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Daily Archives: April 28, 2014

Paper – The Grey Web

The Grey Web – Dataveillance Vision Fulfilled through the Evolving Web. Richard Gomer, University of Southampton; Natasa Milic-Frayling, Microsoft Research; m.c. schraefel, University of Southampton. 2014.

“Over the past three decades, Web has evolved from an information medium to an intricate economic ecosystem. Initially focused on supporting the transition from traditional business practices to e-commerce, the Web has given rise to new, purely Web based businesses. Aligned with the original vision and expectations of the ‘free Web’, they have provided free services but, over time, developed business models that leverage the user digital footprints and the user generated content to create economic value. With the use of computing technologies to analyze, aggregate, and share such data, individuals’ privacy has been undermined and, with that, the their ability to shape their role in the digital society and beyond. The purpose of this paper is to instigate the dialogue around the critical societal issues that arise from the current Web economy and motivate research initiatives to assist with addressing them. We present three case studies that quantify the extent, rate, and pervasiveness of the user tracking on the Web. We use them to illustrate the determining aspects of the Web that have to be taken into account by the Web Science community. As researchers we aspire to understand the nature of the Web in depth and, based on that, propose designs and policies that are required to ensure that the Web is fit to be the underpinning of our societies and our digital future.”

Study – The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard

All these years of writing longhand now supported by a scientific study [and I have used the same fine pen for years]  – The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking, Psychological Science,  0956797614524581, first published on April 23, 2014 – by Pam A. Mueller and Daniel M. Oppenheimer “Taking notes on laptops rather than in longhand is… Continue Reading

Implications of accelerated power plant retirements

EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2014 – Jeffrey Jones/Michael Leff: “In 2012, coal-fired and nuclear power plants together provided 56% of the electricity generated in the United States. The role of these technologies in the U.S. generation mix has been changing since 2009, as both low natural gas prices and slower growth of electricity demand have altered their… Continue Reading

Report – Preliminary findings on monitoring “preservation health” of digital repositories

Via OCLC Research: “National libraries, government archives, broadcasting archives, scientific data archives, and university repositories are all investing substantial resources in the creation and maintenance of preservation metadata for the curation and long-term preservation of their digital collections. This preservation metadata is often considered as “contingency information” that is stored and maintained in the event… Continue Reading

Redefining Strategy in the Age of Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Ioannou, Ioannis, Redefining Strategy in the Age of Sustainability and Social Responsibility (April 27, 2014). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2429870 “I examine how strategy is defined in the literature and find that most conceptualizations predominantly focus on financial metrics as measures of performance and mainly provide guidance on the strategic management of a corporation’s economic context. I… Continue Reading

Report shows 20-year US immunization program spares millions of children from diseases

“The CDC estimates that vaccinations will prevent more than 21 million hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths among children born in the last 20 years. Despite the U.S. immunization program’s success, according to CDC officials, 129 people in the U.S. have been reported to have measles this year in 13 outbreaks, as of April 18. In 1994, the… Continue Reading

The Target Data Breach: Frequently Asked Questions

CRS – The Target Data Breach: Frequently Asked Questions. N. Eric Weiss. Specialist in Financial Economics; Rena S. Miller, Specialist in Financial Economics. April 22, 2014. “According to Target, in November and December of 2013, information on 40 million payment cards (credit, debit, and ATM cards) and personally identifiable information (PII) on 70 million customers was compromised. The Secret Service has… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Defense Health Care, Defense Logistics, Electricity Markets

DEFENSE HEALTH CARE: More-Specific Guidance Needed for Assessing Nonenrolled TRICARE Beneficiaries’ Access to Care, GAO-14-384: Published: Apr 28, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 28, 2014. DEFENSE LOGISTICS: Actions Needed to Improve Department-Wide Management of Conventional Ammunition Inventory, GAO-14-182: Published: Mar 31, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 28, 2014. ELECTRICITY MARKETS: Demand-Response Activities Have Increased, but FERC Could Improve Data Collection and Reporting Efforts, GAO-14-73: Published:… Continue Reading

Biggest EU cyber security exercise to date

“Today, 28 April 2014, European countries kick off the Cyber Europe 2014 (CE2014). CE2014 is a highly sophisticated cyber exercise, involving more than 600 security actors across Europe. More than 200 organisations and 400 cyber-security professionals across Europe join forces today during the first phase of ENISA’s bi-annual large scale cyber security exercise, Cyber Europe 2014.… Continue Reading

Recidivism Of Prisoners Released In 30 States In 2005: Patterns From 2005 To 2010

Alexia D. Cooper, Ph.D., Matthew R. Durose, Howard N. Snyder, Ph.D. April 22, 2014. NCJ 244205 “Examines the 5-year post-release offending patterns of persons released from state prisons in 2005 by offender characteristics, prior criminal history, and commitment offense. It provides estimates on the number and types of crimes former inmates commit both prior to their… Continue Reading