Big data, big hype? First there was “Big Data,” and then there was “Big Data Analytics.” These terms are everywhere, but there has been a recent media backlash about the effectiveness of Big Data. Tim Harford summed this up in a recent Financial Times article by saying “Big Data has arrived, but big insights have not.” Big Data is […]
PRI In oil-producing Iran, a slight hike in gas prices could cause a jump in discontent Until Thursday, Iranians could purchase up to 16 gallons of gas for just $0.45 per gallon. Now, they are paying $0.83 and, after the first 16 gallons, they’ll pay $1.17 a gallon. That’s because the government is cutting part of the subsidy it provided for gas in an attempt to improve the economy. While the […]
Bloomberg Businessweek Why Europe’s far right is getting cozy with Russia As Western governments edge toward tougher sanctions on Russia, at least one group of European politicians has come to Moscow’s defense: leaders of the region’s far-right parties. Marine Le Pen, head of France’s National Front, visited Moscow this month—her second trip there in less than a year—and lambasted the West for declaring a ruinous new […]
Games Industry Teacher’s lounge: insider views on games education Five leading professors discuss the growth of games education and what needs to happen to better the industry The video game industry is well over 30 years old, but it hasn’t been until the last decade or so that we’ve truly seen colleges and universities taking game design curricula seriously. As the education sector comes […]
How being grateful can change your life In another study, researchers from Harvard, Northeastern University, and the University of California-Riverside found participants who practiced gratitude were more patient than their less grateful counterparts. In that study, which appears in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, participants were given the opportunity to receive immediate cash or wait for a larger check that would […]
Mass. limits use of the potent painkiller Zohydro Saying the state faces a continuing public health crisis, Governor Deval Patrick’s administration imposed sweeping restrictions Tuesday on prescribing the powerful painkiller Zohydro, just before a ban on the controversial drug was set to expire. A federal judge overturned the state’s ban last week, saying the Patrick administration was overstepping its authority. But she delayed […]
MIT Technology Review Mistaken analysis Google flu trends has long been the go-to example for anyone asserting the revolutionary potential of big data. Since 2008 the company has claimed it could use counts of flu-related Web searches to forecast flu outbreaks weeks ahead of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortunately, this turned out to be what […]
Nature News Climate-change adaptation: designer reefs Off the coast of American Samoa, the tropical sun beats down on a shallow tidal lagoon, heating the water to a sizzling 35 °C for a few hours each day. Such temperatures would kill off most coral reefs, and yet the Samoan lagoon hosts courtyards of antler-like branching corals and mound corals the size of […]
Bystander approach teaches that others play role in preventing sexual violence Many colleges are reaching out to students to help stop sexual harassment and assault. They’re teaching what’s known as the “bystander approach,” which marks a shift from relying solely on women to protect themselves to the idea that bystanders, both men and women, have a role to play in preventing sexual violence. On a weekend […]
Fox 25 FDA eyes ban on shock devices for students The US Food and Drug Administration is setting its sights on the device that delivers painful electric shocks to students at the Judge Rotenberg Center, charging an advisory panel to weigh whether to ban them for good.“FDA is concerned that they present a substantial and unreasonable risk of illness or injury,” the agency wrote in […]
Boston area foreclosures fell in February to their lowest level in five years Foreclosure activity in Greater Boston fell in February to their lowest levels in more than five years amid a strengthening real estate market, according to newly released data from CoreLogic, the California-based property information tracker. The portion of Boston area homeowners who were in some stage of foreclosure was 1.25 percent in February, a decrease […]
Global Post More red ink for US newspapers in latest survey US newspapers suffered further revenue declines in 2013, seeing only mixed success in a transition to digital, according to industry figures. Total newspaper industry revenue amounted to $37.59 billion in 2013, a 2.6 percent drop from $38.60 billion in 2012, according to a report released Friday by the Newspaper Association of America. In one positive […]