TREND: THE U.S. IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE DIVERSE THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT - The U.S. Is more racially and ethnically diverse than previously thought, according to an analysis of recently released 2000 Census data by The Washington Post, and that diversity is rapidly spreading beyond traditional immigrant gateways such as New York and Los Angeles, into the nation's suburbs and beyond. The most growth was noted among Hispanics and Asians, and in heartland states like Mississippi and Wisconsin, whose Hispanic populations have more than doubled since 1990. Officials interviewed by the Post attributed the dispersion of racial and ethnic minorities to the spread of job opportunities as the economy strengthened throughout the 1990s. Growth occurred much more rapidly in small to mid-sized towns than in larger cities, continuing the suburbanization trend reported in the 1990 census. However, enough immigrants settled in the nation's large cities to stabilize their populations, which had declined precipitously in the 1980s. Nationally, the number of people reporting themselves as Hispanic rose to 35.3 million, compared to 36.4 million black Americans. However, since a significant minority of blacks also reported themselves as Hispanic, it is possible that Hispanic Americans may already be the nation's largest minority. Read more on the Washington Post website at CLICK: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42542-2001Mar8.html, and read the complete report on the U.S. Census Bureau website at CLICK: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/cenbr01-1.pdf (E-News from UCEA 21 Mar 01) (Requires Adobe Reader)

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A NEW DIVIDE? - The falling cost of PCs and Internet access is likely the cause of more people using the Internet than ever before. There were 162.8 million U.S. citizens with home Internet access in January, an increase of 33% from January 2000 when the number was 122.7 million. However, indications are that a different type of divide is now surfacing. "...not so much a digital divide as a connectivity divide," says T. S. Kelly of Nielsen//NetRatings. With only 13.1% of U.S. Internet users having high-speed connections, relatively few U.S. users can enjoy the latest Internet features such as streaming video and audio at peak quality. In addition, the online activities of U.S. Users are changing, particularly now that almost as many women as men are users. Health sites, online greeting cards, and instant messaging are popular with female users, while news, stock reports, and sports information remain popular with men. (USA Today, 19 Mar 01)

CHEAP PC FOR USE IN BRAZIL? A low-cost PC has been developed by researchers in Brazil that will retail for about $300. It is hoped that the PC will narrow Brazil's digital divide. With 170 million people, and an average minimum wage of $75 per month, many in Brazil are without phone lines, and therefore computers. The PC, designed by a team headed up by Sergio Vale Campos of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, features the basic components: a monitor, a mouse, speakers, and a browser for the Internet. A printer or disk drive can be added as modular units. It has 64 MB of RAM, a 500 MHz processor, and a 56K modem. Costs were further reduced by relying on free Linux-based software. However, the government may have difficulty finding a company that will manufacture the new PC. Several firms have stated the market price is too low and others have suggested that Brazil's lack of IT infrastructure may make using such a device problematic. (Associated Press, 5 Mar 01)

FULLY ACCESSIBLE WEB PAGES - Is your college's or university's Web site one of the few that passes the test? Dr. Cyndi Rowland has written an excellent white paper on the accessibility of college and university web pages for users with disabilities. Based on a study of 400 randomly- selected prominent colleges and university, Rowland finds that less accessibility levels drop sharply at each level below the home page. The Rowland paper is an excellent introduction for both university web designers and for administrators to the importance of providing access and a pointer for places to learn the techniques to create web pages that are accessible. The paper covers:

I. Introduction; II. Students Need the Web; III. Students in Cyberspace; IV. A Brief History of Web Accessibility for Individuals with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education; V. How Higher Education is Caught in the Web; VI. A Snapshot of Access; VII. The Complexity of the Problem; VIII. The Future of Access in Higher Education.

Providing an accessible web site is crucial because it permits students with disabilities a more level playing field than ever before. It is also by far the most economical means to provide materials for students with disabilities in an alternative format. There is also an increasing number of cases being investigated by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights which contends that accessible information is equally important as are accessible buildings. The Federal government and numbers of state governments are passing fresh legislation underlining the necessity of providing materials, especially educational materials on the web in accessible formats. Dr. Rowand is expanding her work through a FIPSE grant in a project called, WebAIM on the web at CLICK: http://www.webaim.org and the actual paper is CLICK: http://www.webaim.org/articles/whitepaper.htm (AAHESGIT Listserv Mar 01. For more information about AAHESGIT CLICK: the Listserv/AAHESGIT section of http://www.tltgroup.org)