Microsoft's SmartGlass for Android app has just hit version 1.5 thanks to a fresh update on Google Play. The app, which lets users control their XBox via a smartphone or tablet, will now be optimized to work on 7-inch and larger Android tablets. Other new features include an (unfortunately-worded) "always-on" Smartglass Experiences state, which actually just prevents your handset or slate from sleeping while they're running, along with bug fixes and "numerous design and usability improvements." We'll have to give it a further play to see if there's anything juicy buried in the latter, but meanwhile, you can grab it at the break.
Apr. 9, 2013 ? Hunter-gatherers living in glacial conditions produced pots for cooking fish, according to the findings of a pioneering new study led by the University of York which reports the earliest direct evidence for the use of ceramic vessels.
Scientists from the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden and Japan carried out chemical analysis of food residues in pottery up to 15,000 years old from the late glacial period, the oldest pottery so far investigated. It is the first study to directly address the often posed question "why humans made pots?" The research is published in Nature.
The research team was able to determine the use of a range of hunter-gatherer "J?mon" ceramic vessels through chemical analysis of organic compounds extracted from charred surface deposits. The samples analysed are some of the earliest found in Japan, a country recognised to be one of the first centres for ceramic innovation, and date to the end of the Late Pleistocene -- a time when humans were adjusting to changing climates and new environments.
Until quite recently ceramic container technologies have been associated with the arrival of farming, but we now know they were a much earlier hunter-gatherer adaptation, though the reasons for their emergence and subsequent widespread uptake are poorly understood. The first ceramic containers must have provided prehistoric hunter-gatherers with attractive new ways for processing and consuming foods but until now virtually nothing was known of how or for what early pots were used.
The researchers recovered diagnostic lipids from the charred surface deposits of the pottery with most of the compounds deriving from the processing of freshwater or marine organisms. Stable isotope data support the lipid evidence, and suggest that the majority of the 101 charred deposits, analysed from across Japan, were derived from high trophic level aquatic foods.
Dr Oliver Craig, of the Department of Archaeology and Director of the BioArCh research centre at York, led the research. He said: "Foragers first used pottery as a revolutionary new strategy for the processing of marine and freshwater fish but perhaps most interesting is that this fundamental adaptation emerged over a period of severe climate change.
"The reliability and high abundance of food along shorelines and river-banks may well have provided the initial impetus for an investment in producing ceramic containers, perhaps to make the most of seasonal gluts or as part of elaborate celebratory feasts and could be linked to a reduction in mobility. This initial phase of ceramic production probably paved the way for further intensification in the warmer climate of the Holocene when we see much more pottery on Japanese sites.
"This study demonstrates that it is possible to analyse organic residues from some of the world's earliest ceramic vessels. It opens the way for further study of hunter-gatherer pottery from later periods to clarify the development of what was a revolutionary technology."
The study also involved researchers from Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford; Division of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University; School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool; Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen; Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University; The Archaeological Research Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University and Arctic Centre, University of Groningen, Netherlands; and Niigata Prefectural Museum of History, Niigata; Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto and Wakasa History and Folklore Museum, Fukui, in Japan.
The research was supported by the Leverhulme Trust and Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of York, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
O. E. Craig, H. Saul, A. Lucquin, Y. Nishida, K. Tach?, L. Clarke, A. Thompson, D. T. Altoft, J. Uchiyama, M. Ajimoto, K. Gibbs, S. Isaksson, C. P. Heron, P. Jordan. Earliest evidence for the use of pottery. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature12109
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
'They're like 'Yeah, shut up daddy. You don't make movies that we want to see!' ' actor says before this Sunday's MTV Movie Awards at 9 p.m. ET. By Brett White, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Michael Bay, Bar Pauly, Mark Wahlberg, Rob Corddry and Ken Jeong Photo: MTV News
It's been less than three years since Gary Kovacs came on as CEO of Mozilla and the former Adobe exec is already planning his next venture, which he says will be more commercial in nature. Later this year Kovacs will officially step down as CEO, though he will remain on the board of directors. Under his tenure, Firefox has held its own in a rapidly changing browser market while making strong moves in the mobile space: first, launching a mobile browser, then a whole mobile OS all its own. Now the company is working closely with Samsung to build a rendering engine designed from the ground up for mobile and ARM, called Servo. The search is now on for a replacement for Kovacs who will continue in the chief executive role until later this year. Whoever steps into those shoes still has a lot of work to do. While Kovacs may have helped guide the company through some rough waters to remain relevant, there are still stiff challenges ahead. Skip on past the break to read the announcement sent to employees this morning.
Hey, look, free stuff! Marvel is taking another shot at giving away more than 700 #1 issues of its comics through its digital service. That's thousands of dollars of comics, for free. More »
1 factor that can help determine black men's college successPublic release date: 9-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Terrell Strayhorn Strayhorn.3@osu.edu 614-292-7700 Ohio State University
'Grit' is as important as talent, high school achievement
COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Beyond good test scores and high school grades, a new study finds one key factor that helps predict if a young black man will succeed at a predominantly white university.
That factor is "grit" a dedication to pursuing and achieving a goal, whatever the obstacles and failures along the way.
Grit is so important that it was found to affect college grades for black men almost as much as high school GPA and ACT scores, said Terrell Strayhorn, author of the study and associate professor of educational studies at The Ohio State University.
"For many black men, talent and high school success are not the only things they need to succeed when they attend a predominantly white university."
"Despite where they begin in terms of college readiness, black males who show more grit than their peers earn better grades in college."
The study appears online in the Journal of African American Studies and will be published in a future print edition.
These findings are important, Strayhorn said, because they identify a way that educators and parents can make a real difference in improving college graduation rates for black men - especially since graduation from college depends, in part, on earning high enough grades to meet university academic standards.
Today, about two-thirds of black men who enter college leave before completing their degree the highest attrition rate among all races and both sexes.
"You can't change where a student grows up, or the quality of the high school he attended. But grit is something that can be taught and instilled in young men and it will have a real effect on their success," Strayhorn said.
The study involved 140 black male students who were enrolled full time at a large, predominantly white public university. Most were first-generation college students, reflecting the fact that ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented among those who are first in their family to attend college.
The students took an eight-question measure of grit that has been successfully used in many settings, including with cadets at West Point.
Participants rated how much they agreed with statements like "I have overcome setbacks" and "I finish whatever I begin."
Strayhorn compared the students' responses on these questions to their grades in college, which were provided by university officials.
Strayhorn also had a wide range of demographic information on the students, including high school grades and scores on the standardized ACT test that is used as a college entrance exam.
Results showed that grittier black males earned higher grades in college than their less-gritty peers even after taking into account a variety of factors that may affect grades, such as prior achievement, age, year in school, transfer status, how engaged they are in university activities and their degree aspirations.
"Even if they are talented and have shown past academic success, some black men may not succeed in college, and those are often the ones who show less grit," Strayhorn said.
"The ability to persevere in the face of obstacles is a key to college success for black men."
Strayhorn said he believes grit can also help students from other groups succeed, including whites and women, and those who attend other kinds of institutions, such as historically black colleges.
But grit may be more important for black males at predominantly white universities than it is for other groups.
"The environment at predominantly white institutions can be very different from the cultural backgrounds from which some black males come," he said.
"So these students not only have to deal with the academic demands, but work around the social differences that are dramatically different from where they grew up."
Strayhorn said he hopes that colleges and universities will develop programs that specifically work to develop grit in students, like black males, who are at-risk for academic failure.
"You can teach grit. I can imagine intense summer programs, almost like academic boot camps, that teach young people how to manage stress, balance demanding tasks over time, and how to cope with academic failure," Strayhorn said.
"These students need to learn resilience, how to maintain focus on their goals even when they fail a test or have some other setback academically or personally. I think that can make a real difference, especially for those who may experience challenges or setbacks."
###
Contact:
Terrell Strayhorn
(Email is the best way to reach Dr. Strayhorn)
Written by Jeff Grabmeier
614-292-8457 Grabmeier.1@osu.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
1 factor that can help determine black men's college successPublic release date: 9-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Terrell Strayhorn Strayhorn.3@osu.edu 614-292-7700 Ohio State University
'Grit' is as important as talent, high school achievement
COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Beyond good test scores and high school grades, a new study finds one key factor that helps predict if a young black man will succeed at a predominantly white university.
That factor is "grit" a dedication to pursuing and achieving a goal, whatever the obstacles and failures along the way.
Grit is so important that it was found to affect college grades for black men almost as much as high school GPA and ACT scores, said Terrell Strayhorn, author of the study and associate professor of educational studies at The Ohio State University.
"For many black men, talent and high school success are not the only things they need to succeed when they attend a predominantly white university."
"Despite where they begin in terms of college readiness, black males who show more grit than their peers earn better grades in college."
The study appears online in the Journal of African American Studies and will be published in a future print edition.
These findings are important, Strayhorn said, because they identify a way that educators and parents can make a real difference in improving college graduation rates for black men - especially since graduation from college depends, in part, on earning high enough grades to meet university academic standards.
Today, about two-thirds of black men who enter college leave before completing their degree the highest attrition rate among all races and both sexes.
"You can't change where a student grows up, or the quality of the high school he attended. But grit is something that can be taught and instilled in young men and it will have a real effect on their success," Strayhorn said.
The study involved 140 black male students who were enrolled full time at a large, predominantly white public university. Most were first-generation college students, reflecting the fact that ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented among those who are first in their family to attend college.
The students took an eight-question measure of grit that has been successfully used in many settings, including with cadets at West Point.
Participants rated how much they agreed with statements like "I have overcome setbacks" and "I finish whatever I begin."
Strayhorn compared the students' responses on these questions to their grades in college, which were provided by university officials.
Strayhorn also had a wide range of demographic information on the students, including high school grades and scores on the standardized ACT test that is used as a college entrance exam.
Results showed that grittier black males earned higher grades in college than their less-gritty peers even after taking into account a variety of factors that may affect grades, such as prior achievement, age, year in school, transfer status, how engaged they are in university activities and their degree aspirations.
"Even if they are talented and have shown past academic success, some black men may not succeed in college, and those are often the ones who show less grit," Strayhorn said.
"The ability to persevere in the face of obstacles is a key to college success for black men."
Strayhorn said he believes grit can also help students from other groups succeed, including whites and women, and those who attend other kinds of institutions, such as historically black colleges.
But grit may be more important for black males at predominantly white universities than it is for other groups.
"The environment at predominantly white institutions can be very different from the cultural backgrounds from which some black males come," he said.
"So these students not only have to deal with the academic demands, but work around the social differences that are dramatically different from where they grew up."
Strayhorn said he hopes that colleges and universities will develop programs that specifically work to develop grit in students, like black males, who are at-risk for academic failure.
"You can teach grit. I can imagine intense summer programs, almost like academic boot camps, that teach young people how to manage stress, balance demanding tasks over time, and how to cope with academic failure," Strayhorn said.
"These students need to learn resilience, how to maintain focus on their goals even when they fail a test or have some other setback academically or personally. I think that can make a real difference, especially for those who may experience challenges or setbacks."
###
Contact:
Terrell Strayhorn
(Email is the best way to reach Dr. Strayhorn)
Written by Jeff Grabmeier
614-292-8457 Grabmeier.1@osu.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_veVUIKyOSDQY5XyIvfCM8QrwvFb_3HNDVfkRhdbghak1Z-dmE9iyX1m8_aXfeuIiKyKIc4CYqbZlMxSkxACI1J9172Q7bfeNAeMRrs94g=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 9-Apr-2013
Share ]