Publisher's daleks claim exterminated - The Guardian via Current Awareness by sally on 16 April
"Today a high court battle over who owns the rights to tell the story of Doctor Who's best-known adversaries was won by BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm."
Full story The Guardian, 16 April
Arts & Letters Daily 17 April 16 April
Memory in a computer is located somewhere on a chip. But we have no idea where memories in our brains are stored. Gary Marcus explains. more
Microscopic world : physical chemistry tutorial via Latest Internet resources added to Intute: Science Engineering and Technology on 14 April
This tutorial covers classical mechanics, quantum theory, atomic structure, molecular structure, spectroscopy and kinetics. The tutorial was written by Robert Disselkamp and is hosted on the Solaris Science website. It is shareware and is available as a PDF file.
Details
Eating your own dog food via silicon.com: Public Sector by Peter Cochrane on 14 April
How do so many designers get it so badly wrong?
Shakespeare's Pulp Fiction via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 19 April
Livejournal's Ceruleanst's produced a couple of passages' worth of Pulp Fiction, as written by William Shakespeare:
J: And know'st thou what the French name cottage pie?
V: Say they not cottage pie, in their own tongue?
J: But nay, their tongues, for speech and taste alike
Are strange to ours, with their own history:
Gaul knoweth not a cottage from a house.
V: What say they then, pray?
J: Hachis Parmentier.
V: Hachis Parmentier! What name they cream?
J: Cream is but cream, only they say le crème.
V: What do they name black pudding?
J: I know not;I visited no inn it could be bought.
Link One virtual step for man, one real leap for mankind
Imagine being able to take a step back in time and walk through the streets of ancient Pompeii hours before the eruption of Vesuvius.
ICT Results Bulletin Issue 17 (April 2008)
Emotional machines
Emotions are an intrinsic part of communications. But machines don’t have, perceive or react to them, which makes us – their handlers – hot under the collar. But thanks to building blocks developed by European researchers, machines that "feel" may no longer be confined to science fiction.
ICT Results Bulletin Issue 17 (April 2008)
Cloud Appreciation Society via Latest Internet resources added to Intute: Science Engineering and Technology on 15 April
A UK-based society which is dedicated to clouds. The website contains news related to clouds, a photo gallery with more than 3,500 photos, a discussion forum, cloud related poems and drawings submitted by members and information on how to become a member of the society.
Arts & Letters Daily (18 Apr 2008)
Plants are green because the sun that keeps them alive is a type G star. If they'd evolved for a red dwarf, plants would be black... more
Want to Remember Everything You'll Ever Learn?via 3quarksdaily by Abbas Raza on 23 April
Gary Wolf in Wired:
SuperMemo is based on the insight that there is an ideal moment to practice what you've learned. Practice too soon and you waste your time. Practice too late and you've forgotten the material and have to relearn it. The right time to practice is just at the moment you're about to forget. Unfortunately, this moment is different for every person and each bit of information.
More here. [Thanks to Akbi Khan.]
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Same issues, different treatment: common law and civilian approaches to the copyright treatment of freelance works
an article by Giuseppina D'Agostino in International Journal of Intellectual Property Management Volume 2 Number 1
Abstract
Publishers exploit freelance authors' works not only in print but also digitally, through their own websites or by selling them to third party databases. Freelancers have launched a series of copyright infringement cases against publishers of newspapers and magazines. This paper will argue that the issue of which party should own and control digital exploitation rights is treated differentially across jurisdictions; North American courts struggle to apply vague and seemingly "neutral" copyright law provisions, whereas the continental European courts apply express legislation. Continental European courts are more equipped to resolve such issues, and in tandem with necessary legislative reform, North American courts may do well to consider some of the civilian approaches in common law decision-making.
Hazel's comment:
Copyright in the electronic age has presented problems for authors and "consumers" since the beginning of the electronic age. What is expressed as a new issue in this article is publishers (who should know better in any jurisdiction) "stealing" the work of authors!
Abstract
Publishers exploit freelance authors' works not only in print but also digitally, through their own websites or by selling them to third party databases. Freelancers have launched a series of copyright infringement cases against publishers of newspapers and magazines. This paper will argue that the issue of which party should own and control digital exploitation rights is treated differentially across jurisdictions; North American courts struggle to apply vague and seemingly "neutral" copyright law provisions, whereas the continental European courts apply express legislation. Continental European courts are more equipped to resolve such issues, and in tandem with necessary legislative reform, North American courts may do well to consider some of the civilian approaches in common law decision-making.
Hazel's comment:
Copyright in the electronic age has presented problems for authors and "consumers" since the beginning of the electronic age. What is expressed as a new issue in this article is publishers (who should know better in any jurisdiction) "stealing" the work of authors!
Household debt and financial assets: evidence from Germany, Great Britain and the USA
an article by Sarah Brown and Karl Taylor (University of Sheffield) in Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society) Volume 171 Issue 3 (Page 615-643, June 2008)
Summary
The authors explore the determinants of debt, financial assets and net worth at the household level by using survey data for Germany, Great Britain and the USA. To identify which households are potentially vulnerable to adverse changes in the economic environment, they also explore the determinants of a range of measures of financial pressure:
Hazel's comment:
This could be considered the most contrived conjunction of posts I have ever achieved. Pure coincidence, I assure you, that the assessment of household finance comes immediately next to looking at the sustainability of economic welfare.
The former, this abstract, came in just today whilst the latter was several days old!
Summary
The authors explore the determinants of debt, financial assets and net worth at the household level by using survey data for Germany, Great Britain and the USA. To identify which households are potentially vulnerable to adverse changes in the economic environment, they also explore the determinants of a range of measures of financial pressure:
- the probability that a household has negative net worth;
- the debt-to-income ratio;
- mortgage income gearing; and
- the saving-to-income ratio.
Hazel's comment:
This could be considered the most contrived conjunction of posts I have ever achieved. Pure coincidence, I assure you, that the assessment of household finance comes immediately next to looking at the sustainability of economic welfare.
The former, this abstract, came in just today whilst the latter was several days old!
Simplifying the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare: methodology, data sources and a case study for The Netherlands
an article by Brent Bleys in International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment Volume 3 Number 2
Abstract
The compilation of the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) requires a large amount of data on a wide range of topics. Gathering these data is a very difficult task that has undoubtedly put off researchers in the past. First, this paper puts forward a Simplified ISEW (SISEW) that includes in its methodological framework only the quantitatively most important items. Reducing the number of items in the methodological framework of the ISEW does not only allow for an easier compilation of the index, also it indicates which items require most attention in the debate that will lead to an internationally-agreed-upon set of valuation methods. Next, the impact of working with the SISEW instead of the original ISEW is investigated for the studies on Belgium, the UK and Australia. Afterwards, the specific data needs for the items that satisfied the quantitative significance criterion are looked into and possible data sources for each item are reviewed. Finally, the SISEW is calculated for The Netherlands in order to see how readily available the data needed to compile the simplified index are in practice.
Abstract
The compilation of the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) requires a large amount of data on a wide range of topics. Gathering these data is a very difficult task that has undoubtedly put off researchers in the past. First, this paper puts forward a Simplified ISEW (SISEW) that includes in its methodological framework only the quantitatively most important items. Reducing the number of items in the methodological framework of the ISEW does not only allow for an easier compilation of the index, also it indicates which items require most attention in the debate that will lead to an internationally-agreed-upon set of valuation methods. Next, the impact of working with the SISEW instead of the original ISEW is investigated for the studies on Belgium, the UK and Australia. Afterwards, the specific data needs for the items that satisfied the quantitative significance criterion are looked into and possible data sources for each item are reviewed. Finally, the SISEW is calculated for The Netherlands in order to see how readily available the data needed to compile the simplified index are in practice.
Hazel's comment:
I found, on reading this, that I was very rusty on economic welfare. There are, undoubtedly, better (as in more scholarly) places to refresh my brain but more accessible to the less academic among us (like me) is the Wikipedia entry.
I'm a great fan of Wikipedia as a starting point for finding out about different subjects. If you follow my example please always do some double checks on the references because there are some articles which are not simply less than informative but are actually disinformation. Most do, of course, get corrected fairly quickly but ... just my luck to find one when it was in a state of less than usefulness.
Friday, 9 May 2008
Interesting (to me) trivia
Another eclectic list of odd things I thought were interesting, or weird
Robotic minds think alike?
from ICT Results Issue 16
Most schoolchildren struggle to learn geometry, but they are still able to catch a ball without first calculating its parabola. Why should robots be any different? A team of European researchers have developed an artificial cognitive system that learns from experience and observation rather than relying on predefined rules and models.
Edible packaging seen as next wave of innovation
via Technology Trends & Opinion » Blah, Blah! Technology blog by wasmall on 31 March
Edible coatings based on various mixes of milk serum proteins, starch, and mesquite gum could be the basis for the next innovative wave in food packaging, says a researcher in Spain.
Social awareness ribbons are must-have fashion accessories. They show you care. Especially about exhibiting what a caring person you are... more
via Arts & Letters Daily on 4 Apr 2008
That "lovable old-fashioned bundle of ink and cellulose," the newspaper, will land for the last time on a doorstep one day in 2043... more
via Arts & Letters Daily 28 March
Apropos of nothing much I note that in June 2043 I shall, if I continue living, be 100 years old. Will I care that newspapers have disappeared? Probably not.
Wicked Jihad?
via Demos Greenhouse by jamie.bartlett@demos.co.uk on 5 March
I have written a short think piece which questions some of the assumptions about our understanding of "Islamic" violent extremism. Counter terrorism policy in Western Europe is increasingly about preventing violent extremism before it arises, by lessening the appeal of groups like al-Qaeda. But we are still a long way from understanding what that appeal is.
Download the piece
CCTV cameras move crime a few feet down the sidewalk -- study
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 7 April
A fascinating study of security cameras in San Francisco has concluded that any effect on they have on crime is incredibly localized, and they only works on certain kinds of crime -- furthermore, the same number of crimes end up getting committed in the long run, just down the street from the cameras.
Link (via Schneier)
Animal Crackers
3 Quarks Daily has a post which simply has the title and a YouTube video to watch. If you're a fan of Groucho, Harpo and Chico aka the Marx Brothers then you will probably already have a link to this -- if not then go and look!
And Now, 'Google Me' The Movie
Everyone has searched on his/her own name and some people even have real-time news alerts tied to their names. Now a new online documentary takes this vanity search phenomenon to a new level with Google Me the Movie. Part time actor Jim Killeen discovered there were six other Jim Killeens...
Your Birth Tune
via Pogue's Posts by David Pogue on 11 April
What was the #1 most popular song on the day you were born? Has this question been keeping you up at night? Then today's your lucky day. On this site, you can specify your birth month and date.
Forvo - all the words in the world…spoken out loud
via The Red Ferret Journal by Nigel on 11 April
Forvo is a kind of wiki dictionary for the spoken word. If you've ever wondered how a word was pronounced, you'll love this new service. Just do a search for the word in question in any language and click the speak button to have a native speaker pronounce it for you.
Robotic minds think alike?
from ICT Results Issue 16
Most schoolchildren struggle to learn geometry, but they are still able to catch a ball without first calculating its parabola. Why should robots be any different? A team of European researchers have developed an artificial cognitive system that learns from experience and observation rather than relying on predefined rules and models.
Edible packaging seen as next wave of innovation
via Technology Trends & Opinion » Blah, Blah! Technology blog by wasmall on 31 March
Edible coatings based on various mixes of milk serum proteins, starch, and mesquite gum could be the basis for the next innovative wave in food packaging, says a researcher in Spain.
Social awareness ribbons are must-have fashion accessories. They show you care. Especially about exhibiting what a caring person you are... more
via Arts & Letters Daily on 4 Apr 2008
That "lovable old-fashioned bundle of ink and cellulose," the newspaper, will land for the last time on a doorstep one day in 2043... more
via Arts & Letters Daily 28 March
Apropos of nothing much I note that in June 2043 I shall, if I continue living, be 100 years old. Will I care that newspapers have disappeared? Probably not.
Wicked Jihad?
via Demos Greenhouse by jamie.bartlett@demos.co.uk on 5 March
I have written a short think piece which questions some of the assumptions about our understanding of "Islamic" violent extremism. Counter terrorism policy in Western Europe is increasingly about preventing violent extremism before it arises, by lessening the appeal of groups like al-Qaeda. But we are still a long way from understanding what that appeal is.
Download the piece
CCTV cameras move crime a few feet down the sidewalk -- study
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 7 April
A fascinating study of security cameras in San Francisco has concluded that any effect on they have on crime is incredibly localized, and they only works on certain kinds of crime -- furthermore, the same number of crimes end up getting committed in the long run, just down the street from the cameras.
Link (via Schneier)
Animal Crackers
3 Quarks Daily has a post which simply has the title and a YouTube video to watch. If you're a fan of Groucho, Harpo and Chico aka the Marx Brothers then you will probably already have a link to this -- if not then go and look!
And Now, 'Google Me' The Movie
Everyone has searched on his/her own name and some people even have real-time news alerts tied to their names. Now a new online documentary takes this vanity search phenomenon to a new level with Google Me the Movie. Part time actor Jim Killeen discovered there were six other Jim Killeens...
Your Birth Tune
via Pogue's Posts by David Pogue on 11 April
What was the #1 most popular song on the day you were born? Has this question been keeping you up at night? Then today's your lucky day. On this site, you can specify your birth month and date.
Forvo - all the words in the world…spoken out loud
via The Red Ferret Journal by Nigel on 11 April
Forvo is a kind of wiki dictionary for the spoken word. If you've ever wondered how a word was pronounced, you'll love this new service. Just do a search for the word in question in any language and click the speak button to have a native speaker pronounce it for you.
MPs warn safety is underfunded
via FT.com 21 April
Ministers have been warned about a widespread concern that the Health and Safety Executive is inadequately funded, which is undermining its ability to carry out its work.
Read more »
Hazel's comment:
Actually the article makes it clear that whilst there are concerns that the HSE is underfunded the actual figures are not known since the allocation through the Comprehensive Spending Review is "hidden" within the Department for Work and Pensions budget. what is known is that an HSE site-visit is now likely to happen every 14.5 years as opposed to the every 7 years that it used to be. This increase in time between visits is probably the cause of the rise in fatal accidents at work.
Not sure I agree with that last one -- if employers can't adopt safe working practices, or ensure that staff operate to the rules of safe working, then no amount of pressure from a possible visit will make them work differently. Maybe the introduction of the Corporate Homicide Act will have some effect.
What do you think?
Do guidance staff (either careers or employment) still get out to look at workplaces? Do you get industrial knowledge training?
If not how do you cope?
Please add a comment if you know any answers.
Ministers have been warned about a widespread concern that the Health and Safety Executive is inadequately funded, which is undermining its ability to carry out its work.
Read more »
Hazel's comment:
Actually the article makes it clear that whilst there are concerns that the HSE is underfunded the actual figures are not known since the allocation through the Comprehensive Spending Review is "hidden" within the Department for Work and Pensions budget. what is known is that an HSE site-visit is now likely to happen every 14.5 years as opposed to the every 7 years that it used to be. This increase in time between visits is probably the cause of the rise in fatal accidents at work.
Not sure I agree with that last one -- if employers can't adopt safe working practices, or ensure that staff operate to the rules of safe working, then no amount of pressure from a possible visit will make them work differently. Maybe the introduction of the Corporate Homicide Act will have some effect.
What do you think?
Do guidance staff (either careers or employment) still get out to look at workplaces? Do you get industrial knowledge training?
If not how do you cope?
Please add a comment if you know any answers.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Project will help "third sector"
via FT.com on 20 April
Ministers have decided to remove a large obstacle to the provision by charities of crucial public services, by asking Whitehall's statisticians to create a new system that measures the true value of services provided by the so-called “third sector”.
Read more »
Ministers have decided to remove a large obstacle to the provision by charities of crucial public services, by asking Whitehall's statisticians to create a new system that measures the true value of services provided by the so-called “third sector”.
Read more »
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