“OCLC and Google are working together to link directly from books discovered through Google Search to print book records in the catalogs of hundreds of U.S. libraries. This feature is part of Google’s ongoing effort to connect people to their local libraries through Google Search. The initial phase of this new program connects people using… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2022
Big electric trucks and SUVs are the new gas guzzlers
Quartz: “New lines of electric trucks and SUVs are hitting the roads. Automakers are marketing vehicles like Tesla’s Cybertruck, Ford’s F-150 Lightning, Rivian’s R1T pickup truck, and GMC’s Hummer EV to customers who prefer driving big vehicles, no matter their fuel efficiency. These new EVs promise drivers the same heavy-duty performance as a combustion engine… Continue Reading
Open source intelligence combats disinformation on Russia’s war against Ukraine
PBS NewsHour: “It is often said that truth is the first casualty in any war. Propaganda, disinformation and outright lies have always been dependable tactics to win hearts and minds. But in a world more connected than ever by technology, it is more possible for anyone to root out information. It’s called open source intelligence,… Continue Reading
The Law of Social Roles for The Platform Internet
Mazzurco, Sari, The Law of Social Roles for The Platform Internet (February 21, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4040152 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4040152 “Social roles are integral to social life. Roles like teacher, judge, and employee help people navigate interactions by supplying them with meaning—specifically, societal expectations about actors’ appropriate behaviors in a particular relationship. In the emergent… Continue Reading
CDC Mask Order Remains in Effect and CDC Realigns Travel Health Notice System
“Today, CDC is announcing two COVID-19 travel-related updates based on close-monitoring of the COVID-19 landscape in the United States and internationally. CDC continues to monitor the spread of the Omicron variant, especially the BA.2 subvariant that now makes up more than 85% of U.S. cases. Since early April, there have been increases in the 7-day… Continue Reading
Reddit adds comment searching to help improve search results
The Verge: “The new rollout also comes with a refined search experience for desktop users on the platform. Today, Reddit is updating its search feature to index comments. For the first time, users will have an option to pull results from replies to posts, making it less of a hassle to find something specific outside… Continue Reading
Maryland Gives Up on Its Library E-book Law
Publishers Weekly: “Maryland’s library e-book law is effectively dead. In a court filing this week, Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh said the state would present no new evidence in a legal challenge filed by the Association of American Publishers, allowing the court’s recently issued preliminary injunction blocking the law to stand, and paving the… Continue Reading
OSCE says Russia broke international law
Washington Post: “Russia committed human rights abuses and broke international humanitarian law during its invasion of Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe found. The report from the Vienna-based security body, released Wednesday, dives into attacks on civilian targets in the battered port city of Mariupol and follows President Biden’s declaration for the… Continue Reading
Algorithms, lies, and social media
NiemanLab: Achieving a more transparent and less manipulative online media may well be the defining political battle of the 21st century. “There was a time when the internet was seen as an unequivocal force for social good. It propelled progressive social movements from Black Lives Matter to the Arab Spring; it set information free and… Continue Reading
COVID-19, overdoses pushed US to highest death total ever
Washington Post via AP: “2021 was the deadliest year in U.S. history, and new data and research are offering more insights into how it got that bad. The main reason for the increase in deaths? COVID-19, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s work on death statistics. The agency this… Continue Reading
Understanding the Russo-Ukrainian War: A Guide From War on the Rocks
“We at War on the Rocks have curated this list of articles and podcasts to help you gain a deeper understanding of the history, drivers, background, and events of Russia’s massive assault on Ukraine. Whether you are a soldier or a student, a policymaker or a pundit, a teacher or a techie, this will be useful… Continue Reading
Social Security Card Replacement: How to Get a New One
CNET: “It’s not often you need to show your physical Social Security card. If you have the nine digits of your Social Security number memorized, you rarely need to pull out your card from its hiding spot. But in some cases, it may be necessary to show it — like when you’re getting a new… Continue Reading
