When today’s data goldmines becomes tomorrow’s data carcasses
Futurist Thomas Frey: In 1859 the tiny community of Tin Cup, Colorado got its first taste of gold fever. A tiny amount of gold was all it took for prospectors to start poking around with hopes of striking it rich. Twenty years later they landed their first major strike and rumors of the find spread across the country.
Continue reading… “Ghost Towns of the Internet”
Household usage of digital coupons has nearly doubled since 2005.
A digital revolution in couponing coupled with the belt-tightening of the recession have combined to make coupons cool among more than just those clipping the Sunday circular. Digital coupon usage is now firmly a part of the online shopping experience of millions of US consumers.
Continue reading… “88.2 Million People Will Use Digital Coupons in 2011”
Seventy-three percent of students said they would not be able to study without some form of technology.
Many college students are dependent on digital technology in the classroom, according to a study released on Tuesday by etextbook seller CourseSmart and Wakefield Research.
Continue reading… “38% of College Students Cannot Go 10 Minutes Without Digital Technology”
China’s working-age population has plateaued in size and will begin getting smaller.
The large labor force in China has been central to its rise as an economic power. It has allowed companies to tap a seemingly endless pool of workers willing to move from their home towns, often live at the factory site and accept comparatively low wages.
Continue reading… “China’s Workforce Will Start Shrinking in the Next Five Years”
Does a teacher have the right to make a video recording of students without their permission and what privacy rights does a student have in school?
Where do we draw the line at which public video recording becomes an invasion of privacy? Even as cell-phone cameras and handheld video recorders proliferate, public video recording is still murky in the eyes of the law.
Continue reading… “Do Teachers Have the Right to Video Record Distruptive Students?”
Hearing loss detected in Clown Fish
Clownfish, the spectacular tropical species feted in the movie Finding Nemo, appear to lose their hearing in water slightly more acidic than normal.
At levels of acidity that may be common by the end of the century, the fish did not respond to the sounds of predators.
The oceans are becoming more acidic because they absorb much of the CO2 that humanity puts into the atmosphere…
Continue reading… “Acid Oceans Turn ‘Finding Nemo’ Fish Deaf”
Futurist Thomas Frey: “Does being smarter make you happier?”
Continue reading… “Competing for Status”
Oxfam says era of permanent food crisis will hit poorest people hardest and spark social unrest.
In the next 20 years the average price of staple foods will more than double. This will lead to an unprecedented reversal in human development, Oxfam has warned.
Continue reading… “Food Prices Could Rise as Much as 180% by 2030”
Tobacco will kill 6 million people this year.
Nearly six million people, including 600,000 non-smokers, will die this this year from tobacco. Governments are not doing enough to persuade people to quit or protect others from second-hand smoke, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Continue reading… “Smoking Death Toll Could Reach 8 Million a Year by 2030”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1jek4U7vbg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Short video clip on “Systems Thinking”
recorded at the Plan Fort Collins event on March 3, 2010
Futurist Thomas Frey: A recent article in iLibrarian explained it this way.
Online education seems set on its course to overtake traditional colleges within the next few decades, especially as our society becomes ever more dependent on the internet to get our work done. Thomas Frey, an expert on online education, compares our growing reliance on the education system to the reliance of ancient Romans on their numeric system. He indicates that much like the Romans, we have become increasingly reliant on our education system which is meant to pass on information from one generation to the next, hesitant to any change that may occur (explaining the rough transition to online education).
Continue reading… “Systems Thinking and the Future of Education”
The aim of the skin patch is to educate the body so it doesnt over-react to peanut exposure.
A revolutionary skin patch that may cure thousands of deadly peanut allergy has been developed by pediatricans. Researchers believe it presents one of the best possible ways of finding an effective treatment for a life threatening reaction to peanuts.
Doctors fear energy drinks may have side effects.
A large group of American doctors urge kids and teens to avoid energy drinks and only consume sports drinks in limited amount, a new report says.
Continue reading… “U.S. Doctors Urge Kids to Stay Away From Energy Drinks”