The uncodings of ANT: Mobilities of digital data
Terrie Lynn Thompson, Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Networked Learning 2014, May 7, 2014

One of the best of the bunch from a double symposium, this short paper challenges our understanding of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). Terrie Lynn Thompson writes, "One of the basic tenets of Actor Network Theory (ANT) is to 'follow the actors'." But the 'actors' in a data-driven world are slippery and elusive. More...

John Hancock Will Only Sell Interactive Life Insurance with Fitness Data Tracking
Suzanne Barlyn, Insurance Journal, 2018/09/20
I read a post from Ryerson this morning that began "It’s getting more and more difficult to make a case for privacy when so many people are willingly sharing so much of their personal information online." The answer had hardly begun to form in my mind when I encountered this item from the BBC which makes it clear as crystal. More...

Use of Browser Cookies to Store Structured Data
The patent listed here isn't as broad as depicted in Good Morning Silicon Valley, where it is represented as a "patent on cookies", but it's pretty broad and could cause widespread disruption. More...

Education Taps CSC for Database Job
This is interesting. "Under a five-year, $34.6 million contract with the Education Department, Computer Sciences Corp. will develop and operate an Internet-based database management system for the Education Resources Information Center, or ERIC." The short article also notes that "The current database will be online during build-out of the new ERIC database, which will become operational later this year." It appears - if this item is accurate - that ERIC has therefore been saved. More...