The concept of today's cloud computing may date back to 1961, when John McCarthy, retired Stanford professor and Turing Award winner, delivered a speech at MIT's Centennial. In that speech, he predicted that in the future, computing would become a "public utility." Yet for colleges and universities, the recent growth of pervasive, very high speed…

In the "participation age", emerging cross-border, transnational communities driven by innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives--in short, international entrepreneurial communities--give impetus to the rise of international public goods. With varying intensity, a non-voting international mobile public--still a small but an increasing fraction…

Teachers do not have to go very far to teach their students about technology education. There are examples right there in the home to keep them and their students quite busy. Many everyday products contain wonderfully fascinating stories and histories of development and invention to keep students totally intrigued. In this article, the author…

Advantages of compact hot water heater at low costs and easy installation. (KJ)

Michel Foucault's concept of power/knowledge is applied to an exploration of how managerial discourse affects the practice of public environmental education at a publicly owned electric utility. Emerging from interviews with people at SaskPower is a managerial discourse with a particularly instrumental approach to environmental education. The aim…

A utility rate consulting firm explains its services and claims that, armed with complete and up-to-date rate information, it can effect savings in utilities costs. (MLF)

Two articles reprinted from "Public Power" discuss the present state of cable television (TV), its future prospects, and the opportunities offered municipal utilities by cable TV. The proposal is that local publicly-owned electric utilities meet the requirements of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for cable TV ownership and have the…

The energy losses and output of a modern power plant using coal and fuel oil are quantitatively presented. (CP)

Describes the efforts of one public utility to simplify its bills and make them more informative. Benefits included (1) significant savings on customer complaints, (2) improved employee morale, and (3) upgraded public image. (CH)

Explains how one high school district in San Jose, California, reduced its electricity bill through an energy conservation program. (IRT)

Provides background on the development of the AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, second edition) APPM (Archives, Personal Papers and Manuscripts). The requirements of archival description and the shortcomings of AACR2 in dealing with these needs are discussed with emphasis on the distinctions between published and unpublished materials. (4…

For electric energy to get from the generating station to a home, it must pass through a transformer, a device that can change voltage levels easily. This article describes how transformers work, covering the following topics: (1) the magnetism-electricity link; (2) transformer basics; (3) the energy seesaw; (4) the turns ratio rule; and (5)…

This paper presents the annual report of the Association for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) for 2008. In 2008, ACNJ wrote a better ending for children by: (1) Advancing universal health care for children. ACNJ's assistant director chaired a state task force charged with getting more uninsured children enrolled in New Jersey's child health insurance…

The graduate of the Gasfitter apprenticeship program is a certified journeyperson who will be able to: (1) apply the standards and regulations of natural and LP gas in order to provide the maximum of safety; (2) know the characteristics and proper use of each product; (3) be able to install and maintain pipe systems, appliances and equipment using…