Studying issues related to the spread of ubiquitous broadband communications from a social sciences perspectiveProactively educating the public in appropriate communications services usageICT-based initiatives to ensure child safety onlineResearch in support of safety and security in the age of broadband communications
The NTT Group is involved in a range of research to examine
issues related to the spread of ubiquitous broadband communications
from a social sciences perspective.
InfoCom Research, Inc. conducts research in areas such as
legal systems and issues related to Internet usage and the proper
handling of personal information. The NTT DATA Research
Institute for Systems Science cooperates with universities, affiliated
research institutes, and related departments within NTT
DATA to hold study sessions that promote security literacy. The
NTT DoCoMo Mobile Society Research Institute has also published
its Mobile Society Vision 2030 which examines both the
potential benefits and pitfalls of mobile communications and
provides recommendations for pioneering research in this field.
Promoting appropriate use of communications services
Mobile phones and the Internet have become an integral part
of our daily lives, but they have also given rise to a number of
issues regarding appropriate and ethical use of communications
technology.
It is the corporate responsibility of the NTT Group to work to educate
the general public about these issues and help to resolve
them, and we are making constant efforts in this area
with the goal of creating a safe and secure Internet and mobile
communications environment.
Initiatives
Children's blog that discusses both fun and manners on the Internet
magnet, a blog site where children can enjoy learning about society (in Japanese only)
Click on the above link to visit the "magnet" website.
Copyright (c) 2005 NTT DATA CORPORATION (c)1996,2003,2005 SANRIO CO.,LTD.(E)
In May 2005, NTT DATA launched a new version of the magnet
online community site for children that it runs in cooperation
with Sanrio Co., Ltd. This site provides children with a forum
to learn about and discuss issues such as netiquette and
responsibility on the Internet, as well as introducing them
to fun things to do. It also provides them with the opportunity
to learn about and develop an interest in the social contribution activities of nonprofit organizations and companies through content such as a blog about service dogs.
DoCoMo mobile phone safety seminars
NTT DoCoMo has been organizing mobile phone safety seminars
for elementary, junior high, and high school students as
well as for the general public throughout Japan since April
2005. The goal of the seminars is to promote safe and secure
use of mobile phones by children and fulfill the company's social
responsibility to protect children, and guidance is provided
on such issues as avoiding the risks posed by online dating
sites, spam, and fraudulent billing, as well as etiquette
when using mobile phones in public places. During fiscal 2005,
about 87,000 people participated in some 600 seminars so far provided
by NTT DoCoMo as a public service to promote responsible use
of communications technology. A further 1,000 seminars are planned
for fiscal 2006.
A portal site where parents and children can learn and have fun together
Click on the above image to visit the Kids goo website.
"Kids goo", provided by NTT Resonant, introduces "seven rules" that it encourages children to follow when using the Internet. The site contains articles by elementary school teachers providing advice from an educational perspective for parents and guardians, and also presents "five safety rules" that provide parents and children alike with the opportunity to think about using Internet safely.
Information education through the Internet and books
As part of its social contribution activities, NTT joined hands with National Institute of Informatics in February 2006 to commence research into the design of elementary school courses in information education that use a combination of printed materials and the Internet. The long term objectives of this research include teaching children about the benefits and the risks of using ICT as well as encouraging them to develop the ability to think about the present and the future, and the awareness that they will come to shape the future.
Helping to protect children
Children are increasingly becoming victims of brutal crime, a
sad situation that is leading parents, schools, and entire
communities to look urgently into measures for protecting
their children.
The NTT Group is developing technologies to support these
measures, including IC tags to verify the whereabouts of children,
emergency notification services that enable schools to
contact all parents and guardians at the same time, and
mobile phones that can help to protect children.
Initiatives
Protecting children on their way to and from school
Children on their way to and from school are often out of
the watchful eye of teachers and parents, and exposed to
danger more than any other time of day. As one way to
keep an eye on children, the NTT Group is currently running
trials of a system using IC tags to help keep track of
the whereabouts of children on their way to and from school.
NTT DATA, in cooperation with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and
other companies, has conducted verification testing on a
system which notifies parents via e-mail of the time that
children carrying IC tags pass a particular checkpoint. This
system can also be used by children to alert parents, registered
supporters, security personnel, and even passing
drivers that they are in danger. Conceived as a support tool
for protecting children and improving traffic safety, this isafety
service was used on a trial basis in Aoba Ward of
Yokohama through March 2006.
NTT Communications too conducted an experiment for the
protection of children on their way to and from school in the
city of Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture from February 20
to March 8, 2006. It involved the use of IC tags and the
Kawasemi Net, a public IPv6 network, to enhance existing
arrangements within the local community to protect children
and provide places for them to take refuge when they
feel in danger. This experiment was performed under a
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications fiscal 2005
program for R&D on Technologies for Advanced Use of
Networked Electronic Tags.
Mobile phones that help keep children safe
NTT DoCoMo has devised a number of measures that help
bring peace of mind to both parents and children through
the use of mobile phones.
For example, the Kids' PHONE FOMA SA800i, designed
to provide user-friendliness and security for children, was
launched in March 2006. This mobile phone features a protection
alarm that when pressed sets off a loud alarm and sends emergency
messages to the parents' mobile phone and an "imadoco search"
location service which uses GPS technology to pinpoint the child's
whereabouts. The phone can also be set to automatically
provide notification of where it was when its power switch
was turned off. Such services not only provide parents with peace
of mind and convenience, but can also actually help to protect children.
A new system for sharing information to protect children
From November 16, 2005, NTT DATA conducted trial operations
of a new system called Child Safety Communication
Network for sharing information to protect children in the city
of Ikoma in Nara Prefecture.
This system enables schools to send emergency information
to phone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses, and mobile
phone numbers registered by parents. The idea for this
service came from female employees raising elementary
school-age children, based on their opinions that information
on child safety needs to be provided to all parents, including
those who do not use e-mail, and that emergency
alerts are meaningless unless they are issued promptly and
provide accurate information.
Based on the results of this trial, the new service began operation
on a nationwide basis in July 2006.
