Report: Apple to release updated phone this summer

NEW YORK (AP) ? Apple is set for a possible summer launch of the next iPhone, rather than a fall launch like the last two models, according to a report Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal.

Apple Inc. is also working on a cheaper iPhone model that could win it some market share in developing countries, the paper said. It cited unnamed people "familiar with the device's production."

The report is in line with the expectations of company watchers and Wall Street analysts. The iPhone 5 costs around $600, and while Apple maintains older iPhones in production, even those aren't cheap enough to compete effectively against low-end smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software.

Apple doesn't comment on future products before its launch events. Its executives usually emphasize that the company's goal is to make the best products, not the cheapest ones.

The Journal said Apple is set to start production of the new iPhone within the next three months. It's apparently relying on sources among the Asian companies that supply components for the phone and assemble it.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-02-US-TEC-Apple-iPhone/id-e175c2113d304830a8701ef5a36ef28a

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Solar village to house microgrid project

Apr. 2, 2013 ? Four solar homes built by students at Missouri University of Science and Technology will soon become home to an experimental microgrid to manage and store renewable energy. The houses, all past entries into the Solar Decathlon design competition, make up the university's Solar Village.

In its initial phase, the project involves Missouri S&T students and researchers, along with representatives from utility companies, the Army Corps of Engineers and several Missouri businesses. The goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of small-scale microgrids for future use.

"Distributed power generation is one of the key elements of a microgrid. In our case, we're using solar panels," says Dr. Mehdi Ferdowsi, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Missouri S&T. "It's called a microgrid because it's less dependent on the utility power grid. The idea is that if there is a blackout, it can operate in what we call 'islanded mode,' and convert to using stored solar energy.

"Utility companies are interested to see if this could be a viable business model for the future," he says. "For example, they could rent out renewable energy generators to subdivisions, creating a new paradigm for selling electricity."

Ferdowsi says that Missouri S&T's Solar Village is an ideal place to test microgrid technology. "The four houses were built in a 10-year span of time and each was designed individually, but converting them to the technology is not complicated," he says.

Students living in the solar houses will monitor the results. "We hope to demonstrate that the technology is expandable to many, based on these four houses," he says. "The students will also demonstrate the human aspect of the project -- how people interact with a new system of energy management."

Components necessary for the project include batteries for energy storage, a power electronic converter, software and hardware.

Two lithium battery racks were donated by A123 Systems Inc. (now Wanxiang Group) in December. Ferdowsi estimates their combined worth at $75,000 to $100,000. "These batteries are very efficient, but they are super heavy with 8-foot-tall racks," he says. "We hope to have them installed in a shed in the Solar Village by the end of summer, along with the converter." The hardware and software would be located in the houses.

Photovoltaic (PV) arrays on the solar homes are designed to generate about 25 kilowatts of power. The donated batteries will provide 60 kilowatt hours of energy storage for the microgrid.

Researchers are now deciding which converter and intelligence system to purchase. "Security is also a factor -- we want to be sure the system is hacker-proof," says Ferdowsi.

Several Missouri S&T alumni serve on the advisory council that was created to guide the integration of microgrid components into the Solar Village, and to ensure the microgrid is designed for future expansions.

One, alumnus Brent McKinney, manager of electrical transmission with City Utilities of Springfield (Mo.), helped facilitate a $75,000 grant for the project through the American Public Power Association. The grant will help fund battery array installation and graduate student research in community energy storage.

Dr. Fatih Dogan, professor of materials science and engineering at S&T, has been working with St. Louis-based utility company Ameren, which plans to provide and install a residential fuel cell and heat recovery demonstration unit in the village. The fuel cell will serve as an additional microgrid component.

Future expansion plans include incorporating a wind turbine, generators, electric vehicles and an electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

"There is so much potential in this project, and so many groups that can benefit from it," says Angela Rolufs, director of the office of sustainable energy and environmental engagement at Missouri S&T, which manages the Solar Village. "We had this great idea and all the pieces for it -- we just needed some help making it happen."

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UN to vote Tuesday on treaty regulating arms trade

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote Tuesday on what would be the first U.N. treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade after Iran, North Korea and Syria blocked its adoption by consensus.

Assembly spokesman Nikola Jovanovic told The Associated Press on Monday that the resolution to adopt the treaty requires support from a majority of the 193 U.N. member states. Since the treaty had strong support when it was brought before U.N. members last Thursday, its approval is virtually certain ? unless there are attempts to amend it before the vote.

Many countries, including the United States, control arms exports. But there has never been an international treaty regulating the estimated $60 billion global arms trade. For more than a decade, activists and some governments have been pushing for international rules to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organized crime.

Hopes of reaching agreement at a U.N. negotiating conference were dashed in July when the U.S. said it needed more time to consider the proposed accord ? a move quickly backed by Russia and China. In December, the U.N. General Assembly decided to hold a final negotiating conference to agree on a treaty and set last Thursday as the deadline.

After two weeks of intensive negotiations, there was growing optimism as the deadline approached that all 193 member states would approve the final draft treaty by consensus ? a requirement set by the United States. This time, the U.S. was prepared to support the final draft treaty. But Iran, North Korea and Syria objected.

Iran said the treaty had many "loopholes," is "hugely susceptible to politicization and discrimination," and ignores the "legitimate demand" to prohibit the transfer of arms to those who commit aggression. Syria cited seven objections, including the treaty's failure to include an embargo on delivering weapons "to terrorist armed groups and to non-state actors." And North Korea said the treaty favors arms exporters who can restrict arms to importers that have a right to legitimate self-defense and the arms trade.

Both Iran and North Korea are under U.N. arms embargoes over their nuclear programs, while Syria is in the third year of a conflict that has escalated to civil war and is under U.S. and European Union sanctions. Amnesty International said all three countries "have abysmal human rights records ? having even used arms against their own citizens."

The General Assembly had left open the possibility of a vote on the treaty if it failed to achieve consensus.

Jovanovic said the assembly will meet at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on Tuesday when the first order of business will be a report from the chair of the negotiations, Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott. That will be followed by the vote.

The draft resolution, obtained by AP, would adopt the Arms Trade Treaty that was put to members last Thursday.

If approved, the resolution asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as depositary of the treaty, to open it for signature by member states on June 3. It calls on all nations to consider signing and then ratifying the treaty "at the earliest possible date."

In a letter to the secretary-general dated Friday, Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant asked the U.N. chief to circulate the draft resolution to all U.N. members on behalf of Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the United States and the United Kingdom.

By the time the draft resolution was circulated Monday, treaty supporters had collected a total of 64 co-sponsors and they were trying to add more countries before Tuesday's vote.

The draft treaty would not control the domestic use of weapons in any country, but it would require all countries to establish national regulations to control the transfer of conventional arms, parts and components and to regulate arms brokers. It would prohibit states that ratify the treaty from transferring conventional weapons if they violate arms embargoes or if they promote acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.

The final draft made the human rights provision even stronger, adding that the export of conventional arms should be prohibited if they could be used in attacks on civilians or civilian buildings such as schools and hospitals.

In considering whether to authorize the export of arms, the draft says a country must evaluate whether the weapon would be used to violate international human rights or humanitarian laws or be used by terrorists or organized crime. The final draft would allow countries to determine whether the weapons transfer would contribute to or undermine peace and security.

The draft would also require parties to the treaty to take measures to prevent the diversion of conventional weapons to the illicit market.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-vote-tuesday-treaty-regulating-arms-trade-203709301.html

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Atlanta educators begin surrendering in school cheating scandal

By David Beasley, Reuters

Former educators indicted in a cheating scandal that has rocked Atlanta's public school system began turning themselves in to authorities on Tuesday, ahead of a deadline to surrender voluntarily.

At least three of the 35 former Atlanta public school educators indicted by a grand jury last week had reported to the Fulton County jail by mid-morning, according to jail records.

They face charges including racketeering and making false statements for allegedly conspiring to alter and improve standardized test scores to obtain cash bonuses, according to prosecutors.

Former Atlanta School Superintendent Beverly Hall was among the former teachers, principals and administrators named in the 65-count indictment returned on Friday. She was not among the first defendants who turned themselves in.

All of the defendants have been given a Tuesday deadline by the Fulton County district attorney's office to surrender or face arrest in their homes or workplaces.

Hall was named National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators in 2009, the same year prosecutors contend widespread cheating took place.

She received a $78,000 bonus that year from the school system for improving its test scores, prosecutors said.

"The money she received, we are alleging, was ill gotten and it was theft," Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said at a news conference on Friday.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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One Month Later: The Media's Response to Yahoo's Ban on ...

Now that the dust has settled, it?s time to examine the media?s response to Yahoo?s ban on telework. Much analysis, by ?journalists? and experts alike, missed the point entirely. I explain where so many went wrong.

Most analysis of yahoo?s ban on telework missed the point. The ban punishes the 98% of Yahoo employees who don?t fully work from home

I promise this is the last I?ll write about this issue unless there?s some new development

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer?s decision to ban working from home for all employees was rightfully a hotly debated topic. Considering the steady rise of telework over the past decade, the increased attention to work-family issues, and Mayer?s high visibility as the first female CEO of her generation (who was hired while pregnant and recently build a posh nursery for her baby in her CEO suite), you had all the ingredients for a big story.

It is not surprising that many people had very strong feelings about this ban on telework, both pro (?working from home kills creativity?) and con (?betrayal of the sisterhood!?). I have become inured to ?journalists? and advocates being unable to write accurate articles. When there?s a hot button issue, we very often get shouting, cherry-picked facts, provocative headlines and overstated conclusions. These are great?for page views, but not?for an informed readership.

Now that we?re a few weeks out, the time seems right to examine the media reaction to Yahoo?s ban on telework. (hint: almost everyone missed the point entirely)

Here?s What Everyone Missed

Based on the popular press and even expert commentary like those of esteemed creativity expert Dr. R. Keith Sawyer, you?d think a majority of Yahoo! employees worked from home full time. The fact is, however, that fewer than 2% do, or rather, did?(about 200 out of about 11,750).

Indeed, if a majority of Yahoo! employees worked from home and hardly ever interacted, Yahoo would be completely correct in stopping this practice-?teams require some personal interaction to be creative and productive.

The Yahoo! debate was framed around employees who worked from home most or all of the time. The merits of full-time work from home are debatable, with real pros and cons depending on the work, the employee and the situation. But here?s the catch:

Yahoo?s ban on telework doesn?t just affect those 200 employees who are ?killing the creativity? at Yahoo! (as if Yahoo! has done anything creative in the 12 years since it got its lunch eaten by Google, Mircosoft, Amazon, etc.)- it negatively affects the other 11,550 as well.

Yahoo! didn?t just ban full-time work from home, they also banned part-time and informal work from home arrangements- which are standard operating procedure at most enlightened employers (84 of the Fortune 100 ?best companies to work for?, including SC Johnson, Qualcomm, Booz Allen, Fidelity, Cisco and Goldman Sachs allow extensive use of part-time telecommuting).

Now, thanks to this short-sighted and overly blunt ban, none of Yahoo?s employees are able to work as they could at competitors. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater (or whatever clich? you prefer).

Here?s what management research on part-time telework shows

The?most definitive study on part-time telework, a meta-analysis (a technique that combines the results of dozens of smaller studies to reach more definitive conclusions) by experts Drs. Gajendran and Harrison from Penn State University, found that part-time telework results in:

• Higher employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment
• Slightly higher levels of employee performance (All the accumulated evidence shows that, for appropriate jobs, partial telecommuting at worst is performance-neutral, and many included studies demonstrate moderate performance gains)
• Lowered employee turnover intentions, employee stress and work-family conflict
• No evidence on harming workplace relationships for those who telecommute fewer than 2.5 days a week. (these are the relationships Dr. Sawyer and others correctly stated are imperative for creativity)

Additionally, other management researchers have found:

• Telework can result in major cost savings- in terms of lowered employee turnover and absenteeism, lower office rent and utility bills, better space utilization, and the ability for employees to work during emergencies (e.g., Hurricane Sandy).
• Telework helps attract and retain better employees, especially those of Generations X and Y

So, what will result in more creativity at Yahoo?

• Making 200 work-at-home employees come to their cubicles, or
• Helping achieve a more talented, more stable, happier, less stressed, and more committed workforce

The answer is clear. Yahoo! made a bad call.

The media reaction was split pro and con, but mostly argued about the side-dish (full-time work from home)- not the entr?e (informal and part-time arrangements).

But it sure was fun to shout and debate- and it resulted in?lots of?provocative headlines and a flurry of page views.

As I was quoted on NPR?about the whole Yahoo! situation:

?I?m encouraged by how much media attention this has gotten, and that there?s been, in many quarters, a kind of questioning of this decision, showing that maybe the time is right for full public debate on the value of workplace flexibility.?

Public debate, of course, is sometimes messy, but I would hope future debates focus on the main issues rather than the sideshows- and rely on facts and research, rather than ?gut? opinions.

What?s your final word on Yahoo?s ban, and the subseuent media reaction? Let?s discuss in the comments section.

-

If you?d like more information on this topic, I would recommend the rigorous work of the Work-Family Research Network, the Families and Work Institute, and the Center for Work and Family at Boston College, as well as this great article, which contends that Yahoo?s ban was more a public act of desperation than an attempt to rein in the workforce.

An earlier vesion of this article appeared in the Good Men Project online men?s magazine.

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Source: http://fathersworkandfamily.com/2013/04/01/one-month-later-the-medias-response-to-yahoos-ban-on-telework-completely-missed-the-point/

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New Bird Flu Strain Kills 2 in Shanghai

Apr 1, 2013 12:43pm

A vendor waits for customers near chicken cages at a market in Fuyang city, in central China's Anhui province on March 31, 2013. (Credit: AP Photo)

Two men in Shanghai died after they became?infected with a strain of avian flu not seen before? in humans. A Chinese woman who contracted the same strain of flu ? H7N9 ? remains in critical condition,?according to a statement released Sunday by China?s National Health and Family Planning Commission.

The commission also said it was unclear how all?three had become infected but that they?d all showed the same symptoms: a high fever and cough, which later developed into severe pneumonia along with?difficulty in breathing.

The two Shanghai men,?87 and 27 years old,?became sick?in mid-February and died in early March. The third case, a 35-year-old woman?from neighboring Anhui Province, fell ill on March 9.

The older man?s two sons were?reportedly sick with severe pneumonia at the same time at the same time as his illness. The younger son died in March, while the older son recovered and is now out of the hospital. The authorities did not find the H7N9 strain of bird flu in either of the sons, but they are still investigating whether there is any connection between the father?s illness and his sons?.

The commission said? it doesn?t believe that the H7N9 strain of bird flu is spread easily among humans, stating that 88 people who were in close contact with the three victims did not appear to have been infected.

A failed government cover-up of the SARS ? severe acute respiratory syndrome ? epidemic has aroused suspicions,?leaving some Chinese to question why the government waited 20 days to announce?the two deaths from H7N9.

By way of explanation, the government said the H7N9 strain was new, and had?yet to be?included in China?s reporting system for infectious diseases. That?s why it took authorities longer?to make the diagnosis and announce the results.

Medical experts have advised citizens to wash their hands more often and avoid?having contact with dead animals to avoid infection.

In?March,?by coincidence, 110,000 dead pigs were fished out of the Huangpu River, the main source of drinking water for residents of Shanghai, China?s largest city.? The government has not drawn any connection so far.

SHOWS: World News

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/04/01/new-bird-flu-strain-kills-2-in-shanghai/

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Immigration deal makers still need to sell their own parties.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Big business and big labor have settled on a political framework for an immigration overhaul. Now, the lawmakers writing bipartisan legislation need to resolve the nitty-gritty ? and keep their parties' political flanks mollified.

Business and labor negotiators late last week agreed on a deal that would allow tens of thousands of low-skilled workers into the country and pay them fair wages. It was a last major sticking point before the deal goes to the eight senators ? four Democrats, four Republicans ? to sign off on the details and propose legislation. They are looking to set in motion the most dramatic changes to the faltering U.S. immigration system in more than two decades.

"There are a few details yet. But conceptually, we have an agreement between business and labor, between ourselves that has to be drafted," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

The so-called Gang of Eight's plan would provide a new class of worker visas for low-skilled workers, secure the border, crack down on employers, improve legal immigration and create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants already here.

"With the agreement between business and labor, every major policy issue has been resolved," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who brokered the labor-business deal.

But that effort hasn't taken the form of a bill and the senators searching for a compromise haven't met about the potential breakthrough. They plan to introduce their framework when they return from recess the week of April 8 and move quickly to schedule a vote.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said the hard part is done.

"That doesn't mean we've crossed every 'i' or dotted every 't,' or vice versa," Flake said.

But even as the final stages of talks begin, one member of the group urged colleagues not to get too far ahead of themselves. Just before lawmakers began appearing on Sunday shows to discuss the breakthrough, Sen. Marco Rubio warned he was not ready to lend his name ? and political clout ? to such a deal without hashing out the details.

"Reports that the bipartisan group of eight senators have agreed on a legislative proposal are premature," said Rubio, a Florida Republican who is among the lawmakers working to write the legislation.

Rubio, a Cuban-American who is weighing a presidential bid in 2016, is a leading figure inside his party. Lawmakers will be closely watching any deal for his approval, and his skepticism about the process did little to encourage optimism.

Rubio, who is the group's emissary to conservatives, called the agreement "a starting point" but noted 92 senators from 43 states haven't yet been involved in the process.

That's where figures such as Rubio and assistant Democratic leader Dick Durbin of Illinois come in. Both will be able to give political cover to ? or coax ? members of their party who were not involved in drafting this agreement that could allow an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants to earn U.S. citizenship.

"As to the 11 million, they'll have a pathway to citizenship, but it will be earned, it will be long, and it will be hard, and I think it is fair," Graham said.

A week ago, such a compromise seemed impossible.

Then the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO labor coalition reached its deal late Friday to allow tens of thousands of low-skilled workers into the country to fill jobs in construction, restaurants and hotels.

Schumer negotiated the deal between Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka during a late Friday phone call. Under the compromise, the government would create a new "W'' visa for low-skilled workers, who would earn the same wages paid to Americans or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department would determine prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so it would vary from city to city.

The detente between the powerful business lobbying group and the nation's leading labor federation still needs senators' approval, including a nod from Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican whose previous efforts came up short. He has returned to the negotiating table yet again.

The immigration debate already has President Barack Obama's attention.

"This is a legacy item for him," said David Axelrod, a longtime political confidant of Obama. "There is no doubt in my mind that he wants to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

Graham was interviewed Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." Schumer, Flake and Axelrod appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/immigration-deal-hand-focus-turns-070813537.html

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