Blue Skies: Education in Second Life

This article examines the educational possibilities of the online environment of Second Life, by Linden Labs. Second Life’s economic growth has attracted the attention of corporations, non-profit organizations and government entities. Unlike traditional web-based instruction, Second Life provides a three-dimensional interface through which teachers and students can enjoy a limited form of eye-contact and body language. It also permits collaboration and learning in groups. The article goes on to discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of using the interface for online learning. It goes on to examine current educational applications and possible future enhancements

Preparing Low-Skilled Workers for the Jobs of Tomorrow

Identifies ways for state policies to leverage technology-based economic development by preparing low-skilled workers for middle-skill, technical jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Outlines current state initiatives

Extreme Outages due to Polarization Mode Dispersion

We investigate the dependence of the bit-error-rate (BER) caused by amplifier noise in a linear optical fiber telecommunication system on the fiber birefringence. We show that the probability distribution function (PDF) of BER obtained by averaging over many realizations of birefringent disorder has an extended tail corresponding to anomalously large values of BER. We specifically discuss the dependence of the tail on such details of the pulse detection at the fiber output as "setting the clock" and filtering procedures.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Optics Letter

Monetary policy rules?

The Jeffrey and Kathryn Cole Honors College Lecture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich. - March 16, 1999Monetary policy

Is inflation too low?

Remarks prepared for 16th Annual Monetary Conference, Cato Institute, Washington, D.C. - Oct. 22, 1998Inflation (Finance)

Monetary aggregates and monetary aggregates in the twenty-first century

Monetary policy ; Inflation (Finance) ; Canada

Fed transparency: how, not whether

This article was originally presented as a speech at the Global Interdependence Center, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, August 21, 2003.Banks and banking, Central