ScienceDaily Headlines: Computers & Math
Computer and Mathematics News. From quantum computers to the value of statistics, read the latest math and computer news. Updated daily.
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- Mid-Level Computer Screen Displays Can Minimize Musculoskeletal Strain In Schoolchildren
A new study by human factors researchers suggests that students' posture is affected by the height at which they view classroom learning materials. The researchers cited computer screen displays positioned at mid-level as causing less musculoskeletal strain than high- and book-level displays. The mid display was found to promote a more upright and symmetrical posture and lower average muscle activity than either the high- or the book-level position.
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT - Cooperation, Punishment And Revenge In Economics And Society
Researchers have shed new light on the way in which people co-operate for the common good -- and what happens when they don't. In a new study of 16 countries, published in Science, economists studied the extent to which some people will sacrifice personal gain to benefit the wider public, while 'freeloaders' try to take advantage of their generosity. Marked national differences arose when freeloaders were punished for putting their own interests ahead of the common good. And whether they accepted their punishment or retaliated in kind depended on what kind of society they lived in, the researchers found. In countries like the USA, Switzerland and the UK, freeloaders accepted their punishment and became much more co-operative. But in countries based on more authoritarian and parochial social institutions such as Oman, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Russia, the freeloaders took revenge -- retaliating against those who had punished them.
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT - Unique Locks On Microchips Could Reduce Hardware Piracy
Hardware piracy, or making knock-off microchips based on stolen blueprints, is a burgeoning problem in the electronics industry. Computer engineers have devised a comprehensive way to head off this costly infringement: Each chip would have its own unique lock and key. The patent holder would hold the keys. The chip would securely communicate with the patent-holder to unlock itself, and it could operate only after being unlocked.
Sat, 08 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST - TV Scheduling In America Has Overshadowed Natural Circadian Rhythms
Television, not the sun, determines sleep schedules in America. American's natural timing cues -- the circadian rhythms determined by the sun -- seem to have lost out to the man-made cues brought on within the last century, mainly by the creation of time zones and the television broadcast schedule. In this relatively brief time, they find, the markers for how we structure our day have been dramatically altered.
Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EST - Virtual Gaming No Replacement For Real Exercise
Video games like Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution can play an important role in getting kids off the couch and involved in physical activity. But are they a replacement for traditional exercise? Definitely not, a university wellness coordinator.
Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST - Emotional Intelligence Developed For Computerized Tutors
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are developing interactive computerized tutors that sense a student's emotional and motivational state of mind at the same time it presents information designed to appeal to a person's intellectual curiosity. Special sensors are used to help make the computer tutor respond when students become angry, frustrated or bored, based on body language, attention and other indicators.
Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST - Gesture-driven Computers Will Take Computer Gaming To New Level
A man stands in front of a large screen gesticulating in a seemingly hectic manner. As if by magic, images suddenly appear on the display. Their movements follow the actor's gestures, rotate at the slightest turn of a finger, and become larger or smaller as desired. This scene will look familiar to anyone who has watched the science fiction film 'Minority Report'.
Fri, 07 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EST - Computers Explain Why Pears May Become Brown During Commercial Storage
Internal browning of pears stored under low oxygen conditions is related to restricted gas exchange inside the fruit, according to a new study. A new computer model can be used to improve long-term storage of fruit under controlled atmospheres.
Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST - Digital Home: An All-in-one Device To Control Most Everything
Thick instruction manuals, a confusing tangle of cables and endless different standards -- trying to connect your flat screen, DVD recorder, MP3 player, surround system and computer to one another and get them to work is rather a complicated task. Help is on its way in the form of a project called WiMAC(at)home (Wireless Media and Control at Home). In this project, which is being financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), researchers are working on the wireless connection of electronic devices for broadcasting and entertainment in home networks.
Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EST - Future 'Quantum Computers' Will Offer Increased Efficiency And Security Risks
Physicists have made a discovery that may revolutionize encryption technology while bringing quantum computing one step closer. Consumers, credit card companies and high-tech firms rely on cryptography to protect the transmission of sensitive information. The basis for current encryption systems is that computers would need thousands of years to factor a large number, making it very difficult to do. However, if new observations can be fully understood and applied, scientists may have the basis to create quantum computers -- which could easily break the most complicated encryption in a matter of hours.
Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST - Quasicrystal Mystery Unraveled With Computer Simulation
The method to the madness of quasicrystals has been a mystery to scientists. Quasicrystals are solids whose atoms aren't arranged in a repeating pattern, as they are in ordinary crystals. Yet they form intricate patterns that are technologically useful.
Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST - Human-Computer Interaction Redefines Science
In a provocative new article in Science, computer specialists says it's time for the laboratory research that has defined science for the last 400 years to make room for a revolutionary new method of scientific discovery.
Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST - Magnetic Levitation Gives Computer Users Sense Of Touch
A new haptic interface based on magnetic levitation to give computer users a feel for what's on the screen. They can perceive textures, feel hard contacts, and sense the heft of a heavy block as they lift it.
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST - Students With Cell Phones May Take More Risks, Study Finds
Carrying a cell phone may cause some college students -- especially women -- to take risks with their safety, a new study suggests. A survey of 305 students at one campus found that 40 percent of cell phone users said they walked somewhere after dark that they normally wouldn't go.
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST - Children With Autism May Learn From 'Virtual Peers'
Researchers are developing an intervention using "virtual peers" -- technology driven, animated life-size children -- to help develop communication and social skills in children with autism. Preliminary findings suggest children with autism produce more and more "contingent" (conversationally relevant) sentences when interacting with virtual peers than with real-life children. What's more, virtual peers are endlessly patient, never tire and can be programmed to elicit socially-skilled behavior.
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST
