Powerfulwomen
http://www.knowledgeshift.net
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
MobiDiction, pt4: Phones for Felons
Today's post again comes from the news. A friend recently alerted me to this innovative new program that a correctional system has implemented in the Southeast. Here it is:
"Repeat offender rates have always been awful in our state, but in the last year they've gotten so desperate that we've had to start taking new, 'outside-the-box' measures. The most recent one is a locally funded program to give inmates well-equipped mobile devices upon their return to society.
There was considerable public outcry at first ('Why reward criminals with items that most tax-paying citizens can't afford?'), but much of that has now been silenced by the program's success. Of course it's too early to make a complete judgment, and other factors may be at play, but the fact remains that this month's repeat offender rate is considerably lower than expected.
What's the link between lower crime and mobility, you ask? We believe that the busier and more distracted ex-convicts are, the less time they'll have to commit crime. We've equipped their devices with an assortment of games and stupid videos, and limited browsing and communication abilities. Thus, now instead of masterminding heists, stealing from the weak, or murdering for pleasure, they're beating Frogger and watching 'Knock Knock.' The results are there for all to see.
Is this finally the nationwide solution we've been looking for? It stands to reason that so long as ex-cons are wasting their lives away they can't ruin others'. But only time will tell."
"Repeat offender rates have always been awful in our state, but in the last year they've gotten so desperate that we've had to start taking new, 'outside-the-box' measures. The most recent one is a locally funded program to give inmates well-equipped mobile devices upon their return to society.
There was considerable public outcry at first ('Why reward criminals with items that most tax-paying citizens can't afford?'), but much of that has now been silenced by the program's success. Of course it's too early to make a complete judgment, and other factors may be at play, but the fact remains that this month's repeat offender rate is considerably lower than expected.
What's the link between lower crime and mobility, you ask? We believe that the busier and more distracted ex-convicts are, the less time they'll have to commit crime. We've equipped their devices with an assortment of games and stupid videos, and limited browsing and communication abilities. Thus, now instead of masterminding heists, stealing from the weak, or murdering for pleasure, they're beating Frogger and watching 'Knock Knock.' The results are there for all to see.
Is this finally the nationwide solution we've been looking for? It stands to reason that so long as ex-cons are wasting their lives away they can't ruin others'. But only time will tell."
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
MobiDiction, pt3: Mobile Potty Joker
I'm able to take today's installment straight from the headlines. The following story, which comes from France, proves that mobidiction is indeed a worldwide phenomenon. Without further ado:
"A passenger on a French train had to be rescued by firemen after having his arm sucked down the on-board toilet.
"A passenger on a French train had to be rescued by firemen after having his arm sucked down the on-board toilet.
The 26-year-old victim was trapped when he tried to fish out his mobile phone, which had fallen into the toilet bowl, and fell foul of the suction system.
The high-speed TGV train had to stop for two hours while firemen cut through the train's pipework.
The man was carried away by emergency services, with the toilet still attached to his arm.
"He came out on a stretcher, with his hand still jammed in the toilet bowl, which they had to saw clean off," said Benoit Gigou, a witness to the man's plight.
The incident happened on Sunday evening, aboard a train travelling in western France between La Rochelle and Paris." (Source: the BBC)"
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