Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: August 17, 2022

Texas school district officials order 41 books off of library shelves

The Texas Tribune: “Ahead of the first day of school, the Keller Independent School District is removing all books that were challenged last year within the school district, including the Bible, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and a graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s “The Diary of Young Girl.” “Attached is a list of all books that were challenged last year. By the end of today, I need all books pulled from the library and classrooms. Please collect these books and store them in a location. (book room, office, etc.),” Jennifer Price, executive director of Keller ISD’s curriculum and instruction, wrote in an email sent to principals, obtained by The Texas Tribune. Attached to the email was a list of 41 book titles to be removed, including all versions of the Bible and “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” by Maia Kobabe, which depicts Kobabe’s journey of gender identity and sexual orientation…Bryce Nieman [the Keller ISD spokesperson] said the school board, with its three newest members elected last spring, unanimously approved a new policy for acquiring and reviewing books. The policies are, in part, based on the Texas Education Agency’s model policy released in April after calls from Gov. Greg Abbott to come up with a state standard for these procedures. This includes the school board members or someone appointed by them, having the power to accept or reject any materials…”

Prague Municipal Library art installation where hundreds of books are stacked in a cylindrical tower

Via Twitter – “Artist Matej Kren’s “Idiom” at the Prague Municipal Library is an art installation where hundreds of books are stacked in a cylindrical tower. Mirrors placed at the bottom and the top give the exhibit the illusion of being infinite.” See also the accompanying vide0 Continue Reading

Ukraine Support Tracker Update

A Database of Military, Financial and Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine – “The Ukraine Support Tracker lists and quantifies military, financial and humanitarian aid promised by governments to Ukraine between January 24, 2022 and currently through July 1, 2022. It covers 40 countries, specifically the EU member states, other members of the G7, as well as… Continue Reading

Impact of Lifting School Masking Requirements on Incidence of COVID-19 among Staff and Students in Greater-Boston Area School Districts

Impact of Lifting School Masking Requirements on Incidence of COVID-19 among Staff and Students in Greater-Boston Area School Districts: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis. FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Boston Public Health Commission.Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University.Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. “Before… Continue Reading

Chrome “Feed” is tantalizing, but it’s not the return of Google Reader

Ars Technica – It’s not that Google doesn’t like RSS, it just wants RSS to look like Google: “Does Google enjoy teasing and sometimes outright torturing some of its products’ most devoted fans? It can seem that way. Tucked away inside a recent bleeding-edge Chrome build is a “Following feed” that has some bloggers dreaming… Continue Reading

Insider Trading in Cryptocurrency Markets

Félez-Viñas, Ester and Johnson, Luke and Putnins, Talis J., Insider Trading in Cryptocurrency Markets (August 8, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4184367 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4184367 “We find evidence of systematic insider trading in cryptocurrency markets, where individuals use private information to buy coins prior to exchange listing announcements. Our analysis shows significant price run-ups before official listing… Continue Reading

Top 100 Public Companies Investing in Blockchain & Crypto Companies

Blockdata Research: “Recently, we analyzed the top 100 banks investing in blockchain/crypto (by assets under management, AUM) to understand the key use cases they’re backing and what new banks have entered the space over the last 10 months. We also revisited the blockchain investment activity of the top 100 public companies (by market capitalization) to… Continue Reading