“Retraction notices are increasing rapidly. In the early 2000s, only about 30 retraction notices appeared annually. This year, the Web of Science is on track to index more than 400 (see ‘Rise of the retractions’) — even though the total number of papers published has risen by only 44% over the past decade.”
Tag: 10.05.11
Five Things ‘Angry Birds’ Will Teach You About Life
“It isn’t just an addictive game, it’s an unexpected source of wisdom.”
Five Choreographers’ Favorite Choreographers
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Derek Deane, Christopher Bruce, Kim Brandstrup, and Shobana Jeyasingh offer tributes to the living dancemakers they most admire.
How Does Speech-Recognition Software Deal With People’s Different Accents?
Lots of practice. “Speech-recognition software is designed to understand multiple pronunciations of each phoneme. Programmers ‘train’ the system by playing many hours of speech into the microphone, and then typing in what can be heard on the tapes.”
A SoCal Concert Venue With Acoustics To Rival Disney Hall?
Christopher Smith on the Soka Performing Arts Center in Orange County: “[The] acoustic design comes from [Yasuhisa] Toyota, who most famously did Walt Disney Concert Hall. If anything, the sound here in this more intimate, multi-purpose hall has an even warmer sound. … [While] the sound can be as large as a composer ordered or a conductor wants, there is an almost unprecedented level of clarity among the instruments.”
Audra MacDonald On Gershwin’s Bess
“[She’s] really struggling with her addictions, struggling to overcome them, really has that vision of herself in Porgy’s eyes. For her it’s staying away from her addictions long enough so she can walk toward that vision of this whole worthy woman, worthy of being loved.”
BBC To Cut 2000 Jobs, Slash Programming
“The BBC is planning to cut 2,000 jobs and radically change programming in order to cut 20% from its budget over the next five years.”
How The Internet Is Killing Publishing
“Where publishing is concerned, the Internet is both midwife and executioner. It has never been easier to reach large numbers of readers, but these readers have never felt more entitled to be informed and entertained for free.”
Colorado Symphony Cancels Half Its Concerts This Fall
“Battling a major budget crisis, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra abruptly canceled half of its 20 scheduled concerts over the next two months Tuesday, but vowed to return to full operations in early December.”
Mikhail Baryshnikov Packs Up His Life For NY Public Library
“I feel a weight from my shoulders. In the first part of life, you accumulate things. In the second part of life, you get rid of it.”