Computer Recognition of Hand Drawings (Sketch-a-Net)

New Computer Program Recognizes Sketches Better Than Humans

Catherine Griffin | July 22, 2015

A new computer program may be better at recognizing sketches than you. Scientists have created a program, called Net, that's capable of correctly identifying the subject of sketches 74.9 percent of the time as opposed to humans, which only are correct 73.1 percent of the time.
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Sketches are intuitive to humans, and have been used as a communication tool for thousands of years. However, recognizing free-hand sketches can be difficult since they're abstract, varied, and consist of black and white lines rather than colored pixels like a photo.

Source: http://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2015/07/24.htm#.VbZQ3PlVhBc

<more at http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/28074/20150722/new-computer-program-recognizes-sketches-better-humans.htm; related links: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33625961 (AI triumphs at Pictionary-like sketch recognition task. July 22, 2015) and http://arxiv.org/abs/1501.07873 (Sketch-a-Net that Beats Humans. [Abstract:  We propose a multi-scale multi-channel deep neural network framework that, for the first time, yields sketch recognition performance surpassing that of humans. Our superior performance is a result of explicitly embedding the unique characteristics of sketches in our model: (i) a network architecture designed for sketch rather than natural photo statistics, (ii) a multi-channel generalisation that encodes sequential ordering in the sketching process, and (iii) a multi-scale network ensemble with joint Bayesian fusion that accounts for the different levels of abstraction exhibited in free-hand sketches. We show that state-of-the-art deep networks specifically engineered for photos of natural objects fail to perform well on sketch recognition, regardless whether they are trained using photo or sketch. Our network on the other hand not only delivers the best performance on the largest human sketch dataset to date, but also is small in size making efficient training possible using just CPUs]; further: http://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2015/07/24.htm#.VbZQ3PlVhBc (New computer program is first to recognise sketches more accurately than a human. July 24, 2015)>

China's Online Population

Nearly Half of China's Population Now Online

France 24 | July 23, 2015

China has 668 million Internet users, accounting for 48.8 percent of the country's total population, as e-commerce boomed in the world's second-largest economy, authorities said.
A total of 18.94 million new users -- more than the population of Chile -- were added in the first six months of this year, the semi-official China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) said in its biannual report.

Source: http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/china/15040801.html

<more at http://www.france24.com/en/20150723-nearly-half-chinas-population-now-online; related links: http://www1.cnnic.cn/ (China Internet Network Information Center) and http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/china/15040801.html (The Internet Industry Has Become the Growth Engine of China)>

Research Data

Scientists Are Hoarding Data And It’s Ruining Medical Research

Major flaws in two massive trials of deworming pills show the importance of sharing data — which most scientists don’t do

Ben Goldacre | July 22, 2015

We like to imagine that science is a world of clean answers, with priestly personnel in white coats, emitting perfect outputs, from glass and metal buildings full of blinking lights.
The reality is a mess. A collection of papers published on Wednesday — on one of the most commonly used medical treatments in the world — show just how bad things have become. But they also give hope.
...A decade later, in 2013, these two economists [Edward Miguel and Michael Kremer] did something that very few researchers have ever done. They handed over their entire dataset to independent researchers on the other side of the world, so that their analyses could be checked in public. What happened next has every right to kick through a revolution in science and medicine.

<more at http://www.buzzfeed.com/bengoldacre/deworming-trials; related links: http://boingboing.net/2015/07/23/when-scientists-hoard-data-no.html (When scientists hoard data, no one can tell what works. July 23, 2015) and http://recode.net/2014/06/07/medicines-big-problem-with-big-data-information-hoarding/ (Medicine’s Big Problem with Big Data: Information Hoarding)>

U. S. Copyright Office

The Copyright Office Belongs in a Library

Parker Higgins | July 23, 2015

It's been an exciting summer for the Library of Congress. Last month, the Librarian Dr. James Billington announced he would soon be stepping down, vacating a seat he's held for some 28 years. That announcement came hot on the heels of a new legislative proposal—the nigh-ungooglable CODE Act, which stands for “Copyright Office for the Digital Economy”—to spin the Copyright Office out of the Library and into its own independent agency. 

Source: http://the1709blog.blogspot.com/2015/05/some-news-from-us-copyright-office.html

...Libraries—and especially the Library of Congress—have an institutional obligation to the public, to the cause of intellectual freedom, and to the principle of access. As the Library puts it, its mission is “to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people.” Given the purpose of copyright itself—to promote the progress of science and the useful arts—that should be the Copyright Office’s mission as well.

<more at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/07/copyright-office-belongs-library> 

Jordan to Launch Digital Learning Platform

Universities to Launch Digital Learning Platform

Venture Magazine | July 21, 2015

Jordan’s public universities are aiming to increase their Internet presence through a new online platform that will pool lectures, examinations, and lesson plans.
The Jordan Universities Network (JUNet), in partnership with Microsoft Jordan, will launch the Jordan Open Courseware Platform—www.elearning.edu.jo—in the autumn.

Source: http://www.junet.edu.jo/

<more at http://www.venturemagazine.me/2015/07/universities-to-launch-digital-learning-platform/; related links: http://www.junet.edu.jo/ (Jordanian Universities Network. [About:Jordanian Universities Network. We are a private organization aimed to serve public and private universities in Jordan through shared services framework model. Our core business is managing the national broadband network of fiber optic cables interconnecting Jordanian public universities for the benefit of cross-collaboration in eLearning, research and multimedia communications. We also offers aggregated services such as Internet connectivity, software licensing, training and ICT and communications infrastructure support.] and http://www.albawaba.com/business/pr/microsoft-jordan-partners-jordan-universities-network-launch-jordan-open-courseware-plat (Microsoft Jordan partners with Jordan Universities network to launch Jordan Open Courseware platform for public universities. June 8, 2015>

Google Expeditions

Google Wants to Take Students Around the World and Beyond with Expeditions (+Video)

Will Fulton | May 29, 2015

Short of the Magic School Bus, class field trips are a logistically-complicated affair, and generally limited to places within easy driving distance of the school. One of the long-promised goals of virtual reality is to enable students to explore the whole universe without leaving the classroom’s confines. Google has now taken tangible steps to make that possibility available to students with the announcement of Expeditions at I/O 2015.

             Source: https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/            

<more at http://www.digitaltrends.com/wearables/google-expeditions-announcement/; related links: https://www.google.com/edu/expeditions/ (Expeditions. Bring Expeditions to Your School or Become a Partner) and http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/07/23/google-expeditions-class-599/ (What Google’s virtual field trips look like in the classroom. July 23, 2015)>

New Dr. Seuss Book Found -- In a Box

New Dr. Seuss Book 'What Pet Should I Get?' Discovered in a Box in his Home

Victoria Ahearn | July 23, 2015

Cathy Goldsmith never thought she'd see a brand new development in Seussville.
The Random House associate publishing director is the last remaining employee at the company to have worked with the late Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.

Source: https://tribwxmi.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/new-dr-seuss-book.jpg

When he died in 1991, she envisioned future publications featuring his older material. But not a completely new book from him.
But as "The Cat in the Hat" says: "But that is not all. Oh no. That is not all."

<more at http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/new-dr-seuss-book-what-pet-should-i-get-discovered-in-a-box-in-his-home-1.2484090; related links: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/books/dr-seuss-book-a-discovery-in-a-box-and-then-a-reconstruction.html (Dr. Seuss Book: Yes, They Found It in a Box. July 21, 2015) and http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/how-a-dr-seuss-tale-lost-in-a-box-found-a-new-life/ (How a Dr. Seuss tale lost in a box found a new life. July 21, 2015)>