USC Conference Examines Socio-Economic Impacts of Mobile/Wireless Technologies in Japan and U.S.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2002

A conference on the socio-economic impacts of mobile and wireless technologies, with comparisons of the current experiences in the United States and Japan will be held on Thursday, September 26, at USC's Davidson Conference Center, 3415 S. Figueroa Street in Los Angeles.

Panels include American and Japanese experts in communications, journalism, entertainment and electronic publishing. Topics will focus on how wireless technology is changing our daily lives in a fundamental way.

"There is a huge wireless communication gap between the U.S. and Japan; this conference intends to bridge that gap," said Larry Pryor, director of the online program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication. "This will be a very forward-looking conference. We expect to break ground by bringing together experts from Japan and the U.S. to compare their immediate experiences."

Speakers, drawn from the United States and Japan, include Nobuharu Ono, CEO and president of NTT DoCoMo USA in New York; Dan Gillmor, technology columnist for the San Jose Mercury News; Michio Katsumata, senior editor, Nikkei Newspaper in Tokyo; and Lucy Hood, senior vice president for content, News Corporation, based in Los Angeles.

The conference, which starts at 10:30 a.m., is presented by the Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM) at the International University of Japan and the USC Annenberg School for Communication, the USC East Asian Studies Center and the Japan American Society of Los Angeles.

The Toshiba International Foundation is the primary sponsor of the conference, with additional support coming from JETRO Los Angeles, the Japan External Trade Organization . Panels conclude at 4:45 p.m. Lunch will be provided and the event is free.

Participants must register in advance at the conference Web page, http://annenberg.usc.edu/japan.

Discussions will center on three main topics:

1. The impact of wireless technology on online journalism. Additional panelists include Tsuruaki Yukawa, senior reporter, Jiji Press, Tokyo; Chris Jennewein, director of Internet operations at the San Diego Union Tribune; and Richard Owen, chairman and CEO of AvantGo.

2. The impact of wireless technology on digital entertainment. Additional panelists include Tapio Anttila, Mobile Entertainment Expert, Brauning LLC; and Robert Tercek, venture manager in North America for MTGP. Tercek will also speak on "Mobile Digital Entertainment" at lunch.

3. International comparisons of wireless technology impacts in the United States, Japan and the European Union. Joining the panel will be Francois Bar, a communications professor at Stanford University, and Elizabeth Fife, at USC's Center for Telecommunication Management.

The keynote speaker is Jonathan Aronson, professor of communications and international relations at USC, who will assess the current state of wireless technology acceptance.

Special focus will be given to the different experiences in the United States and Japan. While Japan appears to be ahead in the area of mobile telephones with Internet connections, such as DoCoMo's i-mode, the Japanese have just started to introduce the idea of wireless LAN connections for the United States for data exchange.

GLOCOM is a social science research institute specializing in the study of the information society as well as Japanese society. It hosts an English-language Web site, www.glocom.ac.jp. A second conference on the same topic, with many of the same speakers and panelists, will be held in Tokyo in November.

Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the USC Annenberg School for Communication is among the nation's leading institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication, and their impact on politics, culture and society. With an enrollment of more than 1,500 graduate and undergraduate students, USC Annenberg offers B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in journalism, communication, and public relations.