TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2007
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOL.117 ISSUE 100
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 1A
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
baseball
Kyle Murphy brings new offensive power to the Jayhawk baseball lineup.
1B
Opinion
Despite opposition from Democrats and Republicans,the troop surge is the best — and only option to curb Iraq's violence. 7A
rankings
Kansas moves up from No. 9 to No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
2B
people
Britney Spears continues her rebellious behavior by shaving her head and getting a tattoo on her wrist.
weather
All contents, unless stated otherwise
© 2007 The University Daily Kansan
Classifieds... 4A
Crossword... 7B
Horoscopes... 7B
Opinion... 7A
Sports... 1B
Sudoku... 7B
index
KANSAS 71, KANSAS STATE 62
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Freshman guard Sherron Collins drives past a defender during Monday's 71-62 victory against Kansas State. Collins scored a game-high 20 points, and the Jayhawks extended their winning streak in Manhattan to 24 games.
Schools collaborate on Nokia project
》 TECHNOLOGY
BY BRIAN LEWIS-JONES
Cell phones could once again revolutionize how journalists work.
Students in the School of Journalism at the University of Kansas are working with both design and business students to evaluate two new Nokia cell phones that are capable of shooting, editing and uploading high-quality video on the fly.
Greg Thomas, chair of the design department, started the project in December with Nokia and Cingular, which donated phones and service to the University. The project will help define and advance the role of citizen journalism, the concept that citizen can report news events.
Thomas, who has been at the University for three years, said it was important to use the phones as a teaching tool for students in the
"Everybody's armed to be a reporter," Thomas said.
three different schools.
Design students will assess the ergonomics of the camera and make it as user-friendly as possible. Business students will evaluate the size and trends of the citizen journalist market among college students. Journalism students will test the phone's use as a reporting tool.
The N93 looks like an oversized flip phone that users can flip open and rotate the screen, changing it into to a handheld video camera. The N73 is similar to a small digital camera that uses the phone's menu screen as a viewfinder.
Thomas said the retail cost of the Nokia N93 is about $700. The N73 is about $500. The small, inconspicuous phones are less intrusive than standard video cameras, he said. Nokia's N93 can shoot video at 30 frames per second.
Nathan Rodriguez, Lawrence grad student, used the small, easy to-use N73 to shoot and edit his first
video blog.
"It can be a handy tool to get people interested and involved," he said. "It'll democratize the way media is produced."
Patrick Lafferty, Dole Center multimedia newsroom coordinator, said the phones help establish the concept of the "pocket journalist," allowing reporting straight from the field. He said users of the phone could post video directly online.
"This cuts out the middle man." Lafferty said.
Wally Meyer, director of entrepreneurship programs at the School of Business, said the project provides Nokia with a unique opportunity for a commercial venture.
He said the objective is to identify ways to communicate the emerging trend of citizen journalism among college students.
"The idea of empowering the citizens of the world to report news events is an increasing thing." Meyer
said.
Advanced entrepreneurship students will create a business road map for the phone's commercial application.
Meyer said business, design and journalism students would meet three or four times over the semester to discuss the project and trade insight.
Thomas said that although issues of credibility are still at stake for citizen journalists, developing the videophone as a reporting tool will help bridge the gap between private citizen and journalist.
"it's my hope that we can come up with concepts that Nokia didn't think up," he said.
Kansan staff writer Brian Lewis-Jones can be contacted at bljones@kansan.com.
- Edited by Sharla Shivers
Changes would improve fire safety
》 CONSTRUCTION
Renovation to add exits equipment in Wescoe
A renovation project for Wescoe Hall announced last week will include a new entrance on the south side of the building, as well as updates to fire equipment in the building's basement. The announcement listed "fire code improvements" as part of the $4.8 million project.
BY ERICK R. SCHMIDT
Jim Modig, the University of Kansas' director of design and construction management, said the changes would include updates to the fire alarm system, improved lighting for the building's exits and emergency exits, as well as possible updates to the sprinkler system. The sprinkler system was added in the early 1970s, Modig said, and hasn't been changed since. Tests will be run to determine if improvements are needed to the system, which only encompasses the basement level and a few hallways on upper levels. The temperature-sensitive sprinkler heads that hang from the ceiling will be checked for adequate water flow.
"We'll take a real serious look at the other doors," he said. "We have to maintain the required exits"
Modig said the new exit would provide a ground-level entrance to the south side of the building's east portion, just east of the loading docks. Currently, that area is home to offices. Modig said the offices would have to be removed as part of the large-scale construction to replace crumbling slabs of the building's base. When the offices are rebuilt, two or three offices will be eliminated to build the new exit.
University fire marshal Bob Rombach said the fire code updates weren't unexpected and that there were many reasons for them. He said the codes written in the 1970s wouldn't be accepted today.
Emily Hall is a graduate teaching assistant in the English department and has an office in the affected area. Hall said the ongoing construction hadn't been a major problem, aside from the noise. She said she hoped to be moved to the addition that is currently under construction.
"I thought they would have it done this summer," Hall said. "All I hear is 'it's loud'"
"It needs to be addressed now, Rombach said. "It's gotten worse in the last couple of years. Really, it's now to the point where it's crossed the line."
Costs of the fire code improvements are unknown, but will be included in the $4.8 million project that was developed after current construction on the building revealed more damage. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by summer 2008.
Construction on the project will begin as quickly as possible. Modig said, and will not seriously hamper traffic in the building.
Kansan staff writer Erick R. Schmidt can be contacted at eschmiddt@kansan.com.
Edited by Joe Caponio
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