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abdulrahmanabdo

Stem Cell Research at the Crossroads of Religion and Politics | Pew Research Center's R... - 0 views

www.pewforum.org/...roads-of-religion-and-politics

StemCellCrossroads

shared by abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • For patients and their families, embryonic stem cell research offers the hope of cures for chronic and debilitating conditions, such as juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries and blindness. For scientists, it represents a revolutionary path to discovering the causes and cures for many more human maladies. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, that is, they have the unique ability to develop into any of the 220 cell types in the human body. In addition to their versatility, embryonic stem cells are easier to grow in the laboratory than adult stem cells.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      Very interesting perspectives and can to used to either bolster or discredit an argument about stem cell research in America.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      Very interesting perspectives and can to used to either bolster or discredit an argument about stem cell research in America.
  • But many opponents, including some religious leaders, believe that stem cell research raises the same moral issues as abortion. Furthermore, opponents maintain that scientists have other promising ways of reaching the same goals, including non-controversial adult stem cell research.
  • But many opponents, including some religious leaders, believe that stem cell research raises the same moral issues as abortion. Furthermore, opponents maintain that scientists have other promising ways of reaching the same goals, including non-controversial adult stem cell research.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      The other side of the argument to stem cell research in America. This still contains a substantial part of the population in America and is useful in an argumentative inquiry research paper.  
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      The other side of the argument to stem cell research in America. This still contains a substantial part of the population in America and is useful in an argumentative inquiry research paper.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • For the Catholic Church and many other Christian groups, life begins at conception, making the research tantamount to homicide because it results in the destruction of human embryos. “Human embryos obtained in vitro are human beings and are subjects with rights; their dignity and right to life must be respected from the first moment of their existence,” the late Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1995 encyclical, The Gospel of Life.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      Interesting outlook on stem cell research and since the majority of Americans today identify as christian. This should be accounted for when writing an argumentative research inquiry paper.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      Interesting outlook on stem cell research and since the majority of Americans today identify as christian. This should be accounted for when writing an argumentative research inquiry paper.
  • National polls indicate that a slim majority of Americans support the research. According to a 2007 national poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 51 percent say it is more important to conduct stem cell research that could result in new medical cures than to avoid destroying the potential life of human embryos. The same poll found that 35 percent say it is more important not to destroy embryos.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      This is very important data about Americans support of stem cell research. The previous highlighted region in this article said that many Christians aren't in favor of stem cell research, yet the national polls indicate otherwise. So it can be inferred that some Christians are in favor of stem cell research, to the point of where there is a slim majority of Americans in support of the research. This may proof to be a definite curve ball in an argumentative research inquiry paper.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      This is very important data about Americans support of stem cell research. The previous highlighted region in this article said that many Christians aren't in favor of stem cell research, yet the national polls indicate otherwise. So it can be inferred that some Christians are in favor of stem cell research, to the point of where there is a slim majority of Americans in support of the research. This may proof to be a definite curve ball in an argumentative research inquiry paper.
  • As the pace of the cutting-edge research quickens and the prospect for cures moves closer to reality, advocates on both sides of the debate see the possibility that, within a few years, scientists will find a way to harvest stem cells without destroying embryos.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      Very interesting and may provide some sort of middle ground in which everyone is satisfied, and an happy ending does occur for everyone.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      Very interesting and may provide some sort of middle ground in which everyone is satisfied, and an happy ending does occur for everyone.
  • History of the Debate
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      This can provide useful history and background on this heavily debated discussion that has been with Americans for quite some time now.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      This can provide useful history and background on this heavily debated discussion that has been with Americans for quite some time now.
  • While these states have taken action to move forward on stem cell research, the issue is unsettled in much of the country. Because the U.S. government allows the research as long as no federal money is spent, state universities and private, nonprofit and corporate laboratories are free to pursue it, except in states that prohibit it.
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      This presents yet another interesting perspective to use in the argumentative research inquiry paper, and perfectly describes the stand of the American government politically has on this issue and can be incorporated into the argumentative research inquiry paper.  
    • abdulrahmanabdo
      abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
       
      This presents yet another interesting perspective to use in the argumentative research inquiry paper, and perfectly describes the stand of the American government politically has on this issue and can be incorporated into the argumentative research inquiry paper.
  • abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
     
    Very good article that will help me pave the way for a good argumentative research inquiry paper, in my opinion.
  • abdulrahmanabdo on 27 Jun 14
     
    Very good article that will help me pave the way for a good argumentative research inquiry paper, in my opinion.
kahn_artist

The Role of Interest in Learning and Development - Google Books - 0 views

books.google.com/books

interest learning development

shared by kahn_artist on 05 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • kahn_artist on 05 Jul 14
     
    What is "interest", how do we study it, and how does it affect us?
anonymous

Development and Utilization of Projector-Robot Service for Children's Dramatic Play Act... - 0 views

www.aicit.org/...AISS5-367029JE(final2).pdf

#ThoughtVectors technology robot projector education teacher presence

shared by anonymous on 05 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 05 Jul 14
     
    After interviewing, focused on the three different aspects, such as differences from previous dramatic experiences, interesting points in the play activity, and the role of the media (robot or computer), most interviewees positively evaluated the augmented reality based dramatic play activity. Regarding all three of the categories, we concluded that the robot, as a delivering medium, did a better job than a computer when it came to helping children concentrate on the media and technology, peak their interests and understand the roles of the media.
mjminutoli

Facebook Will Gather More User Information, but Offer More Control Over Ads | CIO - 0 views

www.cio.com/...fer-more-control-over-ads.html

#ThoughtVectors social media internet education technology facebook

shared by mjminutoli on 11 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • Facebook will use the information gathered from all those sources to identify its users' interests and match them with advertising, as it already does with information about their onsite activities.
  • A screenshot illustrating the function showed that clicking on one corner of the ad will drop down a menu allowing users to select one of four options: "I don't want to see this," "Hide all ads from this advertiser," "Why am I seeing this?" and "This ad is useful." Asking for more information will show the interest areas identified by Facebook to which the ad is related, allowing users to reject further ads associated with that interest.
  • Facebook will use the information gathered from all those sources to identify its users' interests and match them with advertising, as it already does with information about their onsite activities.
anonymous

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES GAMES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Robert... - 0 views

llt.msu.edu/...emerging.pdf

#ThoughtVectors technology media education augmented reality

shared by anonymous on 09 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 09 Jul 14
     
    Robert Godwin-Jones, Virginia Commonwealth University There has been a substantial increase in recent years in the interest in using digital games for language learning. This coincides with the explosive growth in multiplayer online gaming and with the proliferation of mobile games for smart phones. It also reflects the growing recognition among educators of the importance of extramural, informal learning and the interest in finding ways to connect learning to students' real lives....number of practical and pedagogical obstacles in the way of incorporating gaming into instructed language learning... what kind of games to choose or to create; how to find the opportunities for language learning within gameplay; and how to integrate gameplay and its associated activities into the curriculum. APA Citation: Godwin-Jones, R. (2014). Games in language learning: Opportunities and challenges. Language Learning & Technology 18(2), 9-19 Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/june2014/emerging.pdf
wstrahan

Greece is standing up to EU neocolonialism | Costas Douzinas and Petros Papaconstantino... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...eece-bailout-eu-neocolonialism

#neocolonialism greece

shared by wstrahan on 25 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • The bailout of Greece is not a gift or grant but a loan bearing high interest.
  • According to IMF estimates, Greece will pay €131bn in refinancing and interest payments between 2009 and 2014, far more than the initial bailout loan of €110bn.
  • The European governments now propose to offer a second loan, if Greece accepts an even more odious set of measures and sells off the family silver.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The privatisation plan includes the sale of 17% of the public power corporation, the engineroom of growth, which will remove the state's controlling interest.
  • Under the new plan, foreign emissaries will be assigned to the main ministries and the company set up to privatise public wealth.
  • The market value of this stake is just €400m, because of the stock exchange decline. But the corporation owns 15 power plants and the budget for a new plant about to be built is €1.3bn.
  • The loss of economic sovereignty is accompanied by unprecedented attacks on the political and legal integrity of the country.
  • Under the new plan, foreign emissaries will be assigned to the main ministries and will run the companies that will privatise the public wealth.
wstrahan

Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of imperialism by Kwame Nkrumah - 0 views

www.marxists.org/...introduction.htm

#neocolonialism #taboo

shared by wstrahan on 25 Jun 14 - No Cached
    • wstrahan
      wstrahan on 25 Jun 14
       
      Neo-colonialism isn't a problem until it's being used to impoverish less developed countries, rather than help develop them.
  • Non-alignment, as practised by Ghana and many other countries, is based on co-operation with all States whether they be capitalist, socialist or have a mixed economy. Such a policy, therefore, involves foreign investment from capitalist countries, but it must be invested in accordance with a national plan drawn up by the government of the non-aligned State with its own interests in mind.
    • wstrahan
      wstrahan on 25 Jun 14
       
      Countries like Ghana choose not to align with an economic policy like capitalism or socialism in order to trade with all countries based on their own national plan.
  • ...30 more annotations...
  • The growth of nuclear weapons has made out of date the old-fashioned balance of power which rested upon the ultimate sanction of a major war. Certainty of mutual mass destruction effectively prevents either of the great power blocs from threatening the other with the possibility of a world-wide war, and military conflict has thus become confined to ‘limited wars’. For these neo-colonialism is the breeding ground.
    • wstrahan
      wstrahan on 25 Jun 14
       
      Nuclear weapons have increased the growth in neo-colonialism. Larger economic countries such as the U.S. and Russia would rather avoid a world war and nuclear mass destruction by fighting "limited wars"
  • Limited war, once embarked upon, achieves a momentum of its own. Of this, the war in South Vietnam is only one example. It escalates despite the desire of the great power blocs to keep it limited. While this particular war may be prevented from leading to a world conflict, the multiplication of similar limited wars can only have one end-world war and the terrible consequences of nuclear conflict.
  • Neo-colonialism is also the worst form of imperialism. For those who practise it, it means power without responsibility and for those who suffer from it, it means exploitation without redress.
  • In the days of old-fashioned colonialism, the imperial power had at least to explain and justify at home the actions it was taking abroad.
  • Neo-colonialism, like colonialism, is an attempt to export the social conflicts of the capitalist countries.
  • The problem which faced the wealthy nations of the world at the end of the second world war was the impossibility of returning to the pre-war situation in which there was a great gulf between the few rich and the many poor. Irrespective of what particular political party was in power, the internal pressures in the rich countries of the world were such that no post-war capitalist country could survive unless it became a ‘Welfare State’. There might be differences in degree in the extent of the social benefits given to the industrial and agricultural workers, but what was everywhere impossible was a return to the mass unemployment and to the low level of living of the pre-war years.
  • In the past it was possible to convert a country upon which a neo-colonial regime had been imposed — Egypt in the nineteenth century is an example — into a colonial territory.
  • The essence of neo-colonialism is that the State which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. In reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside.
  • e, but neo-
  • Where neo-colonialism exists the power exercising control is often the State which formerly ruled the territory in question, but this is not necessarily so. For example, in the case of South Vietnam the former imperial power was France, but neo-colonial control of the State has now gone to the United States.
  • The neo-colonial State may be obliged to take the manufactured products of the imperialist power to the exclusion of competing products from elsewhere. Control over government policy in the neo-colonial State may be secured by payments towards the cost of running the State, by the provision of civil servants in positions where they can dictate policy, and by monetary control over foreign exchange through the imposition of a banking system controlled by the imperial power.
  • The control of the Congo by great international financial concerns is a case in point.
  • The struggle against neo-colonialism is not aimed at excluding the capital of the developed world from operating in less developed countries. It is aimed at preventing the financial power of the developed countries being used in such a way as to impoverish the less developed.
  • The result of neo-colonialism is that foreign capital is used for the exploitation rather than for the development of the less developed parts of the world. Investment under neo-colonialism increases rather than decreases the gap between the rich and the poor countries of the world.
  • The system of neo-colonialism was therefore instituted and in the short run it has served the developed powers admirably. It is in the long run that its consequences are likely to be catastrophic for them
  • Neo-colonialism is based upon the principle of breaking up former large united colonial territories into a number of small non-viable States which are incapable of independent development and must rely upon the former imperial power for defence and even internal security. Their economic and financial systems are linked, as in colonial days, with those of the former colonial ruler.
  • In the neo-colonialist territories, since the former colonial power has in theory relinquished political control, if the social conditions occasioned by neo-colonialism cause a revolt the local neo-colonialist government can be sacrificed and another equally subservient one substituted in its place.
  • The introduction of neo-colonialism increases the rivalry between the great powers which was provoked by the old-style colonialism. However little real power the government of a neo-colonialist State may possess, it must have, from the very fact of its nominal independence, a certain area of manoeuvre. It may not be able to exist without a neo-colonialist master but it may still have the ability to change masters.
  • The ideal neo-colonialist State would be one which was wholly subservient to neo-colonialist interests but the existence of the socialist nations makes it impossible to enforce the full rigour of the neo-colonialist system. The existence of an alternative system is itself a challenge to the neo-colonialist regime. Warnings about ‘the dangers of Communist subversion are likely to be two-edged since they bring to the notice of those living under a neo-colonialist system the possibility of a change of regime.
  • In fact neo-colonialism is the victim of its own contradictions. In order to make it attractive to those upon whom it is practised it must be shown as capable of raising their living standards, but the economic object of neo-colonialism is to keep those standards depressed in the interest of the developed countries.
  • Their manufacturers naturally object to any attempt to raise the price of the raw materials which they obtain from the neo-colonialist territory in question, or to the establishment there of manufacturing industries which might compete directly or indirectly with their own exports to the territory.
  • In the end the situation arises that the only type of aid which the neo-colonialist masters consider as safe is ‘military aid’.
  • Once a neo-colonialist territory is brought to such a state of economic chaos and misery that revolt actually breaks out then, and only then, is there no limit to the generosity of the neo-colonial overlord, provided, of course, that the funds supplied are utilised exclusively for military purposes.
  • Military aid in fact marks the last stage of neo-colonialism and its effect is self-destructive. Sooner or later the weapons supplied pass into the hands of the opponents of the neo-colonialist regime and the war itself increases the social misery which originally provoked it.
  • Nowhere has it proved successful, either in raising living standards or in ultimately benefiting countries which have indulged in it.
  • This book is therefore an attempt to examine neo-colonialism not only in its African context and its relation to African unity, but in world perspective. Neo-colonialism is by no means exclusively an African question. Long before it was practised on any large scale in Africa it was an established system in other parts of the world
  • ‘The industrial nations have added nearly $2 billion to their reserves, which now approximate $52 billion. At the same time, the reserves of the less-developed group not only have stopped rising, but have declined some $200 million. To analysts such as Britain’s Miss Ward, the significance of such statistics is clear: the economic gap is rapidly widening “between a white, complacent, highly bourgeois, very wealthy, very small North Atlantic elite and everybody else, and this is not a very comfortable heritage to leave to one’s children.”
  • ‘For the vast majority of mankind the most urgent problem is not war, or Communism, or the cost of living, or taxation. It is hunger. Over 1,500,000,000 people, some-thing like two-thirds of the world’s population, are living in conditions of acute hunger, defined in terms of identifiable nutritional disease.
  • What is lacking are any positive proposals for dealing with the situation. All that The Wall Street Journal’s correspondent can do is to point out that the traditional methods recommended for curing the evils are only likely to make the situation worse.
mjminutoli

Visual Culture Is Taking Over and Other Insights From Media | Media - Advertising Age - 2 views

adage.com/...233122

#ThoughtVectors social media media advertising thoughtvectors internet

shared by mjminutoli on 27 Jun 14 - No Cached
    • mjminutoli
      mjminutoli on 27 Jun 14
       
      Its alarming how beauty companies have been able to cash in on woman's insecurities by exploiting it
    • mjminutoli
      mjminutoli on 27 Jun 14
       
      I think that the work Dove is doing is great and should be more advertised
    • mjminutoli
      mjminutoli on 27 Jun 14
       
      I find it interesting that the most visual of the social networks in the one on the rise.
  • ...7 more annotations...
    • mjminutoli
      mjminutoli on 27 Jun 14
       
      I think this has to do with the idea that we are growing up in a more technological age that nurtures our love of new inventions.
    • mjminutoli
      mjminutoli on 27 Jun 14
       
      I find it interesting that shows viewers correspond to what events are happening in the real world.
  • llennials -- the largest and most important consumer segment. The populari
  • The quick popularity of "24" showed a hardening of the public's stance on security post9/11. And popular shows such as "Modern Family" and "Glee" include prominent portrayal of lead gay characters in interesting stories, indicating something of a coming out for Middle America.
  • millennials -- the largest and most important consumer segment
  • that geeks and technology have officially become cooler than chasing fame and fortune
  • the rise of Pinterest, the online pinboard for sharing images and video -- and currently the fastest-growing social-media platform.
kahn_artist

Surfing for Inspiration - Editorial - Coast Reporter - 1 views

www.coastreporter.net/...rfing-for-inspiration-1.993912

websurfing inspiration

shared by kahn_artist on 24 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • Who needs dope when you go on a mind-expanding trip just sitting at your computer?
  • kahn_artist on 24 Jun 14
     
    This guy gets it. An editorial on websurfing and how it serves as an inpsiring distraction to "real work". Reminds me of a classmate's early blogpost about getting distracted from an assignment by getting interested in articles. Beautiful.
morganaletarg

Everyday Fandom: Fan Clubs, Blogging, and the Quotidian Rhythms of the Internet | Thebe... - 1 views

cjc-online.ca/...1810

shared by morganaletarg on 24 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • fan clubs become more than simple, isolated groups of individuals with a particularly strong attachment to an individual celebrity or media text. Indeed, fan clubs as a medium serve specific, though different, functions for both fans and the music industry: they act as a conduit through which the fans' desire for contact with the artist is channelled, at the same time as they serve as a means for the promotion of tours and commercial releases. They can be used both to create a sense of identity and belonging and as a means of direct marketing.
    • morganaletarg
      morganaletarg on 24 Jun 14
       
      "desire for contact" particularly stirring word choice
  • popular culture is, by definition, "of the people," and it works against commodification (1989). In the present context, however, the fan clubs appear to operate in a more complex modality, with fan interests and industry interests feeding off of and reinforcing each other, rather than acting in opposition
    • morganaletarg
      morganaletarg on 24 Jun 14
       
      lol, not in my neck of the woods
Virinchi Tadikonda

NASA - NASA Policy on the Release of Information to News and Information Media - 0 views

www.nasa.gov/...communication_policy.html

nasa policy release information news media

shared by Virinchi Tadikonda on 25 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • public information, which is defined as information in any form provided to news and information media, especially information that has the potential to generate significant media, or public interest or inquiry. Examples include, but are not limited to, press releases, media advisories, news features, and web postings.
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 25 Jun 14
       
      It seems that NASA only releases material to media that generates high interest. Any small things such as regular mission launches seem to be not released as frequently. 
  • this policy shall govern and supersede any previous issuance or directive.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • In keeping with the desire for a culture of openness, NASA employees may, consistent with this policy, speak to the press and the public about their work.
  • ) This policy does not authorize or require disclosure of information that is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) or otherwise restricted by statute, regulation, Executive Order, or other Executive Branch policy or NASA policy (e.g., OMB Circulars, NASA Policy Directives).
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 25 Jun 14
       
      It seems that even thought NASA policy says you can speak openly about what you do, you can't say everything because otherwise it is a breach of NASA policy. 
  • NASA's Mission Directorate Associate Administrators and Mission Support Office heads have ultimate responsibility for the technical, scientific, and programmatic accuracy of all information that is related to their respective programs and released by NASA.
  • Center Directors have ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of public information that does not require the concurrence of Headquarters.
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 25 Jun 14
       
      Policy states that NASA holds high executives for accuracy of information. I see a small conflict in what employees may say, and what executives might say. It seems that employees may say one thing, and executives another.  
  • officers are required to coordinate to obtain review and clearance by appropriate officials, keep each other informed of changes, delays, or cancellation of releases, and provide advance notification of the actual release.
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 25 Jun 14
       
      There is a hierarchy of how material is released. There is also an important and quick way to release information with precision and accuracy.  
  • Release of classified information in any form (e.g., documents, through interviews, audio/visual, etc.) to the news media is prohibited. The disclosure of classified information to unauthorized individuals may be cause for prosecution and/or disciplinary action against the NASA employee involved. Ignorance of NASA policy and procedures regarding classified information does not release a NASA employee from responsibility for preventing any unauthorized release.
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 25 Jun 14
       
      This seems to be the regular because NASA definitely has a lot of classified material that to this date since the moon landing has not been shared or released. 
  • Virinchi Tadikonda on 25 Jun 14
     
    Media Policy 
normonique

http://psycnet.apa.org.proxy.library.vcu.edu/journals/amp/64/5/454.pdf - 0 views

psycnet.apa.org.proxy.library.vcu.edu/...454.pdf

pychology neur neurotechnology normonique brain technology neurodevelopment diigodynamics

shared by normonique on 29 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • normonique on 29 Jun 14
     
    This article is interesting because it proves that technology does not solve psychological problems.
peppermara

Michigan Womyn's Music Festival - 0 views

www.jstor.org/...25794545

#tv008 #ThoughtVectors

shared by peppermara on 05 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • peppermara on 05 Jul 14
     
    This journal was a recap of an All-Woman's (Womyn's) Music Festival in Michigan in 1984. Though it doesn't provide specific instances of a woman's connection of music to building her confidence and self-esteem-it's an interesting insight to understand where woman who were heavily doused with feminism, musicality, community, radicalness. Speaking of woman coming together as one community versus drawing the divides between sexual preferences and ways of identifying oneself. I felt most connected to this article since I had the privilege for two years to attend a festival/conference as open and eclectic as this but definitely not as full of frustration and anger to the anti-feminists.
George Neff

Netflix vs. Cable: How Viewers Watch TV in the Summer - 0 views

mashable.com/...netflix-cable-summer

#ThoughtVectors netflix cable summer

shared by George Neff on 25 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • About 99% of U.S. households (the total of which are in the 115 million range) have a TV, and 56% have cable. Compare that to Netflix, which has more than 48 million members worldwide. That means its entire global viewership is still not even half the U.S. However, that's not bad for a company founded in 1997, tackling a nearly 64-year-old industry.
  • In the summer months, it's easy to assume Netflix usage would go through the roof, thanks in part to younger students who now have three free months of time.
  • While Netflix doesn't share specific data on its viewers, spokeswoman Jenny McCabe said the site doesn't acquire more subscribers during the summer months. Rather, it picks up more viewers in Q1 (January, February and March) and Q4 (October, November and December).
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • In Q4 2013, Netflix acquired 2.3 million new American households, the highest performance in three years.
  • From a strategic standpoint, Netflix is starting to up the ante for summer viewers by airing original shows like Orange is the New Black in June.
  • It just cares about what people are watching, McCabe says.
  • The average user prefers to watch a series from beginning to end, consume it wholly, then move on to the next thing, according to McCabe.
  • Thanks to summer vacations, kids are watching way more Netflix. Considering how tech-literate children have become, it will be interesting to watch how cable TV fares against Netflix as this younger generation gets older, raised with both options.
Mirna Shaban

New study quantifies use of social media in Arab Spring | UW Today - 0 views

www.washington.edu/...of-social-media-in-arab-spring

revolution socialmedia

shared by Mirna Shaban on 26 Jun 14 - No Cached
    • Mirna Shaban
      Mirna Shaban on 26 Jun 14
       
      Yellow highlighting= Information about role of social media in the Arab Spring. Pink highlighting= Statistical information Blue highlighting= Possibility of link to more information. 
  • the team located data about technology use and political opinion from before the revolutions. 
  • “Our evidence suggests that social media carried a cascade of messages about freedom and democracy across North Africa and the Middle East, and helped raise expectations for the success of political uprising,” said Philip Howard, the project lead and an associate professor in communication at the University of Washington.  “People who shared interest in democracy built extensive social networks and organized political action. Social media became a critical part of the toolkit for greater freedom.”
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • During the week before Egyptian president Hosni Mubaraks resignation, for example, the total rate of tweets from Egypt — and around the world — about political change in that country ballooned from 2,300 a day to 230,000 a day. 
  • Data for the UW project came directly from immense digital archives the team built over the course of several months.
  • After analyzing more than 3 million tweets, gigabytes of YouTube content and thousands of blog posts, a new study finds that social media played a central role in shaping political debates in the Arab Spring.
  • The Project on Information Technology and Political Islam assembled data about blogging in Tunisia one month prior to the crisis in that country, and had special data on the link structure of Egyptian political parties one month prior to the crisis there.
  • Political discussion in blogs presaged the turn of popular opinion in both Tunisia and Egypt.  In Tunisia, conversations about liberty, democracy and revolution on blogs and on Twitter often immediately preceded mass protests. 
  • Twenty percent of blogs were evaluating Ben Alis leadership the day he resigned from office (Jan. 14), up from just 5 percent the month before.  Subsequently, the primary topic for Tunisian blogs was “revolution” until a public rally of at least 100,000 people eventually forced the old regimes remaining leaders to relinquish power.
  • In the two weeks after Mubaraks resignation, there was an average of 2,400 tweets a day from people in neighboring countries about the political situation in Egypt. In Tunisia after Ben Alis resignation, there were about 2,200 tweets a day.
  • Ironically, government efforts to crack down on social media may have incited more public activism, especially in Egypt. People who were isolated by efforts to shut down the Internet, mostly middle-class Egyptians, may have gone to the streets when they could no longer follow the unrest through social media, Howard said.
gerellmalazarte

Online privacy fears are real | NBC News - 0 views

www.nbcnews.com/...online-privacy-fears-are-real

controversy privacy rights internet

shared by gerellmalazarte on 25 Jun 14 - Cached
  • INTERNET PRIVACY is a murky, complicated issue full of conflicting interests, misinformation, innuendo and technology snafus.
  • Complicating matters further are criminals who break into Web sites, steal the information and use it for personal gain.
  • Advertising firms, who stand to gain as much as any from personal data collection, have absorbed the brunt of complaints from privacy critics
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • At its heart, the Internet privacy problem is a paradox.
  • But privacy concerns don’t always arise from criminal activity.
  • Privacy advocate and well-known spam fighter Ian Oxman was surprised earlier this year how easily he was able to track down the former owner of a used car he had just purchased
  • gerellmalazarte on 25 Jun 14
     
    In this article there are examples of situations where Internet privacy was a problem. There are viewpoints of Internet privacy from people of high stature. Pros and cons of internet privacy.
Virinchi Tadikonda

Future of Human Space Exploration Could See Humans on Mars, Alien Planets - 0 views

www.space.com/f-human-space-exploration.html

shared by Virinchi Tadikonda on 27 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • Closer to home, private industries like Mars One seek to establish a permanent settlement on the Red Planet. At the Smithsonian Magazine's "The Future is Here Festival" in Washington, D.C. this month, former astronaut Mae Jemison and NASA engineer Adam Steltzner spoke optimistically about the future of manned space exploration
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 27 Jun 14
       
      The way that planet Earth and our Solar System is operating is that the sun expands everyday, and planets revolving around the sun. The sun will eventually grow and expand with the future being sucking in all the planets, killing all life. Future expansion of other planets is necessary. 
  • Although the idea that bacteria — and life — could hitch a ride on traveling rocks to spread life to other planets is not new, Steltzner suggested a deliberate program that sounds more like science fiction than science fact. Such bacteria could carry our genome and the instructions to reassemble it after landing on a planet (and, one assumes, after the planet has been terraformed to support such life). Steltzner described the process as "printing human beings organically over time."
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 27 Jun 14
       
      Life in other planets is not at all impossible. There are many scientific methods to start life, the only question is how to do it, and will the life survive? 
  • In addition to curiosity-motivated exploration, Steltzner pointed out that as long as humans remain on a single planet, we are at risk of extinction when disaster strikes. "Our real estate portfolio suffers from a concentration of risk," he said.
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 27 Jun 14
       
      An important note is that we have limited resources on planet Earth. Once those resources are extinct, there must be exploration elsewhere from either Space, or deep in the unexplored regions of the oceans. 
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • "Technology didn't slow us down getting to the moon," Steltzner said. "Technology won't slow us down getting to Mars."
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 27 Jun 14
       
      The problem with this technology is that all the information that was used for getting to the moon was lost. The old computers got replaced and the people who worked to get astronauts to the moon retired. The key this time around is to not lose the information. In Kennedy's presidency, it took a long time to get all the components together. Now that technology is more advanced, it should take less time to get to the moon, and should be a straight shot to Mars. 
  • Mars may be one of the closest planets humans want to colonize, but it certainly isn't the only one. Mae Jemison described the 100-Year Starship project to an interested audience. Funded by NASA's Ames Research Center and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the 100-Year Starship project aims to develop the tools and technology necessary to build and fly a spaceship to another planetary system within the next 100 years. The program isn't necessarily concerned with building the ship itself as much as it seeks to foster innovation and enthusiasm for interstellar travel.
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 27 Jun 14
       
      The method of transportation is going to be very difficult. The researching that is in progress and takes a while to accomplish, obviously. Maybe this is NASA's plan to not release to the public yet? 
  • Though many people object to funding the space program when there are humanitarian needs that have to be met on Earth, Jemison points out that such exploration often leads to innovation and unexpected technology that make an impact on Earth-based programs. "I believe that pursuing an extraordinary tomorrow will create a better world today," she said.
    • Virinchi Tadikonda
      Virinchi Tadikonda on 27 Jun 14
       
      The original space launches did not revolve around trying to put up satellites, rather to explore space. Since then, satellites have been launched, telescopes have also been put up. Who knows what other technological aspects can be added once funding is no longer cut and innovation is big again?
wstrahan

China and Nigeria: Neo-Colonialism, South-South Solidarity, or Both? | Daniel Wagner - 0 views

www.huffingtonpost.com/...nigeria-neocolo_b_3624204.html

#neocolonialism china nigeria

shared by wstrahan on 25 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • Bilateral relations between China and Nigeria will likely take one of two paths in the long term: either China will remain the overwhelmingly dominant actor or Nigeria will become a regional superpower, evening out the playing field. If China remains the stronger player it will shape Nigeria in its own interests (commonly referred to as "Chinese Imperialism").
  • During the first eleven years of its independence, Nigeria and China had no diplomatic relations. The Nigerian government's view of China grew especially sour after Mao officially supported the secessionist state in Biafra by supplying the Biafran administration with weapons.
  • During the period of General Abacha's military rule (1993-1998), Beijing's no-strings-attached development projects were increasingly well received. Nigeria's leaders grew resentful of Western conditions for aid and investment, and many Nigerians began to question what a generation of economic dependence on the West achieved for Nigeria.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • Abuja subsequently adopted a new approach to international trade, balancing traditional Western partners and China.
  • The evolution of Nigerian-Chinese relations mirrors that of China's relationship with other African states (such as Angola, Sudan, and Zimbabwe) that sought alternative forms of aid and development packages following the imposition of sanctions by Western nations based on alleged human rights violations.
  • Today, more than 200 Chinese firms operate in Nigeria.
  • China agreed to provide Nigeria with a soft loan of $1.1 billion loan in exchange for Nigeria agreeing to increase its daily supply of oil to China ten-fold (from 20,000 barrels per day to 200,000) by 2015.
  • China recently embraced a new foreign policy in West Africa that contrasts with its traditionally passive approach to the spread of Islamic terrorism and extremism in Africa. Last year a Chinese diplomat in Mali pledged support for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)'s military campaign to dislodge Al Qaeda-affiliate groups in northern Mali.
  • China's number one concern in West Africa is access to natural resources and new consumer markets
  • While many Nigerians consider China's growing presence to be nothing short of a God send, others have raised concerns about Nigerian sovereignty, bearing in mind the impact Chinese trade and investment has had on other African countries.
  • The Chinese model of importing its own workers to build infrastructure projects, for example, does not sit well with many Nigerians.
  • A number of Nigerians have also voiced objections to the "slave-like" labor conditions in Chinese-operated factories across Nigeria. Attention was first brought to these conditions when 37 Nigerian workers died after being trapped inside a locked Chinese-owned factory that caught fire in 2002
  • Western powers that claim a desire to help Nigeria develop are often perceived as insincere, with their own aid being viewed as an infringement on Nigeria's sovereignty, since it often comes with strings attached.
wstrahan

Africa and China: More than minerals | The Economist - 0 views

www.economist.com/...ocolonialism-are-overdone-more

#neocolonialism Africa China

shared by wstrahan on 25 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • An estimated 1m are now resident in Africa, up from a few thousand a decade ago, and more keep arriving.
  • Between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts lie many of the raw materials desired by its industries. China recently overtook America as the world’s largest net importer of oil.
  • Almost 80% of Chinese imports from Africa are mineral products.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • China is Africa’s top business partner, with trade exceeding $166 billion. But it is not all minerals.
  • Machinery makes up 29%.
  • Last summer China’s commerce minister, Chen Deming, said the number “exceeded $14.7 billion, up 60% from 2009”.
  • Until recently China concentrated on a few big resource-rich countries, including Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Zambia
  • Ethiopia and Congo, where minerals are scarce or hard to extract, are now getting more attention,
  • The first person to be expelled from Africa’s youngest country, South Sudan, was a Chinese: Liu Yingcai, the local head of Petrodar, a Chinese-Malaysian oil company and the government’s biggest customer, in connection with an alleged $815m oil “theft”.
  • Congo kicked out two rogue commodities traders in the Kivu region. Algerian courts have banned two Chinese firms from participating in a public tender, alleging corruption. Gabonese officials ditched an unfavourable resource deal. Kenyan and South African conservationists are asking China to stop the trade in ivory and rhino horn.
  • Yet a growing number of Africans say the Chinese create jobs, transfer skills and spend money in local economies.
  • Other popular fears triggered by China’s growing presence have also proved hollow. It has not stoked armed conflict. On the contrary, China has occasionally played peacemaker, although motivated by self-interest. Sudan and South Sudan are both big Chinese trade partners. When they hovered on the brink of war last year, China intervened diplomatically along with other powers.
  • Only in Africa’s largest economies has China become less popular. There it is increasingly seen as a competitor. Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, who long cultivated Chinese contacts, was last year forced by domestic critics to change posture
normonique

The Future of Communication? Let's Ask the Experts - 1 views

thenextweb.com/...unication-lets-ask-the-experts

bioengineering brain neurocommunication neurodevelopment neurogrowth normonique neurology neuroscience neurotechnology pychology technology

shared by normonique on 30 Jun 14 - Cached
  • Technology has been helping us to communicate easier, faster and more often. We’re now at a point where we’re “always on” and panic sets in when we temporarily lose the ability to communicate – for example when we lose the data connection our mobile phone.
  • However, in spite of technological developments, we still don’t seem to understand each other.
    • normonique
      normonique on 30 Jun 14
       
      The african drum simple tool but very powerful 
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • Long before today’s technology existed, the African drum was perhaps the most powerful messaging technology,
  • When the telephone was invented, the fabulous reality was that we could hold distant conversations and spend as long as we liked adding context.
  • Remember the last text you sent that someone didn’t understand? Remember the email that got misunderstood? Or maybe a tweet that you realize could be interpreted in a different way (but you only had 140 characters to use)?
    • normonique
      normonique on 30 Jun 14
       
      This relate to the article that social networking makes communication fast but sometimes ineffective because of misinterpretation due to not having the face to face interaction
  • It’s possible we will look to create more communication tools that will advise us how to reason, and advise us how to feel. If you think about it, this may well remove what is left of being a human from our race.
  • It’s amazing. In only a few years touchscreens in our smartphones and tablets drastically changed the way we interact with humans and machines. In the next few years we’ll see an explosion of touchscreens invading every part of our lives; from the bathroom mirror, to the touchscreen table and even the possibility to interact with your living-room touch window.
  • Intelligent personal assistants such as Apple’s Siri and Samsung’s S-voice allow us to input text or speak commands with our voice instead of typing.
  • An important element will probably also be mood-communication: that our mood (reflected in brain wave patterns) will affect our surroundings in order for them to give feedback and for example lift our mood and shape it in various ways.
  • Dream modification will be another interesting area – the dream we wake up from in the morning largely determines in what mood we start the day. So if that last dream period can be modified in a positive direction through fx soundscapes played softly by your iPhone (by your bed) it would potentially mean a lot for your life, work and productivity.
    • normonique
      normonique on 30 Jun 14
       
      This article relates to my question of technology communicating with the nervous system. 
  • Whether we will have direct communication brain-to-brain via some sort of implanted or just attached devices I’m not sure.
  • Combining sophisticated and surprisingly detailed user profiles with online technologies and “old” tech as direct mailing, robocalls and TV ads, strategists can now truly microtarget voters.
  • Securing communications presents us with a challenge of enormous importance and complexity.
  • The future of communication is already here, it’s just – to paraphrase William Gibson – not evenly distributed. Instead of radical departures from what we have, we will most likely see incremental improvements.
  • normonique on 30 Jun 14
     
    This article answer my question of the speed of communication through technology in the future
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