The Not-So-Hidden Cause Behind the A.D.H.D. Epidemic Illustration by Oliver Munday The number of diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has ballooned over the past few decades. Before the early 1990s, fewer than 5 percent of school-age kids were thought to have A.D.H.D. Earlier this year, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that 11 percent of children ages 4 to 17 had at some point received the diagnosis — and that doesn’t even include first-time diagnoses in adults. (Full disclosure: I’m one of them.) That amounts to millions of extra people receiving regular doses of stimulant drugs to keep neurological symptoms in check. Probably not. Which is not to say that A.D.H.D. is a made-up disorder. None of that research yet translates into an objective diagnostic approach, however. This lack of rigor leaves room for plenty of diagnoses that are based on something other than biology.
The 20 most-watched TED Talks to date TEDTalks The 20 most-watched TEDTalks (so far) Today, on the fifth birthday of TEDTalks video, we’re releasing a new list of the 20 most-watched TEDTalks over the past five years — as watched on all the platforms we track: TED.com, YouTube, iTunes, embed and download, Hulu and more … What a great, mixed-up group this is! Talks about education and creativity, sex […] Playlist The 20 most popular TED Talks, as of December 2013 UPDATED: To see all these talks at one click, check out our updated Playlist: The 20 Most Popular Talks of All Time. UN urges transparency over US drone deaths - Americas The United Nations has said that at least 450 civilians may have been killed by US drone strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen, a figure which the US has previously downplayed. A UN report, obtained by Al Jazeera on Friday, stated that Pakistan’s government had confirmed at least 400 civilian deaths as a result of US drone strikes, in stark contrast to what US officials had publicly acknowledged previously. The report found that one of the major obstacles in obtaining accurate figures on civilian deaths was the lack of transparency by the countries involved, which has prompted a cauldron of legal issues that are yet to be addressed by UN-member states. "This report aims to present the facts as clearly and objectively as possible. "This issue is clearly not going to go away, and I will continue asking the difficult questions for as long as it takes," he added. Transparency The report also indicated that at least 50 civilians were also killed in strikes on Afghanistan and Yemen.
Ads Worth Spreading Ads honored through Ads Worth Spreading can be as long as it takes to communicate the idea powerfully, up to five minutes, whether that’s through state-of-the-art animation, lush imagery or an individual talking directly to the camera. What matters is the “a-ha” moment -- the central idea. The thing that makes consumers connect to the idea in the same way that TED speakers connect with their audience. Ads Worth Spreading began as a clarion call to the global advertising community in 2011, asking for ads that inspired and engaged audiences. TED received nearly 1,000 entries and picked 10 outstanding examples. In 2013, six nomination teams of two – made up of one renowned TED speaker and one rising star from the advertising industry – nominated compelling ads from diverse areas of interest: Talk, Social Good, Cultural Compass, Creative Wonder, Brand Bravery and Education. This is not an award show. This is a dialogue on ideas that brands should want to be a part of.
Should Academics Write for Free? • Vitae — A service of The Chronicle of Higher Education In 2006, I published my first article in an academic journal, a lengthy analysis debunking the existence of an Uzbek terrorist organization. I called my mother to tell her the news. “Great,” she said. “Nothing.” She laughed. I had come to academia from journalism, which, at the time, paid people. I explained to my mother that academic publishing was different. Seven years later, journalism has adopted the academic publishing model, only without the pretense of integrity. Today media outlets making healthy profits refuse to pay the freelance writers who help make them a success. Academics are particularly vulnerable to media-industry exploitation. Should academics ever write for free? Should academics write for free for a publisher that can afford to pay them? When you write for free for a profitable mainstream publisher, you deny yourself fair compensation while normalizing exploitation. Unpaid writing leads to more unpaid writing. It is also misleading. Do your research.
‘Ebony and Ivy,’ About How Slavery Helped Universities Grow “I would say, ‘I’m interested in 18th-century education,’ or something general like that,” Mr. Wilder said. But as he told the archivists more, they would bring out ledgers, letters and other documents. “They’d push them across the table and say, ‘You might want to take a peek at this,’ ” he said. Now, more than a decade later, Mr. He also has a lot more company in the archives. And that tide is far from over. But Mr. “Craig shows that what happened at one institution wasn’t simply incidental or idiosyncratic,” said James Wright, a former president of Dartmouth College, which is discussed in the book. Mr. “Sometimes I chuckled at how contemporary some of these colonial administrators were,” Mr. “Ebony and Ivy,” with its cover image of a tendril of ivy wrapped around a chain, may not find a home on many alumni-office coffee tables. The reparations debate has faded, along with much of the controversy surrounding research into universities and slavery.
Separate and Unequal Voting in Arizona and Kansas | News & Notes This post first appeared in The Nation. In its 2013 decision in Arizona v. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Arizona’s proof of citizenship law for voter registration violated the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Under the 1993 act, which drastically expanded voter access by allowing registration at public facilities like the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), those using a federal form to register to vote must affirm, under penalty of perjury, that they are US citizens. According to a 2006 study by the Brennan Center for Justice, at least seven percent of eligible voters “do not have ready access to the documents needed to prove citizenship.” (Related: Judge Who Framed Voter Laws as Constitutional Says He got it Wrong) The tactics of Arizona and Kansas recall the days of segregation and the Supreme Court’s 1896 “separate but equal” ruling in Plessy v. (Related: Supreme Court Guts Voting Rights Act)
Henry Louis Gates Jr. Fact-Checks "12 Years a Slave" Buy the hype: Director Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave is a powerful, stunning film—perhaps the finest ever made on the moral travesty of American slavery. It tells the true story of Solomon Northup (played by the stellar Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man who was drugged and kidnapped in Washington, DC, in 1841 and sold into slavery. Northup, a violinist and family man based in Saratoga Springs, New York, was forced to work on Louisiana plantations for 12 years. The movie, written by John Ridley and coproduced by Brad Pitt, is based on Northup's 1853 autobiography Twelve Years a Slave. All the film's elements—the sublime acting, the music, the unflinching depiction of slavery—conspire to create a classic in the making. "It was refreshing how closely they followed the exact events," Gates tells Mother Jones. Gates is something of a "scholar-celebrity," an Ivy League professor whose pop-culture name recognition goes significantly beyond his literary criticism and research.
Facebook lets beheading clips return to social network 21 October 2013Last updated at 14:47 GMT By Leo Kelion Technology reporter Facebook announced in May that it would ban videos showing graphic violence while it carried out a review Facebook is allowing videos showing people being decapitated to be posted and shared on its site once again. The social network had placed a temporary ban on the material in May following complaints that the clips could cause long-term psychological damage. The US firm now believes its users should be free to watch and condemn, but not celebrate, such videos. One suicide prevention charity criticised the move. "It only takes seconds of exposure to such graphic material to leave a permanent trace - particularly in a young person's mind," said Dr Arthur Cassidy, a former psychologist who runs a branch of the Yellow Ribbon Program in Northern Ireland. "The more graphic and colourful the material is, the more psychologically destructive it becomes." Facebook allows anyone aged 13 and above to be a member. New rules
COMMUNITY VOICES | We all deserve better than the Ordway’s Miss Saigon I am a Vietnamese American woman, born and raised in Minnesota. I am friends with some of the protesters of Miss Saigon as well as a few members of the cast and crew of the show - this includes one of my best friends. At my wedding last year, she played an original song she surprised me with many years ago; she remains the first and only person to ever write me a song. I both love and respect her more than I can say. I emphasize this so you know I have spent a great deal of time doing my best to listen, understand, and empathize with everyone involved in the Miss Saigon controversy. Ultimately, I decided it is important to speak up because it is not about my personal hurt, but about our Minnesota communities’ well-being. Before I go into my experiences with the show, I want to make one thing clear: While the stereotypes inherent in Miss Saigon are palpable to me, I decided to omit many personal stories I could tell you. I did my due diligence to come with an open mind.