In The News

Blinded by Science

Timothy Caulfield August 26, 2011
The unscrupulous know the desperately sick will risk all for potential cures. Experimental stem-cell treatment is but the latest quest in medical tourism, propelled by the internet and social media. Patients with autism, Alzheimer’s and other conditions travel to China, India or Central America seeking treatment from providers “generating false hope, robbing families of their resources, and...

Driving Campaign for Saudi Women Challenges Custom

Mohammed Jamjoom June 21, 2011
An Arab Spring may be coming to Saudi Arabia on wheels. Saudi women take to the streets, not for political protests but the right to drive. “Though there are no traffic laws that make it illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia, religious edicts are often interpreted as a ban against female drivers,” reports Mohammed Jamjoom for CNN. In May, one female driver was detained for a week and had to...

African Jitters Over Blogs and Social Media

Karen Allen June 17, 2011
The Arab spring uprisings let loose a cry over social media and on the streets for better governance. African governments have since turned to any means necessary to censor criticism in blogs or social media, reports the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, working with Google’s South Africa office. Of the Africans with internet access, 80 percent rely on mobile phone, reports BBC’s...

A European Generation Takes to the Streets

Mathieu von Rohr, Helene Zuber June 13, 2011
Europe’s youth are showing new awareness of the implications of deficit spending, a lack of jobs, widening gaps in income and social protections, and other systemic problems. Governments in Europe, like those in Arab states, must contend with discontent as increasing numbers of educated, yet unemployed youth analyze their plight, organize protests and develop policy proposals via social media....

The Social Era of the Web Starts Now

John Rennie, Glenn Zorpette June 3, 2011
Computers and the internet have evolved as social tools, and software developers compete to win an increasing number of supporters. “We are about to witness the next great conflict of the information age, a rich and complicated match on the scale of mainframes vs. micros, RISC vs. CISC, Windows vs. Unix,” write John Rennie and Glenn Zorpette for Spectrum of IEEE. “Like those battles, Google-...

As China’s Workers Get a Raise, Companies Fret

Keith Bradsher May 31, 2011
Much like bargain-hunting consumers who go online to compare prices, workers around the globe are using Facebook and other social media to compare notes on workplace conditions and salaries, reports Keith Bradsher for the New York Times. The result is double-digit wage hikes, leading to higher prices for shoppers and shrinking profit margins for companies. Apparel factories are concentrated in...