International Technology Transfer (8/86)
INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER A Case Study by John C. Oeffinger Recently a friend remarked that online communications is "becoming routine." Not that he has lost his enthusiasm for computer conferencing; quite the contrary. After six months on two networks, he is very proficient using his computer to communicate, but he misses the initial excitement of entering the world of online communications. Fortunately, there is an antidote. A few months ago, I had the rewarding experience of helping others learn to use electronic networking technology as the means to a very valuable end. That experience may help other organizations and...

Interational Informatics Access '87 (7/86)
INTERNATIONAL INFORMATICS ACCESS '87 by John C. Oeffinger and Tom Sherman ______________________________________________________ In a Chicago suburb a $50,000-a-year engineer spends countless hours twiddling with his new IBM PC. The technology engrosses him, but he lacks a sense of purpose. In Southeast Asia, meanwhile, a young man wrestles with calculations needed to build an irrigation dam. He thinks his figures are correct but isn't certain, and thousands of people will die if the dam collapses. Can the Chicago engineer somehow help his counterpart abroad? THE SILICON JUNGLE, David H. Rothman, Ballantine, 1985 ______________________________________________________ Yes, the ability to establish global microcommunications...

Chernobyl or Communications
CHERNOBYL OR COMMUNICATIONS by George Por When the first rain tainted with radioactive stuff from Chernobyl came down on the West Coast, it caught me in the middle of University Avenue. We were told it was harmless, but I also read in the papers that thousands of folks were buying gas masks, and that health food stores were making a killing on kelp and miso and wheatgrass juice, and that Geiger counters were selling like hot cakes. The Examiner newspaper quoted a retailer who reported that his customers were all saying the same thing: "I just don't trust the...

TWICS BeeLine (6/86)
TWICS BEELINE From BBS to "BEE JIMA" by Jeffrey Shapard TWICS BeeLINE is a public computer conferencing and electronic communication system operating in Tokyo, Japan. About half of the subscribing members are Japanese, with the rest from a variety of other cultural backgrounds. The friendly local flavor has an international aroma. Most communication is in English, which provides a window out for the Japanese users, and a window in for those who would like to communicate with people in Japan. The BeeLINE is connected to the world through various modems on standard telephone lines for local access, and through...

The International Network of Systems Theorists (2/86)
THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF SYSTEMS THEORISTS by Stuart A. Umpleby [This is the first in a series about international online organizations. Each time we receive a report, we will print it so that we can better understand organizations outside of the ENA that are using computer conferencing. --Stefanie Kott, editor.] In recent weeks the Electronic Networking Association has been discussing the possibility of holding a meeting in Europe in the fall of 1986 or the spring of 1987. Four locations have come under discussion: 1) the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) near Vienna, Austria, 2) Stockholm, Sweden,...

Save Ikego Forest (12/85)
SAVE IKEGO FOREST Using Computer Conferencing for International Collaboration of Environmental Protection by Izumi Aizu Citizens and elected officials of Zushi, a small city 30 miles from Tokyo, recently used computer conferencing to help people around the world "link up" to find solutions to issues relating to environmental protection. The "Zushi Project" addressed a local situation, but the methods used there point to ways computer conferencing can be used to address global environmental concerns. THE CHALLENGE ============= Ikego Forest is one of the few tracts of forestland remaining inside the densely congested Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Used by the...