Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://kristenstew.tumblr.com/post/34224910325
etch a sketch romney sean payton saints bounty program toulouse france ny jets ny jets the situation
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
First analysis of beluga whale mimicking human speech
Many of us talk to our pets, but we don't expect them to talk back. A beluga whale has bucked this trend by learning to imitate human speech. (Listen to it here.)
Noc was captured in 1977 when he was still a juvenile. By 1984, he was making unusual sounds. One day, a diver in his tank surfaced unexpectedly asking who had called to him to get out. It turned out that the cries of "out, out, out" had come from Noc.
"We were sceptical at first," says Sam Ridgway of the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego, California. So his team analysed Noc's sound waves. "They were definitely unlike usual sounds for a [beluga], and similar to human voices in rhythm and acoustic spectrum," he says. Pressure sensors placed in Noc's nasal cavities revealed he was making the sounds using the same mechanism as his normal calls.
There have been anecdotal reports of belugas imitating human speech, but this is the first time they have been analysed, says Justin Gregg of the Dolphin Communication Project in Mystic, Connecticut.
Talking seal
A few other animals have also mimicked human speech, notably parrots and a harbour seal called Hoover.
Famous mimics like lyrebirds do so to defend territories and attract mates, while katydids lure cicadas
by mimicking their mating calls. Gregg thinks belugas are more likely to be social mimics, for instance learning a different "dialect" when they join a new group.
Belugas have a range of vocal tricks up their sleeves. A recent study showed that they can also learn to "label" objects with different sounds, and then choose from a selection of objects based on the sound they had heard (International Journal of Comparative Psychology, vol 25, p 195).
Journal reference: Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.08.044
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
Have your say
Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.
Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article
Subscribe now to comment.
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.
joel osteen emmy rossum jay z and beyonce the big chill tony blankley charles barkley beyonce
The Generation X report: How many Gen Xers know their cosmic address?
ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2012) ? Less than half of Generation X adults can identify our home in the universe, a spiral galaxy, according to a University of Michigan report.
"Knowing your cosmic address is not a necessary job skill, but it is an important part of human knowledge about our universe and -- to some extent -- about ourselves," said Jon D. Miller, author of "The Generation X Report" and director of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth at the U-M Institute for Social Research.
The study, funded by the National Science Foundation since 1986, now includes responses from approximately 4,000 adults ages 37-40 -- the core of Generation X.
The latest report examines the scientific literacy of Gen Xers about their location in the universe. Miller provided Generation X participants in the study with high-quality image of a spiral galaxy taken by the Hubble space telescope, and asked them to identify the image, first in an open-ended response and then by selecting from multiple choices.
Forty-three percent of the Gen Xers surveyed were able to provide a correct answer that indicated that they recognized the object as a galaxy similar to our own. Miller found that 53 percent of males correctly identified the image, compared with just 32 percent of females, and that the proportion who identified the image correctly rose steadily with education, from 21 percent who had less than a high school education to 63 percent of those with doctorates or professional degrees.
"One of the factors that contributes to this educational difference is exposure to college-level science courses," Miller said. "The United States is unique in its requirement that all college students complete one year of college science courses as part of a general education requirement.
"And because these courses are often taken during the first or second year of college, students who enter college but do not earn a degree are still exposed to college science and other general education courses."
Miller also found that more than 60 percent of those surveyed said that this was the first time they had looked carefully at an image from a space telescope, even though four out of five reported that they had seen this kind of image before, often on the Internet.
"One of the important results of the growth of the Internet and the expansion of communication devices is that it is easier today to find high-quality science information than at any previous time in human history," Miller said. "But some of the science information on the Internet is incorrect or misleading, so we asked our survey participants to indicate what sources they would trust for information about the universe."
The most trusted sources were information on a website operated by NASA, a program or exhibit in a planetarium or museum, a Public Broadcasting System Nova or Discovery Channel science show, and a lecture by an astronomy professor. The least trusted source of information was a lecture by a leader of a church or religious group.
Miller also examined the link between knowledge about the universe, as indicated by correctly identifying the Hubble image as a spiral galaxy much like our own, and a variety of personal and policy attitudes. Gen Xers who recognized the image were more likely than those who did not to agree that "When I see images like this, I am reminded of the vastness of the universe" (70 percent vs. 53 percent) and "Images like this show how small and fragile planet Earth is in the context of the universe" (58 percent vs. 44 percent).
They were also more likely to agree that "Seeing images like this make me want to learn more about the nature of the universe" (27 percent vs. 19 percent) and "It is very likely that there is intelligent life at many places in the universe" (39 percent vs. 26 percent).
But they were less likely to agree that "The size and complexity of the universe proves the greatness of God's creation" (45 percent vs. 51 percent).
"Unlike our distant ancestors who thought the Earth was the center of the universe, we know that we live on a small planet in a heliosphere surrounding a moderate-sized star that is part of a spiral galaxy," Miller said. "There may be important advantages in the short-term -- the next million years or so -- to knowing where we are and something about our cosmic neighborhood."
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Michigan.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Jon D. Miller. How many young adults know their cosmic address? The Generation X Report, 2012; 2 (1) DOI: 10.7826/ISR-UM.0203.004.05.05.2012
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/1k05e53bnyA/121023091022.htm
pecan pie the hobbit trailer red velvet cake recipe josh krajcik porphyria cinnamon rolls krampus
Italian court convicts 7 for no quake warning
People listen to the verdict at L'Aquila court, Italy, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. An Italian court has convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn citizens before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people. The court in L'Aquila Monday evening handed down the convictions and six-year-prison sentences to the defendants, members of a national "Great Risks Commission." In Italy, convictions aren't definitive until after at least one level of appeals, so it is unlikely any of the defendants would face jail immediately. Scientists worldwide had decried the trial as ridiculous, contending that science has no way to predict quakes. (AP Photo/Raniero Pizzi)
People listen to the verdict at L'Aquila court, Italy, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. An Italian court has convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn citizens before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people. The court in L'Aquila Monday evening handed down the convictions and six-year-prison sentences to the defendants, members of a national "Great Risks Commission." In Italy, convictions aren't definitive until after at least one level of appeals, so it is unlikely any of the defendants would face jail immediately. Scientists worldwide had decried the trial as ridiculous, contending that science has no way to predict quakes. (AP Photo/Raniero Pizzi)
Defendants Claudio Eva, center, and Bernardo De Bernardinis, third from right, a former official of the national Civil Protection agency, listen to the verdict at L'Aquila court, Italy, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. An Italian court has convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn citizens before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people. The court in L'Aquila Monday evening handed down the convictions and six-year-prison sentences to the defendants, members of a national "Great Risks Commission." In Italy, convictions aren't definitive until after at least one level of appeals, so it is unlikely any of the defendants would face jail immediately. Scientists worldwide had decried the trial as ridiculous, contending that science has no way to predict quakes. (AP Photo/Raniero Pizzi)
Judge Marco Billi, right, reads the verdict at L'Aquila court, Italy, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. An Italian court has convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn citizens before an earthquake struck central Italy in 2009, killing more than 300 people. The court in L'Aquila Monday evening handed down the convictions and six-year-prison sentences to the defendants, members of a national "Great Risks Commission." In Italy, convictions aren't definitive until after at least one level of appeals, so it is unlikely any of the defendants would face jail immediately. Scientists worldwide had decried the trial as ridiculous, contending that science has no way to predict quakes. (AP Photo/Raniero Pizzi)
L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) ? Defying assertions that earthquakes cannot be predicted, an Italian court convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter Monday for failing to adequately warn residents before a temblor struck central Italy in 2009 and killed more than 300 people.
The court in L'Aquila also sentenced the defendants to six years each in prison. All are members of the national Great Risks Commission, and several are prominent scientists or geological and disaster experts.
Scientists had decried the trial as ridiculous, contending that science has no reliable way of predicting earthquakes. So news of the verdict shook the tightknit community of earthquake experts worldwide.
"It's a sad day for science," said seismologist Susan Hough, of the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, Calif. "It's unsettling." That fellow seismic experts in Italy were singled out in the case "hits you in the gut," Hough added.
In Italy, convictions aren't definitive until after at least one level of appeals, so it is unlikely any of the defendants would face jail immediately.
Other Italian public officials and experts have been put on trial for earthquake-triggered damage, such as the case in southern Italy for the collapse of a school in a 2002 quake in which 27 children and a teacher were killed. But that case centered on allegations of shoddy construction of buildings in quake-prone areas.
State TV noted that this was the first time prosecutors had brought a case based on the failure to predict an earthquake.
Among those convicted Monday were some of Italy's most well-known and internationally respected seismologists and geological experts, including Enzo Boschi, former head of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
"I am dejected, desperate," Boschi said after the verdict. "I thought I would have been acquitted. I still don't understand what I was convicted of."
The trial began in September 2011 in this Apennine town, whose devastated historic center is still largely deserted.
The defendants were accused in the indictment of giving "inexact, incomplete and contradictory information" about whether small tremors felt by L'Aquila residents in the weeks and months before the April 6, 2009, quake should have constituted grounds for a quake warning.
The 6.3-magnitude temblor killed 308 people in and around the medieval town and forced survivors to live in tent camps for months.
Many much smaller earth tremors had rattled the area in the months before the quake, causing frightened people to wonder if they should evacuate.
"I consider myself innocent before God and men," said another convicted defendant, Bernardo De Bernardinis, a former official of the national Civil Protection agency.
Prosecutors had sought convictions and four-year sentences during the trial. They argued in court that the L'Aquila disaster was tantamount to "monumental negligence," and cited the devastation wrought in the southern United States in 2005 when levees failed to protect the city of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
Relatives of some who perished in the 2009 quake said justice has been done. Ilaria Carosi, sister of one of the victims, told Italian state TV that public officials must be held responsible "for taking their job lightly."
The world's largest multi-disciplinary science society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, condemned the charges, verdict and sentencing as a complete misunderstanding about the science behind earthquake probabilities.
There are swarms of seismic activity regularly in Italy and most do not end up causing dangerous earthquakes, said AAAS geologist Brooks Hanson, deputy editor of the organization's Science magazine. He said that if seismologists had to warn of a quake with every swarm there would be too many false alarms and panic.
"With earthquakes we just don't know," Hanson said Monday. "We just don't know how a swarm will proceed."
Comments on Twitter about the verdict abounded with references to Galileo, the Italian scientist who was tried as a heretic in 1633 for his contention that the Earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa as Catholic church teaching then held. In 1992, then-Pope John Paul II declared that the church had erred in its ruling against the astronomer.
Defense lawyer Filippo Dinacci predicted that the L'Aquila court's verdict would have a chilling effect on officials tasked with protecting Italians in natural disasters. Public officials would be afraid to "do anything," Dinacci told reporters.
___
Frances D'Emilio contributed from Rome. AP science writers Alicia Chang and Seth Borenstein contributed from the United States.
Associated Presssharia law new hampshire primary results ron paul molly sims hostess brands nh primary david crowder band
Friday, October 12, 2012
FBI in DC creates intellectual property squad
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The FBI's Washington field office has created a squad dedicated to investigating intellectual property thefts, part of a more aggressive law enforcement approach on cybercrime, an official said Friday.
The squad started this month, with agents pulled from varied areas of expertise to investigate all corners of intellectual property and economic espionage ranging from harmful counterfeit medical products to multi-million-dollar trade secrets plundered by sophisticated hackers, said Trent Teyema, assistant special agent in charge of the office's cyber branch.
"That pill that you order online: Is that what's supposed to be? Or is it sawdust or something else?" Teyema said. "We're looking at everything from health and safety to theft of trade secrets to intellectual property."
Teyema said Washington was a logical choice for an intellectual property squad because the Department of Justice is headquartered in the nation's capital and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, a task force of different law enforcement agencies, is in the nearby Crystal City section of Arlington, Va.
The creation of the squad comes as federal authorities increasingly warn of the threat posed by hackers and cyberattacks, and as Americans confront the risk of a strike to the computer networks that control the electric grid and water supply. On Thursday, for instance, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the department was investing more than $3 billion a year in cybersecurity and that the cyberthreat from Iran had grown. The White House last week acknowledged an attempt to infiltrate its computer system, but officials said mitigation measures identified the attack and prevented it from spreading.
Although motives for cyberattacks vary, a common thread is that virtually all companies these days have an online and international presence, making them vulnerable to a competitor seeking to lift a secret or cripple a website, Teyema said.
"The international access to computers, and multi-national companies ? and people wanting convenient access to their systems ? that's what's opened up a lot of these vulnerabilities," he said. "It's still old vulnerabilities, old holes in operating systems, that people are getting in by."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-dc-creates-intellectual-property-squad-185859701--finance.html
d day red solo cup new planet new planet green bay packers stock jeff garcia jeff garcia
Current/Future State of Higher Education: An Open Online Course ...
Well, I?ve done it. I?ve signed up for a MOOC. MOOC, of course, being Massively Open Online Courses, are all the rage in higher-ed-more-disruptingly-than-thou circles, what with their potential is greatly expand the reach of higher education beyond a campus-bound constituency. But not without criticism, of course. Coursera is a popular example of a company that?s offering MOOCs but there are a bunch of them out there now.
Having read so much about them over the last year or so, I thought I?d give one a try.
And as a bonus, this one is about the changes happening in the higher education world.
It?s called Current/Future State of Higher Education: An Open Online Course.
In countries around the world, the transition to knowledge and service economies occurring rapidly. Competitive countries are no longer only those that have an abundance of natural resources, but also those with a highly educated populace. Higher education is increasingly recognized as a vehicle for economic development.
University leaders are struggling to make sense of how internationalization, the current economic conditions, and new technologies will impact their systems. Educators are uncertain of the impact of open educational resources, alternative accreditation models, de-professionalization of academic positions, and increased grant competitiveness. What is role of the academy in increasing national economic competitiveness while preserving the ?vital combat for lucidity? that defines an open democratic society?
The six week course (which started this past Monday) covers the following topics:
Weekly Topics:
- Change pressures: What is influencing higher education? (Oct 8-14)
- Net pedagogies: New models of teaching and learning (Oct 15-21)
- Entrepreneurship and commercial activity in education (Oct 22-28)
- Big data and Analytics (Oct 29-Nov 4)
- Leadership in Education (Nov 4-11)
- Distributed Research: new models of inquiry (Nov 12- 18)
Weekly Format:
- Each week will include readings, videos, and recommended activities. Live weekly presentations (2-3 each week) will be held with guest speakers.
- The content will include peer-reviewed articles that articulate the landscape of educational change. Interactive activities will be included each week to give participants an opportunity to evaluate their understanding of the weekly content.
Course participants will also engage in recommended weekly activities (artifact creation and sharing) to contribute to the knowledge base of the weekly topic
Here in this space I?ll be sharing the week?s readings and perhaps even reflecting on my progress through the course. I?m not sure I?ll be interacting much in the forums or on twitter, but you never know.
The hashtag is #CFHE12.
Week #1
This week?s readings set the stage for the rest of the course, with a nice range of items all over the ?omg higher ed the world is coming to an end spectrum? of commentary. I like the international perspective on the readings, that?s for sure. I also like how they mix things up a bit on the techno-utopian side as well as strong criticisms of the techno-commercial approach. The ?status quo is mostly alright? seems to be represented as well. I haven?t gone through all of them in detail yet but it promises to be enlightening and entertaining.
I?m tempted to pull in a few suggestions of my own from all my Around the Web posts, but I think I?ll just stick with what?s on the official readings list for now.
Here goes.
OK, I can?t resist including a bunch of items from my York colleague Melonie Fullick:
the shins atomic clock daylight savings time john mccain game changer selection sunday corned beef recipe
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Review: Liberation Maiden | Video Game Blog, Video Games ...
Platform: 3DS eShop
Developer:?Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher:?Level-5
Released: Out now in Japan and Europe, later this year in US
If only we had a president that would jump in a mech suit and relentlessly kick ass with missiles and lasers ? then maybe I?d start taking more of an interest in politicians. Liberation Maiden had my attention as soon as I heard Suda51, creator of No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw, was involved in the development. Sadly, despite the promise of huge robots and Suda as lead designer, Liberation Maiden isn?t all that exciting ? but still considerably more interesting than real-life politics.
Set 100 years in the future of New Japan, the young Shoko Ozora is now the new president after the assassination of her father, the former president. A foreign country is draining New Japan?s energy source with giant drilling machines and unleashing invasion with enemy robots, but President Shoko is prepared to fight back with the aid of her giant mech suit, the Liberator.
That?s about as much of the plot you should care about, and while this is could usually be forgiven being a smaller-scale eShop title or for any game that instead delivers on the gameplay alone, its a little disappointing to see a lack of Suda?s signature flair this time around. I?m all for giant robots and destruction, but presidential ass-kicking has been done before in the hilarious Metal Wolf Chaos. The anime-style cutscenes also seem no different than the likes of Code Geass and Gundam.
Speaking of these cutscenes though, they are impressively animated and a joy to watch on the 3DS screen. While the plot is sub-par, the game wastes no time in throwing you in the action and there?s some nice combat scenes on display.?There are really only two characters in the game; Shoko and her combat advisor Kira. They are decidedly bland and don?t develop much from stereotypes we?ve ?seen before in games and animes ? Shoko is courageous and never gives up on her missions, while Kira is supportive and informative all the way. They serve their purpose, but show little weakness or emotion. However, the voice acting is surprisingly superb ? for a simple downloadable title you would expect average voice talent, but both characters come across as very sincere at the very least. Its always nice to a female lead too, a refreshing change from the typical teenage male hero.
As you may have guessed at this point, the game?s strongest aspect is its gameplay. You can shoot missiles Rez-style by using the touch-screen to aim the cursor over multiple enemies to create automatic lock-ons. When you release the stylus, missiles will fire. While this may sound easy, the game utilises a risk-reward system where you are more vulnerable to damage while aiming ? the more enemies you choose to take out in one swoop, the longer you leave yourself open to attack. Homing missiles that trail you can also be tricky to target as they fly unpredictably around you at high speed.
The game air-to-ground combat controls play similarly to Kid Icarus: Uprising. Holding the L trigger will make Shoko strafe, so you can easily dodge incoming lasers and keep your sights on an enemy. You also acquire a powerful laser attack a little while into the game, which is more powerful than your missiles but needs recharging after use. Both attacks are useful and if feels good to constantly switch between them for different situations.?Missiles work great when there?s hundreds of enemies on the screen (or multiple weak points), while lasers feel satisfying to use on a boss? weak spot or wiping out deadly plasma bubbles that fill the screen.
The bosses themselves are pretty forgettable except for the final one, and again don?t seem like they were born from Suda?s usual imaginative creations.?They?re?essentially big drilling machines with slight variations every time and accompanied by normal enemies, which are just pretty standard robots that you?ve all seen before. The combat is still fun but the boss fights become dull, especially when some drag out longer than they should. This really seems odd considering Suda?s insane boss designs in No More Heroes and the recent Sine Mora ? the primary appeal of both games being the stylistic boss designs and the way you fight them. The ?sacrifice drive? finishing move is cool though, where Shoko flies into the core and prompts you to spin circles on the touch screen rapidly, causing her to drill herself through it.
The screenshots do little justice for the game, as the graphics and 3D effects look great in motion. While its all visually impressive, the big map environments sometimes look a little bland. Each level has a different setting to keep things interesting though from neo-cities to snowy areas, and occasionally mixes up the gameplay with sub-missions. One mission is more stealth-orientated, wherein you must avoid all security lasers while navigating through a facility. The soundtrack has a nice rocking vibe while you?re causing destruction, and there are some decent songs sung in Japanese, which will please pure anime fans.
There is a gallery that unlocks more images as you meet given goals in the same vein as achievements and acts as a nice addition, but aside from that there are no rewards and unlockables to work towards. Its a short campaign at 1-2 hours long, and while the game is fun enough to play through a couple of times, there?s little to endorse replay value. I was hoping for another weapon to unlock or even different mech costumes, and there are unfortunately no online leaderboards despite the emphasis on arcade scores.
Liberation Maiden is an inoffensive little game that, while a fun distraction, has an asking price that?s a tad too high for the overall package and could have been so much more considering the Grasshopper Manufacture team working behind it. Anyone craving a solid action eShop title for their 3DS could do a lot worse, but won?t be entertained for too long and fans of Suda?s surreal and unique style will be disappointed. Lovers of anime will enjoy the art style and cutscenes, but won?t experience anything astonishingly different from the norm.
Score:
6.5
Article from Gamersyndrome.com
Related posts:
- Assassin?s Creed III Liberation ? Gamescom Factsheet
- Bayonetta Review: All Spectacle & Little Substance
- Super Laser Racer Demo Review
- Okamiden Review
- Naruto Shippuden Ninja Destiny 2 ? Review
Source: http://gamersyndrome.com/2012/video-games/review-liberation-maiden/
how to hard boil eggs new nfl uniforms easter derbyshire the matrix oceans 11 ferris state hockey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)