Philadelphia: Survey Finds Babies Routinely Given Smartphones
November 4th, 2015Via: Reuters:
Many children under age five own their own smartphones and tablets, and they often use the devices without any supervision or help from their parents, a small U.S. study suggests.
While the results – based on surveys of parents in 350 households in Philadelphia – aren’t nationally representative and the study didn’t measure the impact of heavy technology use on the children, the findings highlight “the pervasive nature of digital exposure,” among very young children, co-author Dr. Matilde Irigoyen of Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia said by email.
Nearly half of babies in the study used mobile gadgets daily before they reached their first birthday, and by age two more than three-quarters of children did so, according to the study published today in the journal Pediatrics.
Parents are generally advised to avoid screen time before age two because it’s thought to interfere with learning and language development, noted Dr. David Hill, chair of the council on communications and media for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
These recommendations predate the invention of smartphones and tablets. Even though television exposure at an early age has been linked to impaired language skills, the evidence around any benefits or harms from mobile games and apps is less clear, Hill, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
“Parents should know that any claims they hear about kids learning from mobile devices are not backed up by solid science,” Hill said.
Research Credit: Jb
Vatican Inspectors Suspect Key Office Was Used for Money Laundering
November 4th, 2015Via: Reuters:
Vatican financial investigators suspect a department of the Holy See which oversees real estate and investments was used in the past for possible money laundering, insider trading and market manipulation, according to a report seen by Reuters.
The information in the confidential document, which covers the period from 2000 to 2011, has been passed on to Italian and Swiss investigators for their checks because some activity tied to the accounts allegedly took place in these countries, a senior Vatican source said.
While most of the media focus of the Vatican’s murky finances has for decades centred on its official bank, the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), a department called the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), acted as its own financial powerhouse.
APSA, a sort of general accounting office, manages the Vatican’s real estate holdings in Rome and elsewhere in Italy, pays salaries of Vatican employees, and acts as a purchasing office and human resources department.
One of its two divisions also manages the Vatican’s financial and stock portfolio. The 33-page report suspects this division was used by an outsider for non-Vatican business, with possible complicity of APSA staff, in violation of its own regulations.
More Americans Than Ever Use Prescription Drugs
November 4th, 2015Via: NBC:
More Americans than ever are taking prescription drugs — close to 60 percent of U.S. adults, according to new research.
And most seem to be related to obesity, with cholesterol and blood pressure drugs leading the pack, researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The single most popular drug is Zocor, a cholesterol-lowering drug in a class called statins, said Elizabeth Kantor, formerly of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and now at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. The drug, known generically as simvastatin, is taken by 8 percent of the U.S. population.
Britain: Young People Suffering Their ‘Worst Economic Prospects for Several Generations’
November 2nd, 2015Via: Independent:
Young people are suffering the “worst economic prospects for several generations” as a worrying age inequality gap is opening up in Britain, according to a major state-of-the-nation report.
In its biggest review yet of equality across the country, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) identified the winners and losers in modern Britain.
Younger people have been hit by the greatest drop in income and employment in recent years compared with older age groups. They also face even greater barriers to achieving economic independence and success than they did five years ago.
Finland Drawing Up Plans for Citizens’ Basic Income Model
November 2nd, 2015Via: YLE:
The Finnish Social Insurance Institution is to begin drawing up plans for a citizens’ basic income model. The preparation’s director Olli Kangas says that full-fledged basic income would net Finns some 800 euros a month.
U.S. Army Tests Swarms of Consumer Grade Drones in Major Exercise
November 2nd, 2015Via: IT World:
The U.S. Army has for the first time tested swarms of consumer drones during a major military training exercise and determined the low-cost technology is at a stage where it could be used offensively.
Off-the-shelf drones have brought what was previously complex and expensive technology into the reach of consumers, and the military was curious to see how much of a threat that might pose.
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In one exercise, for example, a swarm of drones with cameras on board was deployed in support of opposing forces in an attempt to discover the defensive positions of friendly soldiers.
The Army also tested flooding a chunk of airspace with a drone swarm to generate a disruptive radar signature.
“It has been proved that consumer [drones] can be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, distraction tactics and, in the future, the ability to drop small munitions,” said Barry Hatchett with the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.
On its own, a consumer drone doesn’t pose a huge threat or offer much in the way of an advantage on the battlefield. It’s range is limited, it can’t lift much, it isn’t defended against radio jamming and can be easily brought down with a shot from a rifle.
But they are cheap.
A military drone, like the RQ-16 T-Hawk, costs hundreds of thousands of dollars — putting them well out of the reach of most people.
But for a fraction of that price, a handful of consumer drones can be deployed simultaneously. When that happens, they become more viable as a weapon.
And unlike complicated military drones, almost no training is required to use consumer models because software takes away most of the complexity of flying.
Their low cost and relatively low sophistication also gives them an element of disposability, allowing them to be deployed with less worry about their potential loss.
The Army is worried that a swarm of small drones could easily overwhelm a small defensive position because they would represent too many targets moving too fast to successfully repel.
Hillary: “Too Big to Jail”
November 2nd, 2015Via: McClatchy:
“She’s too big to jail,” said national security attorney Edward MacMahon Jr., who represented former CIA employee Jeffrey Sterling in 2011 in a leak case that led to an espionage prosecution and 3½-year prison term. He cited a pattern of light punishments for top government officials who have mishandled classified information while lower level whistleblowers such as Sterling have faced harsh prosecutions for revealing sensitive information to expose waste, fraud or abuse in government.
U.S. Announces Plans to Deal with EMP Threat
November 2nd, 2015In other news, Naval Academy Reinstates Celestial Navigation.
Via: USA Today:
Space weather, which can disrupt satellites, stifle communications networks and paralyze the electric power grid, is getting some special scrutiny from the Obama administration.
The White House announced a new strategy Thursday to identify and respond to interstellar phenomena such as solar flares that pose a looming threat to national security and the global economy.
The plan calls for clearer identification of space weather events, improved protection of vulnerable targets, and better forecasting.
“As technological systems become increasingly intertwined and interdependent, as more and more applications take advantage of GPS technologies, as power grids become smarter, the potential threats that space weather poses to our economic vitality, our national security and our daily routines gets more concerning,” said John Holdren, the top science and technology advisor to President Obama
Holdren spoke Thursday at a White House-sponsored symposium that brought together federal agencies, congressional lawmakers, state officials and representatives of industries, such as airlines and utilities, most affected by space weather.
The administration’s six-point plan calls for: establishing benchmarks for space weather events, enhancing response and recovery capabilities, improving protection and mitigation efforts, improving prediction of impacts on critical infrastructure, improving space weather forecasting, and increasing international cooperation.
Washington: How a Group of Neighbors Created Their Own Internet Service
November 2nd, 2015Via: Ars Technica:
When you live somewhere with slow and unreliable Internet access, it usually seems like there’s nothing to do but complain. And that’s exactly what residents of Orcas Island, one of the San Juan Islands in Washington state, were doing in late 2013. Faced with CenturyLink service that was slow and outage-prone, residents gathered at a community potluck and lamented their current connectivity.
“Everyone was asking, ‘what can we do?’” resident Chris Brems recalls. “Then [Chris] Sutton stands up and says, ‘Well, we can do it ourselves.’”
Robot Buses Are Coming To America
October 30th, 2015Via: Fast Company:
Self-driving buses are coming to America. The Bishop Ranch business park in San Ramon, California will be the first place in the U.S. to use French robo-buses to ferry passengers around.
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The EZ10 is a driverless bus designed for short hops. It has been deployed in Europe—in Finland, France, and is just about to launch in Spain. The electric vehicles carry up to ten passengers, and have ramps for wheelchairs and strollers. The idea is that they carry you the “last mile” of your journey, and one of their main uses is in theme parks.
