Digital Future Report

Earlier in this blog, I complained bitterly that this report, put out by the Center for the Digital Future was priced ridiculously beyond the reach of libraries at $1,500 for the 120 page report. Bob Oakley at Georgetown University asked the center if they would offer a special price for non-profit organizations. And they did! Hooray! I thought it only fair to thank them publicly after being so bitter earlier. So, thank you very much, Center for the Digital Future, for offering your report at the special non-profit price of $75. You can receive the report by sending a check for the non-profit amount, and your tax-exempt number to:


Center for the Digital Future
USC Annenberg School for Communication
300 S. Grand Ave., Suite 3950
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Lord help us!

KMOV.com | St. Louis, MO | St. Louis Area News:

State bill proposes Christianity be Missouri’s official religion

12:28 AM CST on Friday, March 3, 2006

By John Mills, News 4

Missouri legislators in Jefferson City considered a bill that would name Christianity the state's official 'majority' religion.

House Concurrent Resolution 13 has is pending in the state legislature.

Many Missouri residents had not heard about the bill until Thursday.

Karen Aroesty of the Anti-defamation league, along with other watch-groups, began a letter writing and email campaign to stop the resolution.

The resolution would recognize 'a Christian god,' and it would not protect minority religions, but 'protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs.

The resolution also recognizes that, 'a greater power exists,' and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, 'justified recognition.'

State representative David Sater of Cassville in southwestern Missouri, sponsored the resolution, but he has refused to talk about it on camera or over the phone.

KMOV also contacted Gov. Matt Blunt's office to see where he stands on the resolution, but he has yet to respond.

DHS Protecting Us from Paying Off Debt

The Green Knight: Don't Pay Off Your Credit Card Bill
posted by TheGreenKnight

Unless you want to be spied on by Homeland Security.

They paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.

And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable.

And all they did was pay down their debt. They didn't call a suspected terrorist on their cell phone. They didn't try to sneak a machine gun through customs.

They just paid a hefty chunk of their credit card balance....

They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified....

Eventually, his and his wife's money was freed up. The Soehnges were apparently found not to be promoting global terrorism under the guise of paying a credit-card bill. They never did learn how a large credit card payment can pose a security threat.

Big Brother really is watching you. And you'd better not call attention to yourself by doing something virtuous like paying down debt.

John Aravosis saw it first.

More about E-books -- future of teaching generally

The print journal Campus Technology, vol. 19, no. 7, March 2006, at page 20 has an article "The Rise of Student Performance Content- Move over textbooks: Spontaneous, course-generated content may be edging you out," by Judith V. Boettcher. Besides making it easy to pull together a selective bibliography of recent articles on the topic, Ms. Boettcher has some interesting points, though of course, she is speaking more generally than law case books. Here are her main points, redigested:

She believes that education theory and students coming up in the educational pipeline both are pressuring educators toward a more interactive teaching style. Students want to do something to learn, not just to read. This means that more and more teachers are creating their own content for courses. The two interesting citations she provided were: "Are Textbooks Dispensible?" by John Moore,Journal of Chemical Education, 2003 (his answer seems to be Yes!); and "Making Textbooks Worthwhile," by Leon Fink Chronicle of Higher Education, 2005. She also links the reader to "The Economic Case for Creative Commons Textbooks," by Fred M. Beshears CT's eLearning Dialogue eLetter, Oct. 5, 2005, a proposal to develop open-source educational software. Here are her main points about the development of electronic textbooks as she sees it:

1 - Textbooks are slowly morphing from a physical book to a CD and book, a website and a digital book. She has seen recent product announcements, one at http://www.findaway.org which has an audiobook and portable player. When I went to this site, I could find no mention of any audio book or player -- they seem to be focusing entirely on music videos now. But, the idea seems reminiscent of the new Ipod and podcasting phenomenon, so perhaps it would be feasible, but it seems to me that an audiobook suffers from the problem of being serial in nature -- it would be difficult to use the audiofile in anyway except in a linear order, even if you can search and find the correct place to begin listening.

The other new announcement that she has seen is from http://www.sony.com , with a larger text-display screen, but the carry-case is about the size of a paper-back book. I had trouble locating the report she refers to at the general website and think this must be what she is reporting on. It looks like a pretty cool little electronic book, and very close to what I imagined with electronic paper. It looks as though it is pretty flexible in terms of what you can display on it -- any PDF file, and you can download e-books from the SONY library on the internet. It weighs less than many paperback books, and can enlarge the text to 200%. It is readable in daylight, and at angles, according to the specs. If it is as good as they say -- it's pretty cool -- though limited in what they can play for law. This is basically the end of e-books in this piece. Everything else is talking about teaching generally, and how textbooks are becoming less central to class:

2. Guided learning materials created by the professor, including syllabus, handouts, review questions, etc. are taking the place of much of what textbooks used to do. I think that these are moving to web and podcast platforms very successfully. Through Blackboard, TWEN, faculty webpages, or just e-mail and podcasts, this has been happening spontaneously over the years.

3. Interactive and spontaneous "performance" content are also doing much of what textbooks used to do. "Performance" content, Ms. Boettcher explains as created by students in the process of learning. Examples in law schools might be oral arguments (whether taped or not), client counseling (real or simulated), clinic encounters with real clients, and much of the advocacy classes taught in most law schools. Many of these are recorded and then the participants view them with teachers or peer-reviewers afterwards to learn by observing. This again, is quite a law school tradition. Another way that "performance" content is being used: legal writing teachers will either take an anonymous example of writing and work on it with the class, or compose together with the class, using overhead projector or document camera in the classroom. This can also be done with distance learning. I am not sure that either of these last two impact on e-books, but the article was interesting and thought-provoking. It's interesting to me, to see how thinkers outside the law school environment are looking at our issues.

Timber Interests In Bed With Politicians?! The Scientific Activist

The Scientific Activist: Reporting from the Crossroads of Science and Politics: We Didn’t Start the Fire (We Just Made Some Money Off It)

This interesting story was brought to my attention by the peripatetic Scientific Activist Nick Anthis. It's always worth checking in at his blog every once in a while. The lead author of a study that just came out in the well-regarded journal Science, Daniel Donato, was brought before a congressional committee. The congressmen wanted to vent a while, and investigate, since Donato and his fellow grantees had done work discovering that the clearcutting authorized by new federal rules in order to reduce the risk of forest fires actually contributed to the risk of forest fires and wildfires. Here is another link to a short article in The Oregonian http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1139286311132730.xml&coll=7, titled "BLM [Bureau of Land Management] Freezes OSU's [Oregon State University's] Grant Behind Study." Evidently, the study mentioned a piece of legislation which is impermissible. The study authors sought to remove the mention of the pending legislation from the study before it was published, and the editor of Science takes full blame for failing to remove the mention.

When the clearcutting was authorized, the timber companies, and their sponsoring congressmen used the justification that the recent Biscuit fires had been caused by too little cutting. Decades of fire suppression and no cutting had allowed scrubby growth to build up and encourage sparks to build into flames. So, over the protests of environmental groups, the clearcutting was authorized.

Now comes Daniel Donato et al., undercutting all the rationale for the clearcutting in the first place. Uh-oh! Science is getting in the way of politics -- AGAIN! Don't you hate it when that happens?

Friday Cat Bloggin?

I've missed Jim posting pictures of his beautiful cats. I had to get a cat fix some way or other. I found out about Kittenwar in the funniest way. I was going through the turnstile at the YMCA and 2 women at the desk were arguing over something on the computer screen. Suddenly one of them turned the screen around so I could see it and demanded of me: "Isn't that the cutest kitten you ever saw? It has won more battles than it's lost!"

This certainly seemed like a strange thing to assert. It was, by the way, one of those hairless cats, with huge, batlike ears, and big eyes. It was cute, in a strange way, with its wrinkled neck and hypnotic stare. But I had to ask how a kitten is involved in battles. And the Kittenwar website was explained to me. This is a website where people enter photographs of kittens (I don't suppose they even have to be their own cats, really). And viewers vote between 2 images, for the cuter of the pair. The cutest wins the "battle." The website tracks the winningest and losingest kitten photos. It is a hoot. It is, of course, more about the photographer's skill and luck catching the kitten in a good (or bad!) pose than the kitten -- though some cats are more beautiful or wierd or plain than others.

So, if you need a Friday Cat Bloggin' fix, visit kittenwar, but don't waste too much of your Friday!

Minnesota GOP Polinaut Generating Bad Press

I actually stumbled across this story, which is linked above to the Minnesota Public Radio website. Go there and read the main web page and the linked pages. The Republican Party in Minnesota hired a consulting company that had the bright idea to send out CDs (actually probably DVDs) with interactive video on them. The viewer identifies him- or herself to the disc. The disc checks the zipcode and modifies the video presentation about the issue of defining marriage - between one man and one woman, according to the demographics. The viewer may then choose to answer questions about views on abortion and other hot-button political issues, the the presentation will be further fine-tuned. Pretty sophisticated marketing in a tight political race.

But, there is more! The information on demographics and opinions will be sent to a database maintained for the Minnesota GOP. The disc is supposed to be an automatic polling device. It's actually a pretty interesting idea. But the beta-test packaging sent out with sample discs to the media did not make it clear that it was identifying the viewer and gathering information tied to that individual. In fact, the wording seemed to be "interactive." The press was pretty shocked and outraged when they figured this out and there has been something of a little firestorm. The Governor is weighing in, all sorts of political spinning is going on, and the consultants, of course, are going to take it on the nose, right after the GOP.

Ah well, this will probably set automatic polling back decades! Too bad, for those who might have been interested. I ran across the story on another website you might want to know about if you haven't ever trolled there: Slashdot. This is a sort of blog for tech-nerds. It is busy enough that it has "lane markers." You can choose to follow threads by games (a busy area -- these are nerds!), science, or politics -- a good choice for our business, or several other areas. Visit slashdot politics at: http://politics.slashdot.org/

Consolations

The lyrics of this song explain much about why I find so much consolation in these lovely photographs of distant galaxies. This is the Crab Nebula, I believe taken from the Hubbel Space Telescope (though I've lost track of the provenance of this image). I found the lyrics to this song, written by Julie Gold! Most people remember the version covered by Nancy Griffith, but others have recorded it as well. It's a lovely song; thank you, Julie Gold!


From a Distance Lyrics

by Julie Gold


From a distance, the world looks blue and green
and the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream
and the eagle takes to flight.
From a distance there is harmony
and it echoes through the land.
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace,
it's the voice of every man.
From a distance, we all have enough
And no one is in need.
There are no guns, no bombs, no diseases,
No hungry mouths to feed.
From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace
They're the songs of every man.
God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance.
From a distance, you look like my friend
Even though we are at war.
From a distance I cannot comprehend
What all the fighting is for.
From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land.
It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves.
It's the heart of every man.
God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance.

On Being Part of a Faculty

One of the things I found hardest to adjust to when I became a library director was becoming a law school faculty member. I had always chafed at the second-class status I felt as a "mere" librarian. In St. Louis University, I was a full member of the University faculty, and could participate in the University Senate, though to be a member of the law school faculty, I would have to be voted on, despite having all the credentials of most of the faculty: a JD, plus a master's in Library Science. And I took pride in publishing in peer-reviewed and professionally edited journals while most law faculty publishing is done in journals edited by law students.

So I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about law faculty. And yet, as a law student, I was properly over-awed by law professors, as well. When I came to a school where I knew nobody, and became the director, it was hard to make that leap and become part of the faculty. I had nothing in common with these folks. I was not from the area. I did not teach the same thing, or explore the same subjects, at least not in the same ways.

One thing that helped me a great deal was that one of the other professors had started a book group (yay!) and invited me to join. I have since tried multiple times to do this. It may be a function of the way people live, but it seems much more attractive to folks to have a movie group these days. At least, something that allows newer and more seasoned members of the faculty to speak together about the same thing, that has nothing to do with work or politics... what a terrific idea. A social hub. There are other ways to do this. I once announced a post-faculty meeting consolation group, by invitation only, and the only rule was nobody can talk about the meeting. We had a drink together and had to clear out by a time certain. We've only done this once so far, but WOW! what a consolation it was!

My other observations: It is a lot like being part of a family. You have those same mixed feelings about wanting to strangle folks that otherwise you are pretty fond of. I do think it is important for the library for the director to be a full and active member of the faculty. Not easy. You don't want to be perceived as "faculty lite." And as library directors, we work an 11 month contract -- no summers off, no time off between semesters. We also are scheduled for at least 8 hours a day, unless we manage things very cleverly, indeed. So scholarship and service (especially to our profession) tend to be taken out of our personal life. This makes it very hard if we want to do those tiny things like be good parents or take care of our health. Educate faculty and deans wherever possible -- try not to let this be the norm! Geez, who wants to live like that?!? Do you think the rest of the faculty would take a job that was that demanding? (at least after tenure?)

Ash Wednesday - A meditation on ashes

In my brand of Christianity - Roman Catholicism, today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten fast season. I grew up in a Protestant group that noddeed at Ash Wednesday and Lent but did not really get into fasting or "giving things up for Lent." We certainly never ate fish on Fridays, which is how cradle Catholics grew up in the United States, any way. My husband still shudders at the thought of tuna casserole and bran muffins.

Ashes in the Roman Catholic observance are created by burning the left-over palms from last Palm Sunday. This is actually pretty cool to think about. These recreate the palms that were waved by the crowds in welcome as Jesus entered Jerusalem in apparent triumph. They are then burned to create the ashes for the season to prepare for the next commemoration of His crucifixion. The ashes are daubed on by the priest with one of three muttered proclamations. "Remember, oh Man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return," is one. You can see that the idea is to think about our mortality, and the fleeting nature of this world.

Since 9/11, I have thought about the ashes in a broader sense as well. Ashes came to mean more, after those attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the ill-fated airliner. The individual people, mixed with the remains of buildings, office materials, paper, carpets, airliners, all turned to fine ash. Scattered over miles and miles of New York, Pennsylvania and D.C., and farther, on breezes, water, and people's clothes. We never knew people and buildings could be so completely incinerated outside of firebombings. What a discovery.

But I never view dust or ash as the end point. It returns to dust, to the earth. As long as there is a viable ecosystem in place, it returns to life again. We rise, in a most literal sense of the word, regardless of our faith. Quite easily proven, we rise, with flowers, trees, grass, algae, lichens. And with the animals that depend on and devour those base links in the food chain, we rise further.

I cannot begin to imagine what happens to the consciousness that seems to be ME when I die. I hope and try to believe that I find heaven at the end. It would be lovely to find that I continue intact in a happier way afterward. I would be ecstatic to find that I can meet people I have loved again after death divides us. But what I know, beyond all doubt, is that my dust, or ashes, what remains of my body after death, will sooner or later, be part of the earth again. I hope the ashes rise again, phoenix-like, to shine in the sun again. So, man, and woman, too, remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return!

The decoration of a phoenix rising from its fiery nest of ashes is a religious needlepoint tapestry photographedy by Steve and Mary Skjold and for sale ($195 U.S) at http://www.painetworks.com/pages2rf/fj/fj0546.html