Monday, October 30, 2006

The Carnival of GRADual Progress

The Carnival of GRADual Progress

"Carnivals"... one of those Web2.0 things in the blogosphere I 'thought' I knew about, or knew what they all meant...but maybe not afterall.

At least here's one that might have some direct relevancy to my current state, and status. Now if I can just figure out the semantics, culture...and oh, for pete's sake, stop using academic words...if I can wrap my head around WTF these are, maybe someday I'll contribute.

Or just keep lurking...

How Many of Me - Front Page

How Many of Me - Front Page

Saw this on one of the few blogs I read that isn't hosted by an anonymous blogger. She was complaining about the 30 or so others sharing her name, granted a somewhat more unique name than my own, but still...try having more than 600 some odd people with your same combination of first and last names! And yes, I admit to occaisionally going ego-surfing and Googling myself...hell, in this day and age it's only prudent to do so. Any job interviewer or such would do the same.
And the problem naturally comes in that there are so many others with "my" name...and so many of them are all online it seems. How would any potential future employer, or other important person, know which one is the "real" me??
Will any such searchers really remember to use my middle initial? Will they even know what that is? What does this all mean in terms of 'identity'?

And exactly how do they come up with the data for this little online toy?

Interesting questions from a random tangent and time-kill.

Digital History Hacks: On N-gram Data and Automated Plagiarism Checking

Digital History Hacks: On N-gram Data and Automated Plagiarism Checking

another link while i'm in this 'fight plagiarism, respect intellectual property' rant or mindset.

and potentially another blog worth adding to the blogroll...if just for the title...have to check it out further.

A Culture of Expectation Among Today’s Students « The Redneck Librarian

A Culture of Expectation Among Today’s Students « The Redneck Librarian: "None so far have placed the blame on technology."

From a discussion, review of other blog posting on rise in plagiarism. The rant from an educator in the UK says that profs are to blame for coddling today's indulgent students who have grown up without learning, without challenge and that profs give them everything they want. This second blogger, Redneck Librarian, comments that none of the reasons and excuses or whatever about rise in plagiarism has pointed to technology as a cause.

Why not?
Is there really only a small subset that sees the darkside of the Net and 'technology' that goes along with all the wonders? That perhaps this 'indulgent'nature or 'culture of expectation' comes from the instant gratification world of the Web. The Web has made access to resourcs and documents easier, faster, cheaper-- yes, we all know that and love it-- but it also means that everything is, easier, faster and cheaper--including 'bad' information and a student's inability to distinguish 'good' from 'bad'. We're all inclined to do what is easy and fast--human nature. (Hey, I'm just spouting some unfortunate eternal truths--don't have to like 'em) And the Net most definitely makes what used to be hard, onerous research, often much easier, faster and cheaper. And with students gowing up with computers and the Net, they may not know any other way. Doesn't absolve them...hell no...just means we all face a bigger responsibility to teach information literacy, credibility of sources, critical thinking, and respect for intellectual property.

Granted, a tough sell for teens and young adults, but one we should be making as educators, parents, librarians, guides, mentors-- well before they hit college, or even high school.

The History Enthusiast

The History Enthusiast

Blog to add to the blogroll, or RSS feeds.
PhD student in history; teaching, researching, angsting like the rest of us. But good link to a mind in a field I'm only going to be dabbling in.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Post-PhD Blues: Grasping at Straws

Post-PhD Blues: Grasping at Straws

Someone who has been down the path, made it to the other side, and still is uncertain. Honest, refreshing, a bit depressing, and yet cautiously optimistic. A blog worth following. [good grief...how many times have I said THAT in a post?? better yet, how many times do I actually follow up? hmmm, could it be that making posts about blogs of interest is NOT the best way to 'follow' them? D'UH!! sheesh, some "info pro" I am...]

Friday, October 20, 2006

InformationWeek Weblog: Deleted: What's Not Up To Snuff For Wikipedia

InformationWeek Weblog: Deleted: What's Not Up To Snuff For Wikipedia

Link from here to original NYT article on how Wikipedia decides which entries stay, which go (what...you didn't think every little bit of drivel someone, or some group, writes stays up in perpetuity?? c'mon!) and who decides. Interesting research implications and behind the scenes look at social networking. We already know there are tons of politics in play at Wikipedia and that communal editing has been abused in the past, and will likely be again. Always helpful to have a bright spotlight flashed at any problem spots or weaknesses-- afterall, that is part of the point of social software, no?! That the community of writers makes changes based on what is brought to its attention-- the glaring mistakes, obvious and not so obvious omissions, the here-to-fore unknowns...
Question is...where is the fine line between editing, fixing mistakes and crossing into misinformation or censorship. The world is not black and white, but many shades of grey-- wikis and other social software should reflect that too.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

The future isn’t what it used to be - The Practical Futurist - MSNBC.com

The future isn’t what it used to be - The Practical Futurist - MSNBC.com: "excellent new book “Follies of Science: 20th Century Visions of Our Fantastic Future” (Speck Press, $19) is a lavish visual compendium of art work, advertisements, cartoons, magazine covers and government documents, all depicting just how wonderful, or occasionally terrifying, the future will be. Virtually all of the visions, of course, are also dead wrong. "

Love reading things like these! Even better if someone's done the actual research and can back up their claims about quotes and predictions, and it's not just folklore or urban legend. May have to go pick this up.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

juggling teaching and dissertating (revisionspiral.blog-city.com)

juggling teaching and dissertating (revisionspiral.blog-city.com)

Keep this handy for 3rd Year, when hopefully I can manage teaching and research/dissertation work. And hopefuly have a life.

hopefully...

really...I do hope...just a glimmer of hope...

all I need....
hope

;-)

Easily Distracted

Easily Distracted

Is this one in my blogroll?? If not, it ought to be...if just for the name!! That's so up my alley...hell, i'm distracted even now...should be doing something else... like maybe sleeping, working, etc!

NPR : Failure Is a Good Thing

NPR : Failure Is a Good Thing

I'll have to try and remember this more often as I go through grad school, do research, try and get published, and attempt tenure track some day!
May need many reminders like this along the way since I have a near pathological fear of rejection...
...yeah, THAT's gonna go over well in this new profession of mine! Cuz academia is just known for being so accepting and supportive. HA! I crack myself up...

Friday, October 06, 2006

Some youth rethink online communications - Yahoo! News

Some youth rethink online communications - Yahoo! News: "Though he's not anti-technology, Bugeja often lectures students about 'interpersonal intelligence' � knowing when, where and for what purpose technology is most appropriate."

Interesting trend worth watching and studying further. Are teens and young adults realizing that much of the social-networking phenomena is a superficial connection or relationship? Are they craving the more intitmate or authentic interactions of face-to-face encounters and friendship time?
Or is it just part of 'growing up' that leads you this more mature point of view-- seeing that there is a time and place for certain types or formats of communication and that not every interaction fits every available medium? Or to paraphras the quoted professor, 'there's a time and a place for everything'-- learn it.