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.
9/30/11
TechNews for the week: September 30; September 28; September 26;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Pakistan warns US against hot pursuit on its soil; seeks diplomatic support in row with U.S.; faults U.S. for increase in attacks; Mullen’s remarks criticized;
U.S. to send 800 more military trainers to Afghanistan; Coalition, U.N. differ on violence in Afghanistan;
In postwar Iraq, housing still scarce; US 'to sell 18 F16 jets to Iraq';
Syrian defectors forming dissident army; Syrian Troops Fire at Anti-Regime Protesters;
Saleh calls for Yemen elections; U.S.-born Al-Qaeda cleric killed in Yemen;
Obama administration gives bunker-buster bombs to Israel; Israel approves 1,100 new homes in east Jerusalem;
Wyden ties Section 215 to “secret law,” taking swing at Justice Dept. transparency;
Supreme Court will likely determine constitutionality of health-care law next summer;
Greece passes austerity measure;
SC Legislators draw much more generous pension plans than state workers;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
More Countries Want Their Own Drones;
Email is Primary Source of Data Leaks; Should ISPs Monitor Users' PCs To Stop Botnets? Lawmakers Want FTC to Probe Use of ‘Supercookies’;
Insecure Chrome Extensions; Microsoft Security Essentials removes Google Chrome;
Math and science
3D printed nylon bicycle that’s “as strong as steel”; the video; Gang Used 3D Printers for ATM Skimmers;
Gee Whizzz! Basics on faster-than-light research; Particles faster than light: Revolution or mistake?
Fermilab Closes Tevatron Collider, as U.S. Cuts Commitment to Science ;
Boeing, MIT Engineers Develop New iPhone App That Controls Drone 3000 Miles Away;
10 Medical Conditions That Share Symptoms With ADD/ADHD;
Marathon Record Lowered By 21 Seconds;
Web design issues
Adobe Edge for Web Developers: Using the Timeline; How to Create a Bar Graph with CSS3 and Progressive Enhancement;
Google Plus: to change the web and who to follow;
Other news
Companies Still Struggle with Employees’ Online Use;
The birthing of Solyndra, what republicans want to forget;
What the U.S. should really fear about China;
15 books on leadership for IT execs;
Finance and Economics
There are No rogue traders, only rogue banks ; How BB&T avoided taxes;
In China, business travelers take extreme precautions to avoid cyber-espionage;
SEC May Recommend Legal Action Against S&P Over CDO Ratings; McGraw-Hill, CME in Talks to Combine Stock Index Businesses;
California's budget faces new legal challenges;
Bank of America to charge monthly $5 debit card fee;
Employers see health insurance costs jump 9%;
Education:
From NACAC meeting: Top 10 Myths About Scholarships; How to find the Right Financial Fit;
Best High Schools for Math and Science; the Methodology;
Report: Most College Students Decided On STEM-Related Career Early In High School Career; Texas May Cut Almost Half of Undergrad Physics Programs;
A More Complete Graduation Completion Picture; Casting Out Nines: Education as a complex adaptive system;
Education Dept. Proposes New Accountability Gauge for Teacher-Training Programs; House GOP Seek to Eliminate 31 Education Programs and Tighten Pell Eligibility;
Students With Autism: Things They Don’t Teach in Graduate School; Pro Athletes Have Coaches. Why Not Everyone Else?
Cincinnati State Faculty Strike Over Workload Dispute; Kentucky Attorney General Sues a Third For-Profit College;
Bloomsbury Debuts New Imprint to Revive Out-of-Print Books; Debate Over Extent of SAT Cheating;
It pays big to be a top college coach;
Many Faculty Reps Attribute ‘Clustering’ to NCAA’s Academic Requirements; Academic Performance and the BCS;
Texas A&M's Move to the SEC Is Finally Official; NCAA President: Conference Reshuffling ‘Embarrassed’ Many In College Sports;
More College Athletic Departments Partner With State Lotteries;
9/23/11
TechNews for the week: September 23; September 21; September 19;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict has shaped U.N.; Palestinians submit U.N. statehood bid; The Middle East Has Changed;
Israel urged to reconsider punishing Palestinians over UN campaign; Netanyahu calls for direct talks with Palestinians;
Afghan parliament mired by standoff; government minister accused of hampering fight against insurgents; Former Afghan president killed in Kabul suicide bombing;
Pakistan says troops, militants clashed over downed drone; U.S. says Pakistan backed attacks on American targets;
U.S. issues sharp warning to Pakistan about ties to leading Taliban group;
U.S. increases Yemen drone strikes; Fierce fighting in Yemen as political talks stall; Yemeni president returns home; at least 15 killed in Yemeni capital;
U.S. assembling a ring of secret bases for counterterrorism drones;
Obama’s debt-reduction plan: $3 trillion in savings, half from new tax revenue; Well-off politicians oppose Obama's tax increase;
In blow to GOP, House rejects funding measure; Senate defeats short-term measure to fund government; Supercommittee faces tax-code hurdles;
The Pentagon’s spending culture ;
Scholars and Tea Partyers gather to consider changing the Constitution; Tea Party Gets the Constitution Wrong;
Republicans push Israel to secure Jewish votes; Is GOP Trying to Sway the Fed? So What?
State GOP Officials opposed to U.S. health-care law seeking interstate compact; GOP-led states change voting rules ahead of 2012;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Three Emerging Cyber Threats; Privacy at risk: Who's watching you? 7 Lessons: Surviving A Zero-Day Attack;
Traffic light camera scam steals your identity; Complex Electronic Banking Fraud in Malaysia; U.S. Concerned About Japanese Defense Hackings;
Math and science
Senate Panel Plans 2.4% Cut at National Science Foundation;
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle; Math Monday: What is casting out nines?
Scientists claim: Speed of light; 'broken' at CERN; Physicists express astonishment and scepticism;
Web design issues
Google+ now open to all; Google Dart aims to supplant 'fundamentally flawed' JavaScript;
How to use PowerPoint effectively; 10 things you should know about your clients (but probably don't);
Other news
Fear of Repression Spurs Scholars and Activists to Build Alternate Internets;
Net Neutrality Rules Set to Take Effect November 20; Gartner: Gmail Challenges Microsoft Exchange in the Enterprise;
How to deliver criticism to a sensitive employee;
Va. court rules for insurer in 1st case dealing with policy claims arising from global warming;
Finance and Economics
Tax breaks: Vast majority go to households; Job creators who create no jobs; Gallup poll: Americans Say Federal Gov't Wastes Over Half of Every Dollar;
Wall Street firms prepare to license NYSE trading systems in the cloud to outsiders for short use periods, a privileged club opens;
China squeeze drives boom in 'black' banks; Economist claims Greek debt not as bad as ours;
Global stock markets braced for further turmoil after S&P downgrades Italy; Italian consumer groups to sue S&P;
Markets tumble after Fed says it will buy longer-term bonds to try to boost economy;
New law changes system for awarding patents;
Education:
Moody's offers 'top 10' factors for upgrades and downgrades in U.S. higher education; Colleges Calculating Costs and Benefits;
Report Profiles Student Veterans Before Passage of New GI Bill; Portrait of the Military in College, Before the New G.I. Bill;
Senators Put Spotlight on Military Money to For-Profits; 8 For-Profit Colleges Collect More Than $1-Billion from Veterans;
Best Colleges Badge: We Sustain Its Existence as a cash cow;
Opening Session of Texas Education Oversight Panel; 20 states to help retool science education;
10 percent of teachers quit after their first year; Study: Nearly half of college students prefer Internet to friends, dating;
New Graduate-Student Enrollment Dips for First Time in 7 Years; 12 Academics Among 2011 MacArthur Fellowship winners;
The Effectiveness of Plagiarism Detection Software; Research Firm Finds Blackboard Security Holes;
IRS Says College-Provided Cellphones Are Now Tax-Free to Employees; Seton Hall Distributes 400 Android Tablets;
Washington Community-College System Declares Fiscal Emergency;
Air Force Investigates Whether Academy Officials Gave Inaccurate Information to Accreditor;
The Simplicity of 'Think-Pair-Share’;
North Carolina Admits to Academic Fraud in Sports Program; NCAA spells out allegations against U South Carolina;
Pitt and Syracuse Join ACC in Major-Conference Shakeup;
Path (to Pac-12?) Cleared for Texas, Oklahoma; Pac-12 Conference Won't Expand Now, While Big East Eyes New Members;
College Sports and Our Winter of Discontent; Former Football Player Sues NCAA Over Concussion Policies;
9/16/11
TechNews for the week: September 16; September 14; September 12;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Egypt cracks down after Israeli embassy attack; Israel, Egypt try to stem damage;
Anxieties mount over Palestinian statehood bid; U.N. showdown tests U.S. role in Mideast;
Anti-American cleric in Iraq asks followers to cease attacks on US troops to hasten withdrawal; U.S. military headquarters in Iraq getting ready to close;
Libya fighters pour in for Bani Walid battle; Ex-MI5 chief's Gaddafi regime rendition fears;
Afghan economy could face sharp blow by international troops withdraw; Young Afghan fighters eager to rejoin Taliban;
US concerned about Taiwan candidate; Web users targeted in Mexican drug wars;
Capital gains tax rates feed growing gap between rich, poor; Census: US poverty rate swells to nearly 1 in 6;
Obama outlines jobs bill funding; Boehner to debt panel: No tax increases; Senate panel would freeze fiscal 2012 defense spending;
Credit Default Swap (CDS): modern day weapons of mass destruction;
Remapping Congressional districts can mean revenge, more ‘Godfather’ than ‘Federalist Papers’;
BP cost cuts contributed to oil spill disaster ;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
September Crypto-Gram Newsletter, Terrorism in the U.S. Since 9/11, A Status Report: "Liars and Outliers", and more;
Wrong Domains Help Researchers Gather Sensitive Data; Domain-in-the-Middle Attacks;
ACLU Report on the War on Terror; More 9/11 Retrospectives;
The USA-Patriot Act Ten Years Later: Some Facts; Patriot Act: Technology and Jurisprudence; the Conclusion;
The future of Airport Security; British Airport to test new 'facial' lie detector; Human Pattern-Matching Failures in Airport Screening;
Facebook passwords are not case sensitive (update);
Risk Tolerance and Culture;
Math and science
Michigan State University Licenses Software To Detect Fingerprint Fraud;
Astronomers find planet with two suns;
'Seeding trials' Useless Studies, Real Harm; its true purpose; statistical error that just keeps on coming; Rising unemployment - or, just statistical noise;
The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus challenge;
Illinois Math and Science Academy celebrates 25 years;
Web design issues
Creating a CSV Data File; Using Microsoft Data Access Components to Fetch CSV File Data;
Hottest Programming Languages in Demand Right Now; How HTML5 may become the standard for apps; Create Drop Down Menus With CSS3;
Google+ Releases First APIs;
YouTube adds a built-in video editor; Building a broadcast-quality video studio for Skype in a 10×9 foot space;
8 Tech Secrets: What Workers Hide from IT;
Other news
SpongeBob SquarePants and the Tea Party Debate;
In Suit Against Libraries, Authors' Attempt to Wrest Back Some Control Over Digitized Works;
Finance and Economics
Health insurance denial rates routinely 20%;
JPMorgan Chase CEO criticises tighter European bank rules; UBS trader charged with $2 billion fraud;
Pending patent reform unlikely to untangle software litigation mess; Science needs to lead economic recovery;
Education:
Higher Education Price Index Climbs to 2.3%, as Utility Costs Rise; College Spending Trends Show Students Bearing a Growing Share of the Costs;
Student-Loan Default Rates Climb as Economy Wanes; Colleges, Universities Struggle With Wave Of Military Veterans;
Measuring the Worldwide Economic Payoff of Higher Ed; Questions About Higher Education’s Value Go Viral on YouTube;
Hurdles to Change in Higher Education; SAT scores: downward trend continues;
What Kind of Higher-Education System Does China Need?
A Call to Balance FOIA Laws and Professors' Rights; Who sets college e-mail rules?
Florida May Be Next Battleground Over Faculty Productivity; Donor money, drug company monies lead to academic position at U Miami;
AAU to Take Up Challenge of Improving Undergraduate Science Teaching; Using clickers for peer review of math proofs;
Major Publishers Join Indiana U. Project That Requires Students to Buy E-Textbooks;
Despite Faltering Economy, Donations to Major College-Sports Programs Increase; Report: Top Athletes Generate More Than $100,000 a Year;
NCAA Penalizes Boise State U. for Violations in 5 Sports;
An Athletic-Training Major Works With an NFL Team; Teaching Student-Athletes;
9/9/11
TechNews for the week: September 9; September 7;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Gaddafi in new audio denies he fled Libya, Libyan rebel PM appeals for unity; Libyan intelligence documents show ties to CIA;
Upcoming Palestinian vote put U.S., Israel in bind;
U.S. wants to keep 3,000-5,000 troops in Iraq into 2012;
Afghanistan to negotiate oil deal with China's CNPC; Did the Planned Oil Pipeline through Afghanistan influence America's decision to invade?
On Point: Top Secret America; ‘Top Secret America’: A look at the military’s Joint Special Operations Command;
Summary: ZDNet's USA PATRIOT Act series; Americans live in an era of endless war; After 9/11, security guard on high alert at golf course;
FACT CHECK: Perry, Romney twist records in debate; Mich. governor signs 48-month welfare limit;
Obama asks $450B to lift economy, mostly tax cuts; Lawmaker's sign cracks decorum at Obama job speech;
No new jobs, as Washington remains divided;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
The Efficacy of Post-9/11 Counterterrorism; War on Terror as a law enforcement cash cow; How 9/11 attacks reshaped U.S. privacy debate;
Where are All the Terrorists?; Why Al Qaeda is Unlikely to Execute Another 9/11; Legality of Government Critical Infrastructure Monitoring;
After 9/11 transfixed America, the country’s problems were left to rot; Podcast: The Decade Since 9/11;
Inside The Booming Botnet Industry; McAfee says Hackers may target cars next;
Keeping a CIA agent identity secret;
Math and science
Science pioneer sees innovation as a major casualty of tough times; says China’s an exception;
First Hints of Modern Human Brain Emerge From 2-Million-Year-Old Fossils; fossil shows ‘snapshot of evolution in action’;
How Our Brains Got Big and Our Penises Lost Their Spines;
NASA’s Cassini orbiter snaps unbelievable picture of Saturn;
Web design issues
10 Essential Google+ Tips; 10 techies to follow to make Google+ more useful;
New rules for XXX domain names; Universities consider Trading In ‘.edu’ for ‘.com’; Trademark Owners Get Chance to Block .xxx Domains;
Connect to CSV Data Files using Microsoft Data Access Components;
Other news
Forecasting: What an American Political Science Association panel has to say;
Al Jazeera journalist not allowed to film at Texas high school football game;
Four industries about to be transformed by the Internet; Cell networks in disasters;
Great misquotations: The famous things they never actually said;
Nineteen Rules for Dealing with Generation Y Employees;
Finance and Economics
Clock ticking on USPS default; could lose up to $10 billion ;
Senate passes, sends to the president, major overhaul of patent system;
Apple Gets Samsung’s Smaller Tablet Banned; Australian judge says Apple should show how Samsung tablet hurts sales;
Gap in US pension plans hits $388bn; 'Shadow banks' move in amid regulatory push;
Call to reverse current UK accounting rules for pensions;
Boeing is largest corporate welfare recipient in South Carolina history;
Education:
College rankings denounced, not ignored; Cambridge Retains Top Spot in World University Rankings;
Study: Minority Students Benefit From Minority Instructors;
Serious failings in our educational system; No Success on Measuring Success; Visualizing Admissions data;
Survey: Only 20 Percent Of Students Say They Were "Extremely Well" Prepared For STEM Fields Before Reaching College;
One in five in the UK works in science jobs; PhD overproduction in North America and Europe;
U. of North Carolina System Plans to Cut More Than 3,000 Jobs;
With Cheating Only a Click Away, Professors Reduce the Incentive; Could Professors’ Dependence on Turnitin Lead to More Plagiarism?
Why Universities Often Ignore the U.S. Constitution;
Central Arkansas President Quits Amid 'Gift' Scandal; The fine-print of contracts; Former Employee Says Online Search Ads Hijack Prospective Students;
JSTOR Opens Up U.S. Journal Content From Before 1923;
Schools Discuss the Pros and Cons of Using Tablets; The Argument for Online Testing;
Bradley U. Uses iPads for Campus Tours; Mobile Game Turns College Tours and Orientations Into Scavenger Hunts;
Big 12 Conference Lines Up Against Texas A&M’s Departure; In Conference Politics, Cooperation Can Still Prevail;
Department Chair Resigns in UNC Football Scandal;
9/2/11
TechNews for the week: August 31; August 29;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Gadhafi vows no surrender in Libya; World leaders back new Libyan administration;
Russian president calls for regional solutions in Afghanistan and neighboring nations;
U.N. panel concludes Israel’s armed raid on Gaza flotilla was legal but ‘excessive’; Turkey expels Israeli ambassador over its refusal to apologize for Gaza flotilla raid ;
US and Bahrain secretly extended defence deal; Bahrain tensions beginning to grow again;
Report: China confronts Indian navy vessel;
US defence contractors ‘waste’ $12m a day; Probing the Pentagon’s Fuzzy Math; For retired brass, high-paying defense industry jobs beckon;
‘Top Secret America’: A look at the military’s Joint Special Operations Command; N.Y. billing dispute reveals details of secret CIA rendition flights;
Government sues 17 banks over risky mortgages;
How Perry Pushed Donor's Nuclear Waste Dump;
Rice becomes the third member of the Bush administration to accuse Cheney of lying in his memoir;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Unredacted U.S. Diplomatic WikiLeaks Cables Published; WikiLeaks Sues Guardian, Cables Controversy Grows;
Some details of RSA Hack;
Facebook Privacy Guide; Juror Charged After Contacting Defendant on Facebook; The Effects of Social Media on Undercover Policing;
Analyst Does Not Think US Should Compete With China In Space;
Math and science
A Math Hater's Five Fav Math Resources ;
Fox News viewers ‘confused’ by Bill Nye, science in general;
Report: Space Debris Has To Be Dealt With;
Web design issues
Using Zimbra and Google Calendar Together;
Other news
10 Tips For Effective Public Speaking;
Denting daunting denialism;
World's oldest marathon runner prepares to take on eighth race aged 101;
Finance and Economics
Economists and other experts outline how to create jobs;
Credit and debit card perks on the chopping block;
Ford's sweeping car redesign packs a lot of IT;
Education:
College Students Say High School Needs Change ; Report: Financial-Literacy Training Can Pay Off for Students Over Time;
College Presidents Are Bullish on Online Education; How Big Can E-Learning Get?;
Ohio State U. to Consider $375-Million Sale of Parking Operations; Professor quits over lack of parking spaces;
U.S. must improve math grade to retain global edge; Columnist: No Shortage Of Engineers;
Campaign Pitch at For-Profit College Leads to State Investigation in Kentucky;
Political Science Association says Job Market for Political Scientists Is Improving;
Texas A&M to Leave Big 12; More Realignment Awaits; NCAA Reinstates (But Punishes) Eight Players in Miami Football Scandal;