Category «Education»

Climate and DEI Deleted From Government Websites, Federal Workers Fired

Since January 20, 2025 America has been catapulted into an unimaginable inflection point. Sabrina I. Pacifici chronicles seismic events in recent weeks which have upended America’s democracy, jeopardized our economy, financial system, national security, science and medical communities, and fractured our national identity, at home and around the world. This is a commentary, and a guide written by a law librarian and former federal employee who was the target of a similar purge by Trump in 2018, to what and who has been targeted and purged, an overview of the process used to do so, and a perspective on the impact of these sweeping, deeply damaging and likely illegal actions.

Subjects: Climate Change, Constitutional Law, CRS Reports, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Digital Archives, Economy, Education, Ethics, Financial System, Government Resources, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, United States Law

Empowering Education: The Transformative Role of AI in Inclusive Learning

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing every field it touches, and education is no exception. AI offers extraordinary opportunities to tailor learning by providing critical support through engaging educational tools, adaptive technologies, and personalized learning aids. While some schools are utilizing these tools, others are determined to maintain AI-free classrooms. By banning AI, schools would not only hinder these advancements but also exacerbate educational inequalities. As schools navigate AI adoption, Kyra Strick advocates the position that it is imperative to recognize the transformative potential of AI in fostering an inclusive and effective learning environment

Subjects: AI, Education

Fake papers are contaminating the world’s scientific literature, fueling a corrupt industry and slowing legitimate lifesaving medical research

Over the past decade, furtive commercial entities around the world have industrialized the production, sale and dissemination of bogus scholarly research, undermining the literature that everyone from doctors to engineers rely on to make decisions about human live. To better understand the scope, ramifications and potential solutions of this metastasizing assault on science, Frederik Joelving, contributing editor at Retraction Watch, a website that reports on retractions of scientific papers and related topics, and two computer scientists at France’s Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier and Cyril Labbé , and Guillaume Cabanac, Université Grenoble Alpes who specialize in detecting bogus publications – spent six months investigating paper mills.

Subjects: AI, Education, Health, Healthcare, KM, Medical Research, Technology Trends

AI in Finance and Banking, January 15, 2025

This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government documents, NGO/IGO papers, conferences, industry white papers and reports, academic papers and speeches, and central bank actions on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. Six highlights from this post: Wall Street Faces 200,000 Job Cuts as AI Transforms the Workforce; Can We Statically Locate Knowledge in Large Language Models? Financial Domain and Toxicity Reduction Case Studies; AI Financial Advisers Target Young People Living Paycheck to Paycheck; How AI is changing banking jobs: Rise of the ‘AI whisperer’; Your AI credit models are fine, but their training data is problematic; and Great Southern loan officers use gen AI to ‘chat’ with data.

Subjects: AI in Banking and Finance, Economy, Education

January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924

On January 1, 2025, thousands of copyrighted works from 1929 will enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1924. They will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon. This year’s literary highlights include The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, and A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. In film, Mickey Mouse speaks his first words, the Marx Brothers star in their first feature film, and legendary directors from Alfred Hitchcock to John Ford made their first sound films. From comic strips, the original Popeye and Tintin characters will enter the public domain. Among the newly public domain compositions are Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Ravel’s Bolero, Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, and the musical number Singin’ in the Rain. This expansive guide by Jennifer Jenkins selectively highlights a wide range of works that will be in the U.S. public domain in 2025. For librarians, educators and everyone who loves iconic books, music, film, plays, art and cartoons, this is a wonderful, welcome gift with which to begin 2025.

Subjects: Copyright, Education, Libraries & Librarians, Search Engines

After Hurricane Helene, survivors have been in a race against time to protect family heirlooms, photographs and keepsakes

The total damage from Hurricane Helene to North Carolina – be it physical, psychological or economic – is difficult to quantify. But the numbers reported by the Office of State Budget and Management are harrowing: over 100 deaths, $59.6 billion in damages and thousands of homes destroyed, as of Dec. 13, 2024. This interview with disaster experts Leah Bright and Brian Michael Lione identifies resources for survivors and explains how to salvage damaged belongings. Bright is an objects conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she’s responsible for the long-term preservation of the collection, including preventive care and repairs. Lione manages the International Cultural Heritage Protection Program at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, supporting disaster response globally, including in Iraq and the U.S.

Subjects: Climate Change, Education, Environmental Law, Training

AI in Finance and Banking – December 16, 2024

This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government documents, NGO/IGO papers, conferences, industry white papers and reports, academic papers and speeches, and central bank actions on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. Five highlights from this post: Generative artificial intelligence and cyber security in central banking; Research: How Gen AI Is Already Impacting the Labor Market; Wall Street’s AI-powered rally risks ‘correction’, Vanguard warns; Regulating AI in the financial sector: recent developments and main challenges; Large language models: a primer for economists; and AI and the Labor Market: Will Firms Hire, Fire, or Retrain?

Subjects: AI in Banking and Finance, Cybersecurity, Economy, Education, Legal Research

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, November 2, 2024

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: DHS cyber review board to investigate Chinese hack of US telecom as victim net widens; Stolen credit cards up for grabs on Meta’s Threads; Feds warn of AI voice spoofing in healthcare; and The Vanishing Culture report arrives today at a critical moment.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, Education, Financial System, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

When Should Presenters Apologize?

Referencing decades of experience as a presenter and an attendee at presentations, Jerry Lawson cautions us not to begin a presentation with an apology, which can be compelled by a tech glitch or some other reason not within our control. Lawson states that the habit of beginning with an apology is so old that it has a name in Medieval rhetoric, the captatio benevolentiae, meaning an attempt to capture the audience’s goodwill. Most importantly, It doesn’t work. Lawson highlights a range of scenarios for which an apology or no apology, are appropriate. His lesson applies to far more than presentations, as these reactions are common in a work environment where they may indeed not serve your objectives.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Continuing Legal Education, Education, Presentation Skills