Strategies for bridging the digital divide in education between South and North Korea after unification

2007The paper explores ways of bridging the digital divide between the two Koreas and applying ICT to educational development that will be mutually beneficial to North and South Korea on the way towards and after unification. It compares thinking and developments on both sides of the peace line and identifies the different priorities and programs that are currently under way. It shows that North Korea has a great interest in training professionals in the field of digital education but because of its economic conditions. North Korea is selectively training an elite core of ICT specialists to work in a few elite institutions and is still at the embryonic stage of development. By contrast, South Korea's educational development and e-transformation is at the proliferation stage. These differences are seen as constraining educational and economic development when unification becomes a reality. The study suggests that there should be a collaborative approach to addressing these issues and that this should be embarked on as soon as possible. It argues that this should be needs-based and built upon mutual understanding. It also envisages that there will be a need for a cross-sector approach, legal, regulatory and policy changes, expanded access to ICT, enhanced capacity to utilize ICT and professional development and it suggests how these might be achieved within a framework of peaceful coexistence and cooperation in education

Sedentism, Settlements, and Radiocarbon Dates of Neolithic Korea

There are two conflicting models regarding the role of the Neolithic millet cultivation in the appearance of the Bronze Age farming economy in South Korea. The “continuity model” suggests that the emergence of a farming economy was a consequence of increasing sedentism, and that millet cultivation practiced during the Neolithic played a significant role in the transition to the Bronze Age. On the contrary, the “discontinuity model” suggests that the appearance of the Bronze Age farming economy heavily dependent on rice had little to do with previous millet cultivation in the Neolithic and the degree of sedentism during the latest Neolithic was very low. We test these models by looking into a temporal variation of sedentism, by quantitatively analyzing the quantity of pit houses and settlements based on relative chronology and radiocarbon dates. Sedentary settlements with small-scale millet cultivation appeared in the central-western Korea during the early fourth millennium b.c. They increased sharply during the late fourth millennium b.c. and also appeared in central-eastern and southern Korea, but they almost disappeared in central and southern Korea from the late third millennium b.c., suggesting a return to increased mobility and/or sharp decrease in population. Hence a continuity model for the emergence of a farming economy cannot be accepted. We suggest environmental deterioration as a prime mover for both the appearance of millet cultivation during the fourth millennium b.c. and the disappearance of sedentary settlement from the late third millennium b.c. in Korea

Memristor MOS Content Addressable Memory (MCAM): Hybrid Architecture for Future High Performance Search Engines

Large-capacity Content Addressable Memory (CAM) is a key element in a wide variety of applications. The inevitable complexities of scaling MOS transistors introduce a major challenge in the realization of such systems. Convergence of disparate technologies, which are compatible with CMOS processing, may allow extension of Moore's Law for a few more years. This paper provides a new approach towards the design and modeling of Memristor (Memory resistor) based Content Addressable Memory (MCAM) using a combination of memristor MOS devices to form the core of a memory/compare logic cell that forms the building block of the CAM architecture. The non-volatile characteristic and the nanoscale geometry together with compatibility of the memristor with CMOS processing technology increases the packing density, provides for new approaches towards power management through disabling CAM blocks without loss of stored data, reduces power dissipation, and has scope for speed improvement as the technology matures.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

Aporofobia, a ressurreição da morte social e o Padre Júlio Lancellotti: Teologia da Libertação e a ortopráxis

A teologia da libertação latino-americana, com a sua opção pelos pobres, ainda tem algo a contribuir no cenário mundial marcado pela globalização neoliberal e pela discussão das políticas de identidade? A partir das práticas do padre Júlio Lancelotti contra a aporofobia (a fobia contra os pobres) e arquitetura hostil no Brasil, esse artigo discute a noção de prioridade da ortopráxis sobre a ortodoxia, o processo de reordenamento do lugar do pobre na sociedade e nos orçamentos do Estado, a noção de práticas de libertação e critica o processo de desumanização na cultura neoliberal, em que a identidade pessoal e a pertença a comunidade estão marcadas pelo padrão de consumo e de riqueza. Por fim, mostra como as práticas de reconhecimento da humanidade dos mais pobres podem ser vistos como uma ressurreição da morte social, como uma forma de libertação no interior da história, e como afirmação da fé em um Deus que não faz distinção entre seres humanos, enquanto que o ídolo exige sacrifícios de vida dos pobres