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Daily Archives: August 2, 2020

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 1, 2020

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 1, 2020: Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading

Not even scientists can tell these birds apart. But now, computers can

Science – “It’s a fact of life for birders that some species are fiendishly difficult to tell apart—in particular, the sparrows and drab songbirds dubbed “little brown jobs.” Distinguishing individuals is nearly impossible. Now, a computer program analyzing photos and videos has accomplished that feat. The advance promises to reveal new information on bird behaviors…So… Continue Reading

Colleges Seek Waivers From Risk-Taking Students

Inside Higher Education: “As fall semester approaches, students are increasingly opposing liability waivers and “informed consent” agreements required by colleges as a condition of returning to campus…” Via a rising junior at Bates College in Maine, the text of the agreement is as follows – “I am voluntarily assuming any and all risks that notwithstanding… Continue Reading

Nobody Accurately Tracks Health Care Workers Lost to COVID-19. So She Stays Up At Night Cataloging the Dead

ProPublica – “Anesthesiologist Claire Rezba started tracking lost health workers almost instinctively. Researchers and industry professionals say the lack of good official data on these deaths is “scandalous” and is putting lives in danger.. Rezba’s exercise in psychological self-protection evolved into a bona fide mission. Soon she was spending a couple of hours a day… Continue Reading

How Internet Archive and controlled digital lending can help course reserves this fall

Chris Freeland – Director of Open Libraries at Internet Archive: “I host regular webinars about the Internet Archive’s Open Libraries program, helping librarians and others understand how controlled digital lending works, and how their library can make their print collections available to users online. The question of how to safely handle course reserves is clearly… Continue Reading

What the 15 biggest US school districts are planning for reopening

CNN: “Of the 15 biggest school districts in the country, only one is offering schools the option of in-person instruction, and 10 of them have opted to begin the school year with online learning only. Three have opted for a hybrid: New York City, Chicago and Hawaii Public Schools. Hillsborough County, Florida, the eighth-biggest district… Continue Reading

Study – Lifestyle changes could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases

The Guardian UK: “Excessive drinking, exposure to air pollution and head injuries all increase dementia risk, experts say in a report revealing that up to 40% of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by addressing 12 such lifestyle factors. Around 50 million people around the world live with dementia, including about 850,000 people… Continue Reading

Humans are notoriously bad at assessing their risk. In a pandemic, that’s a problem

San Francisco Chronicle: “In the first few weeks of the pandemic, the familiar options of everyday life narrowed to almost nothing. The Bay Area largely hunkered down and stayed home while the coronavirus numbers climbed. Decisions had been made for us: School and work were closed, travel and socializing designated unsafe by health officials. The… Continue Reading

Why Congress should look at Twitter and Facebook

MIT Technology Review: “If America’s politicians really care about the damage online platforms can do, they should look at online conspiracy theories—and how they’re made worse by the design of social media sites…Platforms have too much power to sway public opinion and influence behavior—and that directly affects our capacity to engage in deliberative debate and… Continue Reading