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Submission + - Mahdism: How does religion really influence Iranian nuclear policy? (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Many observers of American Christianity are familiar with the notion of an "end times" and a return of Jesus to earth. More radical believers of this notion have welcomed climate change, nuclear war, and other threats to mankind because, to them, this chaos and destruction fulfills Biblical prophecy. Islam has its own version: Mahdism: 'Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi, born in the ninth century and also known as the Hidden Imam or the Twelfth Imam, is the Prophet Mohammed’s last legitimate successor. They believe that he has gone into occultation—the state of being blocked from view—but will eventually return...reappear along with Christ...restore peace and justice, saving the world from the chaos into which it would otherwise descend.' In this article, Ariane Tabatabai discusses the idea that Mahdism informs Iran's public policy, especially its nuclear policy, providing hardliners with an excuse to hasten the Mahdi's return. Terrific analysis.

Submission + - Uber gives green light to prying for "legitimate business purposes" (thestack.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Former employees of Uber have revealed that the tracking of individuals is easy with an in-house tool named 'God View', which is able to indicate the location of Uber vehicles and customers who have requested a ride.

This is the latest finding in a series of Silicon Valley privacy concerns surrounding the car service startup, following a recent suggestion that it would snoop into the private lives of journalists. Uber senior vice president Emil Michael announced last Friday his wish to invest $1mn to investigate the “personal lives” of journalists and their families who write critically about the company.

This latest case serves to highlight the wide ranging control tech companies hold over personal data and what they choose to do with it, and ultimately how policy is failing to provide legal frameworks for correct conduct. Yesterday Uber released a statement emphasising its “strict policy” which prohibits all employees from accessing the data of both riders and customers. Uber said that the only exception to this rule is for a “limited set of legitimate business purposes.”

Submission + - Jolla Is Crowdfunding An iPad Alternative Focused On Multitasking (techcrunch.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Today fellow Finnish company, and mobile startup Jolla, has revealed the next step in its hardware journey: Jolla is also making a tablet, albeit The Jolla Tablet will be crowdfunded. So this is mostly a pitch for pre-orders right now, with the price-tag starting at $189 for the first 2,000 pledgers, and stepping up thereafter to $199 for another thousand backers.

Submission + - Can a kitty litter box help predict earthquakes? (dailymail.co.uk)

Submitted by Obscene_CNN
Obscene_CNN writes: Can kitty litter boxes help predict earthquakes? A company has produced a a scale that sits beneath a kitty litter box and monitors the cats activity and weight. It then can be monitored via a smartphone app. A NSF grant is using it to see if pets can predict natural disasters.

Submission + - Magic tricks created using artificial intelligence for the first time (scienceblog.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers working on artificial intelligence at Queen Mary University of London have taught a computer to create magic tricks. The researchers gave a computer program the outline of how a magic jigsaw puzzle and a mind reading card trick work, as well the results of experiments into how humans understand magic tricks, and the system created completely new variants on those tricks which can be delivered by a magician.

Submission + - Sweden considers adding 'sexism' ratings to video games

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A government-funded agency in Sweden is considering creating specials label for video games based on whether or not the games’ portrayals of women are sexist. From the article: "Avoiding sexism and gender stereotypes in video games produced in Sweden will become a key goal for the association, which has been given a 272,000 kronor ($36,672) grant by Sweden's government-funded innovation agency, Vinnova. Inspired by the Bechdel test, which looks at whether fictional films or books feature at least two women talking about a topic other than men, Dataspelsbranchen will work with several game developers to analyse how Swedish video games portray female characters and gender issues."

Submission + - The Dutch Village Where Everyone Has Dementia

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Josh Planos writes at The Atlantic that the isolated village of Hogewey on the outskirts of Amsterdam has been dubbed “Dementia Village” because it is home to residents who are only admitted if they’re categorized as having severe cases of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. "There are no wards, long hallways, or corridors at the facility," writes Planos. "Residents live in groups of six or seven to a house, with one or two caretakers. Perhaps the most unique element of the facility—apart from the stealthy “gardener” caretakers—is its approach toward housing. Hogeway features 23 uniquely stylized homes, furnished around the time period when residents’ short-term memories stopped properly functioning. There are homes resembling the 1950s, 1970s, and 2000s, accurate down to the tablecloths, because it helps residents feel as if they’re home."

In Holland, everyone pays into the state health care system during their working years, with the money then disbursed to pay for later-in-life expenses — and that means living in Hogewey does not cost any more than a traditional nursing home. The inspiration came about in 1992, when Yvonne van Amerongen and another member of staff at a traditional nursing home both had their own mothers die, being glad that their elderly parents had died quickly and had not had to endure hospital-like care. A series of research and brainstorming sessions in 1993 found that humans choose to surround and interact with other like-minded people of similar backgrounds and experiences; the arrangement at Hogewey provides this by ensuring that residents with similar backgrounds continue to live closely together. On a physical level, residents at Hogewey require fewer medications; they eat better and they live longer. On a mental level, they also seem to have more joy. "The people here keep their independence, as much as they can have of it, and they stay activ," says Theo Visser. "Here they still have a life. It's not the sort of slow, quiet death you get in other places. Here everyone feels at home."

Submission + - women (and to a lesser degree men) with multiple children are most productive (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by jehan60188
jehan60188 writes: from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

"That’s the conclusion of a recent study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which found that over the course of a 30-year career, mothers outperformed women without children at almost every stage of the game. In fact, mothers with at least two kids were the most productive of all. ...
They decided to analyze the amount of research published by more than 10,000 academic economists as a proxy for performance. A job in the ivory tower of academia requires higher education by definition, and their work is easily searched, recorded and ranked.

It's important to point out that the authors are examining a very narrow group of women with privileged circumstances. Parenthood was likely planned for many them, with benefits such as maternity leave and paid sick time. They can also better afford to pay for resources like reliable childcare that allow them to work longer. Low-income or low-skilled mothers often face a very different working environment."

full paper: http://research.stlouisfed.org...

Submission + - Comet Lander to Deploy Drill as Battery Life Wanes

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: With less than a day of battery life left, The European Space Agency’s Philae probe will begin to drill for samples even though the drilling may dislodge it. From the article: "Philae is sitting in the shadow of a cliff, and will not get enough sunlight to work beyond Saturday. Friday night's radio contact with the orbiting Rosetta satellite will be the last that engineers have a reasonable confidence will work. The team is still not sure where on the surface the probe came to rest after bouncing upon landing on Wednesday. Scientists have been examining radio transmissions between the orbiter and the lander to see if they can triangulate a position. This work has now produced a 'circle of uncertainty' within which Philae almost certainly lies."

Submission + - Window Washing A Skyscraper Is Beyond a Robot's Reach

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Patrick McGeehan writes in the NYT that the image of a pair of window washers clinging to a scaffold dangling outside the 68th floor of 1 World Trade Center have left many wondering why robots can't rub soapy water on glass and wipe it off with a squeegee relieving humans of the risk of injury, or death, from a plunge to the sidewalk? The simple answer, several experts say, is that washing windows is something that machines still cannot do as well as people can. “Building are starting to look like huge sculptures in the sky,” says Craig Caulkins. “A robot can’t maneuver to get around those curves to get into the facets of the building." According to Caulkins robotic cleaning systems tend to leave dirt in the corners of the glass walls that are designed to provide panoramic views from high floors. “If you are a fastidious owner wanting clean, clean windows so you can take advantage of that very expensive view that you bought, the last thing you want to see is that gray area around the rim of the window ."

Another reason for the sparse use of robots is that buildings require a lot more maintenance than just window cleaning. Equipment is needed to lower people to repair facades and broken windows, like the one that rescue workers had to cut through with diamond cutters to rescue the window washers. For many years, being a window cleaner in Manhattan was regarded as one of the most dangerous occupations in the world: by 1932, an average of one in every two hundred window cleaners in New York was killed each year. Now all new union window cleaners now take two hundred and sixteen hours of classroom instruction, three thousand hours of accredited time with an employer and their union makes sure workers follow rigorous safety protocols. In all, there are about 700 scaffolds for window washing on buildings in New York City, says union representative Gerard McEneaney. His members are willing to do the work because it pays well: as much $26.89 an hour plus benefits. Many of the window cleaners are immigrants from South America. “They’re fearless guys, fearless workers."

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