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Do wearable lifestyle activity monitors really work? (Life)
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Wearable electronic activity monitors hold great promise in helping people to reach their fitness and health goals. These increasingly sophisticated devices help the wearers improve their wellness by constantly monitoring their activities and bodily responses. This information is organized into companion computer programs and mobile apps.
posted: 17/09/2014
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In our digital world, are young people losing the ability to read emotions? (Life)
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Children’s social skills may be declining as they have less time for face-to-face interaction due to their increased use of digital media, according to a UCLA psychology study.
posted: 25/08/2014
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A little video game-playing linked with better-adjusted children (Life)
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The study finds no positive or negative effects for young people who played ‘moderately’ between one to three hours a day. However, the study, published in the journal, Pediatrics, suggests that the influence of video games on children, for good or for ill, is very small when compared with more ‘enduring’ factors, such as whether the child is from a functioning family, their school relationships, and whether they are materially deprived.
posted: 05/08/2014
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Wireless home automation systems reveal more than you would think about user behaviour (Life)
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Home automation systems that control domestic lighting, heating, window blinds or door locks offer opportunities for third parties to intrude on the privacy of the inhabitants and gain considerable insight into their behavioural patterns. This is the conclusion reached by IT security expert Christoph Sorge and his research team at Saarland University. Even data transmitted from encrypted systems can provide information useful to potential burglars. Professor Sorge, who holds the juris Professorship in Legal Informatics at Saarland University, and his research group are currently studying ways to make home automation systems more secure. Frederik Möllers from Sorge’s team will be presenting the results at the ACM Conference on Security and Privacy in Wireless and Mobile Networks in Oxford on 25 July.
posted: 29/07/2014
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US Navy releases 'stealth' e-reader for sailors (Life)
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The US Navy is to provide custom e-readers, dubbed the Navy eReader Device (NeRD), to some of its sailors.
posted: 13/05/2014
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Study shows lower verbal test score for toddlers who play non-educational games on touch screens (Life)
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A recent study by pediatricians from the Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York examined infants 0-3 years old that used touch-screen devices to determine if their use was of any educational benefit to infants and toddlers. The study showed that children who played non-educational games using touch-screen devices had lower verbal scores upon testing.
posted: 06/05/2014
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Feelings of Failure, Not Violent Content, Foster Aggression in Video Gamers (Life)
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The disturbing imagery or violent storylines of videos games like World of Warcraft or Grand Theft Auto are often accused of fostering feelings of aggression in players. But a new study shows hostile behavior is linked to gamers’ experiences of failure and frustration during play—not to a game’s violent content.
posted: 08/04/2014
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Intelligent Warning Systems May Make “Dilemma Zone” Safer (Life)
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Most drivers have experienced a traffic signal that turns yellow just as they approach an intersection, which makes it difficult for them to decide whether to stop or proceed through it. The wrong choice in this critical situation, known as the “dilemma zone,” may lead to crashes, especially at high-speed intersections. A new study published in Human Factors examines how intelligent warning systems help drivers negotiate the dilemma zone and encourage safer driving behavior.
posted: 05/04/2014
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Preschoolers outsmart college students at figuring out gizmos (Life)
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Preschoolers can be smarter than college students at figuring out how unusual toys and gadgets work because they’re more flexible and less biased than adults in their ideas about cause and effect, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Edinburgh.
posted: 07/03/2014
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Digital music gets a cubist makeover (Life)
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An 8-inch wooden cube may be an unlikely spark for a musical revolution – but that’s the hope of a collaboration of electronic engineers and musicians working towards hackable electronic instruments that performers can easily modify to produce sounds in surprising new ways.
posted: 07/02/2014
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