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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2004 Feds Revamp Supercomputing Project, Oversight Associations Call for Easing of Student Visa Restrictions Feds No Longer Recognizing Bogus Degrees Apple Offers Hardware for Bioinformatics Research Congress Works to Restrict Camera Phones FEDS REVAMP SUPERCOMPUTING PROJECT, OVERSIGHT The Bush administration this week announced its support of the High-Performance Computing Revitalization Act of 2004, which would coordinate national supercomputing resources and expand access to them for various research programs. Currently, oversight of supercomputing efforts is spread among the Energy Department, the National Science Foundation, and eight other federal agencies. Under the proposed legislation, the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy would have authority to manage all federal supercomputing systems, implementing a plan that would "provide for sustained access by the research community ... to high-performance computing systems that are among the most advanced in the world." The measure would also provide support for federal efforts to develop associated software technology and to promote graduate and undergraduate studies in several areas, including engineering, computer science, library and information science, and applied mathematics. Chronicle of Higher Education, 14 May 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2004/05/2004051404n.htm ASSOCIATIONS CALL FOR EASING OF STUDENT VISA RESTRICTIONS A group of 25 organizations has called on the federal government to modify security rules put in place after the September 11 attacks, saying that the new procedures are hurting U.S. research efforts. Because many international students are looking elsewhere for academic training, especially in the sciences, the United States risks becoming "isolated," according to Alan Leshner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the organizations that signed the statement. A study by the Association of American Universities, which also signed the statement, found that 50 percent of students affected by visa delays are from China, which, with India, sends the most students to the Unites States. A separate study by the Council of Graduate Schools found that international applications to U.S. graduate schools were down by 32 percent from 2003 to 2004. The groups called on the federal government to streamline the visa application process, which currently takes an average of more than four months, and to grant security clearance to foreign students for the duration of their time in the United States. Wall Street Journal, 13 May 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108440195338910027,00.html FEDS NO LONGER RECOGNIZING BOGUS DEGREES Following an investigation by the General Accounting Office (GAO), the federal government's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced a new policy of not recognizing degrees from diploma mills. The GAO report identified several hundred federal employees, including some high-level officials, who had reported earning degrees from unaccredited institutions. Kay Coles James, director of OPM, sent a memo to all federal managers stating that diplomas from degree mills cannot be used in applying for any federal job, obtaining salary increases, or receiving tuition reimbursement. The memo stated, in part, "You may not send employees to diploma mills for degree training or any other form of education.... You may not use your authority to repay student loans if the degree is from a diploma mill." According to the OPM, diploma mills are institutions that are unaccredited or that award degrees with little or no coursework. Federal Computer Week, 14 May 2004 http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0510/web-creds-05-14-04.asp APPLE OFFERS HARDWARE FOR BIOINFORMATICS RESEARCH In an effort to get more researchers to use Macintosh technology, Apple Computer is offering workgroup clusters to five bioinformatics research projects in the United States. According to the company's Web site, Apple will choose five projects based on "the applicant's scientific record, the likelihood that this project will discover something novel using the award, and the likelihood that this research focus would yield methods or discoveries applicable to the broader life science community." Each winner will receive an Apple Workgroup Cluster for Bioinformatics, including server hardware, bioinformatics applications, and three years of service and support. Apple has been working with researchers to encourage wider use of its products in scientific pursuits, such as an initiative at Virginia Tech to combine 1,100 Apple computers in a cluster configuration. That project resulted in one of the fastest computing systems in the world. Internet News, 14 May 2004 http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3354081 CONGRESS WORKS TO RESTRICT CAMERA PHONES The Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives has voted to support a Senate bill restricting the use of camera phones. The Video Voyeurism Prevention Act, which passed the Senate last fall, would make it a crime to take secret pictures of people in places such as locker rooms or bedrooms. Those found guilty could face fines and one year in prison. The bill now moves to the full House, which is expected to approve the legislation. A number of other countries are also sorting through privacy issues surrounding camera phones, which are getting smaller and increasingly sophisticated. Rules against camera phones in locker rooms have been implemented in some fitness centers in Japan, and government officials in Italy have issued guidelines for acceptable uses of camera phones. BBC, 13 May 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3711415.stm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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