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Daily Archives: September 25, 2019

One-in-five Americans now listen to audiobooks

Pew – “Americans are spreading their book consumption across several formats, and the use of audiobooks is on the rise. Roughly seven-in-ten U.S. adults (72%) say they have read a book in the past 12 months in any format, a figure that has remained largely unchanged since 2012, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Jan. 8-Feb. 7, 2019. Print books remain the most popular format for reading, with 65% of adults saying they had read a print book in the year before the survey. And while shares of print and e-book readers are similar to those from a Center survey conducted in 2016, there has been an uptick in the share of Americans who report listening to audiobooks, from 14% to 20%. Overall, Americans read an average (mean) of 12 books per year, while the typical (median) American has read four books in the past 12 months. Each of these figures is largely unchanged since 2011, when the Center first began conducting the surveys of Americans’ book reading habits. Despite some growth in certain digital formats, it remains the case that relatively few Americans only consume digital books (which include audiobooks and e-books) to the exclusion of print. Some 37% of Americans say they read only print books, while 28% read in these digital formats and also read print books. Just 7% of Americans say they only read books in digital formats and have not read any print books in the past 12 months. (About a quarter of Americans haven’t read a book in any format in the past year.)…”

Fortune Global 500

“The world’s 500 largest companies generated $32.7 trillion in revenues and $2.15 trillion in profits in 2018. Together, this year’s Fortune Global 500 companies employ 69.3 million people worldwide and are represented by 34 countries. Click here to view past years’ lists: 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 InteractiveVisualize the Global… Continue Reading

Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate

Press release – “The IPCC approved and accepted Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate at its 51st Session held on 20 – 23 September 2019. The approved Summary for Policymakers (SPM) was presented at a press conference on 25 September 2019. Factsheet – Recording of press conference on Youtube and Facebook – List… Continue Reading

Digital twins — precise, virtual copies of machines or systems — are revolutionizing industry

nature – Virtual models boost smart manufacturing by simulating decisions and optimization, from design to operations, explain Fei Tao and Qinglin Qi.  “Digital twins — precise, virtual copies of machines or systems — are revolutionizing industry. Driven by data collected from sensors in real time, these sophisticated computer models mirror almost every facet of a… Continue Reading

This AI reads privacy policies so you don’t have to and it’s actually pretty good

thenextweb: “Don’t you absolutely hate how dense and confusing privacy policies are? Considering they’re full of gotchas and intentionally obscure legalese, it’s no surprise that hardly anyone bothers to even read them — we’ve simply accepted we’re giving up our data, and with it, our sense of privacy. But thanks to this new policy-reading AI, things… Continue Reading

Ad Blocker That Works on Podcasts and Radio

Motherboard – “Ads exploit the weaknesses of many defenseless souls,” the creator of AdBlock Radio says….” Meet AdBlock Radio, an adblocker for live radio streams and podcasts. Its creator, Alexandre Storelli, told Motherboard he hopes to help companies “develop alternative business models for radio and podcast lovers that do not want ads.” “Ads exploit the… Continue Reading

Employers Used Facebook to Keep Women and Older Workers From Seeing Job Ads

Propublica – In a first, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that companies violated civil rights law through their use of Facebook’s targeting advertising. “Two years ago, ProPublica and The New York Times revealed that companies were posting discriminatory job ads on Facebook, using the social network’s targeting tools to keep older workers… Continue Reading