rules, and media groups will instead be compelled to turn to technological solutions. http://www.harvardlawreview.org/issues/120/feb07/DEVO/DEVO_intro07.pdf *********** CENSORSHIP *********** au: Industry closes anti-coal website THE mining industry has used copyright laws to close an anti-mining website launched by a small protest group in Newcastle. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/04/1172943275688.html Egypt's bloggers test state media control (Reuters) Egyptian bloggers have come into the spotlight, on the one hand as an important forum for political debate, on the other as the target of government attempts to limit their freedom of expression. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL2870055620070304 Movement to free Kareem looks to UN We've learned all too well by now that many parts of the globe won't tolerate any perceived insult to Islam, however unintentional. Invite cartoonists to draw Muhammad, as Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten did in 2005, or be one of the dozens of other publications that reprinted the caricatures in solidarity with Jyllands-Posten, and watch the death threats pour in and lethal rioting start as some Muslim organizations try to get the government to levy criminal charges. http://hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layo… Egyptian Blogger Appeals Prison Sentence (AP) Lawyers filed an appeal Monday on behalf of a blogger who was sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam and Egypt's president. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR200702270… *************** DIGITAL DIVIDE *************** ca: The Digital Divide: Is There A Solution? Definition of the Digital Divide: The difference in opportunities available to people who have access to modern information technology and those who do not. Traditionally the working poor and homeless have been at a big disadvantage by not having access to the latest technology available. The disadvantages are many. Lack of access to information and being less competitive in the job market are two of the most significant. http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/04/064418.php ie: ComReg report reveals a growing digital divide The latest Trends Series survey, which was conducted by Amarach Consulting during November and December 2006, indicates that 45 percent of home internet users now have broadband subscriptions. This compares to 48 percent of home internet users who still access the web via dial-up. http://www.enn.ie/frontpage/news-9943682.html FastWeb founder turns his attention to Internet television and video-on-demand In seven and a half years, Silvio Scaglia transformed FastWeb from a start-up with a plan to bring fiber-optic cables into houses from Milan to Palermo into a company with 1.3 billion in annual sales and 1.1 million clients. http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/04/business/nettv05.php ***** VoIP ***** us: FCC: Local telephone carriers must connect to VOIP The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has ruled that incumbent local exchange carriers must connect to VoIP services, overruling two state public service commission opinions. http://infoworld.com/article/07/03/02/HNlocalphonevoip_1.html ********************************** ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a PS3 game guru. Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games. http://videogames.yahoo.com/platform?platform=120121

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EASSy: What's in a Name?
by A. Wanjira Munyua 07 Mar '07

07 Mar '07

----- Original Message ----- From: "Wairagala Wakabi" <wakabi(a)cipesa.org> To: "APC - Private list for use by EASSY Workshop Participants" <fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org> Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 3:28 PM Subject: [Fibre-for-africa] EASSy: What's in a Name? > Here are the views of CIPESA Senior Policy Associate Anthony Mugeere on > the reported renaming of EASSy. He wonders whether change of name would > achieve anything but that. > -- > > EASSy re-naming is not an EASY option > > By Anthony Mugeere > > So what, as renowned playwright William Shakespeare once asked, is in a > name? Does a rose (flower) by any another name still smell the same? > > The recent pronouncement by South Africas communications minister, > Matsepe-Casaburri that the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) had > been renamed the NEPAD Broadband Infrastructure Network (NBIN) was as > astounding as her assertion, during the same function, that the original > model developed for the cable is not what international financial > institutions such as the World Bank would have liked. This was in direct > reference to the closed access model, believed to be widely favoured by > the consortium telecom operators who conceived the EASSy project way back > in 1992. > > Whereas the merits and demerits of closed access have been widely debated > by all and sundry, the assertion gives further credence to what some > analysts have for long asked: What really does the World Bank stand for? > In the early 1990s, the Washington-based financial institution pushed for > the liberalisation and privatisation of the telecom sub-sector in almost > all African countries - with resounding success. By so doing, the World > Bank wanted governments to get out of utility services such as > telecommunications so that the profit-driven and often more efficient > private sector takes centre stage. Countries like Uganda, that implemented > the structural adjustment policies are now role models of accepting the > closed access model of telecom growth and are reaping big dividends. So > has the World Bank changed its thinking on liberalisation when it supports > NEPADa representative of regional governments? That however, is another > story. > > Todays story is entirely about the change of name by NEPAD. On the > outlook, there is nothing to write home about. It is just a change of > name, period! Two glaring facts are however very clear about the > development: First, NEPAD is now the regional initiative that is > implementing the once much-publicised EASSy project. Secondly, that EASSy > thing as it was once labelled by a member of the NEPAD e-Africa > Commission is just a component of what NEPAD is doing now. The > Pretoria-based commission is currently working implementing the overall > broadband infrastructure network. > > Whereas the implementation of the project is only awaiting signing and > ratification of the protocol and perhaps the announcement of the new > landing point for the second undersea cable, the renaming of the project > further shows that the founding fathers of the EASSy cable are being > relegated to a less fancied position in the decision making hierarchy. > Although NEPAD has, on several occasions, denied claims by some consortium > members that it hijacked their thing, the renaming of the project would > lend more sympathy to the club members in the cause than to the regional > body. The situation is akin to constructing a houses internal water and > sewerage systemcomplete with high-density pipes - without working on the > outside system that connects it to the municipality or national grid. > > When will NEPAD, given the bureaucratic protocol issues, pull off the > broadband project all the way from South Africa through Botswana, > Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda to Kigali as explained by the > communications minister? Wont individual countries like Uganda who are in > the process of laying their own backbone infrastructure complete theirs > and tap onto the Kenyan link and trigger a tapping wave from its > neighbours especially Rwanda and Burundi? Wont private investors, who > have already smelt a business opportunity cash in on the situation to tap > on the Kenya line to do closed access business before NEPAD opens up its > network? > > NEPAD needs to ponder these and more questions as it embarks on > implementing the regions eagerly awaited infrastructure project. Having > re-named the baby, it is not wise to throw out young EASSys bed just yet. > Implementing the EASSy project, as first conceived in 2002 would have > delivered immediate relief to those in urgent need of affordable bandwidth > and reliable connectivity than implementing a massive broadband project, > subject to bureaucratic and funding bottlenecks under a new name. The > equation is simple: If it sounds like EASSy, it should be easy. Wrapping > rose flowers to be delivered as a Valentines Day gift to your spouse or > lover with inscriptions reading, accept these bougainvillea flowers does > not, in any way negate the fact that they are rose flowers. But then, when > have EASSy matters ever been easy? > -- > > Wakabi > > ============== > Wairagala Wakabi > Research Associate > CIPESA > Plot 22 Bukoto Street, Kamwokya > P.O Box 26970 Kampala, Uganda > Tel. +256 41 531899 > Cell: +256 772 406 241 > Email: wakabi(a)cipesa.org > www.cipesa.org > _______________________________________________ > Fibre-for-africa mailing list > Fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org > http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fibre-for-africa

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Fwd: [TIER] Kenyans to transfer money using cell phones
by Eric Osiakwan 07 Mar '07

07 Mar '07

Begin forwarded message: > From: Omar Bakr <ombakr(a)cs.berkeley.edu> > Date: 7 March 2007 08:10:12 GMT+03:00 > To: tier(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu > Subject: [TIER] Kenyans to transfer money using cell phones > Reply-To: ombakr(a)cs.berkeley.edu > > http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070306/tc_nm/ > kenya_safaricom_dc;_ylt=Ag4Aze84R.NQ0AijtjDj_24jtBAF > _______________________________________________ > TIER mailing list > TIER(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu > https://mail.millennium.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tier Eric M.K Osiakwan Executive Secretary AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) Tel: + 233.21.258800 ext 2031 Fax: + 233.21.258811 Cell: + 233.244.386792 Handle: eosiakwan Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/eric/ Slang: "Tomorrow Now"

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Celtel Malawi says fire cuts off network
by Tiwonge Msulira Banda 07 Mar '07

07 Mar '07

Its now 5 days since Celtel Malawi went off as a result of fire. More on the following links: http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID… http://www.nationmalawi.com/articles.asp?articleID=20927 Regards, Tiwonge -- Tiwonge Msulira Banda ___________ The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6:24-26, King James Version)

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Fwd: SANTECemailList Digest, Vol 79, Issue 1
by Judy Okite 05 Mar '07

05 Mar '07

FYI Kind Regards, ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: santecemaillist(a)mailman.unisa.ac.za To: <santecemaillist(a)mailman.unisa.ac.za> Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 14:34:52 +0200 Subject: [SANTECemailList] Second Call for Papers - Virtual Reality in Distance Education * Second Call for Papers - Virtual Reality in Distance Education This second Call for Papers is for a theme issue of the International Journal of Social Sciences (IJSS) (http://www.enformatika.org/ijss/) entitled Virtual Reality in Distance Education. The projected publication date is October 2007 (Volume 1, N. 4). The Guest Editor is Gulsun Kurubacak, Ed.D. (gkurubac(a)anadolu.edu.tr) International Journal of Social Sciences (IJSS) is a scholarly open access, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, quarterly and fully refereed journal focusing on theories, methods and applications in social sciences. This open access, peer-reviewed journal encourages top-flight social science inquiry and research across all social science disciplines. It also recognizes contributions made by the social science research community to other disciplines, including biological and physical sciences, and promotes connections between all research communities. Welcome are submissions on Virtual Reality communications, pedagogies, technologies, and managements. The aim of this Special Issue is to add to the body of literature and encourage discussions and promote the exchange of ideas and information on Virtual Reality in Distance Education. Our intent is to stimulate critical debate and research, and add to the theoretical foundation used to underline Virtual Reality research, approaches, principles, and applications. Improvements in Virtual Reality have powerful impressions on digital society; therefore concentration will also be paid to communicational, educational, organizational, psychological and also sociological aspects. All submissions will be peer reviewed. Those submissions accepted for publication will be published in the International Journal of Social Sciences (IJSS). DEADLINES: * Submission Proposals: March 30, 2007 * Notification of Acceptance: April 15, 2007 * Papers Due: May 31, 2007 * Peer Reviews Returned: July 15, 2007 * Finalized Papers Due: August 30, 2007 * Publication Date: October 01, 2007 SUBMISSION PROPOSALS Individual or multiple-authors must first submit an abstract-length proposal of approximately 500-750 words to International Journal of Social Sciences (IJSS) Guest Editor, Gulsun Kurubacak, at gkurubac(a)anadolu.edu.tr . Those who have had their abstracts accepted will be formally invited by the Guest Editor to submit a full-length paper of approximately 5000 to 7000 words. For IJSS's submission guidelines, visit: http://www.enformatika.org/ijss/instructions.html All full length papers submitted to IJSS will be subject to multiple blind peer review. All blind peer reviews will be shared with the authors. While influenced by the outcome of the blind peer reviews, the Guest Editor, Gulsun Kurubacak reserves the right to decide on final publication. TOPICS MAY INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED: * Virtual Reality as A New Media * Building and Implementing Virtual Reality Strategies in Educational, Medical, etc. Institutions, Corporations and Government * Emerging Hardware and Software for Virtual Reality * Computer Graphics and Real-Time Simulation Technologies for Virtual Reality * Building Interactive and Collaborative Virtual Reality Milieus * Building Knowledge Networks through Virtual Reality * Theoretical Considerations for the Development of Virtual Reality * Media Technology for Virtual Reality * Pedagogy for Virtual Reality * Implementing Virtual Reality * Management of Virtual Reality Processes * Evaluation in Virtual Reality * The Strengths and Limits of Virtual Reality * Informal Learning and Communications Utilizing Virtual Reality * Educational Design for Virtual Reality * Communicational Design for Virtual Reality * Learner Support in Virtual Reality * Learning Objects for Virtual Reality * Multicultural Implications of Virtual Reality * Virtual Reality for Diverse Learners * Establish Virtual Reality Milieus for a Global Community * Building Democratic and Egalitarian Virtual Worlds * Identities in Virtual Reality * Virtual Reality and Culture * Virtual Reality for the Next Generation * Virtual Reality for Mutual Understanding * Quality Insurance in Virtual Reality * Accreditation for Virtual Reality * Case Studies, Qualitative, Qualitative and Mixed Researches in Virtual Reality For more information contact: Gulsun Kurubacak, Ed.D Assistant Professor in Distance Education Anadolu University College of Open Education Distance Education Dept Email: gkurubac(a)anadolu.edu.tr * _______________________________________________ The SANTECemailList mailing list is SANTECemailList(a)mailman.unisa.ac.za http://mailman.unisa.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/santecemaillist -- Judy Ann Okite, +254-721237507,+254-734252336 P.O. BOX 2228 00100, NAIROBI,KENYA. "Even if you are on the right track, you'll still get run over if you just sit there."

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Global growth in cell phone connections
by Harry Hare 05 Mar '07

05 Mar '07

Dear Colleagues, The cellular market in Africa is expected to grow by 28% this year making it the fastest growing region globally. It is also predicted that there will be an estimated 409 million new connections this year making the total global cellular phone connections to 3 billion..serious numbers if you asked me. You can read more on http://cgap.org/portal/site/portfolio/Feb2007Data/ Harry -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.5/707 - Release Date: 3/1/2007 2:43 PM -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.5/707 - Release Date: 3/1/2007 2:43 PM

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KDN’S WULFF EXPRESSES DOUBTS ABOUT EASSY PROJECT
by alice＠apc.org 05 Mar '07

05 Mar '07

INTERNET NEWS FROM BALANCING ACT * KDN’S WULFF EXPRESSES DOUBTS ABOUT EASSY PROJECT Many consumers, African Governments and companies are pinning their hopes on the East African Submarine System (EASSy) to lower international bandwidth costs allowing for cheaper broadband services. But is the project doomed for failure? Speaking at the Institute for International Research Broadband Conference, Dr. Kai Wulff, Managing Director of Kenya Data Networks (KDN), expressed serious doubts over the EASSy project as a whole. Wulff described EASSy as a project which evolved out of the noble need to drive down broadband costs, but is essentially a group of ministers which ‘decided to invest some money, which they don’t have, into a system which they do not know what it should look like.’ While the development of an open access submarine system is a good idea, the project as whole has evolved to a stage where the effectiveness and cost of access on the cable is not guaranteed. Wulff further warned that EASSy is falling increasingly under the control of monopolistic operators like Telkom SA, and this shift is threatening the principle upon which the project was founded which is to bring more affordable broadband services and bandwidth to African consumers. Questions were raised about the rather strange termination point of Djibouti for the EASSy cable, especially since the investors in the cable may then be reliant on the monopolistic Djibouti Telecom for onward bandwidth to the rest of the world. The KDN MD asked whether the Djibouti termination point would have still been selected if Djibouti Telecom was not part of the EASSy consortium. Wulff said that unless investors in EASSy can be offered certain guarantees, like the price of bandwidth on the cable, the price of onward bandwidth from Djibouti and access to the termination points of the cable, it does not make sense to blindly invest in such a system. He pointed out that unless investors have open access to the EASSy termination points, they may have to pay exorbitant fees for onwards bandwidth from Djibouti which will eliminate the advantages of the cable, even if prices on the system itself are very low. Wulff said that before KDN, one of the few potential investors who have their money ready, signs the EASSy agreement, they will need to receive clarity regarding onward bandwidth capacity, pricing of bandwidth on the actual system and access to the cable landing stations. Another issue which was challenged is the concept of ‘Open Access’. While the philosophy behind an open access network is commendable, Wulff questioned how the pricing levels will be set and who will be responsible for these levels. With EASSy being touted as a direct competitor to the current SAT3/SAFE system, a system which Telkom currently profits from, it raises questions concerning Telkom’s dedication to see the new cable become a success story. Currently SAT3/SAFE is serving a large portion of the international bandwidth needs of South Africa, and with exclusivity rights on SAT3, Telkom stands to lose millions in profit if EASSy provides competition on international bandwidth to Southern African countries. A basic South African – Djibouti link may however serve Telkom’s African ISP aspirations, which is significant if one considers their recent R 142.6 Million purchase of Africa Online. This cable can supply Telkom with better control of the East African ISP market, and may explain why consortium members like Telkom may not be too concerned about onwards international bandwidth from Djibouti. When asked whether a 2008 launch date for EASSy is feasible, Wulff made it clear that it will never happen. He said that a minimum of 18 months is needed to roll out the system after the ‘money is ready’, something that may take a very long time in itself to materialize. (SOURCE: MyADSL)

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Eassy renamed The Nepad Broadband Infrastructure Network
by alice＠apc.org 04 Mar '07

04 Mar '07

(Apologies for cross posting) -----Original Message----- From: Raymond Smith (R) Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 2:19 PM To: Johan Meyer (JP); Prince Radebe (PJ); Peet Janse Van Rensburg (HP); Kobus Stoeder (JF) Subject: Eassy renamed The Nepad Broadband Infrastructure Network Cape Town | ITWeb, 20 February 2007 ] - Eassy (The East African Submarine Cable System) has been renamed The Nepad Broadband Infrastructure Network (NBIN), because Kenya has opted out of the South African-led continental fiber optic backbone system, says communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. Speaking before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications today, Matsepe-Casaburri gave a rundown on the structure of the network, such as the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) that are being created to manage, maintain, operate and fund the terrestrial and undersea components of the system. According to the minister, the network will be controlled through a "golden share" scheme, whereby African countries would be able retain control of the various entities that are to be created to run the entire network and keep it from falling into foreign hands. Matsepe-Casaburri says the ratification of the inter-governmental treaty should appear before Parliament around June and that 12 out of 23 countries that had initially agreed to it had signed the treaty. The NBIN aims to provide a number of landlocked African countries, mainly on the eastern side of the continent, access to two broadband networks. One will run as backbone from South Africa through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Uganda to terminate in the Rawandan capital of Kigali. The second is an undersea cable that will run up the African east coast and was supposed to land in Kenya. The new landing point has not been announced as yet. Other countries that have signed up are Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, Namibia and Madagascar. Special vehicles According to Matsepe-Casaburri, three types of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) will be created to maintain, operate and finance the network. The use of SPVs was recommended because they would be able to go and raise the capital needed without having to resort to individual government loan applications to international financial institutions. African governments to operate and maintain the terrestrial networks will own the first type of SPV. The second type of SPV will be a hybrid model that would include African governments and private companies that are licensed to operate telecommunications networks. The third type of SPV will operate and maintain the undersea system and this will allow the participation of foreign-owned telecommunications operators, although they would not be allowed to have controlling stakes. No foreigners Matsepe-Casaburri says the participation of foreign-owned firms in NBIN will be limited to ensure that it remains an African-led project, and to ensure the security of the network. She noted that the model developed is not what international financial institutions such as the World Bank would have liked. However, she says, it is based on an open access model with non-discriminatory pricing meaning that anyone, whether a shareholder or not, would pay the same fees. "We wanted to avoid the club-type situation we have had with the (Telkom) SAT-3 undersea cable, but this did not sit well with a number of other countries and institutions," Matsepe-Casaburri says. She wanted to elaborate on her comment, but then realised that the media were present. South African companies that have already been identified as potential partners in the project are Telkom, Sentech, MTN, Vodacom and Cell C. However, Matsepe-Casaburri says the door is not closed on other potential investors. ________________ Raymond Smith Senior Specialist International Market Development Telkom Market Strategy and Development Phone: +27 12 311 6478 Mobile +27 82 7750558 FAX: +27 12 311 7910

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Re: [kictanet] KIXP History in the making!
by Wainaina Mungai 03 Mar '07

03 Mar '07

hi... please contact Dr. Matunda Nyanchama on matunda(a)hotmail.com He has been active in the Canada chapter of Kenyans abroad. --- Wainaina Mungai http://www.madeinkenya.org SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. > -------Original Message------- > From: Midafrica <media(a)midafricanet.co.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] KIXP History in the making! > Sent: 02 Mar '07 07:41 > > > > Jambo Wote, > > I wish to get in touch with Kenyans living in Canada, and especially in > Torronto. If they have a Kenyan community association, I would like to know > their names and e-mails. > Wagatharia > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at > > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/media%40midafricanet.co.ke > > > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/wainaina%40madeinkenya.org >

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