Digital Digest April 2006

/:/:/:/:/ THE DIGITAL DIGEST /:/:/:/:/:/ The Monthly Newsletter of DigitalEVE Japan. Promoting women's digital lifestyles by offering a supportive community and programs tuned to women using IT in their workplace and in their everyday lives. http://www.digitalevejapan.org

/:/:/:/:/ THE DIGITAL DIGEST /:/:/:/:/:/

The Monthly Newsletter of DigitalEVE Japan.

Promoting women's digital lifestyles by offering a supportive
community and programs tuned to women using IT in their
workplace and in their everyday lives.

http://www.digitalevejapan.org

................................................

1 April 2006

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This monthly newsletter is a membership benefit of
DigitalEVE Japan and is sent through our mailing list,
de-japan. If you wish to cancel your membership with
DigitalEve Japan, please follow the unsubscribe
instructions at the end of this issue.

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IN THIS ISSUE
-> From the Editor
-> Rota Leader Report
-> Media Team News
-> Tech Team News
-> Membership Team News
-> Announcement
-> DEJ Event Review

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FROM THE EDITOR
Stacey Ward, Newsletter Team
<newsletter@digitalevejapan.org>

Is it the beauty of the cherry trees in full bloom, or is it the
heavy drinking that inspires the lowering of inhibitions that
makes Hanami picnics such fun? The first week of April will
probably be the last chance for hanami in the Kanto region this
year, so let's hope it's not too cold, get away from your laptop
for an afternoon (the battery will only die on you anyway if you
take it with you), and get out to the park!

Bring your Hanami cross-cultural communication stories
with you to our April speaker event with intercultural communication
expert Rochelle Kopp (see details in the announcement section
of this newsletter). Book early and you'll get a discount!

Happy Hanami!

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NOTES FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEE

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ROTA LEADER
Misao Kajiro
Leader's Report

Dear DEvas,

Sakura season is coming. For those who don't know about
Japanese hanami (cherry blossom viewing) this site will
be interesting : http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html
Some members are planning to get together but it's difficult
to decide which day is best for hanami!

Our Tech Coordinator, Junko Matsuo stepped down and
Smita Deshpande entered as our new Tech Coordinator.
Junko held the position after Kristen as a SC member for
3 years and helped greatly by creating our website. She will
remain in the Tech team and help Smita from now onwards.
Many thanks Junko for all her efforts!

Smita worked as an application software developer in
India and as you remember her interview was in the DEJ
Newsletter, December 2005. Also she gave us a very useful
her 2nd workshop last month.

We will hold the first DEvening with a wonderful guest speaker,
Rochelle Kopp, on 25th Tuesday. Please see more details later
in this newsletter.

Looking forward to seeing you at next event and on the list.

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MEDIA TEAM NEWS

Chiharu Kawai, Media Coordinator
<media-j@digitalevejapan.org>

By the time this newsletter is sent out, the sakura (cherry
blossoms) will be in full bloom. I hope you are enjoying
the mild spring weather, the pink petals, and the Hanami
parties!

In March, a 3-page article about DEJ appeared in the Hiragana
Times. You can still buy a copy at a bookstore until the next
issue comes out in early April. So please hurry and get one!
On Sunday the 12th, I handed out DEJ flyers at WomenFest 2006.
I am planning to promote the April 25th DigitalEvening with
speaker Rochelle Kopp to many other international organizations.
If you can help, please contact me at media-j@digitalevejapan.org.

The T-shirt season is here! Cool DEJ T-shirts are available
in black and white, in sizes S, M and L. They are sold at events
and by mail (+ 250 yen for shipping).
For more information, please access
http://www.digitalevejapan.org/merchandise/index_html?set_language=en

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TECH TEAM NEWS

Smita Deshpande, Tech Coordinator
<tech@digitalevejapan.org>

Hello Devas,
This is Smita, new tech-coordinator for DEJ.
First of all I would like to thank all of you, especially Misa and
Chiharu, who have given me a chance to work as a tech-
coordinator. As tech-coordinator I feel, it is my responsiblity to
upgrade the status of our site and to do my level best for DEJ.
Of course, your help and support is very much needed.  Please
feel free to share your ideas with me to upgrade the site of  DEJ.
Lastly, I would like to say, "Success in life is our destination, so
let's walk together to get it".

Thanking you again.
Yours sincerely,
Smita.

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MEMBERSHIP TEAM NEWS

Misao Kajiro, Membership Coordinator.
<membership@digitalevejapan.org>

Total membership is 702 as of March 31th, 2006.

There were many bouncing addresses on our mailing list so
I have taken off some addresses that have bounced for a long
time. If you have changed the email address you use for DEJ
please take off your old address. Or if you let me know I'll take
off your old address after you have signed up your new address.

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ANNOUNCEMENT

**** DEvening 2006 / Speaker Event ****

Date: 25th (Tue) April 2006
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00pm
Fee: 2,500 yen at door
        2,000 yen with reservation
        Fee includes 1 drink and food.

Venue: GUDENE  at Omotesando, near Aoyama Gakuin University
   2F-13-7-2 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tolyo
   tel:03-3407-5450
   http://www.hotpepper.jp/s/H000001371/top.html

Speaker: Rochelle Kopp
(Managing Principal, Japan Intercultural Consulting)
                          www.japanintercultural.com

A member of DigitalEVE Japan Rochelle is an expert on cross-
cultural communication in the business environment, with a focus
on Japan.

List of her publications:
http://www.excite.co.jp/book/product/?k=%83%8D%83b%83V%83F%83%8B%81E%83J%83b%83v&target=author&page=1

** Speech / Effective Cross-Cultural Communication **

Rochelle Kopp will present an interactive session looking
at different styles of communication. Attendees will discuss
case studies focusing on key issues in communication between
Japanese and non-Japanese; including how bad news is delivered
(or not delivered), and how positive feedback is expressed
(or not expressed). This session will give you an insight into
how your counterparts think, and how to bridge the communication
gap between cultures.
--------------------

Please reserve before noon on April 22nd, to get the discount!
RSVP : workshops@digitalevejapan.org

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DEJ EVENT REVIEW

Ailsa Wylie, Newsletter Team

On Saturday evening, March 18th, DEJ member Smita Deshpande
presented a workshop covering the basics of Excel. We faced
several challenges before we could begin. The first challenge
was finding conveniently-located electrical outlets. The second
challenge was figuring out how to operate the digital projector.
The third challenge was finding the whiteboard. (It was hidden
behind some sliding panels on the wall, operated by one of the
many switches on the walls.) Once all these challenges were
successfully overcome, we could get on with the business of
learning the basics of Excel. Afterwards, though, the last person
out of the room sighed, "I couldn't figure out how to turn off
the spotlight".

There was another challenge for Smita: there were only two
participants and we were both Mac users, while she was using a
Windows PC. Everything was fine until she said, "Now, right-
click this" and in unison we replied, "We don't have a
right-click"! Fortunately the function was soon located on the
pull-down menu and the lesson continued smoothly.

Smita taught us the basic structure of an Excel file, from
"worksheet" to "cell". We learned how to input data into cells,
how to calculate totals and averages, how to create mathematical
formulas to simplify the data (in this case, assigning a letter-
grade to an average score), and how to make graphs. Smita also
showed us a few shortcuts to avoid the tedious repetition of
inputting the same information over and over again.

I really enjoyed this relaxed and informal workshop. During
the chocolate-filled break, Heera showed us a presentation
she had recently made about Bermuda, stirring dreams of pink
beaches in warm tropical climes and a laid-back town of
ice-cream coloured buildings. Because our group was so small,
Smita could easily give personal attention to our questions
and maybe she learned a little about Macs in the process.

Since I don't have any professional use for Excel at the
moment, I'm going to use it to make a budget so I can practice.
And I'm looking forward to the next level!

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SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER

Have an announcement to make? An article to submit for
consideration? (We can't pay you, but we'll give you a
byline.) Please send your submissions in plain text format
to: newsletter@digitalevejapan.org

The Digital Digest is brought to you by the Newsletter Team:
Noriko Hasegawa, Koko Iwata, Misao Kajiro, Yoko Kawabe,
Mayumi Tanimoto, Stacey Ward  and Ailsa Wylie.