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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2004 Law Fostering Collaboration Passes House E-Rate Funds Flow Again, Concerns Linger Emergency ID Cards Raise Privacy Concerns Software Detects Faked Art LAW FOSTERING COLLABORATION PASSES HOUSE The U.S. House of Representatives has approved the Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (Create) Act of 2004, sending it to the president's desk for signing into law. The bill, which was passed by the Senate in June, allows patents to be granted for products invented through the collaborative work of several institutions. In 1997, a federal court had ruled that sharing information key to a particular invention could render that invention "obvious" and ineligible for a patent. The Create Act had strong support from the Association of American Universities, which argued that the court's ruling has been a drag on collaborative research projects among multiple institutions. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) agreed, saying to the House that the bill would "spur the development of new technologies." The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which also supported the measure, sought to have it apply to past collaborations, but to ensure sufficient support in the House, the bill was amended to include only future collaborations. Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 November 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2004/11/2004112302n.htm E-RATE FUNDS FLOW AGAIN, CONCERNS LINGER Following a nearly four-month suspension of E-Rate Program payments, the federal organization that administers such payments has restarted issuing letters promising funds to schools and libraries around the country. The E-Rate Program has come under intense scrutiny for alleged fraud and abuse, and in August, government officials halted payments under the program based on revised accounting requirements. A number of school systems and libraries depend on E-Rate funds to provide basic computer services and connectivity, and at least one school district in Alaska shut down Internet service this summer because of concern that the E-Rate funds would end. Under the new rules, E-Rate letters cannot be sent until the funds they promise have been collected. The former system allowed letters to be sent after applications were approved, prior to collection of the funds, because the monies would not be disbursed for 12 to 18 months. The new regulation has resulted in a logjam in sending commitment letters and funds. Efforts in Congress have thus far failed to streamline the process. CNET, 23 November 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1037_3-5464987.html EMERGENCY ID CARDS RAISE PRIVACY CONCERNS An effort by officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prepare families and schoolchildren for terrorist attacks has some worried that increased identity theft will be a by-product of the initiative. DHS sent preparedness forms to school districts around the country, encouraging junior and senior high school students to fill out and carry ID cards with them at all times. The cards include space for home address, as well as birth dates and Social Security numbers for other family members. Patrick Lynch, attorney general for Rhode Island, said his office immediately sent a letter to DHS when he learned of the ID cards, asking that they be modified to exclude such sensitive information. Lynch said he has not received a response to his letter, dated October 14. Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Liberty Project, characterized DHS's actions as "grossly irresponsible." Representatives of DHS downplayed the risk of identity theft posed by the ID cards but said that newer versions of the preparedness kits do not encourage students to carry the cards in their backpacks. The cards still include space for Social Security numbers, though cards sent to younger students later this year reportedly will not. Wall Street Journal, 24 November 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110125761251482555,00.html SOFTWARE DETECTS FAKED ART Researchers at Dartmouth College have developed software that can help art historians discern an authentic painting from a fake. The application runs extremely large, high-resolution images of a piece of art through a series of filters, which filter different properties of each image. The data produced by the filtering process are then run through algorithms that "quantify" the style of the painting. According to Hany Farid, a computer science professor at Dartmouth and one of the researchers in the project, "There are properties in an artist's pen and brush strokes that aren't visible to the human eye....And we can find them, through mathematical, statistical analysis." The technique was recently used to corroborate experts' suspicions that a painting by Pietro Perugino was actually painted by at least four people. Farid and his colleagues, math professor Daniel Rockmore and graduate student Siwei Lyu, also used the software to confirm that five drawings by Pieter Bruegel were fakes and that another eight were legitimate. Art experts said the software is interesting, but many remain skeptical, saying that such a tool cannot replace the experience judgment of a skilled art historian. Farid agreed, noting that the application can serve as a new, powerful tool in the hands of an expert. Wired News, 22 November 2004 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65794,00.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 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/Edupage/639 ***************************************************** 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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