18Apr/23

400,000+ Digital Books from 3,000 Publishers Now Available in Flexible Library Access Model

April 18, 2023MediaAudiobook, Book formats, Books, Digital media, E-book, Electronic publishing, Information science, Library, Library science, New media, Overdrive, Web fictionadmin

OverDrive announced today at the London Book Fair that more than 400,000 digital ebook and audiobook titles are now available in the “OverDrive Max” access model. Available in OverDrive Marketplace, the world’s largest catalog for school and library digital book sales, OverDrive Max was specifically designed to provide greater flexibility and value for library budgets to meet the increased demand for digital books. It is quickly becoming the fastest growing sales model for authors and publishers seeking to maximize their revenue from institutional buyers. Continue reading

18Apr/23

Debt dangers in Africa: how defaults hurt people, and why forgiveness isn’t the answer

April 18, 2023EconomyAngola, Austerity, Cabo Verde, Caroline Southey, Creative Commons, Debt, Debt of developing countries, Debt relief, Economy, Egypt, Eritrea, Finance, Fiscal policy, Ghana, Ghanaian Cedi, Government debt, International Monetary Fund, Malawi, Money, Namibia, Philippe Burger, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, United Kingdom national debt, United States, Zambia, Zambian Kwacha (Rebased Jan 2013), Zimbabweadmin

Philippe Burger, University of the Free State

Public debt repayments in some African countries are at their highest levels since 1998. The Conversation Africa’s founding editor Caroline Southey talks to dean and economics professor Philippe Burger about the danger of debt problems some African countries face.

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18Apr/23

Casey review: how the Met police needs to accept that it is institutionally racist and deal with failures

April 18, 2023CrimeAbuse, Angus Nurse, Bianca Williams, Bibaa Henry, Boris Johnson, Creative Commons, Discrimination, Human rights abuses, Humans, Institutional abuse, Institutional racism, Ken Livingstone, London, London boroughs, Louise Casey, Macpherson, Mark Rowley, Murder of Stephen Lawrence, Nicole Smallman, Racism, Sarah Everard, SHUTTERSTOCK, Social issues, United Kingdom, Wayne Couzensadmin

Angus Nurse, Nottingham Trent University

Louise Casey’s review of the standards of behaviour and internal culture at the Metropolitan police makes for uncomfortable reading. It was commissioned following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, who was a serving Met officer at the time.

Casey highlights the prevalence of sexism and homophobia. Crucially, in considering police culture she draws different conclusions on the existence of institutional racism than the position taken in 2021 by Boris Johnson’s government on race.

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18Apr/23

ChatGPT: what the law says about who owns the copyright of AI-generated content

April 18, 2023LegalArticles, Artificial intelligence, Copyright, Copyright law, Creative Commons, Intellectual property law, Joe Sekhon, Law, Liu, Microsoft, Monopoly, Oleksandra Ozcan, Public domain, Public records, Sercan Ozcan, SHUTTERSTOCK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom copyright lawadmin

Sercan Ozcan, University of Portsmouth; Joe Sekhon, University of Portsmouth, and Oleksandra Ozcan, University of Portsmouth

The AI chatbot ChatGPT produces content that can appear to have been created by a human. There are many proposed uses for the technology, but its impressive capabilities raise important questions about ownership of the content.

UK legislation has a definition for computer-generated works. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 they are “generated by computer in circumstances such that there is no human author of the work”. The law suggests content generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) can be protected by copyright. However, the original sources of answers generated by AI chatbots can be difficult to trace – and they might include copyrighted works.

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17Apr/23

The Stanford University report “The State of AI in 2023”

April 17, 2023InnovationAcademic disciplines, AI Now Institute, Applications of artificial intelligence, Articles, Artificial intelligence, Artificial intelligence in healthcare, Computational neuroscience, Cybernetics, Technologyadmin

April 17, 2023 /Technology/ — The Stanford University report “The State of AI in 2023” provides a comprehensive overview of the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The report covers a wide range of topics, including AI research, AI applications, and the impact of AI on society.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report: Continue reading →

17Apr/23

How does the UK Government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill impact the economy?

April 17, 2023SecurityAnonymity, Articles, Bill, Data security, Economic growth, Information governance, Personal data, Personal life, Privacy, Social issues, United Kingdomadmin

April 17, 2023 /Technology/ —The UK Government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPID Bill) is a piece of legislation that aims to reform the UK’s data protection framework. The Bill is currently being debated in Parliament, and it is expected to be passed into law in 2023.

The DPID Bill has the potential to have a significant impact on the UK economy. On the one hand, the Bill could lead to increased compliance costs for businesses. This is because the Bill introduces a number of new requirements for businesses that process personal data, such as the need to conduct data protection impact assessments and to appoint a data protection officer.
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17Apr/23

How can governments and businesses weigh up the real ecological and social costs against the pursuit of net zero goals?

April 17, 2023EnvironmentArticles, Climate change mitigation, Energy, Energy economics, Energy policy, Energy transition, Environmentalism, Nature, Renewable energy, Renewable energy commercialization, Sustainability, Sustainable energyadmin

April 17, 2023 /Economy/ — The global energy transition is a complex and challenging process, with many trade-offs to consider. On the one hand, we need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in order to mitigate climate change. On the other hand, we need to ensure that the transition is fair and equitable, and that it does not lead to environmental or social problems.
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17Apr/23

Reasons why Purchasing-power parity is a better metric for comparing people’s well-being than Exchange rates

April 17, 2023EconomyChina, Currency, Economy, Economy of China, Exchange rate, Foreign exchange market, Gross domestic product, India, International economics, International United States dollar, Parity, Purchasing power, Purchasing power parity, Relative purchasing power parity, United Statesadmin

April 17, 2023 /Economy/ — Purchasing-power parity (PPP) is a measure of the value of different currencies, taking into account the cost of living in different countries. It is often used to compare the standard of living in different countries.

Exchange rates, on the other hand, are the prices of one currency in terms of another. They are determined by supply and demand in the foreign exchange market.

There are a few reasons why PPP is a better metric for comparing people’s well-being than exchange rates. Continue reading →

17Apr/23

Why are so many COVID19 vaccinated people getting shingles?

April 17, 2023HealthcareAnimal diseases, Chickenpox, RTT, Shingles, Vaccine, Varicella vaccine, Varicella zoster virus, Viral diseases, Virology, Virus, Zoster vaccineadmin

April 17, 2023 /Healthcare/ — There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine causes shingles. However, there is some evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine may trigger shingles in people who are already at risk for the condition. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Once a person has had chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in the body. It can reactivate later in life, causing shingles.

There are a number of factors that can increase the risk of shingles, including: Continue reading →

17Apr/23

The reason violence has erupted in Sudan

April 17, 2023Conflict and War2018–19 Sudanese protests, Abdalla Hamdok, Africa, Countries, Federal republics, Geography of Africa, Least developed countries, Member states of the African Union, Member states of the United Nations, Military dictatorships, Omar al-Bashir, Sudan, Transitional Military Council, United Kingdom, United Statesadmin

April 17, 2023 /World/ — Violence erupted in Sudan on April 11, 2023, when the country’s military, known as the Transitional Military Council (TMC), dissolved the Sovereign Council, the joint civilian-military body that had been governing the country since the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The TMC also detained several civilian leaders, including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

The violence has been met with widespread international condemnation, and the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have all imposed sanctions on the TMC. The African Union has also suspended Sudan from its activities.
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