 | |
| |
TechnologyDaily Mobile
White House Announces Export Reforms
by Winter Casey
In releasing new export-control policies, the Bush administration on Tuesday said it is committed to ensuring that the U.S. export-control system meets the challenges of the times by encouraging U.S. economic and technological competitiveness while also protecting national security.
The White House said a package of directives has been signed to ensure that export controls support the country's national security strategy. The package also is meant to facilitate the United States' "continued international economic and technological leadership," according to a statement from the White House.
The directive calls for changes to the system that deals with the export of "dual-use" products, which have both commercial and military uses, by putting greater focus on foreign end users of high-tech products, according to a fact sheet released by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
The changes are aimed at improving the process for exporting dual-use products to "reliable" foreign customers while aiming to deny access of sensitive products to "proliferators, international terrorists" and others acting against U.S. interests. In particular, the administration said it will impose more scrutiny on foreign parties "with a record of activities contrary to U.S. foreign policy and national security interests."
The White House noted that the new directives "will advance a more efficient and transparent export-licensing process and enhance dispute-resolution mechanisms." The goal is to strengthen the government's ability "to monitor and deny U.S.-controlled goods, services or technologies to a potential enemy."
Industry officials have been pushing the administration for changes aimed at helping to eliminate long waits for licenses and other problems.
"In order to efficiently share technology with our allies, the administration is updating a system that had not kept pace with globalization and rapid technological changes," National Association of Manufacturers' President John Engler said in a statement. "This decision will keep sensitive technologies out of the hands of those seeking to harm us without hampering the ability of high-tech industries to expand exports.
The administration also encouraged Congress to reauthorize and overhaul the Export Administration Act by updating penalties and enhancing law enforcement's authority to enforce export-control policies.
North Korean Leader Pleased By Tech Progress
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il Monday touted recent advances that he claims his country has made in science and technology.
"Programming technology has made rapid progress in a brief span of time thanks to the great creative enthusiasm and ingenuity of our scientists and technicians intensely loyal to the party and the revolution," Kim was quoted as saying by the government-run Korean Central News Agency.
"Computer institutes and training centers have been built in different parts of the country, and many able computer experts and technicians have been trained under the leadership of the party," Kim said. The leader added that the "solid material and technological foundation that has been laid to develop computer technology by leaps and bounds constitutes a precious asset for accelerating the building of a great, prosperous, powerful nation."
The country, which is about the size of Mississippi, should move forward with the development of computer technology in a "coordinated manner under a long-term plan and more thoroughly establish the system for training reserves for the purpose of strengthening technological forces and reinforcing the material means," Kim said. The leader also called on educational institutions to provide computer education to students beginning in the lower grades.
It's difficult to assess North Korea's claims. AP reports that "information about science and technology in secretive North Korea is limited because the country strictly limits contacts and exchanges with the outside world." According to the U.S. State Department, the country's "government security personnel closely monitor the activities and conversations of foreigners in North Korea."
The State Department added that "photographing roads, bridges, airports, rail stations or anything other than designated public tourist sites [in North Korea] can be perceived as espionage and may result in confiscation of cameras and film or even detention." North Korean border officials also routinely confiscate visitors' cellular telephones upon arrival.
Internet Plagiarism Plagues United Kingdom
Internet plagiarism is a common problem in the United Kingdom's education system, according to a survey released Friday by the country's Association of Teachers and Lecturers. The survey found that 58 percent of teachers call Internet plagiarism a problem.
"This survey highlights one of the risks of putting so much emphasis on passing tests and getting high scores at any cost," association General Secretary Mary Bousted in a statement. "Unsurprisingly, pupils are using all the means available to push up their coursework marks, often at the expense of any real understanding of the subjects they are studying."
Plagiarism is a tough problem for teachers because it can be challenging to identify and time-consuming to regularly check to see if students have cheated. It also is difficult for teachers to grade consistently if they know that their students are competing against others whose teachers might not monitor as closely for cheating.
"With less able students, it is easy to spot plagiarism, as the writing style changes mid-assignment," Connie Robinson from Stockton Riverside College said. "But with more able students, it is sometimes necessary for tutors to carry out Internet research to identify the source of the plagiarism. This obviously adds to the tutors' workloads."
More than half of the teachers responding to the survey said many students don't fully understand what plagiarism is versus what constitutes legitimate research. The survey also found that many schools and colleges don't have clear plagiarism policies.
U.K. Releases Opens Supercomputer Facility
Meanwhile in other British news, the U.K. has launched a supercomputer facility based at the University of Edinburgh's Advanced Computing Facility. The facility, which includes high-end computing terascale resources, represents the equivalent of 12,000 desktop systems in processing power.
The plan is for the supercomputer to run for six years and to support scientists in their research. The computer will provide "complex computer simulations that can help to forecast the impact of climate change, study fluctuations in ocean currents and the spread of epidemics, and develop new materials and medicinal drugs," according to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
The council said the investment is meant to encourage industry and commerce to make effective use of high-end computing and to support the development of innovative computational technologies, as well as U.K.-based academic research.
The system, known as HECToR, "is the most advanced supercomputing facility in the U.K. and one of the largest and most advanced supercomputers in Europe," the council said. HECToR is capable of 63 million calculations a second, or the equivalent "processing capacity humanity would achieve if every person on the planet were able to carry out 10,000 calculations in a second at the same time."
In other news, a project in the European Union seeks to apply common standards to the exchange of personal data.
NEW FEATURE
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
