Posted by Jacqueline BeauchereDirector, Trustworthy Computing Communications, Microsoft
The United States and the European Union recently signed a Joint Declaration committing to make the Internet a safer place for children. Signed in London last month, the accord pledges the two governments will “work collectively and in partnership to reduce the risks and maximize the (Internet’s) benefits” for young people.
Originally set to be inked at a day-long summit in Washington, D.C. that was cancelled due to Super Storm Sandy having battered the Eastern United States, the Declaration notes the U.S. and EU’s “shared vision” of the opportunities presented and the steps to be taken to best protect children online. European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano signed the agreement, specifically committing to: conduct joint awareness-raising and educational efforts; grow parental and caregiver trust in online services and the content that children access, and continue the broad global effort to fight online child sexual abuse.
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Editor’s Note: This post is part of a monthly series from Microsoft’s Citizenship team that appears once per month. Pulse on Citizenship provides insight and commentary on topics and trends in corporate citizenship.
Posted by Steve LippmanDirector of Corporate Citizenship, Microsoft
When you think of the groups who express the most interest and questions about a company’s social and environmental commitments who first comes to your mind:
Young people seeking to buy from or work for companies that meet their values?
Government officials?
The media?
All of these groups are important and interested audiences for our work. However, one of the groups we hear the most from about social and environmental issues on an ongoing basis might surprise you: investors. A growing number of investors believe the stereotype of a Wall Street banker concerned only with quarterly earnings and balance sheets. Some of these are socially responsible investors concerned about investing in companies acting consistently with their values.
Editor’s Note: This post is part of a monthly series from Microsoft called “The View from Washington State”. The View from Washington State provides insight and commentary on topics and trends of importance to technology, education, corporate citizenship and public policy in Washington State.
Posted by Irene PlenefischGovernment Affairs Manager, Microsoft
Washington’s Governor-Elect Jay Inslee has made job creation his #1 agenda item. He has called innovation the “secret sauce” to creating more jobs, spurring more economic activity, and helping to cure state government’s lingering budget woes.
Governor-Elect Inslee is the one of many elected leaders in our state that takes pride in the size and scope of Washington’s information technology industry. These elected leaders understand that the industry has been a driving force in helping the state weather the recession, continuing to create thousands of new, well-paying job opportunities even as the overall economy has foundered.
Posted by Dennis GannonDirector of Cloud Research Strategy, Microsoft Research
Over the past two years, we have seen growing interest from the scientific community in using public clouds for research. As part of the original Cloud Research Engagement Initiative in 2010, Microsoft partnered with funding agencies all over the world to award more than 75 research teams for projects using Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud. The research covers topics in computer science, biology, physics, chemistry, social science, geology, ecology, meteorology and drug discovery. More details about these projects can be found here.
From an informal survey of these projects, we learned researchers value the concept of using an on-demand, scalable compute resource over acquiring, deploying and managing a dedicated resource. Ninety percent of these researchers were pleased with their ROI using cloud services to build their application and would use cloud resources again. Of course, this sample is biased. These researchers are, for the most part, the leading edge risk takers and early adopters.
Posted by Jeff MeisnerEditor, Microsoft on the Issues
Today, The Seattle Times featured an editorial supporting Microsoft’s National Talent Strategy proposal that outlines ideas for securing U.S. competitiveness and economic growth through high-skilled immigration reform and investments in STEM education.
The editorial suggests that the National Talent Strategy, announced by Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith this fall at the Brookings Institution, should be part of the larger conversation happening in Congress next year around immigration reform.