patth@ccnysci.UUCP (Patt Haring) (02/08/89)
UNITEX NETWORK F O R
1013 Bloomfield Street
2nd Floor I M M E D I A T E
Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
R E L E A S E
February 04, 1989
INTRODUCTION
The UNITEX Network hosts and moderates an international conference
called UNITEX. This conference or echo, as it is sometimes referred
to, is distributed to other PC's that request links to the conference
and are also part of a wide area network called FidoNet. FidoNet now
has over 6000 nodes that are maintained on a weekly basis via the
distribution of an international nodelist that is updated and
distributed to all nodes each week. In addition, UNITEX provides a
conference 'feed' to users with a Bitnet or UseNet account via our
uucp gateway. If you have a user@machine address, the UNITEX Mailing List
can arrive automatically on that machine. The mailing list is simply the
entire distributed UNITEX conference gated over to uucp standards. This
allows our UNITEX conference compatibility with SUN, Micro VAX and
mainframe systems.
At the present time, UNITEX is operating on a PS/2 Model 60 with
80 MB storage, 1.2MB RAM, A PEP TrailBlazer 19200 Baud Modem. We are
running OPUS/CONFMAIL/SEADOG/GROUPMAIL software, MS DOS 3.3 OS along
with a host of custom software specifically designed for network
interfacing, E-MAIL, file transfers, electronic messaging and
conferencing. We have only a single line for direct
user access since our primary concern was using our technology
for the transmission of information to other systems (de-centralized
wide area networks) as opposed to a localized central system that
is reached via packet carriers such as, TymeNet, TeleNet, etc)
We plan, however, in the near future, to add TBBS software which can
allow 32 or 64 simultanious users on a PC running DOS 3.3. That can
then be linked into the packet carriers.
Our initial main objective is to demonstrate the cost effective
technology that is used in the dissemination of information that we
provide vis a vis our UNITEX conference, the speed and efficiency of
these transmissions via compressed (arced) data flow and, most
importantly, the automatic nature of the 'how the infomation
arrives on your computer'. The conference is 'delivered'
to your computer as opposed to the user calling up a system,
scaning areas of interest, downloading information and then
addressing electronic mail to that system. The 2-way information
flow of material to and from your computer is handled automatically in
a distrubued wide-area network system. To these ends, we belive that
UNITEX is making a valuable contribution........
UNITEX is now at the crossroads. We have succussfully demonstrated
the pilot project for UNITEX in a continuous mode of operation for
over one year. UNITEX has been an information provider of relevant UN
related news and press releases along with international news from
and about developing countries and has 'delivered' the conference to
various networks in the micro and unix community. We are currently
seeking additional funding to continue this pilot project until it is
adapted as a full-time program. We hope that support to continue this
project will be forthcoming from Foundations, Universities and Government
Agencies where information of this nature is utilized by International
Studies Programs, Foreign Affairs and Political Science Departmemts and
other Institutes that can utilize the data and information that UNITEX has
been providing through the continous distribution of the UNITEX Conference.
Please call UNITEX at (201) 653-2806 if you have any knowledge of funding
possibilities. This project will come to an end within the next 60 to
90 days if funds for continuation are not provided!
The UNITEX CONFERENCE is now available for international distribution
via internet microcomputer links as well as a mailing list to
UUCP subscribers (UseNet, BitNet, etc). A large portion of
the information provided by UNITEX is generated from the interrogation
of mainframe United Nations databases via an automated procedure
and system specifically designed for this purpose. The program was
designed and written by Dr. James Waldron and is called AIRFORCE -
Auto Information Retrieval File Organization and Reply Conference
Editor. The program automatically scans and downloads several key information
areas that are parsed and edited into network compatible messages, bundled
into network packets that are automatically addressed to machine sites
and then routed via our distribution system. Message packets and file
attaches are compressed for transmission and uncompressed automatically
upon receipt at the destination address.
A description and overview of UNITEX will follow.
James Waldron, Ph.D is the Conference Moderator and Senior Director
of UNITEX Network.
Dorothy Nicklus is the Associate Conference Moderator and
Co-director of the UNITEX Network.
UNITEX: Data phone (201) 795-0733 Voice Phone: (201) 653-2806
A. CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
UNITEX supplies and disseminates information that we obtain from
United Nations mainframe databases and related sources. We have
been a major advocate for the distribution of 'raw', uncensored and
un-edited material obtained from official UN sources and are palying
a key role in the acquistion and distribution of this information.
It consists of UN press Releases, UN Radio News, International
Press News, UNICEF Press Releases, Electronic Publishing (DIPA),
related UNICEF documents, Wordwide Disaster News and Relief Plans
from UNDRONET. The conference was establised 18 months ago and had
a limited distribution in the United States, Canada and Australia.
I maintained approximately 12 to 16 direct links at any given time.
Due to the interest generated in general and to the timely internatioanl
news coverage in specific, vis a vis Soviet-US current affairs,
Nobel Peace Prize Award to UN, renewed interest in US space efforts,
etc., there has been a mushrooming effect resulting in many requests
to receive the UNITEX Echo via the national 'backbone' distribution.
In fact, this material is currrently distributed to the NYCENET system
which is an educational conferencing and information system developed by
the New York City of Board of Education. A pilot program was designed
to interface the two networks.
B. CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION
The issues that UNITEX presents are many and are dependent on
current political topics of interest and timely international
news. The key areas that we focus on are the following:
Human Rights, Disarmament, Amnesty International (Action Alerts),
African News, news from and about 3rd World and Developing Countries,
World Peace Issues, Space News/NASA and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space,
Worlwide Disaster News & Relief Programs, Technology Transfer and
Information Exchange, International Ecological and Environmental
Issues, World Health Organization Reports (International health
issues, vaccines, etc), Reports from the General Assembly and World
Bank (International finance, multi-national and inter-governmental
joint ventures, etc)
C. CONFERENCE GUIDELINES and RULES
Currently, the readers of UNITEX are concerned scientists, educators,
teachers and students, as well as governemnt officials, UN delegates and
news journalists. Through the vehicle of this conference, UNITEX provides
information and promotes information and data exchange on a two-way basis.
One should exercise a certain level of 'diplomacy' when addressing issues
or people in this conference. There is much to be gained by good-will,
patience and understanding and nothing by rash, insensitive and
mindless chatter. Think before you write and try to make intelligent
thought provoking commentary and stay focused on the issues presented.
UNITEX welcomes reader replies and user feedback. It is not
a Read-Only conference *but* due to the sensitive nature of many of
the international issues that are addressed and the scope and
breadth of the distribution, it is strongly *advised* that the UNITEX
Area allow only *private* replies to UNITEX (107/701) via netmail to allow
for appropriate conference moderation. Individual inquires of a specific
nature can be sent via netmail to UNITEX. Systems running Confmail or
MGM as an echomail processor can allow echomail with private netmail
replies. Simply define the UNITEX echo area as a local private area
then Export using Confmail with UNITEX defined as an echo area in
areas.bbs If the inquires are useful and of a general interest, then
we will publish it in the UNITEX echo. This can help to facilitate
conference moderation since absolute moderation on the backbone is not
possible.
D. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND and PERSPECTIVE
The United Nations plays a key role in several areas, such as,
population and agricultural studies, world health and medical
issues (imunization, new vaccines, treatment programs, etc),
international peace agreements, treaties and security, international
laws, peaceful uses of outer space, equal rights, human rights and the
disemmination of information and international news. UNITEX is an
advocate for these issuses and is also strongly commited to modern
computer applications in the areas of software design and network
development. Apart from our main goals as technology and information
providers, UNITEX helps to make the goals and efforts of the
United Nations more widely know, add to international understanding
and reduce or eliminate misunderstanding.
International news and new technological developments occuring in
both the industrialized nations and in the developing nations
is transmitted by UNITEX to all direct private links as well as to
the Fidonet backbone and UUCP distribution system.
E. PURPOSE
INFORMATION and THE CHALLENGE OF THE 90's
The following is a summary of several points that our group
introduced to be discussed at the United Nations Special Session
on Information occurring on June 13 - June 27, 1988:
Advances in communications technology has exacerbated the gap between
the developed and developing countries. Information and communications
in an interdependent world effect the economy, trade, culture and the
development of a nation. Aside from this, confusion about the
United Nations is enormous.
The ever widening gulf that exists between the developed industrialized
nations and the undeveloped countries has been referred to as the
"North-South information inequality". A pre-occupied concern
of the developing countries is freedom of information (article 19
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and the information
inequality that currently exists. To address these specific
areas of concern, the UN has referred to the general topic of
international co-operation and communication as the "New World Information
and Communication Order" Co-operation between the North-South will
provide the developing countries with up-to-date know-how and assist in
the dissemination of fair coverage of the news about developing nations.
Hopefuflly, the technology demonstrated by the UNITEX Network and,
in addition, the asscoiated nodes that link into the UNITEX Conference
can help narrow this gap using effective, low-cost communication
technology and decentralized wide-area networks that are a trademark
of both the microcomputer networks (FidoNet) and the UUCP networks,
such as, UseNet, BitNet, etc.
F. ASSOCIATED FILES
Much of the original material that goes into the UNITEX Echo is
abstracted from our weekly source text files (created from UN database
sources) and are named UNITEX.A??. Since we create these files every
Friday, the naming convention is analogous to that used in Fidonet for
weekly nodelists and has the same file extension used for NODEDIFF.A??,
etc. This will facilitate your file maintenance should you desire to
acquire these files. At the present time, they can be file requested
from 107/701 between the hours of midnight and 3:00 AM. The file size
ranges from 50K to 150K. If there are many requests for these files
on a weekly basis, other distribution methods will be arranged.
If there are any questions on any of this material, please
direct them, via private netmail to:
James Waldron
Director, UNITEX
Fidonet 1:107/701
Alternet 7:520/701
uucp to Fidonet rutgers!rubbs!107!701!James_Waldron
ruggers!rubbs!unitex
uucp waldron@newport.rutgers.edu or
cucard!dasys1!jwaldron
TCN 4005
Thank you for your co-operation and support...........
--
Patt Haring
rutgers!cmcl2!ccnysci!patth
patth@ccnysci.BITNET