Author: Matthew Clemente

Robotic Breakthrough

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Robotic Breakthrough

Last weekend, 60 Minutes re-ran a story about a robotic breakthrough that may revolutionize prosthetics.

Here is an introduction to the story: 

In a decade of war, more than 1,300 Americans have lost limbs on the battlefield. And that fact led the Department of Defense to start a crash program to help veterans and civilians by creating an artificial arm and hand that are amazingly human. But that’s not the breakthrough. We don’t use that word very often because it’s overused. But when you see how they have connected this robotic limb to a human brain, you’ll understand why we made an exception.

 

As we reported last December, to take this ultimate step they had to find a person willing to have brain surgery to explore new frontiers of what it is to be human. That person would have to be an explorer with desperate need, remarkable courage and maybe most of all, a mind that is game.

 

The person they chose is Jan Scheuermann, a Pittsburgh mother of two and writer, with a mind nimble enough to match wits on “The Wheel of Fortune” in 1995.

The Ivory Tower Half Hour: PRISM, Federal Judges, and Economic Development

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

The Ivory Tower Half Hour: PRISM, Federal Judges, and Economic Development

Hosted by Barbara Fought, Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, this powerhouse panel of Lisa Dolak (Syracuse University College of Law), Tim Byrnes (Colgate University), Bob Greene (Cazenovia College), Tara Ross (Onondaga County Community College), and  Kristi Andersen (Syracuse University) discuss the recent revelation of the PRISM program, the selection of federal judges, and boosing economic development. 

More on Patent Trolls

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

More on Patent Trolls

Last weekend, This American Life aired an updated version of a story they ran two years ago, titled “When Patents Attack.” Here is a description of “When Patents Attack…Part Two!”: 

Two years ago, we did a program about a mysterious business in Texas that threatens companies with lawsuits for violating its patents. But the world of patent lawsuits is so secretive, there were basic questions we could not answer. Now we can. And we get a glimpse why people say our patent system may be discouraging, not encouraging, innovation.

Expelling Suspension from School Policy

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Expelling Suspension from School Policy

Recently, NPR’s All Things Considered ran a story about a California school district that no longer suspends trouble students from school.  Here is a description of the story: 

The effectiveness of school suspensions is up for debate. California is the most recent battleground, but a pattern of uneven application and negative outcomes is apparent across the country.

California students were suspended more than 700,000 times over the 2011-2012 school year,according to state data. One school district decided it was getting ridiculous. In May, the board for the Los Angeles Unified School District passed a new resolution to ban the use of suspensions to punish students for “willful defiance.”

Those offenses include: bringing a cellphone to school, public displays of affection, truancy or repeated tardiness. They accounted for nearly half of all suspensions issued in California last year.

But there’s mounting research that says that out-of-school suspensions put students on the fast track to falling behind, dropping out, and going to jail. Moreover, some groups are disproportionately suspended more than others. . . .