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Matching entries from textually.org
Students Hit With $15 Fine For Using Cell Phones in School
Schools across the country have been cracking down on cell phone use but nowhere has that stance been stronger than in Texas where state regulations allow individual districts to confiscate the devices and charge up to $15 for their return. ABCNews reports.
Across the state at the Klein Independent School District teachers have been confiscating cell phones and slapping students with the $15 fee for two years.
In that time, the district has collected $100,948 from students.
... In fact, the district didn't budget the money or even know how much was coming in to its 39 schools from cell phone use until a reporter asked.
FAA to Pilots: Cell Phones Off in the Cockpit, Please
Passengers are usually pretty well conditioned to turn off cellphones, Blackberries and laptops before departure. But what about pilots?
The good folks over at Flight Global dug up this interesting FAA safety advisory. While the story is told in subdued government-ese, this must have been a real forehead-slapping moment for the pilot that left his or her cell phone on during the safety inspector’s visit. [via The Wall Street Journal]
During a debriefing, the crew stated that their General Operations Manual (GOM) did not address procedures prohibiting the crew from leaving their cellular phones in the ON position while at their duty stations. This was verified by the ASI.
The FAA recommends that airlines review their operation manuals to ensure that pilots are reminded to turn off cellphones in preparation for departure. That goes for those occupying jump seats as well.
Mobile Applications: The Next Big Thing In Mobile Marketing?
Over the past several months, a new phenomenon has been sweeping the world of mobile advertising and marketing. In addition to traditional banners, text links, and videos, Mobile Applications have won a major place in the hearts of brands and agencies alike. MobiADNews reports via MocoNews.
Scott Seaborn, Head of Mobile at Ogilvy Group UK, believes the apps represent a step forward for mobile marketing. Past efforts such as mobile banner ads, he says, were usually an attempt to copy what worked on the wired internet and slapping it on the mobile internet.
Mobile ad applications can, however, be created to take advantage of a phone’s specific function. For example, Carling’s iPhone app - iPint - makes use of the phone’s accelerometer and lets users pretend they’re drinking a beer. (The phone’s screen fills up with a virtual beer, and when tilted looks as if its being emptied). Currently, the branded app is number eight in the AppStore’s free apps, ahead of both Google Earth and Facebook.
Read full article.
Related: - Kraft Rings Up iPhone iFood Assistant App
Matching entries from picturephoning.com
Stark warning over 'happy slapping'
Gavin Waterhouse was punched and kicked to death, while another teenager filmed the incident on a cameraphone. The BBC reports.
"The decision to prosecute the teenager who filmed that fatal attack on her mobile phone has been hailed as a legal landmark by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The CPS said it was thought to be the first time a suspect in England and Wales had been successfully prosecuted for aiding and abetting murder or manslaughter by a "happy slapping" attack.
She was sentenced to two years' detention in a young offenders' institution when she appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday. "
'Happy slap' death girl convicted
A 15-year-old girl has admitted filming the death of a man on her mobile phone in a so-called "happy slapping" attack, reports the BBC.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the girl was handed a mobile phone by one of the attackers and was told to "video this".
She then approached Mr Waterhouse and asked him for some money before recording the attack upon him.
Prosecution witnesses said they saw and heard the attackers boasting about what they had just done, saying it was not the first time that they had attacked the victim. They also shared the video footage with friends, the court heard.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the decision to prosecute the girl was a legal landmark. Mark Masters, 19, and a male, 17, have admitted manslaughter.
All three defendants will be sentenced at a later date. "
Matching entries from textually.org
Thieving monkeys 'out of control' in north east India
Troupes of monkeys are out of control in India's northeast, stealing mobile phones and breaking into homes to steal soft drinks from refrigerators, lawmakers in the region have complained.
The primates were "even slapping women who try to chase them".
Efforts to drive out the animals is complicated by the fact that devout Hindus view them as an incarnation of Hanuman, the monkey god who symbolises strength."
Matching entries from picturephoning.com
X Factor girl quits over happy slapping video
X Factor talent show hopeful Emily Nakanda has quit in shame after being videoed "happy slapping" a teenage girl. UK's Mirror reports.
From X Factor website:
Emily will not sing in the competition on Saturday’s big band night, and for her, the competition is over.Emily chose to withdraw from the competition following stories which have appeared in the tabloids over the last couple of days. She is pictured, on mobile phone footage and video stills, allegedly carrying out so-called happy-slapping attacks.
Previously: - 'X Factor' Finalist Emily Exposed As A Happy Slapper
Matching entries from WatchingTV Online
Catholic dean on leave after YouTube outburst
A Roman Catholic priest, dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, was videotaped swearing at and abusing a group of teenagers using the cathedral grounds as a skate park, reports Reuters
"Move, you f****** fool," Baron tells one skater in the video, slapping one of the group across the head and prompting a torrent of abuse in reply.
Pointing to a skater lying on the ground, Baron is heard telling the youth "Little foreigner there, look at the sleepy eyes, black hair".
The embarrassed Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, placed Baron on indefinite leave after the outburst appeared on YouTube
... The video clip of the outburst, which was filmed a year ago but only recently posted on YouTube, was viewed tens of thousands of times but is now listed as "removed by the user".
Matching entries from textually.org
German lederhosen with a built-in cell phone at CeBIT
For thigh-slapping beer drinking Bavarian dancers, a pair of lederhosen with a sewn-in cell phone. Showecased at CeBIT and reported by IOL.
"The lederhosen from century-old German all-weather clothier Lodenfrey feature a mouthpiece embedded in the suspender straps and a row of unobtrusive olive green buttons down the side of the leg."
Picture from Canada.com
Matching entries from picturephoning.com
Curbs call on pupils' phone usage
Teaching union representatives have called for schools to be made "mobile phone free zones" following the filming of an alleged attack on a head teacher in Scotland. The BBC reports.
"Concerns have been raised after a "happy slapping" incident last week in which a 15-year-old boy allegedly assaulted a Borders school rector. The pupil had been excluded from school in the morning and had returned at lunchtime, when the alleged attack took place. This appears to be the first real incident involving a teacher."
Previously: - 15-year-old 'happy slaps headteacher'
Children film sex on their mobiles
Children are using mobile phones to film each other having sex and are then sending the images to classmates, reports The Sunday Times.
"Experts say the trend is growing and draw comparisons to the “happy slapping” craze in which children use mobile phone cameras to film assaults on members of the public.
Two weeks ago a 13-year-old boy was caught with footage on his mobile phone of two fellow pupils aged 15 having sex near their school in Warwickshire.
In another case last summer a 16-year-old boy used his mobile phone to film a 14-year-old girl having sex in a bedroom at a house party in Perth and sent the images to his school friends.
Some blame the trend on the ease with which children can access pornography on the internet or mobiles, so they become desensitised to images normally regarded as shocking.
Andrew Durham, a consultant practitioner at the Sexualised Inappropriate Behaviours Service, which deals with children’s sexual problems, said: “It is now a feature within young people’s culture that these incidences get filmed. It is similar to the way people use phones to film others being assaulted.”
... Experts believe many children are unaware that sending pornographic images can fall foul of the law .
Last month, in one of the first such court cases, a 16-year old boy admitted passing on video footage of a friend having sex with an underage girl. "
15-year-old 'happy slaps headteacher'
A 15-year old boy has been arrested after "happy slapping" his headteacher in a school canteen, it was reported last night, according to Scotsman News.
"... Bill McGregor, of the Headteachers' Association of Scotland, said: "This represents two new lows in Scottish schools. The first is a pupil feeling he can go and physically attack a teacher. The second is this spreading phenomenon of the use of mobile phones in schools to film and pass the images on."
Curse of the Camera Phone
Michael Agger on Slate has a written a wonderful and lengthy article summing up some of the most memorable stories about citizen reporting and describes the cameraphone as "our era's chronicler of infamy", notably for capturing Prince Harry wearing a Nazi costume, Kate Moss snorting coke, Michael Richards racist ranting in a small theater, the phenomenon of happy slapping and the execution of Sadam Hussein.
Even better, he has rounded up and put side by side in one single clip, all the video footages. Agger signs off with these very truthful words:
Now thanks to cameraphones we'll see the best of things, we'll see the worst of things. We'll see everything.
And on a personal note, thank you Michael Agger for giving kuddos to picturephoning.
Street kissing - a kind alternative to happy slapping
French initiative StreetKiss offers a friendly alternative to happy slapping, "Street Kissing".
Instead of slapping a random stranger, kiss them instead and capture the moment with a cameraphone - then post it online.
And don't be surprised, since this comes from France, men can kiss other men too.
Street kissing is catching on. Check out videos on Dailymotion and YouTube .
Matching entries from textually.org
Mobiles have 'key role for young'
More parents than ever now see mobiles as vital tools in supervising children's behaviour, giving them peace of mind, and making young people feel safer, reports the BBC.
"Despite fears over "happy slapping", text bullying and mobile crime, parents say that young people are safer with them than without, say researchers.The research was carried out by the The Trust for Study of Adolescence and showed that parents typically bought children mobiles when they moved to secondary schools so they could keep track of them and for emergencies."
Matching entries from picturephoning.com
Cameraphone used as evidence for domestic abuse
A Florida teenager took camera phone photos of her mother sitting on her during an argument and called 911. The police came and arrested her mother for domestic battery. Alan Reiter reports on Reiter's Camera Phone Report]
"This is the first time that I've seen a picture taken on a phone for a domestic battery," said Sheriff's spokeswoman Deputy Donna L. Black.
Happy Slapping hits Singapore
Color renderings from The Electric New Paper's account of a "happy slapping" incident in Singapore, where three girls assaulted another girl.
"Such aggression is not new, said Mr David Kan, counsellor and executive director of the Family Life Centre.
All that is new is how assailants are using handphone cameras to record their actions, as such video recording becomes more commonplace.
... Mr Adrian Lim, the managing director of Tyem Academy which equips out-of-school youths with career academic programmes, has seen videos showing girls beating up other girls.
He explained that such clips are the teenagers' way of saying 'don't play punk with me. I'm quite fierce; see what I'm capable of'.
Mr Lim said: 'This is reality TV brought to the handphone level. "
European countries alarmed at spread of Happy Slapping
The Houston Chronicle and The Washington Post report on the Happy Slapping craze is now spreading through Europe - and how European schools and governments are considering banning cell phones - and those that have already done so.
... "French police first grew concerned when youths filmed during last fall's rioting were seen using cell phones to record clashes between their friends and police, he said.
An attack on the teacher last month at a vocational high school in the town of Porcheville, in the Yvelines region west of Paris, sparked concern that youths could now be using phones to film premeditated violence.
According to the AP, "French police say they know of about 20 cases of filmed violence. A police captain in Paris says some young people see the exhibitions "as a way for the poor to get revenge against the rich."
In a sign that politicians are growing concerned, the education minister said Wednesday he wants cell phones banned from classrooms.
Other parts of Europe already have taken action. The German state of Bavaria and dozens of schools in Ireland have barred cell phones from classrooms.
Last month, Danish courts handed down the first "happy slapping" convictions to two teens. The pair, a boy and a girl, had recorded an assault on a passer-by in a Copenhagen shopping mall in February.
In one of the most chilling cases, a report in the French daily L'Express on Wednesday said that photos were taken of a young girl in Nice who was gang-raped this year, and that the images were circulated at her school."
Happy Slapping has occured in Switzerland as well. Click here for link to article (in French) and actual videos
Matching entries from textually.org
New technology may be changing the human brain
Is technology changing our brains? neuro-biologist Susan Greenfield asked this question of the House of Lord that affects all of us.
Excerpts from from The Guardian.
..." In just a couple of decades, we have slipped away from a culture based essentially on words to one based essentially on images, or pictures. This is probably one of the great shifts in the story of modern humans but we take it almost for granted.
... There can be little doubt that the structures, never mind the surface form, of the English language are changing fast.
... The process of traditional book-reading, which involves following an author through a series of interconnected steps in a logical fashion. We read other narratives and compare them, and so "build up a conceptual framework that enables us to evaluate further journeys... One might argue that this is the basis of education ... Traditional education, she says, enables us to "turn information into knowledge."
Put like that, it is obvious where her worries lie. The flickering up and flashing away again of multimedia images do not allow those connections , and therefore the context, to build up.
... But the main change is that even these shorthand sentences are surrounded by pictures. With mobile phone cameras, digital sticks and emailing, people no longer need to describe where they are but can just point, click and show a view, a friend's face or "happy slapping".
While not suggesting a revolt by mere democracies against the corporate power of the IT industries, Greenfield suggests this is an idea that should at least be investigated further. She wants more government funding for the scientists and educators trying to understand the impact of the digital-picture world on how children learn to think".
Matching entries from picturephoning.com
Happy slapper . . . . slapped
A happy slapper’s mobile phone recording of an attack took an unexpected twist when his victim retaliated, flooring his assailant with a single punch, reports the Times Online. "In footage that is rapidly gaining cult status, an athletic young man in a white vest is seen plotting the attack on a stranger, filmed on his friend’s mobile phone. ... The victim recoils in pain and drops the bag. He sees his attacker turn and walk back to his friend, who is laughing and still recording the scene. Incredulous, he screams with rage. He asks his attacker what he was doing. Judging by his accent, he appears to be from Liverpool. The victim then approaches the youth and throws a fierce right-hand jab, punching him on the chin and knocking him unconscious. The man holding the camera phone shouts his friend’s name but carries on filming. ... He is perhaps the first recorded victim to turn the tables on his would-be attackers since the slapping craze began."
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