And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: * From: Eric Vaughen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> This is for tom... but others may find it interesting... makes me want to be a native american... almost. I think this is a much better endeavor than gambling... ( 1/14/99; 3:00 PM EST) By Robert Bellinger, EE Times Native Americans have largely missed the great hiring surge in the high-technology industry. Only 668 American Indian freshmen enrolled in engineering schools last year out of 14,000 minorities. But the Internet, distance-learning technology, a perceived shortage of software engineers, and a changing mix of skills may now open the field to more American Indians who otherwise might be shut out. Delta-One Takes Shape A joint government-corporate coalition that includes programming managers from the Defense Department, defense contractors, IBM, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin are initiating a program called "Delta-One" to recruit, train, and employ American Indians in software. Some participants may even use newly acquired skills to set up sorely needed businesses on Indian reservations. The beauty of Delta-One, said Sam Adams, IBM distinguished engineer, is American Indian trainees will not have to leave their beloved lands to get a job, a key reason why other economic-development programs have failed in the past. Adams, whose heritage includes Cherokee and southern Cheyenne, said there are diverse American Indian communities and experiences, and consequently, it's difficult to pinpoint any common trait. For instance, Adams grew up in an average American town and did not live on a reservation. "There are tribes that have assimilated the American culture," he said, while others have lived all their lives on Indian land, speaking two languages: English and their community's native tongue. But Adams pointed to at least one commonality: "There's a strong sense of community, of strong extended family relationships." Prior to the Internet revolution, it was difficult for Americans Indians to stay tied to their communities and gain viable, good-paying jobs. Visitors to the Navajo lands near Flagstaff, Ariz., will be awed by the beauty of the stark desert, the striking plateaus, and startling rock formations. But they'll also see cars and trucks filled with Navajos leaving the reservation to commute to low-paying jobs because the reservation doesn't have enough employers. Now that so much software development takes place over the Net, the work can come to the American Indians. Adams is confident American Indians offer some unique qualities that "give them an advantage in technology": Many are bilingual. They're used to thinking abstractly in different languages. There's a strong musical heritage. Just ask any software company about the "music connection." The proportion of software employees who play music is above the average for other professions. Holistic thinking. The American Indian culture constantly refers to the interconnectedness of nature. Part of the reason American Indians have been called the original ecologists is their appreciation of how changing one facet of their natural environment affects another part. "They worked with holistic systems all their lives," said Adams, a distinct advantage when working with software systems and networks. The cultural tendency is to explore all ramifications of a design or change in a system, and not be satisfied working on an isolated piece. At a meeting in New Mexico recently, government agencies and private corporations got together to iron out details of a training program that would use Internet technology and distance-learning tools in these communities. Adams, who's heading up a corporate committee, cited several goals, including the need to increase the pool of software workers. The National Software Alliance cites studies estimating a need for 137,000 software workers per year for the next 10 years. Some dispute these numbers, but few quarrel with the second main goal of Delta-One: to encourage economic development in American Indian communities. Unemployment reaches as high as 54 percent in some Native American communities. Norm Brown, director of the National Software Alliance, said the reaction from several American Indian communities has been encouraging. After the New Mexico meeting, one chief approached Brown and said, "All we need now is a floor plan to start building a center." The intent, said Brown, is to train people in software skills that industry needs immediately, and that easily can be conducted via the Internet. Delta-One participants will learn how to work in teams of six. Curriculum Pending Academia, corporations, and the government are working on a curriculum that will match industry needs and academic courses. Many software jobs don't require a four-year college degree. A website administrator, for instance, would spend much of his or her time posting data written by someone else. This means high school graduates or community-college students might be able to participate in Delta-One. Obviously, they wouldn't be assigned a mission-critical task involving missile launches, but they could free up graduates who are tied into software-maintenance duties, for instance. Graduates of Delta-One would get a certificate in their skill set. Self-interest also plays a role for both government agencies and private corporations. They need software workers. Delta-One presents an unusual alliance because the private and public sectors are traditional rivals for those workers. The shortage problem has been particularly acute in the federal government and at defense contractors. They're unable to match the pay scales of some of the consulting and high-end computing companies, where software salaries have soared in the past two years and where workers have been drawn away from the Pentagon, federal agencies, and contractors. In the more sensitive defense-related departments, it's difficult to use H-1B or foreign-born immigrants to fill those jobs. Consequently, Delta-One seeks to dig deeper into the talent pool for workers. As Brown said, "Before we go to the nation of India, we should go the Indian nations." Brown is inviting other corporations to join the program, which was set up after Congress requested the Software Program Managers Network to investigate ways to widen the available citizen pool of talent. "There is room for everyone," Brown said. <<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>> If you think you are too small to make a difference; try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.... 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