The Man Who Trapped Us in Databases

The New York Times [read free]- “Hank Asher was a drug smuggler with a head for numbers — until he figured out how to turn Americans’ private information into a big business. One of Asher’s innovations — or more precisely one of his companies’ innovations — was what is now known as the LexID. My …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Mail, E-Records, Financial System, Legal Research, Privacy

The Band of Debunkers Busting Bad Scientists

WSJ (free link) – “Stanford’s president and a high-profile physicist are among those taken down by a growing wave of volunteers who expose faulty or fraudulent research papers. An award-winning Harvard Business School professor and researcher spent years exploring the reasons people lie and cheat. A trio of behavioral scientists examining a handful of her …

Subjects: Education, Health Care, Knowledge Management, Medicine

Lawyers Don’t Like New Technology, Except When They Do

Jennifer Marsh @legalytical – “In the legal world, there’s a common refrain that lawyers don’t like technology. But that’s not true. During the early part of my career, I witnessed how lawyers changed the way they researched, moving from using books to researching online. While this change happened many years ago, it was incredibly significant. …

Subjects: Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, September 23, 2023

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, September 23, 2023 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy, Search Engines

What Big Tech Knows About Your Body

The Atlantic [free to read]: “..We leave digital traces about our health everywhere we go: by completing forms like BetterHelp’s. By requesting a prescription refill online. By clicking on a link. By asking a search engine about dosages or directions to a clinic or pain in chest dying???? By shopping, online or off. By participating …

Subjects: E-Records, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine, Privacy, Search Engines

The Importance of Words

RIPS Law Librarian Blog – Jennifer E. Chapman: “I teach my students to expand their search vocabularies and think carefully about the search terms and phrases they use during the research process. It’s important that I also think carefully about the words I use when teaching and expand my teaching vocabulary…Since language is “the medium …

Subjects: AI, Education, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

DPLA launches The Banned Book Club to ensure access to banned books

“Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has launched The Banned Book Club to ensure that all readers have access to the books they want to read. The Banned Book Club makes e-book versions of banned books available to readers in locations across the United States where titles have been banned. The e-books will be available …

Subjects: Censorship, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Legal Research

How to Delete Private Browsing History and Protect Your Privacy

MakeUseOf: “Most people use the incognito browsing mode when they want to keep their browsing history private. But did you know that incognito mode isn’t actually private? When using incognito mode in your web browser, you may think that your activities are completely anonymous and untraceable. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Your Internet …

Subjects: Internet, Privacy, Search Engines

Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool

Council on Environmental Quality: “Explore the map – Census tracts that are overburdened and underserved are highlighted as being disadvantaged on the map. Federally Recognized Tribes, including Alaska Native Villages, are also considered disadvantaged communities. Zooming in and selecting shows information about each census tract.”  Search for an address, city, state or zipcode.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Climate Change, E-Government, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research, Search Engines