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Coder’s delight: TuneTable teaches kids programming basics by making music

December 20, 2016

“Coder’s Delight: TuneTable Teaches Kids Programming Basics by Making Music” featured LMC professor Brian Magerko's project EarSketch
Yahoo! Finance - December 20, 2016

Excerpt

As some states consider computer coding as a foreign-language high school credit, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Northwestern University are developing a musical table to teach kids the basics of programming. They’re calling the interactive exhibit TuneTable, and they hope its vibe will resonate with youth across the United States. The table emerged from a design challenge that Brian Magerko, the project lead and an associate professor at GT, posed to his students. Magerko and his team had already created EarSketch, an online platform that allows high school students to make music through code, and in doing so practice languages like Python, JavaScript, and Blockly by blending beats, effects, and samples. Magerko asked his college students to apply a similar approach to an informal learning environment, and to compress the weeks’ worth of learning time involved in EarSketch to just a few minutes.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/coder-delight-tunetable-helps-kids-131121999.html

Published in: Yahoo! Finance
The Must-Read Brain Books Of 2016

December 19, 2016

Forbes’ “The Must-Read Brain Books of 2016” featured LMC professor Ian Bogost’s “Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secret of Games” (Basic Books 2016). Forbes - December 19, 2016

Excerpt:

The best of the brain books in 2016 featured deception, empathy, placebos, gaming, algorithms, microbes and that little voice in your head. Whether touching on psychology, neuroscience or the mind more broadly construed, the eight books on this list are top reads in a genre always popping with new titles… “Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secret of Games” by Ian Bogost (Basic Books) (Georgia Tech). Of all the books on this list, this may be the hardest to describe, and in my assessment that was an asset. The year saw a few new entries in the “Tackle life’s challenges like a game” category, a thesis that’s gaining momentum, but this book goes deeper than most via an enlightening discussion of the role of limits in both games and life. Bogost strikes me as equal parts philosopher and savant game enthusiast—a systems thinker with a penchant for high score formulas—and I’m glad he wrote Play Anything because it’s causing me to look at problems in a different way. Read it and I think you’ll see why.

Published in: Forbes
Publishers Are Playing Around with Games Again

December 15, 2016

Ian Bogost was quoted in DIGIDAY'S article “Publishers Are Playing Around with Games Again:”

Excerpt:

A few years after publishers fell in and out of love with games, they are toying around with them again. In the past couple months, Hearst Digital has begun producing branded puzzle games and quizzes for MSN; both Mic and the Washington Post have begun experimenting with non-branded game bots on platforms like Kik and Facebook Messenger, respectively… Indeed, the just-concluded election seemed to get publishers back into the gaming mood. The New York Times published an Everyday Arcade game called “The Voter Suppression Trail”; The Washington Post launched a mobile game called “Floppy Candidate”; Wonkette worked with the UK-based game developer Auroch Digital on “Game Of U.S. America Elections: The Game,” a turn-based card game it funded on Kickstarter.… These all grabbed headlines. But they never spurred publications to invest more meaningfully in them.

“This stuff is made to be novel rather than to do journalism,” said Ian Bogost, a distinguished chair of media studies at Georgia Tech and the author of “Newsgames.” “[Those games] never rose to the level of becoming speech.”

Published in: Digiday
Startups Need to ‘Stop Disrupting and Start Innovating’

December 12, 2016

Ian Bogost, professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Literature, Media, and Communication, wrote “Startups Need to ‘Stop Disrupting and Start Innovating’” for Wired.

Excerpt:

For years, "disruption" has been the rallying cry of the business of tech. And through tech's influence, disruption has become valued in education, governance and day-to-day life. But there is a bigger idea than upsetting and tearing things asunder: embracing them as they already are and finding respectful, true - and therefore pleasurable and beneficial - ways of improving them.

"Disruption" was popularised in Clayton M Christensen's 1997 book The Innovator's Dilemma. In it, he showed that startups can disrupt the incumbents by appealing to customers' future needs. Christensen's claims have since been disputed, but no matter. Disruption has weathered the storm. Now, every startup wants to disrupt something, from taxis, hotels and shopping to pooing, ageing and even death.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: Wired
Lawrence Rubin on Islam and Ideational Balancing

December 11, 2016

Lawrence Rubin, associate professor in the Ivan Allen College Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, was interviewed in “Lawrence Rubin on Islam and Ideational Balancing,” an episode of the Research On Religion podcast.

Excerpt:

Can the ideas proposed by one nation-state threaten another nation-state? If so, how do the threatened nations respond? We probe these questions with respect to Islam and the two Islamic political revolutions in Iran (1979) and Sudan (1989) with Prof. Lawrence Rubin, an associate professor of political science in Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Prof. Rubin reminisces about how he came to study the role of ideas in foreign policy, and then reviews the two dominant schools of thought in international relations theory — realism and constructivism.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: Research On Religion
The Strategic Illogic of Counter-Terrorism Policy

December 8, 2016

An article by Nunn School faculty Jenna Jordan, Margaret E. Kosal & Lawrence Rubin. In the last few years, the Islamic State, or IS, has become a central focus of public debates
about US national security. A May 2016 poll by the Pew Research Center reported that 80
percent of Americans think IS poses the greatest international threat to the United States.
As IS has vastly expanded its activities beyond its borders, debates about how to best defeat
the group typically assume that military power will play the primary role in its defeat.

Published in: The Washington Quarterly
Study Finds Men and Women Don't Communication Differently When Tasked With Writing

December 7, 2016

Brian Larson, assistant professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was interviewed in “Study Finds Men and Women Don't Communication Differently When Tasked With Writing” by Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Excerpt:

Popular belief says that men and women have inherently different ways of communicating. A new study from Georgia Tech has found men and women do not show disparity while writing when given the same task and training.

We bring on lead researcher Brian Larson to explain his findings, as well as Emory professor Falguni Sheth to discuss stereotypes in gender communication styles.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: Georgia Public Broadcasting
ICYMI: Amazon Wants to Revolutionize Grocery Shopping

December 7, 2016

Brian Magerko, professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Literature, Media, and Communication, had his “TuneTable” project featured in “ICYMI: Amazon Wants to Revolutionize Grocery Shopping” by Engadget.

Excerpt:

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech created a 'TuneTable,' an interactive table with moving coaster-sized tiles people use to both program and then play music. If you're interested, the Guinness Book of World Records video for candles is here, and the behind-the-scenes video from Rogue One is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: Engadget
Want to Define Poverty? Consider More Than Just Income, Study Says

December 6, 2016

Shatakshee Dhongde, assistant professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Economics, was quoted in “Want to Define Poverty? Consider More Than Just Income, Study Says” by HowStuffWorks.

Excerpt:

A new study in the journal Social Indicators Research proposes just such a multidimensional approach to looking at poverty in the U.S. It would lead to more accurate assessments, it argues, of whether the basic needs are being met within a household.

"The federal poverty line was set up during Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty — that's how dated the poverty line is," says author Shatakshee Dhongde, an assistant professor in the School of Economics at Georgia Tech. "It's been updated with respect to inflation, but what hasn't changed is the notion of income, what you include in income, and the formula that was established back in the 1960's to tell whether families are able to meet their basic needs — that hasn't changed."

For the full article, read here.

Published in: HowStuffWorks
China: A Moving Target for Manufacturers, Consumer Companies Alike

December 2, 2016

Haizheng Li, professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Economics, was quoted in “China: A Moving Target for Manufacturers, Consumer Companies Alike” by Global Atlanta.

Excerpt:

The Chinese consumer economy is changing rapidly, but disparities in society mean that all citizens aren’t equally in terms of commercial prospects, said Haizheng Li, a professor at Georgia Tech who looks at labor and human resources in the Chinese economy.

Rural areas have older labor forces as younger workers seek jobs in booming cities, and the educational gap between citizens in these respective regions is huge.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: Global Atlanta
2016's States Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft and Fraud

November 30, 2016

Milton Mueller, professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Public Policy, was interviewed in "2016's States Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft and Fraud" by WalletHub.

Excerpt:

The holiday season is traditionally a time for celebration and togetherness. But it’s also an opportunity for identity thieves and hackers to prey on millions of innocent consumers. After all, the most high-profile data breaches, such as cases involving Target in 2013 and Home Depot the following year, tend to occur during periods of elevated shopping activity — the reason December was declared National Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: WalletHub
Here's Why Poverty Should Be Measured By More Than Income

November 29, 2016

Shatakshee Dhongde, assistant professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Economics, was quoted in “Here's Why Poverty Should Be Measured By More Than Income” by State of Opportunity.

Excerpt:

When people talk about poverty, the conversation typically revolves around the economic condition of a household. Even here at State of Opportunity, our definition of poverty never strays too far from a discussion of income.

For example, if a family of four earns less than $24,000 a year, they live below the poverty line. If they make more than $24,000, they live above the poverty line.

Simple, right?

But according to a new study from Georgia Tech, poverty should be measured by more than income.

The study, "Multi-Dimensional Deprivation in the U.S.," found that there are multiple dimensions of poverty, and while many Americans may not fall below the poverty line, they still face multiple deprivations that could affect them just as adversely.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: State of Opportunity
Study: Poverty Should be Measured by More Than Just Income

November 28, 2016

Shatakshee Dhongde, assistant professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Economics, was quoted in “Study: Poverty Should be Measured by More Than Just Income” by WABE.

Excerpt:

In the United States, poverty is measured by income level. If you’re a family of four making more than $24,000 a year, you’re over the poverty line. Less than that, and you’re under it.

But a study from Georgia Tech says looking at income alone is not enough.

For example, maybe your income is technically over the poverty line, but you can’t afford health insurance. Or your rent or mortgage takes a major hit each month. Or you have a disability.

Dr. Shatakshee Dhongde is an economist at Georgia Tech. She says that many Americans are facing more than one of these situations.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: WABE
Net: US doesn't have more control than other countries

November 21, 2016

Milton Mueller, professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Public Policy, was interviewed in "Net: U.S. Doesn't Have More Control Than Other Countries" by The Times of India.

Excerpt:

Who governs the internet? There has been a global discussion on the principles of internet governance, on developing a framework that negotiates the interests of users, corporations and governments. Recently, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body that gives top-level web addresses, moved part of its functions from the US government to a global "multi-stakeholder" community. Milton Mueller , founder of the Internet Governance Project and professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, speaks to Kim Arora about this transition.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: The Times of India
Why Silicon Valley May Warm to Trump

November 18, 2016

Ian Bogost, professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, wrote “Why Silicon Valley May Warm to Trump” for The Atlantic.

Excerpt:

A memorable image from Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign showed the future president, reclined on a couch. His chief campaign strategist David Axelrod appears in the foreground, and “Change we can believe in” signs rest casually in the back. In then-Senator Obama’s left hand, he holds a sheet of paper. In his right, a BlackBerry.

Obama was famously attached to the device. (Back in 2008, the iPhone was a year old, and the BlackBerry was hardly outmoded or uncool.) Just after the election, The New York Times reported that recordkeeping requirements might force Obama to relinquish his beloved device. Eventually, a compromise allowed him to “keep his cherished gadget.”

For the full article, read here.

Published in: The Atlantic
How Pokemon Go Can Save Lives in a Hurricane

November 15, 2016

Ian Bogost, professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was referenced in “How Pokemon Go Can Save Lives in a Hurricane” by Smithsonian Magazine.

Excerpt:

Author and game designer Jane McGonigal popularized the notion of gamification, in which players can get points, badges, or other rewards for ordinarily mundane tasks. According to McGonigal and others like Ian Bogost, gamification can motivate us to recover from personal setbacks including injury, depression, or distress, and improve our lives by forming new habits or skills. For example, Duolingo allows people to learn a language online while translating online documents and websites. Students earn skill points as they complete lessons or translate web content, and the complexity of sentences increases as the user progresses. Other games use competition and peer pressure among neighbors to reduce electricity consumption when appeals to saving money and the environment don’t work.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: Smithsonian Magazine
Home Monitoring Will Soon Monitor You

November 11, 2016

Ian Bogost, professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, wrote “Home Monitoring Will Soon Monitor You” for The Atlantic.

Excerpt:

I worry. About my family. My house. My dumb possessions, and my treasured ones. Doesn’t everyone? “Happiness,” Don Draper opines in Mad Men’s pilot, “is the freedom from fear.” Companies sell people solutions to those fears—even if they are contrived ones. Listerine, invented to cure a made-up condition called halitosis. Nike, whose kicks are used for sloth more than athleticism. Apple, whose modernist, glass-and-aluminum shields hide compulsion.

Just as people originally bought mobile phones to protect against hypothetical emergencies, so internet-connected smart devices now often sell comfort from fear. Motion cameras that deter evil babysitters. Recording doorbells that stave off solicitors and burglars. Propane scales that avert cook-out disaster. Sensor-tentacled boxes that warn against flooding.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: The Atlantic
Comfort Goes Beyond Basics in Language Learning

November 7, 2016

Kelly Comfort, associate professor in the School of Modern Languages, was featured in “Comfort Goes Beyond Basics in Language Learning” by The Whistle.

Excerpt:

Associate Professor of Spanish Kelly Comfort went to college with plans to become a broadcast journalist. But, like many students, she found that the reality didn’t meet her expectations, and she just didn’t like what she was studying. Taking her first class in comparative literature changed her life.

“The professor was incredible,” she said. “I was rather shy in the classroom, and he had a way of getting me to talk. He would play devil’s advocate and really draw the students in.”

In some ways, it was that professor — Eric Downing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — who inspired Comfort and made her interested in the field of literature.

“I realized that being a literature professor allowed me to do the same things that had drawn me to journalism — public speaking, writing, and having knowledge of the world and applying it in certain ways,” she said.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: The Whistle
Predicting Scientific Success

November 3, 2016

John Walsh, professor in the School of Public Policy, was quoted in “Predicting Scientific Success” by The Scientist.

Excerpt:

The stability of a given scientist’s Q value means that papers published early in a career can predict the success of those published later. Such early Q values could also predict subsequent Nobel Prize-winners, Sinatra and colleagues showed.

“This constant level of quality [Q]. . . is a fairly profound finding,” said John Walsh of Georgia Tech who did not participate in the study. “It basically argues that there is no learning. You’re just as good as you are.”

For the full article, read here.

Published in: The Scientist
Do Ads for Young Egg Donors Go Too Far?

November 2, 2016

Aaron Levine, associate professor in the School of Public Policy, was quoted in “Do Ads for Young Egg Donors Go Too Far?” by WSB-TV.

Excerpt:

Georgia Tech professor Aaron Levine researched compensation, and risk disclosures in ads, recruiting egg donors.

"I've personally seen ads in the $50,000 to $75,000 range," Levine told Choi.

Levine said compensation limits and advertising are self-regulated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. They said if a benefit is mentioned in an ad, risks, like potential side effects, must also be disclosed.

In a 2014 study that looked at more than 400 recruitment ads, Levine found only 16 percent of them mentioned risks.

“We looked at whether or not those risks were really being disclosed in the advertisement. And by and large, they weren't," Levine said.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: WSB-TV

Recent Press Coverage

Coder’s delight: TuneTable teaches kids programming basics by making music

The Must-Read Brain Books Of 2016

Publishers Are Playing Around with Games Again

Startups Need to ‘Stop Disrupting and Start Innovating’

Lawrence Rubin on Islam and Ideational Balancing

The Strategic Illogic of Counter-Terrorism Policy

Study Finds Men and Women Don't Communication Differently When Tasked With Writing

ICYMI: Amazon Wants to Revolutionize Grocery Shopping

Want to Define Poverty? Consider More Than Just Income, Study Says

China: A Moving Target for Manufacturers, Consumer Companies Alike

2016's States Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft and Fraud

Here's Why Poverty Should Be Measured By More Than Income

Study: Poverty Should be Measured by More Than Just Income

Net: US doesn't have more control than other countries

Why Silicon Valley May Warm to Trump

How Pokemon Go Can Save Lives in a Hurricane

Home Monitoring Will Soon Monitor You

Comfort Goes Beyond Basics in Language Learning

Predicting Scientific Success

Do Ads for Young Egg Donors Go Too Far?

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