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Words Without Borders, Air Quality, LinkedIn, More: Saturday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 11, 2022

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Publishers Weekly: Words Without Borders Reboots. “The nonprofit organization Words Without Borders launched in 2003 to aid in publishing works from countries and cultures underrepresented in English-first language regions. WWB now has an archive of 12,000 published pieces across 140 countries and 130 languages. Though their mission has not changed, there are several new developments planned to expand the literary conversation.”

Google Blog: Get some fresh air outdoors with Google. “As temperatures heat up and summer officially begins across the United States, many of us are taking the opportunity to explore the great outdoors. If you have an adventure on the horizon, here are two ways you can use Google tools to stay safe and healthy during your summer activities.”

Search Engine Journal: LinkedIn Expands Audio Events To All Users. “LinkedIn is expanding audio-only live events, first introduced in January in a beta test, to all users who have Creator Mode turned on. Audio-only live events are LinkedIn’s answer to the success of apps like Clubhouse, and features like Twitter Spaces.”

USEFUL STUFF

I love Joy Okumoko’s MakeUseOf roundups because she comes up with some crazy-creative ideas. MakeUseOf: How to Turn Your Images Into Paint-by-Number Templates: The 5 Best Free Sites. “If you’re like many artists today, perhaps you can trace your love for the arts back to your precious little coloring books. Paint-by-number templates offer another great opportunity for novices to get their first start in the arts. As an artist or an art entrepreneur, one way of leaving a lasting legacy is by turning your images into paint-by-number templates so others can learn how to become artists, and better appreciate all the hard work artists invest in their craft.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

BBC: YouTube accused of not tackling Musk Bitcoin scam streams. “YouTube is being criticised for failing to tackle a network of cyber-criminals streaming fake Elon Musk videos to scam viewers. The criminals are hijacking YouTube accounts and using the videos to promote bogus cryptocurrency giveaways. BBC News found dozens of these streams being watched by tens of thousands of people over four days this month.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Techdirt: US Copyright Small Claims Court Opens Its Doors Next Week. Two Questions Remain: Will Anyone Use It… And Is It Constitutional?. “We’ve been talking about the problems of the US government setting up a copyright trolling small claims court for over a decade now. But, Congress finally passed a law to create one (with no debate and no hearings) by sneaking it into a ‘must-pass’ funding bill at the end of the year in 2020. It’s taken a year and a half but the Copyright Office is finally set to launch it sometime next week. Of course there are two big questions associated with it: um, will anyone actually use it and… is it constitutional?”

The Guardian: Apple and Google’s mobile browser ‘stranglehold’ may face UK investigation. “The UK competition watchdog is considering launching an investigation into Apple and Google’s dominance of the mobile browser market after finding the tech companies have a ‘stranglehold’ on a range of areas including app stores.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

University of Rochester: Digital justice through data dictionaries. “Historically, collections have been described in ways that reflect not only academic priorities and academic privilege, but also the frequently white, heterosexual perspective of the academy. So, the chosen terminology may also not reflect what is important to particular communities about content they may have created or resources that address their experiences. For members of the Black or LGBTQAI+ communities, this practice could make some resources virtually undiscoverable. The River Campus Libraries (RCL) is participating in a new University of Rochester project that seeks to bring long-overdue change to this realm.”

NiemanLab: How science helps fuel a culture of misinformation. “Institutions often incentivize scientists going for tenure to focus on quantity rather than quality of publications and to exaggerate study results beyond the bounds of rigorous analysis. Scientific journals themselves can boost their revenue when they are more widely read. Thus, some journals may pounce on submissions with juicy titles that will attract readers. At the same time, many scientific articles contain more jargon than ever, which encourages misinterpretation, political spin, and a declining public trust in the scientific process. Addressing scientific misinformation requires top-down changes to promote accuracy and accessibility, starting with scientists and the scientific publishing process itself.”

AFP: Old tricks, new crises: how US misinformation spreads . “With gun control under debate and monkeypox in the headlines, Americans are facing a barrage of new twists on years-old misinformation in their social media feeds. Accurate news stories about mass shootings have attracted eyeballs but algorithms have also spurred baseless conspiracy theories from trolls who want to push lies to attract traffic. And thousands have unwittingly shared them on Facebook, Twitter and other sites.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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