By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Resistance is Useless: There is no Point in Authentication Systems (According to Stephen Downes)
Some more commentary on my mIDm proposal. Johannes Ernst writes "it does not allow a user to use different identifiers as easily as we do in LID (Lightweight Identity)." I disagree - using the User Agent Switcher, changing identities is as easy as selecting your preference from a drop-down menu. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. If Pirating Grows, It May Not Be The End of Music World
Something to note well: Instead of predicting that China will change as it engages with the global economy, "The business model for the record industry worldwide is moving toward resembling what we see in China today." And what we see in China today is that some 95 percent of all music sales are of pirated CDs, where music is not seen to be worth more than a few cents a song, and where music sharing is widely practiced (and not likely to change). More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Creative Commons Crossing the Line?
I've mentioned BzzAgents in these pages before; it is a company that hires individuals to seed advertisements into everyday conversations. It has been represented in the press as a good example of grassroots network-based marketing, and so the managers of Creative Commons must have been surprised by the outrage expressed among their supporters when they announced a deal to have BzzAgents spread the Creative Commons message. More...
By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Change or Die
This article has receioved widespread acclaim in the few days it has been published and I can easily see why. Indeed, I pass it along with a similar endorsement. The author's point is to question why people don't change - their habits, their beliefs, their work processes - when merely presented with sufficient information. More...
The public accountability and transparency of parliaments are keystone principles to which all OSCE participating States have subscribed. In 1990, they declared in Copenhagen that “the will of the people, freely and fairly expressed through periodic and genuine elections, is the basis of the authority and legitimacy of all government”. More...
As technology continues to transform the skills that today’s students need to shape their future, many countries are responding by layering more content on top of their school curricula and timetables. Adding new subject material is an easy way for education systems to show that they are responding to emerging demands, but it is always harder to remove older material. More...
Arriver devant une classe et se sentir impuissant face à des étudiants au futur sombre tout tracé, représente une frustration que bien des enseignants peuvent éprouver. Mais le futur est-il à ce point tracé ? Depuis des temps très anciens, en Grèce antique entres autres, la question du déterminisme et du libre arbitre a été débatue. Plus...
Depuis les débuts de l’agriculture, nous avons été confrontés à un ennemi imprévisible : la pluie. Elle va et vient sans prévenir. Un champ de verdure luxuriante aujourd’hui peut craqueler, sécher l'année suivante en absence de pluie. La sécurité alimentaire et la richesse de certains pays dépend de la pluie. Plus...
Indifférente aux catégories de « vrai » et de « faux », et davantage sensible à l’émotion, à la sincérité, à l’engagement des propos, cette forme de communication représente un problème. Mais comment lutter, quand la réfutation bouscule à peine ces « foutaises ». Plus...
Est-il plus facile de mentir à l'ère d'internet et des réseaux sociaux ? Caché derrière son écran, il est possible de dissimuler son identité et de tapoter ses mensonges par petites touches, qu'ils soient gros ou minuscules. Voici une douzaine de pratiques repérées grâce auxquels on ne verra pas votre nez s'allonger. Plus...
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