23 February 2011

Why Has Google Been Collecting Kids' Social Security Numbers Under the Guise of an Art Contest?

From Bob Bowden, Huffington Post:

It turns out that the company sporting the motto "don't be evil" has been asking parents nationwide to disclose their children's personal information, including Social Security Numbers, and recruiting schools to help them do it -- all under the guise of an art contest.

It's called, "Doodle-4-Google," a rather catchy, kid-friendly name if I do say so myself. The company is even offering prize money to schools to enlist their help with the promotion. Doesn't it sound like fun? Don't you want your kid to enter too? What could be wrong with filling out a few entry forms?

A national, commercial database of names and addresses of American children, especially one that includes their dates of birth and SSNs, would be worth many millions to marketing firms and retailers.

Of course, data collection is not the reason Google gives for doing this competition. Their FAQ says it's because "We love to encourage and celebrate the creativity of young people..." etc. If that's so, then why on earth would the contest's original Parent Consent Form ask for the child's city of birth, date of birth and last four digits of the child's SSN? Along with complete contact info of the parents.

You see what Google knows and many parents don't know is that a person's city of birth and year of birth can be used to make a statistical guess about the first five digits of his/her social security number.

Then, if you can somehow obtain those last four SSN digits explicitly -- voila, you've unlocked countless troves of personal information from someone who didn't even understand that such a disclosure was happening.

This kind of data can be linked with other databases to target advertising. It's worth many times more than what Google will spend on prizes (each State Finalist gets a T-shirt!).

Read the complete article from Bob Bowden: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-bowdon/why-has-google-been-colle_b_825754.html

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22 February 2011

Adding a twist to radio technology - Spiralling radio waves could revolutionize telecommunications

guy on phoneTwisted radio waves could free up more bandwidth for mobile phones and computers.Marcus Mok/Corbis




Bandwidth available to mobile phones, digital television and other communication technologies could be expanded enormously by exploiting the twistedness as well as wavelength of radio waves. 


That is the claim being made by a group of scientists in Italy and Sweden, who have shown how a radio beam can be twisted, and the resulting vortex detected with distant antennas.

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21 February 2011

An international gathering of specialists takes a unified approach toward measuring #sustainability #metrics

Ask any political leader if they are in favor of sustainability, and the pat answer is typically a resounding, "Yes." Evaluating its effectiveness, however, is a much trickier endeavor.

Thomas Dietz, a sociology and environmental science and policy professor at Michigan State University, took steps to indentify a universal framework to evaluate sustainability at a national gathering of scientists Feb. 20.

"By design, we were able to bring together researchers from many disciplines from around the world," Dietz said. "We were really fortunate to get the leaders of the five most-prominent measures."

The unifying theme of sustainability is human well-being, how it impacts the environment and the tradeoffs of the two. While some methods focus on economics, others place higher emphasis on the environment and some do both. Yet all are complementary and wrestling with the same overarching goals, Dietz added.

For details on who attended and more info, read rest of article:
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-approach-sustainability.html

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19 February 2011

How couples recover after an #argument depends on their emotional #relationships with caregivers as babies #behaviour

How couples recover from disagreements is just as important as how they argue.

According to a new study published in Psychological Science, the ability of couples to bounce back from conflict may depend on emotional engagements each partner had with their caregivers as babies.

"This is some of the first evidence that romantic partners play an important role in buffering the potential harmful effects from poor experiences earlier in life. There's something about the important people later in our lives that changes the consequences of what happened earlier."

Read further about the 20 year research project:
http://www.machineslikeus.com/news/how-couples-recover-after-argument-stems-t...

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16 February 2011

New research: For girls, the fun is in making video #games, not just playing them. #learning

If schools want to engage girls in computer science, they will have to "rewrite the programme".

There is an inherent creative component to computing science. Having a student design and construct something using the tool is one way to allow them to investigate that aspect of computing science. 

"We thought we should have female students create games and see if they are just as excited about making games as male students and see whether it's an attractor to computing science that is independent of gender."

The research findings indicated that female students enjoyed creating games as much as their male counterparts. They even preferred game construction to activities such as story writing. Female students gained and used practical skills that are crucial to understanding computing science.

 

Read rest of article:

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12 February 2011

Young #Children Choose to Share Prizes After Working Together #collaboration

" Grownups have a good sense of what's fair. Research now shows that this is true for young children, too.

In a study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, three-year-old children shared with a peer after they worked together to earn a reward, even in situations where it would be easy for one child to keep all of the spoils for himself. "

 

ttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110211095551.htm?

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Delving into the mind of a dictator - what #behaviours define a #dictator?

Was Mubarek's out-of-touch reaction to the civil uprising in Egypt due in part to his age? After decades in power, had Mubarek come to believe that his own identity was reflected in his country's identity?

Interesting insights in this article provoke us to think about different types of dictators - whether they are defined by longstanding authoritarianism or a narcisistic reign of terror.

Read the article from LiveScience Senior Writer, Stephanie Pappas

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7 February 2011

What's your #Appitype ? Discover what your #mobile #apps say about you

The adage “you can tell a person by the contents of their handbag” may have been true once, but now all you really need to understand someone is to know how they use their smartphone. The secret to determining someone’s personality lies beneath the apps they’ve installed on their phone.

The Appitypes:

APPTHUSIAST – Appthusiasts are energetic and passionate. They are social creatures who like to know about the latest trends. They are curious, spontaneous and enjoy being involved in diverse pursuits. Their likes/dislikes are illustrated through the content on their mobile; they download lots of apps and use them a lot. Appthusiasts are rarely without their smartphone, sometimes even taking it to sleep with them!

APPCENTRIC – They are hard working, energetic and productive. They have a lot of contacts, are tech savvy, and know how to make their technology serve them best. They’re conventional and prefer data management, numerical and organisational pursuits. Appcentrics get the most out of the more functional apps on their mobile, which they often use as a pocket-sized computer. While they only download apps occasionally, they frequently use them.

LIVE WIRE – Live Wires are active, down-to-earth people who enjoy technical, outdoor and athletic pursuits. Clever and investigative, they’re sociable, have lots of friends and often seek new experiences and adventures, relishing any challenge. They are reliable and productive and this is reflected in their downloads, which tend to be a mix of health/fitness, social and travel related apps.

CREATOR – These people are creative and imaginative. The creator may be a loner or a team player, but when they socialize they often find themselves the life of the party. As natural storytellers, they will not only rely on the creative capabilities of their mobile, but often use social networking sites. They are up on the latest trends and their creative spirit often drives them to brightly coloured phones, illustrating that they are fun and open minded.

CONNECTOR – The connector is personable, confident and curious. They have an uplifting and motivating personality with a knack for making friends and acquaintances in the online or real world. They have a collection of apps that they use again and again, often carrying fun apps on their phone and apps that may be useful to others. They occasionally download free apps and their app catalogue could do with a refresh.

APPRENTICE – The apprentice is sensitive, kind hearted and independent. They’re inquisitive and clever with a solid circle of friends and a select group of passionate pursuits. Apprentices are interested in downloading apps but don’t know where to start. Don’t be fooled by their shy appearance. There is a wild side just waiting to get out!

Read the rest of the article from Trevor Pinch  http://memeburn.com/2011/02/what-do-your-mobile-apps-say-about-you

You can also follow Memburn on Twitter @memburn

 

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3 February 2011

Time to re-invent education: #Genes play key classroom role - stop instructing, enable #learning to draw out #potential

This requires a new approach. Now, there is also genetic evidence for re-inventing education. 

Understanding a person's genetic disposition Is elemental to creating learning situations to draw out an individual's potential - so that each person can develp and grow. Soon an unique identity profile might define how to customise a learning programme for each person. 

"Instead of a model of instruction in which children are the passive recipients of knowledge, a genetically sensitive approach to education suggests an active view of learning in which children select, modify and create their own education in part on the basis of their genetic propensities."

This type of learning aligns with the contemporary digital behaviour of "select, modify, create". 

This supports the basic premise in our soon to be published book The Quick Start Guide to Making Choices. We explain that the basic principles for making choices are framed by an individual's core values. This disposition gives each person a unique perspective on a situation. I am looking forward to speaking with Dr. Claire Haworth about the possibilities of working with us on the learning programmes for the Kids 2020 Foundation.


Read the BBC reference article here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/education-12339798

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What will frame the future of law & public policy in #Egypt & how long will it take?

"The breathtaking events in Egypt this past week are likely to lead to long-term economic benefits for frustrated citizens long accustomed to living under the thumb of a corrupt system that has disproportionately benefited the military, left millions of young adults jobless and instilled a sense of hopelessness for the future. But the much-needed reforms essential to Egypt's political and economic transformation will take many years to unfold. In the meantime, the country will face short-term risks and uncertainty, and much of what takes place in the weeks and months to come will depend on how military leaders want events to play out. Read rest of article from Knowledge@Wharton: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2707

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2 February 2011

Social tech innovators create detours around media roadblocks during times of crisis #innovation #socialmedia

Amazing case study of innovative social networking, collaboration, crowdsourcing, technology and the future of work. Google and Twitter teamed up to solve problem of getting messages out of Egypt when government shut down access to the Internet. People could call designated phone numbers and leave a voicemail. That voicemail turned into a Tweet. Crowdsourcing translations from Arabic, those Tweets got got transcribed into English. Read article for phone numbers and details: http://channel.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=28743

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Social tech innovators create detours around media roadblocks during times of crisis #innovation #socialmedia

Amazing case study of innovative social networking, collaboration, crowdsourcing, technology and the future of work. Google and Twitter teamed up to solve problem of getting messages out of Egypt when government shut down access to the Internet. People could call designated phone numbers and leave a voicemail. That voicemail turned into a Tweet. Crowdsourcing translations from Arabic, those Tweets got got transcribed into English. Read article for phone numbers and details: http://channel.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=28743

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Visualisation - Talking with your hands can help solve complex problems #science #behaviour

Gestures Provide a Helping Hand in Problem Solving Spontaneous hand movements can improve spatial visualization skills WASHINGTON—Talking with your hands can trigger mental images that help solve complex problems relating to spatial visualization, an important skill for both students and professionals, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. Spatial visualization is the ability to mentally rotate or move an object to a different position or view. An air traffic controller uses spatial visualization to mentally track planes in the air based only on a two-dimensional radar screen. An interior decorator needs spatial visualization to picture how a living room will look with a sofa in different positions without actually moving the sofa. Read rest of article from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/02/spatial-visualization.aspx

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Visualisation - Talking with your hands can help solve complex problems #science #behaviour

Gestures Provide a Helping Hand in Problem Solving Spontaneous hand movements can improve spatial visualization skills WASHINGTON—Talking with your hands can trigger mental images that help solve complex problems relating to spatial visualization, an important skill for both students and professionals, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. Spatial visualization is the ability to mentally rotate or move an object to a different position or view. An air traffic controller uses spatial visualization to mentally track planes in the air based only on a two-dimensional radar screen. An interior decorator needs spatial visualization to picture how a living room will look with a sofa in different positions without actually moving the sofa. Read rest of article from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/02/spatial-visualization.aspx

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