MIT Technology Review – There are dozens of sites that show you how coronavirus is spreading around the world. Here is our ranking. “If you’ve been on the web to learn more about the latest pandemic, chances are you’ve stumbled upon at least one or two coronavirus dashboards. These are the landing pages for interactive maps and visuals that show where the virus has spread, as well as numbers on the latest in infection rates and deaths, breakdowns of what countries are suffering from new cases and what regions are likely seeing new outbreaks, and much more. Not all dashboards are created equal, nor do all people have access to the same dashboards (for instance, US sanctions prevent Iranians from accessing the one run by Johns Hopkins University). Some present data you won’t find elsewhere. Some are easier to navigate than others. Some are simply much more stunning to look at…”

beSpacific Subjects: Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management

Harrisburg, PA – As the nation continues to respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Department of Banking and Securities is urging Pennsylvanians to be wary of potential financial scams trying to take advantage of the situation.“Consumers should be on alert for increased fraud during major events such as the outbreak of COVID-19,” said Acting Secretary Richard Vague. “Scams are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and scam artists are taking advantage of people, making every attempt to separate you from your hard-earned money.”

Consumers should be vigilant about protecting their finances and should not share financial or other sensitive information with anyone contacting you unsolicited. Consumers and businesses cannot afford to take every financial opportunity or transaction at face value.

“We all wish we could expect everyone to act with integrity and credibility, but too many scam artists prey on our good intentions to trust,” said Acting Secretary Vague. “Scam artists are manipulative and all of us must remain ever vigilant. With a few simple precautions, you can help detect and prevent this from happening to you or a loved one.”

Frequent characteristics of scams include…

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As people become more aware of privacy concerns and the ways in which genomic database companies are profiting from their data, their expectations for compensation and control may increase, according to researchers at Penn State and Cornell University.“As human genomic data collection rises, the organizations responsible for managing these data are developing and refining their internal policies and protocols related to data end uses, transparency and security, for example,” said Forrest Briscoe, professor of management and organization, Penn State. “In a survey of more than 2,000 people, we found that the majority of respondents clearly prefer a more transparent and participant-centric governance approach that gives them more control, confidence and compensation.”

The researchers created a survey based on in-depth field interviews with officials and employees who were involved in genomic governance at 12 different organizations. They recruited 2,020 participants — representative of the U.S. population — through Qualtrics to participate in the survey and provided them with mainstream media coverage of genomic database companies. The results appear today (March 11, 2020) in PLOS ONE.

“Our results suggest that as public awareness grows regarding the commercial aspects and privacy issues of genomic databases, individuals’ expectations for compensation in exchange for data provision may rise,” said Briscoe.