NEW RESOURCES

Colorado Attorney General: New state database launched to provide public transparency on peace officer certification, training compliance, and misconduct. “The Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training Board has launched a new database that allows the public to access information regarding an officer’s state certification, compliance with training requirements, and employment status. The public database is required under law enforcement accountability legislation the Colorado General Assembly enacted in 2020 and 2021.”

I’m not really sure where to put this so I’ll file it under New. Hyperallergic: The Getty, Google Arts, & Banana Craze Create Three Online Shows Worth a Visit. “In my search for online exhibitions with compelling presentations and content, I have recently become apprised of three shows that take advantage of the digital medium to display words and images (only one show contains sounds in these examples) in ways that I wouldn’t quite be able to experience IRL. They do all share a basic approach: to use visual and historical examinations of an object or objects to discuss how it has come to be and how the forces that acted upon it might resonate in our own current moment.”

USEFUL STUFF

CNET: You can stop Google tracking by changing these settings. “Do you use any of Google’s apps? If so, you’re probably being tracked. Even if you turned off location history on your Google account, you’re not completely in the clear yet. While disabling that setting sounds like a one-and-done solution, some Google apps are still storing your location data.”

MakeUseOf: 5 Effective Habit Tracker Apps and Tools to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions. “Some say a habit takes 21 days, others say it takes 66 days, and some studies even say it requires 36 weeks. The one thing everyone agrees upon is that consistency is key to building a new habit. Habit trackers have shown to be useful for that, especially when they show you the amount of effort you’ve put in so far, compelling you to put that effort again when you’re feeling demotivated.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Stone County Enterprise: MDAH Launches Family Genealogy Fellowships . “The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) will award fellowships of up to $2,000 to support individuals hoping to locate information related to their family history using resources available at MDAH. The fellowships are a part of a year-long initiative in 2022 to expand understanding of the Great Migration and its impact on Mississippi and the nation.”

CNN: India is investigating a fake website that offered Muslim women for sale. “The Indian government says it is investigating a website that purported to offer Muslim women for sale, the second time in less than a year that a fake online auction of this kind has sparked outrage in the country.”

Route Fifty: New York City Tests Blockchain for File Storage. “New York City is testing out the decentralized web by putting open data on Filecoin, an open source, decentralized file storage network. Working with Protocol Labs, an open source research, development and deployment laboratory, and the Filecoin Foundation, New York City will store and maintain data on demographics, air quality and legal notices on the network — at no cost for at least the next five years.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Politico: Amazon and Google deploy their armies to thwart antitrust bills. “Amazon and Google are mobilizing a powerful force to counter Congress’ increasing appetite for corporate trust-busting — the throngs of business owners and ordinary users who have made the tech giants a part of their daily lives.”

New York Times: Are Apple AirTags Being Used to Track People and Steal Cars?. “Privacy groups sounded alarms about the coin-sized location-tracking devices when they were introduced. Now people are concerned those fears are being realized.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Wired: Scientists Settled a Century-Old Family Drama Using DNA From Postcards . “MyHeritage, the DNA testing company, announced in 2018 that it would be jumping into the business of commercial artifact testing. An Australian company, Totheletter DNA, was founded in 2018 to offer DNA testing of artifacts ‘from your passed loved-ones to enhance your genealogical research’ for a cost of over $2,000. But what was once envisioned as an explosion in artifact testing has petered into more of a slow burn.”

The Guardian: Your attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen. “Social media and many other facets of modern life are destroying our ability to concentrate. We need to reclaim our minds while we still can.”

The Verge: Podcasters Are Letting Software Pick Their Ads — It’s Already Going Awry. “Wherever there’s a website, there can be a targeted ad, and now wherever there’s a podcast, there’s the potential of inserting a targeted ad, too. Whichever company can make that transition happen the fastest, across the most shows, and with the best data, could not only recoup all those millions of dollars in acquisition costs but make more on top of them. The industry is sprinting toward this programmatic advertising future. However, there are some obstacles along the way, and podcasters are already running into them.” Good morning, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!