New researches

Monday, June 13, 2022

Hartford Music, Google Scholar, Gardening Apps, More: Monday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 13, 2022

Hartford Music, Google Scholar, Gardening Apps, More: Monday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 13, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Hartford Courant: Hartford Library wants you to check out The Beat, its new local music archive. “Hartford Public Library has created The Beat, a new archive of local music, curated by professionals, that can be played online by anyone with an internet connection. People with Hartford library cards can download the albums. The collection is being built gradually.” This site will grow relatively slowly, but I like the interesting mix of its first additions.

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: How to Create a Library in Google Scholar. “You’re probably aware of Google Scholar and its effectiveness in helping you discover academic material. But did you know that you could enhance your experience even further? One of the ways to do that is by creating a library in Google Scholar that includes articles you want to read later on. In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to make one.”

Mashable: 7 best gardening apps, so you can stop killing all of your plants. “Whether you are starting a windowsill herb garden, buying some indoor plants, or planting a garden in your yard, these apps will help you figure out how to care for your plants and remind you to care for them.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

East Coast Radio: Did this woman’s reliance on Google Translate ruin her daughter’s reputation at school?. “We are not saying that Google Translate isn’t reputable, but we do believe it to be an online resource that is meant to provide an overall understanding. Perhaps not the precise meaning of words… This mother bravely took to TikTok sharing her experience with the service when it came to helping her 11-year-old with her Afrikaans homework.” Laughed myself silly.

Chronicle (Zimbabwe): Citizens urged to archive information. “ARCHIVISTS have challenged the nation to participate in archiving information as records act as a nation’s memory, culture and collective identity to influence national development.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

How-To Geek: How Zelle Scams Work, and How to Protect Your Money. “Zelle is one of the most popular financial platforms of its kind, so it’s no surprise that the platform has been made a target for scammers. Here’s what to look out for and how to avoid a nasty surprise.”

MIT News: Keeping web-browsing data safe from hackers. “MIT researchers analyzed a powerful cyberattack, known as a website-fingerprinting attack, and then developed strategies that dramatically reduce the attacker’s chances of success.”

Daily Maverick: SA’s new copyright law, backed by Google, is slated by the creative industry . “The strangest alliance has been formed between copyright and intellectual property (IP) academics, US tech giant Google and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, which have collaborated to make South Africa’s copyright law weaker. Opposing this are South Africa’s artists, musicians, authors, filmmakers and others within the creative industry who believe this week’s adoption of the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill by the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition has, in effect, thrown them to the wolves.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

The Conversation: Why are so many big tech whistleblowers women? Here is what the research shows. “There is data showing that women, more so than men, are associated with lower levels of corruption in government and business. For example, studies show that the higher the share of female elected officials in governments around the world, the lower the corruption. While this trend in part reflects the tendency of less corrupt governments to more often elect women, additional studies show a direct causal effect of electing female leaders and, in turn, reducing corruption.”

WIRED: The Internet Needs You-Are-Here Maps . “Research we conducted with colleagues suggests that reflective data visualizations designed to show people which social network communities they are embedded in might make them more aware of fragmentation in their online networks—and in some cases prompt them to follow a more diverse set of accounts.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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June 14, 2022 at 12:31AM
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January 6 Hearings, Human Cell Function, Mexico Music, More: Monday ResearchBuzz, June 13, 2022

January 6 Hearings, Human Cell Function, Mexico Music, More: Monday ResearchBuzz, June 13, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Just Security: The January 6th Hearings: A Criminal Evidence Tracker. “We will update these trackers after each hearing to show the accumulation of new evidence as to each of these criminal offenses. These inaugural charts are a baseline established by compiling key details that were already in the public record and supplemented by what we learn during the first hearing. We believe readers can judge for themselves the evidence and strength of the case through these detailed findings.”

MIT News: New CRISPR-based map ties every human gene to its function. “The Human Genome Project was an ambitious initiative to sequence every piece of human DNA. The project drew together collaborators from research institutions around the world, including MIT’s Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and was finally completed in 2003. Now, over two decades later, MIT Professor Jonathan Weissman and colleagues have gone beyond the sequence to present the first comprehensive functional map of genes that are expressed in human cells.”

Dartmouth University: Hopkins Center Hopes to Lift Up Music From Mexico. “The symposium will also unveil the Mexican Repertoire Initiative and Collection at Dartmouth, which will, among other things, encourage musical partnerships, host an accessible database of new Mexican compositions, and release recordings aimed at the general public.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Government Printing Office: Syracuse University Becomes First Library to Preserve Government Collections as they are Published. “Syracuse University Libraries expands its Preservation Steward agreement with the U. S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). Under this agreement, libraries pledge to permanently preserve print collections of historical Government publications produced by GPO. Syracuse University Libraries is the first Preservation Steward to agree to preserve new volumes as they are published, as well as the historical volumes.”

Library of Congress: FADGI Publishes Revision to Influential Still Image Digitization Guidelines. “The Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) Still Image Working Group is pleased to announce the publication of the 3rd edition of the Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials. The newly-revised Guidelines are in draft form and are open for public review and comment from the digital preservation community. The public comment period will close on Friday, August 5, 2022, and the final approved version will be published in early FY23.”

USEFUL STUFF

PetaPixel: Picsart Adds AI Enhancement Tool to Upscale and Improve Photos. “With over a billion users making it the top 20 most downloaded app in the world, Picsart is adding new functionality to both its business and individual creator platforms. Called AI Enhance, the new tool upscales images while also improving the overall quality for the purposes of printing or sharing online. Picsart says that AI Enhance uses advanced AI models to remove or blur pixelated effects, add pixels, and sharpen and restore scenes and objects, including faces.”

ReviewGeek: 8 Easy Ways to Keep Your Google Drive Clutter-Free. “Whether you use Google Drive for work, school, or anything in between, it can be a real challenge to keep it organized and clutter-free. However, if you’re up for some occasional preventative maintenance, we think these tips can help you stay on top of things.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

CNBC: Amazon is flying internet influencers to luxurious resorts in bid for social media clout. “For three days in May, more than a dozen stars of Instagram, YouTube and TikTok convened in the coastal town of Todos Santos, Mexico, where they were treated to sunset dinners and spa sessions. It’s the type of luxurious weekend that internet influencers have come to expect from the growing number of companies trying to capitalize of their online fame. But the event on Mexico’s Pacific Coast wasn’t run by one of the powerhouses of social media. It was hosted by Amazon.”

Deadline: Eva Longoria, Charles D. King Creating Diverse Crew Members Database For Studios – Produced By. “Producers Eva Longoria and Charles D. King shared their frustrations today at the Produced By conference, relating that studios tell them they looked for diverse crew members, but couldn’t find any. MACRO CEO King and UnbeliEVAble Entertainment founder Longoria said they are creating a database of diverse talent they can present to studios when faced with that question.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Security Boulevard: How to Prevent and Respond to Social Media Impersonations. “Social media impersonations have become a very popular tactic to deploy online scams. Cybercriminals, fraudsters, and identity thieves alike pose as a trusted figure, such as a celebrity, corporate executive, or a well-known high-net worth individual, to try and trick unsuspecting people into taking an action, such as wiring money or sharing login credentials.”

The Atlantic: The Teens Slipping Through the Cracks on Dating Apps. “When dating apps started becoming popular in the early 2010s, many people feared that seeking romance on the internet might be dangerous. Since then, online dating has become a normal part of how adults find new relationships. Still, one uncomfortable aspect of these apps remains mostly unaddressed: the ease with which underage users can create profiles and risk being preyed on by adults.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Internet Archive Blog: We Can Rebuild It: Using the Internet Archive to Discover Original Order
. “One of the things archivists get excited about is the importance of ‘original order’. This is the idea that the arrangement of records by their creator has significance to our understanding of the records themselves. Wherever possible, archivists will try to determine the original order of materials in their care. An item received at the Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County in 2015 presented something of a puzzle in this respect.”

Washington Post: The Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life. “[Blake] Lemoine, who works for Google’s Responsible AI organization, began talking to LaMDA as part of his job in the fall. He had signed up to test if the artificial intelligence used discriminatory or hate speech. As he talked to LaMDA about religion, Lemoine, who studied cognitive and computer science in college, noticed the chatbot talking about its rights and personhood, and decided to press further. In another exchange, the AI was able to change Lemoine’s mind about Isaac Asimov’s third law of robotics.” Good morning, Internet…

June 13, 2022 at 05:27PM
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Sunday, June 12, 2022

Hawaii Tree Canopy, LinkedIn, Telegram, More: Sunday ResearchBuzz, June 12, 2022

Hawaii Tree Canopy, LinkedIn, Telegram, More: Sunday ResearchBuzz, June 12, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Governor of Hawaii: DLNR News Release: Kaulunani Urban And Community Forestry Program Announces Hawaiʻi Tree Canopy Viewer. “The first tree canopy viewer is now available in Hawaiʻi for communities to use to explore tree resources and make management decisions. The interactive viewer shows the extent and location of the tree canopy across the state.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Search Engine Land: 5 new tools for LinkedIn creators to get more followers, visibility. “LinkedIn today announced new tools and features that should help make creators more visible, discoverable, and followable. You must have Creator Mode turned on and a public profile to access these features.”

How-To Geek: Telegram’s Premium Subscription Is Coming in June. “Telegram, a popular messaging app, has been planning a premium option since at least 2020 to support development costs. Now we have our first details about the upcoming subscription, called Telegram Premium.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Vice: I Tried to Adopt a Traumatized Sims 4 Baby From Instagram. “Sims like these are lovingly created and then put up for adoption by Simmers on Instagram, which they more commonly refer to Simstagram. Most Simmers use Instagram for roleplay, given that it’s a social media platform focused mainly on still images. They pretend their Sims run the Instagrams themselves, posting as if they were influencers. Storylines run the gamut from pregnant runaway teens to more generic family drama, and just like real influencers, these Sims grow up, get married, and eventually have kids or adopt them.”

Bloomberg: Nextdoor’s Quest to Beat Toxic Content and Make Money. “The social media site is trying to shed its reputation for dividing neighborhoods. But what is the platform without all the awkward comments and uncomfortable politics?”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Politico: Google gets UK antitrust probe into app payments. “Google got a third antitrust probe from U.K’s competition watchdog, adding scrutiny of its app store payments to earlier investigations into advertising rules for in-app billing, the authority said Friday.”

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: Plaintiffs and Google Agree to $118 Million Settlement of Pay Equity Class Action. “In addition to monetary relief, the Settlement provides that an independent third party expert will analyze Google’s leveling-at-hire practices and that an independent labor economist will review Google’s pay equity studies. The post-settlement work will be supervised by an external Settlement Monitor over the next three years.”

NBC News: Wickr, Amazon’s encrypted chat app, has a child sex abuse problem — and little is being done to stop it. “Wickr Me, an encrypted messaging app owned by Amazon Web Services, has become a go-to destination for people to exchange images of child sexual abuse, according to court documents, online communities, law enforcement and anti-exploitation activists.”

Saudi Gazette: Non-Saudis banned from publishing ads on social media. “The General Commission for Audiovisual Media has issued a circular banning non-Saudis from publishing advertisements on the social media. The commission noted that the practice of posting ads on social media by those who do not have a license for it is a violation of Saudi Arabia’s Labor Law, as well as the rules for dealing with expatriates.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Algonquin College: AC students developing resource database on the Yazidi genocide. “Learners in the at Algonquin College are developing an online resource cataloguing the genocide against the Yazidi people. In partnership with Yazidi Legal Network, the resource will serve as a database on crimes against Yazidis for human-rights lawyers and activists. Yazidis are Kurmanji-speaking peoples indigenous to Kurdistan. Canada has officially recognized the genocide of the Yazidi people by Daesh, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).”

CNET: Google Cloud Calculates 100 Trillion Digits of Pi. “Google’s cloud service has shattered a record it first broke in 2019, calculating 100 trillion digits of pi, Google Cloud said in a release Wednesday. This is the second time the cloud infrastructure setup has churned out an unprecedented number of digits for the mathematical constant. Last time it took pi to 31.4 trillion digits.”

Washington Post: Your kids’ apps are spying on them. “Apps are spying on our kids at a scale that should shock you. More than two-thirds of the 1,000 most popular iPhone apps likely to be used by children collect and send their personal information out to the advertising industry, according to a major new study shared with me by fraud and compliance software company Pixalate. On Android, 79 percent of popular kids apps do the same.” Good morning, Internet…

June 12, 2022 at 05:29PM
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Saturday, June 11, 2022

Words Without Borders, Air Quality, LinkedIn, More: Saturday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 11, 2022

Words Without Borders, Air Quality, LinkedIn, More: Saturday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 11, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Publishers Weekly: Words Without Borders Reboots. “The nonprofit organization Words Without Borders launched in 2003 to aid in publishing works from countries and cultures underrepresented in English-first language regions. WWB now has an archive of 12,000 published pieces across 140 countries and 130 languages. Though their mission has not changed, there are several new developments planned to expand the literary conversation.”

Google Blog: Get some fresh air outdoors with Google. “As temperatures heat up and summer officially begins across the United States, many of us are taking the opportunity to explore the great outdoors. If you have an adventure on the horizon, here are two ways you can use Google tools to stay safe and healthy during your summer activities.”

Search Engine Journal: LinkedIn Expands Audio Events To All Users. “LinkedIn is expanding audio-only live events, first introduced in January in a beta test, to all users who have Creator Mode turned on. Audio-only live events are LinkedIn’s answer to the success of apps like Clubhouse, and features like Twitter Spaces.”

USEFUL STUFF

I love Joy Okumoko’s MakeUseOf roundups because she comes up with some crazy-creative ideas. MakeUseOf: How to Turn Your Images Into Paint-by-Number Templates: The 5 Best Free Sites. “If you’re like many artists today, perhaps you can trace your love for the arts back to your precious little coloring books. Paint-by-number templates offer another great opportunity for novices to get their first start in the arts. As an artist or an art entrepreneur, one way of leaving a lasting legacy is by turning your images into paint-by-number templates so others can learn how to become artists, and better appreciate all the hard work artists invest in their craft.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

BBC: YouTube accused of not tackling Musk Bitcoin scam streams. “YouTube is being criticised for failing to tackle a network of cyber-criminals streaming fake Elon Musk videos to scam viewers. The criminals are hijacking YouTube accounts and using the videos to promote bogus cryptocurrency giveaways. BBC News found dozens of these streams being watched by tens of thousands of people over four days this month.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Techdirt: US Copyright Small Claims Court Opens Its Doors Next Week. Two Questions Remain: Will Anyone Use It… And Is It Constitutional?. “We’ve been talking about the problems of the US government setting up a copyright trolling small claims court for over a decade now. But, Congress finally passed a law to create one (with no debate and no hearings) by sneaking it into a ‘must-pass’ funding bill at the end of the year in 2020. It’s taken a year and a half but the Copyright Office is finally set to launch it sometime next week. Of course there are two big questions associated with it: um, will anyone actually use it and… is it constitutional?”

The Guardian: Apple and Google’s mobile browser ‘stranglehold’ may face UK investigation. “The UK competition watchdog is considering launching an investigation into Apple and Google’s dominance of the mobile browser market after finding the tech companies have a ‘stranglehold’ on a range of areas including app stores.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

University of Rochester: Digital justice through data dictionaries. “Historically, collections have been described in ways that reflect not only academic priorities and academic privilege, but also the frequently white, heterosexual perspective of the academy. So, the chosen terminology may also not reflect what is important to particular communities about content they may have created or resources that address their experiences. For members of the Black or LGBTQAI+ communities, this practice could make some resources virtually undiscoverable. The River Campus Libraries (RCL) is participating in a new University of Rochester project that seeks to bring long-overdue change to this realm.”

NiemanLab: How science helps fuel a culture of misinformation. “Institutions often incentivize scientists going for tenure to focus on quantity rather than quality of publications and to exaggerate study results beyond the bounds of rigorous analysis. Scientific journals themselves can boost their revenue when they are more widely read. Thus, some journals may pounce on submissions with juicy titles that will attract readers. At the same time, many scientific articles contain more jargon than ever, which encourages misinterpretation, political spin, and a declining public trust in the scientific process. Addressing scientific misinformation requires top-down changes to promote accuracy and accessibility, starting with scientists and the scientific publishing process itself.”

AFP: Old tricks, new crises: how US misinformation spreads . “With gun control under debate and monkeypox in the headlines, Americans are facing a barrage of new twists on years-old misinformation in their social media feeds. Accurate news stories about mass shootings have attracted eyeballs but algorithms have also spurred baseless conspiracy theories from trolls who want to push lies to attract traffic. And thousands have unwittingly shared them on Facebook, Twitter and other sites.” Good afternoon, Internet…

June 12, 2022 at 12:36AM
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Friday, June 10, 2022

Hurricane Agnes, Editing Finding Aids, Yubo, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 9, 2022

Hurricane Agnes, Editing Finding Aids, Yubo, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 9, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Fox43: New website marks the 50th anniversary of Hurricane Agnes, highlights efforts to prepare for future storms. “As the 50th anniversary of the storm nears, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and emergency management leaders from several states affected by the hurricane have teamed up to create a new website that chronicles the history of Hurricane Agnes and highlights efforts to prepare for future storms.”

University of North Carolina: University Libraries releases guide to conscious editing for finding aids and catalog records. “The guide compiles practices that staff at the Wilson Special Collections Library have refined as they update, edit and create new archival finding aids. Finding aids are documents that describe the contents of archival collections. They help researchers identify materials of potential interest.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

ABC News: Yubo app allegedly used by Uvalde gunman adds new ‘safety features’ following shooting. “Representatives of the social media app Yubo said on Tuesday that the platform is adding new safety features and updating its usage guidelines following news that the accused Robb Elementary School gunman allegedly used the app to send disturbing messages that appear to have gone unnoticed in the days leading up to the deadly shooting.”

Engadget: Google adds auto-transcription and simplified grading to its education tools. “Many students have returned to in-person classes, but that isn’t stopping Google from making online education more viable. The company has updated Classroom and Workspace for Education with a host of features that improve life for teachers and students alike.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: 7 Apps That Let You Stream Local News for Free. “If you have cut the cord, accessing local news through your TV can be complicated. The good news is you don’t need a costly cable package to stay on top of what’s happening in your neighborhood. Nowadays, there are plenty of free sites and apps that let you stream local news directly to your TV or smartphone. Here are our top picks if you’d like to stream local news channels for free.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Rolling Stone: The Jan. 6 Committee Wants Twitter’s Internal Slack Messages. Twitter Is Fighting It. “Twitter is fighting a Jan. 6 committee request for its employees’ internal communications — including Slack messages about moderating Tweets related to the Capitol attack, three sources familiar with the matter tell Rolling stone.”

New York Times: How ‘Trustless’ Is Bitcoin, Really?. “In myth, the cryptocurrency is egalitarian, decentralized and all but anonymous. The reality is very different, scientists have found.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Ars Technica: Making blockchain stop wasting energy by getting it to manage energy. “One of the worst features of blockchain technologies like cryptocurrency and NFTs is their horrific energy use. When we should be wringing every bit of efficiency out of our electricity use, most blockchains require computers to perform pointless calculations repeatedly. The obvious solution is to base blockchains on useful calculations—something we might need to do anyway…. A paper released this week adds another option to this list.”

PR Newswire: Deep Analytics Opens EOD Data Hub for Beta Testing by Explosive Ordnance Disposal Experts (PRESS RELEASE). “Deep Analytics LLC, a leading developer of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the DoD, has completed initial development of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) image data hub where experts can share photographs and details of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The EOD Data Hub is now open for beta testing by military ordnance disposal personnel and public safety bomb technicians.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

CFB Esquimalt Lookout Navy News: Electronics technician establishes digital library in the Congo. “The digital library employs [Nzolantima] Swasisa’s high-tech invention called Lokole – a tiny black box of computer components that harnesses free satellite internet signals available in Africa. It can provide web and email access within a 25-metre radius for 100 users. Swasisa notes only 18 per cent of Congo’s 90 million citizens have internet access.” Good afternoon, Internet…

June 10, 2022 at 01:05AM
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Facebook Update, June 9, 2022

Facebook Update, June 9, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Axios: Meta reorganization aims to decentralize Facebook’s AI efforts. “Facebook parent Meta announced a broad reorganization of its AI efforts Thursday, a move that will embed more work within product teams and will also see a top AI executive leave the company. Why it matters: Like rivals Google and Microsoft, Meta is looking to make sure that machine learning and AI are used broadly throughout the company, not locked away in research units.”

Washington Post: Top executive Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Facebook. “Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg is leaving the company, she announced Wednesday in a post on the flagship site.”

CNET: Facebook Parent Meta to Change Stock Ticker Symbol to META on June 9. “Facebook parent company Meta Platforms said Tuesday its stock will begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol META on June 9, replacing the FB symbol it went public with a little more than a decade ago.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

CNN: Sheryl Sandberg’s complicated legacy at Facebook. “In the hours after Sandberg announced her planned departure on Wednesday, she was praised by a number of prominent figures in tech and media…. Other industry watchers, however, stressed the negative impacts from Facebook that emerged during her watch and pointed the finger at her for not doing more to prevent them.”

Axios: Sheryl Sandberg’s advertising jackpot. “Sheryl Sandberg grew Meta’s revenue from $272 million in 2008 to nearly $118 billion in 2021. That’s over 43,000% higher. Why it matters: Depending on who you ask, the corporate growth story she’s responsible for is one of the most impressive in history — or one of the most reckless.”

CNBC: Javier Olivan, who’s replacing Sheryl Sandberg at Meta, built his career on international expansion. “Sheryl Sandberg is one of the most visible figures in Silicon Valley. Javier ‘Javi’ Olivan, who’s succeeding Sandberg as operating chief at Facebook owner Meta, is a virtual unknown off campus.”

indy100: OnlyFans creator says she had sex with Facebook employees to get Instagram account back. “OnlyFans creator Kitty Lixo spilt the beans on the No Jumper podcast where she explained how she managed to get her profile (with over 196,000 followers) restored after she slept with Meta employees (previously known as Facebook).”

SECURITY & LEGAL

NBC News: Family sues Meta, blames Instagram for daughter’s eating disorder and self-harm. “The case was filed on behalf of Alexis Spence, who was able to create her first Instagram account at the age of 11 without her parents’ knowledge and in violation of the platform’s minimum age requirement of 13. The complaint alleges that Instagram’s artificial intelligence engine almost immediately steered the then-fifth grader into an echo chamber of content glorifying anorexia and self-cutting, and systematically fostered her addiction to using the app. The lawsuit was filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center, a Seattle-based group that advocates for families of teens harmed online.”

Gizmodo: Meta’s Updated Privacy Policy Is a Simplified (And Terrifying) Explanation of What Data They’re Constantly Capturing . “The company formerly known as Facebook wants you to know it takes your privacy seriously. Giving you the illusion of control with a flashy re-designed Privacy Policy that details the alarming amount of data Meta has access to. With your consent, of course.”

CNET: Peter Thiel Departs Meta Board, Shareholder Proposals Voted Down. “Peter Thiel, an early investor in Facebook, departed the board of social network’s parent on Wednesday, as Meta shareholders rejected most proposals voted on at the company’s annual meeting on Wednesday. Thiel’s departure was expected. A board member since 2005, he said in February he wouldn’t seek reelection to the company’s board.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

NBC News: Facebook’s 2018 algorithm change boosted local GOP groups, research finds. “A change to Facebook’s recommendation system likely accounted for a disproportionate boost in visibility and engagement to conservative political groups on the social media platform starting in 2018, according to research published Wednesday. The research, published in the journal Research & Politics, looked at posts from the pages of nearly every county party in the U.S. and found a marked increase in shares, comments and reactions to Republican posts.”

Phys .org: 1 in 5 state GOP lawmakers in far-right Facebook groups, study says. “In a year-long review of the 7,383 seats in state legislatures in the 2021-2022 session, the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights (IREHR) found that 4,011 seats were held by Republicans. Of those GOP lawmakers, 872—21.74%—had joined far-right Facebook groups, according to the report, ‘Breaching the Mainstream.'”

June 9, 2022 at 06:52PM
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Early Florida Parish Archives, Iowa Election Misinformation, Black Art of the PNW, More: Thursday ResearchBuzz, June 9, 2022

Early Florida Parish Archives, Iowa Election Misinformation, Black Art of the PNW, More: Thursday ResearchBuzz, June 9, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

University of South Florida: New “Lost Voices” exhibit translates and digitizes America’s oldest parish archive to provide rare insight into early Florida history. “A new online exhibit launched today by the University of South Florida’s La Florida: The Interactive Digital Archives of the Americas will provide the public with unprecedented insight into the daily lives and relationships of the multi-ethnic population that comprised St. Augustine, Fla. from the 16th-19th centuries. The Florida city is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the continental U.S.” This is part one of a two-part release. The second part will be released “later this year” according to the announcement.

KWWL: Secretary of State Paul Pate launches website to counter election misinformation. “Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has officially launched a new website today aimed at countering election misinformation ahead of today’s Primaries. The site contains a ‘Myth vs. Fact’ section that offers a breakdown of the security measures taking place to protect elections.”

Seattle Art Beat Blog: Crosscut launches Black Arts Legacies showcasing contemporary and historic Black creators in the Northwest. “Crosscut today launched Black Arts Legacies, a digital archive highlighting the roles Black artists have played in the Northwest’s cultural landscape. For its debut, Black Arts Legacies is featuring 26 creatives spanning decades and artistic disciplines.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The Verge: Education Chromebooks are getting Figma, a very cool set of design tools. “Google for Education has announced a new partnership with Figma. The companies will bring Figma’s design and prototyping platform as well as its collaborative whiteboarding app FigJam to education Chromebooks. Schools can apply now to the beta program, which will begin over the summer.”

Thunderbird Blog: Welcome To The Thunderbird 102 Beta! Resources, Links, And Guides. “The wait for this year’s major new Thunderbird release is almost over! But you can test-drive many of the new features like the brand new Address Book, Matrix Chat support, import/export wizard, and refreshed visuals right now with the Thunderbird 102 Beta. Better still, you might be directly responsible for improving the final product via your feedback and bug reports.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

The Guardian: ABC to abolish 58 librarian and archivist jobs with journalists to do archival work . This is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not the American network. “Archivists and librarians at the ABC are in shock after management unveiled plans to abolish 58 positions and make journalists research and archive their own stories. Reporters and producers working on breaking news, news programs and daily programs like 7.30 will have to search for archival material themselves and will be expected to log the metadata of any new material into the system.”

The Register: Makers of ad blockers and browser privacy extensions fear the end is near. “Seven months from now, assuming all goes as planned, Google Chrome will drop support for its legacy extension platform, known as Manifest v2 (Mv2). This is significant if you use a browser extension to, for instance, filter out certain kinds of content and safeguard your privacy.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Bleeping Computer: US: Chinese govt hackers breached telcos to snoop on network traffic. “Several US federal agencies today revealed that Chinese-backed threat actors have targeted and compromised major telecommunications companies and network service providers to steal credentials and harvest data. As the NSA, CISA, and the FBI said in a joint cybersecurity advisory published on Tuesday, Chinese hacking groups have exploited publicly known vulnerabilities to breach anything from unpatched small office/home office (SOHO) routers to medium and even large enterprise networks.”

WIRED: Disinfo and Hate Speech Flood TikTok Ahead of Kenya’s Elections. “LAST AUGUST THE TikTok account @aironixon shared a video intercutting scenes from Netflix’s docuseries How to Become a Tyrant with videos and screenshots of Kenyan deputy president and presidential candidate William Ruto…. The video is one of 130 identified by Mozilla Foundation fellow Odanga Madung, who has detailed his findings in a new report. Altogether, Madung found hate speech and disinformation in videos that accrued over 4 million views after being shared by 33 TikTok accounts.”

NBC News: Hospitals are required to post prices for common procedures. Few do.. “The Hospital Price Transparency Law is intended to make the hidden costs of services such as X-rays, medical tests or colonoscopies clear to patients before they enter the hospital. But a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association added to mounting evidence that hospitals are largely ignoring the law.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Cornell University: Tear down academic silos: Take an ‘undisciplinary’ approach. “Solving societal problems such as climate change could require dismantling rigid academic boundaries, so that researchers from varying disciplines could work together collaboratively – through an ‘undisciplinary’ approach, a new Cornell study suggests. Instead of rallying around a specific mission, it’s best to incorporate a human approach and fixate on the process to find solutions. The work published May 16 in Nature’s Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.”

US Department of Education: Funding Available to Support Native Language Revitalization. “Advancing its commitment to maintaining, protecting, and revitalizing Native American languages – the U.S. Department of Education has announced approximately $1 million in grant funding available for Native American Language (NAL@ED) projects.” Good morning, Internet…

June 9, 2022 at 05:31PM
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