“If reading becomes dependent on technology that must be purchased, then I think we may see the literacy divide persist and even widen.”
The rapid rise of e-books could lead to a “reading divide” as those unable to afford the new technology are left behind, even as U.S. reading and writing skills decline still further.
Continue reading… “e-Books Could Lead to a “Reading Divide””
Media Piracy in Emerging Economies, an academic report on pricing and copyright infringement in poor countries, comes to the conclusion that high media prices (as measured against the average wage in poor countries) are responsible for piracy — that is, when you control for social attitudes towards copying, enforcement differences, and so on, the largest predictor of whether a country will have rampant copyright infringement is whether the media in that country is priced high relative to peoples’ earning power.
To make their point, the authors have released the report under a provocative “Consumer’s Dilemma license” that charges escalating rates depending on whether your IP address is in a rich or poor country.
Continue reading… “Poor Countries Have More Piracy Because Media Costs Too Much — Report”
Visiting a doctor is not one of man’s priorities.
On the list of a man’s priorities, it seems that visiting the local doctor does not sit highly. More than one in five men have not visited a GP or other healthcare professional in the last 12 months, according to a survey published March 15, 2011.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is mulling a $100 cap to help combat new rules.
Banks discussing limiting caps on debit-card transaction sizes may have a standard bearer in J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which is mulling a $100 cap to help combat new rules.
Continue reading… “Banks Considering Cap on Debit Card Purchases”
In February, world food prices reached the highest level on record. Soaring food prices are already a source of spreading hunger and political unrest, and it appears likely that they will climb further in the months ahead…
Continue reading… “Why World Food Prices Are Poised to Keep Climbing”
A little spring break fun in the sun can be a dangerous thing.
Orlando wins this year’s dubious honor as the most dangerous spring break city in the USA. The rankings are compiled by the AVVO website, which offers free ratings and profiles of lawyers and doctors, and is based on violent crimes data, FBI crime statistics, car crashes and murder rates.
Continue reading… “Most Dangerous Spring Break Cities in the U.S. – Orlando Tops the List”
Study finds no one is immune to the possibility of experiencing underemployment.
While unemployment has been a frequent topic of discussion during the recession, underemployment and its effects have not, even though the number of underemployed workers has also increased. A study published online last week in the Journal of Management, “‘I Have a Job, But…’ A Review of Underemployment,” by University of Nevada, Reno Assistant Professor Frances M. McKee-Ryan and University of Alabama Assistant Professor Jaron Harvey brings attention to the topic and its potentially detrimental effects to individuals, organizations and society.
Continue reading… “Unemployment Rates Decline While Underemployment is on the Rise in the U.S.”
95% of the people surveyed reported using some type of electronic device within an hour of bedtime at least a few nights a week.
Americans aren’t getting enough sleep, and technology may be the culprit.
In the National Sleep Foundation’s 2011 Sleep in America poll, out today, 95% of the 1,508 people surveyed reported using some type of electronic device — such as a TV, computer, video game or cellphone — within an hour of bedtime at least a few nights a week.
Continue reading… “Light-Emitting Technology Affecting Americans’ Sleep”
This Twitter virus is a quick one.
There is something amazing about how desperately humans want to see who has viewed their online profiles. This desire has been taken advantage of (again) by Twitter spammers as tweets like “WOW! You can see WHO VISITS your TWITTER profile. That’s cool! 🙂 – http://bit.ly/tweetviewer” and “I just viewed my TOP20 Profile STALKERS. I can’t believe my EX is still checking me every day” are proliferating this morning, at about 159 tweets a minute.
Continue reading… “‘Tweet Viewer’ Virus Spreads On Twitter”
New threat is man-made.
Mankind may have unleashed the sixth known mass extinction in Earth’s history, according to a paper released by the science journal Nature.
Continue reading… “Study: World’s Sixth Mass Extinction Has Begun”
NASA’s Glory satellite ended up at the bottom of the southern Pacific Ocean early Friday morning, the victim of a failed launch that almost got the $424 million weather spacecraft into orbit.
All seemed to be going as planned at the 2:10 a.m. PT launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, until the final stage of the launch, when a fairing covering the satellite was supposed to be ejected. Because that protective cover stayed on, the configuration was too heavy and too slow to make it to orbit, said NASA launch commentator George Diller…
Continue reading… “$424 Million NASA Satellite Launch Fails”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTTY9IpwnWg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.