Trying to entice businesses is expensive and ineffective

Today we announced the March 2024 core update. This is designed to improve the quality of Search by showing less content that feels like it was made to attract clicks, and more content that people find useful. We also shared that we have new spam policies to better handle the practices that can negatively impact Google's search results. In this post, we'll go into more detail for creators about both the update and the spam policies.

This post announces the August 2024 core update to Google Search. This update is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.

This post is about the new Google Trends Tutorials YouTube series. In these videos you'll learn how to use Google Trends to analyze patterns in Google Search and Youtube searches, and use them to create interesting content online.

We're sharing more information about our new search experiences in South Africa, and how South African platforms can express interest and participate.

If you read my articles regularly, you are already know that I dislike Across. Across is difficult to use, does not offer feature that are readily available in other CAT tools, and rather slows me down during my work instead of … Continue reading →

Apres la nomination d'Elon Musk a la tete d'un ministere de l'Efficacite gouvernementale, le ministre de la Fonction publique francais a exprime sa << hate >> de << partager les meilleures pratiques >>.

Les images sont « belles », elles tournent en boucle sur les réseaux sociaux, elles tendent à vouloir accréditer la thèse d’un mouvement composé d’ultra des deux extrêmes. La chose devrait donc être entendue, pour les « bons » militants ; rassurons-nous...

Trump et Poutine auraient discuté de la guerre en Ukraine, "une pure fiction", selon le Kremlin

1. Guerre en Ukraine : Vladimir Poutine «est en train de lancer une attaque de missiles sur Kiev», avertit le chef de cabinet de Volodymyr Zelensky  CNEWS
2. Guerre en Ukraine, jour 994 : attaque massive sur Kiev, Blinken promet « une réponse ferme »  La Croix
3. Ukraine: Kiev visée par une attaque de missiles et de drones  RFI
4. Guerre en Ukraine. Alerte aérienne, soldats nord-coréens à Koursk… le point sur la nuit  Ouest-France
5. Vincent Hervouët : Trump mettra-t-il fin à la guerre en Ukraine ?  Le Journal du dimanche

1. What is walking pneumonia? As cases rise in Canada, the symptoms to look out for  The Globe and Mail
2. Walking pneumonia on the rise in Kingston, but treatable  The Kingston Whig-Standard
3. What parents need to know about walking pneumonia in kids  FingerLakes1.com
4. Pediatric pneumonia is surging in Central Ohio  MSN
5. Walking Pneumonia is spiking right now. How do you know you have it?  CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR

1. Hiking with a backpack is the workout of 2024. An exercise scientist says it’s worth the extra effort  The Globe and Mail
2. Military-Inspired Workout Has 'Huge Wins' for Women, Says Personal Trainer  MSN
3. How Rucking Can Turn Your Walks into a Full-Body Workout  Verywell Health
4. What Is Rucking and Is It Better Than Regular Walking? Here's What Personal Trainers Say  EatingWell
5. Rucking: Why It’s a Great Workout & How to Get Started  Athletech News

Alien-like signal from 2023 has been decoded. The next step is to figure out what it means  CNN

1. The Stanchies: Canucks stomp out Flames in 3-1 victory  Canucks Army
2. Pettersson, Canucks having fun again with bounce-back win over Flames  Sportsnet.ca
3. Three takeaways as Flames cap gruelling stretch with loss to Canucks  Calgary Herald
4. Pettersson has goal, assist to lift Canucks past Flames  NHL.com
5. I Watched This Game: Brännström gets first goal as a Canuck in comfy win over Flames  Vancouver Is Awesome

1. Bev Priestman out at Canada Soccer in wake of Olympic drone-spying scandal  CTV News
2. Canada Soccer’s drone-spying redactions tell us a whole lot of nothing while it waits out the rage clock  The Globe and Mail
3. Key findings from Sonia Regenbogen's independent review into Olympic drone-spying  CP24
4. What comes next in Canada Soccer drone-scandal investigation?  Sportsnet.ca

1. Song Jae-lim, South Korean Actor, Dies at 39  Variety
2. South Korean actor Song Jae-lim dead at 39  CNN
3. South Korean Actor Song Jae-rim Dies in His Seoul Apartment at 39  PEOPLE
4. South Korean actor Song Jae-lim found dead at 39  CTV News
5. Song Jae Rim death: South Korean actor's last Instagram post sparks concern among fans  The Economic Times

1. B.C. ports lockout update: Union says it will challenge Ottawa’s intervention in work stoppages  Vancouver Sun
2. Union says it will challenge Ottawa's intervention in B.C. port work stoppages  CTV News
3. Labour minister forcing end of negotiations at Quebec ports marks 'dark day for workers' rights,' union says  CBC.ca
4. Canada orders ports to restart as labour disputes choke trade  Financial Post
5. Opinion: Stuck in the middle, and risking union support  The Globe and Mail

1. Former B.C. premier John Horgan dies aged 65, after third bout of cancer  National Post
2. Adam Pankratz: John Horgan wasn't your typical NDP premier  National Post
3. John Horgan: Reluctant leader became B.C.'s most-loved premier  Vancouver Sun
4. Premier’s statement on the passing of John Horgan  BC Gov News
5. UBC political scientist remembers former B.C. premier John Horgan’s legacy  CBC.ca

(Chronique d'avant-plage) Emmanuel Macron a écrit aux Français pour louer le parlementarisme et la stabilité institutionnelle. Il a pourtant contourné le Parlement pendant 7 ans et méprisé les Présidents des deux chambres en se contentant de les informer de la dissolution. Alors, avec un tel garant, que fait-on ?

The video game industry (VGI) has evolved considerably, transitioning from a niche market to a substantial sector. The VGI's magnitude and the societal implications tied to video game consumption have naturally piqued the interest of scholars in marketing and consumer behaviour. This research serves a dual purpose: firstly, it consolidates existing VG literature by evaluating articles, concepts, and methodologies, systematically tracing their evolution; secondly, it outlines potential directions and implications for forthcoming research. Within this literature, a predominant focus lies on articles investigating purchase decisions concerning VGs, followed by those exploring the integration of video game consumption into broader social contexts. Notably, a limited number of articles delve into player-game interactions and experiences within gaming worlds. This imbalance can be attributed to the fact that such inquiries are often suited to psychology and multidisciplinary journals, while the marketing discipline has predominantly addressed the VGI from a marketing management standpoint.

Pandemic has compelled the entire world to change their way of life and work. To control the infection rate, academic institutes deliver education online similarly. At least one smartphone is available in every home, and students use their smartphones to attend class. The study investigates the link between smartphone usage (SU) and academic performance (AP) during the pandemic. 490 data were obtained from various institutions and undergraduate students using stratified random sampling. These components were identified using factor analysis and descriptive methods, while the relationship of SU and AP based on gender classification was tested using Smart-PLS-SEM. The findings show that SU has a substantial relationship with academic success, whether done in class or outside of it. Even yet, the study found that SU and AP significantly impact both male and female students. Furthermore, the research focuses on SU outside and within the classroom to improve students' AP.

Aim/Purpose: In this study, the researchers investigated whether the out-of-class learning approach could help the students to attain any valuable learning outcomes for cybersecurity learning and could enhance the perceived value of cybersecurity education among the students. Background: Cybersecurity learning poses challenges for its students to learn a complicated subject matter and the students may be intimidated by the challenging courses in cybersecurity programs. Therefore, it is essential for the faculty members to devise some mechanisms to promote cybersecurity learning to increase its student retention. The mechanism suggested by this study was the out-of-class learning approach. Methodology: The researchers in this study employed a content analysis and adopted a semiotic method to analyze qualitative data. The researchers also conducted crosstabulation analyses using chi-square tests to detect the significant differences in the emerging learning outcomes from the two different out-of-class learning activities investigated in this study. Contribution: This study addressed the difficulty of cybersecurity education and proposed a viable mechanism to promote the student learning in such a complicated subject matter. Findings: For cybersecurity education, the out-of-class learning approach is a viable pedagogical mechanism that could lead the students to several learning outcomes, including connecting them to the real-life scenarios related to the cybersecurity profession, guiding them to their career choices and development, stimulating their intellectual growth, creating their justification of learning, and raising their cybersecurity awareness. Recommendations for Practitioners: The instructors of any cybersecurity programs should incorporate some out-of-class learning activities into the courses in their programs, especially the introductory-level courses. Additionally, it is important to coordinate the out-of-class learning activities with the in-class lessons to enable the students to justify what they have learned in their classrooms and motivate them to learn more. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers could look beyond in-class learning and laboratory learning to investigate the impacts of out-of-class learning activities on cybersecurity education to help the students to attain better learning outcomes. Impact on Society: By promoting cybersecurity education, universities and colleges could attain a higher retention rate of the students in their cybersecurity programs. The higher retention rate of the students in cybersecurity programs would help to ease the critical shortage of cybersecurity talent. Future Research: Future research could explore the impacts of other out-of-class learning activities on cybersecurity learning; for example: job shadowing, attending cybersecurity conferences, internship, developing cybersecurity systems or tools for actual customers, working on cybersecurity research with faculty members. Additionally, future studies could investigate the effects of the out-of-class learning approach on promoting other academic programs that are characterized by intensely complex and technical nature, similar to cybersecurity programs.

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents a machine learning approach for analyzing Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs). The aim of this study is to find a model that can check whether a CLO is well written or not. Background: The use of machine learning algorithms has been, since many years, a prominent solution to predict learner performance in Outcome Based Education. However, the CLOs definition is still presenting a big handicap for faculties. There is a lack of supported tools and models that permit to predict whether a CLO is well written or not. Consequently, educators need an expert in quality and education to validate the outcomes of their courses. Methodology: A novel method named CLOCML (Course Learning Outcome Classification using Machine Learning) is proposed in this paper to develop predictive models for CLOs paraphrasing. A new dataset entitled CLOC (Course Learning Outcomes Classes) for that purpose has been collected and then undergone a pre-processing phase. We compared the performance of 4 models for predicting a CLO classification. Those models are Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest, Naive Bayes and XGBoost. Contribution: The application of CLOCML may help faculties to make well-defined CLOs and then correct CLOs' measures in order to improve the quality of education addressed to their students. Findings: The best classification model was SVM. It was able to detect the CLO class with an accuracy of 83%. Recommendations for Practitioners: We would recommend both faculties’ members and quality reviewers to make an informed decision about the nature of a given course outcome. Recommendation for Researchers: We would highly endorse that the researchers apply more machine learning models for CLOs of various disciplines and compare between them. We would also recommend that future studies investigate on the importance of the definition of CLOs and its impact on the credibility of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) values during accreditation process. Impact on Society: The findings of this study confirm the results of several other researchers who use machine learning in outcome-based education. The definition of right CLOs will help the student to get an idea about the performances that will be measured at the end of a course. Moreover, each faculty can take appropriate actions and suggest suitable recommendations after right performance measures in order to improve the quality of his course. Future Research: Future research can be improved by using a larger dataset. It could also be improved with deep learning models to reach more accurate results. Indeed, a strategy for checking CLOs overlaps could be integrated.

Aim/Purpose: To conduct a needs assessment and subsequently create micro-storytelling media aimed at enhancing the Digital Intelligence Quotient (DQ) skills of young individuals. Background: In today's digital society, DQ has emerged as a vital skill that elevates individuals in all aspects of life, from daily living to education. To empower Thai youth, this study seeks to innovate DQ content by adapting it into a digital format known as micro-storytelling. This unique approach combines the art of storytelling with digital elements, creating engaging and effective micro-learning media Methodology: The methodology comprises three phases: 1) assessing the need for digital micro-storytelling development; 2) developing digital micro-storytelling; and 3) evaluating the DQ skills among young individuals. The sample group consisted of 55 higher education learners for needs assessment and 30 learners in the experiment group. Data analysis involves PNI modified, mean, and standard deviation. Contribution: This research contributes by addressing the urgent need for DQ skills in the digital era and by providing a practical solution in the form of digital micro-storytelling, tailored to the preferences and needs of Thai youth. It serves as a valuable resource for educators and policymakers seeking to empower young learners with essential digital competencies. Findings: The findings demonstrate three significant outcomes: 1) The learners wanted to organize their own learning experience with self-paced learning in a digital landscape, and they preferred digital media in the form of video. They were most interested in developing DQ to enhance their understanding of digital safety, digital security, and digital literacy; 2) according to a consensus of experts, digital micro-storytelling has the greatest degree of quality in terms of its development, content, and utilization, with an overall average of 4.86; and 3) the overall findings of the assessment of DQ skills indicate a favorable level of proficiency. Recommendations for Practitioners: Align materials with micro-learning principles, keeping content concise for effective knowledge retention. Empower students to personalize their digital learning and promote self-paced exploration based on their interests. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should continuously assess and update digital learning materials to align with the evolving digital landscape and the changing needs of students and investigate the long-term effects of DQ improvement, especially in terms of online safety and digital literacy in students' future lives and careers. Impact on Society: This study's impact on society is centered around fostering a DQ, promoting innovative educational approaches, and elevating Thai youth with essential digital skills. It contributes to a safer, more informed, and digitally literate generation prepared for the challenges of the digital era. Future Research: Undertake comparative studies to analyze the effectiveness of different digital learning formats and methodologies. Comparing micro-storytelling with other approaches can help identify the most efficient and engaging methods for enhancing DQ.

In the competitive landscape of globalised markets, businesses must prioritise cost reduction for sustained competitiveness. This study delves into the dynamic facility layout problem (DFLP) within a cable production company in Kerala, emphasising adaptability to changing production demands. Addressing material handling costs and rearrangement expenses, the research evaluates the efficacy of the current static layout and explores the benefits of transitioning to a dynamic layout. The case study reveals potential cost savings through the strategic restructuring of machine arrangements. The innovative machine learning-based genetic algorithm (ML-GA) integrates machine learning algorithms, genetic algorithms, and a local search method, offering a cutting-edge solution to dynamic facility layout challenges. By considering demand variability and relocation costs, the study provides insights for informed decision-making, emphasising the significance of material flow patterns. This research contributes to enhancing efficiency and profitability, providing practical implications for businesses navigating the complexities of modern manufacturing.

This study is unique in how it looks at how crowdfunding on the recurring pledge platform Patreon is associated with the frequency of video creation. It analyses factors that make video creators on YouTube more likely to crowdfund on Patreon. It finds channels that upload more frequently, younger channels, channels with more subscribers and views per video, and channels that shared their Facebook pages were more likely to crowdfund on that platform.

Though there have been many approaches to dealing with social problems in recent years, the concepts of social value have yet to be discussed thoroughly. Upon examining these concepts in existing studies and testing them with two case studies, the article shows that there is the possibility that a group's shared wants may not be widely recognised as a social problem, and targeting these unserved populations is a precondition for solving social issues. It is essential to identify hidden social problems by understanding what is still left, the number of people sharing the same want, the severity of the unmet want, and the possible resources for solution generation. Social value in its narrower definition means meeting the satisfaction of the group sharing the same want, while in its broader definition, it means meeting the satisfaction of wider society. Finding workable solutions involves not only the group of people sharing the same want but also others who do not have the same want but who do recognise the importance of acknowledging the want of the subgroup.

The value and utility of traditional knowledge in conserving and commercialising genetic resources are increasingly becoming apparent due to advances in biotechnology and bioprospecting. However, the absence of an international legally binding instrument within the WIPO system means that traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is not sufficiently protected like other forms of intellectual property. This means that indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) do not benefit from the commercial exploitation of these resources. The efficacy of domestic tools to protect traditional knowledge and in balancing the rights of IPLCs and intellectual property rights (IPRs) is still debated. This paper employs a doctrinal research methodology based on desktop research of international and regional law instruments and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, to determine the basis for balancing the protection of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge with competing interests of IPLCs and IPRs in South Africa.