Ferrari puts brakes on staff emails

Luxury carmaker limits employees' ability to send group emails in attempt to encourage people to 'talk more and write less'

 It makes some of the fastest cars on the planet, but the Italian manufacturer Ferrari is concerned that the indiscriminate use of emails in the office is slowing down its employees.

So, in a move likely to spark fresh debate about the intricacies of workplace netiquette, the company – one of Italy's leading luxury brands – has decided to clamp down on the number of group emails sent and remind staff that, as tiresome as it may be, they should perhaps "talk to each other more and write less".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/04/ferrari-puts-brakes-staff-emails 

English rude word enters German language

Germany's standard dictionary has included a vulgar English term, used by Chancellor Angela Merkel among others, as an acceptable German word.

Duden, the equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary in the UK, said it was reflecting the common use of the word "shitstorm" among Germans.

The word, which is used in German to denote a public outcry, seems to have caught on during the eurozone crisis.

German language experts voted it "Anglicism of the year" in 2012.

One of them, Michael Mann, explained in a report by the Local newspaper, that the English word conveyed a "new kind of protest... clearly different in kind and degree from what could be expected in the past in response to a statement or action".

In the past there have been controversies over German usage of words like "download", "job-hopping" or "eye-catcher", the BBC's Steve Evans reports from Berlin.

The new word has crept into the language, imported by people who heard its use primarily in American English, he says.

It is used by the highest and lowest in the land and when Chancellor Merkel used it at a public meeting, nobody batted an eyelid, our correspondent adds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23142660 

Sir Ken Robinson: How to Escape Education’s Death Valley

The ever eloquent Sir Ken Robinson contends in this TED Talk that the culture of American education contradicts three principles that make human life thrive: diversity, curiosity and creativity. Humans naturally embody those qualities, but school has become a system based on conformity and testing, qualities that don’t use the natural learning tendencies inherent within every child.

He makes an argument for individualizing learning, but also for valuing teachers and thinking of their professional development as an investment in children and the future.

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/sir-ken-robinson-how-to-escape-educations-death-valley/ 

From World of Warcraft to Weight Loss: How Virtual Reality Can Change Behavior

Most studies involving video games and avatars have been connected with weight gain, but seeing our virtual selves could also melt pounds away — if the avatar adopts the right healthy habits.

The appeal of virtual-reality games lies in their power to simulate realities that we create ourselves — from the mundane familiarity of our own existence to the stimulating excitement of a fantasy world where anything goes. And the appeal of simulated worlds is driving researchers to investigate how these virtual experiences are changing or shaping our behaviors. Does connecting with a virtual version of yourself alter your perception of who you are and what you are capable of doing? And if that’s the case, could such virtual realities become a new tool for influencing social behaviors like relationships, or even lifestyle choices such as exercising, smoking or eating?

http://healthland.time.com/2013/07/01/from-world-of-warcraft-to-weight-loss-how-virtual-reality-can-change-behavior/ 

The Oxford English Dictionary and its chief word detective

Oxford English Dictionary Chief Editor John Simpson is to retire after 37 years at the famous reference work. Here he writes of a life hunting for the evidence behind the birth of words.

Historical dictionaries are not just about definitions.

Every word or phrase has a story, and the historical lexicographer has to tease this story out from whatever documentation can be found. That is one of the pleasures of working on the Oxford English Dictionary. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22378819 

Career Strategies You Probably Hate Your Job — But You Don’t Have To

Seventy percent of U.S. employees are either “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” at work, according to Gallup’s 2013 State of the American Workplace report. Put more simply, most of us hate our jobs. But there are ways to make work more than just a place to count down the seconds until you’re back home again.

http://business.time.com/2013/06/27/you-probably-hate-your-job-but-you-dont-have-to/?iid=biz-main-lead 

Peter Attia: Is the obesity crisis hiding a bigger problem?

As a young surgeon, Peter Attia felt contempt for his obese patient with diabetes. She was overweight, he thought, and thus responsible for the fact that she needed a foot amputation. But years later, Attia received an unpleasant medical surprise that led him to wonder: is our understanding right? Could the precursors to diabetes cause obesity, and not the other way around? A look at how assumptions may be leading us to wage the wrong medical war.

http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_attia_what_if_we_re_wrong_about_diabetes.html 

Warning: Cover Up Your Webcam When Not in Use

The BBC has uncovered an entire industry centering on the buying and selling of access to compromised webcams, especially those owned by women.

Childnet International, a non-profit working to keep kids safe on the Internet, has issued a stern warning to computer owners today: Hackers can take over webcams without your knowledge, so keep them covered up when not in use.

Once your computer is infected by a Trojan virus – often acquired by visiting the wrong website or by opening malicious email attachments – criminals can control your webcam without your knowledge. These types of hackings are rapidly becoming big business: The BBC has uncovered an entire industry centering on the buying and selling of access to compromised webcams, especially those owned by women.

Ultimately, your best protection against such a hacking is to make sure your computer is running up to date anti-virus software. But there are other computer safety precautions you can take as well. “Pointing your webcam at a wall or covering it up can be good practice,” explains Childnet Chief Executive Will Gardner. He also recommends shutting laptop lids when they’re not in use, as cameras are often found immediately above laptop screens.

Independent computer security experts are urging people not to panic over the report, but otherwise confirm that there’s no harm in a little bit of added security to protect your privacy. “The idea of sticking a piece of paper over your webcam is reasonably common among the more paranoid members of the hacker community,” said Josh White, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, to the BBC. “But it’s not necessarily paranoid. It’s useful to be aware.”

This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Techlicious.

http://techland.time.com/2013/06/20/warning-cover-up-your-webcam-when-not-in-use/?iid=obnetwork 

D’awww: Buttercup the Duck Gets a 3D-Printed Foot

Born with a backwards left foot, Buttercup the Duck turns to 3D printing for a replacement.

This duck is named Buttercup. He was born with a backwards left foot.

Buttercup lives in Arlington, Tennessee at the Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary, where owner Mike Garey decided not only to amputate Buttercup’s foot (Garey says it would be too painful and prone to infections), but also to design a replacement foot as well.

Garey used Buttercup’s sister Minnie’s left foot as the basis for the design of Buttercup’s new foot, which he modeled using 3D software. Once the artificial mold was designed, Garey sent the design to a 3D-printing company called NovaCopy, who printed out and donated a three-dimensional mold of the foot.

That mold was used to create and test various silicone feet for Buttercup to try out on his non-footed leg. As CNET reports, “Buttercup, currently walking around on his stump, is due to get his new foot very soon, with the final design arriving in the next two weeks.”

http://techland.time.com/2013/06/27/dawww-buttercup-the-duck-gets-a-3d-printed-foot/

Can we make ourselves happier?

Can we make ourselves happier? According to studies from all over the globe collated by the World Happiness Database in Rotterdam, we can. But the path to happiness may not be where we are looking for it.

Professor Ruut Veenhoven, Director of the Database and Emeritus professor of social conditions for human happiness at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, says his own study found a slight negative correlation between the number of times people in a study spontaneously mentioned "goals" and their happiness.

"Though it is generally assumed that you need goals to lead a happy life, evidence is mixed. The reason seems to be that unhappy people are more aware of their goals, because they seek to change their life for the better."

But perhaps the most intriguing finding from an array of studies on file at the database is the lack of correlation between seeing meaning in life and being happy. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23097143 

The Happiness of Pursuit

If you're an American and you're not having fun, it just might be your own fault. Our long national expedition is entering its 238th year, and from the start, it was clear that this would be a bracing place to live. There would be plenty of food, plenty of land, plenty of minerals in the mountains and timber in the wilderness. You might have to work hard, but you'd have a grand time doing it.

 http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2146449,00.html

Who’s Happy Around the World?