From Books to the Information Superhighway: Young People's Reading Habits and Internet Use in Iceland

In mid January 1997 a telephone survey was canied out on a random sample of 800 Icelandic children ages 10, 12,14 and 16 years of age, 100 girls and 100 boys in each age group. The response rate was 88.5%. The purpose was to examine some factors related to publications for children in the Icelandic language, including books as Christmas gifts, reading habits and Internet use. The majority of children in all age groups received books as Christmas gifts, mostly new publications. Reading is a common pastime among children, mostly among the younger groups. Girls read more than boys in all age groups. CDs are more common than bootes as presents among the 14- and 16-year-olds, but computer games are rare, particulary among girls. The Internet is used more by boys than girls in all age groups but use patterns vary as well as choice of access points. The author emphasizes the need to use the Internet systematically as a tool in cultural preservation.

Demonstration of >100GHz ultra-high speed glass-polymer optical modulator using dielectric layer

Polymers have long been known to boast extraordinary properties that make them useful in a broad range of applications. Since the German organic scientist Hermann Staudinger demonstrated the existence of macromolecules, which he called polymers, in the 1920s, they have been used in fields as varied as medicine, technology, retail and manufacturing. Dr Yasufumi Enami forms part of a team of researchers based within the Department of Electrical Engineering, Nagasaki University in Japan. The team has been conducting important research that makes use of a polymer that could revolutionise the speed at which data can be transferred. The findings could usher in the next generation of an ultra-fast information superhighway with all the benefits that such a development would reap.