Control Center provides one-swipe access to to all your settings and media controls from anywhere on your iPhone (or iPad).
Quick access to system-level toggles has been one of the most constant, consistent power-user feature requests -- nay, demands -- for years now. Everything from jailbreak apps like SBSettings to iOS 6's brief flirtation with URL Schemes for Settings made it a must-have on every geek list, come every Apple iOS keynote. And now, with iOS 7 and Control Center, it's finally a reality.
Control Center gives you quick access to the controls and apps you always seem to need right this second. Just swipe up from any screen ? including the Lock screen ? to do things like switch to Airplane mode, turn Wi-Fi on or off, or adjust the brightness of your display. You can even shine a light on things with a new flashlight. Never has one swipe given you so much control.
And, based on what Apple's shown off to date, here's how it works:
Like Notification Center, Control Center is a layer that you can slide out on top of the main iOS interface. It enjoys the same, bouncing, playful iOS 7 physics, and the same blur effect that mutes but doesn't entirely obliterate what's underneath. Unlike Notification Center, which comes from the top down, Control Center is activated by swiping up from beneath the screen, and rather than dark, smoked glass, it's given a light, frosted effect.
You can access Control Center from anywhere on your iPhone (or iPad), including from the Lock screen.
The top row Control Center provides handy on/off switches for commonly used settings like Airplane mode (which, when turned on, will turn off the cellular radio), the Wi-Fi radio, and the Bluetooth radio, as well as toggles for Do Not Disturb mode, and the portrait/landscape orientation lock. Black means off, white means on.
Next is a slider for screen brightness, and a set of media controls that includes a positional scrubber, the title of the track/episode you're listening to or watching, the name of the album/series that track/episode is from, skip backwards or forwards buttons, pause/play, and a volume slider.
If available, AirDrop and AirPlay occupy the next layer, and allow you to quickly access sheets with their individual options.
The bottom row of icons consists of a Flashlight to toggle the LED flash on or off, and variants of Clock, Calculator, and Camera icons for quickly accessing those apps.
That Control Center functions so much like Notification Center, and even uses similar nomenclature makes it easy to understand, even for non-power-users who haven't been lamenting its absence on iOS for years. It'll give the obsessive compulsive among us nearly instant access to toggles we probably ought not be toggling all the time, but it'll also give plenty of regular people a fast, easy way to get at things as simple as media controls and even a flashlight when they need them.
Swiping up to reveal Control Center will be confusing for people who've spent any time on webOS, BlackBerry 10, some versions of Android, or even the iPad's gesture navigation system, and personally I do find the swiping up as a way to show the fast app switcher/multitasking cards much more intuitive than the double-button click. However, Android's current two-finger swipe down to switch from their version of notification center to their version of control center isn't as easy to use, and ultimately, as goes Apple and iOS 7 will go hundreds of millions of users.
As to the design itself, while I have concerns about the low contrast and thinness of the icons and typography used, overall the usefulness exceeds the usability, and hopefully the latter can at some point be brought up to match the former. Sadly, Apple hasn't said anything about the customizability -- or lack thereof -- of Control Center, but if the past is any indicator, we probably won't be able to change the settings, controls, or apps presented. At least not this go around.
I once wrote that iOS wasn't meant for geeks, and while I still think that's generally true, with iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, Apple is starting to show they now have more than enough love to go around.
Control Center will ship as part of iOS 7 this fall. Check out the resources below for more, and let me know -- how do you like what you've seen of Control Center so far?
NEW YORK (PIX11) ? In response to a story we first reported Thursday, one U.S. Senator is calling this situation involving the fed?s flood insurance program ?outrageous.?
Here?s the situation:? we?ve learned thousands of homeowners are being blindsided with flood claim denials on damage to their foundations, that was clearly caused by Sandy?s flood waters.? The Sass family from Manasquan, New Jersey is the perfect example.? Like most coastal homeowners, they have flood insurance through the federal government?s National Flood Insurance Program, NFIP.? When they noticed clear cracks in their foundation after the storm, they thought for certain, they were covered.? Then, their claim was denied, not because the damage was being disputed, but because the policy language (which was written by Congress in recent years) says it ?will not insure loss to property caused directly by earth movement, even if the movement is caused by flood.?
Angie Hu, a spokeswoman for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sent this statement, saying, ?Senator Gillibrand finds this report about thousands of homeowners having their flood insurance claims denied due to bureaucratic fine print to be outrageous. The Senator is looking into ways to change this policy so families devastated by super storm Sandy get the resources needed to rebuild and recover.?
It is a good thing she is looking into this because it will literally take an act of Congress to change the language so these people are protected by the very policy they paid into.
We contacted the NFIP through FEMA?s DC office and no one has called or emailed back.
Keep in mind, this is the very same flood program that is also requiring people to elevate their homes or else they risk coverage refusal completely. And for those residents who have faulty foundations, they cannot raise their homes unless they fix their foundations.? So those folks are either forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild from the ground up or they have to walk away from their homes completely.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center left, is greeted by Aman Puri, with the Indian protocol office, upon arrival in New Delhi, India on Sunday, June 23, 2013, on his first visit to India as secretary. At right is U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center left, is greeted by Aman Puri, with the Indian protocol office, upon arrival in New Delhi, India on Sunday, June 23, 2013, on his first visit to India as secretary. At right is U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to the traveling press on board the airplane as he leaves Doha, Qatar en route to New Delhi, on Sunday, June 23, 2013. In Qatar Kerry spent time discussing Syria and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
NEW DELHI (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will urge fast-growing India on Sunday to curb emissions that contribute to global warming and ease barriers to U.S. business and investment in the world's largest democracy that is viewed as a counterweight to China.
New Delhi is the second stop on Kerry's two-week visit to seven countries in the Mideast and Asia. During his stay, the top U.S. diplomat also is expected to discuss a myriad of other topics, including enhancing security in the region and prospects for finding a political resolution to the war in Afghanistan.
Kerry has traveled to India before, but his two-day visit is his first to the country as secretary of state. He is to deliver a speech that will focus on climate change along with other bilateral issues.
India has installed about 1,000 megawatts of solar power in the past 2 1/2 years ? about one fifth with American financing. Education also will figure prominently in their discussions. India is facing the challenge of educating about 500 million young people during the next decade or so and there is an opportunity for U.S. schools to help meet the demand.
Discussions also will include India's relationship with its archenemy, Pakistan, and the hope that Pakistan's new president, Nawaz Sharif, will try to improve relations, thus reducing the chance of a fourth major war between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Kerry is talking about climate change just two days before President Barack Obama is to unveil his long-awaited national plan on the issue.
People consulting with White House officials on Obama's plan say they expect the president to put forth regulations on heat-trapping gases emitted by coal-fired power plants that are already running. Environmental groups have been pleading with Obama to take that step, but the administration has said it's focused first on controls on new power plants.
More than half of India's power comes from coal and while the U.S. has emission issues of its own, it wants to see India and other nations in the region rely less on old, coal generation facilities. The U.S. is backing a Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline that would bring energy to a power-starved region.
Venezuela's opposition leader Capriles says he's losing space on the airwaves, so he's turned to the Internet to get his voice heard.
By Andrew Rosati,?Correspondent / June 21, 2013
Henrique Capriles (c.), Venezuela's opposition leader and governor of Miranda state, greets supporters during a visit to the community of San Francisco de Yare, 45 miles south of Caracas, May 31. Capriles aired the second episode of his Internet program this week as part of his ongoing efforts to maintain coverage.
Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters
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Claiming he's been increasingly ignored by local media outlets, former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles aired the second episode of his Internet program this week as part of his ongoing efforts to maintain coverage.?
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"Some are interested in blocking information and making us invisible, but here we are," Mr. Capriles told the nearly 37,000 viewers of his hour-long, weekly Web-streamed program Venezuela Somos Todos, or All of Us are Venezuela.
Capriles is the first Venezuelan politician on the national stage to follow in the footsteps of former President Hugo Ch?vez in creating his own show. Mr. Ch?vez was famous for his rambling, marathon broadcasts on his talk show Al? Presidente (Hello Mr. President), a staple of his presidency.
Despite his gift for gab, the charismatic president often clashed with private media. Dozens of radio stations and a handful of cable channels were closed following the 2002 coup attempt, as Ch?vez largely blamed these outlets responsible for his brief ousting.
In addition to a shrinking media market, several important outlets have recently changed hands. Venezuela's opposition leader claims he's losing space on the airwaves and has since turned to the Internet to ensure his voice is heard. Capriles may now be making headlines as Twitter's most popular Latin American politician (second only to the late Ch?vez); however, analysts fear that social media and Web streams may struggle to compete with TV and radio news programming dominated by the state-run media, essentially keeping opposition media in an echo chamber.
Sale of Globovisi?n
Globovisi?n, widely considered to be the last standing television station to aggressively criticize the Ch?vez regime, was sold last month to a group of businessmen believed to be friendly with the government.
"It's a huge loss," says Mariana Bacalao, a media expert and professor at the Central University of Venezuela. Ms. Bacalao says options are shrinking for messages that don't walk the government line.
Observers say a narrow media market is a threat to freedom of information. "Clearly, when the [media] spectrum is only filled with official voices, the public loses diversity," says Carlos Laur?a, senior Americas program coordinator at the Center to Protect Journalists in New York.
Since the string of closures,?Globovisi?n was the only Venezuelan news network to regularly broadcast the opposition party's speeches live. Especially during the most recent presidential campaign.
Underscoring the quick change in editorial line after the sale, one outspoken Globovisi?n talk show host, Francisco "Kiko" Bautista, claimed he was fired for airing Capriles' speeches on his show shortly after the channel changed ownership.
But concerns go beyond just losing valuable airtime. Media group, Cadena Capriles ? which owns Venezuela's largest circulated print daily, ?ltimas Noticas ? was sold to an unidentified buyer earlier this month. The sale of the conglomerate, who's founder is said to be a distant relative of Capriles the politician, has led many to fear that Venezuelan newspapers will relegate opposition coverage to the back page.
'Alternative means'
"[We've been] forced to develop alternative means to expand access to our message," Capriles told reporters in his studio following Tuesday's broadcast.
Capriles fielded questions from a panel of journalists and responded to inquiries sent to his twitter feed during the hour-long show.
"The majority of Venezuelans still rely on traditional media [print and television] for their news and information,? Bacalao says. So, though the young Miranda State governor currently boasts about 3.5 million Twitter followers, his audience is likely to be specifically seeking him out. The Venezuelan Chamber of Electronic Commerce estimates that as much as half the public lacks Internet access.
Election season
At present, the opposition may be more concerned with upcoming municipal elections than pushing back against the government for space on the airwaves. Elections were recently announced for December 2013. The opposition is now gearing up for a renewed campaign, even developing a smart phone app to help connect voters to its candidates.
Marianela Balbi, executive director of Venezuela's Institute of Press and Society, says the opposition's efforts are part of greater media shift in the country in response to the closure of many outlets. "In [Venezuelan] elections there's a push away from traditional media," Ms. Balbi says.
Pointing to polarization in the media, and utilization of social media by the entire political spectrum ? Ch?vez started the twitter trend, constantly sending out endorsements of his party's candidates ? Balbi argues that, "We're moving away from a just few outlets, to greater participation by the electorate."
She says Venezuelans are now turning more to Twitter and Facebook to form their political opinions.
While it's too soon to tell if tweets and web streams can try to compete with the presence and accessibility to Venezuelan television, Balbi says that, given its options, the opposition's Internet-based efforts "are necessary."
National Archive documents recently released show that the UK government's very own UFO department, which had reported on sightings for over 50 years, was shut down three years ago. The department apparently never revealed any "potential threats" to the country, so the Ministry of Defence closed both the hotline and email address that fielded the public's sightings of UFOs. A civil servant briefed the current defence minister, Bob Ainsworth, saying: "The level of resources diverted to this task is increasing in response to a recent upsurge in reported sightings, diverting staff from more valuable defence-related activities." The recently released files also covered some of the sightings reported from across the UK in 2009, which included, perhaps unsurprisingly, Stonehenge.
ASTORIA -- The sturgeon came easily to the boat, offering just cursory tugging against the reel's relentless winch.
Son Bill Jr., occupied on the boat's opposite rail with a second, obviously much-larger fish on a friend's line, glanced nervously from time to time to ensure the double-hookup didn't become a single nightmare of a tangle.
"Does it feel big, dad?" he shouted over the net poised at his shoulder. "Keep it clear if you can. Let me know if it's net-able."
That last syllable barely reached my ears when the water exploded in my face. An angry six-foot sturgeon, only its tail still in the water, looked me in the eye then fell away and
charged off toward Tongue Point on a line-tearing run.
"It's pretty net-able," I shouted ... almost in unison with Casey Brown of Milwaukie, standing at my side to stay out of Bill Jr.'s way.
As it turned out, of course, neither fish was netted because both were clearly too long for the 54-inch maximum retention limit and couldn't legally be lifted from the water even if we were up to it. Bill simply drew each one close, turned it upside down (it calms a sturgeon) and pulled the barbless hook free.
Five of us returned to port with one-fish limits after nearly 20 bites and a dozen or so landed; four too long to keep.
I never ever thought I'd see the proverbial "last fish" caught, but it was more than an old saw Tuesday. We were barely out of the water when an emergency meeting of the Columbia River Compact was called. I drove home just in time to hear the tail end as biologists in both states shut down the remainder of the Astoria-area retention season (Thursday evening).
Further, fishing has been so good this year it's virtually certain there will be no further retention allowed upriver to Bonneville Dam, which had been scheduled to reopen in October.
Retention also is now closed in the Bonneville Pool reservoir, leaving The Dalles, John Day and McNary pools -- each has a pretty small quota, however.
Two more local retention seasons will create a boating birds nest on the Willamette River, where 1,733 legals have been earmarked for July 11-13 and (if not all are caught) July 18-20.
It takes little imagination to visualize the meeting of hundreds of sturgeon hopefuls and the peak of the recreational boating season.
No additional restrictions are in store for the Oregon Coast, where highly nomadic white sturgeon are found in most estuaries from time to time. Tillamook, Umpqua and Coos bays seem to have the most, with others found in Siuslaw, Yaquina and less frequently in the upper Nehalem.
On Jan. 1, 2014, sturgeon officially become a living relic and no retention at all will be allowed in either state as the states cope with a population decline for what will likely be years to come.
The most common type of heart disease occurs when blood vessels that supply the heart become too narrow to deliver adequate blood. When such disease cannot be controlled with medications, doctors may suggest a procedure to open the blocked blood vessel. This procedure is called a percutaneous coronary intervention ? or PCI.
Similar to the repair of a clogged pipe, the PCI opens the blocked blood vessel to allow better blood flow to the heart. Developed by cardiologists in Georgia, PCIs are now common, with more than 600,000 done in the U.S. yearly.
PCIs have traditionally been performed through a small incision in the groin, and the most frequent complications are bleeding and damage to surrounding blood vessels.
Recently, cardiologists have been able to perform the procedure using a new approach: a small incision near the wrist rather than the groin.
A new study published in the heart journal Circulation shows that the wrist approach is growing in use and has a lower rate of complications.
Dr. Dmitriy Feldman, assistant professor of medicine at Cornell University, and colleagues analyzed nearly 3 million PCIs performed between 2007 and 2012 in a large national database maintained by the American College of Cardiology.
They compared procedures that were performed with a wrist incision vs. those performed with a groin incision. They found that in 2007 fewer than 2 percent of the PCIs used the wrist approach. By 2012, one in every six used the procedure.
During this time, PCIs performed using the wrist had better outcomes for patients, cutting the rates of bleeding and blood-vessel complications in half while maintaining the same rate of success. These findings held true even after adjusting for differences in age and degree of illness among patients.
Unfortunately, all patients may not be candidates for the wrist approach because of the size of blood vessels in their wrist and the type of PCI being performed.
Also, because the wrist approach is a newer technique, not all cardiologists are trained to perform it.
Going forward, more PCIs will likely be performed through the wrist and patients can look forward to a reduced likelihood of complications.
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Student engagement more complex, changeable than thoughtPublic release date: 20-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Adam Reger reger@pitt.edu 412-624-4238 University of Pittsburgh
Pitt research paves way toward giving educators tools to recognize, correct disengagement among students
"Enhancing student engagement has been identified as the key to addressing problems of low achievement, high levels of student misbehavior, alienation, and high dropout rates." Pitt professor Ming-Te Wang
PITTSBURGHA student who shows up on time for school and listens respectfully in class might appear fully engaged to outside observers, including teachers. But other measures of student engagement, including the student's emotional and cognitive involvement with the course material, may tell a different storyone that could help teachers recognize students who are becoming less invested in their studies, according to a new study coauthored by a University of Pittsburgh researcher.
More importantly for educators, the study, published online in the professional journal Learning and Instruction, suggests that student engagementessential for success in schoolis malleable, and can be improved by promoting a positive school environment. The result paves the way for future work to offer teachers diagnostic tools for recognizing disengagement, as well as strategies for creating a school environment more conducive to student engagement.
"Enhancing student engagement has been identified as the key to addressing problems of low achievement, high levels of student misbehavior, alienation, and high dropout rates," said Ming-Te Wang, assistant professor of psychology in education in the School of Education and of psychology in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at Pitt, who coauthored the study with Jacquelynne S. Eccles, the Wilbert McKeachie and Paul Pintrich Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Michigan.
"When we talk about student engagement, we tend to talk only about student behavior," Wang added. "But my coauthor and I feel like that doesn't tell us the whole story. Emotion and cognition are also very important."
Wang and Eccles' study is among the first attempts by researchers to use data to explore a multidimensional approach to the question of student engagement. In the past, only behavioral measures of student engagementsuch as class attendance, turning in homework on time, and classroom participationhad been evaluated when gauging student engagement. By conducting a study linking students' perceptions of the school environment with behavior, the authors have provided one of the first pieces of empirical research supporting the viability of the multidimensional perspective, which had previously been largely theoretical.
The researchers designed a 100-question survey that includes the evaluation of emotional engagement and cognitive engagement. Sample survey questions that tested emotional engagement in classes across all subject areas asked students to agree or disagree with statements such as "I find schoolwork interesting" and "I feel excited by the work in school." Sample questions concerning cognitive engagement asked students to provide ratings to questions like "How often do you make academic plans for solving problems?" and "How often do you try to relate what you are studying to other things you know about?"
Using the survey, Wang and Eccles conducted a two-year longitudinal study, tracking approximately 1,200 Maryland students from seventh through eighth grade. The authors also measured students' perceptions of their environment by having them answer questions in five areas: school structure support, which gauged the clarity of teacher expectations; provision of choice, which assessed students' opportunities to make learning-related decisions; teaching for relevance, which evaluated the frequency of activities deemed relevant to students' personal interests and goals; students' perceptions of the emotional support offered by teachers; and students' perceptions of how positive their relationships were with fellow students.
The authors found that students who felt that the subject matter being taught and the activities provided by their teachers were meaningful and related to their goals were more emotionally and cognitively engaged than were their peers. Adding measures of emotional and cognitive engagement could broaden researchers' perspectives on student engagement in future work in this area.
Also among the paper's main findings is that the school environment can and, indeed, should be changed if it is impeding student engagement. A positive and supportive school environment is marked, Wang said, by "positive relationships with teachers and peers. Schools must provide opportunities for students to make their own choices. But they also must create a more structured environment so students know what to do, what to expect, from school." Wang also noted, however, that there is no "one size fits all" strategy to the problem of student engagement.
"Usually people say, 'Yes, autonomy is beneficial. We want to provide students with choices in school,'" Wang said. "This is the case for high achievers, but not low achievers. Low achievers want more structure, more guidelines."
As a result, Wang said, teachers must take into account individual variation among students in order to fulfill the needs of each student.
Wang's current work, undertaken in partnership with six Allegheny County school districts, focuses on developing a diagnostic tool that teachers can use to identify students who are disengaged from school, with a specific emphasis on math and science classes.
###
The paper is titled "School context, achievement motivation, and academic engagement: A longitudinal study of school engagement using a multidimensional perspective." It is scheduled to appear in the December 2013 print issue of Learning and Instruction. It appeared online in that publication May 21, 2013. This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Student engagement more complex, changeable than thoughtPublic release date: 20-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Adam Reger reger@pitt.edu 412-624-4238 University of Pittsburgh
Pitt research paves way toward giving educators tools to recognize, correct disengagement among students
"Enhancing student engagement has been identified as the key to addressing problems of low achievement, high levels of student misbehavior, alienation, and high dropout rates." Pitt professor Ming-Te Wang
PITTSBURGHA student who shows up on time for school and listens respectfully in class might appear fully engaged to outside observers, including teachers. But other measures of student engagement, including the student's emotional and cognitive involvement with the course material, may tell a different storyone that could help teachers recognize students who are becoming less invested in their studies, according to a new study coauthored by a University of Pittsburgh researcher.
More importantly for educators, the study, published online in the professional journal Learning and Instruction, suggests that student engagementessential for success in schoolis malleable, and can be improved by promoting a positive school environment. The result paves the way for future work to offer teachers diagnostic tools for recognizing disengagement, as well as strategies for creating a school environment more conducive to student engagement.
"Enhancing student engagement has been identified as the key to addressing problems of low achievement, high levels of student misbehavior, alienation, and high dropout rates," said Ming-Te Wang, assistant professor of psychology in education in the School of Education and of psychology in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at Pitt, who coauthored the study with Jacquelynne S. Eccles, the Wilbert McKeachie and Paul Pintrich Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Michigan.
"When we talk about student engagement, we tend to talk only about student behavior," Wang added. "But my coauthor and I feel like that doesn't tell us the whole story. Emotion and cognition are also very important."
Wang and Eccles' study is among the first attempts by researchers to use data to explore a multidimensional approach to the question of student engagement. In the past, only behavioral measures of student engagementsuch as class attendance, turning in homework on time, and classroom participationhad been evaluated when gauging student engagement. By conducting a study linking students' perceptions of the school environment with behavior, the authors have provided one of the first pieces of empirical research supporting the viability of the multidimensional perspective, which had previously been largely theoretical.
The researchers designed a 100-question survey that includes the evaluation of emotional engagement and cognitive engagement. Sample survey questions that tested emotional engagement in classes across all subject areas asked students to agree or disagree with statements such as "I find schoolwork interesting" and "I feel excited by the work in school." Sample questions concerning cognitive engagement asked students to provide ratings to questions like "How often do you make academic plans for solving problems?" and "How often do you try to relate what you are studying to other things you know about?"
Using the survey, Wang and Eccles conducted a two-year longitudinal study, tracking approximately 1,200 Maryland students from seventh through eighth grade. The authors also measured students' perceptions of their environment by having them answer questions in five areas: school structure support, which gauged the clarity of teacher expectations; provision of choice, which assessed students' opportunities to make learning-related decisions; teaching for relevance, which evaluated the frequency of activities deemed relevant to students' personal interests and goals; students' perceptions of the emotional support offered by teachers; and students' perceptions of how positive their relationships were with fellow students.
The authors found that students who felt that the subject matter being taught and the activities provided by their teachers were meaningful and related to their goals were more emotionally and cognitively engaged than were their peers. Adding measures of emotional and cognitive engagement could broaden researchers' perspectives on student engagement in future work in this area.
Also among the paper's main findings is that the school environment can and, indeed, should be changed if it is impeding student engagement. A positive and supportive school environment is marked, Wang said, by "positive relationships with teachers and peers. Schools must provide opportunities for students to make their own choices. But they also must create a more structured environment so students know what to do, what to expect, from school." Wang also noted, however, that there is no "one size fits all" strategy to the problem of student engagement.
"Usually people say, 'Yes, autonomy is beneficial. We want to provide students with choices in school,'" Wang said. "This is the case for high achievers, but not low achievers. Low achievers want more structure, more guidelines."
As a result, Wang said, teachers must take into account individual variation among students in order to fulfill the needs of each student.
Wang's current work, undertaken in partnership with six Allegheny County school districts, focuses on developing a diagnostic tool that teachers can use to identify students who are disengaged from school, with a specific emphasis on math and science classes.
###
The paper is titled "School context, achievement motivation, and academic engagement: A longitudinal study of school engagement using a multidimensional perspective." It is scheduled to appear in the December 2013 print issue of Learning and Instruction. It appeared online in that publication May 21, 2013. This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Loch Ness monster: If the Loch Ness Monster is a myth, should Scotland tell tourists? Is that bad for business?
By David Clark Scott,?Staff writer / June 15, 2013
An undated photo shows a shadowy shape that some people say is a photo of the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. Local business are arguing over how to best sell the myth to tourists.
(AP Photo, File)
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If you're selling a serpent, or rather a mythical serpent, how much spin is too much?
Skip to next paragraph David Clark Scott
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David Clark Scott leads a small team at CSMonitor.com that?s part Skunkworks, part tech-training, part journalism.
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That seems to be gist of the latest Loch Ness monster spat.
Tourism is big business in the Scottish Highlands. And nothing draws folks to Scotland's second-longest lake like a good Loch Ness monster sighting.
But two local businessmen have set off a tempest in a serpent's teapot over how honest to be with tourists about whether there is ? or isn't ? a sea monster in Loch Ness.
George Edwards, who runs Loch Ness Cruises, complained that some of the other members of the Drumnadrochit, Scotland, Chamber of Commerce are leaving tourists - especially those visiting the Loch Ness Centre - with the impression that the Loch Ness monster is just a "myth."
That, in his opinion, is bad for business.
"Just about every time that [Centre researcher Adrian] Shine appears in the media he talks about big fish and big waves," Mr Edwards said in a letter to the chamber of commerce. "I believe they are doing more harm than good in promoting Loch Ness tourism with their negative theories... How many people come here to see the Loch Ness Big Fish or the Loch Ness Big Wave?"
The Loch Ness Centre seems to be trying to walk the line between the sea monster "sightings" and sharing information on the scientific research that has been done at the Loch. "On one hand, the loch's famous "Jurassic Park" reputation, 1000 reliable eye-witnesses and some classic photography. On the other hand, hoaxes and illusions, Scotland's journey and the legacy of the ice, life in the abyss and a possible underlying truth," says the Centre's website.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Tony Harmsworth, the former boss of the Loch Ness Centre, responded to Mr. Edward's accusations with a letter of his own posted on the chamber of commerce website (since removed), and he accused Edward's of "palming his customers off with fake photographs."
The Scotsman reports that "The row has led to resignations from the Chamber of Commerce, including Debbie MacGregor of the Loch Ness Centre, and Tony Harmsworth, its former chairman, who has quit as editor of the chamber?s website."
But this is not the first time locals - or others - have haggled over how to promote Loch Ness. A BBC article recently posed this question: "Is Nessie just a tourist conspiracy?"
The article is based on the work of Dr. Charles Paxton, a research fellow and statistical ecologist at St Andrew's University, who has so far sifted through 800 of the 1,000 recorded sightings. Paxton observes: a sizeable number of 'Nessie' sightings came from cafe and hotel proprietors.
Skeptics have long questioned the veracity of the Loch Ness monster. In 1982, The Christian Science Monitor's Robert C. Cowen reported on a three-part series published in New Scientist that attributed many of the sightings to otters and old logs floated by methane gas. "Gases formed by slow decay would accumulate in the log until they made it buoyant enough to shoot to the surface." By examining photos of purported sightings, researchers noted that some folks were apparently taking pictures of otters, not sea serpents.? "In Scotland, otters may grow to be six feet long with records of 7.5 to 8 feet. Large otters frolicking on the surface could look serpentlike. What is more, lines of otters could look like a long serpent when the lead otter rears up to look around."
The truth is out there. But are Loch Ness tourists willing to pay for it?
Phew! Wasn't that fun? After months and months of abundant speculations, the opening keynote at WWDC 2013 finally allowed us to see some of the things Apple's been working on since its last major event. Still, we can only imagine how keeping track of today's announcements can become a slightly complicated task -- especially with E3 happening as we speak. The good news for you is that, as they did earlier in the day, Tim Stevens and Darren Murph will be hosting a live video broadcast right across the street from where the conference is taking place. So, head on past the jump, where you'll be able to watch along as the Engadget duo goes over the new stuff Apple just unveiled.
SEATTLE (AP) - Chris Stewart was grateful for the opportunity to bat with a runner in scoring position in the ninth inning. Yankees manager Joe Girardi was pleased he came through.
Stewart had a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth and David Phelps matched efforts with Felix Hernandez for six innings to help New York beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 on Sunday.
"It's really nice. Usually I don't get a chance to be in that spot, especially with right-hander out there," said the journeyman catcher. "Fortunately, Joe had confidence in me and I went up there trying to see a ball up and over the plate. Fortunately, he left one for me and I was able put I through the hole."
Ichiro Suzuki drew a walk from Yoervis Medina (1-2) to open the ninth. Jayson Nix sacrificed him to second. Then with two outs, Stewart bounced a grounder to through the left side as Suzuki, the former Mariners star, scored easily to help New York take three of four from Seattle.
The "book" would dictate that Girardi pinch-hit for Stewart with a left-handed bat off his bench such as Lyle Overbay. But Girardi said that would have prompted Mariners manager Eric Wedge to go with a lefty reliever.
"K Long liked the matchup," Girardi said of hitting coach Kevin Long, "and so did I. So we stuck with it. Sometimes you're thinking about your hitter and what he likes. And we liked the matchup.
"He's had some big RBIs for us, maybe none bigger than this one," he added.
Mariano Rivera allowed two hits and a walk in the bottom of the ninth in finishing for his 23rd save in 24 opportunities this season and majors-best 631st of his career. Rivera has converted 37 of 39 save chances in his career against Seattle.
David Robertson (4-1), who worked out of an eighth-inning jam, earned the victory.
Brett Gardner had four hits for the Yankees, finishing 8 for 14 for the three-game series. It was his second four-hit game this season.
Phelps worked six innings, allowed just three hits, one run and struck out six. He walked three. Hernandez went one inning deeper, giving up five hits and two walks in seven innings. He allowed a run and struck out seven.
The Yankees had their best chance to get to Hernandez early, loading the bases in the first inning. Gardner singled to right and, with two outs, Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells walked. It was first time Hernandez issued back-to-back walks this season.
Suzuki then struck out on a pitch in the dirt.
Hernandez threw 26 pitches in the inning, the second most pitches he has thrown in an inning this season. That ultimately limited his staying power at the back end, leaving after throwing 108 pitches through seven.
"The first inning we had a couple full-count walks but we really forced him to make pitches all day," Stewart said. "We were not just going up there swinging. It had a wear and tear on his body. He really had to work out there. Going seven is still pretty good, but we were lucky to get him out then."
Hernandez said, "I was struggling the first two innings. I was opening too quick. I was up and wild. After that, I just tried to calm down and make good pitches."
The Yankees pushed a run across in the second. Jayson Nix opened with a single through the right side and stolen second. With one out, Stewart reached on a bunt, moving Nix to third. Gardner sent him home with a single to center.
But the Mariners came right back in the bottom half. Kelly Shoppach hit a one-out double to left and Michael Saunders moved him to third with a groundout. He scored on Brendan Ryan's infield single to deep short.
That would be that last hit by the Mariners over the next 5 1-3 innings. Phelps retired 10 straight batters at one point, five by strikeouts.
Hernandez also settled in as he allowed just one hit over the last 18 batters he faced, striking out the final two in the seventh.
It was Hernandez's 22nd career no-decision when pitching at least seven innings and allowing one or no runs. He remains 8-5 in 16 career starts against the Yankees with a 2.89 ERA.
"We can't keep watching this. We've got to be better offensively," Wedge said. "When we do create opportunities, we're not taking advantage of them."
The Mariners had their best chance to go ahead in the eighth. Alex Liddi opened with a double to right off Robertson. Ryan sacrifice him to third. But Robertson struck out both Jason Bay and Nick Franklin.
"I was just looking to hit it," said Bay, on his at-bat. "There's times I strike out as much as anybody but by the time he threw three nasty curveballs there was really not a lot I could do."
Kyle Seager's single in the ninth extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
NOTES: The Yankees won the season series over the Mariners, 4-3. The Yankees are 9-0-2 in season series against Seattle since 2003. ... The Mariners traded minor league infielder Vinnie Catricala, 24, to Oakland for a player to be named or cash considerations. Catricala was designated for assignment June 2 when RHP Jeremy Bonderman was selected from Triple-A Tacoma. . Kevin Youkilis was held out of the Yankee lineup because of lower back stiffness. He hurt the back sliding into first Saturday on a defensive play. With Monday's off day, Manager Joe Girardi hopes two full days out of the lineup can help him recover. ... Gardner's first-inning stolen base gave him 147 for his Yankee career. That passed Bert Daniels and tied Bernie Williams and Tony Lazzeri for 13th place on the franchise's list. ... Three members of the U.S. National soccer team were part of the first-pitch ceremony, goalkeeper Tim Howard, forwards Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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The return of Natitude?
CSN: Davey Johnson called on the Nationals to be more aggressive ahead of their doubleheader with the Twins. It paid off in the form of a sweep.
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Edith Bunker had to deal with her trying husband Archie and more. Here are challenges that faced the "All in the Family" character played by Jean Stapleton, who made the most of these series highlights. The actress died Friday at age 90.
? A breast cancer scare that she tried to hide from the family.
? An intruder's attempted sexual assault, which she thwarted with a hot cake to his face.
? Fiery clashes between her liberal cousin Maude (Bea Arthur) and conservative Archie (Carroll O'Connor).
? The mood swings of menopause, which prompted her to turn the tables on Archie and tell him to "stifle!"
? Fretting that she was a kleptomanic after absent-mindedly taking a wig from a store.
? A confrontation with Archie over his broken promise to give up gambling.
? Enduring a test of faith after a female-impersonator friend is murdered.
? The discovery that Archie was pursuing an extramarital affair.
? Losing her job after she helped a woman fulfill her right-to-die wish.
? A stroke that led to Edith's off-camera death after Stapleton decided to move on.
While the public decides how to deal with Google Glass-wearing cyborgs walking among us, there are already startups trying to add facial recognition to the device. That includes the MedRef for Glass app for Doctors and an API created by Lambda Labs that's on the way. Unfortunately, apparently due to privacy concerns, a post tonight by the Project Glass team says that it will not approve any app using the tech for release -- at least until it has some privacy protections in place. That's the same standard it previously said would need to be met before it added facial recognition to its own services.
We've been listening closely to you, and many have expressed both interest and concern around the possibilities of facial recognition in Glass. As Google has said for several years, we won't add facial recognition features to our products without having strong privacy protections in place. With that in mind, we won't be approving any facial recognition Glassware at this time.
Without approval, we don't expect to see any standard apps with the API built-in, however with the headset's current wide open nature, we assume interested hackers will be able to get the software running if they so desire. So, how comfortable do you feel having a conversation with someone wearing Glass, considering third parties may add extra features even if Google itself is not involved? Check out the full statement from Google linked below, as well as a look at Lambda Labs from TechCrunch.
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Public release date: 20-Jun-2013
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