Category: Change around us

radical changes taking place around us now

Education revolution is underway

Two articles in The Economist provide an overview of the major upheaval underway in education.

The lead article is E-ducation.  The in-depth article is Catching on at last.

The articles cover much of what is going on the education world.  I’ve tried to touch on those issues on this blog.

Check out the two articles for better explained, more in-depth descriptions.

Here is a recap of several of the major trends, from the lead article. I’ve split two very long sentences into key ideas: Continue reading “Education revolution is underway”

A view of the top of the publishing world. The whole publishing world is an open frontier.

The wide open frontier of publishing is fascinating because anyone can publish. The biggest barrier to entry (a fancy economic term meaning how difficult it is to enter a business) is the desire to publish.  I have published 4 books and have had a blast doing so. The very bottom of that world is where I operate.  So what does the top of the publishing world look like?

It has also been transformed, as discussed by Jeff Bercovici in a Forbes article, The Hunger Games Economy. I’m about two solar systems removed from the top of the publishing biz, but it’s still fun to look.

Technology has concentrated sales. Look at this:

To understand the scale of the trend, think about this: Of the total number of copies sold in 2012 of the 400 highest-selling titles, two authors, E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey) and Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games), together accounted for a full 25%, according to data tracked by USA Today. Between them, the Fifty Shades of Grey and Hunger Games trilogies claimed all six top slots on the year-end bestseller list. 

Continue reading “A view of the top of the publishing world. The whole publishing world is an open frontier.”

Video of micro drone that flies like bird

Two profs at the University of Maryland, my alma mater, developed a remotely controlled ‘bird’ that can fly. The wings operate independently which provides lots of maneuverability.

This is cool, just by itself.

The next step is to add a small camera and small transmitter. Then you have a usable surveillance system

You can view the video in this article:  Newly developed micro robot bird able to perform reconnaissance, surveillance.

You will need to watch a 15 second commercial before the news report starts.

Local government agencies reducing part-time staff below 30 hours

More and more reports are surfacing of local governments and school districts cutting hours for their part-time staff to below 30 hours in order to avoid providing full health care and avoid the penalties for not doing so.

Investors Business Daily reports Local Governments Reeling Under ObamaCare Costs.

The article provides 13 examples, including: Continue reading “Local government agencies reducing part-time staff below 30 hours”

The wide open frontier in publishing offers freedom and control

An author can write what’s desired and control the whole process. That’s a huge change from the traditional publishing world.  Takes a lot of work and new skills, but there’s tremendous latitude to go wherever you want.

Talking in terms of the emotions of each stage, Kristine Kathryn Rusch walks through The Stages of An Indie Writer.

Continue reading “The wide open frontier in publishing offers freedom and control”

The drip, drip, drip of news about how we are being watched. Our knowledge of the scale of surveillance is expanding by the day.

Seems like every morning there is a big story with details of the vast array of surveillance conducted by the federal government. Here is a broad overview of news in the last 2 weeks.

Continue reading “The drip, drip, drip of news about how we are being watched. Our knowledge of the scale of surveillance is expanding by the day.”

How do you securely leak information in a surveillance society?

How do you talk to a reporter with minimum risk of being found out? What does the answer to that question tell the rest of us who don’t have really juicy stuff to spill to a national reporter?

You leave digital crumbs every time you use the internet or your computer or any device that accesses the ‘net. How then to securely leak info to the media?

Continue reading “How do you securely leak information in a surveillance society?”

Free online courses – the education frontier is wide open

700 Free Online Courses from Top Universities

Your choice of video or audio in either iTunes or mp3 format. Tons of courses. Well, advertised at 700, but I didn’t try counting them.

Free.

If you want to learn it will cost your time.

Amazing.

The frontier is wide open in education.

31 charts showing things are getting better and better

Check out the Business Insider set of graphs showing how much better things have gotten in the last few decades or the last century.

31 Charts That Will Restore your Faith In Humanity.

A few of my favorites: Continue reading “31 charts showing things are getting better and better”

Rough picture of how far the tech revolution has to go

John Bredehoft expanded my discussion on the tech revolution just getting started.

In his post, Why are some revolutions imperceptible?, he describes the revolution in his industry from getting powerful PCs. The impact on the economy was tiny, if even measurable, because the entire industry was small in relation to the overall US economy.

To point out how small the publishing and music industries are, he looked at the Fortune 500 list of largest companies in terms of sales. He points out that the largest identifiable media companies are News Corp at 91 and Time Warner at 103.

Since I’m an accountant and like to quantify things, his post gave me an interesting idea. I went to the list and did a quick analysis to compare the size of a few industries.

Continue reading “Rough picture of how far the tech revolution has to go”

Impact of the technology revolution has barely begun

That we haven’t seen the full impact of IT is a comment I heard the first time a few years ago. That sort of made sense but didn’t really register. This blog is focused on sorting out that change. The idea that the technology revolution has barely begun finally clicked for me with a column by Matthew Yglesias – Why I’m Optimistic About Growth and Innovation.

A few industries have seen huge impact from technology. Think of book publishing, journalism, and music. Those industries have been turned upside down. I read a lot and listen to a bit of music so am quite attuned to those areas. The way everyone consumes news has been transformed. I regularly read dozens of blogs a day. They just appear on my computer screen with a mouse click or two. I’ve always been a news junkie, and my consumption has soared in the last few years.

However, as big as those industries are, they are a small part of the total economy.

Continue reading “Impact of the technology revolution has barely begun”

Technology revolution becoming visible in health care

The music and publishing industries have been transformed by the technology revolution. Some signs are appearing that technology might remake health care.

The Wall Street Journal article, Midlevel Health Jobs Shrink, reports that several trends are reducing opportunities for people in health care with midlevel skill sets.

Here’s a great summary in the article:

Automation, outsourcing and other forces have eliminated many formerly secure jobs in manufacturing, clerical work and other fields. Now health care is following the same path with unforeseen speed.

Continue reading “Technology revolution becoming visible in health care”

Major hurdle cleared for on-line education – Dep’t of Education approves financial aid for degree based on demonstrated competencies, not number of semester hours

A huge barrier for on-line education will be getting approval from the education regulators for financial assistance. Next hurdle will be accreditation for a stand-alone institution.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports in Competency-Based Education Advances With U.S. Approval of Program:

The Education Department has approved the eligibility of Southern New Hampshire University to receive federal financial aid for students enrolled in a new, self-paced online program called College for America, the private, nonprofit university has announced.

Continue reading “Major hurdle cleared for on-line education – Dep’t of Education approves financial aid for degree based on demonstrated competencies, not number of semester hours”