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Daily Archives: June 1, 2021

From Facts to Fake News: How Information Gets Distorted

Knowledge@Wharton: “Remember the old childhood game of telephone? One kid whispers a phrase in another kid’s ear, and it gets passed along until the final child in the chain repeats it out loud. Inevitably, the words change along the way, subject to the cognitive interpretation of the listener. Retelling stories may be harmless amusement on the playground, but new research from Wharton sounds the alarm on the grown-up version by revealing how news can become more biased as it is repeated from person to person. As information travels farther away from its original source, retellers tend to select facts, offer their own interpretations, and lean toward the negative, according to the study titled The Dynamics of Distortion: How Successive Summarization Alters the Retelling of News. “This paper started because I was interested initially in understanding how we end up with fake news. But quickly I realized that this project was going to be about something much broader, and I think more interesting, which is how do original news stories become distorted as they’re retold sequentially across people,” Wharton marketing professor Shiri Melumad said in an interview with Wharton Business Daily on SiriusXM. (Listen to the podcast at the top of this page.)…”

Americans and ‘Cancel Culture’: Where Some See Calls for Accountability, Others See Censorship, Punishment

“People have challenged each other’s views for much of human history. But the internet – particularly social media – has changed how, when and where these kinds of interactions occur. The number of people who can go online and call out others for their behavior or words is immense, and it’s never been easier to… Continue Reading

Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Updated May 2021

Via LLRX – Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Updated May 2021 – This guide on competitive intelligence resources on the web was first published in 2005, and Sabrina I. Pacifici has continued to edit, revise and update it over the course of 16 years. Her objective is to provide researchers with a… Continue Reading

Do you trust Amazon to share your internet connection with others? How to opt out

ZDNET: “Amazon is getting ready to switch on a new service called Amazon Sidewalk, and if you own an Echo device, or a Ring Floodlight and Spotlight Cam, then the chances are that you are going to start donating part of your internet connection to making this work. Amazon now has an entire army of… Continue Reading

Design Thinking for the Greater Good: A Free Online Course from UVA

Open Culture: “Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector shows how and why human-centered design is a powerful tool. Offered by the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, the course lets students “view design thinking success stories from around the world, in areas as diverse as government, health care,… Continue Reading

We are on the cusp of a global pandemic driven by greed, an avoidably vulnerable digital ecosystem, and an ever-widening criminal enterprise

Testimony of Christopher C. Krebs [Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] Before the Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Innovation U.S. House of Representatives On Responding to Ransomware: Exploring Policy Solutions to a Cybersecurity Crisis – May 5, 2021. Washington: “…Simply put, ransomware is a business, and business is… Continue Reading

8 Google Docs Add-Ons to Improve Your Citation and Bibliography

MakeUseOf: “Referencing isn’t just for academic papers. You can use reliable primary sources to back up your blog posts on science. The tricky part is making sure your citations and bibliography are correct. Fortunately, Google Docs comes with add-ons that help you cite sources and compile them. Here are eight apps that save you time… Continue Reading

Forget Art and Gems, Thieves Make Discreet Millions at the Library

The Daily Beast -“Last September, New York City’s Swann Galleries were advertising the sale of an invaluable piece of Spanish and Mexican history: a 500-year-old letter involving Hernán Cortés, the Spanish military leader and colonizer. The letter was expected to sell for somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 until a group of academics intervened. Reuters reports… Continue Reading