In the next few weeks, Alexandra “Alex” Kukoff, a 14-year-old entrepreneur from California, will begin reviewing designs submitted by engineers to create a special pair of closed-captioning glasses for hearing-impaired moviegoers. It is a story of how a new entrepreneur with little technological expertise can use the Internet to make the necessary high-tech connections to turn an idea into a prototype [an early sample or model built to test a product or concept].

Lens of Opportunity: Alex Kukoff’s Incredible Virtual Community Connection

Publishing houses are scrambling to determine how to cope with the rise in digital reading. The iPad, the Kindle, the Nook and the Sony Reader, the strongest players in the eReader market, are four of the biggest threats to the print publishing industry. With everyone reading on a screen, how do publishers make a profit? Just this week, on December 18, Pearson Plc’s Penguin Group, a book publisher, reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in a case in which Penguin was accused of forging a deal with Apple to prevent other ebook sellers from discounting their prices. Wharton Global Youth explores this bold deal between Apple and book publishers, the resulting anti-trust lawsuit and the future of traditional book publishing.

A Year in Publishing: Secret Meetings and the Powerful Threat of Digital