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Thursday, April 26, 2018
“Terrorism”, “extremism”, and “radicalization” have an immediate association with groups like Daesh and Al-Shabaab, which promote their perversion of the religion of Islam. However, often overlooked in such discussions is the threat posed by right wing extremism (RWE) groups to Canadians and minority communities. I want to... More
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Last month, Duolingo - the popular language learning mobile app - released two new languages for their popular language-learning platform: Klingon and High Valeryian. If you have yet heard of these two languages, I won’t hold it against you. After all, Klingon is a fictional language spoken by an alien species in the Star... More
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Jamaica’s development and national identity have been influenced by various cultures throughout history. Growing up, I was fascinated by the language, food, and the general attitude and spirit of my Jamaican culture and its people. Pieces of several nationalities are incorporated into the fabric of the Jamaican identity, making it both distinct... More
Friday, March 2, 2018
Never mind stethoscopes and blood tests: could Tweets, hashtags and Google searches become diagnostic tools for influenzas and other contagious diseases? Much research has focused on using data mining and analytics to monitor diseases and predict their progression. For example, HealthMap - a website created by researchers at Boston's... More
Sunday, February 25, 2018
The digital divide typically refers to the gap between the “have and have-not’s” when it comes to a basic internet connection and access to a personal computer. Eszter Hargittai explains a second-level digital divide as a difference between the internet skill and know-how of the internet user. This second-level digital divide is... More
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, many artists and activists have tried to mobilize against Donald Trump by sharing images online. The #TrumpArtworks hashtag, for instance, involves photoshopping Trump into famous paintings, mocking his (easily disproven) claims of record inauguration crowds, the size of his hands, and so on. "This... More
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Privacy is a huge concern for many users of social networking sites (SNSs). As danah boyd points out in her article, “Social Network Sites as Networked Publics Affordances, Dynamics, and Implications”, the private and public realms of the online world are blurred and constantly in flux. For instance, the public we may think of... More
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
When I first learned about the Amazon Echo I admit I immediately secretly wanted one. I mean, who wouldn’t, right? A 9-inch tubular robot sitting on the counter or shelf in any room of your home, just waiting for you to ask it a question or command it to order something online from... More
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
This blog post is part of our participation and support of the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women. The role of social media and reproductive coercion has made major news headlines this past year and I was recently asked to provide some comments about this topic for Planned Parenthood Ottawa. I... More
Monday, November 20, 2017
Reddit has an ugly side, and I’m not talking about its pro-Donald Trump subreddit or a community that appears to be organized around sharing pictures of dragons mating with cars (I think it’s best to not provide a link to either of those). It’s difficult to compare reddit to other websites, since it’s... More
Sunday, November 19, 2017
In 2011, Marc Andreessen declared, "Software is eating the world". Fast forward to 2016 and it has definitely eaten up mine. As a young researcher and writer, I’ve no doubt enabled the insatiable beast that is software through an increasing reliance on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). My relationship with software could... More
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Have you ever wondered how fast your teen is driving when not under your watchful eye? Or wish you could block them from online dating and chat sites? Maybe turn their phone off - even lock it down - after a pre-set time limit? Or even track their GPS location? Well, the good... More
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