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Daily Archives: August 5, 2018

As “we know” – Microfilm Lasts Half a Millennium

Just Ask a Librarian! – The Atlantic – Microfilm Lasts Half a Millennium by Craig Saper: “Millions of publications—not to mention spy documents—can be read on microfilm machines. But people still see these devices as outmoded and unappealing. An Object Lesson…

“I recently acquired a decommissioned microfilm reader. My university bought the reader for $16,000 in 1998, but its value has depreciated to $0 in their official bookkeeping records. Machines like it played a central role in both research and secret-agent tasks of the last century. But this one had become an embarrassment. The bureaucrats wouldn’t let me store the reader in a laboratory that also houses a multimillion-dollar information-display system. They made me promise to “make sure no VIPs ever see it there.” After lots of paperwork and negotiation, I finally had to transport the machine myself. Unlike a computer—even an old one—it was heavy and ungainly. It would not fit into a car, and it could not be carried by two people for more than a few feet. Even moving the thing was an embarrassment. No one wanted it, but no one wanted me to have it around either.

And yet the microfilm machine is still widely used. It has centuries of lasting power ahead of it, and new models are still being manufactured. It’s a shame that no intrigue will greet their arrival, because these machines continue to prove essential for preserving and accessing archival materials…”

Have smartphones killed the art of conversation?

A decade of digital dependency – 02 August 2018 – “Most people in the UK are dependent on their digital devices and need a constant connection to the internet, according to research published today by Ofcom… Ofcom’s Communications Market Report is our most comprehensive study of how communications services in the UK are changing. This… Continue Reading

CREW Scores Major Court Victory Against Dark Money

“In a major defeat for secret money in politics, a judge ruled that dark money groups that spend at least $250 in independent expenditures—a key type of political ad—must report every contributor who gave at least $200 in the past year as well as those who give to finance independent expenditures generally, throwing out an… Continue Reading

Is Wikipedia A Reliable Legal Authority? (2018 Update)

Associates Mind – Keith Lee: ” Back in 2014, a Twitter exchange with Judge Dillard prompted an article on AboveTheLaw discussing the reliability of Wikipedia as a resource. Last year, I updated my research here, Is Wikipedia A Reliable Legal Authority? (2017 Update). It’s 2018, so let’s see how some recent opinions cite (or reject) Wikipedia as an authority…Is Wikipedia… Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Accelerate Translational Research

“The big data revolution, accompanied by the development and deployment of wearable medical devices and mobile health applications, has enabled the biomedical community to apply artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to vast amounts of data. This shift has created new research opportunities in predictive analytics, precision medicine, virtual diagnosis, patient monitoring, and drug… Continue Reading

Foreign Economic Espionage in Cyberspace 2018

Foreign Economic Espionage in Cyberspace 2018 – Economic cyber espionage will only get worse, ODNI report says “In the 2011 report to Congress on Foreign Spies Stealing U.S. Economic Secrets in Cyberspace, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive provided a baseline assessment of the many dangers facing the U.S. research, development, and manufacturing sectors… Continue Reading

Library Acquisition Patterns: Preliminary Findings

Library Acquisition Patterns: Preliminary Findings – Katherine Daniel,  Joseph J. Esposito,  Roger C. Schonfeld – July 19, 2018 . DOI: https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.307940 “Several years ago, we set out to better understand how both library acquisition practices and the distribution patterns of publishers and vendors were evolving over time. Within the academic publishing community, there is a… Continue Reading

Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change

The New York Times Magazine” is dedicated to a single article – Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change – We knew everything we needed to know, and nothing stood in our way. Nothing, that is, except ourselves. A tragedy in two acts…This narrative by Nathaniel Rich is a work of history, addressing… Continue Reading

Majority of guns used by children in schools shootings come from homes of parents, relatives, friends.

Washington Post: “Since 1999, children have committed at least 145 school shootings. Among the 105 cases in which the weapon’s source was identified, 80 percent were taken from the child’s home or those of relatives or friends. Yet The Washington Post found that just four adults have been convicted for failing to lock up the… Continue Reading