Does Texting Harm Language Ability?

Frequent Texters More Likely to Reject Unfamiliar Words

From PsychCentral:

A new linguistic study suggests university students who extensively text are less accepting of new words.

In the investigation, graduate student Joan Lee designed an experiment to understand the effect of text messaging on language. She found texting has a negative impact on people’s linguistic ability to interpret and accept words . . . .

Motorists Angry Over Traffic Camera Surveillance

From NPR:

Join the outrage coming from hundreds of communities using red-light and speed cameras, which, to many an angry driver, seem to be lurking everywhere. Automated photo enforcement has gained wide support among local officials as a proven method of reducing collisions and enforcing traffic laws, freeing officers to respond to more serious crimes.

Parkland To Sell Ad Space Inside its Buses

The Parkland School District is believed to be the first district in the state to sell ad space inside its buses as a way to generate revenue.

High school and elementary students in theParkland School District are going to see advertisements inside their school buses.

The Parkland School Board voted 7-1 on Tuesday night to sell ad space inside 46 of the district's 96 school buses, a move that is expected to generate $150,000 for the district.

If the pilot program is successful, it will be expanded to the district's full fleet, generating twice the revenue, officials said.

http://southwhitehall.patch.com/articles/bus-ads-12938997

• By Mary Ellen Alu

Surveillance drones cleared for use within th U.S.

From The New York Times

Drones With an Eye on the Public Cleared to Fly: A new law will permit drones of all kinds in American airspace by 2015, which concerns privacy advocates who decry expanding surveillance boundaries.

Google "accidentally" spying on your iPhone and iPad

Google hit with FTC complaint, says circumventing Safari privacy features accidental:

(From www.arstechnica.com)





The Consumer Watchdog advocacy group today asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Google violated a previous privacy agreement with the FTC by tracking cookies in a way that circumvents default privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser.

Google's method of getting around Safari's default blockage of third-party cookies was detailed today in a study by Stanford grad student Jonathan Mayer and in two articles in the Wall Street Journal. One Journal headline calls it "Google's iPhone tracking," but the technique actually works across iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, and desktop computers. After being contacted by the Journal, Google disabled the code that had allowed it to install tracking cookies on Safari, even though the browser is designed to block such cookies by default.

Professional Help: 5 Ways to Get People at War to Start Cooperating

Professional Help: 5 Ways to Get People at War to Start Cooperating:

From The Atlantic

Social psychologist Daniel Balliet shares his research-based recipe for harmony for warring partners, teams, and, of course, political parties.

Though humans can be incredibly productive when they collaborate, they can also be incredibly stubborn when obsessed with their own self-interests.

Thankfully, social psychologists like VU University Amsterdam's Daniel Balliet have uncovered plenty about conflict resolution during such social dilemmas where individual or party interests clash with the greater good. For this week's Professional Help, he reviews past research, including his own recent paper in Psychological Bulletin, to come up with the perfect recipe for society during these divided times: five tips to help warring romantic partners, team members, and, of course, political parties to cooperate.

Talk about the situation. Research has shown that meeting up to discuss the social dilemma at hand increases cooperation. When participants in one study were allowed to express their desire to work together, not only were they more inclined to do so, they also felt guilty when they didn't. Moreover, don't rely on text or email. Another study found that written messages don't promote as much cooperation as face-to-face or video communication.

Reward people who pitch in and punish free-riders. Since social dilemmas involve a conflict between self-interest and collective interest, creating incentives for teamwork and penalties for unruliness may even the playing field and make cooperation equally beneficial for everyone. This tactic, however, tends to be more effective for social dilemmas that involve repeated interactions. For example, punishment may engender solidarity in a long-term employee, but might do little to a temporary hire.

Monitor reputations for cooperation. People want to come off as obliging and reliable partners because such an image pays off. Research finds that when people are negotiating with another person who they know has been generous toward others during previous interactions, they tend to be more inclined to take a risk and collaborate with that person.

When possible, keep group size small. Studies have shown that people tend to be less cooperative in large groups where they tend to feel anonymous and think that their efforts have little impact. However, if a big team is necessary, then try to make members believe that their behavior is critical for the group outcome and that they're accountable for their contributions.

Make the other party aware of the future. People are more likely to cooperate with those they think they'll meet again because they understand that a specific interaction is only one in many. Also, when you're dealing with selfish negotiators continually, communicate your intolerance of non-cooperation early on. Research shows that they'll always take advantage of the situation when they think they can.

Image: Patrizia Tilly/Shutterstock.

Rachel Carson = MVP

From The Atlantic:

A Conversation With Andrew Deutz, Conservationist:

As the director of the Nature Conservancy's International Government Relations Department, Andrew Deutz is responsible for overseeing TNC's international policy work on climate change and protected areas and managing relationships with donor agencies and intergovernmental organizations. Prior to joining TNC, Deutz worked for the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and served as lead forest negotiator for the U.S. State Department and forest policy advisor to the World Bank.

Here, Deutz discusses the significant advances in understanding the economics of nature that have been made over the last few years; why we must realize that the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment and that a healthy environment is necessary for long-term economic growth and stability; and why the real prices for basic commodities and everyday essentials like food, water, and energy are rising and will continue to do so as the global middle class expands.

What do you say when people ask you, 'What do you do?'

I tell most people that I work for the Nature Conservancy and my role is to get governments to change policies and move money to invest in natural capital to help solve big problems like climate change, water availability, food security, and poverty.

Who are three people or organizations that you would put in a Hall of Fame for your field?

Rachel Carson, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and Maurice Strong.

What other field or occupation did you consider going into?

Human rights advocacy.

What website or app most helps you do your job on a daily basis?

A combination of international news sites: UN Wire, BBC, NYTimes.com, The Economist, etc.

Google Groups Assignment: Global Warming Debate

Global Warming:  Open for Debate?

Please read the articles listed below, go to Google Groups and, using the information from those articles, take an informed position on the issue of Global Warming.  Then, come in to class ready to knowledgeably debate the issues raised.  

• Peter Gleick claims editorial bias against global warming at Wall Street Journal
• Wall Street Journal publishes letter from 16 scientists questioning global warming
• Science magazine publishes rebuttal letter signed by 255 scientists

 Questions to consider:

• What is the National Academy of Sciences?
• Does the Wall Street Journal's known conservative leanings impact its ethos?
• Do the signatures of 255 scientists "beat" the signatures of 16 scientists?