Latest news with #21stCentury
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Boston Globe
Two Pittsfield educators charged with involuntary manslaughter in drowning of 12-year-old at summer program
A student at Herberg Middle School in Pittsfield, Essien went to Beartown State Forest in Great Barrington on July 17 as part of the school's 21st Century learning program, prosecutors said. Towards the end of the day trip, she was taken with other students to swim in Benedict Pond. Advertisement Organizers initially planned for two small groups to enter the water separately. But because the trip was running behind schedule, all 35 children on the trip were allowed to swim at the same time, at approximately 12:45 p.m., prosecutors said. Prosecutors said at least three children told Braley, the program's onsite supervisor, that Essien was unable to swim and had gone under the water. Those warnings were allegedly dismissed, and Essien was not identified as missing until around 1:40 p.m., after students had left the water and got on the bus to leave. Staff then began searching the dressing rooms and bathrooms, prosecutors said, and called Essien's father to see if she had returned to Pittsfield. At roughly 1:45 p.m., emergency responders arrived after receiving a 911 call from a concerned bystander, rather than summer program staff, according to Julia Sabourin, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office. Advertisement Essien's body was pulled from the water just before 2 p.m., prosecutors said. Investigators found that various lapses in supervision and safety protocols contributed to the girl's death , prosecutors said. Namely, program staff never administered swim tests to the children, as required by state law, and did not keep track of which students were in the water, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said only 25 students were expected to be on the trip, according to a state forest permit, and only 15 were expected to be in the water at any given time. But Braley allegedly allowed all 35 students in the water at once — a number that would have required an extra lifeguard on duty, prosecutors said. Whitacre, as program coordinator, did not provide staff with orientation plans to ensure the safety of children swimming at the pond, prosecutors said. Six adult chaperones were present on the trip, Sabourin said, along with three student interns and one student lifeguard. In a statement, Berkshire District Attorney Timothy J. Shugrue said that Whitacre and Braley neglected their 'profound duty of care' and that 'their actions, or rather lack thereof, caused' Essien's death. 'Parents entrust summer programs with their children under the belief that these experiences will be safe and enriching,' Shugrue said. 'That trust carries immense responsibility. In this case, a series of preventable and reckless oversights directly contributed to the unintentional death of a child.' Braley worked as a middle school English teacher at Herberg from August 2021 to June 2024, according to her Advertisement Braley did not return to the district for the latest school year, Sabourin said. She did not cooperate with law enforcement during the investigation, Sabourin said. An attorney listed for Braley could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. Her arraignment is scheduled for August, prosecutors said. It's not clear whether Whitacre is still employed by the Pittsfield public schools. As of Thursday, she was listed as interim coordinator for the 21st Century program on the district's Her arraignment has not yet been scheduled, and no attorney is listed in her case, according to court records. She could not immediately be reached for comment. Essien had moved to the Berkshires from Ghana months before her death, At the time of her death, she was 'just days shy' of her 13th birthday, Sabourin said. The superintendent of the Pittsfield school district, Joseph Curtis did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. Camilo Fonseca can be reached at
Business Wire
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, to Speak at 16 th Annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit on Sept 9-12 in DC
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General Dan Caine, Chairman, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, DoD, will speak in a Plenary Fireside Chat at the 16th Annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit. General Caine will explore key threats facing the nation, technology's role in mitigating threats, and the kinds of relationships with domestic, foreign, and commercial partners that will be increasingly important in this quest. Being held September 9-12, 2025 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, the event is expected to draw more than 3,500 attendees and over 250 speakers. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will speak at the 16th Annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit in DC about key cyber threats facing the nation. 'We are very honored that General Caine will share his deep insights about the 21st Century threat at our 16th summit,' explained Thomas K. Billington, CEO and Founder, Billington CyberSecurity, a leading cyber education company for executives. 'His views as the country's principal military advisor to the President will be incredibly important for the high-level audience to hear at the world's premier government cyber event. For the 16th year, we will convene the largest ecosystem of senior level public and private sector leaders from the U.S. and our allied partners over four exceptional days of content and networking to enhance our cybersecurity and deter our cyber adversaries.' Designed to address the nation's pressing cyber needs, the four-day event includes over 50 panel discussions, breakout sessions, and fireside chats with cyber leaders. Presented by a variety of sponsors, including Lead Underwriters: Amazon Web Services, CISCO, and Leidos, the summit features sessions headlined by General Caine and more than 250 high-level speakers spanning government, military, nonprofits, industry, and academia including: Leonel Garciga, Chief Information Officer, US Army Katherine 'Katie' Arrington, Performing the Duties of Chief Information Officer, DOD Richard Horne, CEO, National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), United Kingdom Lt. Gen. Paul T. Stanton, Commander of the Joint Force, Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network and Director, DISA (Invited Pending Agency Approval) Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, Australia's National Cyber Security Coordinator Jennifer Link, CISO, CIA Richard Horne, CEO, National Cyber Security Centre, United Kingdom James Kemp Jennings Roche, Chief Information Security Officer, DoD Cyber Crime Center Adarryl Roberts, CIO, DLA Dr. Kelly Fletcher, CIO, Department of State (Invited Pending Agency Approval) James Kemp Jennings-Roche, CISO, DoD Cyber Crime Center Adarryl Roberts, CIO, DLA Jane Rathbun, CIO, U.S. Department of the Navy Col. Erica M. Mitchell, Director, Cyber & Spectrum Operations Integration, U.S. Space Command David Hinchman, Director, Information Technology & Cybersecurity, GAO In addition to the exceptional lineup of senior government speakers, thought-provoking general and breakout sessions, and leadership luncheon, the summit will also include a host of receptions to help attendees meet and engage with other conference attendees and speakers. The summit also has over 150 cyber-focused vendor booths where attendees can see demos and learn about innovative technologies. Learn more or register at Attendee tickets for government and military are complimentary. Early bird rates for corporate are $1,395; small businesses, non-profits, international governments, and academia are $595; and students are $45. Credentialed working media are free and encouraged to register in advance to cover the event at About Billington CyberSecurity Founded in 2010, Billington CyberSecurity is the leading cyber education company for executives, hosting high-caliber summits and workshops that explore key cyber issues that advance the cybersecurity of the U.S. government, its allied partners, and critical infrastructure. These events convene senior most government officials and industry partners, highlighted by its signature conference—the annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit held each fall—which attracts more than 3,000 attendees and 250 speakers.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
NYT ‘Connections' Hints For Friday, June 27: Clues And Answers For Today's Game
Find the links between the words to win today's game of Connections. Each day's game of NYT Connections goes live at midnight local time. Before we get to today's Connections hints and answers, here are Thursday's: Hey there, Connectors! The weekend is right around the corner and I hope it's a wonderful one for you. This week, you may have seen that The New York Times published a list of the 100 best movies of the 21st century, as voted on by hundreds of film industry creatives. There's an option for readers to submit their own ballots too. I decided to do that and figured I may as well share my picks with you folks as well. I didn't give this too much thought. I just went with the first 10 films since 2000 that came to mind that I truly, deeply love. They are: I would say that if you're curious about watching The Endless that you should first watch Resolution from the same filmmakers, as there's a link between the films. I adore all of these, though. Movies are just the best. Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It's a fun hangout spot, and you're more than welcome to hang out with us. Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don't look at the comments or Twitter much. You can also read my weekend editions of this column at my new newsletter, Pastimes. Today's NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, June 27 are coming right up. How To Play Connections Connections is a free, popular New York Times daily word game. You get a new puzzle at midnight every day. You can play on the NYT's website or Games app. You're presented with a grid of 16 words. Your task is to arrange them into four groups of four by figuring out the links between them. The groups could be things like items you can click, names for research study participants or words preceded by a body part. There's only one solution for each puzzle, and you'll need to be careful when it comes to words that might fit into more than one category. You can shuffle the words to perhaps help you see links between them. Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to figure out, blue and green fall in the middle, and the purple group is usually the most difficult one. The purple group often involves wordplay. Select four words you think go together and press Submit. If you make a guess and you're incorrect, you'll lose a life. If you're close to having a correct group, you might see a message telling you that you're one word away from getting it right, but you'll still need to figure out which one to swap. If you make four mistakes, it's game over. Let's make sure that doesn't happen with the help of some hints, and, if you're really struggling, today's Connections answers. As with Wordle and other similar games, it's easy to share results with your friends on social media and group chats. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the publication's Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections, so you can go back and play any of those that you have missed. What Are Today's Connections Hints? Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today's Connections groups, I'll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them. Today's 16 words are... And the hints for today's Connections groups are: One Word For Each Connections Group Need some extra help? Be warned: we're starting to get into spoiler territory. Let's take a look at one word for each group. Today's Connections word hints are… What Are Today's Connections Groups? Today's Connections groups are... What Are Today's Connections Answers? Spoiler alert! Don't scroll any further down the page until you're ready to find out today's Connections answers. This is your final warning! Today's Connections answers are... I'm not going to keep you in suspense this time. I found this one pretty easy. It was one of those times when everything kind of gelled together in my brain all at once. Seeing BLUES and MARX next to each other made the purples clear pretty much straight away. BLOOD Brothers could refer to the musical, band or two people not related by birth who swear loyalty to each other. The CHEMICAL Brothers are a legendary electronic music group. Cool to see them referenced here, and I'm happy to see them pop up as my well of recommendations was running a little dry. Anyway, the Sesame Street characters (Big BIRD, COUNT Von COUNT, Oscar the GROUCH and Cookie or Telly MONSTER) were clear as day. I wasn't sure whether the angel elements or the fashionable words would be the greens. I took a guess and I wasn't quite right. So close to the reverse rainbow! Still, my streak is up to 122 wins. Here's my grid: 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 That's all there is to it for today's Connections clues and answers. I'll be back with you all here on Monday. In the meantime, you can check out my weekend editions of this column in my newsletter, Pastimes. P.S. The Chemical Brothers have a ton of great songs. "Let Forever Be" is probably my favorite, but we're going into the weekend, so let's go with something that's got more of a dancey vibe. Featuring vocals from the great Q-Tip, "Galvanize" is a great track. Friends, my finger is on the button: Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love! Please follow my blog for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too. You can also read my weekend editions of this column at my new newsletter, Pastimes.
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
I have a master's degree and by raising two teens, I've earned a PhD in Parenting
First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at I thought grad school was challenging. I remember surgically attaching a Doppler cuff to an artery of Atlantic salmon, then measuring its cardiac performance while the fish exercised in a swim tube. I worked with complicated statistical analyses that took me months to figure out. All this led to writing a paper decent enough to be accepted into a scientific journal. Job hunting was nerve-racking. Next came marriage – having a healthy one takes loads of work. Childbirth was no picnic and raising toddlers while working full time with a frequently travelling husband? Now that was chaotic. I would tell my teen self, one day you'll be the out-est you can be and life turns out great Presently, however, I'm doing my darnedest to parent teenage girls in the 21st century. There is no single word to describe it. There is a metaphor, though, that I have used a few times in the past few years years. 'I'd think twice before having kids,' I told one woman. 'Being a parent is like ripping your heart out of your chest, pinning it to a clothesline and leaving it outside to be whipped and beaten by tropical storm.' Of course there are pauses in that tropical storm. But parenting teen girls is the hardest job I've had yet. If I'm not learning about mental-health concerns or the lure of addictive, influential technology then I'm helping them navigate the horrendous ways teenagers treat one another, especially behind their backs and on social media. It's left my heart weathered, at best, and tattered on the most blustery days. It was about three years ago that I started working toward my PhD in Parenting. I didn't plan to, but that's how parenting works. Expect the unexpected. A PhD in Parenting is a multidisciplinary degree and, in case you were wondering, self-adorned. I've earned it by spending the equivalent of weeks if not months of reading about topics ranging from anxiety and bullying to Gen Z lingo used online. I've conducted research, analyzed information, kept meticulous records and written enough correspondence to school administrators, counsellors and other professionals to, in my opinion, earn an honorary doctorate. I don't want another framed certificate on my office wall, though. I want to raise good humans (which I am) that are resilient (which they are learning to be) and who find joy and good in people and the world despite the crud it sometimes throws at you (which I have reason to believe will happen). I also work as a children's writer. Many of my projects have social-emotional themes, likely sparked by my recent self-education about the nervous system. A few months ago, I attended a conference and during a book editor's presentation, she said that when hard things happen, we need to write a story about it. That's how we can make a difference. We are writers, after all. That's why I'm writing this reflection. Maybe my words will reach someone else that needs to read them as much as I need to write them. Psychologist and author Dr. Lisa Damour says that there has never been a harder time to be a teenager or to parent teenagers. Hearing this makes me feel like I'm not alone or the only person trying to find their way through the land of teenageville. Based on my personal experiences so far, I have every reason to believe that Damour's statement is 125 per cent accurate. That means, however, that this may not be my last reflection on raising teens, especially since my daughters are only 12 and 17. If the past three years are any indication, I can't begin to imagine what subject matter I'll delve into next that will further diversify my multidisciplinary degree. Here's hoping it's as mundane as learning the ins and outs of cross-stitch. Some days my heart feels tired from maintaining its steadfast pumping, especially when the winds pick up again. Yet I keep it secured to that clothesline, held firm by my belief that knowledge is the pin that keeps it up there, hanging on whatever the weather delivers. If my girls have to be teenagers in the 21st century, the least I can do is face the storm with them. If I've learned nothing else in earning my honorary doctorate, I've learned that. And that I'm unlikely to run out of story ideas any time soon. Beth Elliott lives in Ottawa.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Science
- Forbes
The Evolution Of Timekeeping: From Sundials To MEMS
Markus Lutz is CTO and Founder of SiTime Corporation. He is a MEMS expert, a prolific entrepreneur and inventor who holds over 100 patents. If there is one thing that modern society has in common with its ancient ancestors, it is the desire to measure time. Whether it's finding common ground between daylight saving time and standard time or tracking the sun's movement, humans have always looked for ways to develop timekeeping methods and track seasons, whether for agricultural reasons or religious celebrations. Scientists refer to this need to measure time as time consciousness, and humans have been chasing this need to track the hours and seasons for more than 5,000 years. One of the earliest signs of timekeeping was discovered in 2013 when researchers found an ancient sundial in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Over the millennia, the ability to measure time has become increasingly precise, driven by technological and societal advancements that have shaped the rise of civilizations around the world. If sundials revolutionized time measurement in the 1400s BC, quartz brought timekeeping into the 20th century and silicon brought it into the 21st century. The Role Of Precision Time Measurement Modern time measurement is dependent on oscillators, which work as the heartbeat of the clock. The earliest clocks to use mechanical oscillators were pendulum clocks, based on observations recorded by Galileo. The first successful pendulum clock was built in 1657 and improved precision from minutes to mere seconds per day. For the first time, mechanical clocks became more reliable than the astronomical observations that had been used for centuries and generally lost 15 seconds per day. In the 1880s, brothers Pierre and Jacques Curie discovered that quartz crystals can generate a consistent electrical signal when subjected to mechanical stress. It took until 1927 to see the invention of the quartz crystal oscillator and the ability to apply an electric charge to induce precise vibrations at a stable frequency. Quartz crystal resonators harnessed this effect, and the new quartz clock provided a level of consistency far superior to mechanical timekeepers. By the 1970s, quartz technology dominated electronic timekeeping, powering wristwatches, household clocks, computers and telecommunications systems—where precise synchronization was crucial. In the never-ending search for the most accurate and precise time measurement system, researchers began to explore silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) as a replacement for quartz, given how susceptible it can be to environmental stressors, including temperature, vibration and shock. By the early 21st century, silicon MEMS oscillators began being commercialized, building a new foundation of precision timing solutions offered by companies like Microchip, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices and SiTime, where I am the founder and CTO. Advantages Of Silicon MEMS Technology MEMS starts with the word micro, and this offers an advantage over crystal oscillators. In this case, a silicon MEMS can create oscillators the size of small semiconductor chips. The small size means the ability to be used in more applications, creating more timekeeping devices. Silicon is also more customizable and scalable than crystal and is manufactured to meet very specific demands. Silicon MEMS is also more environmentally resistant. As mentioned, quartz oscillators are susceptible to extreme temperature changes and other factors. More locations are now vulnerable to these extreme shifts—40- or 50-degree swings in temperature in a matter of hours are not uncommon. An increasing number of devices that rely on time measurement also rely on infrastructure like cell towers that are impacted by extreme weather. However, it isn't just the outside environment. Because of the energy consumption required by servers, data centers generate a lot of heat that impacts the performance quality of oscillators. The same scenario applies to industrial plants with high-tech machinery that produce excessive heat. At the other extreme, the aerospace and defense industries need to battle temperatures that plunge hundreds of degrees below zero while ensuring that the time measurement systems in airplanes, satellites and rockets remain accurate. Transitioning To New Applications And Innovations AI and edge computing are the buzz in technology right now because they are changing the way we do everything. Both AI and edge computing require precision timing technologies, and silicon-based MEMS clocks and oscillators can play a pivotal role in the synchronization of systems. Quartz-based device oscillators have played an important role in timekeeping for nearly 100 years, but quartz's limitations and inability to remain accurate outside of stable environmental conditions make it a less desirable choice for a variety of electronic systems. It comes down to this one bit of research: Crystal oscillators have a mean time between failure of approximately 30 million hours, while silicon MEMS is reliable for over 500 million hours. This suggests MEMS-based timing solutions can offer longer operational lifespans in some use cases like AI, edge computing and autonomous systems. Advances in technology to support AI and edge computing will likely drive a shift away from quartz timing and begin the era of silicon MEMS and precision timing. Key Considerations When Selecting Precision Timing Devices While silicon MEMS timing solutions bring notable benefits in areas like reliability, size and environmental robustness, quartz technology continues to play an important role in specific use cases. For example, quartz oscillators may offer lower phase noise at certain frequencies and remain a practical choice for maintaining compatibility with legacy systems. Additionally, their established presence in global supply chains can make them a cost-efficient option for high-volume, less performance-intensive applications. As timing technologies evolve, selecting the right solution depends on the unique demands of each design. Choosing the right precision timing components is critical to system performance and reliability. Key factors to evaluate include frequency stability, phase noise, jitter, power consumption, size, temperature tolerance, cost, underlying technology and supplier support. A highly stable frequency ensures consistent accuracy across varying conditions, while low phase noise and jitter are essential for reliable performance and precise data synchronization. Low power consumption is vital for energy efficiency, especially in portable or thermally constrained designs, and compact form factors are preferred for space-limited applications. Finally, selecting a trusted supplier with strong technical support and long-term availability ensures continuity throughout the product lifecycle. By carefully weighing these parameters, designers can choose timing solutions that deliver long-term accuracy, synchronization and operational reliability. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
