Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 194
Posts 21 - 30

Technology can save lives, not just improve them

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 11.7.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | smartphone
Summary | Much has been said about the negative effects of new technologies. However, technology can save people's life. For instance, Bristol Braille Technology is an enterprise that created a braille electronic reader for blind people. Chatterbox is another tool that was created by a refugee in order to offer language tutoring. Within the "health" category, someone created a wireless sensor that makes physiotherapy exercises more fun, and someone created a tool to improve cancer diagnosis.
Image Description | Photographs of two men using a braille electronic reader, a man and a woman talking, and three women staring at a smartphone.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

Is it wrong to let my child play on my smartphone?

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 10.8.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | (mental) health, addiction, childhood, smartphone, technology-free
Summary | The author of the article sometimes feels guilty when she lets her 2-year old son play on a smartphone. When young children are glued to a screen, they are so captivated by what they're watching. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children younger than 2 should have no exposure to screens; it can hinder their language and social development/skills. The author of the article also claims that her kids already show characteristics of "addicted" behavior. For instance, they scream and are irascible if someone takes their screen away. She also says that what is dangerous is not so much when kids are on screens, but rather when parents are.
Image Description | Photograph of a kid using a smartphone next to an adult.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone

Why are YouTube stars so popular?

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 3.2.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | YouTube
Summary | YouTube stars such as Zoella are popular and very influential. According to a study, young people find YouTubers more influencial than 'traditional' celebrities. One of the reasons why YouTubers are more influential is because they can connect with their fans more easily, which creates more authentic relationships.
Image Description | Portrait of Zoella (female YouTuber), video "what is YouTube", ranking of eight celebrities, video "coming out", and digital image of Stampy.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Young people don't have tribes any more. We have smartphones instead

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 18.3.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | addiction, smartphone, threat
Summary | Every generation had its rebellion (e.g. skinheads, punk, new romantics). What about the millennials? How do they deal with boredom? We have smartphones, and we can do anything with them. The difference between us and the older generations is that we are not "tribal" anymore. We are more "individual".
Image Description | Photograph in black and white of one punk and two other people.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Could Steiner schools have a point on children, tablets and tech?

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 14.6.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | digitized education, school, technology-free
Summary | The Iona school in Nottingham is a more "traditional" school; pupils don’t work on tablets or computers, and in the classroom you can see the old-fashioned blackboard. The school curriculum is based on the 19th century philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Some critics say that the fact that those children don't use screens at school will be disadvantage for them later. When they leave school, they'll be part of a digital world which includes technology. They need to be prepared for that.
Image Description | Photograph of a woman and children kneading dough, man drawing on a blackboard, two boys on a tree, and two children making arts and crafts.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

How a Canadian app is helping refugees find food, clean water and medical care

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 16.11.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | smartphone, threat
Summary | A new app called Services Advisor was created by Canadian nonprofit PeaceGeeks. The goal of the app is to give refugees basic information about food, shelter, or medical care. The app is available in English and Arabic. A lot of refugees are tech-saavy people and already owned a smartphone before they had to leave their country.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of refugees, and screenshot of the app displaying different categories
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Tech may rule, but the human backlash is coming

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Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 24.11.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | smartphone, technology-free, threat
Summary | Movies have a special relationship with new media: they hate it. Romcoms prefer showing people who fall in love while meeting face-to-face rather than on dating apps, sci-fi movies show apocalyptic scenes representing the future, and movies such as "Her" or "Ex Machina" show how artificial intelligence can lead to downfall. Why is the movie industry tech-sceptic? Maybe because the internet is ruining the movie business.
Image Description | Screenshot of a movie scene with Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Internetstars mit Jöö-Faktor

(Internet stars with aaaaw factor)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 2.12.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Instagram, marketing
Summary | A Swiss Instagram account is increasing popular with thousands of regular likes. It is called "Mr.Mrs.Aliu" and showcases a young Swiss family with an Albanian migration background. They are a simple, working class family and they share their wedding and holiday pictures on Instagram. Recently they have also shared an image of their newborn daughter and her nursery with links to the shops where one could buy the same furniture.
Image Description | Instagram posts showing a man and a pregnant woman, a nursery, as well as a map showing where the couple lives.
Image Tags | female(s), Instagram, male(s)

To Survive in Tough Times, Restaurants Turn to Data-Mining

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 25.8.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | marketing, privacy, research/study
Summary | Restaurants are facing tough times as people seem to visit restaurants less ofter rises. Now analytic firms have come up with software designs that collect data about customers and waiting staff to find inefficiencies and smooth them out. This way all waiters would recognize guests by name and know their order and payment preferences. It could revolutionize customer service in the hospitality industry.
Image Description | People looking at a chart.
Image Tags | chart, female(s), male(s)

The Secret to a Good Robot Teacher

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 26.8.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | computer programming, research/study
Summary | Digitized education as it is usually designed today makes a fatal omission. It ignores the fact that human learning requires not only language as information but also language as social cues. Evolution has designed our minds so that we learn best from other human testimony. Studies with children show that they trust robotic teachers more when they display some kind of emotional range and social cues.
Image Description | Illustration of a robot teaching children.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), school

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