These pages are a modest attempt to provide up-to-date news that is relevant to the areas of mathematics, education, computer science or information technology. Reader should keep in mind that old links often disappear.
6/25/10
TechNews for the week: June 25; June 23; June 21;
War Politics and Reports (Also, see Free Speech and Homeland Security)
Pakistan, Afghanistan begin talks about dealing with insurgents; Afghan forces' apathy starts to wear on U.S. platoon; U.S. indirectly paying Afgan warlords;
Generals faceoff: Tensions between Eikenberry, McChrystal focus of Washington visit; McChrystal replaced by Petraeus; The Rolling Stone article;
Is the GOP out of touch on Iran?
BP's partner says reckless decisions led to the gulf spill; BP taps well of Washington lobbyists; GOP echos Joe Barton on the BP oil spill;
Britain joins E.U. wave of austerity; Germany's budget savings could cause euro collapse;
Election-year deficit fears stall Obama stimulus plan; Senate again rejects emergency aid package;
House, Senate leaders finalize details of sweeping financial overhaul; Scott Brown's key vote gives Massachusetts firms clout in financial overhaul;
Arizona immigration Fear of crime or of illegal immigrants? NPR story;
Supreme Court upholds anti-terror law; Court limits use of federal fraud law that has been a favorite of white-collar crime prosecutors;
Senators expect to pass proposal to end anonymous 'holds' on nominations;
Census takers assulted when making follow-up calls;
Design issues
Layouts: From Basics to Style; Setting A Cookie Based On A User's Selection On A Form;
Video: Three Windows XP Mode tips for power users;
Other news
New German Satellite Will Help Make 3D Map Of Earth;
Free Software Worth the Download;
Net politics:
Good sources include Politechbot.com and Greplaw (cyberlaw forum at Harvard Law School);
Copyright issues
Google defeats Viacom in landmark copyright case;
First Amendment, Free Speech
California Court Ruling Supports E-mail Marketers;
Privacy issues
Apple Starts Collecting Users’ Real-Time Location Data;
Supreme Court Allows Search of Officer’s Text Messages on Employer's pager; Court Orders Newspaper to Identify Anonymous Web Commenters;
Other News
Older Workers Less Likely To Lose Jobs, But Stay Unemployed Longer; As economy improves, key workers could jump ship;
Small Space Storms Could Affect Infrastructure On Earth;
Education:
Student Evaluations, Grade Inflation, and Declining Student Work Effort; Improve Pass Rates by lowering standards;
Adjuncts and Retention Rates; Hold Administrators Accountable for Retention;
Law Schools Turn to Grade Inflation as a Competitive Measure; schools adjust grades up;
Under Pressure, Teachers Tamper With Tests;
Complexity Demands a New Engineering Mindset;
Evaluating classroom blogs; Video Lectures May Slightly Hurt Some Student Performance;
Arkansas Official Suspends Pay Raises at State's Public Colleges; LSU president warns of deep cuts and dismissals;
Top-level A&M official resigns amid questions over credentials;
For-Profit Sector Assails Views of Wall Street Investor Set to Speak at Senate Hearing;
NCAA Is Criticized for Commercialization of Athletes; College Sports 'at a Crossroads'; The Power of History of college athletics;
Realignment not just a Division I issue; Birmingham-Southern's costly move to Division I retracted;
6/18/10
TechNews for the week: June 18; June 16; June 14;
War Politics and Reports (Also, see Free Speech and Homeland Security)
As Afghan Fighting Expands, U.S. Medics Plunge In; Brother Karzai, ally and obstacle to the U.S. in Afghanistan; A surge of problems in Afghanistan;
U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan;
Troubling epilogue to Iraq war: An epidemic of mental illness ;
Former US Military Scientist Proposes MOAB To Seal Leak;
Gulf oil spill puts industry-friendly Republicans in tight spot; Gulf oil leak estimates dramatically rise again;
Drilling rig inspections scrutinized; Documents: BP cut corners in days before blowout; The law that lets BP off the hook for workers killed on Deepwater rig;
N.C. GOP congressional candidate says government wanted oil leak;
Rep. Barton (R-Texas) says BP being 'shakendown' by Obama; Tea party leader says Obama doesn't have authority to hold BP accountable for damages;
Obama and GOP bicker over doctors' Medicare pay;
Derivatives-spinoff plan gains support in Congress;
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ordered to delist from NYSE; Lenders go after money lost in foreclosures;
Republican block job bill in Senate; Republicans seek pay freeze for federal workers;
SC Politics: Nikki Haley's new friends; S.C. Democrats ask Greene: Where'd you get $10,400 filing fee; S.C. strikes again;
A week later, Greene's Senate nomination is still a mystery for S.C.; Election speculation comes from all corners after S.C. primary;
Supreme Court rules Labor board's decisions were illegal;
Information technology:
Security issues
June Crypto-Gram, hiring hackers, fake bombs and more; The Continuing Incompetence of Terrorists;
More Security Flaws Discovered on Mobile Devices;
Design issues
Web design: Creating Drop Caps in HTML and CSS; Top 10 JavaScript Snippets for Common Tasks; Combine Multiple PDF Files into One;
Other news
10 Products Apple Doesn't Want Consumers to Know About; AT&T suspends iPhone orders;
Fractal art;
Net politics:
Good sources include Politechbot.com and Greplaw (cyberlaw forum at Harvard Law School);
Privacy issues
Supreme Court Allows Search of Officer’s Text Messages on Employer's pager;
Homeland Security
NSA's PR about lie detector tests;
Filming active duty police is illegal in some states; Maryland's wiretap law;
Lieberman Defends Internet Emergency Powers proposal;
Defense firms face cyber spying at arms bazaar;
Other News
New Theory for Life's First Energy Source;
Conscientious Employees May Suffer More In Long-Term Unemployment; Out-of-work job applicants told unemployed need not apply;
Net Neutrality Looks Dead in the Clutches of Congress;
Education:
Analysis: US Economy In Danger Of Skills Mismatch; college-educated jump to become skilled laborers;
Many Young Adults in Poverty Have a College Degree; Workers Risk Being Left Behind As More Jobs Require College;
Education Commission Asks Colleges to Improve Remedial Instruction and Assessment; House panel says Credit Hours Should Be Worth the Cost;
Opinion: The right way to assess teachers' performance;
How Colleges Measure Value of Presidential Homes;
New GI Bill benefits Largely go to For-Profit and 2-Year Colleges;
Rocky Mountain College and fund raiser sue each other; U. of Illinois Abandons Plan for $98,000 Sculpture of President;
Knight Commission asks for greater financial openness among athletics departments;
In Spending Race at Big Public Universities, Sports Outpace Academics; Big-time Sports Spending; The transformation of athletic video specialist;
Big Ten Conference Poised to Add U. of Nebraska; Texas to remain in Big 12 with New TV Deal; U. of Utah Heads to the Pac-10;
Conference Realignment Strategies; Big 12 non-powers try to stay together; Logo design for the Big Ten. Or 11. Or 12. ... ;
NCAA Places U. San Francisco on Probation;
6/11/10
TechNews for the week: June 11; June 9; June 7;
War Politics and Reports (Also, see Free Speech and Homeland Security)
Commanders fear time is running out in Marja; Karzai Is Said to Doubt West Can Prevail Against Taliban;
U.S. commander says Kandahar offensive will take months longer than planned;
U.S. military detains whistleblower; Bodies misidentified at Arlington;
More than 1 million gallons likely spewing from BP leak; Oil estimate goes up, BP's stock price goes down; The gulf oil leak to date: An ocean of estimates;
New bonds to help cash-strapped states benefiting Wall Street; House-Senate panel meets to reconcile differences in financial reform bill;
Carly Fiorina wants to scare Californians into voting for her;
Senate nominee in S.C. is a mystery man; S.C. lawmaker calls for investigations of Democratic primary, 2 other races;
FDA weighs alternative to 'morning after' pill;
Information technology:
Security issues
Wharton’s “Quake” Simulation Game shows why humans do Such A Poor Job Planning For & Learning From Catastrophes;
Terrorist tactic: Placing Fake Bombs in Public Places;
Social Networking Exposes Employers to Risks; Googler criticized for disclosing Windows-related flaw;
Design issues
Web Developer: Creative Uses for RSS Feeds; Web video showdown: Flash vs. QuickTime vs. Windows Media;
Print a Web Page Using JavaScript;
Other news
Video: Uninstall applications from Windows with Revo Uninstaller;
How to spot a CIA officer;
Education:
Some educators question if whiteboards, other high-tech tools raise achievement;
ReelSurfer: What video needs to be in education; Tacoma tries new math method immersive educational video games;
A Self-Appointed Teacher Runs a One-Man 'Academy' on YouTube;
Mathematics and science education, youth mentoring, and job training Are Among Targets of Planned Federal Budget Freeze;
Rutgers Cancels Raises and Freezes Pay, Citing 'Fiscal Crisis'; U. of California Tries Just Saying No to Rising Journal Costs;
NYU Looks for a New Approach to Help Families Understand Student-Loan Debt;
How to Fake ADHD;
NCAA Penalties Against USC Include Postseason Ban, Loss of Scholarships;
NCAA Penalizes 137 Division I Teams for Poor Academic Performance; says Performance Improves, but Work Is Not Finished;
U. of Colorado Joins Pacific-10 Conference; Pac-10 May Invite 6 Big 12 Teams to Join It; The scoop on Conference Expansion;
Boise State U. to join Mountain West Conference;
U. of Oregon President to Board: Take Phil Knight's Money, or Else; UGA's Basketball Coliseum undergoing a major renovation;
6/4/10
TechNews for the week: June 4; June 2;
War Politics and Reports (Also, see Free Speech and Homeland Security)
Drone operators blamed in U.S. airstrike that killed civilians; Spreading the cash to fight the Taliban;
Sunni insurgent groups gather to plan comeback; U.S. 'secret war' expands globally;
Israeli troops raid aid flotilla headed for Gaza; U.S. warned Israel to use caution before raid ;
U.S. airbase on Okinawa causes Japan's prime minister to step down;
BP says 'top kill' effort fails; Attention turns to spill-related health risks; Officials: Oil could spew until August;
BP trying to put a lid on the Gulf oil gusher; dome installed to contain oil geyser ; U.S. attorney general opens criminal probe of Gulf oil spill;
Supreme Court: Suspects must say they want to be silent;
Conservative judicial activism in the 9th Circuit Thinks Torture Is Legal and Rent Control is Unconstitutional;
Crist can't recall why he opposed Sotomayor;
Records show some lobbyists are top fundraisers for political candidates;
In Ky., it's private groups vs. civil rights law;
Mine safety a battle between regulators and companies;
'Hard work begins' in health-care law's details;
U.S. employers added 431,000 jobs in May, unemployment rate falls;
Information technology:
Security issues
Intelligence Can Never Be Perfect; Learning to be terrorized; The Four stages of fear;
IE6 Browser Remains Attack Magnet ;
Design issues
Web Tutorial: Building Your Community Page;
Other news
Supercomputer Builds 3D Model Of Gulf Oil Spill ;
Net politics:
Good sources include Politechbot.com and Greplaw (cyberlaw forum at Harvard Law School);
Patent issues
Google, USPTO Partner To Make Patent Information Public;
First Amendment, Free Speech
Critical Comments Online Leading to More Lawsuits;
Privacy issues
How to control Facebook's New Privacy Settings;
Other News
H-1B Visa Worker Pay Study Stirs Controversy;
Supreme Court views: David Souter vs. the Antonin Scalias;
Education:
Scholar Raises Doubts About the Value of a Test of Student Learning; Study finds AP Grade Weighting Unnecessary;
New National Standards Seek to Prepare All Students for College ;
AAC&U President Raises Practical, Philosophical Doubts Over Three-Year Bachelor's Degrees;
Higher Education's Big Lie; The access, affordability solution colleges won't try;
Fewer teachers! Whoopie!; Who's to blame for student's $97K debt?
Encouraging Students' Digital Problem-Solving Skills;
Can academic integrity exist in the Google Age? Plagiarism Case Sparks Debate Over Exchange Of Course Materials;
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case on Taxing Medical Residents; Texas Attorney General Probes E-Book Market;
Create Your Syllabus With a Spreadsheet and a Calendar App; What an online syllabi should contain;
U. of Chicago's Plans for Milton Friedman Institute Stir Outrage;
Gap between the haves and have-nots in big-time college athletics;
Interactive math dictionary Mathwords;