Analysis – Page 261

Analysis, Art, Education, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Latest News

The state of OpenCourseWare (infographic)

January 31, 2012

The world of academics is changing rapidly.

OpenCourseWare, or OCW, is a term applied to course materials created by universities and shared freely with the world via the internet. The movement started in 1999 when the University of Tübingen in Germany published videos of lectures online in the context of its timms initiative. The OCW movement only took off, however, with the launch of MIT OpenCourseWare at MIT in October 2002 and has been reinforced by the launch of similar projects at Yale, Michigan University, and the University of California Berkeley…

(infographic after jump)

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Analysis, facebook, Latest Trend, Twitter

Teens shifting to Twitter for privacy

January 30, 2012

Teens are migrating to Twitter because many parents are on Facebook, but they don’t tweet.

Teenagers don’t tweet and will never tweet because it’s too public, too many older users and not cool. That’s been the prediction for a while now, born of numbers showing that fewer than one in 10 teens were using Twitter early on.

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Analysis, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News

Revolutionary new theory says ‘inanimate’ objects also alive

January 30, 2012

Earth is alive.

A revolutionary new theory asserts that even so-called inanimate matter — DNA, water and planets included — are all alive.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Food, Globalism, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Food crops harmed by air pollution crossing continents: study

January 30, 2012

Ozone pollution generated in each of the Northern Hemisphere’s major industrialized regions damages six important agricultural crops.

Europe loses 1.2 million tons of wheat a year due to man-made pollution from North America, an new study has found.

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Analysis, People Making a Difference

The power of diligence in creating a remarkable life

January 30, 2012

In Steve Martin’s memoir, Born Standing Up, he emphasizes this theme — defining diligence not just in terms of persistence, but also in the ability to ignore unrelated pursuits.

Steve Martin, the banjo player, made the comments around twenty minutes into his 2007 interview with Charlie Rose. They were talking about how Martin learned the banjo.

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Historical Perspectives

How viruses evolve, and in some cases, become deadly

January 29, 2012

Michigan State researchers show how new viruses evolve, and in some cases, become deadly.

Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) have demonstrated how a new virus evolves, shedding light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutations. The findings appear in the current issue of the journal Science…

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Analysis, Big Problems, Corporate Manipulation, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Economy, Globalism, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, New Viewpoints

Is there any hope for a non-genetically modified future in America, or Africa?

January 29, 2012

It is really only a matter of time before our food crisis becomes crippling.

In the past few days a number of interesting articles have been circulating, all discussing genetically modified crops and starkly different versions of the future of food. One one hand we have the state of affairs in the US. On the other we have the future Bill Gates would like to manifest in Africa, all in the supremely laudable goal of reducing poverty and hunger, which looks an awful like the current situation in America.

It’s not a pretty picture, for people, for farmers, for the planet…

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Analysis, Human Behavior, Science & Technology News

People lie more often when texting: study

January 29, 2012

It may be easier for people to lie in a text message.

People might fib more frequently when text messaging, suggests a new study.

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Analysis, Brain, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

Smells can trigger powerful emotional memories: study

January 28, 2012

The “Proustian phenomenon” proposes that distinctive smells have more power than any other sense to help us recall distant memories.

A new study shows smells can transport us back to powerful and emotional memories from the past more effectively than sounds, supporting a theory by Marcel Proust.

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Analysis, Business, Internet, Science & Technology News

Google Ad Preferences thinks it knows who you are from your web history

January 28, 2012

Google’s Ad Preferences page shows you the profile Google has built up of your interests.

It has been said that Google knows more about what you like than your own partner. Now the search giant has given a glimpse on just how much information it has collected – and who it thinks you are.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Corporate Manipulation, Science & Technology News

Apple iPad comes with a human cost in China

January 28, 2012

Apple in China

On a Friday evening last May, an explosion ripped through Building A5, an eruption of fire and noise that twisted metal pipes as if they were discarded straws.

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Analysis, Business, Economy, Internet, Science & Technology News

G-20 internet economy to double by 2016

January 28, 2012

The G-20 internet economy is projected to reach US$4.2 trillion in 2016, nearly double the size it was in 2010 according to The Boston Consulting Group. G-20 includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the U.K., and the U.S.

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